London Day 2

I tried uploading pictures, but the internet here is very glitchy and it will not work. I will have to go to McDonald's, the popular wifi hotspot around here, later to put them up. So I apologize for the wordy post, but there are no pictures to show you, so I had to use my words!

Day 2 in London began with breakfast..greek yogurt with fruit. Then, Andrea, Kristen, and I decided to go jogging in Hyde Park. It was beautiful, but a bit chilly. Eating Greek yogurt right before going running is the worst idea ever. Half way through our run, I threw up. I really did. It was nasty and embarrassing! No one really saw and it was a small amount, but ugh, hopefully next run goes better, although everyone knows I’m not the worlds’ best runner. In fact, I am pretty terrible at it!

I started two classes today. History and Art History. Both were interesting, but I kept nodding off in both. I was exhausted all day! We took a quickie trip to Buckingham Palace, via the Tube. By the way, I got my Oyster card (30-day Tube Pass) today and they have special edition William and Kate cards! Awesome! We had to be quick to make it back for dinner and daily announcements. I loved the Palace. The lion’s on the gate are my favorite. I was just about to step away from peering through the gate, watching those red guards in their funny furry hats, when the little black lady next to me started going, “Oooooh, Oooh, YES!” I decided I better stay and see what she was getting so excited about. “They’re going to change guards, yay!” she said. It was fun to watch as four other guards marched over to the main guards, shuffled their feet into position and go through the whole changing guards process. Is that rare to see? I wondered why the lady was getting so excited, but it was an interesting process.

Dinner was frozen pizza. Yay. Not. The wife of the resident director is out of town for a week, so until she gets back, we’ll be getting hot dogs, hamburgers, and pizza. YuckL

Today we got to meet the Bishop of one of the wards in London. He is only 28! He is married to an American from Minnesota and they have two adorable little girls. He was hilarious. He warned us all about the white van drivers who make a point to try and run over pedestrians and then curse at you for getting in their way. He warned us that when introducing ourselves to Londoners, you should NEVER tell them your name right away. It would offend them. Talk about meaningless stuff first, like the weather, then at the end of the conversation, pretend like they told you your name already and say, “Oh I didn’t catch your name, I’m so and so.” And when buying something such as a ticket to the show, pause before you buy. Let the ticket seller acknowledge you are there before you speak. Otherwise, they will assume that you think they are only there to serve you and they may be rude to you. (Which…aren’t they? Aren’t they getting paid to sell me a ticket?) Bad customer service here apparently.

Anyway, I am in the Kennington ward. I am very excited to meet all the people at church. At some point I will have to speak at church! AHH! Scary! They will all make fun of my California accent! (like Ben already does!!)

After meeting the Bishop and Stake President, four of us decided to check out Buckingham Palace. It was crazy. Every where possible was a tent and lawn chairs and lots of excited gung-ho Kate and William fans. There were signs. There were flags. There were London flag patterned clown wigs. There were drunkards singing songs together, such as Summertime from Grease, and Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen. We talked to some Americans who were camped out with a pretty good view of the balcony. Too bad they didn’t invite us to stay with them ha ha. We walked by some drunky boys who yelled at us, “Hello ladies! We are princes!” We bought stupid little souvenir flags from a lady with a shirt that had a flashing light up picture of William and Kate on it! It was a very wild atmosphere. After scoping things out, we decided the best thing to do is to get on the Tube at 5:30 am tomorrow to get a spot. We are determined to catch a glimpse of that beautiful girl in her incredible gown with her Royal husband in her elaborate carriage. We would love to see them kiss on the balcony. I don’t know how possible that is though. Tomorrow will be insane! I can’t wait. Wish me luck with waking up early! (Why am I still up at 12:30 am?? GAH! It will be so hard to wake up. Cheers to the Royal Wedding!