Mixed Feelings

I haven't posted in 8 days. So much has happened.

Monday: Class, Courtauld Gallery (yay impressionism! and playing in fountains with Christine!), piano concert at St. Martin-in-the-Fields, National Portrait Gallery, Winter's Tale (which was fantastically acted--Ethan Hawke was Autolycus and Mr. Thornton's mother from North and South was Paulina--and put on, with the exception of a "balloon dance" in the middle)

Tuesday: The Temple (as in, law and bar stuff, Knight's Templar, not the LDS temple), Imperial War Museum, Shakespeare lecture with David Bevington at the BYU London Center, Les Mis (which we missed the first 5 minutes of because of a tube accident involving a body on the tracks, which delayed us 45 minutes).

Wednesday: writing of final synthesis essay in Holland Park, Houses of Parliament tour (where I had a security picture that should have gotten me stopped at security), Tate Britain (LOVE. Esp. JMW Turner), finishing with Romeo and Juliet at the Globe (where Benvolio was attractive...)

Thursday: left London, coached to some random place and did one last hike through the country to Canterbury, wandered with Lauren (which led to reading romance novel titles/back of books), Evensong, "man walk," random filming of 30 second versions of David Copperfield and Jane Eyre in hostel entrance

Friday: Sissinghurst Gardens and baptisms at London Temple, saying goodbye to people. :(

Saturday: waking up really early, taxing to Gatwick, meeting Mom, Portobello Road, Wicked

Sunday: random tourings, Tower of London, brief stop in National Gallery, Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace.

Today: sleeping in, shopping (I finally found shoes and dresses that I like--two dresses and heals for under 80 pounds!), British Museum, Regent's Park and dinner and Much Ado About Nothing in the open air theater.

Being in London with Mom has been fun, although my body is about to give out after 2 months of going non-stop. Yesterday I felt really sick the later half of the day and today I was just kind of frustrated with shopping for a bit because I couldn't find what I wanted. And I also miss all my study abroad "family." SO MUCH. I checked my email tonight and there was an email from Karla, talking about what her and John and Chris have been doing and that they love and miss us. I almost started crying. I'm such a baby. But I miss being able to go back to a hostel and tell everyone about my exploits or run around the city being a goofball and joking. I miss talking in Chris Bennion voices and hearing about the "Great Moth Hunt of (18)65" and Bentley's clap dances and discussing plays with Lauren and saying "If [insert name of famous real person here] were a real person" and just talking about everything with Christine and tackling Emma and buying scarves with the girls and showing people souveniers and just talking and dancing and joking and eating biscuts and laughing. Sigh. But I am having fun with Mom. And I get to see Sarah, my roommate, tomorrow night, which is excited. And I'm excited to go home and see the rest of my family and Lindsey. So it's mixed emotions. Very mixed. I miss my "family." But I'll see them soon, perhaps just not as soon as I would wish. I might be going down to Utah a couple days after I get back though, so we'll see what happens. Maybe I'll get to party with some of them down there then.

Sigh. England just isn't the same without the people I've experienced the past 2 months with.