How delicately alabaster am I?

First, an answer to my cryptic title: Ridiculously so. I managed to get sunburned during our one hour visit to Brighton, a beach here in England. I got sunburned... in England. Sheesh. 

It has been far too long, my dear readers! And for that I must apologize again. Still. But we must move onward from apologies and into what I've been up to.

I will try to use more pictures and less words for a change.

Monday: Platform 9 3/4, a Harry Potter reference for those of us who are nerds like that.

Oh, I finally took a picture of my flat. Here it is: Flat Sweet Flat.

Interior pictures will surface eventually...

The British Museum: Elgin's Marbles. These are quite controversial. Basically the British have these great Greek national treasures and they have no intentions of giving them back. An interesting dilemma to be sure.

Saturday, July 4, my friend Becca and I went to Oxford. My one goal of the day was to eat a  cheeseburger and chips at the Eagle and Child, C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien's favorite pub.

I accomplished that goal and sat in the very room these great men sat in regularly. It was amazing!

Finding our way around Oxford was my own personal celebration of independence on July 4. I was very proud of myself for navigating through the entire day and not getting lost or even flustered. 

Ta-da! The Eagle and Child!

The portrait of Jack that watched me thoroughly enjoy my cheeseburger.

A few more of my recent adventures include:

Stumbling upon a rehearsal of the London Symphony Orchestra in St. Paul's Cathedral.

It was completely unexpected and completely glorious! The acoustics were amazing and the LSO was obviously brilliant.

Climbing to the top of The Monument, which commemorates the Great Fire of London in 1666. There are 311 very awkward, dark, steep and winding steps to the top. I may or may not have gone down said stairs barefoot...

Visit to Greenwich: Home of Time. The whole exhibit brings up some very interesting thoughts, at least for my college-age brain: time is something man created... It's not actually a certain time, we've just kinda agreed that time is measured in minutes and seconds and such. And yet there is somewhere we can go that has the exact, correct and only truly accurate time. Think about that for a minute... It will make your head hurt.

Anyway, here is me standing in two different hemispheres. That's pretty cool.

Reason number 234 I love C.S. Lewis: 

(picture is from outside the British Library. Which is full of treasures. Originals of great works of literature. Awesome.)

Another unexpected highlight: Roald Dahl exhibit at the Victoria and Albert Museum of Childhood. The title of the exhibit, in true Dahl fashion, is Snozzcumbers and Frobscottle. It contained original copies of Quentin Blake's illustrations among other things. I loved it.

This weekend was a trip to York on Saturday and a trip to Brighton today. Both were fantastic, although I am partial to York myself. I am feeling a bit sluggish at the moment, due to all these fantastic adventures, so I will blog about those soon. Sooner than a week from now, I promise.

By the way, my family and friends arrived home safely from Brazil. Other than a slightly sick sister, everyone is doing well and had a good trip. Thanks so much for your prayers for them!

And as for me and my general health and well-being, I am doing quite well. I am about to enter week six of being here and still love London and England. There are certainly days when living in such close quarters with eight other girls in a foreign country get to be a little much, but that's to be expected. I have officially gotten to the point where I miss my family, something that usually doesn't happen for me. I am definitely not ready to go home yet, but I will be glad to be home when it's time. I am getting much better rest than I was the first few weeks, which just helps everything go smoother. I have been a bit more independent, exploring museums here in London on my own occasionally. I have learned how to feed myself a bit better and I am navigating a little better than I used to. I am learning things in the classroom and out of it, which is the point of an experience like this. All in all, I am having the adventure of a lifetime!

Thanks once again for all the prayers, support and communication. Keep it coming! I can use and appreciate all of it very much.

Well, I'm off to an earlier bedtime after my busy weekend. Thanks for reading!

Cheers,

_Kt.