One Short Day

     Wow.  I cannot believe that the program has come to an end!  It is times like these that I am reminded of how quickly time flies.  As I talked with people about our first day here it feels like it just happened, but at the same time like it was so long ago!  We got here and all of our luggage was lost, so we had to wear the same clothes for a few days.  We were tired and were given our initial tour of the city and I don’t think I remembered any of it.  We went to Taza and bought Shawarma and ate in in Kensington Gardens.  All of this after our crazy adventure to try and get through the airport’s many delays!  I sure hope that tomorrow our flights actually go smoothly!

     When I woke up this morning the center felt very empty as about half of us had left.  We had breakfast and then we all l had to wait to have our final interviews with Wade about the program, our grades, and all that other fun stuff.  I was surprisingly nervous, which is really weird because I feel like I have grown really close to Wade.  It went just fine and I had nothing to worry about.  When I finished the interview I was officially done with all of my London classes!  It’s a miracle and sure does feel good, but weird.  Very weird. 

     The rest of the day we were completely free and I made sure to put my Oyster card to use.  I went to some new places like Primark (a department store that everyone is in love with) and a random market in a part of town we’ve never been to before.  I think I’ve got this place figured out and then suddenly I discover these new places.  I also made sure to go back to lots of my favorites as well! I revisited Borough mark and bought some sweets, went to Lilywhites, had lunch at Nandos, visited good ole Big Ben and walked through Kensington Gardens/Hyde Park at sunset.  I kept busy the whole day and I am quite exhausted, but I would have felt bad if I didn’t go out with a bang! Again, none of the things were super amazing, but they were just so much fun to go around and find new things and visit old places another visit.  In the evening we watched some more Olympic games in the center and then went to see Parliament.  The past few days they have been projecting an Olympic video onto the house of Parliament from across the Thames.  It was absolutely beautiful and was so much fun to watch! We took photos and talked about the trip and it was such a wonderful conclusion to the day.  A wonderful conclusion to the trip!

     This trip has been absolutely amazing! I am so grateful for all the experiences that I had during my time here!  I learned so much and got see so many amazing things!  There were times that were difficult but there were also so many more wonderful moments! Whether it was exploring Kensington Gardens, visiting the Harry Potter Studio, going to Ireland, Scotland and Wales or just spending time in the center, it was all so great.  Of course I am sad that it is all coming to an end, but I am very excited to go home as well.  I have had a great time but truly believe that if I were to stay any longer that I would ruin a good thing.  It’s time to go back home where I have my amazing family and good friends!  School will be starting up again soon and I get to go back to work, both of which are ok things because I get to go to a great school and work with the best people! 

      This evening I also stopped by Peter Pan’s statue again to say goodbye.  Though there is the part of me that wants to continue this adventure of youth, in the words of Peter, “To live will be an awfully big adventure.”  

 Oh yeah! We had a late night party last night! Watching Disney movies with icecream!

 Outside the 27 Palace Court.  Love that center.  :)

 Lunch at Nandos.  

 Another one of these! ;)

 Another visit to see Ben.  

 Kensington Garden visit.  

 PETER!

 Hyde Park

 Getting gelatto at Gelatto Mio

 The Union Jack on Parliament

 Enjoying the show!

And here it is.  The final photo! GAH! See you London!