Foreign Frolickings...

2009-03-30T06:15:00.001+01:00

Google Maps view of Internship: Click here.

2006-08-03T04:21:00.000+01:00

2006-07-20T22:56:00.000+01:00

Other Blogs: I am currently creating two blogs about genealogy...

http://familyhistorybitsandpieces.blogspot.com
This will include information about the archives I searched in on this trip and what I learned.
Also other bits and pieces of information that I come accross such as useful websites and contacts etc.

http://southafricanfamilyhistory.wordpress.com
This will be specific to South African family history and genealogical research.
With research tips and useful links and tips.

2006-07-20T19:53:00.000+01:00

Digital Scrapbook: click to enlarge

2006-07-10T15:33:00.000+01:00

21st BIRTHDAY PICTURES!
Now, 21st usually are synonomus with being fully "LEGAL" which allows one to partake of certain activities which one was not legally allowed to do before being 21.
I decided to allow myself - this one time - to partake in 2 activities namely...

DRINKING (click on the picture and read the bottle carefully!)

and.......

SMOKING (hee hee I couldnt help myself)
When they brought out the dessert and I saw it - I thought that would make a great combo picture.... so here you go.

Disclaimer: No alcohol or cigards were consumed in the making of these pictures...
Pictures:
1. Bottle of Vittel or otherwise know as french bottled water
2. Cigar looking this is a biscuit or cookie often filled with a sweet cream substance - this one was hollow though: note ice-cream on the table :)

Side effects include:
1. frequent trips to the "restroom"
2. Increase in waist and rear diameter is consumed to frequnetly :)

2006-07-10T07:54:00.000+01:00

Day 63 - 71
This will probably be my last post on this trip. I take a train (TGV which is very fast) from Le Cresout to Paris tomorrow morning and then chunnel under the English Channel to London Waterloo. Wednesday I will be flying back to America! I hope to be back to normality soon :)
I need to get back into routine and inteo regular excercise!

This last week has been CRAZY. Camille and I left Poitier early Tuesday morning. We arrived in Paris at about 8.30 AM and then took the Metro and finally found our hotel, we checked into the hotel and then made our way to the EIFFEL TOWER. We were supposed to meet our friends Brooke and Ashley there, but we couldnt find then in the MASSES of people that we lined up at the different Piliers! We decided it was better to get tinto line and take turns to walk around and take pictures and get some lunch. We stood in the base line for about 2 hours - my feet really hurt - talking, playing a guessing game, admiring a really cute Italian or Spanish looking man :) We finally made it to the elevators and paid the 11 Euros (by this tie i wished I had of walked up at the South pilier instead of waiting in this stupid line). We were excited to go all the way to the top. We stopped at the 2nd level to take pictures adn admire the exquisite view of Paris - I began feeling the wait had infact been worth it. We met some boys from New York and we took pictures for each other. Then we made our way to the top and WOW! It is gorgeous from up there. Inside at the top is a rim all the way around with different county flags and their capitals with the distance and direction from the Eiffel! I took a picture of South Africas part. We then had to get back into a line to GET DOWN!!! It was crazy and by this time I felt as if my feet were SCREAMING at me! It shall remember it being the tower of PAIN and BEAUTY! lol.

We went back to the hotel to see if Alison our other friend had checked in yet. She had and we all decided to go out on the town, and to see if we could get into an Opera. We went to the wrong opera house and were not going to be able to see Figaro as intended, so we dicided to go to the Arc de Triomphe and do some shopping along the Champs de Elise (sorry my spelling is aweful).

After that it was dusk so we went over to the Louvre and took pictures of it in the evening light. It would have been very romantic if i was there with a person of the opposite sex, however it was still wonderful to admire. We took MANY pictures and could also see the lighted ET in the distance. Off to the one side there was also a HUGE Ferris Wheel. We went over to check it out but i got distracted by the harnesses trampoline! I decided to give it a try adn let it suffice to say - it was NOT comfortable at all. I tried to warn a guy that went after me and he gave it a bash but quickly asked to get down - lol - his friends were watching and they had some very interesting comments - i had a good laugh - Camille and Alison seemed a little shocked - hee
hee.
We got back to our hotel by midnight and Brooke and Ashley came to our room an we swapped sotires of the day and caught up. We talked till about 2AM, but it was great.

Wednesday morning they all left for the airport, and I slept in as I only needed to be at the train station by about 12.30 in time to make my 1pm train. The Metro gave me a few hassles but no one bothered me infact some italina boys helped me - we didnt understand each others languages, but with a map and body gestures and a few words in french they showed me how to get to Gare Lyon on another route!

I finally arrived in the Gare and caught the train to Le Cresout and there was met by Aunty Dagmar and Uncle Colin. I have enjoyed the past 5 days with them and I am even sad to be leaving. We habe done some great things together. We have gone to visit and baby sit their granchildren - Laura and William- and we went for walks watched a movie and went shopping. We had a great dinner together - I love how the french have cheese and bread for dessert adn sometimes they have yoghurt (and even put jam intoo it for variety).
We also went to a nature park (Cruppa) and i went running. We went to see a Chateau (Digoine) in the country. We walked the grounds and had a tour inside and the owner even let us pick and eat framboise (rasberries) from his garden. They were DELICIOUS! I even tried the yellow ones which we SO sweet!!! I loved it.

On Saturday we rented bikes and cycled along the canal for about 3 hrs. We took it slowly and enjoyed the view and had a picknic for lunch. I drove past a guy that gave me the mose dashing smile I talked about it or half and hour afterwards :) hee hee
That night I babysat the kids with their grandpartents and then I stayed to sleep over.
Yesterday we went to see Mont St Vincent. I sang for them in the church and we walked around, patted the hourse, climed the tower and just enjoyed the day. For the rest of the afternoon I showed them things on the computer and internet.
I found a cool website called YOUTUBE and watched some videaos for a couple hrs. We also watched some of the FIFA World Cup Soccer Final ofItaly VS Gemany. THye got to the end being 1:1 so had a penalty shoot out and unfortunatley for France (but fortunately for me who got a better nights sleep with no celebration noise in the streets) lost by one goal!

I have had a wonderful time here in rural france. I am not looking forward to the next 2 days of trevelling, but I have been well rested and am getting antsy to get back an finish up ALL the work I have. I will be presenting at the BYU Family History Genealogical Conference at the beginning of August so I have that extra push! I am happy and very blessesed to have had this oppertunity. I hope to return to France in a few years to conduct more intense research as I am going to learn French starting this Fall.

2006-07-02T17:43:00.000+01:00

Day 62

2nd JULY 2006

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!!!! IM 21!
I am on the the same time zone as SOUTH AFRICA in France and spending my Birthday in Poitier, Poitou, France.

Camille Buma, a friend from BYU is here too. We took the Bus to Church this morning and had fast and testimony in French ;) and we talked with the missionaries and some of hte members in English and our broken french :)
Then we had a great lunch at a Brasserie and took some fun pictures of me "enjoying the freedom of 21"! (mmm what could that be.... hee hee - pictures to come soon, but Im at an internet cafe now and in France for another 2 weeks so keep checking - all very innocent I promise :)

This is the 3rd birthday I have not been at home and even then my 18th was spent flying over Africa! Its a weird thought. I probably wont be at home for the next few birthdays too, depending on if I go on a mission or not.

Life is good, this trip has been a great experince, difficult and demanding, but really rewarding and I have learned alot. We will have to see what the future holds... this is only the beginning :)

2006-06-29T00:19:00.000+01:00

DAY 59:

Jacqueline du Plessis:
The stores name was JACQUELINE :)
The road sign said DU PLESSIS
Cool French name hey? :)

2006-06-28T23:43:00.000+01:00

Day 58:
Wednesday:
Today we drove up from Quimper to Saint Lo. We drove along the beautiful coasts of North Western Coast. It was really cool, and we stopped off at Le Mont St Michel - the Monastery/ Abbey that is sparated from land by a causeway. It was really beautful.

2006-06-27T21:24:00.000+01:00

Day 56 & 57
Doing research here in Quimper, France. I can now read some French Documents :)
Just watched France beat Spain in the World Cup Elimination round.
I will be 21 on Sunday!!!! Things are good.

2006-06-25T01:32:00.000+01:00

DAY 51 - 55:

Finished in the Netherlands- after staying at Meerworld -the glass tower hotel with the gorgeous view, and am now in France. Yesterday we arrived in Chartre and had a great time in the cathedral. Today we went on a tour with a man that has been studying it for about 30 years!!!! The stained glass is sooo beautiful and eveything has symbolic meaning!
Now we are in Le Mans. We are on our way to Quimper in the West to do more research for a few days before going to Poitier. I am very excited for the nexy leg of this trip!!!! I have been finding out some great things about genealogy today especially the du Plessis line. Life is good. The quote book continues :)

2006-06-19T22:40:00.000+01:00

DAY 45 - 50:

Thursday: We left Paris and drove to a a little bakery in the county side. I ordered some bread and a pastery in FRENCH - arent you all proud of me :) Then we drove most of the day to Den Haag, Netherlands. Along the way we drove through Belguim! The scenery is beautiful. There is alot of rural farm lands and cool old windmills. We arrived in Den Haag by the evening and Brooke and Camille were already at the Hotel. We went to the market festival and listen to some local bands. My favorite was CROWD!
We had great Chinese food for supper and had a great evening together catching up. The peopl e here think I speak funny Dutch. Someone asked me if I was from Aruba - app. the Dutch in the Antilles sounds close to Afrikaans???? or at least the pronunciation ?

Friday: We took the trams to the NATIONEEL ARCHIEF. Learnt some interesting things about the VOC (Dutch East India Company). Then we went to Zoetemeer - the temple is there - it is gorgeous! Camille and I waited for the others and walked around the city. We discovered a new singer called SHAWN MCDONALD - he's a Christian singer and he is amazing. We found this huge cheese shop and I was in Heaven :) bought some wedges of Dutch Cheese. YUM!

Saturday: Packed up and headed to Amsterdam. We walked around the city. Went to the Anne Frank house - THE SECRET ANNEX. This was a enlightening experience especially after reading her diary in High School. I was very glad we were able to go. Then we went to an outdoor cafe along the canal. It was so picture perfect. The boats were going by, people were chatting, music was playing - I actually felt like I should be in France :)
On our way back to the station - while in search for some souveniers - we walked on a road then was somewhat more typical of Amsterdams reputation - not pretty.

Then we drove up to Groningen - along the Dyke! This is cool - the sea is high on one side and there is fresh water on the other - much lower! Who knows about the reclamation that took place in the Netherlands - vey interesting! We arrived at the Gouts (a family from Brookes mission) around 10pm. We met their family who we are staying with for the next few days.

Sunday: Had a typical Dutch breakfast - I think - bread with jam and cheese. (mommy remember you told me about apricot jam and Gouda - well that must be a dutch tradition that survived from Ouma Groetjie).
We went to Church here in Groningen - in Dutch! It was great - some peoples Dutch was more difficult to understand than others, but Im not doing too badly. They had these headphones that Dr R and the others (except Brooke who served her mission here) used and it was a live English translation, that i listened to at times, but I tried to figure out most of the stuff myself. After church we had a wonderful meal with the Gouts and their extended family. Then Ninka (a friend of Brookes) came over adn took us out for a bike ride. I love the bicycles here! (As a kid I always thought these bikes looked dorky but I love tehm now:) We cycled for about an hour (12km) adn then walked aroud this cute little town. We came to a church and there were some men practising a latin cantata or somthing (i recently took music 101 so if that is wrond - oops :) anway after they were done the church was empty so i nudged Brooke who also sings - hey lets go sing.
We sung for a bit before singing with Camille and Ninka - our best song was "Nearer My God to Thee" in a four part harmony - just accapella and totally spontaneous! It was so much fun. The church had amazing acoustics and we had some people stop by and comment on our great sound. It was wonderful. By the time be got back to Groningen we were "saddle sore"thirsty, hot and sweaty!
Then Linda and Raphael had their friend Chris Weening come over and we talked for a few hours adn went for a walk and I saw the only hill in Groningen - or was it the Netherlands (its very flat here)

Monday:

FIFTY DAYS!!!!!

This morning we learnt about Dutch research in the FHC in at church here in Groningen. A sister for teh wrd who has been doing research for yeras gabve us some great tips and methodologies and she fed us a great lunch.
Afterwards we took the train to Loppersum to meet Dr Ryskamp and his wife. We went to the little church there and learned about the history and the architechture adn paintings on the ceilings. We also sang again. Then we had a gorgeous supper. Very fancy - with an appetizer, starter, main and dessert! The potions all looked so small, but this was definitly QUALITY adn not Quantity, but after all the courses I was FULL! Dinner landed taking 3 hours!!! no one seems to be in a ruch around here.
Oh adn we also bought some cute things in the little shops here. One is called a flesselikker (speling?) Its a thing you stick up a bottle of tomato sause or something and it had a plastic head that is round adn basically srapes the rest out! It is so cool . I also got a Beautiful turqoise blue green braclet from India! I love it - it makes me smile - I love this colour!!!!
Anyway, tomorrow we are back to research and then we drive up to Leeuwarden in Friesland and then Rotterdam the next day before we make or way down to FRANCE!!!
Again I had confirmation that I should go on a mission :) ------ so here I am, send me!

2006-06-14T19:26:00.000+01:00

DAY 44:
Bonjour! Maybe its just the internet place i am at but France has the weirdest keyboard. I dont know how you could type fast on this thing; itsallrearranged. And I have to push shift for numbers!
I arrived here in Paris this afternoon from England. I took the Eurostar Chunnel from Waterloo to Gare Nord. It took just under 3 hrs, and was a smooth journey. I took a taxi over to the hotel and forked out 15 EUROS before another 66 for the room. This is turning out to be VERY expensive too:) but its better thqn the pound at least! I will be meeting up with the Ryskamps later and tomorrow we leave for the Netherlands! Whoa! This is one long journey! From there we are doing research all over... Im notsure when ill have internet again but will update when I can...until the BON VOYAGE!

2006-06-09T18:06:00.000+01:00

Day 36-42:
Its been a while.... here is the lst week wrapped up

Monday we spent some time in the Derbyshire record office and I founs some great records on woman emigrating to S. Africa
I finally got to see the Prison Break finale! I cant wait till teh fall.

Tuesday: We hopped on a train to Winchester - stopping in Birmingham to take some pictures of Chester Street - for my Trejo Scholarship.
Winchester is the most beautiful place Ive seen yet. I love it here.
It took awhile to get there though as I got stuck on the train, it wouldnt let me oof, so i landed up going to Southampton and then the last 2 handles on my bad broke so I had to pick it up in my arms - 25kg in my arms with a Huge back pack and laptop bag - waht can I say I got guns :)
Also, watched the Da Vinci Code - its s bit of a let down compared to the book, even with Tom Hanks

Thurdsay - I took a bus to Salisbury and say the great cathedral there although winchester, westminster, sailsbury they all look really similar. Then jumped on another bus and guess where I was headed to? Stonehenge!!! It was smaller than I thought, but after taking the tour I realised that those are some heafy rocks!!!

Oh, my laptop died, so not sure if I can get pictures up here for a while, but once I cam back in America I will update.

Saturday: We got a train back to London. We arrived at Victoria at like 10.30AM. We should have arrived at Kew around 11.30AM on a normal day, but they were working on the underground so we had to take 2 trains and 2 busses to get to Kew. We got there jut before 1pm adn I havent felt that exhausted for a long tie. The heat hasnt helped either. Who said it rains in England. Its only rained 2-3 times in London in the 3 weeks Ive been here. Ok, granted it rained EVERY day in Preston, Lancs, but there is some kina heat wave going on here in the South, although I dont think Id take Edinburgs icy wind over this.

Well, its Monday night. Another day of research. I leave on Wednesday morning on the chunnel to Paris. I am excited, but also exhausted. Ive been in the UK for 5 weeks now and before that I was staying at the Coxs for 4 weeks and before that I was at home for 10 weeks and before that I was staying with the Brummers for 3 weeks. So basically I have been living out of a suitcase and travelling since the end of December when I moved out of my apartment in Provo, and here we are in June and I am almost 21st!!!

This may sound like complaining, but I am just tired and have a cold, but really this is an experience I will never get again, its just hard, but then again nothing of worth is painless :)

I am collecting those sew on flags from the countries that I visit and sewing them on my back pack, adn big in the middle is SOUTH AFRICA!!!! Yeah Proudly South African! :)

Anyhoo, Im off, there are a world of things to do. So until the next post...

2006-06-05T00:01:00.000+01:00

Day 32-35:
Well, been and gone to Nottingham. I arrive in Nottingham after a 6 hour jounry from Glasgow on Wednesday evening. PS I love the long distance trains. I just plug in my laptop or get out a book adn enjoy the scenery!!!

We stayed in the "Comfort Hotel" in the city center (not too comfy at night with a club right outsire our window). We were at the County Record Office for most of the days doing TONS of research, but we did go to the Nottingham Castle and Museum & go on the "Tales of Robin Hood" tour. We unfortunately were not able to go to Sherwood forest, but none the less I loved being in Nottingham, the home of Robin Hood.

Now I am in Derbyshire. The home of Mr Darcy! Arrived here yesterday afternoon. Kari & I are staying with the Shepards in Derby. We have had a great time so far. We e3ven watched the BBC version of Pride & Prejudice. I think I like Mr Darcy from teh new one better though. Matthew McFadden is so HOT!

Today church was great. I met some lovely people including Daniel Lodge & Jessica Shepard. We also had a wonderful time at Elder Mundys (Birmingham Mission President) fireside. I am now even more determined to go on a mission. I am thinking about going home in December and then putt in my papers and go around Feb or March 2007...

2006-05-31T13:31:00.000+01:00

DAY 31:
I am so happy right now! I am on a train from Edinburgh Scotland to Nottingham. I just left Glasgow this morning and had a great visit with my friend Donna Lindop.
Today is the most beautiful day! Sunny, the perfect weather. We just passed through South Eastern Scotland & Northumberland - which is the most beautiful place I've seen yet. The ocean and the green hills are breathtaking. It is so cool that I can use the Wi-Fi (wireless internet) on the train - I love technology.
We are now in Newcastle and are continuing down south. I think my favorite part of travelling is being on the trains. You see so much - houses, rivers, farms, animals - its better than TV! :)

Oh and check this out LOL http://crass.on.ru/flash/bbird.html

2006-05-29T21:04:00.000+01:00

Day 29:
Monday:
Shopping in Glasgow today- I got a cute "French" cap.
Watching PRISON BREAK in England!!! YEAH! I love Micheal Scofield!

2006-05-28T19:16:00.000+01:00

DAY 26-28:
I'm staying in Glasgow visiting Donna Lindop

2006-05-25T22:05:00.000+01:00

Day 23 - 25

Tuesday:
Packed up at the Castle. Said goodbye to Jamie. Started at the Archive & got readers tickets. We moved to the Budget Backpackers Hostel yesterday morning. Since this is not a gender specific hostel the three of us girls each paid £22 instead of £11 as the room had six beds: so we each had two beds.
Met a guy at breakfast from ARGENTINA and had a great conversation. I like how many foreigners are around here.

Wenesday:
This morning we moved over to the 4 bed room so we split the cost of 4 by 3.
We went to the archive and i found a cool diary notebook thing from the 1800`s I wanna publish. It is a cool story of someone visiting South Africa.
Had a nice dinner compliments of Sainsbury and I went to bed early!!!! YEAH!

Thursday:
We had to pack up again today. At breakfast I chatted with Mayumi (sp?) from Japan. We had a good discussion and I gave her BOM & a dvd. Archive reserch went well today. We went on a bus tour around edinburgh adn took lots of pics. The tour guide was from SA. We move into a B&B tonight. Tomorrow is my last day in Edinburgh! Aah.. i like this city.

2006-05-23T11:47:00.000+01:00

DAY 22

Edinburgh, Scotland! It is supposed to be summer here, but it is FREEZING. I am here until Saturday and them off to Glasgow.
The architecture is great. We are moving hostles today - suffice to say we haven't have great experiences with hostels =)
Met a great guy last night James (Jamie) Highbel from the Peak District - between Birmingham & Manchester :)
We are going to the National Archives of Scotland today! Yeah back to research.

2006-05-22T13:22:00.000+01:00

DAY 19-21

Friday: We went to the Lancashire Records Office today. We did a bit of research there and bumped into Nathan. (he sure gets around). In the afternoon we went to the Preston (Chorley) Temple. Brooke, Flora & I watched "The Legend of Zorro" while doing Tai Chi - it was great =)
Life is good - too good, we are eating way too much. Time to break out the rice cakes and celery :)
Saturday: Went to Manchester (ps anything with "chester" in the word means it was a Roman fort!) with Dr Doxey today. It looks just like the rest of Lancashire :) - it rains a TON here!!! No wonder the grass & everything is sooo green!
After Manchester we drove up to Liverpool - up to the docks & went to the Maritime Museum. It was great. Some of the girls went to the Beetles Exhibition. I got another sew-on patch for my bag - instead of buying keychains or thimbles I'm starting to get patches for my back pack.
We got a bit lost on the way home, but it was fun in all. We made a great dinner (we start dieting tomorrow ;)
Then we went over to Jenn & Keri's to work on IAP stuff & we watched EuroVison. Again a great time & I am enjoying getting to know these amazing people. Finlands - crazy monsters won!

Sunday: After church - they have a chapel on the temple grounds - we went for dinner at the Wins. Sister Win is one of the kindest ladies I have ever met. She had a WHOLE lot of food for us on the stove. I had offered to come and help earl;ier, so i helped with the chicken & steamed veg (carrots, potatoes, corn, broccoli). It was a nutritious meal. Then all 10 of us students & Dr. Doxey & her parents & niece & the Wins & their daughter Rachel all sat and chatted. We even had a quick FHE. Their home is beautiful and I could have stayed there all week. Rachel said to me when she saw that i had my big winter coat that "you're not accustomed to the English Weather!" to which I responded with a smile - NOPE!

Monday: We got on the train this morning in Preston at 8.28AM and arrives in Edinburgh at 11.20AM. We took a taxi cab to our hostel - Castle Rock. I will be here until Saturday & then I'm going to visit Donna Lindop in Glasgow!
It is such a privilege to be seeing so much of the world. I have so much to be grateful for. Heavenly Father continues to bless me.

2006-05-18T21:33:00.000+01:00

Day 15-18
I am in Preston, England. I am staying with Brooke Cheeseman, Marissa Snyder & Flora Shumway, in an apartment above a privately owned LDS bookstore. We have been touring all around, seeing all the British church history sights. Today we went all the way down to Hereford. We are learning alot and enjoying each others company. I dont have much access to the internet here, so pictures will have to follow later. Tomorrow we will go to the Preston Temple & on Saturday we are off to Liverpool!
Life is grand!

2006-05-14T23:53:00.000+01:00

DAY 12, 13 & 14
Well, its been a while since I have blogged! So much has been going on. Life is good!

Friday:
Marissa Snyder and I went on a tour called the BIG BUS TOUR. We went on a bus allove the city of London and Westminster. It was great, some had live others recorded commentary and the weather was BEAUTIFUL, actually a bit hot, so we sat on the top of the open air bus.
We say so many places, and I took almost 200 pictures - what can I say I am "snap happy".
The highlights of the day were definitly the DAVINCI CODE walk to "Inner Temple" and Westminster. We also had a great british guide, he was probably 60 but walked faster than me (and for those of you who know me you know why I was surprised!)
Anyway he gave us some great history of the areas where we walked and it was a great 3 hrs!!!
We also got to go on a River Cruise from Tower Hill to Westminster Pier.
By 6pm we were dead. We got into a 1 Pound foreign (french) film. It was interesting - "The beat that my heart skipped".
Then we met with Kellie in Leister Square for dinner. On the way home we met some South African boys. They were only too surprised that we didn't drink and we chatted for almost an hour. I'm not sure if they will remember us though :)

Saturday:
It was finally laundry day! Marissa, Kellie & I shared so it was alot cheaper than each doing our own. We paid 6 pounds each! WOW it is expensive to wash clothers here!
In the afternoon I did some research in the archives for Angie Spires.
Then I met up with Phillipa Le Roux (Grade 9 English teacher) at 5pm for "tea". It was great to see her again and we chatted about the good old days at Edgemead High.

Sunday:
I went to St Pauls Cathedral "Matin" this morning at 10am. It is VERY beautiful. I love the golden domes. Then I went to the National Portraits Gallery to kill some time and be warm :) It was very cool to see all the portraits of royalty and also some modern works. The "live" portrait of David Beckham was very interesting :)

I then went to join my group for church in the Hyde Park ward in South Kensington.
After Sacrament I got back on the tube to go to Westminster Abby for Evensong. It was very different inside, but also beautiful. All the tombs & memorials were very intriguing and some what strange to me. I also saw Isaac Newtons tomb.
Later I went back to S. Kensington and they were having a "Munch & Mingle" until the Fireside. I saw Odile Kidd and chatted with her. I met a guy, Ryan from Zimbabwe, and Ryan from Pretoria (who joined the church here in London a few years ago).

Then at the Ward Fireside I saw Grover, Megan & a bunch of other students from BYU who were on study abroad. I also saw John they guy behind me on the airplane from Texas to London & John from my singing class. He has a great voice. He was with the BYU Chamber Orchestra and they played a few pieces. President Samuelson (of BYU) was visiting and spoke, as did his wife. I was a great day and perfect way to end the week.

2006-05-12T00:12:00.001+01:00

DAY TEN & ELEVEN:
Research, Research, Research. BUSY, BUSY, BUSY....

Today four of us went from Victoria to Lingfield to the Temple. It was such a beautiful day. I LOVE how green England is. They are renevating so the view of the temple is obscured, but I took great pictures of the ground. We also had a great lunch at the cafeteria, and I met another South African at the Distribution Center.

Visited the British Library again, I love the 3D "library stax" and glass window of books mural.
I also found out about the YHA hostels in the UK, it may be a possibility for housing? We leave Kew on Tuesday for Preston! WOW, this trip is going fast. Tomorrow is a big tour day!

2006-05-09T21:40:00.000+01:00

DAY NINE:
Today I reseached at the beautiful BRITISH LIBRARY. They had those cute little desks with lights like you see on the movies etc with people facing each other. I found some things on South Africa, but mainly spent time becoming accustomed to the library.

I also went to their exibition and saw a great Stamp Collection, including early S. African stamps. I also saw the Guttenburg Bible and many other old and religious texts and memorabilia of old famous people and ancient maps and books.

Afterwards, I went down to Earls Court to look for the OVC (Overseas Visitors Club). It was really hard to find and after wandering for an hour, I found it, but it is closing down this week I hear.

I feel like I've been here for a long time, I know the bus system with out a map and do things almost like a native now :)

2006-05-08T23:51:00.000+01:00

DAY EIGHT:
Rained all morning so we went to the archive to do research instead of going on the Bus Tour.
Tonight however, we went into London to Leister Square to see Mary Poppins. It was great. The special effects and stage were magnificent. I love Broadway here, the quality is really high.
Those attending with me: Kellie Scherbel, Mark Morgan, Kari Zeller, Marissa Snyder and Emily Gurr. We had great fun on the tube too and I finished the Da Vinci Code.

2006-05-08T00:15:00.000+01:00

DAY SIX & SEVEN:

Saturaday after the archives and our "Behind the Scenes" Tour, we headed out in the rain to Leicester Square again to try get in to see Mary Poppins. We couldn't get in there, but we desided to book tickets for Monday instead. We then desided to try our luck at getting into Les Miserables. Most of the tickets were gone, but then the ticket sales guy said if we could show proof of Student ID's then we could get the 54 pound seats for 20! We did, and then show was AMAZING! Jeanval Jean was great, and so was Fontine and Eponine. I LOVE the music. I remember singing it in Choir. May favorite songs would have to be "I dreamed a dream" and all the character versions of "On my Own" and "God on High".

Oh highlight, ordering MacDonalds in a pirate voice on a bet with a cute tatooed English boy - I did it and he paid for my Md Flurry! :)

Today, we all 11 of us, took the train to Cambride. It was an hour away and we took the Cab to church from the Station. It was 6 pounds for like a 5 minute ride, but luckily we could share the fare 4 ways.

After church we walked around (in the rain again!) the different colleges and took pictures, and Dr. Doxey told us the history behind the place from her knowledge of when she did her Masters there. We went to Key College Chapel and we went to Evensong at Kings College.
Afterward we went to her friends home for dinner. It was a great day.
Highlight: Met some great people- Witty William the historian/missionary/racing driver Brit from Ireland, and Rebecca the Chemist, and three South Africans one of which was Dean Cunningham (Mark Cunninghams brother).

2006-05-06T00:36:00.000+01:00

DAY 4 & 5:

We've maily been in the archives doing research the last two days, but I have learned alot.

Last night we all went out for supper. I mistakingly ordered a burger instead of a steak, but it was probably the best burger I have ever had. Nevertheless, I am not a fan of British food :(
Tonight we went into London again and almost went to see Shakespeare at the Globe, but desided contrary. We then went down to Picadilly Square again & Leister Square to do some investigation on musicals and movies. Movies are almost 10 pounds here!!! Holy Cow, that is alot of money, so we gave it a miss, but we will go see Mary Poppins soon.

We also went to the Hyde Park singles dance. It was alot of fun, but really hot & sweaty :) I loved the techno music and there were some cute guys around. All in all a fun evening.

2006-05-03T23:45:00.000+01:00

DAY THREE!

1. Thames: Kellie & I went running along the Thames this morning at 7AM, but it seemed much later. It gets light early here, tomorrow we're gonna wake up earlier.

2. Driving: People drive really FAST here and the roads are really narrow sometimes it looks as if you're on a one-way, but really you just have to make way for people!!! CRAZY :)

3. The National Archives: First day at the archives. Its huge and highly securitized! We had a tour, got our 3 year reader tickets and a table in the reading room. Good stuff!!!

4: Green Park: After a day of research we headed out for town we didn't hit Hyde Park today, but Green Park was beautiful. I love how many parks there are around here. They are huge too!

5: Buckingham Palace: This was cool to see, except I was hoping for the red guards to be outside the gates for a pictures, but there were only guards in black uniforms outside the castle itself, not outside the gate. I liked the memorial for Queen Victoria, in from, too. I think I saw Prince William smiling at me from the top window...oops wait I think that was my dream last nigh! Never mind :)

6: Picadilly Circus: Londons version of Times Square. We may come back here to get tickets to see one of the MANY musicals they have running here.

7: Kings Court & 9 3/4 Platform: Harry, my trolley!

2006-05-02T23:01:00.000+01:00

DAY TWO:
I was given some advice that I should do highlights of this trip so you can see in a few seconds what up!

HIGHLIGHTS:

1. Arriving in Kew Gardens, Surrey:
This is the home of the National Archives of England where we will be staying for 2 weeks researching. It is a cute little town.

2. Getting lost in Richmond: I went for see where some of the other people in our group were living and see if they wanted to go sightseeing, but first I got lost and then they weren't there. SO basically I spent an hour or so wondering... maybe that counts as exercise?

3. 2nd Bag Breakage: I broke the one handle on my bad on Sunday and the bottom stand today! Maybe the other handle will break on Wednesday? :) I think I may have to invent suitcases you can slide down stairs or drag up? Anyine for a patent?

4. Rugby, Cricket, Netaball: I love that England has similar sports to S. Africa. I was nostalgic.

5. Putney Park: I went to Putney cause I heard someone talk about it long ago. There was a
beautiful park that I walked around. I love how green it is here!

6: Shopping: I went grocery shopping. You have to be careful cause things look cheap 99p or 50p (pence or cents) but multiply that by to get dollar or 10 for Rands! This money business is dumb! :)

7: Tube: I am getting use to the tube. The direction thing is a bit tricky, casue there are no Wasatch Mountains showing me east! Kellie brought this up tonight and I agree. With no landmark, the W/E things takes time.

8: Fish & Chips: Real fish and real slap chips- Yum. Again my theory or small or starter size is being confirmed. I didn't even really have supper as it was so filling!

9: Weather: I don't know what to wear. Its hot then cold, then looks like its gonna rain so I take a jacket, but NO.. its just the weird British weather. I may have to take Vitamin B soon!

10. Rose & Crown: Tonight we went to a Pub (to eat!). It was different but fun. Behind me is our Professor Sister Doxey then (moving right) Kari Zeller, Kellie Sherbel, Mark Mogan and Marissa Snyder.

2006-05-01T21:25:00.000+01:00

DAY ONE:

After a quick nap and a shower, Emily Butler, Brooke Cheesman and I headed for the town. We walked about 6 miles today - one of the girls has a pedometer :)
We saw the Tower Castle, Tower Bridge, London Bridge, St Pauls Catherdral, Notting Hill (even some cute secluded gardens) and we went the the YSA FHE in Kensington at the Hyde. We were BUSY!

I told Emily while we were walking that I wouldn't be surprised if I bumped into someone I knew as there as so many S. Africans in England, and then "waar wragties" I see StJohn Holloway (from Zim who served in Capw Town) ironically we were on exactly the same tube for like 2 minutes before they were moving on to Africa- what are the chances?
Oh and there is a shop here called Mark's and John's - its EXACTLY like Woolworths Food. If I hadn't seen the name I would have sworn it was good old Woolies.

While things are expensive here, the food is good and the sizes fair.
I got a great starter (bruscetta) for supper for £4.00 and it was delicious and sufficient.
Oh and the transportation system is wonderful. You have so much freedom even without a car! You just buy a pass and slide it into the machines when you enter and exit, and voila! It is fast, efficient and reliable.

2006-05-01T11:50:00.000+01:00

I'M IN LONDON!!!
Well my journey to Huston, Texas was a quicky: a 2 and a half hour flight and a 3 hour layover,
just enough time to grab lunch, call the family and begin reading - The DA VINCI CODE:
P.S. it is really exciting!!! :)
Anyway, in some kind of miracle I had all three seats to myself on the Huston-London flight! So, I could lie die down and stretch my legs. It was wonderful and all for the price of an economy ticket! I am used to flying Delta and SAA, but I was impressed by Continentla, but South African Airwats ironically has the best entertainment system I have seen. Personal screens with the option of MANY movies and shows and you can watche them WHENEVER you want.
I arrived in Gatwick at 6.30AM (11PM SLC time)
It is overcast in London today, but just before we landed I got a glimpes of this beautiful county. It is so green and definitly different, and I love that they also drive on the left hand side!
I was able to clear customs and get my bags with no problems :) and then I made my way to Victoria Station (I got the ticket and a full day tube pass for only £10 on Southern.!The Gatwick Express is £14 and I would have had to still get a £5 day pass later, so was glad to have saved a few pounds). At Victora Station I got a special student travelling card that I get 30% of all train fares for a year for only £20. This will defintly pay itself off with the long distance rides I'll be doing.
I took a couple snap shots in the street of the black cads and the big red busses, and then began dragging my bads again up and downstairs to get to my place of residence for the evening UPTON PARK. I am staying with a lovely little old lady, and using the internet cafe across the street to type this.

I ca already see that even though I tried to pack as light as possible, carrying bags around like I did today on the trains is not an easy task. It seemed easy enough in my mind, but reality is always a wake up call, so I am glad to have a place to rest for the day.

Tomorrow, I am off to Kew. I'll met up with my friend Kellie and a few others on this trip and then we will do a little sightseeing. For the rest of the week we will be doing research in the National Archives of England. Then the 10 of us and our professor are off to Lancashire/Preston/Liverpool for a week of history!!!

I am excited for this oppertunity and can't wait to experience all tha this place has to offer.

2006-04-29T19:26:00.000+01:00

THE DAY BEFORE TOMORROW:
While travelling internationally is fun and exciting the preparations for it are far from thrilling.
The reality is that it takes a large amount of time to planning and getting ready for such an endeavor. Furthermore, travelling to your destination can be difficult if y0u are not prepared. Things that have helped me are:

1. Start thinking about your trip, if at all possible, months in advance and start a list of things in a book or somewhere safer than the back of a receipt or and old kleenex, so that when you think of some random thing, while showering, brushing your teeth or riding the bus that you have some place dedicated to write it down.

2. Set up a preliminary itinerary and budget sheet in excel so that it is easily editable, and keep it updated as the time comes closer. This is then easily printed or emailed.

3. Start shopping around for good airfares or transport deals and getany medical check ups, long in advance as to avoid any unnesessary surprises later.

4. Check online to see if you need a visa or other special documents when travelling to your destination country . If you so then contact the appropriate places and book an appointment as soon as you can, if you dont you may have a LONG wait, which could potentially hamper your plans. Make sure you read ALL the requirements CAREFULLY before applying, if in doubt ask someone in a travel agency or call the consolate.

5. Pack as LITTLE as possible it helps having a smaller suitcase. Then last thing you want to do is drag a bunch of JUNK (that you're really not going to use more than once) across the world. LESS is definitly MORE in this circumstance - TRUST ME! If not grab a suitcase throw some books in it to make it heavy and walk down your street and then imagine...

6. Make back up scans or copies of all important documents and email them to yourself or give them to co-travellors or leave copies with realtives, just incase, you never know WHAT could happen.

7. Go EARLY to the airport, it may mean you wastse an hour or so, but it sure beats running to the terminal and almost having a heart attack. When possible get to your gate an hour before take off. That way not matter what happens, even if you fall asleep, you are right there!!!

8. Call your bank and make sure you know WHAT to do if your card is lost or stolen. Imagine what it would be like being in a foreign country with no access to any monay. BE PREPARED!

9. Be smart with your hand luggage. I like to pretend it is an overnight bag, pretend you are sleeping out somewhere, so what kinds of things would you need. It sucks if you are on a long flight with multiple transfers and you can't wash your face or brush your teeth for 2 days.

10. Make sure you have emergency phone numbers and other important contact details on your person or in your hand luggage. Again be ready for ANYTHING.

11. Take sleeping pills and noise cancelling headphones. Lets just say that economy seats are like sardines in a tin can - its squishy. Sleeping at least for me is difficult in the vertical or verticl with a 2-inch recline is difficult. Make sure you ONLY take a pill you are used to and give your self enough time for it to wear off. While noise cancelling headphones are pricy, they are a worthy investment into your own travel sanity, especially if there are a bunch of kids on the plane - and there always is a crying baby for some reason!

12. Don't eat alot while flying, but drink ALOT of WATER. Warning apple juice keeps you awake! And get up when ever possible to stretch and move your legs.

These are just a few tips. There are MANY more, but certain things you only learn once you experience them.

GOOD LUCK & ENJOY!

2006-04-29T18:08:00.000+01:00

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