Things I Miss About Home

I did not give myself this much credit.  I expected by this time in my trip, that I would be longing to come home.  I am far from that point.  If I could stay here a few months more, I would be very happy.  But I have begun to miss somethings I can only get at home.  These are not (at least now anyway) things I think about constantly, or are willing to come home for.  I just slightly miss them.

Just a forewarning, that most of the things I miss happen to be cuisine-related.  If there were all of the foods I like of home, I think this place might have everything.

• Macaroni and Cheese (Kraft and Outback's; not homemade)
• My self-serve frozen yogurt shop back at home
• American Cheese
• Soft and salted pretzels.  The pretzels at the mall here have NOTHING on those back at home.
• My movies.  YouTube only has so much, and not the newer movies I am longing to see again.
• Less rain.  Rain is good and all, but I am tired of looking out on a beautiful day, and wondering how long it will be until it rains again.
• Dunkin Donuts.  Apparently America really does run on Dunkin.  I don't even have it that much, and yet whenever I see a doughnut shop, I want a chocolate doughnut from Dunkin.
• The currency.  I am used to the pound now, but it still hurts to think about how much I am losing by the exchange rate.  If I was earning the pound and spending it here, that would be different.
• Buffalo wings
• Wal-Mart.  All of the stores I like actually.  Wal-Mart has everything you could need, in one spot, for low prices (no, they are in no way sponsoring this post).  Here, you have to do more price checking at other places before you buy.  You also really can't find everything on your list in one place.  Even if you do, you have to carry it all the way back to your place.
• Free laundry.  It will be so nice to not have to pay $8 every time I want clean underwear...but now that I said that, I probably planted the idea in my parents' heads...

These are just minor things I look forward to when I do return. They will make transitioning from here to home easier.

Just a Note to anyone I know personally

     This is mainly for anyone associated with my school back at home, but may extend to others I try to contact.


     For some reason I cannot log into my school account or email some people who have the .edu addresses.  Apparently my school has a pretty good firewall, as it has marked me as spam based on my location.  


     If you need to contact me and haven't heard back, leave a message on this or any post.


     Thank you for your patience.

The 4th of July

     This week was the 4th of July.  If you are in America, that is a big deal - Independence Day!  If you are in any of the other countries of the world, it is just another day of the year.

     Being in England for the 4th was...different.  I felt weird from the start, just because most of me wanted to celebrate this day, while the rest of me was thinking "is it really the best or most logical idea to celebrate your independence from the country you have willingly and enthusiastically chosen to be a part of this summer?"

     But once I stopped talking to myself, I decided to embrace the day however it came.  My friend and I started out heading for Baker Street, where the famous Sherlock Holmes "lived."  We then ate all of the American food we could lay our hands on, which ended up being ice cream and fries at McDonalds.  We then came across a shop selling "Foods of America." What did they sell?  Bacon popcorn and NO macaroni and cheese.  Just saying, that someone is not doing their research.

The Sherlock Hotel on Baker Street

     What was the most memorable experience of the day, was we took a walk passed the American Embassy.  The whole day did not feel like the 4th, so we wanted to see some American soil.

     It was nice.

     It was nice to see the flag again (properly displayed).

     It was nice to see the flags of the 50 states waving out front.

     It was nice to see the US Seal again.

     It was nice to see that outside of the embassy, there is a park dedicated to the victims of 9/11, surrounded by statues of our presidents.

     It was a surreal experience.  To us, a 9/11 memorial is nothing to be surprised by.  But in England?  It was very touching and moving.  You walk into the park, and all of the noises of the surrounding city seem to dissolve.  For a moment, you almost forget where you are.  This was a much welcomed feeling during our misplaced 4th of July.  I would say it was a successful day indeed.

  

Some Things I Don't Like About London

I love it here, but I need to get a few things that irritate me off of my chest:

• It rains.  A lot.
• So many places close early.  Sometimes I want to go out at 7 pm, but there is nothing to do.
• The money.  The  £1 and  £2 are coins, with the smallest bill ("note") being the five[r].  That is added coinage I would rather not deal with.  And on top of that, the notes are not even the same size.  As if keeping a wallet organized with all of the extra coins was not enough of a challenge, the notes don't even line up properly.
• The cinema is much more expensive than back home.  The cheapest ticket I have found so far, was  £7.50 (and it was a student discount).  It is not unheard of for the price to be closer to  £14 or more.  At times like this, I miss $5 Tuesdays at my local cinema.

Buckingham Palace

     Today I visited the State Rooms at Buckingham Palace.  It was an experience.  Unfortunately you are not allowed to take pictures inside of the palace, but you can take them outside.  I found it interesting that you had the option of upgrading your ticket to a one year unlimited pass for free.  So I may return this week to see it again, as the palace is only open for one week while I'm here.

So maybe these photos aren't all that different from what I took yesterday.  

The Queen Victoria Memorial.

Waiting to go inside, with my tour book and ticket.

The back of the Palace.

The back garden.