My stay in London is over and I have returned to every day life. It is a change coming home to my family and being “mom” again. I had a great time and I would encourage everyone to consider studying abroad for a term. One of the best parts of my trip was the wonderful ladies from WOU that I got to hang out with. Thank you Joleen, Jenna, Alexis, and Courtney for all the memories.

my trip to London has come to an end. I had a great time and learned a lot of new things. I made some great friends and got to know some old friend better. The trip was definitely worth the time and the money.

These are just a few of the wonderful people I met while in London.

As I look back over the last three and a half weeks, I can’t believe all the thing i have done and how much I am not going to get to do on this trip. I have made some amazing new friends and i have gotten to know my old friends so much better. Here is one of my adventures with some of my new friends.

My friends from WOU and I took a weekend trip to Edinburgh during our visit. They wanted to climb up a hill, but, as I was having ankle issues and decided that the climb would not be the best idea. I chose to go wander around Edinburgh and as it started to rain I ducked into the National Museum of Scotland. What I found was amazing. It was the first time I really wished my kids were with me. They would have loved the museum as much as I did. The animals are the most awe inspiring thing I have seen since I got here. They were so huge and life like. One of my sons is in love with ocean animals and I could just hear him telling me all the facts about the giant squid that was hanging from the ceiling. Or telling me all the different kinds of sharks and whales there where in the rooms. There was a room with giant rocks of all different shapes and sizes. I could picture all my kids climbing in the giant geode and wanting to get their pictures taken. But as much as I enjoyed and was amazed by the animals and rocks my favorite part of the trip was the elevator ride I took. I ran into some of the other girls in my study abroad program in the museum and after chatting for a few minutes we decided we wanted to go see the roof  terrace before the museum closed. So we hoped into the very full elevator. There were 9 floors ranging from -1 all the way up to 7. We got on at the ground floor and we ended up stopping on every floor all the way up and each time we stopped the whole group would groan and make some kind of comment. We were all laughing and groaning about the stops by the time we got to the top. As the doors opened on the seventh floor we were told that the roof terrace was closed and we would all have to go back down. We didn’t know whether to laugh or to cry. We all cheered when we got back down to the ground floor.

This experience is one that I will never forget and those girls are ones that I will keep in contact with for many years to come.

So, I have finished my second week here in London. It has had its ups and down. On the plus side I got to travel to Scotland this last weekend and I got to see the beauty that it holds. I finally got to ride on a open air double-decker bus. I took a tour of Scotland while sitting on the top of the bus. It was really nice not to have to take pictures through a window.

I climbed a hill called The Tor. it is a 518 foot hill and the climb is almost vertical, but I made it to the top and the view was well worth the climb.

I have made some really great new friends, many of whom I am already Facebook friends with. they are the kind of people that I know I will keep in touch with for a very long time.

On the down side, I learned that even with all its benefits, the train transportation isn’t always the best. I was stuck on the train for an extra 2 1/2 hours on my way back from Scotland due to electrical problems. 2 1/2 hours is a long time when you can’t really get up to move, there are screaming kids, and no bathrooms. But I made it back in one piece. Then, while changing lines on the tube some one stole my plug adapter out of my back-pack. they aren’t kidding when they say watch your stuff carefully on the platform.

All in all it has been a great trip. I have learned a lot and see a lot and I still have two more weeks to go!

I just finished my first week in London and I can’t believe how much I have already see and done. I have now seen a real castle. This week one of our filed trips was to Warwick Castle. It is build on the sight of the original castle, though it is much more modern and well built. Inside the castle is a display of life in the castle through the ages. You get to see suit of armor and other weapons as well as pianos and decorative chandlers. You can also visit the dungeon and climb on of the towers to get a birds eye view of the castle and its grounds.

I am so excited! I leave for London tomorrow. This is my first trip out of the country. I am a bit nerves and very happy that I am travailing with friends.