blah, blah, blog

ready for some blah?

SHOPPING?
no. haven't had a chance. i'm really excited for it, though. i have been to the legendary mall, whitely's. i really want to blame my no-time-ness as a result of kitchen crew. it's an hour before & after dinner & then time in the mornings. i'm most looking forward to H&M--but i'm open for suggestions.

SPANISH, & YES, PORTUGUESE TOO
spanish/portuguese branch was great. so different from the utah church scene. but it was something else that proves that the gospel is different from church. it's also different from the hawaii church scene & indian reservation church scene that i experienced this past year. we'll probably work with the young women (we being michelle & i; the two that were assigned to that branch). it was a lot different from the spanish branch i attended last summer. everyone either speaks spanish, portuguese or english--whatever they're comfortable with, and then they can understand what everyone else speaks, so we all get along fine. the first counselor spoke to us forever about where we can help in the branch & how we need to always speak spanish even though everyone would understand our english. i like him. his daughter claudia was very nice to us too--she had an english accent with her latin look. how fun. the only bad part is that church is from 2-5pm--so i had to call & tell them i'd be late for kitchen crew. i was going to use the payphone just outside the chapel, but the only young man of the branch was out there about to leave on his scooter & he called to me, "hermana!" and let me borrow his cell phone. i'm now friends with "gustavo".

I'M STILL EXCITED FOR A MISSION
one of my 11 roommates opened her mission call yesterday--tokyo, japan. she'll have 10 days to prepare when she gets home after this. good luck, andrea dance. (i'm so excited for my call).

I SAW FRIDA ORIGINALS
the tate modern has been my favorite (or as they'd spell it here, favourite) museum so far. we crossed the millenial bridge, just built in 2000; a pedestrian bridge that crosses the river thames. we saw two shows--'open systems,' a contemporary exhibit. that one was so interesting; so thought-provoking; so controversial. all the 60's & 70's experimental & conceptual stuff. a lot of kids in the group said they hated it. there was an andy warhol peice--how fun to see the original! there was a lot of stuff that was a lot of deep thought, but there was also a lot of stuff that just came off as silly. art is huge. i was really struck by the frida kahlo exhibit, though. frida! i have seen the prints for so long & then all of the sudden i was in front of all of the originals! it was so overwhelming. i loved it & loved learning all about her life & the concepts behind her art. i loved it visually, & it there was so much behind each good-looking image. i could go on about that one. i'm glad i got to see it.

MUSIC SCENE IN LONDON
i was invited last-minute to go with 3 others to see rilo kiley play at the 'koko'- an amazing venue in camden town (or 'punk town', as it's called on the streets--i mean in the centre). i liked what i'd heard of them & it was a cheap price, so i took them up on the offer. it was fun to see camden town & all, but as we stood in line & they talked about hating the contemporary art exhibit we'd seen that day, i was regretting my choice. but that all changed when the bands began to play. the opening band was excellent, playing with a wide variety of instruments. as rilo kiley set up, these two girls pushed up next to us & we became friends. it was a 15-year-old that was super-into music, and her friend from australia. they were fun to talk to, and we ran into one of them again on the tube going home. rilo kiley put on a great show--they are excellent performers! they had quite the array of instruments playing with them, too. i enjoyed it, except the part when we left: the floor was covered in beer cans. what a difference from salt lake's bricks... or, 'in the venue'?

INDEPENDENCE DAY = SOCCER, I MEAN FOOTBALL
the fourth of july is not the same in the country we are celebrating independence from. i had a little american flag to wave, but it didn't quench my thirst for independence day festivities. monday was the first day of class--my class being the 'special projects' with joe ostraff--a bunch of conceptual art. i am really excited for the projects & i'll have to write about them as they are completed. class lasted until 12, i ate lunch & only had time for errands before having to be back for kitchen crew. i bought stamps at the post office; not something i could have done in the states. i got more acquainted with the city & that's good. but the best part of the day was our joint family home evening. the whole group walked to the park to play kick ball & ultimate frisbee. teams were chosen at random, but our team #1 was pure all-star. we won both games of kick-ball & i must brag to tell you that i kicked a home run for the winning point on one of those games. they bought american things for treats: candy bars, ice cream & chips--but they were all european versions. we sang the star spangled banner under our breath, does that count? of course, my favorite of all was playing soccer after that. about 20ish people stayed after for the match. the teams were random again, but i had such a good time. i always do. i have a few bruises & i got the bloodiest broken nail you'd ever see, but it was all well-worth it. no goalies & no out of bounds with guys and girls---that's always made for the best play. i still had some good runs, kicks & jumps in me!

TIFFANY CHESSIE OAKS
my roommate from last fall has been with a german-intensive study abroad program in austria. she was in london after attending a language and law conference & she found me in the park after my soccer game! it was great to talk to her & catch up on both sides. she's an amazing person & a great example. her grandfather happens to be elder dallin h. oaks, & i've always tried to stay off that subject since she probably gets the same kind of questions from so many people. but she brought him up because he & his wife were also in london & she was sure that she could arrange a lunch date with him the next day. i didn't get my hopes up, but i did come close to lunch with an apostle. {she can only call him through the church office building in salt lake, and it was the fourth of july so they were closed, and it would have been to late to call him the day-of}. maybe some day...

I'M A SLOW-POKE IN MUSEUMS
the V&A museum was the group trip for today. HUGE! everything was overwhelming. i spent nearly 5 hours looking at just 4 exhibits, and i felt rushed. i'll defenitley be going back because there were many shows i didn't see. the exhibits: british art & style: 1500-1900, cast courts (plaster casts of many famous works, including michelangelo's the david), raphael cartoons (paintings for tapestries), and a fashion exhibit. all were very interesting. megan k would have loved that show on fashion. it was kind of a history of fashion with suits for men & women & then all kinds of dresses through the ages. then the wardrobe of queen maude of norway was also shown. fabulous, overwhelming stuff. i walked home by myself on the route of the designated 'walk' from our walk book. i saw a home that charles dickens once lived in & enjoyed the time on my own. i got home to find a mess of yogurt on some of my stuff from the cup i'd packed for a lunch. how oliviating.

OFF TO OXFORD, BUT NOT FOR SCHOOL
tomorrow morning we go as an entire group for an overnight trip to oxford. i'm excited for it. there's more that i haven't written, but i've just been here too long. until next time, i'm out!