Sami Sorensen : First Few Days in London

London has been such a blur so far. I left New York at 7 am on Saturday morning, flew for 6 hours, and then arrived in London at 7 pm that night. I lost my whole day! The flight was awesome though because there was no one on it. I got a whole row of 4 seats all to myself. I was super cozy. I arrived in London, found my driver, and took my car to my new flat. It is in South Kensington. I guess it is the super ritzy part of London, kind of similar to Beverly Hills. It is so nice. When I arrived I was shown my room and I met my roommates. I am actually pretty lucky because I got one of the bigger rooms. My roommates are really cool too so I got lucky there also. First things first, I had to run to the grocery store to buy some food for Sunday. Jacqueline and I walked down the street to a little express grocery store so I could have at least a little bit of food for the next day. I remember smelling all the new smells, seeing all the new building and shops, and feeling so charged. Like there was an excitement inside of me that couldn’t wait to get out. I have noticed that London is not like New York. It is in ways but it isn’t. I was relieved that outside of my flat wasn’t a times square, but instead a cute little neighborhood. There is just a different feel here.

The next morning I woke up and went to church. The LDS church is just right down the street from where we are staying. We had to split the girls in half so we didn’t overwhelm the ward but even then we still made up over half the Relief Society. Everyone was so excited to meet the new BYU girls though. There were even two couples in the ward that I didn’t know but I had recognized and knew they went to BYU previously. Then in sacrament the whole BYU business study abroad program decided to go to my ward too! I recognized some on the faces from my ward back home. I can’t believe I still run into people I know all the way over here in London! Such a small world. Especially the Mormon world. Later that night a group of us decided to explore the town. We live about half a mile away from Harrods and all those fun shops in London. We walked down there with a group of about 12 of us. I got to know some of the girls better and they are so much fun! We ended up going to a crepe place called Kensington Crepes. They had a buckwheat crepe (which is gluten free) and I just chose dairy free toppings to go on top. It was awesome! I was so excited I got to sit and join all my friends while eating a crepe. Eating delectable crepes, seeing Harrods all glowing with lights, and hanging out with my new friends was such a good feeling.

The next day we started classes. 9-12 in the morning. Now normally this wouldn’t be that bad, but I had extreme jet lag and it was very difficult to stay awake. Overall classes went well and I even learned how to write a sonnet, just like Shakespeare! After class we got assigned our new FHE groups and my group decided to meet right after class instead of later that night. We walked around and got lunch and then went to Hyde Park to eat and enjoy each other’s company. While sitting there in Hyde Park I kept seeing people with Whole Foods grocery bags pass by. Of course, I got super excited. Whole Foods is like a toy/candy store for me! I love that place! So after FHE I looked up where Whole Foods was and it was literally right around the corner. I was in heaven for a second. I got all new gluten free/dairy free foods to try and so far they have all been super yummy. After Whole Foods and FHE it was time to run into town to go pick up tickets for Wicked! There was a group of girls going later that night so of course I joined in. Wicked was AMAZING! I swear that play gets better and better each time I see it. I think the British accents just topped it off and made it that much better. I had such a magical feeling watching that play that night. When Broadway plays end I always feel so energized. It makes me want to go do something good for the world and dance and sing down the streets! I met lots of fun girls that night as well. I am so excited for all of my new friends!

Today was not quite as exciting. I had class in the morning and then I went to an exhibit that I have to write a paper on. After that I came back, took a nap (because I cant ever sleep and I am exhausted), then I did some homework. After that I decided to hit the town for a little while with my roommate Hailee. I needed some essentials like a towel, blow dryer, paper, etc. We walked around for a little over 2 hours just exploring and getting the things we needed. It was a lot of fun! Now tomorrow we are taking a day trip and going to go see Stratford Upon Avon. It is an all day trip! I am excited to see all of the new and exciting places!