Every Moment is Magic.

Time certainly flies when you’re having fun! My plane took off almost a week ago, and it seems like I’ve hardly had time to blink. If I told you everything, I would write a whole book. However, I will do my best to give you an overview of the trip each week.

Wednesday, we left Waco around 3:00 p.m. I was already really tired from packing and getting everything set to go, so I slept for the very short flight to DFW. From DFW, we headed on a plane over the Atlantic (about 8 hours!). For those of you that haven’t traveled overseas, they almost always have in-flight movies you can watch. My best friend and I started one at the same time so that we could watch it together.

The next morning (around 9:30 in British time), I looked out the window to see my first view of England. I was completely overwhelmed. After dreaming of this for so long, it was finally here.

We spent the first day getting settled at the Warwick, finding the schools we would be working at, and resting.

Friday morning, we woke up and headed straight into London. I did have the full English breakfast, which, for the record, is made up of a sausage, bacon, a fried egg, beans, and a cooked tomato.

 We travelled into Waterloo station and learned to use the tube (or the underground) which is like our subways. We were all given a pass that would work on the tube for the whole month! As soon as we stepped out at our first station, I saw Big Ben staring down at me.

It was massive! As promised, I took a lot of pictures. Most of them I’ll show you when I get back. As we crossed the bridge nearest Parliament, we caught a glimpse of the London Eye and a man playing the bagpipes and wearing a kilt for Remembrance Day (bonus points to the first student who can tell Mrs. Gietzen what Remembrance Day is and send me an email!).

We sight-saw for most of the day and stopped by Convent Gardens, Westminster Abbey, and Buckingham Palace. Of course, along the way, we took the obligatory telephone booth photo. (Bonus points number 2: What does obligatory mean?)

After lunch, we went to the London Eye. For those of you who asked, I got a picture from the top!

Afterwards, for those of you girls who wrote me about shopping, we went to Harrod’s, which is the most famous shopping center in London. It was huge! There were nearly six floors and it was as big as any mall you’ve ever been to. Gabby, Olivia, Kendall, Hannah – you would have died.

The next morning, we headed out to Cardiff, Wales. Eubin, I loved your idea about the Lord Mayor’s Show, but it was my best friend’s birthday, and she wanted to go to the Doctor Who Experience! Doctor Who, for those of you who don’t know, is a science fiction show that travels through space and time. It’s her favorite show, and we were able to see the actual set for one of the biggest parts of the show – the TARDIS!

We also stopped into the Cardiff Library. I can’t go anywhere without stopping at the library! It was phenomenal. From the top floor, I could see the whole city. It was an especially exciting day in Cardiff because there was a rugby game (points to the first person who can explain rugby!)

Our last stops of the day were in Bute Park and Cardiff Castle. We were too late to visit the inside of the castle, but I got a few pictures from the outside! Bute Park goes all the way around Cardiff Castle. I hope you enjoy the shots I took!

Sunday we went in to see the National Gallery. Inside, there were paintings by artists throughout the ages. I spent a good amount of time looking up Titian’s work. You should try him! Monday, I visited The Tate Museum of Modern Art. I saw paintings by Picasso and Salvador Dali. It was amazing to see those works up close.

I also got to be in my school, St. Johns. They’re all getting ready for their Christmas program right now, so there’s a good deal of rehearsing going on. They sing carols and act out the nativity. I haven’t worked with the equivalent of fifth grade (Year 6) yet, but when I do, I’ll make sure they know how excited you all were to hear about them and hear from them! On Monday I was in a Year 5 class (4^th) and this morning I was in Year 2 (1^st grade).

I can’t wait to tell you all more about it! I miss you!