The Queen and the Eternal Sneeze

-Where in the World is Shay?-

Let me start this episode off by giving a shout out to my boy S.Crosby for going to the Stanley Cup Finals once again, and this time coming out a man. Spot on.

Welcome back, yet again, to the past few days in my world. As the blissfulness of France slowly dwindled away and classes yanked me back into reality, there was still the weekend that I was striving for. This past weekend? London. With the rain drops strumming on my window after a feet numbing day of working for Oxfam, let me dive back into my thoughts and paint the picture as best I can.

Saturday, a group of about 12 of us headed to London for the day. With the stereotypical thoughts of guards with funny hats and big red double decker buses in mind, we boarded the subway to the Queens land. Upon arrival, we walked out of the subway...and into a parade full of horses and guards. Being the adventurous and curious students that we were, we followed the parade down the street. We had planned on stopping at Buckingham Palace first and realized that we didnt really have a choice. The streets were packed. What for? The Queens birthday. Not only had we stumbled upon Obama in France, we came to London on a whim and at the right time popped up right in the middle of the Queens celebration. Im making a trip to Rome this next weekend, I hope the Pope will be around.
After millions of pictures, dangling over fences and trying to get the girls a better view, we made our way to Westminister Abbey for 'ol Big Ben. Seeing sights like this and the London bridge were not only breath taking, but applicable. We see these sights in movies like Shanghai Knights but we think to ourselves "How great it would be to see that in person?". What a blessing it has been to be able to travel to these monumental sites and use past knowledge to apply the true meaning behind them.
The rest of the day was spent eating lots of incredible ice cream, (like the Tiramisu flavor I got. it was as if the actual desert was in my mouth, simply cold. Incredible!), waiting for girls to finish hours upon hours of shopping, visiting Harrods (where Prince Charles buys his clothes. Also packed with a chocolate shop. There was a dessert there for $7000.), and me sneezing for 10 straight hours. It must have been all the fuzzy hats.

After a packed subway ride home and being stranded for an additional 45 minutes at the bus station, we dragged out feet home and crawled up the stairs into bed, literally.

Sunday, I was able to experience an incredible church service at St. Aldates Church here in Oxford. The people were welcoming and the worship was a blessing to hear. Its comforting to go to a church that isnt your home and still feel welcomed. The rest of Sunday was spent taking a nap, doing laundry and going for a jog in University Park. That night, the Morgans planned a special devotional time dedicated to reflecting on Normandy. Looking back at being on the beach and in the rain, the eerie feeling of being surrounded by the war still lingered in my mind. Normandy will forever leave an impression in my life.

Today, my group which is doing analysis for improved communication for Oxfam, went to Reading, England to a music and book shop run by Oxfam. We were able to get a better understanding of how the shop managers and volunteers communicate with one another. Using this data, we are compiling a report and presentation to present Oxfam with our results. Tiring, but satisfying.

My fingers and eyelids are heavy and my stomach is making sounds that rival Shadows snoring at night, so I'm going to grab a bite to eat. Once again, I hope you have enjoyed sharing this experience with me. Although I can't substitute being your eyes, I hope I have been able to paint a picture clear enough for your minds eye. Here is whats coming up:

Wednesday- Lloyds of London (Famous insurance company that insures things like famous people's hands/legs.)
Friday- Depart for Rome for two days and Venice for two days.

And so hobey ho, and off we go
-Shay