Goodbye London (August 3)

So today was my last day in London and I am really sad about it. My time here as been amazing and I have learned so much about this culture and also about the English language in general. I took my two finals today and did really well on both of them. I came into the classes nervous and to be honest, not really looking forward to the class work. Linguistics is not a topic that comes naturally to me and I knew very little about it. I was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to do as well as I wanted to. However by the end of the class I feel like I really did learn so much. It has been a great learning experience to get out of my comfort zone and study something that I wouldn’t normally study. The topics turned out to be extremely fascinating to me and I feel like I was able to really take it all in. Outside of class I feel like I have learned a lot also. When I first got here I felt small and insecure, afraid to be on my own in such a large city. But by the end of the fourth week here I feel accomplished, like I can handle anything. I know my way around, I am confident in a large city by myself and even though I have realized that I prefer the country to the city I do think that it would be a good experience to live in a large city for a few years. I feel like I have been able to see so much in the small amount of time that I have been here. Looking back, I feel like I saw everything that I really wanted to see and then more.
Our last day here was a beautiful one. There was not a cloud in the sky and the temperature was perfect. I went for my last run in Hyde Park this morning and it was so rejuvenating. After class I came back and packed and then went shopping with Sarie. We bought a few last minute souvenirs and then we went over to Westminster Abbey for Evensong. Daily worship has taken place in Westminster for over 1,000 years. Evensong is a service performed each night that is mostly sung and follows very closely with the 1549 original Book of Common Prayer. Tonight the choir that sang was from Indianapolis and was a group of young boys. The music was really beautiful, especially when it echoed throughout the chapel. However it was really interesting to be able to go to the temple earlier this week and see the stark differences between the two churches. There is no comparison to the feeling that you get when in the celestial room, and it was definitely not the feeling that I felt during tonight’s service.
After evensong, all of my friends and I went back to my favorite vegetarian restaurant for one last dinner. I had the same exact thing as last time because it was so amazing. Then Kenzie, Sarie and I all went to ride the London Eye as the sun was setting. It was a perfect day for it. The city lights looked so cool and I loved being able to look across the city and recognize all of the places that we have been. We snapped some great pictures, had a ton of fun and then headed back to finish packing. I think it’s going to be a long night tonight but we have a long time to sleep on the bus tomorrow.
Off to Scotland we go!