LIvin' English

SOOOO... I fully recognize that I'm the worst blogger ever...

and I fully apologize, so hopefully this post confirms my existence in Cambridge:)

Cambridge is simply marvelous. And I don't say that phrase lightly. It truly is simple--there's so much character, people just exist and smile and are polite, and no one really worries about anything... (which results in CRAZY driving/biking--you won't get hit by a car, rather it's those crazy cyclists!) And in terms of Cambridge being marvelous, I truly MARVEL at something everyday. I never realized beforehand what a privilege it is to marvel at something. Marveling fills your soul with warmth and fulfillment. I literally am edified and fed by the goodness here. I walk home from school everyday, Thanksgiving full with sighs and memories.

ANDDDDDD now, to recap. My past two weeks have been so so wondrous. And so so busy. (thus my poor Camby blog was backburnered...)

Some highlights:

Dr. Kerry (our BYU program director and Cambridge professor) hooked us BYU kids up and we were so so privileged enough to have a Family Home Evening in Kings' College Chapel where we had a testimony meeting and sang hymns. Look for yourselves at the beauty of this place! Most renowned choirs don't ever even get the opportunity to sing here, and we sang HYMNS!

(the inside)

                                                             (the outside)

Anyway, it was one of the most monumental moments of my life. Testifying of my Savior in a building so divinely reserved with phenomenal people in such a special place spoke sweetly to my heart:)

Formal Halls are a big BIG deal here. Let me give you a verby play-by-play of a formal hall. Do hair. Fancy make-up. Slip on dress. Fix hair. Strap on heels. Wobble on heels to drinks on the lawn. Sip on fancy apple juice while errybody clinks to champagne. Talk about intellectual things. Take pictures. Wobble to dining hall. Adjust eyes to candlelight. Sit down. Scoot chair in. Flip over the wine and champagne glasses and coffee cups so you don't accidentally get served unwanted beverages. Listen to a Latin Grace. Wait to be served on the left NOT the right. Eat 5 courses while getting to know dear people sitting around you. Digest. Inhale the delicious chocolate mints after.

basically. I love the whole thing. It's the whole nine. I take any chance I can to dress up and fancify myself as I try to up my class! I actually went to TWO formals just last week alone... which was a bit much.... however, I'd be lying if I told you I didn't absolutely LOVE it.

Here, do enjoy some pictures from my latest formal!

(sorry about the bad lighting! this was afterwards!)

(pictures are STRONGLY discouraged during the dinner... so my sweet roomate Mary Elizabeth---the one right next to me-- snuck one real fast!)

Another highlight is our late night runs. There's a group of four or five us that run no earlier than 10:30 for no less than four miles! Mercy, do you get to experience and explore so much more of Cambridge than usual! Last week, we had the coolest experience on our run! We were on our last half mile and Jenessa dropped her room key/food card... and we were all kinda freaking out/looking errywhere. We were right next to this swamp, so if it had gone in there... all sorts of hope would've been lost! We decide to pray. Less than 30 seconds after our prayer, a sweet like 90 lb Cambridge young adult asked what we were looking for and if she could help. We told her of our woes, and literally within three seconds the delicious words, "Here it is," escaped her lips. We felt to remarkably blessed. I've like never had a prayer answered so wonderfully! Had she never come, we wouldn't have found it because we had checked that very spot thoroughly for like 10 minutes beforehand. She truly was an answer to prayers!

SOOO before this gets too terribly long, just a few things I remembered:
-if you ever get the chance to try Wagamama, GO THERE! It might just be a UK thing, I'm not sure, but I've had it in Cambridge and London now and everytime I go, I leave feeling so so fulfilled. Like after opening your stocking fulfilled!
-a pastry a day keeps the doctor away! (at least that's what I tell myself!)
-playing the ukulele in Cambridge feels AMAZING!

EXPLORE the aisles in the grocery store you've never ventured down before. Who knows? You might just find the gem of all undiscovered gems!

EMBRACE the assignments and reading you're given as learning materials that will further and advance your personal intellect as well as your academic experience. Otherwise, you're bound to shoo them away as a waste of time, when really, reading is good! I'm learning, day-by-day, bit-by-bit that schoolwork isn't a bad thing! Who knew?!

ENJOY the Spirit when it enters your heart. Goodness and divinity can be found in all sorts of people, places and experiences! I'm learning that as I venture into different cathedrals, gardens and buildings. The Spirit resides where goodness dwells and I love finding the Spirit in different places! I feel the Spirit when I'm interacting with different PKP students here! These students (from Yale, Harvard, Berkeley, UCLA, Northwestern, and other international schools) are capable, bright and engaging! They know how to communicate and how to listen! They're respectful and EVERYONE is interested in the BYU students and why we have this "light and kindness" about us... also why all of us are married so young or gettin' there! I love these people!

I'm taking this opportunity to not only learn in my courses. But to learn anything at any chance I get. I'm learning how to appreciate nature and architecture. I'm learning how to try new things and enjoy my experience doing so. I'm learning how to explain my standards without coming across preachy. I'm learning how to be fascinated in cultures so amazingly different from my own. I'm learning how to love. I truly do adore the people I've met and consider myself eternally grateful and lucky for the sweet and short moments the Lord has granted me to learn from them!