SURPRISE!!!

I know...most of you needed to be seated when you heard I posted, yet again, in the middle of the week!!  What has my life come to that I post so regularly?!!?  Who knows, but for my family reading this out there I know they appreciate it!

So the big surprise for this mid week post is that I've changed up the theme and color scheme of my blog! ....wait, that wasn't exciting for you?  And now you're wondering why you were even friends with me in the first place; someone who got so excited over the simple fact of changing a picture and the color of my posts??  Well I did, and out of all the crazy things you have all been around me for, something as little as this shouldn't have changed your mind...so ha!  Turns out you are/do want to be friends with an easily amused color and picture blog changer...girl...thingy...person!

Wow...that kind of got away from me there.  On a brighter note, I have fun things to write about that aren't school related! Yay!!  I went to the Zoo and the Imperial War Museum on my day off today!

I do have to admit I am pretty impressed with the London Zoo...I thought it would be like any old zoo!  In some respects it was-they have a reptile house, an aquarium, monkeys, giraffes, lions, etc.  The thing that impressed me most I guess was the amount of effort that went into each exhibit.  There was a building for rain forest animals and when you walk through the doors and past the plastic partitions you were immediately drenched in sweat/moisture because they simulated the environment so well.  It's something you will have to go experience for yourself because I'm not sure how else to describe it other than awesome! 

The best part was getting to see animals up close and personal that I might never want/need to again!  I was in a monkey section where there was no glass between myself and the little critters-they jumped on your shoulder like it was no big deal!  Monkeys!!  (the little cute ones, not the big scary ones!)  I was in the aviary with all the noisy birds, rounded a corner and on the railing was this huge peacock that looked as startled as I felt!  I've never been so amazed with nature, or so humble about my humanity as when I go to a place that embraces the whole of nature's goods.  I do feel the need to mention that I did witness a couple of otters in the midst of...procreation-again up close and personal.  For my older, more understanding but still shocked eyes it was something to laugh about in a bit of embarrassment and nervousness...for the underdeveloped and innocent eyes of the small child next to me, well...let's just say I'm glad I wasn't her mother today and it was only a pair of otters!!

After my excursion at the Zoo I met up with Sierra at the Imperial War Museum.  (For all of you who are friends with me on Facebook, I've put up an album of what I did today so feel free to check it out!)  Every time I'm explore uncharted territory I feel like I've been transported to a different city-kind of like a suburb in the city.  When I arrived at the museum, I got this sense of how old this country really is, almost like the ground around it was laughing at how young my foot steps were compared to the ones that came before me.  I will have to go back again sometime to see the rest of the museum as I had one focus today-the Holocaust exhibition.

We spent around 2 1/2 hours in one exhibition alone and could have spent more if we both hadn't been so tired.  I have been thinking all night about how to describe this exhibition and the wonders it holds, and I can't come up with the right combination of words to tell you how amazing it really is.  I was affected emotionally on so many levels that my head was spinning, but I couldn't stop looking or reading, soaking up everything they had to offer.  When you read about this kind of stuff, or see it on TV it doesn't have the same kind of impact that an exhibition like this does.  I was literally inches away from concentration camp uniforms, from the yellow stars Jews were made to wear on their clothing.  I could touch parts of the railway carts they were transported in, and the wheel barrow they used to collect the dead bodies.  It sent chills up my spine and put a stamp of reality on everything I had read or seen before about this horrible time in history. 

I am planning a trip to Germany and will spend the time (and money) to see the museums and go to Auschwitz in person.  I think it's important everyone take the opportunity to go see history in the places the books can't describe.  For all the good things we have going on in the US and the UK, compared to the horror our ancestors had to deal with a short time ago, we need a reality check on the worries and things we complain about on a day to day basis. 

I'll step down off my soap box now and tell you guys that fall in London is beautiful!!  The leaves are changing and the weather is brisk but not too cold just yet.  It makes me think of when I was younger and this time of year was spent fund raising for this, that and the other,  planning holiday get-togethers and thinking about decorating for Christmas.  More specifically, I think about selling cookie dough and candles which I always wanted to buy crazy loads of but never could make my parents see eye to eye with me!  I love exploring new areas and searching for the beauty that others might ignore, just to remind myself of how lucky I am to be here.

With that in mind, I have class at 8am tomorrow so it's bed time for me!  Look for more pictures and another post this weekend!  Until then, my advice to you this week is to search for the beauty in things you see every day, and maybe think before you complain about something small this week!

Love from London!