Overwhelmed with the abundance of it all (in a completely fantastic way)

Happy Day at the Olympic 2012 Stadium

I must gush on enthusiastically.  I think it is just going to explode out of me!  I apologize up front to people who like to read about other’s misfortunes because I just can’t write about those right now.  For the first time in my life, I am traveling away from home and I’m not completely anxiety ridden.  I have never been a “frightened” traveler but I have always pressured myself to have a terrific experience, thus ruining my experience.  If I were to guess why it is different for me this time, I would say it is probably a combination of accumulated therapy, the Dalai Lama, years under my belt, and the company of fellow librarians.  Having a combination of planned Blue Guide tours and free time doesn’t hurt either.

I am in bloody London, freaking England right now people!  I must scream it from the rooftops though I am sure nobody else wants to hear it.  As if that isn’t abundance enough, here are all the wonderful serendipitous things that are running through my head right now. 

1.    At the very beginning of my London adventure I had to figure out how to get to Central London from the airport.  I love subways so I decided to go on a subway adventure.  It only cost me 5 to get all the way to the FSU study center and I still had plenty of time to get settled in.  And nobody mugged me.
2.     Food!  There are so many places to just grab something quick to eat.  There are also places to grab something slow to eat.  Whether the food is expensive or cheap I have not regretted a single bite of it.
3.     I got back to the flat today and was the first person to get downstairs to do laundry.  How lucky was that?  First of all, I should note that FSU London has free laundry facilities.  That is a HUGE bonus.
4.     I’m in London at the same time that David Tennant is doing a show here.  I WILL get in to see him and Catherine Tate in Much Ado even if I have to sneak in through the garbage chute.  Rupert Everett and Diana Riggs are doing a show in town too.
5.     There is a kitchen in our flat and lots of grocery stores around us.  It is so much fun to go grocery shopping in a different culture or even the same culture/different city (like Cincinnati for instance).  I am looking forward to exploring the Cooperative grocery store that our study center librarian told me about and the organic grocery store that Dr. Everhart mentioned.
6.     Our main goal is to capture aspects of London using different types of media.  Every day I am required to take pictures.  Taking pictures in London – torture, right?
7.     We are now in an age when you can easily communicate with your friends and family oversees instantly!  Through email, facebook, skype, etc. I can talk to and see my family back home.  I’m glad I don’t have texting over here or my thumbs would fall off from sending messages all the time.
8.     We have seen so much so far: The London Eye, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, St Paul’s Cathedral, Covent Garden, Trafalgar Square, Billy Elliot, The Marlborough Arms pub, and the Olympic Park!  It’s day six so we still have two weeks left here!
9.     Sometimes people want to do the same things that I want to do, sometimes they don’t.  It’s all good!
10. I needed some new shoes and I found a British shoe store with ecologically sound shoes that I adore that were ON SALE!  Practically affordable!  I actually just stumbled onto the store after checking out a few others that I didn’t like.  I also found a Body Shop right when I needed one.

If you read this, you may be vomiting right now from my Pollyanna good cheer.  I am just so thankful for everything and had to write it down and send it out into cyberspace (knock on wood – cross fingers – ward off the misfortune fairies).