"If you dislike change, you're going to dislike irrelevance even more." - Eric Shinseki

The best part of being a teacher and a librarian is that our education is in a constant state of motion and moving forward. We are constantly learning and adapting- we have to. Our students and patrons need us to be there with the answers to anything and everything. I mention this for two reasons: one I thought the quote was fascinating and inspiring and two: I learned something new today. While taking library science classes, we often have to try out new software programs and learn how to use them in the library setting. Today in class, our focus was black and white photos with a splash of color. It sounds easy enough and if you have Photoshop it really is but for those of us out there who don't have this great program we must turn to the Internet for assistance. Stepping outside my comfort zone to learn a new program and a new skill was a little mind melting but the experience of learning something new is what keeps us on our feet. It what keeps us prepared for the future and what it brings.

So about four hours later I finally figured out how to really get RAA!!ool to stand out. :)

Today we went over to the new Olympic Park. This is where the 2012 Summer Olympic games will be held. None of us really knew what to expect from the tour since it's such a "new" area but I think we were all raptured by the amazing Sean once more. His ability to draw in his audience and truly capture the history and essence of his tours and their sites is amazing. The amount of detail that goes into a project like this just blew me away. London should be proud of their foresight and planning. They will do something amazing for these games.

It's RAA!!ool to the RESCUE!!

When traveling in a large group, it's important to have a system in place to be able to keep track of everyone so that you don't lose a member while traveling place to place. A numbering system can work really well or maybe the group can divide into sub-groups but we discovered the BEST solution to be my good friend and mascot, RAA!!ool!! :)

The delightful rainbow puppet makes for the perfect companion on an overseas excursion. Despite his tendency to bite things at random, he is colorful and will always put a smile on your face. Today, we discovered that not only he is awesome but he also stands out in a crowd! Now, it might seem slightly childish or embarrassing to walk around with a sock puppet on your hand in a such a dignified city as London BUT it was comforting to our friends at the back of our line to have a beacon of color leading their way.

We started off our week at the Westminster Abbey with another delightful tour guide, Brian. We learned so much about England's royal line and the rich history this country has to offer. There are some out there that might make jokes about the English monarchy and find it out dated, but I find it fascinating. I love that so much of how the country started is still present today. It feels like you are really there, seeing it all in the past. Visiting England is like going into a time machine- it's all still here.

We heard a beautiful concert at St. Martin's in Field at Traflagar featuring a piano, flute, and oboe. We were only to catch a taste of this beautiful concert before we headed off to the London Eye. Though it can make for a terrifying trip, the scenery is exquisite from that perspective and you get the chance to capture the whole city. Our whirlwind day ended in Notting Hill where we all finally got to check out Harry Potter!!

LONDON: Straight no chaser

I've always thought that one of the best ways to learn your way around somewhere new is to get lost. Start wandering around (hopefully when you have time to do so) and try to find your way around without asking for help or using a map. Now, one shouldn't take this it an extreme or anything but you'll find yourself paying more attention to what's going on around you and what goes where. Just take it all as it comes, as the Bush song goes.

There are so many little things going on around us all the time- things you would miss unless you weren't just sort of wandering. Today on our walking/coach tour of London, our wonderful tour guide (whoslightly resembled Alan Rickman- not just in looks, little of the voice and what I assupersonality to be in real-life, it was AWESOME!) he would often take us off the beaten path to share a random bit of history or odd fact about the area. It was like getting to hear all the dirty gossip about royalty and aristocrats. :)

For our first weekend in London, we definitely covered a lot of ground. It was good to get a nice tour around the city today to give everyone a general idea of where we are. I'm looking forward to seeing more sights and learning more about this amazing country later on. Hopefully, RAA!!ool will be able to make it out tomorrow for more photo opportunities!

Sometimes it just seems silly

When you're staying somewhere outside the comforts of home, you will obviously see differences between the two places but I advise you to look for the little differences out there. Don't just accept what you have and think that's all there ever was and will be- look beyond and begin to question the world around you. Open yourself up to new perspectives and begin to ask "Why are things this way?"

In doing so, you'll begin to see the world in a new light. You see things from a different angle and you might surprise yourself with your insights. Being able to do these things is something that makes us the unique creatures we are.

Remember that there is more to life than work. To take time for yourself and to relax in the moment. Why not sit in the park on your lunch break and read a good book or take a short nap? Why not play with your kids in the fountain, or at least push some obnoxious ones into one. :) Sit with some friends and catch up- or simply enjoy a cup of good tea. These are things that make life meaningful and worth living. It's something we need to be more mindful of and it's certainly something our fellow neighbors to the East haven't forgotten. Sometimes- the way we get stuck doing things just seems silly.

And so it begins...

Today was the first official start day of our program. This morning, as we all arrived, we got a chance to get familiar with the study center, the surrounding area, and the teachers and staff. The study center and our flats are located just outside the heart of London. We are just minutes away from Covent Garden and Trafalger Square. It's a wonderful location. The center itself is right on Great Russell St just a little ways from the British Museum. I can't wait to continue exploring around tomorrow.

The neighborhood we are staying in is absolutely gorgeous- We are actually a little ways away from the center in Bedford Place but we have our own flats! It's very posh and there are two beautiful parks nearby. Despite my initial trials and obstacles- everything is fitting into place perfectly now.

RAA!ool's Wild Ride

Check out what RAA!!ool has been up to this last week.

Bitter Sweet

Considering that it took a little over 24 hours to return to my beloved England, I'd say bitter sweet describes the day exactly. I love to travel. For a person who can never, NEVER have a job that involves driving through traffic each day- traveling is relaxing for me. I honestly don't mind the delays or the people everywhere. I love to people watch and extra wait time just means that I get to read my book that much longer. :) Today however, certainly caused a bit of trouble.

I left my home in Missouri around 5:30 on Monday to make my 7:30 flight to Minneapolis and then catch the 9:45 on to Heathrow. Everything was moving along smoothly until I made it to Minnesota. I was actually excited when my connecting flight was moved from Atlanta to Minneapolis- I thought "Oh hey this will be great! The airport won't be as busy and there will be fewer problems- HUZZAH!" Well friends, that didn't really turn out that way.

First we were delayed because some other plane was in our spot, then my connecting flight was in G concourse while I was in C and I had about 2 minutes to get there. I make it to my plane sweating and damn near close to an asthma attack but then I find out that we are delayed due to a maintenance thing. Again I thought to myself, "Oh that will be great, I can sit here and relax a bit- we've got all night to fly right? What's an extra 30 minutes or so?"

Famous last words friends.

We sit and we sit and we sit- the powers that be keep assuring us that it will only be another 15 minutes or so. Right. Almost 2 hours later, they give us the unfortunate news that the plane cannot take off and we will have to wait for a new one. This isn't the ideal situation but at least there's another plane right? :) They told us it would fly out at 3:30 AM but that friends turned into almost 5 AM. You know, there's only so much you can do in an airport in the middle of the night. I would also like to point out that those floors are not meant for anyone to sleep on.

I will say though, my spirits were still high! :) I had a great book to read and they gave us food vouchers and even gave us $100 Delta bucks in case we want to give them a second chance. Not likely boys. ;) The flight over went great (once we finally took off) there were great movies to watch and the chicken was pretty tasty.

I finally make it in to Ol' Blighty and a feeling home sweet home envelops me. I had forgotten how much this place means to me. I had a long trek from Heathrow down to Horsham- but it gave me the chance to see the city and take it all in.

I wanted to stay in Horsham because when I came here before that's where I lived. I wanted to get here early and see my old English family and get settled in. So I arrive at the last train stop in my old English town and I realize how late it is and that I have forgotten to book a room for the night. Opps! "No worries!" I tell myself- (I wish I would stop giving myself advice) "It's a tiny English town- surely there is one little room for moi!" But since today is the travel day from hell- I of course was wrong again! I called everywhere and not one hotel-bed and breakfast-or lonely shack on the street had a room for me.

So what do you do when it's midnight and you're in a foreign country and you have no where to stay?

Sit on the side of the road and panic of course!! :)

Thankfully, a cab driver took pity on me and took me around to other hotels until we found one just outside of Horsham. So here's my break down of the day:

Traveling the underground to get to the train station- $5

Train back to visit my lovely Horsham- $20

Making endless phone calls using your credit card trying to find somewhere to stay- amount unknown since my card stopped working after a while

Buying a train ticket back to Gatwick to find a hotel service only to find that there are no more trains running this evening- $6

Driving round Horsham and the surrounding area looking for someone who will take me in-$35

Finally finding a place (though I think they only took me in because of my tear stained-face and red eyes) and getting to take a hot shower- priceless.