It's Official

It's official. I am the worst at updating :) Wow.

The wonderful journey that is my life has recently made quite a few unexpected turns. For those who do not already know, I have moved back to South Florida from London. As of July 16th I have been subject to Florida's 90+ degree weather with humidity...it honestly took me a good week to become accustomed to the heat again after being in cold and rainy London. I miss England so much, but I am enjoying spending time with my family and seeing some of my friends after 7 months :)

A few stories to share:

My original departure date from London's Gatwick airport was set for July 15th. I had four suitcases and my backpack. Three of the suitcases were overweight and I had to pay extra, but the guy at the counter cut me some slack ;) I was at the airport extremely early. My gate wasn't even up, yet. The flight was delayed by an hour. Eventually it the gate was announced, and I boarded the plane. As we were taxing out to the runway I felt the plane make a detour and pull into a sort of 'work area'. Our captain. Johnny Holiday, informed us of a faulty indication light. They attempted to fix it while we sat there on the plane for 2 or 3 hours and then we were told the following: 'We are going to take you back to the terminal. There are no other flights leaving for Orlando today. You will get your bags and we will give you hotel assignments and transportation. We will take off tomorrow. Sorry for the inconvenience.'

Long story short: I made it to the hotel around 10:30 pm after being in the airport since 8:30 am. BUT it was worth it because they drove us to the hotel (a Hilton) and it was on the sea in Brighton!!! I had my own room with a balcony looking out over the beach! It was awesome!

My hotel


The view from my room!


More boats :)

The next morning all 400 of us (we were on a 747) boarded coaches back to the airport. I was really blessed to meet people through all of this that helped me with my bags. I will be eternally grateful to them for their help. There is no way that I would have been able to do it by myself. Out flight took off on time and we arrived in Orlando ahead of schedule. It was awesome. The airline even gave us flyer miles on top of putting us into a Hilton! A-mazing! I sat next to a husband and wife on the plane who were so lovely and they helped me with my bags when we landed. It took me over an hour after getting off the plane in Orlando to reach my family. They were a bit frantic as to what was taking so long. I had to get my bags and take them through baggage security, drop them through on another conveyor belt, and get on the tram to go to the other terminal.

Anywho. I made it to my family and, after seeing my grandparents at their house, I made it home.

My friend Tara came to visit me and we spent time with our friend Macayla in Vero. I got a sunburn at the beach which was great. My body hadn't seen sun in quite some time.

Two weeks after my return home I left for Mexico City (August 1-7) with my friend Kara. It was so much fun! I went to do further research for my dissertation (my artist is from Mexico and lives and works in Mexico City now). My hope was to meet him and visit his studio, but unfortunately that did not happen. I was able to talk to the manager from the gallery that represents him. He was really helpful. I was able to buy a couple of books while in Mexico City and I saw one sculpture by my artist in the Modern Art Museum there. We did and saw so much there is no possible way I could write about all of it, but it was amazing! I am so glad I was able to go :)

Kara on our boat in Xochimilco

Diego Rivera mural in the National Palace

The Sun Pyramid at Teotihuacán.
Kara and I climbed to the top of it!

Here is a photo of me at the top of the Sun Pyramid
with the Moon Pyramid behind me.
I climbed to the top of that one as well.
It wasn't nearly as tall as the Sun Pyramid.
We definitely got a work out that day.

The interior of the Modern Art Museum in Mexico City.

This was a sign on mine Kara's tour bus of Mexico City.
It was open on top, like the ones in London, and
we had to dodge tree branches :) I thought it was
a pretty humourous sign.

Kara chilling out on some amazing benches
in Chapultapec Park in Mexico City.

This is me in front of an amazing totem pole
water feature in the Anthropology Museum. The museum was
absolutely massive and incredible.

And you will not believe this but when Kara and I were headed back home from Mexico we flew into Dallas and were supposed to make a connecting flight to Orlando. Our flight from Dallas to Orlando was cancelled. We had to stay in a hotel and fly out the next day. No joke. It wasn't as nice as the Hilton in Brighton, but it was fun. We took a Lincoln Town Car taxi driven by Said (he was from Egypt) to the mall, went shopping for essentials (our luggage was flown out on the next flight without us to Orlando), and then we saw a movie. :) Oh, and all that was after we ate an amazing dinner at the Westin Hotel next door to our hotel ;) We had vouchers from the airline to eat on. Life is full of adventures. Life is an adventure :)


Day before yesterday (August 15) I went up to St. Augustine to see my friend Jessica before she left again for Carlisle, England to do her BLS (Basic Leadership School) with YWAM (Youth With A Mission). It was wonderful to be there again. I love her family. I also saw a couple other friends while there. I look forward to the time I can spend more than a day there and see more people. :) On my way back home I stopped by and visited with Tara's mom and sister. It was so great! I didn't want to leave, but I had to get back and get to work on a lot of things. I love that I feel so at home at my friends homes and with their families. I am so blessed :)

Now I am reading, writing, looking for a job and getting ready for my friend Jess's wedding. I leave on Tuesday (August 21st) and return the following Sunday (August 26th). I can't wait to see Jess. I haven't seen her since I graduated Flagler in April of last year. Again, I will be with her family and our friends, and even though it is in Michigan, I will feel at home. God is so amazing.

I hope everyone is well! Take care and I will post photos from the wedding when I get back!