Overall, I had a good week. I worked tremendously hard this week. I came home at 3am almost every day and slept like a baby for about 4 hours before having to get up and do it all over again. This week, I was so exhausted that the 20 extra large trucks parked outside of my window unloading meat, no longer disturbed me at night.
Throughout the week, my colleagues continued to stop by my office and introduce themselves to me. One young woman that I had met last week stopped by my office and
gave me a copy of "Time Out London" that she had picked up for me. She shared that the particular issue of Time Out- London featured various arts related events throughout London that she thought I would be interested in and wanted me to have a copy. Her thoughtfulness deeply warmed my heart and it reminded me that people are inherently good and kind. It's this thoughtfulness that has helped my transition into living in London. I am thankful for every person that God has put in my path that makes each day just a little bit easier.
In spite of my incredibly busy week at work, I was determined to make the best of the weekend even though my body wanted nothing more than to sleep the entire weekend away.
I am normally not a morning person but as my mother has noted on more than one occasion, if getting up involves dance, church or liturgical, it doesn't take much to get me out of the bed in the morning. So on Saturday, I woke up at 8am
(this is crazy early for me even on a work day) excited about the activities that I had planned for the day. My first stop was at Pineapple Dance Studio. I had taken a "Contemporary" dance class last week which was a lot of fun so I was looking forward to taking the "Pure Technique" class. Just as I imagined, I had a great time. It was difficult but I enjoyed myself tremendously even though every single movement killed me. That class woke up muscles that I didn't even know existed. Following this class, I took a "Commercial Jazz" class. I really wasnt sure what "Commercial Jazz" meant but I was looking foward to it. The class wasn't really my style and I won't be taking that class again yet I enjoyed myself and met some cool people while there. Pineapple doesn't make up for how much I miss BDC and liturgical but they will suffice for now and I look forward to going weekly.
After two classes at Pineapple, I decided to travel to the Portobello Market in Notting Hill (for you movie buffs, yes this is the area that Notting Hill with Hugh Grant was filmed). Notting Hill is known as one of the most affluent areas in London. The neighborhood is peppered with huge Victorian homes
and going straight through the neighborhood is the Portobello Market. I imagined that Portobello Market would be similar to the street fairs that one would find throughout Manhattan during the summer. As a young child, my mother and I would be sure to hit every single street fair in the city. What I did not know about Portobello Market was that it spanned for 30 blocks-- which my feet were not prepared for. As I walked through the market, I noticed that you could literally find any item that you could ever imagine. There were antiques, jewelery, clothes, bags, furs (yes, furs), meat, art, fruits, vegetables, records (yes, records), furniture, fake Gucci bags and everything else that you could imagine. Surrounding the market were cute little cafes, restaurants and chic boutiques. I also saw several mini casinos on the strip.
I had a wonderful time walking through Portobello Market. Over the last week or so, it has become apparent that the moment I open my mouth, it is like an open invitation for conversation for anyone within earshot. People often look twice when they hear my "accent" (never knew I had an accent until I got here) and then the questions begin: Where are you from? What are you doing here? How long have you been here? What is life like in New York? How do you like London? What do you do for a living? Why are you doing it in London?Where do you live?. . . etc. etc. etc. Let's just say that my "accent" has made it very easy to meet people. Fortunately, I consider myself to be a friendly person (on most days) and I enjoy many of these conversation as it presents an opportunity to learn a little more about life in London.
After leaving the market, I thought about going to movies but the 90 hour work week, followed by the two rigorous dance classes and the 30 block walk through the Portobello Market left me with zero energy so I returned home in order to prepare for church on Sunday.
To round up the weekend, on Sunday, I had a wonder time at Rauch Ministries. In the evening, I spoke to my favorite uncle, my mom and then my dearest friend Nikki. All in all, I had a wonderful weekend.
Throughout the week, my colleagues continued to stop by my office and introduce themselves to me. One young woman that I had met last week stopped by my office and
gave me a copy of "Time Out London" that she had picked up for me. She shared that the particular issue of Time Out- London featured various arts related events throughout London that she thought I would be interested in and wanted me to have a copy. Her thoughtfulness deeply warmed my heart and it reminded me that people are inherently good and kind. It's this thoughtfulness that has helped my transition into living in London. I am thankful for every person that God has put in my path that makes each day just a little bit easier.In spite of my incredibly busy week at work, I was determined to make the best of the weekend even though my body wanted nothing more than to sleep the entire weekend away.
I am normally not a morning person but as my mother has noted on more than one occasion, if getting up involves dance, church or liturgical, it doesn't take much to get me out of the bed in the morning. So on Saturday, I woke up at 8am
(this is crazy early for me even on a work day) excited about the activities that I had planned for the day. My first stop was at Pineapple Dance Studio. I had taken a "Contemporary" dance class last week which was a lot of fun so I was looking forward to taking the "Pure Technique" class. Just as I imagined, I had a great time. It was difficult but I enjoyed myself tremendously even though every single movement killed me. That class woke up muscles that I didn't even know existed. Following this class, I took a "Commercial Jazz" class. I really wasnt sure what "Commercial Jazz" meant but I was looking foward to it. The class wasn't really my style and I won't be taking that class again yet I enjoyed myself and met some cool people while there. Pineapple doesn't make up for how much I miss BDC and liturgical but they will suffice for now and I look forward to going weekly.After two classes at Pineapple, I decided to travel to the Portobello Market in Notting Hill (for you movie buffs, yes this is the area that Notting Hill with Hugh Grant was filmed). Notting Hill is known as one of the most affluent areas in London. The neighborhood is peppered with huge Victorian homes
and going straight through the neighborhood is the Portobello Market. I imagined that Portobello Market would be similar to the street fairs that one would find throughout Manhattan during the summer. As a young child, my mother and I would be sure to hit every single street fair in the city. What I did not know about Portobello Market was that it spanned for 30 blocks-- which my feet were not prepared for. As I walked through the market, I noticed that you could literally find any item that you could ever imagine. There were antiques, jewelery, clothes, bags, furs (yes, furs), meat, art, fruits, vegetables, records (yes, records), furniture, fake Gucci bags and everything else that you could imagine. Surrounding the market were cute little cafes, restaurants and chic boutiques. I also saw several mini casinos on the strip.I had a wonderful time walking through Portobello Market. Over the last week or so, it has become apparent that the moment I open my mouth, it is like an open invitation for conversation for anyone within earshot. People often look twice when they hear my "accent" (never knew I had an accent until I got here) and then the questions begin: Where are you from? What are you doing here? How long have you been here? What is life like in New York? How do you like London? What do you do for a living? Why are you doing it in London?Where do you live?. . . etc. etc. etc. Let's just say that my "accent" has made it very easy to meet people. Fortunately, I consider myself to be a friendly person (on most days) and I enjoy many of these conversation as it presents an opportunity to learn a little more about life in London.
After leaving the market, I thought about going to movies but the 90 hour work week, followed by the two rigorous dance classes and the 30 block walk through the Portobello Market left me with zero energy so I returned home in order to prepare for church on Sunday.
To round up the weekend, on Sunday, I had a wonder time at Rauch Ministries. In the evening, I spoke to my favorite uncle, my mom and then my dearest friend Nikki. All in all, I had a wonderful weekend.
Pictures (1) me looking and feeling wrecked after classes at Pineapple, (2) Portobello Market which extends for several blocks, (3) photos of the Victorian homes which look alot like brownstone which I love (cost: about 2 million pounds = 4 million dollars). I have always been enthralled by brownstones and Victorian homes so I took a few pictures.
1 comment:
I love Notting Hill the movie and they show the market! Cool that you got to experience it first hand.
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