I am in London.

I don't know where to start, honestly. I have never been so overwhelmed by sights, emotions, quirky people, and excitement. It's like nothing I ever knew could happen and something I'd never understand unless I did this. But it's bliss.

Youtube is being annoying so I cannot at this time upload my "first day experience" video.  Crikey!! So annoying.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE London. I cannot express in words (or facial expressions : ) how much I feel at home here. I love it. I am so thankful that I will be here for three months because it would crush me to be here for a shorter time.

Thank you to ALL the people praying for me! I have been safe (really, Little Rock is more dangerous. No joke.) and haven't even felt unsafe for a second.

Julie, Paulina (Julie is my travel mate/friend from home and current roommate, Paulina is another of my roomates) and I successfully managed going to the supermarket this evening. It was really fun! It was quite the experience as they have many different choices of cheese and meats and unfamiliar brands. The hardest part was lugging the bags to the bus and from the bus to our flat. But if that's what it means to live in the big city, I DON'T MIND, I LOVE IT.
 And I really enjoy riding the tube (subway). And I cannot tell you how giggly I am to be surrounded by British accents 24/7. Anyone who knows me, knows my affinity for Brit accents, so OF COURSE I have been practicing mine. :)  I think in a British accent now. That isn't a joke; I caught myself doing it earlier today then realized I had been doing it all day. Cuhrazy!

saying goodbye :(

Julie and me on the LONG layover in Charlotte, NC

I can't wait til I can upload videos so that you can hear my tearjerker story of us lugging this massive amount of extremely heavy luggage. It'll get to you. : ) Kidding aside, it was dreadful

St. Paul's Cathedral

St. Paul's from Millennium bridge

Millennium Bridge

Tower Bridge, NOT to be confused with London Bridge

in front of London Tower (which looks nothing like a tower). I can't wait to go inside and see the crown jewels!

Julie and I joke that this is why we came to London

first experience at H&M!

All in all, today I saw St. Paul's, Millennium Bridge, London Bridge, Tower Bridge, Globe Theater, London Tower, Harrods, Topshop, and a thousand double decker busses. OH! It was glorious!!

New words phrases that I learned/used today:
queue =line (like "the lines at walmart are usually long")
top up = filling up my tube card.. I think they use it in place of "fill up"too, like filling gas in your car

I think it's so late so I cannot remember the other ones...I should go to bed. A very early orientation is tomorrow!
 
Milk is the best drink,

Mollie

Packing and Goodbyes

Whoa, packing takes so long and is very tedious. my goodness. I really love it though.

Here are some fun pictures of the past few weeks.

I went back to Conway to say goodbye to dearest Jana, who now resides in Canada for 10 months. Sniff.  This is her, saving the world, on Petit Jean Mt.

We like to be cute.

Jana, enjoying God's beauty. We were completely enthralled by the view. 

Our official goodbye breakfast at Panera

We could NOT get our faces to cooperate. If I smiled, she goofed off and vice versa.

The sweet lady at the counter must have felt sorry for us because after  nearly 20 attempts, she offered to take it for us. :) That worked better.

Whitley is looking out the window here. I wanted a goodbye picture with her but she gets distracted when the camera comes out. Goob.  I got to be her 'mom' for FIVE DAYS and it was a blast! I'll miss living with Ben, Cass, and WeeWee.

Gift from Ben and Cass. They know me so well!

And the second gift from B&C. Abby, does this remind you of us ? :) (Once, she and I  bolted down a hill with bed sheets tied 'round our necks, simply because we could.  Well, Somebody's got to save the world.)

Nik and I had a lovely "last" date last night and had a blast! We've both been so busy that we don't see much of each other, and if we do we're extremely tired. We ate at Hugo's (It's like the Stoby's of Fayetteville) which was scrumptious. Then we watched Wall Street, whose trailer by the way, is very misleading. The movie was all over the place. I don't think the director could decide who/what specifically to focus on so he tried TOO many angles. It didn't work. And it's heart breaking to watch people who live to play the 'game' where it's all about money, power, and deception. They're lonely, bored, and very, very empty people.

I wish we had remembered to take a picture because we dressed up and looked adorable. I fell for a man who looks swell in slacks and a dress shirt. :) I'll miss him very much. 

I am now off to pack the rest of meh stuff because I drive back to Conway early tomorrow morning. It's goodbye Fayetteville today. And Goodbye USA in three days :) 

MOM AND DAD: http://www.footprintapprovals.com/aiu_virtual_tour/index.asp
Y'all might like to see the Ipix virtual tour of my school.

I am currently mock packing. This is the step I like most about a traveling because it means the beginning is nigh. WOOOOOO.

SHOUT OUT: Thanks to MOM for the swell title of my blog! (Round of applause for her please). And to Mr. Nikolas Parks for the smashing banner you see at the top!  (Another round please).They did a lovely job and I love them both dearly. (There mom, I gave you credit : )

Would anyone care to know how many hours I spent pouring over the design of this blog?? At least five. I kid you not! After going through every color scheme and background picture, and being SOOO frustrated, and nearly crying, Nik told me to not worry about it. "Keep it simple, Mollie. And no one is going to judge you for this. It's a free site, so it's not going to look amazing." However, I begged to differ because it's a reflection of ME. If I made it look awful, what did that say about my creativity, my design ability? I was freaking out. I really thought I hated blogging. People might not read my blog because it wasn't aesthetically pleasing. I mean some people are judgmental. YOU NEVER KNOW. Call me dramatic, I call myself a perfectionist. And maybe slightly dramatic. : )  After slaving over this, I finally found a simple, decent color scheme and I hope no one is judging me. I TRIED PEOPLE!! For real.

After that setback, I now LOVE blogging and even watched a TED*, in which the co-creator of Typepad.com (blogging site) spoke on (surprise) blogging.




*"TED is a small nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment, Design.". Visit ted.com for some of the most inspirational, educational, and top-notch 18 minute talks you will ever hear. Sir Ken Robinson is the best, in my opinion.

nine days.

Nine days. Then I leave.

GAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!

I don't think I could be more stoked. It's really funny when people ask me if I am excited. I get tempted to say no. Because why would I be pumped about spending 11 weeks in London, England, studying my  FAVORITE subject, fashion. Why? Maybe one should try rephrasing the question, "HOW excited are you?" Then I would tell the person about my happy dancing, random shouts of joy, and bursts of smiles that continually  show up more and more each day.  

I have wanted to study abroad since I was 14 years old. In essence, this is a 8 year dream. AND IT'S COMING TRUE IN NINE DAYS!!!!! deep breath Mollie, deep breath. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Thank you to all the people who have encouraged me, pushed me, trained me, and prayed for me all these years. Each of you is incredibly special in my heart. Ok, that's enough of my "awards" speech. :)

I hope you, reader, will enjoy coming along on this incredible journey of mine as  I catalog my adventures, sorrows (hopefully none!), dreams, joys, friends, and LONDON. 

This is my shocked face, thinking about London. Actually, I look more excited usually, the camera simply cannot capture joy.