T.G.I. Friday

I am very happy for the weekend. Just because it is a nice break from all this work. Now. I'm not sure what to do with my extra time though. I got invited to a YSA convention this weekend but I didn't go because it cost money and I didn't know far enough in advance, but that's okay. Tomorrow I am going to the cinema with Hayley and friends to see iron man 2. That should be fun.

Today was a really good day at work. It was what we call spread the word day and more team building. Once again I was the leader but I did have help this time, from Johnny. We met this morning and then headed out as groups on a scavenger hunt that me and the managers prepared the other day. The objective was to get the team to know the area around the site and think about the competition around and the services provided. It was cool to sound like I knew what I was doing (cause I kind of did) and everyone listened to me. It was a really chill day and I just got to know the staff better. They are all very welcoming to me and I feel much more comfortable around them. It will make this summer better. I have officially been here a week! It is so crazy and awesome and slightly sad when I think about how I have like twelve weeks left. I really think I might have an English accent when I come home. If not, it will just be weird to hear American accents. :)

We got done with work around two today which was fantastic! We have all gelled really well together and really quickly which the managers are all impressed to see. I feel like work here is almost like back at home because they want it to be relaxed and everyone to feel comfortable with one another. It is nice. Since I got off work early, I decided to roam the city a little while I was there. I went into the bullring which is the massive mall and was slightly overwhelmed! It is so incredibly massive. I shall show you a picture of just one area of the mall... as soon as I can get the pictures transferred! Oh! Saddest thing. Luigi (my camera) is dead. I know! I couldn't be sadder and it couldn't be worse timing but it is true. I got to use Hayley's today but the memory chip is a different size and thus I'm going to have to do some transferring. I guess I'll have to purchase another camera while I'm here but I don't know if that's a good idea because it might not hold the American size card. I need help!

Despite the camera lossage, I am still getting pictures to document so please just bear with while I adjust. So there are quite a few words and phrases that they use here that are different from our own and which make my life hard when trying to understand the already hard to understand brits. Here are some I have learned:

• Bullocks- still not sure on definition but I think it's like a rude way of saying "nonsense"
• Fag= cigarette
• Chips=fries
• Crisps=chips, and they have every nasty flavor possible. They have full on meal flavors on their crisps. For example, ham and cheese and roast chicken and bacon, etc. So gross.
• Hen night out= bachelorette party
• Stag night out= bachelor party
• Cheers=thanks and a lot of other stuff
• Trainers= sneakers or tennis shoes
• Pants= underwear, that's a hard one to get used to. ;)
• Cotton Spuds= Cutips
• Toilets, Loo= Restroom
• Humps= speed bumps he he
• I can't be bothered or I'm not bothered= I don't feel the need or I don't really want to
• Queue= line, like at the store or shop
• There are more and more, especially phrases that I keep having to ask about and naturally, sometimes I get laughed at, but most of the time everyone is really understanding about it.

I watched a movie for the first time today since I've been here and it was The Series of Unfortunate Events. :) It was quite good. The weather here is almost as bad as Utah weather! It has been on and off sunny and rainy all day today. Really strange. But the umbrellas I received from Jill and Katie have been very valuable, I use them a lot.

Oh! I learned today how fantastically easy our grade school is compared to here! Hayley was telling me all this stuff she has to do for her exams that started this month and go through like May or something! Outrageous stuff! Like composing music for music class and playing it, art portfolios that are massive and hard, for textiles they have to make a full on prom dress and they have months to do it. It blows me away. It's kind of sad that we don't do the same thing because we don't learn as much but I still enjoyed my time in school. Oh and... their schools are all boy or all girl. Rough. They even have prom for the only girl schools and they don't bring dates or anything! Ha ha so funny. Just a bunch of girls looking nice for each other. Ha ha. Anyway, I think I'm just going to hang with the Collins tonight. I hope you all are having a great time over there. I love you all so much. Love, Danielle (couldn't think of a clever name today:)

Heaven on Earth?

Okay, so despite my little rough patch life is still good. As my dad always says, "It's good to be Danielle". I still miss home but today was really good. It's really hard work but I'm getting to know the people I work with a lot better and it has been better. I'm still team leader and it is the greatest slash funniest thing ever! I'm a good seven years younger then everyone on my team and I'm like coaching them through everything we need to do like they're babies and I'm the babysitter. Not going to lie, it feels awesome! Ha ha I wish you could all see. So fun.

So today was a lot of team discussion and writing about how to handle certain situations and what we need to be prepared for, customer service wise. I learned so much! I'm am going to be a customer service connoisseur when I get back, just you wait. Also today, this one guy I work with named Leon told me today that he thinks that my American accent is so hot and sexy! I laughed so hard and told him about how the girls go wild over boys with English accents. It's so funny! I also had loads of these oat biscuits today which was surprising because I have eaten hardly anything since I got here. The Collins think I'm weird cause I eat so little. :)

I can't even tell you how many little observations I make a day about the differences between here and there and I try to keep track in my phone but there are still so many I have forgotten, so I'll try to slip them in whenever I remember. I can't remember any right now because I'm so excited for my next subject so I'll get right to it. Shopping! I only went in to a supermarket store, so like the equivalent of Walmart, and I was in heaven! They have the most fabulous clothes for quite cheap! Like everything I saw was (hey saw is was backwards) way more stylish than America and for so cheap at a supermarket! Oh my goodness! Like blazers that I've been looking at for eighty dollars in Utah are like 15 pounds here which is less than thirty dollars. I did buy some shoes and they were 5 pounds! Fabulous floral shirts and big striped shirts and oh! If you know me you will appreciate my love for leggings, well, here everyone wears leggings! They have leggings that look like jeans and all kinds of pants and there were a bunch at this store! I was like roaming around the store with my jaw wide open, drooling on the floor while everyone was just doing their regular shopping. Oh my goodness you just have to see for yourselves. I want to get everyone at home clothes but I like can't because my suitcases will already be full of my new wardrobe! :) Don't worry, I shall continue to be a sensible shopper but I am so excited to go this weekend and see the real shops. So that's my good news minute...or five. It made me happy.

I've been here for a week now. It feels like it's gone fast but it also feels like I've been gone forever. It is a slight struggle but I pray all the time, I read my scriptures twice a day and I write in this blog. When I get sad in the day I just think that I'm on a mission, and all I have to do is go to work and live life, but along the way I have to collect stories for you guys back home. I'm constantly thinking of what I've got to tell you about and show you. I just had the brilliant idea of doing a video tour of the house to show you what it's really like. I will be on that ASAP so don't you fret. :) That is all for today. I will be back tomorrow. Much love and hugs and kisses and butt pinches, Danielle

Lemons and Balloons

Today was good. We met at Aston Villa which is a massive football(soccer) field and there's a pub/conference building next to it. This is where we will be tomorrow as well. There we sat in a room for most of the day and just learned about the company and what our goals were and so on. Oh, now all the staff is there except housekeeping, so there's about forty or so people. It was interesting to learn all the things that they take into consideration when starting a new business and trying to make it the best. Throughout the day we did some energisers that involved tossing lemons and making chairs out of balloons. They were really quite fun and successful I think. For these energisers and one other activity, I got to be team leader! It was really scary because I am the youngest one there except for one. So I am coaching these twenty to forty year olds through making a balloon chair and making lists of what we think we can do to improve guest satisfaction and stuff. It was really fun and challenging.

We also watched this American movie made by a man named Farrell or something who owned ice cream shops and is like an expert in customer service. It is called "Give 'em the pickle" and it was extremely interesting and funny. I especially liked all the references to America that I could understand. Just so you guys know, the 4 keys to customer service are service, consistency and teamwork. It was quite inspirational. The leader who was speaking at the time was Simon who is from Scotland and he put me on the spot in front of everyone asking how the customer service here compared to America, because apparently they look to Americans as being the best. Fancy that! :) So I talked in front of everyone. I'm crazy. We ended the day with drinks, as usual, and I walked the two or so miles back from the Villa.

On the way back I stopped at a Tesco store and got some nail clippers and when I got home I talked with the Collins for a long time. It was great. I love the Collins. Apparently they don't have Mountain Dew here and Hayley loves it so she was ecstatic to find this little shop that sold American treats. I will be going very soon. :)

After that I got a ride with one of the Collins' friends Tasha to institute. It's a bit a way at the church but it was really good. Once again, I love being with people from the church and just being at the church and hearing the gospel because it is the only thing here that is the same as home! The gospel is the same everywhere and it has been such a comfort and blessing to me. I have never been so homesick as I am today. Everything reminds me of how different home is and how I want to come back. I would get on a plane right now if I could. I will be fine but it will be hard. I love and miss you all so much! I will talk to you tomorrow. Mwah, Danielle, Team Leader

Juice and Foul Language

Today was a good day. I never really have anything to complain about, I'm just adjusting to this outrageous and completely new culture. So today I left for work and the bus just turned off at a random stop and I hadn't a clue where to go! I had to navigate all by myself all the way across the city center, which isn't easy. I was rather proud. :) As a result of getting lost I was early! ha ha it was great. I just chatted with Natalie until everyone else arrived. She said that she liked to think of my role as shadowing her. This made my job a little clearer but I'm still a little lost as to why I am included in the managers. It is hard but I am doing a decent job of acting like I'm doing quite well, I think.

Today we planned what we are going to do for our staff at training on Friday. We planned what we had to get across about the company like who our target guests were, what our offers were and who they were directed at and such. We also had to plan fun "energisers" which are just like fun games to get us to know each other as well as keep the energy up. It was pretty easy work and I think we thought about it too much and took a little longer than we should have but it all worked out and I had a productive day. I did offer my ideas when it came to the energisers because little do they know, I am LDS which means I know loads about this kind of thing. Basically, they were looking for activities we play and do at EFY and girls camp and stuff. I came up with quite a few and we're using like three of them. They include the Human Knot, which is classic Utah team building fun and the team chair sit thing if any of you know what I mean. That was the gist of the day, lots of walking and sitting. I'm under the impression that I'm losing weight because I hardly eat anything and I walk a good hundred miles a day. :)

I also exercised today on the bike equipment the Collins have in their loft. It was really hard. I rode it for like twenty minutes and I was sweating quite nicely. I think if I keep this up I can stay fit and maybe even be prepped for a ride with the Wistisens. Eh eh? We shall see.

So I have some more observations. Here they are:

• The English drink like none other. They hardly drink water because it is colder and they drink so many other things. I've probably had like three cups of water since I've been here and approximately fifty cups of juice. They're mad about juice and alcohol. It's so weird. One of the Johns I work with is this crazy bar tender who has worked at every bar in Birmingham and that's all he talks about. He knows a ton about good marketing and stuff but I'd say that his heart is in the alcohol. He gets wasted all the time. For example, last night I left the drinkers at about six thirty and he said he stayed till he got kicked out and then didn't go to bed until four. I guess I just don't understand how someone could live that life and still be coherent during the day. It is just so crazy.
• I have never inhaled, or sucked in through my skin, so much second-hand smoke. Two of the five people I work with all day smoke. They smoke at least a pack a day and I have had the unfortunate opportunity of being in close proximity or even downwind from these friends and have decided that I hate smoke. It's the worst when like ash from the cigarette flies back and almost lands in your eye or catches your hair on fire. It's a nasty habit. Oh! and on the cigarette boxes here it says this very phrase is big, bold letters: SMOKING KILLS. It is so cool. I'll have to get a picture. Vanessa said that they have banned smoking from all public places and taken all the adverts about smoking down. They have also started a campaign to show young girls how detrimental smoking is to their health and looks and stuff. It's really cool, but there is sooooo much more smoking here than any where else I've ever been.
• They have a store here called T.K. Maxx! Just like T.J. Maxx but with a K. I saw it and giggled. They also have an Urban Outfitters store here. Just an interesting observation I thought I'd share.

That was my day today. I love you all so much and miss you so so so much. It's a little rough thinking about how I've only been gone for like six days! Not even a week! But I shall prevail! I hope everyone is doing well back in the states. I'll talk to you tomorrow.

Love, Observation Central

P.S. Kirin I would like to see some singing videos already! Please.

juice, smoking, tk maxx, casual clothes

First Day at Work

Like my very first day at real work. Okay, so today I woke up at seven after waking up about five times because I was worried about waking up late on my first day at work. I got dressed and has some toast then headed out with Hayley to the bus stop which is about seven minutes away. She got off for school and I proceeded towards the city center where I was to meet Natalie. I got there a little early and waited for her and then we were off. Since the site where the hotel I'm going to be working at is not finished yet, we met at one of the already existing Premier Inns. I'm not going to lie I was scared, but not as much as I'd thought I'd be. We walked in and I met James, my boss boss; Krishna and Amie, who are the receptions managers; John and John who are the restaurant and bar managers and a couple of more higher up managers. Naturally, I looked around for more people, you know, lower class and what not but there were none. It was just me and all these high up, well educated and experienced people. What? So we started by filling out this sheet about who we are, our favorite food and what not. It was really casual and comfortable, but still I was weirded out that I, an unexperienced, 19 year old intern, was included in such an important group. I still have no idea why I'm placed where I am so I'll let you know if I ever find out.

After meeting everybody we went over the plans and strategies of the company and were sent off to fill out surveys about the competition around the area as well as gain ideas of how we think the company should be run. And then we were supposed to present! I hate presenting, it makes me beyond nervous and that's without being surrounded by people who are a good three intelligence levels above me. I was so nervous. So we went out and I contributed zero. I just followed John, John, Krishna and Amie around like a lost dog(which I pretty much am) and said next to nothing. We were out for about three or four hours and I learned buttloads(they would use a more explicit word over here but I will be discrete). We visited a lot of the other hotels, restaurants and bars in the area undercover to see how well, or not well, they handled their customers. It was great fun pretending we were planning a massive party and we needed ten bedrooms and a conference room. The hotels here are very similar to ours in the US except the outsides. All the buildings are meshed together here and so the only sign of a hotel is a board or a flag with the hotel name jutting out into the street. They're quite hard to find. We played that part for three hotels and then met up with the boys for lunch. They talked forever about marketing plans and what they thought needed to happen for this hotel to succeed. I did the normal thing and stayed quiet the whole time unless addressed or asked to pass the mustard. It was outrageous and the whole time I'm just wondering why they put me with this lot!

After lunch we did some more hunting for car parks a.k.a. parking lots and then returned to the Premier Inn. There we sat for another two hours discussing what we've learned and then presenting it to James and crew. Fortunately, I was only addressed once or twice in good humor and I was quite comfortable even though this was a big deal. After that we planned a team bonding day for Friday where we're going to lead the rest of the staff in some bonding, interactive activities and more. I don't know how I am going to lead twenty to forty people that are probably older than me but it should be an interesting experience. This is a very concise version of the story but it will do. At about half five, which is how they would say half past five or five thirty, we called it a day and went out for drinks.

I now have another experience to add to things I never thought I'd have in my life. I attended a bar with eight Brits and Scotsman who are all at least six years older than me and they drank beer and cocktails and smoked and I enjoyed the conversation while having a nice cup of orange juice. Great fun. I really wish I had taken a picture, it would be one to put in the scrapbook. I still can't believe I survived the day. The whole time I felt like a baby because of my complete lack of knowledge in the particular area as well as in the English culture as well. Not only did I have no idea where we were going, I couldn't understand what they were saying half the time because of their lingo and strong accents. Ha ha it's really just quite humorous. Who would have thought?

I also rode the double decker top floor of the bus for the first time yesterday and today I didn't get lost at all finding my way back home on the bus. It is quite a feat so I feel incredibly good all in all with what I have miraculously accomplished today. Phewf! I think I shall relax and read a book now or perhaps watch a film. Thank you for reading my story today. I love you all and miss you!

Love, the Birmingham Baby

Oh, there's more I wanted to tell you. I had asparagus for the first time yesterday, Clay will appreciate. I also wanted to say how crazy the streets are here! They cannot be described, but I shall attempt. They are extremely skinny, like I said before, thus all the cars have to be teeny. I wouldn't say that the English are good drivers so much, rather they are far more courteous than we are in the states. They just let each other get away with outrageous, crazy, dangerous driving and in turn, others allow them to as well. You would all laugh if you saw what goes on here in the streets. Anyway, that's just an FYI. I have loads of them so I have to write them down any time I think of them.

A Whole New World

Bowling with the Brits

So last night I was invited to go bowling with one of Hayley’s friends, Ellie. She’s 18 and a ball of fun. Her personality is very social but also one of those types that think things are boring really quickly and has a slightly negative outlook on life but we had a lot of fun. We took the bus to this place called AMC where there is a bowling/pool/bar alley. We had to have ID to get in-quite interesting. There were six other youth from the stake there and they were called Dave, Pete, Johnny, Chris, Liz and Sara. It was loads of fun. You may not know this but the English hardly bowl at all, and even though I’m not considered the best bowler in America, I wasted them. Ha ha I’ve never seen so many people get zero pins so many times in a row. It was outrageous and a good time. After bowling we did some typical teenage sit around and do nothing and ended up going home. We walked through a couple of squares on the way to the bus stop and it was really awesome. All of the kids were really welcoming and funny.

Now this story is for Jill Wistisen and she is going to hate it. On the bus home Ellie and I are just chattin away when we hear this shattering. We turn around and there’s this black (not Muslim) man breaking the glass around and emergency alarm or who knows what. Naturally I’m scared to death that it’s going to stop the bus and he’s going to pull out a gun or a bomb, but it ends up being quite humorous because everyone on the bus is staring at him and he is having the hardest time getting whatever is inside out. It’s all wrapped up in this wire and he just can’t get it to go, so eventually he just gets off in a hurry. What he was doing, we have no idea but I have never been so scared in my life. I pooped on the spot. But the really cool thing was that as soon as I turned and saw what he was doing I immediately said a prayer that we would be safe and even though I was so scared, I was perfectly content and knew that I would be safe or even if I wasn’t everything was meant to be and it would all be okay. These couple of days have already been a HUGE learning experience for me and I’ve grown so much. I can’t even explain it.

It’s a completely different world here. You won’t even believe what it’s like. Every time I leave the house I worry that the next man that walks down the street is going to talk to me or attack me, or that every other person on the bus is going to sit next to me and be all nasty or have a bomb and blow the bus up. Everyone drinks and everyone smokes. At the slightest sign of sunshine people start getting naked. It rains every twenty minutes on and off and people drive quite safely but at extreme speeds with pedestrians running across the street. I’m not allowed to walk down the street alone and I get yelled at or called to by nasty men, white and brown, driving past as well as honked at which often results in involuntary bowel movements. It is the scariest place I have ever been and I’ve never been stronger. Heavenly Father holds my hand everywhere I go. I pray at least ten times a day and He comforts me all the time. Even though I am constantly worried and scared in the back of my mind, it doesn’t matter because I know I can do anything, get through anything and survive anything if I stay close to the Lord. It’s the greatest thing!

Today is Sunday and I went to church here in England for the first time. It was fantastic. The ward is considered large here but it’s roughly about half to ¾ the size of our average Utah ward. Everyone there was extremely kind and welcoming to me and I felt so loved; by everyone at home supporting me and everyone here helping me carry on. Tony spoke at church today and he mentioned me and how it was his responsibility to take care of me and that he did it because he wanted to. He was so incredibly nice and said that I was a blessing in his family’s life. I am so comfortable in this house. They also have missionaries in their ward and one of them is from Utah. Surprise! His name is Elder White and he is great. He told me about everything that’s going on and where I should go. He also asked me to fellowship their investigators in RS. They were these darling Chinese girls with a baby name Neo who was easily the most darling baby I have ever seen! So Cute! I tried my best and at the end of church Elder White asked me if I would like to teach with the sister missionaries sometime. I peed. It scares me to death to think about it but I’m going to do it. I might as well because I have been doing so many not-like-Danielle things since I got here. I shall make a list of them and you shall all be so proud.

Exhibit A- As soon as I got here, I immediately to the initiative and called my boss and sub boss. For those who know me I hate calling people on the phone, especially ones I don’t know. I also asked the Collins for everything I needed without restraint and got everything I needed done quite promptly.

Exhibit B- I eat/try every dish of food that is placed in front of me. The food here is very exotic and makes American food look like plain white rice. All the foods here have tons of spices and mixtures, while at home the food is very bland and unoriginal compared to here. I’m not sure I like it but I’m being very open about the whole idea.

Exhibit C- I strut the streets like I own the place, which I might have done at home but here it’s a whole other ball park. I’m very independent and have taken directions correctly twice now. I did get lost once but you can’t blame me because the streets here are chaos. You’d think that numbered streets are harder than names, at least I did. But when applying to real life, I prefer numbers much more because there is some kind of structure and direction. 100 S. turns to 200 S. and so on but here Beachburn Way turns to Wood Lane which turns to Bullring Avenue. Thus you can see how clearly navigatable England is. It’s terrible.

Exhibit D- I am mean. I completely ignore everyone walking by or calling to me. I wear a slightly angry at the world-don’t want to talk to nobody-look on my face as I walk down the street… then I see a darling black baby and my whole façade falls apart. Anyway, the point is I have been working on my rude side.

Exhibit E- Today I set up an appointment to meet with a lady named Natalie who is like what I called before, kind of my sub boss. She is like a manager over the restaurant and bar part of the hotel. We met at three, just after church to have a drink and just chat about what I’m going to be doing. I went all alone and handled it very professionally, I think. We met at this place called the Mailbox which is actually nothing like a post office but rather what the English would call a very “posh” shopping center. We had lunch at this nice restaurant and she told me what I’ll do and asked me about who I was and what I wanted from this. I can’t remember the exact name, but she said they wanted me to be their (something) standard champion- I work in all areas of the hotel and restaurant and make sure that every one is doing what is required as the standard of the Premier Inn chain. So cool! I’m fine with anything that has the name champion in it. J She got me pretty excited and dad, you are going to be so proud. It’s going to be like nothing I’ve ever done before. I imagine it is something you would love to have me do-leadership, communication, delegation. Right up your alley. I will be working mostly in the restaurant and bar, waitressing and what not, but I think I will be trained in mostly everything. For the first two weeks I will work Mon-Fri from 9-5 and then it might change. After it opens I’ll probably be working five days a week, 35 hours. I already made it clear that I have church Sunday morning/afternoons and she was very accommodating. She was very nice, even though she smoked while we were together, she was extremely courteous in that she made sure she was always upwind and she didn’t give me a hug because she was covered in smoke. Interesting experience. I also had to clarify that I don’t drink alcohol or coffee. Pretty fun.

That is my life right now and it is going to be like nothing I’ve ever done before and it is going to be hard and I’m going to do it! I promise the two necklaces I received before I left have been a strength and comfort to me as well. I wear them always. One says “Be strong and of a good courage” and the other is a locket from my sister with pictures of me and my sisters. I adore them both. I will also have the Wistisens know that the blanket and pillow have been invaluable gifts on this trip, and so have the towels Clay gave me. On the planes I was easily the most comfortable as I whipped out my massive blanket and mini pillow from my backpack that carried nothing else. J They also make me happy when I’m homesick, which is all the time.

I love you all so much and miss you. I’m grateful for the support you give me, it means so so much. Love, Danielle

I apologize for the lack of pictures, but I’m a bad picture taker and I’m still working on the battery situation.

Delay

I'm sorry to delay my first post but I cannot connect to the internet yet and my pictures are on my computer. I have it all typed up so I just need to be able to access the internet so please hold while I do this. I should hopefully have it up by tonight or tomorrow. Love you!

Brace Yourselves!

Hi family and friends!Oh My Goodness! So much has happened since I left the states, not two days ago! I shall proceed to tell the story of what has happened, with comment, since I left the airport on Thursday. Here we go:

Thursday-

I left my family and friends and more at home as I started my journey to England for a summer of learning. So I left Kirin, Clay and my dad at the airport(naturally I cried) and went to my gate(crying) where I read this manual I have for England and waited for the plane(crying). Both flights I had went extremely well, on time and without any problems at all. (Just so you know, as I'm writing I'm hearing my voice in my head with an English accent. It's so weird! I can't even remember what an american accent sounds like until words come out of my own mouth!) I got to New York no problem where I went straight to my next gate to make sure I knew where it was. Once I checked I got a piece of pizza and an odwalla, since I'd forgotten to eat breakfast before I left, and then got straight on the plane. We had to wait a while on the plane because we were early and if we entered the UK too early we'd have to pay a fee. In the meantime I wrote in my journal and switched seats with this British lady whose husband or boyfriend was sitting next to me. She said there was this really annoying child next to her and that she would die if she had to sit next to her any longer. Naturally, for the child's and this ladies' sake, I offered to trade here seats. Nice-yes, Comfortable-not really. I didn't end up having to sit by the child but I got the best seat on the plane, the very back seat in the middle. I think my parents and anyone who has had to sit there before may appreciate. It wasn't so terrible despite the fact that it was extremely noisy, hard to sleep and I didn't see one thing on the flight(not even the city from above as we entered which is my favorite thing) due to lack of windows around me. It felt good though and I was happy to make that lady happy. Plus her husband was very nice and had asked my if I would like a "chewy" which is a piece of gum. The Lingo here is great and I have found that my vocabulary is very limited. Since I've gotten here I must've said "that's great" a billion times. I've run out of ways to say how fabulous everything is and I think people are starting to notice. He he. Anyway, I got here without incident and went through border control, exchanged money and got to Simon Godwin, my ride, on my very own. I am officially a big girl now.

Simon is so cute. Dad, I see how he could once have been very handsome. He still is but he definitely looks older than you. he kept saying he thought he used to look just like George Clooney :) So he drove me to the place I'm staying now in Birmingham. We chatted the whole hour and a half and I stayed awake. He told me things to be wary of and would teach me stuff along the way like what this bird was called and what that building is for. He really started getting into the conversation when he started talking about the country and how it was really going down hill and it was my generation that was going to get the butt of it. I learned a lot about how the health care is not working so well here, even though it's free, because of immigrants. Similar story to the US. It was really interesting.

We finally arrived and Simon and Tony, the father of the Collins family that i'm staying with, knew each other. They had known each other through some police thing years ago. Small world. So Simon left after offering to have me over anytime and take me loads of places while I'm here. oh he also offered to take me to the police kennels because he is part of the police unit here and he has the "in". Oh AND he's an expert on pitbull dogs because they're ILLEGAL here! Crazy huh? And the funny thing was that, not the day before, I was watching a news story on a little girl who had been attacked by a pitbull at the Wistisens. Naturally I brought it up in the conversation to sound intelligent and well-informed.

The Collins family is great! They are all so sweet and darling with their own personalities. Tony is quiet but when you get him talking he can really go, kind of like Kevin Wistisen for those who know him. :) He's also Jamaican with a British/Jamaican accent. Vanessa is crazy as her daughter would put it. She's so much fun and she's also bad a. ;) She is a highway patrolmen and so cute. I like her a lot. Last, but not least, definitely not least, is Hayley(don't know how to spell). She is their 16 year old daughter and she is great. I spent most of yesterday with her and she's super cute. She's really smart and artistic as well as a sixteen year old girl. There is also Jack, their dog, who is my new best friend and he always follows me around. I thought that Clay would be happy that I had a puppy friend.

Here he is:

He follows me and has to be touching you or be over your feet. It's really weird. The house is beyond darling. It is so adorable. I shall give you a tour:

Me writing this blog :)

Me and the kid's pictures

This is the outside of the house. Every house in this area looks exactly the same. It is going to be hard to get around but they are so cute.

This is the stair area leading to my room.

Bathtub. I took a bath in it and it is wonderfully deep and comfortable.

Super steep steps that lead to the loft with the exercise stuff and sewing stuff.

Living/Tele Room

Dining Room

Kitchen

This is my favorite room in the house! It's the conservatory and I think you can see why it's my favorite. It's super warm and comfy and perfect. Read there? Of course I will.

This is the back yard. They have chickens and pigeons and some grass.

This is the view from my window.

This is my room

It has hard wood floors and is quite small but perfectly comfortable. The bed is bigger than the one I've got at home so it's nice.

So that is the house and it is just so quaint and fabulous. Once I got to the house I was left alone for a couple of hours until Hayley got home from school cause the parents were away at work. I unpacked, bathed, wrote in my journal and watched some TV. It was really nice and relaxing but I can’t remember it all that well because I was so damn tired(that’s how they would say it here). J Dad told me to stay up until nine so I could adjust to the time change faster. I did it! I kept dozing and bobbing but I stayed awake for like twenty hours straight. I only slept about two hours on the flight so it didn’t help much. On the plane I saw most of Avatar and I was not impressed. Just so you know. I also saw Whip It, the roller derby movie and it was okay. Anyway, once Vanessa got home at about seven thirty we went to dinner at a curry place. It was delicious. Not knock me over delicious, but still very good. As soon as we got home I was out. I slept until eleven this morning! Ha ha but it was beautiful sleep.

Saturday-

Today I woke up and had some toast in the conservatory. Bliss. Then Vanessa, Hayley and I rode the bus to the city center to get me some things I need. The busses are double decker! But they have closed roofs, so they’re very similar to the ones in Utah just with another floor. Everyone rides the bus. Everyone. It comes every ten minutes ish which is beyond better than in Utah. We rode to the main shopping center in Birmingham and it is massive. So many stores! It’s just like a mall but with four floors and a train station inside. We walked all over and got me a bus pass, an adapter for the plugs(because they are way different here), a bank account and a phone/SIM card. Their phone numbers here are eleven numbers instead of seven. Sheesh! We were very successful and it was so great. We also went to the market and it is so incredible! It is just like in the movies where there are billions of people bustling through the stands of every kind of fruit and vegetables imaginable! I saw dragon fruit and all these fruits I have never seen before. It is so cool. I’ll have to get pictures of it and show you how cool it is. There is also a non-food market right next door that has everything imaginable. We only walked in for a minute but I saw shoe insoles, saws, clothes, uniforms, shoes, blow up toys, cords, makeup, and a plethora of other things. It is SO COOL! Vanessa says you can spend all day in there and I can’t wait too.

We saw this really cool old train station and church that were right next to this extremely modern mall and it is really an awesome contrast. There is no tax here! If it says it’s one pound, it’s one pound, none of this three cents per dollar crap. J I love it. I was asked if I wanted a baguette and I immediately thought of Beauty and the Beast. Oh! The stop lights here are just like at home except they show yellow in between the red and the green and well as the other way around. It’s brilliant. And driving on the other side of the rode isn’t that bad or different. I’ve only ridden, but I imagine I would kill someone if I had to drive here. The streets are extremely skinny and there are loads of brown people here! I love it! So many fellows brownies; Indians, Pakistani, NegroesJ. Even at home, Vanessa is the only whitie. Just like my home. Love you mom.

Well that’s all I’ve done so far and I feel great. I think I can do this. Even though I have had major homesickness I have been praying and reading the Book of Mormon and I know the Lord is helping me. This morning I was a little scared again because it’s only the second day and I don’t know if I can do it, but somehow I go do something, like the city center and it’s exactly what I needed to calm down. I know I’m supposed to be here and I can do anything with the Lord on my side. I love you all so much and miss you loads! The traveling woman, Danielle Rani Tamang

P.S. I’m going to hang out with some youth from the stake today. We’re going bowling. Could possibly be the funnest thing, bowling with the British. Tune in next time to see how it went on the Asian Itinerary.

It Has Arrived

This will be my blog for the next few months. I hope everyone can see this, please leave a comment if you can so I know. Thanks love Danielle