Been Doing A Lot

So it has been awhile since I updated this so I have a lot to say...Goodness...Lets see....Wednesday we headed down to Dover where this beautiful castle is, but it was closed due to "bad weather." I'm sorry but that was not nearly enough snow or ice to close it down. So we all bummed around on the fricking cold English Channel shore which was pretty breathtaking considering we could see France very clearly and the White Cliffs. After that, we drove up to Cantebury to see that cathedral which was very beautiful. We were there a little too long, but I got to walk around the town a little so that was good. I got these super cut hot pink (surprise) mittens with the fingers cut off. I feel like I could break out in a song from Oliver at any moment and to be honest, I have some. :) Wednesday night was sports/dance night at our student union so we headed over there. The dancing didn't really start until 9:30 so I had to sit through 3 britney songs...It was torture you guys! You just don't NOT dance to Britney. It should be a crime!! So we finally started dancing and I was there until about 11:00 or so. Thursday was the free hooka night at our student union. Yeah for real. It was sooo fun. For those of you that don't know what the hooka is, I'll explain later because if I write it out now, it may look worse than it really is. Don't worry, its not illegal or anything. Friday I booked 3 trips!Next Thursday I am going to Ireland for the weekend, the weekend after that I am going to Wales, and then 2 weeks after that I am going to Spain! I really needed to do something Valentines weekend because big surprise, I'm single on valentines and this year I don't get to babysit my cute cousins which really bums me out. Im so excited to finally get to really travel and I can't wait to do more traveling...Friday night was really fun for me though. I went on the boat dinner party down the Thames with the church I go to. There were about 100 or more college kids there so I met a ton of people. We ate, learned how to salsa dance, and got to see London at night which is just spectacular! After we docked I found out some people live right by me so I went and hung out with them at their flat. We drank tea of course and then just talked. I have real British friends now and it totally rocks!! Yesterday, one of my flatmates and I went to Portebello Market down in Notting Hill. It was sooo much fun and we saw so much cool stuff--pricey stuff as well. I got a couple gifts for some people, but didn't see much for myself really. I want to go back though and take some pics along with seeing the different places the movie was filmed. So I just wrote a lot and Im sorry you have to read it all, but I'll try not to go as long without writing next time. Send me some e-mails because it absolutely makes my day to hear from you all. Much love!!

Churches and Castles

First of all, it is bloody cold here! I still look totally posh though with my pink coat and scarfed tied delicately around my neck. everyone wears scarves here by the way. well i've done a lot in the couple of days so i thought I'd let you all know what I've been doing. Friday night, a bunch of us headed over to westminister abbey to their evensong service. oh my gosh, it was beautiful!! The all male choir just rang throughout the church. I wanted to just close my eyes and listen to the sounds, but there was also so much to look at in the church itself. it definitely put my dear old heartland to shame structure wise, but I'd take a Brad Mann sermon over theirs anyday! Yesterday we finally headed out of London at least a little bit. We first stopped at Hampton court palace which reminded me a lot of Versailles, especially the gardens. It was a huge palace with very elegant rooms although I wouldn't call them homey. I'd gladly live in the Pea Pod over it. :) After looking around there for a couple of hours, we headed over to windsor castle. Windsor the town itself looked absolutely cute and had great shops, but we didn't have time to look around. well, i stopped in one shop--a kid store to look for something for darci and Alyssa and I found these adorable matching dresses, but they were out of my budget. Well, they wouldn't have been too expensive in regular pounds, but in American dollars, it would have killed me. oh well, I'll just find something much better for the two of them. The castle, was just amazing you guys. It kinda had it's own wall with a church and other places stuck in it. They really wouldn't need to even leave the castle. The royal family still goes there frequently. I was hoping William would be there for the weekend, but no such luck. We got to tour probably 1/16th of the palace because this crib is GINORMOUS!! However, the rooms we saw were just breathtaking. we also got to look at some of the toys the queen played with when she was a kid and she had the biggest dollhouse I had ever seen. for those of you that know the size of my room at the haven, it wouldn't have even fit in that room. the kids probably had to have ladders to play in it. it was crazy. I don't imagine fischer price made it. :) I loved walking around and looking at the great view of the country side from the castle. it was just refreshing to be out of the city. last night, it was rainy so we just stayed in and watched a movie.
Today, I did homework, but I did do some of it somewhere interesting. I ventured off in an area I haven't been before and found this charming cemetery that was tucked away. I walked around and then settled on a bench to read for about an hour or so. It got pretty cold so I came home for tea and a scone before heading off to church at 5. I went to this really cool--very collegy--church about 20 minutes from my flat. I met a lot of really nice brits there. I might be going to a dance/dinner with them on a boat on the river Thames next Friday night. It's a bit pricey, but it'd be the same for a theatre ticket, so I may splurge. I think it'd be a great chance to get to really know people my age that go to that church.
anyhoo.....this week i've got class as always, an excursion to cantebury, and then a literary walking tour on thursday. I'll get to see where famous authors live and yes, I will try to find J.K. Rowling and stalk her...:) just kidding...sorta.....
well, cheerio....

Museums and one great show

Every Tuesday night we have a speaker come in from London to talk about different eras or just give information about the UK. Our speaker this past week did his grad school at KU and he told a story about when he drove to colorado and when he stopped in salina. I was pretty proud...well this isn't the point of my story, but a cool fact. After our lecture, the next day we go out and see whatever we talked about the night before.Yesterday we had our first excusion to the museum of london which was actually quite cool. we literally walked through the history of London and I saw some awesome artifacts--like really old ones people. I also saw the most ornate carriage I had ever seen. It literally looked like it was out of a fairytale. It didn't have any spinning rims or DVD players in the backseat, but it was still pretty sweet!! After the museum, Dana and I really wanted to go see a show since we were down in the theatre area. So we went to see if we could get tickets to Andrew Lloyd Weber's new musical, Woman in White. We got half price tickets for the show and sat in the FRONT ROW. it was such an amazing show!! I got teared up a few times because it was so powerful. Michael Crawford, the originial phantom, is in it although we didn't see he. however, his part really isn't that significant so i didn't feel as if I were missing a lot. I would highly recommend this show to anyone.
after the show, dana and i had to book it to catch the last tube of the night. we were packed in that car like sardines. It was crazy. I wanted to play marco polo, but somehow I thought it wouldn't be a good suggestion.
Overall, it was just an awesome day. I'll post a picture in the next couple of days of me outside the theatre. it's a beautiful theatre by the way!! tonight I'm going on a walking tour in the mayfair area to see where lots of famous people have lived. I'll let you know how that goes soon. Let me know how things are back in the states!
LOVE YOU ALL!!

digits

hey everyone...if you feel like spending an arm and leg or call me, here are my digits and i DO have a phone now.

to call me: 011 44 207 370 5289

the best time to catch me is anywhere between 10:45 in the morning which would be REALLY late at night for you OR anytime after 6 on the weekdays, except for on tuesdays because i have a night lecture.Wednesdays is excursion day so i might stay away from that day too. so if you want to catch me at like 6 on some night, you'll have to call me at noon your time. we're 6 hours ahead.

so you and some friends chip in on a phone card and give me a ring. i miss you all too much!!

love, raegan

p.s. some cool news, madonna lives near my school and you know what that means...britney is friends with madonna so i'm bound to meet them both and be discovered as the next big thang. right?...hey I can dream.

sunday in the park

i'm looking for a church to go to here in london, but looking for one is like looking for a needle in a haystack, so i took the day off and my roomies and i headed off for a nice picnic in hyde park. hyde park is connected to kensington gardens where kensington palace is. that is where princess di lived in case you didn't know. it was a beautiful sunny day, although it was a bit chilly.
yesterday we went over to piccadilly circus area in hopes of getting some theatre tickets, but our show was sold out. we then went to the national portrait gallery. it's bizarre to be looking at pictures that are actually older than our country (america that is.) after that, we headed over to covent garden which is a super awesome shopping area with cute street markets and street performers. i had my first english tea and scone there and they were both just absolutely delightful! last night we headed to a cool irish pub around the corner and listened to some live music. they were playing all cover songs and all of them were american tunes. i tried to make it into a club instead of a pub by dancing--keep in mind i'm completely sober, but most likely everyone probably thought i was a little tipsy. we met some cool british students and talked to them for about an hour or so.
i keep forgetting that i start school tomorrow and i'm not just here on vacation. although i only go to classes 3 times a week so it's not going to be extremely time consuming. i am excited to get a little more structure in my schedule though and go to cafes to study and read.
i'm hoping to join a christian club here along with a photography one. how sweet will that be! they even have a meat appreciation club....don't think i'll be joining that one. :) Please be praying i find a great christian group and a great church to get plugged into. i feel so weird not having that right now! i've been so used to it. i miss my crusade family and heartland family...along with everyone and little things like mcalisters sweet tea. i hope you know i'm thinking of all of you even when i'm having the time of my life. all my love...RJ

okay here is my real address so send me stuff..

raegan welsh
17 penywern rd
earls court
london
SW9 9TT

i don't have a phone yet so i'll let you know later what my number is and how to call me since you need the country code and stuff....
peace!!1

The Fun has only begun

hey all! i can't even begin to tell you how wonderful london is. i don't even know where to start. although i miss the haven a lot, you shoudl see my flat. it is sooo amazing so that in itself has just been incredible! the first day we got here we got a walking tour around our super cute area, had fish and chips which were mainly the skin of the fish so pretty gross, then that night we went on a pub crawl. yes, me...raegan went on a pub crawl. my roomies and i only went to a couple because we were so jet lagged, but it was super fun. the pubs here are soo cool. we went to a super cool one called black widow which was super goth, but played like the most random american music in it. i think it was having an identity crisis or something. we found our way back home that night even in the dark so we were super proud of ourselves!
yesterday we went on the readers digest bus tour of london so i saw all the biggies like big ben, westminister, tower of london, etc. this city is amazing. we then got dropped off in piccadilly for lunch. we wetn to china town...yes seriously i'm getting chinese in england? what is my deal here? after lunch we looked around before heading over to see the complete works of shakespeare abridged which was very funny, although i think it was better when i saw it at salina community theatre..no kidding! after the show we had to find our way back so we road the tube. last night we kinda just hung out and then at 10 2 of my roomies and i walked around why i played my harmonica. it was really funny, but maybe you had to be there.
this morning and all day today we had our orientation at imperial college and met all our teachers. tonight i don't know what we are doing, but we're thinking something free. you'd be amazed at all the free things to do here. it's very nice since it costs like a billion dollars to do anything else thanks to exchange rate.
all in all, it's just incredible. we're starting to plan some weekend trips like to scotland and ireland before heading over to the mainland. i'm trying not to get hit by cars because they drive even worse than springfield drivers. i feel like i'm in a frogger game when crossing the street. also, there are some beautiful men here..... :)
well, i love you all and miss you just as much.

i'm here

i can't write much due to time, but just wanted to let you all know that i arrived safely and that my flat is fricking AMAZING!! I've got a super rad balcony off of it too that looks over this street with awesome brownstone historic buildings all the way down the street. Here is my info!!!

raegan welsh
17 penywern rd
flat 5
london, SW5

and here are my digits...we're 6 hours ahead in case you didn't know
011 44 207 370 5289

okay i don't think my numbers are quite right and i'm still waiting for the second portion of my address so don' t try to send me anything or call. i'll let you know when i get the right one.

Bon Voyage

Hey everyone!! Well, I head up to KC tonight to fly out early tomorrow morning for London. I can't believe it is here! I'm actually pretty much all packed and it is only 8:50 in the morning so I would say I've got it together. It is suppose to be icy in Chicago tomorrow so there may be a chance for delays or chance for accidents so pray that the weather would be suitable for landings and take-offs!
I'm pretty darn excited now. I'm sure I won't get much sleep tonight. I'm hoping I"ll be able to sleep in the airport doing my layover and on the plane. Although I heard the plane I am riding on is sorta ghetto and shakes all the time. I also will smell like curry when I get to London most likely since my airline is AirIndia. A little shady don't you think? You might want to also pray I just make it there! :)
For my SMS buds, I hope you are having a great first day of classes! I miss being in S-town already! I love you all so much and next time you'll hear from me, I'll be in London!! Peace!!

Back From Denver

Well, I just got back from Crusade's conference in Denver and what a blast! It was such a good way to "go out." I definitely needed a last "party" with my fellow Crusade pals and of course my buds. I learned a lot as always and I'm eager to apply it all to my daily walk of course. It was really hard to say bye to my girls, but it was so great because they all prayed for my last night which gave me such a peace about going and calmed my nerves. I am hoping to really be used by God over there where He really isn't talked about. I want to see if I would like to do overseas missionary so this will be my trial run I suppose! I've got a lot to do now along with getting ready and packing. I'm hoping I'm not too stressed and get everything accomplished. ahhh...I can't believe I am going!!! whoa....well, i'll write on monday and we'll see how I am feeling then.