Day 15 & 16

London: 12:10 AM (July 10, 2013)

CST: 6:10 PM (July 9th, 2013)

We had an uneventful and mostly sleepy flight today, followed by a great afternoon of sight seeing in London.  We went to Hyde Park and also walked to Buckingham Palace.  After dinner (fish and chips, of  course), we went over to Wimbledon.

London feels so strange after being in India.  Prices are "lower" and it's so quiet!  There aren't really any car horns or children yelling "Hi American!"  (Let alone Pastor Todd yelling back "Bye Indian!")  It's weird to step outside to look for our group when we're so in the habit of just looking for the "white people."  There are no rickshaws and no garbage on the streets.  It doesn't seem like these things should make me miss India, but they do.  

London: 10:26 PM (July 10, 2013)

CST: 4:26 PM (July 10, 2013)

We had a super great day in London today!  A group of us hopped on the Big Bus tour around 9:00 this morning and spent the day touring.  Katherine and I visited Baker Street (Sherlock Holmes), Chinatown,  Big Ben, and the Towers of London and saw so much more!  Among the sites we saw were the Marble Arch, Piccadilly Circus, Haymarket, Trafalgar Square, Westminster, St. James, St. Paul's, London Eye, London Bridge (via river cruise), the buildings of parliament, Harrod's, Gloucester Road, Notting Hill, Kensington and so much more!  It was an all day adventure, and we were a little bummed to miss Portabello Road (only saw it from the bus) and the Beatles Tour, but we had a really great time!  We grabbed a light dinner and ate in Hyde Park while we reflected on our time in India and swapped stories.  We picked up a few souvenirs, and met up with everyone else for dinner at a pub.  

As we walked through London I couldn't help but think of some things that I won't take for granted for a long time:

*Cars stopping for you at crosswalks

*No cars honking

*Garbage cans

*Street sweepers

*Clean feet

*Grass

*Not having to guess if it's safe to eat from a street vendor

*Toilet paper in the bathroom

*Being able to wash your face in the shower

*Smiling because you can't help it (we realized today that our faces were "straight")

*Internet

*Paved roads

*Clean water (brushing your teeth without a water bottle)

I didn't even realize I was missing most of these things until I had them back (or in the smiling case, until I didn't have it anymore).  It was a little tough to be in London today after being in India for two weeks.  It was hard to appreciate such affluence when we just came from such poverty.  I just kept imagining the kids or the pastors walking with me down the streets of London and how big their eyes would be.  Don't get me wrong, London is great, and it's nice to have a day of relaxation and reflection before we head home (and to get a little bit of a time zone adjustment), but it's definitely made me identify a few of the ways this trip has changed me.

~Becky Haddad