London: Days 6-7

Thursday:

The morning started fairly early with a run with Krislynn. I find it humorous that we never ran together in Kosovo. I was intimidated by the fact that she was so amazing! I psyched myself out that I wouldn't be able to keep up with her because she runs so many more miles than I do. Well, I've surprised myself this week because I've run with her for the whole time and haven't wanted to quit. I usually don't talk a TON when I run because I run out of energy and breath, but we talked pretty much the entire time on our runs and I was left with more energy than I started. Every day we took a different path, but we always started off the run by running through Green Park to Buckingham Palace, since not everyone can say they have done this! We ended up going to Starbucks after our run and preparation for the day. As Krislynn and I shared a granola bar and drank our warm drinks, we conversed about life, love and other mysteries. I absolutely love our conversations. Our Starbucks friend, Jayce, came to sit with us during his break and we came up with the details of our evening of fun. 

One of the things we have been looking forward to has been the Borough Market. Sean visited it a few weeks ago on his trip so we all got excited about going. We even planned some of the other activities around going to the market! On a side note, having Sean navigate and inform us on things to do was incredibly helpful! Without him, our trip would have been a lot harder. I'm sure we would have gotten lost a few times too. We zipped here and there without looking like true tourists because we had an amazing guide to accompany us everywhere. You can get goods/products, fresh fruits/veggies, desserts, meats, bread, drinks, and other food at the Borough Market. We had lots of fun. Jeremy and Krislynn made a bet while there. Jeremy's allergic to grass and Krislynn is a vegetarian. He told her that he would drink wheatgrass if she would take a bite of a kangaroo burger. Yes, both happened however Krislynn spit her kangaroo burger out of her mouth. For lunch I enjoyed a bratwurst and lots of delicious desserts like a tart and cheesecake.

This chick thinks she's funny as she reenacts me falling up the stairs.

After the market, we headed to pick up a few souvenirs but had a hard time picking out things because we didn't know what would be of use to anyone so we quickly gave up. After a few stores, we started to head back and Krislynn's vertigo started acting up. I helped lead her all the way down the street, through the tube station, and back to the hotel. None of us talked. As I led her I felt her give me her load and she held tightly to my arm as we slowly made our way to the hotel. It's such a picture of humility and how Jesus walks with us through it holding us each step of the way. It was as if she was saying I cannot do it alone. The entire time, I hurt for her and wished I could make it better or take it away. The way back seemed like an eternity and not because we were going so slow. We made it back though and she made herself comfortable on the bed. I laid beside her on the bed and prayed for her until I fell asleep myself and it wasn't soon after that everyone was fast asleep. She woke up a lot better so we decided to stick with our dinner plans, but she commented, "Everything in this city moves!"

We met Jayce at Starbucks and headed to a Lebanese restaurant called Alwaha. Our time there was quite enjoyable as was the food. Jayce ordered lots of dishes so we had a family style meal of Lebanese food. Falafels and humus are two of my new favorites. I even told Jeremy I think I could be a vegetarian, but I would still want to eat meat! :) I could do it, but I would probably get tired of the same food over and over. After dinner, Jayce wanted to take us to a pub. We walked a ways and then decided to hop on a double decker bus for the remainder of the trip to Waxy O'Connors, an Irish pub that had an American 4th of July celebration. They were only playing good ol' American songs instead of Irish ones.

His head hit the ceiling!

Krislynn and Sean were all about pulling an all-nighter tonight so they tried to convince us that's what we should do. During the early part of the evening we told Krislynn that "home is where the McBryar's are" and expressed the desire we have for her to feel part of our family. The conversation turned into another edification time as well as a time of sadness because we knew our time together was really almost up. I've never handled sadness well. K and I talked at one point tonight about crying. I told her I wasn't scared of crying, however I usually stop myself from crying because of how other people may perceive me. In Muslim families, they have much of a shame/honor culture. They don't do things that would bring shame upon their family. They wouldn't talk poorly against anyone in their family because it would make the family look bad. In the case of me crying in public, I feel like I bring shame to myself because I don't really like being vulnerable. It's funny though because people read my feelings all the time based on my facial expressions so I don't know why the act of crying makes me fearful. I am just ashamed when I get emotional. I'm not the best looking crying person so I think that adds into my thoughts. When the subject of leaving came up, I crawled under the bed because I was sad. However for much of the evening we looked at pictures and then talked about random things which made for some happy times too. We made it until 4 am but then I crashed for a few hours because I knew I needed some rest to function during our trip home.

Friday: 

Since we stayed up so late, our morning run only happened in our dreams. Starbucks called our names after we got ready. On our way to Starbucks, Krislynn and I went to the pharmacy down the street. It was my last little bit of time of just the two of us. I've loved soaking up all of these little moments of conversation, from the bathrooms to tube rides to runs. I'm becoming a fan of visiting a place like Starbucks every day because you really get to know the staff there. Good conversations are part of every coffee shop right?! I'm also a fan of walking everywhere. Even though Jeremy loves driving, walking is so much more appealing (for me), unless it's cold! I love the fact that a bus or train can take you anywhere too so you don't have to walk. The modes of transit are many and most of them are good for your health too. We agree that we do not want to live in London, but it is a beautiful place. 

After Starbucks, we headed to Kings Arms where we had our amazing conversation earlier in the week. We waited on them to open, ordered right away, and talked fast because we knew our time was coming to an end. I was in a sad mood all morning because I knew what was about to happen. Our time there was so sweet but it did come to an end. We said our "see you later" words there at the restaurant because Jeremy knew it would be easier for me in public (because of my crying issue). Oh it was hard. I couldn't even say what I might have said because I couldn't think straight. I made it through though. 

One of the top 3 moments of the trip happened up those stairs when we ate here on Sunday night. That amazing conversation stirred up so much inside of me.

Jeremy and I rushed out of the restaurant, picked up our luggage at the hotel, bought a tube ticket to London/Heathrow airport, and got to the platform as the train was stopping. What a blessing!!! It took us a little less than an hour to get to the airport. Jeremy was a little stressed because he couldn't check in online and when he tried to check in at the airport it wouldn't give him boarding passes. We ended up having to go to another desk where the lady told us they overbooked the plane. My mind immediately went to, "Oh well, we can stay here!" She worked everything out and we even got an exit seat, without paying the extra amount! This was just another blessing. Jeremy's feet are always crammed in the seats so it was so nice to have some space for 8 1/2 hours. During take off, Jeremy talked to the man next to us and I talked to the flight attendant whose seat was facing me. It's hard not to talk to someone who is staring right at you! I have finally become okay with talking to strangers again! YAY! Jeremy and I both watched four movies on the way home. My back started hurting towards the end so I kept getting up to stretch.

Amber, Trey and Riley came to pick us up at the airport and we headed to dinner at Chick-fil-a. It started storming pretty badly on the way home. Trey is an excellent driver though so he had absolutely no problems. I was exhausted so I didn't talk much at all in the car, but I did play peek-a-boo with Riley who was awake the entire way home. It's so refreshing to hear his laugh again. Man, I've missed him and his sweet parents! Amber asked me what I was going to do for the rest of the summer and I told her that my plans were to hang out with her. That sounds good right?!