Awesome group = Awesome trip to Peru

It's usually not important where you are, but who you're with when you're there.

I loved being in Peru and I have some wonderful people to thank for that. It's hard to forget certain experiences on an adventure like this, especially when it's an experience like freeing a guinea pig whose about to be eaten, watching a baby alpaca fashion show on a train or learning how to say "no quiero sopa" when you just can't eat anymore "surprise ingredient" soup. Experiences are better remembered when they've been shared with amazing people. I'm glad I had this time to be with my family because I sure was missing them after being away on my study abroad. My brother Zach will be leaving soon on a mission and I have to make sure we have a lot of fun together before he leaves. How about petting a llama in Machu Picchu? That's pretty fun right?

Love Lyn

Clinic Time!

Now imagine if people here in America were lining up outside dental offices just waiting for their chance to get a tooth pulled or a cavity filled. Fun right? Now try to imagine if all of the doctors were trying to tell you to calm down in a different language and explaining that the sharp object entering your mouth is actually going to help you. Peruvians are so brave! We had little eight-year-olds coming in all by themselves telling us that they needed our help. Luckily we had some great kids in our group that were willing to entertain. My Mom and little sister Maddy don't speak a word of Spanish, but that didn't stop them. They were painting nails and giving out stickers to all these nervous kids. I loved this opportunity to meet some of the Peruvians. I'm sure they were just laughing inside when I tried to speak Spanish, but I did my best! The little kids were so cute and it was hard sometimes to sit there while they were on the verge of tears and not know how to comfort them. I need to learn Spanish...it's on my list of things to do. Luckily there were a few people with us to translate, but boy were they busy going back a forth. The first day at the clinic was so slow and not many people showed up. We were so worried that they just didn't hear about it so a few people went out on the streets to bring random people in. As the days went on it got more and more busy and I had a great time assisting my dad! It got a little boring at times when there was nothing to do so what did we do? Dance! Well at least I did...maybe that's why I got the "Boogie" award at the end of our trip. Hey, I may have made a fool of myself at times, but that's one of the best ways to have fun!

Love Lyn

Peru - The Journey There

My Friends,

Word of advice...If you're trying to get somewhere on a plane ride that is any longer than 9 hours, do yourself a favor and limit all luggage. Especially because you never know when your luck will go out and ever single time you land in a different country, people insist on going through all 11 bags your family has brought with them. I may be speaking from experience.

Also, don't assume that staying up all the night before means that you're just going to get a nice relaxing rest on your red eye flight. NOT HAPPENING. Unless you can ignore the 12-year-old girls who insist on attempting to woo your little brother the entire flight.

Last, but not least, try to put on a happy face no matter what. If you're complaining about a flight to Peru, you might as well just stick your lucky pencil up a monkey's nose because you just don't know how lucky you are!

Love Lyn

9 Days Left in Counting

Hard to believe that my adventures here in Europe are coming to an end. So much to do in such a short time. I still have museums to see, important places to visit, musicals to see, places to eat and so much more! London can't be fully appreciated in 6 weeks so I hope, more than anything, that fate will bring me back somehow. I think about what it would be like to live here. What if I wasn't going home? Would I like living here among the city life; among the craziness? My mom actually sent me this beautiful picture from outside my home in Lindon, Utah and I thought to myself...this is home for me...at least for now
Home is something different for everyone. The people here in London (that are actually Londoners - very few) know this as their home and when I look at this picture of snow on the mountains in June...I think that they must feel something similar as they walk through regents park or look out their flat to the busy streets. Missing home am I? well of course...but it's not so much a missing that makes me feel I need to return, it's more of a feeling of fondness. My home is mine, my family is mine and although I've gained so much from being here in London, I can never replace the love I have for Home...June 15th...don't come too fast!

Aye Can't beat the Scottish!

Scotland was by far one of my favorite places I've visited during this study abroad. The feeling there is something completely different from being in London. The people seem very laid back and open to talking to anyone! The place honestly made me feel like a character from Harry Potter living in a fantasy world. JK Rowling actually got her inspiration for the book sitting in a cafe called the Elephant House, which has a perfect view of the Edinburgh castle. I got to eat in this same cafe and visit a creepy graveyard just outside with Tom Riddle's grave in it. Harry Potter fans would eat this up like crazy. My favorite thing we did was an underground ghost tour. Not so much the ghost tour part, but just seeing the creepy tunnels and learning some history about Scotland. It helped that our tour guide was absolutely hysterical. Loved it in Scotland, but I'm, once again, home in London. How I missed it.

Just walking the streets of Edinburgh, Scotland! Saw everything
from dancing old men to a concrete heart shaped "spitting" stone (only
legal place to spit I guess).

Hood picture...it was super windy on our Lake District walk.

Beach walk around St. Andrews

St. Andrew's Old Course. I think my brothers are going to
kill me they'll be so jealous! The birthplace of GOLF!

Blogging Block

Blogging...it's fun right? Sure...but hard to do while I'm in a place like London! Why sit on a computer when I can be out experiencing the world! For this reason, I struggle with blogging. I do wish I had better internet at the BYU centre here and maybe it would be more appealing to upload photos. Instead of taking two hours to put two pictures up...maybe it would take about five minutes? I'll try to improve my blogging skills in the future, but for now, I'm going to squeeze every minute out of these days in London that I have left. Only two weeks left! I'm going to miss this place more than I can express in words! I will mostly miss the parks...we don't have a Regent's Park, Holland Park or Hyde Park in Provo. Running just won't be the same...

Going back to the Roman times and having a little "bath" of our own was absolutely brilliant! We found a spa in Bath and paid a few pounds to spend an hour and a half in this interesting little hot tub. When in Bath...do what the Romans do!