Day 21

Today was full of unexpected surprises, and I loved every minute of it! The highlight of the day was going to Wimbledon, but more about that in a minute.

I finished my midterm paper last night and FINALLY have everything ready to turn in tomorrow! It's a huge amount of stress lifted from my shoulders. It's really hard to go to school in a foreign country. All I want to do is sight see and enjoy London, and even when I do, school is always in the back of my mind. It's not that I don't enjoy what I'm learning, because I sincerely do. I just don't like deadlines pulling my focus away from all the trips I have been taking. I am certain, however, the things I'm learning here (both in school and not) will remain with me for the rest of my life. There are new experiences daily that are changing my outlook on my career and my life. It is very true when they say that studying abroad is more than just learning in a classroom.

So, after I got back to the flat from the school this morning, Lauren and I got ready and went to Wimbledon (of course hoping we might be able to get in and see a match or two). Turns out, we got there pretty early, so we were fairly far up in the queue (line) when they started letting people in. We got in and were SO excited!









I have to say, I have never been much of a tennis fan per se, but after tonight I'm ready to buy a racket and learn how to play. The first game we watched was a woman's match with Melanie Oudin, an American and a woman from Australia.



It was so much fun to watch because they are SO good - best tennis I've ever seen for sure. Australia ended up winning, but I really wasn't upset about it - she definitely outplayed the other girl.

We also watched a men's double, which was even more awesome because they serve the ball so fast you can barely see it in the air. Lauren and I were trying to figure out nationalities of these teams - we never quite figured it out, but I think one team was French and the other was either British or Australian (they spoke English). The British/Australian/possibly Canadian team ended up winning. In the middle of that game, however, a man sitting right in front of us turns around and says, "Would anyone like center court tickets?" I immediately laughed at his obvious joke. The center court is the arena-size tennis court in the center of Wimbledon where the big matches are usually held. People reserve spots in there for months and the tickets aren't cheap. Turns out he was completely serious. He wanted to watch the match he was at, and had no need for the tickets the rest of that day. Lauren and I were giddy at the thought of getting to see inside the stadium.



No one REALLY cool was playing by this point of the day, but it was still worth seeing the inside of the center court - very cool.

Time for tennis lessons!