Flowers

This post is going to be very straightforward. It’s springtime — almost summer! — and I thought I’d post a tribute to all the various flowers I’ve seen. Enjoy.

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Roses (ha!):

* It turns out one of my Pomona friends is in London! We met up at Camden Market and ate some good food (arepas, which I grew very fond of from my time in D.C., as well as halloumi fries, which sound better than they are, unfortunately). I talked with a different friend this week, who observed that Pomona peers are unique — Pomona is a sufficiently weird place that just being with another Pomona person is really heartwarming. I concur. Here are some pictures of our afternoon:

The CONSTITUTION

Camden Town

Glorious Arepa

Happy Friends with Arepas

Halloumi Fries

Boba!

* One of the Marshalls living near us is returning to the U.S. soon to do a summer internship, so her flatmates hosted a going-away party for her in a local park. It was quite wholesome.

* The weather has truly become glorious — I feel like I’m back in Claremont, except it’s more humid, and there are far more bugs here. (In other words, it is still not truly as glorious as Pomona, but it is pretty close!) It’s a bit funny to see just how many Brits go outside whenever there’s even a little sun to sunbathe, though.

Buds:

* I’m going to Bury St Edmunds (a small town about a two-hour train ride away) to meet up with a Marshall friend. We last saw each other in Ely in December, so it’ll be fun to see her and to explore this new place.

* I’m starting to search for a summer job. I’ve decided I want to work in a pub. What better way, after all, to understand the British than to work in their natural habitat — the pub? Plus, I think it’ll be nice to have some kind of physical work. Fingers crossed that I can find a job; I think the reopening should mean there’s a lot of availability, but I also have literally zero relevant experience, so maybe I’ll have difficulty!

* I met a Michigan law graduate at church a few Sundays ago, and we’re planning on getting coffee this Sunday to chat about her career. I’m really excited to hear about it.

Thorn: The LSE gym is undergoing renovations starting next week, and so it will be closed for a few weeks, which is a bummer — I feel like I’ve essentially gotten nowhere with strength training because I haven’t had much uninterrupted access to the gym. But I am running more now!

Gratitude: Interestingly enough, last Sunday was “Gratitude Sunday” at the church — apparently a relatively new initiative meant to “encourage and promote a ‘gratitude culture’ in Britain, . . . in our personal as well as our communal lives.” Here’s what I wrote on Sunday.

I am grateful for:

* friends, family, and the chance to meet new people;

* the opportunity to explore a new place;

* the time of others in helping me think through and learn about faith; and

* mentors who cared about me both as a student and as a person.