miss emma.

today i hiked ten miles in the english countryside. yes, you read the previous sentence correctly. i, emma johnson, chose to go on a ten mile hike. who am i turning into?

we left just before nine this morning and caught the circle line to victoria station, where we were supposed to meet up with the group and get tickets from roger, our program director, for another train. the circle line, however, is super unreliable and was late, which made us late, and in the panic of trying to hurry and find roger and the early morning crowds of people going to work, we lost macy. we managed to get on the train with only seconds to spare, but poor macy didn't make it. we all felt terrible, but turns out she had a pretty nice day by herself in london.

(george and his brothers saying goodbye, post-hike)

george chiddock, the cute little man on the far right, organizes this hike for the program every semester byu kids are over here. he is just the sweetest man. he is in my ward, so i've been able to develop a friendship with him. not only is it incredible that he can hike ten miles at his age, but he has such an effervescence for life that is contagious. george chiddock is a gem. 

we had been told that the hike could possibly be muddy, so instead of wearing my cute pink nike running shoes that have only been worn twice, i decided to wear my wellies, which was a smart call on my part. they are pretty dirty now, but my feet stayed warm and dry the entire time. the hike was beautiful and level ground most of the time, but in the beginning, i thought i might die. we hiked up this ridiculous hill, seriously at a 70 degree incline, and it was sooo long. by the end of it, i was really dizzy and my vision was starting to get seriously fuzzy. i kid you not, this hill was a beast. thank goodness there was only one.

i know i'm not really the outdoorsy type of girl but i really enjoyed today. sometimes i really like nature. there's something therapeutic and calming about it. it's my goal this year to spend more time outdoors and since i'm going to be going to school in the spring time, i will get to experience a whole different side of utah. i want to hike the canyon and go camping and hike the y. it might take some persuading once i'm in provo, but once i get myself out there, i really do love the great outdoors. 

we didn't get home til just after five with the train rides and such. terry made the most delicious spaghetti and then she brought out warm gooey chocolate chip cookies. i'm going to miss terry's food so much when this program is over. i was probably just so satisfied with my meal because i was starving, but i ate so much and it felt so good. i am now inexpressibly content and full.

i think i've got some major endorphins working right now because i am feeling great. i know that i probably won't be saying this tomorrow, when i wake up and my butt is sore, but i feel good right now. i feel content and full and good and warm. and that's how it should be.