Guy Fawkes Day!!

November 5 is one of the most celebrated holidays in England. On this day in 1605 this man tried to blow up the Houses of Parliament to protest the Protestant rule. This day is now bonfire night. We have been debating in the office on what exactly they were celebrating. I was invited by a few British friends to go to a bonfire with them. So I put on my wellies and joined the crowd of 20,000 people. My friends told me that they are celebrating the fact that he was caught and didnt succeed in blowing up parliament. So they have a huge bonfire and put a dummy on top.
Then there is a ceremony to light the bonfire with torches. The fire eventually goes to the top of the bonfire to engulf the dummy in flames. They put fire crackers inside of the dummy so when it burns completely they all pop like crazy. Now you know that guy fawkes is completely dead. Then everyone cheers.

The next piece of the entertainment of the night is a huge fireworks display. Everyone turns the opposite direction and watches the fireworks

It was a great night and the highlight of the weekend. Here is a picture of my friend and me as we enjoy the night.

USA, USA, USA

Yes, I went to the gymnastics world championships. It was the womens all around competition. I have never been so excited for an event as I was this when I found out it was in London. It was incredible. Jessica even came from America to go. I have always wanted to see something like this.
Here we are in the nose bleed section in our gymnastic shirts.


It was a fantastic evening. It helped that USA is definitely number 1.
It was so nerve racking to watch, but USA pulled out on top taking gold and silver medals. It was so cool to have won and to hear the national anthem. Here are the USA girls in pink on the podium along with the Japanese girl who made me really nervous at the end.




And of course the flags flying high.

What country am I in?

I decided to take a day and go into London and check out some Turkish neighborhoods and see what was there and if I could get involved there. It was so overwhelming as every culture I could think of collided in this area. There was a market with stuff from Africa, Turkey, the Middle East, India and so many other places. At the end of the street there was a grocery store. I was so overwhelmed and couldnt figure out what language to speak. They had British food, Turkish food, and American food all in one store. I bought a few things but it was a bit of culture shock. I couldnt figure out what country I was in. Then I walked, walked, and walked some more. I came to one street that was just so diverse I couldnt believe it so I took a few pictures to document my time.

The one on the left is definitely a mosque and the below picture is a Baptist church. They were right next to each other. I thought that was interesting.



























So I took more pictures. Here is a Turkish restaurant literally across the street.

Then I walked just a bit further and guess what I saw. You guessed it, a Mexican restaurant. Before this, I thought I had seen a piece of every culture in my day out but I was obviously wrong. By this time, I was exhausted but I decided to walk a little more. Next I came upon this
I am not sure what is going on here but for about a block of walking I saw men and boys dressed up like this coming from every corner. I was so amazed at all of the cultures I could come in contact with in just a few short hours.