Just Try and Catch a Breath

So this week has been an absolute whirlwind! I'm just catching my breath now.

Monday was interesting because it was the first time in two weeks I had Renaissance Literature and Culture. I remembered the roomnumber, I was so proud of myself. Of course, I showed up two hours early to class. I am such an overachiever. To solve my problem I went ahead and went to EAT where I had a tuna and cheddar sandwich as well as a cupcake. It was freaking fantastic. When it was time to head to class, I climbed three flights of stairs again just to sit down in class and feel the need to fall asleep. My Renaissance class is from 4-6 so I hit a slump from 4-5 and don't catch my second breath till 5. After that was over, I stopped by my latest addiction, Cafe Nero, and got some amazing coffee before heading home to study.

Tuesday was the busy day. Nekol and I had classes from 10-4. Writing London was easy enough but in Contemporary British Authors, I had a tough time. We were talking about our latest book we read, Sheepshagger by Niall Griffiths. This book is very graphic in both violence and language which are normally things I can take but the very first scene has to deal with the death of an innocent lamb. This class was also not as talkative as other classes because we have no Welsh/Cymru in class. Our teacher is of Welsh decent and he did most of the talking. I'm thinking race is going to be a huge issue in this class and it kind of worries me since my "valued opinion" as a white, American, female is zilch in that class. Oh well, we'll see what happens when we talk about our book next week which has "black on black crime" as our teacher and the class put it.

After this class, Nekol and I ran home to get ready for that night. We had foolishly bought tickets for Mother Courage and Her Children at the National Theatre for the same night we had a free ticket to go on the London Eye. Of course the ticket was with our social programme with University of Westminster and so we had a specific time we could get on. Our show was at 7:30, it takes 30 minutes to make a full rotation on the London Eye, and we didn't queue up until 6:30. Nekol and I stood in line, not really hopeful, saying that if we didn't get into a carriage before 6:45 (the queue was quite long) that there would be no chance of us getting to ride and we'd have to bail. Nekol and I board a carriage at 6:47 and are immediately transported to a different world. I found my second favorite spot and it resides in a carriage in the London Eye. It's gorgeous, seeing the city lit up completely at night and being able to spot places. I could barely breathe it was so beautiful.

Of course, it's 7:20 and Nekol and I are at the front of the carriage ready to break down the door as soon as they open it. There is a sign over the exiting ramp that says "No Running," and Nekol and I can't help but laugh at the irony of this. As soon as we clear the ramp, I yell "GO!" and we bust out running along the Thames to get to the National Theatre. Luckily for us the National is along the Thames just like the London Eye but normally it's a 20 minute walk. Nekol and I made it to the theatre and in our seats in 8 minutes flat. I was beyond glad too because Mother Courage has to be my favorite straight play that I have seen as of yet, ever. It was absolutely fantastic. I don't want to ruin it but here a couple of things. Fiona Shaw as Mother Courage is brilliant. The boy who plays Swiss Cheese, Mother Courage's son, is also Dudley Dursley. The young woman who plays Katrin is deaf and my friends and I still cannot believe how this is because she reacted beautifully to everything. The signs of true and amazing acting.

Wednesday was fun. Nekol, Lavinia, and I went walking around Seven Dials where we went through many shops. It was as if we were in pure girl mode. There are two stores I absolutely loved: Octopus and Forbidden Planet. Octopus is a store where everything is beyond cute. I found a pair of Alice in Wonderland earrings that I really wanted but they were twenty quid which I couldn't cough up for a pair of earrings even if they are Alice in Wonderland. If they had been fifteen quid, maybe, but not twenty. We then found Forbidden Planet which is a gigantic store of nerdom. Nekol and I freaked over the size of their Dr Who memorbilia section and all three of us just wandered through, awestruck.

Later that night I made Dumplings, glazed carrots, and dinner rolls. It was an awesome dinner. Nekol and I got ready and left to go see Warhorse. This is a play that focuses heavily on puppetry which was half cool and half very "wtf?" The goose was downright hilarious. The horses were kind of creepy, rather Thestral  looking. There was one review that said this play would affirm our love of life...they couldn't be more wrong. Nekol and I bawled during the second act. We were so depressed we bought ice cream on our way home.

Today has been a blah day. I woke feeling as if I had been hit by a semi. I dressed in my gauchos, which is universal sign of "don't push, I will hurt you badly." I then went to the British Library (for the last time mind you) with Nekol to read a play that I, again, didn't like. Go figure. Nekol and I then headed home where I found out someone had knicked my pizza...not cool but whatevs.

My flight for Dublin leaves in six hours. I cannot wait to go. This weekend is going to prove to be fun, I am downright sure of it.

<3,
Dre

An Ecumenical Project and Peter Pan

Today a really good friend of mine flew in from Germany to stay with me for the week. Miss Lavinia over at  I Write All Down is studying in Florence for the semester and is keeping track of her adventures. I haven't seen this girl since May of last school year so I was rather excited when she told me she was off for Fall Break and needed a place to stay. I readily offered my humble abode and she's here!

Before Lavinia got here, however, Nekol and I went to church next door to the International House. It is an Ecumenical Project as it is both Anglican and Methodist. I know, crazy right? I have never heard of it being like this and Lavinia had a good statement, "I don't know if I like church being a project." Well, it was a fantastic service. The pastor that preached today was heart warming and very passionate of what he spoke. Today his homily had the moral, "Do not settle for your current situation. Be open to new options." I've always felt like I've been like that. I'm studying abroad would be my main reason to prove that but I know I've probably shut myself from things in the past that I shouldn't have. One should never grow lax in their life and just settle for things but aim higher. At the end of the service, Nekol and I met several members of the congregation and told them all about ourselves (repeating much of the same information over and over again) before leaving to go meet up with Lavinia.

After the three of us had convened and Lavinia had taken a shower (washing herself  clean of German Hostel for two days) we went off to go visit Jule who was in London visiting from Dublin. Jule is another young lady I know from school who is studying abroad this semester. We met up in Hyde Park and sat around for a couple of hours. It was a fantastic day; there were people roller blading, hoola hooping, walking the dogs, riding horses, enjoying the autumn air, and just loving life. I took a picture for a large family that sounded Italian to me, they were all just so ecstatic to be together. The leaves were falling off the trees and the water was glistening beneath the sun's rays. It was a gorgeous day to be alive.

We met up with Jule and her friend Lauren right by the Peter Pan statue which we sat by for a couple of hours. We just talked, caught up, got to know each other, and just laughed. We all took pictures by the Peter Pan statue and agreed that no one really enjoyed Peter Pan until they were grown up, ironically enough. We did though, we enjoyed laughing and being young while looking out over the water and sitting beneath the autumn touched trees. When the sky darkened and it was too cold to sit outside for much longer, Nekol, Claire, and I took our leave and told Jule we couldn't wait till Halloween.

The three of us enjoyed a fantastic Chinese dinner, watched Potter Puppet Pals, and laughed quite a bit more. I now sit, exhausted, typing this up before I lose all energy and drive. It's not even ten o'clock yet! However, I need to get my sleep because this Weekend is Halloween Weekend and Nekol and I are off to Dublin!


<3,
Dre

From Towers to Inheriting Wind

Today is my day off from school and as of such I eagerly awaited for Nekol to be finished with classes, come back to International House, and for us to head out to Tower Hill. Today we were going to conquer the Tower of London.

Once we had paid for our ticket we decided to do the Beefeater a.k.a. yeoman tour. It was a rather dismal day, sprinkling a bit, and completely overcast but that did not keep the tour guide from being full of energy, telling us all about the bloody and terrific past of the Tower of London. Pretty much everything has happened within the Tower (which is actually comprised of 20 towers) from people living there, weddings at the church, beheadings, imprisonment, garrison, treasury, mint, vault, and so much more. It was absolutely fantastic getting to hear about all sorts of things that happened there.

Did you know the Beefeaters live inside the Tower? That's where they live, them and their families. Also, they are locked inside the Tower at 10 pm and as such they have a resident doctor and minister, who happen to live right next to each other just in case you don't get better. Heh. But yes, so they live on the estate so there are homes for them, cafes, and chapel. To become a Beefeater you must have been in the British armed forces (save the Navy because Navy is loyal to admiral and ship first) for 22 years and have 18 years of exemplarily service. As well as holding a high rank in the forces. After that, anyone can become a Beefeater (yes, even women, I saw one!)

Nekol and I walked around the walls and went and looked through the Crown Jewels and the King Henry the VIII: Dressed to Kill exhibit. The Crown Jewels are absolutely fantastic, when Nekol and I walked through the exhibit there were many projections of Elizabeth II's coronation showing off the different pieces of the coronation treasures. The First Star of Africa is the largest diamond in the world and it sits on top of the scepter...it's about 513 carats...yeah, exactly. It glitters like the sun and I was absolutely amazed by it. Everything else is just as gorgeous and beautiful from the swords to the plates and everything else you can think of.

There was also the King Henry the VIII: Dressed to Kill exhibit which was awesome because it was all the armor, weapons, and everything else King Henry the VIII had in his arsenal. There were even such things as gun shields...a shield with a gun attached to it, how ingenious? Apparently King Henry the VIII had a fascination with new technology and bought as many firearms as possible. He even had several mace/gun combinations in his armory...I'm still trying to figure out how this would work effectively without damaging one side or the other (smashing with mace and destroying barrel or shooting gun and destroying mace.) It even went so far as to show the horses of the different Kings of England (sorry, no Queens allowed here, this is a manly section.)

I was also able to see the spot where Anne Boleyn was decapitated. Anne had a fear of axes, as how it might take several tries to cut off her head, and so she requested that she be killed the French way, which is from a different angle and with a sword. So King Henry the VIII sent off for a specialist from France to help do the job. This specialist was so quiet that, as Anne knelt down to say her prayers, he pulled a sword out from a bale of hay and lopped off her head in a single blow. When he picked up her head, the crowd grasp in seeing the sight of Anne's eyes still being open and her lips still moving with prayer. Her head had been chopped off that quickly.

After the Tower, Nekol and I headed off to the Old Vic where we watched Inherit the Wind. It was an alright show, I was not blown away. The stage was rather long, which wasn't used well, and one of the first actors to speak didn't annunciate properly so it was hard to hear, and Rachel was hard to stand. Kevin Spacey did a rather good job but I don't know if this is because the part is a good one or if it's because he is Kevin Spacey, who knows. However, the Old Vic is a very convoluted space that is just awkward. The audience is shaped like a horse shoe and the stage is set up weird. Oh well, it was an alright show.

Tomorrow Nekol and I are cooking dinner for the 3rd floor, which I am totally looking forward to! Today was fun and tomorrow should prove to be the same!


<3,
Dre

Camden and Cymru

Thursday was much fun because Nekol and I had our London Theatre in Performance class from 10-1 pm. We found out we're the only two who are actually majoring in theatre while everyone else only participated in theatre for fun in high school or junior high. It makes for a very interesting class, indeed. We received our list of plays we have to go see and the first one was a choice between Shawshank Redemption and Inherit the Wind...Neither Nekol nor I like Inherit the Wind (don't care if Kevin Spacey is playing in it) but it's the cheaper of the two so might as well, y'know?

Anyways, after that class finished, Nekol and I hopped onto the tube to go to Camden Town which is ridiculously a lot larger than anticipated. When you look on the website it definitely seems like a small town with a few shops. This is a total lie. Camden Town may be a small town but almost every inch of it is covered with cool little shops. There are vintage, gothic, metal, new age, mainstream, and many other items to shop for in this town. There are a lot of different sections too, not just one. If you think you've seen all of Camden, you haven't. You turn another corner and there's more to behold. I bought two dresses, made of wool, from Camden and I absolutely love them both. The sales guy was nice enough however he wanted a kiss on the lips for making the price so cheap for me....gross, I wasn't having any of it but I still played cute ditz and got a low price nonetheless. That was close to the end of the day whenever Nekol and I decided to go get food.

Walking up the streets of Camden, Nekol and I couldn't exactly decide on where to eat. She really doesn't like sandwiches and I didn't want American fast-food. We're walking around and finally we come up to this tiny caffe and this pizza/Greek place. We had never had Greek food and we were in Camden, why be boring? So we had a Falafel wrap along with a coke and I had a hot chocolate that was to die for. Overall, it was a rather charming experience.  But soon we were hitting the tube because we had a show to go see!

We Will  Rock You is a musical that has been playing in the Dominion Theatre for eight years now. It is based off of the songs sung by Queen and is rather...interesting. Nekol and I saw it more as a rock concert with a bit of theatre thrown into it; if you've seen Mamma Mia there's even less dialogue in WWRY, honestly. However, we thoroughly enjoyed the show because it was phenomenal. The dialogue was funny, very British in many ways, and the set was very high tech/digital. The costumes were wonderful too, Nekol and I were envious of the outfits of the Bohemians that they just happened to "find." Our final verdict is: if you like Queen, rock concerts, theatre, and musicals...go see We Will Rock You...for reals.

Friday was a slow starter and a slow finisher. Basically, Nekol and I headed out, way later than planned, to The British Library where we read Blue/Orange. Nekol loved the play and I was kind of bored but either way we weren't able to finish it because we were rushed out of the library around 4:45 when the reading room closed at 5. You see, at The British Library you aren't allowed to check books out because for whatever reason...Nekol nor I are fond of The British Library because they have intensely strict rules and regulations, not only that but the staff of TBL are not friendly at all. However, we just need to finish this play and one more and then we're through!

Saturday was started bright and early with Nekol, Laura, and I leaving to meet the bus for Wales around 6:30 in the morning. Once on the bus, we promptly passed out until we got to Wales where we saw and did many beautiful/cool things. First we went to Caerffili and saw the gorgeous castle there that was actually bit as a hideaway for infidelity...yeah, there was a wedding taking place there. Woops! We were able to go to the top of the castle and look out upon Caerffili and you could almost feel what it was like to live back then...it was gorgeous and serene.

After that we drove a bit more to St Fagan's National Welsh Museum and walked through an "olden days" Welsh village before going up to a gallery to look at old farming implements and a costume museum. There were some rather interesting clothing options worn through the years in Wales, my favorite dress was actually one made to look like Wales' national flag. It was pretty neat looking. Nekol and I were also able to see a Welsh phone and scrabble board, which was awesome because they displayed the double f's, l's, and d's as well as regular letters.

We then headed to Swansea where Nekol and I did nothing but watch music videos, go out to dinner, and come back to sleep. We were dead tired, which was weird considering we slept most of the time on the bus. However, once beneath the covers, both of us were sound asleep.

The next morning we had to be up and at breakfast by 7 because there were 100 people and no way all of us were going to fit into the tiny dining room so we were scheduled in several waves. Nekol and I were unfortunate to end up at the beginning of the waves. We ate breakfast and went to go get ready  with plenty of time to spare for a twenty minute nap, which I gladly snatched up that opportunity. Soon, however, we were back on the bus and heading to The Big Pit to go down a real working mine.

Margaret Thatcher isn't exactly well liked in Wales because she's the Prime Minister who closed down all the mines. That was a huge source of income for Wales who has had to turn to other industries to keep their country going. Well, Big Pit is a mine you can still go down and walk through to see what it was like back whenever the mines were up and working. They give you a light belt (which isn't light at all it's what your head light is attached to) and a white hard helmet to protect your head from the numerous amounts of bumping it might be doing. Of course, Nekol and I kept mentioning different horror movies that had occurred in mining areas sooo...needless to say we were a little creeped out by some things but it was still really neat. Our tour guide was downright awesome and adorable.

Finally, we went to the Tintern Abbey where I took copious amounts of photos. There isn't really much to say because being at the Abbey was more of a feeling than any words could describe. I know Wordsworth was able to transcribe his feelings into poetry but I couldn't...all I could do was take pictures to try and catch the smallest glimpse of the serenity, beauty, and old divinity that lived within the ruins.

Coming back was easy enough because Nekol and I slept well into London. It's been an eventful weekend...I can barely wait to start my week all over again!

<3,
Dre

Two Chili Con Carnes Later

Darren, who lives on the 3rd floor with Nekol, made some kickin' chili con carne tonight (except he used lamb instead of beef). We rate the food people make us and Darren would have made a 15 out of 20 except he made a horrible mess. 

Today has been long and yet, fun. Nekol and I ventured out to the British Library where we had to pretty much jump high fences to try and get a library card. We had to fill out an electronic form before being called over to a desk to talk to a library card advisor: a.k.a. the most disagreeable people we have met in England. After we had to show two signed forms of ID and something else that proved that we were us and lived in England. With cards in tow we requested the books we wanted and were about to head out whenever we saw a bench created out of a bronze book...it was fantastic. Nekol and I took turns sitting on the book and it was absolutely fantabulous.

Alright, I do have to say this: the British Library is so surreal. This building is massive, enormous, and really huge completely. Walking on the grounds, inside the building, and just being near it was so amazing it was ridiculous. I am very appreciative of this place and its enormity.

We then headed over to Burger King where Nekol and I ordered a Chicken Royale which, even though we said easy on the Mayo, was absolutely covered in Mayo. I think the British hate ketchup and love mayonnaise. Every time we have asked for ketchup with our fries, we've only received two packets but anytime we get mayonnaise on something, it is slathered in it.

Then it was time to mail off my postcards to some of my friends. We stopped by a combination deli, convenience store, and post office. Walking into the building was a tad confusing. I finally found the post office portion and was told by an automated voice which cashier would now help me. Walking over to cashier number seven I received three stamps and three airmail stickers. The stamps are 60p and some extra and are still the licking kind; ti stamps don't have a weird taste...it's just weird that I had to lick them.

By this time Nekol and my knees were killing us. Nekol's kneecaps don't exactly fit in the right spot on her legs and I took a tumble in Regent two days ago down a couple of steps and onto marble flooring. We took the tube back home where we chilled for a bit until we were beckoned to dinner by Darren. He enticed us with a talk of an interesting mince chili con carne and when we stepped into the hallway it smelled fantastic. What is wonderful is that floor 3 isn't really just floor 3, several other people from different floors seem to make their home on that floor. It's quite friendly.

I then watched a soccer match between England and Belarus, with England winning 3-0, in the Common Room with Daren, James and a couple of other people. We chatted and watched the game and after game commentary before Kimberly pulled out Moulin Rouge. Darren, Hannah, and I stayed till after they begin reconstruction on the Moulin Rouge before heading upstairs to just chill. Barging in on Nicole we watched an episode of The IT Crowd and then two episodes of The Inbetweeners....which we didn't care too much for.

And that was my day...tomorrow shall prove to be thoroughly exciting for sure! Last class of the week, Camden Lock, and then We Will Rock You...it is going to be fantastic.


<3,
Dre

Reading, Writing, and Road Rage

A double decker started driving when the light was still red (like it had just hit the red/yellow stage) and barely missed Nekol. In England, the lights will go green/yellow when about to turn red and will go red/yellow when about to turn green. This is to warn pedestrians and drivers that there is about to be a light change as to not catch people unawares. Well, this bus did not want to waste one moment and started to drive after Nekol passed him up...people are so impatient.

But enough about that...

Today was my second day of classes, all of which are with Nekol. Our classes started at ten, which means we needed to leave shortly after nine, which meant I needed to be up no later than eight. UGH! Can I tell you how much I dislike waking up early when I haven't had enough sleep? I'm breathing a lot better and am quickly getting over my cold thanks to the amazing pills I bought from Boots but I'm still not a 100%. However, to make up for my health not being completely there I made myself the most fantastic breakfast ever: a glass of tea, two pieces of toast with strawberry jam, and a bowl of frosties.

Go on, be jealous.


Nine fifteen rolls around and Nekol and I head off to school. Everything actually goes really smoothly, we're both excited about our classes and manage to not get lost trying to find Wells St. Don't laugh! Wells St is actually not really listed on a lot of maps because it's about a mile long and that's it. It's one of those weird side streets.

Anyways, Nekol and I get into Writing London and immiedately I'm in love with the class. Why? The teacher can't be older than 30, has a cool red dye in her hair, and has a nice eye brow piercing. We go around the room and tell everyone about ourselves a little: name, where we're from, and how much writing we've done. This class is a study abroad mandatory class so all the students are from abroad. 99% American, 1% elsewhere.

We do these neat little writing assignments that make me feel as if my creative juices are coming alive. I've felt so non-creative lately that it's almost been a sense of ennui. Even being in this beautiful city, I just haven't felt the want to go do anything creative. However, after these three little assignments, I felt as if I could think and do anything creative. It's like being like a superhero, impervious to those naysayers for it is the rebirth of your creativity.

Because the class is three hours long, we were given a nice ten minute break so that people could stretch or do whatever. Half the class trotted over to the caffe right across the way and either got a mocha or a latte. We were all pretty tired looking but this perked us right up. The rest of the class finished quickly enough.

Nekol and I found a Sainsbury's around the corner and bought a couple of things for lunch. I was actually able to eat lunch for 90p, take that! I had a raspberry and chocolate Kellogg's bar and strawberry yogurt...it was fantastic. After lunch it was time to head up to the 3rd floor of the Wells St building to Contemporary British Authors. And...well...it was interesting.

So the teacher arrives and is wearing a black blazer, polo, and pants. All black is only slimming if worn correctly...this was not. He also had on rings and an oversized gold bracelet...someone seems a tad stuck in the 90's. I know it's not nice to judge but some of the stuff was just tacky enough to distract me. When I finally got over myself, I realized we were being lectured about being responsible. It took me a while to realize this is probably the first time a lot of these students were getting this lecture. Freshers, as they call Freshmen or first years, is pretty much the makeup of the class as opposed to Nekol and I who are in our third year of University.

Well, when the lecturing was finally over (after an hour), the teacher spent twenty minutes discussing our outline. Let me just express some frustration here: it's REALLY hard to track down the three plays on this list. I do not want to have to buy them, they do not seem to interest me -that- much and I can only hope someone will let me borrow their copies. With that being said, I got really excited about the novels we are reading.

Most interesting part of class: the teacher began to talk about how London is always in flux and rapidly so, he asked the class to tell about their time growing up in London or England and how it's changed over the years. Nekol and I could only blink in true dumb form and sit there silently, listening an taking notes as everyone else talked. The class, once real discussion started, was rather interesting. Nekol and I approve.

After class was over Nekol and I went and got Nekol a new phone because her old one just up and disappeared...like for reals. She doesn't know where it went and it couldn't have been stolen. We believe her room ate it, most logical explanation. Truthfully. Getting her the same plan as before, we were in and out of the store in no time. Except this store didn't put her SIM card and battery in her phone for us like the one on Marleybone did...so don't go to the Carphone Warehouse on Oxford St...just saying.

After that we hit up the Sansbury's on Waterloo and then went home and have been home ever since. Tomorrow is my day off from classes so I will be mailing off postcards, taking photos with my new camera, and then going to the British Library with Nekol.

<3,
Dre

The Bakerloo Line is my School Bus

Today was my first day of school!

I have been waiting months for this moment and it has finally come! I could barely sleep last night; which could be contributed to the fact that I can breathe because I have a cold. I woke up at nine this morning and sat in front of my closet for a good thirty minutes trying to figure out what I wanted to wear. I strongly believe that the first outfit sets the tone, for yourself, for the rest of the semester. I wanted to start off strong but chic. I mulled it over and finally came up with a decision that I am very proud of and am still wearing because it's about as comfortable as PJ's.

Today I wore my sleeveless black cardigan, black scarf, blue scoop necked jersey dress, black hose, and black ballet flats. Seriously, I am so comfortable right now even as I am falling asleep at my computer. All the young women in England are so well put together when it comes to their clothing. Even punk rockers, goths, and non-prep attire young women look as if they put thought into their outfits. It's so different here as opposed to America where we have come lazy in our dress, not caring, and thinking anyone put together is trying too hard. I'm absolutely enjoying being able to wear my regular autumn clothes and not stick out like a sore thumb.

Nekol and I had some morning errands to run before I left to go to school. We hit up Ryman's to buy a couple of notebooks for school, hoping to maybe be able to take notes on our laptop during class. After Ryman's we skipped over to Boots to buy some tissues and cold relief medicine for me. Now this was an interesting part for me;  I didn't recognize any of the brand names except for Sudafed which is four pounds for 16 tablets. I'm very much a proponent for off-brands that can do the same exact thing so I stood there for about twenty minutes comparing ingredients of all the cold & flu relief medicines. Finally I decided on a Boots brand Max Strength cold & flu capsules. I'm pretty sure that's what it's called too.

After that, Nekol and I came back home to find out that my camera came in. Unfortunately, I didn't have time before heading off to class to be able to work with it so I handed it over to Nekol and I headed off to my first course of the week: Renaissance Literature and Culture. This is one of two classes I have in Regent and I'm not quite sure if I'm liking the room were in today; the room is a long, narrow room with sets of tables on either side so that there is an aisle to walk up and down, and three chairs per table. I sat in the front with a girl from my University Study Abroad program, Lauren, and we waited for class to start.

Our teacher came in and introduced himself, handing out a syllabus to the entire class. Quickly, he jumped into teaching us the basics of the Renaissance just so that we had a better background for whenever we started to read our given stories. Of course, I then quickly became "that" girl. You know that girl who sits in class and answers all the questions the teacher asks when no one is answering? Yeah, that was me for half of class. It's alright though, I thoroughly enjoyed the class anyways because our teacher is really likable, personable, and tries to get class interaction when it is necessary.

Here's a confession, after two semesters of classes I was able to figure out how to take notes without -really- paying attention to the teacher. My brain has trouble focussing on two things at once when it comes to things like writing, talking, or listening. Honestly, a person shouldn't have to do more than one thing at a time like that. Unfortunately, because I'm in London, the teacher has a British accent so I have to really pay attention so I hear everything he says which slows down my note taking and takes my brain a couple of seconds to catch up. Just to demonstrate: Americans say "Ren-ah-saunce" whereas Britons say "Ren-ay-saunce." Britons sound more correct but every time I try and pronounce it like that I sound like I'm an uneducated southerner with a drawl.

After class, I headed home where I was able to mess with my camera and eat dinner with Nekol's floor. Laura cooked and we had breakfast for dinner, a very American thing we believe. We all talked and chatted, thoroughly enjoying our pancakes and eggs before going our separate ways. Several of our friends are going out tonight but Nekol and I declined because both of us are thoroughly exhausted and we have class tomorrow at ten.

I'm excited to see what all my classes are like and I will definitely keep you updated as the days go by!

<3,
Dre

Meds, Paper, and Mustard

Things aren't just open on Sundays where I live it seems.

So I'm kind of sick but not really. I have a stuffy nose and am congested so I need an antihistamine and a decongestant but I can't get either of those because the Chemists are not in at any of the pharmacies in town. Seriously, none of them in Lambeth are in. I wish I was back in America where CVS was open all the time. Ugh.

Also, Ryman's is closed but that isn't a big deal. Oh, Ryman's is a place where you can get all your paper needs so Nekol and I are going to walk over there and then to Boots on Lower Marsh: paper and meds.

School starts tomorrow! I'm so excited for that! My first class is at 4 and goes until 6: Renaissance Literature. It's just an introduction day, we don't have any readings for that class due until next week, which I am ok with. I'm still trying to get into the swing of things with school, I'm hoping this week of introductions will kick start my academia adrenaline. Right now I'm just excited to go to school but I now have to get excited to be -doing- school. Two completely different things.

Other than that, it's been a pretty slow day.

Except, I just ate a turkey and mustard sandwhich that I made with Coleman's mustard...my sinuses feel like they're on fire. Eep.

Other than my face melting off from mustard, that's about it!

<3,
Dre

London's Burning

Friday was pretty uneventful. Nekol and I went to the last bit of Orientation which was 30 minutes of information that could have been given to us on Monday just to finish it all at the same time and pretty much nothing for the rest of the day. Well, I was supposed to go on a Thames boat party for the Study Abroad and Exchange Students but I had misplaced my invite so Nekol went by herself. I stayed back at International House and chatted with friends and family back home.

Things went pretty smoothly until about 4 am. I was just about to drift off to sleep, finished fighting with VuReel to watch Bones, and the fire alarm went off. A noise I never had heard before jerked me out of my bed and had me running for the door to look out into the hallway. I slipped on shoes, grabbed my robe, phone, and room key before bolting down the stairs. It was complete RA mode, I was the first one out the door waiting for everyone else, looking for Nekol. All my friends and I stood outside for five minutes before seeing a fire engine come our way and then another fifteen before being told it was alright for us to go back inside.

I promptly went to bed because I had to be up at nine to leave by ten on Saturday. Nekol and I tried to go to the British Library but it's on the other side of Zone 1 and TFL lied about Victoria Line being in "good service." The VL was completely shut down, seriously. I was rather miffed. Anyways, so by the time the tube is about to go past our stop, Nekol reminds me that we're meeting a study abroad friend in an hour to go through the London Dungeon. We decide to skip the British Library today and to do it Tuesday or Wednesday to go get books for our Contemporary British Writers class because no other library has our books.

So Nekol and I grab lunch near London Bridge station and wait till about noon to head towards London Dungeon. London Tombs is right across the way but they were doing so much on street propaganda that Nekol and I were wary about actually going in there; that and apparently people get really close into your face and neither of us felt like dealing with that today.

We waited in line for 45 minutes before getting to go in, all the time we called our SA friend but he never answered. Oh well, he missed out. So it's about 20 quid to go in with your student ID, which Nekol and I flashed, before heading through the tour. London Dungeon Tour Guides recount the gory past of England: the black plague, the London fire, Jack the Ripper, torturing, surgery, and Sweeney Todd. All with a small scary boat ride and a small drop at the gallows. It was entertaining and Nekol and I thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

When we got out we decided to head back home because we planned on going to The Globe tonight to see the last show of Love's Labour's Lost. Unfortunately, when we got home, we found that all the tickets were sold. I decided to go ahead and have Nekol book us tickets to see We Will Rock You this Thursday at the Dominion Theatre near Tottenham Court. I think that'll be much more fun and Nekol and I can still go on a tour of the Globe Theatre.

Anyways, it's been a long day, seeing as how I really only got a nap this morning. It's been a slow couple of days but things will be picking up shortly soon enough.

<3,
Dre

Roasted Beer Chicken and Foam Cannons

Yesterday I turned 21 and let me just say, it was the best birthday I have ever had. Normally, my birthdays turn out quite bad but I'm not here to bore you the details with birthdays past; this post is about my birthday yesterday and how much fun my friends and I had.

The day started out with the weather. I know this is a weird way of starting off the good things that happened on my birthday but it had been raining and cold the previous two days and yesterday the sun came out and shone brilliantly. With that I headed out to St Paul's Station to meet my scavenger group. Well, the fifth girl of our team still didn't show up and so we decided to say, "Forget her, we can do this ourselves," and carried on our merry way. We talked and learned a lot about each other. It was really nice just to be able to meet new people from different places other than America.

And after that I had advising and got all the classes I wanted. I am now taking three of my four classes with Nekol and I have Wednesdays and Fridays off. I wish I could have Mondays off but I like having a break between Tuesday and Thursday...kind of nice. I was in and out of advising in no time, my advisor was really impressed with being precise on what I wanted. I was just thinking my advisors back home would've killed me if I hadn't been prepared.

By the time I get home I've received three Hallmark e-cards from family members, a couple of e-mails, and more than several birthday wishes on Facebook. It's hard being away from friends and family on such occasions as your birthday but with the sheer amount of happy birthday wishes, it felt like my friends were all with me. Every birthday wish brightened up my day that much more.

Around this time it's about dinner time and my floormates have roasted two chickens that they stuck on beer cans (interesting but it tasted wonderful), potatoes, salad, strawberry jelly, and for dessert a chocolate pie that they served as my birthday cake. Well, when they got to the cake they turned out the lights and lit a candle and sang happy birthday to me. It made me cry it was so touching. I didn't even know what was going on until they lit the candles.

After dinner Nekol's floor and I went to a club called seONE near London Bridge station. They had foam cannons that were aimed towards the dance floor so it shot bubbly foam out every once in a while, there was an inflatable boxing arena where Hannah took out Darren with a single punch, and the music was absolutely wonderful. It was nice to just go out and dance to celebrate. I haven't been dancing in a while and if there's something you should know about me...I love to dance.

We danced until the wee hours of the morning (three am) before taking two private cars back home. Remember, black taxis or cars from firms you know are the only way to get around London if you are not taking tube or bus. Once home, I hugged everyone, took a shower to get clean from all the foam, and went to bed with a smile on my face.

I believed yesterday and still believe today that it was the best birthday I could have ever had.

<3,
Dre

Brellies and Books

So today has been...interesting?

This morning Nekol and I had to wake up earlier than we had originally planned because maintenance men were supposed to be coming around to all the rooms in the building to check fire alarms to make sure they worked. Well, the paper said the checks would be starting at 10 am and going throughout the day. So even though we woke up at 9:30 the gentlemen didn't come around until about 12:30 or so. Not complaining...just would have liked to been able to sleep till eleven.

Today was Nekol's first day to relax (mine being yesterday) and all she did was watch movies on her iTunes and toodled around her room. The internet in the building went on the fritz a little bit before noon and Nekol can't even sign onto her internet now. The internet is connecting but she can't log into KeySurf to actually look at websites. We believe someone just doesn't want her to watch Desperate Housewives.

I went to Baker St station to meet up with my scavenger group that was predetermined by the University. We were supposed to meet up at 1 so we could go ahead and do the photo scavenger hunt but one of the girls didn't show. So after politely waiting for 35 minutes past, the other three girls and I headed to Starbucks where we all got something and went downstairs to chat.

This is something else I am having to get used to while here in England. They have seating downstairs. Where I live, the water table is so high that you can dig three feet and two and a half of it will be filled with water. Also, here you can have dine in drinks at Starbucks and they give you mugs to drink out of. Save the world and all that with less cardboard.

The girls and I chatted for about an hour and we talked about Halloween, Guy Fawkes Day, traveling, Germany, Japan, and several other things that are fleeing from my mind at this instant. However, it was a wonderful talk and I feel like I got to know my group a lot better doing this than going on a scavenger hunt. We did, however, plan to meet early tomorrow morning to try and do the scavenger hunt again. If the girl does not show up then we will do the hunt without her and turn in what we can. I doubt we'll be contenders for the final prize for a weekend getaway to some exotic UK destination but hey, at least we tried and we weren't quitters.

After we disbanded when finished with coffee, I called Nekol and told her to meet me up at the New Cavendish campus and we would buy our textbooks from that bookstore. I got to the campus in no time at all and went ahead to look in the bookstore since I didn't see Nekol around. I looked in the rather tiny space and came across The Anthology of English Lit Vol 1 and 2. I needed a Vol B and not a Vol 2. I could understand if she called it the same thing but I flipped through the 2nd edition and it was much later in the time period than what we were studying so I flipped through Vol 1 and it's what we would be studying so I was rather confused. I had a lady look on the computer and she said 1 and 2 were all she had record of. I thanked her for her time and headed to sit down and wait for Nekol.

I waited for Nekol for a little over 30 minutes before heading over to the Polytechnic building thinking she had just skipped coming to New Cavendish. I called her before I left and it rang before cutting off; I was rather confused by this and called her a couple of more times and it wouldn't connect at all. I thought maybe Nekol has turned off her phone and is already in the library. I head over to the library and spend a while in there before realizing how late it is and going back to the entrance of the Polytechnic building to talk to Nekol.

Actually getting ahold of Nekol this time around, she told me she was at the New Cavendish Campus (NCC) and was looking around the bookstore. I started heading back but was rather engrossed in setting up my free voicemail to make it sound like my voice since, as the kind lady automated voice told me, people would be more likely to leave a voicemail if they heard my name. So while I was setting up my voicemail I turned down a street too early and veered away from NCC and was heading towards Tottenham Court. Realizing, after ten minutes, that I had gone the wrong way I pulled out my subway to see that I was heading south and just turned around to head back to my original location.  I was then back at NCC soon after that and Nekol recounted to me what took her so long.

Before I continue on, if you have a tube map available...you should get it, it'll make a lot more sense and you may even laugh.

We live near Lambeth North Station which is about five stops from Baker Street which you can jump onto eastbound Circle line to get to Great Portland Street which is near the NCC. Now, instead of doing this easy twenty minute ride, Nekol decides to get off at Embankment, two stops too early, and to ride the Circle line all the way to Great Portland Street. She spends almost forty minutes on the tube, even managing to strike up an in depth conversation with a fellow American named Bobby. Even now, as she watches me type this, she tries to rationale how what she did was alright and justified. I'm not saying how she road the tube was wrong...I'm just saying I can't help but laugh.

Well once caught up we went back to the Polytechnic building to check out books from the library. I pulled maybe 10 books off the shelves and found out that I had pulled about 7 reference books, oops. I kind of don't pay attention sometimes. Anyways, it was after five when we were leaving the building so we had to use self check out machines to check out our books. Another new fandangle contraption for Nekol and I to figure out. Apparently, you open the front flap to reveal a barcode, slide the spine of the book into the v shaped holder and slide it all the way to the end, under a red barcode reader light, till it hits the back of the holder before pulling it off the holder. It took me several tries to figure this out but soon I did it and was rather proud of myself.

Nekol and I then left and walked the half mile to the tube station in near torrential rain. Normally I exaggerate about the weather but not when it comes to this...honestly. We get down into the tube and are thankful, for once, that the tube is so hot compared to outside. Getting onto the train, we head back to Lambeth North station. We don't head straight home though, oh no, we head up to Lower Marsh street to go shopping at the Iceland I found earlier.

It's actually quite nice having a nifty little convenience grocery store so close. Iceland isn't as expansive as Tesco, Asda, or Sainsburys but it does well with what we needed and the deals were rather nice too. Nekol got three frozen dinners for 5lb. When we were through with all that, we checked out and walked back home only to realize we still needed silverware so we will be hitting up a Tesco or so soon enough.

That was pretty much our day but I have something else to say before I end this post....

Today is my birthday.

I am 21.

I. Am. So. Excited.

I can't wait to tell you about my birthday day!

<3,
Dre

Did she say...John Barrowman?

Edit: Apparently I hit something wonky and it posted way before I had intended.

Yesterday was nothing short of wonderful.

I walked around our neighborhood and went over into the Waterloo area where I came upon the Old Vic and the Young Vic. The Old Vic is playing Inherit the Wind with Kevin Spacey and the Young Vic is playing Annie Get Your Gun with people of whom I've never heard. I came upon a bookshop called The Theatre Bookshop and immediately went in and looked around. They didn't have many books but they did have a discount table where I picked up a book, The Malice Box by Martin Langfield, and bought for only 50p. I continued to walk around just taking in the area and saw several cute cafes, restaurants, stores, and pubs. I think I love my area a lot more now.


After that Nekol and I headed over to the Regent Campus' library to see if they had any of the books she would need for school while I tried to figure out how to log onto their computers and how to figure out a computer keyboard. An English keyboard is a bit different than an American keyboard; for instance, their @ sign is attached to their apostrophe key instead of their number two which is something completely different. I had to sit there for a while and try to figure out where it was. I even went so far as to pick up the keyboard to look at it evenly. After a while, I had located the @ key and then had to get used to how spaced apart all the keys are. Odd.

Then Nekol and I went to eat dinner at this Italian restaurant I couldn't tell you the name of even if I tried. It's symbol is the olive and I believe they're a chain but the food was fantastic and our server was wonderful and nice. Honestly, I don't think Nekol and I could have done better with dinner that night. It was pretty much perfect.

After that we headed over to the Playhouse Theatre to go see La Cage Aux Folles. To be honest, we mainly went for John Barrowman playing the part as the Transvestite gay Albin. However, as soon as the show started, we were laughing and thoroughly enjoying ourselves, even when John wasn't onstage. Overall it was one of the most amazing shows I've seen in a while. If you get a chance to see La Cage Aux Folles in New York or wherever, and it is done well, I suggest you go.

Back to John Barrowman though. Nekol and I waited outside the Stage Door with everyone else to get his autograph and pictures of him. A lady in front of us told us not to bet on the french moving out of our way. And they didn't, even after they had gotten signatures...seriously ladies? Move it. Anyways, I was able to hand him my ticket stub and tell him I thought he had performed wonderfully and he sincerely thanked me, telling me it meant a lot to him. He's just as beautiful and sweet in person as he is on t.v. I am a very happy woman.

They said they don't coddle...

So I apologize about not posting yesterday but I was just out of it from sitting in hot rooms for three hours for orientation. We received our Westminster ID's, which I am very thankful for, but everything else seemed like overkill. All the information they gave thus could've been neatly wrapped up in an e-mail to us instead of wasting all the paper they did.

The Study Abroad and Education (SAE) coordinator kept telling the group, when we were talking about classes, that in Britain they don't coddle their students and that we have to think for ourselves and do things for ourselves. Reading assignments aren't clearly given, we aren't reminded of turn in dates, or anything along those lines. I don't mind not being reminded about turn-in dates, that's what a syllabus is for but if further reading besides the ones on the syllabus aren't clearly given then how am I supposed to learn? I know I'm supposed to figure things out for myself but right now I'm thinking this is just setting people up to fall on their faces.

And after repeatedly being told we weren't going to be coddled, groups were forced together to do a Scavenger hunt. Seriously? A lot of people don't like forced group situations, it isn't fun because you're not meeting people on your own terms. I understand this pushes us out of our comfort zone to get to know people we wouldn't normally get to know but honestly I would prefer to go up to someone and talk to them about stuff when it is on my own time and not some one else's prerogative.

After all that nonsense, Nekol, Ashley from Green Bay, and I went shopping at M&S to find cheap gathering of plates and to buy food. Shopping was easy enough but carrying the bags back to Bond St station from the store and then from Lambeth North was not fun. Today I'm walking to Sainsbury's to try and see if the little over a mile walk would be much easier on us.

Later today we're heading to Regent Campus to check out the bookstore and library before tonight when we are going to try and get rush tickets to La Cage Aux Folles. I am more than excited about this because John Barrowman is in it! Yay!

Sorry for being a debbie downer, I'm hoping to have a better post later tonight!

<3,
Dre

Kensington Palace and Camera Farewell

So today was...interesting.

I didn't plan on waking up until eleven since Nekol and I had decided we weren't going to leave until around noon except for some odd reason I kept waking up every hour on the hour so at ten I was finished with the crazy routine and got up. I was able to talk to my parents and my best guy friend online while getting ready to go out to see Kensington Palace. It was nice to just take the morning leisurely.

Soon enough it was time to leave; Nekol and I headed over to the tube station and quickly got on the Bakerloo line. We were the only ones in our car, it was kind of cool and weird at the same time. Nekol took some video of us being alone and I got a photo of the practically empty car but at our next stop several people got on. We soon reached our destination, after a quick line change along the way, and were walking towards Kensington Palace.

I'm pretty much a fish out of water when it comes to finding my way around above ground but luckily there were charming street signs that pointed the way to the Palace. Nekol and I were there about twelve minutes before one, the designated meeting time, and waiting with another one of our Study Abroad group members for the rest of the group. We finally managed to all get together at about half past, after people decided to stop being lost, and went on our tour of Kensington Palace.

There were two wonderful exhibits besides the Palace itself. One was of Princess Diana's dresses, well at least a few of them, and the other was several rooms dedicated to The Last Debutantes. Now, I wasn't too fond of TLD since it was kind of boring up until a room solely dedicated to several dresses worn by the last Debs and an Etiquette room. That's right, a room that showed the proper way to accept and decline an invitation, the proper way to curtsey, how to keep a straight posture while walking, and how to waltz. There was a video of a woman teaching how to curtsey properly, and not ballet curtsey either, while there was a mirror under the video so that one could watch themselves curtsey. There were also footsteps on the floor so that one could learn how to waltz. It was all very fun, hands on, and wonderful.

The day was going amazingly until I got to a large, long room with a gorgeous ceiling painting like so many of the previous rooms. I was taking a picture but before I knew it, my camera was falling down onto the floor with a hard crashing sound. I couldn't pick up my camera I was so stunned, Nekol picked it up for me and I saw that there was a crack in part of the camera that pretty much totaled my camera. I could've sat down and cried right there. Over the first three days I was here I took over 500 photos and now the extension of my arm had been destroyed. I couldn't even focus on the rest of the four rooms of the tour and just walked through them listlessly before ending my tour.

Once I swallowed my big girl pill and got over it, I was back with the rest of the group and we all decided to go eat lunch together. We picked a Chinese restaurant and everyone sat at the table, happy as can be. Nekol and I are trying to conserve money and so we're halfing meals because neither of us eats a lot and it should be cheaper for us. Unfortunately there seems to be a horrible trend in restaurants; you seemingly cannot split a bill here. Nekol and I have had to pay equal amounts for our food whenever we go out to eat with big groups and it's getting rather irritating that we're paying more than necessary. Other than that, the food was fantastic. I had Chicken with Cashews for the first tome today and they were rather nice as was the green tea we ordered.

After eating, the group went over to Primark where extra large body towels are seven pounds and four face towels are only two pounds. Of course, this place reminds me of Black Friday but where everyone is nice and not shoving for things...otherwise it seems like general mayhem. It was hard to breathe and move through the general mass of people but Nekol and I managed to do it in a timely manner...up until the check out line. This line snakes once and then wraps around the side of the checker area. I think we waited in line for about ten minutes before being checked out. I think I'm going to try and avoid Primark if at all possible.

Nekol and I had our towels but we still need laundry detergent so we look around for a Boots hoping th kitchy at they would have some. We find one and they do not have any, we slip into M&S to see if they have any plates but unfortunately by the time we get to their plates, the store was closed. Apparently the stores close at six on the dot around here in London...interesting. So Nekol and I head out to go to the tube station to head home.

While walking home, we pass by a convenience store and crane our necks to look inside hoping to spot some laundry detergent but of course we assume that there is none because this place is the size of a shoebox. Well there is also a Wine and Food on the way home, I push Nekol into the store and tell her there is no harm in looking. Sure enough, when we turn the corner in the store there are several shelves dedicated to laundry detergent. We are excited and, after paying, leave the store victoriously.

Quickly after getting back home, we find out that there is a "get to know each other" party down at Marleybone's student union bar so Nekol and I head down there with a couple of mates to check it out. We walk in and I am immediately confused, it looks like the bar and sitting area should belong in the lounge section of a club. The music is up really loud and everyone is having to yell above the din just to introduce one another. Nekol and I spot one of her other floormates and head on over but the two of us don't stay over an hour at this place because we were expecting a relaxed atmosphere where we would be able to get to know our new classmates. Tell us the scenario and we will be ready, a pub is different from a bar is different from a club.

We grabbed a quick bite to eat from McDonald's, which is not different from American McDonald's it seems really, before heading home. Once finished with laundry, after only one mishap with the dryer not really drying our clothes because the lent trap was loaded, we now sit in our seperate rooms getting ready for bed. Can I also add that there seems to be a hardcore party happening somewhere around this complex but I just can't locate it? Oh well, c'est la vie.

Monday is the beginning of Orientation and hopefully Nekol and I will be able to go to London Dungeon. We shall see.

Much love,
Dre

First several days in London!

Well the hotel we stayed at was lovely except that it had very limited internet access for thos of us who didn't want to pay several pounds for "unlimited" internet. My Skype and Entourage were the only applications that worked the three days we stayed at the Sherlock Holmes...so I apologize for not keeping up with my tales but here they go!

First Day in London:

It was an absolutely FULL day, to be honest. Nekol, Claire, Ashley, and I all met up at the airport gate and talked until it was time to board. Our flight was delayed due to mechanical issues which was kind of disappointing but really, what can you do? We landed at Heathrow around 7:30 London time and it took us OVER an hour to get through immigration, and that was all standing in line. They didn’t even ask to see our papers of all things, just our passports. Anyways, we get to the train about 9 to get to Paddington station because Heathrow is on the opposite side of London. Oh and yes, Paddington like Paddington the Bear...I never made the connection until now. 


We get to the hotel around ten and store our bags because our rooms won’t be ready until two...none of us slept really on the plane like at all so we’re all exhausted and we can’t just sit around waiting for the other half of the group to arrive. We then head off to the nearest Starbucks and then begin walking to just explore. We passed by many things, the Marleybone campus and housing for University of Westminster, Madame Tussauds, and various other fun things.


Finally, we see a sign for Regent Park and decided to walk through and it is MASSIVE. A ton of acres to say the least. I forget the actual number. We were barely able to walk through a tiny portion before we had to come back to meet the group. Anyways, met the group and went and bought mobiles before having lunch then nap time (oh God sleeping for an hour and a half never felt so good). Then we met up around five and walked around the river Thames near Southbank (Parliament and London Eye to name a few of known sights), saw Westminster Abbey, meandered, went through Trafalgar Square, and then ate at a very nice pizza fine dining restaurant. It was absolutely wonderful. My feet hurt like crazy but I took over 180 photos and that was from a very short day. 




Second Day of London:


The morning started at 8:20 because Nekol and I snoozed until then. We were then up and getting ready and down to breakfast within an hour. Breakfast is included with the room, wonderfully enough, and so I had English Breakfast tea with my continental breakfast, which mainly subsisted of fruit, cheese, and yogurt. I honestly don’t know how people don’t die of dehydration; all “refills” are charged and water is not free, whether it be still or sparkling.

Today was a hop on and off bus tour where we road on a double decker, with an open top. We saw all sorts of sights! Big Ben, Parliament, the Eye of London, Westminster Abbey, Trafalgar Square, The Marble Arch, The London Bridge, The Tower Bridge, The Tower of London, London Tower (we saw both), Hard Rock Café (which started in London when Eric Clapton placed his guitar on the wall above where he sat), St Paul’s Cathedral (when building St Paul’s Cathedral they took money from St Peter and Westminster Church (Westminster abbey) to pay for the Cathedral...thus where we get Robbing Peter to pay Paul), the bridge and building used in the beginning of Harry Potter VI (the ones where the Dementors tear them up...no I did not go into the building or onto the bridge, mom), Buckingham Palace, Ripley’s Believe It or Not!, Regent Campus of UofW, several awesome theatres, The Texas Embassy (which was put there when Texas was a country and is now a cantina and bbq restaurant), The Ritz Hotel, St Thomas’ Hospital (which was originally called Nightingale Hospital because that’s where Florence Nightingale did most of her work), and a few other places.

We ate lunch in Harrods. I thought it was going to be a Macy’s with both high and low end merchandise but none of this stuff could even be closely called low end. The lowest price would possibly be DKNY and that was next to Marc Jacobs...yeah, I know. I had a chicken tikka wrap; tikka is a type of Indian sauce that is rather spicy, I had to trade food with someone because I couldn’t stand it...Indian Spicy is a whole other kind of spicy.

After lunch a separate group of us went on the River Thames boat tour which wasn’t all that grand...we had seen everything before already. It was just nice to sit on a boat and just go along the river at sunset.

We had dinner at a place called Giraffe which is a fun little restaurant where I had cheddar and bbq chicken quesadillas; they were absolutely wonderful! I have been drinking a lot of coke recently because I can’t stand sparkling water and I won’t be able to afford coke once our Study Abroad coordinator isn’t having the school front the bill anymore. After that, the students hit up a pub in Picadilly Circus just to go out for a bit. We weren’t even there that long because someone said the tube closed at 11 so we left soon before then except when we got back to Baker St it was after 11 and there were still people heading down into the tube. Oh well.

So that was it for my day. Tomorrow we are heading to Bath bright and early!


Third Day of London:


Today started even earlier than yesterday; Nicole and I were out of bed by 7:05 to be down to breakfast by eight. Again I had my English Breakfast tea, I think I’ll miss having hot tea every morning out of a proper tea pot and cup. I’d buy my own but I think that’d be a tad bit difficult to bring it back to the states. Susan Layne paid for a van/tour guide to take us all the way to Bath and since it’s a two plus hour drive, we left around nine in the morning. Traffic in London is absolutely ridiculous, I have yet to see anything like this –ever.- I would never own a car in London proper if I could help it.

We drove into Bath, all of the group (save the driver) fell asleep on the way there. The rolling country side was beautiful yet lulled us into a sleep that had us energetic for Bath. We went into the Roman Bath and meandered around for two hours taking photos. I am pretty sure over half of my 200+ photos today were from the Roman Bath. Nicole, Harrison, and I went through the crypt of the Bath Abbey, which wasn’t all that extensive, and I got one or two good shots from there. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to go to the Fashion Museum but what was awesome is we were able to go to Avesbury. Avesbury is a henge of stone just like Stone Henge but it’s not fenced off like Stone Henge and there aren’t a bajillion people swarming the area. We walked amongst the stones and there were sheep and I got some fantastic photos.

For dinner we ate at Pret a Manger, well technically we grabbed sandwiches and came back to our rooms because we were so absolutely tired from being on the van for a long time. Right now Nicole and I are sitting in bed watching the videos she took and looking at the photos I took.



Moving In:


Today we moved into our housing for the semester! Yaaay! However, there were a few other things that happened. 




The group walked to see the Regent and Cavendish campuses because that's where most people are taking their classes and orientation is at Cavendish. After all this we head over to Edgeware to go shop at Argos. Well, when the car arrived in the tube, the group assumed everyone had gotten on and were just talking. All of a sudden a girl gasps and says if our study abroad coordinator and another girl, who are looking at the tube map, are going to get on. I yell both of their names and the girl HOPS onto the car like you wouldn't believe. The door of the car closed in the face of the study abroad coordinator. We road the tube all the way to Edgeware and just waited for our SAC to arrive. When she had arrived, we gathered ourselves and headed on to Argos to shop for bedding. 


Now, I'm used to being able to see what you're about to buy and walking amongst aisles of things. This is not so for Argos. Not knowing what you're looking at, while looking into the store face one would think they were looking into a very tiny electronics store. However, upon entering the shop, we realized that you walk over to catalogues and write down the serial number of the things you want to buy. Well, Nekol and I head over to the books and settle on a pair of plain dyed sheets. If we're only sleeping on them for three months, why waste a pretty pence?


When I got up to the register the man kindly told me they were out of black plain dyed sheets. I literally said, quite loudly, "Oh crap!" And looked at him to kindly ask what other colors were available. Cherry (red) was still available so I look at Nekol, who had put down wanting Cherry sheets, and then to the man and told him I would take Cherry. I hear Nekol from behind me, "If those are the only Cherry sheets left I am going to beat you to death." 


Well apparently as I walked away and Nekol walked up to the counter, the man behind the register nervously told Nekol that I had bought the last red sheets. I hear from across the store, "Dre, I'm going to beat you!" I come back and tell Nekol to just get me the Chocolate (dark brown) sheets and I'll suck it up. Turns out they don't look too terribly bad with my duvet cover...then again that's just putting sheets against each other...they aren't on my bed yet. 


Anyways, we all go out to lunch and then head back to the hotel where we await our cars to take us to our residence halls. Nekol and I head on out around two and get to Lambeth soon after. Since then it has been absolutely smooth sailing: we met our floor mates (floors 2 and 3), gotten mostly settled in, gone out to dinner in Picadilly Circus at Garfunkels, gone out to a pub (did not drink, watched others do so), and then come home to just relax...It was an eventful long day that is quickly coming to a close. 


Tomorrow, Nekol and I will meet up with the US school group to go to Kensington Palace and then Nekol, Harrison, and I are heading to London Dungeon! Fun! 


Love, 
Dre