And so I have discovered that all Wednesdays are going to be incredibly long. I start the morning with British Art and Architecture (3 hours walking around) have a break, then have a three hour Shakespeare lecture. Then, on most Wednesdays, we have a play at seven thirty at the Globe. WHEW. Can you keep up?
Let's start at the beginning, shall we? This morning I woke up completely late. I don't know what happened but Claire, Laura, and I, (all sharing one room) woke up late all at the exact time. I had time to eat my muffin, but I didn't get to primp and be a girl for as long as I usually like. In fact I just threw a button down on and ran for it.
We were supposed to meet Barnaby (our BA&A prof) at the British Museum. Well. I am completely (at this moment) disenchanted with that class right now. I was sad because we spent at least an hour listening to Barnaby bumble about the structure of the museum. Some of it was interesting, but it was so boring. It was as if he was more bored than we were. How are we supposed to be excited if he's not even passionate about what he's teaching us. (Well you wind some, you lose some.)
Don't get me wrong, he's a nice person. But anyway - we also went to the National Gallery. We are trying to ponder the apparently deep question of "the origin of British style and art." I personally think it's a bit of baloney if you ask me. But, I'll humour the art gods and see what I can do for them. After we looked at some Renaissance paintings (which was kinda cool even though my feet were hating me at that point) we were let out of class. Well, we were about a twenty minute walk away from the flat.
We walked back trying to weave through the strangely closed down roads (we kept encountering those everywhere!). We finally got back around 1:10 - but then we had to be at our Shakespeare class at two. It takes approximately fifteen minutes to get to our classroom. So - imagine six girls politely trying to all make lunch at the exact same time? I figure I need to maybe make some things and put them in the fridge...But have I mentioned that we all share the fridge too? A week's worth of groceries for six girls in a sort of combo half/fridge that's not completely a whole fridge? It's a mess.
It's ok though, because we did manage to get to Cafe Nero before class. I got a venti white chocolate mocha and I will say that I've never had any coffee better than that. EVER. It cheered me up. I love Jean. She's the best professor ever. She is so excited about Shakespeare I feel energized just sitting next to her. (However, I am a little nervous that we have to have Henry IV part 1 read by next Wednesday.) I know you guys are rejoicing though, YAY! Becca finally has some homework! ;)
As nerdy as it sounds, after class I made Kemper take me to the new grocery store that she and Hillary found. I wanted to look at their selection of food. They have such a selection AND grocery carts. You have no idea how much I missed those fandangled things. The other markets have those baskets and they are so cramped. This market has everything and is much more spacious. I really think it's true that Americans are much more needing in their spacial issues.
Anyway after we left it was pouring outside in true London fashion. I am so glad that I bought my umbrella yesterday. I managed to stay dry for the whole walk home - (we checked in Skoob for a copy of Hamlet - but they still didn't have it). Then I made an egg sandwich and ate that with some fresh grapes. Then we got ready (a full hour and fifteen minutes early) to go to the globe.
We were due tonight to see The Merry Wives of Windsor by Billiam. I will say that the play was absolutely fantastic. The actors and actresses were awesome and the Globe (which is actually a replica of the original theatre seeing as it burnt down from it's thatched roof). The only slightly annoying thing was that we were the groundlings. So, if you look at a floor plan of the theatre - we are the ones that stand in front of the stage like at a rock show. It was great to see the action and I felt a special sense of being a part of the onstage action...HOWEVER...we stood there the whole time. So that's two and a half hours of standing. WOO-HOO!
After that we battled the tube and came back. Kemper and I bought a Guardian newspaper, but, I'm too tired to start reading it tonight so I'll let you know what I think of it when I have some time to read it. It's about twelve thirty here and I haven't showered yet (and trust me) I need to.
I miss you guys a bunch. Today was busy but in a weird way - I felt like a shuffled cow all day long. I have a free day all day long Friday. Does anyone have any suggestions in what I should do? I am completely open-minded. We are definitely going to Brighton on Saturday to visit our prof Susie. I think maybe tomorrow night Kemper and I might try to find a 'Juanita's' in London to listen to some live music. Nothing too big.
Leave me posts please! (Sorry no pictures today I was SOOOOOOO busy!)
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Some people must think I've never seen a park before...
Well today was a great day. I'm pretty sure since things are starting to pick up a bit that I'm going to get along just fine in London. (I'll fight through the rude people and learn all the tricky things about the sidewalks and cross walks...pinky promise! What can I say? I'm a southerner from the states!)
Anyway - today we had British Life and Culture. It was a great class even though I'm working hard to get used to this whole three hour class thing. It's pretty intense. Susie our professor gave us an overview on the British Education system and we watched a movie (based on a play) called history boys. The movie was pretty great but I was getting frustrated with the homosexuality undertones. I really felt like the playwright, Alan Bennet, was getting away from his whole critique of the education system with that rant.
Well...I didn't realize how much of a problem education is in general. I'll bet it's one of those universal problems. The Brits really have a complicated system and to tell you what's what I'd have to delve into my three page of green-inked notes. I did find it was funny that they have this thing called O levels - I totally thought of Harry Potter. How nerdy is that? Anyway - for all you other uber nerds out there - O levels means ordinary levels. DID NOT know that.
Also Susie told us that today is the 70th anniversary of the beginning of Hitler's Blitzkreig over here. I have seen all sorts of advertisements in Newspapers and the media about it. They really are big about keeping the Wars a fresh memory - or at least trying to. I think that's really interesting, and sometimes when I'm walking through London I wonder about how it must have been in ruins. I shudder at the thought. Let's all take a moment and remember those who were lost in the bombings as well as in the war in general.
Now. After class a few classmates and I went to the local Sainsbury's to get some necessities. Unfortunately, I am learning quickly that between seven girls and three bathrooms we are really going through toilet paper. Well, luckily for me and the others who were on their way to the store - we got free sweets!! Ok, I know that sounds like some stranger was handing out candy from a sketchy van, but let me tell you the REAL story. There is lovely pastry shop that we walk by every time we go to get groceries. Every time I skip by, I breathe in the smell of freshly cooked breads and fruits and chocolaty aromas. So today there was a nice lady standing outside the shop with a...I kid you not...silver platter. She was like, "free pastries!"
I kept on walking but Claire tugged my arm. Before I knew it, I was eating the best raspberry dark chocolate treat I've ever had in my entire life. OH my goodness it was so good. And really, thus begin a lovely series of events.
We got the toilet paper and I got a small notebook for traveling around the city for my Art and Architecture class, which I have tomorrow. Then after my simple turkey-cheese-hummus-sandwich for lunch, Claire and I decided to brave Oxford street. For those of you who don't know (I surely didn't) Oxford Street is like London's version of 5th avenue. This also happens to be fashion week.
Well...let me tell you!! It was obviously a mistake to even brave the sidewalk big enough for twenty people to walk abreast having conversations in at least that many different languages. Needless to say, Claire and I, who were going with the philosophy of "let's wing it," were overwhelmed.
I saw a bunch of stores I wanted to investigate - vintage looking things, but we were so jostled. Well...we jostled and bostled ourselves right on to Hyde park. OH MY GOODNESS!! Hyde park was gorgeous! We entered under the marble arch which is a beautiful piece of architecture (and according to my history friend Claire - the place were they used to have hangings...). Well we got inside and it was like we weren't even in the city!! I think it was a great feeling really to see green everywhere and there was even a little cafe.
We got ourselves some nice ice-cream (I had strawberry because there wasn't any pistachio) and we went to do what the Londoners do. (Or maybe this is more of a European thing?) Well, they sort of...just sit on the grass without a blanket. I'm totally used to laying out on the freshly cut grass next to my old dorm Raney at Hendrix. However, I always have a blanket. But we did the best we could and we practically rolled around in the grass like small children and took a bunch of pictures. It was a great time. I will post the pictures below for you to laugh at, respectively.
Anyway - we were concerned because there were dark rain clouds surrounding the park even though the sun was out. (Mind you, I did manage to buy a three pound umbrella from Prymark - which is an interesting store...) but we didn't want to get caught. We cut our gallivanting short and we decided to walk back via a different route. We got back to the flat only to discover that we were basically power-walking for six miles. It was so much fun!!! (I'm learning - I'm really learning the best way to get over the home-sickness is just to get out there and see what London has to offer!)
AND...if you guys are keeping up with the news...YES THERE IS A TUBE STRIKE. Is it a big deal...why yes! No, people are not protesting over here...but the traffic is absolutely mad. Seriously. Our street, which is normally quite quiet has been lined with taxis all day long. I hope that the strike actually accomplishes something because for me (in my little narrow world) the strike has simply made London that much more overwhelming. It has also made the people that much more rude because they are having a hard time getting where they are supposed to be on time.
I almost forgot to mention - Susie gave us a project today. We break up into groups of two and research a London paper and give background on the media and such. Well...I'm extremely happy to announce that Kemper and I get to do the Guardian. (Although I haven't gotten to read it yet, Julia just kept mentioning it so I'm looking forward to it!)
Let's see...oh yes, we came back and we both passed out from exhaustion. Don't worry, I drank plenty of water. Then we decided, Gramner, to make your stir fry recipe. (I posted pictures of that because it was exciting to cook something besides grilled cheese haha!!)
We made chicken stir fry with carrots, chick peas, green onion, red bell pepper, and broccoli. Four of us shared and each put in different ingredients. We made the perfect amount of food. I really just chopped everything up, honestly, Claire did all the sauteing. She seems to like to cook, so I cleaned and chopped. Anyways, the food was amazing and we all felt so accomplished!! It was a great feeling to get to eat something that we made. Who knows, maybe I'll turn into a gourmet cook - probably not. It was made even more fun by the classical music that we put on whilst we were going about cooking.
After that I uploaded some pictures and just sort of messed about on the computer. I am pretty much finished with Virginia Woolf's novel so I'm waiting to buy the Guardian this weekend. I'm pretty sure eight of us are going to visit Susie in Brighton on Saturday as a day trip. We get a deal on traveling in a group. I'll read the paper on the train ride - that's basically research for my project - and Kemper will be with me.
Well so Claire and Laura and I had all this free time and really nothing to do. The rest of the group was either at the threatre or off looking for a different pub. We decided to go to the College Arms and just have a pint. It really is a neighborhood pub and, apparently, when Uni (school) starts the students frequent the place. It was not to busy and on our way out we tried to invite anyone else left in the flat. Only Nick was left and he went with us. We spent about an hour there sort of people watching, and talking about Hendrix sports...or the lack thereof. It was a nice quiet evening. After our pint we came back and here I am writing this post for you guys with my hot chocolate. It's not so bad in the day (the temperature) but at night...woa man!
I must be used to the crazy Arkansas heat because I'm cold. Umm...I'm also wearing shorts. So the hot chocolate helps. Let's see...I don't think I've left anything out from today. I had such a great day. I hope you guys are doing well and you like the pictures! I miss you all!
Cheerio!!
Anyway - today we had British Life and Culture. It was a great class even though I'm working hard to get used to this whole three hour class thing. It's pretty intense. Susie our professor gave us an overview on the British Education system and we watched a movie (based on a play) called history boys. The movie was pretty great but I was getting frustrated with the homosexuality undertones. I really felt like the playwright, Alan Bennet, was getting away from his whole critique of the education system with that rant.
Well...I didn't realize how much of a problem education is in general. I'll bet it's one of those universal problems. The Brits really have a complicated system and to tell you what's what I'd have to delve into my three page of green-inked notes. I did find it was funny that they have this thing called O levels - I totally thought of Harry Potter. How nerdy is that? Anyway - for all you other uber nerds out there - O levels means ordinary levels. DID NOT know that.
Also Susie told us that today is the 70th anniversary of the beginning of Hitler's Blitzkreig over here. I have seen all sorts of advertisements in Newspapers and the media about it. They really are big about keeping the Wars a fresh memory - or at least trying to. I think that's really interesting, and sometimes when I'm walking through London I wonder about how it must have been in ruins. I shudder at the thought. Let's all take a moment and remember those who were lost in the bombings as well as in the war in general.
Now. After class a few classmates and I went to the local Sainsbury's to get some necessities. Unfortunately, I am learning quickly that between seven girls and three bathrooms we are really going through toilet paper. Well, luckily for me and the others who were on their way to the store - we got free sweets!! Ok, I know that sounds like some stranger was handing out candy from a sketchy van, but let me tell you the REAL story. There is lovely pastry shop that we walk by every time we go to get groceries. Every time I skip by, I breathe in the smell of freshly cooked breads and fruits and chocolaty aromas. So today there was a nice lady standing outside the shop with a...I kid you not...silver platter. She was like, "free pastries!"
I kept on walking but Claire tugged my arm. Before I knew it, I was eating the best raspberry dark chocolate treat I've ever had in my entire life. OH my goodness it was so good. And really, thus begin a lovely series of events.
We got the toilet paper and I got a small notebook for traveling around the city for my Art and Architecture class, which I have tomorrow. Then after my simple turkey-cheese-hummus-sandwich for lunch, Claire and I decided to brave Oxford street. For those of you who don't know (I surely didn't) Oxford Street is like London's version of 5th avenue. This also happens to be fashion week.
Well...let me tell you!! It was obviously a mistake to even brave the sidewalk big enough for twenty people to walk abreast having conversations in at least that many different languages. Needless to say, Claire and I, who were going with the philosophy of "let's wing it," were overwhelmed.
I saw a bunch of stores I wanted to investigate - vintage looking things, but we were so jostled. Well...we jostled and bostled ourselves right on to Hyde park. OH MY GOODNESS!! Hyde park was gorgeous! We entered under the marble arch which is a beautiful piece of architecture (and according to my history friend Claire - the place were they used to have hangings...). Well we got inside and it was like we weren't even in the city!! I think it was a great feeling really to see green everywhere and there was even a little cafe.
We got ourselves some nice ice-cream (I had strawberry because there wasn't any pistachio) and we went to do what the Londoners do. (Or maybe this is more of a European thing?) Well, they sort of...just sit on the grass without a blanket. I'm totally used to laying out on the freshly cut grass next to my old dorm Raney at Hendrix. However, I always have a blanket. But we did the best we could and we practically rolled around in the grass like small children and took a bunch of pictures. It was a great time. I will post the pictures below for you to laugh at, respectively.
Anyway - we were concerned because there were dark rain clouds surrounding the park even though the sun was out. (Mind you, I did manage to buy a three pound umbrella from Prymark - which is an interesting store...) but we didn't want to get caught. We cut our gallivanting short and we decided to walk back via a different route. We got back to the flat only to discover that we were basically power-walking for six miles. It was so much fun!!! (I'm learning - I'm really learning the best way to get over the home-sickness is just to get out there and see what London has to offer!)
AND...if you guys are keeping up with the news...YES THERE IS A TUBE STRIKE. Is it a big deal...why yes! No, people are not protesting over here...but the traffic is absolutely mad. Seriously. Our street, which is normally quite quiet has been lined with taxis all day long. I hope that the strike actually accomplishes something because for me (in my little narrow world) the strike has simply made London that much more overwhelming. It has also made the people that much more rude because they are having a hard time getting where they are supposed to be on time.
I almost forgot to mention - Susie gave us a project today. We break up into groups of two and research a London paper and give background on the media and such. Well...I'm extremely happy to announce that Kemper and I get to do the Guardian. (Although I haven't gotten to read it yet, Julia just kept mentioning it so I'm looking forward to it!)
Let's see...oh yes, we came back and we both passed out from exhaustion. Don't worry, I drank plenty of water. Then we decided, Gramner, to make your stir fry recipe. (I posted pictures of that because it was exciting to cook something besides grilled cheese haha!!)
We made chicken stir fry with carrots, chick peas, green onion, red bell pepper, and broccoli. Four of us shared and each put in different ingredients. We made the perfect amount of food. I really just chopped everything up, honestly, Claire did all the sauteing. She seems to like to cook, so I cleaned and chopped. Anyways, the food was amazing and we all felt so accomplished!! It was a great feeling to get to eat something that we made. Who knows, maybe I'll turn into a gourmet cook - probably not. It was made even more fun by the classical music that we put on whilst we were going about cooking.
After that I uploaded some pictures and just sort of messed about on the computer. I am pretty much finished with Virginia Woolf's novel so I'm waiting to buy the Guardian this weekend. I'm pretty sure eight of us are going to visit Susie in Brighton on Saturday as a day trip. We get a deal on traveling in a group. I'll read the paper on the train ride - that's basically research for my project - and Kemper will be with me.
Well so Claire and Laura and I had all this free time and really nothing to do. The rest of the group was either at the threatre or off looking for a different pub. We decided to go to the College Arms and just have a pint. It really is a neighborhood pub and, apparently, when Uni (school) starts the students frequent the place. It was not to busy and on our way out we tried to invite anyone else left in the flat. Only Nick was left and he went with us. We spent about an hour there sort of people watching, and talking about Hendrix sports...or the lack thereof. It was a nice quiet evening. After our pint we came back and here I am writing this post for you guys with my hot chocolate. It's not so bad in the day (the temperature) but at night...woa man!
I must be used to the crazy Arkansas heat because I'm cold. Umm...I'm also wearing shorts. So the hot chocolate helps. Let's see...I don't think I've left anything out from today. I had such a great day. I hope you guys are doing well and you like the pictures! I miss you all!
Cheerio!!
Monday, September 6, 2010
Waiter Dude - "Whut ees dees?" Claire - "Exact Change"
I don't particularly enjoy rude. Today was my first Monday of a first full week of class. It was exciting in many ways and yet, so frustrating in others.
Let me begin by saying that apparently I have to take forty-five minutes to get dressed every morning. Why can't I just roll out of bed five minutes before class and show up on time, like I did for Feminism last year? Well...there's nothing like a city full of such posh, trendy, sometimes snooty-looking people to motivate you.
So this morning I took forever but decided on a cute skirt with tights and a sweater and a scarf. And my boots. Good thing I went with the boots because it was our first real dreary London day. It was immediately raining as soon as we all made it into the classroom this morning. We had our Politics in the British novel class with Dr. King this morning. Honestly I was absorbed in the material. We spent the class talking about Orwell's works Animal Farm and 1984. I think this could end up being my favourite class.
I am always getting so bogged down in the class struggle and Marxism, but the resistance against totalitarianism gets me every time too. :)
Anyway, after our excursion into political thought, it was time for class to end. Claire and I decided to take an alternative route back to the flat to sort of expand our horizons. We managed to do just find walking around and I think I am beginning to really know where I am when I open the door from the flat and walk off the stoop.
I had this brilliant idea that we should eat lunch out today - because it's Monday. We agreed early on that we would try and eat lunch out instead of dinner because lunch is less expensive and usually they have all these great deals for students in the form of discounts. So we tried this Indian restaurant that we picked out.
WELL..our experience was less than pleasant. The food was alright - nothing to write home about. However, the service was horrible. I don't know if it's because Claire and I are young, American, or a combination of the two, BUT, our servers treated us horribly.
They refused us the discount and threw a couple of plates down on the table. Also, when we got the bill, we decided to count out exact change to make the transaction easier. Well, when the waiter came to get our bills he looked at Claire's money and said, "Whut ees dees?" gruffly. Claire was flustered as was I and said, "It's exact change." He grumbled something about leaving us exact change and when he came back he threw the plate that had the change literally at Claire. WHO was his MOMMA?! He needed to be brought up with manners. Sheesh.
Anyway- I felt kind of bad because it was my idea that we go out today, however, at least now we know not to go there. Then, I did a little bit of homework and chilled in the flat. It was cold and plenty rainy today.
Claire promised that she would go to the post office with me - because I knew that I would need moral support for sending Johnny his birthday present. I say this because sometimes the people here have such a strange accent that I would venture to say that they are not even speaking English. However, we made it through and I managed to send him his gift. I think we spent a total of thirty minutes in there, trying to communicate with the mail man and the people in the long line were not all too happy with me. WHATEVER! I bet they don't have a special someone to send the most perfect gift to for their twentieth birthday now do they? I hope he likes his gift. I just know it's perfect.
After that, I was feeling a little down and homesick because I do best when I have all sorts of things to do. I've been really bad about planning afternoon things to do. However, Heather, an RA from Hendrix who's also a junior and studying at a philosophy program in Switzerland this semester came to visit today before her term starts. She got in around three and wanted to go walking.
Even though we've been to Big Ben, you just don't really tire walking down the Thames and along the bridges and by Westminster Abbey. I mean to tell you - it's somehow more gorgeous with a dreary background. And so we trooped off to stroll along the streets and I was pleased to know that Claire and I were sort of leading the group. We only looked at the map once.
I am planning on possibly going to Brighton this weekend to visit one of my professors. I am really excited - they have a neat pier as well as an ocean there. :)
Also I'm seeing The Merry Wives of Windsor at the Globe theatre this Wednesday. These are just upcoming events I'm looking forward to. As for me - I think that's really all I've got in the way of blogging tonight. I'll catch you guys tomorrow. Enjoy the silly pictures we took to cheer up on this dreary evening. (Gramner - love the rain jacket. It's perfect.)
Let me begin by saying that apparently I have to take forty-five minutes to get dressed every morning. Why can't I just roll out of bed five minutes before class and show up on time, like I did for Feminism last year? Well...there's nothing like a city full of such posh, trendy, sometimes snooty-looking people to motivate you.
So this morning I took forever but decided on a cute skirt with tights and a sweater and a scarf. And my boots. Good thing I went with the boots because it was our first real dreary London day. It was immediately raining as soon as we all made it into the classroom this morning. We had our Politics in the British novel class with Dr. King this morning. Honestly I was absorbed in the material. We spent the class talking about Orwell's works Animal Farm and 1984. I think this could end up being my favourite class.
I am always getting so bogged down in the class struggle and Marxism, but the resistance against totalitarianism gets me every time too. :)
Anyway, after our excursion into political thought, it was time for class to end. Claire and I decided to take an alternative route back to the flat to sort of expand our horizons. We managed to do just find walking around and I think I am beginning to really know where I am when I open the door from the flat and walk off the stoop.
I had this brilliant idea that we should eat lunch out today - because it's Monday. We agreed early on that we would try and eat lunch out instead of dinner because lunch is less expensive and usually they have all these great deals for students in the form of discounts. So we tried this Indian restaurant that we picked out.
WELL..our experience was less than pleasant. The food was alright - nothing to write home about. However, the service was horrible. I don't know if it's because Claire and I are young, American, or a combination of the two, BUT, our servers treated us horribly.
They refused us the discount and threw a couple of plates down on the table. Also, when we got the bill, we decided to count out exact change to make the transaction easier. Well, when the waiter came to get our bills he looked at Claire's money and said, "Whut ees dees?" gruffly. Claire was flustered as was I and said, "It's exact change." He grumbled something about leaving us exact change and when he came back he threw the plate that had the change literally at Claire. WHO was his MOMMA?! He needed to be brought up with manners. Sheesh.
Anyway- I felt kind of bad because it was my idea that we go out today, however, at least now we know not to go there. Then, I did a little bit of homework and chilled in the flat. It was cold and plenty rainy today.
Claire promised that she would go to the post office with me - because I knew that I would need moral support for sending Johnny his birthday present. I say this because sometimes the people here have such a strange accent that I would venture to say that they are not even speaking English. However, we made it through and I managed to send him his gift. I think we spent a total of thirty minutes in there, trying to communicate with the mail man and the people in the long line were not all too happy with me. WHATEVER! I bet they don't have a special someone to send the most perfect gift to for their twentieth birthday now do they? I hope he likes his gift. I just know it's perfect.
After that, I was feeling a little down and homesick because I do best when I have all sorts of things to do. I've been really bad about planning afternoon things to do. However, Heather, an RA from Hendrix who's also a junior and studying at a philosophy program in Switzerland this semester came to visit today before her term starts. She got in around three and wanted to go walking.
Even though we've been to Big Ben, you just don't really tire walking down the Thames and along the bridges and by Westminster Abbey. I mean to tell you - it's somehow more gorgeous with a dreary background. And so we trooped off to stroll along the streets and I was pleased to know that Claire and I were sort of leading the group. We only looked at the map once.
I am planning on possibly going to Brighton this weekend to visit one of my professors. I am really excited - they have a neat pier as well as an ocean there. :)
Also I'm seeing The Merry Wives of Windsor at the Globe theatre this Wednesday. These are just upcoming events I'm looking forward to. As for me - I think that's really all I've got in the way of blogging tonight. I'll catch you guys tomorrow. Enjoy the silly pictures we took to cheer up on this dreary evening. (Gramner - love the rain jacket. It's perfect.)
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Skoob...Books spelled backward...
This weekend has been a little crazy. It's hard to coordinate fourteen people to do one huge activity.
On Saturday I finally got to sleep late. I completely enjoyed sleeping in till about noon. Claire and I had plans to return to Camden market. I needed to get the final touches of Johnny's birthday present sorted out, and we enjoyed the market so much the first time we didn't mind the second time.
However on Saturday's the market is way busier than on Sunday's. I got what I was looking for. :) Claire and I spent about thirty minutes talking to this one vendor at a booth. She was a little bit older than us and was an art and fashion student. She had all these beautiful necklaces and bracelets with little tiny charms on them. Claire bought a teacup necklace and I made a mental note that I wanted to come back. I am being pretty frugal with my money because I have not planned any trips yet definitely and I want to be able to travel more than anything else.
All in all - even though we had to battle the hoards, we had a great time. We spent about four hours walking around. I am not as frustrated about walking as I was in my last post. I know for a fact that I would rather walk than take the tube for sure. :) (Mass transportation hates me so much!)
Then we all got together and made different dinners at the flat. I tried this interesting walnut and gorganza tortelini that I bought on special at Sainsbury's. It was pretty good - I mean - you can't go wrong with pasta.
After that we all went to the Marlborough Arms, which is a pub that Julia suggested. I loved the atmosphere and the inside of the pub it was so nice compared to the ones we have been frequenting. However, the fourteen of us in that one pub was a mess. We might have to simply start traveling in smaller groups - who knows. After that we went back to the College Arms pub where we sort of already know the bartender and alighted there to celebrate various September birthdays that have already come up.
We came back to the flat but I wasn't able to sleep. I found myself awake until four in the morning - I should really stop this horrible pattern now. I don't want to end up being an insomniac.
But - I did get about eight hours of sleep last night so I should be good as long as I can go to bed at a reasonable hour tonight.
Today I woke up and was hit with a huge wave of homesickness. I didn't quite know what to do - but I knew that sitting in the flat doing homework wasn't going to help. London is great if you get up and move around a bit. My original plan was to go to a cafe and get a coffee and work on some reading that we have to do. Then I had this great idea to google used bookstores in London and the first thing that came up was Skoob. (Which - in my title I say - is B-o-o-k-s spelled backwards.)
I looked at a map and literally this place was a stone's throw away from the flat and open on Sundays. Seeing as I needed to pick up some copies of Shakespeare for class, I asked if Claire and Laura wanted to go with me. They both said yes.
Of course, being me, I didn't write down the address. I just remembered that the street was something like Handel or Leigh or something. (Real specific right?) Anyway we hopped across Russell square and were well on our way to the store. Or so I thought. Once we got about three blocks in, I realized that I didn't remember the name of the street the store was on.
We wandered down the residential area of London - which was a nice quieter move from the busy streets of car horn honking and bustling people in trendy clothes. We accidentally found St. George's Garden which was absolutely tranquilly beautiful. There was not a single soul around and we all sat down on a nice looking bench. After reading the sign we realized that the garden was actually a grave-yard transformed into a public park for the homeless. The graveyard is full of unmarked bodies from the past older centuries. I know that may sound creepy - but I have not been anywhere in London yet that is as peaceful at St. George's. Claire and I agreed that we would come back to study or enjoy nice weather if there is any.
Anyway - after a moment of frolicking in the quiet we heard some beautiful classical music coming out of an open window of a very beautiful building. I loved it. Claire and I are pretty sure it was - Mozart's Rondo Alla Turca. (I don't even think it was a recording.)
After that we went walking a bit more before finally giving up and going back to the flat in defeat. I couldn't figure out why we couldn't find the bookstore it was right in the direction where we were. When we got back Claire and I googled it and figured out that it was in a big complex that we had dismissed because we didn't think a used bookstore would be in the same place as the Gap and Starbucks.
Anyway - Laura wanted to eat so Claire and I ventured back out. I took some pictures in the bookstore because it puts my lovely Rivermarket bookstore to shame. It was so cool. We got both Henry IV part one and two four five pounds all together. I thought that was pretty good. I will definitely go back soon. They didn't have Hamlet but the owner was so nice and said to check back in a couple of days because they are always getting new things in.
They also had a piano with records and sheet music by it. I kind of wanted to tickle the ivory but there were a few people in the store and I didn't want to disturb them. I miss music players - record players - stereos. Haha. Is it weird to miss sound systems?
Anyway we came back and I had a nice salad with a tiny bit of pasta and grapes for desert. I got to talk to Mom and Dad and Jess today to tell them about all my adventures and how I miss them so much!
I'm going to go work on reading that Virginia Woolf novel for now, right after I post my pictures.
I hope you guys are enjoying the blog. Leave me posts they make me smile. :)
Cheers!
Oh I almost forgot to mention - at the market Claire and I found a really nice vendor who was selling scarves for a pound. We were excited so we both bought one. Also - at the place where the bookstore was Claire and I noticed all these neat trinkets stuck in the pavement. AND I tried a snicker's bar over here. They're different, just like the Kit Kats over here are different. Anyway - miss my little familial unit!
On Saturday I finally got to sleep late. I completely enjoyed sleeping in till about noon. Claire and I had plans to return to Camden market. I needed to get the final touches of Johnny's birthday present sorted out, and we enjoyed the market so much the first time we didn't mind the second time.
However on Saturday's the market is way busier than on Sunday's. I got what I was looking for. :) Claire and I spent about thirty minutes talking to this one vendor at a booth. She was a little bit older than us and was an art and fashion student. She had all these beautiful necklaces and bracelets with little tiny charms on them. Claire bought a teacup necklace and I made a mental note that I wanted to come back. I am being pretty frugal with my money because I have not planned any trips yet definitely and I want to be able to travel more than anything else.
All in all - even though we had to battle the hoards, we had a great time. We spent about four hours walking around. I am not as frustrated about walking as I was in my last post. I know for a fact that I would rather walk than take the tube for sure. :) (Mass transportation hates me so much!)
Then we all got together and made different dinners at the flat. I tried this interesting walnut and gorganza tortelini that I bought on special at Sainsbury's. It was pretty good - I mean - you can't go wrong with pasta.
After that we all went to the Marlborough Arms, which is a pub that Julia suggested. I loved the atmosphere and the inside of the pub it was so nice compared to the ones we have been frequenting. However, the fourteen of us in that one pub was a mess. We might have to simply start traveling in smaller groups - who knows. After that we went back to the College Arms pub where we sort of already know the bartender and alighted there to celebrate various September birthdays that have already come up.
We came back to the flat but I wasn't able to sleep. I found myself awake until four in the morning - I should really stop this horrible pattern now. I don't want to end up being an insomniac.
But - I did get about eight hours of sleep last night so I should be good as long as I can go to bed at a reasonable hour tonight.
Today I woke up and was hit with a huge wave of homesickness. I didn't quite know what to do - but I knew that sitting in the flat doing homework wasn't going to help. London is great if you get up and move around a bit. My original plan was to go to a cafe and get a coffee and work on some reading that we have to do. Then I had this great idea to google used bookstores in London and the first thing that came up was Skoob. (Which - in my title I say - is B-o-o-k-s spelled backwards.)
I looked at a map and literally this place was a stone's throw away from the flat and open on Sundays. Seeing as I needed to pick up some copies of Shakespeare for class, I asked if Claire and Laura wanted to go with me. They both said yes.
Of course, being me, I didn't write down the address. I just remembered that the street was something like Handel or Leigh or something. (Real specific right?) Anyway we hopped across Russell square and were well on our way to the store. Or so I thought. Once we got about three blocks in, I realized that I didn't remember the name of the street the store was on.
We wandered down the residential area of London - which was a nice quieter move from the busy streets of car horn honking and bustling people in trendy clothes. We accidentally found St. George's Garden which was absolutely tranquilly beautiful. There was not a single soul around and we all sat down on a nice looking bench. After reading the sign we realized that the garden was actually a grave-yard transformed into a public park for the homeless. The graveyard is full of unmarked bodies from the past older centuries. I know that may sound creepy - but I have not been anywhere in London yet that is as peaceful at St. George's. Claire and I agreed that we would come back to study or enjoy nice weather if there is any.
Anyway - after a moment of frolicking in the quiet we heard some beautiful classical music coming out of an open window of a very beautiful building. I loved it. Claire and I are pretty sure it was - Mozart's Rondo Alla Turca. (I don't even think it was a recording.)
After that we went walking a bit more before finally giving up and going back to the flat in defeat. I couldn't figure out why we couldn't find the bookstore it was right in the direction where we were. When we got back Claire and I googled it and figured out that it was in a big complex that we had dismissed because we didn't think a used bookstore would be in the same place as the Gap and Starbucks.
Anyway - Laura wanted to eat so Claire and I ventured back out. I took some pictures in the bookstore because it puts my lovely Rivermarket bookstore to shame. It was so cool. We got both Henry IV part one and two four five pounds all together. I thought that was pretty good. I will definitely go back soon. They didn't have Hamlet but the owner was so nice and said to check back in a couple of days because they are always getting new things in.
They also had a piano with records and sheet music by it. I kind of wanted to tickle the ivory but there were a few people in the store and I didn't want to disturb them. I miss music players - record players - stereos. Haha. Is it weird to miss sound systems?
Anyway we came back and I had a nice salad with a tiny bit of pasta and grapes for desert. I got to talk to Mom and Dad and Jess today to tell them about all my adventures and how I miss them so much!
I'm going to go work on reading that Virginia Woolf novel for now, right after I post my pictures.
I hope you guys are enjoying the blog. Leave me posts they make me smile. :)
Cheers!
Oh I almost forgot to mention - at the market Claire and I found a really nice vendor who was selling scarves for a pound. We were excited so we both bought one. Also - at the place where the bookstore was Claire and I noticed all these neat trinkets stuck in the pavement. AND I tried a snicker's bar over here. They're different, just like the Kit Kats over here are different. Anyway - miss my little familial unit!
Friday, September 3, 2010
Stratford-upon-Avon
These people are serious about walking over here. I like to walk, it's a nice form of exercise. However, I don't know about this walking everywhere business. I have now developed a bleeding blister on my toe. Hooray. Not even on my heel or the bottom of my feet - where you would figure my blisters would be.
Now that I'm through with that rant I am going to update my blog for you guys. I got to go to Stratford-upon-Avon on Thursday morning and we got back today around six-ish. Woo-boy. We packed a lot of stuff (walking, mostly) in those couple of days.
First of all, I had trouble sleeping Wednesday night so of course I was up late on Thursday morning. Claire woke me up, thankfully. I managed to have a beigel with peanut butter. It was great, but I didn't have time to drink any tea. :( We decided that we wanted to walk with Dr. King and a group of students the forty-five minute walk from our flat to the Marylebone train station. (By the way - interesting fact - Londoners, and perhaps British folks everywhere- tend to pronounce words without some of the letters that they have in them. Marylebone is pronounced Marlebin. (It's sooooo hard to understand the train conducter, haha.)
Anyway, so I woke up and packed quickly and got upstairs with Claire to join the group. We walked through regent's park and I wished I had ten eyes so I could see all the buildings. The architecture was really pretty in that part of town. (Well I guess I should say in that part of the city.)
We finally got to the train station and we had enough time to get some food for the train. I got a ham and egg sandwich and a water bottle that I have been refilling for the whole trip since I bought it. Then we sat down and waited for our platform number and eventually finally made our way to Platform one. Our group of 14 (and two British professors) made it onto about one car by ourselves. This was good because we didn't bother the other travelers. One of the things I hate about big groups, especially big groups of teenagers, (especially especially the American kind) is that we tend to get loud as we compete to talk over each other.
Anyway I tried to take some pictures. I can't help myself, I've never been on a train even in the United States, at least, that I can remember. So we had to chill for two and a half hours for the Stratford ride. I listened to my ipod and all that jazz.
Then we arrived and Jean (our Shakespeare prof) lead us down this street with building after quaint building of bed and breakfasts. Groups of us stayed at different bed and breakfasts and for the life of me, I can't really remember the name of ours. I stayed with Ruthie and Kemper - which was a nice change from my real flatemates - not that I'm sick of them or anything but I'm still learning new things about people.
Have I mentioned why we went to Stratford yet? We were after Shakespeare's birthplace and grave and a production of one of his plays - "A Winter's Tale." It was definitely an experience. I have also never been to a professional play before.
Seeing Shakespeare's grave was neat. The church was gorgeous - of the Anglican variety - and his wife Anne was also in the church. I felt a neat sort of peacefulness in the church as well as in Shakespeare's actual garden. I am going to post tons of pictures about the places we went. We also went to his wife Anne Hathaway's cottage. The exhibitions they have in these ridiculously old houses/cottages are amazing.
Now, back to Stratford. Did you know that Avon is a river which the town Stratford is built by? I always just thought the British were strange for naming a town something like "Stratford-upon-Avon." Well, you learn something new everyday. I can tell you this, I preferred Stratford to London. The town is quaint with a lot of Tudor style buildings. The windows are gorgeous and there is black and white striped looking work on the store fronts. Also the place is not all that big. One thing I am falling in love with about England is their footpaths they have. They just go right through the town, through people's property and through fields and parks. However, people use them. They are kept up for the public and they are the neatest things ever.
Even though I opened this post about complaining about walking, I really enjoyed walking those paths. Dr. King was saying that they have been here for forever, even before the Brits started producing quaint little towns like Stratford. I tried fish and chips for the first time. I think my fish - which I couldn't figure out what type it was - was a little too fried. However, it was very good. Also, the piece of fish was as big as my face. I also like how their 'chips' are our 'french fries.' And they happen to be the very hearty meaty type of french fries. (BUT I've not been unable to find ranch anywhere.)
The show was interesting. I wish we'd seen a play that I had already read. We had to rush to see this one because it was the only Shakespeare production they were showing in Stratford when the group would be here. The play, in my opinion, was lacking to say the least. It was such a slow beginning. Goodness I was so tired and full of my fish and chips (and peas - not mushy peas - even Dr. King says those are scary) that I was going to fall asleep.
I will say that the actors and actresses were amazing as was the acting and props and scenery that they utilized. I did enjoy the comic relief that Shakespeare is all too famous for, however, I was not happy with three hours of sitting high up in the gallery and straining my ears through the accents and the distance.
After the play we were allowed to do whatever but the place pretty much closed down - this not being London. The one pub where the actors are supposed to all frequent - The Mucky Duck - was so packed. We all dispersed and a group of us went to find some pringles. We finally found some and enjoyed them. (Yes Gramner these taste like the same cardboard here as they do over there.)
Anyway we were walking back and I noticed how in Stratford you could totally see all the stars. They speckled the sky like tiny prin-picks of a child's magic marker. They were numerous and twinkling. That made me think of seeing shooting stars with Johnny at the beach, they were almost that good. However, nothing will be that good, I don't think. It was neat to think, "Oh, I'm standing under the night sky and I can see the stars." This is just another sign that a big city is really not my thing. Haha. Oh well, we have to try new experiences.
As I'm posting this, by the way - it's 12:26 AM and I'm eating Cherry yogurt. I LOVE the yogurt over here. It's so smooth and fresh or something weird. I don't even like yogurt at home. Anyway, sorry I missed you earlier mom. Everyone and their dog was in our flat yelling and I've been uber frustrated this afternoon. I thought I was going to have to go into hysterics to get them all out but they left and I've been watching british t.v. shows on my computer. We have a t.v. - but I can put my ear phones in and be anti-social.
Anyway back to Stratford - on the way back I fell asleep on the train ride. For serious. I never sleep on moving vehicles so you guys must know I am exhausted. Anyway - I slept for about thirty minutes - and then I had to get up and buy my oyster card. I was nervous about going to the tube - you guys know how that's been so far. Well, I couldn't even get out of the train station correctly. My train card thingy wouldn't go through the ticket receptor and I had to "ask for assistance!" Sheesh! Public transportation just doesn't like me. I wasn't messing around though I was tired and on a mission so I simply wen to the dude in the uniform get-up and I told him to let me through as I thrust him my ticket. I was sleepy and my hair thingy had just broken off my all too frizzy hair.
Then I got in the queue to get my oyster card. Everything went smoothly after than I got on the right line and switched at the right station and ended up a block away from my flat. Everything was hunky doory. Except then I decided to go to the grocery store after that and it happened to be Friday at rush hour. I HATE RUSH HOUR. People are uber rude. I miss manners and etiquette and no pushing and shoving. What are we reverting back to the first grade? Sheesh. Take a spoonful of yogurt Becca and eat a cookie you'll be fine.
Anyway, luckily I made a list. There were a gillion people in Sainsbury's. I managed to get salad stuff and eggs and muffins and fresh vegetables and fruit and hummus and soy milk. YES Dad. I got my soy milk. I loved it too, it was a different brand and it was so good.
I got enough for the week and I got a different flavor of soup. :)
BUT I did manage to get home without my salad dressing :( that I paid for. By that point I was so tired I didn't care. I only paid 30 pence for it. However Hillary, one of my flatmates on accident sprayed balsamic vinegerette all over me and I just was about to explode. The traveling and lack of sleep and the crazy food store was starting to get to me. Good thing I took a shower and started some laundry. Sometimes mundane tasks like that totally chill me out. (Also I saw a cute pair of shoes today that I think I might have to buy. They were only about twelve pounds and they were oh so posh. :] )
I'm doing my best to find my balance. I'm thinking of venturing to the ULU library (called the Senate library) with Claire or maybe even by myself during the early afternoon tomorrow. It's a beautifully huge building and I think I need some Becca time. Some nice alone time. All of these girls are beautifully nice but I'm telling you - I am used to being able to go for a drive down to #4 Overlook drive when I want some quiet. I guess I really do have spatial concerns. Nice to know at such a young age.
Anyway that brings you up to date. Most of the group is now loudly upstairs on the ground floor of the flat having a good time. That's fine but I really hope they find a balance. That's what I'm aiming for. We do actually have homework, you know, even if it is our first week and our first Friday in London.
That's just me going on a rant. I think my mood will improve greatly after I've slept. I miss you guys so much. Please keep leaving comments. They absolutely make me smile and make my day so much brighter. :)
Cheers.
Now that I'm through with that rant I am going to update my blog for you guys. I got to go to Stratford-upon-Avon on Thursday morning and we got back today around six-ish. Woo-boy. We packed a lot of stuff (walking, mostly) in those couple of days.
First of all, I had trouble sleeping Wednesday night so of course I was up late on Thursday morning. Claire woke me up, thankfully. I managed to have a beigel with peanut butter. It was great, but I didn't have time to drink any tea. :( We decided that we wanted to walk with Dr. King and a group of students the forty-five minute walk from our flat to the Marylebone train station. (By the way - interesting fact - Londoners, and perhaps British folks everywhere- tend to pronounce words without some of the letters that they have in them. Marylebone is pronounced Marlebin. (It's sooooo hard to understand the train conducter, haha.)
Anyway, so I woke up and packed quickly and got upstairs with Claire to join the group. We walked through regent's park and I wished I had ten eyes so I could see all the buildings. The architecture was really pretty in that part of town. (Well I guess I should say in that part of the city.)
We finally got to the train station and we had enough time to get some food for the train. I got a ham and egg sandwich and a water bottle that I have been refilling for the whole trip since I bought it. Then we sat down and waited for our platform number and eventually finally made our way to Platform one. Our group of 14 (and two British professors) made it onto about one car by ourselves. This was good because we didn't bother the other travelers. One of the things I hate about big groups, especially big groups of teenagers, (especially especially the American kind) is that we tend to get loud as we compete to talk over each other.
Anyway I tried to take some pictures. I can't help myself, I've never been on a train even in the United States, at least, that I can remember. So we had to chill for two and a half hours for the Stratford ride. I listened to my ipod and all that jazz.
Then we arrived and Jean (our Shakespeare prof) lead us down this street with building after quaint building of bed and breakfasts. Groups of us stayed at different bed and breakfasts and for the life of me, I can't really remember the name of ours. I stayed with Ruthie and Kemper - which was a nice change from my real flatemates - not that I'm sick of them or anything but I'm still learning new things about people.
Have I mentioned why we went to Stratford yet? We were after Shakespeare's birthplace and grave and a production of one of his plays - "A Winter's Tale." It was definitely an experience. I have also never been to a professional play before.
Seeing Shakespeare's grave was neat. The church was gorgeous - of the Anglican variety - and his wife Anne was also in the church. I felt a neat sort of peacefulness in the church as well as in Shakespeare's actual garden. I am going to post tons of pictures about the places we went. We also went to his wife Anne Hathaway's cottage. The exhibitions they have in these ridiculously old houses/cottages are amazing.
Now, back to Stratford. Did you know that Avon is a river which the town Stratford is built by? I always just thought the British were strange for naming a town something like "Stratford-upon-Avon." Well, you learn something new everyday. I can tell you this, I preferred Stratford to London. The town is quaint with a lot of Tudor style buildings. The windows are gorgeous and there is black and white striped looking work on the store fronts. Also the place is not all that big. One thing I am falling in love with about England is their footpaths they have. They just go right through the town, through people's property and through fields and parks. However, people use them. They are kept up for the public and they are the neatest things ever.
Even though I opened this post about complaining about walking, I really enjoyed walking those paths. Dr. King was saying that they have been here for forever, even before the Brits started producing quaint little towns like Stratford. I tried fish and chips for the first time. I think my fish - which I couldn't figure out what type it was - was a little too fried. However, it was very good. Also, the piece of fish was as big as my face. I also like how their 'chips' are our 'french fries.' And they happen to be the very hearty meaty type of french fries. (BUT I've not been unable to find ranch anywhere.)
The show was interesting. I wish we'd seen a play that I had already read. We had to rush to see this one because it was the only Shakespeare production they were showing in Stratford when the group would be here. The play, in my opinion, was lacking to say the least. It was such a slow beginning. Goodness I was so tired and full of my fish and chips (and peas - not mushy peas - even Dr. King says those are scary) that I was going to fall asleep.
I will say that the actors and actresses were amazing as was the acting and props and scenery that they utilized. I did enjoy the comic relief that Shakespeare is all too famous for, however, I was not happy with three hours of sitting high up in the gallery and straining my ears through the accents and the distance.
After the play we were allowed to do whatever but the place pretty much closed down - this not being London. The one pub where the actors are supposed to all frequent - The Mucky Duck - was so packed. We all dispersed and a group of us went to find some pringles. We finally found some and enjoyed them. (Yes Gramner these taste like the same cardboard here as they do over there.)
Anyway we were walking back and I noticed how in Stratford you could totally see all the stars. They speckled the sky like tiny prin-picks of a child's magic marker. They were numerous and twinkling. That made me think of seeing shooting stars with Johnny at the beach, they were almost that good. However, nothing will be that good, I don't think. It was neat to think, "Oh, I'm standing under the night sky and I can see the stars." This is just another sign that a big city is really not my thing. Haha. Oh well, we have to try new experiences.
As I'm posting this, by the way - it's 12:26 AM and I'm eating Cherry yogurt. I LOVE the yogurt over here. It's so smooth and fresh or something weird. I don't even like yogurt at home. Anyway, sorry I missed you earlier mom. Everyone and their dog was in our flat yelling and I've been uber frustrated this afternoon. I thought I was going to have to go into hysterics to get them all out but they left and I've been watching british t.v. shows on my computer. We have a t.v. - but I can put my ear phones in and be anti-social.
Anyway back to Stratford - on the way back I fell asleep on the train ride. For serious. I never sleep on moving vehicles so you guys must know I am exhausted. Anyway - I slept for about thirty minutes - and then I had to get up and buy my oyster card. I was nervous about going to the tube - you guys know how that's been so far. Well, I couldn't even get out of the train station correctly. My train card thingy wouldn't go through the ticket receptor and I had to "ask for assistance!" Sheesh! Public transportation just doesn't like me. I wasn't messing around though I was tired and on a mission so I simply wen to the dude in the uniform get-up and I told him to let me through as I thrust him my ticket. I was sleepy and my hair thingy had just broken off my all too frizzy hair.
Then I got in the queue to get my oyster card. Everything went smoothly after than I got on the right line and switched at the right station and ended up a block away from my flat. Everything was hunky doory. Except then I decided to go to the grocery store after that and it happened to be Friday at rush hour. I HATE RUSH HOUR. People are uber rude. I miss manners and etiquette and no pushing and shoving. What are we reverting back to the first grade? Sheesh. Take a spoonful of yogurt Becca and eat a cookie you'll be fine.
Anyway, luckily I made a list. There were a gillion people in Sainsbury's. I managed to get salad stuff and eggs and muffins and fresh vegetables and fruit and hummus and soy milk. YES Dad. I got my soy milk. I loved it too, it was a different brand and it was so good.
I got enough for the week and I got a different flavor of soup. :)
BUT I did manage to get home without my salad dressing :( that I paid for. By that point I was so tired I didn't care. I only paid 30 pence for it. However Hillary, one of my flatmates on accident sprayed balsamic vinegerette all over me and I just was about to explode. The traveling and lack of sleep and the crazy food store was starting to get to me. Good thing I took a shower and started some laundry. Sometimes mundane tasks like that totally chill me out. (Also I saw a cute pair of shoes today that I think I might have to buy. They were only about twelve pounds and they were oh so posh. :] )
I'm doing my best to find my balance. I'm thinking of venturing to the ULU library (called the Senate library) with Claire or maybe even by myself during the early afternoon tomorrow. It's a beautifully huge building and I think I need some Becca time. Some nice alone time. All of these girls are beautifully nice but I'm telling you - I am used to being able to go for a drive down to #4 Overlook drive when I want some quiet. I guess I really do have spatial concerns. Nice to know at such a young age.
Anyway that brings you up to date. Most of the group is now loudly upstairs on the ground floor of the flat having a good time. That's fine but I really hope they find a balance. That's what I'm aiming for. We do actually have homework, you know, even if it is our first week and our first Friday in London.
That's just me going on a rant. I think my mood will improve greatly after I've slept. I miss you guys so much. Please keep leaving comments. They absolutely make me smile and make my day so much brighter. :)
Cheers.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
"Oh, I've lost me thread!"
Today was my second day of classes. I had both British Art and Architecture and Shakespeare. I think I'll start off today with our walk to the school building this morning.
Yesterday Dr. King walked with us to the building even though we didn't have his class. This morning we had to figure out how to get to the building by ourselves. I've taken a real liking to my flatmate Claire. She and I have seemed to click so far and we seem to be on the same sort of schedule. She's also incredibly sweet and great to talk to.
The class building is a ten minute walk away - but Dr. King has given us a stern discussion about how we can't be late. So...everyone decided that we would leave at nine:fifteen. Well I got up at eight because there are six girls sharing two bathrooms with a shower and one without a shower. Luckily, I shower at night so I don't have to battle for the bathroom. But, sometimes I might want to brush my teeth and wash my face before class.
Well, I was all ready and looking so fly with my black skirt and patterned tights and boots and sweater and scarf...not going to lie...I sort of looked London-esk. I'm sure I would have needed a different scarf though to be legitimate. Anywho, everyone was leaving but Claire was still in the bathroom. I didn't want to leave her there all alone to find the classroom by herself so I waited. We left about five minutes behind everyone else.
We managed between the two of us to get to the building by ourselves. We were on time and everything was great. We didn't want to be the first ones to be late. Also, we were kind of glad not to be crammed on a skinny sidewalk with fourteen obvious looking Americans trying to find our way around.
We sat through our Art and Architecture with our professor Barnaby. He seems really straight forward and nice, and we watched three documentaries. Luckily, his class will be one of the classes in which we only have two classes in an actual classroom. We also don't have too much on the homework scale - just two big presentations and a final.
We got out really early and Claire and I found a free books box in the bottom of the flat where we have class. We perused through it and I picked up a London A-Z from a year ago. :) This is good news.
When we got outside I really wanted some coffee and we happened upon a Cafe Nero. I've seen a lot of them around town and it looks like, from the storefront a nicer and yet quainter starbucks. Unfortunately there are starbucks everywhere - of course - and I want to make it my business to not frequent one during my stay. Claire and I went into the coffee shop and were amazed at their prices. The coffee was very reasonable, so even though it was eleven o'clock, I got a lovely macchiato.
The only problem was that the barista was one of those real Londoners with a heavy, heavy accent. I froze when he asked me a question because I didn't hear the price of my drink in his slew of words. He repeated himself in a not harsh way, and smiled at me. I finally did enough brain activity to realize that he was asking me if I wanted to "drink it here or do take away." Luckily, I happen to know what take-away is so I got my coffee to-go.
We checked the hours on the cafe and we think that perhaps this will be a nice place to study during the week after class or in the afternoon. I am glad that we may have found a coffee shop of our own. It kind of reminds me of Something's Brewing - but a little more posh. It definitely has a nice homey feeling even though it's one the corner of a busy street.
Let's see, I made a sandwich for lunch and started reading my Virginia Woolf novel for my British Life and Culture class during my break. I also wanted to go get my oyster card but by the time I finished my dishes, I had lolly-gagged around enough so that I needed to truck it to class. I got there in time, luckily, and our Shakespeare teacher wasn't in the class yet.
Jean is our Shakespeare prof's name and she. is. crazy. I absolutely love here - at least, I do right now. She may possibly be a really tough grader. She was supposedly going to discuss the syllabus with us but went off on a rant about the Globe Theatre and Shakespeare. She then said, "Oh, I've lost me thread" because she plum forgot what she was talking about.
She then asked all of us what our majors were and how much Shakespeare we've read. I mean, tomorrow we go see "A Winter's Tale" at Stratford. Holy Smakeral! I'm excited.
Also - Claire and I must look British - twice we have been asked for direction by British middle-aged women who looked lost. We just had to smile and say, "sorry we happen to be new here." Haha. Maybe that means that I happen to look London-y?
After class Kemper and I looked through time-out London for some local British bands that are playing this weekend. We found a pretty cool sounding guy - a little mellow - Mr. Fogg - that is playing about five blocks away for free! We are hoping to grab a couple more girls like Claire and Erin and venture out to that show Friday night. I'm pretty excited about that - the venue reminds me of Juanita's and doesn't seem to be huge. Hopefully it's mellow though - and don't worry - it's not in a club. A club is something that I am NOT interested in.
After our perusal through the time out London website I asked one of the guys if I could go running with him. He has been running regularly by himself and has a route planned and everything - and I promised Mom I wouldn't go by myself. Also - he's the only other runner on the trip. His name is Nick and he's an English major and pretty quiet. I told him when I asked him that my pace would be horrible compared to his but said it was fine.
So we ran from Bloomsbury Square to Big Ben and the river Thames. That was a mile and half. We then rain up and down the river around Big Ben and Parliament, which was two miles. We then ran the mile and a half back to the flat. So that's basically a five mile run down to Big Ben and back, no big deal. London was gorgeous while we were running and it took us fifty three minutes. We also had to stop for me a couple of times (haha - not so perfect I suppose) and the traffic lights.
I loved running in the city. I think maybe that is one of it's saving graces. I got to know some of the street names and I got to see some of the most beautiful architecture in the world like it was no big deal. I'm in love with Big Ben. :)
After that I showered and made dinner and had some *gulp* cookies. Haha. I guess I just can't help but feel like I'm allowed to reward myself after I go running. Now I'm chilling with my lady flatmates in the kitchen/t.v. room and I think we're all in for a calm evening. I'm going to do some more reading for my Brit L&C (life and culture) class.
Then I am on the way to pack my bag for Stratford and off to bed because we have to be at Stratford tomorrow at ten thirty and Claire and I are going to walk to familiarize ourselves with the neighborhood. It's a forty-five minute walk - we could take the tube. But...you all know how I feel about the tube. And I'm too lazy right now to go buy my oyster card and it's really stupid to pay for public transportation when walking is free.
I miss you guys. Hope all is well in the States. I'm off to battle my stream-of-consciousness book for now.
Hopefully I'll get to talk to my cutie tonight.
Love you!
Yesterday Dr. King walked with us to the building even though we didn't have his class. This morning we had to figure out how to get to the building by ourselves. I've taken a real liking to my flatmate Claire. She and I have seemed to click so far and we seem to be on the same sort of schedule. She's also incredibly sweet and great to talk to.
The class building is a ten minute walk away - but Dr. King has given us a stern discussion about how we can't be late. So...everyone decided that we would leave at nine:fifteen. Well I got up at eight because there are six girls sharing two bathrooms with a shower and one without a shower. Luckily, I shower at night so I don't have to battle for the bathroom. But, sometimes I might want to brush my teeth and wash my face before class.
Well, I was all ready and looking so fly with my black skirt and patterned tights and boots and sweater and scarf...not going to lie...I sort of looked London-esk. I'm sure I would have needed a different scarf though to be legitimate. Anywho, everyone was leaving but Claire was still in the bathroom. I didn't want to leave her there all alone to find the classroom by herself so I waited. We left about five minutes behind everyone else.
We managed between the two of us to get to the building by ourselves. We were on time and everything was great. We didn't want to be the first ones to be late. Also, we were kind of glad not to be crammed on a skinny sidewalk with fourteen obvious looking Americans trying to find our way around.
We sat through our Art and Architecture with our professor Barnaby. He seems really straight forward and nice, and we watched three documentaries. Luckily, his class will be one of the classes in which we only have two classes in an actual classroom. We also don't have too much on the homework scale - just two big presentations and a final.
We got out really early and Claire and I found a free books box in the bottom of the flat where we have class. We perused through it and I picked up a London A-Z from a year ago. :) This is good news.
When we got outside I really wanted some coffee and we happened upon a Cafe Nero. I've seen a lot of them around town and it looks like, from the storefront a nicer and yet quainter starbucks. Unfortunately there are starbucks everywhere - of course - and I want to make it my business to not frequent one during my stay. Claire and I went into the coffee shop and were amazed at their prices. The coffee was very reasonable, so even though it was eleven o'clock, I got a lovely macchiato.
The only problem was that the barista was one of those real Londoners with a heavy, heavy accent. I froze when he asked me a question because I didn't hear the price of my drink in his slew of words. He repeated himself in a not harsh way, and smiled at me. I finally did enough brain activity to realize that he was asking me if I wanted to "drink it here or do take away." Luckily, I happen to know what take-away is so I got my coffee to-go.
We checked the hours on the cafe and we think that perhaps this will be a nice place to study during the week after class or in the afternoon. I am glad that we may have found a coffee shop of our own. It kind of reminds me of Something's Brewing - but a little more posh. It definitely has a nice homey feeling even though it's one the corner of a busy street.
Let's see, I made a sandwich for lunch and started reading my Virginia Woolf novel for my British Life and Culture class during my break. I also wanted to go get my oyster card but by the time I finished my dishes, I had lolly-gagged around enough so that I needed to truck it to class. I got there in time, luckily, and our Shakespeare teacher wasn't in the class yet.
Jean is our Shakespeare prof's name and she. is. crazy. I absolutely love here - at least, I do right now. She may possibly be a really tough grader. She was supposedly going to discuss the syllabus with us but went off on a rant about the Globe Theatre and Shakespeare. She then said, "Oh, I've lost me thread" because she plum forgot what she was talking about.
She then asked all of us what our majors were and how much Shakespeare we've read. I mean, tomorrow we go see "A Winter's Tale" at Stratford. Holy Smakeral! I'm excited.
Also - Claire and I must look British - twice we have been asked for direction by British middle-aged women who looked lost. We just had to smile and say, "sorry we happen to be new here." Haha. Maybe that means that I happen to look London-y?
After class Kemper and I looked through time-out London for some local British bands that are playing this weekend. We found a pretty cool sounding guy - a little mellow - Mr. Fogg - that is playing about five blocks away for free! We are hoping to grab a couple more girls like Claire and Erin and venture out to that show Friday night. I'm pretty excited about that - the venue reminds me of Juanita's and doesn't seem to be huge. Hopefully it's mellow though - and don't worry - it's not in a club. A club is something that I am NOT interested in.
After our perusal through the time out London website I asked one of the guys if I could go running with him. He has been running regularly by himself and has a route planned and everything - and I promised Mom I wouldn't go by myself. Also - he's the only other runner on the trip. His name is Nick and he's an English major and pretty quiet. I told him when I asked him that my pace would be horrible compared to his but said it was fine.
So we ran from Bloomsbury Square to Big Ben and the river Thames. That was a mile and half. We then rain up and down the river around Big Ben and Parliament, which was two miles. We then ran the mile and a half back to the flat. So that's basically a five mile run down to Big Ben and back, no big deal. London was gorgeous while we were running and it took us fifty three minutes. We also had to stop for me a couple of times (haha - not so perfect I suppose) and the traffic lights.
I loved running in the city. I think maybe that is one of it's saving graces. I got to know some of the street names and I got to see some of the most beautiful architecture in the world like it was no big deal. I'm in love with Big Ben. :)
After that I showered and made dinner and had some *gulp* cookies. Haha. I guess I just can't help but feel like I'm allowed to reward myself after I go running. Now I'm chilling with my lady flatmates in the kitchen/t.v. room and I think we're all in for a calm evening. I'm going to do some more reading for my Brit L&C (life and culture) class.
Then I am on the way to pack my bag for Stratford and off to bed because we have to be at Stratford tomorrow at ten thirty and Claire and I are going to walk to familiarize ourselves with the neighborhood. It's a forty-five minute walk - we could take the tube. But...you all know how I feel about the tube. And I'm too lazy right now to go buy my oyster card and it's really stupid to pay for public transportation when walking is free.
I miss you guys. Hope all is well in the States. I'm off to battle my stream-of-consciousness book for now.
Hopefully I'll get to talk to my cutie tonight.
Love you!
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