Day 26/27: Dress Up and Museums, HOLLA!

Well I turned in my first paper of the trip so far during my Theatre in London class…Basically, the paper was a joke seeing as though it was only about our thoughts on each play we’ve seen…So NBD. Real easy. Our class was only an hour long (very nice!) so we had the rest of the day off. Rachel and I headed off to get Kebabs down the street again. They are soo good! Very cheap, very filling, great kids that work there! Every time we go down that way we see this grocery store that looke HELLA cheap, so we decided to go in and check it out. It was like an Aldi’s…But a little better. So Rache and I bought food there and I got TONS of stuff for only 15 pounds…It was great! :) When we came back we just kinda hung out around the flat, did some homework…Aka our first, non-graded, International Management presentation with Bob…Yeah, we didn’t know what we were doing, but its fine! Bond, Chris Bond (our tutor) thought we did fine. After awhile, Sam and Krista came home! And there our hella fun night begins!!! Apparently they went to Camden Market and decided to stop into this dress shop. Sam, oh Sam, she is probably one of the nicest people in the world, and has troubles telling people no…And Im pretty sure the shop owner could tell this because he was this foreign, very gay man who basically pressured her into buying these 2 interesting dresses because they looked, “just fabulous” on her…Oh poor girl! I mean they were really nice dresses, however the grand total came out to be over 100 pounds…Which is A LOT. So she is going to try and return them today…But the guy cut off all the tags…and never handed her a receipt…So pretty sure she got taken advantage of…:( Poor Sam. At least they DO look good on her! Anyway, after that story, and a fashion show, which was really pretty funny, everyone started a dress up event haha…Rachel and I decided to make outfits out of our scarves…Very cute and Krista put on her Tree Trunk sweater…Its just a sweater with a large cowl neck…and she joked that it was from when she was really fat and her neck was as large as a tree trunk…oh man minkz! Ya had to be there, but it was funny! So after while of different outfits, we decided to dress Rachel up kinda slutty (because she is the OPPOSITE of slutty, hence it being funny) and dared her to go over to the boys flat and ask to see Ben (they have a running gag because he always comes into the flat when she is only in her towel, and she walks into their flat when HE is in HIS towel) because of the irony between fawkwardness…Anyway, most of you probably arent understanding why this is funny…but it is. Let me assure you. The tale is more for me to have as a memory, not for you all to read. Anyway! Steve came to the door…and well…Steve and Rachel have been flirty, so it was just hilarious and really fawk! We have it in pictures, no worries! So that was that night…Very funny and a really good time. Flat mate bonding times! Gotta love em’!!!
Day 27:
So for Global Issues we met Steve (our tutor) at Waterloo Station for class. The girls arrived early, so we got bagels and read the news. Once everyone arrived we started the walk to the Imperial War Museum. Steve walked us around everywhere and we got to see some interesting things, and heard some more about London. He also showed us where London was bombed during the Blitz in WW2. Very interesting. The war museum was FAMAZING. Sooo interesting. I loved it! We went to one of the exhibits which was entitled, “Crimes Against Humanity” and it was just a film of crimes against humanity…aka just random people getting killed all over the globe…it was certainly eye opening, but good to see in the fact that it makes people aware of the current situations around the world. We also went to the Holocaust exhibit, which was OUTSTANDING. They had so many facts, videos (of various interviews from holocaust survirors), photos, real stories, artifacts, etc…They had a huge model of Auschwitz and different uniforms, shoes, etc…it was all so horrible, but so intresting. Defintely very cool, especially since it was free. They also had an exhibit called the Trench experience and one that was called the Blitz Experience…Those were amazing as well! So cool to actually see what it was like. LOVED the whole experience. After we were done at the museum, we found our way back to our flat and got ready for international management. Overall, a very good class, good presentation, etc. He informed us that we are going to be going to his university and meeting his students and hanging out there sometimes, so that should be cool. Also, when he gets back from business trip he is taking us to China Town and we are going to have a meal and hang out with some kids down there. It should be hella interesting!!! After class I planned for our life and figured out what we MIGHT be doing for travel throughout our time here. Good work for me! Holla! It was a great night, filled with fun and frivolity. We hung out with the guys for awhile and then when the girls came home, hung out with them. I went to bed around 10, so that was fun! Love sleeping! :) Day off tomorrow so who knows what will happen! Cheerio!

Day 24 & 25: Elvish translations...You can google it.

Day 24 &25:
So! Off to the start of another week here in London! Sunday was a very lazy day. It started off very productive, but then it hit noon and I got lazy. In the morning I woke up at 8 and Sam and I walked the block to the laundromat where I then did 50 lbs of laundry…Yeah, next time im going to do it more often, instead of all at once. It was a really nice place and the owner was club super nice! I love it here :) Most people are really cute and you want to put them in your purse. Sam and I felt hella scuzzy though because we both were wearing sweat pants, pajama-esque tshirts, and had not showered…So! Basically, we felt amyed (judged) the whole way to the laundromat. Especially because everyone in London always looks hella nice. Rache and I have a count going and so far we have seen 13 people where some form of sweat pants…13…That’s not that much compared to where we come from. But then again, that’s America for ya. Love it! Haha :) Anyway, after laundry I came back, put it all away, had breakfast, and blogged about my ideals. It was very productive…But then Rache came home and we both decided that our beds looked really appealing, so we made the executive decision to take a nap…However, this is sort of a problem for me. When we moved in, I realized that my bed wasn’t up to par with all beds in the world… aka it is literally bent in half on one side and my mattress has decided to follow suite. So its kind of a danger to our health and well being…Especially since it’s the bottom bunk and Krista sleeps on the top…Therefore we are both afraid for our lives…Being the smart kids that we are we A. have now advised the landlord about the poverty bed and B. decided to use cooking pots to stabalize the bed until he can fix it or get us new beds….Oh and have I mentioned that although my bed IS comfortable, my back isnt liking the whole bent idea very much. Anyway, that was that…After about a 2 hour nap (hellz yea!) we decided to wake up and do nothing! Holla!!! But after awhile we got bored of nothing and decided to write our papers for Theatre in London, so we did that. All together, a very exciting night…Until DUN DUN DUN!!!! Our friend Ben has this girl that he is interested in and her facebook name is “Sulu El” but her real name is Sarah…So we were like Whaddahell? I decided that it was probably Sarah in Klingon, Vulcan, or Elvish…Needless to say I was wrong (figured this out because we went online and translated her name into all of these languages…Translators are easy to come by these days! They even do elmer fudd and shat! Holla), but we did get great ideas for new door decks for all of the rooms in our flat and the boys’ flat. Now everyone has there name written in Elvish with the meanings and phonetical spelling. LOVE IT! So funny! You may call me “Tariel” (Tahr-ee-ell) meaning, “Queen” (duh minkz…I could have told you that…nbd). Oh balls! We are winners. But it was pretty funny. Anyway, after writing my paper, making door decks, and helping Wiggy hang up his stoner cloth (he bought it at Camden Market aka the birthplace of punk) on his ceiling (don’t ask), I went to bed and dreamt that P wills (aka Prince William) and I were best friends. NBD. It probably will happen, don’t judge me. :)
Day 25:
So we got to sleep in today because class wasn’t until 10:15 (Holla). It only went for an hour, so that was hella nice. After class, Rache had to run errands, so I went back to the flat and hung out , did some homework, ya know, nothing exciting. When she came back, we walked down the street for about a mile and got kebabs. They are super good and really cheap! Love them! After that we went to a grocery store called “iceland” which reminds me of you, Dad. It seems like a European version of the european Aldi store that you love so much! Haha its pretty trashy, but their food is CHEAP! So we bought a good amount of stuff and it only cost me 15 quid. NOT TOO BAD! :) Then we went to work on our International Management presentations with Bob. Its not a hard class, but seeing as though none of us have taken a business course before, it was a bit of a challenge. I needed Boo Bear or Meran, someone with a business brain. Anyway, we had to act as a consulting firm and help a company that had had negative press against them. So we had to form strategies, an action plan, and write a press release. It went pretty quickly and we probably saved the company, nbd. And all this before dinner! Holla! :) After we finished, I called my dad, sister, and mom, and only my dad picked up, so thanks kids :) haha they were busy, nbd. I did get to finally talk to Pilg, so that made my life!!! She makes me so happy. Super cute that one! :) I miss everyone so much, but it truly is famazing here!!! I feel like its home. So that is really cool. I will talk to you all soon! Hope you are doing well!

Days 20, 22, &23: Because 19 and 21 didn't make the cut...

Day 20:
So today is Wednesday and it is my day off, so I have decided to do something with my life! After Rache got done with Lit class, we plus Matt, decided to take a real trip to the Queen’s Hizzity-Hang. Yes, Buckingham Palace ppl! And man minkz was I pumped!!! Once we got there we took some pictures (0f course!), but those are on Rachel and Matt’s cameras because mine is deciding to not work at the moment, and then we purchased tickets to go inside! We opted to not take the audio tour and decided to tour it with our own commentary, it was filarious! The palace doesn’t look THAT exciting on the outside, but inside it is STUNNNING!!! I floved it so much! Im probably going to move there, nbd. When we got there we saw a diplomat leave, so that was exciting. The Queen was not at her residence due to the fact that she is vacationing at Balmoral, her estate in Scotland (I love it and want to own it, but apparently that’s not possible…whatever). The tour took about 45 minutes to an hour and we just got to walk through all of her different colored rooms where she meets with people, the galleries, exhibits, ballroom, and dining room. They also had a selection of her jewels layed out and different things she wears to events. They were gorgeous! Could she HAVE any more chandeliers? Probably…but still, there were tons! I wanted to put some in my purse, but apparently THAT’S not allowed..Oh well. The palace is huge and I would have defintely gotten lost inside had it not been for the red ropes everywhere marking off where to go…It’s a maze, love it! Proably would have been really good for the Princes to play hide and seek …But perhaps that wasn’t allowed…Who knows. We saw the stairs and the room that the Prime Minister takes and meets the Queen in every week. I was pumped!!! You can see it on the Queen movie if you would like! Its worth a viewing…You’ll see Balmoral too. After we descended the Minister’s staircase, we went down a flong hallway full of marble statues…This was about the time that Matt decided it would be a good time to trip over his feet, yeah…Winner. Thank god I was right behind him and have cat like reflexes and caught him or else he would be screwed due to the fact he most likely would have broken something…So funny though! We always know how to make a scene. Love life, London loves us, nbd, its okay if you’re jealous. So anyway, after we safely made it out of the palace, we got to walk around her gardens and pond area, which was beyond beautiful. Loved every moment of it! Defintely worth the like 12 pound admission fee! 
After the palace we were hungry so we went back to our neck of the woods and went to one of Matt’s favorite restaurants to get Kebabs. I didn’t know what they were, except for the ones where you put the meet/vegetables/life on a stick…But these were different. They were like grilled meet and you put them in a pita and stuff…Pretty good and very cheap. Probably going to need to do those again sometime. Sam met us to eat, so it was wonderful hanging out with her too!
My day doesn’t end there!!! That night, Rachel and I had tickets to see the Phantom of the Opera…Oh balls was I excited!!! I flove the movie, but have never seen it performed live, so this was a great opportunity! We had pretty good seats and the performance was FAMAZING. My favorite show yet pretty sure. Soo good! They had so many amazing effects and all of the peformers were phenomenal! It was a great time! Definitely worth the money! The performance concluded my fun day and it was probably my favorite day so far this trip! So many great things accomplished for the day and I was in heavan! Made me love this town just a bit more!  Miss you all, but Im definitely not ready to leave it! Good thing, due to the fact that I still have a couple months yet…Update more soon! Love you!!!

Day 22 and 23:
Today we went to Canterbury for our 3rd day trip! Its also Boo Bear’s BDAY!!! SO HAPPY BIRTHDAY BOO!!! LOVE YOU!!!! The day couldn’t be anymore perfect weather wise! The weather has been amazing! We are having an Indian summer over here, so it has been pretty nice and sunny, but not to hot! HOLLA! The bus ride was pretty uneventful, but we did get to see a ton of sights on our way out of the city, such as: The Tower of London, London Eye, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, and the Parliament Buildings, so that was pretty sweet! Afer a couple hours of travelling, or sleeping whatever, we arrived in Canterbury. It was gorgeous!!! It’s a partially walled city, due to the fact that it was a Medieval city. There are tons of shops and restaurants and many of them are housed in building that have been here for more than a thousand years. It is crazy! We had a tour from a guy named Terry (thought of you Dad!) and he was a really nice guy! Super cute! He took us around the town and explained a lot of the history. He took us to the FUGE Cathedral near the center of the city, that is now, and has been a Pilgrim destination after one of their bishops was killed inside. It was GORGEOUS!!! And never ending! I couldn’t believe how big and ornate it was! All of the stone carvings and designs were out of this world! There is also the crypt which is HUGE as well and is basically just another cathedral in the basement. Its ridiculous, but the history is just extroardinary! All of this stuff has been here forever and so many amazing people had been walking on the same floors as I have. It was FAMAZING!  After our tours and looking around, Rachel and I found a Mexican restaurant, which we were PUMPED about! I miss Mexican food soo much! I had a chimichanga, and it was great. It was also funny because as we were eating, on one tv was Beyonce in concer and on the other was MJ’s concert. It was great! After lunch we only had about a half hour before we had to leave, so we just walked around and met some people from Chicago who were studying in Canterbury. They were really nice, and it was great to have that American connection for a bit! Holla! Overall, the trip was great and it was amazing to get out of the city for a bit and to a smaller one! I feel so blessed to have this experience, honestly, its amazing!!!  Thanks family!!! After the trip I went grocery shopping and just hung out with people in the flats, pretty exciting!!!
Day 23:
Oh Saturdays! I love them! I kinda slept in and then made breakfast, it was great! We had a play to go to at 2, so we all just kinda hung out in the morning and then got ready for the day. Before the play, Sam, Lindsay, and I went down to the South Bank of the Thames River and had lunch before the show. We ate at a famazing restaurant, that wasn’t that expensive, so defintely a win win situation! Afterwards, we headed towards the National Theatre, where the play was being put on, and found a small festival going on outside. We hung around there for awhile and Rachel, George (one of gary’s students from Rose Bruford), and Reckase participated in a Hula Hooping event. It was pretty funny and impressive. The play was called, “The Black Album” and it was about politics and racism against different racial groups in England. It was really interesting and very well done. I liked it a lot! After the play, I went with Rachel and Matt to a pizza place on the Thames and we just hung out there for a bit. We ran into Lucy, our art teacher, so that was exciting! She is super nice. Like her a lot. Talk about a small world though! Not that easy to run into someone you know! After dinner we were going to go on the London Eye, but we decided to just walk around for a bit and head back to the flats because the line was longer than life…We are going to try to do that on Wednesday instead. It was great day overall and once again, I flove London! That’s all I gotta say. Good night!!!

Day 17/18: Where my pigeons at? Oh yeah, the Queens Hizzity Hang...

Day 17 and 18:
So Sunday was a pretty fun day, full of relaxation and exploring. I got up at a good time (9am) and decided to catch up on some tv shows that I miss in America. That was fun! I miss tv…We don’t have ours hooked up here because it doesn’t make sense, which is a good thing. Rache and I decided to go to Hyde Park to do homework because it was a pretty nice day. We packed a lunch and set off on the tube to Hyde Park Corner. When we got there, we accidentally took the wrong exit out of the tube station. This is a very easy thing to do because the underground, especially at bigger stops like that, have many different exits and tunnels that lead to various places. So! Rache and I THOUGHT we were going out the correct exit, but man were we wrong! We get out of the tube station and see a big bunch of grass/trees with buildings around, so we figure its probably Hyde Park, nbd. We keep walking and then we realize that it didn’t look familiar. Also, it didn’t help that it was the Mayor of London’s skyride program, so there were people on bikes EVERYWHERE! We continued to walk and realized that there was a large brown, brick wall with barbed wire and cameras on the top with police marking the entrance every 30 yards or so…SO, here we were, la dee da, thinking perhaps that Hyde Park increased its security or something…yeah, right…WELL! All the sudden, we keep walking around the block, it’s a pretty big block I must say, and low and behold there starts to be more and more cafes/shops/etc that seem to be marked with the term “palace” and stuff…Yeah, walk for a bit longer and on our left we see the Royal Mews and im like, huh, that’s weird...Look farther up the street and oh yeah, nbd, there, in all its glory is none other than the Queen’s crib itself, BUCKINGHAM PALACE! HOLY BALLS!!! Soo pumped! I was like, REALLY?! I WOULD accidentally run into the frackin palace! The one place in London I have REALLY REALLY wanted to see! Oh man! Haha but it was a ton of fun! Loved seeing it! We are actually going to tour it for real on Wednesday hopefully. But anyway, so after recovering from our shock, we said goodbye to the palace, due to the fact that we both forgot our cameras (of course) and found Green Park, the park RIGHT smack dab to the left of the palace. So we sat on a bench in view of the palace and ate some lunch. However, this task was not going to be simple…Why you may ask? Oh I dunno, maybe because for some reason I scream Snow White to the frackin animals in parks! Okay, so one pigeon comes and I ACCIDENTALLY drop a part of my cracker on the ground, he goes for it, and all the sudden another pigeon pops up, and then another, Im like huh, and look up and OH MAN! What do I see? Yeah, 20 pigeons literally flying at me!!! It was scary! Im like RACHE WHY DIDN’T WE BRING A TENNIS RACKET! It was so scary! Im like, hello! Who called Alfred Hitchcock, def. not me! K, thanks. Ya know? Oh man…It was bad minkyz…But it was pretty funny. Rachel came to my rescue though and ran them out with her feet. They have some balls those pigeons. Although most of the pigeons left us, the original pigeon, you could pick him out because he had red eyes (yeah…) and weird coloring…So I of course dubbed him, “Lucifer”or Lucy for short…Yeah, we became best friends. He never left the whole time we were on the bench…Well, until Mr. Bubba T. Squirrels decided to enter the picture…And if you think the pigeons had balls, you havent seen anything yet! That squirrel literally was about a cm away from my toe…and Rache decided to throw a piece of cheese right by my toe for him…Pretty sure I thought he was going to bite my toe off…Not cool…But basically it was like Animals gone wild at the park! Made it pretty hard to do homework…Oh and to add a little cherry on top, there was a “dance crew” if you can call them that…Were playing Thriller over and over and attempting to dance to it…So that was pretty entertaining…Good times. Overall, a very interesting day at the park! Not gonna lie… After the park we just went back home, ate dinner, hung out, and went to bed.
Day 18:
Monday, Monday, holla, holla…Today wasn’t too bad because for our Theatre in London class we were going on a tour of the oldest theatre in the world (I guess…Or so they claim). The theatre was called something London and Drury Lane. It was pretty interesting and had a lot of really cool stories. We went underground under the theatre to their tunnels and such, and it was really cool how they all used to be connected to various parts of London. The tunnels under the theatre used to connect to places like the Thames, brothels, pubs, and hotels. It was really interesting. Then they just gave us some history on theatre and I guess at that praticular theatre, they held the first musical, first woman to ever act on stage, first periodical play, first costume design,and a bunch of other things. Needless to say, the theatre majors were in heaven apparently!
The theatre was located in the Covent Garden area, so there were tons of trendy shops and pubs to go see and look around in. There were markets, theatres, and places to eat everywhere, so Rachel and I picked one at random to eat lunch. It turned about to be an amazing choice! When we walked in there were posters of all different types of American bands and celebrities, plus hockey was on tv, so rachel was pumped. I ordered my first real burger on the trip, and it was FAMAZING!!! I was in heavan! After we ate we headed back to the flats, to only be able to chill for a bit, and head back to Covent Garden to see a play.
The play we went to that evening was FAMAZING too! I think Wog and Twirkass would love it! It was called, ‘War Horse’ and it was about WW1 and a boys relationship with his horse. All of the horses were actually puppets that were to the size of real horses and controlled by 3 ppl inside the puppet. People road them and they were really life like, other than the fact that you could see the wood on them. It was an incredible show and really heart-warming. I loved it! I would def. recommend it to anyone who came to London…So there you go, when you come to visit me you can go! No biggie. Other than the show, nothing else happened, we headed back home and went to bed. It was all together a pretty good day!

Day 16: All's Well That Ends Well...Wasn't Well...

Day 16:
Oh yes, another weekend here in London Town!!! Today I slept in until 10: 30. It’s so nice to sleep in on the weekends because we are SO busy all week. The morning and early afternoon was really chill. We didn’t do much. I made breakfast and hung out with Sam for awhile, then Rachel and Krista woke up and we all just sorta hung out in our janky living room (ghetto, not nice, etc…). Lindsay went out to IKEA with Gary and Ben for supplies for their play, so she wasn’t around. I was pumped though, because the lady from upstairs came and knocked on our door bringing with her a large package. She asked if I was there and I was like YEAH I AM!! She had taken my package because she didn’t want it to get stolen, and brought it to me this morning. I was soo excited!!! My parents sent me a keyboard (thank god!!), a mouse (thank god!!), and some more clothes. It was so nice of them! Oh, and also, my Wogre (mom) with a few comments from the Pog (dad), wrote me a letter, and that made me soo happy! My mom is sooo funny!!! Hahaha, she told me about how she had to read a part in her instruction manual at work about how if someone calls in a bomb threat you have to ask them all these questions…I laughed pretty hard because I can totally see her telling me that story.  Love her!!! Anyway, later on I got ready because all of us had to attend yet another play at the National Theatre. NOBODY was pumped for this one because it was supposed to suck. Once again, it was Shakespeare and entitled, “All’s Well That Ends Well” and yeah, it BLEW. SOO boring, but the set was cool, so they had that going for them. After 3 hours of boredom, we were set free! I felt like Harriet Tubman….Or not, but you catch my drift….So, Rachel, Reckase, and I went to grab food and headed back to our flats. Once there I ate dinner and fell asleep. Pretty much a very relaxing day overall! Super fun!

Days 14 & 15: A bit of culture washed down with some more culture! HOLLA!

Day 14:
For Art in London our tutor, Lucy, took us to the National Portrait Gallery. The girls went early, so we decided to take pictures with the big lions in Trafalgar Square (where the National Gallery is p.s.). It was a beautiful morning, and really nice to just hang out on the benches and people watch. There is a new exhibition in Trafalgar Square aka “art” that is, people sign up for a slot of time (an hour), and are lifted on top of one of the pillars in the square, and can do whatever they want. This goes on 24/7 until October or something…I don’t remember. But, we saw a guy up there who was just holding up large mirrors, so it was kinda interesting. Our politics teacher told us that he walked by there the other day, and he saw a man who was completely naked doing different poses…so it’s pretty interesting. After awhile of waiting, Lucy showed up and we started class by going into the Gallery Café and having coffee (my kind of class! Holla!) and discussing the articles we read for homework. It was pretty fun, and then we got sent on a scavenger hunt type of thing throughout the museum. We saw a lot of really cool things and learned a lot. I love that kind of stuff! So interesting : ) Before class was over, she took us to the BP Portrait Awards exhibition and there were all of these portratis that had been in a competition that were painted by various people throughout England. They were AMAZING!!!! One guy even made a sculpture in his own blood…It was thouroughly disgusting, I almost vommed, but it was cool none the less. Now that’s dedication to the art. My favorite by far was entitled ‘Maggie.’ The painting consisted of a close up head shot of an elderly woman, who was the artist’s mother. She was stunning! Big beautiful blue eyes, a very interesting expression, and the cutest blue sweater. The painting looks like a photograph. I was so drawn to the portrait and I don’t know why. Possibly because it reminds me of both of my grandmas and my friends grandparents, my family, and a bunch of other things. But most of all, it screamed Taylor. I had to get it in some way shape or form, so I purchased a print of it for her. I hope she loves it as much as I do.
After class, I had lunch back at the flat with Rache, and then headed off to Politics. Once again, a very interesting class and the tutor was so nice and such a cute old man. Love him! I think that will be one of my favorite classes by far.
When class was over I just hung out in the classroom and called family and friends and went on the internet. Rache and I watched House Bunny too, and it reminded me so much of home. God, I love that movie!!! ; ) I miss you all more than you know, but I love it here. Its starting to feel so familiar and comfortable. Also, everyone is starting to get closer and more comfortable with eachother. I love it. We are going to Blenheim palace tomorrow and im SOOO pumped!!!  Holla!!!!
Day 15:
Friday, September 18th, not only a GORGEOUS day in England for a trip to Blenheim Palace, but also a great day for WROBELLION’s bday!!! Happy Birthday Wrobellion!!! I wish I was there to give you a hug and celebrate, but alas, im here…Being forced to go to a historical monument aka my future home! DAMN. Haha : )
So, off to Blenheim palace we go! Ahh!!! : ) The palace is located near Oxford, and was about an hour or 2 long bus ride outside of London. There are no words to describe the English countryside. Its just stunning. I love it so much. I feel completely at peace when I am out there. I know I described this when we went to Cambridge, but honestly, I cant get over how green and lush everything is. How you can have these rolling hills of greenery and little farm houses (with sheep, cattle, and horses SOO beautiful!) and little villages and houses that have been there for hundreds or thousands of years. It’s absolutely crazy and drop dead gorgeous! I couldn’t love it more! Once we got to the palace, I was in heaven. The word STUNNING does not describe it in the slightest. Its built on kind of a hill on a lake with rolling hills all around it. There is a drop down and hill that leads up to this huge statue that sits on a grazing filled with a huge flock of sheep (HARMONY!!!). There is a rose garden, a few other gardens with huge fountains and statues, as well as a lake walk with picturesque boat houses and such. WOW is all I have to say! And it doesn’t end there! There is a cinema as well as a whole other part of the palace, which you take a mini TRAIN to get to!!! And in that other part is a huge hedge MAZE and huge checkers, a butterfly garden, and café. We were pumped!!!
When we got there we had time to hang out for a bit, so we explored some of the gardens and took pictures, then we went on a tour of the palace. We could only tour the main part of the palace, because the family who owns it was actually home! Holla! And do you know who that family is?! Yeah, the Duke of Marlborough, aka one of the highest positions in the aristocracy of England, after the queen and princes of course. He and his family were home! Too bad we didn’t get to see them, but its alright, I will prob survive. Winston Churchill was born there…In the cloak room…Interesting, eh? Yeah, stepped on the ground where he came into the world…yeah, pretty sweet, im aware. He was actually part of the family that runs Blenheim, but he wasn’t in line for the Duke position.
The palace was stunning and filled with historical artifacts, gorgeous paintings, and hundreds of great stories! LOVED IT!!!! : ). After the tour, we decided to go out to the maze and have lunch at the café. Lunch was pretty good, but expensive : (. Not happy, but hey, it happens. The maze was SOOO much fun!!! I went through it with Krista and Sam, as Rachel and Ben had a race through it…Sorry Rache, but Ben kicked your butt! Haha :). It was a ton of fun and we met some really cute elderly couples inside. What a great time!!! : ). After we all finished the maze Rachel and Ben played Sam in chess, so funny. We headed back to the main part of the palace after we explored the FOTT minkz butterfly house…Never been that warm in my life…
Back at the palace, Rache and I decided to walk up the hill to the statue and meet the sheep. I wanted to pet one becaue it reminded me so much of Harmony Hop. However, the sheep were bitches…No offense. But honestly, who doenst like humans? Haha. They were really cute though! But major amy’s (Someone who judges). We climbed all the way to the top, not that easy considering that the ground was FULL of poop (dad you would have been pumped). The area was GORGEOUS though!!! There was a huge lake on either side, with a large stone bridge, swans and geese infested the lake, and there were trees everywhere!!! Stunning : ). As Rachel and I climbed down a different way then we came, we came upon a fence…yeah, that fence was obviously to keep the sheep in, however, it looked to be electrical, so I was nervous. Rachel just kinda launched herself over, but I wanted to take my time, due to the fact a. I don’t launch myself ANYWHERE, and b. because it was electrical, so I was FERVOUS to say the least. So as I was climbing over, I caught my foot on my purse string, that rachel was holding…Oh man, never laughed that hard in my life… Def. stumbled a bit and found out the fence was NOT electrical, so its fine! Hahah!!! Oh man minkz…What an experience. A gentleman walking by got quite the show and thought it was hilarious! : ) You’re welcome England, we will be here for 3 more months! NBD. After the fence fiasco of 2009, Rache climbecd a tree, but didn’t scrape her knee ( name that movie!!! Ok, you pulled my leg! Sound of music! Holla!). We headed back to the palace, had ice cream (famazing!!) with the boys and Gary and then headed back to London. Once we got back to London we went to a pub with Gary by our flat called the Albion. It is owned by this really cute family and one of the bartender/waiter ppl. Is named Sprog…Well, its not his REAL name, but that’s what they call him (obvisously because it means youngest of the family). He is super cute and always greets everyone with a hug and kiss on the cheek! Love this culture!! So friendly and nice! : ) We had a great dinner and then decided to go dancing! Haha…Oh man, soo funny because we didn’t just go dancing to go dancing, we brought our FUG moves…Aka we made a fool of ourselves, it was great!!! They played a ton of American music (duh…Because it’s the best!) and it was hilarious! Soo much fun! After awhile though we were fweat minkz and fired (sweaty and tired) so we went back to our flats and went to bed. Overall a great day!!! Long and tiring, but so much fun and action packed !!! : )

Days 11, 12, &13: Les Mis, P painters, and plays oh my!!! :)..Im lame, very aware.

Day 11, 12, and 13:
DAY 11 was FINGGERRRRR’s BDAY!!! Holla!!!! Happy Birthday!!! : ) I wish I could have been there to celebrate with you : (, but I hope you had fun anyway.
It is the start of the second week here, and I feel like Im definitely getting into the swing of things and forming a routine. The time is arleady starting to fly by, but I still look forward to December and I feel like I am going to be here forever. However, I was talking to the girls last night and I realised that when I leave, I’m going to miss it here a lot. We’ll see how it goes, but overall it will be a bittersweet goodbye I suppose.
We started Monday out with our theatre in London class, which was a ton of fun due to the fact that we were discussing Les Mis because we were going to go see it that evening. I WAS SOOO PUMPED!!! I FLOVE IT MORE THAN LIFE!!! After class we just hung out until we went downtown to get dinner and then to the show. I had the BEST caesar salad ever! Probably my favorite meal I’ve had since touchdown here. The show was FAMAZING , but a smaller version (i.e. cast, venue, sets, etc), not like when we went to the Ordway in Minnesota. It was overall a great night! Loved it too!!! : )
Day 12:
Oh Tuesday mornings, how fun you are! NOT. Haha, we have to brave our 2 hour journey to class at Rose Bruford for Global Issues. It’s not that bad once you get off the tube, but the tube is always just way tooo packed, kinda like a mosh pit at a screamo concert. It’s ridiculous, but its life in the big city. Man minkz, do I love that class though! It’s worth it to travel so far. Our tutor is amazing, and the discussions are very interesting and a lot of fun. We talked a lot about the European Union today and America’s position in the world. Needless to say, all topics are very much up my alley! : ) After class we me, Rache, and the boys headed back to central London to meet up with Bond, Chris Bond for our International Management class, which was also very interesting. Overall, a very good day of classes! Later that evening, I did laundry, went grocery shopping, and just hung out and did homework.


Day 13:
Wednesdays, how I love thee!!! My free day : ) No classes, so I didn’t do much haha. I hung out with the girls in the morning and we went to TESCO to buy stuff for dinner that evening. It was David’s bday, so the girls (well, just Rache and I because the other girls had play rehersal) were going to make the boys dinner (next week they are making us dinner, so its fair : )). However, before we could do dinner, we were forced to go to a play at the National Theatre on the Thames, for a viewing of the best play of 2008, Pitman Painters. I’m glad we were forced, because it was really good! I enjoyed it a lot, very funny and interesting. It actually paralleled what we were talking about in Art in London, what makes art art and its meanings and stuff. You should read what it is about, its actually a really cool story. We also sat by some really cute elderly couples during the play, who talked to us and asked us questions, it was very nice : ). After the play, Rache and I cooked dinner and the boys came over. We had a good time just hanging out, but it was a full day, so we all went to bed early because we had classes the next day (yay…).

Days 9 & 10: Finding Peter! :)

Day 9:
So I have not written in awhile, and I apologize, but life has been kinda crazy and I just got my package in the mail from my family with a new keyboard in it, so life is good!!! They are sooo cute, p.s. Anyway, what has been going on with me! Well, a ton of stuff, nothing too exciting, but I will start with days 9 and 1o.
Day 9, was the first Saturday of my study abroad experience and it was pretty chill and fun day. The girls and a few of the boys went to Primark (sorta like a Macy’s) downtown in Oxford Circus to spruce up one of our group members, Ben. It was a lot of fun and we found him some really cute stuff. Then we just kinda walked around and had lunch at a traditional English pub (there are soo many of them and they are all so cute!). Later that night Rache and I just kinda hung out in the flat, watched Made of Honor on my computer (thanks Dad!!!), and listened to music. It was really nice to just relax and not have to do anything out and about. We also made door signs for all of the girls, they’re welcome  They are pretty cute if we do say so ourselves.
Day 10:
Day 10, Sunday was a fun filled and action packed day. Rache and I went to church at this really cute, old, and small church in our neighborhood. It was filled with little children, so it was HELLA loud the whole time, but it was really really cute!!! I loved it too, because this sounds really bad, but its true, there is not a lot of diversity in La Crosse, or Winona for that matter, so I loved going to church here and seeing all different ethnicities and races. It was very cool and everyone was sooo cute and welcoming  After church, we walked the 2 blocks to Tesco and bought some food and took it back to the flat to make breakfast. Later on we headed to the Thames festival which took place downtown on either side of the Thames river. It was pretty fun, reminded me a lot of Riverfest. It was all booths of food, crafts, and little shops with various entertainment venus set up. We watched a guy do magic (pretty cool), break dancers, alive statue people, and a skate/bike exhibition. It was pretty fun, nothing too exciting. Then we decided to go search for Peter pan in Hyde Park, so we grabbed the tube to Hyde Park corner and found a map….And this is where the fun began lol. We were both wearing shoes that were probably NOT the best for walking, but we figured, how far could it be? Yeah…pretty damn far haha. We looked on the map and we were literally in one corner, and Peter was in the opposite corner, like miles away! Oh my jesus hahah, but its fine : ) After like an hour of walking by this huge lake with tons of ducks, a beautiful bridge, a gorgeous little eatery, tons of trees/gardens, little fountains and statues, etc, we found Peter! And he was glorious : ) haha, we took some pictures and decided to check out Kensington gardens which is within Hyde Park too. It was really beautiful, but sad because we went on a very overcast day. Loved it though! It’s wonderful to be around nature every once in awhile. After getting home from the park I went with Rache up the street to the classroom space to call people and do some homework. It was pretty fun haha, no I like the classroom space, its very relaxing and a good place to work. Overall, it was a pretty good day : ) Miss and love you all!!!!

Day 8: CAMBRIDGE HOLLA!!!! :)

First day trip today: CAMBRIDGE!!! Soo pumped!!! We had a really nice coach bus all to ourselves (12 ppl), so it was comfortable. It was about a 2 hour drive to get out of London and to Cambridge. Very scenic, saw a lot of really pretty rolling green hills, horses, and very cute olden time houses. England is club super pretty! Im so blessed to actually SEE it!  Once we got to Cambridge we went to the University which is actually a small town with a lot of shops, restaurants, and pubs. The university is made up of about 32 colleges and they all have courtyards and are architectually stunnning. The university town is surrounded by the river Cam with a bunch of bridges that connect the various colleges to gardens and other parts of the town. Hence the name Cambridge. Its all soo BEAUTIFUL. We started out with a tour of the university by a cute old lady named Catherine. She took us all over town and told us all about it, obviously, hence a tour. But my favorite part was when we went to King’s Chapel. It was out of this world for a University. It was built by 2 kings, one being Henry the 8th who finished the church. His part is all intricitely sculpted, with a lot of detail that all represents his family and wives. The stories that she told us about the chapel, were so interesting. I loved it!!! After the tour, the girls and I went to the Eagle pub and eatery in town which is the most popular and famous pub and eatery in Cambridge. It was really pretty and had a ton of history behind it. In the bar part of the pub there are names written in cigarette smoke on the ceiling from the RAF troops from WW2! Here is also where I had my FIRST fish and chips!  I was pumped! It was actually pretty good, I was nervous. Then came the BEST part of the trip! Punting!!! Aka sitting in a little canoeesque river boatish thing, very similar to the gondola rides in Venice. The guide takes you around the river Cam under all the bridges so you can see the colleges in all of their glory. We had the best guide ever, and his name was Ed. Club super cute and so nice! We loved him  The ride was so relaxing and GORGEOUS! FLOVED IT!!!  It lasted about 20 minutes or so

Day 7: Art for 4 hours...Not so fun. Just sayin'

Day 5 aka first Thursday in London, which means Art in London and British Politics! Holla. We got up and went to class and met our art tutor, Lucy. She is very young, very nice, and interesting. She is actually a set designer and just got done finishing a show entitled, “Katrina” which is various stories taken from the Hurricane Katrina disaster. The play sounds really interesting. Next week we are meeting at the National Portrait Gallery, so that should be fun. That class went from 9 to 1, so a very very long time to talk about art…We wont be doing that again lol…Balls. But then I had an hour break for lunch and then had British Politics. I got lunch across the road at a small café owned by 2 Italian guys, who are soo nice, but cant speak english very well. Beggers cant be choosers though. After lunch, British Politics started and my tutor for that is CLUB SUPER CUTE!!! He’s an old guy who is very knowledgeable and has a very interesting history due to the fact that he has lived through all the things we will be talking about in the class! He is soo nice and really passionate about Politcs. He has a great way of explaining things and it was a really good class. He talked about how in WW2 (obviously he was a baby…so his mother told him this) a…I cant remember what its called, but a certain type of bomb landed near his house and he actually was thrown from his crib, and then he joked that his mom said he was never the same after that…Which probably was true lol. That was very interesting to me. The fact that he had actually lived during the time. But, yeah, good kid, probably gonna keep him, might put him in my purse. So classes overall are really good right now! So holla for education! ;)
After classes I went with Wiggy and Rachel to this really nice restaurant/pub thing near our flat and did homework. It was a really nice atmosphere, probably gonna do it again. Later that night Rachel and I were bored so we made door decks for each door in our flat (youre welcome ladies!). They are super sweet sixteen, all you smu kids would be jealous. FACT. Then we pretty much just hung out, went to the classroom for awhile to do homework aka blogged, talked on the phone to the fam, etc. After the classroom started our ritual of sitting in our living room, listening to music, and talking. Very relaxing. We don’t have tv, so you know, we are enjoying eachothers companies like the pilgrims. Cambridge the next day, gotta rest up! So we went to bed….The End.

Day 5: Freepers in the Park...NBD.

Today I had NO classes, so I actually slept in until 11:30 again, which is REALLY weird for me. I never sleep in, Im blaming the weather! After I got ready, Sam and I walked down the block and went to a club super cute café named Mella something…sorry, I cant remember at the moment. But, it was run by a cute little Italian woman and she was really nice. Its so funny how different restaurants are in Europe. In America you have a certain amount of privacy when eating, but we literally had our table about 3 inches away from a group of British business women to our left and a British couple to our right. It was a bit awkward at first, but it got better. We had panninis and they were phenomenal. They had grilled chicken, roasted tomato and egg plant (thought of you Wogre ), and Brie cheese. We also got crisps (aka potato chips) and “salad” (aka weird beans, pieces of avocado, spinach, and pieces of tomato) which werent too bad either. But drinks are so expensive too. I had a water which was 1 pound and 50 pence…That’s like $3 for a bottle of water! Man minkz…But, its alright! Its all about the experience I suppose.
After lunch I met up with Rachel and we went on a little adventure to the Baron’s Court library. We didn’t know where it was really, so we just explored the neighborhood and found a Dominos, laundromat, as well as a ton more cute little cafes and bakerys. Needless to say, we will never go hungry I guess. Once we got Rachel a library card for her Lit class, we walked to the park by our flats to write our blog entries and do homework. I love that park! We watched 2 British teenage boys (we’re guessing later teenage years) teach 3 little kids how to play tennis. Probably one of the cutest things I have EVER seen. I wanted to put them in my purse! One of the little boys was named Louie and he couldn’t run very fast, but he had one hell of a serve! Its so fun people watching in the park, but we probably looked like creepers, its fine. After the park, we went to the guy’s flat and hung out with them for awhile.They are a pretty good group. We made pizza and uploaded our pictures. It was a pretty relaxing day overall, so that was nice! Tomorrow I have 2 more classes (Art in London and British Politics), then done for the week! So pumped for Friday, we are going to Cambridge!!! 

Mind the Gap!!!

The British have soo many cool names for things and phrases. I guess every culture does. But where else can you take a tube to Cockfosters (no, not pronounced cock-fusters, but Cuckfusters) or Bromley-by-Bow! So cute! They also pronounce things weird like Gloucester is actually pronounced Gluster. Also, there is like 4 different ways to say rent and they all have a specific place where they are used like there are different ways to say rent a car, bike, tools, and apartment…Lets be honest, that’s a little ridiculous kids.

Question of the Day! Pigeons: Aliens or Birds?

I was explaining to Gary, our director, that I have literally almost gotten smacked in the face by pigeons about 3 times so far (SO NASTY AND SCARY p.s.), and he got me thinking…He asked me if I have ever seen a baby pigeon or a dead pigeon. I haven't! Have you?! So now I am thinking, well balls! They must be aliens!!!!

Day 4: Midmorning Train to East London!

Alright Day 4! I hope you know that when things start to speed up here, this isnt going to be a day to day thing! Lol. But! For now, it is. You’re welcome. We had 2 classes today, Global Issues and International Management. For Global Issues we have to travel to Rose Bruford College which is about a 45 minute train ride across London. But first, we had to take the tube to the center of London to Charring Cross. Okay, the tube during the week, especially in the mornings, is ridic minkz (ridiculous)!!!! There are SOOO many people! Basically, I had to make like 6 new best friends, we were THAT close. Haha. No, but it was fine…Except for being FWARM and having to stand next to all of these people for like a 20 minute tube ride…not so fun. Finally, we got to the train station, bought tickets, and got on the train, which was far less crowded and actually had room to breathe. It was a really nice ride and we got to see a lot of London. It looks like it came right out of the story books. All the houses pushed together with their chimenys, covered in brick and historical architecture. It’s a beautiful site! There were also friendlier people on the train. All very smiley and kind. Rose Bruford is located in a smaller suburb I guess you could call it, but its still in London. The town is very cute and we actualy have to walk through a little park area to get to the college. The college itself is a weird, but very cute, little place that looks like it was just kind of thrown together. There is a mansion on the grounds with a pond full of swans and geese (SUPER CUTE!!!). Inside are the offices and a few classrooms. All of the classrooms at the school are actually just rehearsal rooms with a few chairs here and there, maybe a piano, or mirrors, because Rose Bruford is a specialized school for the Arts. Its very interesting. There is a lot of color, and art everywhere. Our Global Issues is in a separate building full of studios, and we all sit in a circle and discuss global issues, duh haha. We got into a heated discussion about the American Dream and how it changes from person to person and if there is actually still an american dream, etc etc. It was a really great class, and the tutor is FAMAZING!!! His name is Steve Dikes and he actually taught at UWLa Crosse for awhile. He married someone from Minnesota, so it was really cool meeting a British guy who knew the area where I lived very well. He has so many cool ideas and insights on issues. I really think his class is going to be phenomenal.
After a three hour class, we ran back to London (literally…just kidding, we took the train…but we pretty much had to run to catch it) and headed to our classroom space for International Management. I was nervous because I have never taken a Business class before, but after meeting Chris Bond, our tutor, I am not worried at all! This class is actually PERFECT for my major! Its all about culture and how business kind of fits into it. We had to take a quiz about all of this stuff that I SHOULD have known between Gaut (my history teacher from last semester at SMU) and D Lynch (my poli. Sci. teacher and advisor from SMU) , but I couldn’t remember. It was an awesome class though. He was so interesting. He has an American mother, so he goes there quite a bit. But he speaks French fluently, has visited over 80 countries, and has lived in something like 30 of them …its ridiculous, but so cool. What a finterest minkz (interesting) man! I think this class will be a huge payoff for me in the end! So glad I am taking it. 
Tomorrow I have NO classes, so I am club super pumped! But, I am going to bed early because I am so tired still.

Day 2: Utterly Butterly Delightful...Really? haha

Today was the first day of classes and I only had one, Theatre in London. Before class, Rache and I walked to the Patisserie, which was only 2 blocks away or so. It’s really cute and the people were really nice. I thought of you today Finger because we had the croissants with the chocolate shot through the middle. They were soo good! The coffee is pretty good too. Then we walked right down the block to our classroom space. Class was flong minkz (long) and so that sucked, but they have free coffee, tea, and water available down the hall from our classroom. After class, Rache and I went to the local grocery store, Tesco, and bought a bunch of food. Its so weird because there are not a lot of brands that are the same, but it was fairly cheap and the food is really fresh. We have to bring our own bags though, which is good, but it sucks having to carry it back to the flats. I miss Ravy lol (my Dad’s car). Then Rache and I ate lunch on the benches at the park and watched Andy and Steve play tennis. It was really nice to sit there. The weather has been perfect! And it actually hasn’t rained, so that’s cool. Later that night we went to our first play, “As You Like It” at the Globe Theatre. It was FAMAZING!!!!! Sooo good! It was a phenomenal experience and I am so pumped that I got to go there. Its gorgeous inside and the actors were out of this world good! The only thing that sucked was that we had to stand the whole time, but we were right at the stage, so that was fun! One of the actors, my favorite, actually went up to Rachel and faked that he was going to give her a high five! It was really funny, but I think she was embarassed, but a really cool thing for her. They also stopped in the middle of the show when a plane went over the globe (its an open air theatre and they were peforming shakespeare) and pretended that they heard a noise, hilarious. I think you had to be there though . After the show we walked down by the Thames at night and saw the National Theatre, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, the London Eye, and Big Ben with all of the lights on them. It was beautiful!!! Im so pumped that I am ACTUALLY living here in London. It’s such a different world then little ol’ La Crosse, WI or Winona, MN. I don’t think I could actually live here for an extended period of time, because I don’t like all the people, but I could defintely live outside of London I think. Overall, it was a very good day, but Im very tired. We keep getting back really late and having to wake up fairly early, not a cool sleep schedule, but its fine!  I had a little bout of home sickness today, but I put up a bunch of pictures of family and friends and its helping a lot! Love and miss you all! Hope you are having fun in the states! Im still trying to figure out how I can upload pictures, so once I do that, I will post some!  Cheerio!
P.S. When we make pizzas here its fweird!!! Our oven is really odd, to heat it has literal flames at the back and the door doesnt lock...It just kinda swings open...Real safe England, real safe. Glad we aren't 3.

Where am I? Oh, thats right LONDON! Holla!!!

Alright, so FINALLY an update!!! Sorry about that, but Ive been busy. Oh, and I may have a lot of spelling errors and punctuation mistakes because the computer I am using is NOT easy to type on. Anyway! Back to my adventures: So the drive up to Minneapolis was uneventful, and then we got to the airport and I met up with Sam, Lindsay, Rachel, Andy, Bob, and Steve. On our way onto the plane we met 2 connections from SMU. One of the police guys asked us if we had brought him donuts from Blaedows (a locally famous bakery in Winona, for those who are not informed) and then a couple 2 rows behind us saw my sweatshirt and were like, “Yeah, Saint Marys!!!” it was hella cute. Very nice ppl on the plane J Rachel and I sat next to an older man named Dennis from Duluth, who was super cute and talked to us about our lives. Sam sat next to a freeper from Minnesota, originally somewhere in Europe Im guessing, named Ivan….Not cool. But, it was fine J Lindsay sat next to some older British guy who was pretty nice, however very infatuated with Zac Efron…We didn’t ask questions.

Finally, after I aged 2 years (not really, but it was a flonggg trip) and a pretty uncomfortable flight , we arrived in London and boy did we make a scene!!! All of us had a ton of baggage and in London they thought it would be a good idea to put up little baracades in front of the doors to the Underground (Tube stop aka subway train). So we pretty much had to pitch our FEAVY Minks (heavy) luggage over these baracades, which made us look ridiculous!!! Then, we had to head down escalators, which for Rachel was a huge problem apparently lol….She decided to put one on and then reach back for her other bag, but of course she was moving so she had to keep running up and down to get her bags…SOO funny, but we looked positively ridiculous. Once we got down to the Tube we got on the right train and headed toward Baron’s Court, our tube stop. It was a pretty long tube trip (about 40 minutes), but they were really nice, but very quiet.

Our neighborhood is super cute and very picturesque. It is in the West end of London, which according to one of our tutors (teachers), Chris Bond (hahaha see the irony! There ya go ma!!), it is one of the nicest and safest places to live in the City. There are really cute bakerys, cafes, little pubs, and little convenience stores around, as well as many beautiful little schools and parks.

The walk to our flat with our luggage was horrendous though! Oh man minkz, my hands hurt soooo bad!!!! But, it was fine. Our flats are about 4 or 5 blocks away from the Tube stop, so it isnt too bad. The flats themselves are cute on the outside, all brick with a little black gate you have to walk through to get to the door, surrounded by green bushes. The flats inside however, are pretty janky aka ghetto. They aren’t too bad, just kinda thrown together and pretty old. Our beds are not the best, but they do their jobs. I am sharing a 3 person room with Krista and Rachel and Lindsay and Sam share a room. We have a kitchen, bathroom (separated between a room with a toilet and a room with a shower and sink), and a living room (with a VERY small tv with only 4 channels, a small table with 3 mismatched poverty chairs, and a couch).

Once we got there and situated, Gary met us and we got our keys and food stipend for the week (50 pounds). He then introduced us to our landlord/maintenance guy, Mike, who doesn’t speak English very well. We get our flats cleaned once a week, so that’s very nice. Gary then took us on a little tour of our neighborhood. He showed us where our classroom space was (a very modern, business building, with free internet, and security passes to get in, all very hitech! HOLLA!), which is literally at the end of our street. He also showed us little cafes, an internet café, and a grocery store. We live right by a little community that has 3 schools in it, tennis courts, and a big park, with a small and cute pub nestled in between housing complexes. It is always filled with little kids, their parents, and dogs! We love sitting on the benches there and eating lunch or doing homework. It will be really nice to have there J. That night we went into central London and went to Picadilly Circus and Leicester Square and saw the train station (Charring Cross) which we will take to get to our other classroom space located way on the other side of London at Rose Bruford College. Picadilly Circus was mobbed by people, but lit up and very pretty. We stopped at an italian restaurant and had dinner. I forgot that in Europe you have to pay for water (fannoying lol, makes you love america…) and that there are all of these restaurants that are small and close together, but with various levels to them. We ate in the basement and I ordered sausage pizza, which wasn’t very good because their idea of sausage doesn’t exactly go along with ours. At this point of the evening we were all sooo tired. We all wanted to go to bed like 3 hours ago, but Gary kept us walking around so that our sleep schedules would be fairly normal. For a surprise he took us on the tube to the stop entitle, “Westminster.” We all walked up the steps and were greeted with the site of beautiful Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament right, smack dab in front of us! It was famazing to say the least! I couldn’t believe that I was at the base of Big Ben looking up athe massive structure, lit up in all of his gloriousness! Needless to say, I took pictures lol. The Millenium Bridge (the one that was blown up in HP6 the movie) was to our rights and we could see the Thames. It was awesome!!! Finally, after seeing that, Gary took us back to our flats where we unpacked and fell asleep. It had been a long 2 days lol.