I had a really busy day today, and I loved every minute of it! I managed to get through the whole thing with only one 20 minute power nap. Hopefully if I keep pushing myself, I'll be over jetlag in just another day or two. We'll see...
Our first class sessions were this morning, from 9 to noon. We discussed the opening act of Macbeth in the Shakespeare class, and then had a discussion about how to critically approach theatre in the British Theatre Studies class. Most of the things we talked about were review to me, since I have a few years of background in theatre already. Of course, our discussion was still very interesting, because there are always new things to learn from topics as broad as how to approach and evaluate theatre. Between the two classes we had a 15 minute break where tickets for Macbeth at the globe were distributed, and we had a short devotional. It amazed me how much stress (that I didn't know I had) about being in a foreign country was lifted off of me when we began singing a hymn. It was truly miraculous. I love the gospel!
After class, the rest of the day was ours! I got back to my flat at about 12:30, and spent the next couple of hours looking up shows to see on my own, re-checking the best ways for me to get money, and just relaxing. Although I must say, it wasn't quite as restful as I might have hoped...one of the guys in the programme is a stresser-outer to the HIGHEST degree. I swear, he's gonna have a heart attack before he's 30. "Come on, guys, let's go! What are we going to do?! Let's move!" I pretty much ignored him and let him have a cow...I figured if he really wants to get out, he can go himself, right? That's probably not the most Christian way to deal with it, but I wasn't part of his group, and I didn't feel obligated to try to help him relax. I hope, for his sake, that he calms down soon, because otherwise I don't think he's going to enjoy himself as much as he could.
After I had decided what to do for the rest of the day, I set off. First, I went to a bank to withdraw money to use for the next couple of weeks. I had issues with the ATM, because I forgot that I have a daily withdraw limit... :P After I got frustrated with it, left, and wandered around for about 3 hours, I finally remembered. The ATM worked fine after that. :) While I wandered around waiting for my brain to remember why I couldn't make the ATM work, I found a really pretty by-road off of High Street Kensington. It's a narrow alley-way looking cobblestone path for the first 100 metres or so, and then it opens up into an area filled with flowerbeds and a cemetery: the cemetery of St. Mary Abbot's. I spent some time in the cathedral, which was beautiful (as are all the cathedral's I've seen). There's been Christian worship on that spot for 1,000 years; the current cathedral was built in 1872. (PS, Sir Isaac Newton worshipped on that very spot).
After that, I went to the Whole Foods Market just to check it out. It's a two-level grocery store dedicated entirely to foods free of anything artificial. MARVELOUS! It's all even more expensive than the already expensive groceries, but it's fantastic! (Ooh, except for rice cakes and pasta - 15 cakes for about $1.20, and $3 a pound for rice/corn pasta.) They have all the most exotic foods there. I wish I had all the money in the world, because I'm itching to cook like a gourmet right now! Everything from dragonfruit to a mix your own muesli bar to fresh herbs to an entire room full of cheeses...yummy!!!
I made a salad from the salad bar at Whole Foods for dinner, (and spent too much, but oh well, right? :) It was good!) After that, I saw my first show here!!
I went with Courtney to the show. We bought our tube passes and promptly got on the wrong tube. :) At least it was an easy mistake to fix - it still connected to the line that we needed to get to the theatre, it just took an extra 5 minutes or so. Oops. We made it to the show in perfect time. It was an adaptation of Hitchcock's "The 39 Steps." 130 characters and 4 actors = a HILARIOUS night of comedy. I thoroughly enjoyed myself. It was just lovely! :) One of the actors played only one part, a second actor played only 3, and the remaining two played a TON. It was really funny, especially when they were switching back and forth between accents every line. (mostly Scottish to British).
I intended to go to the Natural History museum this afternoon...did that happen? No...but I don't really care. I have tomorrow afternoon, and six weeks after that. :)
A couple of other unique British things
1) Straightaway, not right away
2) In every store, when you go to checkout, everyone stands in one line. Then, when a checker becomes available, an automated voice says "Cashier number x, please." It takes all the trouble out of trying to find the line that is moving the quickest, or getting stuck behind the ridiculously slow person who's having trouble with every other item - you know the type?
3) None of the cashiers are as friendly as American ones. They rarely smile, and they never ask how you're doing. It's kind of sad, especially for someone who's so used to the American "customer is always right." I've never been afraid to ask an employee where to find something, but here it seems like I'm much more likely to have my head bitten off, although I still don't think it would happen. :) Becca, it's a good thing you don't have to ask for anything here, right? :)
Ok, I am SO beat. I've GOT to go to bed now. I'll add a couple of pictures, and post again tomorrow! Cheers!
Me and Courtney at the Theatre tonight
St. Mary Abbots Cathedral
The Crosswalk Signals here
All the street signs are attached to fences or walls. Sometimes they're really hard to find... :P
The Natural History Museum
0 comments:
Post a Comment