Quickie

Alright - today's post has to be a quickie, because I still have a paper to write that's due tomorrow. I've been trying to write it for the past few hours, but I keep getting distracted...figures. I hate writing papers. Just ask Becca: she'll attest to my incredibly shortened attention span whenever I try to type.

Today's itinerary consisted primarily of museums. As a group, we went to the Museum of London and then to the Banqueting House. In between we had some time to go get lunch and explore.

I left about an hour early for our first museum and meandered through Hyde park on my way to a tube stop. It's SO pretty, and it's really big. I saw just one tiny little part of it: part of the serpentine (a big lake in the middle of the park), the Prince Albert Memorial, and the Peter Pan statue. There were mature trees, flower gardens, and statues everywhere. Oh ya, and DOGS. Dogs up the wazoo. Something about Londoners and dogs...I think they all have at least one. It's kinda funny, actually. Random side note - the couple of miniature schnauzers I saw didn't have their tails clipped, which looked funny to me because I'm not used to seeing tails on schnauzers.

After I got through the park, I headed to the museum. I've decided that I'm not much of a museum person, I think. I mean, it's interesting, and there's a lot to learn, but I jut get bored really quickly. I did listen to one of the museum guides talk about the Great Fire of 1666 for about 20 minutes, and that was interesting. I also learned that the original Roman settlement Londinium was abandoned in the early ADs and then re-populated later when new people came in and decided it was a good place for a city. Another interesting fact? London had a huge civil war too, just like us. Only theirs wasn't over slavery: it was over whether the King or Parliament should rule. The 9-year war ended with a victory for the Parlimentarians, and they topped it all off by beheading the King (in the Banqueting Hall of Whitehall Palace, which I visited today). Ironically enough, when the leader of the Parlimentarian movement died a few years later, and Parliament had been re-elected, the new Parliament decided to reinstate the monarchy. So much for the point of THAT civil war, right?

After the museum, I ate out for the first time in London. I just went to a little cafe and got a salad for 3 1/2 pounds - it was ok, but nothing spectacular. Oh well. It was food, and I was STARVING.

Then I went to the Banqueting House, which is exactly what it sounds like. A humoungous hall built solely for the purpose of hosting huge banquets, parties, and royal receptions. It was part of Whitehall palace until said palace burned down (except for this hall). The paintings on the ceiling are really pretty - I wish I could have taken some good pictures of it, but as it turns out, it's really hard to take good pictures of gigantic paintings that are affixed to the ceiling. :P

Random fact about London: there are absolutely no garbage cans anywhere. Not on the streets, in the park, in the underground stations, etc. In private buildings or museums, yes. But outdoors? No way. Me and Annalee (the girl I went to lunch with) spent about a half hour of our journey from lunch to the Banqueting House keeping our eyes peeled for one, and could not figure out why there wasn't one anywhere. Well, we finally arrived at our destination (rubbish still in hand) and she decided to ask the two policemen standing on the opposite street corner. Turns out, there really aren't any. We're not just blind. Why? Because people but bombs in them. Ummm...ok. What I can't figure out is how London is such a litter-free city, when there aren't rubbish bins anywhere! Even on the tube, it's hard to find litter anywhere, let alone the pristine sidewalks and parks. It makes no sense to me. *sigh* oh well. Good for them, that they've figured out the magic trick to make people not litter and simultaneously not have garbage cans on every street corner.

Second random note: I think I mentioned earlier that artificial colors/flavors/etc are hard to find here? Well, it's really true. I'm constantly amazed at the all-natural-ness of ALL the food here. I just have to talk about it again for a moment. Doritos? All-natural (I only saw three flavors though: plain, and the equivalents of nacho cheese and cool ranch). Skittles? All natural (they actually have fruit juice in them to make the fruit flavors). Bulk candy, like jelly beans, licorice, chocolate-covered stuff, lemon drops, etc? Totally all-natural. It makes me SO HAPPY!!! I just wish I could bring back the whole stores for my anti-artificial family! Oh and PS, I found the yummiest gluten-free crackers ever today. They aren't rice crackers, which thrills me. They actually almost taste like normal crackers (at least, like I remember normal crackers tasting, which is probably not a very accurate scale).

Ok, really, I need to write that dumb paper. Grr! (It's 7 hours later here than in Rexburg: that means it's currently 10:17pm here, and I still haven't written it. Although I think I have my thesis topic.)

I love you all so much! Write back! Cheers!



One of the many views from Trafalgar Square


Sigh... I LOVE English gardens. And they're so hard to capture on camera.


My roommates and me at the Banqueting House posing like we wanna be in America's Next Top Model. Miriam's in the blue scarf, Courtney's in the purple shirt, and Melissa's in the pink scarf.


A Roman-era oil lamp in the museum. Yes, it's a foot. LOL!!!


Me in front of the Peter Pan statue in Kensington Gardens (which is connected to Hyde Park).

Harry Potter tour day!

We had class again this morning. It's been pushed back to 10am from now on (instead of 9) because of scheduling issues. Not going to lie, I enjoy the extra hour. Today we discussed out impressions on the production of Macbeth we saw, and then talked some more about that languages of theatre (directing-, acting-, production- and dramaturgy-wise).

After class, I went back to the flat for lunch, and then left for the Natural History and Science Museums with Miriam (one of my roommates). It's one of the many museums that has free entry, because it's subsidized by the government. I'm definitely down with that. I didn't spend very long in it though, because it's not really British. I mean, Science and Natural History are world-wide subjects, so except for some differences in the original artifacts they held, it's the same as any that I would find in the states. The history of mathematics and computers exhibit was really cool. I saw a differential calculating machine that was the size of the piano room at home. Those of you who're familiar with Calculus know that now, all you need is the right formula and a scientific calculator to do differentials. Thank heavens, because those machines looked really complicated! I also saw the last surviving valve-based computer in working order: it was a beast! Holy cow! It was the size of an entire room between the monitors, panels, storage cylinders, etc. The whole thing could store a grand total of 200 kilobytes of information...that's so pitifully small it's funny.

Well, after I was done with the museum at about 3pm, I decided that I'd spend the rest of my free afternoon taking my self-designed Harry Potter tour. I'm such a nut! But, to justify myself, I did do it partially for my siblings, because they've always been more into the series than I have. (Anyone who knows my family will back me up on this - I'm not just making excuses.) I definitely got a little more familiar with the tube system, because the three locations I decided to visit were a far cry from reasonable walking distance from each other.

Stop one: Charing Cross station. The Leaky Cauldron is located somewhere along Charing Cross road - unfortunately, it isn't a real pub...at least, it isn't visible to Muggles, so I was out of luck. Honestly, it surprises me that a muggle-accessible Leaky Cauldron hasn't popped up by now to capitalize on the Harry Potter hubbub. I'm sure there'd be one by now if the series was set in the states...welcome to America, right? :) Anyway, I took a picture next to the Charing Cross subway sign, as a tribute to the general location of the pub so famous in the wizarding world.

Stop two: Lincoln's Inn Fields - the filming location for Number 12, Grimmauld Place. It's a really pretty park, surrounded by gorgeous brick townhouses. I haven't seen the movie in forever, so I couldn't remember what it looked like, which meant that I couldn't try to find the specific townhouse that they used to film it. But again, I took a picture next to the street sign as a tribute. Funny story: it took me FOREVER to find the dumb square. I ended up going all the way around because there wasn't a road that went through. Of course, if I had turned left instead of right when I came out of the tube station, I would have been able to go right through to it. After I went all the way around, I decided I didn't really care that I had gone the wrong way because I saw some absolutely adorable little shops in these tiny back streets, and a whole bunch of gorgeous brick architecture. Here's some thoughts from my little notebook that I carry around with me everywhere:
"Right now, I'm sitting in the park at Lincoln's Inn Fields. It's beautiful! I hear bells tolling, birds singing, the occasional taxi driving by, leaves rustling in the cool breeze, and an occasional snatch of conversation in the ever-lovely British accent when someone walks by me on the park's path. This neighborhood is out-of-the way, so there are no tourists to be seen. The decorative trees are in full bloom and smell divine! I wish I could somehow capture everything about this moment (except my hands which are rather chilly thanks to the breeze) so I could replay it later. I feel very legitimately "in London" - does that make sense? A few pigeons even just fluttered past me. I am still in awe over the pervasive, beautiful brick architecture here. It's absolutely stunning.

Step three: best for last...Kings Cross Station! It's HUGE, by the way. I saw somewhere on the internet that there's a tribute to Platform 9 3/4, and I wandered around this gigantic train/tube station for about 1/2 hour trying to find it. And then I finally just asked the information desk, and the nice man told me right off - much easier. Anyway, I found the little memorial(?) and a group of asian tourists about my age took my picture next to it for me. Yay!! It made me pretty happy. There's even a trolley-cart sticking halfway out of the wall!

That's about all there is to report for today. I'm going to spend the rest of the afternoon writing the paper that's due next class. Yuck.
I love you all! Oh, and PS, if you're reading this and not writing me emails back, that is SO cheap. You all have to write me too. (milkchocolatekiss@gmail.com) Cheers!




I saw this while I was wandering around trying to get to the Grimmauld place filming location. It's so awesomely London that I just had to take a picture: check out the pretty brick buildings, 4 telephone booths, and a wrought-iron fence.


The Harry Potter tribute at Kings Cross. PS, I didn't know until I loaded this onto the computer that it was blurry, and I'm VERY sad about it. :( At least I got the picture!!


The Filming location for #12 Grimmauld Place


The Leaky Cauldron is located somewhere along Charing Cross Road


I'm constantly amazed at this...it's really true, Mom. Artificial junk is really hard to find here in the UK. This is a sucker at the museum. Check out the (very standard for the UK) ingredients!! I've heard that all the American candy bars (Snickers, Twix, etc) are SO much better here, and I believe it, because I'm sure that all the artificial ingredients have been replaced with the real stuff. Hopefully someday this stuff will make it to the US, right?


The differential calculation machine I mentioned earlier. See - it's HUGE!

Another wonderfully long day!

Thankfully, I'm feeling much better today than I did yesterday! Good thing, because I had a very busy day, and feeling sick would have made it hard ;)

First thing this morning, I went to Portobello Road Market. I just fell in love with London again!! It's an open-air street market that's at it's peak every Saturday. Mornings are best, because in the late morning/afternoon it gets really crowded. They have antiques, clothes, jewellry, and FOOD! I was so excited to find a place that sells cheap food! The fruit/veg stalls have every kind of fruit imaginable: from mundane apples and carrots to exotic leeks, passionfruit, mangoes, and some really spiny green thing I've never seen before in my life. Everything they sell is up for tasting, which is awesome. One of everything is cut open so buyers can see the interior, and taste if you want. Many stalls have rows of bowls set up for a pound each. I chose one that held about 2 lbs of tiny fresh green beans...mmmmm! There was one stall that sold expired/about to expire items for super-cheap! I got a sampler plate of cheese for just a pound - it has probably 2 1/2 lbs of cheese on it - feta, cheddar with chives, cheddar with bbq and tomatoes, aged cheddar, etc. I LOVE that they sell almost-expired things for cheap, rather than throwing them out like we do in the states. Anyway, I spent about £15 at the market this morning, and got a HUGE list of things.

After I was done with the market, I rushed to the Monument to meet the group for our 11am Shakespeare walk together. Unfortunately, I didn't realize that it would take me an entire HOUR to arrive from Portobello to Monument...so I missed the tour, which is a huge bummer. So, I ran back to our flats, dropped off all of my purchases, and promptly turned around to go catch our group's afternoon matinee of Macbeth at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre.

I was a "groundling" for Macbeth. What an experience! For those of you who aren't familiar with the Globe and it's spectator arrangements, let me explain. The Globe is an open-air theatre, circular in shape. The stage extends about 1/3 of the way into the "yard," which is just the open, empty ground encircled by the walls of the theatre. All the walls of the theatre, except of course where the stage is, have seats. There are three floors, and each is about 10 benches deep. (Google an image, it's rather hard to explain in words.) The ground in the middle is filled with spectators during the show. Standing spectators. That's right, they stand for the whole show, packed in like sardines. In Shakespeare's time, that's where the poor people went to see the show. I'm glad that I had the chance to be a groundling - it's just something you gotta do, right? It was a long time to stand, though; even though Macbeth is Shakespeare's shortest play, it still runs just under 3 hours. The last 20 minutes of the show were particularly memorable, because it started to rain and hail - HARD. Since it's an open-air theatre, and I was standing as a groundling, that meant I got absolutely soaked! Of course, it was lovely out when I left my flat this morning, so I made the mistake of not bringing a jacket or umbrella. I've had one with me at all times since I arrived, except today...lol. Just my luck, right?

After the show, we had tickets to go to the talk-back session with a couple members of the cast. I love talk-backs: they're a great chance to interact a little with some of the performers and learn more about their mindsets and methods. Of course, I was still soaking wet, so that was a bit of a damper. Ah well.

Well, that was essentially my whole day! I'm really looking forward to tomorrow: I need a Sunday to rejuvenate and feel at home thanks to my worldwide church that's the same no matter where I am. I think I'll take a walk through Hyde Park after church (which is at 9), and maybe attend mass in the evening. I love going to services for other churches sometimes - it reminds me that there are truly other people out there who are searching for God too. Although they don't have the whole truth, the spirit does testify of the partial truth that they have; like the scriptures say (D&C 6:32) "Where two or three are gathered together in my name...there will I be in the midst of them.

I love you all so much, and I miss you tons!
P.S. I can't figure out what the issue with the font size/type is...sorry about that.


Courtney and me after the show, putting on our best happy wet rat faces


What the monument's for...


The monument itself

Slowly adjusting...

So, I wasn't going to post today, but then we had a bit of an adventure...so I figured I probably should. Besides, it's fun to relive the day by writing about it!

We had class for the second time today. I'm afraid I felt really sick and rather tired for most of it, so I didn't get much out of it. As soon as I got back to my flat, I went back to bed for a 3-hour nap, which felt fantastic. I felt mostly better after, and I hope that by tomorrow I'll be up and running at full speed again.

After my nap, I went and saw "11 &12" at the Rose Theatre. It was one that we all went to as a group. It was definitely abstract, and I'm still not sure exactly how much of it I understood. But we'll discuss it at our next class, and I'm sure that will help me. I enjoyed myself, I just didn't really get it...

Here's the adventure: you ready? After the show, we all came back to the flats. After we'd all been in for about 15 minutes, the fire alarm went off...and kept going off...and kept going off...so we all evacuated to the embassy across the street, where we were told to meet if the alarm ever went off. Someone called the management, and after about 15 minutes someone came, checked the whole building, and turned off the alarm and let us back it. We still don't know what happened...nobody was cooking anything in any of the kitchens, and we never smelled smoke. Odd. So, we all got to spend 15 minutes in the rainy London night together...fun fun, right?

Speaking of rain, so far it hasn't rained hardly at all during the day. However, it has rained every night. I don't really mind. It's a perfect temperature during the day - perhaps a light jacket, and you're totally comfortable walking around.

I'm going to get up tomorrow morning and go to the Portobello Road Market with a few other girls, so I better hit the sack. Love you all SO much! I miss you!!!!

Oh, PS, I almost forgot. I rode my first double-decker bus today, on the way to and from the Rose Theatre! It was awesome. These bus drivers are crazy! They make the tightest turns, and pass people by crossing to the other side of the middle line all the time. It's kinda like the Knight bus (isn't that what Stan Shunpike's bus is called, all you Harry Potter fans?), only not quite as crazy. But still crazy.
Also, a few more Londoner phrases for you:
You advertise a "flat to let" not an "apartment for rent;" the signs say "give way," not "yield," and "way out," not "exit;" and they're called "mobile phones" not "cell phones."
Cheers!

First full day...

Quick note: yes, I am going to start using British English spellings in all of my posts, because it makes me happy and I am justified in doing it while I'm in London. :)

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

Completed update for Day 1

Well, I've had a few hours to settle in now, and I got an adapter, so here's a completed update for my first day in London:

My flight arrived at LHR (London Heathrow) at 7:00 this morning. I rode the Heathrow express train from its stop inside the airport to Paddington station, where I caught a cab and rode the remaining 15 minutes or so to my flat. I'm living at 37 Hyde Park Gate, flat 2F. The flats are unlike anything I've experienced in the states: they are most similar to what I imagine some dorms are like. Essentially, my floor consists of one long hallway with rooms A-G off of it. Also off of the hallway is a communal kitchen, and one or two communal toilets. Each room has beds and a bathroom with a shower. The rooms have different numbers of beds, which definitely sets them apart from American dorms. My room has a bunk and two twins - I share it with Miriam, a graduated student of Theatre Ed; Courtney, a pre-Acting major like me; and Melissa, who's major I don't know yet. I knew Miriam and Courtney before, and Melissa seems like a sweetheart! I love the whole flat! It's so cute and quaint :) I promise I'll take pictures and show you when I get the chance.

I'm starting to feel the exhaustion hit me...jet lag and I are too close of friends for my liking. To put it into perspective (and make me feel ok for being tired), here's what my schedule was for the last day and a half or so, according to home time:
Monday night, 12:30am - finally fall asleep
Tuesday morning, 5:00am - wake up, begin traveling
Tuesday at noon - take a 2 hour nap en route to NYC
Tuesday afternoon, 2:30pm - wake up from nap, transfer flights, etc.
Tuesday evening, 9:00pm - take a fitful 2 1/2 hour nap en route to LHR
Tuesday night, midnight - get off plane travel to flats, unpack, get settled, etc.
Wednesday morning, 9:30am - now. (4:30 London time)
Wow...that's messed up. :P No wonder jet lag exists. Haha...

So, after I unpacked, I ventured out on foot for the first time. After all, I needed FOOD!! (Note to self: next time you travel and you have extra weight-room available in your suitcase, FILL it with food. That way you won't have to stress about your next meal when you're in a foreign country with food sensitivities.) I especially began to regret not packing food when I went to the local grocery store and wanted to die at the food prices. First, everything is in £/kg, which means I have next to no idea what I was spending in $/lb. I did a lot of really rough calculations in my head and kept regretting doing them because it revealed to me that chicken breasts were $4/lb, vegetables were all more than $1/lb, etc. The bargain shopper in me did a lot of balking. I ended up with a 4 Kg bag of rice, a 1 Kg bag of oats for oatmeal, 1Kg of hamburger, and some carrots and bananas, along with a couple basic spices and some spaghetti sauce. Oh boy...my inner chef is going to be very sad for the next 6 weeks. But really, who cares? Because everything else inside of me is positively BURSTING with excitement!!!

I still need to buy my Tube pass, so I can get around. I let you all know how that goes when I figure it out tomorrow or later today.

You know what's really funny? How HARD it is to not speak in a British accent when everyone around you is! I have to keep stopping myself, because I know if I start, I'll probably sound silly and fake, and I'll never be able to stop! ;)

All those semi-stereotypical images of London I've had in my head for years? They're pretty much all here! Cute red telephone booths, black taxis, cobblestones, ivy, even people riding horses in the park. Not even joking - I saw a girl riding when I was in the taxi on the way to my flat this morning. :D It's amazing. The weather is lovely - slightly overcast and about 60 degrees Farenheit. Love it!

Anyway, we've got our first official Study Abroad group meeting in a few minutes, so I'm signing off for now. I'll update you again soon!