Sunday, I went to the Tate Modern. It's really nice. I wound up going through it faster than I would have liked, but I had to get back to work on my essays and I was also presenting on the reading in my Lit class on Monday. But I have 1 essay down and 3 to go!
This morning, I went to Sir John Soane's Museum, who was an architect and collected a lot of art and antiquities. His house is now a neat little museum.
Friday, Nicole and Naomi will arrive from Scotland for the weekend!!!!
Monday, November 24, 2008
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Only 20 Days Left
I'm really starting to miss the letter z (or they pronounce it "zed" here, but that's another story). They hardly ever use it. Words that we would end -ize, such as realize, they spell with -ise, like realise. it didn't bother me at first, but it's really starting to piss me off.
On Wednesday night/Thursday morning at 5:30 AM, the fire alarm went off and we all had to go stand outside for 20 minutes. Then, an hour later, when I was just about to finally fall asleep again, it went off again, but stopped when we were all half way down the stairs. Then it kept going off for a few seconds at a time for the rest of the night. Luckily my class wasn't until noon on Thursday.
Friday was supposed to be the release date for the 6th Harry Potter movie, but stupid people decided to postpone it until June. So, I needed some retail therapy and did a little shopping and walked around Hyde Park (I only saw about half of it last time). It was really nice, but windy.
Today, I walked around the Temple area. There isn't really anything to do there, but it has a lot of really neat buildings, including the original Twinings tea shop. It is also where the Knights Templar lived. Then I walked along Fleet Street up to St. Paul's. And then looked around the Borough Market, which has a lot of people selling different foods. It was really neat.
As of today, there are only 20 days left until I go home. I'm not sure how I feel about that.
On Wednesday night/Thursday morning at 5:30 AM, the fire alarm went off and we all had to go stand outside for 20 minutes. Then, an hour later, when I was just about to finally fall asleep again, it went off again, but stopped when we were all half way down the stairs. Then it kept going off for a few seconds at a time for the rest of the night. Luckily my class wasn't until noon on Thursday.
Friday was supposed to be the release date for the 6th Harry Potter movie, but stupid people decided to postpone it until June. So, I needed some retail therapy and did a little shopping and walked around Hyde Park (I only saw about half of it last time). It was really nice, but windy.
Today, I walked around the Temple area. There isn't really anything to do there, but it has a lot of really neat buildings, including the original Twinings tea shop. It is also where the Knights Templar lived. Then I walked along Fleet Street up to St. Paul's. And then looked around the Borough Market, which has a lot of people selling different foods. It was really neat.
As of today, there are only 20 days left until I go home. I'm not sure how I feel about that.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Witches and Emma
Monday, in my Magic and Myth class, we performed our own witch trial, which was pretty cool, because I got to be the accused witch. I was acquitted conditionally because my accusers were questionable and since my character was pregnant they couldn't torture a confession out of me. There's also this guy in my class who looks kind of like Heath Ledger and he was one of the people defending me.
Today, I met up with Emma, a recent Beloit Alum and fellow Art History major who is going to grad school here in London. We had lunch and did some shopping around Covent Garden. It was really nice to catch up.
Today, I met up with Emma, a recent Beloit Alum and fellow Art History major who is going to grad school here in London. We had lunch and did some shopping around Covent Garden. It was really nice to catch up.
Saturday, November 15, 2008
My Birthday!!!!
Thursday was my 21st birthday!!!! I got a package from home with snacks and magazines. My seminar was cancelled, so I only had 1 hour of class instead of 2! Later my flatmates got me a card and made me a cake, which was very very good. After cake, we all went to the Hobgoblin pub. My 1st drink was free because it was my B-Day!!!! Friday, I went back to the V&A Museum. We were supposed to go and look at the Medieval and Islamic stuff for my Crusades class. It was very cool.
Today, Saturday, I had planned to go to the Temple area, but there were a whole bunch of closings on the Underground (stupid Olympics). So instead I just walked along the river, which was really nice. The weather's been so good the last 2 days, I haven't even bothered bringing a coat.
My cake and a coconut cup at the V&AWednesday, November 12, 2008
Defying Gravity
On Friday Night, Nicole and Lee arrived from Scotland. On Saturday we walked around the Parliament and Big Ben area. After a quick breakfast, we went to Westminster Abbey. While we were walking through St. James' Park to see Buckingham Palace, it started pouring, luckily we all had our umbrellas and it wasn't too long before it started to lighten up. After the Palace, we walked to Piccadilly Circus and wound up having a late lunch/early dinner at TGI Fridays. After seeing someone get free cake for their birthday, we decided to celebrate mine a few days early! So they came over and tied balloons to my wrists and (for some reason) hair and I had to stand up while everyone sang, but the amazing chocolate cake was soooo worth it. After dinner, we went back to the flat to freshen up a bit. Then we headed out to see Wicked!!!! I had seen it before a few years ago in Chicago, but it was, if possible, even better than I remembered! Nicole and Lee left on Sunday morning.
PS - The Beedle the Bard countdown to the left can also be a countdown to when I go back to America, if you add 9 to the number.
Friday, November 7, 2008
Glaswegian Adventure
On Monday I left for Glasgow from King's Cross (after another visit to 9 3/4, of course). It's a long trip (about 6 hours) but you get to see the beautiful countryside and the time flew by. When I arrived that evening I had a very happy reunion at the train station with my lovely friends Nicole and Naomi. We had a delicious fish and chips dinner at a very nice pub. That night I stayed in Naomi's room. I got to meet some of her very nice flatmates and we watched a few episodes of "How I Met Your Mother" which is one of my favorite shows and have missed.
On Tuesday, the 3 of us went to this neat little tea house called Tchai-ovna. We split 2 pots - one green tea and a sweet red one called Fairies' Blood. Afterwards, I went with Nicole to her history class, which had an amazing view of the city. Next, Naomi and I walked around the campus (which is very old and pretty). Then we went to The Hunterian Natural History museum, which has a lot of cool fossils, medical history stuff, and lots more. Then we met up with Nicole again and walked around a lot. Glasgow is a very pretty little city which seems to perpetually smell like french toast. That night, I stayed in Nicole's room. The 3 of us got Chinese food and watched Clue the movie. Meanwhile we anxiously checked the election progress online, but with the 6 hour time difference, there was no way we were hearing anything that day. Nicole and I reluctantly went to bed with no news, but Allison (another of our Beloit friends who is spending the semester in DC) had promised to call Nicole's phone as soon as the results were in. I had just woken up from a fitful sleep when suddenly the phone rang. We both lept out of bed and joyously received the wonderful news: Obama won!!!!!!!!! I can finally stop apologizing for being American. Words cannot describe how happy I am. My faith in humanity has been restored.
On Wednesday, I went to the Hunterian Art Gallery, while Nicole and Naomi were in class. It's a neat little museum with a lot of cool pieces. After lunch, the 3 of us walked around some more. We visited a lot of pretty churches and celebrated Obama. Later, Nicole and I made dinner in her flat, hung out, and watched Ever After.
Thursday, Naomi and I went to the Kelvingrove Museum, which is really cool. It has an art side and a natural history side. There was a bunch of cool Egyptian stuff and 2 Vincent paintings!!!! There is also a huge and beautiful organ in the entrance hall, which we heard played over lunch. After a while Naomi had to leave for class and Nicole met me there after she got out of her class. After the museum, Nicole and I went more into the main city and did some shopping. I got this really pretty cashmere scarf for half off!!!! I also got a necklace and some gifts. We met up with Naomi for another yummy pub dinner. On the ways back to Nicole's room we stopped at this neat second hand store whose proceeds a go to the heart foundation and I fell in love with this amazing purse. That night we watched a few episodes of Greys Anatomy, which I had never really seen before, but Nicole is starting to get me addicted to.
This morning, the 3 of us met at a nice little coffee shop. Then Naomi took me to the train station. On the way back, I had to switch trains in Edinburgh and I had some more great views of the countryside. I got back to London just in time for rush hour on the Underground. Waiting for me in my flat was my 1st birthday card of the year!!!! Thank you Aunt Carolyn and Uncle George!!!! Later tonight, Nicole and one of her flatmates, Lee, are arriving to spend the weekend here. Tomorrow we are seeing Wicked!!!!!
On Tuesday, the 3 of us went to this neat little tea house called Tchai-ovna. We split 2 pots - one green tea and a sweet red one called Fairies' Blood. Afterwards, I went with Nicole to her history class, which had an amazing view of the city. Next, Naomi and I walked around the campus (which is very old and pretty). Then we went to The Hunterian Natural History museum, which has a lot of cool fossils, medical history stuff, and lots more. Then we met up with Nicole again and walked around a lot. Glasgow is a very pretty little city which seems to perpetually smell like french toast. That night, I stayed in Nicole's room. The 3 of us got Chinese food and watched Clue the movie. Meanwhile we anxiously checked the election progress online, but with the 6 hour time difference, there was no way we were hearing anything that day. Nicole and I reluctantly went to bed with no news, but Allison (another of our Beloit friends who is spending the semester in DC) had promised to call Nicole's phone as soon as the results were in. I had just woken up from a fitful sleep when suddenly the phone rang. We both lept out of bed and joyously received the wonderful news: Obama won!!!!!!!!! I can finally stop apologizing for being American. Words cannot describe how happy I am. My faith in humanity has been restored.
On Wednesday, I went to the Hunterian Art Gallery, while Nicole and Naomi were in class. It's a neat little museum with a lot of cool pieces. After lunch, the 3 of us walked around some more. We visited a lot of pretty churches and celebrated Obama. Later, Nicole and I made dinner in her flat, hung out, and watched Ever After.
Thursday, Naomi and I went to the Kelvingrove Museum, which is really cool. It has an art side and a natural history side. There was a bunch of cool Egyptian stuff and 2 Vincent paintings!!!! There is also a huge and beautiful organ in the entrance hall, which we heard played over lunch. After a while Naomi had to leave for class and Nicole met me there after she got out of her class. After the museum, Nicole and I went more into the main city and did some shopping. I got this really pretty cashmere scarf for half off!!!! I also got a necklace and some gifts. We met up with Naomi for another yummy pub dinner. On the ways back to Nicole's room we stopped at this neat second hand store whose proceeds a go to the heart foundation and I fell in love with this amazing purse. That night we watched a few episodes of Greys Anatomy, which I had never really seen before, but Nicole is starting to get me addicted to.
This morning, the 3 of us met at a nice little coffee shop. Then Naomi took me to the train station. On the way back, I had to switch trains in Edinburgh and I had some more great views of the countryside. I got back to London just in time for rush hour on the Underground. Waiting for me in my flat was my 1st birthday card of the year!!!! Thank you Aunt Carolyn and Uncle George!!!! Later tonight, Nicole and one of her flatmates, Lee, are arriving to spend the weekend here. Tomorrow we are seeing Wicked!!!!!
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Museums and such
Beloit finally announced the course offerings for Spring semester. I signed up for Arts of Japan, American Literary Traditions, Intro to Gender Studies, and Society and Culture. I put Intro to Psychology as a backup. Keep your fingers crossed for me!!!!
Our heat and hot water broke. So, for a few days I was cold and smelly. But they finally fixed it on Friday evening.
On Friday, there was another Art trip. We went around the East End and looked at some outdoor art, including a Richard Serra sculpture. Then we went to 2 small galleries. My favorite in those was a TV screen that had a slide show of different classic sunset pictures, but the images were changing more and more rapidly, which contrasts with the idea of the serene sunset.
On Saturday, I went to the Science Museum. It was really neat. My favorite part was the Science in the 18th Century exhibit, because I'm more of a history nerd than a science nerd.
Today, I went back to the British Museum. I knew that I would regret it if I only went once or twice. Even though I've already been there a few times, it's still really cool. See pictures below for just a small sampling.
We don't have classes this week. They call it Reading Week. So tomorrow I'm going to Glasgow!!!! I'll be staying with my friends Nicole and Naomi. And I'm sooooooooo excited!!!!!!!!!
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