Parisss!

Day One
This morning was a rough one to wake up. Megan M, Desiree, and I (Caity was meeting us in Paris) needed to be at St. Pancras at 8 am to meet the Arcadia staff, which meant leaving at about 7 am. Once we got to the station we needed to wait to take the 940 train to Paris. The trip with Arcadia includes two nights at a hotel, 2 day museum pass, 3 day metro card, and a bus tour when we arrived. The bus tour was interesting but quite long. I was exhausted and sick so I wanted to sleep pretty badly. When we go to the hotel we decided it would be best to go right back out to the Louvre and see that before we headed home for an early night. The Louvre is a huge museum housing all of the great works. Tonight we saw a lot of cool sculptures and a few paintings on our way to see the Mona Lisa, who is not impressive at all. I planned to go back during the weekend to finish seeing everything I didn't get to. We ended up going to bed around 1130 because we were so exhausted. I know I passed right out.

Day Two
The buffet breakfast at the hotel was to die for and filled us up with carbs for a while. They had breads and croissants like crazy, as well as yogurts and applesauce. We needed to energy for the busy day we were going to have. First we headed to Notre Dame and saw the Crypt, which was a lot like the Roman Baths. We went inside Notre Dame and I was amazed at its enormous size. The windows were so beautiful and there were a lot of nooks/mini chapels for people to pray in. Truly beautiful. I looked for Quazzimoto but never saw him. We decided to walk along the Seine and go into souvenir shops and look at some of the art work for sale. I bought some souvenirs for people as well as an oil painting of the Eiffel Tower for myself. Next we headed to Museé D'Orsay. We saw a lot of pre-impressionism, impressionist, and post impressionism pieces like Van Gogh, Degas, Monet, Renoir, and many more. For lunch we decided to get some authentic French Crepes...I had ham and Cheddar cheese. However, it did not even come close to the deliciousness that is Skinny Pancake in Burlington, VT :) . After eating we went to the Arc de Triomphe where our passes let us climb to the top and take in the view, which was needed since the walk up the stairs practically killed us. We then headed up to Moulin Rouge to see the theatre, which was gorgeous lit up at night. From Moulin Rouge we headed to the final stop of the evening which was the Eiffel Tower. It is lit up blue with 12 yellow stars to symbolize the EU flag. Once I got there I knew that even though the view of Paris would be no different than on the Arc, I had to go up to the top of the Eiffel. After a few photo ops and awing at its gigantic size we headed for a classy French dinner. I spent € 35, however it was sooo worth it. I got pasta with a sweet cream sauce paired with scallops and king prawns (which came on a skewer head and all). For dessert I got a chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream. I wish I could eat it again, it was that good.

Day Three

We had another early morning to make sure we finished seeing London today. Megan M and I went to the Eiffel Tower to go to the top. It was only € 12 which isn't bad for an elevator lift and a magnificent view. After taking pictures and realize how many pieces my camera would smash into/people it would kill if I dropped it, we headed down to go to the Louvre. Once we got there Megan and I split up and went around for an hour....I ran the whole way. I weaved in and out of crowds to ensure I saw the everything on my list I made. I kept getting distracted but needed to persevere in order to see it all. I didn't see exactly everything I had hoped, but I saw a lot more than on Friday night. After the museum we sped to the hotel where we met Desiree and Caity to head to the train. Caity was leaving on the train before ours, so we headed to get a baguette and dessert crepe..nutella crepe (sounds delicious and I LOVE nutella...but it was sooo rich and sickening, which didn't stop me from finishing it). When we arrived in London I realized I was going home to be in my room in New Cross and would remain there for longer than a few hours of sleep. It was an amazing feeling.

ROMAAAA!

Day One

We left at 4 am to head to the coach park at Victoria station. After a long day at Stonehenge the day before I was exhausted. We headed from Victoria to Stansted which took an hour. However, it must have been shorter since our crazy bus driver was going frighteningly fast. It was wet and I think he thought we were on a party bus. He was playing some Rihanna/top 40 station and had the blue tube lights on the whole time. After we checked in at the airport and Caity got her bag searched for small container of toothpaste not being in a separate plastic bag, we hung out waiting for our flight. I almost puked about 5 times. I figured I was sick from the day before but I realized I was nervousss! I dont usually get nervous but I did that day. At take off I gripped the seat in fear. So weird, especially since I love roller coasters. I tried to sleep the whole flight and managed to for a bit. When we landed in Rome it was gorgeous! There was real sun, like we see in the summer. I practically broke a sweat. After hopping a bus to the train station we found our hostel and checked into our six person private room. I should probably introduce my traveling buddies: Tom, Nick, Desiree, Caity, Megan, and myself. For our first day we explored Rome a bit and hung outside the Colloseum. However, I was startled when informed zombies were headed my way. I am still not exactly sure what the deal was but it freaked me out. They didn't stop if you or anything was in there way. After seeing the zombies we walked to the Trevi Fountain to meet up with my flat. This was the one night we were going to be in Rome at the same time. So we met up and hung out for a bit before I headed to dinner with my friends. I unfortunately wasn't hungry at this restaurant and I regret that. The menu was a book and the food smelled amazing! I toured my way through Rome via food. After dinner we went back to the hostel to get much needed sleepppp.

Day Two

We had a touristy day on Monday. We bought the Roma Pass which included free admission to two museums/sites and a three day travel card all for € 20. We decided to hit up the Colloseum, Palatino, and Roman Forum all for one admission. The Colloseum was gorgeous and surreal on the inside. To be walking around in a place filled with such history was extremely weird, but then again I felt like that throughout Rome. The Colloseum looked the same, yet different from all the different angles walking around. The Pope speaks every Good Friday at the Colloseum which is really cool. Tom attempted to listen in on a tour and got scolded which doesn't make sense because when he got in trouble he wasnt even listening. He was genuinely standing with us looking around. I also don't understand why you couldn't listen. The tour is walking around the same space as you are. You can't wear earplugsss. After lunch we headed to the Palatino and Roman Forum which had a ton of ruins. Walking around we got a ton of different views of the city. In one area it looked straight out of a movie set. It was just incredible. That night we went to a Pub Crawl for € 20. It included a ton of free booze and entrance to 3 pubs/bars and a club. It was a crazy night with a lot of funny memories and a sick t-shirt (I came I saw I crawled). After an interesting trip home (ie two hours and two buses) we passed out at 5 am.

Day Three

After a rough evening last night, 930 came veryyy early. After finally getting to breakfast before it closed and out of the hostel at lock out hours, we all sluggishly headed to Galleria Borghese. The art museum housed paints and sculptures from the 16th and 17th centuries. My favorite piece was a statue by Bernini of Apollo and Daphne. The statue depicts the myth of Daphne being turned into a laurel tree after Apollo has confessed his love to her. It is a sculpture of a story from Ovid's Metamorphoses. The museum was a perfect size. We could complete it in a few hours and not be more exhausted than we already were or getting bored. We walked around the Villa Borghese, but the day was rainy so it wasn't much fun being outside. We headed home around five after trying to find canolis and being forced into a cafeteria style cafe while it downpoured. At the hostel we napped for a bit and met up with Megan F. & her friend who is studying in Prague for dinner nearby. The restaurant was called Mama Angela's and had some delicious food. I order Spinach and Ricotta Ravioli with a butter and sage sauce. Mhmmmmm.

Day Four

This morning we woke up bright and early to head to the Vatican. When we arrived we saw a security line, so we assumed this was to get into the museum/Vatican City. However, we soon found out the Pope was speaking later that morning...no big deal. We decided to go to the museum and to see the Sistine Chapel for a few hours while we waited to see the Pope. Every inch of the ceilings walking to the Sistine Chapel were painted with beautiful depictions of events and stories. The Sistine Chapel was even more breathtaking. One wall was The Last Judgement and depicts the Second Coming of Christ and the Apocalypse. The side walls depict The Life of Christ and the Life of Moses. The ceiling contains stories from Genesis, ancestors of Christ, and prophets. Being in the room was surreal, especially seeing famous paintings in real life, such as Adam and God. I still can't believe I was there. After the Sistine Chapel we headed back to St. Peter's Square to find a spot to see the pope. He spoke and gave blessings to the countries and families represented. Again it was another surreal experience, even for someone who isn't Catholic. By this time we were all starving so we headed to a cafe for a leisurely lunch before heading off to see the Pantheon. The Pantheon was a really cool building with a giant hole in the dome ceiling. When it rains the water pours in and empties out through the drains all over the floor. It would've been so cool to see during the rain. Nick left around four and we picked up Deanna and Chris at about the same time; a trade off. For dinner we decided to go somewhere fancy for our last meal. Choosing a place close to our hostel we thought we were in a for a treat. However, the waiters didn't seem to think a group of 9, twenty-somethings were their idea of a good evening. Placing us in a room with 2 other parties when the restaurant was empty and watching our every move were the first bad vibes we got. The American couple dining didn't acknowledge we existed, and an Italian woman sat and watched us for about 20 minutes after she had finished. When we ordered the waiter was in shock we wanted a pasta course and that's all. "So you don't want all 5 courses?" After eating in silence in fear to speak, we got the check. Lucky for us they charged for bread and the refill they brought us (€ 10) and another € 1o for service. How nice of them. Let's just say we got out of there really fast.

Day Five

Realizing today was our last day we did our best to pick up some souveniers. I bought a few things for people, and never got anything for myself. I decided to make up for it in Paris. After a long flight home with more Ryan Air theme songs and pushers for flight attendants we got home in London and headed to New Cross. Once I was home and ready to pass out, I needed to pack for Paris. On top of being exhausted I had caught a second round of Fresher's Flu...not fun.

GELATO TALLY

- mango & nutella

- biscotti

- tiramisu

-raspberry & fudge

Stonehenge & Bath

Halloween was a midly uneventful evening, which was disappointing. I am so used to having a crazy halloween night getting dressed up and partying in the 3's after a crazy time at the dance. This year we got dressed up and drank a bit before heading to TigerTiger. After finally getting there, I wasn't even allowed in because I didn't have a valid ID without the word student on it (i.e. my passport). This has happened a few times to me. I go somewhere and they won't accept my ISIC card or my permit. Okay, I know its my own fault for not having a license, but I'm also not going to carry my passport out into central london where bad things could happen to it, especially at a busy club. After ending the night at a casual pub I went home and slept since I had Stonehenge & Bath in the morning.

We met at the Arcadia office in Notting Hill at 830. The whole morning, which turned into the whole day, I felt sick to my stomach. I couldn't figure it out. After sucking up my nausea we boarded the bus to Stonehenge. I personally slept the whole, with Alex using my shoulder as a pillow haha. It was uneventful once we got there. It was exactly as the Brits describe it :'a pile of rocks'. We had 40 minutes to spend there so we made the rounds around the perimeter taking lots of funny/goofy pictures. However, none of them turned out decent. After Stonehenge, we got back on the bus to go to Bath. Once we got there we had 3 hours to kill. First we got some lunch then decided to go to the Roman Baths. It was £9 to get in but ended up being worth it. We got a free audioguide and we spent almost two hours inside. I chose to listen to the children's version of the auidoguide most of the way. It kept my attention better, was short and sweet, and had a few fun quizzes on it. Inside we saw the hot baths where Romans used to come and bathe/sweat. The whole place was made of stone and had a lot of ruins of temples. The water is warmed through the heat below the ground, much like hot springs. After we walked around we were treated with a glass of spa water...it tasted like pennies. I think it made me sicker. After we got back to London I went home and frantically packed for ROMAAAAAA!

White Cliffs of Dover

On 10/25 nine of us went to Dover in Kent. We had to get up and meet by 710 to head to the coach station in town to catch the bus to Dover. It was a 2 ½ hour drive but I slept almost the whole way. We got there and had 10 hours to spend. We had no idea where anything was or what we were doing, other than seeing the White Cliffs. One of my friends/planner of the trip told us about this 6 quid boat tour so we headed toward the beach, where we took some pictures and I stole a rock off the ‘sand’ (which was all rocks) as a keepsake. We bought tickets for the Southern Queen, our trusty vessel. There were 5 other people on the tour we got, so we decided it wasn’t tourist season. The boat tour was about 40 minutes and it let us get an ocean view of the cliffs. We could see the coast of France in the distance, since its less than 30 miles away. After the boat tour we went to a pub we had seen that was very cheap. We all got some drinks, pear cider for me, and then some food. Since it had been a while since we ate, it was now 1 o’clock, we all started to feel the drinks and got the tingly feeling.


After lunch we headed for the Cliffs. We climbed a steep hill and then a steep set of stairs, where we were met with a ticket man. We didn’t want to pay to see the Castle, just walk around on the Cliffs. He told us to walk up the road and it would become a narrow, winding country road. He explained it would take about 40 minutes since we didn’t have a car. We began walking up the regular road and saw some beautiful views. However, the narrow country road was exactly that; a very narrow and very windy road. We walked on the shoulder but I thought we were going to die. Eventually someone suggested for the second time we walk on the footpath on the other side of the brush, I suggested it the first time and no one wanted to listen.


The footpath was fine and followed the road, but all of a sudden turned into woods. We risked it and continued. We kept trying to locate the road again so we could follow that. Eventually we heard it and continued risking our lives on it. Way past 40 minutes we made it to the top! It was a gorgeous sight. You could see France a little clearer, but it was still foggy; the English Channel and all of the boats coming in to the port, which is the busiest in England because of its location. We were on top of the white masses we saw on the boat cruise. There were footpaths to walk around so I went off exploring to find a place to get close to the rock and take some pictures. I walked and walked and finally found some places to take pictures. I wanted to go down to the next ‘level’ of footpaths but it was too steep to climb down, trust me I tried to do it. It was serene and beautiful, even though the voice of a woman talking about security at the port kept coming over the loudspeaker. Caity took out a piece of paper on which we wrote the poem ‘Dover Beach’ and we all took turns saying a line from it. It was very cute. We decided to walk down before it got dark so we wouldn’t have an even greater risk of dying. However, we then found a staircase which led right down into town. I still have no idea why the people we asked for directions from didn’t say go here and take the staircase. It led us down to the port where there were some houses, one of which was Matthew Arnold, who wrote the poem ‘Dover Beach’. We walked back into town and ended up having dinner at the same pub we went to for lunch. There were some cougars in the pub, which is a slang term for a woman after 35 who dress sexually to get attention from men, especially younger men. Their table was full of bottles and glasses already and it was only 7 at the latest. We watched them for a while and men coming up and flirting with them, and allowed the woman to sit on their laps. It was pretty funny because they were all sloppy drunk. Our bus left at 830 and I passed out yet again on the way home. I was exhausted after the amazing day we had.

a very crazy, expensive week of my life.

On Saturday (10/18) I went to see Wicked with Brittany and Alex. It was amazing! Our seats were in the balcony but we had a perfect view of everything. The storyline was great with so many twists and turns. The actresses were awesome and had wonderful voices. I was high on life after this..how could I not be since it's about the Wizard of Oz of course. We went into Convent Garden after and Alex showed us this cool brewery called the Porter House. She told us to order a fruit beer, which was from Belgium. I order Mango and it was sooo delicious. It tastes nothing like beer, which suits me perfectly. After our beers we tried to find a place to have dinner, all of which were super packed. We ended up at Fridays of all places. We got drinks, an appetizer platter to share, and a brownie obsession for dessert. So perfect. On Sunday I had a low key day of trying to write a paper for one of my classes. That night we went out to dinner at Pizza Express on these wonderful inventions called two for one coupons. We got four different meals for a total of 7.50 per person. So cheap!

During this week I was very adiment on getting my paper finished so I worked on that a lot. Wednesday night everyone was heading to their theatre class and told me they had an extra ticket if I wanted it, so I got to see 'Now or Later' for free. It was a really great play about a hypothetical presidental candidate's son and his battles. An added bonus to the night was Keanu Reeves sat two rows in front of us. We attempted to take pictures of him, but it didn't go so well. After when we were all finding each other he came about two feet away and I got very excited. Its not because he's an amazing actor, rather he is just a famous person...a very attractive one too.

Thursday I didn't have any classes so I was able to venture into town. I bought a standing seat for 5 quid to Oedipus at the National Theatre starring Ralph Finnes! I'm sooo excited! After buying my ticket I walked along the river and saw this graffiti heaven/skate park. It was so cool with all of the colors and layers of pictures on every inch of the place. I managed to get some very cool photos. I headed to the National Portrait Gallery after and was able to check that out for a little bit. I saw the Annie Leibovitz exhibit which was fascinating because it had famous portraits she did but also some of her family and their private lives. I started the Tudors section but I was getting tired so I decided to head home and relax before the show. I got to the theatre a bit early. Having standing seats I decided to sit down against the wall in the back to give my legs a rest from the walking I did and get ready for a two hour show. However, I was scolded for sitting on the ground and told I had to stand. This put me in a bad mood because they were just being rude and crazy. The show itself was amazing, and Ralph Finnes did an awesome job. It was very powerful especially towards the end. I won't ruin the play for anyone who might read it later in life, but if you are familiar you know what I'm talking about. It was raining when I went to go home and I had to find my way back to Waterloo. Luckily I found it and was safe and sound.

Friday I had yet another day off so I decided to head into the Natural History Musuem to finish it. The second day wasn't as exciting as the first time. I think its because I had seent he best exhibits on day one. It was still pretty cool but there were also lots of young kids and their parents giving me dirty looks for doing the interactive stations. "What is that creepy girl doing here by herself?" I can only imagine the though process. I tried so hard to start the Victoria and Albert Museum, which is a lot of fashions, textures, sculptures, etc, but I was too knackered out. I just wanted to be home in my bed. I had an exciting day Saturday to prepare for...Dover!

shopping is becoming a problem

On Friday I went to Camden Market. It was an interesting place and a must see. However, it was not at all what I expected. The markets I've been too have been a mix and blend of food, produce, clothes and other random things. The best thing to compare them to are flea markets, but very very busy. I strolled through a lot of shops and stores selling very similar things, especially souvenirs. I have seen a few things to buy people, except I don't want to be uber cheesy buying everyone something with the Union Jack or tube map on it. Walking into the market place you're overwhelmed with booths selling practically the same items. I wanted to haggle SOOOO bad but I was a chicken. After walking through a million clothing stores I finally bought this beige/gold dress with a cute bow and string of 'pearls' on it. Tre chic! I am waiting for the moment to wear it out; perhaps I'll save it for a romantic dinner with Parid in London or for a fabulous night out during my excursions across Europe. Also I got the best deal ever on scarves, 3 for £5. All of the other people were selling 1 for £5 or 2 for £5. I'm happy about it. I then took the tube to Tottenham Court Road which is close to where our orientation was. I ate at this shop called 'Eat.' That's the name just 'Eat.' with a period. I bought a baguette with tomato, basil, and brie. SOOOOO DELICIOUS and cheap as well. I believe it was only £2.10. I walked to Oxford Street again to catch the bus which was impossible because I couldn't remember the stop. Finally I found it but it took 3 buses to get home. Each bus would stop after 5 or 10 minutes and terminate. The last one was one stop away from school and decided it would end there. I walked the rest of the way. Also I only paid for one bus, don't tell anyone though ;) . We went out to Hobgoblin for Bari's birthday and met a wonderful drunk man from Australia. He had dirty dirty long hair. He then attempted to jump into Tom's story by saying 'then she tried to grab your balls and you let her?' This then led to a good 10 minutes of Tom making up malarkey just to appease this guy's sexual appetite of slutty American girls. He went to buy Tom a drink and never returned.

Saturday Brittany, Tom, Jack, and I went to Greenwich, which is gorgeousss! It has a spectacular view of the city, free museum exhibits, a market, park, and is right along the Thames. We spent the whole day walking around markets and being outside on yet another beautiful day. We bought some arancini which ended up not being very good. I was disappointed. We headed back home and had a casual night when Jack said the three of us (Brittany, her, and I) should go to the Hobgoblin to just chill. So we spent a relaxing night bonding and such, regaling each other with hilarious stories.

Sunday per usual was lazy lazy lazy which consisted of me watching some movies and lounging. I read for my class but that was about it. This week I didn't do a whole lot other than be unproductive. I had my first tutorial for Psychology & Law on Wednesday afternoon. Now I need to write a paper about the 'psychological factors which cause wrongful conviction.' Its kind of a difficult topic to research only because I'm not sure how to write a paper here. I'm very intimidated by the style and what they would expect from me. Fun fact: My professor from this class is pretty well published in his field. I was informed that if he wasn't in my references I had a problem.

Today (10/17) I went to London with Alex and Brittany. We headed to Fortnum & Mason to go to a free chocolate sampling for Chocolate Week. Then Alex and I went to Portobello Market in Notting Hill. It was awesome with tons of shops and cafes/restaurants. We headed to this place called Gail's. I got a mango, lettuce, and mozzerela salad of sorts. It had a sweet vingerette and was soo delicious, especially because you wouldn't think the flavors would go together. After snacking we went to the markets and shops. I bought this amazinggg jacket for £60, I know very expensive. It is 50 or 60 years old and from Pakistan. The wives would make jackets for their husbands who were nomads. The one I bought is this purple color with lots of embroidery and detailing. Again, tre chic! We headed to Leicester Sq to check out Wicked ticket prices, which were £42.50 for the matinee on Saturday so we went ahead and bought them. The seats aren't terrible but it'll be good anyway. I am so excited for it. After going broke 4 times over I decided to lay low for the night and most of tomorrow until the show. No more shopping... for a while ;) .

I'm going to Rome!

Another week has practically come and gone since I've posted anything new. Where to begin?!



Monday I had a relaxing morning because I don't have class until 1p.m. This class made me really nervous at first, but now its becoming more and more interesting. I'm learning about neoliberalism & Foucault. Its also a lot about self-recognition and subjectification. The lecture was based on a quote: a fiction that functions in truth." When we get into more of it I'll let you know exactly what that means. After class & the seminar I was able to hang out and relax for a while. I started getting very into the planning of trips. After about an hour at my computer looking for the best deals, I discovered a trip to Rome for about 110 GBP. Amazing, I know. I sent an email to people to have decisions by the next day and we'd book it.

On Tuesday I had class, but it was cancelled so I had the whole day to myself. Except I didn't seize the day very well. I got back into bed and watched 'Almost Famous'. I had a meeting at 230 with an Arcadia Representative. After I headed to Iceland (basically a frozen food mecca with most things under 2 GBP) to buy frozen pizza. A few people were coming over before Pub Quiz to make final plans. Five of us are officially going to Rome for 5 days and 4 nights. We booked the plane tickets (which were about 53 GBP a person) and the hostel (which is under $80 USD each for the whole stay). We estimated the trip would end up being about $220 USD per person without food/admission involved. I think thats amazing for that amount of time. This trip is Nov. 2-6, a day after I go to Stonehenge and Bath, and I come back from Rome the night before I go to Paris for the weekend. Oye vey! Pub Quiz was fun. Since we were the worst last time we decided to embrace our lack of knowledge and called ourselves 'The Sophisticated Suckers'. After one round I proceeded to write "have pity on us, we're American" on the top of the page. However, this week I did pretty well supplying answers, especially in the music round.

Wednesday I had my psychology & law class. This is my favorite psychology class I'm taking here. Its so interesting learning about the basics of the UK government and miscarriages of justice. I have a tutorial next week where we'll discuss the psychological factors involved. After class I had to do laundry which took forever and is so expensive. I thought someone stole my clothes but I located them finally. The dryer didn't do a good job drying them so I hung them all over my room and flat. People were able to recognize my clothes from across the way thanks to my tie dye sweatshirt. We went to Club Sandwich, again. Somehow I became quite intoxicated and had a rough wakeup call this morning (Thursday)

Today I practically fell asleep in my class and wanted to die the whole time. This lecturer was terrible. Neuropsychology is starting out a bit like physio so lets hope that changes soon so I learn some other stuff. For the rest of the day I kind of just hung around and was lazy thanks to my hangover. I needed to save my energy for my day alone tomorrow anyways :). Alex's mom came in tonight and she's so nice. Its cute to have a mom in the flat. We had cake and ice cream for her birthday, then after she, Alex, Brittany, and I all talked for a while.

Borough Market

So yesterday a four of us (Margy, Nick, Tom, and myself) all braved the rain to go to the infamous Borough Market. I have never been so overwhelmed in my life! There are vendors from all over who are selling such an array of foods. Everything from cheese, chocolate, ciders (alcoholic), fish, ostrich meat, and jams. I'll definitely be going back to pick up some souvenirs. After the market we went to the Southwark Cathedral and checked that out. It was more or less to get out of the wind and cold, but interesting as well. They have a small shrine-esque piece dedicated to William Shakespeare because the Globe is nearby and he was an inhabitant of the church. After this side trip we went to the Tate Modern, one of the art museums. It was huge and I only saw a small portion of it. Tom, an art major, hung out with me for a while. He had already been there so he gave me the scoop on interesting stories about the paintings. I saw some Francis Bacon, Pablo Picasso, and Jack Pollack. After the museum we headed home and took the longgg way. The bus went through all of the residental areas of New Cross and we saw some interesting places we want to investigate. Last night I went with my flatmate Jack to the Circus themed 'Fresher's Ball' . Some people took it far with the costume choices, a lot was very dark circus. I did my best to fit in with a purple ensemble and a balloon hat a clown made for me. It was a really fun night.

Today was another lazy Sunday. I watched the Bucket List, a tear jerker, and napped. However, I ventured out for groceries and an evening tea with some of my friends. We discussed travel plans. Hopefully Dover Cliffs on Oct. 25th and possibly Italy in November during reading week.

On a side note...I have an unhealthy obsession with Nutella. Its absolutely delicious and its getting out of control.

Day Alone in London

Today I went into the city by myself to have an adventure. Without classes on Friday I figured this would be an amazing way to see everything I want to see. This morning I left at about 1130 to go to the Natural History Museum and Kensington Gardens. I took a bus to Wesminster and discovered how windy/cold it was and since I didn't know my way around I opted for the tube to the South Kensington stop. I found my way to the museum which was amazing on the outside. It didn't look like a museum at all. On the inside there is an extremely long dinosaur (Brontosaurous). I decided today would be the Blue Zone day. This included dinosaurs, human biology, mammals, and fish/water animals. The exhibits were all huge and had a lot of interactive aspects. In the dinosaur exhibit there was a bridge to walk above the exhibit and look down or at the hanging skeletons. On the other side of the bridge was a mechanical T-Rex. Then you were able to go into the part of the exhibit you'd seen from above on the bridge. It was all very organized and enabled you to see everything without getting too sidetracked with what was ahead. The mammal exhibit was very cool with lots of life size specimens or replications. The blue whale practically took up the whole room. Among the animals I even saw a manatee (represent youthcare!). The human biology exhibit was the biggest and most detailed I had ever seen, especially when it came to the birthing room. I have been noticing for a long time that the Brits do not necessarily censor a lot. But this was more than I would ever want any child under the age of 18 to see. The drawings of the birthing process, life size models of how your body changes in puberty, and the enormous fetus in the 'walk in womb' heartbeat included.

After the museum I walked to Kensington Gardens, which was close by. The park is so large. I got lost trying to find my way to the Peter Pan Statue, even though I was following the signs. It was a bit chilly but I feel that made for some artsy pictures. There weren't a lot of people and the sky was gray. The still green trees added a nice contrast if I do say so. After searching, asking, and determination I finally arrived at the statue. My dad better appreciate the picture I got for him. A nice couple offered to take my photo and I decided why the heck not, I worked hard enough to get here.

After Kensington Gardens I went to Oxford Street, which was quite the walk. It was enjoyable even if it was chilly. Once there I was bombarded with lots of people. I found the Primark, which is huge, hectic, and has wayyy better clothes than the one in Lewisham. I'll have to go back when it won't be so busy. The fitting room line and check out looked like amusement park lines. I walked into Selfridges & Co. which is a little expensive for my taste. I also saw a million Zaras and H&M's. I went into an H&M to only find that the dollar sign had been replaced with the pound sign. Prices were exactly the same as in the US but with a pound value. Not cool. I'm sure I'll go back and buy things though because it is still one of my cheaper options compared to TopShop. I searched for a bus back to New Cross when I arrived at Oxford Circus where the 436 to Deptford Bridge was going to be arriving. Thank God. I came home and practically collapsed after eating dinner. Needless to say it was a very enjoyable day all on my own and I can't wait until next week to do it again. :)

The Plague Strikes Again!

Since I wrote last time I have been suffering from the plague. I have been sooo sick and 'that girl' in class who coughs uncontrollably and blows her noise in a disgusting manner. I have then proceeded to pass it onto my flatmates and friends...sorry guys! Sunday I stayed in my bed all day long. I watched an entire season of Weeds and was told half way through I had watched too much and needed to wait 120 minutes to start again..how pathetic.

Monday started classes. To kick off the semester I walked into the largest lecture hall of my life, nearly peed my pants out of fear, and was greeted with metal music coming from the speakers. The class seems interesting and should be interesting. After class I proceeded to stay in bed again and rest. That night I braved the world to see people and hang out while we attempted to plan trips for the tutorial/vacation week in Novemeber. I'm personally thinking Italy.

Tuesday I started to begin to feel better, but definitely still sick. I had Psychopathology this morning and it is a lot like abnormal psych. Its pretty interesting and the professor reminds me of Emma Thompson, an actress. On the way home I hit a downpour and got soaked. Instead of following through with a museum date we all postponed it for another day when the weather would cooperate with going into town. That night we went to Pub Quiz night. There weren't as many people as I expected but it was still fun. They also had £1 pints of strongbow, my new manly drink of choice. Our team was called Carphone Warehouse and we proceeded to be the worst team, getting only 13 out of 60 questions correct. Go USA. In all fairness the questions were a lot of British common knowledge, like candy wrappers or music. However, the bonus round was something I thought we could do. Rap/sing the theme song to Fresh Prince of Bel Air. Easy, right? Ohhh nooo. We were then informed it was the full three minute version. The winning team received a bonus point and a round of pints for the team. It took a while but finally someone got it, a girl no less.

Today (Wednesday) I had psychology and law, which is veryyy cool. I did have a coughing fit in the middle and had to leave the class before I interupted even more...good thing I was sitting in the middle of the row. The professor is the nicest I have met so far. He actually was interested in the fact we were international students. After lunch we went to Sainsburys to get some essentials. Loving life since I found store brand, Sainsburys basics, Vodka. I also love that the label reads: 'No fancy packaging, just vodka. It was £7 and is comparable to prices at home for smirnoff (which is over £16 here for 750 ml bottle). Tonight is Club Sandwich, lets hope some fun techno nights occur again.








Oh if you want to test your Fresh Prince skills listen to this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1ZRb7VubjM

Sick, Sick, Sickkk

So I have been getting sick for a few days now. At first it was flying under the radar, but after a few late nights and a few drinks things have taken a turn for the worse. Today, on a beautiful day, I have been bed ridden to try to nurse myself back to health. In order for you to get the jist..I was told by megavideo (a video streaming website I was using to catch up on 'Weeds') told me I had watched 87 minutes of video today and I had to wait 120 minutes or sign up for unlimited use. Yes, its that bad.

Since the last time I wrote anything, my life has been just an attempt to be settled in New Cross. I had another meeting on Thursday about the communications department. My class is on Mondays from 1-2 with a seminar at 2 pm. It should be interesting to learn about the psychology of the media. After the meeting I had some lunch, then went back to Lewisham with Megan M to walk around and explore the mall. We went looking for cheap white shirts to wear to the blacklight party we had planned on going to in town. Instead I bought a scarf and some pound stretcher special items to add to the kitchen. We got home and I was exhausted. Nick cooked dinner for everyone. Delicious pesto and pasta with some nice white wine. What a gentlemen. We headed off to the club after dinner and it took an hour to get there. Once we got inside I was told we weren't on the VIP guestlist..B.S. Anyway to make a long story short we still had a good time and go to do everything the VIPs did.
On Friday I was pretty low key. I went to the fresher's fayre and picked up some free stuff and pamphlets about clubs at school. After this I spent over an hour at the grocery store with Megan shopping for necessary supplies. I now have a stocked cabinet/fridge/freezer. Megan M and I made delicious tacos for dinner. Meat entered my diet for the first time in about a week. We were mellow on Friday night since a bunch of us were getting this plague. We hung out and met some British students at Desiree's friend Caity's flat (after we discovered the library to watch movies was closed on a Friday). It was a pretty early night Friday.

On Saturday Desiree, Megan M, and I all went to the Tate Britain for this free event about music, fashion, art and culture in London. It was pretty neat. Most events were sold out but a lot of the walk in ones still had things to do. We even got there on time, so now we know for the next free event to go early. We made buttons and listened to music. I made a ruffle cuff like they wore back in the 1800s. It was an interesting day. After the museum we walked along the river before catching the bus back to school. A bunch of us went to F8 (Nick's flat) to chill out for the night and have a few drinks. It was fine until I woke up this morning (Sunday) and felt miserable. I hope it goes away soon, especially since classes start tomorrow.

Groundlings

Today I went to see a Midsummer Night's Dream at the Globe. I woke up feeling sick still but toughed it out. We took the replacement bus service to London Bridge where we got some sandwiches in a cafe. We then walked all over to find the Globe, but alas we did find it! We picked up our tickets at will call because my friends are so smart and ordered them ahead of time. The standing seats/groundling tickets were only £5. Pretty cheap deal. Walking into the theatre seemed surreal. It was like I heard a choir sing, yet I felt as though I'd been there before because I have seen so many pictures of it. The stage had beautiful ceiling painted on it. Unfortunately it was a rainy day and it is an open air theatre so everything was wet. Luckily though we go places next to the ramp so we could lean during the show. It was a matinee and lasted about 3 hours. The show was AWESOME! The actors were great and it was nice to see another spin on the show.

After the show ended we headed home very cold and wet. I immediately made something to eat and snuggled in my bed for the night. I was beginning to feel a lot better so I knew that I would be ready to go out tonight. Around 930 a few of us met up to go to the Student Union's Club Sandwich. Before ten there isn't a cover to get in. Of course they kept everyone in line until after 10 so they'd have to pay the £3 to get in. Once inside the place was practically empty. It had a lot better music this time, not a ton of techno. They played some Whitney and of course the country favorite...S Club 7 (anyone else remember them?). We had a good time dancing. We came home around 1 when I realized I had to be up in a few hours to go to another department meeting.

Pure Suicide

So today I had my departmental meetings for Psychology & Anthropology. The psychology one went well and my international liason is really nice. She explained everything depending on the level classes your taking. Of courseee I'm taking two 3rd year classes. Luckily I'va had enough psychology to squeeze by. For each psych class I have to write 2 papers per term as my only assessment..sickkk. My anthropology meeting didn't go as well. Unfortunately my class (Psychological Perspectives in Anthropology) was cancelled. So now I needed to find another class to take. I opted to take another psych class...no clue why. I talked to the international office, my liason, and bunch of people at SMC to finally pick Neurodevelopmental Disorders...oh wait that's offered Spring only. So after finding another class I am offically enrolled in Psychopathology. So the reason this is suicide....I'm completing all of my SMC 300 level classes in one semester abroad. That also means I have 6 papers to write to determine my final grade.

After all of this was sorted out Megan F and I went to Lewisham Center to get my blankets and towels. I spent £45 on a king size duvet, pillow, and towel. I know a bit expensive buttttt its nicer than what I have at home to use anddd I plan on bringing it back to the states to use :). After we returned I started to feel like I was getting a cold. I decided to skip the pub quiz night at the student union and get some rest. I was in bed around 1130 and it felt soooo good.

Drunk People are Funny

After a late night last night, waking up for a 9 am meeting was not fun. The meeting was even worse. Basically everything they told me I 1) knew already, 2) didn't need to know, 3) didn't apply to me. After the meeting we all made a trip to Sainsburys, the grocery store across Lewisham Ave. I got some groceries and a silverware set to split amongst 4 of us. We then headed to Iceland, which sells CHEAP frozen foods. I'm talking £1 for 12 chicken patties cheap. After running late at Iceland we sprinted to find the library for a tour. We had to pass through the Richard Hoggart Building. In an attempt to go out of a set of doors, I set the fire alarm off. Sick, right? We turned around and walked at a quick pace the other way. I was most definitely red in the face and was a dead give away as the culprit. Later that afternoon Nick told me they had roped off the doorway. I'm that person...greattttt.

We finally go to the library. It is huge and has brand new IMacs. They are in the process of redoing the library and its pretty cool. She showed us all of the places we would need to know which was very helpful. After to the tour I went to get my student card. After I went on a few excursions to find towels, pillows, blankets, and some other things I desperately needed. I hadn't had a towel to shower with so I'd been using the airplane blanket they gave me. No such luck finding anything other than some cheap tupperware and a sharp knife. I then proceeded to buy Vodkat for £5.99. Not sure what it is but it was cheap. I came home and decorated my room which made it feel a lot better.

That night we went to a couple of pubs to relax and get a few casual drinks. Two of my flatmates came too, which was really cool. We went to this one bar and it was full of people my dad's age. So we had one drink there. We met this Irish guy who said Fuck everyother word. A drunk guy passed out and was later kicked out of this quiet bar. The last character we saw was this man who continuously played the regaee version of 'Can't help falling in love with you'. We then proceeded to the Hobgoblin, which is the pub outside of my room. It was a chill atmosphere. From there we all parted ways and I went right to bed.

There's a bar on campus ?!?

My homestay with the Richings ended today. I was practically heartbroken. I gave them all of my contact information on some classy SMC postcards and gave them an SMC mug to drink their 12 cups of tea a day out of. We headed off around 1130 for Goldsmiths. I passed out on the bus and woke up in Lewisham which is about 15 minutes from campus. In Lewisham center there is a mall with a lot of stores in it for all budgets. However, the entire area where I am is very ethnic and a bit scary at first. A lot of graffiti on store fronts and a lot of metal grates over windows. We arrived outside of Loring Hall and were greeted by some RA's and helpers to bring our bags in and get our keys.

I'm living in flat D6B. My room is nice and pretty spacious. It has a bed, a wrap around desk, closet/shelf space, and a personal bathroom. The common dining area and kitchen space is also quite large and has windows looking out at the parking lot/other blocks. However, I'm living with 5 other Americans, which is heartbreaking. No offense to any of them because they are all super nice, but I wanted to live with some other international students or at least some Brits. I'll hopefully meet some soon. At 2 a group of us went to Creme Tea to get free food and tea. After we went back to our flats to attack the mess around us. I finally got things settled and had my internet running, which is something I hadn't had since I left. All of the stores close early on Sundays so we settled for Tasty Kebab for dinner. I managed to get some chicken and chips for £2.20.

I was able to finally reach people online and after Skyping for a bit, I headed to the student union to redeem my free drink voucher, which they gave me at a housing meeting earlier in the day (aka Saint Mikes get on that...I guarentee an increase in attendance). The welcome party was packed with students. We got some drinks and found a place to hang out. A DJ started to play some music, techno of course, and we all went out to dance. Overall it was a pretty cool night with a very convient bar on campus :) .