A very fun two days of Christmasness

Yesterday was really busy.  First I had my Child Development class.  It was our last actual lecture class, because next week is our final exam.  Then I had my Aesthetics class.  We talked about wine for a while and then we watched the movie Sideways.  It was a pretty good movie about wine.  After Class Debbie and I went to the Pantomime performance of Cinderella.  It was really good and worth the crazy long tube ride to get there and back.  It was mostly like the basic story of Cinderella, but set in modernish London, specifically Hackney, and the stepmother was from Bethnal Green.  It was fabulous, there was crossdressing, singing, dancing, audience participation, and just silliness.  Towards the end they all sang Firework and it was the best version ever.  I know Elizabeth Mabe would love it, she already knows the dances.  Anyways, It was so cool and I recommend everyone to see a panto if they ever come to London.  It is great for everyone, kids and adults alike. 

Today I got up and went to Camden to do some Christmas shopping.  I got a lot done, and am very happy.  I had some really good Chinese food for lunch and green tea.  On the way I stopped and got a Christmas tree doughnut for breakfast.  It was such a good day full of christmasness.  Later when I returned, our flat discussed our group presentation that we are doing on Monday.  Somehow I was motivated to provide the flat a Christmas tree.  It started out with me drawing one on a post it, but then it proceeded to me making a huge  tree out of postits.  It turned out spectacular, considering we had no tape or scissors.  I even made a star for the top.  I guess I am practicing for the bulletin boards I will end up making as a teacher.  Pictures of the tree will end up on Facebook soon, don't worry.  We also decided it would be nice to leave quotes from the movie Elf on the doors of the other flats.  It was great.  Amanda went and checked a little while ago, and someone took them all and put them on the flat M door.  I wander who did that and what their motives were. 

I can't believe it is already December.  How the time flies sometimes.  I think I am ready to go home, I just don't want to forget anything.  less than twenty days before I go home.  

Stressful weekend

The past few days have not quite turned out like I expected.  Friday, I went to Harrods to look around.  Harrods is a giant department store with everything you could imagine for sale.  I spent three hours in there and then I went to primark.  I bought some clothes at primark, probably more than I should have.  I also got a gift as well.  I decided to get some groceries before I came back to the flat, so I went on to Kilburn Park to go to the grocery store.  I got plenty of stuff, but when I tried to get back on the tube I found it was closed so I had to go walk around forever before I found a bus that would take me to the right place.  Sometimes I wish people wouldn't throw themselves in front of the trains. 

Saturday Debbie, Amanda, and myself got up early to go to Oxford.   We managed to miss our train, and it was going to be too expensive to buy a ticket for the next one, so we decided just to use the day to go to portobello road market and take a nap.  Portobello road was nice.  There were a lot of antiques and crafty things there in addition to the touristy shops.  My nap was marvelous though.  I went back to sleep for probably four hours.  I then proceeded to write my sports paper and sent it in. 

Yesterday, Sunday, I went to Bristol with Amanda and Debbie.  We were going to take the tube to victoria to meet the coach, but it was closed.  So, we had to walk back the other direction and find the right buss stop to get on a bus 18 to victoria station.  We didn't have much time and the bus usually takes forever, so we were panicking.  Eventually the bus came and we made it to the coach station with six minutes to spare, that is with some fast paced walking and the running across streets in front of cars.  It was alright once we got on the bus though, and we relaxed for the 3 hour trip there. 

We had a nice time walking around and doing some Christmas shopping.  We had lunch at a pub and then went back for a pint before dinner.  I might have been slightly drunk when we left, but it is ok, at least I could walk on my own.  We had dinner at a pizza place and the pizza was really good I thought.  Then we sat and talked about stuff for a while and eventually went back to the coach station.  I slept for most of the 3 hour ride back even though people were talking loudly and had lights on.  I apparently didn't care.  We got back to the flat around midnight or a little after. 

Today I went to the London Mosque for my Understanding Modern Britain class.  We sat and listened to the history of the mosque, and learned a lot about Islam.  After our chat in the Mosque, we went and ate.  We had Indian food and it was really good.  There was chicken, veggies, rice, and even ice cream for desert.  It was really cool to learn about their religion, and they seem to be very generous with information and food.  Now I am back and am thinking about taking another nap or working on my final for class.  What to do?

The beginning of the end.

This week seems to be the beginning of the rush at the end of the semester.  I have a lot of stuff planned for the next three weekends, and other stuff that I have to find time for.  This week, on Monday I went to class and then went to Westfield Mall for a while.  It is a huge mall, much bigger than anything I have ever been to before.  It had over 230 stores and 4000 parking spaces.  On

Tuesday I had my trip to the Freud Museum for my child development class.  The Freud house was really cool.  There were artifacts, books, paintings, rugs, and cool furniture.  I learned a lot more about the guy and his family while I was there.  Then, for my Aesthetics class we made some instant cups of Ramen, and tried them before going to Wagamama for real Ramen.  I had chicken ramen and iced peach tea.  It was an amazing meal, and I must say that I am getting good at using chop sticks, surprisingly. 

Wednesday I went to the British Museum with Debbie.  We looked at most of the stuff on the ground floor.  I saw the stuff from the Parthenon, the Rosetta stone, and lots of other stuff.  I need to go back there once more before I leave to look at the stuff on the top floor.  After the museum, we went to chipotle and then we shopped around a little before heading to the Globe.  We watched some students perform Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale.  I think they did a good job, but it was really cold sitting outside for that long.  It was really nice coming back to the flat and making a nice cup of tea. 

Today was Thanksgiving of course.  I went with Alyssa to St. Paul's cathedral for the Thanksgiving day service.  It was really cool,  we sang songs that reminded me of home.  I have been thinking about America all day.  After the service, I went to CAPA and waited until my Philosophy of sport class.  We had a guest who gave a lecture on cricket and played a video for us to see some part of the game.  Class finished early, so I was able to go to the Pantomime lecture.  A pantomime performance is like a crazy mass of crossdressing crazy silly stuff.  I think it sounds amazing.  We got free tickets to a pantomime Cinderella on Tuesday evening. 

After the lecture we waited at CAPA for a while then headed over to the Holiday Inn where our Thanksgiving meal would be served.  Debbie, Amanda, and I split a pitcher of Russian Punch.  It was really good.  Our first course consisted of a butternut squash soup and bread.  It was pretty good, but of course I had to make a mess, dripping it on the table.  Then we got our main course buffet style.  I had some apple something salad, turkey, mashed potatoes, mashed sweet potatoes, dressing, corn, broccoli, and more bread.  It was all really good and I ate way too much.  Then for desert I had apple pie with cream.  In general the food was pretty good.  After our meal we had a pub quiz.   It was basically questions about British culture and such.  Our table didn't do too good, but we at least didn't get  last place. 

When I got back to the flat i skyped with my parents, siblings, granny, and great aunt Sherry.  It was nice to see everybody after thinking about home all day.  I wish I could have been there, but I will be for Christmas and I guess that is soon enough and not at the same time.  I feel like I am complaining about being here, but I really am thankful that I have had the chance to experience the world.  I wouldn't change a thing, but sometimes I miss those back in Missouri. 

Last day in Paris

This morning I went to the Louvre.  We walked past the glass pyramid and saw some arc thing I don't remember the name.  At the actual museum I went and saw the Mona Lisa first, then I walked around and saw a bunch of other stuff.  I saw the statue of Aphrodite and some other thing by Michelangelo.  It was a nice museum, but very confusing.  I ran into another Capa student while I was there.  What are the odds?  After the Louvre  we got on the bus to come back to London.  The ferry and everything was basically the same.  I listened to some Christmas music on the bus, and stayed awake for most of the trip back. 

I really liked Paris, but I don't think I had enough time to really see it like I should.  I want to go back some time, maybe when it is warmer. 

Paris: not quite as great as the movies portray, but still good

Well I woke up at eight this morning, made it downstairs for breakfast at nine and thirty minutes later we were on the bus headed to Sacre-Coeur. Sacre-Coeur is a fancy looking catholic church that sits on the top of this hill. It was like the Spanish steps all over again, but it smelled worse. I didn't actually go in the church. We walked around to the square and had an hour of free time to do whatever. First I went to a little church and it was really pretty inside.

I was walking around and some street artist asked me if I wanted my portrait made. I said ok after negotiating the price, it was still high, but hey, how many times am I going to be in Paris. Well it took about 10 minutes, and I really don't know if it looks like me at all. I didn't get a great look at it before he rolled it up with the wax paper stuff. Well I guess I will be surprised when I actually get to look at it when I get home. Well after that I walked around some more and saw all of the street artists. There were so many people there it was crazy. I also bought a tube to put my portrait in. I still had time so I ventured further out and looked in some of the gift shops, got a few postcards, then just looked around until it was time to leave. Next we walked down to Moulin Rouge.

Then we got back on the bus and went to Notre Dame. It was amazing. I remember watching the movie and reading the book, but I still wasn't prepared. It was not really a happy looking place inside. There were stained glass windows, and flying buttresses. I bought a guide book there before I left. Then I tried looking around for an ATM so I could get some money for lunch, but when I did find one it rejected my card because I had a hold on my account. Yeah, thanks Bank of America, because of you I missed lunch.

After Notre Dame I went on the optional trip to the Palace of Versailles. It was cool I guess, but the palace wasn't my favorite, I kept comparing it to the British places and it loses. Anyhow, I really liked the garden area. It was huge. I walked for like 12 minutes and didn't really even get to the end of it. Well we got back on the bus and made it back to Paris.

The bus dropped those of us who had not seen the Eiffel Tower yet at the tower. We all stayed together at first and I talked to an older couple from Malaysia. They had their god kids with them and it was nice to talk to people who spoke English so well. So I went to the second level of the Eiffel Tower. It is so cool to see all of the lights of Paris at night. You can't really see much when it is dark, but it is really pretty just all the lights and the occasional landmark. After the tower, I wandered around until I found a metro station. It was harder than I ever would have imagined. Then I figured out how to buy my tickets, and actually get where I needed to be.

I went to the Christmas Market on Champs Elysees. There were tons and tons of stalls selling stuff mostly food. That may be why I feel sick now. Well I had some potato thing for dinner. It was very similar to the hash brown casserole, but without the cheese. It was really good. I also got some churros before I left. I didn't leave until eleven, and the party was still going. I wonder what time they actually close down stuff, it must be late. Well now I am back in my hotel room writing this and trying to get rid of this very specific headache I have had all day. Well tomorrow we are going to the Louvre for a few hours then heading back to London.

Paris

It has been a very long day already, and I even lost an hour. I got up at 4 this morning to make sure I would have plenty of time to make it to meet my coach. I had to take 2 different busses to get there, but I got there plenty early, and was about to panic when there was nobody there by 6 when the official pick up time was 6:05. Then the bus came and I got on and took a nap on the way to Dover.

At Dover, we took a ferry across to France. The ferry was huge, everyone on the 6 car decks had to leave their cars and go to the top 2 levels for the hour and a half it took to go twenty some miles. I almost fell asleep on the ferry but managed to stay awake. They had a bunch of cafes and a mini mall as well. Well eventually I looked out the window and was like "Oh, there's France?" Anyway, after the ferry, it was another 4 hours to Paris. We took a break at some service station, and I got a cheeseburger from a Belgian fast food chain called Quality Burger Restaurant. Somehow I find this silly.
Well we finally made it to Paris and went on a short panoramic tour before our boat cruise down the Seine. On the tour, we saw the Arc de Triomphe, the Eiffel Tower, and a lot of other places I don't remember the names of. On the boat ride, we went past the Louvre, Notre-Dame, and a lot of other stuff. While waiting in line for the boat, I got some decent pictures of the Eiffel Tower. After the boat, we continued our panoramic tour and saw stuff in the dark. It was cool to see everything all lighted up. I even got to see the tower sparkle. We drove down this street that had a huge Christmas market. I hope to get a chance to go tomorrow night before the Eiffel Tower. After the tour we checked into our hotel. I am so glad it is not a hostel. Then we walked down to this village area that is now shops and eateries that have been built from the old wine warehouses. It was nice, but everything was expensive, so I got a Panini on the way back to my room. Tomorrow is going to be a very long day, but I am ready.

The last semi boring week for a while.

I was just going to post my Paris stuff, and realized I had written nothing about the previous week. I am slacking a bit I guess. Well, Monday was a Monday, I went to class and I think that was about it. Tuesday I had two classes, and they were both alright I guess. In my aesthetics class we watched a disturbing movie about ramen, and just a normal lecture in child development. Wednesday I was going to do some shopping, but was lazy and didn't even go anywhere. Thursday I went to class and we watched Bend it like Beckham. It was a good movie actually. Then I went to get some groceries and did some Christmas shopping while I was there. I managed to find time before class to go to the ATM and exchange some money at the Post office as well. When I got back to the flat I managed to get my stuff packed for Paris, eat, and whatever all before eleven when I went to sleep.

Wales and Sunday Roast

It has been an interesting weekend so far.  Friday Morning I went to CAPA with Debbie to use the Internet.  We stayed till almost five then we got some groceries at sainsbury's for our group meal on Saturday.  When we all got back to the flat, we decided to go get sushi for dinner.  We went to some place near Notting Hill called Feng Sushi.  I got miso soup, and deluxe California maki.  The miso soup was really good.  It was like some sort of broth with tofu, onions, and other stuffs in there.  The sushi was a little strange.  At first I just kept looking at it, but eventually I put my chopsticks to use and ate a piece.  I had four pieces, but they all tasted different even though they contained the same stuff.  The one I got had semi-cooked crab.  Some pieces were really good, and some were barely edible, but I ate all of it.  Afterwards, we went to Starbucks and I got some hot chocolate.  It was OK, definitely not the best.  When we got back to the flat we ordered our train tickets to Oxford.  We are going there on Nov. 26.  Afterwards, I was thinking about my Wales trip and looked up the date.  It turned out to be the next day.  Somehow I was thinking it was in December.  Lucky I looked when I did.   So I got my stuff done for the next day and went to sleep. 

I didn't have to be at Earls Court until nine, so I got up at seven and left around eight.  It is a good thing I left early because the circle line was closed so I had to go the long way around.  I still got there a little early, so I went to the ATM first and got some monies.  I still waited a while for the bus to get there.  sometime after nine, I got on the bus and there were only about fifteen of us total, so it was a small bus.  Our driver was nice, talked a bit, then we left.  At like 11:30 or so, we stopped at a service station, which is like a mini mall on the freeway.  Anyhow, after 45 mins we headed out again.  Sometime around 1:30 we made it to Cardiff and went on a tour of the city on the bus.  I saw Cardiff bay and torchwood tower, along with the theater and dome.  We got off of the bus near Cardiff Castle, and had an hour of free time.  I walked into the city shopping center and looked around at some stores.  I saw actual licorice wands, and a store that just sells buttons. 

We got back on the bus and went about half an hour more to the Caerphilly Castle.  It is a lovely Renaissance castle.  It wasn't all touristy like the Tower of London.  It is supposed to be the third biggest castle in the UK.  We went and listened to our guide for a while, then we had thirty minutes to wander around on our own.  I would have liked to spend all day there, but I did go back to the bus.  One of my favorite parts was climbing up on this fort like thing with this giant crossbow like thing.  It was great, but I don't think I was actually supposed to go up there, but I did it anyway.  I got some really pretty pictures of the castle looking over the water.  Most of my other pics were kinda bad because the sun was getting lower, so everything looks so dark.  So too soon we got back on the bus to leave.  after two hours, we stopped at the services again for thirty minutes.  It took so long to get home. 

Finally at like 8:45 I made it back to the flat.  We had planned to cook a meal together yesterday, but I forgot about my Wales trip, so they waited for me to get back so we could cook.  I made potatoes with onion and peppers.  Alysa made pancakes.  Debbie made vegan baccon and scrambled tofu.  Amanda made french toast.  We made a lot of food, and somehow most of it disappeared.  It was all really good. 

this morning, or afternoon, we all went to our Sunday Roast at the pub.  It was a really nice pub, not too many old men.  Well, I ordered the roast lamb instead of the beef.  It was really good.  It tasted a lot like venison and it was really tender.  That may be due to the fact that everything was covered in gravy or sauce, but it was good.  We also got potatoes, veggies, and a Yorkshire pudding.  I managed to eat most of it.  Then we all came back to the flat and I took a nap.  It was a nice nap, but now I have a headache, and I also have to write a paper that is due tomorrow. 

Birthday week

Tuesday I had class.  I turned in my Child Development paper, and was bored the rest of the lecture because I already knew that stuff from my ed psych class.  Aesthetics wasn't much better.  We talked about food for a little while, then we watched this dutch movie about food.  It was all subtitles and I was so bored I have no Idea really what happened. 

Wednesday was my birthday.  I slept late, kind of, then I made an omelet.  It was pretty amazing for my first attempt at making an omelet.  I then went to tesco, got some cupcakes, ice cream, and cider.  I wasn't even carded for the cider.  I felt so old.  Well then I watched Doctor Who for a while and skyped with my parents later. 

Today I went to philosophy of sports class.  We talked about nessiness  and such before we watched this boring movie about a guy named Senna who was a Formula 1 driver.  I tried to stay awake with little success.  Anyhow, it is the weekend again and I am excited for three days of no class. 

I got two cards from my family today, and one from my roomies on Wednesday.  Thanks guys. 

Too Drunk!

Well last night was interesting.  I had six shots of Bacardi, and there were consequences.  Well, at least I am a silly, very talkative, drunk.  I spent a lot of time on the floor, and managed to get to my bed and sleep sometime after two.  All I have to say is that it is a good thing that Amanda was there to tell me a bedtime story and give me pretty ibuprofen and make me drink two glasses of water.  I don't remember exactly all of the silly stuff I did, but we all have great stories now.  This morning I woke up with a headache, but it wasn't too bad.  I took a shower and realized that I had a sore spot on my head where I must have hit it on something.  I am still not sure what.  Anyhow, I also ended up with some carpet burn on my knees.  I went to class still, but I have felt sick all day.  I did make sure to take extra medicine, and I managed not to vomit.  This was the first official time I was drunk, and I think it appropriate that it was just a few days before my 21st birthday.  I think it would be wise not to drink so much in the future.  On another note, I am an expert at shooting rum now. 

Weekend

Friday I went to the Victoria and Alber museum and looked around on the first two floors and saw a lot of metal stuff, sculptures, and jusst stuff from Asia.  I also went to the Natural History Museum and went to the Darwin Exibit.  I saw a lot af stuff about science and specimens in jars, including the head of an elephant fetus.  I bought the book and a brain cell. 

Saturday I went to the Harrods Christmas Parade.  It was at 8:00 am.  We saw some dancers, got some free Jafa Cakes, then saw Father Christmas.  Debbie and I also went in the store and looked around at the christmas stuff.  I got back to the flat around 11 and went back to sleep for a few hours.  Later around six or seven they set off fireworks for Guy Fawkes day.  There were fireworks going off for several hous.  We watched soem from the window.  Then I traded music with Debbie. 

Today I went to ASDA and got some groceries, including my sherbet lemons.  I also got starbucks pepermint mocha.  I love the christmas cups.  Now I watched Debbie drink all of her alcohol, so I went with Amanda to get some rum.  I just had two shots, so now I am gonna stop before...

New Professor

Well this week has been fun.  I got back from Scotland and my legs hurts so bad.  Well it is better now.  On Tuesday my early Child Development class was canceled.  Then in my Aesthetics class I had my new professor.  He actually lectured, and I learned something.  He talked a little about philosophy and wine and food.  It was really interesting.  After class I went to Burger King and got a cheeseburger.  It had been over 2 months since I last had one. 

On Wednesday, I did basically nothing.  It was nice to sleep till noon, and not go anywhere all day.  I did do some reading for a paper I need to write. 

Today I woke up a little early took a long shower and had time to do the readings before I went to my Philosophy of Sport class.  It was the first class with Professor Gale, and it was so different.  Again, he actually taught us something.  We learned about the history of philosophy.  I felt a little overwhelmed with all of these philosophical ideas, like do things really exist, can they exist, and can there be an actual definition.  I went and got some peppers and onions after class, and came back to the flat.  Fresh peppers make the best quesadilla ever. 

Now I have to figure out what to do with my weekend.   Well on Saturday I know I am going to the Christmas parade, and then bonfire night for Guy Fawkes day.  "Remember Remember the fifth of November"