I'm Henry the VIII I am I am...

If you couldn't tell by the title, I went to King Henry VIII's home, Hampton Court today.



It was really pretty, but not as cool as Windsor. It was really geared toward kids....They had actors going around the grounds as King Henry, his sixth wife Kateryn, and some other randos. They also had a rack of Noble's clothes as you walked into the Kings apartments that kids could get dressed up in.

The gardens were gorgeous and huge, and already some crocuses were growing in the grass.



There was also a maze that is in the Guinness Book of World Records for being the oldest maze in existence, dating back to the 1600s. We had a lot of fun racing through it, and it made us feel like we were in the Triwizard Tournament, so we rented Harry Potter VI to watch tonight! We got to the center of the maze and I was the first to touch the Triwizard Cup....



No graveyards though.

Interesting note about King Henry and British culture... the Brits are SO proud of him, and hate the stereotype that he was a fat, tyannical, powercrazed fiend. At the beginning of the exhibit today, and at Windsor they had a short piece saying that he was not that at all. But then you go through the exhibit and they say all these things about his history that clearly showw he wwas a tyrannical power hungry fiend.. and well you can't ignore the fact that he was fat. During his reign he signed 72,000 death warrants! That isn't tyrannical? I really do appreciate his history though. He fascinates me. He truly was a majestic figure who was cleary capable of being a great leader. (Not in the sense that he was a kind, generous leader, but that he was a powerful and strong leader.)

Yesterday we went to the Olympic site for 2012. We couldn't see anything walking around in the Stratford area because there was so much blocked off for construction, but we took the Overground train back and were able to see the construction out the window. It was cool. The roof for the aquatic center is done, and a big chunk of the stadium. Linda got pictures, so as soon as she posts them I will steal them and post them.

Watching Harry Potter soon!!!!!!!!!! <3. I should probably start reading the series again... for... what the 6th time? I lost track but its at least 5.
:)

Are Coincidences Real?...

...I don't know if I think they are. But if you believe in them or instead believe in fate, then you will find the accidental occurrence I experienced today to be a cool story.

All the weird and unexplained seems to happen to me on route to or from my voice lessons... there must be something about the air around there. Anyway, it was pouring down rain by the time the hour and a half lesson was up, and so I called a car to come pick me up and take me to the train station. The van pulls up, and I get into the back seat only to realize that I have only got 1 pound on me! No credit card, no debit, nothing. So, of course immediately I say to the man, "I'm so sorry, I'm going to Catford Bridge Train Station, but I've only got a pound, so you only need to take me as far as the pound will go. He starts laughing at me in disbelief. "Are you serious? I can take you to the stop sign with a pound! But what can I do with a pound? Maybe get a soda if its a cheap place? Are you joking with me? Do you have a hidden camera that you're gonna pull out to get my reaction?" This was all in jest, he wasn't really upset with me, but he really could not believe that I was indeed not pulling a prank on him. Finally after a few more apologies and my insistence that he only drive me as far as a pound would go, he smiled and said, "no, I'll take you this once." He proceeded to tell me he was a musician and that driving a car was just the job to pay the bills. So I told him I was a musician, too and he FREAKED OUT. He got so excited I thought he was gonna pop a bloodvessel. He asked me what I played and where I was from and if I was studying here. Then he told me all about the duo he was part of with his sister who sang. He played the demo for me. The girls voice was sooo rich and low, I thought it was a guy. But she just had one of those voices. It was so cool t listen to and to listen to his passion. He was sure that they were going to make it big. He told me that there was a reason why we met today, and he gave me his email, and address and told me to email him and no matter where I was in the world I would hear from him about his progress as a musician. "If I inspired you today I hope you follow that inspiration. You inspired me." He took my pound and said he was going to put it into the lottery. He said he puts a pound in a week, and he said mine might win him a million dollars. It was such a cool exchange.

Yesterday was a long day... I had class and then I met Brooke and Linda at the travel agency (we booked our trip to Paris in April!) and I grabbed a ready made sandwich at my favorite Mark's and Spencer.. which I realized afterward was my first time there since the second day I got to London. We then went to the Natural History Museum that was a little bit outdated, but was under a lot of reconstruction (probably again for the Olympics.) The dinosaur exhibit was cool, there was a giant live T-Rex at the end that moved its head and growled at you. I was scared enough as an adult, I woulda peed myself as a kid.


There was also a human exhibit that went through information about body and mind. Let's just say that the Europeans are much more open, and there was a lot in that exhibit that would have embarrassed the public in any American museum.

We went to dinner in Chinatown. It was a buffet and it was bad food and terrible service. There are only like two permanent buffets in Chinatown, so just don't eat at them if you come to London!

We had a play last night called "Disconnect" that took place in India and was about a debt collecting company. The workers pretended that they were Americans living in the U.S. and calling from nearby to collect debts, when really they were leading a double life. It was actually REALLY good. My favorite thus far. BUT...

during the most intense scene, one of the actors who was an older gentleman just walks offstage while the other actor is in the middle of his monologue and we see him bent over and he is speaking in a British accent (he had had an Indian accent the whole time.) Then all of the sudden the stage manager comes on and says they need to stop the show. Of COURSE everyone starts chirping to each other about what happened, and then 5 minutes later the house manager comes out and says that an actor wasn't feeling well but that they were going to start the show up again. The scene started over, but the mood was killed. The poor actor looked terrible, I felt so awful for him. He finished his scene and then was gone, he didn't come back for the bows or anything. I know that if the situation had been critical, they would have stopped the show completely, but it was still worrying. Props to that guy for being so darn professional... as an actor you know.. the show must always go on. WAY TO GO DUDE!

Anyway, most of my roommates are gone for the weekend, so I have the flat to myself for the first night! YAY. So... probably time for some icecream and a book.

Blooging

It has been 3 days since I blooged last! Oh bloog… I like that word way better than blog. I think I’ll adopt it.

So…. Quick update on the past few days.

Sunday- A larger group of us went to church and the orchestra played. AHHH it was so beautiful! At the end of the service they did a traditional hymn, and by the end of the piece, every instrument had crescendo-ed to full blast, including the gorgeous organ, and the sanctuary itself seemed to be singing with the music. I know I over-use this word, but it was truly awesome.

That night a group of us went out to explore the Chinese New Year celebrations, but we got there a little late for most of the exciting events. It was rainy, and VERY CROWDED. I got a littttttle claustrophobic smashied into a big mass of people in which there was no escape. However, the decorations in Chinatown were SUWEEEEEEET and the fireworks that ended the celebrations were also pretty sweet.





Monday- During the day I had the flat to MYSELF!!!! Yippppeee! I got up early and started laundry…. Ugh our washer takes 3 hours on one load, and it is about half the size of our washers in the States, so no matter how much laundry you have, it is a full day event. I took the morning to myself and then Linda and I went on an adventure to Battersea to visit the giant animal shelter there. Battersea Dog Home has been around since 1860!! It was started by a woman named Mary Tealby in North London, and since then has been written about by Charles Dickens and has had a documentary film series released on BBC. It is home to over 300 dogs, and also houses cats, although not nearly as many.

Well, Linda and I are kindred spirits when it comes to animals, and therefore we were both heartbroken by the sad faces staring at us through the bars. So so so many pit bulls…..I know that in the States our shelters are full of pit bulls, but I was a little surprised the same rang true for here. I have seen many more pit bulls on the streets with owners than in the U.S., so I guess I figured they were more accepted here.

While I cried over the dear sweet souls that were separated from love by steel bars and antibacterial lotion, I was so impressed with the state that the animals were kept in. So many of our shelters in the U.S. are run down, or cramped for space. The dogs had so much space! Each had a bed, and toys as well. The stalls were immaculately clean, and the dogs all looked well cared for and for the most part healthy. There were funny signs on some of the cages, too, that really gave the dogs personality. One sign read “I spread my food all over the floor on purpose, it keeps me occupied.” Another touched my heart with the words, “Please don’t be mad if I am slow in responding to you, I am deaf.”

On our way down the halls we ran into a volunteer who was walking a sweet little doggie named Bruno. She let us love on him (you are not supposed to touch any of the dogs in the kennels because of the spread of parvo, kennel cough and other diseases) and told us about the volunteers. To be a volunteer there you have to commit to six months with six weeks of training. There were so many volunteers around, and their job was literally just to love the animals so that they would not get depressed, or go “kennel crazy.”

After that we went to TopShop and looked around. Oh. My. Gosh. So overwhelming, but on the opposite end of the spectrum than Primark. There was a nail salon, two restaurants, a bingo area, and TONS of designer clothes spread across four floors of glitzy poshness.

We ate dinner at this little pub called the Camel and Artichoke that was down in Waterloo close to the theatre where we were going to see Six Degrees of Separation. It was a little off the beaten path and definitely local. We loved the atmosphere and food, and then spent the next hour and a half talking about life. It made me realize how much I love long dinners where you don’t focus so much on the food but the company.

The show was GREAT. It was a blend of comedy and drama, commenting on racial issues, social classes, and greed. It was an entertaining night that was a great ending to my day.

Today has been full of class and homework. Hmph. Oh well, I can’t really complain because I AM in London!

Queen Emily II

Yesterday was a very long and great day. We were bummed because the figure skating for the Olympics wasn't on at 1 am but at 3:30, so we went to bed and missed them. But, that meant that we got up early and went to Windsor Castle! It was a PERFECT day for it. Sunny, not too crowded, and since Parliament is in session, more of the castle is open to tour because less of the castle is being used! So we saw the state apartments that are always open and then the rest of the apartments that are used for entertainment when the Queen is around. One of the gift shop women told us that you will always know when the Queen is coming because the smokestacks from her wing of the Castle will be going. Also, if she is there her flag will be flying rather than the British flag.

We had a great time walking around and taking entirely too many pictures. We saw Queen Mary's Doll house, which was a palace in miniature with such attention to detail that the dishes on the dining table were silver, there was electricity and fully functioning plumbing! It is the only part I remember from when I visited as a little girl. I wonder why the only thing that would stick in a little girl's memory would be a giant doll house mansion?

The chapel, St. George's Chapel is an EXCELLENT example of the mixture of church and state. Like... I guess there is no way to avoid it when it is used just for the sovereignty. King Henry VI is there with his third wife, Jane Seymour. After having read The Other Boleyn Girl, Henry VI fascinates me. Here is a pic of the chapel.



On our way back Tim was working at the tube and we got so excited to show him our find, Paul Weller. But, he told us we were wrong! Our sleuthing was terrible. He said that he saw him later this week and used us as an excuse to ask his name and the dude wouldn't TELL HIM! The only clue he gave was, my friends call me JD. So... if any of you know who this mystery rocker could be, let me know!!!! We are still on the prowl.

We came back and Linda and I did our weekly grocery run, and went to the market to get fresh veggies and fruits. One of the guys told us the price as 30 "bobs".... we were like waaaah? But, apparently it is a cockney term, and then he told us in pounds that it wwas like 1.50 or something. He liked playing tricks on us.

Linda, Kathryn and I went to the international student's group at the All Souls church. It was Chinese New Year night and there was lots of trivia. For example, give mandarin oranges as a gift with the leaves still attached if you want your friend to know that your friendship is strong. If you don't think its as strong, don't do the leaves.

We sat at a table with a guy who was from England, but his parents were Indian, a girl from Northern Ireland, a girl who was a British citizen but grew up in Paraguay and went to college in Illinois (she had an American accent), a man from Italy, and a girl from Brazil. PRETTY international I would say. It was fun.. I think we are all excited to go back.

Today my friend Taylor was playing Rugby in Regent's Park so a group of us walked there and watched for awhile. Rugby is pretty violent with too short of shorts! EEk!

Have a super fantastic day!

Screaming Heads and Bloody Girls….

…actually I switched the adjectives around to make the title more of an attention grabber.

Yesterday we had our first gallery visit for art. Guess where we went? You got it… the National Gallery. It is such a huge museum though, that it wasn’t a repeat visit. For maybe the first time in my life I made it for three hours WITHOUT getting sleepy!! I LOVE art, don’t get me wrong, but there is just something about warm, quiet museums filled with pretty colors and really old objects that make me drowsy after about the first hour. But, our teacher made it so interesting that I didn’t even realize that the time disappeared. Of course my favorite paintings were the impressionists... Monet, Seurat, etc.

THEN…. At the end of the class, our teacher took us next door to the National Portrait Gallery to view a certain piece that the gallery had just purchased. It was a self portrait of Mark Quinn, a modern artist. He makes a self portrait every 5 years. The reason it takes him so long is because he makes a mold of his head, and then he fills the caste with EIGHT AND A HALF PINTS OF HIS OWN BLOOOOOOOD( roughly the amount circulating through the human body at one time). He then freezes it, and puts it in a specialized unit to keep it frozen at all times. It is meant to show the fragility of life, because if the external unit that the sculpture is dependent upon were to ever fail , the sculpture would melt and disappear, symbolizing human dependence on so many external factors. I felt very fragile as I left the exhibit, like I had lost all my blood.

I had a voice lesson after class, and lets all thank the Lord that there were no more incidents. I took a cab from my teacher’s house to the train station, but unfortunately the cabbie misheard me and took me to Catford Station rather than Catford BRIDGE station, meaning that I got on a train that I had no idea how to get home on. But I used my brilliant internal compass and found my way home via an alternative route. Mom, you can be proud of your daughter’s 180 in directional skills.

Today in Beatles we watched “A Hard Day’s Night” and saw lots of screaming girls fawning over the Beatles. Were all you old fogies really all gooey ooey like that? I mean… I guess MAYBE I was a little obsessed with N’Sync, but I can’t imagine picking the grass that they walked on and holding it close to my heart for the next 20 years.

Fun Beatle Facts for Marie:
-The song A Hard Day’s Night was written after Ringo looked out the window after a long day of rehearsal and goes “It has been a hard day…” and then realized that it was no longer day and added on the word “night.” John raced home to beat Paul to writing the song and it was recorded the next day.

-The Beatles were the first to hold the #1 spot for album and single in both the UK and US and would be the only until Simon and Garfunkel in the 1970s.
Tonight my friend Brooke made us dinner (yummy quesadillas) and then Linda and I went down to the blockbuster to rent a movie to keep us awake until the men’s ice-skating is on TV at ONE in the morning…. The guy hated his life, and when he went into the back to enter in all Linda’s details for her newly issued Blockbuster card, we hear him say, “I’m so sick of this job!” We smiled at him and got him to smile back.

Tomorrow… Windsor Castle hopefully? I will post pics!

Vomit and British Rock Stars

So, rather than doing my homework right now I figured I'd blog instead. It's much more exciting than reading about how to look at a piece of art. I love art, but come on, I KNOW how to look at art. I HAVE eyes and I do use them.

Yesterday the group of us without internships decided to go to the Natural History Museum, but when we got there, the line wove from the main doors all around the front garden. We realized at that moment that it was "half term break" for all of the schools, so mummy and daddy were taking them all to the museums and therefore it was much too crowded for us.

So we went to the National Gallery instead. It was still pretty crowded, but not as bad. Howwever, I am going to the gallery again tomorrow for Art Class, so I wasn't too disappointed that we didn't tour all the exhibits. I will be back.

At home, I had just enough time to make dinner and change before heading to see "11 and 12", the Peter Brook show that was to be our first in London and was about the number of prayers of Muslims in West Africa causing conflict. I decided it would be a good idea to wear my 4 inch heels. I mean... I was going to the London theatre, I had to be "posh." Well, I now have lovely blisters on both feet that are constantly reminding me that "posh" does not always mean 'cool.' The show was alright, but it wasn't the best. I appreciated it, but I didn't enjoy it, if you understand what I mean. We discussed it in class today, and I understood a lot more of the symbolism of violence and racism, but it did not change the fact that I did not really LIKE the play.

On our way home, Kathryn, Linda and I stopped at our tube stop to visit with our favorite Tube worker, Tim Pinn. He is literally the coolest Brit we have met here, and just genuinely one of the coolest people ever. He is ALWAYS wanting to help, always smiling or offering a kind word. Last night he told us that the first day we used the tube, he knew instantly that we were Elon students and knew exactly how to help us. He said he loved Elon students because they were all so open to new environments and really wanting to interact with people and learn about other cultures.

He has worked at our tube stop for four years, and said that there are people he sees every single day on the tube, and that he has looked them in the eye and smiled and said hello, and that not once have they ever looked at him or acknowledged him. He said the class system is still so much more prevalent in Britain than it is in the States. Never would some of the people that live in our rich neighborhood lower themselves to speak to someone in a servant position like Tim's unless they needed something. It was sad to hear really, because Tim is the COOLEST (like I've already said)

While we were talking to him this middle aged, spunky guy walked by to leave the station and commented to Tim on the "three beautiful girls" he had with him tonight. They exchanged smiles and pleasantries, and as soon as the man was gone Tim turns to us and goes, "You know, that man is a rather famous rock star, but I couldn't tell you who he is. You see, I don't have a tele, so I am never up to date on these things." So we all freak out and go, "Tim! You should ASK him who he is." and this was his response, which I found quite entertaining.

"Well, I've been talking to him every day for two years now, and I'm rather sure he thinks that I know who he is, so wouldn't it be quite awkward to turn to him one day and say, 'by the way, who are you?' I think it might terminate the friendship that we have."

Our lovely chat with Tim ended abruptly when he realized that someone had vomited all over the floor on the other side of the ticket counsel from where we were standing. None of us knew how long it had been there as we had been standing there chatting, oblivious to all going on around us for at least 20 minutes. YUCK!

So, of course being the curious Elon students that we are, we went home and googled, "British Rockstar, Maida Vale." Maida Vale is our town, and this guy Paul Weller pops up as the first on the search. Sure enough it was him! He was with the band The Jam in the late 70s to early 80s and now is a solo recording artist who is quite well established in Britain. We felt like cool detective Nancy Drew's and can't wait to tell Tim/Ned of our discovery.

I had class all day today, and it poured down rain, leaving me soaked on the way to class, on the way back, on the way to the gym, on the way back, and on the way to the grocery, and on the way back.

I'm ready for some spring sunshine!

Madonna's Valentine

Well... 1. Happy Valentine's Day! My Valentine was off on a beach retreat this weekend in Costa Rica, so my daddy phoned from Egypt to be a substitute. It was funny being in the city for Valentine's Day because you see people everywhere pulling off some romance. In my walk to church today I saw two different men carrying roses and chocolates looking lost as they stared at the facades in my neighborhood, probably checking numbers.

I attended church with my friend Tayler (who wants to go to seminary after school) and we went to this church called All Souls Church. It was right downtown on Regent's Street, which is the big shopping street in London. It was funny seeing this big beautiful church right down from the big Topshop.

Anyway, the service was super international, and they cater to international students, so I might start going to activities there. The music was great, with a big choir and a 5 piece orchestra. We sat in the balcony, and we were surrounded by people of so many ethnicities. Black, Indian, Asian, White. Every race was represented. It was really cool to be worshipping with so many people from so many different backgrounds, all with the same thing in common.

For dinner I went to Chinatown since it was Chinese New Year. The celebrations and parades are all next weekend, but Chinatown was still CRAZY busy with people. On our way back to the tube we saw Madonna!!!!! Well, not really, but ALMOST. We're walking through Picadilly Circus and as we go by the Mamma Mia! theatre we see this huge mob of people surrounding it, and a news truck and flashing bulbs everywhere. One of the guys, Russell, lifted me to his shoulders to see if we could see, but all I saw was a camera man, so I nestled my way into the centre of the crowd and asked the woman next to me if she knew what was going on. I didn't bother to ask the people in the back, cause I knew they were all just lemmings that had no idea what they were looking for. The woman next to me excitedly replied "It's Madonna! It's Madonna." I don't know if y'all know, but Madonna lives in London and really wishes she were British, so she often puts on a fake accent.... my brush with the famous fake British popstar, prettttttty memorable.

Today was Stonehenge and Salisbury day.

Wake up time: 7:45 am

Scheduled departure: 8:45 am

Actual departure due to a no-show coach: 10:15 am

Amount of sleep lost: 1.5 hours

Was it worth it? YES.

This entry is better spoken through pictures. I will commentate when necessary.

1. Cute little British boy in the prayer candle area behind the alter of Salisbury Cathedral. Isn’t he cute? I don’t think he knew I was taking this photo.

2.The medieval Salisbury Cathedral reflected in the modern sculpture fountain.

3.The core four in front of Stonehenge! Folks… it is SMALL but it is still so amazing and worth it.

4.When we got close to Stonehenge the traffic started getting thick, which we realized on our way OUT was because cars literally stopped in the middle of the highway to take photographs. Marie, our guide told us she did not think they were going to make a fake Stonehenge, but that they were going to move the highway and bus people in.

Cool point about the Cathedral: There was a tomb of a man who was an illegitimate child of Henry II and was married to a wealthy heiress. When he was shipped off to war, everyone thought him dead, and a sneaky gentleman tried to marry his wife for her money. But, she refused, and eventually her husband turned up again. However, he mysteriously died and no one ever really knew how until hundreds of years later when his tomb was opened and an extremely well preserved RAT was found in the tomb, leading historians and archeologists to believe that he died of arsenic poisoning. Crazy how they can figure that out so many years later isn’t it?
Homework has begun to become an issue. Alas……The real world does still exist. On the bus today I did some reading for my Beatles class, and have some trivia for Marie again. :)

John Lennon lived with his aunt Mimi, who was strict and detested John’s “Teddy” clothes and friends. John visited with his mother every day, but never lived with her. She was hit by a car and killed instantly when he was a teenager.
Paul McCartney’s mother also died when he was a teenager, but she died of breast cancer.

That is all that is super interesting from today’s reading. The book is called “Shout” and is a biographical timeline, and obviously I am still in earlier stages of their lives.

Tomorrow is Chinese New Year! Happy New Year y’all.

Welcome to East London, Em!

If you are looking for a thriller, then look no further than my lowly little blog. For while I knew my adventures would be many, I did not expect the events that unfolded yesterday afternoon.

I attended class in the morning, only slightly different from my routine because we went on a field trip to the Imperial War Museum. As many of you probably know, war is not my specialty, nor do I find it thrilling in the least. However, I appreciate relearning everything I’ve been learning since primary school about the different wars. There was a Holocaust exhibit, which I had just had quite my fill of considering I’d spent Christmas in Germany. So by the end of the visit, I was thoroughly ill to my stomach and ready for something happy…. Like MUSIC! My first voice lesson was yesterday and I left right from the museum to meet my teacher. I allotted about an hour and a half for the commute, and while it was a long one, I arrived a half an hour early to my lesson. Bugger. I walked up to her door at 1:30 and heard the piano singing from her front room, and remembered that she had a lesson before mine and told me she wouldn’t be able to answer her mobile if I called. So, I figured it would be distasteful to interrupt her lesson by knocking a full half hour early.

I decided I would walk back up the street to a little café I had seen on the corner and sit there and write while I waited. I ordered an orange juice and was finished with my writing in 20 minutes, making the time just shortly before 1:50. I packed up and walked back down the street, completely misjudging time and realizing I was still standing there 10 minutes early and the piano was still singing beautiful melodies out the window to me. This time, I figured I would walk a few minutes down the road and then back up to arrive just on time. As I turn around to walk back down the street, I hear this whistle coming from the direction I was just facing. Directly next to my voice teacher’s house was a house under construction. The construction men had been up on the roof working, and thinking that maybe one of them needed my attention and not really thinking in terms of “I am a young girl I need to be on my guard”, I looked over my shoulder. Standing between My voice teacher’s house and the house under construction was a man staring at me.

Now, I am going to take a short detour to explain where I was, and also for suspense purposes. My voice teacher lives in Southeast London. I mentioned in an earlier post that East London has traditionally always been the bad area of town. Well, being the wise old bird that I am, I didn’t really examine the directions I had been given to fully understand that I would be in East London until I arrived doe-eyed on the train platform. But, it was midday, a busy area, and many people were around. I felt completely and naively safe as I trudged the 10 minute walk from the train station to my final destination. The houses on the quieter residential street were nice enough, looking as if they belonged to middle class citizens. There were people walking along this street and there were construction men acting as eagle eyes, looking down on the whole area from a rooftop. So naturally all these factors gave me a false sense of safety.

The man staring at me was doing something strange with his hand, and when he looked down, I began to walk in the opposite direction, my instincts telling me something was wrong before my brain caught up and told me WHAT was wrong. Was he exposing himself?... I paused 50 meters down the road and deliberated. On the one hand, if this man WAS exposing himself to me, then there was no way I could walk back to my voice teacher’s house, because he was feet away from her front door. On the other hand, maybe he was a construction worker from the house next door and I was being paranoid and maybe he wasn’t doing anything suspicious at all. Plus, I couldn’t just stand there AND I couldn’t just leave because I had a voice lesson in 10 minutes. So I decided I would turn around and walk back cautiously and hope that he was gone.

When I came within visual range, I could see the man had not left, and that I should have listened to my instincts because he was indeed exposing himself, and he saw me. “Sweet heeeeeart, where are you goinggggggg” he called and whistled as I did another 180 and walked much more quickly away this time, my heart racing. “Come back!” I heard him command.

I didn’t have to think twice before I had my cell phone out dialing 999. My voice broke as I spoke to the operator, telling her I needed the police and giving her the details of my whereabouts. I knew the street address, but had no idea what town I was in. Thankfully a woman was walking into her house and I asked her the post code. The police were on their way and I was shaking in my boots.

One of the construction workers had been watching me as I stood bewildered in the sidewalk. He probably thought I was a nutter, just standing there staring in his direction. “What time is it?” he yelled. “TWO!” I snapped back, feeling not at all friendly toward any man. Soon, I heard the police sirens and relief spread through me. The police pulled up and as I walked over to them, I noticed that the man was gone. I told them where he had been and they went searching. The shocked construction worker followed and began asking what was happening and telling that they had witnessed nothing.

My voice teacher then came to her door and smiling broadly, invited me in. Pale-faced, I told her to police were here and I wanted to make sure they knew where I was. When I told her what had happened she became distraught and sent me inside while she went to talk to the police.

I was safe. No one would hurt me inside, and the police were here. They came in followed by my teacher and took down my details (I couldn’t remember my birthday) and asked for a suspect description. I was informed that the police were searching for this man and several units were already on the prowl. A crime report would be filed and I would be notified via post.

On their way out, my polite teacher asked if they would like some tea. “No, thank you. But you better make her one,” the thinner officer said while he pointed to me. “She looks like she needs one.”

And tea she made me, along with giving me some caramel biscuits to lift my spirits.

So many things could have gone differently to have made the situation much worse than it was. I was not physically harmed in any way, and I now know how to go about handling such a situation. Next time, I will not be so slow on the uptake. I will laugh at the silly pervo and say “Is that all you’ve got?”

Needless to say, I had a great voice lesson, even if I was a bit distracted throughout.

The Power of Positive Thinking.

Alright everyone, major reality check here.

I woke up today and everything was great. Grand, really. The cleaning lady was coming to fix up our apartment all nice and squeaky, and I was off to another first class, Art.

Art is on Wednesdays every week from 10-2 and we do gallery visits normally, but today we just went over the course goals and syllabus, so we were done by 1130, and home by noon.

I got a little frustrated because the cleaning lady was here and I wanted to make lunch, or go to my room and change to run, etc. I was also frustrated because a group of my friends was going out, but they were just going to get books and wander, and I didn't really want to go... and another group was going to the British Museum, and I'm going to that like every week, so I didn't want to go.... And, before I realized it, I was at home while everyone was out exploring, and I felt guilty because it was so cold out and I wasn't motivated to leave. I was being negative about it and feeling like a bum and just being a doofus.

But, I changed my attitude, and went on a run to buy a cell phone and get supplies to make a nice dinner for the core four. The run was beautiful, my endorphins woke up, and I got a phone (finally) which was a scratch mark on the list of "To do's." I stopped at the little Tesco Express on my corner and got some fresh veggies, fresh bread, and fresh cookies for dinner, and on my way out I noticed the homeless woman who sits right outside the door every day, selling a magazine called The Big Issue. London has this great program for the homeless, where you can apply for a homeless "license" essentially, and you sell this magazine to people. It's great really, because when you donate to buy this magazine, you KNOW you are helping the homeless, not feeding a fake beggar who goes home and sits on his arse watching his plasma screen TV while his cat drinks a beer beside him. NOT COOL PEOPLE. Anyway, The Big Issue provides employment to the homeless, too. I think it is a great thing.

So, I see our local homeless woman. She is there every day. She is either Indian or Arab, I couldn't figure out because I'm not an expert. But she covers her hair, and she is not too much older than me. I walked up to her with my grocery bags and change, and asked her "How much do they cost?" She replied timidly, but happily " One pound fifty." So I knelt down beside her, and as I rifled through my change I asked her how she was doing. She smiled and said, "I am very cold today." (It was snowing outside, and she was wearing a thin jacket and a skirt.) I smiled back at her and said "Yes, it is quite cold today." I gave her two pounds, telling her to keep the change, and I reached for my magazine. As I took it she looked me straight in the eye and said "Thank you. You are very beautiful."

You know, God does tell you things, you just have to listen. Here I was doting over myself all day, feeling bad about myself sitting around the house, blah, blah, blah and here was this young woman who probably came to England with bright hope for the future to provide for her struggling family back home, or came because she was desperate, with no other options, and now she was on the street, homeless, watching as hundreds of people walked by her and never even noticed her sitting on the ground. She had the compassion in her to tell ME that I was beautiful. I thought I was helping her, but really she was helping me to remember how fortunate I am and to remember that compassion and love are the most important things in life.

I am truly blessed to be here in London learning such amazing things about myself and about God's good Earth.

Peace, Love, and the Beatles, y'all.

At the Beginning

Yesterday was my first day of class!!!

I experienced my first London rush hour.... NOT cool. My claustrophobic genes (thanks mom) started kicking in when I realized I was more than 6 feet under as I got off the first train to transfer to another line and walked out of the door into a sea of smelly, grumpy city folk. We had to wait for a train to pass before we could get on because they were so crowded. One woman wearing a pink backpack (or rucksack) literally contorted her body in ways I didn't know possible as she leaned in over the masses boarding the train. She could have almost gone crowd surfing on top of all the stuffy business men squashed awwkwardly together. A sea of black and a pink backpack (that the doors of the train car just barely missed) went streaking off down the track as we waited for the next train and hoped that we wouldn't be late for class.

The Beatles class was first. Upon request from a very special person (cough cough Marie) I will be including a Beatles fact book in each of my journal entries on class days hence forward. Beginning with today:

The Beatles were virtually UNKNOWN in the USA while there was mania going on in Britain. Stumbling upon the Beatles madness, Americans like Ed Sullivan spent almost 100,000 dollars on promoting the Beatles before they came to the States. By the time they arrived in Feb of 1964, "I wanna Hold Your Hand" was number one in the charts, and the teenbopper girls were going bonkers just like all of their sisters across the seas.

In the beginning Paul and RINGO were the favorite Beatles, not John (common mistake)

Many believe that a major contributor to Beatle success was the JFK assasination, because the whole world was looking for something to lift them up.

73 million people watched the Beatles on Ed Sullivan, an OBVIOUS record for the time, and still one of the largest audiences in history.

More to come after our fieldtrip tomorrow...

The theatre class will be super cool too. The teacher is the eccentric old bird of a lady with a singy song voice who goes to the theatre 3 to 4 times a week. Sheesh. I'm jealous. We are going to see only plays because "we will take ourselves to see musicals. It is her job to take us to things we would never dream of on our own."

After class I came home and went on a run through Regent's Park and it was gorgeous and moving.

Wait.... I LIVE HEREEEEEEEEEEEE!

A Snowy Day in London town...

Ok first of all, deepest apologies on the weird formatting for the last post. Bloody blog. :)

Well, yesterday was Sunday, meaning that half the tube lines weren't running because they do their construction on Sundays. The Brits are in mad construction mode because of the Olympics, so they are being quite inconvenient to us poor college students who just want to spend our time riding the tubes from one end to the other. (Not really, but again, I like the dramatic effect.)

So, yesterday, rather than riding the tube, we took a bus out to Spittlefield Markets which is on the other side of central London. The bus ride took more than an hour. But the market was cool. It was indoor (which was good because again with the British drizzle...) and it had everything from clothes, to zip bags (purses that are basically just one big zipper and you can unzip them all the way until they are just a long string. Mind boggling I know), to croissants, to these cool glasses this guy made out of recycled coke and beer bottles. I heckled a guy with a dress and got him to bring the price down three whole pounds. :) I was proud.

After the market we went out for Kathryn's (new friend) birthday. There was a large group of us, and we decided to go to a Mexican place. It was interesting, not quite like American Mexican, but it was good. The servings were obviously smaller, and no refillable chips like at Hacienda (SAD day), but it felt like being at home. Afterward Kathryn, Linda, Michele and I (henceforth I will call the "core four" so I don't have to write out all our names) went to McDonalds and got 99 cent McFlurries. There was a security camera as we walked in and Kathryn and I got so excited waving at ourselves, that by the time we made it up to the counter, the grumpy dude was not at all amused with us silly Americans. Woops.

Today most people had their internships, so I went with a small group and we walked around the city for awhile. It was snowing which was pretty, but it didn't stick sadly. We went to this CHEAP clothing store called Primark which is basically a giant British Walmart for clothes, and it was like Black friday in there, only it was a Monday at noon. SCARY. I felt my blood pressure rising... and I noticed that no one seemed to be enjoying themselves. There were no smiling faces.

After that we went to Kings Cross Station and took turns taking pictures at Platform 9 and 3/4. I really did try to get through the barrier, but sadly I think I'm a muggle through and through.

We walked around Covent Gardens area for awhile, but there wasn't much exciting there, so we all came home and then Linda, Michele and I went out to the grocery after Michele got home from her internship. There was a little outdoor market going on in front of the grocery, so I got some yummy fresh fruit. :)

Michele said that her internship (which is with Parliament, but not in the Parliament building) is in a BAD neighborhood. Someone attempted to rob her, and she saw a woman being held at knifepoint. SO SCARY. She is NOT going back there. The school is going to have to find some way to change her location.

Lesson of the day: Make the most of everything, even the crazy things that you would never enjoy on your own have something positive you can take from them. :)

The City Life

Pics.... first is of new friends Linda and Kathryn on the Lions in Trafalgra Square.

Second is in China Town with Linda. Chinese new year is soon!

Third is of my new friend the jack russell on a house boat in the canals! Cute!

And the last is of one of the last true double decker buses in London. Itis from the 1960s and still running!

I didn't blog yesterday, but it was the longest day I've had here yet.

Bright and early in the morning we went on a coach tour of the city. Our guide was the loveliest British lady ever. She made everything seem like it was the most fascinating site or object in the entire world. We hit all the major sites like Big Ben, Saint Pauls, the Tower of London, etc. We also went by the bigger parks and through some wealthhhhhy neighborhoods. Did you know that West London was where the wealthy lived back in the day because the winds came and blew the pollution through to the East? That is why East London is the poor section of town still today, because the population never shifted. Also, London was heated with coal all the way up until the 1980s, meaning it was a DIRTY city and has only recently been cleaner.

We also learned about the Olympics. The stadium will be in East London, and they hope it will help bring the area out of poverty. She called it the next legacy of London.

We had a lunch break, and then we went on a walking tour of our neighborhood. We walked along the canals, and saw some of the backstreets of the area. We also saw the home (hotel now) of a brilliant mathmetician during World War II named Alan Turing. His story is tragic, being that he was a homosexual during a time when it was illegal, and ended up killing himself after the government tried to treat his "illness" with hormones. The government recently apologized for what they did to him.

After that, I went on a run, because I had an appointment to meet with a fitness instructor at the local gym. This gym was in a sports park, and there were children and families everywhere because it was a sunny Saturday.

I then ran down to Regents park which was so beautiful and I can't wait to go back.

Now part II.... I told you this was a long day!

A group of us went to dinner at a Fish and Chips Pub downtown on Baker Street. I looked for Sherlock Holmes but I didn't see him sadly.

We came back to the flats and my flat was full of almost the entire group of Elon students partying before going out. It was a little overwhelming.... But we all went out to the city centre to "hit" a club.

The streets were packed, and there were girls walking around in cocktail dresses... in the freezing London drizzle, with NO COAT. Sheesh.

The club was called Oxygen and it had a basement with a dance floor and poles.. hmmmmmm. It was not my cup of tea at all, so I left with Linda and Kathryn, and we went and took pictures climbing on the lions in Trafalgra Square.

Many new experiences today...

Operation Beatles Stalk

Well, I once thought I was a pretty faithful Beatles fan. Ha. I was greatly mistaken. I have only dappled in Beatles mania.

For the past two days we have been thrown headfirst into Beatles History on 7 and a half hours of Beatles walking with a die hard British cartoon man named Richard Porter. He literally knew EVERYTHING about the Beatles, and even got married in the church where Paul and John got married, even though by the time he got married it was a library. http://www.beatlesinlondon.com/

Here are some pics of the excursion.... The first pic is of the building where the Beatles had their last live performance before they broke up. It was on the rooftop.

The second pic is of a really cool mural that was on a building in the Regent area. It was modeled after the cover of the Sgt. Pepper's album. The Beatles are still so influential!

The last is the pic of where the Beatles Mania officially began. Screaming girls had been following the Beatles for awhile before the media picked up on it because there had not been any big gigs in central London yet (where the media was) and so at the Palladium theatre, the reporters got their first taste of the madness of Beatles fans, and the phenomenon wwas front page news the next day.

Can't wait to take the Beatles Class!

Em the Explorer

I woke up every hour until 8 o'clock this morning when I finally bit the bullet and crawled out of my warm cozy bed and went for a run through the drizzle. I felt like such a city girl running in my underarmour along the sidwalks. It was nice getting to know my neighborhood a bit. It is quite a happening place with so many other cultures. It's funny but I'd say on the sidewalk you hear other languages as often as you hear English. I like it.

I got back with only enough time to grab an apple and hit the road to school! In the cupboard under the stairs (where we hide Harry Potter so no one else can steal him from us) I found an old Oyster Card from students passed (bless them) and took it to the subway with me on my first journey. Lucky me, it had almost 5 pounds on it from the last user and so it took me all the way to school and back! The neighborhood that our class building is in is a university area, about a 2 minute walk from the British Museum. I liked it a lot. My roomies and I ate at a little fish and chips joint around the corner.

As a group we went on a London walking tour, which I cut out of a little early to come pick up the madre at the aeroporto. (don't think that is Spanish, but oh well!) The tour was interesting, of course I loved going through West End.... I will be back many a time.

Got to the airport about an hour before momma got in... she was running a little late. It was so sweet to see her power walking along with her little trolley and short cropped hair (mine looks too much like hers now, eek! I'm becoming my mother!)

We picked up some sandwiches from Mark's and Spencer (my first time there this trip I was so excited!) and then took the tube to her hotel, where we have now been chit chatting for the past 3 hours.

Oh where does the time go....
Another day, another past, another story....

Hi from London, folks!

I departed from South Bend yesterday at 10:30 AM and got in to London Heathrow at 6:55 AM or 1:55 AM Eastern Standard. I then waited at the airport until 10:30 am for the rest of the group, and made it to my flat by 11:30.

So needless to say, I am sleeeeepy, and lying here on my new bed is not the best idea to staying awake.

It was strange traveling internationally by myself. My flight was wayyy empty, and so I sat there in my very own roww with my vegetarian mooshy goo that looked like it could have been many things OTHER than food, and I read a book that Mom had sent home with me from Germany.

I didn't quite grasp the fact that I was leaving the United States for 4 months, and that by the time I came back, Chicago would be green and sunny rather than gray and stinky.

London was raining when we got in, as if to say, "Welcome, this is what I do every day so GET USED TO IT." But it is definitely warmer here than it is in the good ole U.S. of A.

We spent the day just moving our stuff in and meandering around the neighborhood. I have two roommates, Bhriel and Libby. Our flats are super nice and we live literally a block from everything (including a restaurant that serves Halloumi cheese... SCORE!)

Tomorrow Mom is flying through on route to Chicago. I know, we just missed each other..... but she is staying the night in London and I am gonna go out to the airport and stay with her.

Otherwise, I'm just doing orientation things, getting a cell phone (a "mobile" in Britspeak), and discovering new things about the neighborhood.

More next time because I think I'm falling asle