The first few days
Sunday I got on the plane with my friend Alara two rows behind me. I tried so hard to sleep but it never happened for more than an hour at a time. I kept my eyes closed hoping to drift off. There was too much to be excited about. At certain points during the flight I was overwhelmed by excitement...I am FINALLY on my way...I'm REALLY going to be there in seven hours. This is happening to ME.
The flight was smooth and the food wasn't too bad. We got off the flight, passed through immigration, and got our bags. My roommates, Julianne and Alara both packed two suitcases as well as their carry on bags. Needless to say, it was difficult for them to handle their luggage on their own through the airport terminals. They also ran into some trouble when they learned that they would have to carry the bags up to the 4th floor of our residence, Pickwick Hall, on their own. Our place is fairly quiet for being so centrally located. The street itself has few cars that travel it and we have parks on either end of the street (Bloomsbury Square to the south and Russell Square to the north). I have yet to take any pictures of the actual room as my roommates keep their two thirds of the room in a post tornado-like state. Being farthest from the door doesn't help me...I have to jump over their trash to get to my bed. Trying to get along with them may be hard. They don't seem to realize that they're in LONDON. They take an annoying amount of time getting themselves ready and out the door and then when we get off the tube they take forever to decide where to grab lunch before heading to our destination. Really, it's not that hard. I want to make the most out of my time here...do everything to the fullest. I know, I have five weeks to do everything I want to do. But I want to see everything and more.
The first day in town I went on a double decker bus tour with 3 others from the trip. It was a good way to see everything all at once and learn about all the areas and neighborhoods. There is so much to see here! We came back to our place and my roommates and I took off to a nearby sushi restaurant. We pretty much turned in after that. Jet lag was working its magic and I hadn't taken a nap after arriving. It is advised that on arrival, you should fight sleep and adjust to the time change. It worked and I switched to the six hour difference without problems.
The next morning I picked up some grocery odds and ends. Juice, sandwiches, fruit, muffins, chips (called crisps here). This is another difference between me and my roommates: I'm spending money wisely. While they go out for practically every meal, I eat in. No, it's not as fun but I'll have more money for my personal spending. I'll get to buy things that will last longer than food. Monday we had some orientations, first a group orientation with our teacher, Karen. The classes I'm taking require some writing so I'll be taking my laptop to Russell Square several times a week to get things done. Next we headed to the group orientation of London with several other MSU programs. There are hundreds of students from MSU studying in London right now. We were lectured on how to stay safe in the city and were reminded that we are on STUDY abroad, not PARTY abroad. After that a few of us decided to head to Westminster to look around. We had our first play that night, Rosmersholm at the Almeida Theatre. Its' an Ibsen drama dealing with guilt and ghosts. It was insanely well acted my the woman playing Narcissia Malfoy in the next Potter film. After the show some of us found a little bar where a blues trio was playing and we stopped in to have a drink. Yes, my first legal drink ever..a shot of Jameson. Next time I'm out I'm going to make my drink something a bit more pleasant....fruity and mixed rather than a small potent drink. We turned in after that and I ventured to the phone to call my parents. I am so extremely thankful that they've let me come here.
The next morning was an early one. Jane Edwardes of Time Out magazine came to talk to us. She writes reviews of plays here in London, so naturally she is hated among actors, designers, and directors. Still it was interesting to hear about her job and how she works. She really seems like she tries to be fair and set her personal tastes aside, looking at each play and performance as objectively as possible. My roommates and some friends went out to Piccadilly Circus afterwards, looking around for the great Waterstone's bookstore there. We found it just as we were running out of time and had to skip out on it so we could head home again for a class. Our discussion of theatre went on a couple of hours. We talked about likes and dislikes, how we work on our characters, and shared our critiques of the show we saw the night before. Night fell and it was time to head to the theatre again. Sushi was on the menu for the second time this week. We made it over to the South Bank and walked to the National Theatre to see Shaw's Major Barbara. The thing I liked most about the show was the set and the transitions between scenes. Since it was my friend Julianne's birthday, we wanted to go out to the Ice Bar afterwards. Everything there is made out of ice. It wasn't meant to be, though, as we got separated from the rest of the group after the show. We figured we'd go back to the hall to wait on them and go out once they decided o look for us there. Well, they didn't come beck until late so we found Julianne some cupcakes and birthday candles. We also found some new Australian friends back at the hall who helped us sing happy birthday. We stayed up talking to them about their trip and their Australian homeland. They were interesting people. Unfortunately, they leave for Amsterdam this morning so we won't get to hang out again. I made a midnight phone call to Nathan and we talked for more than an hour, something I don't really have the money to do. Still, it was worth it. It put me in a good mood and now I'm ready to take on the rest of the week. This trip is going to be both fun and exhausting.
