Week One of being in London
ok here is my attempt at describing all that has happened so far:
Classes
Pubs
Theatre shows
Walking around beautiful London.
and there you have it.
ok, fine.
Saturday. Arrived in Heathrow at 6am London time. Didn't get much sleep on the plane, so the whole day was spent getting settled in and trying to stay awake till at least 8pm. Walked a little bit down Oxford Street, which is like the shopping center of London.
Sunday. Same bit about exploring bits of London, and we also met the dean of students over here, and he gave us some advice on life in England. Got our class schedules, etc. I went to Carphone Warehouse to try to get a mobile phone, but they were all out of the cheap ones, so I had to order one, to be delivered Tuesday.
Monday. On Mondays I have Theatre class in the morning, followed by our weekly group meeting and International Studies. Theatre will basically be about discussing shows we see and talking about theatre criticism. My cup of tea. The International Studies teacher talked about basic differences between the US and UK, like phone numbers and post codes, and the tube, etc. (the tube, or underground, is what they call their subway system) All helpful stuff, although I wished they were one of the first things we discussed. That night we went to our first show, at the National Theatre, called Coram Boy. It was simply amazing in every aspect: acting, lighting, staging, design, music, etc. It's a play that deals with infanticide, teenage pregnancy, child prostitution and slavery, and oh yeah, it's based on a children's book. Very moving.
Tuesday. Finally got over my jet lag. Tuesdays I have Art History, which may be my most difficult course (as if I'm worried about school while I'm here). Art History will meet every week at a different Museum in London. Got my mobile phone. That night I took a group to the Tower of London and the Tower Bridge, which is simply gorgeous. Even now, I am still exploring new places here. That night I went to the ISH (International Students House) bar, and had a good time with relatively cheap drinks (although everything in London is damn expensive as heck).
Wednesday. Wednesdays I have British History and Shakespeare classes. The British History professor is Irish and is open about his bias against Brits throughout history. Certain things he talks about get him really worked up, and I think it's hilarious, but then again, I'm also Irish, so I get him completely. Shakespeare is going to be a piece of cake. The first play we're looking at is Twelfth Night. That night I took a group of people to see The Woman in Black, which is supposed to be the scariest bit of theatre in the world. I suppose it would be scarier if the audience weren't filled with idiots. It did give me some creeps, and really insipired me to read the book on which the play is based. While watching it, I couldn't help think of ways to transfer it to film and make it scarier yet. I know, I'm awful, aren't I?
Thursday. Got my internet to work. Oh, by the way, I don't have any classes on Thursday OR Friday, which is awesome and everyone is jealous of me, and so technically I have four day weekends the whole time I'm here. I think this day I went shopping with Amy. Man, does she have short legs. That night, this time on Laura's request, we saw Antony and Cleopatra with Patrick Stewart as Antony. It was really good, but I was lost in some parts, because that's one Shakespeare play I actually haven't read. Laura and I are like the parents of the whole group because we are older than almost everyone and have a good grip on the "big city" mentality and avoid "traveling in a group as loud, obnoxious Americans" as often as we can. This was the day England had a weird storm with freakishly strong winds, up to 90 mph (or was it kph?) and blowing down trees, roofs, etc. Eleven people actually died.
Friday. I don't remember what I did that day. I know that I organized, yet again, a small group to go see Twelfth Night at the Old Vic, and seeing as we are supposed to be studying it in class, I thought a ton of us would go, but it ended up being just 8 of us. The play itself was amazing, and not to mention it was an all-male cast (can you say hot men dressed up as women?).
Saturday / Sunday. This weekend was spent by me as pretty much a lazy weekend, which I was totally ok with. I did laundry, talked to people back home on the phone, got online for a while, and ate when necessary. I also enjoy simply going for walks and exploring new parts of the city. Most people would rather be lazy and take the tube, but I have no problem with walking anywhere. I also am slowly buying more appropriate clothing so I don't look too much like a foreigner. The people are great, and I am getting along well with most of them. (The few that I have problems with are those that cling to groups and walk around simply being loud and pointing out everything they see. I figure I should just be waving an American flag.) So far Trafalgar Square is my favorite place, and it's especially gorgeous at night. Haven't been to any clubs yet.
This week I'm going to try to see more museums, and I went to my first one today and thought it was amazing, and already want to go back. It's also getting a lot colder here, like freezing, and everyone's freaking out about it being below zero (celsius). I'm from Wisconsin, so I feel right at home. I hear it's getting cold back home, too. p.s. if you want my new mobile, let me know and I will email it to you or something. Or I'll call you.
Oh, and Alex, Little Children was great. I absolutely love Kate Winslet and Patrick Wilson is good, too. It's a good story and I think it was well-made. I didn't always buy Jackie Earle Haley's performance, but it was an interesting role, and I want to say he made interesting choices, but I don't think you can have a role like that and not be interesting.
Classes
Pubs
Theatre shows
Walking around beautiful London.
and there you have it.
ok, fine.
Saturday. Arrived in Heathrow at 6am London time. Didn't get much sleep on the plane, so the whole day was spent getting settled in and trying to stay awake till at least 8pm. Walked a little bit down Oxford Street, which is like the shopping center of London.
Sunday. Same bit about exploring bits of London, and we also met the dean of students over here, and he gave us some advice on life in England. Got our class schedules, etc. I went to Carphone Warehouse to try to get a mobile phone, but they were all out of the cheap ones, so I had to order one, to be delivered Tuesday.
Monday. On Mondays I have Theatre class in the morning, followed by our weekly group meeting and International Studies. Theatre will basically be about discussing shows we see and talking about theatre criticism. My cup of tea. The International Studies teacher talked about basic differences between the US and UK, like phone numbers and post codes, and the tube, etc. (the tube, or underground, is what they call their subway system) All helpful stuff, although I wished they were one of the first things we discussed. That night we went to our first show, at the National Theatre, called Coram Boy. It was simply amazing in every aspect: acting, lighting, staging, design, music, etc. It's a play that deals with infanticide, teenage pregnancy, child prostitution and slavery, and oh yeah, it's based on a children's book. Very moving.
Tuesday. Finally got over my jet lag. Tuesdays I have Art History, which may be my most difficult course (as if I'm worried about school while I'm here). Art History will meet every week at a different Museum in London. Got my mobile phone. That night I took a group to the Tower of London and the Tower Bridge, which is simply gorgeous. Even now, I am still exploring new places here. That night I went to the ISH (International Students House) bar, and had a good time with relatively cheap drinks (although everything in London is damn expensive as heck).
Wednesday. Wednesdays I have British History and Shakespeare classes. The British History professor is Irish and is open about his bias against Brits throughout history. Certain things he talks about get him really worked up, and I think it's hilarious, but then again, I'm also Irish, so I get him completely. Shakespeare is going to be a piece of cake. The first play we're looking at is Twelfth Night. That night I took a group of people to see The Woman in Black, which is supposed to be the scariest bit of theatre in the world. I suppose it would be scarier if the audience weren't filled with idiots. It did give me some creeps, and really insipired me to read the book on which the play is based. While watching it, I couldn't help think of ways to transfer it to film and make it scarier yet. I know, I'm awful, aren't I?
Thursday. Got my internet to work. Oh, by the way, I don't have any classes on Thursday OR Friday, which is awesome and everyone is jealous of me, and so technically I have four day weekends the whole time I'm here. I think this day I went shopping with Amy. Man, does she have short legs. That night, this time on Laura's request, we saw Antony and Cleopatra with Patrick Stewart as Antony. It was really good, but I was lost in some parts, because that's one Shakespeare play I actually haven't read. Laura and I are like the parents of the whole group because we are older than almost everyone and have a good grip on the "big city" mentality and avoid "traveling in a group as loud, obnoxious Americans" as often as we can. This was the day England had a weird storm with freakishly strong winds, up to 90 mph (or was it kph?) and blowing down trees, roofs, etc. Eleven people actually died.
Friday. I don't remember what I did that day. I know that I organized, yet again, a small group to go see Twelfth Night at the Old Vic, and seeing as we are supposed to be studying it in class, I thought a ton of us would go, but it ended up being just 8 of us. The play itself was amazing, and not to mention it was an all-male cast (can you say hot men dressed up as women?).
Saturday / Sunday. This weekend was spent by me as pretty much a lazy weekend, which I was totally ok with. I did laundry, talked to people back home on the phone, got online for a while, and ate when necessary. I also enjoy simply going for walks and exploring new parts of the city. Most people would rather be lazy and take the tube, but I have no problem with walking anywhere. I also am slowly buying more appropriate clothing so I don't look too much like a foreigner. The people are great, and I am getting along well with most of them. (The few that I have problems with are those that cling to groups and walk around simply being loud and pointing out everything they see. I figure I should just be waving an American flag.) So far Trafalgar Square is my favorite place, and it's especially gorgeous at night. Haven't been to any clubs yet.
This week I'm going to try to see more museums, and I went to my first one today and thought it was amazing, and already want to go back. It's also getting a lot colder here, like freezing, and everyone's freaking out about it being below zero (celsius). I'm from Wisconsin, so I feel right at home. I hear it's getting cold back home, too. p.s. if you want my new mobile, let me know and I will email it to you or something. Or I'll call you.
Oh, and Alex, Little Children was great. I absolutely love Kate Winslet and Patrick Wilson is good, too. It's a good story and I think it was well-made. I didn't always buy Jackie Earle Haley's performance, but it was an interesting role, and I want to say he made interesting choices, but I don't think you can have a role like that and not be interesting.