Experience England

This week has been incredibly busy for me. I have visited the National Theatre, went to a rock concert, and toured Oxford. 

At the National Theatre

On Wednesday, I went to the National Theatre with my British Life and Culture class; We saw Timon of Athens, a Shakespeare play. This is the first play I've seen since being in London and I was thrilled with the performance. Timon, played by Simon Russell Beale, is a man who has spread his wealth too thin. He has given gifts of extreme wealth to all of his friends and upon discovering he is bankrupt, his friends abandon him. Timon takes a last vengeful sweep at his friends before casting himself away from society and suffering out of spite for humanity. I enjoyed the plot of the play, but it is still a Shakespeare play, which can take extra concentration to understand the spoken aspect. The actors were phenomenal, and my friends and i were quite excited to see Alfred Enoch, known to most of you as 'Dean' from Harry Potter. The show didn't begin until 7:30, so I was able to see Central London lit up at night. It was beautiful! I got a snapshot of the London Eye lit up; it was such a great view. 

London at night

Thursday this week, my friend Tonya got her first tattoo. I went with her to the parlor to get it done, and even though they didn't let me in with her, it was great to be there afterwards and admire her new ink. Tonya picked a great place to get her tattoo done, down on Old London Road. I'm a bit jealous. What a great way for her to always remember her time in England!

The next day I went to a concert in Kingston. My boyfriend actually looked up the show information online from home in Michigan. I'm so thankful that he thought of this because the concert was absolutely amazing. Friday night we went to 1939 The Peel, a rock bar in Kingston to see Anavae, Kyoto Drive, and There for Tomorrow play. A local band opened up, but I couldn't catch their band name. Next Anavae went on. This band, with a female singer, had so much energy it was contagious. The sound was beautifully unique, and I loved the singers edgy vocals with a sweet finish. Kyoto Drive took the stage next and I was impressed that their lead singer is also the bassist. That's not something I come across often; he is also one very talented singer. I bought their EP album, "The Approach" after the show and have been listening to it in all of my downtime today. The headlining band, There for Tomorrow, put on a great final act. The crowd swelled, and people started dancing and head-banging. Nothing very serious though. They were another very energetic band and humorous between songs. They really know how to put on a show and their music is great!

Outside Christ Church College

Today, Saturday, I visited and toured Oxford with my British Life and Culture class. It was a really chilly day, so our hour and half walking tour left us all a bit frozen. Nonetheless, it was a great tour. Our guide was quite funny and obviously excited about what he was telling us. He mostly told us about the university and how it works. Oxford university now consists of 38 independent colleges, each with its own chapel, library, dinning hall, and residence hall. Our guide was especially interested in the libraries and library facts. he often knew the number of books in each library or bookstore we passed, which I thought was great! After our tour, my friends and I went for lunch at a pub called the The Three Goats Head, and we were the only ones there. It was a bit strange at first, but our waitress was kind and the food was delicious. Next, we toured Christ Church College, one of the Oxford colleges. This is a famous college, known for its 13 prime minister alumni and also Charles Dodgson attended this college, though he is more commonly known as Lewis Carroll. This was what I looked forward to most on this visit, seeing the place where Caroll studied, as he is one of my favorite authors. It was so great seeing his portrait hanging in the dinning hall. The dinning hall was actually the one that inspired the great hall of the Harry Potter movies as well. Supposedly, the staircase leading to the dinning hall was also inspiration the Potter movies. The whole college was gorgeous; it was like being in another world. It felt surreal to be surrounded by the old stone and the delicate and grand architecture of the college. There was even a wedding taking place in Oxford today; it was so beautiful! 

The dinning hall

on the staircase

After Oxford, I was a bit exhausted, but my friends and I decided to have a "family" dinner. So we met at Tonyas for Spaghetti and bread. The cooked meal was so great and the best way to end my day. 

Now, I have no classes for a week due to Enrichment Activity Week, but the best part is that my mom, dad, and twin sister are coming to visit me for 8 days. I am picking them up from the airport tomorrow and I am beyond excited to see them after all this time of just seeing them squished in the frame of my laptop screen. Facetime just isn't the same as real time. I best get some rest, it's going to be a busy week!

Oh! Rainy Day

My group posing in front of Westminister Abbey

I should have known that two weeks with stunningly beautiful weather was just too good to be true. Today I participated in the last organised event of Fresher's Week. The event was a scavenger hunt across London to find famous places. With my group, we travelled to the London Eye, Big Ben, Westminister Abbey, the Globe Theatre, Millenium Bridge, Oxford Street, and finally we got lunch at Planet Hollywood. It was a great day except for the rain. My trousers got soaked through to my leggings. I was wet and cold. Two things I very much do not like. The wind was incredibly strong and I thought I was going to be blown off the Millenium Bridge when we passed over it. I actually used an umbrella along with my raincoat today, which is very unlike me; I actually have never used my umbrella before today. Well, I suppose it will getting much use here in London. My group decided to do most of our travelling by the London Underground (the tube). Thankfully, the tube was warm and dry. It was crowded too, but I'll take crowds over rain any day.

getting our photo taken with a street performer in Trafalgar Square

I came home and my landlady had a wonderful meal of Moroccan lamb cooked for me. I ate with her two sons and daughter-in-law. I loved having the experience of being part of an English family. I felt like a foreigner when they would speak of things I'd never heard of or call things by different names, but it was very kind of my landlady to invite to supper with her family and I really enjoyed interacting with them over a meal. The food was excellent too.

Today was great despite the rain. Now, tomorrow I get to wake up and start classes! I am very excited to begin my semester at Kingston. I have had a very long summer, but I just can't wait to take all of my classes. I'm taking English Literature at Work, British Life and Culture, Editors' Craft, and Spanish III. What's not to be excited about with THOSE classes?

Blimey, it's Harry Potter!

Today was awesome! I went on a Harry Potter walking tour in London. Our first stop: Platform 9 and 3/4. It was so cool to actually be there and get my photo taken on the pretend platform. Next, Our guide took us through Leicester Square and Trafalgar Square and noted places that are believed to inspire J.K Rowling's famous works and places that the film was actually shot. At one point our guide said, "you are now standing on the place that Harry, Ron, and Hermione stood after disapparating from Bill and Fluer's wedding." Say what?? Yes, this was real life. Well, here are some pictures of my time chasing Harry Potter. Now, I'm going to go watch all of the movies.

If only I could get to the Hogwarts Express on the other side. It's tough being a muggle.

The place believed to have inspired J.K Rowling's "Diagon Alley"