Do you hear the people sing?

I certainly did tonight. And they sang well. Quite well. Yes folks, tonight I finally saw Les Miserables, the world famous musical that I have been waiting for years to see. The national tour came to my area in 2006 and I wanted so badly to get tickets, but my family had just returned from a vacation to New York City, where we saw three shows, and I felt bad asking to see yet another musical. So I said nothing. The tour came and went and a few weeks later my mother asked me if I would like to see Mamma Mia. MAMMA MIA. We spent money on MAMMA MIA when I could have seen Les Miserables! I hate Mamma Mia. But I love Les Miserables. Anyway, the performance tonight was incredible, despite our seats, which were in the absolute last row of the theatre. The set was jaw dropping, the music was epic and the role of Marius was played by Nick Jonas. That's right, Nick Jonas of The Jonas Brothers. Surprisingly, he was very good.

Here is something interesting. Here in London, you do not get a playbill when you go to see a show. This is quite disappointing, as I collect playbills from every professional play that I see. You actually have to pay around 3 pounds to get a playbill, which I just cannot justify. So I will be leaving London in December completely playbill-less. However, I did buy a t-shirt with Cosette's face plastered all over the front, so I am happy.

Today was my first day of classes! My schedule is quite lovely.

Monday:

Intro to Arts and Culture 2:00-4:00

Reading Women: Gender and Genre 4:00-6:00

Wednesday:

Writing Contemporary Britain 12:00-2:00

Thursday:

London Theatre in Performance 10:00-1:00

That's it! I have both Tuesdays and Fridays off, which make for a very nice week. "Intro to Arts and Culture" was first today, and I can already tell that this will be an interesting class. The purpose of the class is discovering what defines art and what its purpose is in society today. Our professor showed us several slides of different pieces of art and we discussed what we saw and what we knew about each one. One slide was of a piece of wood cut from a redwood tree. An artist had called a lumber yard, asked for this piece of wood, had it shipped to an art gallery and claimed it as his piece of art. Now this bugs me. We discussed whether this could actually be considered art and my first instinct was to say no. This man had nothing to do with the creation of this piece of wood. He didn't even physically place it in his gallery. How could this be called art if the artist wasn't involved in any sort of design or creation??? Then someone remarked that it was simply the man's idea that defined it as art. Hmm. I suppose this makes sense (sort of), but I'm still not sure how I feel about it. Throughout the class we continued to discuss various pieces of art and what message was being conveyed through that piece. This is another thing that bugs me. Look, I love art. I'm in theatre, I have to love art. I enjoy looking at paintings and sculptures and seeing films and taking photographs, but does every piece of art have to have a message? Isn't it possible that someone painted a landscape simply because he looked out over a mountain and thought, "Wow, that looks beautiful, I think I will paint a picture of it." Perhaps the artist just wants to portray the world around him with no underlying symbolism whatsoever. Isn't it rather presumptuous of us to say that a certain painting conveys a certain message when the fact is, we don't actually know? *Sigh.* This is the realist in me speaking, the side of me that is very much like my father, who I imagine would say the same thing. Am I right, Dad?

That was entirely too much thinking for one day.

Hula-Hooping in Harrods

Time to get my readers caught up on my life!

Let's see, I believe I left off at Tuesday of this week. Well, on Wednesday, our group took a walking tour of the South Bank. We started off by the London Eye, which we had already seen plenty of, but this tour was different. It was led by a lady named Kim, who has lived in England for her entire life and in London for more than 20 years. So she knows this town. Not only did she show us several sites that we hadn't been able to see yet, but she also provided a ton of great information on English history that I knew nothing about previously. For instance, at the very beginning of the tour we stood in front of a large building where County Hall used to be housed and she told us about some of the worst times in the English economy, during the 1980s, when unemployment was at an all time low. County Hall is directly across the river from Parliament and apparently, those who worked in County Hall would hang huge banners outside of the building listing the numbers of people that were unemployed. The numbers were updated daily and were written large enough so that Margaret Thatcher, across the river in Parliament, would be able to read them. I was curious about English politics since I know next to nothing about them, so I made my way to the front of the group to ask Kim some more questions. She had mentioned that Margaret Thatcher was very "right wing" so the first question I asked was whether English right wing is equivalent to American right wing. Her response? "Well, Margaret Thatcher was very good friends with Reagan, if that clears anything up for you." It did. Kim went on to tell me about a family from California that she took on a tour this summer. She said that, during the tour, the mother made a comment regarding the recent decisions made about health care and social security in the United States. The mother's words were, "Now that we're taking our first steps toward Socialism....etc. etc." and Kim told me that she was quite taken back. She explained that in England, people didn't view this as Socialism at all and they understood it to be a basic human right, that everyone should be given health coverage in some way, no matter their age or economic standing. It was a very interesting discussion.

But on to more interesting topics! We continued walking down the South Bank and saw many notable sites including The National Theatre, at which I have been told to see literally every show that I can, and The Globe Theatre, the replica of Shakespeare's first theatre. Although it's not the real thing, it was still a grand sight to behold and I fully plan on going back and seeing a show there as well.

Later that afternoon we made our way back to my area of town to spend a little time at Harrods. You all know what Harrods is, right? Matt didn't. His exact words were, "So....what's Harrods?" At this point I nearly hit him. If anyone reading this blog doesn't know what Harrods is, please allow me to explain. Harrods is the grandfather of all department stores. It is huge. It is wildly expensive. It is completely overwhelming. We didn't even see the entire store and we still spent about two hours there. It really is mind blowing to imagine what kind of person could possibly be able to afford the objects sold at this store. Yet this store has almost everything you could ever need to survive! I say almost because I never saw any toothpaste. So, save toothpaste, you could basically live at this store. There are gigantic rooms filled with nothing but designer purses. Then you go up to the next floor and find an entertainment section that rivals Best Buy. The toy section spans across several large rooms fulfilling every child's wildest dreams. Matt and I spent most of our time there. Playing with toys. Hula-hooping, to be exact. In the end, we decided that we simply could not leave empty handed, so we bought a cookie. It was a delicious cookie that only cost one pound. But I still got a bag from Harrods, so I am satisfied.

Classes start on Monday. I've forgotten what real work is.

A lot of good those high school French classes did...

Here at the good ole IES dorm, kitchens are shared between 4-5 people. The kitchen that my roommate, Jeni, and I use is right across the hall from our room. We are sharing with two other girls and a staff member. One of our fellow kitchen-users is a girl named Diana. She is from Canada, attends Princeton University and is here in London studying cello at the Royal Academy of Music. She also speaks fluent French. Well hello there, unaccomplished Laura! Didn't see you there! But seriously. Every time I go into the kitchen, there she is with her two friends and they are just jabbering away in French. The first time I met them, they asked me if I spoke French at all. I think I just laughed. Oh yeah, I took three whole years of high school French classes. The only thing I really remember is how to call someone a "stupid pineapple." However, they are just the nicest people. They always ask if I'd like to eat with them, which I did once. That was awkward. We didn't do a lot of talking. Since then, I have declined to eat with them out of fear of further embarrassment.

On to other things! On Sunday we ventured out to Speaker's Corner in Hyde Park. Speaker's Corner is a section of the park in which any person from any part of the world can come and talk about whatever they please, be that subject religion, politics or football. Our group stood around for a bit, listening to various conversations until we were approached by a man. He asked us if we were American. Now if we were smart, we wouldn't have said anything and would have turned around and fled the entire park, knocking down as many people as we needed to. Instead, we just had to be honest. We answered yes and the man was off! He began a tirade about the Tea Party AND about Democrats. We couldn't tell what his opinion was at all! Matt and Devon, a fellow TCU student, argued with him for a while, but there was no getting this man to listen to anything we had to say. Our conversation eventually drew a large crowd, including tons of people who began laughing and telling us not to even listen to this man, that he had been coming to the park for years and was probably crazy. All in all, it was rather amusing, but after about ten minutes, we'd had enough and slipped away while we could.

Earlier that morning, Matt and I set off to find a good grocery store near our dorm. We ended up at a store called Waitrose which, compared to other English grocery stores, was rather large and had everything that we needed! Many of the brands over here are vastly different from American products, but no matter. All of our needs were met. This neighborhood is quite nice. Very residential, with a lot of families. I was told before coming here that Chelsea is the "posh area of town" and that person was completely correct. It's a little like the Southlake of London.

Yesterday we had our orientation at school, which was exactly what every college orientation is supposed to be. Long, boring and completely pointless. Luckily we had something to look forward to. Our Study Abroad coordinator had bought us tickets for a play for that night! We met in Piccadilly Circus and went to the Criterion Theatre to see The 39 Steps, a farcical comedy, which was very entertaining and quite funny.

Today we went to Greenwich, where yet another one of the Queen's homes is located as well as (are you ready?) the Prime Meridian! We were able to climb a hill up to an observatory with an area marked at the exact location of the Prime Meridian! It actually wasn't as cool as I'm making it sound. It was just a line on the ground with some sort of sculpture behind it. That's about it. But I have cool pictures of it on my Facebook anyway.

However, I think the most exciting part of my day was tonight. Matt and I sat down and booked both our train tickets and our hostel reservations to.....PARIS. Yes, that's right! Paris! We are going in two weeks and we are meeting Annie and Andrew there as well!

Oohh, I can work on my French there. Or not. ;)

"That's blog-worthy."

The title of this post has become a catch phrase between Matt and I. Every time we see or hear something interesting, we turn to each other and say, "That's blog-worthy." And there have been several of those moments. For instance...

1. Today we hopped on the tube and right in the middle of this huge mass of people stood an old man, playing the guitar. He played quite well, and when he finished, he took off his hat and a few people gave him some coins. We figured it wasn't a bad way to make some extra money. Get on the tube, play the guitar, collect your money, get off the tube. Brilliant!

2. We made a grave mistake today. There is a store in central London called Primark. It's a good sized department store, equivalent to a JCPenny's or Sears. However, everything is REALLY cheap. Purses for 4 pounds ($6), bed sheets for 3 pounds ($4.50), shirts for 2 pounds ($3). But the quality of these items isn't terrible. It's rather good, in fact. In short, this store is a kind of Mecca for us poor college students. Our TCU group went there this morning to buy bedsheets and towels, however those of us staying at the IES dorm were being provided with sheets, so we only bought the bare essentials. We moved into our room today (our tiny, tiny, tiny room) and discovered that the sheets we were given were not the best quality. It looked like prison. So Matt and I decided to go back to Primark to buy good sheets. WORST MISTAKE EVER. The store had been completely taken over by people. It looked like the day after Thanksgiving. That's how crowded this store was. If we had stood still for a moment we would've been as dead as Mufasa in a herd of wildebeests. We made our way upstairs to the bedding and towels area as fast as we could, where we discovered that they were completely out of everything we needed. Of course.

Yesterday we went to Windsor Castle, one of the Queen's many homes. She was actually there yesterday, which we knew because the English flag was raised on top of a tower! We were able to walk all around the castle as well inside the chapel and in several rooms. Unfortunately, no picture taking was allowed inside, but I have more than enough pictures of the outside of the castle. I have a slight obsession with taking photos. Afterwards, we found a great little English pub where we had dinner. I ordered a chicken and mushroom pie, which was delicious. No human bits inside at all. That was a Sweeney Todd reference.

I mentioned in my last post that I had noticed how uniquely stylish the English people are. I have noticed something else. None of them seem to be obsessed with their weight or their physique at all. I have not seen a single gym since I've arrived here. I have seen only one tanning bed. Yet once again, the surprising thing is that I haven't seen any morbidly obese people either. They all look quite average in weight, or even below average. I suppose this can be attributed to the fact that portion sizes of food are definitely smaller than they are in America. Drinks are served in very small glasses, and never with ice, something I miss. When ordering water, you must always specify whether you want it sparkling or still. I have yet to go to a restaurant that serves bread before the meal. Plus, people walk. A lot. I hope I pick up on some of these eating habits.

You know....it hasn't rained yet.

We're so awesome, the Pope stopped by

Well, I am here. In London.

And I couldn't be happier.

My flight to Boston, my lonesome 6 hour layover and my restless flight to London were fairly uneventful. I cannot, repeat, CANNOT sleep in vehicles of any sort, be they planes, trains or automobiles. I just can't. Therefore, I got absolutely no sleep on either flight. We landed and I groggily made my way through customs and through the baggage claim and finally found myself a cab to take me to the hotel at which all of the TCU students were meeting. We mingled a bit, getting to know each other, and eventually went out for some lunch with our Study Abroad Coordinator. Afterwards, we bought cheap cell phones and just vegged for a bit.

Then the exciting stuff began. Our plan for the evening was to take the Underground (subway) over to the Westminster area, where Big Ben and Parliament are located and take a little ride on the London Eye. To say that I was excited would be a vast understatement. The weather was absolutely beautiful! It couldn't have been any more than 65 degrees, and there was a little wind, which made wearing jackets necessary. I joked that I felt like it was Christmas, since that's what Christmas in Texas always feels like, right? Riding the London Eye was a truly wonderful experience. Once we got to the top, we could see almost all of London. This city is so varied. It is modern and old fashioned. It is quaint and bustling. It is a thousand other things that are just too numerous to mention here. In short, I already love this city.

Afterwards, we went out to dinner and walked all over the West End, stopping at Trafalgar Square to watch a very entertaining street performer. It is so interesting to watch the people here. I've heard many people claim that English people aren't good looking, but that couldn't be further from the truth. What makes them so unique is their innate sense of style. But it isn't that trendy, Beverly Hills sort of style at all. Rather, they seem to possess a talent for creating their own look and completely working it. And it truly makes them beautiful.

I cannot wait to spend the next three months in this city. The adventures have only just begun and I know there will be even greater ones to come.

Oh yeah, in reference to the title....yep. You read right. The Pope is here.

Tomorrow, tomorrow, I love ya....

I'm supposed to leave for the airport in seven and a half hours.

CRAZY.

I feel like this summer has gone by both extremely slow and incredibly fast.

Today I finished up my packing, gathered all of my important papers together and watched Winning London. Yes, I am talking about that old Mary Kate and Ashley movie. Shut up.

Several eventful conversations took place tonight as well.

First of all, my mother gave me the basic plot line of the movie Taken, which I have not seen, and pretty much told me not to be stupid. However, my brother informed me that if I did get into trouble, the only logical thing to do would be to call Liam Neeson. Obviously. I said that I'd put him on my speed dial.

Following dinner, my father decided to quiz me on what to do and what documents I needed to present at customs. This turned into some strange role-playing scene which included my father speaking completely inaudible sentences in an Indian accent and me just standing there giggling, which I really shouldn't do at customs...

Then we decided to weigh my suitcase. The weight limit for checked items is 50 lbs. and I was a bit worried that my suitcase would be too heavy. So we brought a scale up to my room, my dad lifted my suitcase over the scale and then promptly dropped it directly onto his toe. The following dialogue took place:

DAD: Oww! Shoot!

ME: What happened?

DAD: It hit my toe. Crap. I'm injured! Tell Ryan to come pick me up!

ME: Dwight's coming.

DAD: No! Not Dwight! I want Ryan!

ME: You're bleeding on my floor.

DAD: *sigh* Ugh. That was my favorite toe too.

ME: Do you want a Disney princess band aid?

DAD: .............No.

It was quite entertaining. The Ryan/Dwight part is a reference to The Office, for those who are confused right now.

Well. I guess I'll go to bed now.

Taking a page from Belle's book

From the age of three, Beauty and the Beast has been one of my favorite movies.

I am of the opinion that Belle is the best Disney princess created. I simply don't see how any other princess could compare. Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White? Kind of lame. Ariel? What a brat. Jasmine? Completely spoiled. Mulan? Not even an actual princess! The only one who comes remotely close to reaching second place is Pocahontas. I approve of her.

Belle, on the other hand, is smart. She reads a lot, she's beautiful and she's incredibly kind, but she doesn't take anyone's crap. Belle? My childhood hero.

I've seen the movie Beauty and the Beast about one hundred times. I've seen the stage version six times. I've listened to the soundtrack for years. However, it wasn't until this past week that one particular line really stood out to me.

"I want adventure in the great wide somewhere

I want it more than I can tell...."

Isn't that just fitting? I feel exactly the same way, Belle. I think this one line will become my motto for the next few months.

Here's hoping I find a Disney prince out there as well....

One Week

Anxiety passed.

I now have seven days until I depart for London and although my list of things to do has not shrunk much, I no longer feel nearly as nervous as I did last week.

I'm just ready to go. I enjoy being at home and not having to go to class, but I'm a little bored.

Andrew and Annie, my friends in Dublin, have already been in Europe for a week. I talked to each of them today and they are already making travel plans. They want to meet Matt and I in Paris in a few weeks. Although we won't know for sure if we can go until next week, we're definitely excited about the prospect of being able to say, "Oh yes, we're just heading off to Paris this weekend to meet our friends from Dublin." Cue both of us tossing scarves around our necks and blowing kisses to random strangers. Andrew and Annie also have plans to visit us in London in November. This alone is exciting. BUT, that weekend just happens to be the same weekend that Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part One comes out. Random coincidence? Absolutely not. We've been planning this one for months. We are all huge Potter fans, so this may be the greatest thing that will ever happen to us. I wish I was exaggerating.

Lots to do, folks. Things to buy. Suitcases to pack. Money to change. Goodbyes to be said. Tex-Mex to be eaten. It's going to be a crazy week.

I may cry when I have to choose which shoes to leave behind.