Another fun day in London! We had our first "real" class this morning, and it actually kept my attention pretty well. I'm not a history buff, so I was a bit worried about how class would be for me...but taking notes keeps me focused, and the content interests me because I've never learned it before and it's being presented very well. Magee and Rebekka really know their stuff, which is definitely nice. I can't stand it when professors have no idea what's going on...
After class (which got out early), we grabbed lunch at Regent's. Tiffany and I both got croissants with Brie, rockets, tomato, and pesto from the Brasserie, and they were absolutely DELICIOUS. Definitely doing that again. In general, the food at Regent's is pretty good, although usually we have no idea what the hot meal is supposed to be (too many words we don't understand). Everything is so healthy and so fresh. It's a nice change.
By the way, the escalators here in the tube stations are terrifying. The tallest one is 27 metres and looking down/up is probably the scariest thing ever. (See how I slipped that British spelling in there? I'm slowly morphing, I can feel it.) On a slightly related note, I have shin splints, because we are CONSTANTLY taking stairs to a million places and all of the walking is really giving me a workout. I'm going to lose weight here, if I haven't already.
Today's class activity was the British Museum, which is SO BIG. I stuck with Tiffany and Kalen; we saw the Egypt section and the Greece section, and that didn't even cover half the museum. I got to see the Rosetta Stone--which is pretty cool, if you ask me--and a TON of mummies. I've never really been into mummies, but it was excellent to see them.
After Kalen misplaced her wallet and then found it again, we headed down the road back to Tottenham Court and found a little restaurant called Munchkins. Soda sounded wonderful at the time, so we all got drinks...and I paid £1.95 for half a can of Fanta. Probably the most overpriced thing I've purchased here. Food at the grocery is NOT expensive--in fact, it's super cheap and kind of exhilarating to purchase because you can get so much--and the pubs near Kilburn (where we live) are not expensive at all, since we're quite a distance from the City. Our location is really growing on me... When we got off the tube, it was raining, so we ducked into Starbucks for a bit and chatted about literally everything in our lives.
Our intent had been to go to Piccadilly tonight, but the rain quashed that idea, and studying/postcard writing/uploading pictures became the new goal. I wandered to Tesco with Tiffany, Kalen, and Kristine to get ourselves some dinner. Spinach and ricotta tortellini with four cheese sauce and tomatoes, with fresh bread and a bottle of wine... We know how to be classy! It was delicious. And although our gas hob is possibly the scariest one I've ever seen, we succeeded in cooking on it, which makes me feel assured that yes, we can survive here, lol.
We also got to talk to our roommates a bit more tonight, which was really nice, since it seems like none of us are ever home at the same time. Everyone here is cool, in my opinion--no complaints. There are a few "groups" that have formed, and I love the friends I'm making.
So I uploaded more pictures to Facebook, wrote out some postcards for my family, and FINALLY got past 1916 in the dreadful Taylor book (The First World War...most boring piece of literature I have ever picked up). I'll be getting through Wuthering Heights next, since I have to write a paper on the "complexity of life in stately English homes of that time" in the next two weeks. Good thing I've read it before...
One last interesting tidbit.
BIZARRE LITTLE THINGS I'VE NOTICED IN LONDON THAT ARE TAKING ME FOREVER TO GET USED TO (BUT I AM):
1. Faucets. You have to turn them in a complete circle multiple times to get water to come out. It's so weird. In public places, it's usually more like home, but not in our flat.
2. Cars being on the left. This is getting more normal for me...but then when I'm back in the states, I'll probably get hit by a car.
3. Walking on the left of staircases, sidewalks, hallways, etc. I always start on the right and quickly merge over before I get hit. Now we're to the point where we get really angry if someone (especially an American) is walking on the right, because it screws up the traffic.
4. Calling the bathroom a "loo." This one isn't so bad, but it's one of the things where if you mess up, you actually get sent to the wrong room. I don't need a shower, I need to pee.
5. Not using just the index finger to point. Apparently it's rude here; the English point with their full hand. Gotta get used to that.
6. The money. I pay with cash so infrequently that I still don't know the coins. Ugh.
7. Not having a cell phone and internet at my fingertips. I feel "phantom phone vibrations" about 4 times every day, thinking someone is texting or calling. Never happens, since our phones are pay-as-you-go.
And last, but not least,
8. Feeling not like a tourist but not like a native. We don't know what we are here. When we talk, the words come out in an American accent, but we use the British words to get used to using them...and they sound super weird rolling off our tongues. And we HATE tourists (especially by Madame Tussaud's, ARGH!) but technically, we're tourists too. So weird.
I've written enough, I think. More tomorrow, yes?
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