Beginning.

Monday:
I had to skip class because I couldn't figure out how to open the door and thought I was stuck. Basically nothing happened and every time I thought I would get out the house cause I felt bad for wasting the day I realized I could leave... Kinda Sucked.
I was craving a hard shell taco too cause I thought I smelled taco meat cooking but it was just a meat sauce for some pasta, sadly.
Also, I booked places to stay in Brussels and Berlin. The place in Berlin is gorgeous and I'm super excited to go now. I just have to research directions and things to see and then I'll be all set for NEXT MONTH!

Tuesday:
I woke up at 6:30 due to a dream that was odd and creepy then I woke up again at about 10. I got stuck again but this time I decided to investigate what was stopping the door and figured out the skeleton key actually has a purpose as a second lock for the door.
Earlier in the week I learned that Amanda and Kelly had never heard of Friendlys...this is ridiculous and blasphemy and can't possibly be true. In class I met a girl from the Cayman Islands who apparently hates it here and that was pretty much it...

On a side note I started reading Percy Jackson, it's pretty good. Not great, by any means, but good. I kind of wish the characters were older because as I get older I can't picture 13 year olds in my head. Especially boy ones, they always end up looking 16...

Anywho,
Adios

Weekender Edition

MUSEUMS, MUSEUMS, PALACE, AND PARK!

Friday:
Woke up and thought I had pink eye...I'm fine now, but I could have sworn. So, yeah I had to go to an appointment at STA about Scotland with an eye that couldn't quite do what eyes do and look normal. Guy probably thought I was high or working off a hangover or something, which I wasn't.
We were going to go to the Doctor Who Experience but it turned out that people here actually like and respect their TV shows and go to events held for them. So, we're gonna have to go some other time.
We decided to go to the Natural History Museum instead and holy crap, it was crowded... So many little kids with their back packs and parents running around waiting 15 min. for the Dinosaur Hall. Just ridiculous. Had a blast.


HEY! Side comment: Go check out Jonathan Coulton, Paul & Storm, and Hard'n'Phirm. They make nerd sound awesome.

Saturday:
Went to the Science Museum and pressed some buttons. The Brits still have the heat turned all the way up even though it's 50 degrees out. I really enjoyed the Medical exhibits and the Airplanes.
Afterwards Amanda and I went on a walk to Hyde Park where we spent 30 min. just walking on the North path and then we promptly got lost in a subway where we walked in a circle and came out 50 yards from where we entered...the place smelled like piss too, good times.
Then we went to Covent Garden and got the greatest hot chocolate in the world at Muffinski's, the muffins were good but the hot chocolate was better. We got back on the tube after and went to Leicester Square where we found the adorable Asian imports store in China Town again and perused for a while over the brightly colored merchandise.
Then we headed back to Nido and Amanda and I decided to try the restaurant next door which caters to students. The pizza was delicious and the drinks were strong. I had a Mojito with an entire tablespoon of sugar at the bottom and it wasn't that bad if you didn't drink the sugar. Then we ended up talking for 2 hours there before we made the observation that we needed to ask for the check. This place is so awesome they give you free shots with the check and we almost stayed and asked for a bottle of whatever they gave us. It was the least alcoholly tasting alcohol I've ever had, it was sweet too which I liked. I also, throughout the course of the meal talked Amanda into living in Vermont this summer to work at Kanazawa with me! YAY!
That was all I did Saturday, I just went home and crashed after that.

Sunday?
I slept in. Until 11am. I fell in love with Will Wheaton on the Nerdist Podcast and read my ethnography that I need to write a review on. Then I stopped reading it cause it's only semi-engaging. I went out and bought dinner at Tesco Express in the form of a tuna and sweetcorn sandwich, sliced apples, tropical punch, cheetos wannabes, and chocolate milk. With a Bounty (Mounds) for desert. Greatest meal ever.
I also watched Gnomeo and Juliet and must say that Shakespeare was my favorite character... I also planned a trip to Hogwarts a.k.a Alnwick Castle.
I discovered my new favorite thing too. You have to be there to understand it.

ENJOY YOUR BURRITO...

Wednesday.
Illustration, where you're supposed to be more anal about your sketchbook than how often you take a shower. She wants references, sketches, artists you like, and everything we do in class. It's too bad black and white prints cost 25 pence each page or I would totally have all that stuff ready now. Whatever people that assume suck.
Anywho, we did 5 minute heads and I must give my thanks to Jen because without having done them before they would not have had any resemblance to whomever I was drawing. It was essentially bonding day for the class and we all cracked jokes and got to know each other. Unfortunately I didn't catch many names. We'll get there.
I then stayed up late reading because I'm a huge nerd and indulged my nerdness by listening to the Nerdist Podcast because it's awesome.

Thursday:
Sat next to a smelly kid in my workshop class and he decided typing meant smashing the keys like they were going to be bolder on the screen the harder he hit them. He also made those deep nose sniffs that aren't even okay when you're really sick let alone when you're sitting next to a person in a quiet computer lab. Did I mention it was 60 degrees and gorgeous out while I was in class all afternoon for 3 hours straight learning nothing and getting nothing done? Cause that happened.

OH! I flossed my teeth today.

Then I went to Kelly's and we got tipsy and sang some songs with the muppets and various other bands.

I Feel Kinda, Sorta Bad

But not really.

MONDAY!
I had the day off so I slept in, took a shower, read some of my book and then tried not to contract hypothermia. It was a full morning really.
In the afternoon I went to see the fantastic Amanda to plan our trip to Berlin and both my and her preludes to Brussels and Paris respectfully. Unfortunately when I got back to the house the key would not work...at all. So I entertained myself for about an hour and a half by taking a walk around the block and then heading to Tesco Express to get a snack. By the time I had done all that Bridie was home and I got inside. (be prepared for more of these stories because I feel like they'll occur.)
I then proceeded to watch a lot of Rhett and Link because I felt I should and they're great.

Tuesday...
I basically got up, read some Nora Roberts, and dragged myself to class. Nothing really exciting happened in class but I did bond with the 5 girls I was grouped with cause our discussion group had to be divided since our teacher wasn't there. Also, I called EasyJet to cancel my seat from Paris to Berlin and I'm really bummed about wasting $70 because they don't do refunds but I don't care, now I'm more experienced and will read the fine print before booking for Dublin.
I also realized how much I miss Adelphi because I'm not there to go through the RA process with everyone, I'm not in on inside jokes, and I'm one of those people that likes to be in on everything and experience it all first hand instead of having it retold to me. Whatever, I'm in London.

I Almost Died Sunday...

Let's talk about that...

Ah, plans and how I constantly break and make different ones. Paris is no different. I'm not going anymore, I decided spending my life savings (seriously, $90 for a train ticket) just to go to Paris is a waste of my time and money plus I only wanted to go to see the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower. So, I made a promise to myself that in my future there is a trip to just Spain and France exclusively.
In walks Loryn the Cheapskate with mother's nagging voice in my head constantly complaining about me needing to get a 3rd job just to have money for next semester. And inevitably I have to cancel a flight from Paris to Berlin, I already booked one from Brussels and I bought my train ticket to Brussels ($60) and I just need to look for Hostels which are $8-15 a night in Berlin and then plan something to do or whatnot.
Essentially this trip is only going to cost me $250 with all expenses and maybe even shopping since I don't plan on buying much, just taking photos.

Friday:
Kelly and I went to the National Portrait Gallery where we chilled with Austen, a Bronte sister, George Washington and Princes Harry and William. We wandered aimlessly around for a while since we were near both Trafalgar and Leicester Squares where we found a row of Pizzeria's all selling pizza from the same ovens under different names...
Then we headed over to the Millenium Bridge, unfortunately I did not bring my camera because I thought we were only going to do the Gallery. We did see the Tower Bridge from afar, walked past the Globe, past the replica of my greatx5678 grandpappy Sir Francis Drake's ship and ended up and the London Bridge station where we promptly took it back home.
When I got back ironically my host mother had made me pizza for dinner. After dinner I started listening to LastFM.com and rediscovered DaVinci's Notebook - The Gates. Also, I have decided to officially start stalking Charlie McDonnell if it's the last/only thing I do while I'm here.

Saturday:
I stayed in bed...like all day. I just could not for the life of my find enough energy to move farther than the breakfast table all day.
I finally finished the HUNGER GAMES! Not okay for little kids. I laughed, I cried, I wanted people to stop all the damn dying and killing but I loved it. Kept me on the edge of my seat until the very end.
This was also the day I had my Brussels>Paris epiphany.

Sunday:
I felt guilty for staying in bed all Saturday so I went out in the afternoon and thought I would take some photos at Finsbury Park the tube stop after Arsenal. I got there and some football playing black guy tried to flirt with me but I just laughed him off and kept on walking into the park taking photos. I got some pretty good ones. I found a duck pond with Canadian Geese and swans, this was exciting. Then I found some really cool textured trees with moss only growing on one side with a very noticeable line where it stopped.
On my way back I noticed a store that reminded me of Big Lots in sketchiness and in cheapness so I wandered in and found nicely priced drinks and pistachios. As I was standing in line there was a huge black kid trying to steal a package of cookies after he opened it and ate one. The "security" guy tried to stop him and told him he had to pay for them and the black kid got mad so they started pushing each other around. The black kid got in a punch while the security guy tried to kick him in the groin. Eventually the black kid shoved him into the cash register nearest them and left all pissed off leaving his stick of a cousin behind since he didn't help or stop the big one. By this time the cops have been called and they shut the doors so no one can get in or out but the manager tells them to take the skinny kid to the back until the police get there because she doesn't want to lose customers because of stupid kids.
Needless to say, I didn't almost die. I wasn't even scared he was gonna go all apeshit. I just wanted my pistachios and juice boxes... This is how I came to the conclusion that I will only go to Manor House if I want to return to Finsbury Park.

The End. Bitches.

GAME NIGHT!

Wednesday:
Arsenal game at Emirates meant that Piccadilly was human 3D Tetris. I wasn't sure the doors were gonna close with my backpack near the door but since a guy got on after me and nudged my in so my head was below 2 armpits and I was bent over backwards I was fine. I did what any normal Londoner would do and pulled out my Nook to read Hunger Games.
I had Illustration again too which essentially meant doing the same exercise I did in AP Art junior year where we use found objects to paint with ink. We had to do 20 drawings of one of the objects from the stories we chose so I just kept drawing hands holding rocks...She liked them but no one actually got to 20, I think me and this other kid Cullum tied with 12-13 each.
I also was told that I had to come back with a British accent which will be easy to fake if it's not there in 3 1/2 months but I'm guessing there will be something different in how I speak.

Thursday:
Made some guy friends in class and afterwards I stopped at a corner store where I found the beautiful Snapple Juices for sale and bought 2. I then found a really good deal on candy bars and bought them as well. I also took some pictures of the little church and clock outside Ladbroke House where my class is.
For dinner I had the most spicy stir-fried whatever and I took about a sip a bite and then took a bite of bread to stop the burning sensation... I also made an official Skype date with the lovely Fareda Mohammed for Friday night. Then I remembered to tell the world that English Muffins are just regular muffins here. They aren't special but they are very familiar.

Tootaloo

Blah.

Monday: "Dia de Amore"
I woke up at 10-ish mostly because I kept hitting snooze on my phone... I didn't really do much but I did go to Primark again and bought a sweater. After that I got almost to City campus before I realized that I didn't have my ID so I had to take the tube back to Arsenal and trek all the way back to class. Luckily, I made it in time. And learned that I did not, in fact, have to read for class because she just goes over everything again and posts the powerpoints online.
Monday night Amanda and I booked flights from Paris to Berlin and Berlin to London. Friday we're going to the train station to see if it's cheaper to get to Paris by chunnel or plane. After that we felt accomplished so we went out for Valentine's drinks at a bar down the road. There were a few singles but mostly everyone was with groups of friends whether coupled or not which I was fine with because being shoved down the throat with happy couples is an American thing.

Tuesday:
I got up semi early and went to Whitechapel Art Gallery. It was an interesting show, it was manipulated photo prints. Mostly B-list celebrities from the early part of the 20th century cut up with various images to either interrupt or complete the photograph.
I ended up in the gift/book shop reading a book I kind of want to buy because it's premise is to show people things that should be common knowledge. After spending an hour in the shop I went to class and took a buttload of notes on stuff I have no idea what it means and then we talked about possible ideas for our assessment only to realize none of them fit the criteria. Basically a waste of my time.
Last night I found oatmeal, raisin cookies and Fanta so I had them for dessert.

That's all you missed last time on: ME!

The Doctor Who Experience

Friday:
We tried to plan what traveling we were going to do and were going to get things booked and sorted for the coming weeks but obviously that failed and we ended up just chilling and talking. Amanda ended up going to take a nap and Kelly and I bought some Bicardi Breezers, Rum and Coke and watched Doctor Who until late.
Nothing really exciting but it was fun and then I stayed up late watching Criminal Minds like I have been because it's a great show and I'm addicted.
The positive thing is that Amanda and I decided to go to Paris and Berlin and not Barcelona because it's super expensive.

Saturday:
We went to Trafalgar Square for the day. We walked around the square where there was a protest/rally for Egypt and rights of all sorts. Mostly it was a photo day and it was beautiful and sunny out. We ate at a place called Pizza Express that was expensive-ish but good and satisfied out craving for pizza. Then we got chocolate cake. Gorgeous.
We toured the National Gallery and saw Monet, Manet, van Gogh, Cezanne, Rembrandt, Degas and Da Vinci. We also took a walk down to Big Ben and The Abbey for random photo shoots like normal tourists.


Sunday:
Read for Cultures and Magic and took notes. Ate all my snacks...made half a peanut butter sandwich with a snack bag and my hand. I also watched a lot of Criminal Minds and decided that from now on I'm exploring London on my own on Sundays unless Someone wants to join me. I also realized I had a lot of cravings...I know what I'm eating when I get home.

My weekend actually sounds really boring but to me it wasn't.

Playing Ketchup...Catsup?

BLAST! Two entries in one night! Okay, I promise to try to keep on schedule from now on....show of hands as to who believed that.

Wednesday:
ILLUSTRATION! Except it wasn't that exciting because she put the wrong short stories up so all the sketch I did were for shite. Whatever. I walked into class and the teacher asked me if I was in the write class and almost told me to leave when I didn't say the full name of the module. She gives off the Professor Trelawney vibe, if you say one certain thing she'll either go ape shit or complete shut down and she's just really skinny and it freaks me out.
I ended up with a story where a guy falls off a cliff because he thinks his daughter is drowning and his wife doesn't pick up on his signals from afar. The mother saves the daughter who wasn't actually drowning and when she returns to shore there's a crowd around his body and it goes between past and present. Good stuff.
AND! all the measurements are in metric...and some aren't even in that. What the hell does A4 mean? It's probably 8/4 for all I know! Bullocks.

Thursday:
I hit the snooze button on my alarm every 5 minutes from 8:45-10am this morning. It rained today for the first time I believe and I broke out my umbrella and walked to class after eating breakfast. There's a nice church and clock I'll take photos of when it's not wet out across from the building I have class in.
Lecture went well today, the professor has a Spanish/British accent that I understood better than just British ones which was nice. Then I went to the Seminar from hell...the professor was different and didn't have any idea what we were supposed to do or how WordPress works. It's not worth it even if you can figure it out, I don't know why we didn't just used Blogspot, so much simpler. I'm pretty sure we were supposed to have photoshopped portraits of ourselves by the end of class but she had just opened photoshop when I got up and left after fiddling for an hour. Class was over and the next one was coming it, the woman's voice is high-pitched and warbly. I got a headache and wanted to tell her to shut up and that I would run the class, people were literally just getting up and leaving and I realized I will FOREVER get the WORST teachers when it comes to photography and learning photoshop.
I wanted to get some shopping done today too but I couldn't top-up my oystercard at Arsenal today when I went so I went back to the house and did it online only I have to wait until tomorrow to use it. Which means I didn't get anything done that I wanted to today and everything was all emo-y. I did, however, take notes on places I would like to go and Kelly, Amanda and I are going over it all tomorrow afternoon to plan and book stuff. I have given myself a $600-700 budget for all traveling in and out of the UK so I have $1200-1400 of my own left for food and other stuff but I have another $2000 from Sean in case. I'm hoping for both of us I won't need it.
Also, I'm crashing Jen's wedding when I get home.

Ta Ta Mon Amis!

Whoopsie Poopsie

I forgot to blog Tuesday night and I apologize for that. My bad.

Monday:
First day of classes, I had Cultures and Magic. The professor cut an hour off class time which made me happy. We watched half an episode of Human Planet about people surviving in the desert and had little discussion groups about it. I'm a little worried about actually making friends in these classes because unlike America where we meet 2-3 times a week and see the same students day after day the classes are once a week and you only see them 12 times. 11 actually for this class I get the 21st off. Like I said, it's gonna be difficult to befriend my Londoner classmates. Also, we didn't even have a classroom until the morning of class so people were still coming in with 30 minutes left.
This was also the day that I realized I only have 14 weeks to enjoy Europe and that I should really get on with booking/planning trips because I might not return for a while. (Though if I have it my way I'll come back for a few years and work here so I can take a trip to a country every month.) I'm excited to return home because it means my own bed and my wonderful car. It also means it's almost time for Kanazawa and after being in London for so long I think I'll find all the Vermonty tourist spots even better than I did before.

Tuesday:
I woke up, as you do on a weekday morning and went to Youtube and found the Boob's new song Hollywood where he dresses up as the Bieb which means I had a good morning. I was expecting to go to a huge lecture filled with 234 kids but when the class split for our seminar groups there were barely 100. I met some nice girls in this class and was complimented on my accent, I won't lie, I found this amusing. I learned that every building in London is a maze and you always end up going in a circle, even if you think you're lost you're probably around a corner from the main entrance.
For dinner my host mother made me some sort of bacon wrapped chicken and I was very confused but she also made mashed potatoes from scratch and the smell was so familiar it was heavenly. I thought it was mac'n'cheese at first since those are the two things I'm so used to eating with most meals at home. And I've been craving a brownie from a box with a little vanilla ice cream....B&J costs about $8 here which is beyond not worth it until weeks 6/7 when papers are due and I miss home too much to hold back.

Tuesday Night:
Kelly, Amanda and I went back to Leicester Square/Piccadilly Circus/Chinatown/Holborn/Soho/Buckingham(area) and wandered around for a couple hours and took photos. I was hunting for clear nail polish and I did find a cheaper one but it was still on the expensive side but whatever. I got back at about 9:20ish and uploaded the photos then promptly returned to watching every back episode/new episode of Criminal Minds/House. It's an addiction really.
I fell asleep to the melodious tones of Charlie McDonnell and his CD This Is Me. I recommend listening to it here: http://charliemcdonnell.com/music/ .

Weekend at Bertolli's

Where was I? Right. First weekend in London and I loved every second of it, including the sleeping.

Friday:
Kelly, Amanda and I got together around 10:30am to plan our trip to Paris because we realised if we narrow it down to just the stuff we want to do and stay in a hostel it's a lot cheaper than going through the tour company. We ended up watching AVPM on youtube and drinking Schmirnoff Ice and Absolut Rasberry while we talked about random stuff like you do as college students.
Also, we were going to meet up with some friends of Amanda's that live in the city as well but it turned out to be a game night at the pub. Both football and rugby on different levels of the pub so we left and found a little gelateria nearby in Chinatown and it literally evaporated in my mouth it was so creamy and light.
We wandered around Chinatown and found a shopping center with an arcade/bowling alley/movie theatre that took up 2-3 levels. We walked around for a little while but didn't really do much but wander around Piccadilly Circus and they took some photos.


Saturday:
Another wonderful day, we met again in the morning to go shopping on Oxford St. and we found New Look, which had some nice but cheap stuff, as well as Primark, goodish but very inexpensive. I bought myself some rings, a shirt, a purse and some Herculean sandals for warmer weather. It all cost around 20 pounds which is what I normally spend when I go on a shopping spree at home so I don't feel too bad about it, especially since I decided I'm not going to buy anything else until March unless I really need it for whatever reason.
We found a pub advertising an "Authentic British Pub" off Oxford St. and the food wasn't badly priced for what they were serving so we went in and had rum and cokes. I had some lasagna that my mouth is still recovering from and it was good. The pub was really nice and clean and seemed like a regular hang out for locals and foreigners alike, didn't hurt that it wasn't crowded either.
Afterwards we headed back to Nido and Amanda and I watched Beauty and the Beast then we all headed over to Sainsbury's to do a little grocery shopping. It was another nice day spent with quality people.

Sunday:
Jet lag hit today and I ended up sleeping until noon because I could just not wake up for the life of me. After I woke up I had a breakfast bar and watched some Criminal Minds, looked for the classrooms of all my classes and tried to figure out what I should bring tomorrow. I just finished up a sketch from one of the short stories we're supposed to read for my Illustration class and figured I'll do a couple more before I have it Wednesday.

I'll leave what happens tomorrow for Tuesday when next we meet again. It is the first day of classes though so I'm nervous and excited. Also, we don't have a classroom yet so I'm really hoping it says it before I get on the tube to go to the City campus....

TAFN

I Love Free Things...

Like bus tours for instance. Maybe a nice quick boat tour, too. That's what my day was like. I believe I saw everything touristy today.

I saw some guards at Prince Charles office cause he was doing some filing there I'm assuming. I saw the Parliament building, London Eye, Big Ben, Regents Park, River Thames, Tate Modern, The BBC building. All the good stuff. And then I saw the Quebec Embassy and felt the urge to knock on their door and tell them even though they think they're cooler cause they have TWO native languages, they are not, in fact, a separate entity from Canada. Trust me Quebec, I live 45 minutes from you, the stamps say Canada.

Met some new friends and am excited to say: Yes, we're going to Paris and Versailles but my bum is not leaving that country until we finish our trip to Disneyland! It best not rain either or I'm pretty sure we'll all cry.

Also, I'm going to Bath and Stonehenge as well as Dublin at some point and maybe Barcelona. I'm working on it but I have found some trips that look appealing I just need to figure out if the price is right. Especially since traveling is really the only thing I want to do here, well and take pictures at the markets and go to a pub. This reminds me, I did win a pint today on the tour and could have shared it with the Australian guy who runs the program here and the tour guide but I thought that would be a bit odd.

I did order a Student Oystercard though even if it's awkward for me to get mail here but it will save me heaps of money in the long run, and I can use all the help I can get. I've already decided that unless it's of dire importance or something that is only purchasable once in a lifetime I am only buying a couple postcards each place I go. I just can't afford it to be honest.

I had the greatest hot chocolate ever today too, it tasted like someone heated up ice cream.

That's all I can remember for now, off to bed! Trip planning tomorrow with Kelly and Amanda. Yay, DISNEYLAND HERE I COME!!!

New Mates

Salutations

I had my very first day of orientation today and I met some wonderful people staying at the Nido flats whom I will hopefully be gallivanting with around the area and maybe a little farther. (Apparently there is a proper way to spell gallivanting)

It's weird seeing all this alcohol everywhere I turn and knowing I can just pick it up and buy it...I haven't, I promise but I definitely found the concept strange. Also, there was a pretty big consensus that we won't feel like we're in London until we see Big Ben or the London Eye.

I've been eating my veggies and whatever is put in front of me, I also have a stash of drinks under the bed in case I'm thirsty in the middle of the night. I'm working on finding the perfect snack for the same reason but I have yet to get to a real Tesco, I've only found an express but maybe I'll stop at the Waitrose tomorrow and see what's what.

I am within a 2 minute walk of the Arsenal football stadium and a 2 second one from the Arsenal Underground stop. We're planning on taking in a game this semester just because, when in London... On Thursday we have a bus tour of London and you'll get a lot more photos to look at of my adventures but I haven't taken any since the plane, sorry, too busy exploring.

Au Revoir.

Zombie Entry aka Shawn of the Dead

Between trying to stay awake and remember I am not at home I keep trying to think of things I need to do tomorrow. The main thing is get a mobile to use while I'm here because mine sucks and everyone knows it.

I'm so tired....

I got through customs and everything all right but I when I got to the passport place I told them I was a student and all that fun stuff and I was supposed to get a Student Visitor's Visa that had some cost of close to 70pounds. Apparently this is false and all they do is stamp your passport and write the word Visa (illegibly) near the top.... If it means saving money I'm all for it, I just hope I'm allowed outside the country.

4 months of London and they just installed a system where you pay a little over a pound or so and you get a bike for an entire day. How cool is that, I can rent a bike and tour London for a pound instead of taking the Underground or a bus or whatever. GENIUS!

I love London more than NYC, there I said it. It's got so much more history and it's so much less daunting. Plus, the boys are cuter and they have accents.

Dear Lord, when 7 o'clock comes around I am putting on my flannels, heavy socks and crawling into this bed to be in a horizontal position for 13.5 hours straight. That's the plan and if I wake up before hand I will cry multiple rivers...and an ocean.

Okay, while this has been slightly distracting I'm going to wrap this up cause I'm too tired to type more and it's probably a horrendous entry. The pictures I took on the plane will be up here soon. I hope.

G'day.

Flight

So, as I take photos of the sun coming up outside the plane I think to myself, “Self, how beautiful is that and how crazy is it that you can leave one place in the middle of the night and be somewhere completely new and wonderful with a whole day ahead of you?” Well, ladies and gents, it’s outrageous.

Now I have to remind myself not to stare into the sun as I try to capture the brilliance that is sunrise at a mile high.

This entry and those to come are hopefully going to sound slightly more thought out than the previous ones because I want to look back at this and not cringe at how awkward I was or how terribly these were written.

I am going to continue this flight without the blissful distraction of sleep, watch the sunrise, contemplate whether what they served me really was chicken and not a very mutant cousin, and pretend that as I am writing this sentence the plane isn’t shaking like we’re about to meet a very unfortunate end… I imagine landing early and breezing through customs like it’s my job and obtaining my visa like I own the damn country. I see myself arriving at my host family’s home to find a cat who wants my affection and perfect weather conditions to go shopping for everything I need.

While I had my obligatory thoughts of canceling this whole thing and staying home in the comfort of my bed I am glad I took this leap of freedom. To be on my own, surrounded not only by the history of England but of all Europe, is a fantastic opportunity that most people never get the chance to explore. As always when I leave home for periods of time I know I’ll only appreciate it more upon return.
But for realz, this turbulence is kind of bugging me, come on people I’m trying to type here. Geez.

Ah, my In-Flight Movie Review:
Easy A- Meh, I could have lived without it but it was cute and I did like the ending because I’ve often wished for a Lloyd.

Eat Pray Love- Good, inspired me to return to Rome and made me want to travel for the rest of my life even if I can’t sleep on planes anymore.

That’s all I have for you lovely followers today…tonight? Whatever.

(Seriously, this turbulence is bringing back memories of bus rides home from Westford with the way it’s tossing my stomach around.)

For REALZ.

Technically I leave tomorrow afternoon, in all realness it's a day and a half or thereabouts.

I'm wicked stoked and I have the shakes but it's all good. I just picked my seat and thus far the one next to me on the long flight is empty and seeing as it's the day before in business day time I don't think that's gonna change. Cross your fingers, please and thank you.

I'm most nervous about meeting the driver taking me to my homestay family cause I have to call him when I get through immigration and customs and such. I'm pretty sure I'm gonna make the airport info people do it for me to save money on the call or have them page him in case he's just chillin' in the airport.

God, I still have stuff to pack...I kind of just want to be there already cause then I'd be through all this anticipation and adrenaline rushes. On the other hand another part of me doesn't want to leave because it's just me over there, there's no one else to take care of me or make decisions for me and all the stuff I hate when my parents do.

As the Doctor says,
"Allons-y!"

Holy Fadkh;lbfjiouoslkjhvlskjhvklj

That's obviously a technical term for scared crapless and excited to the point of bladder control loss...

I LEAVE IN LESS THAN A WEEK!!! (Insert post title here). I just have to pack my back pack with stuff I'm still using until Saturday, wash my sweatshirt and put some new, fresh tunes on my iPod for the 456874 hours I will be traveling overnight Saturday to Sunday. But seriously, it's like I'm in a bubble and everything is right outside, it can see me but it can't touch me and it's all distorted and surreal.

For those of you that have read the other posts, I officially have a place to stay. I'm living a couple and their cat, whom I'm hoping is more friendly toward me than my own. They live near the Arsenal Football Club and the North Campus of London Metropolitan. I'm super excited to meet them and memorize everything about the area ASAP.

My orientation starts on Tuesday really. The Monday session is for the Nido apartment students I believe so I think I have a free day. Tuesday we have some general info stuff but I'm stoked for Friday when we take the land and boat tour of London!

I also can't wait to start my search for everything Harry Potter and Doctor Who related.

Well since I almost wrote about how much I love colored (coloured) duct tape I'm gonna finish this up and go grab some dinner before I go nuts.

Adios Muchachos

Final Countdown!!!

Okay, I leave in T-minus 12 days and I've started (and almost finished) packing. This is exciting. It's actually happening even though I still don't have a place to stay.

That's not a big deal so don't freak out, I'm not. I'm pretty psyched, I can't believe everything I need for 4 months fits in a suitcase and back pack....

I was friend requested by the lovely Kelly, a girl I will be doing all things Harry Potter with. We've been conversing on Facebook and I can't wait to meet her in 2 weeks at our orientation.

I just realized this is a very short post but I don't have much else to say that's new.

Vive le France!!!

Pre-Registration

Konnichiwa,

I just finished it this afternoon and let's just throw it out there that I hope I did it correctly. Also, I still haven't gotten a place to stay as of yet so we're working on that for next week.

I went to Montreal yesterday to escape for a little and stayed with my friend's roommate and her family. It was great, we walked down Sainte Catherine's and played Katamari and the game of things. Then we arrived a wee bit late to a going away party at the local watering hole and left early cause we're cool that way and were tired. Saturday we went to Chet Cora and I'm pretty sure they gave me a crepe the size of a large pizza stuffed with nutella and bananas that I barely finished 1/2 of... but it was delicious. Then we went to St. Joseph's Oratory and saw Brother Andre's heart in a box afterwhich with went to get some authentic Montreal bagels fresh from the oven (actually I don't remember if the oven was involved in the process but they were warm and I'm going to assume). Then we were on our way home, passing the strip club and complete flatness that is southern Quebec, cause the mountains don't have passports and aren't allowed above the border.

So my plans for tomorrow involve unpacking and laying stuff aside to go with me because I leave in 2 weeks...this is ridiculous. Yeah, besides that I have to work on Tuesday from 12-8pm at the pharmacy and while that means money it also means associating with people that want as little to do with me as possible.

That's all I have right now and most of it doesn't have anything to do with London but it was enjoyable.

Ja nee!

Happy New Year!!!

I now have a working keyboard and keeping a blog will get infinitely easier, thank the Doctor. Due to the new keyboard I need to learn how to type the write way again and it takes a lot more thinking than it did before...

Here's a list of stuff I have that will be of use to me on my way and during my stay in London to keep me sane and busy outside of University stuff:

London Free & Dirt Cheap: 389 Free Events, Attractions, Classes & More
Let's Go: London Oxford Cambridge & Edinburgh (The student travel guide)
Barnes and Noble NOOK with all the HPs and 100 other books thus far
Sims 3: Night Life
Prismacolor Pencils
Tax 2.0 (DSLR)
This Blog
Facebook and Skype
The Little Green Monster a.k.a my iPod
The Chocolate Beast (Laptop)
Not For Tourists Guide To London

I'm sure there will be more things to come but that's all I can think of right now. I'm just waiting to find out still if I have a place to stay once I get there, whoops.

I don't think it's sunk in yet that I'm leaving at the end of this month but at the same time I'm trying not to freak out. I wouldn't be myself though if I wasn't flipping a shit in my head... The good thing is I have friends to distract me for at least another week but then I'm basically stuck at home while everyone leaves again for school. This weekend I'm going to Canada with Samme for some perfect companionship and fun-ness in general.

I'm gonna shut this down for the night and maybe you'll see something new soon but I won't guarantee anything at this point.