“When you sneeze, we catch the cold.”

I know that I have been neglecting my blog lately and am very sorry about that! It’s just that this whole experience is slowly winding down and I’ve been busy trying to spend time out and about in London and doing all that unwanted homework that I HAVE to do. But I guess, technically, I am supposed to be “studying” while I’m here. :)

Last week was mostly spent doing things in and around London – I went to the O2 Centre in Greenwich is see a movie. This is a huge monstrosity of a building planned by the former Prime Minister, Tony Blair, has a celebration for the millennium. Well, it wasn’t done is time, cost taxpayers way more than what was expected, and is in a horrible location that definitely does not attract many visitors. So basically, it’s a waste. I mean, it was a really cool building, but it wastes an enormous amount of energy every day. I also went walking through Kensington Gardens one day and stumbled upon a memorial for Prince Albert, Queen Victoria’s husband. I have no idea how I never knew it was there because it definitely large and in charge.

This past weekend I went on a group tour of Wales. On Saturday we stopped in a few towns to see a very old castle, the ruins of a famous abbey, and to shop around in all the different bookshops. Sunday was that day I was really looking forward to because we were going horseback riding in the countryside! The countryside in Wales really reminds me of upstate New York. So anyway, on Sunday we left the hotel and it’s raining. We arrive at the horse stables and it’s raining. We mount the horses and start riding… and guess what? It’s still raining. It pretty much rained the entire time we were on the horses, which made all of us decide we wanted to come back a little earlier. I basically went numb about two-thirds through the ride because I was completely soaked and shivering. It seriously looked like I walked into the shower with all of my clothes on. But on a brighter note, my horse, Smokey, was fabulous. They called him a “gentle giant” and he really was. I felt completely safe while I was riding him – he liked to stop and eat every chance he had, but can you really blame him? I mean, most of us like to do that too. :)

On Monday I had British Life and Culture class – we spent a lot of time talking about what had happened the previous week in the States with our presidential election. It was amazing to be in London during that time and to watch the reactions of the British. The day after the election, I walked into a newspaper shop and Obama was on the cover of every major newspaper in the United Kingdom. Pretty amazing. And everyone here is so thrilled about his victory – but it also presents the question that our British professor brought up on Monday… Will the Brits ever have a black Prime Minister? They’ve already had a woman, which we are yet to do, but what about a minority leader? One man we talked to in Wales said something that really stood out in my mind – he was referring to the actions of the States and said, “When you sneeze, we catch the cold.”

That night we went to the musical “We Will Rock You”. It’s based entirely on Queen’s music and was ABSOLUTELY AMAZING! I know I say that about most shows I see, but this one was truly extraordinary. Everything was wonderful – the band, the lights, the stage, the performers – it was awesome. The storyline was a little weak at the beginning, but the music definitely made up for it. By the end of the performance, the whole audience was singing and clapping along, and I don’t think any of us wanted it to end. It was definitely the best musical I’ve ever been to.

On Tuesday, my first visitor came to see me! My Grandma Jane arrived in London on Monday night, but I didn’t see her until lunch on Tuesday. We ate at the Chinese restaurant that we both loved when we were here together several years ago – and of course, it was just as good as we remembered. She brought along gifts with her – Orbit sweet mint gum and candy corn. Can you believe they don’t have candy corn anywhere in London? That’s just ridiculous. So anyways, we had lunch, went to Oxford Street to find her a cheap, pay-as-you-go cell phone, and then headed to Harrods to do a little belated birthday present shopping for me. She bought me this fabulous, environmental day planner made from recycled paper – I absolutely love it! And then we had traditional English afternoon tea there too. The tea was lovely, along with small sandwiches, raisin scones topped with clotted cream (talk about a heart attack waiting to happen – but still amazingly delicious) and strawberry jam, and a few assorted pastries. It was a lovely English day with my grandmum. :)

Wednesday is our weekly day trip day, and this week we went to Brighton. It’s on the southeast coast of England and is very much a “beachy” sort of town. The Royal Pavilion is there (I believe it was built by King George IV), which is considered a royal palace, but it is definitely not as large of a residence as Buckingham Palace or Windsor Castle. The inside is definitely extravagant and over the top, with a very, VERY prominent Oriental theme going on. There is also a very long pier in Brighton, which is sort of “carnival-ly”. If you’ve ever read the book “The Five People You Meet in Heaven”, this is exactly the scene in which I imagined that book to take place. Funny story though - I was walking on the pier eating a small piece of fudge and then before I even knew what had happened, a HUGE dinosaur seagull swooped down from behind me, landed on my hand, and snatched the fudge right out of it! It was ridiculous because that thing was huge and freakishly fast. And it must have been stalking me for quite some time to spot that piece of fudge. So it’s safe to say after that happened, I quickly turned around and headed for the shore.

My favorite part of Brighton was DEFINTELY all the unique shops they had there. I had lunch at a little “hole in the wall” Chinese restaurant (but of course those are always the best) with one of my friends and then we went shopping all around town. One shop we found was called Vegetarian shoes and their motto was “Treats for your feet for those who don’t eat meat.” I thought it was hilarious – and very clever too.

After we rode the train back from Brighton, we went to this new shopping centre in London called Westfield. It’s humungous, brand-new, and very modern and contemporary. One part of it is called The Village and only contains designer shops, like Armani, Gucci, and all those stores that are way too expensive for my lifestyle right now. :) But there were also shops that I can actually afford, like Levi’s, H&M, and places like that.

Today I will be spending most of the day with Grandma Jane and Pam. I don’t know what they have planned, but I’m sure whatever it is will be tons of fun! And I promise I’ll try not to go so long before I post again!

Until next time,
Rachel