14/1/09

Today was rather productive.

In the morning I went to my study abroad adviser and switched some classes. My schedule looks like this now.

Wednesday:
10-1 Creative Writing about London
2-5 Devising London

Thursday:
9-12 Art and Society
2-5 London Theater in Performance

As you can see, this is sort of an awesome schedule. I can travel on Tuesdays now, which is usually a great travel day.

Art and Society is where we go out in London and look at art, architecture and historical sites. Basically the class was made for me. The first week it sounds like we're going to St. Paul's Cathedral. I'm glad I didn't go yesterday.

Devising London is slightly less defined. It sounds like we will be doing things at London sites and then at the end of the year we have some sort of performance about our time in London. Not sure how that all ties together. Sounds like a Mrs. Barney kind of class, so it could be fun. Either way, I don't expect it to be academically challenging.

I went to a store in the school and I picked up an A4 notebook (it's longer than American paper) and a bottled water so I can have something to carry water in. From there I walked down to Oxford Street, which is kind of like State Street and Michigan Avenue put together. It's pretty awesome. Lots of different shops, a much greater variety than in the states. I went into a Boots (think CVS) and bought some liquid hand soap for 1.70 pounds on a two-for-one sale. The next store I went to was Argos. It is a catalog store where you go to a catalog and look through a book, find the number of the item you want, and write it on a card. You take it up to the tilly (cashier) and pay, then you walk over to another desk and they fetch the item from the backroom. I was going to get a 40-piece silverware and 12-piece plate set for 7 pounds, but they were out of the plates. So I ordered a Spiderman kids set.

I went into about three different H&Ms and looked around. They have a lot of the same things as in the state, but they also have a good deal more. The prices are a little high, but not much. I didn't get anything.

I came back and had two bowls of Frosties. Then I decided to walk to Buckingham Palace. My foot is still hurting, so I switched shoes to my Pumas but it still hurt (although at the end of the walk it seemed to be doing better.) It's about two miles to Buckingham Palace, and a pretty nice walk. It's been incredibly pleasant outside. It was foggy in the morning, but clear at night, and in the upper 40's. There were a bunch of people out running and walking.

When I finally got to Buckingham Palace, I wasn't that impressed. It's not incredibly well-lit, so it wasn't that interesting.

I walked around the block, and you can really only see the front view, the rest is blocked by a wall. There isn't much security around the place. I felt like I could throw a baseball into the front of the Palace. I did see a couple Bobbies, and one with a machine gun, but you could get pretty close.

I was also surprised by how much activity was going on all around it. It sort was like Wrigley Field with buildings and people out and about.

In the back of the block, away from the front, the security was a little more serious. But I could go up to the front of the Palace and stick my camera through the gate.

I walked up Queen Victoria's Statue and took another picture. Still not that impressive in the dark.

On the walk back I went by the original Hard Rock Cafe and then stopped in Primark's again because I had to pass it. I almost bought about half the store but ended up just getting a mat for the bathroom for 1.96 pounds so the floors aren't always wet.

Since I had things to eat with, I decided to get some more food at Tesco. I got bread, Nutella (they had peanut butter, but it was about three times more expensive for the same amount) raspberry preserves, more milk (they come in liters, so they're smaller) Cheerios, crackers (like a case of fancy man crackers you get a events, it was super cheap, like 2 pounds), 'mature cheddar' (it has a little stronger tatse, but still good) and bananas (for mom.) I also joined the Tesco Card Club. I then ate the most since I've been here. I had a Nutella and jelly sandwich, crackers and cheese, milk, my last yogurt, and a banana.

I read The London Paper and/or London Lite everyday. They're free papers and also like RedEye, youth and entertainment based. In The London Paper they have a spot where readers write a column everyday, so I wrote one today for the Obama inauguration. If it doesn't get published, I'll post it here.

Tomorrow I'm touring the Tate Modern I think, we'll see.