The Tale of Procrastination

For Memorial Day, I have decided to write in red, (white), and blue.

Class starts up again tomorrow at 10:30, and I really do not feel like sifting through a 30 page article on Western Europe and writing a summary about it. After finishing this entry, I think I have done everything humanly possible (well, in my terms) to distract myself. 

I hate to admit it, but today my flat-mates and I slept until.....oh I'd say noon. We were awoken by Fran's phone alarm early, but then fell quickly back asleep in and out until noon. I had alot of dreams last night, but unfortunately I can't remember them. I think they were good ones too. 

(This is my new hat)

Our plans to head to the gorgeous parks here were demolished by the unusual rainy weather that fell upon the city today. Instead, Emily, Ally, Julia and I hopped on the tube and headed to Bond Street, right around Oxford Street for some shopping to cure our rainy day blues. I was so excited to buy my first piece of clothing from London! Because now, everytime I wear it back home and someone asks me where it is from, I can say, "London". And I will. I also bought a very cute and swank black hat for those "off" days I have alot in which I opt out of showering. (Today was an "on" day for sure as you can see). 

I bought a frozen pizza today for 99 pents! Which is super cheap. I decided to make it for dinner, not knowing that our oven isn't top-notch. My facebooking was quickly interrupted by Halli yelling, "Christy your pizza is burning!". I think I got a quicker running start to the kitchen than when I was in track in high school. I'm like a cheetah (those are really fast, right?). 

Julia and I were in a creepy underground station today (it looked like it was from Harry Potter), and I almost kicked a pigeon. ALMOST. It's weird, I am such a huge animal lover, but those rank animals just do not have a special place in my heart quite yet.

(That's hummus)

The train is still rolling by about every 5 minutes outside of my window, but I am starting to get used to it. The friendships here are really starting to grow, and I am very excited for everyone to find out their internships for the summer. I'm hoping to expand my eating choices too (Hummus is a new favorite snack of mine). That's me with a jar of hummus in case you were confused. 

And a new favorite quote of the group whenever anything good, bad, interesting, funny, etc happens,"Blog it out". I guess I should get started on that paper now that it is midnight. 

Let's go back:

-Sweet dreams

-Rainy day blues cured

-Burnt pizza/new record in the 100m dash

-Did I mention I am going to PARIS on friday?

-Blog it out

Cheers!

-Christy

The Tale of Ratatouille

I thought I was imagining it, the squeaking noise coming from under the cabinets in our kitchen, but unfortunately I wasn't. We.have.a.mouse.

I haven't seen the little guy, but I have heard him alot the past two days. The weird thing is that we have kept our flat so extremely clean, that I don't understand how we have attained a new pet. For these purposes, and to keep things lighthearted, I am going to name him after the mouse that lived in Kate's flat last semester-Ratatouille. Maybe he will even help me cook. 

Last night was very eventful. After discovering our "friend", we discovered that there is in fact an old woman that lives up on the 5th floor across from Emily and Allison's flat. They had never heard anyone come in or out of that flat, so when they were heading upstairs and heard a door open and close, the two of them pretty much just flew through the floor to get back to our place so we could help them out. So there we were, in our little girl brigade, and Emily with a knife in her hand (always prepared), going back upstairs to check out the situation. Turns out an elderly woman lives there and was just as scared that people kept knocking on her door. We felt bad, but at least we figured it out. In the midst of that, we also window-watched people from Flat #5's bedroom window. I felt like I was in the movie "Disturbia", but without Shia LeBeouf or witnessing eerie behavior. Maybe later. 

Today we took a bus tour out to Bath and Stonehenge. We were told not to be "noisy", as many Americans I guess have been in the past. Thanks. It took a good 2 hours to get to Bath, but we had a good mix of fun and sleep along the way. Lauren even learned something-it was ok that she didn't bring her swimsuit to Bath. A bunch of the girls, including myself bought pashminas in Bath (2 for 9 pounds!) so that was exciting for me. Especially because now I have 6 scarves here, and 3 of them are blue. Different shads of course. I also dipped my hand in one of the Roman Baths (apparently a "no-no", but I followed other's bad example. And I stole this picture from Carl....thanks bud for capturing such a great moment). 

After Bath we headed another hour to Stonehenge. Talk about anti-climatic......

The rocks are literally almost on the road, not even at the top of a hill or anything! It was still pretty amazing to see such a historical thing though, and I even took a picture to send to The Arrow (Pi Phis at Stonehenge!)

We were all mad because we couldn't touch any part of Stonehenge, or even get within 500ish yards of it. What do they think will happen?? (this is why none of us are smiling)

I also entertained myself (for the hour) by taking photos of people that I do not know, but just so happened to be either posing by the rocks, turning in odd angles and contortions to get their picture of the rocks, or just very stereotypical tourists (some asians for kicks too). All in all we had a pretty good day with everyone, about 10 of us total went. 

In other and EXTREMELY recent news-We are going to Paris this weekend! The trip sort of just sprung up on us, but we had to take it because of the price. We will be leaving this Friday and coming back on Sunday night. I will not bore you all with the details, but Mom-I'll be calling you tomorrow about it. We are so excited!

And we have had some fun too-here's a picture of a group of us before going out a few nights ago-->

 Let's recap this long entry:

-Ratatouille will help me cook!

-No bathing in Bath

-Stonehenge=glad I saw it, but I didn't cry when it was time to leave

-An old woman lives in flat 4

-British people like to make fun using American stereotypes

-PARIS THIS WEEKEND!

-Look for me in the future issues of The Arrow

-Some of these photos are stolen from friends, but I love them so I figured they wouldn't mind. 

Cheers!

-Christy

The Tale of the Underground

Well, it happened. Marylyn didn't get off the tube quick enough and was left behind. 

To be continued.....

just kidding. She found her way back to us thankfully!

Also, on the tube today we saw a gladiator. Well, sort of. It was a homeless man playing some sort of flute, but he was wearing thickly stitched together leather patches for clothing. It is hard to describe, but we are calling him "Tube Man" because we secretly want the tube to have a superhero-and we believe he has been chosen. 

Other than our more-boring-than-usual class that we had to go to this morning, we decided to travel on the tube to an art exhibition. As if we are not softly made fun of for being American enough, try being "lost" Americans. But we did find the exhibit and were lucky enough to get a tour of it by the designer which was pretty cool. There were alot of vintage posters and propaganda things, as well as a startling anti-american and anti-war poster.

Then Halli, Julia, Marylyn and I found an awesome place to eat called MOR-ish. 

We are all excited for the weekend, no more papers to write for a few days, and to visit Bath and Stonehenge on Sunday! Apparently some people hammered a piece out of Stonehenge today, so I hope there's not heightened security by the rocks. 

Recap:

-Marylyn is OOOOK.

Cheers!

-Christy

The Tale of Blue Skies

London was really sunny today! While we were walking to class at 10am there was not a cloud in the sky.

<---LOOK!

It was about 70 degrees also, which was just perfect for our 15ish walk to Imperial with our very pompous professor who likes the sound of his own voice. Whenever I first get to class, I always feel very energized and ready for the day, but yet I find myself fighting to keep my eyes open and brain in focus throughout the duration of the class. It is like he has some sort of venom that sucks the energy out of us. It is hard to explain, and I may be exaggerating slightly, but nonetheless I am ready for my internship to start. I wish that I could have a hint before I find out on Tuesday!

Yesterday was the Championship football match between Chelsea and Manchester United (who ended up winning with PKs!). A huge group of us walked to Imperial College's quad (the 3rd time we made the trek over there for the day) and watched the game with some of the students on a big screen outside. I can not get enough of the accent over here, it is so much fun to listen to. I wonder how funny we all sound to them. 

I have continued on my pattern of only taking showers every other day (which is very unlike me, considering I like to be so fresh and so clean all the time). So as a general rule of thumb, if my hair is down that means I have showered that day. If my hair is up than that means I have not. Tomorrow is an "off" day. 

Something else I have noticed about this city is that everyone loves mayonnaise. There is literally half of an aisle at the store dedicated to mayo. I hate mayo! The only sandwich I have found thus far which lacks the disgusting, thick, pasty, smelly condiment is called a cheese salad. A cheese salad is lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, and cheese on bread. No sauce. No mayo. PERFECT.

I am sitting on my bed right now (top bunk) listening to the train pass by my window every five minutes and procrastinating on writing my summary for this stupid article we have to read for class tomorrow. For your (and my own) entertainment:

 HI!

FISHY FACES

I'M TALKING TO YOU ON THE PHONE

WHOA

I CAN'T DO THIS HERE...

The only other thing I did today was go to see the new Indiana Jones movie (my 1st, i hate to admit). Supposedly it was really bad, but I had nothing to compare it too so I didn't mind the aliens in the movie so much. It was still 7 pounds though!

I suppose I should get to my paper....

SUNNY DAYZ RECAP:

-pompous professor

-London loves mayo

-Man U beat Chelsea (which I think is because "Chelsea" is not a manly name)

-Accents are fun

-I will definitely be showering on Saturday......

-CONFESSION: i may or may not have gone to Starbucks today :)

Cheers!

-Christy

The Tale of Tardiness

One would think it would not be that hard to arrive to class on time when it starts at 10:30-but remember my last name.
So here's what happened: Caroline and I got up at 8am to go on a run in Kensington Gardens/Hyde Park which is about a 15 minute walk away. We left our flat at 8:45 and stayed at the park until about 10. The park was absolutely gorgeous, I can't wait to go back and take pictures of it. London does not have leash laws either, so everyone has their dogs (which are well-behaved and listen) and they literally just run around. There were alot of pugs, long-haired dachshunds, and labs that I saw today. Anyway, we were not keeping track of time because it was sunny and about 60 degrees outside so we did not get back to our flat until about 10:15. Keep in mind it takes about 15 minutes to get to Imperial College (class started at 10:30). Luckily, the other 4 girls we live with had not left either, so we all left promptly around 10:20ish. OUR TEACHER HAD LOCKED THE DOOR! He let us in for public ridicule and we don't want to ever be late again. I feel like enjoying a famous London park should be a good excuse for being late to class in this type of program, but that's just me. Tomorrow we plan to run earlier and leave our flat by 10am for 10:30 class.

We got to visit the Museum of London today which was very cool, but I can only look at artifacts for so long honestly. We took the tube home and I sat by this man with a small black Barret (we dont know how it was staying on his head), a large beaded bag, and pointed shoes. Alot of men here wear skinny jeans and/or pointed dress shoes. Alot of women wear skinny jeans or leggings and boots and are very mismatched. I'm working on it.

This weekend is a bank holiday in London, therefore we do not have class on Monday. Some people are traveling to Edinborough, some to Rhineland, etc. Me and my flatmates, along with some of the boys, are going to spend the weekend in London sightseeing, and then we are going to Bath and Stonehenge on Sunday. I hear Stonehenge is not too exciting, but we definitely have to see it while we are here.

Also, I don't know if I should say this since it is on public display, but we all got a kick out of it so I might as well share. Before I tell you, just know that I did get above a 3.0 this semester and am therefore still eligible to be in my journalism courses next year. I had one rough class, Power and Money, a poli sci course, and I just hated it. I took the final two days before I left for London and didn't do so hot. So, I looked at myzou today, where my grades are listed in a downward column. Literally started laughing out loud when I saw that my grades spelled out "bad". It looks like this:
B
A+
A
D+
(side note: i have never gotten a D grade in my life)
So, do with that what you wish. But we all laughed here about it.

Thoughts and plans are in the works for a Paris trip (Sammi!) and a trip for my birthday in July.

Recap:
-Tardy=Bad, but I am completely used to it.
-Parks are amazing here and I love dogs
-Skinny pants are hip
-BAAD

Cheers!
-Christy

Pictures round 1

PLANE RIDE!

This is the Air India "mascot"

Look at the little bottles of Chardonnay they give you on the plane!

First view of London

OUR FLAT!

Hogarth Road (this is the street we live on)

Self-Explanatory

We are number 40, and in Flat 1! (first floor). Julia and Marylyn are posing in front.

My room (and Halli, Julia, & Marylyn's)

LONDON!

A cute London street

Famous restaurant where Princess Diana used to go with Prince William and Harry

At a local pub (Caroline is camera shy and nice to see all of my scarves made it out)

Exhibit A: Pigeon

That's Me, Katie, and Sammi next year :)

The Tale of Pigeons and Breaking Bags

London is flooded with pigeons. They are such a large, disgusting bird, and they are literally everywhere. Before I leave here, I plan to buy some gloves and perform a "catch & release" with a pigeon.

Other than that, today was a very long day of orientation. Starting at 8 and ending at 4, I feel very oriented. We had a 2 hour lunch break though and went to Hyde Park (that was where I attempted my first catch-and-release, but "pigeoned" out). We also saw a group of old asian women wearing massive visors taking pictures by the statue of Prince Albert. I took a picture of them too and will be posting it shortly. 

EMBARRASSING/FUNNY STORY: Halli, Caroline, Lauren and I took the tube to go to this really cheap store so I could buy a blanket (side note: last night I slept in flannel pants, WOOL socks, a t-shirt, a long-sleeved t-shirt, and a fleece. All I had was a sheet and I was so cold). Good news, I bought a blanket for 4 pounds. But anyway, we were getting back on the tube and I had a few bags all in one big bag, and the bottom of the bag broke so all of my things fell to the ground. I made a little-kid whining noise and frowned. This old asian man was walking by and he felt really bad for me. 

I am still very tired and finding myself attempting a british accent probably too often. 

RECAP:

-oriented.

-asians.

-pigeons.

-broken bag.

But it was a good day! First day of classes tomorrow at 10:30am. 

Cheers!

-Christy

The Tale of Introductory London Material

Hi!

Well I am finally in London, living in Hogworth (but I will be referring to it as Hogwarts for the duration of this trip), and finally sitting down for the first time since the exciting 8 hour plane ride over. Air India was not as bad as I was expecting...however I was definitely ready to exit the plane by the time we landed. The airline was definitely different than any other airline I have taken before. It's mascot is this little Indian man with a turban on, wearing red and yellow clothes and happily bowing in our direction. He is printed on all of the doors of the plane and conducts the airplane introductions. I had no clue what any of the food was that we were served, and the stewardesses, who were wearing their ceremonial dress/wrap things, were not enthused that I was asking them over and over what was in front of me. I was hoping to be able to sleep, but that wasn't about to happen. I did attempt it, but it was nearly impossible to lie down, and the slight recline wasn't quite enough. The TV show we were being shown was an interesting mix of an indian circus and cirque de soleil (very strange). They also played some sort of "celebration" music upon landing which was very funny. Needless to say, I am very happy I don't have to fly Air India again for a few months. At least they didn't lose my luggage! They did break my handle though :( 

We got picked up from the airport by International Enrichment and were taken to our residences. We live in the cuuuuuuutest area of town called South Kensington (said with a British accent), which is a ROYAL burrough of London because the Queen was born here (I could possibly be living in the flat where she was born, tough to say). I live in a room with 3 other girls (Halli, Julia, Marylyn), but total in my flat there are 6 people(+ Lauren and Caroline). In order to not add more to that number (rats, other pests...) we need to make sure to keep our flat immaculate. After being dropped off at our flats, we had about 45 minutes before we were bussed to Imperial College where we were served a Massive and Gigantic helping of fish and chips. No kidding-the fish was probably 16 inches long. We then unpacked and were hoping to take showers, but thanks to me and my American phone recharger, I blew out the electricity and we had no hot water. Consequently my recharger is shot. Feeling gross from all the traveling, we all were taken out on a pub crawl. We went to about 4 different pubs and heels were definitely a bad choice. We probably walked a total of 600 miles last night.

My sweet new european cell phone alarm went off at 7:10 this morning so that I could get a shower. The pressure is better than Columbia's at least. Then we were bussed around the city by a Blue-Badge tour guide (they're the best) and saw the changing of the guards (not as impressive as I was expecting, but they have very cool hats and Buckingham Palace is breath-taking). After that we were free to roam and had to find our way home (via the tube). Some of the girls and I went to the tube station and bought Oyster cards so that we can ride the tube whenever we want (it is pretty cheap and very easy). 

Basically the rest of the day we have just been relaxing in our adorable little flat (oh wait, Halli and I tried to find the grocery store, Sailsbury, and that took longer than it should). I bought a bath mat, hair dryer, hand soap, trash bags, and cereal and it cost about 40 pounds I think. And that was bargain shopping! Other than that, I am sitting in our living room with my other roommates and we are all so excited because we just bought tickets to the John Mayer/Sheryl Crow/Eric Clapton/Jason Mraz concert on June 28th in HYDE PARK! A big group of us are planning a a trip to Barcelona too the weekend after this coming one for 3 days which should be a blast.

Other than that, let's recap:

-Things that are broken: Luggage handle and Sprint phone recharger

-For mom-I just want to clear up that at no point have I walked anywhere by myself, nor do I plan to :)

-Stay tuned for PICTURES!

-London is AMAZING and I am so excited so get more acquainted and find out my internship! I also want to find Abbey Road and take a picture on it :)

EDIT: no more Barcelona trip for right now....that's gonna be about $450 for a plane ticket. 

Cheers!

-Christy