If Anyone is Curious

This is what I've been working on in my spare time lately. It's gotten colder in the past few weeks (which is weird, considering it's March and it's supposed to be "Spring" by now), so instead of going out in the rain, I've been staying inside and practicing on this song.

Kathy and Mom might like this. This video was taken on a boat going down a river through Bath, where we'll be visiting in a few weeks! It's beautiful.

 

Things London has that South Carolina Doesn't

I've been in London for almost 3 months now, and though the weather (which hasn't changed since I got here in early January) isn't near as warm as it is in SC, I can tell that it's starting to feel like home. I've gotten used to using the tube, and it's normal to still hear things going on in the streets at 2:00 AM. It's nice being able to walk down the street and have a ton of shops to visit or be able to sit outside a store and people watch. I like having so many things to do within 30 minutes from wherever I am.

The south has the weather, though. I've always been more of a colder weather person, but I keep waiting for the 10 day forecast to show 50 degrees and it isn't coming for the rest of March. I hope it's here in April. Also, I do miss driving a car, no matter how much I love the tube. I don't have a big enough bag to take all of my gym stuff, including a towel, etc. to shower after I workout in the gym, so the ride back to my apartment on the train is always awkward. It's times like that when I miss being home.

1. There is literally always something to do. There is always a play, always a concert, always a new restaurant to try. Even if I were here for a year I couldn't possibly run out of new things to try. If someone is bored in London, then they're just a boring person.


2. This city never sleeps. If I go out to dinner and come back home at midnight, I know that there will definitely still be people out and about walking around the streets. It can be easy to feel alone all cooped up in your room, but outside there are so many people, and people watching has definitely become a hobby of mine here.


3. Food is never more than a few steps away. I live in a relatively "hip" part of town, as some of my peer leaders and local friends say, so bars, restaurants, and convenient stores are always open and available, no matter what time of day or night. Literally, if I want ice cream, I just have to talk down the stairs of my flat and go to the convenience store...that is like 20 feet away from my door. I love it. I think I'm going to have a hard time transitioning to having to drive to get food at home.


4. There are tons of parks. Before I left one of my good friends who had studied abroad in London before gave a really accurate description of the city. She said "London is like NYC, but with a lot more parks." And she is so right. My university is right down the street from Regents Park, and it's so nice to walk around and get lost in the fields and trees and plants for a while. And I still have a ton of parks left on my list to visit.


5. The Food. When I came to England people told me not to get excited about the food. The English aren't known for their good food. And to an extent that's true - Rita told me not to try the black pudding, so I'm not going near it. But other the food I've had here has been great! I eat more fish here than I ever did at home because everywhere serves fish and chips (which you can get without the chips, turns out). You can name any type of food you want, and there's always going to be a restaurant relatively close, or willing to deliver.


6. The Tube. Seriously, Tube, I will miss you when I go. I don't have to worry about being awake enough in the morning to drive to class. It's like having a chauffeur...but with a lot of other people in the car. And you might have to wait like tops 5 minutes for the car to get there. I give the public transit in London a giant A+


7. The Accents. I know that accents are everywhere, but seriously. British accents. I've had to say "pardon" and "excuse me" more than I would like to admit, but British accents are the most amazing things on the planet. One of my friends said the other day that southern accents make you sound dumb, and British accents make you sound smart!


8. Liberty of London. Literally my favorite place in the entire world. I can't buy most of the things in the store, but still. I'm going to miss you so much. Please set up residency in Columbia, South Carolina. Please.

The Way It Goes - Passenger with Will and the People

It's watching videos like this when I miss being able to play with Mom and Daddy at home!

Early March Update

Hi everyone! I hope the weather has been getting warmer wherever you are, because it did for me...for about a week. Last week's weather was gorgeous - getting into the high 50s (it hit 57 last Tuesday!), then slowly but surely dipping back down into the 40s. Granted, that's better than how the forecast for this upcoming week looks. The highs will be hovering somewhere between 37 and 43 degrees every day next week, so I won't be putting up my UGGs and Patagonia jackets just yet.

Other than the weather's teasing, things have been going pretty well! After Mevy's birthday the Social Programme that I'm a part of through Westminster took us on a trip to Cambridge, which is apparently one of the prettiest cities in the UK. The city was pretty, but I did think the tour guides hyped the city up a little too much. Cambridge is only about a 2 hour drive from London, so when we got there we went on a walking tour to stretch our legs a bit. We were able to separate after that and do a little exploring for ourselves, so we walked around the downtown area and did a little sightseeing. Once we met back up we toured the Kings College Chapel, which dates back to the Medieval Ages. I don't think I've ever been in a church that big!

It was only afterwards that Mevy and I realized we had gotten our picture taken in a brick doorway with dead plants surrounding us.

The highlight of the trip definitely had to be this guy. He played his guitar for tips from inside a trash bin. Granted, there was no trash in there, but you gotta give the guy props for being willing to sit inside a trash can. How many people would be willing to do that? Had I had any cash at the time I would have been tempted to give him everything I had because that takes guts. Also, who would actually come up with the idea to play guitar (and sing) inside a trash can?!

 This is the side of the Kings College Chapel - I told you it was massive!

Inside said Chapel.

Again, Chapel.

This week we went on a Harry Potter Walking tour around London. Basically, we went around London to see all of the places around the city that were filmed through all 8 films. It was neat seeing how these places looked in the films, versus how they actually look in real life. Most of the places looked a lot more normal and a lot less magical...

Now is the time of the semester that school is really starting to get serious. We only have 3 more weeks left of classes before Spring Break starts in early April, so projects are due every other day, it seems like. I had my first group presentation last week and we got an A on it! The grading system is different in the UK, so when we got the review sheet back from my professor and I saw a 75% I freaked out, since that's a C at home, but I found out that's considered an A, or a "first" as they call it here! So I have one project down, three to go before I'm home free in April!

After Spring Break (and Mom and Kathy come to visit - yaaaay!) I have three exams in May, the last of which is a week before I leave. It still blows my mind to think I'm half way done with my stay here. I definitely have times when I miss being home, as in, being able to go to Target, seeing Eddie, the family, etc., but I keep thinking about how sad I'll be to leave here. London's become home, so while I'm excited to finally have some good Southern food when I get home, I know I'll be thinking of London all the time.

Lucky me, I still have some (hopefully) warm months to come!