I'm Definitely Not in the U.S. Anymore...

September 16, 2014

I'm going on Week 3 of being in London. So far, I've seen so many incredible things here. I am eternally grateful that I have been blessed with the opportunity to study abroad. There are definitely still some places that I have yet to see though.

The flat that I am living in for this semester is actually fairly nice. It's about what I expected it to be. Basically, it's slightly nicer than a dorm, but a few steps down from an apartment. I love that a kitchen is included; just so I can actually cook homemade meals instead of going out every night/day. The one thing about the flat that didn't meet my expectations are the bathrooms. The bathrooms are a lot smaller than I thought. They are definitely still usable, but I guess living in America has raised my expectations of the bathrooms.

Classes are going well so far. Currently, I am taking Integrated Studies I (which is the same exact course as Theatre History I that I took last Fall, too). Hopefully, if it's a lot like Theatre History I, it will repeat certain themes, etc. I also get to take courses at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre (!). It's a lot of Shakespeare acting, voice, and movement (go figure). We even get to perform scenes from The Comedy of Errors, and actually on the Globe stage too! Global Drama is another course I'm taking, and it's interesting because we discuss some of the shows that we see here, and incorporate them into global situations. I also am taking a Blogging London course, which is partly why I am writing this blog to begin. I have two more courses that have not begun yet, but I am excited to see what they're about come November/December!

We've seen quite a few shows already, and they've all been pretty outstanding. The first show we saw was actually the second day after we arrived in London. It was The Comedy of Errors at The Globe. Of course, it was hilarious, though my feet and legs hurt after having to be in the standing section for two and a half hours. We saw Part 1 of Henry IV in Stratford, and that was slightly hard to understand in Act One, but it was really interesting to be able to see a Shakespeare play in Shakespeare's hometown. Little Revolution was another show that we saw, and that was actually pretty interesting. The actors had ear piece, in which they would listen to recordings of people, and that would be their "script". They had to speak exactly the way they heard the recording. The show itself was about the London riots in Hackney, but it slightly resembled what was happening in Ferguson, MO earlier this year. Recently, we got to see the first musical, Dogfight, which was incredibly amazing. I don't want to give too much of a storyline in case anyone that wants to see it hasn't seen it, but just go listen to the soundtrack. The story is pretty much right there. It's probably my new favorite musical now.

I explored the Tower of London, walked over the London Tower Bridge, attended a high Latin Mass at a beautiful Catholic Church, walked over the Millennium Bridge (a.k.a. a bridge that was seen in one of the Harry Potter movies), visited Platform 9 3/4 at King's Cross Station, went to my first English pub and ordered my first legal drink, and eaten a ton of delicious food that, I think, is better quality here than in the U.S.

I think that's about sums up everything that I've done so far. Tomorrow night, we're seeing another show, Friday night as well, and Saturday is our day to Stonehenge and Bath.

Keep checking back for more Afternoon Tea with Eleanor! :)