Day trip to London with the Criminology class Stops along the way: Foundling Museum, the British Museum, the Tower of London, ending off with a walking tour - a Jack the Ripper walk All our stops, obviously, are related to the course we are studying - so there was a political/governmental twist to things. It wasn't just a free-for-all in London - sadly. I'm doing that TOMORROW with the girls =) The Foundling Museum About: The Foundling Museum - briefly, it was previously a home for abandoned children. Children whose mothers were unable to care for them, illegitimate children etc. The art inside was simply amazing. Eight-foot tall oil paintings, which we obviously couldn't take pictures of. The top floor was a sort of shrine to George Handel - and on display was his last will ... read more

So today was the first day of classes I have done pretty well so far considering the lack of alarm clock in my life at the present time. My body clock woke me up @ 6:09am, snoozed my clock and got up again at about 7:45am. Breakfast is from 8-845am, classes from 9:10am - Noon. Lunch @ 12:30p. Prof. Watson introduced the course, and told us that if you miss more than two lectures without a valid reason, you are kicked out of the course, and you have to go home. We did an introduction in the course, which is called: Rights, Freedoms and Responsibilities in Criminal Law: Historical Origins and New Directions in England and Canada - pretty easy day today. Had lunch, then went off into the city with the girls - got my ... read more

I don't think I'm in Markham anymore I woke up at about 9am and realized I wasn't in Markham anymore - my bed was smaller and my room significantly bigger and more importantly, CLEANER. Called up the girls - Chriselle, and knocked THREE times on Celia's door til she finally woke up =) Allison, Celia, Chriselle and I then headed off to our first full day in England. Many fell asleep at 7pm the night before and woke up @ 4am. I'm glad that didn't happen to me - I really think my jet-lag problem is a non-event at this point. First stop - Sainsbury - A grocery store; the damage £4.80 - for: Juice 2 packs of Snack a Jack's (similar to Quaker rice crisps) Peanut butter crackers a DairyMilk fudge bar The best score ... read more

This is it kids... I'm just getting ready, then waiting for my dad to come home so he can drive me to the airport!!! =) !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (for extra emphasis) My room is SOMEWHAT clean, see mom, I sorta cleaned my room. I'm packed, almost ready to go. Still gotta weigh my luggage (must be less than 50lbs/23 kgs each otherwise anything over I am charged 100 bucks.. what the? Yesterday, my coworkers were all excited for me.. "Have fun in England!", "Say Hi to Prince William for me!", "See you in a couple of weeks..." A new adventure awaits folks. I bought a new camera for the occasion - I mean our other camera, while still working and sufficient for taking pictures, is very outdated -- so I figure, why not? Actually, I'm bringing TWO cameras ... read more

I'm finally feeling the pressure of going to England next week! =) I bought my textbook today - a book of photocopies for about $70.00 - when I had the book in my hands, this all started to feel so real. I've been DREAMING of this for over a year now. I remember when I first told my mom I wanted to do this - she said that she and my dad would support me in this - THANK YOU MOM & DAD. I've started the packing process - I have two luggages in my room, laying on the floor with open arms ready to catch whatever I throw their way. I'm nervous, excited, scared and happy all at the same time. I have a going away "party" on Friday - invited a couple of friends ... read more