Apologies for Not Responding

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Apparently there is no way to respond to any of the messages that I get through this website. So, I would like to write a collective thank you to all of my family members for their messages, which I thoroughly enjoyed. They definitely made me feel a little less homesick. =)


Yesterday was a very productive day for me. I haven't felt the need to rush out and see every famous site in London as quickly as possible, because I didn't have to; I'm here long term instead of for a week, so I can take my time. However, I started to feel that I am living in an amazing city, yet I haven't explored anything yet. Time is going by way too quickly to put off seeing the "touristy" things. As much as I love seeing famous sites, I hate tourists (I am one, I know... just not so much in London) and I hate when historical sites are rebuilt or changed in a significant way. I know that it's necessary, but still, I would like to see truly authentic things. Anyway, I grabbed my wallet, camera and map and headed out into the city without a real plan in mind. Aurelia and Heather (my two good friends on this trip) are in Scotland visiting a friend they met in Munich, so I went off on my own and thoroughly enjoyed my day. I knew for sure that I wanted to go on the London Eye, so that's where I headed first. I thought the line would be hours long, but I only really had to wait for about an hour before I was on the ferris wheel. It was definitely the best 15 pounds I've spent. The view of the city from so high up was amazing! I took many pictures and will upload them later tonight when I find my camera cord. A half an hour later, I was back on the ground and decided to go sit in a park that I saw from so high up and figure out a plan for the rest of the day. One of my favorite things is laying a map of a huge city in front of me, knowing that I can go absolutely anywhere. I decided to spend the day seeing things around the Thames River, since that is where I was located. I walked along the river until I got to the Tate Modern museum. It's a funny thing, modern art museums. I always want to visit them, but as soon as I get inside, the only thought running through my head is "what the HELL is that?!" And, obviously uneducated in the arts, "Pshh, I could do that." In my opinion, most of it is crap, but once in awhile I do come across a work that I really enjoy. For instance, my favorite work was a really long rope hanging from the ceiling with hundreds of bars of soap of various colors and degrees of use hanging from it. I thought it was pretty creative. About 20 minutes later I had enough of the products of someone's trip on some kind of drug, and decided to head to Shakespeare's Globe theater, right next door. The season had closed on October 5th, and I didn't feel like spending a lot of money to get inside, so I just admired the open air theater from outside. After that I walked across the London Bridge and the Tower Bridge, both of which were very impressive. Again, I will post pictures later tonight. On my way back to my Tube stop, I ran into the IMAX theater and remembered someone saying that The Dark Knight was being played there. Sure enough, it was being shown at 11:30pm. I bought a ticket and vowed to come back later that night. Once I got back to my room, one of my favorite British boys convinced me that I should go to the ISH bar before hand and have a drink with him and the other boys. Well, I did, and I was having too much fun to leave at 10:30 to get all the way to the other side of London for the show. Ah well, I'll go another time. It would have cost me 17 pounds to get a taxi back after the show anyway, so next time I'll go with some friends and we can split the taxi cost.

So that was my day in a nutshell. I definitely have to go off and explore more often on my own. I kind of did the same thing today, but it was way more relaxed. I went to Pizza Hut and read for an hour or so, now I'm in the cozy basement of Starbucks. I really like it here at this specific Starbucks, so I bought the 30 day WIFI package (for 40 pounds, ugh) and this will be my new homework spot.

Well, I should be more productive now and get to my homework. This consists of reading the newspaper and cutting out articles that I can put in my journal for my Geography class, and working on a photography project for an International Studies class I'm taking... definitely fun homework. That is IF I can concentrate on it. Four loud, young girls just sat down next to me, one of which is singing like a drunk Britney Spears. Then, on my other side, a couple just sat down and started making out. Fantastic! Honestly, I don't have a problem with PDA for the most part, but to make out in a room full of crowded people? Come on now. Oh, fantastic... the Britney Spears wannabe just kissed her girlfriend and started singing "I Kissed a Girl..." AHHHH, I might have to leave.

Okay, I'm done rambling. Au revoir. =)

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