F: Frequenting the Theatre

"The use of theatre and the like is that it has a civilizing effect...stops people from killing each other, you know."  Well, professor, I actually don't know, but the theatre performance tonight was certainly worth viewing.  Our faculty managed to secure good seats for an evening show called "The Magistrate".  The comedy revolved around the theme of what happens when you tell a seemingly harmless lie.

Today, I attended my theatre class, which I'm taking to fulfill my general education fine arts requirement.  The instructor is a renowned theatre critic.  In the typical British fashion, the only marks (grades) in the course come from a paper and a single final exam.

 Theatre Criticism Class

 The Tube Rally

 Inside the Theatre

 Art outside The National Theatre

                              The National Theatre

E: Effectual Education Obviously Requires a 1950's Slide Projector

The first day of class took place in a grungy church basement, which the school was forced to rent because it was one of the few locations that could be found to accommodate the professor's "technology"-- a 1950's slide projector.  Three hours later, we headed back to the hotel for a quick lunch before a 3 hour walking tour (they call it walkabout) covering the places discussed in the earlier lectures.  

Tonight, my roommates are I are completing routine Academy duties-- scholarship letters.  Happily, we've discovered an online signature creator and are quite intrigued.  

Tomorrow, we're off to the National Theatre to see "Magistrate".  

D: Distances, Walking, and Lemon-Lime Water

It's 5pm on Sunday in London.  I'm a bit under the weather, but will soon be much better thanks to water, vitamin C, and some helpful British medicine.  Classes are beginning tomorrow, something which I am actually quite thankful for, seeing as our time shall be quite taken up with studying, leaving no room for our "tutors" (British for professor) to concoct evil schemes.

Yesterday, our tutors sent us on a "tube rally".  It involved running around London for 8.5 hours taking pictures of sights and learning small facts about the city.  (To anyone who once accused me of loving to walk too much, I must tell you that I am very happy that I am used to walking long distances in any weather, as I will certainly be required to do so here.)  My team accidentally stayed on a bus too long, which resulted in us finding it necessary to take an overground train to get out of Hackney, which is not the best neighborhood for a few American girls to be found in at night.

C: Consuming Fruit Is Useful

Today, after a long night of not sleeping, we took a walking tour of the neighborhood (and then some) through the snowy streets of London.  Later, my roommates and I did our grocery shopping for the next few days.  We bought a great deal of fruit, including apples, oranges, bananas, pineapple, raspberries, blackberries, and grapes.

                                    This a shopping area at Covent Garden.

                                        The view from our window.

A large British cinema.

                                                The group on the walking tour.

Tonight, we attended the play "Crazy for You" at a fringe theatre in Archway.  The show was really cute.  The theatre was also small, allowing us to sit very near the front.  Perhaps the best part was watching a trio of little girls dance all over the theatre during intermission, attempting to replicate the fancy steps of the actors.

B: Beyond Heathrow...

I arrived at the regional airport at 5am MST.  A grueling seventeen hours later, I managed to follow the train signs and arrive at the meeting point in London.  Our boardinghouse is an older hotel on a street lined with hotels on both sides.

My room, located several flights up, is shared with two others.  If we could find some command strips, we might have dry towels to use during the semester.

Tomorrow, the theatre is on the agenda.

A: Almost Ready To Go!

In a few hours, I'll begin my journey across to the pond to the historical city of London.  I'm really excited that our rooming house is only a few blocks from the British Museum, a place I plan to spend quite a bit of time in.  

Do you think a person learns more from a lecture course or a travel experience?

P.S.  Hats off to all my professors back in Brownwood, TX-- you finally got to send me away for a semester!  With a bit of luck, I'll send you enough postcards to cause you some jealousy and come back a better, (perhaps more punctual) student than ever before.