Gallivanting in the Land of London

London = Palm Springs

2007-08-20T13:42:00.000-07:00

Well, I guess I'm no longer gallivanting in London, but rather in Palm Springs. I've been told by multiple people that I have to start blogging again to tell you all my adventures in the old, hot town of Palm Springs. Well the "old" part isn't that true, I've seen a lot of youngins already so I guess the geriatrics haven't completely taken over. As for the "hot" part... that has not been embellished one bit. The only time it has been under 100 degrees is when it's three o'clock at night and my air conditioning is on. So getting used to the hot weather has been quite a task. I've never been so grateful for air conditioning in all my life.

The job itself is fun. I'm an administrative production assistant at the Palm Springs Follies, which basically means that I work in the office in front of a computer screen for 10 hours a day. It's not too bad because I work with some really fun people and it makes the day go by fast. I'm hoping once the show starts running, I'll have some more hands-on with the theatrical side of the theatre.

As for my apartment... pretty swank if you ask me. Two televisions, fully furnished, a hide-away bed in my couch (for any visitors who want to experience some warm weather this winter... *hint, hint) and it's all to myself. No messy or loud roommates to keep me up... just my own dirty, noisy self.

Sorry, I don't have any pictures and I doubt I will because 1) I don't have a digital camera, 2) I can't steal pictures from any of my friends like I did in London and 3) I don't really have that much time to blog. You are lucky you are getting something now. But we'll see.

Anyway, I'll do what I can to blog to keep you all updated on my boring office job and the excruciating hot weather, but for now, I hope this will suffice.

The long walk home

2007-06-14T15:23:00.000-07:00

It's my last night here in London, and like all my last nights in England--there was no absence of tears. I woke up and packed up all my clothes and souvenirs to come home. There's two things that I hate... packing and leaving England... and this was both. So you can understand how I could be a little bitter this morning. After we had a pre-checkout, we went and did the last few things that we still wanted to do whilst we were here. My friend and I checked out the Peter Pan statue cause she really wanted to see it; I bought myself enough chocolate-covered hazelnuts that will last me the plane ride over the pond (I'm hoping they last that long); we became dorky tourists and sought out Platform 9 3/4 (from Harry Potter) and took stupid pictures; we did some last minute shopping at Camden Town; and then we rode a double-decker bus home. That sufficed for me.

Then tonight, I went to a Relief Society/Young Women activity at church. It was the coolest, most creative activity. It was basically like speed dating, except you weren't trying to find a date. Basically, the Relief Society woman sat on the inside of the circle and the Young Women sat on the outside and we basically took about 5 minutes talking to one another before we switched seats and began talking to another person. It was such an awesome activity! I learned so much about the older women here (even in 5 minutes) and they were so fun to get to know. Every time they would introduce themselves, they all talked about how long they had been members of the church and how important the gospel was in their lives. And they would go off telling spiritual stories and what a blessing it has been to have been a part of the church. I hope the Young Women gained as much from this activity as I did, because I thought it was ingenious, as well as memorable. I'm truly going to miss the Lea Valley Ward so much. They have made such an impact on my life and to feel their spirit each Sunday was truly a great blessing. I hated saying goodbye because I don't know if I will ever see them again. It's not fun having to make friends, only to have to leave them in a short amount of time. It's so hard.

Walking home from the tube station tonight was probably the slowest I've ever walked home. I reflected on my time here and that's when the tears started to flow. I wish I could explain how much this place feels like home to me. I remember the very first time I came here in 2000 and being at the airport about to fly home. I remember looking at the English sky for what I thought would be the last time, and having my heart just break. I sat in the boarding area of the airport with my mum and just cried my heart out. I've never had anything hurt so much as having to say goodbye to a place that I had barely come to know. But I knew then, that England was a special place for me because only things that are the most important can make your heart ache so much when you have to leave them. My time here has been a very enjoyable one and I'm sad to see it end. I know I will probably come back here yet again... but there is always the foreboding feeling as if it may not happen, which is what scares me the most. It's like Robert Frost's poem, "The Road not Taken," where you have to chose a certain path and "...knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back." I just hope that whatever road I ever end up taking, still has a detour that will lead me back to my home--England.

I'M FINISHED! (mixed emotions)

2007-06-13T15:21:00.000-07:00

I am officially finished with my college career.... AAAAAAHAHHHHHAHAHHHAHA! What a relief it was to take my last final and know that I will never have to study for an exam again; I will never have to write another 8 page paper again; I will never have to pull all-nighters for a class again (all-nighters for other purposes may still happen however). I had to seriously refrain myself from skipping down the pavement on my way back to the flat. What a glorious feeling! However, reality sort of came creeping in when I realised that I have no idea what I want to do with my life and now I don't have another semester to fall back on... I actually have to get a life. Weird! Anyway, those thoughts didn't bring me down too much because I'm done with school!

As a reward, I went to St. Paul's Cathedral for tonight's evensong. You know, the multiple times I've been here, I've never once gone to St. Paul's. I recall stopping the coach there on my first trip around, but I was so infatuated with the coach driver, I never even stepped off the bus. Then, on the other occasions, I remember peering at the building from across the Thames as I was going to the Globe Theatre, but never actually walking over to it. I didn't even take the time to at least go up the steps and sing "Tuppins a bag." How pathetic! I now realise how much I've been missing out these past 7 years I've traveled over here. This building is absolutely beautiful! There are gold-platted paintings all over the ceiling and everything is so ornate. One of my favourites was that going into the building, we walked through a revolving door that basically said that this was the entryway to heaven... who knew heaven was so easy to get into? And that it was in London? (actually I knew that latter one already). Aside from that, it actually was a great building and hearing the choral voices echo through the nave was beautiful.

I went to Avenue Q again tonight (just to get some perspective on life--yes, it has a great message for newly college graduates. The first line of the show is, "What do you do with a B.A. in English? What is my life going to be?" Pretty applicable if you asked me).

So this is my next to last night here before I go home and I have mixed feelings about it. Yes, I'm excited to see my family again, but this place honestly feels like home and I hate having to face the homesickness when I head back to the States. Each time I come, it's a completely new experience and I learn so much about life and about myself. I make new friends which I hate having to say goodbye to, but I guess that's part of life... a season, a reason, and a lifetime.

One down, one more to go

2007-06-12T15:03:00.000-07:00

So I took my Shakespeare final today and that was a relief to get over with. Actual, the best part about it was that we had a take home essay that we had to write and turn in before the exam, so turning in my last paper of my college career was one of the best feelings ever. When I clicked the 'send' button, I was all like, "Yahoooooooo! No more papers!!!!" It was quite the happy dance that followed afterwards. But I still have one more final to go (that will basically last 12 minutes... literally. We are given a topic, have 6 minutes to prepare our presentation, and then we present our argument to our teacher in 6 minutes. How's that for getting a final over and done with. I'm just not looking forward to preparing for it--thus, why I'm writing my blog instead of studying). Don't worry, the teacher loves me, and if I've learned anything from university, it would be the art of B.S.ing (yes Dad, that is what your hard earned money has helped me to learn these past 6 years). So let's just say I've honed in and mastered this technique very well in order to get passing grades... and I don't see myself losing this art any time soon (*she says now... but lets see if she actually passes the final tomorrow). Anyway, I probably should get back to studying but just one more thing;

So as a fitting requiem to my Shakespeare class, I went to go see The Complete Works of Shakespeare Abridged, by the Reduced Shakespearean Company. I have seen this show a couple of times before and it never ceases to make me laugh and have a constant smile on my face. It's basically these three guys who take all of Shakespeare's 37 plays and perform them in about an hour and a half. I can't even paint the hilarity of it all. Now granted I knew most of the jokes already (but they're hilarious jokes which always make me laugh), but their improve was outstanding. There was a part in the play where they cut off Macbeth's head (which is basically a ball in a canvas sack with a little happy face drawn on it), and Macduff ends up hitting the head out into the audience with a golf club (cause it's a Scottish play and all). Anyway, it goes flying out into the audience, which was funny in and of itself. But then the dumb British audience member threw it back onstage and one of the guys yelled out, "See, this is why you don't win the world cup... you're supposed to keep the ball!" That had the audience roaring with laughter, myself and Ashleigh being the loudest ones in the bunch. Speaking of Ashleigh's laughter, there was a part where it went completely silent and Ashleigh had been laughing so hard before, that she was trying to catch back her breath and basically she let out a squeak. It was so funny, because the guys in the show, just looked up from what they were doing and gave us a confused look saying, "What the crap was that? Do you have a balloon out there?" which basically made Ashleigh and I laugh even harder. We had a difficult time composing ourselves after that, but it was so funny. I love nights where I just have a smile on my face and I can enjoy a good show... until I come back to my flat and realise I have a final tomorrow at 10 am and then my night is shattered with the dread of studying. The only glistening item of hope is knowing that in less that 10 hours, I will never have to take a university exam again and I will officially be a college "gradimicate!"

As promised

2007-06-12T07:30:00.000-07:00

Which one is the real falconer?

The importance of good seats

2007-06-11T15:40:00.000-07:00

So I went to see Wicked again tonight, except tonight we had okay/horrible seats. We were on the second row, but totally on the right side of the theatre. Which meant that most of the time the chorus members were standing right in our line of vision, so there were a couple of scenes that I couldn't see at all. A little bitter about it all, but I was mostly bitter because it didn't have the same effect on me as it did before. And I realised it was because of where I was sitting. I was right in front of the speaker and the show just didn't capture me at all...probably because I kept getting removed from all the spectacle. That doesn't mean I don't like the show anymore, it just means that I'm not flabbergasted with it like I was before (I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing). The one highlight of the show though was the Scottish actor who played Boq. He was so fun to watch and listen to, and he was often at the side of the stage where we were sitting, so that made me watching him that much more easy to do. So I guess that is at least one redeeming quality of tonight. But this is just my plug for theatre in general--if you want a great experience, make sure you pay up the bucks to get the good seats... it makes all the difference in the world!

I totally forgot

2007-06-10T23:34:00.001-07:00

So I realised when I woke up this morning that I totally forgot to blog it up last night. It's not that nothing happened yesterday (cause it did), but I just got off the phone with my family and then went off to bed because I was tired. And then when I woke up, I checked my e-mail and didn't have any comments on my blog... which is when I realised my mistake. Oh well, I'm sure you didn't go through too many withdrawals.

Anyway, yesterday was a very poignant day for me. It was my last day at church and it was so hard to say goodbye. It's amazing how close you can get with people in only 6 weeks. The two men on the left were always enjoyable faces to see every week(Cliff and Joe). Cliff was the usher who greeted us on our first day and always made sure that he shook every one of our hands at least 3 times every Sunday. He was also quite the stickler with time, making sure every one was in class and not lolly-gagging out in the foyer. He also made sure classes ended on time and we kept everything on schedule. Joe was our token Irish comedian, always cracking jokes and making church enjoyable. He would also give us math puzzles for us to figure out each week. I'll miss them greatly--both the math puzzles and the guys. But, everyone was so kind when we were leaving. They gave us gifts and exchanged e-mail addresses with us. One of the primary girls said that if any of us got married, she would be a bride's maid. How cute is that?

It was especially hard to say goodbye to the Young Women of the ward. They are such wonderful spirits and I am glad I got to be a part of their lives for a short period of time. Granted, they may have thought my teaching skills were a little extreme (well anything I did was pretty extreme for the reserved Brits), but they just smiled at me and figured it was just because I was an American. But they were wonderful to work with and I wish them all the best in their lives.

After church, we went to Evensong at Westminster Abbey. I love the voices of the young men sing the psalms and hymns in such a beautiful structure. It is quite overpowering. Plus, the sermon was great, teaching us to go out and help our fellow men, rather than only be concerned for our own welfare and spiritual safety. It was a nice service and I'm glad I was able to go.

P.S. Thank you for all the birthday messages yesterday, you made my day very special from 5000 miles away (even at 4 am in the morning too ;)!

Too much information for one blog

2007-06-09T14:05:00.001-07:00

So, I realise that if I were to write down everything that happened in the past 4 days, your eyes would go buggy from looking at the screen. So I'll just show pictures and only explain the really cool parts of the trip.

On Wednesday, we went to Coventry Cathedral... a cathedral that was bombed in WWII and then was rebuilt. I did a report on it before we came here, so it was cool to actually see all the stuff that I was researching.

Then we popped over to these castle ruins know as Kenilworth Castle. We mostly had fun screwing around the place, pretending that we were raiding the castle.

Then we went to Warwick Castle, which I remember being a lot cooler 7 years ago. It still was fun though. The coolest part was we watched this bird of prey presentation, and we had eagles, vultures and a bunch of other freaky birds flying right over our heads. It was awesome!!

That night, we arrived in Stratford-Upon-Avon and went to see The Seagull at the Royal Shakespearean Company. There are two things you can't mix with me when I see a show--little amount of sleep and Chekhov--this show had both. Needless to say, I tried my darnedest to pay attention, but to no avail. Thus, I don't really remember the show or if I liked it or not.

The next morning (Thursday), we went to Shakespeare's birthplace, which was pretty, but I had been there before, so it wasn't as inspirational... but I still liked being there. We also went to these other important Shakespearean landmarks, but there not really worth mentioning. We basically learned the same thing from the tour guides at each house. There's only so much you can say on the biography of Shakespeare before it starts getting redundant.

That night, we saw King Lear, with the magnificent Sir Ian McKellen. I didn't much care for the direction of the show, but the production design was spectacular--and it's Sir Ian, who can complain about that. The one interesting part of the play... not only did I see Sir Ian... I saw ALL of Sir Ian. (Insert whatever jokes you want here)

On Friday, we went to Anne Hathaway's House and sat on the courting bench and walked the unicursal maze in the backyard (very anti-climatic). We also went to Mary Arden's House (Shakespeare's mother) and we got to see farm animals, as well as talk with one of the tour guides about the church. He was a very nice gentleman and he even tried to take the mick, saying that he was a twin (cheeky monkey). But the coolest part of the house was that they had a falconer there (the same kind of thing at Warwick with the birds of prey thing), and we got to hold chick guts and have a buzzard land on our arm. (I'll post the picture when I get it). It was AWESOME!!!! We also went to Oxford that day, but I didn't know anything there so we just ended up walking around... kind of boring.

When we got home, I went to go see The Drowsy Chaperone with Elaine Paige (a real big wig over here). It was pretty entertaining and the narrator guy was hysterical. I actually found myself watching him most of the time.

Last thing I want to mention: today I went to the London Temple with my ward which was amazing. I think London Temple is now one of my favourite temples, up there with Mount Timp. Anyway, if there is any other info you are dying to know about... too bad... I'm too tired to write about it!

No blogs for a couple days

2007-06-05T22:27:00.000-07:00

I'm heading off to Stratford-Upon-Avon in about 15 minutes and I just wanted to inform you that there will be no posts until Friday (Saturday if I'm exhausted). But I'll tell you all about it when I get back!

Oh happy day... everybody's smiling!

2007-06-05T15:37:00.000-07:00

I have just had the most fab-tab-ulous day!!! My mind is just reeling in excitement and news that I don't even know where to begin (I apologise now because this blog may get a little lengthy). In any case, because I don't know where to start, I guess I'll just do everything chronologically.

So I woke up this morning and it was a gorgeous day outside, so I thought I would peruse Kensington Gardens since I really haven't done that this trip yet. I walked over to Princess Diana's Memorial Fountain and decided to write a couple of postcards/letters to friends and family. As I was sitting there, a cute little 5 year old boy kept running around and around the fountain (I swear he probably did about 6 laps... I felt bad for his mum trying to keep up with him) and every time he passed by me, he would stop and sit on the side of the fountain next to me and stick his feet in the water and say in a cute little British accent, "Izz freezin'!" I was so close to asking his mum if I could take him home with me as a souvenir. Anyway, I finished my postcards, but then the wind picked up and blew one of them in the fountain (sorry Carly). So I went running down the fountain trying to catch it, jumping from one side of the fountain to the other. I probably looked like an idiot, but I least I got my postcard back... even if it was a little water-logged.

After I finished my letters, I walked around the gardens some more, just enjoying the outdoors and watching people during their leisure time. It's amazing how many people have dogs, kids, and significant others in this country... the park was full of them! As I walked, I stopped by the Peter Pan statue and took a couple of photos for some of the tourists who were also visiting. I also stopped by the Italian fountains and pretended like I was in Italy (remember, I've already been to Little Venice). Then I just meandered through the park, people watching, and hoping to catch a glimpse of the royal family by Kensington Palace... no such luck this time around.

This evening before our performance, we went to a lecture with the director of the show and he seemed like an amazing man to work with. His name was Declan Donnellan and he was very humorous and had some amazing things to say about directing. The only thing that frustrated me was that he is the type of director to change things after the press night of a show. This, to a stage manager's mind, is not a fun thing to work with (Can anyone say Hamlet at BYU?). Other than that, he seemed like a very nice gentleman. (Oh, by the way, my flatmates just informed me that the woman who was facilitating the lecture, was the same woman who played Lady Fairfax from the movie, Emma. I was in the presence of notoriety and I didn't even notice it... probably because I don't like the movie Emma.)

Then, one of the greatest things happened-- as I was walking out of the lecture hall, I noticed someone who I hadn't seen for almost 5 years. It was one of my old theatre teachers at University of Essex. It was the craziest things ever! I stopped her in the hallway and said, "Anne?" and she just looked at me and she knew she recognised me, but from where, eluded her. I told her who I was and reminded her of how she knew me from my study abroad programme over here and how I was one of her students. Then it clicked with her and she totally remembered who I was (5 years and she still remembers the shy little American girl... it's fate... but I'll get to that a little later). Anyway, we hugged and chatted for a little bit reminiscing of our old times chatting in the hidden doorway where she would make her entrance as the fairy princess , but then we had to get to our seats for the performance. Here's the crazy thing though: I was actually thinking about her when I first arrived over here. My mum had asked me in a telephone conversation whether or not I would visit Colchester(where the University of Essex is). I told her probably not because all of my mates have graduated and moved on from there. But I did say that if I were to go and visit, the only reason would be to visit my old teacher, Anne, just to get back in contact with her. But "Somebody" upstairs was looking out for me and made us cross paths anyway. It's a sign... but more on that in a little bit.

Then we went into the theatre to watch Cymbeline, which was absolutely amazing!!! It was performed by a performing group called "Cheek by Jowl," who were so passionate about their characters, I couldn't help but become so emotionally involved. Basically, it is one of Shakespeare's romances about two lovers who are split apart and then through the play, the lovers think the other is unfaithful and then false deaths occur... but in the end, everyone is reunited and all is well. When I first read the text for class, I wasn't that impressed by it. I just couldn't connect with the story or anything. But when I saw it performed tonight, it just came to life for me. There was one man who played two characters (the lover, Posthumus; and the wicked betrothed, Cloton) and the way he made the transition from one character to the other was phenomenal! He would stand onstage as Cloton, speaking his lines in a smarmy manner, and then Posthumus' man-servant would come in and help him put on his overcoat, whilst the light would change from a cool blue to an impassioned amber-red. Then the actor would don some spectacles and all of the sudden he truly became Posthumus. It was amazing to see the transition on stage because, honestly, it was like seeing two different characters completely. He was that talented at changing between his parts! I was quite impressed. Overall, the entire performance was phenomenal. I gained so much more insight to the show than I probably ever would have got from just reading it. I was a mess of tears by the end of the show, just because it was so poignant and added a whole nother layer to the show rather than it just being a frivolous romance. In fact there was a line delivered at the very end of the show which just totally struck a cord with me. There were many accusations that occurred throughout the show, and people were going to be put to death because of them, but Posthumus told the King to spare their lives. And at the end of the play, he delivered this line to the audience: "Live.... and deal with others better." It was just a beautiful remark about society, not to be so quick to conclusions, not to be so rash in our decisions and our actions, and to always forgive. Tears were just streaming down my face at that point. My friend Ashleigh, sitting next to me, just turned to me and smiled... and then made fun of me... but that's just her way. It was a very moving piece for me and I will have to rank it on one of my favourites of this trip.

Afterwards, as I was wiping the mascara from under my eyes and trying to blink away all the redness, I found my teach Anne again, just to tell her goodbye. As we were walking out, I asked her if she had any connections with anyone, or anything that could help me get into theatre over here and she started spouting off people that she knew and places that I could maybe get involved with. She gave me her e-mail address and told me to e-mail her so that she could send me information and help me with my life goal. "Ironic" that I think of her when I first come over here, debate on whether or not to get in touch with her... then I "randomly" run into her in London (cause it's a small place and all) and then she says she has some people she could hook me up with...hmmmmm, if that's not destiny, I don't know what is. So we'll see what happens with that. I already sent her an e-mail tonight, cause hey, I don't want to waste my time when my dream is on the line. Who knows, my pipe dream may turn out to be a reality.

Last of all (I swear this it the last paragraph), I ended my fabulous night talking to my fabulous friend Ian online. I promised him I would post a better picture of him, since he was upset that I posted a "heinous" one earlier (but it was the only one I had). Here is what he really looks like now and oh, how he makes me happy! Anyway, we had a nice little chat and it was fun to talk to him again. I'm hoping I will have another day where I can visit him... but sadly, my days are mostly all filled up and I don't know if that will happen. But hey... if I get a job over here... it's one step closer to seeing him sooner!

See, wasn't that a fab-tab-ulous day? (this is not a paragraph, just a statement... so I didn't lie)

Sadism turned pretty

2007-06-04T14:14:00.000-07:00

So today could be considered a day of pampering to some-- and there were moments which were highly enjoyable (of which I will get to in a moment), but first... an introduction and the painful moments.

So I had a photo shoot today which was part of a big package deal that I got when I purchased my haircut (refer to May 18th blog when crazy lady came to sell us something... I neglected to inform you that I purchased the item she was hocking). Anyway, after class we headed to this place called Urban Slink where we had a day of pretending we were famous magazine models. They did our hair and make-up and then we had this massive photo shoot. The upsetting parts: they tweezed my eyebrows (Yowsza!); they promised facials and manicures, which ended up just being them wiping our faces with a cotton ball full of lotion and a 15 second application of nail varnish on our fingernails; and there was a total lack of free drinks that were supposed to come our way. But other than that, my make-up looked fab; my hair did what it was supposed to; our photographer was hot and very helpful to make us look gorgeous; and we all just ended up have a really fun time for the 8 hours we were there. It was tough to narrow down the 158 pictures that were taken to just 2. What a shame it was 200 quid to purchase all of them! Curse the exchange rate!!! But man... how hot do I look?!

Incoherence

2007-06-03T17:28:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure how coherent this entry is going to be because it's 1:30 in the morning and I've just spent the past 3 hours writing a couple of papers, so my intellectual lexicon has been completely exhausted and all that I have remaining in my brain is, 'bleh.' So I apologize beforehand if this starts to sound like the 'Jabberwocky.'

This was an interesting day to say the least. I went to church, where it was stake conference and Elder Eyring spoke as well as President Hinckly (over the satellite transmission of course). I was somewhat tired, so I wasn't as attentive as I should have been, but I do know that they were just raving at how cool the UK was. Who could argue with that?

After then, I went to an art exhibition/market in East London. The boyfriend of a friend of mine is an artists and he was exhibiting/selling some of his artwork at this market. I thought I would go and support my friend and her beau... plus I was curious to see what his artwork was like. After wandering through countless art exhibits trying to find them, I finally ended up calling her mobile and finding out where they were located (Interesting story: Whilst I was wandering trying to find a phone box to call her, a man who I think worked in the Indian restaurant across the street, beckoned me to cross the street. I was a little hesitant at first because I was afraid he wanted me to buy some Indian food, but I crossed anyway. He asked me what I was looking for and I told him a phone box. He directed me to a nearby store and said there was a phone in there. Very nice and helpful gentleman. However, after I used the phone and came back out on the street, he caught my eye again and asked if I found it alright. I said yes and thanked him for his help. He then held out his hand and I shook it to tell him thanks, but then he asked if he could have a hug. RANDOM! But I hugged him anyway... maybe he was desperate for affection just like I am. However, that didn't stop me from avoiding any eye contact with him as I left the market later on... one hug is enough for me, thank you!)

Back to the story, I finally found my friend and checked out her boyfriend's artwork. It was on the disturbing side of things, but I'm sure there was a reason for why he did it... I just didn't want to know. However, I did buy a key chain in order to support his art... it was the only one that didn't have buggy-eyed men devouring flesh. I wandered around some other exhibits afterwards, which was pretty fun. There was one building that was showing the artwork from Middlesex University's art students. It contained all types of art from fashion, to interior design, to giant sculpture-like items (i.e. a giant wooden butcher character chopping up children's dolls, as well as a disturbing merry-go-round with creepy stuffed animals riding it). I came across one exhibit that contained sonic art (art made with sounds). It was pretty fascinating--they had a playground set up, where the see-saw had accordions strapped to each side so that music would be created whilst a child played; they also had bells attached to swings, accomplishing the same effect that the see-saw did. There was one artist who set up a tent to look like a living room, with a make-shift fireplace with the crackling sounds of a fire coming from it--great ambiance I thought. It was quite a hands on art exhibit, which was fun for inquisitive minds such as myself. I think my favourite piece though, was a chair made out of grass because on the rims of the back of the chair, he placed little plastic cows and fences and created this whole farm-like scene on the chair. "Green acres is the place to be..."

He has my hat...

2007-06-02T16:16:00.000-07:00

...Okay, this guy doesn't have my hat, but the other characters in the show had a Fedora just like me... and I was about to wear my hat to the performance. Wouldn't have that been just a fashion blunder...people may have thought I was in the play. Anyway, I just came home from seeing Merchant of Venice at the Globe and the costuming was like a Shakespearean take on the 40's pin-stripe outfits (thus the mention of the Fedora). It was a superbly acted show, but I'm just not a fan of the text. This is not one of my favourite Shakespearean plays and I was hoping that by seeing it in performance, it would elevate my regard for it--no such luck. I enjoyed the show and I found myself laughing hysterically at the end, but the rest of the time, I felt so bad for Shylock the Jew because they treated him so unkindly. I don't know what the critics were thinking when they classified this play as a comedy. I think there are humorous parts, but most of the thematic issues (namely the anti-Semetism) are too overpowering to make it laughable. But nonetheless, I still enjoyed the show (didn't have as much eye candy to look at, but you win some, you lose some), and there was a guy dressed in drag that probably made it all the worthwhile--only outside of Utah can you see a man in Elizabethan drag, two men kissing, AND have someone spit out water all over the groundling audience members. Oh how I love London theatre!

I'm writing so my mum won't think I'm dead

2007-06-01T16:15:00.000-07:00

It's been a very long day (most of which has been spent on a bus), so I really don't know how long this blog is going to be. Let's just say, aside from the long ride home, I had a beautiful day. But before we get to that, I just have to mention one thing about riding up to the temple yesterday. We drove through a town called Birmingham and this was the first sight we really saw as we entered the town center:

What are your reactions to the building seen above? I never would have thought to see a giant armadillo in an English town. Not only that, I never would have thought such an abstract piece of architecture would have made it into a quaint little English village. Anyway, I thought I would just share this interesting picture with you so you can get the full effect of what we saw from the coach windows going up to Preston.

As for the temple, it was wonderful!!! Everyone was so nice and I hugged about 8 people whilst I was there. They just make you feel like you are at home. We walked around the grounds last night and took pictures. Then I woke up early this morning, did a session, and then got my friend and we did baptisms with a family from Canada. It was such a beautiful experience and it was such a beautiful temple. I'm sooooo glad I finally got my opportunity to go!

2007-05-31T01:20:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was a looong day... probably due to the fact that I didn't get to sleep until 1:30 and woke up at 5 to get my homework done. I guess when you are having too much fun, you try not to let sleep become and issue, but unfortunately it does factor in once in a while. Anyway, after trying so hard not to fall asleep in class, my friend and I went on a little excursion to find an infamous curling bridge. See, you have to realise about my friend, she wanted to make a goal whilst here in London and the goal she came up with was to cross all the bridges on the Thames that were on her map. Well that finally being accomplished, she moved onto other bridges over canals, in the parks, and any other footpath over water. She stumbled across this fancy little bridge online and we had to go see it. The pictures of the bridge seemed pretty cool cause it's this bridge that can actually curl up on it self to let the passages of boats through AND amaze the tourists and locals. We were hoping when we got there, it would roll up for us. Well, the problem lied mostly on us trying to find the bridge. My friend really didn't know where it was, just kind of the general area. Actually, she drew a map for us to follow when we got closer to the area. Just one problem--she neglected to put on her homemade map where the bridge was. Which led us to our adventures into Little Venice (which is actually a bonus... cause I've always wanted to see Venice). Basically it was like the canals of Italy--boats traveling up and down stream, little shops off to the side-- just no Italians. It was a pretty area, but my friend was adamant that we find her bridge. We figured out our position (it was on the complete opposite side of where the bridge was--we actually walked in the wrong direction), and tried to find our way back to the area. I figured if we stayed near the water we would be safe. Well, we took one road that I thought curved around with the water, but it took us around a hospital and we lost where the water went. To make a long story short (too late), we finally ended up asking an information place where it was. Come to find out, it was just right around the corner of the tube station. Yay for not knowing where anything is! And it was kind of anti-climatic when we actually got there. I tried to trigger the mechanism to make it curl, but my friend wasn't too keen on busting open the electrical box to do it. So basically we walked for 2 hours to find a bridge that crossed water. Meh.

After our long walk in the rain, we went to go see A Midsummer Night's Dream at an outdoor theatre in Regent's Park. Regent's park holds a lot of memories for me because that was where our college was when I was here two years ago. It was kind of odd being there without my other friend who I was with 2 years ago... but I made up for the homesickness by buying a large bag of chocolate covered hazelnuts that we used to buy together at the tube stop. Ahhh, the memories! Anyway, the show itself was hysterical and the setting was so beautiful. It was a little cold, but the hotness of the actors made it bearable. ;) But some highlights of the show was that Titania's fairies were literally that... fairies (if you know what I mean). The play took on a whole new concept for me because Puck was kind of this homoerotic character that was attracted to Oberon and the motivations for his actions all kind of stemmed from that. I would have never thought of that, but London directors will never cease to amaze you. Another great part about the play was that Demetrius was Scottish and it was so fun to listen to him speak, especially the words of Shakespeare. Be still my heart! As for the players and the play within a play... I have never laughed so hard in my life. Their horrible overacting was so delightful to watch, I was rolling in the aisles. Kudos to you, Shakespeare for the excellent comedy you have provided. As the show ended, we walked through the park and it was so serene. They had some of the trees lit up with lights around the theatre so it almost felt like it was Temple Square at Christmas time...except no snow and no hot significant other to walk around with. But it was magical and leaving the "enchanted forest" of the play, into our own "enchanted forest" of London made the evening an unforgettable one.

2007-05-29T23:37:00.001-07:00

Usually if nothing is posted for a day, it means 1) nothing interesting happened; 2) I was too busy studying or doing homework for the next day of class; or 3) I am eloping with Prince William. Guess which one it was yesterday? Okay, it was kind of a mixture between 1 and 2 but I think I can embellish enough where 1 would become obsolete. Let's see how it goes:

So I woke up early and did my laundry, which forces me to get up for the day and feel like I'm doing something productive rather than be a lazy git. But as I was waiting for my laundry to dry I started looking into getting to the Preston Temple which is what I've always regretted not doing every time I was here. So I started doing some research how to get there with my friend (cause dumb BYshmoo rules say I can't go alone... bitter!) and we do some rearranging of our schedules... and by golly, I'm going to the temple on Thursday! I'm so freakin' stoked, you have no idea. Just ask any of my flatmates, I was jumping around as if I was doing the potty dance. It was just nice to know that I will finally make my goal of 3 years actually come to fruition. So that just set off the day to a beautiful start.

That evening, we went to see the play Big White Fog about a black, Chicago family during the depression era. I thoroughly enjoyed the show but two of my favourite things about the show was 1) one of the actors was really cute and totally looked like and reminded me of one of my English friends. At first glance, I really thought it was him onstage... until I realised he's in Japan right now... oh yeah, and he doesn't act. Secondly, there were these characters who came out in these elaborate uniforms of which they were wearing these fluffy admiral hats. I looked at them and thought, "Dude, I soooo need one of those hats for my Dad!" (Only my mum and dad will really get that joke) Anyway, it was very thought-provoking and I thought everything about it was superb.

Just as my day started out happy, it ended happy because I finally was able to eat a doner kebab which I have been longing for since I left Germany. It was delicious!!!! You can't find doner kebabs in the states, which is a crying shame because I go through withdrawals all the time. So I'm glad I got my fix!

Getting British

2007-05-28T14:19:00.000-07:00

So although not a huge amount happened today, it was none the less enjoyable.

After class today (of which seemed to drag on forever--but on a high note I got good grade on my midterm... hooray for B.S.ing!), I went to Kensington Gardens, to the Orangery and had a traditional high tea. I got this spectacular cinnamon tea with cheese scones and butter. Mmmmm! Whilst I was there I came to a realization--either America has horrible tea or I've just been making it the wrong way all these years. I've never been a huge tea fan because all these years it smelt good, but it always tasted like coloured water. Well today I actually put some sugar in the tea and it totally accentuated the cinnamon taste. So I don't know if the English just have better tea than us, or I should just try to put sugar in my tea back home. It's an experiment that will just have to wait for another 3 weeks.
(Addendum/funny story to my visit to the Orangery): As we were walking back home through the park, we saw these two pigeons who looked as if they were making out or something. I tried to rationalize the situation, saying to myself that they were just regurgitating food to each other (I know that sounds sick, but I was trying to come up with an explanation, rather than pigeons making out--what animal does that?!) Anyway, upon further examination... I really do think that they were kissing cause all of the sudden, after all the foreplay was done, one of the pigeons jumped on the back of the other pigeon... not really "mounting" the other bird per se, but it literally jumped on the back of it as if it was a pedestal. It was the weirdest thing! I'm not sure if it was some sort of psycho mating process of the Columba Livia, but whatever it was... I was bitter I didn't have my camera with me to take a picture of it! :)

After our biology lesson of bird reproduction in the park, I went to go see Kenneth Branagh's Hamlet on the big screen. The British Film Institute was having a special screening of this 4 hour film on 70mm. I was somewhat hesitant to see it because I didn't know if I had physically recovered from my mental breakdown caused by my 6 month process of working on the show at BYU and I didn't want to go through a relapse. But it was Kenneth Branagh and who can saw no to that attractive face? (After all, we were in a relationship together for a month... according to Facebook). I'm glad I went... Branagh has such a way with Shakespearean words that he truly does become Hamlet. The one downside was that I found myself calling cues at certain parts of the movie, which kind of removed me from the action--stupid habits created by repetition! But the show was spectacular (as usual) and now I know I'm cured from my Hamlet-induced-psychosis. It's amazing what a 20 foot large Kenneth Branagh can do for one's sanity.

Exquisite bliss

2007-05-27T08:22:00.000-07:00

I went to the Tate Modern yesterday, basically for one reason, and one reason only... Rodin's The Kiss. I'm not a huge fan of modern art just because I feel like a 4 year old could basically do the same thing... you might as well hang the artwork on a refrigerator, it would make a greater impression on me. But when I was at the Tate last time, I remember just sullenly walking around, not that impressed with anything, then all of the sudden turning the corner and being in the presence of greatness. Amidst all of these neon, gaudy, unintelligible paintings, stood the simplistic, yet passionate sculpture of Auguste Rodin. I was in total awe the first time.. and this time was no different. It took me a while to figure out where it was, wandering around every room until I found it. Then it was all over from there--I just stood there, circling it like a vulture, examining every crevasse, every movement, every connection created. I'm so inspired by this work. To me, this is the quintessential representation of romance and love. I know people may think that it is erotic or provocative, but personally I think it captures the raw emotion of love and the multiple degrees therein. Here are two people passionately in love with each other, but yet, there are aspects of the piece that show their hesitation and unfamiliarity with expressing that love (i.e. his toes are tense and he is unsure how to hold her). I just look at this piece and think... this is what I want my wedding night to be like--expressing a love that neither of us have experienced at that intensity and becoming one with each other, where you are unsure where one body ends and the other begins--doesn't that just sound so romantic? As I was admiring this piece, I came to the conclusion that if I ever decide not to elope and actually have wedding invitations, our picture would be imitating this sculpture (clothes on, of course). I think it would be more artistic and creative than one of those silly invitations of the engaged couple sitting by a tree with a goofy smile on their faces. But as artistic and innovative as my idea may seem... elopement just sounds too sweet to have it be hindered by creative genius. (But I digress). In any case, that was mostly all that happened yesterday. It was pretty crummy weather, so we stayed inside and I found Whose Line is it Anyway episodes online, and just laughed myself to sleep.

P.S. Just a little story for what happened today... I got smashed in a tube door today, trying to catch the train. It hurt, but I caught the train!

Friendships are ageless

2007-05-25T16:06:00.000-07:00

I've had a most pleasant day and it's all thanks to a friendship that was made about 7 years ago. On my very first trip to England with my mum and grandmum, we had a very energetic coach driver (American Translation: tour bus driver), who was all smiles and was the only person we had contact with on a daily basis who had a British accent. Anyway, as the years passed, my mum became excellent friends with his mum and they have stayed in contact for the past 6 years through e-mail, instant messaging, and phone conversations. I have been fortunate enough to have become friends with her and her family as well, and every time I visit them, they make me feel just like that--family. Which is basically what my day was. I spent the past 8 and a half hours just chatting about life with this amazing woman who has experienced so much in her life. She is so well-read and extremely intelligent, I become somewhat intimidated when I talk to her, for fear I won't say something academic or philosophical, or I'll make a blunder in my speech and look foolish (I know she would never judge me for such things, but still, the mark would be made). I learn so much from her every time I visit--about history, current political issues, the latest on the art scene in London, etc.-- and the time seems to just fly by. Today we discussed the theatre, wars, society both here and in America, schooling, homosexuality, the Internet, art, boys, making connections/networking, etc. Also, some of her family members stopped by to chat. It was good to see my coach driver friend again. He was still as silly as ever. Her daughter and granddaughter also stopped by and it was wonderful to see them again. She and her family are so welcoming and hospitable and they just make one feel so special. I'm glad I got to visit her again and enjoy her company.

2007-05-24T15:51:00.000-07:00

Talk about your long days... I feel like I've been going and going all day today and I'm utterly exhausted right now, but if I don't tell you about my day tonight, I won't remember all the fun details of it tomorrow and you will miss out on all the great activities that went on today. So we travelled to Greenwich (pronounced "gren-itch") where we saw the prime meridian. Basically, it is the line where all the latitudinal lines on the globe are derived from in relation to the prime meridian. Here, the latitude is 0 degrees, 0 minutes and 0 seconds. I started jumping back and forth from one side of the other saying "Look, I'm in one time zone... now I'm in another time zone! Tomorrow.... yesterday... tomorrow... today!" My friend quietly reminded me that it didn't work that way. Bummer! Aside from looking at this giant red line marked on the pavement, there was also a beautiful view of London (just as good--or I would say even better--than the London Eye). I was able to see the other atrocity of London known as the Millennial Dome. In the beginning, I guess the dome was constructed for this magnificent exhibition for the millennium, but nobody came. I think now it has become a huge sports arena, which I guess that means it's good for something. I still think it's ugly. The last thing I saw was a camera obscura which basically is a giant table in a dark room, where in the ceiling is a mirrored pinhole that projects the outside world onto this table. I just thought it was cool to say that I looked at the world on a camera obscura.

After our adventure in Greenwich, we went to go eat lunch at my favourite place-- the Cafe Rouge. I discovered this delicatessen when I lived over here and fell in love with their baguettes. It's a fun atmosphere if you don't mind waiting around for 2 hours to eat and get your check. It's very slow-paced so that you can spend your leisure time enjoying your company and not have to worry about the hustle and bustle of the world. Plus, their food is scrumptious! I had a steak (yes, I splurged... I couldn't help myself) and then I got a cheesecake to top it off. I've been on cloud nine since then.

Then to top off the evening, I went to go see Stomp. I'm going to have to say that this is on my top five list just for how innovative the show is. Basically, it's just a bunch of guys (well, and 3 girls) who go around making percussion of all these household items. The things I remember were: push brooms, matchboxes, buckets, garbage cans and their lids, tin cans, wooden sticks, newspapers, hubcaps, plastic barrels, basketballs, rubber tubing, fast food cups, paper and plastic bags, just simple

hand clapping and toe tapping, and a giant kitchen sink... to name a few. It was so creative and really not a word was spoken. Yet, there were characterizations and even a little bit of a story line. There was even audience participation (I was this close to getting the percussionized newspaper). I was just so impressed at how they could convey messages, meanings, even commands just with body language and facial expressions. All the sudden I found myself clapping to create a rhythm for the show, kind of like a Simon Says game. It was so creative... I would highly recommend it!

Standing out like a tourist

2007-05-23T16:31:00.000-07:00

Well, I finally succumbed... I rode the London Eye--the atrocity of England. All these years I've been complaining what an eye-sore this gigantic Ferris wheel on the Thames has been, and here I am, paying out the big bucks to ride it. Sure, it gave a beautiful look of the London City, but 1)I've already seen all the sights; and 2) I could have got a more adventurous ride at Lagoon... but that's just me. I probably will continue to mock "the Eye" just because .

Tonight, I also went to see Billy Elliot. What a highly entertaining show! It's all about this boy from Durham, who's growing up in a town where the miners are striking and instead of learning how to box, he becomes a dancer. The boy who played Billy was from New York and I think this was one of his first performances here because he looked a little nervous throughout the show. But he performed magnificently.. even with an impeccable Durham accent. He was about 13 years old and he did this beautiful ballet number that was spectacular. Another great thing about the show was that after intermission, a guy came out in a Santa suit and started doing stand up comedy with his little HOT, elf friend (emphasis added). Anyway, I thought it was all part of the show, until he started heckling audience members. And lo and behold-- yes, I said 'lo and behold'-- he started heckling me because of my laugh and because I was American (I guess when you don't get some of the British humour, you kind of stand out like a sore thumb). Anyway, he said I had a cute face though, and his HOT elf friend just stood there smiling at me. Man... heckle me all you want, as long as that fit, strapping young gentleman keeps staring at me. I was very tempted to wait outside the stage door and meet said hot gentleman, but my flatmates wanted to get home. I guess I'll just have to go back another night... and this time wear something a little bit more sexy and unforgettable!

2007-05-23T07:14:00.000-07:00

Nothing exciting happened yesterday, which is why I didn't post anything. I basically took a midterm and then went and got my hair trimmed and highlighted and then I came home and and went to bed (I think I have narcolepsy). Which is why I didn't say anything... cause really what can you say about any of that?

Not hungry... play with me

2007-05-21T14:57:00.000-07:00

I probably should be getting ready for my midterm tomorrow... but who really wants to do that when my faithful readers (thanks Mom) have been left stranded for a couple days, wondering what is going on in the wonderful world of London. So here's a summation of what has happened in the past 48 hours:

Saturday--

-10 am: Went to church

-3 pm: Took a walk in St. James Park, where we saw a bunch of old people marching so we decided to march with them (cause there was music playing and it was like the Pied Piper of Hamlen gathering the children... and we were the children).

-7:30 pm: Went to a fireside with Sen. Smith from Oregon and Sen. Hatch from Utah. It was a great fireside and I saw a couple of familiar faces from Ipswich Stake which was nice. Also, Joe from my present ward was there and he kept giving us math problems to figure out before the meeting started. He's such a cool guy!

-11 pm: Read Cybeline for homework.

-12:30 am: Slept

Then today, not a lot happened. I just went to class and then went and saw A Matter of Life and Death again, because I'm writing on it for my midterm. I got a lot more insights to it, now that I knew what was going on. It's got to be one of my favourite right now!

2007-05-19T15:29:00.000-07:00

Today was a fun day, filled with antiques, Russian, and puppets. Early this morning a big group of us went to Portobello Road. Most of us refrained from singing the song, but you could see in each one of our eyes that the melody was playing in our heads. I've been there once before and I remember that I wasn't that impressed with it. Not much has changed. Granted, I went today (which is a Saturday), meaning that the markets are more fun, but I'm not that into antiques. Basically, for those who don't know why this road is famous, it's a big long road/market where they sale oodles and oodles of antiques, ranging from silverware to gramophones. Sadly, it just looks like a bunch of junk someone collected from garage sales over the years. I apologise to anyone who thinks otherwise, this is just my opinion. There were a couple things I enjoyed about the market-- 1) I found a Scottish shop where they were playing Scottish music and I almost started to jig (but I refrained). I was tempted to buy a kilt (but once again, I refrained); 2) I also passed by a couple of shops that were selling German food/chocolate as well as another shop that was selling doner kebabs (another treat I was introduced to in Germany, even though it is a Turkish dish). It just reminded me of my mission and the yumminess of it all. I did refrain on purchasing food (it was 9 am after all... who wants sauerkraut on their breath at that hour?), but I may have to go back just to get a taste of the good ol' days.

After our market walk, we headed over to the theatre where we watched Chekhov's Three Sisters, performed all in Russian. They had super titles and I had read the play previously, so I wasn't too out of the loop. It was a pretty good production, even though it was hard to read what they were saying as well as see their expressions whilst they acted, so that was annoying. But I'm glad I got to see Chekhov performed. I'm not a huge Chekhov fan because most of his plays deal with people just sitting around talking--no action, no special effects--just talking and that to me is somewhat boring. But after watching this production, I could see, if correctly done, Chekhov could be entertaining... even in English. Plus, I got new insight to what was going on, that kind of got skimmed over whilst reading the play.

Next, I'm not going to say too much about it-- just because. I went and saw Avenue Q tonight. It's basically Sesame Street, except for adults. I really enjoyed it because like Sesame Street for kids, it taught about life lessons for adults. It was highly innovative and very funny, and I'm really glad I had the opportunity to see it... and chances are I would go again.

Accosted, kissed and frightened... all in one day

2007-05-18T14:55:00.001-07:00

Well, I had an interesting day today (if you couldn't tell by the title of the piece). We went to Covent Garden again today cause I love that place and wanted to peruse the tables some more... you never know when you'll come upon something great. Anyway, about 5 seconds out of the tube station (not exaggerating), a lady came up to us trying to sell something. Then a crazy man with flowers came up trying to sell roses to us. We said, "No thanks," then he took out a rose for each of us and gave them to us. We thought he was just being generous, but then he was like "Now just give me two of the small coins." I thought he just meant like some small coinage, but he meant 2 pounds. It all happened so fast that we just ended up paying him for the roses (interesting sales tactic, if you ask me-- I mean, we did end up buying them). Then he kissed us on the cheek... well to be completely honest, I offered out my cheek to him and he hadn't kissed me, then I turned my face towards him and he wanted to kiss me on the lips. Had it been Ewan McGregor, Prince William, Orlando Bloom or anyone else remotely attractive or famous... maybe. But this guy had rotting teeth, had just spit out a cigarette, and could be my grandfather... ewwww! Anyway, a gave him a very awkward smile and then offered my cheek to him again, and he gave me a rancid, sticky, smelly kiss. Oh well, at least I could say I've been kissed by a British bloke--not really my ideal, but it makes for a crazy story.

This evening we went to another play called Kindertransport. It was a play about this girl who was a German Jew during WWII and she was shipped off to England to be protected. It dealt with her relationship to her mother, surrogate mother and daughter throughout her life. Interesting production, but I wasn't that impressed. When I read the play for class, I had a different outlook of how it was going to be performed and it was a lot different than I imagined. But there was one character known as "the Ratcatcher" who was freaky. Basically the Ratcatcher was based off the Pied Piper of Hamlen, but in this production, he was this ominous figure lurking about in all the shadows. It really was quite scary. For example, when we first noticed him onstage, he was actually sitting in a dark corner when the play starts (he was wearing black and blended in very well), and then all of the sudden he lets his arm fall and you see movement and it was freaky! It is kind of like the movie, When a Stranger Calls Back where the bad guy blends into the brick wall and then all the sudden you see is a pair of eyes open and stare at the main character--- yeah it was just like that. And then the Ratcatcher's character basically had this extremely contorted face, with his mouth wide open and big, buggy eyes... I'm afraid I might have nightmares tonight. Hopefully I get to bed before my roommates do, just so that the light will still be on when I go to sleep.

Comments

2007-05-18T03:06:00.000-07:00

So I'm still figuring out how blogging works, so I've changed my settings so that anyone can post a comment and you don't have to be a registered user... and I did it all by myself! So if you want to post, feel free to do so!

2007-05-17T16:44:00.000-07:00

This is a random picture my roommate took and it has nothing to do with anything... it just makes my blog look pretty--Sparkle, sparkle.

So today was a pretty fun day... well at least when it started nearing to the late afternoon and evening. I slept in, which was so great because I really haven't done that since I been here, so it was good not having to set my alarm for once. My flatmates and I went to the National Portrait Gallery because one of my flatmates really wanted to go there... and hey--it was free. So we went there and I got somewhat bored really quickly (I looked at one exhibit for 10 minutes because it was a video portrait of this lady who was a neurosurgeon and it just changed ever so slightly from her picture to a cat scan picture of a brain... it was pretty cool), but other than that, I didn't really like the museum. So a couple of us left the museum (they were bored too), and we went to Camden Town were there is a wicked, cool market there. Right outside of the tube station is the hemp-smoking, multi-coloured Mohawk wearing, ghetto market, which is fun, but you have to hold onto your purse real tight. But a little ways down the road is a calmer market where the weirdos don't hang out at. It was really fun to peruse the tables... I even bought myself a leather bracelet.

(Leanda--one of my YW)
Later in the evening, I went to mutual cause I'm in the Young Womens and I want to get to know the girls better... It was so much fun! I love the Young Womens!!! We learned British Sign Language tonight and it was so fascinating. Granted, I don't know a lot about ASL, but I do know the alphabet and the numbers, so it was weird to learn a whole new alphabet and number counting system. It was so much fun! And I totally love the girls there, they are so much fun and I can't wait to get to know them better.

Wicked has some competition

2007-05-16T15:13:00.000-07:00

Yes... I've just come home from another show... and no, it wasn't for educational purposes. I went to go see Mary Poppins this evening because I heard it was quite the spectacle to see and that Bert dances on the ceiling. To be honest, I actually was quite sceptical about it all. Mary Poppins is a pretty decent movie, but did I really want to see it performed onstage? Well... you only live once... and what a life it made! In the first 20 minutes my mouth was either in a perma-grin or dropped all the way open in awe. You should have seen this production with the design and dancing and special effects. Just imagine all the cool elements of the movie, like the carpet bag, the room cleaning up itself, the characters jumping into a painting, and Mary Poppins flying in and out of the town... yeah... now put all of that into theatrical form without it looking hokey, and you have the most amazing technical design ever. I wish I could have found a picture of the house set because basically it looked like a doll house with it's front cut off so you could peer inside. But, here's the best part (well one of the best parts)--in the rooftop which basically showed the shingles in the normal setting of the house, when the scene shifted to Michael and Jane's room, the base of the house moved upstage and then the roof was lowered to the ground to reveal their room... it was the coolest design ever!!! I just sat there with binoculars on everything to see how it all worked, it was incredible! And yes... Bert did dance on the ceiling... it was like watching Fred Astaire in A Royal Wedding when he dances around the room--walls and all. I was quite impressed! The only negative aspect of the show was that some of the new songs written for the musical weren't that intriguing, and I was a little put off. However, that being said, the Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious was one of the most entertaining musical numbers I have ever seen. They basically spelled out the entire word in the song, but they spelled it out through dance as well (kind of like "Give me an S...'S'... give me a U...'U' "... but less cheerleadery and more like spasms/hip-hop on stage) AND they were doing it at the quickest pace ever. I thought their limbs were about to fly off! I was just very entertained by the caliber of this production. But, hey, what do you expect... it's London!

Hehehe... get it?... it says "Never Hide"... and I'm hiding.... I'm so clever!

2007-05-16T05:57:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was actually quite a fun day, and I apologize that I didn't write about it sooner... but I had some responsibilities to take care of--namely homework.

In any case, I found out that I am a fan of surrealist art. I always appreciated Dali and thought his work was intriguing, but I've never truly spent time looking at surrealism. The comment is spawned from the fact that I went to a surrealist exhibition at the V&A Museum and examined a lot of surrealist paintings, video clips of nature, and even clothing (many items that I could see myself wearing. There was one dress called Bone Dress which was this cute black number, except there was some fabric slightly embossed to give the indication of a skeletal structure--highly evocative). This painting by Rene Magritte, Portrait of Edward James really hit a cord with me and I'm unsure why. I find it quite intriguing that the mirror reflects the back of Edward James' head, yet the book in the right hand corner is a true reflection. I guess it just evokes the idea that you can never trust reality and that normal expectations can be altered, only giving you another outlook on life. Rather fascinating... at least I think.

After the V&A Museum, we headed across the street to the Science Museum. The science museum is basically a child-at-heart's play land. My friends and I tried all the hands-on activities in the basement, learning about spacial relations, centrifugal force and how a toilet works (it even included a plastic piece of poop to be flushed away... only the best for the British folk). After we learned about physics and how things worked, we headed off to the floor of genetics, which is one of my favourite floors. It has all these games where you can learn about how a person is created and what makes us who we are. There was this one game where it would take your picture and alter your face to either age it or make it more feminine or masculine. Can I just tell you how attractive of a man I made? I know that sounds really weird and awkward, but I would totally date myself. I actually tried to e-mail myself the picture of me, but it didn't get sent, so I may have to go back and prove to you how hot I am.

After our museum excursions, we went to a play called Landscape with Weapon. It was an interesting play about weapons of mass destruction and the people who create them. They made a lot of insightful arguments that made me question the people behind the machine. Ned (the man sitting) was this engineer for a piece of technology that was supposed to be used for precision in surveillance, which becomes weaponized and a whole moral debate ensues. One of the most impressive arguments was the example of a kitchen knife and how it is used mainly for cooking. However, if wielded in a psychopath's hands, it becomes a dangerous weapon. But we will not stop making knives just because part of its dual purpose can be deadly. (I know I haven't articulated myself that well, but it made an interesting point). But for all the people who aren't interested in random plot synopsis or philosophical debate, here's some Hollywood news for you. The actor who played Ned is the man in Pirates of the Caribbean 2 named Cutler Beckett who is the head of the East India Trading Company who wants Davy Jones' heart. And the actor who played Dan (the guy standing) was in the movie Notting Hill (he played the 'Time Out' journalist). It was kind of funny how many people in our group soon became more interested in the play when they realised we were in the presence of fame who've worked with such hot actors like Johnny Depp and Hugh Grant. Can you say star-struck? I personally didn't care that much--however if it had been Ewan McGregor, that would have been a whole nother story. But speaking of star-struck, we will be seeing King Lear with Sir Ian McKellen (Gandolf, Magneto), which I probably will hyperventilate over cause it's SIR Ian McKellen!

2007-05-15T18:56:00.000-07:00

It's 3:00 am and granted I'm not tired, but I have to wake up in about 4 hours for class and I know I will be exhausted if I don't go to bed right now (I just barely finished writing my papers for class... and you say I don't do any studying!!!!). So I will fill you in on the details of yesterday/today... tomorrow/today (did that make sense?) Cheers!

See... this is me being all studious in my room!

War

2007-05-14T13:44:00.000-07:00

I've just come back from a fireside with a British man who experienced WWII as a child. It never ceases to amaze me when I hear stories about survivors of the war, whether they be American, British or German. I remember speaking to this one woman here in London, telling me all about how during the Blitz, her mum would take her and her brothers down into the bomb shelter and just hold them in her arms as the sounds of planes and bombs echoed outside. I'm so impressed by the European spirit and what kind of people have been shaped by these atrocious events. The man tonight talked about how all the hardships of his past just gave the himself (and English people) more resolve to carry on with life. He discussed how a couple years ago when there were bombings here on the bus and tube, how so many people weren't even phased by it, and the next morning were out and about with their briefcases to go to work.

I wonder what my life would be like if I had to go through such an experience like that... whether or not I would be able to carry on with life, or if I would seclude myself and become a hermit. Just the thought of hearing houses exploding or the hum of war planes above, sends shivers down my spine and I tense up. What would a life like that really, truly be like?

2007-05-13T10:46:00.000-07:00

So I'm pretty sure nothing eventful is going to happen this evening, so I might as well get this blog out now. Church was fun and I was able to go to young women's, which was so much fun. There was about 5 girls there total, but they were all really cute and I can't wait to get to know them. As for the rest of church, sadly, I kept nodding off (oh no... I'm turning into my father), so I really don't remember it that well. And now I have homework. So here's a pic to keep you satisfied.

London Theatre Study Abroad Group

Saturday's Nature Walk

2007-05-12T23:39:00.000-07:00

I apologize for yesterday, but after walking/hiking for 10 miles... you would be a little tired too. Anyway, the details of said nature walk consisted of 1) being in Shoreham (a little city in the county of Kent); 2) mostly walking through English forests and wide open fields ("The hills are alive"... anyone); and 3) lasting almost 6 hours... without even a toilet. It was actually a fun hike (although my legs would disagree) because I really got to know people in my group a bit more. Plus, the people from the BYU center came as well, which made us stand out like none other.
back of the line (can you even see the end?)..............................................................front of the line.

I would say more about the hike, but you can only embellish greenery so much, and I'm not what you would call a botanist, so you would get descriptions like, "little, green, leafy thing, with pointiness). So as they say... a picture paints a thousand words.

It's late...

2007-05-12T15:36:00.000-07:00

I'll share more tomorrow.

It never gets any easier

2007-05-11T15:54:00.000-07:00

I went to go visit an old mate of mine, whom I met when I was studying here at uni about 5 years ago. I had a free day for myself and it was his birthday a couple of weeks ago, so I promised I would take him out as a present to him. But the wonderful friend that he is, made me a delicious English dinner (and probably the most healthy and well-prepared meal that I will get here during this trip). For his birthday, we went and saw Goodbye Batana, which is a film about Nelson Mandela. I wish I knew a little bit more about Mandela, but the film did inspire me to learn more about the history of South Africa. Then we went and bought ice cream from Tesco's, headed back to his place and watched The Notebook and played gin (a great card game that he and I used to play at uni until all hours of the morning... good memories). He also showed me around his hometown, which consisted of concrete cows (a Milton Keynes trademark), the Milton Keynes Eye (like the London Eye, but in Milton Keynes), and the giant snow dome where you can snowboard, ski, or sled in this massive, man-made, snow-capped hill. Odd, but noteworthy.

I had so much fun with him and it was great to see his face again. The last time I saw him was 2 years ago when I was here last and I don't think I will see him for another 2 years, if that. And I got to thinking how much fun we had at uni together. We made a life-long friendship, that nothing will ever come between, regardless of how much time passes. I remember how eventful that time was for me 5 years ago. I was living in a foreign land with no friends, no one I could talk to... and then there was Ian... who came out of the blue and we hit it off pretty quickly. He was so kind and quirky, that I couldn't help but be drawn to his goofiness (don't worry... no romantic stuff here... he bats for the other team). One of the first memories I have of him is he bringing me flowers and chocolates for Thanksgiving because he knew it was an American holiday and he didn't want me to be alone for it. So I spent my first Thanksgiving away from home with him (and Ewan McGregor).

It was really hard for me to say goodbye to him once again. I just stood there in the car park, hugging him and not really wanting to let go. Saying goodbye (even if this is my 3rd time doing it) is never easy, and as the train rode off, quiet tears rolled down my cheek. I got really reflective on my train ride home tonight... reliving all the past memories I made at the University of Essex. I longed for those days again, where we would all gather in the kitchen and chat about the world, about our classes, about our lives. But those days can never come back... they are locked away in a vault in my mind, only to be released when reminiscing comes to claim me and my thoughts. If anyone ever asked me what moment in time I would relive, it would have to be the time I spent in Colchester. That was a time I knew who I was, I knew what I was doing, I knew where I was going, and I was truly happy.

I guess that's why I keep coming back here, hoping to find that same person who was created here those 5 years ago. Whether or not I find her... well I guess that's up to me.

8 shows in 7 days

2007-05-10T15:03:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I know it kind of seems like overkill for me to see so many shows the first week I get here, but I figure I don't know what the end of my time here will look like, especially if I have final papers to write, so I'll see all the shows I possibly can now. I'm pretty sure I won't be able to keep up this pace for long... sooner or later the purple bills in my wallet will be non-existent (meaning--"goodbye moolah"). The thing is, a few of these shows I already have tickets for because of the theatre programme, but sometimes sitting and analysing performances (don't you just love British spellings), puts a little wear-and-tear on the brain, so I need another performance to just sit back and enjoy without putting any theoretical spin on it--of course that happens regardless, but it's not on my own volition... it just comes with the territory.

So the two shows I saw today were The Reporter (homework) and The 39 Steps (entertainment). The Reporter was a play we read for class and then watched the performance to see how the text was put into production. It was basically about the BBC reporter Jim Mossman and his life. I understood the theme of the play, but it was kind of hard to get all what was going on because it was based on real life facts and I didn't know so much about the history of BBC television. So there were a lot of jokes and references which eluded me, which was kind of frustrating. But I'm a dumb, ignorant, American... what do I know?

The 39 Steps also had a lot of references, only this one referred to Alfred Hitchcock movies, which I also don't know too much about, but it didn't make the show any less entertaining. Basically it took all of Hitchcock's films and placed it into one show. I did figure out the allusion to The Birds and North by Northwest, but that was about it. But here was the best about the show... it was a cast of 4 playing about 140 characters in all. It was one of the most funny and entertaining things I ever saw. There were moments where the actors changed between 3 characters on stage at once. I don't know how the actors kept from screwing up their accents for each character, as well as fight off schizophrenia. It was such a creative production! My favourite part had to be when the main character was being chased on a train and he was supposed to be on top of the train. So the actor stood on a trunk and began waving his coat tails behind him to represent the wind... it was the most creative and hysterical thing I have ever seen. I think I might just be running around London doing that same motion, pretending that I'm on the top of a train (People already think I'm nuts here anyway).

Lastly, just a few random joys of the day... I had a Double Magnum Ice Cream Bar, first one of the trip (I basically said that to make my mum jealous... mwahahahaha!) and I also found myself a Feodora. You might not think that last fact is interesting, but I have been wanting a Feodora for a year now, and I finally got one. And might I say, I look so dang sexy in it. Take that Judy Garland!

A Matter of Life and Death

2007-05-09T14:58:00.000-07:00

I have once again returned from another production from the West End (yes, I know it seems like all I do is go to the theatre, but I'm trying to build up my repertoire of my trade... and I am studying as well, so it isn't all glamour and entertainment). The show was a very stunning piece of theatre that actually had me a little skeptical for the first five minutes. If you saw a dozen nurses come in riding bikes and watch them light a bed on fire... you would be a little skeptical too. But after the plot finally set in and I figured out how the visual elements were adding to the production... it was all amazement after that. Just imagine these same women riding their bikes upside-down to create the jet engines of a plane; or having the sick beds turn into a stairway to heaven; or having Shakespeare's ruff be made from surgical gloves... the creativity was endless. There was so much to see that I almost got too swept up in the production that I almost forgot to pay attention to the plot line. Basically the story was about a man who's plane was about to crash, and he was talking to the woman at the control tower getting to know her because he knew he was going to die. Then he jumps out of his plane without a parachute knowing his time was up. Here's the catch: his angel (Magnus the Magician... yeah, he was quite funny) didn't catch him to take him to heaven, so he survived the fall and ended up falling in love with this radio control tower woman. But it was his time to die, so the whole story was his appeal to fight the heavenly courts in order to stay alive with his true love. It was a very thought provoking play, discussing the war and who's to say who lives and dies. I really enjoyed it and may go back again just so that I can see everything because there was so much going on, you couldn't capture it all. Can I just tell you how cool it is to be a theatre major? The political scientists really don't know what they are missing!

Theatrical Overload!!!!

2007-05-08T16:26:00.000-07:00

Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh... (now pretend that I said that more eloquently)! I have just come home from and amazing day of theatrical venues and I really can't articulate into words how to express what I'm feeling. I guess the best word to describe it would be "Flgyblishabershnoyeglibanertit," but I really don't think that gibberish even does it justice.

Anyway, we woke up at the insane hour of 5:30 am, to go stand out in the windy British air to get front row tickets for Wicked for about $50. It was totally worth it, even before I even saw the show because I was able to get my reading homework done and I was able to talk with some locals at the front of the line (they were these two cute girls who knew everything about the production, whipping off names and factoids. It was their 15th time seeing the show and this particular evening was their 5 time seeing it in a row. I guess they really liked the understudy who was playing the wicked witch, had become friends with her, and have come to see her every night since the main character was gone this week and it was her time to shine now). I will throw my one complaint in there... it was bitterly cold in the wind, and I did feel a little sleep deprived. But for the show we got... I would have braved it again!

Whilst (yes... I said 'whilst') we were in line for Wicked, I had some other friends get Spamalot matinee tickets for us cause they wanted to see that as well. So basically we just bought tickets for each other (but they got to sleep in since Spamalot didn't do cheap discount day tickets.... bittter).

After our adventure getting tickets, we headed off to the London Museum, where we learned all about London's history dating back into prehistoric times. Highlights/things I learned: People used to spit on their ovens to see what the temperature was like and if it sizzled, it was ready (Fresh baked bread, anyone?); I also learned that children drank beer instead of water in the medieval times because the water was diseased (I found this out because there was an interactive computer game where you could pick out a person and see how you could survive the medieval times... I died at the age of 8 because I drank the water =P ); I also tried on some old medieval clothing... I looked better in the men's leather doublet than I did in the women's headdress... crazy!.

We then headed off to our first theatrical entertainment of Spamalot. We originally had bought tickets that were in the second balcony, but when we got to the theatre, our tickets got upgraded to the 1st balcony. Hooray for Karma! The show was very funny, even though I knew many of the jokes. But the music was entertaining, the accents and acting was great, and the design was hysterical. They actually had a cow catapulted over the castle wall and they had the black knight who gets completely dismembered and says he's going to "bite your leg off." The special effects were great and highly entertaining. My mouth was sore from the perma-grin I had during the performance. Plus Lancelot wasn't too shabby looking himself.

Then after a quick fish-n-chips at the pub, we headed off to Wicked. Let me just say that all of the amazing reviews... this play is deserving of every one of them. It was such a moving experience and I don't know if the story line got to me, if the music overpowered me, if the design elements overwhelmed me, or if all of the elements combined plus my knowledge of theatre now just created this absolutely, brilliantly created masterpiece for me. In any case, I laughed, I cried, I was moved. I'm so glad that I got to see this brilliant performance! I may see it again another time, but not on the front row, just so I can have the overall experience of watching the magic of theatre without having a ping-pong match with myself trying to see everything at once. I highly recommend this show to anyone who hasn't seen it... and it is totally worth flying 5000 miles for. What a great day!

A day of "greenery"

2007-05-07T14:23:00.000-07:00

I saw a grass car today parked on the side of the road. I was kind of intrigued, but sadly I didn't have my camera to take a picture (I ripped this one off the Internet). I found it very odd that someone would want to drive around in a vehicle made of mulch... was he an environmental activist... was he a bohemian artist creating a new piece of artwork... was it some crazed teenager's experiment of growing weed gone wrong? It completely eluded me. Maybe he was jealous he couldn't be in the rose bowl parade and this was as close as he could get. I guess we'll never know.

I also had the opportunity of seeing Little Shop of Horrors this evening. Although it had pretty good talent, and an amazing set, costume, sound, and lighting design (Audrey II [the plant] was quite a spectacle to see)... I have never been too keen on the story line or the music for that matter. It is quite a morbid show, to be quite honest with you. A man feeding human blood to a plant--I don't see what is so entertaining about that. So the entire time, I'm sitting in my seat trying to find a deeper level or meaning to the play... did the plant represent prominence and our need for wealth and recognition... was it some bizarre melodrama for botanists... was it some crazed teenager's experiment of growing weed gone wrong? I guess we'll never know.

Lea Valley Ward

2007-05-06T14:09:00.000-07:00

My first Sunday in London was a highly enjoyable one... well at least the morning of it was because the rest of my afternoon consisted of me writing papers for homework. I had church this morning at 10 am, but it was our first time getting there, so we left here at about 8:30. It was a good thing we did because it basically took us the entire time to get there on the tube. Not saying that the tube was delayed at all, but our ward is out there in BFEgypt. We crossed over into Zone 3 of London... that's far! It never ceases to amaze me of how fortunate we are in Utah to have churches at every corner, but I'm kind of glad I have the opportunities to trek out into the boonies for something I believe in... it just builds up the spirit and shows me how worth it this gospel is. Anyway, it was completely worth the hour and a half to get there because the ward was amazing. As we were about to reach the church, we saw a couple of people in front of us walking the same direction in their Sunday dress... you can always spot us a mile away on Sundays. Anyway, a man in front of us slowed down and then turned around to us and said "Good Morning" and started up a conversation... such nice people too. His name was Augustin (or something of the like) and he was very friendly and told us where to go for the first hour. Then, the moment we walked inside, the Relief Society president met us and was all smiles. When we sat down and were waiting for the meeting to start, the usher (Brother Cliff) came running in and in his thick accent asked, "Oo's 'and 'aven't ay shaked?" and then proceeded to shake all of our hands. It was so delightful! We started out in Relief society and I sat by this amazing woman (Doris Edwards) from Jamaica who had traveled all the way here to do her family history. She finished the work of her mum and dad, grandmum and granddad and she was tearing up telling me the story about it. She is heading back to Jamaica on Wednesday, which is somewhat sad because she seemed like such an amazing lady. She said she was coming back next year to do the work for her brothers and sisters. I hope her life treats her well. In sacrament meeting, I met another couple from the stake (the Edens... like garden of... get it?) and they were extremely friendly, but again, they probably wouldn't be there next week since they are stake people and travel from ward to ward. What's my luck meeting all the people who wouldn't even be there next week? Then one of the counselors in the Bishopric (Bro. June) asked us to introduce ourselves and bear our testimonies in sacrament meeting. It was a great opportunity to get up and see all the smiling faces of the ward. After church, as if we had been members of that ward the entire time, people just came up and started talking to us as if we were life-long friends... I love the church in England! We also got tentative callings (it won't be official until next week), but I think I'm going to be in the Young Women's, which got me totally excited. I hope I do a good job trying to apply things to life when our cultures are so different. AND I really hope they can understand my accent. (I didn't have to much luck with the Primary last time I was here... just a bunch of blank faces staring at me as if I was speaking Russian). All in all, it was a great Sunday and I'm really excited to be a part of the ward. I find it kind of ironic that my ward back home in called Apple Valley, and now I'm in a ward called Lea Valley... I guess I'm just a "valley girl." =)

Mr. Codpiece rides again

2007-05-05T16:17:00.000-07:00

So amazing day today and I'm not sure if I want to cut straight to the chase or if I should write all the other frivolous details..... ...... okay.... quick summation of the boring parts of the day. Woke up; took a little walking tour by the Thames and Globe theatre (been there, done that); got tickets to see a show, and met with a friend for dinner.... Okay, now to the juicy parts! As we were walking to go get tickets for the show, we were heading up these stairs, just chatting away, when all of us looked up and noticed a familiar man in a brown hat. We ALL watched as he passed by and basically followed him with our eyes and heads, wondering if we should stop him and ask him for his autograph. It was the actor (Nick Barber) who played Cassio from the night before--aka. Codpiece man... unfortunately no codpiece this afternoon =( Anyway, we didn't want to be all googly-eyed and starstruck, so we let him wander on his merry way. As we continued walking in our twitterpated state saying, "OH MY GOSH! OH MY GOSH! OH MY GOSH!..."we realized, "Hey, wait a minute! He's not a Hollywood star.... he doesn't have the paparazzi following him... he should be flattered that we would recognize him and want his autograph.... and his number =)." But by the time we figured that out, he was long past reaching... unless we ran after him, screaming like banshees, but that seemed a little stalkerish to me. However, we do know the route he takes to get to the theatre now. We may "coincidentally" be sitting in the park where he goes through on the night of his performances and "accidentally" run into him ;) ...That's not stalking, that's just ingenious! Anyway, that put a smile on our face for the rest of the day.

Another great joy was that I went to Burrough's Market today and found my long lost chocolate covered hazelnuts that I survived on last time I was here. I was so excited, I bought about 20 dollars worth of nuts... it meant that much to me to have the taste of London again. Mm-mmmm, good! Speaking of food I survived off of, I also found a chicken and bacon flan that I would always buy at the store for meals. I bought one, accidentally burnt the top (I kind of forgot how to work the ovens here), and then ate it.... ahhhhh, the memories! I love my staple foods!

Last of all, my flat mates and I went to go see Maggie Smith in "The Lady of Dubuque." It was an amazing performance, well written, well acted, with an excellent set and lighting design. The curtain rose to expose a pretty modernish-looking living room and I just felt like I was there in the room with the actors. It was beautiful. Also the lighting design was cool! They had a giant window with drapes on stage left and they illuminated it with a beautiful white light shining into the living room--all celestial and heaven-like. It was gorgeous! And the story and the acting were superb! They kept breaking the forth wall to capture the audience more and basically cause us to look at ourselves and determine who we are and how we handle reality. It a magnificent show! In case you were wondering, Maggie Smith is a brilliant actor, probably most well known for as Prof. McGonagall from the "Harry Potter" movies. She had this wicked-cool American accent and it was weird at first, but I got over it. It was a great performance to end the night on.

One giant codpiece

2007-05-04T17:31:00.000-07:00

So I've just come home from seeing Othello at the Globe Theatre and it was amazing!!! However, we were groundlings standing in the yard (mind you, the best standing room, standing front and center... how great is that?)... and we basically had to stand for 4 hours. As much as I enjoyed the first act, I have never been more excited for an intermission to rest my weary legs. As for the show itself, I was mostly impressed with the production. It was opening night and there were a few glitches here and there (like the curtains coming down from the ceiling to cover Desdemona's bed and it getting caught in the rafters. One of the chorus people was trying so hard not to laugh, but I think I saw her crack a smile)... but comparatively to my Hamlet, it was impressive. The only issues I really had was that the supporting actors were actually better than the main actors. I was a little disappointed in Othello and Iago's performance... they really had no depth to their characters. And strangely enough... Iago actually had to call for a couple lines. Not really what I would expect from a professional London Theatre. The supporting actors on the other hand, made the show! All the female parts were so strong and well performed. And the supporting men were very in tune with their characters (and very in tune with being attractive.... Fine and dandy, like oats and candy!) Which actually refers to my title of this blog--since we were standing by the stage, we basically were about knee to waist level with the actors and one character in particular (Cassio--the finer of the actors), was wearing a huge codpiece. Ironically, it was one of the first thing all of us noticed when he came out on stage (hey... what do you expect, when you have a bunch of American girls who aren't married, aren't allowed to date, and are stuck in a city with hot guys and sexy accents?). One of my flat mates actually said after the show that after seeing that costume piece, it made her really want to have a man here. =) (Thank you Ashleigh for making my night). All in all, it was a exceptional performance of tragedy, humor (Roderigo was hysterical), and strangely enough... dancing (After everyone dies at the end, they all came out dancing and had huge grins on their face for curtain call... was I mistaken... is Othello a tragedy or a comedy?)

The adventures of the day also consisted of walking around London. My flatmates and I wanted to see what the ticket prices were for a few shows that we want to see, so we went around and did some research. (If you're interested... the cheapest price is about 20 quid... that's pounds for you Yankee folk). Also, we stopped by the Tate Modern to get warm and rest our legs before we went to the Globe to stand all night. We ended up doing some homework there, which describes the photo below. It was a good day, but my legs are about to shrivel up and die, and I have another early morning tomorrow. Yay for LDS missions and being a theatre student that prepare one to not get any sleep!

First Day of Class

2007-05-03T14:44:00.000-07:00

So after a rousing morning of thinking someone was playing a practical joke on me (i.e. the scene in Amelie), I actually had a pretty good day. We had our first day of class in the institute room of the Hyde Park Chapel. It was the same place where I had Relief Society when I went to the singles ward a few years ago when I was here last (Word of advice... the singles wards here are no different than the ones in the states... the bishop still tries to marry everyone off in the congregation). Anyway, it was interesting to have class in there.

I thought it kind of interesting however, how the theatre professor introduced the criteria for the class we would be taking. Being a theatre major myself, I've come to grips knowing that some of the material we will be reading and some of the performances we will be attending may not be as "uplifting" as one would expect--namely questionable material which may not be suitable for all ages. But that's what comes of taking a theatre class; you delve into some horrid stuff in order to see the social commentary a playwright or director is trying to express. Granted, there is some gratuitous material that is only in shows for shock value, but I think for the most part, they are trying to convey a message to audiences. Even Shakespeare was a pretty bawdy writer for his time... I digress. In any case, our professor just made it clear to all who weren't used to participating in theatrical experiences (the political science major, the economy major... the sheltered English students), that we would be reading and seeing shows that have material that we may have trouble with. Although I thought the introduction and "parental advisory" discussion went on a little too long, I was kind of appreciative that they did it... I wish someone would have warned me when I first came here and experienced British theatre (*that's a whole nother story).

But classes should be fun. I'm just hoping they don't give us too much homework so that we can't enjoy our time here in London. For those of you who are interested, I am taking a dramatic literature class, which we discuss theory and apply it to the plays that we see and read. I am also taking a Shakespeare class where we discuss his life and plays.

Another highlight of the evening (aside from the nap that I had), we had a member of the Hyde Park Stake Presidency come and tell us where we will be going to church. I will be in the Lea Valley Ward, about an hour away from here. I'm hoping I get a calling with the youth because they are the most fun... but I won't find out until Sunday. I just can't wait to be in a culturally diversified ward again. The spirit is always so strong there with all the converts' testimonies. I'll let you know how it goes.

I probably should get back to reading the play that is due tomorrow. The responsibilities of a student are endless.

Bah!

2007-05-02T23:19:00.000-07:00

So.... I'm a moron. You would think that after being here at least 4 times before, having adjusted so many watches and alarm clocks forward 7 hours, being so OCD with making sure that my alarm clock is set and set and the right time, that I would have realized that my alarm clock was still set on American time... but no. I set my alarm clock to wake up at 7:00 this morning to take a shower and get ready. Well, my alarm clock goes off and I get up and take a shower. When I get out of the shower, I come out of the bathroom and see that all my flatmates are still in bed, thinking "Wow, I guess it doesn't take them that long to get ready. I guess they are still really tired." Then I proceed to get ready, still wondering why no one is getting up. Finally, I grab my watch to see how much time we have and realize... hmmm, it's not 7:30am... it's 3:30am... CRAP! So I felt like such an idiot. And my flatmates just laughed at me this morning, asking what in the world I was doing up. Here's the clincher of it all... so I have two alarms, one on my watch and one on my traveling alarm clock. The one on my watch is set for 7 and the one on my clock is set for about 10 after 7 because the alarm clock is a little finicky sometimes and doesn't always work. Well, I thought it rather strange that my alarm clock went off before my watch this morning, so I grab my watch to see if my alarm was still on... and rather than look at the hour, I just look at how many minutes are past the hour... and then proceeded to get up. Man, do I feel stupid!

First Day on the Town

2007-05-02T14:25:00.000-07:00

So I arrived in London this afternoon (the last of the lost sheep to come "home") and the London air with all it's smoke, dust, smog and B.O. just sent my heart reeling back into the memories. The flight over wasn't half that bad. I flew out of LAX and had a straight shot to Heathrow, not having to worry about whether or not my luggage would make my connecting flight... it was safely stowed beneath me the entire flight. Also, since the in-flight movie selection was somewhat shabby, I figured I would catch a few Zzzz's before jet lag set in. So all in all, a pretty nice flight. Getting to my flat on the other hand... not as relaxing. Dragging two bags of luggage on the high street of Kensington isn't what you would call a day at the park. Let me just say... my forearms are killing me. But the flat is pretty nice... we have bunk beds... hehehe! I can't wait to kick my top bunkie all night long... well, only if she snores or talks in her sleep, but we'll see after tonight.

As for the other adventures I had today, not much. We went around the area to find a Sainsbury so that I would have some breakfast in the morning (gotta have my Frosted Flakes) and basically got lost in the process. Oh well... I always wanted to see what Kensington looks in the moonlight! Plus, I got to ogle all the British men walking on the streets... I forgot how cute they are (and yes... I say cute, they are not all bad smiles... some of them are actually quite lovely). Which reminds me, there were a few cute blokes who helped me out with my luggage today and as a service of payment, I gave them my number... well... I wish I had given them my number, but they walked away so fast I didn't even have time to get my name out. Poor fellas... don't know what they're missing. Anyway, it's late, I have class and I should fight the jet lag by going to bed on Greenwich Mean Time rather than Mountain Standard time (stupid time zones). We'll see what tomorrow brings.

Prepatory blog before adventures begin

2007-04-23T15:54:00.000-07:00

Not only am I embarking on a new adventure in England (even though this will be my fourth/fifth time traveling there...irregardless, it is still a new adventure), I am venturing into my first attempt at blogging my experiences. Internet journaling... who would have thunk? Anyway, this is just a precursor to prepare myself (and whoever else may read this), that hopefully this will be a rip-roarin' adventure that you can experience vicariously through me (hahaha you suckers who can't afford traveling to England... kidding). Anyway, I hope the excitement that I'm expecting now about the unknown future, will not supersede the forthcoming events. Only time will tell.