As some of you may have noticed I have not posted anything except schoolwork for a few days. I don't know where the time has gone. It just hit me the other day that all my stuff for class was due and I wasn't finished with anything. And, of course, since those of you who know me well, know that I never do anything the easy way when there is a much harder way to do it, realize what that means. So, I've spent days and days (it seems like at least) doing schoolwork. I really don't understand why – it's not like I haven't done anything the whole time we've been here. Well, let me catch you up on what I've been doing lately. Thursday night I worked on my podcast and digital story, while all my flat mates went to a show. I was feeling quite virtuous. I actually had my mind set all day on Thursday that I was going to work that night, so I was in a working mood. I actually got a lot accomplished with everyone gone. That was one of the few times I've been alone since we got here. Friday morning I went to the computer lab with Andrea and we sat there for hours. Saturday we did the same. We left for lunch (??) about two o'clock, and then worked some more. Lenese joined us in the conservatory and we worked away, after I ranted and raved for a while about APA citations. Just for future reference, I can't even tell you how much I hate APA citations. I feel like it makes no sense and I don't understand it, and no matter how much I try, I don't understand it so I hate it. Its fine for things like books, but the internet has made citations, at least for me, really difficult. See, I started ranting and raving again. I finally had to apologize to both Lenese and Andrea for my bad behavior. Lenese finally told me to stop asking her, if I was going to argue with everything she said, which sounds harsh, but I absolutely deserved it. About 9:30 we were so disgusted and tired of looking at our computer screens we went for a walk. We have discussed the fact that we would like to see London at night, but it takes so long to get dark, we're always too tired by the time it gets dark. So we decided to take a walk down by the river. Staci, one of the GCs decided to wander along with us. We had no specific plans; we just wanted to be outside, breathing some different air. We rode the tube to the Embankment station, crossed the Thames on one of the pedestrian bridges and just wandered along the river. The tide was out, and we were amazed at the amount of space between the walls and river. One guy was building sand creations down there. We crossed back over Blackfriar's Bridge and realized we only had a little time until the last tube left, so we had to almost run back. We passed a big group of drunken Vikings, complete with helmets with horns and some sort of plastic (I hope!) battle axes. We also passed a guy who had just vomited on the sidewalk –that was pretty gross. Anyway, we just made it back for the last tube and made it home safely.
On Sunday, Lenese and Andrea and I tried to find our way to Wimbledon. One note of advice - when traveling someplace you've never been before, take a map with you. We had no idea where we were going, but finally, after asking people we found our way to what are probably the most famous tennis courts in the world. We walked right through the gates, we bet it was a lot more crowded a month ago, and wandered into "The Wimbledon Shop." I owed my buddies lunch at least, since I dragged them all over creation, so we found the Renshaw Café where we had a little bite to eat, including strawberries and cream. We also had a chocolate mousse and the best bite of all was a bite of strawberry with cream, dipped in the chocolate mousse. It was fabulous. After another venture into the store, to pick up something I missed the first time around, and after some photo opportunities, we headed back "home" to our flats. Poor Lenese had to go to work and Andrea and I still had stuff to do. I did take a little nap, got up, and went to church. On the way home from church, it was raining a little, so Andrea and I both decided to go ahead and take our showers and we went back to the computer lab in our pajamas.
Today, we went back to the lab and stayed all day. I was having the worst luck getting my projects to load to my blog. Finally, it all worked. Katherine had found cheap tickets for Hairspray so we left the lab about 6-ish to get ready for the play. It was absolutely fabulous. I wanted to sing along so badly, and at the end, we were all invited to dance along. I really wanted to, but since I have very specific instructions from my 9 year old niece to NEVER dance in public, I restrained myself. It was so funny; the guys playing Edna and Mr. Turnblad started laughing and had to stop their song. I've never seen anything like it. Edna looked at the music guy and apologized. It was hysterical. It was just what I needed after these last days of nose to the grindstone working, and especially the computer frustrations today.
Tomorrow we take our last class field trip, to Buckingham Palace and then to Harrods. I haven't been in Harrods yet, but I'm pretty excited, although I'm sure I can't afford anything. I love the Barbara Taylor Bradford books about Emma Harte and I think Harrods will meet my mental picture of what I think Harte's is like in those books. It's just one more instance of my favorite books coming to life here in London. Wednesday, we're taking a group photo – all the students at the whole FSU Study Centre, and then we're having dinner at the OXO Tower. We saw it the other night on our walk along the river and it looks pretty swanky. I may need to find something better to wear than anything I bought. After that, we ride the London Eye, come back and pack up all the rest of our stuff, because I have to be outside ready to go at 6 the next morning. Thursday will be a long day, but at the end, I'll be home.
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