The Blog

This has been a stressful week. I am down to only a few remaining weeks of the program which means everything is coming at me in full force at once. Last night I layed in bed contemplating everything that needed to be done and scaring myself into nightmares. Alright, so perhaps i tend to be overly dramatic. But I have been stressed. I feel that stressed out individuals need to have an outlet. Something that when things get to much they can retreat to to remind themselves that they are alive, breathing, and exceedinly happy. For each person this retreat varies...some it is television, others food, some have a certain person...some may even possess two or three things. For me i have music. If i can experience music i can regain some sense of sanity in my life. Tonight I experienced music. I spent a rather large sum of money that i told myself was okay to spend because it is soon after my birthday and I have yet to spend any more than three pounds on alcoholic beverages while i have been here. And so i made my way down to the Royal Albert Hall which is about a ten minute walk down the pavement and I viewed three bands-one of which is the one i went specifically for-Bloc Party. Yes, I went by myself and mom i'm okay! It was amazing if i hadn't said it before...The hall is large and absolutely stunning. I sat there imagining all the things that had previously gone on in this hall and all the things that were yet to be there. The music started. The first band was called Mystery Jets and they absolutely blew me away. They had such a tremendous blend with four voices and an array of musical instruments. I was surronded by interesting people...two young hyperactive girls, a man with a Scottish accent so thick i'm not sure what a single word he spoke to me all evening was, a chain smoker, and some silly drunk men. It was good to hear music. It was good to be surronded by people who appreciated the same things.
And then I ran home in the rain.

So, today i woke up and felt the need to go on an adventure. In case you didn't know I live in central London. For those of you who know cities you know that the center of a city is an 'exclusive' place to live. When someone asks where i live at in London I cough out the answer 'Knightsbridge' because I want nothing further to enforce their sterotypes of those snotty rich americans. But on to my reasoning for needing an adventure. Since I live in central London I really feel like i don't get to see to much of what it must be really like to live in London, so i got this idea in my head to wander out to a part of London that I have not been to yet. I decided that i needed an end point though. Being unable to escape the fact that i am American and sometimes i do have the strong desire for convenience, i decided i would try an ASDA which is the English branch of Wal-Mart. So i got one in mind and headed out to Zone 2 to find it. No adventure would be complete without getting lost. So after getting off of the correct tube stop, I proceeded to get lost for an hour and a half and just wandered around. Each new street was a new smell (sometimes good, sometimes bad). The streets were not packed full of people, but streets were packed full of parked cars.
I did find ASDA. Right when I was ready to turn around the catchphrase "low prices" caught my eye. I finished my adventure by going up and down ever isle. To put it bluntly, I was not impressed. This was not the Wal-Mart of home.
I caught a bus home.

As for an update on normal, everyday life...

My birthday was nicely celebrated. Tony and Sarah came up to enjoy the weekend with me. I showed them my favorite spots and had them take part in my usual practice of getting lost.
My internship is going alright. I have only a week left of it though which is frightening to be quite truthful. I can't stand that time is going by so fast. I am attatched to this place and the thought of moving on with my life from here isen't very nice. I should be content to carry on with this part of my life for awhile more.

this is my last night of being twenty. i am confused as to whether my birthday begins in eight minutes or if i have to wait an extra five hours because i'm in a different time zone. if i was born at six in the evening eastern standard time, does this mean i wasn't born until eleven in greenwich mean time? i'm sure details such as these don't really matter, in six minutes if i feel like being 21 i can be 21, if i feel like remaining 20 until 11 in the pm i can remain 20 till 11 in the pm. But all this being said, yes, tomorrow is my birthday. i am announcing it to my readers. For some reason i have been doing a lot of reflecting with this birthday coming up. Usually birthdays don't mean all that much to me, but for some reason this one feels important and not because it means i will legally be able to open and consume alcoholic beverages in the US of A. If turning 21 is about becoming some sort of adult than i think i should have turned 21 the moment i stepped off the plane into heathrow or perhaps i shouldn't turn 21 until my time is done here. Perhaps 21 isen't at all to be credited with what i think it should be. It is just another number in keeping track of our lives, another number to show how far a person has come and how far a person still has to go. When i think about where i was a year ago on my birthday and where i sit tonight i am amazed at where time has taken me. Things one moment we think we shall never overcome become things we think back to and wonder how we could have made them such big issues. I have not really aquired as much wisdom as I should like by this time in my life, but i have come to realize that time is a great teacher and that you must learn from your mistakes and not be afraid to make more.

alright, enough reflection I know there is probably curiousity about my spring break trip which i shall try to satisfy.

My spring break started out by waking up at 5 in the am, wandering around Victoria Station trying to find the correct bus to get on. Luckily we (me, my roommate and another girl Nirali) found it, boarded, and roughly two hours later we we're in the city of Oxford. My first impressions of the town were not that great. I was cold and tired. Fortunatly things started looking up. We checked ourselves into a very cool little hostel and set out to explore the area. Oxford is a semi-nice area if you are into universities and architecture. I think i would have enjoyed it all a bit more had it not been so cold. My favorite part of the trip was the hour that I wandered out for a wee walk by myself and just walked around and took it all in, I also stopped into a church just so that i could sing along with other human beings and feel a part of something. I like the feeling of being a part of something while not knowing a single soul around you.

The next part of our journey was the Lake District. This could be a long entry if i tried to tell you all about it, but i shall just try my best to summarize. The Lake District is suposed to be the most beautiful part of England, it is up near Scotland and has charming lakes (suprise) and beautiful mountains. Upon arrival in the Lake District we became a little confused because we had not booked a spot to lay our heads for the night. So we ended up staying at a charming little bed and breakfast. The next morning we looked out our window to find that it had snowed and was still continuing to do so. After the intial shock wore off we ate our breakfast and headed to the bus station so we could make it to the next town where a hostel was. Of course the buses were not running due to the crazy weather so we had to get a taxi. urgh. Attempting to cut a very long story short...we ended up at an amazing youth hostel where we stayed for three nights and explored the beautiful area. It was a wonderful relaxing time.

For obvious reasons i am going to cut this entry short. Perhaps I will update more later, but right now i'm exhausted. i will end with some short details of my trip.

*I lost two hats on this trip which i am very sad about.

*I rode in a bus, a train, and a taxi on this trip which really isen't important

*I took about 200 pictures/videos.

*i love tea.

*I am 21 London Time.

I try to keep this updated as best I can, but I hope that you all understand it isen't always easy to get a chance to update it. I have been busy with classes and my internship. Friday I am leaving at 5 in the AM for my spring break trip. I will be spending a day in Oxford, a few in the Lake District, and then a final day in Liverpool. Then over the following weekend my sister and brother-in-law will be visiting me for my big 21st birthday celebration.

Due to my descriptive abilities being at the moment a bit hampered by the rain and the fact I have to be at class soon I have decided to update you a bit by allowing you a look into my highly prized "purse journal" as it has become to me. In this little notebook I record thoughts and reflections-sometimes i write as things happen, other times after they have passed and sometimes just a list of things that need done.

Entry 1
"I am on the bus and it is packed full. Luckily I got on early so I got a seat and am not one of the unlucky ones crammed in against a bar or against a stranger. There is something so interesting about being packed on a bus full of so many other people. Everyone is away from their home (as i assume no one lives on this bus) and is going towards something and away from something all at the same time"

Entry 2
"Today I went to my first Catholic Mass. It was an entirely new experience for me and I am so glad i finally got to go. It was a bit akward for me though. I felt like the new kid in class. It was so strange to be the odd one out in a religious service. The church building itself was amazing. You could tell it was fairly old and my mind wandered the whole time to all it had probably been through..."

Entry 3
"Today is a beautiful day. Quite cold, but the sun is shining. It's a lovely picture. I love London and I really do feel like it is my city. Today I heard a little boy at the bus stop-probably 4 or 5-say to his mom, "Look, look at that vintage jaguar!! LOOK!!" It was so odd to hear this little boy say something like that in his English accent"

So there you go, sorry for the lack of updates, but there is a little look into just the everyday. So, next week there will be no updates because I'll be away. I'll be sure to post when I return though. Take care.

I thought this was funny...my mom e-mailed me this picture today. If you look really closely i am wearing a London T-shirt. It was fate. It truley was.