Fire! Fire!

After class today, I just sat back on our lovely couch in our lovely bay window and relaxed for a while. Then Allan, Miriamme, and I went to pick up tickets for Antigone tomorrow! I'm so excited for that show. When we were waiting at the tube station to get there, we watched the cutest little boy. A water bottle had spilled in his mother's bag and was spilling all over the ground. The little kept insisting, "We have to mop it up! We have to mop it up!" In his cute little British accent. My mom would have loved that child. Anyway, I finally got to ride at the top of a double decker bus! I've been waiting this whole trip for it (let's just ignore the fact that I've only been here three days)! Then we all went to 11 & 12 directed by Peter Brooke! He's a really famous director for all of you non-theatre people out there. It was pretty good;although, we did get the floor seats. As dad always says, the mind can only absorb what the butt can endure. When we got home, we all sat down to blog (like we're doing now). We were here for about twenty minutes when the fire alarms went off. Why, we do not know. But we ended up standing in the rain for about 15 minutes waiting for the Metrogate people (the apartment people) to come shut them off.

We're having fun, but the teachers won't let us sleep...

I finally got to go to bed last night at about 9pm. I was definitely asleep before my head hit the pillow, and I slept like a rock the whole night through. Somehow I managed to stay awake through class and then the real adventure began! We rode the tube, for the first time, all the way to Piccadilly Circus and walked around the park and saw Buckingham Palace. Then we went to 39 Steps. It's a comedy based off of the Alfred Hitchcock movie. I know, you didn't know it was a comedy, right? Well, when it's a play, it's absolutely hilarious. All the characters were played by 4 actors, and the set was pretty minimal. My favorite part was definitely the shadow puppet chase scene! Outside the theatre, p.s., there were some guys pretending they could dance...oddly there was actually crowd around them, but really all they did was shake their butts and pose. Personally, I think the drunk guy in front of the fountain who was dancing and singing (if that's what you can call it) put on a much better show. Also, just FYI, if you ever go to St. James park, don't be deceived by the inviting chairs...you have to pay to sit in them.

It's a Long Trip Alone

So, the good news is, I made it here alive! The bad news is, my body thinks it's 6:30am, and I haven't slept yet, but London seems to think it's 1:30 in the afternoon...yay jet lag...not. Anyway, my dad took me to the airport yesterday morning and helped me check in. We had a little difficulty with the slot labeled "Passport scanner..." not scanning. It wasn't until an employee pointed to the actual passport scanner (after a few minutes of frustration) that we read the last half of the label "Passport scanner to the right". I don't know what the random slot below the label is for, but it definitely doesn't scan passports. Believe me, we tried everything! The best part was when we claimed it said "passport scanner", and the employee replied, "It does! We need to fix that!" Apparently we Americans are just lazy and only read the specific words we're looking for. Once I got to Chicago I managed to find my way to my next terminal by ignoring Jake's confusing map and major oversimplification of the O'Hare airport and following the signs. By the way, they have this crazy weird underground walk way with blinking neon lights and music, and it made me feel like I was in a Disney movie or something. But I made on my plane for 8 hour flight...one of the longest 8 hours of my life. I sat next to this guy...he was nice, but I could he didn't want to talk at all. I don't know if I've ever gone that long without really talking since I learned how to talk. The best moment of the plane ride was when I was reading Chapter Two and one of the characters says, "Airplane food isn't dinner, it's survival" and I looked up and saw the flight attendants coming with my dinner, or my survival, rather. I thought it was funny, but maybe you would have had to have been there.... Well, I made it through customs, but I couldn't find the other group member I was supposed to meet, so I made my way through London alone...yay for trains and taxis! Oh, and I noticed from the airplane that all the fields in London are far from square and come in many different shapes...just thought it was interesting that it was so different from Utah.

Look Out London, Here I Come!

The adventure begins! I spent most of today with my mom and dad running errands to get everything I need for London. My daddy even bought me a camera for my birthday (which I will have in London!) to take with me. Thanks Dad! I love you, and not just because you bought me a camera. I will miss my family and friends very much, but I am so very excited! I packed everything I absolutely need into one suitcase and backpack, and I'm very proud of how much space I have left in my suitcase. Plenty of room for souvenirs! Bright and early tomorrow morning, my dad and I will make our way to Salt Lake, and I will begin my long journey to England!