Day Two - We Study Here?

May 7th

First day of classes. It take about 12 minutes to get the to the Hyde Park Chapel. That's where we have our classes. Side Story: As Jessa, Camille, Jennifer, and I were walking to class a man came up to us. We had just crossed the street and he stopped us just as we were passing him. The conversation is as follows...

Stranger: Is that gum you're chewing?

Camille: Umm, yeah?

Stranger: Can I buy it from you?

Camille: Oh sorry I don't have anymore.

Stranger: No just the piece you're chewing... It's a fetish of mine. I'll give you five pounds.

Camille: uhhhhh.....

Stranger: How bout just a pound then? It's just a weird thing I have?

Camille: Yeah sure, I guess.

He hands her the pound, she takes out the gum and hands it to him, and then he PUTS IT IN HIS MOUTH! We wished him a good morning and kept walking. Whaaaaaat????? Idk if he just wanted to weird us out since we are obviously American girls, but it was one heck of a story. He was so serious and nice about it. How does one develop a fetish for already chewed gum??

Class was from 9 to just after noon. George started us off with British Contemporary Theatre. We talked about different genres, characters, elements of a play, etc. I always feel like I'm learning so much when I listen to George speak. It's enthralling, like this massive load of information is being dumped on me and I have to struggle to pick up and hold onto as much of it as I can. I missed having him as a teacher Winter semester. After George was Brett with Shakespeare. We went more in depth about what it is appealing about a tragedy and then started analyzing King Lear. The classes are interesting and perfect to take in London, but I just want to run around the city. After class we went home to eat and then took the tube to Westminister Abby. Guess who greeted us the moment we stepped out of the station....

Big Ben!

heh camera selfies...I don't want to carry my phone everywhere so I'm trying to get in the habit of picking up my camera instead of my phone. It's about the same quality, but selfies are a little more tricky.

Through the gates.

This is almost everyone in the group underneath Big Ben. We were a bit of a hazard to the foot traffic while taking this picture. I'm in the back right corner peaking over.

I take lots of pictures of buildings.... I want you to get an idea of what it is really like to walk down London. This is literally the architecture everywhere. It bounces from century to century, but all of it is so grand. This is kitty corner to parliament and Big Ben.

These horse guards were close to Downing Street and stand in front of some parliament building if I remember correctly. They look so grumpy and stern. 

Here's changing of the guards with the horses. It is so uniform. I'm not sure how much training you have to go through as a horse of person to be one of these lookouts, but it is very ritualized. 

George listing off some random facts to the group about Trafalgar Square. We have some great group pics on the platform of the tower that Lord Nelson is standing on. It was a bit tricky to get on. I'll try to track those down soon.

Underneath Lord Nelson

Justyne (my roommate), Tracy, and I.

The National Gallery. After meeting up with Ben we came back here and spent an hour and a half in the National Gallery. I definitely didn't see it all. Even though I love looking at paintings, nudity still bothers me. I just feel like it is so unnecessary. I don't really see the beauty in the human body. I must be too conservative.

Blue Chicken opposite of a statue of one of the King Henrys. This beauty is in Trafalgar and is changed pretty regularly. Last year it was a giant ship in a bottle.

*Street performers are very common in London. It is literally some people's job. They range from average to extraordinary. It is also expected to give them money. I need to carry around a few pounds to give to people that actually get me to stop. If they deserve your time, they kind of deserve your  money.

Lord Nelson is waaaay up there.

Jennifer, Jace, Jessa, and Sarah

I love this view.

Hello Mr. Lion. I thought it was too scary to get up there with him. Some of the other student did though.It's probably four and a half feet and slippery since it is always raining. 

Brief stop for fish and chips after picking up tickets for Mousetrap. We asked the man at the box office if he knew a good place and he directed us here. We milled around Covent Garden looking for a place to sit down to eat.

Isn't it magical?

This is a magician in Covent Garden. He didn't have too many tricks, but he was funny. A good people person. He sold his act by talking to the audience and trying to swindle a few extra pounds from all the helpers. His audience was international with people standing to watch from Germany, France, Ecuador, America, and so on.

Fish and Chips for the experience, and i loved it! We finally stopped to eat after watching the magic show

Sneaking a picture of the inside of the national gallery. The paintings aren't the only thing worth gawking at.

This guy on the bagpipes went strong for at least two hours. He was more impressive than the break dancers outside of the National Gallery. Written all along the ground was poetry too. It didn't stay up for too long though in London weather.

Hanging out in Trafalgar while waiting for the show to start. I bought my umbrella just earlier that day.

Me, Jennifer, Jessa, and Ben. Jace had just jumped out of the picture.

Dallin being nice and taking pictures for us.

Jace with a British copy of Harry Potter. The weather led us into a bookstore where we were all tempted to start buying souvenirs. 

Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap.  We saw somewhere around show 25,615. The classic murder mystery was highly entertaining and you'll never get it of me who-dunnit. I am sworn to secrecy. Dallin, Jessa, and I were sitting high up, but were able to upgrade to closer seats for free when the whole theatre didn't sell out. It was quite lucky. Jennifer, Jace, and Ben were already closer to the stage. We trekked back to the tube and then the flatts almost like zombies. We didn't see Jennifer's friend from the night before, a cat she picked up on our way back from Glouster Station. It was in love with her and started to follow us home, but then her front light turned on.