Today was a much more exciting day compared to yesterday, and it still managed to be productive as well! It felt very good to get out and about again and get the blood flowing! It's still sunny here, which is weirding me out, but I am managing to enjoy it....in small doses. I'm looking at the forecast now and it's looking like our Scotland trip next week will be nice and rainy. I am quite excited for this.
We had our second day of classes today, which felt a lot more relaxed today for some reason. It could be that the professors realized that we were shot after the experience yesterday. So those went by really well, and I did well on the quiz as well. In Frank's English class we talked about Remains of the Day, which I loved. I read it before the program, which now feels like forever ago. I read a bit online to refresh my mind a little, but I may have to re read that sometime because it's a great book. After classes I went into the foyer to work on homework and ended up falling asleep on the couch. (Apparently Wade saw me and said some things about me, which were passed on to me later. They made me smile. "Jace is passed out on the couch. He seemed really tuckered out. I know he's been working really hard in my class") Yeah, no big deal. I'm a hard worker. And if my professors read this blog.......I heard nothing.
After my quick map I worked on my essay a bit more with Karley, and then we went with a group of us to watch the Olympic Torch come down Bayswater Road, the road that is right next to the center. It was great having it right next to us, because then we didn't have to deal with the traffic to get there. Have I mentioned that it's been exploding lately? Because it has. So yes, we had a three minute walk to the festivities. It was really fun because it was like a miniature parade, but not a parade of the Utah variety. There were people all over the road, both spectators and those going down the street. There were cars carrying athletes and people riding around on rollerblades doing tricks. There were people handing out flags and a Coca Cola truck that came by and gave me a free Coke. It was really fun and after a few minutes of that the Torchbearer came by. We didn't know who he was, as many of the torchbearers are "ordinary" people that were nominated by their towns. Guess that happens when you have about 8,000 different torchbearers. We managed to get a picture with him after he passed the flame. I do feel slightly bad because we don't even know his name....but that's beside the point I guess.
We stopped by Starbucks to get shakes. The ironic thing is that I have never been to a Starbucks before, so I went for the first time....in the UK. It was delicious, and off the major roads so it was crazy busy with the parade crowd. We then made our way back to the center to have dinner and finish up a little more homework. It has felt like finals week the past few days here, which is almost true because we are running low on time here!
And then came the highlight of the day, potentially even the week! Sarah, Emilee and I went to see The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe in Kensington Gardens!!! (Three exclamation marks means it's legit). The play is located in a massive tent in Kensington Gardens. The whole thing is performed on a round stage, similar to the Hale. The entire show was so amazing, it is easily one of my favorite performances that I have ever seen. The projected beautiful images on the domed ceiling to portray scenery. The costumes were amazing for all the animal creatures, especially the centaurs. Aslan was a giant puppet that was controlled by three different people. The spectacle of the whole thing either made me smile or made my jaw drop. I was in awe the entire time. Snow came down from the ceiling, the characters sang and ran into the audience, Lucy and Susan rode on Aslan's back through Narnia and the images on the ceiling flew past us. Birds flew on wires. The White witch was frightening and cast spells with her wand. The trees were men walking on stilts. Animals played music to accompany the brilliant dances. It was all just so fantastic. I want to go to Narnia. For the first half I sat by myself because we couldn't' get tickets by each other. However, we noticed that some seats were empty and in the second half we were all able to sit next to each other on the front row. After the show we came out into the gardens and it was a beautiful evening, and the center is so close that we just got to enjoy a short walk home. So. Much. Goodness.
I think I shall have very beautiful dreams tonight.
Received a free flag and a free coke at the parade.
There he is with the torch!
Karley and I during the parade.
Emilee and I with the....unnamed torchbearer.
Outside the amazing theatre in the gardens.
After the show. So impressed.
That show sounds awesome!
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