History Abounds

     This morning we returned to classes. Once again it felt like forever since we had been there, since our last class period was last Wednesday. I can tell that people are starting to feel the end of semester exhaustion. It's funny that even in a setting as different as this one that there are still signs of the typical student coming through. Today when class started more than half the class was missing, and everyone slowly trickled in a few minutes later. Classes were quite excellent today as we started wrapping up some of the discussions that we have been having all semester long. For George's class we spent a good chunk of time working on our final projects. I've been having mixed emotions with that because I am usually not a fan of group projects and I am not confident when it comes to acting. As we practiced in the basement of the Hyde Park Chapel, I really started to see our scene come together! I am excited to see how we do as we get closer to the deadline! I had the realization that our finals start next Monday! Yikes! 

     After class everyone split off to do their own thing. It's been hard to get into groups to do things lately, because everyone's "to do" list has become so different. Things that one person wants to do don't line up with someone else because they already went to a certain museum. It's reached the point where you either do it yourself, or find yourself doing things you've already done. I went back to the flats long enough to get some lunch and to cool down a bit. We have been feeling a heat wave these past few days! It has been hot! Granted, the temperature has technically been in the high seventies, which doesn't sound too bad. But it's the sticky sort of hot that hangs in the air. It's been so bizarre. Many of the rooms here are not equipped with A/C, so we try and hide away in the basement where there's a beautiful A/C unit in the common room. 

     I have been dying to go to the British Museum the whole trip. This place is gigantic and there is so much to see. I only went once while I was here last night, and I regretted it because even in the few hours that I was there before I missed so much. When I went back today I quickly went through the Greek and Egyptian rooms. I loved them so much the first time and I wanted to see some of those offerings again. The most popular item in that whole section is definitely the Rosetta Stone. It is positioned right in the entryway to the Egyptian exhibit, and everyone is always crowded around the front. I decided to jump into the fray to see if I could get a good picture of the stone. It was pretty crazy! I'd be putting up my phone to snap a shot when suddenly there was a head in front of me as someone had just slipped under my arm to get in. That person would move and I'd adjust my arm to take another shot and suddenly a little Asian lady is in my armpit. I finally just snapped a photo and ran out of that place! I visited some of the burial items they had for Rameses II and then went to take a look at the Parthenon pieces acquired from Greece. 

British Museum (angelic "aaaaaaaah")

The amazing inner atrium - I love that ceiling, but with the sun shining in the room was boiling

A pretty decent shot of the Rosetta Stone considering how crazy people were

Rameses II

Taken from the Greek Parthenon

Museum!

This whole place was bursting with history

     After visiting Egypt and Greece I began to explore some new regions of the museum. They have so many exhibits devoted to different areas of the world. I passed through Africa, Asia, and was on my way to North America when I got trapped at the one part of the museum that was even more busy than the Rosetta Stone. The gift shop. I walked in briefly to see if I could find a magnet or something, and ended up in a throng of people pressed together like sardines! SARDINES! It was madness.
     And then I met an interesting lady. There was a fun moment where I was waiting in line at the register (I had discovered some candy that definitely needed to be purchased) when this little Asian woman suddenly appeared by my side. She barely stood above my elbow, so she was quite the little lady. I didn't notice her initially but as I go to turn just a little bit, I realized that she has her face a few inches away from my body. She was just looking up at me. Standing. Right there. At my elbow. Or my elbow pit. Whatever you call that space on the inside of your elbow. I sat there awkwardly for a few moments until I moved just a little bit. She then walked past me and grabbed a water bottle that was on the shelf behind me. I thought, "Oh. That's what you wanted. You could have said something". I shrugged it off and turned back to the line. And then I felt it again. Breath on my elbow pit. I glanced down and my little friend was pressed up against me again, waiting in line with her recently claimed water bottle. The line would move a bit and she would shuffle along with me as I moved closer to the register. And then suddenly, as I am about to hand my stuff to the cashier, she darts under my arm and puts her stuff on the counter. I just exchanged a flabbergasted look with the cashier and went with it. It was so peculiar. Thought I ought to share.
    Ahem, anywho. The next exhibit that caught my eye was one that was dedicated to Asian artworks. I really wanted to go in and see The Great Wave of Kanagawa, a pretty famous painting, and probably one of the only Asian paintings I actually know the name of. I went into the exhibit with the rest of the asian artworks, and was sad that I could not find it. These were all located up on the fourth floor. As a side note, the fourth floor is actually the equivalent to our fifth floor, as the ground floor here is called floor zero. So I trek all the wall down the stairs to see if I can find a map to take me to The Great Wave. The helpful map at the Information desk says I need to go to room 90, aka, the room that I was just in. So I climb back up the stairs to the fourth (fifth) floor and walk all through room 90, but I cannot find this painting. At that point I just gave up and enjoyed some new finds, like a painting entitled Jiraiya. I also got to see some Japanese artwork as well as some authentic samurai armor! So. Much. HISTORY.

On the left is The Great Wave, which I never saw. On the right is Jiraiya, one of my new favorites

I like this face

Had to prove that I was there

The famous David Vases

Oh look, me again

     After my grand journeying through historical times, I made my way back towards Queen's Gate Terrace. I stopped briefly at one of the many souvenir shops that I typically try to avoid to the the touristy nature of them. I found a glass cup that had London 2012 Olympic symbols on it, and it was on SALE! I guess that happens when the merchandise is two years expired. I then grabbed some food and went over to Tottenham Court Road to meet up with Ben to see a movie.
     I returned to one of my favorite places today, the Coronet Theatre. It's this great cinema that actually used to be an opera house. When the opera house was closed down, it was converted into a movie theatre (cinema) that has two screens. The shows are very cheap for London (on Mondays and Tuesdays students only have to pay £3) and the cinema is very cool. Like the typical theaters or opera houses here, it has the stalls, the circle, and the grand circle where the audience can sit. The whole thing feels very grand, and it's funny because you are just sitting down to see a movie. We decided we wanted to see X-Men again, especially for such a discounted price. There was a slight hiccup in the plan, and as I was waiting in my seat at the show I hopped on the free Wifi to find out where Ben was. It turned out that he had heard on Twitter that one of his favorite actors was going to be at a pub in London tonight for a Q&A sort of deal. So he was off doing that and I found myself watching a movie by myself. Fortunately I had purchased some delicious treats beforehand, and I am quite fond of that movie. So I managed to enjoy myself.

A nice view from our neighborhood

Coronet Cinemas

     When I came out after the movie, it was raining and the sky looked beautiful. I could have taken the tube back home, but I was only on the other side of Hyde Park. Instead I decided to walk home in the rain (with my umbrella of course). The rain always makes the pavement look so great, and everything was incredibly green. And I suppose the rain must have scared everyone else away, because I suddenly had most of the park to myself. It was wonderful to walk through and enjoy a peaceful evening as the sun set and the rain fell.

Queen Victoria Statue and Kensington Palace

The sky clears and the sun sets

Back at the flats we began packing for our trip out to Stratford this week. I had to sneak in some laundry, and we visited for quite a while as well. As we crept around the basement and peaked into the common room, we found that it was quite empty, which is always wonderful. These past few days more and more students have been moving in to our little building. This is not the greatest thing in the world, because these students are quite...thirsty. They drink. A lot. We think that most of them must be 19 or 20, so they are not allowed to drink in the states, but are very welcome to do so here. And they do. A lot. So whenever we can get a room to ourselves here we rejoice. We turned the A/C up a lot and then did something that I quite enjoyed but I am slightly ashamed up. We played video games. The common room here has a Gamecube and we played video games for a little while. It was ridiculous but it was fun to bond with my roommates. Also, in other news, there will be special bus services for those wishing to attend late football game viewings this weekend. Huh!

Another shot of our beautiful neighborhood