The Rain in Spain CAN STAY IN SPAIN

After being in London 2 1/2 weeks the rain man has come to visit. Tonight after mostly everyone had called it a night to do homework, it began to rain. I, on the otherhand, had to do laundry so I grabbed my guard jacket and umbrella and trudged my way to Metrogate. I loved feeling the rain and puddles tickled my bare toes. I especially loved the SMELL of the rain. I've always loved the smell of the earth during and after a good rain storm, but walking down a deserted London street just made it all the more exciting. As long as I'm inside doing something it can rain as much as it wants. When I decide, however, to go out of doors it had better clear out. That's an order!

Sam and Anne STRIKE Back

A day full of wind and adventure awaited us as we caught the Tube to Westminster, bound for fun. Intending to find a Citi to solve my problems from Wed, we got off and immediately started looking. It wasn't too far, but tucked into a little alley out of the way. The Tube comes up right outside the Houses of Parliament so that became our first stop. It is GORGEOUS!!! The architectural detail is beyond words. We wanted to go in and watch a session of Parliament, but they weren't in session again till Monday. Continuing down the street we came across Westminster Abbey which only rivaled Parliament in size, but not in beauty -Ii had it's own! Sad to say, it was too expensive to go inside (costing a good $22) and the line ran around half of the Abbey. Still, the building itself was fantastic. We walked around the city simply taking in the beauty - and being blown to Timbuk Tu. Things are a lot closer when you walk and there are so many little jewels that you can find when you're just wandering.

The Process from Friends to Dating

Guthrie has a wonderful definition of the life of love on her roommate blog. It was so great in fact that she sent it to the group of us who were discussing it and now I'm going to share it. Here goes:

• FRIENDS - The stage when everyone gets along and the world is fun and no expectations
• FRIENDING - The first few steps before dating. Spending loads of time together with and without other people around
• FRATING - The awkward stage between friends and dating. The world doesn't know, but time is dedicated solely to that one person.
• DATING - Obvious to the world! Enough said! Life is perfect!

London Loving

Going places is a lot more fun when you can enjoy the sunshine of the top of a double-decker bus or walk as opposed to a dark, smelly Tube station.

• The phrase "Mind the Gap" will drive you insane after one day.
• British accents do NOT automatically make a boy more attractive. I know, it came as a shock to me too. They might not be the automatic aphrodisiac I thought, but seriously, they sure do help. Just not always.
• Theater students are not always the wacky, insane, creepy people they were in High School. Most of the people in the program are theater majors and they're are sooo amazing. I've learned so much from them and I've learned to come out of my shell. In fact, I may recite my Shakespeare passage in front of the entire program (thanks to one theater major who's helping me practice in front of her using a lot of emotion)
• Funky earrings are pretty ok. I'm beginning to warm up to them. It makes me think of Em-J everytime I see a really odd pair dangling off someone's earlobes.
• The UK voltage has miraculously healed my dying computer. Back home a full charge was only 64%. Now - 82% and counting. Each day is a new surprise - not only for exciting emails from friends back home, but to see how long my computer will last.
• Markets can be scary when merely glancing at an item they crawl up your back and try to get you to buy it. "Tventee quid, tventee quid...low price...bist in whole city...promiss" I just want to wander and enjoy, DON"T BOTHER ME.
• Coins make more sense when they are sized according to value (definitely not the case in the UK). With the exception of the dime, the US coins are so logical compared to these UK nuggets. The 2p coin is bigger than the 50p which in turn is bigger than the 1 pound coin. The 5p is the smallest followed by the 1pm and then the 20p. Getting used to this odd assortment of metal took awhile and often still doesn't make sense.
• Cheese is sooo much better when you can pick and choose what chunk you want. Especially when there's about 40 different kinds in a one foot square.
• Sights are a lot closer together when you walk than if you take the Tube.
• Wandering the city with nothing in particular to see is a lot more fun when you bring a friend.
• English children are a lot more fashionable than I will ever be.

Wuthering Heights...Bollywood Style

Tonight I saw an interesting theatrical performance of Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights. The only real difference is that this version was BOLLYWOOD. Okay so that's a BIG difference and it was quite an experiment. The ending was tweaked and a couple key parts of the story left out, but the bulk of it was true to the book. The play was lively, colorful, and musical. Every so often, the characters would break out into song and dance. The costumes were phenomenal and the set was quite amazing. I can't say that I'd go see it again, but it was definitely worth the cheap tickets we found. Not having read the book beforehand, I went in with an open mind and a smile and came out with jiggling shoulders and interesting hand gestures. Overall, it was a fun experience and I'm glad I went (once). Amundsen was the one who I went with and she made the event even more entertaining. Her laughter was infectious and her insight fantastic. When leaving the theater she found the script and purchased it. Now she can relive the excitement anytime she wants. I, on the otherhand, left only with memories and a song stuck in my head.

CuRsEs

Curses is SOOOOOO much more fun with Theater majors. They are amazingly good at it and teach you lots of tips and tricks to making it more fun. And if you play anything like me and are not in any way funny, they enhance your challenge and make you feel so comfortable with whatever you're doing. I love it! We played this as a sort of get-to-know-you game....oh BOY did we get to know one another.