It Has Already Been A Week?!

I can’t believe that I have gone so long without blogging – I am so sorry to my faithful readers! This past week has gone by so quickly! I will start where I left off last week…

Last Monday was my last day at Hurlingham and Chelsea for my practicum. It was a pretty bittersweet day. I have been able to learn so much from my time at the school, and I am excited to take these experiences back home with me. I had a few bad days there this semester, but I also had a few really good ones. It has been great getting to know what the education system is like here, especially in a school that is so different than any I have been to before. I am excited to now have my Mondays free though. Now that time is starting to really slip by in London, I need to take advantage of every moment. And as much as I have enjoyed learning from Hurlingham and Chelsea, I am really excited to spend that time elsewhere by making sure I get everything that I want to see into my schedule. This particular day was difficult in the fact that it was the first day back since a relaxing Spring Break. It was definitely a rude awakening to the life that I left behind for that week. After practicum, I had my Education Seminar class until 6. We got a quick bite to eat and then headed to the National Theatre for our theatre class. We saw The Pitmen Painters, which was well done and quite entertaining, but it was a bit drawn out. I was so tired by the end of the day that it was hard to stay focused during the dry parts. Afterwards, we just went back to the flats and settled in for the night.

Tuesday was about as boring a day as any. I had a presentation in my GST class, which we did very well on. Afterwards, we had Theatre and talked about the show from the night before. After I was done with classes, I got some groceries and came back to the flat and ended up staying here for the rest of the day. I just worked on some assignments and got my life back in order.

Wednesday can be summed up in one word: cultural. I am so excited to be taking part in all of these amazing opportunities that London has to offer in the realm of arts and theatre. I haven’t ever been able to fully engage myself in these areas, so it is a lot of fun to open myself to it in such a great place. We met for Art Class at the Photographer’s Gallery. I love photography, so I was excited to see what this gallery had to offer. There were 4 photographers presented, and we went through and analyzed them and talked about our favorite pieces. I immediately knew that I was really going to enjoy this laid back atmosphere of the 2nd ½ of the semester, now that the factual midterm is over. Afterwards, we went to another gallery that had a few cityscape pieces around London. I did not like this place very much – the building was ugly and unfinished, while the photos tended to be dark and gloomy. Not really my thing. I loved the next gallery though. Our group was invited to a private opening of Marcus McAllister’s work. The gallery is on a rooftop and is actually the location of my own fake exhibit that I have to come up with for my final project. McAllister’s work was really fantastic and we were even lucky enough to meet him. He gave us an interview and talked about how he got to the point he was at and where he got his inspiration. It was really interesting to talk directly to such a great artist, especially when he was super nice. His pictures tend to have themes that deal with rabbits and moons, mostly because they symbolize the passing of time. Time is the main focus of my final project, so I was really intrigued. After art was over, Amanda, Casey, and I grabbed something quick to eat and then went straight over to the Queen’s Theatre to see Les Miserables! What an incredible show with even more mind-blowing music that I had even imagined. I loved how it was a musical reflecting the French Revolution in a way that reflected the darker and poorer group of people. It is a story that I would love to incorporate in my class one day because I like integrating literature and history because it can have a powerful impact. The music was absolutely brilliant, and I see how it is one of the most famous musicals of all time.

Thursday was a really nice and relaxing day. It started out with class, but at least our group’s presentation was already over, so I just had to sit through other ones. After class, Sam and I went to Piccadilly Circus to do a little shopping and to eat in China Town. We got back just in time because we found Jordan, Natalie, and Chelsey getting ready to go to the primary school that Chelsey has her practicum at. Her students were selling fruit kebabs and cupcakes to raise money to help the rainforest. It was way too cute! Their goal was to raise £100 to buy 2 acres of land and they ended up raising almost £150!! After enjoying some chocolate and fruit, Natalie, Chelsey, and I went over to the National Portrait Gallery to see what it was all about. It is on the backside of the National Gallery at Trafalgar’s Square. I am SO glad that we went here because I was so close to pushing it off my list. One of the only possible true portraits of Shakespeare is there, as well as the only sketch of Jane Austen. There were also a great room dedicated to Henry VIII, Elizabeth I, and other Tudors. I saw Dickens, Tennyson, Keats, and even George Washington! I ended up buying a small poster of English History that I will be able to put in my classroom! ☺

On Friday, Natalie, Amanda, Sam, and I went to the Kensington Palace. This is where Queen Victoria lived before becoming queen and even Princess Diana lived here for a little while. It was a really neat place and it had a lot of Princess Di’s dresses on display. I walked down the stairs that Queen Victoria did when she saw Prince Albert for the first time – talk about goosebumps! There was a great exhibit on debutantes and we learned how to tie bowties, curtsy properly, and waltz. I’m still working on the waltzing part haha. The rooms were so amazing, but I really liked the gardens. We tried to sit by the pond for a while until we found out you had to pay for those seats… so then we went and had our packed lunches on a bench. Afterwards, we relaxed and people watched for a good while and then continued our day. Sam left us to go back home and the girls and I went to the Science Museum to play until we were to meet Jordan and Chelsey at 5:30. The Science Museum was so cool! We decided to see a 3-D IMAX that was a cartoon about flies going to the moon with Apollo 11. It was really cute! After the movie, we played with some of the interactive exhibits and saw what we were going to look like when we are old or if we were men. If that game is right about my prediction then it is a good thing that I am a woman! A few nights before, the five of usdecided we wanted to see Spring Awakening again because it was just that incredible. Chelsey found a special deal with dinner and the show for only £20, so we did it. At 5:30, we met at the Sway, which is this little hip club/bar/restaurant to have our dinner and it was delicious. Afterwards, we headed to the theatre and found out that our tickets were upgraded!! We were moved to the middle of the 6th row… they were perfect seats. The show was even better the 2nd time, if that is possible. Afterwards, we went to the stage door to see the cast come out. It was so great. We walked to Piccadilly Circus to grab Cinnabon and go back to the flats after a long and wonderful day.

I almost forgot all about Saturday. That could be because I did absolutely nothing. I slept in a bit and got a good amount of work done, which was really nice. We went down the street for dinner at a great little Thai place, but that is about it.

We found out earlier in the week about a Chocolate Festival at Southbank, so we went on Sunday. It was really cool and some places even had free samples! I had an organic chocolate milkshake and they put apple juice in it… it was interesting to say the least. We walked over to the Thames and sat for a street performer who was incredibly funny and entertaining while escaping from chains. Afterwards, we decided to come on back to the flats. We just hung out until watching a movie – High School Musical 3 actually. We had a marathon this weekend by watching the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd each night. I finally gave in to the madness of High School Musical, and I must say that it was quite cute and enjoyable.

Yesterday was pretty good. We went to St. James’ Park and hung out there for a while before we had to go to Education Seminar. Bo and I played catch with a Koosh ball while others lay on the ground and enjoyed the day. We went from there to seminar where we learned about Religious Education in the London because it is taught in their public schools here, something that I could never imagine happening in a southern American town. After seminar, Sam, Natalie, and I grabbed Subway and then went to the Old Vic Theatre to see Dancing at Lughnasa. It was a pretty neat theatre, but the play didn’t really hit the right spot for me. I liked reading the script much more than watching the production.

Today was just one of those Tuesdays. I had GST and Theatre where nothing thrilling happened. I did get to go to Alan Christea Gallery to see Ian Davenport’s exhibit. It was so cool! We have to chose an exhibit and write a criticism about it, so I chose this particular one because he uses great colors. I really enjoyed the simplicity and beauty in his work. I plan on spending the rest of my day to get work done, so that the rest of my week is more relaxing. I will definitely not let this much time go by before posting another blog. Sorry for the length!