Alright! So I've had at least one of every class so far. Tuesday I had C.S. Lewis and Tolkien and my London theatre class, and Wednesday I had Christian Ethics. I think I'm really going to like the Lewis and Tolkien class; I'm just glad I get my literature fix this semester to be honest. We really just talked about the syllabus and went over some bio for both Lewis and Tolkien, which I love doing because it just makes me feel super smart... they were smart dudes who sat around talking, I'm in a class sitting around talking, they were in the UK, I'm in the UK... it works, alright, don't question it.
After class, Lydia, Jase, and I set off to search for The Shakespeare's Head pub to eat lunch, which had been recommended to us by Mary and Kirby (here), and James and Kristen (back in Abilene). We found it tucked into some construction work over by Holborn Station, and it was good. I'll be going back, folks. The prices, while still not ideal, were cheaper than we've seen everywhere else. Like, fish and chips for 7 pounds (11 dollars) rather than 11 pounds (about 18 dollars). I got lunch (with a drink! Hoorah!) for 5 pounds (8 dollars). Mostly we just go to the local Tesco's or Sainsbury's, the grocery stores, and pick out pre-packaged meals there. People in England are surprisingly big on pre-packaged sandwiches. There's a restaurant called Pret a Manger at least once every block here that is literally just a sandwich shop for pre-packaged sandwiches. I actually really like this; so much better than fast food in the states. As opposed to getting a burger with fries or paying $7 for a subway sandwich, you can pick up something relatively cheap and healthy. However, my only issue here is that they put mayonnaise on EVERYTHING. And not a little.... like, drenched. I finally found some at Tesco's with the friendly "no mayo" label, and I rejoiced. Huzzah!
We had the London Theatre class after lunch, and I think I'm going to really enjoy this class, too. Ian picks our plays that we see and he's our teacher in this class. We are seeing SO MANY plays this semester. We've already seen three since we got here. I'm pretty sure we see 1-2 a week. We saw a very British play called "The Magistrate" on Tuesday night, and it was very good! I have to be honest, though, when it hits 8:00 here, I start to get very sleepy. Add that to the almost completely dark theatre and British humor that I have to really pay attention to to understand, and you get an Emma that must nod off constantly. I caught most of the beginning, not so much of the middle, and some of the end. I'm sure it was a very lovely little comedy. It did star John Lithgow, who played the voice of Lord Farquad in Shrek and Barney's father in How I Met Your Mother! So that was cool.
We had Christian Ethics yesterday, and that should be a good class. Dr. Taylor wants us to complete 20 hours of volunteering while we're here for the class, so I'll be looking for somewhere here to volunteer. Last night, we went to see another play called "Fair Em," which is rumored to be a lost play of Shakespeare, but it's very obvious that it is not (according to many scholars.... and me. Hah). It was a cute play with love triangles and whatnot, with breaks of music and stage fighting and plenty of comedy. I enjoyed it, mostly because it was in a very intimate stage setting; the theatre seated no more than 60 and the actors came through the audience several times... at one point, one actor who had, um... I guess somewhat of a full bedpan with him, needed someone in the audience to hold it for him and promptly handed it to Dr. Taylor, who was sitting in the front row. It made us all giggle, of course. Those of you who know Dr. Taylor, you can imagine. Hah.
Anyway, I've been having tons of fun with the people on the trip with us. Everyone is intent on having a great time and we all get along well. My roommates, Caitlyn and Lydia, are terrific, and it's so much fun to hang out with them! ;) Haha. I love getting to travel around the city of London with such fun people.
Alright. Today I have no classes, so I had tea and toast for breakfast and now I'm blogging. I'll probably hash out some reading for Lewis and Tolkien and then I'll snag Jase and we can go get some lunch! After that, the world is our oyster! Hah. Patrick (he runs the Pickwick) told me that they are having a lecture in the British Museum today at 2:45, so we may go to that... or we could go shopping in Covent Garden or Piccadilly Circus, or go to one of the many museums, or we could go be tourists around Buckingham Palace or Big Ben or wherever! All of it sounds great. I'll let you know! Tomorrow we take our first day trip to Oxford. I can't wait! Goodbye, all, London calls!
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