It's been, yet again, a busy few weeks. I went on a homestay as part of the Arcadia study abroad program. Candace and Sky and I went on an adventurous train ride down to the southern coast - Fareham to be exact. My host family was very sweet. It was a great feeling to be in a home... to be able to watch TV, to sit up and read, to have a bedroom, and to ride around in the car and just see what it is like to
live in England. Plus the family had a puppy! A little black and white king charles spaniel named Buddy :-) Reminded me of our black and whites back home.
On Saturday, Sky's host mom took us to Portsmouth for a little sight seeing and shopping. Despite it being a frigid day in January, the little shore town was bustling. I can't imagine what it would be like in the summer. We went up Spinnaker Tower for some great views of the bay. Then we hit up the outlet shops for pretty much the rest of the day. In the evening, Candace and I went to a local pub called The Vanguard that is actually built out of a church. Pretty funny to go inside a church and find a pub! On Sunday we went back into Fareham for a bit, but then had to catch an early afternoon train back to Egham.
The next weekend I went back to London to check out Camden Market. It was AMAZING. Like a mix of St. Mark's and Chinatown and a flea market. But a couple miles long. Seeing this completely new side of London made me fall in love with the city even more. I went back with some friends later that night to go to a pub/club which was playing soundtrack music all night. Pretty fun. On Sunday I went to the National Gallery and browsed the paintings for a while.
More recently, I've just been hanging out on campus. Guys and Dolls is going really well. I'm starting to get so attached to the cast. But it's mid February, so class work is also piling up. So hectic!
On the bright side, I turned 21 this week! I wasn't in the States to celebrate and test out my completely legal license, but it was still a lot of fun. The cast organized a trip to a restaurant/bar called "Que Pasa" for some salsa dancing as part of our preparation for the Havana scenes. I couldn't have asked for a better way to spend my birthday. I tried a Sex on the Beach, a Pina Colada, a Margarita, and a "Monkey's Nuts". Needless to say, it was an awesome night.
Now it's another long week... but I'm happy because I really feel like I'm a part of this school now.
Until next time!
And here are some random pictures from the past few weeks:
Glass floor in Spinnaker Tower, Portsmouth
My room in my homestay
Pretty Egham sunset :-)
Camden Market, London
For the brosephs
In a pub in London
China town
Trafalger Square
View from doors of the National Gallery
Must I always take pictures of desserts? Yes.
And you thought the food in London was bad
Royal Holloway Pics!!
My housing (on a rare non-rainy day)
I get to walk on this path everyday going to class
Founder's Hall (aka Hogwarts)
