Despite my skepticism about all this Christmas jazz, I'm very excited to expereince Christmas in a big city, and in London in particular. Our program coordinator sent the following statement about what's going to happen in London for Christmas:
Towards the end of November Christmas events begin. (Notice she says "events"...not decorations or music). There will be carol singing in Trafalgar Square under the Christmas tree, and numerous church carol services. Ice Rinks will open at Somerset House in the Strand and outside the Natural History Museum if you fancy a spin (skates can be hired). Also the capital’s largest ice rink is now being constructed in Hyde Park which will be part of a Winter Wonderland which will include cafes, bars, a toboggan slide, a carousel and helter-skelter and a Winter Wonderland Wheel which will carry people 200 ft above Hyde Park. There will also be a traditional German Christmas Market.
I'm soooo excited. Expect a lot of pictures. :DSpeaking of pictures, my pics from Leicester/ the Robin Hood festival have been posted...or you can just click here. There were lots of adorable kids there and subsequently I took a lot of pictures of the adorable children. Hopefully I'll get to play with them on photoshop sometime and really make them look how I want them to look. :)
On a completely different note, we have no hot water OR heat in my flat, and haven't had for about 5 days. Fortunately its not that cold...yet...but it's getting to the point where its necessary. I've been able to shower in the other flats in my building (they're other kids from my program), so that's not a huge problem...just a mild annoyance. Someone came to look at our heater yesterday and apparently there was a minor explosion. We've been assured that we should have space heaters and extra blankets by later tonight, but our landlord company isn't that reliable. So, when you're enjoying your nice warm heaters and sweaters and blankets at home, remember me shivering in London.
Last completely random thought....I was in the computer lab the other day printing something off and the girl next to me was writing a paper. Our school building is a building owned by Florida State and a bunch of American schools host their international programs here. I think we're the only grad school program which in itself creates a divide (and immediate distaste) between us and the undergrad students. Anyway, the paper this girl was supposed to be an 4-5 page analysis of one of five plays there were supposed to see by now....and THIS GIRL WAS USING SPARK NOTES TO WRITE HER PAPER! Keep in mind, we're in London, one of the theater capitals of the world. I know that at least 2 (and I suspect all) the plays are playing here right now. You may be thinking "Oh give her a break...plays are expensive." Um, no. That is not an excuse. I know she could have seen at least one of them for £5. The rest probably have cheap student tickets. Plus, you're in London. When you come here, you know things are going to be expensive. As you can tell, I think this is an absolute abomination and is completely unacceptable.
Okay, I'm done with my high horse. :) Cheerio!
