British University

    Today was my first class at City University. Now, this might seem strange to you. You might be saying "Lauren, I thought you had your City class on Wednesdays?" This would be a true statement, but on Monday I found that the day for my City class had changed and it conflicted with one of my Arcadia classes so I was switched to a different City class. I am now taking Political Issues of the 21st Century, which is on Tuesdays. This morning I woke up at 6:45 and had a cup of tea and at 7:30 we began the journey to City. The Tube was working fine and we got to the campus fine, but once there we realized that we did not the building name, only the name of the lecture hall. So, we went to three different buildings before we found the right now. We were still a half an hour early, so we just chilled outside the hall. The class was interested. Funny fact: Have the class seems to be American...that was a bit sad to find out. The class only has two grades; one essay worth 40% and a final exam worth 60%. That is scary. All the Americans have to take ours at different times than the British because the essay is due the day we leave and the exam is not till May. The British give their students a month off to study for their exams. Normally after class we would go to a tutorial that is 50 minutes and is a small group thing that is supposed to help us understand what we are learning in class, but as it was the first day we did not have it. Afterword we had to run around campus trying to get signed up for Moodle,which is supposed to have readings and stuff on it. On the way back I decided to stop at the library and work on some of my papers for classes. I got books and wrote an entire essay while I was there. Then I checked out a few more books for another essay and went home. I will be back tomorrow though. On the way back, I picked up groceries from Sainbury's and had to wait for the Tube and then get a crowded one as there was severe delays on the Central Line. I feel better now that I have ate and had a cup of tea, but that might also be the product of the two hour nap that I took. Today was exhausting. 

Sunday Afternoon Stroll

     As our City classes start this week, Melissa, Grace, Angelica, and I decided to test run our commute to City day. We knew the Tube route that we had to take and it was all going fine till be go to Bank and realized that we could not switch too the Northern Line because it was closed for repair today. We went on another line and tried to get on the Northern Line from another stop, but it turns out that the whole Northern Line is closed. The Northern Line is the only line that goes to Angel Station where we have to get off to go to City University. So, we decided to get as close to Angel as we could, walk there, then walk from Angel to City. We took the Tube to King's Cross St. Pancras Station. It was really sad walking past King's Cross Station and not being able to get in, but we are determined to go back one day when we have our cameras. We began walking toward Angel, which took a very long time, and when we checked a street map we realized we passed it. We decided to continue onto City, which took another twenty minutes and a lot of guessing that we were going in the right direction. There was a lot of "I think this looks familiar" going on. When we got to City we found the building that we believe our classes are in. When we looked at the map we decided that we would walk back tot eh Angel Station so that we knew the way. Once at Angel though we thought another station would be closer, so we began walking there. That was a mistake though, and we ended up an extremely residential area. We seemed have been walking for a long time, and I was about to get up and ask someone for directions when I saw the station. From there we went home. What we thought would be about 45 minutes each way ended up taking  about three hours. 
       Something about the British university system, in America you get lots of grades, but in Britain you each class really only has one presentation, one essay, and an exam. All of our classes are more or less in this fashion and over the next two or three weeks I have three essays and three presentations all due about the same time so I am extremely busy with work.  On Tuesday we are all going to go to the library and probably spend the whole day there. 
     Right now we are all watching our Sunday Night Movie. Something that a few of the girls have started is that on Sundays we have a family dinner. Everyone gives them two GBP and they make us dinner. It is really nice and fun and Philip always brings a bottle of wine for us to share. After that at eight o'clock we have a movie night. Over the last few weeks we have watched Notting Hill, The King's Speech, Salmon Fishing in Yemen, and now we are watching UP. Philip always gives us popcorn and candies and that brings us all together.  It is wonderful that once a week we can all get together. 

The Tourist's London

     I have been in London for nearly a month and surprisingly I have not been to many of the most iconic sights. Angelica, Sarah, Taylor, Grace, and I went to Westminster Station where Parliament is. We had seen Big Ben and Parliament from afar but we had never seen it up close. The buildings of Parliament are beautiful and the architecture is extraordinary. My friends all decided that they did not want to spend money today so we did not go in Parliament or any of the other places that we visited, but we will go back at some point. After walking around we went to Westminster Abbey...where Will and Kate were married! It was closed to tourists though, but I might go to Sunday Mass there one day so that I can get in for free and save 15 GBP.  Across from Parliament and Westminster is Parliament Square that has lots of statues, everyone from Nelson Mandela to Winston Churchill. Following the road we headed toward Downing Street, but as it is sort of like the British equivalent of the White House we could not get close to it at all. We were on our way to Trafalgar Square when we saw a bunch of people taking pictures of something. It turned out to be a guy on a horse and the building was the Horse Guard Parade.We walked through the arches and found our way to St. James' Park and walked through that where everyone was amazed by the waterfowl.   I do not know why, but we spent a lot of time taking pictures of the geese and swans. We eventually made our way to Buckingham Palace which is not open to tourists until February something. It was an amazing day, but we did not like feeling so touristy. 

Parliament and Big Ben

Parliament

Statue of Oliver Cromwell

Front of Westminster Abbey

Statue of Winston Churchill

This is as close as we could get to Number 10 Downing Street

One of our waterfowl pictures

The guard and horse that got our attention.

Statue of Queen Victoria outside of Westminster

Buckingham Palace

London Lauren

    A few days ago, Taylor decided that she wanted a haircut. So, yesterday London Taylor was born. She got straight across bangs and looks fabulous. All of the girls of Palace were inspired by her and we talked to the hairstylists at the Marco Aldany salon. Angelica and Melissa might go and get their's done for free when they do tutorials and stuff because they want their's dyed. I was also inspired so today I went to make an appointment with Taylor. I wanted to get side swept fringe(the British word for bangs) and layers. The lady at the desk said that they had time for me today...30 minutes from when I came in. So, I gave her my name. Needless to say, I got the haircut. I really like it and I hope you do too. Being in London is about more than just studying, it is about gaining independence. I will be twenty in about two months, and I have had this haircut for a long time. It was time for a change, and now I got one.  I have created my own London Lauren. 

I want It All

    Compared to yesterday, today was peaceful and relaxing. Philip took a group of us to Portobello Road Market this morning. On the way there he bought everyone something to eat and drink at a bakery and showed us where we can get the best juice in London(it was delicious; a mixture of apple and orange, I believe). The market is huge and Taylor and I spent a good hour or more just walking. It is still snowing and rather cold out, so we did not stay too long, but we want to go back again. The market had everything: flowers, pictures, old cameras, clothes, food, books, everything. I did not buy anything, but when we go back there I want to get something. It was all so beautiful and extraordinary. Taylor and I decided that when we have a house someday we will come back and buy stuff at the market, there was so much. When we got back we did homework and read. We are still exhausted from yesterday, and need to rest up for our next adventure. 

The Market

This is where George Orwell lived.

City of Dreaming Spires

   
      I love England, I really do, but I have to admit, touring around a city or country while it is -2 degrees Celsius and windy and snowy, is annoying. The day was wonderful though. It started out a little rough, we left the house about 8 o'clock and our bus left at 9:20, but they wanted us there at nine. We are usually really good at navigating the Tube (we had to get to Victoria Coach Station....or so we thought...) but we ended up on the wrong line, which was easily corrected. Then we walked to the Coach Station and found the bus for Oxford. We asked the guy at the information desk and he said it was all fine and we needed to go to Station 10, so we went to Gate 10. But I was feeling weird, like something was wrong, so we went up to the driver at about nine and we said that we were not at the right place. When the words "I recommend you run," came out of his mouth, I panicked and the five of us went running down the street like maniacs.  But then we could not find it, so we asked someone and they said it was across the street. When we got there we talked to a bus lady and she said we were in the right place, but I was still worried. At 9:20 the bus came and we got on. It was a nice, two story, bus and we sat at the very front on the top level. It had started snowing and getting cold earlier, but I was too stressed to notice; but, on the two hour bus ride to Oxford, I noticed. It was fun, we talked, read, and relaxed(did you notice that I used the Oxford comma there?). Then, as we got closer, we did not know which stop we were supposed to get off at. We eventually figured it out, and got off. We were all extremely hungry so we found food. By that time there was probably an inch of snow on the ground. We went to this nice French cafe and then tried to find Oxford University. Taylor really wanted to go to this Alice and Wonderland museum thing, but we never found it. The campus of Oxford though, was gorgeous; we all wish we were smart enough to go there. It was so magical in the snow(freezing, but magical). Earlier we had to go to Primark and by Taylor some rain boots because her feet were so wet and cold. We walked around for a long time, we even went to this really cool cemetery at Melissa's request. I really wanted to go to Christ Church, which is where they filmed a lot of the Harry Potter movies, but it was closed. The cold was constantly making us go in search of warmth and we found the Ashmolean Museum, which had artifacts from ancient Europe, Rome, China. We even took sanctuary in a bookstore for a while at one point.  When we got hungry we made our way to the Eagle and Child Tavern, which was amazing. About a hundred years ago J.R.R Tolkien and C.S Lewis and there writing buddies called the Inklings, used to be regulars at this tavern. It was so amazing, you could almost feel its importance, and it was not busy or expensive. After some nice, warm cider, we decided to go to the coach station. We were about an hour early though, so we went in search of another pub, but they were all crowded, so we ended up just sitting outside but the coach station, waiting for our bus. We found it though and we realized that we could be dropped off at a stop two minutes from our house instead or taking the Tube and stuff. We are all now in the kitchen, on our computers and drinking tea, nice and warm. 

Quote of the Day: *American lady asks us for directions. We cannot help her, though we try and she leaves. She* Angelica: Guys...despite being American, she things we are smart enough to go to Oxford. She actually thought we were locals..."

Our view from the front of the bus. This is when I started to realize that it was snowing.

Sarah, with Taylor sleeping on her shoulder.

Melissa reading about women's suffrage in Britain.

Angelica....pretending she is in a music video as she listens to her iPod

This bike was just chilling against a wall on the Oxford campus.

The Bridge of Sighs. It is based on the one in Venice.

A beautiful church.

Radcliffe Camera

We found Narina!

We found the Alice Shop. Alice Lidell actually shopped here. We bought some  souvenirs.

The Pub that C.S Lewis and Tolkien ate at. By the time we found it  they had started calling it the Homicidal Eagle. 

We sat down with our food and drink in the back of the pub and saw this....We could not get in, Melissa tried. 

They had this sign up that explains the history. They also had a quote from Lord of the Rings when the hobbits eat at the Prancing Pony and Merry and Pippin realize that they can get pints. There was also a Gollum statue and some other stuff. It was amazing. 

We have all lost our hearts to Oxford. We cannot wait to get back.

The Wonders of Primark

Senate House Library

Ben Barnes

      All in all this week has not been to bad. On Monday I had back to back classes so nothing much else happened. On Tuesday afternoon though Melissa, Taylor and I went to the Senate House Library. It is the library that we are supposed to use for class and we needed to get some books for projects and papers. Last time we went we went from the London Center, but the library told us to get off at a different Tube station because it was closer, so we did. It was not, just to be clear, we did not know where it was from Tottenham Court Road, so we ended up walking for about an hour before we found it. We did find a Primark though, but I will get more to that later. On the way to the library, while I was looking at the map, Melissa and Taylor apparently saw someone who looked like Dorian Gray AKA Ben Barnes( A Picture of Dorian Gray is a classical book by Oscar Wilde that they like and Ben Barnes is the actor who plays him in the movie adaption). They were very upset that they did not get to see his face though since I stopped to look at a map. The library is an old building in the Art Deco style and was George Orwell's basis for the Ministry of Truth in his novel 1984. It is a very famous building and many movies film there, including the latest Batman movie. In the end though we found our books and even stopped at Tesco on the way back to get groceries. 

James McAvoy

      Primark, you are probably wondering what it is. Well, it is a clothing store that is sort of like Forever 21 and H&M in the United States, except that the clothes are much nicer. We had hear A LOT about Primark since we arrived in London from our peers and as the need for new clothes arrived we decided to go. Why do we need new clothes, you ask. Answer: Melissa, Taylor, and I bought tickets to go see James McAvoy(an actor) perform as Macbeth in Macbeth in February. We are all very excited as James McAvoy is one of our favourite actors(did you notice I used the British spelling there?). Primark has four floors and the clothes are super affordable; which is hard to find in London. I got a dress, belt, tights, and shoes all for 21 pounds! I will not show you the outfit now, you will be able to see pictures of it when we go to the play. 
      Another exciting event that is going on is that my friends and I are going to Oxford tomorrow. We are taking a two hour bus trip Friday morning. It is going to be wonderful, I planned it all out and it is going to be our first real outing from London. 

Finding My Inner Photographer

     This post is is different in that it is not about the places that I went or what I did with my day, but about the photographs that I have taken. My friend Taylor is taking a photography class here and Melissa likes photography and yesterday I saw them editing photos to make them look better by changing color and cropping them. I decided that I would look at my photographs(which are not always that good, certainly not the caliber of Taylor and Melissa's photographs) and see what I could do with them. Just using the basic tools provided by my computer I edited them and I rather liked the results. Here are some of them.

Neverland in London

   For a while now I have wanted to go to Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens and take pictures. I run there frequently but I have never brought my camera, so today Melissa, Taylor and I went. While I was running there this morning I discovered some new places. It was not a long visit as both Taylor and Melissa's camera's died. They are amazing photographers, let me tell you. It might snow tonight, which I believe as it has been rather cold. Apparently London shuts down when it snows, but it will be very pretty nonetheless. 

Kensington Palace is where Princess Diana lived and where Queen Victoria was born and raised

Statue of Queen Victoria in front of Kensington Palace.

The gardens of Kensington Palace.

Prince Albert Memorial. He was Queen Victoria's German husband. On each of the corners(which cannot be seen) is a statue representing a continent. There is Asia, America, Africa, and Europe. While the statues surrounding the statue of Albert represent agriculture, commerce, engineering,and manufactures. 

This is the eleven tree, by the Diana Memorial Playground. 

Statue of Peter Pan. J.M Barrie met the boy that he based Peter off of in  Kensington Gardens.