The Lion King

Last night Caitlyn and I made our way to London for the day to see the Lion King! Her house mate, Mikey (who is French), and his friend Leo met us in London and we went to The Tate Modern art gallery! It was really cool to look at all the art and, best of all, FREE! Then we met up with Megan and Emily (who are both from UT as well) and we traveled to the theater to pick up our tickets at willcall. Then we found this great Indian restaurant! The food was so good and they had a pre-theater special so we all just got that! Then we went back to the theater and saw the show! It was AMAZING!!! I had seen The Lion King once before but it was still as touching the second time! The opening number, Circle of Life, is so amazing it made me cry! It encapsulates what musical theater is about, I think. I was very glad I was able to see the show for a second time!

Also, as some of you may have noticed my blogs have been getting more and sparse as I get further along in the semester! This is because I have become busier and busier! I
making really wonderful friends and have been out of the house much more recently! I feel like I'm really finding my place and that is a wonderful feeling! Also, my play is getting closer and closer! I'm so excited to be in a performance and I think auditioning for this play was one of the best decisions I made in my first month here! And my other big bit of news is that Chelsea comes on SATURDAY!!!! I am so excited and I just can't hide it! I'm excited to show someone the place I've been living for the last two months!
Well, that's all for now! I hope you all are doing well! I miss you all!

MIA

Sorry I've been so MIA for the past week and a few days, but I seem to have caught a British stomach virus and it really likes me and doesn't want to go away! For the first few days I had it I felt really bad and stayed in bed and rested and tried to get over it. Now I don't really feel bad anymore its just that my tummy is not playing well with others for the moment. But I have not been on any adventures for a while so there hasn't been much to report. One thing I discovered by being sick is what a great support system I have here in such a short amount of time! Caitlyn, a very sweet girl who also goes to UT and lives a few doors down went to the nurse with me and bought me sprite and crackers when I was really sick! Aubrey, another sweet girl from one less door down, brought me chicken noodle soup and checked on my almost everyday! Daniel checked on me twice daily and asked if there was anything he could do for me! It was nice to have so many nice and supportive people to be there for me when I wasn't feeling that great! Its really hard to be sick so far from home but they helped in a big way!
I did perform my solo piece for my Physical Theater class this week! I think it went alright, I could tell I was weak from being in my bed for 5 days or so, but its done so I'm glad I overcame that hurdle! It was interesting to watch my fellow classmates work and I look forward to working in a group because I think I will learn more from working with other people. I know I will be more comfortable working with other people anyway!
Today I figured out how to record my lines (the lines for my play) on my computer and then transfer them to my ipod! I felt really proud of myself for figuring it out....I usually have to be shown how to do cool things on the computer! Wow, ok you really can tell how bored I have been for the past week! I will have more adventures to report soon! I miss you all very much!

Tea Time!

A few days ago Claire, Lena, Daniel and I went to Tiny Tim's Tearoom which is in a haunted building and a very nice place to have tea! It was fun to have afternoon tea and I even got some finger sandwiches that were ever so tasty! We had fun talking and enjoying our tea and afterwards you can go upstairs and go into the haunted room! Claire wouldn't go all the way in....just a foot! Since it was day it wasn't that scary but I'm glad I had company!

As we were walking through the town to get to the Tearoom there was a parade going on and men on horses dressed in knight's garb! Daniel and I kept trying to figure out what holiday it could possibly be but when we finally got close enough a man handed us a flier about a book release! That's intense advertising! It was neat to see, though! They had a full band and everything!

Other than that I haven't been up to too much lately. I have pretty fully settled into life here...every now and again something will catch me off guard and I will realize very suddenly that I am, in fact, in a different country. My new bedding has made such a big difference! I sleep better now and I feel more rested! My house mates make fun of me because they say these beds are soft for them...not hard, but having a cozy bed has made a big difference in how I feel about everything!

Next week is a big week for me, I have to write my first paper and I have a solo performance in my Physical Theater class! I am very nervous about my solo performance! We have to create a 5 minute piece to share with the class and I am not exactly sure what to do. This class is certainly stretching me as an actress and as a person! It is a struggle, but a healthy one!

I am trying to work out my month off from school and what I plan to do. It is like a giant puzzle and I am trying to make the pieces fit together. It will work out in the end and anywhere I can't get to is only postponed to another adventure!

I got three different packages this week and everyone has been so wonderful! One full of food goodies that make my homesickness better! Another with a fun game that I can't wait to play with my friends here and at home and some cards! And the last was the gift of playing my tunes out loud!!! You guys rock and I can't thank you enough cause every package is really wonderful and makes me very, very happy! Thank you all again for thinking of me! Love you!

Mexican Night!

One of the foods I miss most from back home is proper Mexican food! It is hard to come by here and even if you find it....its pretty bland. So I decided to have a fiesta for my house and share the joy of Mexican with all of my house-mates! I made fajitas, refried bean dip, and spinach maria....well actually Spinach Martha cause it was a variation of spinach maria! I had to improvise some of the recipes because they didn't have all the ingredients I usually use but it went really well! It was wonderful to eat Mexican again and we had a great time! The fun even spread to the next house and they joined us! I look forward to having another dinner party! Next time we're going to attempt Indian!

Virtural Tour and more!

I talked to my dad and Tonya a few days ago and Tonya was asking about my room and the layout of my house! So I thought....well if a picture is worth 1000 words....why not put a video up to show everyone my room! Also, I got some new bedding today because it was like 15 pounds and I'm going to have to have something for the people who visit me to use anyway! I like my new bedding much better! It really brightens up my room and it much more comfortable! I'm very happy with my decision!

Today I spent the day in town with my high school friend Carolyn! She is on a program with her school and they are studying in London! One of the classes she's taking is Canterbury Tales, so they had a day trip to Canterbury today! We were joking about how we both live in the same town and hardly ever see each other, but we met up in England! It was wonderful to see her though and I look forward to seeing her again when I go to London! And I will be going twice in the next month for sure because I just got tickets to both The Lion King and Les Mis!!! I am terribly excited to see both of these shows! I have seen The Lion King before but one of the girls on the program has never seen it and she asked me if I would like to go! Just a note for anyone who hasn't seen it: its a really, really beautiful show and the beginning is so powerful it made me cry! And I'm very excited to see Les Mis for the first time! I'm also hoping to get tickets to see The Importance of Being Earnest and other tickets for the National Theater at some point soon!

And one other thing! I got a new SIM card for my phone today because it allows me to make calls for much cheaper! So my new number is 011 44 794 262 6410 (I think that's how you call from the US but let me know if it doesn't work!) That's all my news for now! I hope everyone is well! I miss you all!

Sandwich

have never really had my alarm not go off so that Today was kind of a whirlwind day! (But fun nonetheless)! I woke up this morning at 8:50 and quickly realized that my seminar was at 9 and I had 10 minutes to get there (its a good 10-15 minute walk)....so I was kind of freaking out! I made it though just as she reached my name on the registrar! What luck! (I would like to point out that I think that is one of the few times in my life that I have ever unintentionally overslept...I mean there are times when I decide the night before to not go or decide to cut it close but Iwas a new experience for me! But I made it and all was well!

Then, when I got back to the house from seminar Daniel asked if I wanted to go one a trip to Sandwich....and no one should ever turn down a trip to Sandwich and so I said yes and got ready for that in about 10 minutes as well! Sandwich is about 30 minutes away by bus and is a lovely little town by the English Channel. It is the origin of sandwiches thanks to John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich! Also, in the year 1255 the first captive Elephant was landed in England...but that is neither here nor there.... And so when we (several American students and myself) arrived in Sandwich our first mission was to find a sandwich! So we walked across the street from the bus stop and found a lovely French deli! I got a ham and cheese sandwich and it was delicious! I forgot how good French sandwiches are...on a baguette...with butter...mmmmm!

But the town of Sandwich has much more to offer than delicious sandwiches! Its a really neat small town with very old buildings and a nice city wall walk around the whole town! It also has a lot of history! It was one the training grounds for The Black Prince and his army who defeated the French...in a battle I can't spell! But it was a good adventure and I look forward to going back to Sandwich because its a nice place to spend a day! Now it is time for bed! I hope everyone is doing well and I'll post again soon!

This Weekend's Adventure!

I have made it a goal to go somewhere every weekend! It doesn't have to be far....just somewhere! This weekend, Daniel and I tried to go to Leeds Castle (which incidentally is not in the town of Leeds which is very far North) but Leeds Castle is very hard to reach by public bus and we have to start really early in the day to be able to fully enjoy the Castle! Instead we decided to go to Herne Bay and Whitstable, which are two towns on the English Channel! Herne Bay was a lovely place to visit. Its a small seaside (well channel side) town which seems like it will have a lot going on when it gets a bit warmer! It had a lot of seaside attractions but only a few of them were open because its not the season to be by the sea! We did see this Golden dome thing out in the ocean (I've included a picture for your viewing pleasure!) which I'm pretty sure is a secret entrance to Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory! When it gets warm enough I will swim out there and if you never hear from me again....well I'm an Umpa Loompa! There were also trash cans shaped like fun animals (bear, dolphin, frog) but my favorite was the PENGUIN! It told you, "Good Job!" when you put trash in it! I think Herne Bay has solved the world's litter problem!



Next, we went to Whitstable and that was fun too, although I like Herne Bay a bit better. Whitstable did have a Castle....but it was one of the less impressive ones I've seen. Its really funny because whenever Daniel and I talk excitedly about a castle the European students are like eh....But we don't have castles all over the place back home so they're very exciting to us! We couldn't go into this one though...so it wasn't as exciting as some others. But it did have a lovely garden! It was a good adventure all around! I hope everyone is doing well!