Once upon a yesterday afternoon, I was sitting in my room preparing to watch the second half of Angels in America when Mitch came over to ask for my map of London. His Shakespeare class was going to see a production of Much Ado About Nothing and he needed to find the theater. He also mentioned that his professor had two extra tickets and did I want to go. I said, "YES PLEASE!" And I'm so glad I did because it was a wonderful show! It stars Zoe Wannamaker as Beatrice (which some of you might know as Madame Hooch from Harry Potter!) and Simon Russell Beale. I had seen both of them in productions this summer and it was really neat to see them in different rolls! It also had an actor from A Knight's Tale (Mark Addy) which was really neat to see! It was a really funny production and well acted. I also just love that I can decide to go see a show in London at 1:00 on a day and be in a seat at 7:30 that night! I have included some pictures of th show. The first one is Beatrice in a pool of water which both Benedick and Beatrice jumped into in the show and got completely soaked! It was awesome! The second one is the two lovers talking! I can't wait to see more shows soon!

Herby

Today I spent the majority of the day working on a presentation for my modernism class which has been really rewarding since I actually have time to sink my teeth into the text! But....does not make for a very exciting blog....I thought I would use this opportunity to introduce you to a very important figure in my daily life over here! I have included a picture of Herby! He is a duck/radio and he lives in our upstairs bathroom! He serenades me as I take a shower and decides which song I will have stuck in my head for the rest of the day! He is a very good little duck and sometimes I sing Rubber Ducky to him but only when I'm feeling particularly silly and I know no one is home! Well, I'm glad that you all could meet Herby! (Oh, and this picture was taken when Herby was in our kitchen entertaining us while we were cooking....in case you were worried about me having peanut butter in the bathroom) Back to work....

Day Trip to Dover

Yesterday Mitch, Daniel, and I took a day trip to the town of Dover (as in "White Cliffs of") and witnessed the White Cliffs first hand! Since Dover is only about 30 minutes away we didn't start until later in the day (cause sleeping in is precious no matter how many times you do it) and took the 12:20 bus to Dover. Our first order of business was to find some Fish and Chips since we were on the coast and that is the best place to get fish! We found some at a pub and it was DELICIOUS! I ate the whole thing and was so full, but likely I had a lot f walking ahead of me so it was ok! One thingI noticed about going to a pub around 1 in the afternoon was how many people had pints! Its 5 o'clock somewhere...right? Anyway, we walked down to the English Chanel and I touched it! Before I touched I was thinking it would be really cool to swim across it.....after touching it I'm thinking its really cold and I probably will not be swimming in it! We saw the White Cliffs and walked along the water for awhile! Then we decided to go check out the Castle because it has secret tunnels and that's cool! (Sidebar....the European students are not as impressed by castles as we are because they have castles everywhere....but to me castles will always be awesome! Too bad America missed that whole castle phase....) We took the bus up to the castle but when we got there they told us that they were closing in 40 minutes. We decided to do the castle another day....since it was 10 pounds to get in. So, we walked back down the big hill through some really cool paths and out on the pier (which was like half a kilometer long) and got a really good view of the cliffs! Then we called it a day and went home. It was a good day and we learned that it is better to not sleep in when exploring the country because everything closes at like 4:00. I look forward to exploring more of Kent.....it is my playground!

Exciting News!

I just found out that I was cast as the leading female role in a play I auditioned for! The play is student written and its working title is Pub Comedy. My character's name is Alice and she works in a pub! I am really excited to be involved in a play while I'm over here because I feel it will be a great way to make really good friends! The cast members that I have met so far have seemed like a lot of fun and I am looking forward to working with them! The only down side is I won't be able to travel as much...but that's what April and May can be for! Oh! And the other blessing is that the show dates fall while my Mom is here! She has never missed a show that I have been in and she will be able to come to this one too! That's all for now folks!

Happy Birthday To Daniel!

So yesterday was Daniel's 21st birthday and we celebrated with him! It was really nice, I thought, how we all came together and celebrated his birthday as a house! It made me realize that I have a great support system and some really great people in my house! Lena baked a really yummy cake and we had a bottle of champagne in his honor (in the funny nose glasses that Claire is modeling)! We also gave him a bottle of Jameson befitting a 21 year old! Then we all hit the town for both Daniel and my first proper PUB CRAWL! We started at this place called West Bar which gives out glow-stick bracelets when you order a cocktail! They are modeled ever so elegantly below. They kinda look like Captain Planet! Anyway, we then proceeded to The Hobgoblin which is a neat old pub! It had a good pub feeling to it and no tables so we had to stand at the bar which encouraged us to move on quickly! Our next and final stop was the Beer Cart Arms which was really fun! They had great music playing (including one of my favorites MY SHARONA) and we had our own nook! We remained there until it closed....which was at 11:00 cause all the bars close around 11 or at the latest 12 (which I like because I don't do well with really late nights). And we headed home on the bus! It was a really fun night and I kinda felt like it was my 21st Birthday too since it was my first pub crawl! I also really enjoyed hanging out with everyone (several of Lena's friends came along too) and having a night out! I hope to do it again soon (but hopefully next time I won't have class the next day). Lena even confessed to me that they were worried about having new house-mates because their last ones were so nice, but we are just as wonderful she said and she's really glad to have us! I too feel blessed to have been placed in such a nice house and last night was a real testament to what a great house it is!

DId you know?

So we were hanging out in Claire's room watching YouTube videos and she had a smurf blanket and I pointed and said, "SMURFS!" and she replied, "Schtroumpfs" and I was like, "whaaaa?" Apparently the Smurfs originated in Belgium.....did not know. And Lena came in and said a different name for the smurfs. Isn't it funny that a made up word like smurf can be so different for all the languages. Anyway...it kinda blew my mind that the smurfs weren't from America....who knew? You learn something new everyday.....

London Calling

So on Wednesday afternoon Mitch skyped me up and said, "Hey Martha you wanna go to London this weekend?" And I said, "Um....yes!" I then knocked on my housemate, Daniel's door and asked, "Hey Daniel you wanna go to London this weekend?" and he replied, "Um....yes!" You see, since Canterbury is so close to London you could buy a round trip ticket for as little as 2 pounds. Since we waited so long ours was more like 12 pounds but still!!! And so we booked tickets on a bus to London for a day! And with a little more planning I think we could make this a simi-regular thing! We left the Canterbury around 8:15 (when my alarm went off at 6:30 I didn't think this whole London thing was quite as cool anymore....but I got over that very quickly) and drove through the countryside toward London! Mitch wasn't feeling well on the bus, however, and when we arrived at the bus station he opted to remain close to the facilities while Daniel and I went to the half price ticket window to see if we could go see any shows. Our first choice was Les Mis, but they only had restricted view and I really wanted to be able to see the show (demanding, I know) and so we opted for a less well
known show called Dealer's Choice. Mitch still wasn't
feeling well so he didn't get a ticket :(. He did feel up for
a walk to Westminster Abbey though! We were all excited
about going in and seeing the Poet's corner (where a lot of
famous poets are buried namely Chaucer) and the beautiful
architecture. When we arrived we discovered that it was their day of prayer and one of the few days a year that the Abbey is closed to visitors. They were still open for Even Song and so we decided to come back for that at 3. While we waited we walked around Parliament and got some lunch in a sandwich shop! As we set out for Westminster again we ran into another group of American students studying at Kent (small world) and they said they were headed to the National Gallery Daniel decided to go with them while Mitch and I went to Even Song. It was a beautiful service and the music sounded amazing in the Abbey! Afterwards Mitch decided it was time for him to go home! I met up with Daniel and the others in the National Gallery! Then we went to a pub but by the time we found one it was almost time for Daniel and I to head to the theater. So we said goodbye and walked to our theater. The show was very good and extremely well acted! Then we headed back to the bus station and headed back to campus! All and all it was a very successful trip! I am excited to do it again! With almost all of the museums being free it is wonderful to think that I can do London for as little as 10 pounds a day! I also feel a sense of pride that I did a mini trip all by myself! Even this summer when I went we had a professor who planned out the majority of the trip! This was all me and I feel it was a success! I look forward to going back again soon!
*I would also like to say a thank you to everyone that's reading my blog! I have been getting a lot of good feedback about it in sometimes unexpected places! If you ever want to comment on something (even to just say it cool) please do because then it becomes an even better communication tool! I like knowing how my friends and family are reacting! I miss you all!