Walking, Churchill, and New Foods

Well, I broke my "posting every three days" streak. Whoops! Today marks day six since my last one, but I've been really busy...I guess I'll get to that:

Street Performer playing the
Didgeridoo in the tube station 

     Since I'm going to try to fit several days into one post, I'm not going to give you every moment of every day like I usually try to do...haha. I'll just hit the highlights! Monday I had to work on a paper that was due the next day. Olivia had the same one, and lots of time when we do homework together we listen to music. Lately, our big thing has been the Pitch Perfect Soundtrack. We listen to it at least once a day... My favorite song on the album is the cup song. If you haven't heard it, here it is: Cup Song. I always practice along with the recording, and I'm getting really close to getting it! But, the only cup that I had to practice with was the glass cup that came with our apartment. I thought, "well this will work just fine!" (wrong.) The problem with glass is if you mess up while you are doing it and tip the glass over, it shatters. Whoops. I took the broken glass down to the front desk and told them that I broke it (...I didn't volunteer the story on how) and then my friend Connor was able to get the pieces of glass out of my hand with tweezers. haha. Not my shining moment. But after the distraction, I was able to finish my paper and have it turned in by seven or so. Around this time, a few people were going out to a pub for dessert, and since I finished my hw, I thought "why not?". We went to a place down the road, and were all just sitting and chatting when all of the sudden this guy comes over the loud speakers announcing that it was time for trivia night. Thats right! Trivia Night! Woo! It was sooooo fun. (we didn't pay to play, just because we were afraid it would be a lot of British references that we wouldn't understand, but after the MC saw us trying to scribble down answers on a napkin, he took pity on us and brought us a legit answer sheet.) We actually held our own pretty well against the other teams, so next Monday night we will be back ready to take the victory!

An outdoor gym that we
found on the walk to the
Tony's. We played like
we were children...

     Tuesday I had Government in the morning and my Philosophy class in the afternoon. For our philosophy class, our teacher (Dr. Keffer) took us on a "pilgrimage to visit a wise old siege." Before I get to far into the story, I think you need a little background information on Dr. Keffer. He is probably the most eccentric men you will ever meet (i.e., bringing an easel to a soccer game so that he could paint it). Sometimes, he is just plain bizarre (i.e., talking to inanimate objects). But, he is also on another plain when it comes to intelligence. He is just so smart, that his brain moves so fast, and often we are left without seeing any connections between his thoughts and can only stare blankly at him, amused and confused. Lots of times for class, he takes on what could arguably be considered random walks. Tuesday, he wanted us to meet the father of Dr. Haigh (that just feels weird to type; he goes by Tony). Tony is British, but has worked at Centre for the last several years. His dad is 98 years old and was a professional soccer player, an engineer, and in the air force during WW2. Spending the afternoon talking with him has been one of the highlights of my trip so far. We walked to the flat Tony and his wife are living in. They had prepared a table full of delicious finger sandwiches, scones, fruit, and tea for us. It was so good to have a home cooked meal! Then, Mr. Haigh came down stairs and we all sat on the floor in front of him, munching away on our classically British meal, listening to his incredible stories. He said that when he was young, he would walk as many as 28 miles in one day. He was instrumental in creating a policy that England still has that allows anyone to walk on privately owned fields. He also gave us all the secret of longevity: Enjoy life and go with the flow. He also told us to listen to our bodies, and they will always tell us what is good for us. For example, his body told him that bacon and butter were good for him, and he has been going for strong for 98 years. (I'm not sold on this logic, but hey, if it worked for him...?). That night, Olivia and I were on dinner duty so we had to stop off at the grocery store. We made individual pizzas for everyone on pita bread, and it seemed to be a success!

A few of us before the play began

     Wednesday was another day filled with walking! We walked from our apartment all the way to the Thames and beyond. All together, it was about five miles. We stopped for lunch in Trafalgar Square and had a picnic in front on the National Gallery, sitting on the edge of a huge monument, facing Parliament. It was truly picturesque. Unfortunately, I was eating and we were in a hurry, so I don't have a photo to prove it... After walking, we all headed back to our apartments to freshen up and then we went to our second play of the trip: "Privates on Parade." I didn't like it quite as well as "Our Country's Good," but I suppose it was at least entertaining? haha. On the way home from the theatre, a few of stopped to get some Kababs (pronounced Ka-bobs). They are a fairly classic English meal, and it really isn't anything like what we call "Shishkababs" in the states. Its a lot more comparable to a greek gyro. Never the less it was yummy!

     The biggest highlight of Thursday was visiting the Churchill War Rooms. It is basically an underground lair of offices and living spaces used by Winston Churchill and his cabinet during WW2. A lot of it had been incredibly well preserved, plus there was a museum dedicated to WW2 and the life of Churchill that was attached. Walking down the halls of the War Rooms was totally surreal. We saw the map rooms, the kitchen, where they slept, where they made the BBC speeches, etc. As I wandered up and down the halls, I couldn't help but think of all the important people that had walked where I was, and all the important conversations/decisions that were made there.

      In comparison to Thursday's lesson in history and culture, this may seem trivial, but Friday....I bought a hair dryer! I had been convincing myself since I got here that I did not need one, but I finally cracked and bought a cheap one at the pharmacy. It works and was worth the 7 pounds! (plus, there was a plate of cookies in the pharmacy! USA: take notes!) Later, I went to Covent Gardens with some friends and got gelato. It was very yummy. However, all of the flavors were in Italian so I had to sample a lot before I could know what to get. We want to go back to this place soon so we can try their crepes.

Pakistani food!

Rings Olivia and I bought at
the market

      Saturday (today) was a totally free day. Olivia and I considered really making the most of it by taking a day trip up to Whales or Bath, but we realized if you are booking the night before, It can be a lot pricier than booking in advance. We just decided to hold off. Instead, we went to Camden Town Markets. IT WAS SO COOL. There were street vendors as far as you could see, and people from all over the world. We were there for over four hours and we barely made it a block. I had so much fun looking at all of the handmade jewelry and clothes, and I really love haggling! We ended up getting some really great deals.  The market was also a perfect place to eat. Once we found our way to the food section, there was no turning back. They had food from Peru, Turkey, India, Poland, Hong Kong, etc. Anywhere that you could think of! The vendors also love to hand out samples! We decided to order something from the Pakistani booth. They were these grilled wrap-like things with chicken and cheese, "salad" and hot sauce in them. They were very good! This evening, Olivia and I went to Leicester Square with Martha-Grace and Anna and attempted to see a movie. What we wanted was sold out though, so we just found a pub, ordered an appetizer, and sat and chilled for a while.

Sorry for having to cram so much into one post! Thanks for being patient with me as I try to work out a good schedule for posting. Also, if anyone has any questions or knows of any special places I should check out while I am here, let me know! Missing everyone!

Love from London,

Deanna