First Week Of School!

Ok so this is really the first opportunity I have had to write in this thing. I love doing it, I just have to take time out of my day to do it and this past week I have had absolutely no time and it has been great! I have been running to different buildings, trying to get things signed, standing in Queues for over an hour when there were only 12 people in line...yeah very busy. I feel like I have accomplished so much and yet all I did was set up my semester and sign up for the gym.

The first day was probably the worst. I had a class at 10:30 or 11 I think it was, and that class was dance/movement skills A which I had three times a week for three hours. I woke up early because I didn't want to be late and got to school around 9:30. I was pretty nervous and pretty hungry so I made sure I knew how to get to class and went to get some breakfast. I ate for about 5 minutes before I remembered that I still needed to get my theatre class sorted. So, at 10:00 I went to the study abroad office and they informed me that I would either have to drop dance or my race racism and ethnicity class in order to take my theatre class. Now join in me in a journey of thought here, Dance/movement skills A is three hours three times a week, Race racism and ethnicity is only two hours once a week and it is an honors course... hmmmm tough decision right? Needless to say, I couldn't make up mind. So 2 seconds after I was asked which I would prefer to drop my reply was , "Lets drop dance!"

This was a blessing and a curse because as it turned out the class that I was now signing up to take met twice a week on Monday's and Thursdays and the Monday class was already an hour through. Naturally, I didn't want to be interrupt the class by being late on the first day, so I decided not to go. So I showed up 5 minutes later after scouring the building for the right room and completely humiliated myself as I slammed the doors open breathing hard and asked, "Is this theatre skills 1?" Anyway, she let me stay and watch which was really hard because I had to sit there for an hour while the entire class stared at me and made me feel like a complete lummox.

After class finally ended, I made some new friends from the class and had lunch with them, they were really nice and now I have been to two parties with them and have taken a real liking to all of them. Now that was my only class for the day, but I still had to sort out my classes because it turns out, since I dropped one I needed to pick a new one. That meeting lasted about an hour and I tried to figure out which classes would be best. So I told my advisor that I would look into the classes over the next day or so. She said that was fine but to hurry.

After that I went to the library and studied for about two hours and checked out a couple of books. One book in particular I started reading just for fun: Zen and the Art of Stand-Up Comedy by Jay Sankey the magician. I love this man and I love his book. Really awesome if your job, profession or hobby involves a lot of interaction with people. It also complements what I am studying in Theatre, which is movement and action in collusion with Commedia Dell'Arte and Native American Masks and clowning (Which I LOVE by the way).

So at the end of Monday I think I just went home and tried to do more homework, that night I think I went out with my roomate and some friends and got some drinks. Not really that fun, but whatever I was in London! However, I did get a call from my advisor informing me that I might be able to get into a class that I really really wanted. This class was called theatre in London and basically what it is, is a class where we see shows and then talk about them and critique them. This class is awesome. I got in needless to say and It is on wednesdays.

On Tuesdays I have no classes but I had to find out whether or not I could take this class and get that sorted and then I had to get a gym membership and get some more books for classes and basically be prepared for the rest of the day. I also had to get a bank note which was ridiculous, That is the hour long queue with 12 people in it. Ridiculous. I did some magic though and that made time pass a little bit quicker. It really is amazing how many barriers magic breaks once you just start having fun with people. That night was one of my new friend's birthday parties and we went clubbing in Leicster square. I really hate clubbing, but we had fun. I drank a martini that I really liked. It is called a Milky Way and it is basically a chocolate martini and I have only had one that good before at a Casino in Connecticut when I went with Michelle and her family. Until that night I had not been able to have a martini like that since, and believe me I have looked. We danced for a while and then finally we went home. It was like 1:30 in the morning when we finally got back and I passed out. Really bad mistake.


On wednesday, ridiculous classes ensued, I only have two and these classes only meet once a week, but God were they long! Theatre in London started at 11 and ended at 1, we played games and talked about what we were going to do, lots of fun, but I was really hungry and tired from staying up late the previous night. Then I went to Critical Theory and Performance. I had like 5 minutes to get there and grab some M & M's or something, I was starving. Class starts from 1:15 and goes until 5 pm. That hurt. It was fascinating, but once again, I was so tired and it was really hard to concentrate, but I did meet some good people and I do plan on hanging out with them whenever I can. Unfortunately for me, wednesdays are only going to get harder for me because at 6 from here on out, I have to be at Waterloo station ready to see a show every wednesday. YAY! I don't think I did anything that night except pass out when I got home.

On Thursday I have Race Racism and Ethnicity at 10 until 12 and Theatre skills 1 again at 12:30 to 2:3o. Now on my schedule, my Racism class is stated to begin at 9 in the morning. I was prepared this time and got up early ready to go. I got to the main classes building on the North Campus with 20 minutes to find my class. Unfortunately... I couldn't find my class. Their number system is really hard. Even there own students can't find their classes. Anyway, So I had ten minutes left so I asked reception where my classroom was and I showed the lady the name. She looked at me and said, "Ok, you international kids need to scout your classes the day before! You have ten minutes till your class starts and a 20 minute walk ahead of you!" I told her she had to be kidding me and she shook her head and gave me directions. The building I actually needed to go to was called Ladbroke house and I had to go down the main road and turn left somewhere and turn right at a church or something, I actually didn't understand a word she said, so I ran all the way down the road (10 mins running) only to find that I had no idea where to go from there and apparently no one I asked had any idea either, not even the freaking post office! So I walked back, giving up and just planning on writing an apologetic e-mail to my professor.

On my way back though, I ran into my friend who had also gotten lost and was giving up. I told her my story and that I would help her find her class and in doing so I found out where mine was. I noticed that for my class there were actually two classes, a lecture and a seminar. I decided to try and make the seminar at 10:00. I mapped my route and got there in 11 minutes and 13 seconds, hustling. When I got there though, I discovered that the class had been bumped up an hour and that this would be permanent. What a stroke of luck! I hadn't missed a thing, and I wasn't going to!

That class was fun, I liked the teacher and we had a good first day with intelligent discussions about school policies and racism. Eventually, I had to duck out to get to my next class. This class rocked. All we did was try little theatre games, like simon says and introducing ourselves, but we did it in a way that was kind of freeing. I can't really explain it in a blog, it is really something that needs to be shown rather than read. But anyway it was totally awesome and I had a blast.

That class ended, I went home, studied, and then went to a british birthday party. I had fun, showed magic, drank a little bit and made some new friends, then I came home on the bus and slept. No classes friday, I just studied and went out with friends at night. We went to a club, it sucked, we danced, I got a little drunk, took a cab home, not very interesting. Then, yesterday I studied a lot, pretty much all day, got a haircut and went to another party which was a lot more fun. Made even more friends did some more magic and took like 3 buses to get home. So that was my week! If you read all of this, congratulations!!! It couldn't have been easy!