i hope you have your oyster card!

pouncer had his own seat at the royal wedding

pouncer in london!

masch gut!!

germany is treating me very well. we arrived in bremen on friday night and i have stayed with a german friend who lives in hannover, and with  one who lives in göttingen. it has been enlightening. last night i was able to have a traditional bavarian delicacy that included fried potatoes, meat loaf, and a fried egg on top. it was very interesting, but it was very tasty. i enjoyed the meal. it has been so nice to just walk around germany looking at people, and just taking it all in. it is so funny, because as i walk around germany my friend has noticed that she will see people pointing and looking at my hair as i walk by them. haha. i have not noticed it, or thought my hair was such a big deal, but i guess people are not used to seeing my grade of hair in this style. haha.

oh.and on saturday i was able to go to my first european soccer game. we had awesome seats. and must i say again the food i ate at the soccer game was delicious. we had bratwurst, and that little dog was so good. so good. one of the most memorable things about being in different countries has been tasting the different foods at each country. it is a big part of the culture to taste the food, and i have definitely been indulging in the food of each country.i had two gelato ice cream cones yesterday.yes two.haha. the flavors were so tasty. they had one flavor that tasted like ferrer rocher chocolates, and they had this other flavor of ice cream that looked grey. but it was so delicious. for my second ice cream cone, i just went over to the stand and just selected two flavors without the translation from katha, our german friend. and they were still two great choices.

ah. glad i was able to send a few words to my blog. but the trip has been great so far, and it continues to get better. we will be meeting up with some of katha's friends and have a little celebration for my birthday...and tomorrow we will have some german cake!! i am so addicted to the german food. the bread is so great..we are about to leave again...just wanted to send a small update...i can't believe i am in germany, my birthplace, for my actual birthday. ah. so surreal. cheers!

it's joshua

tap.tap.tap. tap.tap.tap.tap.tap.
this is the sound that occurs when you want your host family to wake up when they are asleep. you have to be fervent i tell you. very fervent. and then they will wake up.
i was tapping on their door because i leave for bremen, germany in about three hours and their printer was not allowing me to print off my boarding passes. so i  was trying at all costs to avoid a 40 quid fee, and my partner in crime holly thought this would be the best idea. so i went for it. ahaha.
as soon as i was done rapping at their door. i hear a voice, and i reply "Geof it's Joshua." and he replies, "be out in a moment."
he enters in a red nightie.barefoot. hair awry.
i tell him the situation, and all he does is reboot the printer so that it will get online again so i can print my passes.
it was comical to me, because he seemed wide awake once he entered the dimly lit hall. haha. he was conversing with me. asking me where i was traveling, etc...such a character.
all is well. god is good.
i will be going to bremen, germany and then to the netherlands for my birthday...off we go!

boots...the help was amazing

i would just like to extend a big hug and thank you to the boots cashier who helped me put all of my toiletries in 100ml plastic bottles before i got on the plane to spain...we were strategic...we had to fit it all in one CLEAR plastic bag...bahahaa...what a surprise...glad we arrived to the airport early...."gotta" catch the worm folks!

they smell good by the way

god has truly made some miraculous places on this earth. i just returned from a weekend getaway on a little island on the mediterranean sea in spain. it was tremendously serene and pleasurable. me and my friend stayed in this gorgeous hostel entitled hostal giaramundo. it was painted with bright colors, and had such a warm "home-ee" feel. the spanish people were so warm and inviting to us while we were visiting the island it was perfect. on our second day on the island we visited the beach which was within walking distance of our hostel, and we laid out and gained a little vitamin-d back into our skin. london definitely has not given me much, so this weekend was a nice boost of vitamins.

speaking of vitamins the food was delicious. oozzing of natural goodness. our hostel provided us with breakfast, and the best part about our breakfast was the freshly squeezed oranges that ooozeed into our cups. it was one of the most satisfying things to see the server squeezing oranges just for us. and it was like that at most restaurants that you went to on the island. during on last lunch in spain we had a traditional dish called.......hmmm....it starts with a "p," but i will butcher the spelling of the dish so i will digress..and only inform you that it consists of spanish rice with mussels, lobster, and shrimp. this dish was so flavorful. i was so surprised at how the meat tasted in comparison to the american tastes i know...this town is on the port so a lot of the dishes our sea food dishes...on the first night here i devoured sepia..which is a dish that consisted of jellyfish and octopus...ahh..and it was delicioso...so delicious...

being in this country for this short amount of time really jarred my memory..and my being...wanting me to ..desperately wanting to communicate with the locals using spanish...when me and my friend arrived we were shocked to see a menu in spanish...but what do you expect..YOU ARE IN SPAIN...so crazy..that we even asked for an american menu..haha....but after that day we made every attempt to use the little spanish phrases we knew to converse to the locals using their language..and it felt so good...especially when they responded to us in spanish...instead of laughing..hahaha...or just speaking to us in english..haha..i loved trying..making that effort..being immersed in their culture made me realize how much i should have paid attention to my spanish course in high school..i guess i will be getting the rosetta stone soon..haha...would love to go back to spain with more knowledge of the language..

caught a few rays, ate delicious desserts, heard the ways crashing on the beach...wow...one of the most peaceful sounds to hear..really...i know that they make alarm clocks with that sound..but nothing can compare to hearing that sound out of the window of your hostel, or when you are laying on the beach...listening to yourself and what is around you...

being here made me slow down and pay attention to the details..see things for what they are....and what they can become...

made me realize how fast i walk in london...i am always in a hurry...being on this island made me slow down and literally smell the roses...they smell good...by the way

home is whenever i'm with you

today i had the intense feeling that i just want to go home. it started out as a measly craving for the american little debbie cake, and then it turned into a pouring of wanting to go home. especially so that i can actually walk during graduation. or is it even a big deal? i will be graduating, but i just won't be there to experience that feeling of walking across that stage shaking hands with shirley raines,and the other administration. hmm. i guess it will be ok. i just have to keep telling myself it will be ok. education was/is such a big deal to my parents, but they definitely understood when we were talking on the phone about me possibly coming home just to graduate. wow. i can imagine the immense amount of jet-lag and shock i would experience during that period of time. i can only dream, because it will not be happening for me. it will be ok.
today i went to the marelybone dance center and took my first 50/50 technique ballet class(from the same teacher who has taught me floor barre) since i have been in London. i have been introduced to floor barre which has been a whole different language to me. floor barre focuses on alignment. like really focuses on alignment. it allows you to feel certain positions within your body that you wouldn't normally feel. i guess that is good, but i always feel like i am doing it wrong, so i don't know beneficial it has been to me. haha. but i will be taking this ladies classes until the end of the semester. so we will see. i feel like one day i will gain a new way of placing my body...but we will see...only time will tell...
only two more days to my audition for the london school of contemporary dance....
I am thinking about the girl, lea sussman, who told me about this school two summers ago at the american dance festival, and now i am in london auditioning for a place in the school. so blessed. may god's will be done in all things. amen.

lay me down safe

wow. so i have been meaning to take pictures with pouncer my school mascot. isn't it cool he is in london? but i will soon. i promise. he just doesn't fit everywhere. and i feel like people will think i am insane for carrying around this animal. but who cares what the world thinks right? haha.
i just recently got accepted into ballet black's associate program. which is just a program that allows young dancers like me to take class by their company members and the artistic director. i had my first class today at the royal opera house and it was so refreshing. it has been about a month since i have taken a normal ballet class, since the ones at kingston are floor barre. whch is very interesting. but the class today was great. their is just something so special about a live acompanist. it does something to me. makes me so excited. loving every minute of the class.
it's been so long.
lay me down safe was a new piece that kate weare premiered on the scottish dance theatre at the place last friday. wow. such an incredible work. i wanted to go back and see the show again,  but i thought that may be a little obsessive...i probably should have though...but it's cool.that was a great company of dancers. so delicate and soft in their moments. i saw so many qualities and efforts of movements when i was watching this company perform. very intriguing night..
networking is real.
from this day onward..i will make more of an effort to write. i found myself  not reflecting. and i like reflection.
for now it is good bye.
crystal fighters
rubbish
knackered
loo
mum
hoover
tap
details
diary
mobile
uni
smart
posh
pardon
mate
brev
just a few new words...
english pancakes are gross. ihop for the win.

when someone slaps you stand up and fight

that is exactly what this english boy did on the bus last night at 2:30am. i went to see the London School of Contemporary Dance's students present three new contemporary dance works last night. the works were very intentional and thrilling to watch. they all had this very contemporary phrase work textured with post modern ideas and investigations. i was able to go to this show with my composer. his name is craig and we will be creating a work together for my choreography and composition class. this was his first time watching live dance, so it was exciting to talk to him after the show.

the night was winding down and i went back to holly's and stayed for a moment. then i decided to get on the N87 going to New Malden.my temporary home.  little did i know that when someone slaps you . stand up and fight.  it was so random. i am sitting in a very tired state and i watch this young pubescent boy hit this random guy as he is walking off the bus. and then all of a sudden the innocent bystander is up and going after the boy. they have a moment of exchanging punches as the bus door is trying to shut.close. exchange a punch. a spit. a grab. blood. the bus driver stops the bus, and to his surprise the whole group of guys that were with the boy were doing something to the bus to make it stop working.lol. it was kind of scary. and funny.  the bus driver returned to the bus. tried to start the bus. lol. but it didn’t start. so we were sitting for about ten minutes before he went back outside the bus. used some mad bus man grease and fixed the bus. lol. i had no idea what these boys could have done to make the bus stop,lol. but the bus driver said they did something.lol. i am still in shock. but at the moment. i was sedated and ready to go to sleep.lol. hmm.

dog roses. within space or by touch. and what happens between us were the three pieces that were shown  by  the place's students.  the last piece was very enthralling due to its balance of multi focus points and beautiful contemporary dance phrase work. it was so interesting to watch these students dance because you could see them pouring into their limbs with these different energies. it was a total body experience for them. a girl was biting another girl in the  piece.haha. very human.haha. made me want to bite someone onstage. haha. or in real life..haha.

so i've applied

so i have completed all three of my applications for the dance conservatories. ah. it is very exciting. and it also makes me very nervous. haha. i have applied to the london school of contemporary dance, northern school of contemporary dance, and laban. and i will be auditioning in march, april, and may! i am really excited that i have applied and will be auditioning. because i would have never been able to do this, if i was still living in tenn. and i feel like i would have been a total wreck of disaster and "lostness" if i tried to come to london to find these schools.haha. i could only imagine what that would be like.
lea sussman. thanks for telling me about some of the schools. i remember when we were chatting on the phone when i lived in midtown about schools in london, and you started to tell me of a few schools. and now i am here about  to audition for them. unbelievable. i remember thinking about how london would look. and i thought it would be greyer. in my mind the picture was so grey, but now i have such a real picture of the land. and it is fantastic.
things have been so entirely different. but i feel like i am pretty adjusted. i have been here for about a month. on feb 24 it will be a month. haha. wow. it feels like i just arrived yesterday.
i just thought of marcellus' cooking.lol. and how much i would love to eat some of his food. i actually want to challenge him to a cook-off because i have been making some fabulous meals for myself while i have been here. thanks mom for teaching me how to cook. haha. chicken tastes so much juicier if it is cooked in a wok. and veggies taste so much better if they are steamed! i have been eating a lot of steamed veggies and they are the BOMB.lol. yes. the bomb. i have also encountered oat cakes. which are sort of like crackers, but they are much thicker and tastier. i have been having oatcakes, grape tomatoes, brie, cheddar cheese cubes, and sliced lady red apples for lunch. haha. but this is one of the best lunch combos i have ever had. cheese and apples are a great combo. especially if you have some sharp cheddar cheese. mmm.mmm. good.  i don't eat them every  lunch. i switch it up sometimes. but it may become a staple.haha. i saw a younger guy in the asda( grocery store) grab like three boxes of them(oatcakes), and i was like "ooo...what are those" and so i had to try them. haha.  and they are delicioso.

my mind is going somewhat blank..ahaha.so this means this is the end. cheers.

sometimes i get lazy and short.

hmmm.connecting with people is one of the greatest things you can do on this earth. this weekend has been filled with connectivity. a friend of mine, holly, met a fashion blogger that sent her a ticket to one of the shows during london's fashion week on sat morning.  it was funny because we had a five hour conceptual thinking discussion on whether or not see she go.lol. but, i pushed her to go. but i wasn't going to let her go alone, so i hoisted myself together and we made our way to the Belle Sauvage show at 21-31 oxford street. i had one of those moments where i was the navigator.looking for the venue. finding a place in london is hard because they don't actually display those numbers outside of some buildings. but to our avail we saw a fashionista walking the street. and at once we knew we were going the right direction. so we followed her, and were met by a huge cue that wrapped around the warehouse like building holding the skinny models. haha.as we were in line we met two girls from new york, one named bea..and i forget the other girls name. but bea had an extra ticket to the show, so she gave me her extra ticket so that i could actually get into the show. but to our surprise the ticket the fashion blogger sent could be printed multiple times (according to bea).whewwwwwwwwww. exhalation. i had a big smile moment.haha.and after about five minutes we made our way into the show.

i love how they transformed this space into a runway. tried to snap a few shots of the area,  including the massive paparazzi,  but i find that my battery to my camera was depleted. bahaha. my luck. the room got dark and some house, funky, techno beat implodes into the space announcing the start of the show.

the first model enters the runway sporting a large round hat. i can't really say hat. because it was much larger than a hat. it was like she was wearing a  wide brown leather cake on her head that stretched to the sides of the runway. not nearly enough to touch the audience though.haha.  i would try to put my best fashion blogger skills to the test. but i digress.lol. there was a plethora of skinny models sporting afromohican patterns( minus the traditional colors), edges, and spiked shoes.  i don't know if african is the best word..but the edges. and lines that were patterned on the designer's clothes had that small essence. but at the same time. their was this european high edgy fashion feel oozing from the runway.  and just like a true art form, it vanished after about twenty minutes. i loved seeing the designer come out and give that final way at the entrance of the runway( which was that traditional white structure with two walls and a middle entrance.)

had some lunch after the show. saw matthew fox in soho at night. epic adventure.

wait.

wait. i also finished my last dance conservatory application. which was to laban. when i was at the post office the guy was asking me where i was applying. and we started to chat. and he commented that he hopes i glow like michael jackson. hehe. brightened my day.

fruit and nut wheatabix..

it has been a long time my friends. i am just going to tell you that i came down with the man flu which kept me from blogging. but i am back and ready. i had an interesting experience at the doctor because i couldn't just walk in to the office. i had to go to the emergency room waiting room. which took 2 hours. and smelled. horrible. they gave me a mask because i was having flu like systems. and i was very thankful for the mask because it not only deterred people from me. but it kept the smell away from my nose. they gave me penicillin which was nice. and sent me on my merry little way. this was actually last monday. wow. such a long time ago. but i have come back to normal health which is astounding.

can i just speak about stan and his uber goober hospitality. last weekend we went to the camden market in london and were swarmed with loads of shops.and great smells. they had people cooking indian food, south african food, chinese food, hummous(according to the english), etc. it was fantastic. one of the most interesting features of this market was the way it was constructed. a lot of the shops were nestled in horse stables. back in the day, before the market was started, the whole expanse of the market was a ranch with horse stables. it was so nice to see the arches giving you that feeling of being in a stable in contrast with the very modern shops that were selling quality t-shirts to trinkets and tinkers. hehe. we went into this one shop, cyberdog, which sold club gear. i am talking about hardcore club gear that lights up and comes with a small battery pack connected to your t-shirt. lol. it was so interesting because the employees were decked out in the gear. i mean they are a representation of the brand. lol. but it was just so funny to see an actual store dedicated to that one sole purpose.

after we traversed through the tunnels of the shop we escaped into the light and walked towards primrose hill. which was absolutely breathtaking. you could see the skyline of the city which housed the london eye, the london bridge, big ben, and other various places. the park is actually called regents park. and primrose hill is one of the many features of the park. it seems like a fabulous place to be during the summer. sitting on the lush green grass with a checkered picnic blanket. with your brie, crackers, and something else posh!

we had a very scenic bike ride from regents park to soho. which put my mind in a whole different view of london. i was a little timid in riding the barclay's bike at first..haha. i felt like i needed a lesson in the road rules, but i soon found out that a bike is considered a car on the road.  so i was ruling the road. with my bicycle!stan you are the man.

just a small highlight of the weekend.

now i am eating fruit and nut wheatabix. this cereal is a sponge.so each bite is a moist.umm.intake of deliciousness. i digress.

cheersxx

i really want to show you some pictures.they will come.as soon as i get the motivation.

we are humans..

i have been dying for human interaction on these public transit systems. lol. these people get on these buses and literally become robots until you ask them where the next stop is, or you dropped your gloves. their red light comes on and they are alive. on my way to see playback south i experienced this. in its most real form. a guy was running late for the train and i was just walking like a normal person and he bashed his body into mine forcing me to get on the train a little bit earlier just before the train doors closed.hmmm.i loved him for that. so much. so so much. and his robotness continued as he sat down as if nothing happened. what a load of rubbish.

i made my way to the angel station looking for the candid cafe to watch playback south, only to find myself lost and confused with that "everything looks new feeling" brushing across my eyes. lol. so i meandered around the town passed the cafe in this effort only to retrace my steps and find the cafe.haha. this is a typical journey in the city. luckily i find the cafe and the small space they were performing in. i met with joan and was able to have some coffee with her after the performance. "heather, we ate those chocolate pastries we loved from panera." these were just as delicious.

this playback theatre used a few different forms that I was not used to seeing.i.e. diamond chorus, magicalite/something or another and this term "free form" which they used to describe stories. one of the most memorable actors was Duncan.haha.he had a good spirit, which made him an interesting character to watch as he weaved in and out of the playback forms.

watching them was so nice. i was sort of cool just enjoying playback as an audience member. something i haven't done in a while. it definitely made me appreciate our conductor. VA.what a great woman.

we had such an interesting chat after the performance. there was one male who felt a little "ripped off" as he said for watching the performance. he thought it was just "practice" for the actors.as a audience member i listened to him and later revealed i was a member of a company back home.everyone can have their opionion.but little does he know that those actors were not acting for themselves, but they were giving of a gift.

the venue of this performance was in a very nice spot with this connecting trajectory of a side terrace that connected the cafe to the black box theatre space. genius.

classes have been grand. they had all of my books in their library. don’t have to pay for books.what? that is different. but i will definitely not argue with that one.haha.because i have to spend that money on the public transportation.muhaha.so it all works out.

my special study choreography and composition are tomorrow. i am so stoked for this class because i will be working with a composer to create an original piece of music to be performed with a new work that i will create in the class. i am on cloud nine. ah.my dream. look out collage dance collective.muah.

we are humans with human emotions and feelings, and we continue to be humans living.we will rock you tomorrow.can't wait...ahh...must get rest.muah.

one of the shoebox rooms

good energy...

today i was able to get a new orange mobile phone. hooray! they didn't use any of my top-up so that was grand. today was a great day filled with some great energy. i met a woman named, veronica who is the director of the playback theatre of london and boy oh boy did she welcome me to london. i met her at the london waterloo station. and she had the largest smile on her face. she was much shorter than me. about as tall as my nana, who is five feet. and she scooped me underneath her arms. as if i was her escort. haha.but i definitely needed to feel that love during these cold london winters. we traversed through the station and headed towards the london eye. which was beautifully lit with the sunrise beginning to seep back into its hiding space. she raced to show me the national theatre and the royal festival hall. i picked up the season brochures. and there was so much to be seen at these places. and i can't wait to return. we were able to chat over some tea and a blue raspberry sponge cake we obtained from the cafe inside the national theatre. it was really good chatting with her about her playback company and the opportunity for me to attend some of the rehearsals and see if i jive with the company. she is actually a half catonese.which I would have never guessed, but her spirit oozed of something delightful.

  after our chat she had to run to a business meeting so I was left in the national theatre listening to a folksy band and messing around with my new mobile phone. I proceeded to check out the various surroundings and I saw some interesting shops and exhibits. there was this children's exhibit where they made these little clay interiors of houses from shoeboxes. haha.they were delightful. nonetheless.

i was finally able to meet up with stanislav, from russia. kevin, my ballet teacher connected me with one of his local friends, so it was also a great time to get connected with another local. we were able to eat a japanese restaurant called wamabama..lol..i just walked downstairs to see the name of the restaurant on my to go bag. and i think i misspelled it.haha...and forgot all about it because on my way upstairs all i could think about was when stan pronounced nike as (nAIk). for all you ipa people out there. i believe that would be the proper way to say what he said.haha.cheers mate.

tomorrow is my first day of classes. and i am stoked. good energy is flowing. and  i hope good energy is flowing your way. until next time. muah.

pb and j day...

I wasn't able to get my phone back! what a shame...there was a girl who was standing in line who mentioned that I would never get my phone back...and I didn't believe her...but she may be right...I have one more day to see if I can get it back...but I think I'm just going to go back to the Orange Mobile company and see if we can work out something...I tried to go there today..but they were closed on Sundays

I found the banana muncher...the other members of the household!haha...

I feel weird saying this, but I am so READY for school to start at Kingston! I have been on one of the longest breaks of my college career! My course does not start until Tuesday...I am off every Monday! :)

Which is exciting, but man I feel a little like Jelly! So I have decided to take a ballet class in the morning at Pineapple Studios in Covent Garden! They have this day membership that you can acquire which is the equivalent to 3.18! So I will be able to take as many classes as I would like at their studio for $3! That is pretty exciting...to me...so I will try to get my body in order before classes start on Tuesday! Kingston has this great program called extracurricular courses that anyone within the dance program can sign up to take during the semester. They ranged from Contemporary dance techniques to ballet....and get this GLEE CHOIR is also one of the extracurricular courses you can sign up for!!! Haha...I will be able to keep up with my singing chops in the choir which is great!!Haha...but everyone on campus at Kingston said the choir is amazing! I wonder if they know of the show Glee...they have to know about the show! I wonder if we will have a Lady Gaga inspired week or something...hahaha...I doubt it.....BUT

The main courses I will be taking this semester are as follows:

Staging Posts (Theatre History)

Special Study-Choreography and Composition,

Hazards, Resources, and Society (Natural Science)

 Media Industries (Arts Management Course)

I will have a pretty jam packed semester with the extra technique courses I will be taking alongside theses courses, and I can't wait to be busy again....

I ate three PB and J sandwiches today....I didn't feel like cooking....

I can't wait to get my phone so I can have an alarm clock again! I wasn't able to go to church due to that very reason! I thought I would hear the family waking up, but that did not work out...and by the time I got in last night they were not awake... so I couldn't ask them to knock on my door in the morning...so I will be waking up with the sun tomorrow....but I will be there this Sunday for sure! The church doesn't have a service on Wednesdays which is a little odd...I wonder why...I have been in contact with this Church for a week and they are pretty excited about me coming to visit for a while...

I have also been in contact with a woman from a Playback Theatre in London...we were supposed to meet today too, but that didn't happen, but we will be meeting tomorrow after I take a few classes at Pineapple...we will be meeting at 4:30 for tea....that is her tea time...tea time is taken very seriously here...

She seems like a very genuine woman interested in making my London experience electrifying, so tomorrow shall be a grand day....

Life is good...England continues to surprise me everyday...tomorrow will be yet another adventure......

photos will be coming soon!

a bowl of cheerios..makes everything better

This entry may be hard to follow....I am at home now...eating a bowl of cheerios after one of the most eventful days! I don't know where to start, but I will start at the end and make my way to the morning and afternoon..I don't like periods...I feel like a blog should be a stream of consciousness..so this shall be a stream...flowing from the pits of my brain....I just left from spending a great deal of time with my friends in Kingston. It has been a day of losing and finding certain items. Earlier in the night when we were out...I was jumping...I love to jump...and my phone hopped from my pocket and landed onto the floor of the Kings Tun...Which is/and is becoming our favorite meeting place. As we left I realized my new mobile was gone and immediately headed back to find it...but I could not find it and I proceeded to join the group to our final destination.....I was informed that Sarah Elala called my phone and some interesting characters answered saying they had it and would meet us at Oceana at 11:10!!! So I was uber excited and we raced to Oceana to meet them, but 1 hour later no one came out with my phone! I was standing in the cold waiting for my mobile...asking several people to call it...one girl told me that I was a suspicious character and she would not call my mobile for me...lol...these London girls seriously think that someone is always trying to rob/take advantage of them, but I was honestly trying to find my phone. Even the security around me was not allowing me to make a call with their phone. It was very weird and disheartening, but nonetheless...I waited patiently for an hour and no one showed up...so I met back up with my friends told them the news and now I am hoping that I will be able to get in touch with those people who have my phone today...it was one of the weirdest things...I feel like there are a lot of sketchy people in this area so people are always on the defense when it comes to human to human interactions...one girl did call my phone...and I left a message...so we will see where it goes...I am hoping/praying that I will get a hold of them tomorrow...

But the earlier part of the day was magnificent. It started at 8:30am! I went downstairs to have a banana and some granola for breakfast and all three of my newly purchased bananas were gone. I need to speak to my landlady about this...because she was so quick to mention that I was on my own for buying groceries, but yet her children...or even "SHE" is devouring my bananas! Ha-ha...the banana muncher! I will find them soon...

I made my way to the bus stop and headed towards Perryhn road campus to be met by a touring bus that was taking the whole study abroad group to Brighton, England! Someone described it as being the "JERSEY SHORE" of England.  Brighton, England was a beautiful area that had a very enchanting beach...the water was crystal clear....the pebbles were...pebbles....one of the highlights of our tour occurred when we visited the Royal Pavilion. This structure was designed by John Nash, who also designed the Buckingham Palace...but the Royal Pavilion had a very different composition. The outside had a very Indian essence surrounding the whole structure while the inside of the palace oozed of "Chinese Disney"......which was spoken from the mouth of our tour guide.....hmmm...I am trying to remember the name of the royal person who would spend most of his time here...but I can only remember his description...as follows: he used this place to escape, which any visitor would realize if they were invited to his Royal Pavilion...the inside of the building seeped with 3D wallpaper that gave the illusion of things being deeper and wider...pushing the evidence of being pushed or sunken into a new space....he had many mistresses and illegitimate children...but he never had an heir to his throne...a ton of pedestrians would throw stones at his carriage because of all the pounds he used to make his getaway home....Grr...the name escapes me, but I will definitely be going back to the Pavilion in the summer time...because it would be so much nicer to walk around and investigate the narrow streets and corners of the town....which had so much character....there was a very bohemian or "alternative" section of Brighton...and there was also a very "Posh" section of Brighton with all of the chain shopping that you would expect in America....but the alternative section was a rich area to walk around, smell the great food, peek into the different shops, and marvel at the lifestyle...the energy....and the zest of the locals. Yes. There is a zest.

I am really excited about visiting a church tomorrow….I have been in contact with them for a few days, so this shall be fun. I don’t have an alarm since I don’t have my phone, but I usually hear the family waking up in the wee hours of the night, so I am sure I will wake up on time. The service starts at 10am. So I will have plenty of time.  I feel like a piece of me was lost today…”MY PHONE” but these manmade items are not a part of me...But I now feel a tiny disconnect from the new friends that I was starting to make…alas…I will finish this bowl of cheerios. Wake up. And it will all be better.

 P.S...Heather Burkeen would have loved the Architecture...I wonder if she knows John Nash...

I have arrived....been exposed

I am in a total frenzy as I sit here and type my first blog entry! I will provide you with a summary of the past few days!!I arrived in the Heathrow airport on Monday and I have been in London for 3 days!  Most of the houses are located on quaint zero lot lines with cars parked right in front of their houses.  Very minimalistic. I arrived at Kingston University to sit around and wait three hours for the taxi to arrive and take me to my homestead in New Malden. When I arrived, I was welcomed by a very skinny English woman. The house was once four flats, but they have been remodeling the house for the four years that they have been living here.  I stay in the very top of the house in a very large room with a soft twin sized bed!hehe! I feel like the room swallows the bed. The nights have been good here. I am still adjusting to the time-while experiencing jet-lag. 

Tuesday-I was able to get my oyster card and make my way to Central London. That was such an effort because I am definitely not used to using public transportation. Luckily, the London police were able to point me in the right directions. I was on my way to turn in my application for The Place (London School of Contemporary Dance.) My body was just ecstatic to see the building that I have heard, and learned so much about over my time in the states. I will be going on a tour next week. And I can't wait. The building is tucked away in the traditional English way, but the inside of the building is contemporary and gives off so much energy!!! Ok, I will stop with the energy talk....I digress

I was able to walk around the area a bit before it started to rain and so I headed back on the underground and made it home in time to buy some pretty cheap groceries and make my first meal of a Ham and Cheese Panini with apples.  I was unable to buy some fresh greens from the grocery store because my card would only work at this certain grocery store called Iceland’s.  Hopefully I will get some cash today and go finish my grocery shopping.

Wednesday- We had our orientation and finally received our timetables for our classes. I am still in the transition of selecting my classes, so that will be finalized soon. We start classes on the 31st. I feel like I have been on a never-ending break. My body needs a ballet barre. Hopefully I can remember Kevin's barre! After orientation I went on a walking tour of the Kingston campus and met a bunch of Swedish students who were studying law! Their names were Hampus, Sarah, Jolanda, and Leas! On the tour I was able to learn about how their government pays for their schooling, which I thought was very interesting.  And how no one in their country is allowed to carry guns! That is very different from Memphis! I feel like "everyone and their mama has a gun."  Our adventure continued to see the River Thames and the various shopping areas in Kingston! Jolanda spoke of a massive mall in central London in Convent Gardens that was "so posh!" haha! I love it! I can't wait to get all the English slang and share it with you guys! Haha! More to come! The adventure continued to a reception that Kingston University had for us in the KINGS TUN PUB. I found out a pub is a social meeting place. Not just a place for drinking. So there were tons of people sipping coffees or their favorite teas! The coffee here is considered "white coffee." I haven't been able to get an answer as to why people call it white coffee....but I think it is just referring to a certain type of coffee.  More knowledge will come over the next few days. The night ended with a visit to Oceana across the street where some friends and I went to check out their student night. This building was massive with four different levels to socialize and listen to great music! They had a very posh chandelier on the levels which made this floor very elegant. The highlight of the night was when they played songs by Jessie J! Haha...big shout to L-Boogie for the introduction to the Jessie J!

The night was concluded with a confusing journey to my home in New Malden. This was my first time taking the bus home so I was a little unsure of the right route. I got on the right bus, but got off entirely too early, so I had to walk a bit and hop onto the same K213! A local, Jared, was able to direct me to the right bus-stop! I made it home safely, had a bowl of cheerios and went to bed!