4 May
Wednesday. We had class like every Wednesday and went through our reviews of The Tempest that we had to write. Then we learned a little bit about the show we were going to see on Thursday, Little Eagles, which is about the man who started and ran the space program in the Soviet Union. It seemed like an interesting show, and we were all curious to see it, though at the end of class Rodger told us he wasn't going to make us because of the language. He made it sound like there were only a few f words and encouraged us all to come anyway, though it was our decision.
Then I came back to the flat and started working more on my trip to Scotland. There are six of us that are taking this trip, and we are going to have a blast! We're taking a train up to Edinburgh, then taking another train up to Thurso (northern Scotland) so we can take the ferry to the Orkney Islands. We'll spend a couple of days there, and then we're going to stay a day at Loch Ness before flying back to London. I'm so excited!! So on Wednesday, I bought the tickets for the flight home and for the rail from Edinburgh to Thurso. I found really good prices, which is why there are six people coming now (it was originally just three).
5 May
Thursday. We had the morning free, so a bunch of us were going to go take a bus tour (tickets provided by the program). When we woke up, however, it was raining, so we changed our minds. Some people went to Westminster Abbey and Buckingham Palace (they ended up just doing one...I can't remember which) while a few of us went to Primark. The store's right by the Marble Arch, so I took a picture with it.
Primark is a sort of 'department store' (if it can be called that) that is all over London. The best thing I can think of to compare it to is Forever 21, but that doesn't even compare. Every store is absolutely huge and are so incredibly crowded that there is a line all the way through the front doors to get into the dressing room. None of the stuff is super original, but it is really cheap. Most of the girls in my program have walked out of that store spending way more money than they meant to, and I almost fell victim to the trap. Thankfully, I ended up only spending eight pounds, and on a very cute pair of shoes that are also very comfortable and durable. Not sure I'll go back, just to protect myself....
That night we had the performance of Little Eagles. Though the idea was interesting and the set was actually really cool, the show itself was more than horrible. Why? Because the characters had no personality and no vocabulary. All of the characters were angry one hundred percent of the time, and the only word they seemed to know to express themselves was the f word. No one knew how bad it was going to be. I almost walked out of the theatre multiple times, and I should have. The sad thing is that if the script had been written by someone else, it would have been a beautiful and inspirational story. As it was, I just left feeling completely disgusted.
6 May
Friday. Today was a very good day! In the morning, we all met at the National Theatre, which is on the other side of the Thames (the same side as the Globe). We didn't cross the Millennial Bridge this time, but the bridge we did cross was really cool architecturally as well. I forgot my camera that morning, but we'll be going back, so I'll be posting that later!
The National Theatre is a big, modern building with three different theatres inside. One is a Greek style theatre, one is a regular proscenium, and one is a black box. Here are pictures (just from the internet) so you get an idea:
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| Proscenium Theatre (audience sees everything from the front arch) |
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| Greek Theatre (the one in the National is smaller and indoors, but the same shape and idea) |
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| Black Box Theatre (literally a black box. Every performance the stage and seating change. Has a huge amount of flexibility, but doesn't seat many people.) |
After the tour, we dispersed, and I prepared to go see Shrek: the Musical! I've been so excited for this ever since I heard it was going to be playing in London! I know it sounds weird, but the music is actually pretty amazing, and it's really inspirational. I'd already known the music before I went to see it, so I knew I would at least enjoy it. I actually got to see it the first night it performed in London!!
I had no idea what I was getting! The set was beautiful and imaginative, and very versatile. The costumes were fantastic and, in Lord Farquaad's case, hilarious!!! The show also spoofed every major Broadway musical (ex. Lord Farquaad talking about how he's growing bigger as ruler of Duloc, and the ensemble sings "And no one's gonna bring him down!" as green light covers him). I was laughing out loud throughout the entire show, and almost crying at some points. It was not what I expected, and it was so good! What was by far the most impressive part of the entire show, though, was the dragon!! It was seriously the coolest puppet I have ever seen, and it was HUGE! Everyone should go see it if only to see the dragon!!
7 May
In the morning, we went to the Globe theatre tour, and I again forgot my camera :( It was sooo awesome! We learned a lot about the culture of London during Shakespeare's time, and about whow ent to the theatre and why. We also learned more about the Globe and how it was formed, and that the recreation today was made almost exactly the same way that it would have been made in the 1600s, instead of using modern technology. It is a completely authentic building, even though it's not built on the exact same spot.
We also went to the Rose Theatre, which was built before the Globe and is currently being excavated. At the moment, it's preserved beneath a layer of sand and water so the remains don't deteriorate, but they've learned a lot more about early English theatres from studying it. It's interesting that the theatre first emerged by actors using bear-bating pits to put on their shows.
Once that was over, I came back to the flat and napped (cause I was exhausted) before getting ready to watch Doctor Who on the tele!!! For those of you who don't know, Doctor Who is a science fiction tv show on the BBC that is extremely popular here in the UK, and even has a fairly large following in the US. It's quirky and hilarious, but also extremely nail-biting! It's about a timelord (alien) called the Doctor, and he travels through time and space with his human companion(s).
Anyway, the new season started, and it's insanely intense! It was really cool to me that I was going to be able to watch the new episode of Doctor Who in the middle of London on the same time as everyone else in the UK. It was super exciting, and I was really frustrated when it ended. I want some answers, dang it!
Anyway....enough of that.....
8 May
Had church in the Lea Valley ward (took us about an hour to get to church, and it started at 9:00 AM). Everyone was really nice, but at the same time they know that we're leaving in a few weeks so they don't really care to get to know us. I was really tired and had a hard time staying awake, but it was still enjoyable. Some of the member's accents were really hard to understand.
I came home and worked on some of my writing, also watching some old Doctor Who episodes, before getting ready for a fireside from one of the stake presidents in the area. He lived through the London Blitz, so he was talking to us about the experience and what it was like here in London. I feel more and more every day like I am becoming a part of this culture and society, and I feel like I can really relate to them. Even though he was a really young child at the time, it was cool to hear things from the point of view of someone who was there, someone who went to sleep one night in a bunker and woke up the next morning to go to school and find the building wasn't there.
Anyway, that's been my week!! I promise I will never put off posting that long again! And I promise I will get more pictures!
Promises, promises...
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