Camden, Pete Doherty, and a man named Garth

Alright, so I have a crazy tale to tell. This tale can only be fully appreciated by well my flat mates, and Jenna, but I will tell it.

Monday I went into London with Elyse and Jenna. That was nice, we went to Camden Town. I wanted to see the pub that is used in Sweet, and the other one where Noel hangs out in. Jenna and Elyse wanted to shop. Okay. So we went, and it was raining a little bit throughout the whole day, not enough to really annoy me. Anyway, when we got to Camden, we went right to food. I ended up getting a burger, the pizza places weren't open yet... it made me very sad. Jenna and Elyse got Thai, I think. Anyway, we ate, and then looked around. One of the shops that Noel Fielding probably shops at was closed, and that was sad. We did go into a lot of the shops though, and I could see Noel in them having a good time picking out some cool clothes. I wouldn't wear any of them, but whatever. I did buy something for myself, something that has not come off since buying it. A hat. Pic's below.


I messed up what Noel Fielding does in Sweet, when he is front of The Elephant Head, aka the pub behind me. Sigh, I know... I should have watched it more. Sweet is a ten minute movie, aka the best ten minutes of my life. It stars him and Julian Barratt. So I bought a hat, Jenna got a cool Mod jacket.. it's so cool. We had a good time just walking around, quoting the Boosh, and looking at all the stuff. It started to rain a little harder, and we decided to leave. We went down to Oxford Circus, and to Carnaby Street. We went for the Mod stores basically, and well anything that could help us with Elye's Halloween costume. She is going to be Vince, and though he's King of the Mods, she is going more Electro... He dresses in tight jeans, fun, colorful shirts, and his hair is always amazing. So she going for his costume when he's in the zoo. I'm going to be Howard, but I can get his costume anywhere. So anyway, she did pick out a cool shirt, something like one that he wears in the show.

After she got the shirt, we went to a little cafe for a snack. There the European Chocolate Tour continued. I fell in love with this piece of chocolate cake... it looked like my piece from Norway. We sat down at a table, and I ordered the cake, but they brought me something different. It was still really good, but not what I was expecting. Elyse got it too. We were a little sad, but the cake was good. It had white chocolate chips in it, so omg wow. They really didn't like us there, we just got water since we were really thirsty, and that insulted them somehow. Argh annoying. But the cake was amazing.

After cake, we walked around a little bit more, went to the Pic, but then it really started to rain, and we called it a day. I went with Jenna to Surbiton, and then took the bus to the Bridge House.

That was Day 2.

The next day, Elyse and I went back in. She had a problem with the shirt she bought, it was green, and her jacket will probably be green, so big screw up. I think she got the pink one instead. We decided to go to Covert Garden, and I had a brain freeze for a little bit. I was in Oxford Circus thinking, where the heck is Covert Garden. We walked to Tottenham Court Road, and Elyse asked where the big screens were. She thought we were in the Pic, and then I thought it was near there... I'm still questioning that line of thinking. So I got us to the Pic, and then realised, no I'm an idiot. So we walked to Leicester Square, got gelato, and then made our way to Covert Garden. It was a pretty nice day so far... yeah to that. So we walked through the market, Elyse was considering getting a present for someone, but it was too expensive. I saw someone who looked exactly like Johnny Depp while we were there. I did about three double takes. I don't think it was though, there would be a mob. Johnny Depp cannot just walk around Covert Gardens... no way. He did have on like ripped jeans, and a weird shirt... but no it wasn't Johnny Depp. Or I will tell that to myself for the rest of my life.

After Covert Gardens, we took the Underground to Tower Hill, and did the walk from the Bridge to Waterloo. It was a nice walk, Elyse and I talked to whole way, basically about how we don't want to go home. Oh well. It is a long walk, and we were getting a little tired, but the clouds overhead were gathering, and we did not dare stop. We just got a look at The Eye when it started raining, and we tried to run to Waterloo. Elyse was wearing sandals, so she couldn't really run. The wind was unbelievable too, it was so not our friends. But we got to Waterloo in one piece, a little wet, but hey it's London.

As soon as we entered Waterloo, the sun came back out. Er London. Oh well, we had a full day of London so it was all good. I think I said good bye to the Tower of London, and the Bridge. I'm not sure I will see them again before I go, I don't usually go down that way. I don't think I'll ever forget the day I was walking along the Thames, and I saw this castle on the other side of the water. I thought what is this castle doing in the middle of London? I realised it was the Tower of London, but it made me very happy to see it. I was so lost in London then, now I know it pretty well. Seems that it was just yesterday that I had that day in London by myself. What a fun day that was.

So the next day in London was back in Camden. I went in with Jenna, and met Kathleen, her mom, and Mary there. Mary was here, she left about 4 hours ago. It was cheaper for her to fly from Prague to here, and then she stayed a day and a half, and then flew home. It was great to see Mary, she is really nice. In Camden, Kathleen's mom and I were human hangers for Kathleen and Mary. They were trying on everything, and in most places in Camden there isn't dressing rooms, but they would take off their jackets, and try on whatever dress caught their eyes. It was fun. Mary got a few things. Jenna got another jacket, this one is so her. It has a skull on it, skulls are cute to her. It was so funny. It was raining though, so after shopping in Camden we went back to Kingston. We did find Noel's pub, and Kathleen and I looked lovingly at it for about a full minute. It was pretty funny.

So the next day in London was today. Um. Jenna and I went in, and we went to Brick Lane, tried to find Graham Street and failed. Graham Street is where Julian lives... we aren't stalking, we just want to see it. But we failed miserably at that, and found ourselves around Liverpool Street. When we got off the bus, there was this church to our left, so we went down that way, and found this cool market. Well we went in, it had a lot of antiques and stuff. We were walking around, when all a sudden, Jenna told me to look to my right. I did, and there was this guy in a suit and hat. I thought he looked familiar, but I couldn't place him. Jenna said that it was Pete Doherty, which didn't click, and then she said, it was the guy that Noel made fun of in the Live Show. Then it clicked. So we kept looking at stuff, though Jenna did ask for a photo. We were very unsure of approaching him... he's not exactly nice to people. So I took a picture of him when he was looking at stuff, and then Jenna took one of me with him behind me. Oh Jenna.



We were so scared of approaching him though, and we never did. We opted for the pictures, though I heard some people talking about autographs. We actually went back to try and find him, but he was on his cell phone, and then he left. Oh well.

So after this market, we still had an eye out for Graham Street, but after doing a full circle... we just went toward the first Underground we could find. We ended up where earlier. Same Underground station. I'm still wondering how we did that. Jenna asked if I had been to Russell Square, and I said no. The front of the store in Black Books is in Russell Square, so we went to see if we could find it. We didn't, but we found something even greater. We went past the British Museum, and were walking back to Tottenham Court Road, when Jenna and speeching did not mix. Finally she blurted out that Moss was in front of us! RICHARD AYOADE! We just saw him at the Matt Berry concert! With him was Matt Holness aka Garth! In this show that Matt Holness wrote, it's a spoof on 80's horror TV shows. It's so creepy, but it is growing on me every time I watch it. Julian Barratt plays a priest in it, Matt Berry plays a doctor, and Richard Ayoade is the boss. It's not a very well known show, and was canceled, but Jenna found it. She was searching for anything that Matt Berry and Julian were in, and she came upon this show. So we met Matt Holness... wow. We doubled back, and watched them, because Jenna wasn't sure if it was him or not. I remember him from the show has having weird big glasses, and darker hair, so I wasn't sure. But she did approach him, while Richard Ayoade was in a store buying lamps, and he seemed so happy that we approached him. We told him a few times that we love his show, and think he's brilliant, and his smile just got wider every time we said it. It was so brilliant!

He told us that Richard was inside, and we were like, yeah cool, but your show is amazing. And then we got our pictures taken with him...

Yeah I'm still wearing the hat... maybe one day I might take it off. I like it though. But what an amazing day. We were just walking down the street, and we saw two of our favorites. Where is Julian and Noel??? Those two are the jackpot, but I like what we have been seeing so far. Elyse saw Michael Fielding, but she didn't get her picture taken with him, or a picture of him. Amateur. It's so weird that I am into all these TV shows, and I'm seeing the actors around London. I mean... WOW! I wish I could have gotten a picture with Matt Berry, or an autograph. Oh well, that would be amazing to meet him, I would def point in any picture with him, since he wins the prize at pointing.

So that ends my time in London. Tomorrow I am going to spend around Kingston, just taking pictures, taking it all in, spending time by the river. I think I'm spending my time left wisely.

The countdown begins

Well the countdown begins for some people... other people are trying to avoid thinking about it.

I have made my decision when I'm coming home... 14 June. That way, I will be over jet lag in time for Tuesday's game... so hockey starts again 19 June. I was going to come home 18 June, but then I realised, I don't have a stick, and I need to sharpen my skates, so I better get home a few days before.

I am also flying Virgin! WOOHOO! I love their On Demand thing... complete heaven. Makes the time go by so quickly, or I'm sure it would, if you aren't like shaking from excitement to be going somewhere...

So now that's done, and I'm planning out the rest of my time here. I have to go to Oxford and Ely, and spend as much time in London as I can. I walked from Trafalgar Square to Warren Street, which is one stop away from Euston... aka far up in London. I just walked in the rain for about an hour, on streets I have not been on before. It was fun. I didn't intend on going up so far, but hey I had nothing to do.

Amaya was in London with me today, she went to exchange money from one of her travels, I went too, but she didn't stay long. It was a little sad. So when she left me, I walked. I was back in Kingston around 6:30ish though for Sunday Roast at Coronation Hall. Um YUMMY! I had roast beef, with gravy, potatoes both mashed and roasted... and peas which I ate... I was so hungry for actual food that I plowed through it. I eat well enough, I just don't cook roast beef... so good. Too bad it wasn't pot roast.. I could have put ketchup on it! I went there with Jenna, Danielle, Kathleen, her Mom, and Jason stopped by for two seconds on his way to The Lamb. It was good.

Alright, well back to Black Books. I found out I cannot do anything else while watching Black Books, I laugh too much. It's a show with Dylan Moran, an Irish comedian, who is just soo funny. Jenna's friend Tara introduced us to his work, and then Jenna started watching Black Books, and she showed it to us, and now we love it.

The only way for a pirate to make a living these days is by betraying other pirates.

That is the theme of Pirates 3. AMAZING MOVIE. Warning. Spoilers.

Let me give you my professional opinion, well as professional as it can be. But being a great movie watcher, and not one who just watches the action... I thought it was a well made movie, a little confusing at times, but for those critics who did not like it because of that... IT'S PIRATES! When has Pirates been anything but confusing??? It's a fun, fun movie with Johnny Depp playing a character he loves to death. So what if one can be confused on who is screwing over someone else.

First of all, I saw it with Elyse and Amaya, and I knew Elyse liked it. We both laughed throughout the whole movie. I think Amaya cannot go three hours without texting Nye, because I saw her with her phone... what? Argh. Anyway.

Jack Sparrow so amused me. If one Jack isn't good enough for you.. there was many Jacks... it was amazing. I liked him in the second movie, but here it was more funny than the first two movies combined. Please, please someone give this man an Oscar! I don't see how he can't, everyone loves Jack Sparrow. He carries the whole movie, well most of it. Elizabeth is amazing, so I guess I should say he carries the trilogy. He is the reason everyone went back for more.

Speaking of Elizabeth... um excuse me? Pirate King? I was not expecting that. How cool. She really became the hero of this movie, and looked good doing it. She really has come far from the lady in distress like she was in the first movie.

Will Turner... okay I have a soft spot for him. Who doesn't know that one. I love them getting married during the fight, and that was well coordinated. Good job whoever makes up the fight scenes. Becoming Captain of the Dutchman... umm didn't see that coming. I had a feeling it wouldn't be Jack, because he wanted it, he wanted to be immortal. Will Turner will do the job that was suppose to be done by Davy Jones, and not turn into some monster... I just know it.

I cannot say enough about Hans Zimmer. Of course, he did Gladiator, but he pulled out ALL the stops for this film. I cannot wait to get my hands on this soundtrack. It's going to be amazing. Hans Zimmer is God, and I want him to get an Oscar for this. He didn't get one for Gladiator, which I still cannot believe, I have heard the American Beauty soundtrack, and it's nothing compared to Gladiator. So he better get one for Pirates. Hans Zimmer is the best composer out there, and he needs some more love.

Both Amaya and Elyse liked it, as I said before, Elyse and I laughed through the whole movie. The action scenes were so coool, I love when the monkey shoots off the firework, and then later gets shot out of a canon. UM HOW COOL IS THAT!

So good job Pirates... amazing. But stop there. No more. End. Say good bye. Great movie, but stop.

Matt Berry concert.. AHHHHHH

Alright, so even though it's 1am, and I'll be seeing Pirates in 12 hours, I needed to write, to tell you about my night. It was SO COOL! It was amazing, and I just wish it could have lasted longer.

We went to see Matt Berry in concert. Matt Berry is in Snuffbox, he's Dixon Bainbridge in The Mighty Boosh. I put a picture of him and Rich Fulcher below so you can see what they look like in the Snuffbox.


Alright, so Matt is on the right, and Rich on the left. Matt is not just an actor though, he sings and composes. He does all the songs on the Snuffbox, and he did the AD/BC Rock Opera, which is about the birth of Christ from the point of the innkeeper. Julian Barratt, Noel Fielding, Richard Ayoade, and Rich Fulcher are in it, and of course the most important.

We heard about this concert from maybe MySpace... that's where I always went to get information about it... Matt is my friend on myspace! Along with Rich Fulcher. Woohoo. Anyway, so we decided we had to go. So Jenna, Amaya, Kathleen and I got tickets, and were very excited about all it. We had hopes that maybe his Boosh friends would be there... you know maybe Michael Fielding (Naboo), Julian Barratt (Howard Moon), or Noel Fielding (Vince)... you know, we weren't asking that much. We had a feeling Rich Fulcher would be there, because they sing the Snuffbox theme together. So we went with high hopes.

It was at the Bloomsbury Theatre in Camden, by Euston station. We got into London, and up there by around 7:20ish. The show was at 8pm. We were walking down the street toward the theatre, and these guys walked past us. Well I was in front, and I stopped. It was Rich Fulcher. Kathleen didn't even wonder why I stopped, but Jenna started looking around, and she saw Rich Fulcher too. Kathleen should know by now that when I stop it is very important, and you should look around quickly. So that was the first of many times we saw Rich Fulcher. Anyway, we get to the theatre, get our tickets, and there he was again. I was all set to get a picture... anything, but Jenna was being very shy. We all hit the bathroom, and we were outside because it was hot, and we saw Rich Fulcher again. This time I was not going to let him go without a picture, so after some convincing, I got Amaya to come with me, and everyone got their picture taken with Rich Fulcher. Also, Richard Ayoade (Moss) from The IT Crowd was there, which made Jenna's day. I love Moss too, so I was excited, and I got my picture with him too. I was shaking, I was soo excited, and the show had not even started yet. These guys were just hanging out in front of the theatre. So COOL!




So when it was time, we went inside. We had great seats, I don't think there was a bad seat in this theatre. I wish we were a little closer for pictures, but it was still great. We sat in Row K. The opening act Jonas3, they were okay. Their first song was good, but then all their others just sounded like the first one... and they sounded like a hundred other bands I know, so it got really old quickly. I was also so excited for Matt Berry, that I really wanted them to get off. For the last part of it, Rich Fulcher was sitting behind us! Cool! It was so funny, whenever the doors opened and someone came in, we would all stare just hoping for Julian and Noel. We were convinced they would show up, and sit ohhh next to us.

And then Matt Berry came out. He has this amazing voice, it's very strong and unique, and he did this opening thing. I didn't really hear a lot of it, everyone was cheering and clapping. He sang stuff from the Snuffbox, the Rock Opera, his album... everything. Everyone was so excited when he sang the Hangman's Song. I was screaming... it was awesome! When he did the Snuffbox theme, Rich Fulcher came out and sang with him! I was so excited. They then went into the Swear Song which Rich and some others sing at the end of the third episode, or the 4th... umm one of them. Amazing. The second time he sang something from the Rock Opera, we really did think that Julian would come out, but nooooo. It was a little sad.

He made a lot of jokes with his back up singers, making fun of them, threatening to shoot one of them... the usual. When he introduced Rich, everyone cheered, and he was upset. We hurt his feelings. The screen behind them constantly had pictures on it, and it really looked like he googled his name, and just put up the pictures that he found. So funny. He sang one song about Hot Dogs, and it was gross. The slideshow had people like throwing up hot dogs... ewww. But it was a funny song. I need his album now!

His last song was about Unfortunate people... haha, and his slide show was celebrities who have fallen in popularity or have been in trouble about things they say. I didn't get it, until I saw a picture of Paris Hilton! HAHAH! I was surprised there was no Brittany Spears. Mel Gibson was up there twice...
Rich was so funny. He danced back and forth across the stage, and by the end he looked like he had been on stage for awhile. He was sweating, and his shirt was untucked... Matt looked just fine. He looked like he just came out from backstage! Love it!

Matt Berry was only on stage for an hour, which was a little sad. He was so great, and funny, and I would have watched him forever. When he said it was his last song, everyone pleaded for more. I loved it, it was amazing, and I'm so happy we went! I really wish Noel or Julian were there.. that would have made the evening even better.

After the concert, we stood around for a little bit to see if we could get an autograph, but he didn't come out, so we left. We got gelato in Leicester Square, and then went down to Trafalgar Square where they put grass down! It's just for the day, but we had to see this. It was interesting. It was about 11pm, and there was sooo many people just sitting on the grass drinking, and having a good time.

It was then that Amaya was messing with her new camera, and going on about how she needed to format it. She just got this new camera, and I have never formatted a memory disk thing for a camera. She said she needed it, since her 1gb memory disk was only giving her like 350 pictures, and I said, "Well don't format until you take those pictures off", and then she looked up at me and said, "Why didn't you tell me that before?" As I was talking, she formatted her camera, and Lost all her pictures. She had one of Matt Berry doing his point. Matt Berry deserves an award for being the best pointer in the world. He always points, it's just great! Jenna and I just shook our heads at her...

But it was amazing, the whole night was SO COOL! I cannot believe I met Rich Fulcher and Richard Ayoade! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Alright, I should go to bed. It's now 2am!

100 Posts!!!!!!

So this is my 100th post!!!! Wow, insane.

Anyway... I AM FREE! FREE! FREE! FRREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
I am so excited, I am so tired of studying! I've been going hard since 7 May, and wow I'm done. I took my test today at 3:30, and I seriously felt like I was taking my OWLs. There was 3 teachers walking around the whole time making sure we didn't cheat... we were writing essays so that is a little difficult to cheat, not that I have thought about it too much. But we each had our own little table, cell phones, anything in our pockets, water, the whole deal had to be put under our desks, our bags across the room, and we had to have our Student ID cards on the table. We had to sign something saying that we wouldn't cheat, and if we did we know the consequences. I was afraid to look at the ceiling. The exam was two essays, and I did them in ohhh 1 hour and 15 minutes. Shoot. The test was 2 hours. The British believe that you need like a half an hour to plan your essays, and of course I go right to writing. So when I was done I just sat there. I was afraid to move. But one of the teachers saw me staring at my pens, and asked if I was done. I ran out of there, and Alissa followed me like 5 minutes later. She didn't want to be the first one done either. The exam was okay, I think I did well.

Since being done, I have been celebrating.. Pizza Experts, and then out to eat with everyone, and then back here for Black Books. Another new good TV show, with the Irish comedian that I fell asleep during when I was in Cork... opps. But he is good, and really funny. We watched the rest of Season 1 today, it's amazing.

Last night was so funny. Elyse called me saying she was at Wags, and sitting across the restaurant was Michael Fielding. Of course she said, "I'm sitting in Wagamama's in Putney, and looking at Naboo." I thought she said the zoo, but no she said Naboo. Michael Fielding... Noel's younger brother. I was very mad... I yelled, I begged for an autograph, for her to kidnap him... anything. I also asked if Dave Brown was with him, or Julian... Noel... anyone. She didn't get an autograph though, or anything. I told her that I am going to have to turn my back to her. It's Naboo's favourite line. After I got off the phone with her though, I went to Fridays, where the girls were celebrating Cassie's 21st, and I told them to the news in person. I needed to see Kathleen's face, it was a mixture of tears and anger. Hahah.

Matt Berry is tomorrow... I am so excited. Jenna, Amaya, Kathleen and I are going, and rumour on the streets says that whenever he sings the theme to Snuff Box, he doesn't sing it alone. Woohoo. Which means Rich Fulcher is going to be there. We are hoping that Noel Fielding and Julian Barratt will be there too, they are the two main actors in The Mighty Boosh.

Oh well, time to go. I'm tired and I need sleep... too much studying is bad for you.

Half Done

Hey, so I need a break from The Lonely Londoners... it's an horrible book. I'm studying for my Fiction and Social Change test, but I need a short break.

I'm half done, I turned in my Children's Literature paper yesterday, and rewarded myself with a milkshake with Sammie and her boyfriend Kamran, and then after hanging out with her for a while, I met up with Kathleen, Jenna and Danielle at Lloyds. Milkshakes with Sammie was good, we went to the shake place down the street from me. I got a Twix shake, basically they blend a twix with ice cream... YUMMY. After shakes, we came back to the Bridge House, because Sammie has never had a girl scout cookie. I KNOW. They have girl scouts, but no cookies. About a month ago, I heard that I was being sent a package, and I prayed that girl scout cookies would be in it, and I was telling Sammie about this before class, and she just looked at me and said, "They aren't just in the movies?" I laughed, and I promised her a cookie or two, if I got them. So she and her friend both tried one, they had Carmel Delights, and they liked it! I was very happy, since Carmel Delights are my favorites.

We then went shopping at the Bentall Centre, Sammie needed a jacket, which was found and bought... and I met up with the girls at Lloyds. I promised Sammie that we would hang out again. So she's graduating this year, but the ceremony isn't until next January. I don't know why, I asked, she couldn't give me a good reason. But next year, is going to King's College and doing nursing. She is going from Drama and some English to Nursing. Go figure. I'm going to miss her, she did promise to come to the States when she is done with uni, but I guess she has been making that promise to someone in Illinois too, so maybe it will happen. She wants to come for Thanksgiving, again she has only seen it in the movies, which I laughed at. Poor Sammie, no girl scout cookies or Thanksgiving.

Last night, Kathleen rented Casino Royale, and it wasn't bad, but it didn't feel like a Bond movie. The music threw me off, and he didn't care about his drinks. There was one part, he ordered a martini, and the waiter said, "Shaken or stirred?" and he responded, "Do I look like someone who cares?" Bond always cares about his martini... it threw me off. It was okay, I expected better. I wasn't as vocal in my dislike of it as Jenna and Danielle. I told them to be quiet so many times, they thought it was okay to talk during movies. No it isn't, biggest pet peeve in the world, and no one cares. I try and respect other people's pet peeves, but no one cares about mine. Argh.

I keep thinking about how much time I have left... I will admit to panicking a little bit. Kathleen, Jenna and Amaya are so apart of my life that the thought of not seeing them scares me. I'm sure I'm repeating myself, but I wasn't scared about coming, but I am about leaving. I'm reading The Lonely Londoners, and the character always is talking about Notting Hill Gate, the Pic, Waterloo, Kensington... all these places that I know, and I love. I won't see them next year, I won't be able to stalk Camden Town, which I haven't done yet, that's my next trip to London, but we have plans... finding Graham Street where Julian Barratt lives, okay yeah we are stalkers.

Oh well, I better finish this stupid book before Hollyoaks, it will make me feel so much better to have it out of the way.

I am alive

Hey, so I just thought I would write, and yes I am alive. I've been writing a paper for ohhhh well since Wednesday night, and now Sunday night I finally have 2588 words!!! WOOHOO! It's suppose to be 3000 words, and I have not written my conclusion, or put in footnotes yet. Sooo excited. My paper is about Narnia and Peter Pan, and how there is too much violence in them. For a draft, it's not bad.

Other than writing I've been watching Robin Hood, and my new favorite show Snuff Box. In Snuff Box is Matt Berry and Rich Fulcher, two of the actors from The Mighty Boosh. It's very different from the Boosh, but just as funny. Matt Berry's character owns a gentleman's club, and he and Rich also work as hangers! It's amazing, they sing songs, and Rich Fulcher dresses up as David Beckham in a skit where he is a repair man... it's just amazing. That brings my British TV shows up to 5... The Mighty Boosh, The IT Crowd (another good one), Snuff Box, Robin Hood, and Hollyoaks. Um all but two have the same actors in it... hehe.

But other than watching TV for a distraction I've been doing basically nothing. I talked to Tooch today, who is in Paris. Tooch is a hockey friend, we go to USM together. She is going to Paris and then to Spain and then Rome. She got really defensive when I said Paris was the dirtest city in Europe... she said it's cleaner than NY and Boston, but they don't smell like Paris. Not that I have been there, but Nguyen, Kathleen, Cassie and Amaya have been there, and they all agree. It's something that is just known.

Well better go, tonight I leave the Bridge House... scary. We are going to Seething Wells for a pizza night with Jenna and watch Matt Berry's AD/BC Rock Opera, which I way too excited about. P.S We might be seeing Matt Berry in concert...ahhhhhh

Changing of the guard woes

So since I last wrote I took a cruise on the Thames and had a wonderful time. It was a great farewell from the Study Abroad Office, Jen, Philip, and Alison were all there, and Jen of course was in party mode. Philip's eyes widened a few times at Jen dancing... hehe. Love Jen. The tour went up past Hampton Court Palace, and past it for about an hour, turned around, and then went past Teddington, and then turned around. Good times.

Of course the next morning came really early. I was up around 9am for some reason, and I decided I might as well get up. Elyse and her cousin Jen were going into London, and to see the changing of the guard at Buckingham. It's at 11:30am, so I got there around 11am. UM with the amount of people there I was sure the Queen was going to make an appearance. It was insane. I called Elyse, and asked where she was, and we played the fun game of trying to find each other. We did, of course, and it wasn't hard. They were pretty close to the gates. They were amused to see me, who gets up at 9am on a Saturday???

Anyway so the Changing of the Guard on Saturdays has a band! The guards and band march up from some street, or maybe from another the Palace, not sure, and they march into the gates, do a few songs, come out, go around the gates, go back in, and repeat. It's basically so everyone can see them... I guess. But when we could see the guards, Elyse, Jen and I basically got molested. Someone had their arms around Elyse's head to take a picture, someone was using my shoulder as a camera stand... argh. It was pretty annoying. And of course being me, very annoyed, I said, "They don't even have the coolest guard uniforms... Athens wins there." I got a few looks for that, but it's true. Yeah the black hats are funny as anything, but the Athens guards are in skirts, funny hats and puffs on their shoes. They win. Elyse recorded a few of the songs that the band played, but then the two of us couldn't handle it any longer, so we got out, and retreated to Green Park to wait for Jen. We sat on a wall, and just talked. It was cool.

When Jen joined us, we went over to Westminster, and she went into the Abbey. Elyse and I went into a pub to wait for her. We got some chips... it was really cool. Elyse and I haven''t hung out that much, so it was nice just to sit and talk.

When Jen joined us, we got lunch, and it was sooo good. Just a BLT, but it was yummy. After that, I took her on the touristy tour of London: Downing Street, Horse Guard Academy, Trafalgar Square, Pic, Leicester Square, and some of Soho. I showed her Chinastreet. After that Jen asked if we could go to Abbey Road. ARGH. She mentioned this during lunch, and I had texted Jenna to see where it was. I had a feeling it was up by St. Johns Wood, but my level of caring was pretty low.

So we went up to St. Johns Wood... and it was pretty easy to get there. We were looking for it, and I saw this wall with a lot of writing on it, and I thought 'um... this might be it'. For a second, I looked at Abbey Road Studios, and I thought 'hey the last shot of Lord of the Rings was shot here, and Gladiator was scored here'. I cared for a little bit, but then good feeling was gone. Jen and Elyse did the walk, Elyse almost was dragged, and I refused to do it. There was a bunch of guys sitting on the wall by the crosswalk, and I'm sure they sit there all the time, and just laugh at tourists.

After that, I went home. Elyse and Jen were going to Harrods, but that was out of my way, so we went our separate ways. Actually, we went on the Underground together until Green Park, and then we separated. I took the train to Surbiton, and then the bus to the Wick. I love doing that, I think it's about the same time, but I like the switch between the train and the bus. On the bus, I always sit on the top in the front seat... it has my name on it. All 281 buses have my name on my seat.

Sunday I started studying for my Global English test. Fun times. On Tuesday, I redid my myspace page instead of studying, and it looks amazing. For the Boosh fans out there, they love it, for those who have seen the Boosh they think it's over done. It's amazing. But I will have you know, that I think I aced the exam, it was actually somewhat easy, and half of what I studied, I didn't need. That is why I hate tests... give me a paper.

Tomorrow I start working on my Children's Literature paper again. I started a week or two ago, but had to give up, so I could concentrate on the exam.

Oh well, it's about midnight, I should get going, I have to clean the floor.

How Time Flies when one plays Charades

So I thought after all my posts about my vacation, I should bring everyone up to date. I did talk about school ending, my last class is in 4 hours, and then exams starting. Ewww. I have my first exam the 9th, it's for Global English. I was talking to Francisco, one of Victor's friends, who is in my class, and from Spain, and his jaw was on the ground when I said no I haven't studying yet. Apparently he started during vacation??? I have plenty of time, I plan to start Sunday, and go full at it. Thankfully this time around I don't have to write 5 papers, just two exams, and two papers. One of my papers will be interesting, it's for my Narrative class, and I have to expand a piece of creative writing from a seminar class, and then critique myself on it. Not looking forward to the critiquing part... For the piece I have a few to choose from, so I'm not sure what piece I'll do yet. I don't have to worry about that one for a week or two. My Children's Lit paper is already making me angry. There is no criticism on C.S. Lewis. Well barely any. I search C.S Lewis or Narnia, and I get Tolkien. Why couldn't we have read The Hobbit? Oh yeah, because my teacher thinks Lewis is a genius for taking everything important in our world, and putting it all into one book, while Tolkien is not a genius for creating at least 3 languages, and the complex world of Middle Earth. Um. Go figure. I love Lewis, but he is random, and a little over the top with all the religious stuff. Anyway, I might have to change books, and write a paper about yes there is too much violence in Peter Pan and Wind in the Willows... maybe. Narnia is a prefect book to write about, but can't find anything to back my thesis up. So angry.

Anyway, it's weird, I keep having these conversations with my friends about leaving. I don't know why, no one wants to talk about it, but we do. I had a long one with Monica the other night, who thinks my prophecy about being forced on the plane just might come true. She is here until the 19th of June at least, and was telling me that she does not want to leave at all. I don't blame her, I don't want to leave, and neither does anyone I know. I knew this would be a fun experience, but it's been something out of this world! I'm going to miss everyone, Baz and Martin too. Martin is just so cute, he's like a cute little 12 year old, and then I'm going to miss Baz's laugh, it's so funny. We imitate it a lot... hehe. I'm so going to miss our family dinners, we sit around and watch the Simpsons and Hollyoaks. Well not the Simpsons every night, but at 6:30pm, we are all in the kitchen, expect Baz... weird.

Elyse told me the other day that she wishes she did a year. I asked her if she could hear the whispering voice in her ear saying, "Told you so", and that it was me. I'm cruel, but I did tell her she should do a year. Who listens to me though? I couldn't imagine just doing a semester, there is so much I still long to do, but I'm running out of time. I feel that I've really emerged in the culture, and I fit in a lot better than I did when I first got here. I can understand Baz and Martin, that deserves a prize in its own. I mean, I have to get use to the accents, and then Baz is from the north, so that's a whole different accent. It no longer confuses me when he says, "All right?" as a form of greeting. When I first got here, I would be like, "yeah you?" Now I just say "hey, whats up?" I don't care whats up, and he doesn't want to know how I am... I get it.

The title of this entry goes to last night, we watched Lost of course. Every Thursday, I download it, Jenna comes over, and we watch Lost. It usually involves us screaming like girls, especially when the two people got buried alive, or when Charlie might be killed, oh wait that's just me. I'm so glad I got Kathleen and Amaya into Lost, it's no fun watching it by yourself. But after Lost, we played charades in my room. We did movies, and at first I so not into it. I acted out shooting an arrow, and Amaya guessed Robin Hood. Yeah I was not into it, but by the end I was climbing into my wardrobe trying to act out The Insider. LOL! I did that and kept glaring at Maximus, but no one got the hint. The first one was funny, Kathleen kept leaving my room, and then pretending there was wind, and Jenna could not get it. I was trying to find a preview for next week for Lost, and without even looking up, I said, "Gone with the Wind." I was right. Lol! Jenna was so mad. The other good one was when I did The English Patient, and I kept pointing at the wall, well next door to me which is Martin's room, and they finally figured out it was Martin, and that he is English. So then I did second word, and I started to fall to the ground in a controlled way, to be a patient, and Amaya said, "The English Patient", and I guess I was disappointed that she got it, that I really just fell to the ground, and yeah that hurt. I lost control... floor is not soft. We laughed about that one for awhile. Or Amaya did the Mighty Boosh... and she was playing with her hair, and sticking it up, and she was trying to show Vince's hair... I got it, not even sure why I said the Mighty Boosh, but she was just being a mod. We played for a while though, and acted out Hot Fuzz, English Patient, The Insider, What's Eating Gilbert Grape, From Hell, Pirates, Narnia, The Mighty Ducks, Alpha Dog, The Count of Monte Crisco, Crash (I fell into Amaya for that), um so many others, all from our movie collections. It was so much fun, but before we knew it, it was getting late. Before Jenna went home, I made tea and put it in my Harrod's teapot, I promised Jenna I would make tea for her using it. She loved it.

I guess I tell the story of charades, because this blog goes places, tell stories of dreams, and yet a lot of the time I hang around Kingston, and the Bridge House. We have so much fun doing nothing, playing a game of charades, or sitting around drinking tea. Right now I'm laying on my bed watching the Tutors, and just writing. I should be eating, because I did promise to arrive at class a little early. I guess times like last night are the ones I will miss the most, well other than traveling around Europe. The friends I have made here: Kathleen, Amaya, Jenna are three of my dearest friends I have. I know everyone says this, and I do many times, but I can't think what I did without them. Especially Kathleen and Amaya... I spend so much time with them, but I never grow sick of them. My thoughts these days are constantly on the thought of going home, and I just hate it. I do love America, I am eager to see everyone, BUT, then the thought plagues me if I ever will see the girls again. Will I ever see Sammie again?? Argh. I did know that leaving would be different, but this is going to be the death of me. And I know that my parents must love this entry.

But that's about it. Elyse's cousin is here, so I might be going into London with them tomorrow. We had lunch the other day, we went to Lloyds, and they liked that. The Kingston Study Abroad Office is saying goodbye to us on a cruise of the Thames... oh yes, so exciting. I heard a few girls are really dressing up for this, like in real dresses, and I laughed at that. Jeans and a blouse all the way. We will be going like to Richmond and around that area, not to London sadly. That would be fun!

Well I suppose I should get going, I have to do a presentation today in class about the English situation in America. The making English the official language stuff to be exact. My group is made up of Alex, who is Greek, Francisco and Brian who are Spanish, and Tariq who is English.. and then me! They let me choose the question, so of course I picked the one on America... am I stupid??? I did have to help them figure out who's who, and what are reliable sources, but it's been fun. We present today in the form of a debate, and it's Tariq and I against the other boys. Tariq and I are pro english... woohoo. Of course before we start the debate, I have to tell everything I know about American history in about 2 seconds. So much fun, I have to talk about 1776, and I love doing that in England. I always want to go, "England lost? Against who? Farmers what?" Hehhehe.

Wish me luck!

Me, Rome, and a lot of happiness

So our last hours in Rome had me down by the Colosseum. Kathleen and Danielle were too tired, and hung out at the hostel, but there was no way I was wasting my last hours in the hostel, or anywhere but the Colosseum. I was up and going by around 9am, and I walked down to the Colosseum. After staring for a few minutes, I walked the Via dei Fori Imperiali, it's the street leading to the Colosseum, but also the one that has the statues of the Emperors. I stood at each forum, Augustus, Caesar, Trajan and Nerva's forums. They are all just ruins, but I still enjoy looking at all of them trying to imagine what they use to look like. Augustus and Trajan had the biggest forums, which is not very surprising. I laughed a little bit at Nerva's forum, I mean it seems a little out of place. Who knows anything about Nerva?? Not me, but I do know a lot about Augustus, Caesar, and Trajan. It was a good time just walking among the forums, staring at the statues... just so cool. You have no idea how excited I was also to find a statue of Julius Caesar... it doesn't say that its Caesar, but it's next to his forum so I assume. Or it might say, but it's in Latin so yeah not completely sure. Oh well. I walked ever so slowly around the forums and on the street, just staring, soaking in all the history. To think that Augustus walked in the forum of Caesar and his own... sigh. Marcus Aurelius walked around the forums too... I mean what an amazing place.

I did end up around the Colosseum... I mean it was just there, so how could I not go up to it again. I walked around it just taking it all in. I was actually on the search for via Marco Aurelio, and I found it easily. It's right near the Colosseum. It's just an ordinary street, filled with cars, and houses. Still it was cool to be on a street named after Marcus Aurelius. I walked back to the Colosseum, and sat down on a wall, and just stared.

Let me see if I can even start to say what was on my mind as I was looking at the Colosseum. I kept thinking about fortunate I was to be in Rome, to be in this amazing city, with so much history, in the one place that I have been dreaming to go to for a long time. I never imagined in a hundred years that I would actually go to Rome, and see all that I have seen. I've had the most wonderful year, I've been places, seen things, that last year I didn't think was possible. But here I am. I try and not think about it, but soon I will be home in the States, and the opportunity to travel around Europe will no longer be available to me. I won't be able to sit by the Thames and just do nothing, or sit in a pub and just talk over a pint. I had a lot of dreams about this year, but it's nothing like I thought it would be... it's ten times better. My thoughts also kept going to the Colosseum, this giant building right in front of me with so much history inside of it. A building that has seen so much death, people, and Emperors... just so cool. It was built for the people, and even 2000 years later, it is still for the people, but just not Romans anymore but everyone! People come from all over to see the Colosseum and just wonder at it's size. I also thought that it is a good thing I didn't study in Italy, well Rome, or I would never leave the Colosseum. Hahah. Class? What, who needs it when you have something like the Colosseum!

I did leave after being there for awhile, very reluctantly of course. As I walked down the road away from the Colosseum, I kept looking back trying to take it all in. There was this guy behind me, who I probably scared, oh well. I will admit that I had a tear in my eye as I turned the corner, and the Colosseum was gone from my view. It took every inch of my will power to turn the corner... I just didn't want to. I never have to look at a picture of the Colosseum again though, I can see it as clear as day in my head, and I have a feeling that it won't fade easily.

After I left, I went back to the hostel, but stopped at our pizza place. I had to go in for one more dose of abuse. The guy gave me a smile when I entered, but nothing else exciting happened. It was a little sad. But I brought the pizza back to the hostel where Kathleen and Danielle were just hanging out with Nate, one of the guys who works at the front desk. Nate was a little insulted that I brought pizza back without getting him some, but oh well.

After I ate, we had to go, we caught a bus at the train station to the airport, and then went home. I so did not want to leave. Italy was amazing, such a cool trip, and I want to go back. Well okay I want to go back to Rome. I would love to see the rest of the country, but as always Rome is a priority.

Well that's my spring break. Finally finished posting about it.

Where dreams do come true

So our last full day in Rome started early again. Being out last full day in Rome, I didn't want to waste a second. I got the other girls up at 8am, and we were gone by 9ish. Actually, since I passed out at 9:30pm, I woke up around 6ish, fell back asleep, and got up around 7:45am. I showered, and had a nice HOT shower... it was so sweet. The girls took showers the night before, and there was no hot water. Greg took one too, and he also had cold water. I had the pleasure of listening to everyone complain about the cold shower during breakfast after I had a nice hot shower. Heheh, so evil. Kathleen though fell asleep with my MP3 Player, two books, a pen, and a few other items in her bed. I made fun of her for awhile about this, she did the same thing in Oslo... oh Kathleen. Anyway, after breakfast, we first went down past the Colosseum, it was on the way to the Circus Maximus, which was our first stop of the day. I was determined to see everything left on my list, and I would accomplish this if I had to drag Kathleen and Danielle around Rome. I almost did.

Hill to be so large, from the Colosseum it's about a 5-8 minute walk to the Circus Anyway, we walked the Circus Maximus. I was a little surprised at it's location, it's right across the street from the back of the Palantine Hill. I'm not sure where I thought it would be, just maybe not so close to the hill where all the emperors lived. I also did not imagine the PalentineMaximus, and the whole time the Palentine Hill is on your right. The Circus Maximus now is just a big field of grass, with a dirt track going around it, and a ruin here or there... so basically nothing. I still liked it. I mean how can I not like anything that is Roman??? Unless of course it's something that Commodus or Nero did. We saw some cool puppies playing tag on the grass in the field... it was so cute. There is just something about puppies playing around ruins... adorable.

After the Circus Maximus, we tried to go to the Aventine. Danielle hit me for wanting to see it, but come on Lucius Vorenus and Titus Pullo lived in the Aventine in HBO Rome. They aren't fictional characters either, they are mentioned in some book of Julius Caesar's. Since I really like both the characters, I thought, hey since we are in Rome we should see where they lived. Also the Aventine can be thought of as one of the first mobs, HBO Rome is somewhat real, and the Aventine is really important, and very mob like. But on the map it looks like a park, but really it's something with a gate around it. Argh, oh well, so I just took a picture in front of the gate, and pretended it was the Aventine.

I also suggested, well more like pushed for the Capitoline Museum. The other two had no idea why I would want to go there, but I mean it's the best museum in the world. I tried to tell them this, but all I really knew that was there was the Marcus Aurelius statue and the she-wolf statue. Of course if Marcus Aurelius is involved, do I need another reason??? Kathleen was up for anything, so we started to make our way there. On the way, we passed the island in the Tiber. I remember from Rome class hearing about the island, and there was a hospital on it once. We went onto the island, and just looked around. There was nothing really special about it, there are a few shops, a statue, a church... um nothing of great importance. We didn't really spend a lot of time there, so we probably missed a lot, but oh well. We crossed back over the river, and kept going to the museum. We passed the Baths of Caracalla along the way, and went through the Jewish section of Rome. On that street, there was a group of gentlemen sitting in the shade, dressed in suits just sitting, and talking. Only in Italy have I seen this, and I love it. The ability to sit around, and do nothing for a few hours really boggles the mind. I cannot imagine doing that.

To the museum... this was so exciting. I saw the museum from down the street. There was two buildings, and in front of both is a man on a horse. I pointed ahead, and said that Marcus Aurelius is in front of the museum on his horse. I didn't realize that both buildings have a man on a horse in front of it, but I knew which one was Marcus Aurelius. I never mistake him. It was great, walking up to the museum, and looking at the statue. I know, of course, that it is not the original statue, but I stare at any statue of Marcus Aurelius. I couldn't wait to see the original. We quickly got tickets, and started our way through the museum. Danielle did not come with us, she was still having money problems. Kathleen and I basically predicted it, but we figured that her bank saw the card being used abroad, and shut it off thinking that it was stolen. Not only did that happen, but her job didn't put her checks in her account... so we were half right. Danielle would not hear of either explanation. Oh well.

Kathleen and I went through the museum... what a great museum. We didn't follow the correct path we think, a big school group was going through, so we first went up some stairs, and saw who you ask.. oh Marcus Aurelius. There was a bust of him and Hadrian, and then some wall carvings of him coming back to Rome from Germania, and him with the people. What a way to start the museum. We then went through some rooms with a lot of paintings, and boring stuff, but found our way to the room with the statue of the she-wolf with Romulus and Remus. I stood back, and just looked at this statue, the figures in this statue are what founded Rome... or so says the myth. If it's true or not, I was taken back by it, it's a very cool statue. Kathleen, in all her wisdom said that if you think about it, Rome, one of the greatest empires EVER was founded on a lie, a rumor you could say. Empires are nothing without a good story for the founding, and a she-wolf raising it's founder is a pretty good story. Just about as good as Rome being founded by the cousin of Hector, and a survivor of the Trojan War. It was just so cool to see it.

orders... um might have to put aside my dislike for a moment or two. I mean without Marcus Aurelius would not have been made a god... Not far from that room, was a hall of statues. I was looking at one of a boy, who resembled Caracalla, or so the sign said. He did look mean. I was looking at that though, when I just got that feeling that I was close to something... something really important. I ventured into the next room, and there it was... the big statue, the one I have waited to see for a very long time. The original Marcus Aurelius statue, the one with him on the horse. Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh. I walked into the room ever so slowly, my eyes never left the face, the horse, the face... the whole thing. I just couldn't believe that I was looking at the original statue of Marcus Aurelius. I was reading something about the statue, and the sign said it took them awhile to figure out who it was... um it's pretty obvious to me. He looks the same in every statue, well expect the ones where he is a younger man, but give him the beard, and he looks the same. Oh well. Even today, I still cannot believe that I actually saw the statue, I mean it was created just a few years after his death (they think). Of course this thought just came to me that it was probably on Commodus's orders. Ummm okay dislike aside for about 5 seconds. Anyway, I took my picture with the statue too, I felt like a geek, but Kathleen was just waiting for me to hand over my camera.

After the statue, we saw the remains of the Temple of Jupiter, and then a few statues of Hercules. This museum was so confusing, all the signs were in Latin, so I just looked for Augusto, or Marco Aurelio, and yeah that's all I could read. I did have a map, and there was big signs in every room telling you what each was, but I'm really not sure how much I believed them. There was one statue of a naked man, and a woman... and the sign for the statue said Marcus Aurelius and Faustina the Younger. You really don't see naked Emperors though... I think there is one of Augustus, but he's not naked... it really confused me. But it was the only statue in the room with a couple, so it must have been them. Of course the man also looked more like a Greek than an Emperor, and to my knowledge Marcus Aurelius did not hang out in Greece. I was not amused.

This museum got the award for being annoying, and confusing. I was also looking for a statue of Cicero, and I couldn't find it. I didn't know what Cicero's name in Italian is... it's Cicerone, so makes sense, but I didn't really think about it. The room his bust is in, there is also one of Marcus Aurelius, and that confused me, until I realized that it was the Hall of Philosophers, so yeah it would make sense that both of them were in this room. In the next room was the Hall of Emperors. A sign said that it was in chronological order, which was untrue. There was a bust of Commodus next to Augustus, which I find insulting, and not in chronological order. There is about 200 years between them. There is no fooling me. There was also a bust of Livia, who umm was not an Emperor. She might have acted like it, but she wasn't. Kathleen found Nero, which she was very proud of. I looked at one, he had way too much detail in his shoulders, and I thought who deserves this treatment, and I really didn't need to look at the sign, if I looked at the face first I would have realised it was Caracalla. Caracalla always looks like he is about to kill.

We left the museum after getting really lost, we got a good view of the Roman forum, and the Colosseum from some balcony. It was great. We saw the huge statue of Hercules, which Kathleen loved. She is a huge fan of Hercules. But we left around 1pm, the time we were suppose to meet Danielle. We went in search of a cafe, and we did. We were both in the mood for pizza... um imagine that. We didn't get it though, they just served it at night, so we just a bowl of pasta. It was good. After we ate, we got some gelato, and it was the best that I have ever had. They put whipped cream on TOP! ahhhhhhhh, I was in heaven!!! I got my usual chocolate, and chocolate chip... so good.

We then went in search of a park below the Vatican, and it's not so much of a park, as a tiny mountain. We climbed up, up, and more up, but we got rewarded with some great views. We found another cool fountain, and sat on a wall and just looked out at the city of Rome. It was great. Kathleen sat and started making her Popess song... oh yes did I mention, Kathleen wants to be Pope... and then Emperor. Um. She is always a source of entertainment. She has a list of things she would do if she was Pope, and has many ideas about what the Pope does... for example in his off hours, he wears jeans. Hahahah! Yep, that's why Kathleen was with us, she always makes us laugh.

After the park, we started making our way back to the hostel. It was now getting toward evening, and since we were on the other side of the city, it would take us awhile to get back, and we could see some sights along the way. We stopped by the Spanish steps, which was a little bit of a detour, but one we needed to make. Wow, the amount of people at the Spanish steps. It was a hassle getting there, since there was so many people going there, and leaving. We did make it, and found a nice place to sit and rest. The Spanish steps, which we found out, is a name that the Americans coined it, are steps that are covered with flowers, and people. It was really beautiful. There was also a fountain in front of the steps, and at the top of the steps was a church. We sat on the steps for awhile, and then climbed the steps. At the top of the steps, you get another good view of things. Love it. It was an awesome place to sit and people watch, but Danielle kept rushing us to get moving. Really annoying, I could have sat for a long time, just resting.

When we made it back to the hostel, we rested there for awhile, and then we went to our pizza place to get food. We got more abuse, it was so great. I ordered my pizza just fine, but Kathleen was ordering for both herself, and Danielle. She ordered her pizza, and then ordered Danielle's. The guy looked at her so strangely for ordering four slices. Kathleen tried to tell him that she was ordering for two people, but he didn't understand, so Kathleen just took the abuse. When it was time to pay, the guy put the receipt right in front of her face. Hahah, it was so funny. Kathleen enjoyed every second of it.

Fountain, the Spanish steps, and I took a wrong tour, so we ended up by the Colosseum. What a wrong turn... That night, Kathleen and I went on a tour of Rome at night. We saw the Pantheon, the Trevihheheh. Rome is so nice at night.

And that is the last full day in Rome. The next morning, I said my good byes, but that is for another post.

End of school

Hey, I have to interrupt my entries about Rome, I just had my last full day of class. I have one more class, but it's just Global English on Friday. I'm really sad to be done with my Narrative, Character, Voice in Prose class. It was really good, and the teacher is awesome. She said again that I should send her some of my work... um, that's a thought, but she's a real writer, so a little intimating. Oh well, I have her e-mail address, maybe sometime I will. Depends on my grade I think.

The exercise we did today was pretty cool, she gave us a picture, and we had to write a story about it. I had a picture of a conductor on the bus or a tram... I think it's a tram. The woman is sitting there and just smiling. Surprisingly, it was really easy to write, and I finished before my 10 minutes was up. I just wrote about how it was her first day, and the usual first day worries, basically just some internal monologue. She loved it! Woohoo! The whole seminar group had really good stories. The girl next to me had a weather report from the paper, and she wrote a really good story about a little boy watching the TV, and the weather.

But with classes ending the thought of exams comes up, and yeah not excited for that. I have less work to do than semester, two exams and two papers, and one is just 1,500 words. I can't believe that classes are just about over. It seems like they just began. Oh well.

Well next entry will be my last full day in Rome, and will be up soon.