Wednesday the 11th through Friday the 13th

Wednesday- last Writing in the Public Sphere class
We discussed 5 articles that had been my assigned reading for the week, and they were all about the public sphere in today's world with social media and the Internet playing a huge role. It was so interesting to see all the theories we've been discussing come into play in today's society. I had time halfway through to come upstairs and analyze my own Facebook and Twitter feeds and look at how many of the posts were about personal/private matters as opposed to matters concerning the general public or matters of public interest, and lemme tell ya, hardly ANY were really worthwhile. Makes you wonder about the point of it all, really.

Our outing was to the London Transport Museum (another outing we had replaced because of duplicates with my other classes) and we met up with Kelly and her teacher Judy (since their class is like ours, with just one student, and they were going there anyway).

I wrote a blog post for class about the outing and about my reflections of the class as a whole here: http://londonpublicsphere.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/week-seven-outing-london-transport.html ...so read that instead of me writing it twice :)

To sum it up, though, I was SO SAD to say goodbye to Nina after how incredible this summer has been having her class all to myself. She was SO affirming and encouraging throughout the outing, telling me repeatedly how glad she was that I didn't drop the class and how I'm a "real gem" and have been such an incredible student. I've never felt more appreciated, respected, and valued from a teacher. She became so much more than a professor to me over the past two months and I loved our time together so much. I want to soak up more and more of her wisdom and knowledge! Hearing her tell me that I'm brilliant and did incredible work this semester just blew me away and humbled me like no other, especially coming from her. It was a big love fest essentially, as Judy was just as complimentary of Kelly, and we were just as appreciative of them as our awesome teachers! We hugged goodbye at the museum gift shop after the outing and I definitely teared up. Best experience of the summer by far, and I'm so grateful that I had that class. SO thankful.

I spent quite a while browsing through the gift shop after Nina left, and found some cool things for people I still needed gifts for, which was awesome. Of course, when I left to walk home, it started to torrentially pour, and my umbrella flipped inside out about 5 times on the way. It was pretty awesome, lemme tell ya. I even tripped and almost fell flat on my face at one point too, so that was cool. Gotta love being by yourself and having no one to laugh with you when you make a total fool out of yourself!

I grabbed a sandwich on my way home for lunch, and ate when I got back to the house. I worked on writing some of my final papers and such for the afternoon. Made dinner at the house later on, had our group meeting and did our course/program evaluations, and then stayed in for the rest of the evening.


Thursday- no classes!
So weird that all of our classes are over and all that's left is final papers. Where has the time gone?

I woke up at 8 am to bombard Kyle with birthday love since that was when it turned his birthday in his time zone, and talked to him for a bit, and then went back to sleep for a few more hours since I had nowhere I had to be. When I finally woke up, I made lunch and worked more on my papers and got a bunch of random stuff done all day.

At around 6 ish, I left to go head towards the movie theatre where we had our group film night. It was raining like crazy again, and it wasn't the most pleasant of walks to the Soho area. I was trying to find a quick and easy place to eat on my own before the movie, but I wasn't super hungry and really just wanted a quick Pret sandwich. Of course, it was the first time in the entire time I've been here that I didn't see ten million Prets on every street...but I finally found one near the theatre and grabbed a sandwich really quick. Met up with the group at the theatre at 6:45 ish, and got our tickets to see "The Hunter."

I had watched the trailer for it and wasn't too excited about seeing it, but it ended up being a really well-made and intriguing movie. It was pretty intense and I was glued to the screen the whole time, and it made me cry too! Definitely a movie worth seeing, but not one I would need to see again. It was cool to see a movie at a London movie theatre too, since I hadn't done that yet! They have SO MANY commercials and previews before the movie started...like at least 30 minutes of them. Too much.

I came back from the movie and went to bed pretty early.

Friday-
Woke up early to head to St. Pauls again- there was a group of people who had wanted to go to the top of the cathedral when we went with class a few weeks ago that didn't get the chance to, so they were doing it today. Amanda and I wanted to go to the Twinings tea shop on Fleet Street afterward, so it made sense that I went with them and just waited for them to be done. It was a gorgeous morning, but got pretty chilly and really windy in the shade, but I stayed on the steps of the cathedral while they all went up, and then wandered around a bit to take a bunch of pictures of St. Pauls that I hadn't taken when we went the first time.

there's the group there!

After they all came back down, Amanda and I walked down Fleet Street to go to the Twinings tea shop again- I love that place! And wanted more tea for people back home. And Amanda hadn't been yet, so it was on both of our bucket lists to do before we left.

After a very complicated purchasing process (ringing things up more than once, than not at all, and us going back to fix it, the manager having to help us, etc), we finally got all the tea we wanted and were off in search of a Yo! Sushi for lunch!

One of my mom's coworkers has been reading this (Hi!) and recommended some new places for us to try to eat at, which was awesome since I've definitely been stuck in a Pret rut when I'm on the go. We ended up walking all the way from Fleet Street over to Brunswick Center to the only Yo! Sushi we knew of, and definitely worked up an appetite in the process.

It was such a cool place- a conveyor belt wrapped around the bar area and had color coordinated dishes that indicated the prices, and you just grabbed what you wanted and ordered other things from the waiter as well. I grabbed edamame from the belt, and ordered a veg noodle dish and dumplings too- best meal ever. So, so good.

YUM YUM YUM

Thank you so much for the recommendation, Amy! I can't wait to try Leon next. Let me know if there's anything else you suggest :)

I was pretty tired after all of our adventures, so Amanda and I came back to the flat. A horrible migraine promptly hit and decided to make my day suck, so I spent a lot of time trying to nap and rest and get rid of it, with no luck at all. Slept for a while but really needed to be productive, so I just decided to suck it up and catch up on my blog and get work done. Everyone else is out at a bar celebrating two birthdays of people in our group and I wish I was there...but sometimes you gotta just take it easy. Oh well.

Off to bed, hopefully my head doesn't hate me so much in the morning!

First week of July! Classes.

Monday- Media and Politics
Our outing (after a frustrating class of our teacher on his soapbox harshly criticizing topics that are sensitive and then not listening to our viewpoints at all) was to the Imperial War Museum- full of tanks and planes and lots of war propaganda that we looked at. It was a very thorough museum with  wars and conflicts I had never heard of, and we looked mainly at media uses throughout a few major wars. It was pretty depressing overall, but the propaganda was interesting to look at and see the  differences throughout the progress of time.

I think the rest of the day was just back at the house, getting reading done for my classes, etc. Nothing too exciting!

Tuesday- Media and Society
We spent class time talking all about our final papers in groups and critiquing them. We talked about our topics and our progress with the professor and it basically took the whole class time. Our outing was to the Jewish Museum in Camden where a sweet old lady took us upstairs to give us a rundown of the museum, and then we had time to explore on our own. It was really interesting to see the history of Jewish culture and people in London throughout time.

Afterward, a group of us found a cheap Italian pizza place for lunch and all devoured our pizzas. It was so nice to finally have free time in between our classes for once...usually we are rushed to get to Culture By Design in time!

Culture by Design- we didn't have lecture, but instead met outside of class and went straight to the Museum of Brands, Packaging and Advertising in Notting Hill. I was looking forward to this outing just because it sounded different from all the other museums we've been to, and I was right. It was AWESOME. It was a tiny little place, but it was jam packed with stuff, and I wanted to stay there forever. It started out going decade by decade from 1900 to today, with the display cases full of food packaging, toys, posters and art and propaganda, fashion, games, etc. Basically anything with a brand and a package was there. It was so cool seeing how the trends changed throughout time, and seeing how many things still have stayed so similar and so true to their original design and packaging.

After that area, the displays shifted to show brands from their original creation throughout time to today. It would show, for example, Coca Cola, from the original can through every variation throughout the decades, ending in the current design. It struck me as fascinating how little most designs changed over time. I think it speaks volumes about the original designs themselves, that they truly have withstood the test of time and stayed true to their focus, which I thought was really cool. We have another media analysis project to write about this outing, and I'm really excited about it.

After spending a little less than an hour there, we rushed off to Westfield mall to look more at branded space. We went to the area of the shopping centre known as "The Village" aka the reaaaaallllyyyyy expensive stuff. We were sent off in small groups to look around and go in as many stores as we could in the time allowed, with the goal of deciding whether the spaces were classified as a "shed," "cathedral," or "museum." Sheds would be stores were everything is out and in the open and more available and perhaps more busy and cluttered and chaotic. Museums are where you go to study things, they are less accessible, more on display. Cathedrals would be the least accessible, with people going with the intent of worshipping or paying homage to the items. It was really cool to look at these designer stores that way and to classify them and to realize I really didn't like or want anything I saw. I'm much more of a thrifter and bargain shopper, and I'm 150% okay with that.

After that, we were done with classes for the day! We had a group meeting at 6:30, and then we were done for the day!


Wednesday (4th of July!)- Writing in the Public Sphere
Discussed four articles that were more current and more about the Internet playing into the public sphere, and it was really interesting, as it was topics I had covered in my paper (that I got an A- on, yay!). I had time to come up to my flat during class and look at several major news sources online and to analyze their comment forums and take notes on their effectiveness and their content, which was really interesting.

Our outing was to the Foundling Museum- an outing I had picked since some of our outings were duplicates from my other classes. Read more about it here! (http://londonpublicsphere.blogspot.co.uk/)

Afterwards, I was off to explore a new area of town on my own, about two streets over from where Madison House is. It just happened to be a random area of the neighborhood that I hadn't really explored yet, and after walking around for a while, I realized it's because there really isn't anything to see or do there except eat at places I've seen around town already. I stopped at a souvenir shop to pick up things for people, and then came home to relax. We were going to go to the Globe Theatre in the evening to see Taming of the Shrew and we were going to have to stand the whole time, so I knew I wanted to take it easy all day so my knee wouldn't hate me TOO much.

Griffin and I left to head to the theatre and our group all met up there. We had "groundlings" tickets, and I was excited for them because it was the true Shakespearean way of seeing his plays, but also really nervous about my knee holding up the whole time. I had the okay from Rusty to leave at any point if I needed to, but I love Taming of the Shrew and I really wanted to be able to see it all.

We stood at the back of the ground area, so we had a wall to lean up against and a little ledge to sort of sit on, and that helped a lot. The play was HILARIOUS and very well done! There was even quite a lot of nudity (saw much more male butt than I was ever expecting to...) and I seriously loved it. Such good actors, and such an awesome experience, and I made it the whole time! Walking to the tube station was miserable and it's been a few days and my knee is still suffering quite a lot, but so worth it.

It ended about 10:30 pm, and walking home across the Millennium Bridge at night was SO COOL. I hadn't been down by the river at night yet, and seeing the city all lit up was incredible. The new Shard building that is the highest point in the city now lit up in crazy colors, and had these green laser beams that shot out and around the city, ending on points like St. Pauls...so crazy. It was the closest thing we had to a Fourth of July fireworks show!

It was a little weird being in England on the 4th, and it made me a little sad, which I totally wasn't expecting! I'm not a big patriotic, let's go America kind of person anyway, so I usually am not too obsessed with the holiday, but I really just missed being with my family and friends and seeing fireworks and just having a relaxing summer evening. I realized I really have missed SUMMER. It hasn't felt like a true summer here hardly at all, and I didn't know that it would actually be something I came to miss.

I'm looking forward to coming home and having hot weather (not excited about the humidity though...) and being able to go to the pool and beach and not having cold weather and rain every day. It will be nice to have a real summer in the States.

Bath (Friday- Sunday)

We got to Bath from Stratford-upon-Avon around dinner time, and we all took some time to unpack and unwind before meeting up to go to dinner (about half the group).
We were split into two houses of the B&B this time, so we just organized things with our house mostly. We had heard about a restaurant that had live jazz music, so we set off to find it, and when we did, found that it was closed for a private event. We ended up at a pub right across the street...I'm getting really tired of pub food all the time, but it IS really cheap and it had wifi (we hadn't had internet all weekend, aka no communication with anyone outside our trip, and I definitely needed it...), so we settled. My veggie burger was verrryyyy unappetizing, so I ended up unsatisfied anyway. Oh well.

After dinner, we set off wandering around Bath again, trying to just get acquainted with the town and see where things were since it was beautiful weather and still so light out! Most of the group split off and went back to the house, but Amanda, Liz, and I kept wandering and eventually found a park by the riverside! We spent quite a while there, swinging and going down the slide and climbing this awesome rope/wood column climby thing. It was the best evening and so nice to just be outside and be in a green place after all the cities.

gorgeous Bath Riverside

We stopped at Sainsburys for some snacks, and went back to the house. I read (Dallas Willard's Hearing God) and journaled and such, and then a few people from my house were going out to a pub where most of the rest of the group was, so I decided to join.
 We walked to the pub and it was the first place where it was all people our age, definitely geared toward a younger audience. I wasn't interested in drinking or staying there really at all, so me and Mimi left to go back to the pub where we had gone for dinner so we could get wifi and talk to our boys for a little bit. Kyle was at work though and wasn't able to talk...so a bit of a disappointing evening over all.

Came back, and couldn't fall asleep right away so Amanda and I chatted a bit, and then most of the group came home (in all stages of sober/drunk) with one person missing and no idea where he was. Needless to say, we didn't get much sleep and I waited up for him while people went out in search of him, etc etc etc. Very dramatic and stressful evening overall with lots of chaos and such...not so fun. Amanda and I had a long talk after everyone was home and safe about just things we want to be working on in ourselves and things that have been challenging about being here this summer. I'm so thankful for her and for our accountability and support- it's the only little Christian community either of us has here and we really realized we need to be helping each other a LOT more in staying accountable. God's teaching me so so much through being here, and it's definitely growing me in a lot of ways that aren't always so easy.

I think I got a few hours of sleep at some point that night...not really sure.

Saturday morning, breakfast was at 8 and it was a full English breakfast (mine was veg- aka two fried eggs, baked beans, mushrooms, and half of a tomato). Ate the eggs and had toast and cereal...passed on the beans and such. Not a huge fan of the English breakfast!

The group was in a bit of a rough state overall after the evening beforehand, so it wasn't the most fun of mornings.

We had a bit longer to relax before we set off on our tour around 10:30- it was a walking tour around Bath and we saw a lot of Jane Austen-related things- the places she stayed, the places that inspired scenes in her novels, etc. Definitely need to read her books now and see what she writes about the places I've now been to!

Saw the Royal Crescent- a famous Bath sight where lots of people live and stay for a LOT of money.

Royal Crescent

other sights around Bath

We went by the Assembly Rooms (where the Fashion Museum is also located), and then past the Bath Abbey by Sally Lunn's (Famous restaurant for it's bath buns since the 17th century) and ended up at the Roman Baths before our tour ended!

Assembly Rooms

Bath Abbey

Sally Lunn's

Bath Abbey

outside of Roman Baths

Our tourguide left and we were on our own to explore the Roman Baths and then do whatever else we wanted for the day! We got audio guides but I was feeling kinda over them at this point and just browsed around the museum and exhibits and things briefly and then went out to the baths themselves to take pictures and look around. They're natural hot springs and have been used for centuries for healing purposes and such, so it was cool to see.

We drank water from the springs- hot and gross tasting...tastes like metal/blood/your mouth after a dentist visit...ew.

The group headed off almost all together to go to eat at the famous Sally Lunn's...but we got there and found that it was a super long wait before even just two of us could get in. Me, Amanda, Kelly, and Griffin left the group and found an adorable little cafe nearby and went there for lunch instead. Amanda and I split a pot of tea and I got the yummiest tomato basil soup with a cheddar and chutney sandwich...SO GOOD. Kelly got the afternoon tea, and it was just such a fun lunch. It was good to get away from the whole group for a while- we've been together nonstop a lot and it's definitely draining.

Griffin, Amanda and I went off in search of thrift stores after lunch and found a couple, but I didn't find anything worth buying. We had heard really good things about the Fashion Museum, so we decided to go see what it was all about. Nora met up with us there.

I'm obviously the next best fashion designer 

It was a little disappointing overall- not quite as incredible as I had heard. It was still cool to see fashions throughout the decades, and especially the European styles. The 2011 dress of the year by Alexander McQueen was there, and that was an incredible piece of fashion. We drew some designs of our own at a little coloring station, and then we decided to call it a day.

Went back to the house...here's what it looked like:

A group of about eight of us went out to dinner a little bit later to an awesome Thai place- such a nice change of pace. We went to a pub after and they all got cheap pitchers, but I didn't drink and just chatted with Kyle a bit and then we all came back to the house to crash! Read and journaled and such before bed.

Bath was definitely more interesting and offered more than Stratford did, but it was just a lot of group time all the time and not having any time to myself was really getting to me and putting a damper on my mood. We were leaving in the morning for Wilton House and Stonehenge and I was just getting VERY ready to be home.