Keep Calm and OMG OLYMPICS!!!1!!1

It's so weird to be blogging two days in a row! But I guess that's what happens when I write a post consisting only of an amusing anecdote.

On Thursday, we decided to postpone family dinner in lieu of a comedy show at Draper's, the on-campus bar. Amanda, Jen and I met up with Dave and Shaun (completely by accident), and it was a pretty good time. I ordered my first legal drink (which also happened to be the first drink I've ever ordered, period), so that's a nice milestone to have out of the way. The comedy was pretty good too, though the subdued British crowd did not understand what was funny about the American comedian describing the different types of Jesus. The five of us, though, were a different story. The rest of them went out afterwards, but I decided to be a responsible sick person and stay in.

I had a lazy Friday for the first time since I got here, but the weekend made up for it. On Saturday, Jen and I went to the Imperial War Museum in the morning. The museum itself was neat, but they had a really cool "Secret Soldier" (aka spy) exhibit, and another one on the Holocaust. We actually spent a ton of time there. In the afternoon, we met up with Amanda and Lorraine in Greenwich.

Did YOU know that Greenwich is IN London? Because I sure didn't. But no, you can just hop on a (double decker) bus and get off at the Prime Meridian of the world.

We wandered around the village a little bit, basically because we didn't know where we were going, but we found the Royal Observatory fairly easily. We climbed the hill and were treated to an AMAZING view... and a 7-pound fee if we wanted to get into the Observatory and stand on the Prime Meridian. So we said no thanks, and instead took pictures on the other side of the building.



See! I'm approximately in two different hemispheres! (Maybe. I think.)

Then we walked around town a bit more. The market was just about closing down but, oh my god, it smelled delicious and I wanted to buy everything. Definitely need to go back for that! We stopped in a little candy shop (or would it be shoppe?) where I bought Coke-flavored chocolate, and then in a bookstore where Amanda and I salivated over Harry Potter editions we'd never seen before.



It's so beautiful. <3 data-blogger-escaped-br="">
On Sunday, Jen, Lorraine, Celeste and I went into central London for the Chinese New Year celebrations. Apparently the one in London is the biggest in the world outside of Asia. Who knew? We got there in time for the parade, wandered around the insanity that was Trafalgar Square, and stopped in a little restaurant for a yummy lunch. One of Jen's friends from home met up with us in the afternoon, and we hung around the stage and watched some of the dance groups and singers perform. And of course, before the day was over I had to get myself a bubble tea. Come on! It's Chinese New Year, how could I not?!



OH, and on Sunday night I did my laundry successfully for the first time! BIG MOMENT, guys!

My Monday class was a site visit instead of a lecture, so I got to walk around an upper-class neighborhood and look at the houses of some early 20th century artists. That's where the story from my previous entry came from. I love that I get to go explore the city a little bit under the guise of "class." When it was finished, I ducked into a bookstore on my way back to the tube and got utterly distracted. I wasn't planning on buying anything (I wanted to browse and see if they had anything by Richard Castle...), but I stumbled across the shelf dedicated to Kathy Reichs. For those of you who are unfamiliar, her books inspired Bones. So of course, I had to read the summaries on the backs of all of them. And then I bought one. It's pretty good! I like Bones better, and I'm also partial to Richard Castle's writing, but hey. I'm enjoying it.

On Tuesday, Celeste and I spent the late morning/early afternoon finishing up our rounds at the Museum of Childhood -- I actually needed to go back, as it was an assignment for my Text, Art, and Performance class. Class on Thursday is cancelled so we could visit the site of our choice, so it was killing several birds with one enjoyable stone. Celeste had a coupon for Pizza Hut, so we wandered around Bethnal Green for ages trying to find it. No regurgitating toilets, though.

I spent the rest of yesterday and today (it IS Wednesday, after all) alternating between being a good student and a complete bum. I beat my previous nap record today, too. So that was fun.

Anddddd I'm volunteering with the Olympics. No biggie.

Actually, no, it's a huge-y. I'm so freaking excited, I can't even tell you! There's orientation/training on Feb. 12th, and after that I have to commit to three shifts between Valentine's Day and the first week in March. I'm not sure when my shifts are yet, nor what I'll be doing, but I cannot wait! The lady at my interview said there might not be a lot to do, but I don't think she understands that I paid over $400 for a visa so I could do this. That means that each shift is costing me well over $100, so you can bet your life that I'm going to find things to do.

Also, it's the Olympics. I don't need a monetary incentive to want to do things.



I'm a nerd. And conveniently wearing my NBC Olympics shirt as pajamas. :)