The END.

So I realized I never finished this blog! First of all here are the last of my pictures from my trip to Norway:
CLICK
That trip was really fun by the way. It was with Nell on my last full weekend in London. I was thinking maybe I should have stayed in London for the last weekend, but when I got to Oslo I completely changed my mind! I really liked it! And it was really cheap as well! only 10 pounds roundtrip for the flights and we stayed for free at a couple's house. (using couchsurfing)!

So anyway, I have been thinking about all the things I learned in London.
When I left I never thought I would learn so much! When I went to the different tourist locations and sites I learned a lot of historical facts and when I traveled I learned a lot about the different countries.
But besides the historical stuff, here is a list of things I learned while in London:
1. Always carry an umbrella. Even if it's sunny, hot, and rain is not on the forecast!
2. The tube and bus system is efficient and effective. But watch out for the weekends! (under construction....)
3. Cars DO NOT STOP FOR PEOPLE! (give them the right of way)
4. Milk comes in really small containers but goes bad fast anyway!
5. The markets are amazing and should be visited more than once
6. Drinking is accepted around the clock.
7. Soho is an amazing area of film, gay bars, and prostitution. oh! and great restaurants!
8. If I ate at a different restaurant near my work every day for 2 years I still wouldn't be able to eat at all of them!
9. "Spicy" in England does not mean spicy.
10. Save money at Primark (but don't be surprised if the things you buy there fall apart!)
11. There is ALWAYS something exciting happening in London.

Only a week and a half left!

So, I had a great time in Sweden with Mia! We had picnics by the sea, saw a caveman, went to a castle, and much more! It was great seeing her again after a long time!! I put the pictures on facebook and I think you already saw them!
The next week I went to Phantom of the Opera which was really cool. Personally, I liked Wicked better because it was more fun and more of a comedy. Phantom is kind of strange and more of a drama. My friends were also mentioning that the lead actress didn't have much chemistry with the Phantom. I did wonder why she loved him even tho he was killing people and looked creepy. Anywaayy....on Friday I saw the Changing of the Guard (finally!) and took loads of pictures. There were sooo many people there and it was uncomfortably hot and crowded but I didn't care because it was really cool too!
Saturday was time for the gay pride parade in Brighton. I went with my friend Luis. Brighton is by the ocean, so once the parade was over, we explored the area and went to the pier. It was kind of a mix between Santa Cruz and Santa Monica, but with a rock beach. It started to rain though and we ran out of things to do, but just about in time for the bus to take us back! I originally was going to go out that night, but started feeling SICK:(

On Sunday Luis and I also traveled again, but this time on a bus tour to see Windsor Castle, Bath, and STONEHENGE! It was super cool! I was worried I wouldn't be able to see all three of those because each would take the whole day, but we found this bus tour online that did it all in one day so it was awesome! Windsor Castle is where the Queen goes to escape London (when she's not in Scotland). It's VERY nice on the inside, but sadly we couldn't take pictures in there. Bath was a really cute little town that is famous for it's Roman Baths and it felt a lot like Italy. Stonehenge was very surreal to see in real life. I mean, I've heard about it and seen pictures, but I couldn't believe I was actually there! It was great!!
This weekend I'm going to Norway with Nell so it should be fun. We got 5 pound tickets and we're staying for free at someone's house so it should be a cheap trip. I might even bring food with me so I don't have to waste money at restaurants. We'll see.

Oh so on Tuesday when I was coming home from work, I randomly decided to take the bus instead of the tube. So, to get there I have to walk through Leicester Square (where all the movie premieres happen). I just happened upon The Ugly Truth Premiere with Katherine Heigl and Gerard Butler! It was really cool to see them in person! I got a couple pictures but was too far away to get one with them or get autographs. The crowd went really crazy for Gerard!!
Oh yeah and yesterday after my half day of work I went on the Beatles walking tour with Denise and Anna. We saw different recording studios and places around Soho, Carnaby Street, the Apple building where the Beatles played their last concert on a rooftop, and then took the tube to go see Abbey Road! We wanted to take a picture crossing the sidewalk with all three of us (or 4 if Julia had come) but it is a real crosswalk with cars and buses trying to get by so it's both embarrassing and dangerous to stand there. And they all honk at people who take too long to cross. I think we got one pic on Anna's camera of us two crossing. I'll have to check on facebook later!!
But overall, I'm having an amazing time and don't want to leave!!! But then again, it will be great to be in a country where I don't have to recalculate how much things cost in my head, where I can actually drive, and where the weather is a little more predictable (it just started raining again~!!!)

LOTS of new pictures!! (129~)

Ok I may have gone a little crazy on the picture taking but yeah....so after Geetika and I had lunch, we went over to Trafalgar Square, which is a very famous/touristy place in London. We then walked over the Jubilee Bridge which has a great view of Parliament, Big Ben, and the London Eye. On the other side, we found trees wrapped in red and white polka dots and where people drew on the dots! So we drew some pictures on them hehe. But anyway, it was really cool to hang out with Geetika after not seeing her for 5 whole years!! And tomorrow I'm going to meet up with Shoko who I haven't seen in that long either! AND this weekend I'm going to see Mia who I haven't seen in 3 years! whaaaaa
So anyway, after Geetika had to leave, I wandered over to the British museum and saw the Rosetta stone as well as a lot of other things from Egypt, Greece, etc. I kept wondering why the British people still have this stuff. Like yeah they stole it from those other countries, but now can't they give it back?! So yeah also, at the British museum they were having an Indian exhibition/festival thing with live music and dancing so I stayed around for that!

The next day, I went on a weekend trip with Nell! We went to Manchester and Liverpool. In those cities we pretty much just grabbed maps and tried to find places to walk around and see. I wanted to go to the Beatles museum in Liverpool but Nell didn't want to pay 8.50 pounds ($14). But we didn't have all that much time anyway. We had spent the night in Manchester so we really only had like 4 hours in Liverpool. But anyway we went to a giant cathedral which was pretty cool. Oh and in Manchester we went on a mini London Eye (ferris wheel).
And yesterday I went on the REAL London Eye which was AWESOME! great views of London and everything! took lots of pictures there too!!
So here's the photo album!! CLICK

England is the dog's bollocks!!!

lol I was looking up British slang and that phrase came up!! it means 'really fantastic' just fyi:)
Soooo yeah I'm having an awesommme time here!! last weekend I went to Norwich (pronounced "Norich" but it sounds more like "Norridge") with Nell to stay with James for the weekend. We all met when we studied abroad last fall in Japan so that was really fun to have a reunion!! Nell and I had no idea what to do in Norwich, but we ended up being there the one day in the year that they have a giant parade and fireworks over the castle!! It was amazing:) but my camera broke during the parade.....We also went inside the castle during the day and saw the dungeon at the bottom. They turned the lights off in one of the cells to show us what it would be like if we were prisoners....haha! We also went to James' favorite pub..but he wasn't feeling all that well!!!:( but overall it was a really great trip!This week I went to As You Like It at Shakespeare's Globe Theater (standing seats...for like 3hrs..), saw Ice Age 3 in 3D with Nell, bought a new camera (a Casio Exilim EX-Z1), and went to Primark. Primark is this really crazy store where everything is SUPER cheap and it is sooooo crowded. It's like a mix of Forever 21 and Ross but on CRACK! They have some good clothes like Forever 21, but the layout and prices are more like Ross. And the crowds are intense! I ended up getting a few things...like a purse for 3 pounds and a shirt for 1.50!!
Oh and we also went inside Westminster Abbey last week for class!! Next week we get to see Parliament!
Today I'm going to meet a friend from high school I haven't seen in forever at Leicester Square for lunch, then I'm planning on wandering over to the British Museum to see the Rosetta Stone and..not sure what else. Apparently they have free tours haha.

Ireland and Harry Potter!!!

So yeah...last weekend was AWESOME!! I went to Dublin and had a great time:):) We went to the Guinness factory and saw how they make the beer. They gave us a coupon for a free pint at the end, but we also had the option to learn how they pour it so I did that! I poured the perfect pint then got to drink it! hehe:)
The next day we went on a 3 hour walking tour and saw the sites of Dublin like Christ Church, Trinity College, and Dublin castle. After the tour, we went back to Trinity to see the Book of Kells, a manuscript of gospels from the 6th century made in monasteries in Ireland. It was really cool looking and we got to learn the history of it as well!
On Sunday, we took a day bus tour of Wicklow, the surrounding area of Dublin. We got to see places where they filmed PS I Love You and Braveheart! There were a couple really pretty lakes as well!
Ireland pics: LINK

On Tuesday, I went to the Harry Potter premiere! I got to see lots of stars like Emma Watson (Hermione), Alan Rickman (Snape), and JK Rowling! It was raining sooooooooooo hard tho! I got completely SOAKED from head to toe. I'm pretty sure my sneakers are still wet from 2 days ago now!! It was also hailing and windy sooo yeah...good times tho! I was trying to take pictures and cover myself at the same time so my camera got wet too. luckily it still works!!
Here are my pictures: LINK2
Oh and in that second album I have pictures from the Victoria & Albert museum as well as Portobello Market in Notting Hill.

Oooh Sooo Shiny!!

wow it's been quite a week! It almost feels like twice that long because every day I've been on a new adventure! So on Monday I went to "The 39 Steps" which is a parody of a Hitchcock film I haven't seen but it was still really funny! and I got to see a bit more of the British humour which is good. It was 4 people doing 150 parts which was pretty crazy! And one guy stayed the same the whole time so the other 3 were changing around so much! super crazy!
Tuesday was very touristy...we went to The Monument which was put up after the 1666 fire that took out much of London. There were 311 steps and we climbed them all! and got a certificate on the way back down! We went to lunch in a pub then headed over to the Tower of London (old time castle) where the Crown Jewels (example in the picture) are held. We went on an hour long tour first with a real Yeoman Warder (there are like 35 of them that live and work in the Tower) and he was really cool. We learned the history of the place and saw where many people like Anne Boleyn were beheaded! After the tour we got in the long line to see the crown jewels. When you get in there you have to be on a walking sidewalk because I guess they don't want people just staring at them for hours. But there were quite a lot of jewels and the biggest diamond ever is in there as well!! After that we crossed the Tower Bridge which is super cool.
Oh my pictures are in this album -->HERE
I had my interview for my internship on Wednesday. It went very well and I think I'm really going to like it there. I start on Monday! That night I went wandering in Kensington Gardens and decided to get gelato on the other side. When I got to the park I could tell the sunset was REALLY pretty but it was hard to see behind the buildings and my camera doesn't have sunset mode anymore now that I got a Canon instead of a Casio! Anyway, I ended up walking really far into Notting Hill trying to get a good pic of the sunset but I failed miserably. I did go get the gelato but when I got back to the park, it was closed and I had to walk all the way around it! It wasn't like sketchy or anything tho luckily because we are in a good area.
So the next day I met with Nell in Chinatown which is kind of near where my internship is. We had dinner at a Chinese restaurant and I got an eggplant dish. Apparently they call eggplants something like "Aubergine" here. weird. On Friday we had class at 9am and we went to Shakespeare's Globe theater. It's actually the 3rd Globe theater because they had to move the first one and the second one burnt down. But it was cool and our tour guide was funny! I've had some great luck with tour guides here or maybe British tour guides are just all good? Anyway, yeah after that a few of us branched off to explore the modern art museum called Tate Modern. Some of the art was a bit strange but most of it was really good!
Oh and today I met up with Nell again and her French friend and we went to the famous Portobello Market in Notting Hill. It's the same one from the movie with Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts! So yeah it's massive! It goes on one street (Porobello Road) forever and ever and ever! The first part is antiques, then it gets to food, then clothing and accessories, and random souvenirs and stuff. But yeah I'm totally going back there as much as I can. It's the best on Saturdays tho and next weekend I'm going to Dublin. But maybe the weekend after that. Oh and tonight I hung out with a Dutch friend of Nell's that she met in China. Some of his friends came over and we ordered Indian food in then went to a couple pubs. I caught the last tube home and here I am!
London is such an amazing city! It always seems like there are 100 things to do! And just walking around is exciting! I guess it's the biggest city I've lived in since Tokyo...I think? Anyway it's awesome and I'm lovin it! My internship starts really soon so that's good. I'll update about that later!!!

I feel like I'm on Big Brother!!!

Ok sooo I live with 18 other people and we all share one kitchen and living area....and we hadn't met...and we're in a strange country...it feels a lot like a reality show with no cameras...where are the hidden cameras??? It's funny because Big Brother is still a really popular show here and the other day we were watching a show (on one of our 5 channels) called "Big Brother's Little Brother" which is a show about Big Brother. That's right!! It was really weird! The TV here is just weird in general. I did see an episode of Friends on tho so that made me happy!!!
So on Saturday we went on this really frustrating bus tour where we saw all the famous sites of London on the bus and couldn't get off!!! We saw Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, etc, but I didn't get any good pictures that didn't have like bus reflections or anything! (this is not a picture I took). But anyway, we got an idea of the cool places to go and I think I'm going to see the Crown Jewels and Changing of the Guard tomorrow since we have a free day!!
I've also been to the Camden Market which is pretty awesome. It's apparently where the punk culture came from so they have some really cool stuff. We got there around 5pm yesterday when they were like closing so I need to go at an earlier time!!
Oh and Hyde Park is very pretty. I ran there on Sunday and today! When I went the first day this guy started asking me for directions and I'm sure when he heard my American accent he was "oh crap why did I ask her?" haha. But anyway, it's a huge park and had like 3 lakes in it!! And there are pigeons and geese everywhere!!!
but ok I'm going to bed soooo yeah. Tomorrow I'll get some good pictures fooo shooo!!