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!!

Arrived Today!!:)

it's been like the longest day ever!! so I woke up really early Thursday (3:45am) to get my first flight to New York. It was was pretty good, didn't realize they had movies because I hit the wrong button, but watched some tv:) couldn't sleep.
my second flight was delayed 3 hrs!! but I ended up getting to London only an hour and a half late...so yeah. I watched 3 and 3/4 movies! Yes Man, Taken, Milk, and almost all of New in Town. when I got here had to work everything out with the FIE people and housing and go to the orientation, then I went out to lunch with some people from my program. We got thai food:)
I think the weirdest thing about London is that it's so American. Or at least this area where I'm staying seems that way. I mean when I go to foreign countries I guess I'm just used to being totally lost with the language and having all the people look really different. But here the people look the same, only sound a little different! And I was prepared for Starbucks, but down the street from me is Urban Outfitters, American Apparel, and Whole Foods! The driving on the other side of the road doesn't even phase me haha.
The only really British stuff I've noticed are the double decker buses going by every 2 seconds and the really cool architecture on the buildings. I haven't taken any pictures yet, but I'll do that tomorrow. I love how we were just walking along the shops and this really old/cool-looking church popped up from nowhere!! I'll take a pic so you can see but still it was like wow!!
I haven't seen all that much cultural stuff or anything famous yet, so I guess my first day in England was pretty Americanized. We'll see what happens next......going on a bus tour and walking tour tomorrow! woo!

Leaving Thursday!

So the visa drama is now over since my aunt received the Fedex package in the mail today!!
I had to push my flight back one day, but I'm not missing too much. I'm super excited to go and I really know nothing about London, but bought some books so that's what I'll read on the plane rides when I'm not watching movies or sleeping!

Plane rides: Portland to New York --- gotta leave the house at like 4am to get on that flight!
New York to London --- I'm pretty sure I got a window seat for this one! sleeeep!

so yeah! next blog will be from the UK!!!