Day 102

Day 102

So here it is…my last day in London….whoa

As everyone is making dinner I am writing this because I am not hungry…if you know me at all you know that if I am not hungry something must be wrong.

We just said goodbye to the first two people in our group and I must say that I didn’t like it.

I try to rationalize the situation…reminding myself that I go to school with Stacy and Steve and Drew. That Rachel and Jamie are from Kansas...what about the others?

As I sit at my empty desk I stare at my empty walls and at my very full suitcases. I remember when the room looked like this before.

I was standing in the middle of my room staring at the two beds trying to figure out which one I wanted to pick. I was convinced that if I picked the wrong bed that when my roomie came in she would be pissed that I took the bed she wanted. I was so unsure about it that I took a video of the room and sent it to my mom so that we could confer about the situation.

That all seems so long ago now…

Today I took my last tube ride. It was on the District line from Westminster to Sloane Square. I walked down King’s Road alone after stopping in a store and looked at the stores around me. I remember on September 7^th…my first day…walking down Kings and marveling about everything that surrounded me. Everything seemed so different now…so many memories.

So here I am…my journey is complete. I have turned in my last two papers and today we had our play reading (which went amazingly!!)

I finally got my picture in front of Big Ben and it couldn’t be any more perfect

Alright so here is the deal. Im going to leave things like modern dance out and the fashion show etc. Also…I cant rank all the shows in one list. So I will rank the musicals and the plays in separate lists…deal with it.

The line indicates where the shows started to get bad

MUSICALS

1. Les Miz 25^th Anniversary tour

2. Jason Robert Brown

3. Love Never Dies

4. Wicked / Chicago

5. Phantom of The Opera

6. Pricilla Queen of the Desert

7. Billy Elliot

8. Parade

9. Jersey Boys

10. Love Never Dies (a new revised version)

11. Avenue Q

13. Oliver

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14. Les Miserable (queens)

PLAYS

1. Design for living

2. Faust

3. My Romantic History / Clybourne Park

4. Pieces of Vincent

5. Deathtrap

6. Merry Wives of Windsor

7. An Ideal Husband

---------------------------------------

8. Enlightenment

9. Blasted

10. Hamlet

11. All My Sons

So there it is and here we are. I leave London in a little over 12 hours and I am so excited to go home. I am ready to sit on the couch, watch some Christmas movies and laugh as Coco barks at her own reflection in the fireplace.

I am not ready to say goodbye to my friends but then…who ever is.

Days 78-101

I honestly can’t say exactly what I did each day between days 78-101 because my life has been a rollercoaster of events. However I can give you the big overview.

I went to Belgium for Thanksgiving to meet Kori’s family. While the experience was amazing I must admit that it made me extremely homesick. It’s already hard being away from home at thanksgiving…but being in a home for the holidays and its not yours and your family isn’t there….just makes you realize all the more how far away you really are.

Also on this trip I gained a new found respect for being forced to take French as that is one of the 2 languages of Belgium (the other being Dutch) and I REALLY used my skills.

Belgium was amazing and possibly ranks as my 4^th favorite country that I have ever been to. The list going;

1. 1. Italy

2. 2. Scotland / England tied

3. 3. Belgium

Brugges was all that everyone had said it would be. Like stepping into a fairy tale.

The most important events since have been all the shows that I have been seeing!

I have seen the following shows since we last spoke:

Jersey Boys

This was amazing! If I can separate in my mind that the actor Nick Massi spoke like he learned his accent from terminator movies. Apart from him the show was top notch.

Phantom of The Opera

I saw Phantom in the center of the 3^rd row and I honestly couldn’t of imagined a more magical experience. I am a firm believer in paying good money to see shows. Perhaps I was too spoiled as a child but I honestly would rather see 2 musicals in great seats then 7 in bad seats. I think that where you are sitting effects how you feel about the performance. I know for a fact that if I hadn’t been in the back of the top balcony I would have enjoyed Les Miz so much more. Everything about this show was flawless and I have no complaints!

Love Never Dies (a new revised version)

Ok so Andrew Lloyd Webber shut down LND for a week and did some intense rehearsals and re-opened the show with changed plot and music. I am anxious to hear what the critics say at the official re-opening the end of this month but I would have to say that I approve of almost all of the changes. There is a bit too much Raoul in this version and I hate the new ending. Literally hate it with a fervid passion. But I’m over it and lets be honest…I went so I could hear Ramin Karimloo sing and he was even better then the first time (how is this possible)

Oliver

So here is the deal. As a Christmas gift I got my tickets to Jersey Boys and Phantom and Billy Elliot. I was required then to go see Oliver. Now before walking in to Oliver I did not like it one bit! After seeing Oliver on stage…I do not like it one bit! Oliver is not my kind of musical. However I think it was worth seeing just to watch all the children singing about food in the first scene…it was adorable

Chicago

So Chicago was not ever actually on my mind as something that I was going to see. I saw the tour when it came to Kansas City and didn’t particularly like it. (however it was in the outdoors and if I recall it was raining). So I was walking to get tickets for Legally Blonde and they were sold out. Just as I’m walking back to the tube station…Chicago catches my eye and I think “why not”. I end up getting major discounted tickets for the 4^th row center!!!!!! I can’t even begin to describe how happy I am that Legally Blonde was sold out. This is one of the best productions that I have ever seen in my entire life.

Pricilla Queen of the Desert

Today I saw Pricilla Queen of the Desert which is opening on Broadway this spring (if it isn’t opened already). I think the show is great. I’m not sure how the Tony award giving community will react to it with La Cage aux Folles having just been up last year. The show is in the same vein and so it seems too soon for another drag show to be in the running since they are usually spaced out. That being said…this show will deserve every tony that it will undoubtedly be nominated for. It is clever and just plain smashing! I loved every minute of it and I am SO GLAD that I was able to see it. This is evident from the mass pile of merchandise that I bought before the show…at intermission…and after the show. Plus the two young guys were REALLY hott (only i would fall madly in love with drag queens)!

So those are the shows that I have seen since November 22^nd. Meanwhile, I finished my time with The Actors Centre. It was a great opportunity and I’m so glad for all the experiences that I had.

I have been diligently packing all this week whilst getting over this horrible sickness that had me bed ridden since last Wednesday. My classes are over and all that is left is to turn in 2 assignments tomorrow morning, followed by the staged reading of the play that Jamie, Josh, and I wrote in our playwriting class.

I leave in about 1 day and 13ish hours depending on when I post this and I’m not sure how to feel about it. I have been counting down the minutes and seconds that I had till I got to go home. But I never really associated going home with leaving...till now.

It has all become very real in the past 24 hours. I have realized that this “thing” that I dreamed of since middle school is over. I have waited and waited to study abroad and now I have done it. I have no regrets…which freaks me out. I feel that I should be sitting here mad and thinking of all the things that I haven’t done.

Pissed that yet again I have failed to see Abby Road or go on the London Eye…but I can’t help but smile because I don’t really care. I know I’m going to come back…but even more, I did things that were amazing this semester.

Tomorrow is the last day here and with the exception of being able to see a first class show anytime I want…what ill miss the most are the people that I have met this semester and I intend to revel in the love that surrounds me tomorrow.

I remember the moment I met one of my best friends Lindsey. It was freshman orientation in high school and we just looked at each other and knew that we were going to be great friends. That doesn’t happen a lot and I never figured that it would happen here but it did. I have people who know me so well. It feels like they have always been a part of my life and so it seems so strange that so I won’t see them as of Saturday.

I know I will see London again. So, while I will miss this city I can leave it.

However, leaving people who could be going anywhere in life…that’s scary…that’s painful. What are you supposed to do when you meet your family and suddenly they are taken away from you?

So here I am on day 101 ready to go home…ready to take all of my new friends with me home…not ready to carry all of this luggage around Heathrow at 6 in the morning.

Shows seen to date= 30

I have seen my last show here. I think that it’s pretty awesome that I saw 30 shows during my time here. I wouldn’t change seeing a single one (with the exception of All My Sons…I would love those 3 hours of my life back). I will rank them tomorrow <3

Wicked

Merry Wives of Windsor

RADA staged reading

Pieces of Vincent

Love Never Dies

Les Miserables

Clybourne Park

Jason Robert Brown

Catwalk Show

All My Sons

Les Miz 25^th Anniversary tour

I drink the air before me = modern dance show

Enlightenment

Faust

Avenue Q

Cardboard Citizens

Parade

Hamlet

Design for living

My Romantic History

An Ideal Husband

Deathtrap

Billy Elliot

Blasted

Jersey Boys

Phantom of The Opera

Love Never Dies (a new revised version)

Oliver

Chicago

Pricilla Queen of the Desert

Days 61-77

Note: this is the longest blog post ever in the world…so you might want to read half of it now and then come back and read half of it later…or if you are a trooper read it all at once

Day 61

So today was the day of the Aston Villa and Fulham match that I had bought tickets for at the beginning of the semester and I was NOT giving this up. Soccer (or Football) is just something you must see while you are in England…it is an important life experience.

So I hauled my sick self out of bed and threw on my Christmas sweater that I said I wouldn’t wear till Christmas, so of course I’ve already worn it over a dozen times, and left for the big game.

The whole ordeal was actually insanely fun for the following reasons

One: there were hundreds of attractive men in the 20-25 age group

Two: they were all good looking

Three: See reasons one and two

In addition to home depot type wonders that bring me to love sporting events I also remembered how much I love going to games.

I remember going to Giants games with my dad as a child and we would sit with everyone cheering and bellowing and there was always something so exhilarating about that energy.

Plus who doesn’t love screaming at the players to tell them that they are indeed a wanker

So it started raining and it was cold and considering that I was really pushing it just by leaving my bed for the day I decided to go home after the first half.

So I rested most of the day until that evening when Josh, Kelly, Jenny and I decided to go to a Roller Disco. So I was pumped for that but alas as we were on our way to the disco I realized that just because I napped…I was still exhausted.

So, I left and went home and went to bed because I was TIRED.

In other news, we ended up having a tube car to ourselves at one point, which has basically been my dream for the whole semester. I wanted to recreate a scene from rent (minus the song because I hate the song “santa fe”)! So when the empty tube car arrived on us I was overjoyed and forced josh to sing Rose’s Turn and it was the most epic thing ever

Day 62

So today was pretty chill since I wanted to rest up for classes and get my lungs feeling better. So, after a day of sleep and resting I was excited to see izzy, steve, drew and Jamie return home from Oslo, Norway. Izzy showed me her pictures and I must say Oslo looks like a beautiful city.

Literally that is everything that I did on Sunday…a.k.a nothing

Day 63

So after a turn for the worse I ended up staying in bed for one last day. However, I took this opportunity to get a lot of homework done so that made me really happy.

This evening drama ensued!!!!!!

We went to My Old Dutch and about 20 minutes in the lights went out! So, we had to LEAVE because there was no energy to cook the food! I mean one week is hard to wait between MOD but to have to wait 2 is just evil!!!!

EVIL!

Also, we picked secret santa’s and I must admit that I am so excited that I cant even contain myself!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I would tell who it is but I don’t know who does and who does not read my blog. So stay tuned!

Day 64

Today was quite hectic as my first day back into civilized life.

I had playwriting and we read the voicemail that I wrote for Stella and Marina complemented my acting skills so I considered that a successful morning.

Then I went to Pizza X and had fierce salad…yummm

Then in acting we were working on actioning monologues and I worked on this weird ass monologue about a hooker, which is funny, but definitely not me.

Then we had industry where we learned about British equity and that made me SO MAD! Because equity members here can do non-equity shows and that is NOT true in America…I’m just sayin that the brits have an equity thing that’s a lot better than ours.

Then, after that Jame, Josh and I went to see the opening of An Ideal Husband. With the exception of the 2 supporting characters that acted with so much melodramatics that you would think they were on General Hospital giving their last performance before they die of some incurable illness. It was actually quite supurb apart from them.

Lord Goring and Mrs. (pronounced Cheee-V-Ley) were perfect in every way.

It was a great night out at the theatre.

Day 65

So today was pretty awesome because there is a new girl at my internship which is exciting because normally I have no one to talk to.

If you know me at all…you know that for me to have no one to talk to…is like some sort of evil punishment

So she is awesome and named Nicole and has an accent like the people from Jersey Shore which I just find hilarious.

I got off work early and headed to the dorm to make dinner before heading out to see paranormal activity 2 with Steve and Drew.

I actually really liked it

I really love scary movies that tell a story and I thought that this really captivated the audience and you cared about the people…except for the dad who was stupid and didn’t listen when his daughter mentioned to him that something bad was happening.

See parental units out there…this is what happens when you don’t listen to children. Your spouse ends up getting possessed by a demon and then you are brutally murdered…this could have been avoided if all you did was listen to your child.

The whole ordeal was just wonderful because to my surprise Drew is terrified at horror films and spent the entire time holding his jacket up to his face whispering things to himself like

“No”

“don’t do it…don’t open the door”

I really didn’t have too much time to be scared because I was laughing so hard.

Day 66

Today was a crisis in the making!!!!!!

First I couldn’t get a spot for the harry potter premiere because I had no one to hold it for when I had to go to class.

Therefore I had to forfeit going to the premiere at 4am and instead go at 1230. By then they were filling up the back of the very last slot.

Luckily god worked his magic and it began pouring as if Noah and his ark of aardvarks and alligators were going to come charging through Leicester square because it was flooding that much.

So people started to leave…because of course that is what sane people do when the apocalypse is happening and the world appears to be coming to complete disarray

I have never been a “sane person”

So I took this as an opportunity to get the front of the blob in a much more opportune spot for star watching ...whilst contorting my body to fit underneath my umbrella in a way that the water wouldn’t run off of it and then onto me but instead onto the people in front of me….oops

So, things were starting to look good until mr.50yearoldpuertoricanperv decided to show up and ruin everything. I wont describe everything that went down but lets just say that I wasn’t going to take his crap for another 6 hours so I left…I can meet Emma Watson and J.K.R some other time

So I went home and ate my sorrows in pasta and asparagus and watched the most recent glee episode at the time.

After this…things started to look up.

I headed out to see Deathtrap featuring the man who will one day play Fiyero to my Elphaba …a.k.a Jonathan Groff

Let me tell you my friends that if you thought he was good looking in Spring Awakening and Glee then you will be surprised to know that he is three times (if not more) as good looking in person.

The play was amazing and is hilarious. It is a comedy thriller and definitely had me on the edge of my seat and not just so I could get a glimpse of J Groffs Biceps.

Then after the show I went to the stage door and interviewed the man in question for my vlog and it was an epic moment of my life. I also asked him where he took voice lessons to which he responded that he never took formal lessons till SA and he just learned from being in shows…So that was…not helpful at all

Day 67

Oh Brighton…what a city.

Today started early with a bus at 8:15am. We arrived at 10:30 to the seaside and I instantly realized this was the beach in Atonement with the soldiers!!!!

We did a walking tour, which actually consisted of getting hot chocolate and finding out where the good shopping is. This was fine by me!

Sara, Michael, Izzy, Stacy and myself went to lunch at this pub where I had the worst fish and chips ever…yay a 9 pound meal well spent…NOT

Then we went shopping and that was really fierce because I got a cool hat and wallet and necklace holder for myself as well as some Christmas presents for family.

We got to tour the Royal Pavilion, which was really awesome!

Then Stacy and I headed to the pier to play an epic game of DDR (Dance Dance Revolution) followed by a yummy Brighton crepe…yummm

Once we returned to the residence hall Stacy and I went out to dinner, which turned out to be somewhat of a disappointment too. So this obviously was not my day in the food department.

So I went home and packed for what would be the best 2 days of my life!!!!

Day 68 and 69

So I woke up early today to be ready to leave for the tube at 9am with Jennifer and thank god she was on time!

We headed to kings cross st. panc to get on a train to Sheffield and then from there I headed on a connecting train to Hathersage.

First, I went to the ticket machine and it didn’t recognize my card, which really freaked me out. But I went to the official lady and worked it out so the first crisis was averted!

Then we got on the train and the most hilarious thing happened because all I wanted was a cup of vegetable soup. Then as if the heavens had opened up and the angels were singing…the food cart arrived!

And what was the soup of the day…. VEGTABLE SOUP!!!!!!!

So, it was a really exciting moment.

This excitement did not continue when we arrived in Sheffield…. apparently train stations are not easy to understand and none of the signs mentioned a train to Hathersage but we were supposed to just “know” that the train left from track 2c without it being written anywhere.

So, we missed our train, which threw everything out of whack. Because by going on the next train we were going to miss the bus to Chatsworth House.

So BASICALLY I had a meltdown…but then I recovered and decided we would do Chatsworth House Sunday morning and instead of seeing Stanage Edge (Keria’s Cliff in P&P) at sunrise, we would just have to see it at sunset… which ended up being a better plan then the original one so yay for the elements putting things in their right place!

So we arrived in the town of Hathersage that looked like something from The Holiday and walked to our adorable Hostel (YHA Youth Hostel…I would recommend the chain everything was very organized and clean)

Jennifer and I put on our hiking shoes and headed out on quite the adventure.

See I knew that Stanage Edge was quite a hike a way but according to all the books it was doable. From where we were staying it was 5 miles there and back and by the time we were ready it was 3pm so we hauled our selves over the mountain… yes I said MOUNTAIN.

We had to climb a freaking mountain to get remotely close to the edge. I am not 6 and I no longer feel the need to climb up trees everyday to come home and show my mommy my scraped knees. I am also not part squirrel and I am only the slightest part bunny.

As that all of that is true or partly true…climbing up the mountain was quite a feat. But Jennifer and I did it and I must admit that the higher and higher up we got the more overwhelmingly beautiful the scenery became.

Soon it was sunset and we were almost at the edge and it seemed like everything had stilled. I could hear “Secret Life of Daydreams” play in my head as I watched the colors swirl in the sky and I knew that no matter how hard I try I would never be able to see something that beautiful ever again…except for perhaps a Tony Award

We reached the edge and took it all in…I also took an analysis of these painters coming down the hill that gave new meaning to “suffer for your art”. You couldn’t pay me to carry a full sized easel and canvas and paint up a mountain. Well you could…but I’d hire a man caddy to carry it around for me and sing me showtunes.

I took in everything that I could of the edge and as it was quickly becoming dark Jennifer and I headed out.

About 5 minutes into our decent back to Hathersage the sun decided it was tired and crapped out on us. It felt like the time I had bought new shoes and took them out and then someone spilled a drink on them and it ruined my experience with the shoes.

That’s what this was like. I had this amazing sunset and started to really like the sun because as most people know I hate sunny days. So I was just starting this new relationship that I had never explored before with the sun. And what does the world do to our relationship…it takes away my source of lighting. I was not appreciative.

I also was not appreciative of the fact that I had to light my way back into Hathersage with a tiny cell phone. It reminded me of the time my dad told me to always have a flashlight and I thought he was crazy…if parents could not be right every once in a while that would be great.

So we managed our way back into town and ate dinner at Little Johns where I had spaghetti bolognese. By spaghetti bolognese I mean penne pasta with cheese strips and ground beef thrown on top…classy

Sunday will be one of the best days of my life for a long time.

We got up early and had the 4-pound breakfast that we-pre paid for the night before

WHAT A STEAL!

And by steal I mean on YHA’s part because this food was crap. I tried the yogurt and it tasted like dog medicine and then I figured I would grab some potatoes because no one can mess up potatoes…apparently I was wrong about that too. It was like. The man had created something that looked like a potato and had the consistency of a potato but actually was seaweed!

So after my lovely meal we hung out in the living room for about 45 minutes where I decided that there is no way I am having any more than 3 children…where I watched 2 mothers deal with 2 boys who both were having the worlds worst temper tantrums (one of which I totally understood).

Boy #1

Boy number 1 had grabbed one of the pillows off of the couch in order to make a fort. But his mother decided it was time to rest instead of play and made him put the cushion back. This apparently was not in the cards for Boy number one because he screamed as if the demon girl in Paranormal Activity was attacking him…I was unaware that humans could reach that decibel without the use of a microphone. Though I must admit his sister had made a fort as well and the mother didn’t make her stop playing so really it’s the mothers fault because consistency is key in parenting according to the unit on child development I did in psych.

Boy #2

I am totally on this child’s side and I would have done the same thing. This boy who was around the are of 4 or 5 had walked a total of over 10 miles the previous day and when his mother said it was time to go hiking again he cried and thew his body at the chair and wouldn’t let go.

Ummm….he’s like 5…he walked twice as many miles as his age in a steep uphill environment. He is crying cause he is in pain and doesn’t want to go hiking again. I felt sorry for him because if someone had asked me to go hiking Sunday morning let me tell you that I would have tied my body to a chair too!

So we headed to the bus stop and got on a bus full of elderly people (hmmm) to the Chatsworth House. Jennifer slept but you couldn’t make me fall asleep if you hit me over the head with a skillet. I could feel the house coming and the excitement pulsed through my veins with such electricity.

Just as I started to calm down and realize how long the drive was…I had a feeling

I could smell it…just the way I can smell snow. Just as I realized the feeling I had I looked a head and through the trees there it was…Pemberley (the Chatsworth house was Jane Austen’s inspiration for Pemberley which is why it is used in all the movies)

It was everything that I had been dreaming of and more. I had never seen something so magical and so divine.

We walked through each room decorated for Christmas and it was like a fairy tale and nothing was real…until the sculpture room.

I have had an image of what I wanted my wedding to look like for some time now. I’ve had vivid dreams and always saw greenery and thought of A Midsummer Nights Dream as the inspiration.

It wasn’t until I walking into this room that I realized what I had been looking at for all these years. It was Christmas time. The greenery was garlands and the mystical vibe was falling snowflakes projected on the walls. It was the most magical room I had ever seen.

We headed back to Hathersage after a small detour for a horrible lunch in Grindleford and before we knew it the day had ended. My magical trip that I had planned for years was over and I wouldn’t change a single thing (except for maybe the crap food).

Day 70

Today was life changing because I got to watch a Pantomime rehearsal.

Basically Panto is Musical Theatre + SNL+insanity…it was the most amazing thing that I have ever seen. It’s really all I can say about it because I was so inspired by what was going on…this is something that I want to do with my life.

This was all followed by a super yummy dinner at My Old Dutch with Steve’s mom and some laughs

Day 71-72

These were quite nonchalant days. I had class and then I had internship. Wednesday night I had internship seminar where I took a delightful test about London that might as well have been in Spanish.

Day 73

What a wonderful day. I saw the matinee of Billy Elliot. It was supurb and it was everything that everyone had always said it was. I cried at 1000 places. But my favorite part was the ballet with little billy and older billy…it was stunning

Then life became interesting when I saw Blasted. I wrote a review about it for The Actors Centre, the place I work for so instead of re-writing it just go to this link to see what I thought (it was a very interesting piece)

http://tbtonlinecollage.wordpress.com/2010/11/22/blasted-when-is-vulgarity-too-much/#more-174

Day 74

All that is important about today is that I saw Harry Potter 7 Part 1

It was amazing

I plan to see it again on Day 78

The red bus that almost hits them is the bus I take home

It was amazing

Day 75

Today I went to Stonehenge and Salisbury. The rocks were cool. I wanted to touch one but I couldn’t and that was sad. Salisbury was ok but I don’t like graveyards or places where people are buried and so being in a place where there are dead bodies surrounding me made me dizzy and I almost fainted so it wasn’t the best adventure.

Saturday night I went to Fabric, which is called the 2^nd best club in London. This was also recommended to me by numerous people from London and from the states.

I would say that Saturday night was the most epic and most fun time I have had in London…until I got to Fabric and then it was ruined. But everything leading up to Fabric was great. The whole gang was there and we just sat around listening and dancing to music eating taco’s and laughing and it was like the way I felt the first few weeks of class. Like everything was fresh and so much was ahead of us.

Then we get to Fabric and it sucks…it looks cool…props to whoever designed it! But the people and the lack of actual music made me want to scream and get my 18 pounds back.

I could only take so much so we left pretty early after 2 run-in’s with jerks

Jerk #1

This is my jerk

He was French and attacked me at the bar when I was trying to get water.

That was frustrating by the way. They wanted me to BUY water. Which I think they must assume everyone is wasted at the club and thus would fall for it but I was not drunk and therefore realized that paying for water was ridiculous. So I turned them down.

Anyway…this man comes up to me and wont stop telling me how pretty I am and saying all these weird things to me and putting his arm around me and I tell him to stop

Then he asks if I speak French. I say I can say the basic things which is mostly true. He then (in an attempt to sound sexy I suppose) looks me in the eyes and rambles off in French. If I didn’t speak French I’m sure I would have found that precious. However, one of the few units I actually found interesting was French slang and so I knew exactly what perverted things he was saying so I looked him straight in the eves and said

Je comprends…You are a jerk (yes I know I don’t write French well)

And walked away

Jerk #2

My friend was just dancing around and some douche bag comes up. Throws his drink in my friends face…and calls him a faggot.

I really thought that in London of all places things like that wouldn’t happen. I mean there are so many LGBT rights over here, including marriage, which was one of the things I loved about London. There was no prejudice and this just proved to me that no matter where you go people are ignorant

It’s disgusting that my LGBT friends have to live in a world where this kind of shit happens

It’s also disgusting that I turned away the second before this happened because I would have punched that guy in the face…then again maybe that is a good thing because I probably would have started a riot

Day 76

Today was my final Sunday at the Markets. I finished all of my Christmas shopping and bought myself some presents too!

Then that evening there was a Thanksgiving Potluck at the residence hall…lets just say…it wasn’t my mothers Thanksgiving

Day 77

That’s today! I have been at my internship working on articles for The Actors Centre’s Website and Blog. I am excited because right after I post this I am heading to My Old Dutch for dinner!!!!!

Shows seen to date= 24

Wicked

Merry Wives of Windsor

RADA staged reading

Pieces of Vincent

Love Never Dies

Les Miserables

Clybourne Park

Jason Robert Brown

Catwalk Show

All My Sons

Les Miz 25^th Anniversary tour

I drink the air before me = modern dance show

Enlightenment

Faust

Avenue Q

Cardboard Citizens

Parade

Hamlet

Design for living

My Romantic History

An Ideal Husband

Deathtrap

Billy Elliot

Blasted

Days 59-60

I currently have a lot on my mind and I decided it would be more than fine to just blog about 2 days.

Day 59

Yesterday was another day of relaxing and trying to get better. As I continue on my fun journey of no lung support I try to take it as easy as I can.

However, my sleep and resting is interrupted by the inevitable event of every Thursday…a show.

Now I am the last person in the world to avoid going to a show. So the fact that I didn’t want to go should be a testament to the fact of how not good I felt.

So after an attempt to get tickets for another night and then finding out that the rest of the run is sold out, I bundled up in my layers and headed out to see My Romantic History at the Bush Theatre.

I would rank it the 3^rd or 4^th best play that I’ve seen here. I’m debating because I can’t decide as of yet whether I like this or Pieces of Vincent better. So as of the moment my hierarchy of plays is the following

Design For Living

Faust

Pieces of Vincent / My Romantic History

Clybourne Park

Merry Wives

Enlightenment

Hamlet / All My Sons (I hated them both equally)

ANYWAYS… I really loved MRH. It was about relationships and really sheds a light on how two people can view the same situation completely opposite. It was really well acted and directed. So I am VERY glad that I did not miss out on this show for the following reasons

One: I loved it

Two: I had to buy the script and that makes me happy because there are some great women’s mono’s in there…YAY!

Day 60

I find it funny that its exactly two months after I left from the USA and this is when my mind becomes a clusterfuck.

A few weeks ago everyone in my friend group, myself included (bad grammar…yes), went through about 2 weeks where we all became very snappy at the world and really just missed our parents.
With the exception of the time where I broke down crying in front of the tube station because it was raining and I thought I was going to be late for the super expensive Les Miz tickets I bought, this was the only time I really broke down.

I seem to be going through some other phase at the moment that I can’t really put a name on.

Teachers say that as singers we have this muscle memory and that’s why what we work on in warm up’s every week helps us when we work on songs because your muscles remember what you had done before to make the right sound.

I feel like if this is true then maybe we have a “muscle memory” for emotions too. It’s officially the beginning of November and it feels like it. I’m antsy and jittery and home feels just around the corner…but it isn’t.

It’s not even that I want to go home now cause I don’t. People say that when you are tired of London then you are tired of living. I never want to leave London, I want to stay here and see shows every night and hang out with these amazing people who have become friends.

Yet…part of me longs for the long cream couch with the mahogany table in the center of room with The Holiday playing on the TV. A huge fire in the brick fireplace on the left hand side with the (almost) fully lit Christmas tree standing next to it .Meanwhile my mom sits on the couch to the right of me watching endless youtube video’s of all of her friends’ children singing multiple variations of the exact same song.

I can smell the gingerbread in the air and as I type this listening to “I’ll be home for Christmas” I can hear it soaring in the air back at home with such a completely different effect on me there then it does right now.

I can hear my mom and dad debating on whether Die Hard really is a “Christmas Movie”…and I miss home.

It’s not that I’m sick of London…I’m far from that.

It’s the beginning of November and every year at this time I feel home closely approaching. I know that I would normally be seeing my parents in 3 weeks and as of now I won’t for another…6 weeks and 1 day ( or ) 42 days.

Drew’s parents just visited him for a week. Steve’s mom arrives this week and is here for the duration of the semester and then Izzy’s whole family will be here for thanksgiving.

I don’t know how Jenny and Jamie are dealing with this since we are in the same boat when it comes to when we will see our parents.

But at this moment it feels like no matter what I do my “muscle memory” has taken me over and I can’t help but long for home.

I could really use a snow flurry right now.

“I'm dreaming tonight of a place I love


Even more than I usually do


And although I know it's a long road back


I promise you

I'll be home for Christmas


You can count on me


Please have snow and mistletoe


And presents by the tree

Christmas eve will find you


Where the love light gleams


I'll be home for Christmas


If only in my dreams”

P.S. If you are reading this at work…sorry for making you cry at work mom ... love you lol

That is what has been on my mind today.

Shows seen to date= 20

Wicked

Merry Wives of Windsor

RADA staged reading

Pieces of Vincent

Love Never Dies

Les Miserables

Clybourne Park

Jason Robert Brown

Catwalk Show

All My Sons

Les Miz 25^th Anniversary tour

I drink the air before me = modern dance show

Enlightenment

Faust

Avenue Q

Cardboard Citizens

Parade

Hamlet

Design for living

My Romantic History

Days 45-58

Wow I am SO BEHIND on my blog!

Shame on me!

Actually I don’t feel that bad about it because I have been too busy having the most amazing time over here in London!

I have had the most amazing time and somehow about 2 weeks have past by which is insane because I thought I had JUST written one of these.

So basically there are so many adventures to tell you about!!!

Day 45

So I realize that I said day 45 in the last post but I needed to finish the post because its important to talk about that evening.

So I have been looking forward all semester to see Hamlet and its not that I didn’t like it…I just…didn’t like the costumes, set design, direction, or acting.

So yea…I guess I didn’t like it.

I feel like a production of Hamlet isn’t good when I am sitting around waiting for Ophelia and Gertrude to die so I don’t have to watch them anymore.

Every time Gertrude would say something I would just think “I don’t believe you”. She was not a believable actress and just thoroughly annoying

Hamlet was so juvenile and angsty. When its played by a young 20 something guy that can be pulled off because then the actor is young enough to still be somewhat in that phase of life. But this guy was in his late 30’s or early 40’s and as an audience member I was just thinking…grow up you aren’t a 16 year old anymore so stop acting like one.

Attempting to watch this show was so EXGHAUSTING that I literally passed out the second I came home

Day 46

Today I went to Stratford. This was totally fun and adorable!

First- we went into this museum that was just like the one that’s in that episode of Gilmore girls during the…5^th season.

Everything was something that “may or may not” have been Shakespeare’s. So that was ridiculous. Then we went into his “house” which was equally crazy but it was so fun because it was so bad.

So after that we went to the church where he is buried, after which Kelly, Jamie and I headed to the Garrick Inn for lunch which was Super Fun…minus the food.

My hamburger sucked and made me sick later which is also possibly due to the fact that we went on the most insane carnival ride ever!! So much pain and spinning!!

After, we went to Shakespeare’s mothers house where I met three goats that I named Ferdinand, Phillip, and Trixie!!

That night I went out with Jennifer, Rachel, Emily, Melinda, Jenna but the adventure failed and so I came back and made mac and cheese!!

Day 47

So today I had an amazing voice lesson singing “some people” and “Flag maker”. I made lots of progress and it was all very exciting.

Afterwards I went to the office on Kings Road and bought cute shoes that were 10% off…yay!!

Then I met Jennifer & Sara to see Easy A. OH MY GOD that movie was so good! I am obsessed with it and I want to see it again and buy it on dvd.

Day 48

So today was Jennifer and I’s DAY OF FUN!!!!

So we started by going to the tower bridge and walking across and back taking loads of pictures we made fools of ourselves and it was great

Then we headed to spittlefield market and did some serious Christmas shopping!

Third was a trip to the cartoon museum which was awesome! We made awesome cartoons at the end of it that are shown on the vlog.

Then it was Raining so we came back and had dinner with the group at the STOCK POT…yumm!!!!

I came home and recorded my vlog followed by the most epic game of things.

It really was a perfect day

Day 49

So first Izzy and I went to Oxford Circus to do some shopping!

But then izzy didn’t feel good and went home while I pressed on and did some more serious Christmas shopping for my mommy!

Then I came home and did everything BUT write my paper until there was nothing left to do but write it.

I did…and I must admit I am quite proud of myself!

The night was pretty chill, we all studied and played a round of things before telling Drew happy birthday at midnight!

Day 50

Today started with the info meeting about Scotland where Jenny and I had cupcakes!

Then after the meeting I went to H&M and bought wool socks and sweaters after realizing how cold it was going to be.

That evening we celebrated Drews birthday and I wrote him a story! The best part was Josh and Izzy’s Song which you can also see on my vlog.

After the celebration we were all too tired to go out so we decided to postpone it till a later date.

Day 51

Today was pretty awesome!

I got to sleep in before going to Rymans for batteries for my camera.

Also this morning I went running and that was so fun.

I came back from Rymans and made zucchini frittata and gave josh a piece and he basically died he loved them so much.

I watched Greys and Glee and Gossip Girl till everyone came home.

THEN!!! Kelly, Steve, Izzy, Ben and I all went to see Design for Living. This show was so fine!!!

It was amazing on so many levels that I can’t even describe them all.

We all played an awesome game of things

Day 52 (a.k.a day 1 of Scotland)

Ok so it’s day 1 in Scotland. I woke up early at like 545am after like no sleep at all. I got ready and finished packing which BY THE WAY…I forgot my umbrella and inhaler.

So we got on the train and I sat next to Kelly and for the first half hour of the ride or so I finished catching up my journaling from the previous week.

Then I conversed with Kelly, dan, garret, and matt.

They are so funny!

So, the view on the train ride over was so amazing that I was in shock. As we approached Scotland I knew that this would be everything that I had wanted Dublin to be and more!

Then we got on the Wild and Sexy bus with andy, our haggis guide for the trip.

He is hilarious and in a kilt and talks about very awkward things all the time.

So, we drove through the countryside to Wallace Tower which we climbed up to which was a pain w/o my inhaler but the view was so amazing.

Then we pressed onward to a farm where we met Hamish, a Scottish bull cow thing. I got to feed him and it was exciting. Also, he kinda bit me…ouch

So, then we went to this fierce water fall as we drove through the highlands.

Then, we went to three sisters mountains (not Chekhov) which was just so amazing!

Today involved lots of jumping pictures eeek!!!!!

Everything was so beautiful!

I think the best part of the day was sitting next to steve on the bus! We have been bonding and have decided that we are twin brother and sister and I am so happy that he goes to IU!

After arriving in Ft. William at the hostel, where I am sleeping in a bed called “battle of the shirts”, we walked in the rain to the gravel and grog restaurant where I had totally ABFAB Mexican food!

Then in even harder rain we walked home and I arrived looking like a shivering wet dog!

Day 53 (a.k.a day 2 in Scotland)

So today was amazing! First we woke up and I got ready in the hall because my fellow roommates were still sleeping!

Then steve, Michael, josh, izzy, Jamie and I went a-walking around town and bought éclairs for breakfast followed by the purchase of an umbrella…yay!!!

Also, in other news my asthma attack is still off and on!

So, after almost passing out walking up the hill to the bus to drop off our bags we headed to the train station.

THIS was epic because we got to go on the train that is used as the Hogwarts express and traveled across the viaduct! I took lots of pictures and then steve and I got hot chocolate!

So, we arrived in Maillag (spelling?) and went straight to the fish and chips people! We brought our food back to the bus and I proceeded to have the best Fish and Chips in my ENTIRE LIFE!!!

I never knew I could like fish and chips but now my life has hope and wonders!

We got on the bus and about 30 mins down the road 2 of the wheels fall off of the bus!

So were stranded in the highlands! So for the next 2 hours we frolic in the highlands and then watched train spotting starring ewan mcgregor.

He is pretty beautiful but I like him better in big fish.

In the movie he plays a herion addict

It was definitely not my kind of movie but its always good to see things that are outside of your confort zone.

So we moved to a new bus and pressed on!

We stopped to pee (THANK GOD) and found out that we wouldn’t make the boat ride across loch ness.

This made me sad but on the Brightside we got to forage the mountain side to get a view of the viaduct from harry potter!

After some yummy marble cake we traveled onto a broken down castle and took pictures.

By then it was pouring!! We moved back into a wild and sexy bus and traveled to the hostel!

During this journey I spent 10 mins writing everything that came to my head and the result was pretty crazy.

So reading what I wrote I realize that I am a basket case…YAY!!!!!!!!

We also played mash and that was hilarious!

We arrived at the hostel and after dinner Jenny and I had an amazing talk and really bonded and now I love her even more then I did before!

So at dinner we ate Haggis…it was ok but I would never choose to eat it again. So after that there was Scottish Dancing which was my favorite part of being abroad thus far!

Josh and I got 2^nd place in the free style Scottish competition of course!

So then after a failed game of texas hold em’ we taught everyone how to play things and that was epically awesome!!

Day 54 (a.k.a day 3 in Scotland)

I wake up about 10 minutes later than planned but that’s fine because I already had all my crap together and had breakfast.

I had my hiking boots on and ready to go so I was ready to hike minus the whole being unable to breathe thing.

We drove down to Loch Ness and took pictures and it was the most beautiful thing we’ve seen in my opinion.

I just loved the sunrise casting a wave of purple and pink on the water.

We went into the shop and I got a sweater for myself and some undefined things for my mommy!

We got back on the bus and headed to the carigorne reindeer park/event/thingy!!

The hike wasn’t too bad considering the lack of oxygen in my lungs.

The view was breathtaking from the top of the mountain then we got to meet reindeer !!!

They were so friendly and nice…plus they were white (weird!)

So obvi they were not santa’s official reindeer but apparently in training!

I got to feed a few and video taped it!

Stacy and I decided not to climb up to the top of the summit and went down to take pictures by the stream with the itty bitty bun buns!!!!

Then we got on the bus and went to aviemore for lunch at Mambo’s where I had what I believe to be really amazing steak enchiladas!

I say believe because we were running late and so I had to eat it in 5 mins and it was way too fast to eat something that spicy!

We ran onto the bus and headed to the whisky distillery which I was so excited about with was being the operative word!

The smell of whisky was so overwhelming. I literally stopped myself from puking multiple times. So the whole time I had my scarf up to my nose which didn’t really help.

I gave jenny my free sample

Then we headed on the 2h-ish bus ride to Edinburgh. The ride was really beautiful and steve read while I listened to music. The ride was so beautiful, I just love green trees and mountains!!!

We got to the hostel that was super fancy! We dropped off our stuff and steve, Michael, stacy, Kelly, ally, Jamie, izzy, josh, and I had dinner at the bar downstairs!

The pizza was decent but the pitcher of some sort of tropical drink was superb!

I went upstairs and got ready and purplefied myself!

We came downstairs and embarked on the ghost tour!

The tour itself wasn’t that scary but standing in a pitch black room for 10 minutes is because I don’t like the idea that I don’t know what’s coming!

So, after that we got a free piece of shortbread in this screamo rock bar that was too intense for me

We headed back to the hostel and hung out there for about 2 hours playing games in the downstairs bar!

We then headed to espionage which was this awesome underground bar where we danced for like 3 or 4 hours.

I was lucky with the clocks going back a week earlier here than in the states and was able to be in bed by 2:30am!

Day 55 (a.k.a day 4 in Scotland)

So today was our last day in Scotland!!!

I slept in till 9am and headed to breakfast with potatoes!!! I was so excited because the only thing that most hostels serve is toast and so when I saw potatoes I almost died!!!!!!!

HUZZAH FOR POTATOES!!!

Speaking of potatoes here is a quote about me from my friend josh’s blog about Scotland!

“Right, I’m at a coffee shop/souvenir joint with two cows you can feed bags of vegetables to. They enjoy potatoes more than Jacque, and that girl loves potatoes. Poor girl was feeding one of the lovely bovines and was chomped at her fingertips. She washed her hands. (Editor’s Note: Was that last sentence necessary? I actually wrote, in my own private journal, ‘She washed her hands.’ Sometimes, I’m such a Christopher Robin.)”

So yea I enjoyed my potatoes and then we all walked to Edinburgh Castle which was totally adorable but Windsor still remains my favorite castle to date!

I was so thirsty so stacy and I went into a café INSIDE the castle to have something to drink. But then we felt bad about drinking something for free and then leaving so we ordered shortbread and were joined by Kelly and ally who were also thirsty and we quickly downed 3 more huge wine bottles filled with water!

Then this woman across the way has soup put in front of her and literally the saliva in my mouth tripled so quickly!

So we all ordered a bowl of traditional Scottish broth that we then ate…we had soup in a CASTLE!!

After that grand adventure we all went a shopping on high street where I did more Christmas shopping! They had lots of family crests and I was going to get one for my daddy but apparently Donahue is not a Scottish name (sorry dad)

So after my shopping fun we headed back to the hostel and grabbed our bags before walking to the train station!

I was able to snag a table on the train…YAY!!!

So josh, steve, izzy, and I all sat together and read and played games and enjoyed the countryside and its merriment.

The plan was to go out on Halloween night

I knew at noon that this was not going to happen!

When we got back to the res hall we all decided it would be Drew’s decision to decide if we went out or not and THANK GOD he wanted to stay in

Everyone Rejoiced and then went to bed

Day 56

Today started off kind of silly!!! I woke up and couldn’t breathe and yet I still powered through and showered and made myself look pretty hott if I say so myself. All this effort was only to be ruined by my arrival at my internship where I find out that I didn’t need to come in anyway.

So I head home and skype with my mom for what I think was 3 hours, go grocery shopping, and make my epic Scotland Vlog that is up on the y-tube if you are at all interest

ed!

We then went to My Old Dutch where I had the chili con carne again! I think next week I will branch out and try the Ratatouille!

The only reason I can spell that word is because I am OBSESSED with that movie!

Day 57

DRAMA DRAMA DRAMA

So I wake up yesterday and I’m crying and can’t breathe and my asthma has gotten dramatically worse!

So I end up going to the ER with one of the RA’s for my building!

This is around 10am. A little after 1 I am FINALLY seen. There are people who came after me who got to go in before me because of broken legs.

Im SORRY but being unable to breathe should trump injured limb…just sayin!

So when I get in the guy looks and listens to me. He says that I have an infection in my lungs that would have turned into pneumonia if I had waited any longer to come in.

However I am quite unsure of this mans intelligence in the field of medicine for the following reasons.

One: when I showed him my inhaler he said he had never heard of Albuterol

Two: when he looked in my mouth he says…oh you still have your tonsils

Umm this alone concerns me that a “doctor” doesn’t know the difference between a mouth with or without tonsils

Three: he forgot to sign his prescription and I had to come back to get him to sign it for boots (the UK Walgreens) to give me the medicine

Four: He had really bad teeth and I don’t trust doctors who don’t take care of themselves to take care of me

So after coming home I took a nap followed by watching High School Musical 3!

Day 58

Yup…today is day 58 which is pretty insane and im not sure how I feel about it.

It means I’m a little more then half over with the semester and that seriously concerns me.

I slept in today because I’m trying to rest up so I don’t die and so I can hopefully sustain normal breathing habits which has yet to happen.

So I’ve been in bed all day today trying to rest and I decided that this would be the perfect moment to finally catch up in my blog…yay!

Shows seen to date= 19

Wicked

Merry Wives of Windsor

RADA staged reading

Pieces of Vincent

Love Never Dies

Les Miserables

Clybourne Park

Jason Robert Brown

Catwalk Show

All My Sons

Les Miz 25^th Anniversary tour

I drink the air before me = modern dance show

Enlightenment

Faust

Avenue Q

Cardboard Citizens

Parade

Hamlet

Design for living

Days 41-45 : A Rant

To begin with I must say that I am frustrated with people at the moment. So before recapping the last 4 days of my life I feel like it is necessary to explain the things that I will NOT miss when I go home to Kansas in 57 days.

I will not miss having to eat pizza with a fork and knife

I will not miss having to worry about pick pockets (more on that later)

I will not miss paying 10 for something and when it goes out of my bank it takes 15

I will not miss being squished in the tube next to men who need to wear better deodorant

I will not miss being cold without the satisfaction of having snow all around me

I will not miss being unable to find the brands I want in the grocery store

I will not miss the crap beef that London supplies

I will not miss having to wait a month after everyone else back home to see a movie

I will not miss having to look decent everyday as opposed to comfy in sweats

I will not miss having to specifically make sure that I ask for tap water otherwise they bring me a bottle of water that I must pay for

Now these are 8 things… I can’t possibly list all the things that I will miss because it would be 17 pages long (I might attempt to later though). So while at the moment I am sick and tired of eating my pizza with a fork and knife I am actually still quite in love with this city. I just miss some American customs that I didn’t even know were customs till I came here and realized they are not a worldwide thing.

Thing #2 I am frustrated with that I must discuss before I recap.

I had one of those moments yesterday where I question humanity. I have seen the following numerous times on the tube; a pregnant woman walks on and even though its crowded someone ALWAYS gets up and offers their seat to her because that is the right thing to do.

Yesterday as I walked on the tube, covered in purple I might add, I witnessed something quite shocking. Two women entered the tube that were obviously pregnant. One was a Caucasian woman of some sort of British decent and the other was obviously of Middle Eastern decent and was wearing a modern burka.

Immediately multiple elder men jumped out of their seats to offer it to the Caucasian woman but this wasn’t the case for the other one.

She was standing near the aisle of seats obviously hoping for one to open up. Each time a person would get up to get off the tube it the seat would quickly be replaced before the woman could make it to the seat. I wanted to give the people the benefit of the doubt that maybe they couldn’t tell that she was pregnant and yet stop after stop she would get closer to where the seats are and yet even while in clear vision not a single person offered their seat to her.

Are we so blinded by hatred and prejudice that we stop acting like humans? I didn’t and don’t understand why people would deem this woman undeserving of a place to rest her feet. Why does the Caucasian woman have any more right to a seat on the tube then the Middle Eastern one? She was obviously tired and kept wiping her forehead and anyone could see that she needed a place to sit down.

That just really made me mad about people for the day. I can’t understand how people deem others as worthless but I guess I never will.

Day 41

So today was 99.999% amazing. I convinced Izzy to go to the Sunday markets with me. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to go but about 5 minutes after getting there she was very pleased with my making her do this.

The Sunday markets are basically amazing. Plus there is all this ethnic food that is super cheap. Izzy and I both had beautiful burritos that were the size of our faces and they were delicious.

We searched through all the Sunday up markets stands and then after venturing down the rest of brick lane we headed to spittle field markets. It’s difficult to tell any stories about all the shopping experiences because people who I bought presents for read my blog and so this would give away Christmas and I don’t want to do that!

However, after today I only have 5 more people to shop for and then I am DONE!!! Huzzah!!!

So all day long I had been looking at journals because I am going to run out in the one I currently have and I am very picky about them and need to pick them out myself. So in spittlefields I found the PERFECT journal. It was hand made and leather bound and on the front was a little seahorse and stars and I haggled the price from 25ish down to 15. It was my most exciting purchase of the day and as I’m gushing to izzy about it on the tube, some EVIL man stole it from me.

That is all I have to say about that. I hope he enjoys the journal…I hope he writes in it everyday and turns it into a book that is his best selling novel. Then one day in interviews someone will ask him what his biggest regret was. He will say that he always regrets stealing his first journal with a little seahorse on it from the poor American on the tube.

That’s when I’ll strike!! So for now…he can enjoy his little journal because one-day ill find him and vengeance will be mine.

Day 42

Today I spent the day doing my mothers job a.k.a. legal work. After dealing with legal papers all day at my internship I decided that if I ever become a lawyer I will hire an assistant for this crap because otherwise I would lose my mind.

I also respect my mom much more for being able to read legal documents without an ipod and yet stay awake.

I can’t remember what I did that night so I must have stayed in and slept or something else boring.

Day 43

Today was awesome because instead of class we went to see the cardboard citizens. They are a group who do forum theatre, which is this very therapeutic kind of theatre that puts the audience in charge.

I finally did my laundry after needing to do it for a week then the group played an awesome round of things.

Day 44

Wednesday was awesome because I got to observe a British class on Meisner and funnily enough the director who taught it was from San Francisco.

Then was the grand adventure…

In an effort to not have to pay to get to the theatre to see Parade I decided to get off at the last stop in Zone 2 and then just walk to the theatre because on the map it didn’t look that far away.

I should have looked at the distance because it was 3 miles. That isn’t that far but when you are alone and not quite sure where you are and your ipod is dead; you walk slow. So after an hour I was FREEZING and confused and was kinda emotional anyway so I gave up and took a cab anyway paying 2 more pounds then I would have if I had gotten off at the tube station that was close.

So I got there an hour early and needed something to do so I wandered into this bar and grill that really was a bar that served French fries. It was cool if standoffish people who don’t speak English and obviously don’t like you are your thing.

It was a greek or turskish bar but I can’t tell which one because I am not an expert on language. From the tv screen in the corner that was playing news I gathered it was one of those 2 countries because the writing running along looked familiar to the writing I had seen in Greece 2 years ago.

I went to the counter to order a cranberry juice. The woman bartender couldn’t quite understand me and then proceeded to tell me that they didn’t have cranberry juice there. The man next to me was drinking cranberry juice so I asked her what was in his drink…she refused to answer the question. So I got an orange juice and then drank it in the corner while I texted my mom to tell her that I missed her whilst the people in the bar were staring at me yacking on in some undefined language. I left promptly after finishing my juice and thanked the lady.

However the night was rescued by Parade. It was chilling and amazing and beautiful. AND I bought the soundtrack on itunes within 10 minutes of getting home. How I never owned the soundtrack to JRB’s 3^rd best musical I do not know. I say 3^rd because L5Y and SFANW still are my top two.

But seeing all these senior musical theatre majors perform was quite a rude awakening. I had never thought about the fact that when I graduate I’m not just competing with all the Americans…there are people over in England just as talented as Americans are and just as able to take those roles that I have coveted for so long.

I am determined more then ever to train to be the best that I can be because there is some hefty competition coming from the other side of the pond.

Day 45

Today has been pretty chill. I went to class this morning and discussed the production of Faust that we saw last week.

Then I came back here to the res hall and have been resting ever since in preparation for tonight when I see the 4 hour Hamlet at the National Theatre.

I am quite excited for this experience since Hamlet is my 3^rd favorite Shakespeare play.

Shows seen to date= 18

Wicked

Merry Wives of Windsor

RADA staged reading

Pieces of Vincent

Love Never Dies

Les Miserables

Clybourne Park

Jason Robert Brown

Catwalk Show

All My Sons

Les Miz 25^th Anniversary tour

I drink the air before me = modern dance show

Enlightenment

Faust

Avenue Q

Cardboard Citizens

Parade

Hamlet