Days 7-17

OK i SWEAR after this i will write everyday instead of waiting and collecting it all up

It takes too long to put together haha!

Day 7

On my last day of freedom before classes I went shopping with Kori and Stacey….

I now understand why the writer of “Confessions of a Shopaholic” is from London. This city could make even my mother a shopaholic and she HATES shopping. So after dropping way too much money at Topshop and H&M we ventured back to the dorm to get ready for the first IES social outing!

Drew, who coincidentally also goes to IU, made everyone Chicken Curry for dinner and it was totally ABFAB! After spending way too much time relaxing I hurried to get ready.

The student assistants took us to Tiger Tiger! Which is this awesome night club with 3 dance floors and a VIP lounge. Since it was freshers week it was wonderful cause everyone there was our age.

Day 8

Today was my first day of classes!! I know you all hate me cause I didn’t start class till September 14^th!

I LOVE my classes! Usually every semester there’s the one class that brings you down and makes you want to sleep in and skip it. But so far I don’t think that’s going to happen this semester.

Does it have something to do with the fact that I’m taking all theatre classes… probably

So I start off my Tuesday mornings from now on with Playwriting at 10am. I was worried about playwriting because it was never my forte. I can write you poems and short stories

Sometimes a Haiku

If I’m in the Haiku mood

Which never happens

Anyway, I was really nervous about playwriting but I really think that other then acting this will probably be my next favorite class!

Acting follows Playwriting after which we end our day at 7pm with the theatre industry.

However…today was special!!!! Marina (our theatre teacher) thought it might be fun to go see a reading a RADA…so she took us.

OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I literally can’t believe that I spent 2 hours in RADA (for those of you who are non theatre folk that stands for Royal Academy of Dramatic Art)

Let me just say that for the record…after seeing a performance at RADA there is no question in my mind as to why everyone who leaves there has totally fab careers.

Day 9

After a fiasco on Monday where I accidentally ordered 2 coats instead of one I took the extra coat back to the store. Followed by an exciting trip for school supplies!

This was followed by the boring class about what its like to be an intern which thankfully has a HILARIOUS teacher who I think just dropped out of the 60/70’s stereotype definition book and into our classroom.

When I think about it…today was actually pretty boring compared to all my other adventures

Day 10

The best way to describe the experience I had is to start from the beginning

In class on Tuesday Marina told us about the show that we were going to see Thursday night.

She explained that

1. 1. its fringe theatre

2. 2. we would be sitting on mats on the floor

3. 3. we would be SITTING on MATS on the FLOOR

4. 4. see 2&3

So am walking into this show ready to see a piece of crap theatre. Probably another “concept piece”…I hate concept pieces. Normally because I never get the concept and when I do get the concept I feel like it would have made more since if the actors weren’t in the audience throwing confetti at everyone. Or standing in the middle of an empty stage asking rhetorical questions that are stupid.

SO basically I’m expecting to experience the above…BOY WAS I WRONG

This show was chilling! I cried at least 6 times during the show and at the end I was crying like someone had told me I was going to die tomorrow. Which wouldn’t be an advertisement for the show in itself because I cry at Christmas cards and Pillsbury doughboy commercials. However, the boys were crying too so I think that says something about the intensity of the production.

I really don’t want to give away the story so I wont tell any of the specifics. The acting was…amazing.

I don’t know why I didn’t think it would be, I mean I am in LONDON, just amazing.

Day 11

Friday was so amazing! Watch my vlog for a video of the excitement!

First (not on video) I decided to get lost in Harvey Nicks for a few hours and it was AMAZING!!!!!

I tried on expensive dresses and shoes and it was totally ABFAB

I wanted to buy a headband but the cheapest one there was 90 pounds so that wasn’t going to happen!

Then just as I was walking out I walked past the makeup counters and found MY makeup!!!

Which sounds ordinary but in the states this makeup is only sold at sephora so I was concerned that when I ran out I would have to go to Amsterdam just to go to a sephora for some foundation!!

So I bought myself some mascara and called the adventure a success!!

This was followed by a trip to Harrods – La Duree. Which is a French tea room in Harrods that is supposed to have the best pastries in the world

Personally I thought that they were the worst ones I have had so far!!!!

This was all followed by the AMAZING BEYOND AMAZING adventure that was Friday night

Josh and I went to…Love Never Dies

It was amazing! I don’t care what those stupid critics say! They can take their reviews and shove them in a ketchup bottle! Love never dies was like sunshine on a cloudy day!

Years and years I have sat waiting wondering and crying over the horrible end to Phantom of the Opera. I hate Raoul and I always will. I always knew that she really loved the Phantom and it was just stupid for her to not choose him.

Love Never Dies made all my dreams come true!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The singing was AMAZING!!! Ramin Karimloo has the most beautiful voice I have ever heard in my entire life! Better then Norbert Leo Butz who had been my all time favorite singer since 2004. But now he is bumped to the #2 slot because Ramins voice is what I think heaven must sound like.

Sierra Boggess was sick….rude

After the show Josh and I met up with the group at O’neils in china town and had a jolly good time! The guy at the front didn’t believe I was 18 and wouldn’t let me in at first. Even after I showed him my id. Yet did he card josh…NO! I suspect meaness!!!!!

Day 12

I WENT TO BUCKINGHAM PALACE!!!!!!!!!!!

How awesome is that!!! Getting to the entrance to the palace was difficult because we needed to get to the other side during the changing of the guard and so I almost was accosted by an unusually large horse.

This makes me wonder where they get these horses. Is there a special breeding farm in England where they bring up extraordinarily large horses or are there special supplements involved? More importantly…why aren’t people asking these questions? Perhaps the Queen has paid off the major media outlets to keep her secret giant horse-breeding factory under the wraps…I don’t know.

SO once we escaped near death by mutant horse we went into the palace!!! Personally I like the inside of Buckingham Palace much better then Windsor Castle. But I like the outside and the gardens better at Windsor. So if they could like mesh the two the result would be a pretty fierce house. Perhaps that’s what her home in Scotland looks like.

The best part of the experience was at the end…when we discovered that you could have TEA AT THE PALACE!!!!!!! So I did and let me tell you…the queen knows how to make a chocolate tart and tea!

After rushing home to grab my music I headed far far away to go to my first British voice lesson. After she had me belting G’s and F’s I decided that she is the most fierce woman EVER!! So I have now booked every Saturday that I have free with her from now until I leave!

We thought about going out but everyone was just so exhausted so Drew, Josh, Steve, Jamie and I played card games for 10000 hours.

Day 13

Today was a tour of some of the East end markets. I was so excited about the experience because I was ready to buy some 5 pound vintage dresses.

I found 50 pound vintage dresses

So I came home with 2 necklaces and 4 scarfs instead.

The best part about the experience was the flower market! There were just rows and rows of beautiful flowers that I wanted to take home. Of course everything I buy, whether it be fish or flowers, always dies. So that really wasn’t an option.

This was all followed by Izzy and I cooking Rosemary Chicken, Mashed Potatoes, and a Garden Salad for dinner for everyone. Izzy wanted to learn to cook so I decided to do the Barbie doll method of teaching.

*Barbie doll method of teaching = when I was little and wanted to learn to sew my mom made me make Barbie clothes as my first project because they are one of the hardest things to hand sew and so by doing something really hard everything else afterwards seems so easy

Day 14

Today I had my first interview for an internship with “The Space”! I really loved the people there and the atmosphere and I thought it was a great experience.

The evening was pretty amazing! The student assistants took us to an ice bar in London that was negative 5 degrees Celsius. So it was bloody cold. But it has to be obviously because otherwise the ice would melt! The bar itself was somewhat disappointing but im glad I had the experience. About half of the people went out afterwards and the other half of us was too tired and went home.

However, on our way home Kori and I walked past this pastry shop, that will be called heaven from now on, and creeped in and bought yummy pastries that totally made up for the ice bar being somewhat lame!!

After coming home and eating yummy yummy chocolate moose Josh decided to entertain us all for a couple of hours and it was HILARIOUS.

Day 15

Our second round of classes began. I was very nervous because I had a presentation on Stanislavski in my acting class and I really wanted it to go well…AND IT DID!!!

Then in theatre industry a casting director came and talked to us about the casting process in London.

After a very yummy dinner cooked by Josh I was so tired that I went to sleep because the next day I had big plans!!!!

Day 16!!!

So today was AMAZING for the following reasons

1. I just went to my first open call here and it was SO MUCH FUN!!! It went so well and I got to meet all of these british girls who are in theatre and their accents were hilarious!! Most people would feel awkward being the only American in a room full of brits but I found it totally exhilarating!

2. Then I had my interview with The Actors Centre, which is the place that I have decided that I want to work. All the work that I’m going to do is awesome and top secret.

I LOVE my boss. We spent the whole time talking about Joss Whedon and then Dr. Horrible which of course lead to Neil Patrick Harris which then lead to glee! She is basically awesome and I can’t wait to work for her!

3. We all got together and saw Les Miz

Actually in a way this isn’t part of the AMAZING list because I was really disappointed in Les Miz. I was ready to have my heart and soul ripped out and thrown on the floor and all I could muster up was …that’s sad

It was funny though because on our way out we passed by the gay bar that my mom and I accidently stumbled into when we were in London and so I thought of her lol!!!

Day 17

That’s today!!! So my presentation on Pieces of Vincent went really well!

Its pouring rain today so I decided to take the bus home so I could sit on the top and look out the window at the rain filled city…it was beautiful

Later tonight im seeing Clybourne Park at the Royal court theatre and I am VERY excited about it

Shows seen to date= 6

Wicked

Merry Wives of Windsor

RADA staged reading

Pieces of Vincent

Love Never Dies

Les Miserables

Days 2-6

So basically I’m never coming back to the US…ok well I wish I was never coming back

And OK, I know…I’m a horrible person I haven’t written in here since the first day.

I could lie and say orientation has been crazy but the truth is that I literally can’t leave London long enough to write in here.

In many ways this all doesn’t feel real. I have moments where all of the sudden it will hit me as I’m walking down the street or something and it will literally stop me in my tracks. If you have studied abroad before then I know that you know what I’m talking about. You forget that you are in this amazing place because you are running late somewhere and then you look up at these buildings and think…wow

Day 2

After being by myself all day all the people in my program FINALLY arrived today. Meeting everyone in the program was kind of hilarious when quite a few of us realized there are A LOT of us from IU.

I really wanted to make friends from new places but now I’m really happy that in addition to all the people who are spread around the world I’ve also met people who I know I can see easily back home.

I want to describe everyone but it would literally make this the longest blog post in the history of the world!

However, since I will probably mention them 1000 times over the next few months you should learn the names Kori and Stacey because they are two of the most awesome people I have ever met.

So after everyone was unpacked we went on a walking tour of Chelsea and figured out where the tube station and grocery stores are. After which Kori and Miles and I went to this shop for lunch where I paid 10 pounds for a salad that was the size of a small orange.

The best of the day was when Stacey, Kori, and I decided to go exploring after dinner and decided to take pictures in front of people’s houses and pretend they were ours.

Day 3

Today’s orientation was more intense then the day before. Starting at the beautiful hour 8:50am we met and took the tube into central London to go to where our classes were going to be.

The only way to properly describe the tube would be to tell everyone to take all the stereotypes of what subways are and reverse them. The tube is quiet (well its quiet when I’m not on it lol), clean, everyone on it looks like they could be on their way to a fortune 500 company, and the seats are so comfy that I could fall asleep.

We were separated into 3 groups for our orientation and I was in the Highbury group which I think sounds very fancy. It makes me want to go have tea with the queen.

After seminars about what life, classes, and the area we were in London are like we got to meet who our teachers were. One of the reasons I picked this program was because every time I read about my teacher the student just raved on and on about her and said how she had changed their lives and that she was the best teacher they had in college. I can honestly say that everything that was said is true and more. Her connections into the world of theatre are amazing and she wants to share it all with us. The only way to properly get a picture of this is for me to quote her…

“I think I might take you guys to RADA…there’s going to be a reading of a new play by this really hott playwright but I can get you guys in it sounds fun”

“I’ll be too attached to work so I’m bringing in a director from the royal Shakespeare company to work on your scenes with you…he’s really hott and in demand right now”

“I really want to take you guys to this award show, it’s kind of like the tonys and I think you guys would like it”

….ummm OH MY GOD! So basically I am freaking out in excitement about starting classes.

That night me and some girls went to the pub down the street. The evening as a whole was pretty hilarious. Because just as were ready to sit and chill for a couple of hours the pub is closing because apparently pubs close at 11 here and we got there at 1030. After running into another group of our friends walking down the street this incredibly wasted British boy about our age stumbles up to the group and starts talking to us.

Let me clarify something about drunk people. American drunk people are funny… British drunk people are so hilarious that you pee your pants a little bit. I’m thinking it has something to do with the accent.

So we (minus the drunk brit of course) ended up just hanging out in one of the floors kitchens till 2am ish. There were so many people in that kitchen im sure we were breaking fire codes but it was a jolly good time.

Day 4

The day’s activities were pretty simple. There was one big meeting where we learned about safety in London and then we had a 2 hour break before a meeting about our internships. So a small group of us went to the British Museum because its only 2 blocks away from the center. We finished most of the first floor and we all touched a copy of the rosetta stone before seeing the real thing in another room!

After learning about what my internship was going to be like. Kori and Jennifer and I went shopping and I bought 3 ADORABLE dresses. I am thoroughly obsessed with the clothes here.

After learning about what my internship was going to be like. Kori and Jennifer and I went shopping and I bought 3 ADORABLE dresses. I am thoroughly obsessed with the clothes here.

This was all followed by the amazing beyond amazing event of going to the Globe theatre. Which I thought was hilarious because our guides didn’t know how to get there. So I had to tell them!!!!

If you don’t know what the globe theatre is then I am shaking my head at you. My reaction to the experience is very complicated. I loved the theatre and the people and the atmosphere. The play and the way it was done was amazing. The actors really made what they were saying come through in their actions and body language. However, I missed most of it because I was thinking of the various ways that I could stretch my feet.

Whoever decided back in the day that watching theatre standing up was a evil and cruel man who hates feet. I say man because no woman would CHOOSE to do this to her feet. I appreciate the program getting us these tickets…but I would have GLADLY paid 15 pounds so I could sit down! However, moving past that, the theatre was magnificent. It was better then I had ever dreamed and it was so beautiful that personally I think it could make even the smallest theatre goer drop their jaw and shed a tear at the magnificence.

Since we were in the heart of London and it was Friday night everyone headed out to the clubs. Let me just say that after walking around all day and then standing for 2.5 hours there was no way in h*** that I was going to the clubs looking like this! So kori and I went back to the dorm and changed into pretty clothes and hit the town.

We ended up at this club where when we got there the bouncer was telling this group of people that it was full and they weren’t taking anymore people. Before he even finishes talking to them he grabs me and Kori and tells us to come right in. Sometimes being a girl has its advantages lol. After painting the town red for 3 hours Kori and I stumbled home around 330am.

Overall it was an amazing night. The club was so much fun. It was a little more fun for me because I met a cute boy who was all adorable. Then not so fun for Kori who kept on being hit on by bald midgets. While I find this hilarious, I have no idea why this happened because Kori might be one of the most beautiful people I have ever met lol. So we decided that next time we needed to go somewhere else.

Day 5

BUS TOUR OF LONDON!!!!!! Was my first thought….a few hours later my thought was

WOW…THAT SUCKED!!!!!!

When i read “bus tour” I guess I didn’t know that they took the phrase so literally. I mean I saw a lot of places but we never left the bus. So I still have so many places left to see that I thought I was going to see because all my pictures were taken through a window. Except once when we got out to see the outside of the church where Princess Di got married.

The tour was ended at the British Museum…yes the same one I was at the day before. The guide was so boring I could feel my ancestors falling asleep. So Kori, Stacey, and I left!!!

We went back to the pub I had lunch at on the first day and had dinner. I had steak and cider. I’m not sure what it is about the apple cider here but it just tastes so much better then it does in the states!

After dinner we all got dolled up and met the guy I had met the night before. It took me about 2 seconds to realize…umm no way.

If you know me at all you know that I am stubborn and I would never last with a guy who thinks that I’m his…”baby”…So I was like “umm you don’t own me” So that was the end of that! However we did look really cute!!

Day 6

OK day 5 was yesterday! Yesterday I think has been my favorite day thus far. We went on a trip to Windsor castle a.k.a My future home when I marry Prince Harry.

I am obsessed with this castle. I want to live in it and pick a room and decorate it in all PINK!!! Ill put up lots of pictures of it on facebook I promise because it is worth seeing. It was lame that you couldn’t take picture from the inside…and by lame I mean that I turned on my flip camera and hid it in my purse and did it anyway.

So you can expect the never before seen tour of the castle on my vlog which im currently working on and will be up today (day 7) or tomorrow.

I had this moment walking around the grounds where I looked up to the sky and saw the most beautiful clouds and was reminded of home. All of the sudden I didn’t feel so far away. Cause when I looked up at the sky I knew that at some point all my friends and family had looked up at the same sky.

This adventure was followed by going home and me cooking my spaghetti recipe which people really liked even though I personally think that it was one of the worst batches I have ever made! After din din we all went down to the water to watch the fireworks and go to the festival! Both of which were awesome! At the festival we hit the dance floor and swing danced our legs off! Kori and I are self proclaimed swing pro’s!

OK so that’s a basic idea of what has been going on in my life right now.

After 1000 I gave up on the cute boy counting. So instead I will count shows seen

Shows seen to date: 2

Day 1

Today is actually day 2 but since i woke up an hour earlier then i planned i'm going to take this opportunity to talk about the last 48 hours or so!

The shit hit the fan when i made the decision to not sleep the night before i left for the UK in an effort to make sure that i was so tired on the plane the next day that i would HAVE to fall asleep then thus getting on London time. This "great plan" backfired. I couldn't fall asleep. There are some people who can sleep everywhere and anytime...i am not one of these people.

SIDE NOTE

Im pretty sure the woman sitting next to me had narcolepsy. With the exception of my dad i have never seen someone fall asleep so easily who hasn't spent the night before at a marathon of some sort.

Things were going on schedule i was very tired and i had eaten dinner (pasta...yumm). I was watching "Letters to Juliet" on the little screen in front of me and i could feel nature pulling my eyelids down. It was the last 10 minutes of the movie and i was so tired that i figured i could just watch them later after i slept. So i close my eyes and feel sleep coming and that state of calm you feel just before you fall into slumber....then not one but TWO babies decide that this is when they want to scream non stop for about an hour.

All hope of sleep was basically lost then. I mean i tried every way and position that i could to fall asleep but it just wasn't happening. If i wasn't uncomfortable then the elementary school kids were running up and down the aisle. So here is the break down of what went on in the plane

sleep: 40 minutes of that half awake half asleep kinda rest

sheep counted: 463....however starting at around 230 the sheep started over the fence instead of just hopping so it got interesting

books read: halfway through "Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang"

Music listened to: Im pretty sure that i listened to "teenage dream" like 40 times and i listened to "circle the drain" so many times that i now know all the words

After the worlds longest air ride we finally landed at London Heathrow Airport! Which is one of my favorite airports in the world. We were a little early so it was 530am. I found it funny that i had to wait in line to get through immigration. I thought the whole point of getting a VISA and going through all that prior entry clearance was that i got to avoid the long line. I would complain about it but i met a woman in line who looked EXACTLY like Bea Arthur and so i found this hilariously awesome (forgot to take a picture though).

After retrieving both of my bags i lugged all 104.5 pounds of luggage (this isn't counting my backpack and duffle carry on that weighed as much as a 2 year old) I searched for the train depot!

Im taking my sweet time and just casually walking through the passage ways when i see a screen that the next train is in 5 minutes and i think...OH CRAP!! So i start..i would say running...but it was more akin to trotting because my attempts at running were slowed down by all the things i was lugging around. So while i "trotted" through the hallways looking like an idiot i read the station while the train was still there and got on as fast as i could. BUT i looked around and realized that i was in the first class car! So i got out of the train (during which i got my suitcase stuck between the train and the platform) and entered in the car behind the one i was just in only to realize that there was a door in the back of the first class car that connects the two and i could have just gone through that.

So drenched in sweat with only 40 minutes of sort of sleep under my belt i sat on the train as it took me to Paddington Station! 15 minutes later i was there. I really wish i had taken picture of it because this station is SO BEAUTIFUL. I'll make sure to do that next time i'm there i promise because it's something worth seeing.

I made my way to the taxi pick up place because the tube workers were on strike and so they were all closed. You could tell how much the tube being closed effected (affected? i'm never sure about those two) the flow of the city. First of all the line to get a taxi was HUGE. I had about 75+ people in front of me and very quickly just as many behind.

After a fun taxi ride with a man who was very excited about the fact that i was from kansas because his daughters favorite movie is "The Wizard of Oz" i arrived at the IES Residence Hall! The world isn't lying when they say that Chelsea is one of the most beautiful parts of london because every building here is just gorgeous!

So after waiting 3.5 hours to get my room because the guy who normally does it was late because of the tube strike and was thus biking here from god knows where i arrived in room 813.

Can i just say that i love my room!! I mean i have bitched for the past 3 months about how small my room is going to be but in person it's just perfect! I decided to take the half lofted bed because i like that i could use the space underneath to put all my shoes. The view is just fierce! I can see the london eye just sitting in bed looking out the window and last night i could see it all lit up. I haven't met my roommate yet but that happens later today so ill make sure to tell you how that goes. I'm really hoping she doesn't mind that i took the lofted bed!.

So after unpacking all my clothes i freshened up and took to the streets! Freshening up was a must because i swear to god everyone here looks amazing. There are no people in jeans and t shirts. They are all in leggings and tights and skirts and blouses and fashion boots! It's very intimidating to someone who has had no sleep and looks like crap but i think i freshened up just fine!

You cant tell in the picture but i have super cute boots on! So i went shopping because i needed a uk phone, toiletries, a mobile broadband stick, british vogue, and school supplies apparently cause when looked for pens i found out i brought no writing utensils whatsoever...oops!

So after a nice shopping trip i stopped in a local pub called trafalgar and had a "classic burger and fries" which i must say were AMAZING!! They make burgers better here then they do in the states! I was very impressed.

So after a jolly good shopping trip i set up my bedroom and rewarded myself by taking a 3 hour nap! It was fab!

I love naps and i honestly don't understand why i tried to avoid them as a child. Naps are like little gifts from the sleep fairy of restful bliss.

So i woke up full of energy and realized that all the shows in the west end started in an hour and so i called to see if i could get tickets to WICKED!!! I chose wicked for the following reasons

1. i was still to jet lagged to be able to make it through a drama

2. wicked and billy elliot are the closest to my dorm

3. i picked wicked because its been forever (and by forever i mean a little less then a year) since i saw it!!!

my seats were kinda amazing

I was in the 4 row and dead center!!! SCORE!!! This was by far the best production of wicked that i had ever seen. To say that Rachel Tucker was fierce would be the biggest understatement ever. She was...beyond fierce...i'm not sure what the word is but when i figure it out ill get back to you!

I ended up taking a cab to get to the theatre because the bus stop was on the other side of the road and it was busy and there are NO crosswalks so i had absolutely no idea how to get across...i still don't. It's my goal for today to figure that out!

After the show i ate some lasagna at Prezzo and tried some pink wine which should be re named piss wine cause it tasted like crap...so glad i paid like 4 pounds to drink poo! lol

I was able to work out the bus situation afterwards and i made my way home even after getting off at the wrong stop and then running back to catch the bus before it left!

Overall day 1 of london has been pretty amazing!

So at the bottom of each post i was going to keep tally of how many hott british guys i saw...but i saw SO MANY so quickly yesterday that i was overwhelmed and forgot to count! So i will start counting today(day 2) and get back to you later tonight on that!!