Barcelona FTW!

Well it has been quite the weekend of win and fail for me.

WIN: Thursday night it was Thanksgiving and tons of people showed up and tons of food showed up and I held a pineapple for the better part of an hour as an impromptu piece of modern art. If this doesn't scream "amazing Thanksgiving" to you I don't know what your problem is. Also, I knew Simon was that hench, masked dude in Misfits. I knew it.

Thanksgiving feast!!

My housewifeness likes to surface now and again.

FAIL: Friday my class was so boring I literally had to fight to stay awake. My palms firmly pressed against my face were the only things keeping my eyes open. I think that was my last class though as I will be in Ireland this Friday (win).

WIN: Cheng's friend Jon came to town and we had authenic Chinese food in London's Chinatown that was extremely on point. Hot tea = yums after walking around in freezing temperatures. Also, I nabbed a pair of soccer shoes for about £8. Here's to fitting into children's sizes!

The converted basketball court where we kick around.

FAIL: Apparently low-rise, straight-leg, light-wash jeans do not exist in London. I have no idea why this is such a phenomenal request to make of clothiers but apparently it is. Apparently I'm super-unstylish which is also full of fail. However, I did have a yummy burger with Adam so that was good.

These are all I'm asking for, really. Simple.

WIN: Chelsea almost lost to Newcastle which was inspiring, I had my first Sunday Roast at the pub, and 4/6 of my flat went ice skating at Somerset House! Which was phenomenal. It started snowing as we were leaving the rink. Ahhh, magical.

The gang doing some quality ice skating at Somerset House.

FAIL: Unfortunately, after leaving the rink I still had to write 1000 words worth of documentary proposal. I still don't know how to write a documentary proposal and I'm fairly certain I never will. Big waste of time and effort, Stephen, you're a terrible teacher. I'm holding onto the hope that 70% really does translate as an 'A' back home. That would be nice.

WIN: BARCELONA ABSOLUTELY DESTROYED REAL MADRID.

The End.

Knackered

I have so, so much catching up for my loyal following to do. First of all, I'm tired because I can no longer sleep on my school mattress and, secondly, I've been less than inspired to write about the doom and gloom around me. Bleh.

A week ago I was in the lovely English countryside visiting old-time pal, Alex. This was an absolutely wonderful/freezing cold experience that I found way more uplifting than the big city. There were lots of cows and everyone knows cows are hilarious. Such a good time. Not to mention Alex kept me busy tour-guiding around the area. He did a fantastic job though he'll probably deny it. He picked me up from the bus station after I arrived Friday night and drove me back to the Avon Tyrrell Activity Centre near the New Forest. Then he cooked dinner which was delish and we watched Blood Diamond, which was disappointing. By the way, the New Forest is a forest created and maintained by William I around 1079 for the private hunting of deer. Just FYI.

The Dorset coast.

Anyways, the next morning we jetted off to the Dorset coast and I saw my first castle! It was in rather poor repair but things should be looking up for Highcliffe Castle in the future. The castle itself was built between 1831 and 1835 by Lord Stuart de Rothesay who stoled most of the stuff he used to build it, most importantly, the stained glass. He actually nabbed the Jesse Window from the church of St. Vigour in Rouen. Other bits and pieces came from Germany, Switzerland and the Flemish. It was completely ravaged by a fire but assistance from Christchurch Borough Council, English Heritage and a £2.65 million grant are restoring it to its former glory.

The inscription reads:

SUAVE MARI MAGNO TURBANTIBUS OEQUORA VENTIS E TERRA MAGNUM ALTERIUS SPECTARE LABOREM

which, for those of you who don't read Latin, means:

Sweet it is, when on the great sea the winds are buffeting the waters, to look from the land on another's great struggles.

It's from the second book of Lucretius, a Roman poet and philosopher. Apropos since the castle sits on a cliff top and was a refuge for Lord Stuart from his turbulent career as a diplomat during the Napoleonic wars in Europe.

Next, Alex and I took off for Corfe Castle which dates back to the 11th century and commands a gap in the Purbeck Hills on the route between Wareham and Swanage. There is some evidence of a stronghold that predated the Norman Conquest. Edward the Conqueror was executed here in 978 and Maud de Braose and her son William were walled alive in the dungeon and subsequently starved to death here in 1210. The castle was also used as a royal treasure storehouse and was a royal prison and stronghold before being sold by Elizabeth I to Christopher Hatton (her secret lover, shhh) in the 16th century. It twice came under siege in the English Civil War and only fell when betrayed by a member of the garrison. Anyways, after the bad guys got in they undermined the entire structure using explosives after which (for the next couple hundred years) the local populace raided the place for building material. Most of the building material can still be seen in a number of nearby houses. There's one pub in the village that's older than my entire country. Imagine that.

Sheeps hanging out on the castle

After that, Alex and I visited the Jurassic Coast to check out Durdle Door. The name "Durdle" is derived from an Old English word, "thirl" meaning bore or drill. It is a natural limestone arch that is very dangerous to jump off of or try to climb.

My last day in town, Alex was a good sport and took me to Stonehenge. It was rather dreary and rainy and I thought that English Heritage could have presented the monument a little better. Moral of the story, don't go to Stonehenge unless you have a vested interest in Stonehenge. I have a vested interest in Stonehenge and I'll link you to my research paper if you'd really like. I'm just that nice.

Domestic Goddess

I have just made chili. And cleaned the flat and my room (almost) in its entirety. I didn't do the dishes but they weren't my dishes to do so that is excused.

So now I am sitting in my clean room that smells vaguely of cinnamon and apples (yumm, smells like Christmas) enjoying a bowl of chili con carne which is arguably one of the best things to eat when it's chilly outside. Potato soup obviously trumps any other cold-weather meal but for arguments sake, chili is good too. I have a ton left over as well so we'll see how long I can stretch it. Perhaps next week I'll make potato soup and then those two plus my coffee can see me through the long, hard, five-weeks-worth-of winter that I'll be enjoying in London.

I'm not complaining much though because the trees have changed color and the city looks semi-decent. It'll be another story, of course, when the leaves all fall and everything just looks stark and depressing. But for now, this is what I'll be enjoying on my little jaunts around the city:

"Halloween" or "Why I can only hear out of one ear"

This is the Halloween post. In this post you can expect to see photos of my make up, my costume, my friends and the venue where we got down. All of this is way more interesting than the school aspect of my study abroad. Suffice it to say, I'm still less than impressed LCC.

This Halloween I was inspired by WWII-era nose art. Probably because I came across the following book while perusing the Imperial War Museum and thought, Gee, that would just be so perfect!

The sultry, pin-up version of Jane. With blonde hair.

However, after searching for possible costume material, I reconsidered and just bought something on the cheap side that I could possibly use again someday. So I morphed from somewhat pin-up to a sort of dirty pirate hooker (I never thought I'd get so much use out of knee-high leather boots). The important part was that everything was somewhat foam-proof and (although my make-up was ruined) my costume survived the night!

London is more fun than San Antonio because absolutely everyone rides the bus.

My date for the night - A Clockwork Orange-ish

Hugh Hefner and a bunny or two.

About fifty students from my building all piled onto the bus around 11:30 p.m. and jetted off to London Bridge, under which our venue was located. Debut is built into the tunnels underneath the underground/train station near London Bridge and it's huge. Which was good because I'm guessing there were more than 3,000 students there last night. Sick. There are more than five different rooms within Debut, all blaring their own music and featuring neon lights, foam cannons, and hot-tubs (if you're VIP). It's from standing in front of the speakers in the techno room that I am now deaf. In one ear. Maybe when my ears stop ringing I'll be able to hear properly again. Thank goodness I don't have class until Wednesday night!

Being silly in line for the cloakroom.

Picture I took while my eardrum was being perforated.

Lotsa neon lights and FOAM!