Stressed!

Hello world! My my, I live a very busy life. This past week went by so quick. Sometimes I wish I could just put a pause on life, so I could soak everything up. From where I left off, Wednesday I had gender and lit where we talked about nothing because that class is dumb. (I'm a brat I know) After, I had my art class and instead of going to a gallery we just had lecture and learned about 4 more contemporary british artists and it was very interesting. I am pleasantly surprised by how much I continue to enjoy that class. That night we had a pub crawl that was set up for us by the program and it was so so much fun. There was a smaller group of us (about 12 students maybe?) and our tour guide Simon took us to 4 different pubs all in the Kensington area. It was a lot of fun and I got to hang out with some of the guys in my program who I previously didn't really know. Most of the group was feeling pretty  good by the end, and we met up with some more kids in our group who were out also. It was just all in all a really good night. Thursday morning we had Screenwriting which was a lot of fun, no surprise there. We read part of the script for Almost Famous, which I had never seen- but the script prompted me to watch the movie when I got home from class. I loved the movie, it was very entertaining- especially since we are learning about the 60's and 70's music scene in my Pop Culture class. Anyway, Thursday night I took it easy since we had a planned trip to Brighton the next day. Brighton was wonderful! It was the cutest seaside town with "lanes", which were little narrow streets with tons of second hand shops in them. Unfortunately, we weren't able to spend a lot of time there, so I didn't get to look around as much as I wanted to. We had a planned tour at the Royal pavilion which was one of the coolest palaces I have ever seen ( not that I have been in many, but you get the point) The outside had a ton of onion shaped domes and was really oriental looking. The inside was so gaudy and over the top, that it was completely fabulous. There were dragon sculptures on the ceiling holding up these massive chandeliers which had more dragons who had lotus flowers coming out of their mouths. Sorry that explanation was terrible, but that is just a basic idea of how ridiculous it was decorated. Mom, you would have been in love with the place and its architecture and interior design. After the tour we had 2 hours to wonder around before heading back to London. Kate, Elena, and I decided to eat lunch at this little pub. Lunch turned into having a few pints, and consequently tons of laughs. Those girls crack me up, we had such a good time. After the pub we quickly went down to the beach for some pictures before having to go back for the bus ride home. The rest of the weekend I just kind of bummed around and enjoyed the sunny weather! This morning I had contemporary Britain where we learned about the British Identity and some of their traditions. It was really interesting, I feel like I will get a ton out of that class- I already have actually. Well that leads me to now, and I am just hanging out until some of the girls are done with their class. We are seeing Billy Elliot tonight (!!!!!) and we are gonna head down to the theatre early and have a pub dinner before the show. I am really excited, it will be a very english night tonight!
As for the title of this post, I am stressing a ton about spring break. Reading up on Morocco, and just hearing from other people, it is very conservative there. Some natives may take offense to female tourists wearing tight jeans or showing a lot of skin on their arms. Which normally, hey I can deal with that- but it is going to be in the 80s (HAHAH to all of you in Wisconsin with snow). Soooo I need to buy some loose conservative clothing before I leave. Alsoo, Hannah and I read online that it is a good idea  to wear a ring on your left ring finger and make up a pretend husband, just as a precaution to avoid being hassled. I have my claddagh ring, and I decided Ryan Reynolds will be my husband hahah I girl can dream right? But the more I read about Morocco the more I get excited about it. It is so different, and I am really excited to experience a completely new culture. As for Spain, I am just excited to practice my spanish and walk around Barcelona. If I take a step back and look at my life, I just feel so so lucky. Studying abroad has provided me with so many opportunities that I never thought possible. I already feel like I have learned so much, and have changed so much. Time is flying by! As soon as I get home from Spring Break, Casey comes that week! and we are going to PARIS. which thankfully she speaks french ahah. I just have so much to look forward to in the next few weeks. My life is UNREAL.

I must be going, got big plans tonight!
Adios amigos.
Ma-Sah-Lama  (how to say goodbye in Arabic, Im getting ready!)

Fat Tuesdayyyy

Hello all, sorry for the large delay in postings. No excuses I know I know. This past week has been a lot of fun. Lets see, Tuesday and Wednesday were nothing special- just classes and things. Thursday I had screenwriting in the morning and we watched and read part of the screenplay for Crash. Some of the class had strong opinions about the movie, but I like it (I have seen it a few times before). I am growing to love that class more and more every week. Granted it pertains to my major, but I have a hard time understanding why some people don't like it. My homework is to pick out a screenplay from a movie I like and bring the first 10 pages into class. Ahh I should appreciate how easy things are now, because when I get back to Madison I will want to hide away in a place far far away from homework city. Anyway I am still debating what screenplay to bring in, but I have a little time. So, like a week ago Nick ( hey cuz!) gave me the number of his good friend, Elias, who lives in London. Thursday night I gave him a ring and he told me about this club thing in Camden that I should go to so we could meet up. I brought my friend Kate, and this other girl Steph came along..... and we met up with him. I had a lot of fun, and obviously danced the night away. It was also really nice to talk to someone who knows my family. He said I looked like Katherine, which made me very happy- and homesick. I am glad I got to meet Elias, and I hope we hang out again. Lets see, Friday....  Kate and I decided to go out again. It was Kate's friend Kayla's 21st birthday so she wanted to have a bunch of people meet up to celebrate. We were all supposed to meet up at Zoo bar, but Kayla had a little too much fun at the pub before and didn't end up making it to Zoo, so it was just Kate and I again. Always a fun time with her, and as we were leaving the club to find a night bus home these 2 boys approached us asking for directions. After they heard us speak they started laughing at the fact that they would end up asking the Americans for directions. One of the kids was from Chicago, so it was nice to hear from another midwesterner. After we separated ways Kate and I found the bus home (!! always a plus) and ended up sitting by a kid who was from New York. USA was representing in London that night I guess haha. Saturday was just a lazy day spent hanging around Kensington and watching Dexter ( haha I know I am obsessed) Sunday was Valentine's Day- a day I always have enjoyed. I don't get when people say they hate Valentine's day... Its all about love! Hannah and I went to church and had a nice brunch and lunch later on. It was the perfect way to spend that day in London town. all you need is love :)  Monday I had contemporary Britain where we talked about the House of Lords, which was really interesting. I really like learning about their form of government and the reform it is going through- I am a nerddd! Monday night I had a ticket to go see a play called "Ghosts". Spoiler alert- the kid has syphilis and wants to marry his half sister. AKA I did not enjoy the play, it was just too long and odd for me I guess. But next week we are going to see Billy Elliot which I am super pumped about. Fun Fact, at intermission during plays the thing most people get to eat is ice cream? It is like the normal thing to buy and eat at intermission- I think I should take that tradition with me back to the states yummm. I went to bed pretty early last night, and woke up this morning for pop culture class with my bff Prof Justin. He has the best sense of humor, which keeps his class interesting. We watched a documentary about early American rock and roll/ rhythm and blues. I recognized many of the songs and it brought back memories of riding in the car as a little tot listening to the radio with Poppa McCrory and Momma C (and Patrick too). And now here I am writing to all of my wonderful fans. It has been raining pretty bad all day today, so I think I am just gonna hang out and do some homework and such. Only 9 days until spring break where I am going to................. Morocco and Spain OLE!!!! I am so so so so excited I can't even explain. Hannah and I are going to spend 5 days in Marrakech (Africa baby!) then 5 more in Spain with some other girls. I want to do everything! Ride a camel through the desert, climb some mountains, lay on the beach, drink tequila, hablaré español con nuevos amigos. It will be insane- sometimes my life is so amazing I think its a joke haha. Well I have some homework I need to attend to!   Hasta tarde- muchos besos!!

Time flies.....

So sorry I have been slacking on writing in this thing, I know you have probably missed me terribly. HA! Where do I even being? Well last week of classes wasn't anything too exciting. I mean I am learning a lot of interesting information, and I am so happy I am not in Madison right now! My work load is so much less- something that I am definitely thankful for. This past Friday, we went on a day trip to Oxford, and I loved every second of it. Brit was, once again, our wonderfully informed tour guide who took us around a few of the colleges of Oxford. Turns out she is a huge Harry Potter fan, and showed us all of the places that were scenes in the movies. I would have taken a ton of pictures except for my camera mysteriously decided to stop working. On the outside it looked perfectly fine, but once you turned it on there is a big crack on the inside of the screen and the images looked under exposed. If I upload them, they turn out fine though- so the situation could have been a lot worse. Now, my camera kind of fixed itself, and I can actually see what I am taking a picture of, minus the cracked left quarter of the screen. Back to Oxford- after our tour we had a few hours to walk around the city and do whatever we wanted. A few of the girls and myself went to this pub and sat around just talking for awhile. Then we went to the market which was really neat. We saw this milkshake stand which was sooooo good. And as a wallpaper theme, they used those "my name is" kind of tags- where customers filled them out and posted them. Well, turns out one of them said Badgers, and we all got very excited. On top of that, Oxford reminded me so much of Madison- maybe because it is very much a college town. They also have a street that is very similar to State St... it made me a little homesick. That day was also like a taste of Spring, which made the trip that much more enjoyable. That night Kate and I decided to go to the student Union and dance the night away- always a good time. Saturday we had nothing planned for us, which is unusual but nice at the same time. Kate and I decided to visit Trafalgar square and go to the National Gallery. It was awesome, except in order to get a picture with the lion statues you had to figure out a way to climb up the side of the monument which we were really hesitant about but eventually did it. I kind of freaked because of the height, but was successful and got the picture I wanted. There were so many people in the square that day, including two teen boys who set up this cardboard like they were going to do some intense break dancing, only to just bring out a terrible robot. Ohhh London haha. Anyway, the National Gallery faces Trafalgar Square and has one of the best views of the city. It is just so pretty, and again made me feel so lucky to be here. Anyway, we got inside the gallery (which was free!) and I let Kate lead the way seeing as how she is an art history major. It is really cool to be with someone who knows what they are talking about and can give you some insight into painting or artists that your normally wouldn't have seen. She is such an awesome person, and I always have a good time whenever I am with her. We were both pretty tired and after a bit of roaming around, took the tube back home. That night, I stayed in because I had a little head cold. Everyone here is so so so sick. I feel lucky because I felt only okay like 2 days, where as everyone else feels terrible for a week. I have a little tickle in my throat now, but that is nothing compared to my roommate Amanda. She is constantly coughing and sleeping and feeling rotten- it is to the point where I think she should seek medical attention because I am beginning to get worried. I am just happy my immune system/ body loves me because my cold was a baby one. So back to Saturday night- the initial plan was to get to sleep early and get healthy, but I failed miserably at that. Why- you might ask....the reason being, I am obsessed with Dexter. Yes, a TV show has taken over my life. How embarrassing right? Well, if any of you watch it you understand my obsession. I got Kate into it too, so now we watch it together. hahah I am in this wonderfully cultural city that is fulled with a rich history and what am I doing? Watching a show about a serial killer. hahah what is wrong with me? anywhoooo Sunday was the Super Bowl!!! I was so excited for it, and our flat was going to have a mini-party/ get together. One of the boys had a projector and we were able to use the internet to get CBS, which I was really thankful for because British commentators on American football is seriously a joke. The game started at 12:30pm our time so I only stayed up until half time. I was thrilled when I heard the Saints won, and I can't even imagine what New Orleans was like that night- must have been amazing. This morning I woke up, and it was one of those days where you are so comfortable in bed that you don't want to move. As soon as I got to class, I felt like there were weights on my eyelids- I was soo tired. Thankfully, instead of being talked to for 3 hours we got to watch the movie The Queen with Helen Mirren. I thought it was interesting, and was thankful it was actually good. Plus Helen McCrory played Mrs. Blair.... and I assume she is my long lost aunt, so I had to love the movie since my family was in it. After class we had a scheduled lunch at this fancy british restaurant. I'm talking three course meal. Since we had class right before, we got there a little late- and instead of sitting at the huge table, Elena, Hannah, and myself had a small booth. We were there for 2 hours just chatting and eating away- it was really nice. My meal was alright, I have definitely had better salmon though- but it was nice to have actual food for once. When I came home from lunch, excuse me- rolled home since I ate so much, I took a much needed long nap. And here I am now. I have so much more to write, but Kate and Dexter are waiting for me :) !!!! Maybe I will write later tonight?
peace and love

You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one.

I love this country and as of right now I can't see myself leaving. I love how everyone here is treated equal no matter what skin color, sexual identity, religion.... they all have the same right. I love how everyone has access to free health care. I love how some stores refuse to have plastic bags, even my generic juice boasts about the amount of plastic it saves in a year.

I will write more later, but now I have to write a dumb 6 page paper for my dumb gender and lit class

Happy Birthday mom!