My flight was about an hour delayed, but they allowed us to put the seats back and I was able to do a bit of knitting while we waited. Though we were supposed to get off the ground around 22:30, we didn't actually take off till near 23:45 (almost midnight!). However, as soon as we were in the air I fell asleep. Just like that. I give thanks to the holy blanket (and to God who inspired my mother to give this enormous soft blanket to me for christmas - it allows me to sleep anywhere). I slept about 6 hours of the 7 hour flight. Seinfeld kept me entertained for the last 45 minutes of the flight.
Getting to where I'm staying was pretty standard. It took a little more than an hour by tube. The system was a little tricky at first, but I'm certainly getting the hang of it. The lovely couple that is hosting me drove a bit to a train station that was a bit closer to where I was coming from to pick me up. Thanks to the sleep I was able to be sociable and (I hope) my normal happy self.
I had about 20 minutes to unpack when it was off to church. Grace Life London is the reason I was connected to a host home in the first place. My parents' pre-marital counselors have done a lot to support the growth of the church - that's a whole different story. Perhaps I'll tell it when I have more time. :)
Church was around 16:00 because we share the church with a mandarin service that takes place in the morning. The whole thing lasted two hours. Notes were taken and friends were made without too much dragging. The sermon was actually quite good, but continued on for nearly 90 minutes - not quite what I'm used to but lovely all the same. I definitely stood out as a newcomer, and soon had people coming up and introducing themselves. It was so wonderful to be united in Christ with these Englishmen (and one Irishman). There are actually two other Americans - both from California - who now live in England and attend this church. Hearing a familiar accent did wonders for my peace of mind. Not that I was stressed before, but it was relaxing in a way. :)
The rest of the evening passed rather uneventfully. Moving right along to this morning.
Pre-Lamda Rituals
I woke up a tad after 6, slipped on my running shoes and went for a run to get a feel for the place. It has a charm in its own way, though it's a bit more run down than I'm used to. I don't mind it at all, and it certainly is a wonderful new experience. :) Anyway, I came back in around 6:45, washed up, grabbed a quick breakfast and was out the door by 8:00.
UK Fact #1: Everyone reads on the Tube even if in a precarious or painful-looking position.
I'll have to bring a book with me tomorrow as the commute is about an hour. I was overground through most of East London, then went underground through Central London till I ended up a good deal West of London (a good deal I mean zone 2).
London Fact #1: The railway system works like a circle. Zone 1 is the center of London, Zone 2 is the circle just outside of Zone 1, etc. all the way until 6 (which is Heathrow airport). I live on the east bit of Zone 4 and have to travel across Zone 1 into the West bit of Zone 2. :)
I arrived at Barons Court around 9:00. London in all its beauty and glory assaulted me the minute I stepped out onto the sidewalk. It was breath-taking. I'm sure it would seem as nothing to people who live there, but for me it was heaven. Walked less than .5 a mile and found my way to LAMDA. Classes didn't start until 10:00, so I popped back over to a little coffee shop, had an iced green tea, and read Love's Labours Lost in the warm morning sun. It was bliss.
London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts
The following is more for the benefit of my family and few friends who want updates. Feel free to end here if you so desire. :)
We all gathered in one large room that had previously been a ballet studio. It was lighted with large
windows that lined two walls but were high enough up that you couldn't see anything but the tops of buildings and sky. We had brief introductions then split off into different groups that we'd been assigned to.
For 3 hours we read shakespeare scenes out loud. A teacher instructed us, but we got to actually act a bit on the first day! We're assigned our scenes tomorrow and I am very much looking forward to it. My Scene Study group is amazing. 10 girls and 2 boys - typical for theater. There are a few americans, a few Brits and one Canadian. :) oOo! But fascinating bit: people from all over the world are here. Marina from Argentina, Elizabeth from Spain, a girl from Zurich, tons of people from Australia, Alice from Paris, and many more British people as well. To hear all the accents has been music to my ears. I really am trying not to develop any sort of accent, but I'm already starting to tell it in the small words that slip out and in various vowels. I was asked to do a British accent and was told that I wasn't half bad which was a huge confidence booster. :)
After the three hours we took an hour lunch break. The girls from my group all went for salads and sandwiches a couple blocks down (everything is fairly close here :)), and then came back to join the others for a bit.
After lunch we had 3 more hours of games. Tomorrow will be a bit more intense as far as study in particular methods, but today we just played theater games with different leaders. It was loads of fun despite the sweltering heat. It got up to high 80's, maybe even 90, 91 today, and there wasn't air conditioning. Having just come from 100 F with 100% humidity, it was warm but very bearable. To be honest, I don't think the British know how to handle the heat. It's rather amusing. :)
The Welcome Party
This was particularly interesting. Apparently, there's a rather large drinking culture at Lamda, and in London generally. So, there idea of a welcome party was to have all the interns and some of the teachers hand out Pimm's - gin and punch - to everyone who wanted some. I liked it, though it was a bit too sweet for my tasting. At least it made everyone else loosen up quite fast. There was food as well. I'm trying to be really good while I'm over because I don't want to get sick, so I'm staying away from bread and pasta and fried food as much as I can. Thankfully, there were carrots and hummus so I munched on those instead. :)
I found another girl - Esther - who's 18 and from London, but has a bit of a scottish accent thrown in the mix. We just chatted and sort of laughed at everyone as they got happier and happier. Finally, around 6:45, I was ready to go home. Two other girls, one from my Scene study group and one name Kitty from North England, were also ready so we were able to ride together for the first 20 minutes.
I didn't get home until 8 because I got a bit turned around. Dinner was excellent and revived my spirits from the long commute back, but by 10 I was ready for bed. Unfortunately, I still had school work to do, but all that is done now.
Tomorrow I head in a bit earlier for jogging and yoga, so I should probably head up the wooden hill to bedfordshire. ;) :)
Oh and the title! Apparently, Spastic is a bit stronger over here than in the U.S. - not something you would say in polite company so I'm told. So many things to learn. :)
Ta (thanks) everyone!
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