Gone for the Weekend

So we're off to Berlin for the weekend!!! This means that there will be no updates until Sunday at the earliest. I'm to bed soon (even though it's only 7 here) because our journey starts at 4am...

Avenue Q

The show was really good. The talent was amazing. Singing dancing and acting at the same time is tough. Try singing dancing and acting for 2 or 3 characters at the same time. Yeah. For those that don't know, Avenue Q is in a kind of muppets style of characters, having both actors and puppets onstage. The puppet operators are visible, and therefore have to act (though only as the puppets- they're engaged with facial expressions and the such). Several of the actors played anywhere from 2 to 7 different puppet characters. It was especially fun when the lead actress, who played Lucy and Kate Monster, had to have a dialogue with herself (as Lucy and Kate were talking to each other). Don't get confused though- other puppeteers would do the puppetry for them while they did the multiple voices.

Anyway, the show was very good overall. Some characters obviously shined more than others, even when they were played by the same actor (as in the actor played one character better than the other). It was funny at one point, when there was a little cartoon short, Uncle Sam took money away from a person in the cartoon. Greta and I laughed out loud. No one else did in the entire theatre. American much?

Classes...

So we had 8 1/2 hours of class today. Yuck. Double drama then acting. The classes are fun, but it makes for a long day. We finished Troilus and Cressida in Drama and we read acts one, two, and five of Midsummer Night's Dream in Acting. Our acting teacher, Valerie, is pretty cool, but she always seems distracted - like a million things going through her head at once. She told us that she looked at the budget yesterday and realized we had enough to go see at least one more show, but probably two (and maybe three, if we stand in the one). Sweet!

Tonight is Avenue Q, tomorrow is another 8 hour day, then we have to go to bed, because we need to be half-way across the city to catch a bus at 5 am on friday to go to Berlin. Woot!

1st Day of Class

So today we had our first day of class. It was pretty good. There were some rough spots, as I was tired (even though I got enough sleep). We started reading Troilus and Cressida (by Shakespeare). We actually got really involved in the story and it was fun. We got halfway through the play in a double class (aka 12-5). We found out that our class schedule isn't quite as rigid as they initially made it seem, and we have a lot of classes jammed into our free time. Oh well. We'll work out the schedule as we go through. Our teacher, Stacy, is pretty cool and fun.

Tonight, Schiller took us out to Hard Rock Cafe London. The food was amazing (and filling, especially compared to Schiller). We each got one entre, one drink, unlimited soft drinks, and each table got 2 appetizers to split. Pretty sweet. Then we went to the Wellington to have some drinks with Dr. Sharon and Professor Angus, as they are leaving on Thursday. It was fun. I mainly hung out with Victoria, a Russian girl who goes to Niagara. Again, fun. Now I am going to bed.

Amanda and Jackie at Hard Rock:

Victoria at Hard Rock:Dan and Amber at Hard Rock:Kurt in Noelle's Sweatshirt;Victoria and Me at the Wellington:

Romeo and Juliet and Spamalot

After a late night last night of watching a movie (The Mist- it's kinda bad), we got up at 10 o'clock this morning to go see the Romeo and Juliet Ballet at the Royal Opera House by the Royal Ballet Company. It was pretty cool. We sat WAY up- like, four stories. Yeah. It wasn't too bad, except for the ridiculous incline so it felt like you were going to fall into the stalls (orchestra section). Some parts of the show were tough to get through (aka stay awake) because nothing was happening. Like, after Juliet swallows the potion, there were six girls (not characters, just random girls) that came in and danced for 5 minutes before they realized she was dead. Random, and nothing to do with the story. But the parts that had things happening were really good. And the dancing was phenominal, of course. Being a ballet (and not dialogue) it was more of a condensed version of the story, though it was still three hours (with 2 twenty minute intervals- intermissions).

After the show we came back and had dinner. It was actually pretty good tonight. Then Jared and I decided to go see Spamalot. So Rachel, Jess, and Carrie joined us. We got £20 seats, but they were in the balcony. And balcony here means 4th floor again. So we were pretty much looking down at the stage, but we weren't far away (like at the Royal Opera House). It was good, and we didn't lose any of the show because of it.

Spamalot was an excellent show, and had some talented people. That being said, it was not a great performance, and I think that is because of the performance of Alan Dale, who played King Arthur. In looking at his previous performances, he's only done film, and this shows in his Spamalot performance. He was very flat, low energy, and just delivered his lines and songs. And he wasn't a good singer, especially when surrounded by his talented cast. He always had a blank look on his face and never really engaged. I think what this did was killed the overall arch of the show and the already scattered plot was further disconnected.

On the other hand, Nina Soderquist - playing the Lady of the Lake - was phenominal. Her voice was gorgeous and her stare captivating. Every time she came onstage she took over.

On the whole it was a good performance, though I can't say I would go back again.

Jared and Me outside Spamalot:

Bath and Stonehenge

Today we went to Bath and Stonehenge. We started by walking to the London Bridge because the Tube (subway) doesn't open until 7:30. Our bus was meeting us at 7:30. Fortunately Jared and I went early to get some coffee/tea/breakfast from the McDonalds at the Waterloo Station an discovered this with enough time to make it. Barely...

So 13 of us walked quickly along the South Bank in the pouring rain for 30 minutes. Talk about fun... Anyway, we end up (by some miracle) finding where we need to go. So we get there and there's a bus from Anderson Tours, but it says it's going to the Isle of Wight. It's not our bus. 7:30 comes and goes, still no bus. At 7:35 the bus showed up and we were off. We were all soaking wet and cold, and what does the bus driver do? He has the cold air on. So we were freezing pretty much the whole way. Oh, and our bus driver was giving us a tour, so his obnoxiously loud voice was talking most of the way. About nothing useful.

We were originally supposed to go to Stonehenge then Bath, but because of a landslide, our route was blocked and it was easier to do it the other way around. So after 4 and a half hours on the bus we finally get to Bath (We did have one pit stop). When we got there, we had tickets to go on a tour through the Roman Baths. It was totally cool. They were hot springs that the Romans built baths with. The baths had been forgotten and all sorts of other cultures and peoples used the springs and built over the buried remains until in the last couple hundred years they discovered the baths. We got these strange audio tour devices that we could type in numbers posted at various parts of the building and learn about the different aspects. Unfortunately my camera died so I don't really have any pictures of the inside of the bath house.

So I guess Bath used to have a really bad smoke problem, because they would heat their houses/baths with coal. The soot literally stained the houses. But they have been cleaning up. Here's a little of the difference:

That black house isn't black- it's soot.

There was also an awesome Abby in Bath:

Then there was Stonehenge. We certainly didn't spend enough time there. But there were burrows (aka mounds where they buried dead people) and of course the henges of rocks. There's some cool cosmological and geological phenomina at the point of the stones, but in general no one really knows what they were for. If it was just calendar purposes, it seems kind of elaborate. Either way, they are specifically placed so the sun an moon have certain positions on certain days of the year and there are all sorts of cool things about the exact placement of the stones. Now for the pictures:

Mallory and Me:Carrie and Me:Greta and Me:
And this is what Stonehenge is supposed to look like, if it wasn't ruins:

Pictures from Yesterday

I forgot to mention in my previous post probably the most adorable thing ever. So, when two children want to go someplace different to eat (sometimes it's two groups of children) they get in an argument. And I seem to recall once in awhile doing the rhythmatic "Burger King!" "Mickey-D's!" "Burger King!" "Mickey-D's!" and it's not about arguing, but it becomes a game as we chant back and forth. Well, yesterday, there were two British Children doing that very thing. Except it was: "Pizza!" "Fish-and-Chips!" "Pizza!" "Fish-and-Chips!". Again, ridiculously adorable.

Everyone feel free to leave comments!!! It's nice to know people are reading.



So here's some pictures (remember all of my pictures can be found in my facebook album):


Fish 'n' Chips (I don't know what that look is on my face.):
The Abby in Bath:

The plack at the site of the Old Globe Theatre:
Jared, Kurt, and Me at the Rose Theatre Site (first theatre built in London-now gone):
The awesome Italian Ice Cream is called Gellato.Kurt and Me standing out in front of the New Globe Theatre (Sorry I can't rotate it. Computers here are stupid):

Awesome Day in London

This morning we slept in. Woot! That won't happen very often. After sleeping in, we thought about going on the London Eye, but the queue was ridiculous so we decided on going one of the other 50 or so days left here. So we walked along the South Bank, enjoying the sites. There were all sorts of "performers" - from a Johnny Depp impersonator, to people painted gray and standing still to look like statues, to people playing music or doing tricks. It was pretty sweet. There was also extreme biking finals or something like that. Lots of cool ramps and bike tricks and stuff. Some of us actually stopped and watched.

A bunch of us went to a place recommended by our Walking Tour guide from yesterday to get Fish and Chips. We then sat on the side of the street and enjoyed them. It was amazing. Truly amazing. They were fresh fish (as in caught this morning) covered in batter and thrown in the frier when we ordered them. I got a coke in a glass bottle (with a top you have to wrench off with a bottle opener) which for some reason always tastes better than coke you twist off or comes in a plastic bottle. They put salt and vinegar on the fish and chips, and gave us wooden forks and knives to eat them with. The only thing missing was being wrapped in the Times.

We then went into the Southwark Cathedral. It was pretty sweet. There were a lot of cool statues, archetecture, and memorials. The man who founded the New Globe Theatre, Sam Wanamaker, had a memorial erected there and Shakespeare's brother is buried there.

Then Kurt, Jared, and I just walked around, going back to some of the sites we visited yesterday and taking pictures. We got Ice Cream- though it wasn't ice cream. It was Italian. I'll post tomorrow with what it is, as I took a picture of it and my camera's upstairs. After randomly wandering around, checking out various sites, checking on the BMX, and visiting a couple theatres to pick up brochures, we came back to campus and it's just been a relaxing evening.

Pictures tomorrow.

More Pictures and Subscription

So Here's the link to my Facebook Photo Album. The coolest pictures go on my blog, but everything goes into facebook.

Facebook London Photo Album

If you want to subscribe to my blog to recieve an email every time I update it, just scroll down to the bottom of the home page (not the individual post page) and there will be a "Subscribe to Post" option.

Mallory's Birthday

This photo's actually from awhile ago, when we were in JFK:



Some Pictures of the walk this morning...

Big Ben:

Giant Green chairs in front of the National Theatre:

So it seemed like the third day of Mal's birthday tonight because all of the things that have happened today. We went to the Wellington and Dr. Sharon and Professor Angus joined us (and had a little more to drink than they wanted to). It was good times. We were then going to go to a club, but after walking for a rediculous amount of time, they wouldn't let Greta in without ID. So those of us that weren't so keen on paying the cover charge came back. I got my Oyster card! Yeah! I feel cool walking through and swiping it.



Mallory sporting the British 21st Birthday Hat (and looking good):




Like I said, Dr. Sharon cam with us:


When we got back, Greta and I went for a walk. We stopped at the grocery store to pick up a snack and then we walked along the Thaimes River. It was relaxing. And the view was amazing. It sucked that we couldn't go to the club but it turned out to be a fun night.










Oh, and lastly, if for some reason someone needs to send me mail, my address is:


Preston Cuer- Niagara University
c/o Schiller International University
55 Waterloo Road
London SE1 8TX
United Kingdom





Remember that I leave London on Sunday, July 13th so don't send anything that will arrive after that, as I'm not sure I'll get it!

Things Here and There

Last night after Jersey Boys we walked back to Schiller. On the way we picked up some pizza. While we were waiting for the pizza, we sat in the small restaurant. All of a sudden, while we were talking, the dude behind the counter (not British- my guess is non-oriental asian) puts on aviators and looks at us. We're just like, "Cool, dude" and "Lookin' good". So we talk a little to him, about us being American and how we have different accents than the British. And then he's like, "You're very nice. Especially her" and he points to Mal. lol. We all busted out laughing (not in a mean way) and we're like, "It's her birthday in an hour". Good times.

Of course, at midnight, we sang happy birthday to Mal.

This morning we got up to meet Dr. Sharon at the London Eye so we could go on a Walking Tour of Shakespeare's London. Basically we went to a couple different points and the guide explained to us the changes that have happened since Shakespeare's time. Come to find out, we're not actually staying in London, but Westminster. London is actually Northeast of here. Granted, now it's all one big city, but it used to be separated.

Anyway, we saw a bunch of cool stuff like Big Ben, the New Globe, the Old Globe Site, Rose Theater (The first theater in London), the market (with a great fish and chips place. Definately going back to get some sometime) and more.

The New Globe Theatre:

The Clink (a Medieval Prison and yes, that crate's where they put people after they hanged them):

So today has been eventful thus far, and it's only half over. I am off to take a nap, then we are going out to celebrate Mal's birthday! Woot! And Dr. Sharon's coming too!!!

Jersey Boys

AMAZING.

That is the only thing you can say about the show. Seriously, it rocked. I didn't really care for going, but a bunch of us were going so I figured why not. We got front row rush tickets (£20) and other than missing a little bit of the action because of the lip of the stage, it was amazing. And what we lost from the view we gained in actor/audience interaction. We talked to some of them afterward and they had totally pegged us as American because we laughed at all the American jokes.

They all had Jersey accents and it was actually really good. One of the characters had a hard time getting into it at the beginning, but none of them were forced, underdone or overdone.

Musically it was phenominal. The singing was seamless, and the main character Frankie had a gorgeous voice. The story dragged in places in Act 1 but the music kept everyone engaged. It was a truly magical experience being a part of the audience. I can't imagine what the actors felt, all of us screaming and applauding until they cut us off. I haven't had that amazing of a theater experience since I was standing on the platform in Titanic with the audience applauding under us after the first number.

Again, incredible. A powerful story with gorgeous (and familiar) music. A real blessing.

Living in London

1) The roads are not in any particularly easy-to-follow system. You kind of guess the direction you want to go and you try it. As far as I can tell, there is no grid. Just a giant cluster-... well, you know. The Tube is easy to navigate.

2) Seeing people drive on the left side of the road is NOT weird. However, seeing the driver on the right side of the car IS.

3) There are bicycles. They are like cars. Except they drive faster. Yes, faster.

4) Signs are amusing. They do not have "Exit" signs unless it's "Emergency Exit". They have "Way Out" signs. "Yield" is "Give Way". And yesterday I found a sign that said "Beware. Thieves operate in this area."

5) The air is significantly fresh and breezy for a city. We think it is because the buildings are further apart and shorter.

6) Everyone is more relaxed. They move quickly, but it is not the giant system that NYC has when it comes to walking about the city.

7) They drive on the left but walk on the right. Also, on escalators, standing traffic stays on the right while moving goes to the left-same as us. Weird.

8) As far as I can tell, there are no garbages on the street. And surprisingly, there is little garbage. It is really clean.

9) Lines aren't lines. They're queues. And Bathrooms are Toilets.

10) And this one's for Scott. Places where you gamble/play slots/etc. are called Amusement. Or at least that's what's in the window.

Orientation

So this morning we had the most pointless orientation ever. Literally nothing of value was given to us. And there were new students so there was a lot of stuff that we already covered. Again, pointless.





HOWEVER, we did do a thing at the beginning where we got in groups and had to do some sort of entertainment. I videoed some of it for your entertainment as well...

Cabaret

We saw our first show in London!!! It was Cabaret. It was really good, but also really different. Obviously the way the actors played the parts was different (especially the emcee, just because of the nature of the role) but the script was WAY different. Things were in different orders, added, deleted, etc. It was cool.

The biggest thing that happened was during "If You Could See Her". At one point the emcee had a double switch in for him onstage and dance, but the audience didn't see it. But we saw the double run off when he was done. So the emcee came back in to sing, "Why can't they leave us... What? What are you laughing at?" and proceeded to accuse us of calling him a liar for thinking he had a double fill in. He then got made and left the stage. The orchestra stopped. The audience applauded, but I'm like, "I think he's serious". Fortunately, he soon returned and made us all apologize before he started the show again. It was quite hilarious.

When we were on our way home, instead of going under the road right next to campus (a minor inconvenience, as the stairs were right there) Greta decided that we should just cross the street. As we were crossing, I say to her, "Hey, don't get hit by that bike." What does she do? Almost gets hit by the bike. It was real close.

Earlier today we went to the British Library. Instead of looking around at the books (which I thought we were doing) we went on a tour through the Ramayanas Exhibit. The Ramayanas is a Hindu text depicting an epic story that teaches all sorts of life lessons and Hindu concepts. It was quite fascinating, and Emily Noelle and I sent a postcard from there to our Eastern Philosophy teacher.

I'm going to bed now. Soon to come: Living in London

Living at Schiller

So, here's a little of what it's like to live at Schiller University in London.
1) It is more vertical than horizontal. This means stairs. Guys live on the 4th floor and girls on the 5th. Cafeteria's in the basement. Yeah, my quads hurt a lot.
2) The computers here are up to date on software, but they look like they were made 10 years ago. They are giant, have no dvd access, have a floppy drive, and only USB ports in the back.
3) The food is....okay. I'm not very picky when it comes to food, so I'm doing alright. Still, I had spaghetti and chicken for lunch and it didn't taste like anything.
4) Our doors on our rooms don't have latches. They're either locked or open. Essentially this is so you can't lock your key in the room. Unless your roommate does. And it means you have to leave your door wide open or lock it shut just to go to the bathroom.
5) I looked across 3 floors at 4 different showers, and I think I found a decent one. It seems that you either have pressure or hot water. Not both. Though the girls say their shower is amazing. So maybe I'll just use the girls' bathroom.
6) However, the bathrooms are actually in good condition. And you flush by pushing a button on the wall.
7) The security guy is really nice. So is the librarian - he gave me a tour of the library.
8) I practically live on top of Jared. Our double is the size of a single back home. We have a desk, a table, a closet and two beds. And the view out our window is an alley. I don't think it's fair - the girls can see the London Eye from their room. Don't worry, there will be pictures and videos soon.
9) Going back to the cafeteria, we are served B/L/D Mon-Fri, brunch on Saturdays, and Brunch/Dinner on Sundays. That's a plus. Though when it comes to getting food, it is the most confusing thing ever trying to figure out what we're allowed to have, as it is not all-you-can-eat
10) I feel like there should be an even ten, but there's not. That's it. Thanks for reading. There will be more posts later.

Quick Update...

So there are fun stories/pictures/videos but because we don't have our login names and I'm currently signed in as a guest, some of my activities on the computer are restricted. I wouldn't write a post, but I wanted to let people know that I have free voicemail. If you want to know how to do that, just email me. I almost posted it then I realized that this blog is public. :-)

LONDON!!!!!

Yay!!!! We made it with no complications. The only setback was an hour and a half delay at JFK. Lots of fun. I don't have my camera on me, otherwise I'd upload pictures. I just wanted to throw up a quick "We made it!"
peace!

2 Days...

Starting this Blog

Yay for starting a blog! So in the future, there will be posts concerning my trip to Europe. In eleven days we leave to Study at Schiller University in London, England. Lots of fun!!!!

There will be pictures, videos, and stories. The purpose of the blog is so I don't have to worry about emailing EVERYONE I know while I'm in London- that would take forever and I wouldn't have time to do stuff while I'm over there! Check back often!