Yes, I have done a ton of awesome things.
No, I probably don't remember them all.
Yes, I will try.
Monday:
-went to class
-ate crepes again
-vowed I would put off going back to the creperie at least for a week even though I love it so much
-went to see Les Miserables at the Queen's Theater!
A few words about Les Mis:
It was awesome. Pretty much my first experience seeing a broadway show by professional actors. The blocking, the music, the lighting, EVERYTHING was just incredible. Well . . . almost. See, Nick Jonas was there. Playing Marius. While I was impressed with how well he did (I almost decided not to go simply because I thought he might ruin it), there were some times where it took a lot of effort to stifle my laughter because he showed how much he is most definitely one of the Jonas Brothers. I don't remember what part of the show it was, but he kind of looked like he was playing air guitar for a second. His voice went very . . . Jonas-y? at the same time. Hilarious.
Still, the play was awesome. They even painted Javert black (I looked the guy up; he's not black in real life).
*Note to my family: "I can always paint my sneakers black!
The girl who played Eponine was phenomenal but I didn't really like Cosette. I've learned not to expect too much from sopranos though.
Joking.
Anyway, it was such an awesome experience and I'm so glad I got to go. Plus my ticket was really cheap.
Tuesday:
-went to class
-went to the Open Air Theater in Regent's Park and watched a modified version of Macbeth.
-went shopping at my new favorite store, Primark. Got 2 cardigans (I have a possibly problematic addiction to cardigans lately, y'all), 2 shirts, 1 vest, 2 pairs of shoes for under 25 pounds.
A few words about Macbeth:
First of all, Macduff's pants (trousers) were too small for him. That's because the guy playing Macduff was the director, not the regular actor. That's because in a pre-show run-through of the fight scenes, the real Macduff sliced a good chunk out of his hand with the axe and had to go to the hospital. Because apparently if you're doing a show for children you're supposed to use real weapons. . . .
Anyhow, this troupe performed Macbeth true to the text of the play, but with a depiction that was supposed to be more appropriate for younger audiences. It was still pretty disturbing (Macbeth -- who looked crazily similar to House -- and Lady Macbeth still go mad, you still see witchcraft and murders and "blood" and stuff), but some of the visual representations of that stuff had a more comical twist to them and they even had a catchy song that's been stuck in our heads ever since. Ask me and I'll sing it for you sometime.
I think I was one of the few in my group who actually liked the play, though. I can't pinpoint why I did and others didn't, but I just really enjoyed it. Then again, I'm not that hard to please, so whatever.
Wednesday:
-got on a bus to head toward our eventual destination of Cardiff (the capital city of Wales)
-stopped on the way at Stourhead gardens, where part of the 2005 version of Pride and Prejudice was filmed
-reenacted (in the exact location) the scene moments before Darcy comes and proclaims his love for Elizabeth and then proposes and gets rejected
check this out. 
-stayed the evening and part of the night near Avebury, a place where there is a stone circle that is larger and older than Stonehenge, but not as cool looking. Unless you think that a bunch of big rocks surrounded by goats and their poo is cool looking. Still, it was nice to walk around a little bit (even on my newly-turned ankle. Oucharama!) and get to know Silja and Aimee a little better.
-went to sleep at 8:30, partially because we had a "9:00 lights out" rule, and partially because my ankle hurt so badly that I wanted to cry. Instead, I popped 4 ibuprofen, propped my foot up and went to sleep.
Thursday:
-woke up at 2:45 AM (so that we could leave at 3:30 and go see the sun rise at Stonehenge)
-was kind of disappointed that the sun didn't make any pretty colors when it rose because of all the morning mist. Still, it was cool to actually be able to go inside the circle. Plus I hardly even had a limp at that point! It rocked.
-more bus riding, stopped at Glastonbury Abbey for breakfast, then Tintern Abbey for sightseeing, then got to Cardiff
-chatted it up with the girls, took a much needed nap (I could hardly sleep at all on the bus, which is weird for me. Normally I can sleep just about anywhere) and then went out with Erica, Mariah and Liz for supper. Didn't do a ton of exploring, but it was perfect for how long our day had been.
-decided to be an idiot and see Eclipse at midnight (it was the premier there) with some of the other girls. It was fun! I mean, the whole Twilight culture is ridiculous and I'm not really a fan, but I read the books and enjoyed them, and the movie was entertaining (again, I'm not hard to please). Most of all, I wanted to see a movie and it was cheap and I love the girls who were going, so it was still enjoyable. I just shouldn't have gone so late because I was pretty much dead on Friday.
Friday:
-met up with the group that's on the Wales study abroad at a burial site where we learned a little about Welsh history.
-went to St. Fagans "museum" of Welsh life. Since I was so stinkin' tired it was just a nice little walk outside, so I didn't really learn anything. But I did go inside of a cockpit where they used to have cock fights. I don't think I had ever done that before.
-took an amazing nap outside of Castle Coch. We couldn't go in as soon as we got there because there was a wedding going on. And then I had forgotten my British Heritage card at the hostel so I just chilled outside with a couple of other girls in the same position.
-went back to the hostel and then SHOPPING at Primark again. Seriously, I love that store. I mean, I bought a nice pair of dress pants for 5 pounds (around 7.50 US dollars). Why can't we do that back home?!
-went to the food festival down by the bay. I was kind of disappointed that there were no watermelons growing there, but I did eat my first duck! Yes, I ate a duck burger and loved it. It was kind of like sweet meatloaf.
A few words about our rendezvous with the Wales group:
We learned a song in Welsh that we tried really hard to sing in a round. I don't know actual Welsh spellings, but it sounded like this:
"Blay my Daniel? Blay my Daniel?"
"En fawl llerwald! En fawl llerwald!" (the double l is like the Sid the sloth sound)
"Am beth? Am beth?"
. . . . and then something else that ended with "adolier thelu."
Roughly translated, it means:
"Where is Daniel? Where is Daniel?"
"In the lions' den! In the lions' den!"
"For what? For what?"
"For . . . " something.
We were really good at the "Am beth" part.
Saturday:
-left the hostel to make our way back toward London
-stopped in Bath, toured around the Roman Baths.
-stopped in Salisbury at the Salisbury Cathedral, saw some pretty stained glass and the Magna Carta
-stopped at Jane Austen's home and coveted all the pretty dresses in there
A few words about the Roman Baths:
This was one of my favorite tours yet because we had a little audio guide so I could stop and learn tons about the stuff that really interested me (which was actually a lot of it) and skip past the stuff that didn't. I think one of my favorite parts was seeing some of the curses. The Romans would write out complaints or requests to Sulis Minerva, the goddess they worshipped in the temple there, on little sheets of lead and then fold them up and toss them in the spring, coincidentally the only natural hot springs in England. They were usually requests for something bad to happen to the people who had wronged them in some way. Sometimes they even had a list of suspects' names and specific requests to have them burned or something.
As horrible as it sounds that that was my favorite part, I guess I just appreciated learning something so very human about the site. I've never been very interested (or good at classes) in history, but I guess it's because I've failed to make a human connection with the people and places I've learned about. Seeing those curses helped me understand -- better than examining any pattern of architecture or work of art ever could -- what the people were like, how they thought, what their everyday frustrations and little victories were like.
I think that's why I love language so much; rather than being an artistic representation of a person's beliefs or values, language portrays the inner workings of the mind so simply and straightforwardly. I'm not good at interpreting themes or drawing lessons out of art or architecture, but I can understand how this one Docimedis felt when he lost his gloves and asked that "the person who stole them should lose his minds and his eyes in the temple where [Minerva] appoints." . . . K maybe I've never been quite that angry at someone, but you get what I'm saying. This place was actually real for me because it wasn't just "Oh, when the Romans lived here they must have done things this way," or "the complex drainage system shows that they were probably very advanced," blah blah blah. This was real, human stuff!
Sorry about the rant . . .
And now we are to Sunday:
-went to church, where I understood so much more of the Portuguese! There is still a lot that I'm not catching, but I think last week was just my Culture Shock Boot Camp. Now that I'm more used to the idea of working to understand a language that I am nowhere near fluent in, I could calm down and really try and listen to what they were saying and work with my knowledge of Spanish and the limited knowledge I have of Portuguese phonology. It was great!
I wanted to make a comment in Sunday School because I was pretty sure I knew what they were talking about but I was afraid that I would be making a comment out of context, so I kept my mouth shut. Turns out, I did understand the topic and I probably wouldn't have made a complete fool of myself! It felt really good to realize that even in my short amount of time here and with my limited/non-existent Portuguese skills, I can still learn a lot from -- and hopefully contribute a lot to -- these people.
They are so loving, kind, and eager to get to know us. They invited us (me, Aimee, Emily, Liz, Leilani and Annie) to have lunch with them. We had AMAZING churrasco and then brigadeiro for dessert. It was so much fun to be in a house stuffed full with family again. If they had not been speaking Portuguese (or Portuñol and Portuglish at times), I would have thought I was with my own family. I'm not even kidding; it was just like being at Tookie's or Grandma Hiatt's house before a big family gathering. Little kids running everywhere and squirting each other with a squirt gun, other children laying across their mama's lap while she strokes their hair and talks to other adults, lots of hustle and bustle and cooking and running in and out of the house to prepare the food.
My favorite part was all the noise. Laughter, tons of languages mixing together, silly arguments over whether to put the drinks or the ice cream in the freezer, little girls squealing as their older cousins "terrorized" them, a mother urging her 9 year old son to show us some of his street dancing moves, etc.
P.S. That kid can break it DOWN.
Anyhow, it has been a fantastic week and I am looking forward to several more!
If you read this entire post, e-mail me and I will give you a prize when I get home.
nice pics i am happy you are having fun!! -dad
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