Three Thursdays in a row at O'Neills...

Another week down!

Last Saturday, a bunch of us from the ND program took a trip to Stonehenge and the city of Bath in England. We got up pretty early and walked like zombies to the bus where every single person proceeded to pass out for the entire ride. It was definitely necessary. We arrived at Stonehenge on a typical London overcast day. They tell you Stonehenge is a bit underwhelming, which it is, but nonetheless I'm glad I saw it. We spiced up the trip by taking ridiculous posed pictures with the rocks, planking, mocking the entire experience, etc. It was good time. Since we meet at ND's version of Stonehenge to play frisbee on Fridays back at school, we got a kick out of taking pictures saying "meet at the real Stonehenge for frisbee golf."

The frisbee team at Stonehenge

We then continued on to Bath, and as expected, everyone passed out again on the bus for another two hours of nap time. Bath was super cool and I had never even heard of it before. It's a very quaint community and also houses the Roman Baths which I now know are very historic. We got to walk around the Baths themselves and check out a museum that surrounds them. Afterwards, we explored a bit around the city and did some frolicking in a grassy area.

Romans Baths

We returned back to the flats that night for the first ND football game. We thought they were streaming the game at a local cafe, but buzzkill, they were not. However, a bunch of the guys streamed it in the flats on their computers so everyone was able to watch... or should I say, watch THE HORROR. Classic Notre Dame to lose game one of the season. We better beat Michigan tonight!

Sunday was a fairly lazy day. I feel like am constantly busy here 24/7 so it is nice to literally just sit around for a few hours. Allie and I began planning some trips that day and we began to gear up for our second week of classes.

Monday, I worked 9-5 at NBC. I have learned I am one of four interns at the London Bureau. There are two other American girls (studying abroad for the semester like me) and one British guy. They are all super nice. Monday I grabbed lunch at this Vietnamese place with the British intern and we talked a lot about the differences in the education systems between England and the U.S. To my dismay, they asked me to go out on a shoot for the Today Show on Tuesday, featuring Sienna Miller, but I have classes all day Tuesday! I was pretty bummed but my supervisor has promised me I will get out on another shoot very soon. I guess I'll have to meet Sienna Miller another time. I am definitely liking NBC a lot. Since NBC is an American company, all of the work we do in London is specifically geared towards American programming, like the Today Show and the NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams. For instance, at work on Wednesday, I transcribed interviews from people in Kabul, Israel and Palestine regarding their views on the tenth anniversary of September 11. It was actually very interesting to hear the misguided opinions people have of America all across the world. I also transcribed some clips from marines over in Afghanistan (which apparently Brian Williams is going to be using for a documentary in remembrance of 9/11). Just the fact that I am even allowed to contribute at all to something like that is really awesome. Although I have to put in a little more work (I have about 11 hours of class and 14 hours of interning a week, whereas most people just have 15 hours of class) it is most definitely worth it.

Some other notable weekly events:

We went to the Brazil vs. Ghana soccer game on Monday night at Fulham Stadium. It was insane! It took us a long time to get our tickets since it was a mad house so we missed a bunch of the first half, but it was really cool. Fans were going all out and we sat in the Ghana section and pretended to be hardcore fans too. Brazil won 1-0, and Ronaldinho was so ridiculous with the ball I was in awe. I also took the tube this night for the first time, and Allie and I maneuvered our way home all by ourselves using the underground. We felt accomplished.

Tuesday night, I saw my first of many theatre performances. It was a play called One Man, Two Guvnors. It was literally hilarious (definitely British humor, but funny nonetheless). My whole class seemed to enjoy it. It was at the National Theatre which is literally our next door neighbor here by the flats.

I have accepted the fact that my theology teacher is a crazy man. I am now 2/2 in having crazy/confusing/don't-know-what-they're-talking-about theology teachers at Notre Dame. Allie and I brace ourselves every time we enter class. Flipside: it is probably going to be very easy.

On the other hand, my other classes are great. We visited the National Portrait Gallery in my history class on Thursday since it's down the street, no big deal. We did some improv/acting stuff in my theatre class on Tuesday which I absolutely love but the rest of the class was sweating bullets from what I heard. Today, I am traveling to Stratford-upon-Avon (famous touristy Shakespeare town) to explore and see MacBeth for my Shakespeare class.

We have planned a bunch of trips as well! Next weekend, I am heading to Berlin with Zack for a romantic weekend visiting the Holocaust museums! Just kidding, it will be awesome and I'm very excited. At the end of September, I'm going to Norway and staying one night in Oslo and most likely camping out at one of the beautiful national parks over there on the second night. Fall break has finally been narrowed down to Italy (Rome, Florence and Milan) and Amsterdam to catch the David Guetta show Friday night over there. We will hopefully be booking it for sure in the next couple of days. The mere thought of traveling is so exciting I can't wait!

To recap the last couple of days, on Thursday night we went to O'Neills. Again. Obviously. I have been there the past three Thursdays, haha. We have now learned that it turns into a rager on the third floor after the second floor dies down. Who knew?! We had a great time on Thursday, maybe too much fun, seeing as the majority of the program was struggling on Friday morning. Too many Clover Tops, which are officially the most delicious drink in existence.

Friday, we managed to get ourselves up to go to Windsor for the day. Allie and I originally booked tickets just for the two of us but word spread so we went with about 12 others which was fun. It was about an hour train ride, which was super easy, right from Waterloo Station. We explored a bit and took a tour of the castle/tower. I always enjoy anything to do with English history so it was definitely cool to see. We toured the royal apartments inside the castle which are so elaborate it is ridiculous. I couldn't believe I was touring the castle that the Queen herself lives in part of the year. We took a bunch of pictures, grabbed some ice cream at a local cafe and headed back around dinner time.

Friday night, I was pretty worn out but still managed to meet up with the one and only Crystal Dolis who is staying in London for the week! After getting a bit lost, we met up and went to a pub near the flats called The Mulberry Bush. Allie and I introduced Crystal to the wonderful invention that is cider and had a couple of pints. It was a relaxing atmosphere and the perfect way to spend Friday night (too much dancing the night before and all I wanted to do was sit). Crystal headed home and I nearly got peer pressured into going to Fabric (the #1 club in the world, casual) but decided I should save that for a different night when I am better well-prepared!

My bucket list for things to do while I'm here is so long it is a bit overwhelming! As much as I am missing my friends back at ND and football season, the London program is where it's at. It still reigns as the best decision I have ever made.