Day 30

Today was presentation day! I think it went really well, and our teacher said we did great.  She bought us all two cupcakes each from Whole Foods, and they came in a nice container so I could keep the second one for tomorrow.  The peanut butter one I had today was so good. Tomorrow is our final, and then it's one class done already. It's so weird to think that a month has already passed.  Only two and a half to go! My accounting class was pretty much the same today.  I think he just teachers for us WNE kids now, because everyone else in the class stays completely silence and don't even try the exercises so I think he's given up hope on them. Our midterm for that class is almost here too, but I don't think it will be too hard. After class we walked down to Waitrose and Tesco because I realized I actually needed to get travel sized containers so I could put my shampoo and everything in them for this weekend since I am not checking any bags. I thought I had brought a small enough shampoo, but I thought wrong, so needed to get an empty travel container for them. I also got rice cakes, which were helpful seeing as tonight's supper was squid patties (?) or a pea casserole. No lie. Besides taking that short walk, the five of us met to study for our final, and we went down for yoga at 6, which was a nice break. I started packing my backpack for Poland and charged my camera and everything. I also printed out a map of the places I want to go, as we have free time as soon as I get there.  I'm trying to make it to the Wawel Castle before they close at 3:45.  There's also a lot of pretty cathedrals and churches, and the hotel we are staying at is in the center of everything. I'm really excited for this weekend, but even more exciting for Disneyland Paris next weekend! I'm not sure whether or not I'm going to bring my laptop this weekend to Poland, so I'm not sure whether I'll have a blog this weekend.

Day 29

Today was the last lecture and quiz day in our marketing class.  After class the five of us decided to have a picnic by the River Thames and study for our final on Friday.  We grabbed sandwiches from the cafe on campus, I brought my blanket I stole from the airplane, and we walked over to a huge grassy hill that overlooks the river.  It was a beautiful, sunny day out and we ate and studied.  We then took a different path by the river to see some cows, then explored a nearby public garden.  We went back to campus to finish our presentations due tomorrow, and the five of us are split into three different groups, so we are all mad at our third person in each group.  Group projects are never my forte because I get mad when someone doesn't do work.  Emelia and I did most of the work in our group, so we just took over and did the other girl's part too. Dinner was tacos again, and we think it was repeated because they had a lot of taco shells left over, as they were stale and terrible. Nothing good to eat, but tomorrow our marketing teacher is buying us cupcakes for presentation day. I also found out that I don't have to be at the airport until 9:30 now on Friday so I don't have to wake up as early as I previously stated.  After dinner we practiced our presentation and finally finished the whole thing after getting upset at pretty much everyone else in the class. Oh well. We went back to Emelia's room and the five of us decided to start the squat challenge because we were bored. I'm glad that we all get along well because it makes dorming more fun as we get to just chill in each other's rooms. Nothing else too exciting today~

Day 28

Back to classes today.  It's my last week of Marketing so we are all preparing for our final and our presentations we have to do this week. After dragging myself out of bed for breakfast, we all went to class, then grabbed lunch and went to Accounting.  I don't think any of us were actually paying attention in Accounting as he was just repeating debits and credits to the people who honestly have no idea how they work.  We kept answering his questions but eventually he just silenced the WNE kids so we had no purpose in class today. After lunch I went to the library and worked more on our Marketing paper which is now 22 pages long. I also looked up different things to do in Krakow, Poland, as I got my itinerary for this weekend and we have a lot more free time than I expected.  I then met with my group members and we worked more on our PowerPoint.  We then went to dinner, where they actually served the most amazing bread pudding.  It was more like just french toast, but it was really good.  After dinner we walked down to Tesco to take more pictures for our Power Point and walked by the river.  When it got too cold, we went back to the campus and I decided it was time to finally do laundry. I also caught up on Once Upon a Time, and we finished our paper. And when I saw we finished, I mean Emelia and I did the whole thing while our third group member was AWOL. Nothing too exciting today. I have to wake up for Poland at 4:00 in the morning on Friday, but as I say a lot, sleep is for the weak, or you can sleep when you're dead.

Day 26 and 27

My weekend in Scotland was really fun.  It started off yesterday at 9 at night.  I went with another kid in our group, and we walked down to the Tube together.  We got off at Victoria Station and went to find the coach station.  On the ticket it said to arrive there an hour early and go to the desk to get an actual ticket and to check our passports.  However, when we got there, they just said that were were all set and to just give the paper to the driver.  Unfortunately, that meant that we got to the station early.  I thought it was especially weird that they didn't need our passports to go to Scotland, but I guess that's because they are all in the UK. Anyways, we got on the crowded double decker bus at 10:45. I ended up sitting next to this girl who decided at 2 in the morning that she really needed to open a bag of chocolates very, very loudly.  Besides that, though, I was able to fall asleep with no problems except a sore neck and back.  We got to Glasgow at about 8, and from there walked the 2 miles to the convention center.  It was pretty much a straight forward path and we got to pass through the city center, also known as George Square.  For a Saturday morning it was quiet but it was really cool to pass shops that were selling kilts in the windows which really made me feel that I was in Scotland.  When we got to the convention, it was already packed. We had thought that we would just get there, scope out the place, then wander around.  However, we did not know that almost 2 and half hours early there would be a couple thousand people there.  The people that were in line were also the priority line, so there was a separate line to wait in for general admission like us. The wait was really cold, but I ate the breakfast I had stored in my container from the morning before and watched as the Deadpool cosplayers and people dressed as a "Shadow in training" fooled around and performed for people waiting in line, which is one of the reasons I love Comic cons. It is also a great time to people watch.  There was definitely a huge amount of Lord of the Rings, Alice in Wonderland, Doctor Who, and Harry Potter cosplayers, a lot more than seen in Hartford, which makes sense because they're all British.  There was a small amount of Disney and Supernatural costumes, so I was happy to see especially that Supernatural was still loved so far away. Comic cons always make me feel good because I'm surrounded by people who love characters in books or movies or tv shows just as much as I do and it's just an amazing feeling, seeing characters come to life.  The whole ordeal was very well organized, and we got into the building at 11:15, only fifteen minutes after it opened, which was impressive as about 15,000 people were already outside apparently.  The Comic con was held in what seemed to be a warehouse connected to the convention center, but there were no events in the actual convention center. When we got in, it was very packed and claustrophobic.  This also was when the guy with me said that he would see me at 6 when it ended and then disappeared into the crowd.  With that being said, I then walked around all the shops by myself.  There were so many different shops, food booths, and different things to do.  Universal had set up a little theater showing movie trailers which were fun to watch, and there were card games and video games set up to watch.  There was a robot fighting show that I watched which was pretty cool.  One thing that I noticed was that there were actually a lot of kids at this one.  There were a lot of families all dressed up together, which is not usual for the Hartford one.  I then went to 'main stage' (a stage literally thrown together in the middle of the warehouse) to watch a star from Arrow.  After that Q&A, I stayed and watched the 2 hour cosplay masquerade on the stage, where people from babies to adults got on stage to show off their costumes.  Some people danced or sang or did something in the style of the characters, and they were judged for best costume at the end of it.  I always like seeing all the different handmade costumes and the kids dressed up were so cute. After that, Comicon was officially over.  I'm also really proud of myself because I only bought a Disney headband, a couple button pins, and postcards. And a Deadpool cupcake, because I couldn't resist because my apples for lunch lacked flavor and sugar for me.  The guy who went with me said he spent his entire budget and had to go to the ATM to get more money.... Anyways, after it was over he wanted to go to Five Guys, so I followed.  Glasgow mostly consisted of American restaurants, which was definitely unique. At least the path we were on had no little cafes or anything but instead had Starbucks, Subway, Five Guys, McDonalds, KFC, etc. We stayed at Five Guys for a while because our bus wasn't until 9:45. After we wasted time there, we walked back to George Square and around there to take pictures. We then found our way back to the bus stop and got on the bus. This time I sat next to a man who decided he really needed to charge his phone using the plug that was on my side, so the cord was very annoying as it was crossing me and he kept apologizing while I was trying to sleep. Also, this time the bus would turn on the lights and announce each stop they made, which did not happen when the bus stopped on the way there. So, ultimately, I did not get much sleep.  We made it back to Victoria Station at 6:30, and I was exhausted. We took the hour Tube ride back to Richmond, then walked the mile back to campus. I took a very needed hot shower for a very long time. At about 8:45 I then fell into bed, and woke up at 12.  I met with Emelia to eat brunch then met up with my roommate and Emelia's roommate to walk to a nearby market.  The market was small, but we ended up talking to one person who was selling postcards with her own pictures on them.  Although we didn't buy any, she suggested different places to see and visit and so it was fun to talk to her.  It was a beautiful day out and we walked along the river after the market to enjoy the sun. When we got back we started on our Marketing project due Wednesday.  We then went down for supper for Taco Sunday (!) and sat with our Marketing teacher. After supper the five of us chilled in Emelia's room, making a Power Point and singing High School Musical. I also Skyped with the family and it will most likely be an early night tonight so I can sleep.

George Square

Comic Con

Dalek

Whole table dedicated to Disney things, the prices were only HIGHLY inflated

Deadpool Cupcake

Guy from Arrow (plays Maseo)

Warrior Tinker bell

Smaug from The Hobbit

Traffic Cone on the horse's head

Day 25

After having a kind of sleepover last night, and I say kind of because it just consisted of me and my roommate bunking in Emelia's room next door then leaving at like 3, we were all pretty tired when we woke up for our field trip.  We met at 9:45 and walked down to the Tube to go to Portabello Market.  This was similar to Camden Market which we went to a couple weeks ago, but it was less touristy things and more vintage clothing and flea market items.  It was also annoying because all the shops literally lined a road, but cars could drive down that road, so it was hard to look at everything while avoiding cars too, while at Camden Market it was a sectioned off flea market type area.  We then met up at a place called the Fish Shop which was said to have the best fish and chips.  Thankfully, WNE was paying for our lunch, and it annoyed me how easily the other kids took advantage of that.  They were all getting beers and huge meals and appetizers, while I just got fish and chips. The fish was really good and it was a huge portion of it so I could barely finish it.  After lunch, our teacher took some kids back to campus while the four of us (my roommate, Emelia, and her roommate) decided to stay and shop and look around a little longer because we had nothing to do all afternoon.  I ended up getting some souvenirs and gifts, and we finally made it back to campus at about 4.  It was then when I found out that my camera charger had finally come!!!!!! I charged it already and my camera is back up and working, just in time for my trip tonight. Everyone but the four of us and the kid I'm going to comicon with, headed out to go to the Zac Brown Band concert, and coincidentally it was everyone but us who got invited to the concert, which caused some tension and awkwardness.  Dinner was pathetic today and none of us could even fill a plate because there was literally nothing to eat.  Luckily, I had bought an amazing cronut filled with chocolate for one pound at the market and was planning to save it for breakfast the next morning, but ate it for dinner instead.  Tonight Andy and I are leaving the campus at 9 to catch our bus to Scotland at 11:45. My night's sleep will be on the bus so I most likely will be sleep deprived after this weekend, but I'm excited, especially now that my camera is functional.  The comicon is sold out for the weekend, so it should be busy. I won't be able to post a blog tomorrow night since I will be sleeping on another bus, but I'll post one as soon as I get back on Sunday morning at 6:45.  Glasgow, here I come :D

Day 24

Pretty straight forward day today.  Same routine as usual. Went to class, went to lunch (where I was able to get a wrap!!), then did some homework for our group project. After we did our homework we walked down to Tesco to buy some essentials like floss for me and cereal to snack on when the dinner is terrible. I also started writing my Disney College Program bucket list and printed out my tickets and maps for comicon tomorrow in Scotland.  Tomorrow morning all of us are going on a field trip for our marketing class.  We're going to Portabello Market and to a fish and chips place.  I'm then taking the bus to Glasgow.  I'm not sure when I'l be able to write my next blog post tomorrow or Saturday, so don't freak out if there isn't one until Sunday.  We went to dinner, which was nothing to write home about.  I still haven't gotten any mail, to answer that question.  I also tried looking for a camera today while in Tesco but I can't find a place that sells them.  Hopefully it will come in. My roommate says that I have to add 2 weeks to the arrival date because even though it is amazon.co.uk, it still comes from the United States so it takes longer.  I don't know. Tonight we are celebrating a girl in our group's birthday, so we are all going to the common room to hold a movie night and someone is bringing a cake.  Someone else bought balloons to blow up so it will be fun. Nothing else quite too exciting today. Have a good weekend~

Day 23

Today turned out to be better than I thought.  I went to Marketing today, where we got to try a Paleo Diet Bar that was on Shark Tank.  It was almost as bad as the cricket bar.  Although, I don't understand the Paleo diet.  They don't eat meat or dairy but they eat eggs? Didn't cavemen eat meat? I spent most the of class trying to figure out the diet instead of the class.  Anyways, I then grabbed a sandwich to eat in my Accounting class which was as boring as usual.  This girl is still annoying me as she answers every single question wrong.  Also, no one does homework here so he just has everyone do the homework during class which we all did, so it gets really boring really quick.

After class, some WNE kids asked me to go with them to Shakespeare's Globe Theater.  The six of us then walked down to the Tube, since we had no homework, and went to the Globe Theater.  Mind you, I was invited and did not make the plans, so I planned to just follow them and let them lead.  Apparently, they did not plan the trip out at all, because as soon as they got off the Tube, they didn't know which way to go.  Fortunately for them I had my map as usual, and then I somehow became the leader to find the way to Shakespeare's Globe Theater, which was farther away because they didn't listen to me as to what stop to get off.  It was pretty annoying because first they didn't trust me to get off at the Tube stop, then they didn't trust me with direction.  I would say that we would have to go down one street, and they would tell me that I was wrong and start going another direction.  Eventually they realized I am actually good with directions even though I'm a girl, and started following me.  When we got there, they just took a picture and wanted to leave.  I had thought that they wanted to travel the hour ride to actually take the tour and look inside.  However, they didn't want to because it wasn't the original theater and one person said that Shakespeare didn't even write all his plays, so why would he want to tour it? I paid the 8 pounds to take the tour.  I was the only person in there since it was a random time (3:30 on a Wednesday).  I wandered around the small museum they had on the Theater and on Shakespeare, then waited for the tour.  I ended up getting a private tour with about three tour guides because they were all bored, and it ended up being really fun.  They took me around the museum again, pointing out things I missed or weren't on the displays, and then took me into the Theater.  They talked more about Shakespeare, his plays, and the Theater and it was really fun because they kept quoting Shakespeare on the stage.  They then asked me if I wanted to look at the Rose Theater, which was the first theater on that side of the River Thames.  I hadn't even heard of it, but agreed and they told me the whole story behind it.  Basically, the opposite side of the river (which was considered London at that time), didn't like theaters because they thought it attracted a bad crowd of people.  Because a theater couldn't be built within that town's barriers, people then built the Rose Theater across the London Bridge.  The Globe Theater was built after the Rose Theater because the Rose Theater was gaining popularity and it was a small space.  Shakespeare put on two of his plays at the Rose Theater, as well as Christopher Marlowe.  The Rose Theater was discovered accidentally by an excavation done by the city of London, and only 2/3 was uncovered due to the costs.  7 Million dollars is needed just to uncover the other third.  I got to see the structure of the Rose Theater which was underneath an apartment complex that was allowed to be built on top of the Rose Theater ruins because the plans were approved before the ruins were known about.  When the ruins were found, famous people like Ralph Fiennes and Ian McKellan supported the foundation to preserve the remains and to just have an underground like way for people to visit them, which is what I got to see.  The tour guides also took me to where the original Globe Theater was, and told me that the new Globe Theater couldn't be built right where the original was because there was a nearby house that was considered to be a historical site because it was the first house to use a certain form of concrete.  We all agreed that we should sacrifice the historic concrete house to excavate the remains of the original Globe Theater, but apparently the city does not.  After that, we all had a discussion of whether Shakespeare actually did in fact write his plays, and we talked about our favorite plays, quotes, characters, etc.  The tour guides were definitely bored college kids, but it worked in my favor as I saw things that weren't even on the tour, like the Rose Theater, and the discussion was really fun.  I then got back on the Tube to make it back in time for supper, but slipped in some time to FaceTime Mamma and Papa :D

I ended up being the last person to supper and sat with my Marketing teacher again by myself, which was only slightly awkward.  After supper I then went to get a head start on some other homework and the four of us just chilled in our room, playing music and talking.  It was a packed day today, but I learned a lot and had a lot of fun!

The outside of the Globe Theater

The sketchy undergound remains of the Rose Theater (the lights outline the outside of the theater, the middle lights is where the stage was)

The plaque that states the original location of the Globe Theater, this is what the man who wanted to rebuild the Globe Theater saw

Plaque stating where the Globe Theater was, behind it is the ugly historic concrete business

The darker red stones are pieces of the Globe Theater

Day 22

The wifi here is going to actually kill me.  Currently, I am typing with one hand while holding my laptop in one corner of the hallway where I have exactly one bar of wifi. -_- It really annoys me that I can't even look up quick information on google without struggling for at least twenty minutes for google to load. Anyways, today was another rainy and freezing cold day.  Everyone was in a pretty bad mood, so class went by especially slow.  After class my marketing team and I went down to Tesco to do research for our project.  We needed to compare prices at Tesco and Waitrose so we spent a good time doing that.  After that we went back to finish our project.  We then played pool and ping pong in the common room until supper, which was eh today. After dinner we all just put on sweatpants and stayed in the cold common room until I was too cold so went back up to my room.  In other happy news I finished two more books this week. The most interesting one I finished was an autobiography of Felicia Day, an actress who guest starred on Supernatural (redhead Charlie). It was actually really interesting because she never went to high school but graduated college with a degree in mathematics and music, and she was a violin prodigy.  Anyways, she then went on to make her own Web series which I have currently started watching, with the stop and go of wifi of course.  Now I'm currently debating which book to start now. Besides that, I have kind of rejoined Facebook to connect with people who have also got accepted into the Disney College Program.  It's a good way to ask questions, find a roommate, and just talk Disney.  Everyone just talks about Disney, and all it does is make me more excited for that and Disneyland Paris which is just in a couple weeks!

Day 21

I wish I could say it was a super exciting day, but it was quite the opposite.  It was down pouring all day today, and it was super cold.  Food was also pretty terrible today. We got up at 8, went to breakfast, the only meal that doesn't disappoint, and then went to class.  We watched some more Shark Tank episodes, but all of us were pretty quiet and tired, and I tried not to use my current Mickey Mouse voice if I could avoid it.  Accounting was bad as usual.  Our teacher decided to go backwards and teach debits and credits and T accounts, which is what he should have started off with instead of jumping into Balance Sheets, so it was pretty boring as it was a review for me.  After class I grabbed a pre-made sandwich for lunch as the regular lunch line was extremely long and I wanted to start on my homework.  The sandwich was absolutely terrible, but I took a side of melon which I was desperately craving, so that made up for it.  I did all the Accounting homework for this week, because why not, right?  After I finished our group for Marketing had to go meet with our teacher to go over our latest assignment and she showed us different marketing databases to use.  After the meeting I decided to try out the gym because we weren't going to walk anywhere in the terrible weather. The gym is really, really small, and only two machines our of the six were working.  Luckily, that included a treadmill. After the gym I took a shower and went to dinner.  Dinner options were pretty terrible. Today the only choice was a type of cheese pasta, which was less than adequate.  It's annoying that you basically have to eat what they serve you, even if you want to be healthy or something like that.  There was only pasta and the fruit that is there for all meals. Legit that was it. Good thing I store granola bars and food in my room. Anyways, it stopped raining just after supper so we walked down so some people could get some stuff at Tesco.  After that, I just read and plan to go to sleep early.

Day 20

After going to bed at about 2 last night, I slept in until about 11.  Emelia and I went down for brunch, and ended up sitting with our marketing teacher because we felt bad that she was sitting alone.  We ended up talking a lot, and got some information about our final, so it was fun.  After brunch we met up with another girl to do our marketing project on Tesco.  It didn't take us that long, and afterwards Emelia and I went to Richmond Park. The size of the park is still unreal to me.  Every time I go I always find myself on a different path.  Today we stumbled upon a huge lake that was in the middle of it.  We never knew it was even there! We sat on the grass in front of the lake and just read for several hours.  It actually really fun and relaxing.  We started walking back to campus at 4, and I decided to do laundry. Laundry is actually the worst here, and someone today stopped my wash halfway through the cycle so I had to start all over again.  People have no courtesy at all as there were clothes literally all around the room scattered.  For dinner we ended up sitting with our marketing teacher again, and this time talked about TV shows and movies and such.  We ended up staying at dinner for about an hour talking with our teacher.  After supper I then went to watch the new Doctor Who episode that premiered yesterday.  Nothing else too exciting today.  I'm feeling better; the only remnants of my cold is a sore throat and a loss of voice.  My roommate comes back tonight from Barcelona, so I no longer have that nice weekend of being by myself. ~~

Traitor's Gate

Guarding the Crown Jewels

The staircase where the two princes were found

I don't even know what this was

The king's room; it looks like it came from Merlin

White Tower, where the King and Queens lived

Where Anne Boleyn died

View of Tower Bridge from Tower of London

The most adorable rubber ducks (No, I did not buy one)

Day 19

There is so much to write about today.  I woke up at around 9, read for a while, and waited to meet Emelia at 11:30 for the only meal that is offered to us on Saturdays.  I've decided to try to wait for brunch instead of leaving early because the food is pretty good and no one will wake up earlier than that to go with me. After brunch, I took the Tube to the Tower of London.  London is pretty great in offering student discounts, so my Richmond ID helped me save a lot of money today on tickets.  I got to the Tower of London at 1, and I waited for the next tour at 1:30.  Now, I remember liking the tour when I went in sixth grade, but I don't remember seeing everything that was there.  I thought that the tour was it, but I spent a lot longer than expected at the Tower of London.  I was there for about 3-4 hours, and I feel bad because I know we must have rushed back in sixth grade because I wouldn't have found it interesting.  I saw the crown jewels and even went back on the little moving platform thing just to see them again because they are absolutely beautiful. Also, I didn't realize that you could walk along the whole top of the wall.  It was so peaceful and interesting and beautiful.  My calves were sore at the end of today because of the amount of spiral staircases I went up.  I almost tripped once, freaking out a foreign couple. :D There was even a wedding going on at the Tower's chapel, which I thought was a weird place to hold a wedding.  I watched a show at the Tower, explored the museum, and learned everything I could.  I think my problem is that I think that each place I go to will be the last time I visit, so I try to see and do everything.  Anyways, when I left, I knew that I wouldn't be able to make it back for supper if I went to Shakespeare's Globe Theater, so I decided to do the Tower Bridge instead.  The Tower Bridge was actually not crowded, so I was able to take some amazing pictures.  I watched the videos about the Bridge and learned more than I remember.  The coolest feature they added to the Bridge was a glass floor.  You can now walk across the top of the Tower Bridge and look down on the Thames River and the people below.  Dad would have freaked out, but it was a cool feature.  However, some ladies were just sitting right on the area where it was the glass flooring so that was kind of annoying because it was hard to take a good picture with them right in the middle of the floor, having a picnic.  I also was at the perfect time because the Bridge actually opened while I was on the top of it, and it was the most amazing view of it opening.  After that, I went back on the Tube, after stopping quickly for a look at the Navy Memorial nearby. The Tube was insane.  Today was a rugby match between France and Italy, and the train I was in had about 30 people all wearing French colors and wearing chickens on their heads.  Their faces were painted, they had wigs on, and they were singing French songs. It was pretty neat, and they started a conversation with us about rugby and everyone was really friendly.

After getting back, we met up with the rest of the group (and when I say rest of the group I mean seven of us) to go to dinner.  We went to Nando's at my suggestion, because it was this cult food place on Tumblr and everyone says it is amazing.  It's a chicken place, and they served grilled chicken to order, like with different sauces and spices.  It was really good, but the set up was weird. When you go in, a server sits you down, but you then have to go up and order.  After ordering, you sit back down and the server brings you the food.  I liked it better though because it made it seem like we were at a sit down place and all of us could pay for our own.  Afterwards we walked back up to Richmond, and the other people who went with me to supper actually surprised me with a cake, celebrating my acceptance into Disney.  They then played Disney music through speakers and we all shared the cake and talked and played cards.  It was one of the sweetest things ever.  A guy in the group even killed a huge spider in my room. It was such a fun day, and the people in my group are amazing. Tomorrow is a homework day, but I'll try to add more photos from today later, because I was only able to get half uploaded.

The glass floor

Another view of glass floor

View from Tower Bridge

Tower Bridge

Navy Memorial

Day 18

Today was one of the best days of my life.  After waking up at 4:30 with my roommate as she got ready to go to Barcelona, I eventually rewoke at 8.  I finished another book that I had actually just started yesterday, and waited for Emelia and another girl to wake up so we could go down to lunch.  We grabbed a sandwich for lunch and ate it on the walk down to the Tube station.  Getting to the Natural History Museum took forever, as the Tube kept stopping and breaking down.  Eventually, we got there, and walked around for several hours.  It was a good museum, but a lot of it was under construction and there were a lot of school groups making it extremely crowded.  Also, animals and bugs and what not are definitely not my thing, and I still can't even imagine dinosaurs ever walking around the earth.  Anyways, we then went to the science museum which was literally right next door.  We didn't stay as long, though, because I for one hate science and the other people with me didn't find it thrilling either.  It was also a lot less interactive or fun as the other museums I've visited were.  Oddly enough, I enjoyed the Imperial War Museum a lot better than both of the ones I visited today.  After the science museum we stopped to get ice cream since we were hungry and both my throat and Emelia's throats are sore.  We then took the Tube back and napped, which I needed after taking a Benadryl.  We woke up in time for supper (veggie burgers-again :( ), and after supper a guy in our group helped us hook his laptop to the TV in the common room and we watched Gone Girl, which Emelia had wanted to watch since she had just finished reading the book.  The movie was really bizarre, but interesting, although the ending was terrible.  We put in the Great Gatsby next, but I only stayed for barely half of it as the movie wrecked the book and I was exhausted.

In other news, I got accepted into the Disney College Program for the Spring!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I got accepted into Quick-Service Food and Beverage, which means that I can be pretty much anywhere from the hotels, water parks, theme parks, etc.  I could make the candy apples, or clean tables, or cook food, or do cash register.  It will be like what I do at Panera.  I'm moving there on January 18, and will stay until May 18. I'm super excited, and I'm not even going to lie, I dropped my phone and started crying when I got the email right before we went down to supper.  This year is starting off amazing in London, and will end well in the happiest place on earth.  Unfortunately, I won't be home much, in fact, I'll be home exactly one month and then I'll be off again.  Luckily, due to the three summer classes I endured this summer, this Program will not severely mess up my schedule. I am going to definitely try to take an online class as well while working, although I will be working from 30-45 hours a week, according to the email I got today.  It's so hard for me now because as much as I am looking forward to all the trips I've planned here, I now almost want it to fly by so I can go to Florida!

Anyways, tomorrow I'm off to see the Tower of London and Shakespeare's Globe Theater.  Apparently liking Shakespeare is a weird thing to others. Have an amazing weekend~~

This was the cute picture from Twickenham I tried posting earlier.  I'm a sucker for vacuums with faces.

Inside of the Natural History Museum.

Pink Fairy Armadillo-awww

Inside the Natural History Museum

Inside of the Science Museum

An exhibit on whether good can control you

ANDD.... my acceptance letter into the most amazing thing I am ever going to do

Day 17

Today was a very painful day.  I seem to have the cold that everyone in my group shares.  We spent all of Marketing today passing around a roll of toilet paper that we stole from the bathrooms.  I even had to take a nap for the first time since I got here because my head was pounding Also, I have blisters on the soles of my feet due to walking seven miles in boots yesterday.  It's not as bad as it seems, but it does hurt walking around.  Luckily, I did not have my Accounting class today, so right after Marketing I got my sandwich at the cafe and we all ate then took a walk.  We went back to Twickenham again, about two miles away, and just explored a park there and the sites.  We don't have classes until Monday, so we didn't have to stress about finishing the one homework assignment.  When we got back, I finished rereading the Harry Potter series, and took a nap.  I woke up just in time for supper, where we had the option of pasta or pasta to eat.  After supper the four of us went walking around Richmond some more, but we came back early because my roommate is waking up early tomorrow for Barcelona.  Tomorrow Emelia and I are planning to go to the science museum and the natural history museum, both of which are luckily free. After fighting with technology, I was able to skype mom and dad, too, which definitely helped to make me feel better.  Not much to say today, however.  There is probably more to write, but its almost midnight here and my head hurts and I still need to take a shower.  Have a good Friday!

Day 16

Today was a typical rainy, cold, Wednesday.  Our Marketing class is still fun as we continued to watch Shark Tank episode.  We are also doing a group project on Tescos, so that should be fun as well.  My Accounting class is the opposite, however.  Our teacher is rather dull and is still jumping all over the place.  The other kids are really lost and there is this one girl who answers every single question incorrectly every time.  However, I know I'm in the right major because I was the first one to correctly do a balance sheet today, and I had so much fun doing it.  I have to thank my high school accounting class for that, though, because our teacher hasn't done a good job teaching it.  I don't mind doing the homework for Accounting, so I finished the whole packet he gave us for the chapter already.  After class I grabbed a grilled cheese for lunch, then went to do my marketing homework, which was to write an update of one Shark Tank company.  I also got ahead and did the rest of the online modules due.  After everyone else finished, we walked to Twickenham in the rain to move around and we needed to go to the Pound Store.  I needed a new cable for my iPad, and I finally gave up my search of finding a stick deodorant, so I settled for a spray on one.  I also gave up trying to find female shaving cream, so I had to get men's.  After that, four of us decided to go to yoga, a four week class that is in one of the rooms on campus.  It was really cramped but fun.  We grabbed supper (I tried my first veggie burger today), then relaxed.  We had a fire drill in the pouring rain today which was not fun, and when I went to put my clothes in the dryer, some nice person had thrown my wet clothes all over the floor.  Definitely one part of dorming I don't like.  Tomorrow there's a free comedy show on campus that we are all going to, and it is the last day of classes for us.  I don't know what our plans are for this weekend, but I'm sure I'm going to be busier than during the school week.  I hope everyone has a good night~

*I tried posting a picture of something cute I saw in Twickenham, but the wifi here is TERRIBLE*

Day 15

Today was pretty much a replicate of yesterday.  I woke up at 8, ate breakfast, then went to class.  Class today was still fun as we still get to watch Shark Tank.  About five kids in our group our sick, though, so the rest of us are kind of just waiting until we get sick too.  The class goes by pretty fast, and I don't have my Accounting class on Tuesdays so it went by quickly.  After class we all got lunch, then decided to take a walk around Richmond again. I got another adapter for the outlet, but it still isn't working. I had maintenance come in and look out my outlets, and my laptop can charge via the new adapter, but my iPad or iPhone won't. I can charge my iPhone through my laptop, but my iPad will only charge on my roommates cord. I have no idea why.  I also got pencils because apparently I didn't bring any and they are very much needed for my accounting class.  Anyways, we just walked around Richmond again because every time we walk around we find something new that we didn't discover before.

After we came back from our walk, we started our Marketing homework.  We had to do an online module which was all different equations that was somewhat complicated.  Luckily, five of us sat in the common room and did it together so it wasn't as painful.  After we did our homework we went to eat supper.  Supper was actually pretty decent today with mac and cheese and pulled pork sandwiches so all of us filled our plates so much it looked like we had been starved, which we were in all fairness.  After dinner we finished up some other classes' work and Emelia and I booked our trip to Cork, Ireland, to see the Blarney Castle and to kiss the Blarney stone.  That's the last major trip we're going on, and we're going the second week of November.  After that we just stayed in the common room until karaoke started at 8.  None of us really wanted to watch, but they were giving out free food so we stole some to take back to our rooms.  Those snacks are how I survive when I spend the whole day out.  Tomorrow the four of us are walking to Twickenham, the neighboring town, just so we don't have to see Richmond again.

Day 14

Today was a pretty uneventful day.  I woke up at 8, got breakfast, and then went to class for 9.  My first class is marketing, and so far it seems like a really fun class.  Today our teacher gave us some notes to write down, then put in three episodes of Shark Tank.  After each episode, we then had to analyze the sales pitch, which was really fun.  There was one man who was selling granola bars made with cricket powder, and she even gave us all one.  (They were really disgusting, but at least I tried them.) We also had to make a short advertisement selling the cricket bars, so overall it was a really fun and entertaining class.  All of us know each other well now so I was glad we could jump right into the lessons and all of us feel comfortable around one another.  The class is three hours long, and right after that class I go straight to Accounting.  The accounting teacher is all over the place and I feel as if he doesn't actually know what lesson he is going to cover.  He made us do this huge packet for homework and it covered such a broad range of topics that all of us were confused.

After class, Emelia, her roommate, my roommate, and I all sat together in our room to do the marketing homework and the accounting work.  We had an essay to write for marketing and the whole packet for accounting.  I actually missed doing schoolwork so I was done with that essay quickly, but all of us struggled with the accounting packet and it took us until supper time to actually finish.  We then went to supper and took a break and just walked around Richmond for a couple hours.  Unfortunately we can't really go anywhere until Friday, so walking around is the best we can do, but it is still nice to do so.  The weather was really cold today though, and I was actually tempted to put gloves on.  Besides that, nothing new happened today. Like I said, this week will be uneventful as I actually have school.

Day 13

Today was another long but exciting day.  Emelia, Kendra, Jesse, and I were the only people from our group of 15 that had signed up for a day trip to Bath.  We all got up at 7 and met our RA in the lobby from where she took us on the Tube to Kensington to meet up with the students from that campus.  There was about 100 of us total, so we split up onto two separate buses and then were on our way.  The trip took about two and a half hours, and the bus stopped at a rest station about halfway on our trip.  The bus trip wasn't as pretty as the one I took from Madrid to Barcelona, as this one consisted mostly of trees, but once we got to the countryside in Bath it was absolutely beautiful.  I was really glad that I got to see the countryside in England because it looked so picturesque and looked as if it came from a movie.

Once we got to Bath, we split up into 4 groups of 25, and each group had a private tour guide.  He walked us around Bath and told us the history behind everything and showed us where Jane Austen used to live.  There was also a Jane Austen festival happening this same weekend so a lot of people were dressed up as either characters or just costumes from that era. Basically Bath was created by Romans who had settled in England, and a man of the name John Wood created the whole city's architecture and layout.  The Bath House itself was created as a part of a temple to the goddess Minerva.  There was also a myth of the springs near the Bath House saying that a man who had leprosy was exiled to the springs to take care of pigs.  The pigs then contracted leprosy as well, but the man noticed that they were healed after bathing in the springs.  The man then bathed in the same waters and became healed, so people then moved to that area and created a bath house and turned it into a place of worship as well.

After the walking tour, our group was told to meet back in an hour for our entrance to the Bath House.  We went to get lunch, and I got a Cornish pasty which had cheese, peppers, tomatoes, basil, and other vegetables inside of a pufffed pastry.  They heated it up and it was so good.  The only problem with local places is that none of them take credit cards, or museums or other places won't take cash if it is less than five pounds, which stinks if I just want to buy a postcard or something.  After eating, we walked around to take pictures, and watched some people sing.  One man was actually singing popular country songs, which I did not expect.  I didn't think Darius Rucker's 'Wagon Wheel' was popular in England, but apparently it was.  We were back at the meeting spot early, and were the first ones there.  Now, this is where we all got upset at the disorganization of the tour guides.  The tour guides knew how many kids were in each group, but only bought tickets for the number of people who were there at the exact time he said.  However, kids are always late, so he bought a fewer amount of tickets needed.  He passed the tickets around ,and somehow three out of the four of us were shorted, when we were the first ones there.  Jesse waited with us, but our tour guide said we had to wait to the next group which was ten minutes later so that tour guide could buy us tickets.  We did that, and we were counted, yet once again there was not enough tickets.  I don't understand why they didn't just buy as many tickets as there were people on the bus.  But it was frustrating because people who came in late took tickets before we did.  The new tour guide was really rude to us and yelled at us for not being on time, when we were the first ones, but luckily our previous tour guide stood up for us and made late kids give us their tickets so we made it on the tour group, which was lucky because the other kids had to wait another hour, and there wouldn't be enough time for them to go through the whole tour.

The tour was self-guided via audio devices, similar to what I was given at Churchill's War Rooms yesterday. I really like them as they keep the crowds moving and it also gets hard to read the signs.  There was a lot of different things to listen to as there was a brief overview, then you could opt to listen to a historian's interpretation which I found interesting.  The Bath Houses themselves turned out to be larger than expected.  I had thought we were just going to see one bath and thats all.  Instead, there was a whole museum talking about the life of the people and how people used to throw in written curses against people into the baths in hopes that Minerva would grant that curse upon another person.  There were also pieces of statues that used to be there and coins found and other artifacts.  The main spring was shown but also the cold baths and other rooms were displayed.  At the end of the tour, everyone was allowed to take a sample of the spring water in hopes that it provided good health, but it tasted like warm pennies which was kind of gross.

The way back home was longer, and we were all starving by the time we made it back to Kensington.  We knew we had to eat there, because everything closes at about 6 in Richmond, and it was past that.  We found a rather cheap restaurant, and we each ordered a pizza and ate the entire thing.  This was considering we hadn't had breakfast (except fruit I stole from the dining hall) and lunch was small.  I like restaurants in Britain because the tip is included usually with the meal so the price doesn't seem as bad when I think about it.  Also side note: I bought a guard solar powered thing for my car in Bath today and it is the cutest thing ever. I meant to write that above but it's too dark in my room to scroll up.  Anyways, after supper we took the Tube back to Richmond, where I had to top up my Oyster Card again. I still don't really know how much it is for the Tube, because I swear the prices change and my card goes down faster than expected.  This week will be quiet, however, as I now have class Monday - Thursday 9-1:30 so I won't be able to travel anywhere until Friday.  I think we're planning to have a small picnic in the park this week so we are trying to do local things.  Our school also has some free comedy and movies nights on campus to go through so I definitely won't be bored.  Emelia and I are also planning are last and final trip to Cork to see the Blarney Castle and Stone.

Side note: Dad, I need to buy a new plug adapter because mine starting sparking and overheating and I'm pretty sure blew out because it only works half the time. So FYI. And my camera charger hasn't come in so I might need you to call Amazon.

This was cool because each tier had a different type of column: Doric, Ionic, Corinthian.

Gray telephone booth?

People in Bath sealed their windows in protest of a Window Tax which taxed people on how many windows they had.

Cornish pasty

Church nearby

Front of the Temple with head of a Gorgon

Bath house

Main bath

Day 12

Today was one of the more exhausting days I've had here.  I woke up at 8 to go to a place called The Who Shop in Eastern London with a friend I had met the week previously.  It took about an hour and a half to get their by the Tube, but it was definitely worth it.  The shop itself was small, but it was packed with all the Doctor Who merchandise one could imagine.  There was also Sherlock, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Star Wars, and other TV show merchandise as well.  There were signed pictures and costumes and ornaments and pretty much anything Doctor Who you could imagine.  I bought a pin, postcard, and keychain, and also a ticket to the 'museum' they had in the back of their shop.  I was given the key to the Tardis to get into the museum, and then I walked through it.  The museum was basically a collection of props and costumes from all seasons of the TV show.  The only weird part about it was that one worker basically had to follow us through the museum to make sure that we weren't taking pictures with our phones or anything.  However, the worker ended up being cool and let me touch some of the props and told me how the store collected everything.  The store itself actually made most of the props or costumes and then lent them to the BBC so therefore the props were theirs to have. There were also pictures of all the Doctors in front of the shop so I didn't realize that it was such a big deal.  All the actors and actresses had signatures wishing the shop the best and it was just a really cool experience.  After that, my friend went back to campus while I decided to continue on in the day to go to more places.

My next stop was the Imperial War Museum in Central London.  I didn't actually think I would find this as interesting as I did.  Dad would have absolutely loved it, and I felt bad that I don't think I appreciated it as much as he would have.  The museum itself was set up really well and there were a lot of interactive activities and cool aspects like walking through the 'trenches of WWI' or a household during WWII rationing.  There were five floors to the museum, and each floor had a different theme.  There was a whole floor dedicated to the Holocaust, and it was a really sad but powerful exhibit.  There was also a new section that was just added about the war with Afghanistan and about 9/11 which was also pretty rough to walk through.  I learned a lot, though, about British wars that I hadn't really learned about.  There was another section dedicated to the spies of Britain and the exhibit was set up like you were walking through a James Bond movie.  Overall, it was one of the best museums I think I've been too, and I spent a lot longer there than I thought I was going to spend.

My last stop was Churchill's War Rooms.  It was only about a mile and a half from the Imperial War Museum, so it was a beautiful day to walk and to pass Big Ben again.  There was a short line when I got there, but it moved quickly.  After paying for this museum, they gave everyone an audio guide to listen to and it was really helpful as the areas were tight so it kept people moving along.  I wasn't really sure what to expect of this either, but it turned out to be really interesting.  I got to see where Churchill made his speeches, where he slept, and where he made all his war plans.  There was the original maps Churchill used that outlined where the war fronts were and where ships were landing.  About halfway walking through the different rooms, there was a Churchill museum that was also included.  The audio guide was extremely helpful for this and it had a lot of Churchill's clothes, including his bowler hats and bow ties, and other medals and maps and books.  I learned more about his childhood, his time in war, and then his turn as prime minister, all of which I didn't think I was going to learn about.  There were a lot of different rooms that were shown, such as the kitchen, dining room, his wife's bedroom, the electrical room, the map room, etc.  I also spent a lot longer than expected.

Finally, I got out of the museum and walked back to the Tube stop.  Luckily, my time in the museum was long enough to miss the protesting going on near Westminster Abbey about the refugees from Syria, but the Tube was pretty packed with protesters going back to Richmond.  When I got back, I went to find food.  Me being the thrifty person that I was ate breakfast and lunch using my plastic containers with food that I took from the dining hall yesterday.  It allowed me to keep moving and to only eat when walking from place to place.  I got dinner at a French restaurant called Paul's, and got some sort of sandwich.  I don't really know what was in it, but it was good.  I also got breakfast for tomorrow there and some granola bars at Tescos for less than two pounds because tomorrow I am gone all day to Bath and am not getting any meals.  Now that I'm back on campus, tonight just consists of sleeping, as I have to wake up at about 6 tomorrow to go to Bath, and today was pretty tiring but really fun.  I hope you like all the pictures I'm adding too!

*I also learned that Churchill and his wife received 17 inkstands for wedding gifts*
*Also- I found my new favorite quote: "We are all worms. But I do believe that I am a glow-worm."-Churchill

Entering the Tardis (entrance to museum)

Found the entrance to the West Ham United's Stadium while walking to The Who Shop

Inside of the Who Shop

Outside of the Who Shop

Imperial War Museum

This was one of the coolest things for me to see because I read a lot about Walt Disney's impact on WWII.  Disney characters (this one from the Three Little Pigs) were painted on a lot of WWII planes or tanks or trucks so I was really excited to see this one.

Wreckage from the North Tower after 9/11

Beautiful Day out to pass Big Ben

Winston Churchill's hat!

The actual door of 10 Downing Street (Where the prime minister lives)

One War Room