And off we go !

Sorry Kristen and Bri, there will be no commentary on Wake Forest Sports on this blog entry. My silence should say enough.

Now that I am half way through the first real week of classes, things are beginning to pick up here in good ol' London England. On Monday's and Tuesday's I have a British Television Studies course from 9 am to 1 pm with a precious professor named Christine. She is on the younger side, has children that are probably in their teens, and is very well-versed in British media talk. So far we have focused a lot on how television works in the UK along with the dynamic amon

g channels from the original BBC to the newer channels like the creatively named "Channel 4" and "Channel 5" (which is actually known as Five or Fiver now). I never knew that television was not the same over here in Great Britain as it is in the states. For instance, the BBC is publicly funded by the licensing fee that all people are forced to pay when they purchase a television. It's kind of bizarre, especially for us Americans who don't have to pay for anything other than the television and the cable box to get the basic channels. I'm really excited because we are going to Princess Productions, a television production studio, on Tuesday to watch the filming of a mid-morning discussion show. Then, on Wednesday, I am going with my other class to take a tour of Parliament! The other course I am taking is called British Political Institutions and meets on Wednesday's and Thursdays from 1:15 pm to 5:15 pm. I really like the professors so far and am looking forward to furthering my knowledge of British politics so as to be better prepared for my internship in October. No, I still have not been placed with an MP, which is kind of frustrating because most of my friends here have either interviewed or are going to be interviewing with their placement soon. Oh well! I guess I will just have to wait and see!

On a less academic note, I have done a lot more exploring the past few days. On Sunday, Chelsey, Steve, Ally and I began a long day's journey by trekking through Hyde Park. We first came upon Kensington Palace, where Princess Diana lived (pictured). As you can see there are still so many signs, poems, etc. posted on the fence of the palace in memory of Princess Diana.

It was rather breath-taking to see how much people still care about a woman who passed away over a decade ago. I had completely forgotten what Princess Di had been for this country, the fact that beyond being a wife or mother, she was an icon that millions upon millions of people looked up to and followed with great interest and respect. I wonder what really happened on that fateful day, if the car accident that took her life was as controversy-ridden as the media had made it out to be. I guess the world will never really know. After passing through the gates you see here, we wandered behind Kensington Palace by the gardens then over to a big lake in the middle of Hyde Park with dozens of swans and other (less graceful) birds floating about.

We then made our way over toward Notting Hill, then walked over to Holland Park where Chelsey lived when she was younger, then back to South Kensington. Oh, I have to add that when we walked through the Portobello Market (my second time in two days), a blue plaque on one of the buildings caught my eye. As I moved closer, I realized that it said that GEORGE ORWELL had lived there.

Naturally, I was star-struck and wished that I had a fellow lit-nerd (aka AJ) with me to go crazy with. However, I was alone with my camera and had to satisfy my fix by merely taking a picture of Mr. Orwell's former humble abode. It was such a great day to wander London and I definitely got a better feel for where all of the different areas are. The downside however was that I caught a bit of a cold and have been feeling under the weather since. At least I'm not at Wake suffering from Swine Flu? I did manage to go on a walk/run with Caroline through Hyde Park yesterday because the temperature had randomly risen to the high 70's.

I would say my greatest success since I wrote on here on Saturday was probably the dinner that we made last night. I managed to throw together lemon chicken breast with mushroom penne pasta and a salad (compliments of Kendall, Caroline, and Evan's lettuce). The chicken was actually GOOD. I mean not good as in I liked it because... face it, mom, I have hated chicken, still hate chicken, and will continue to hate chicken as long as I shall live. However, considering it was the first time that I ever single handedly cooked chicken, it was pretty tasty. I'd have to say I was impressed with myself and even more proud when I saw that all three of the girls who consumed the chicken were still living, breathing, and fully functional today.

Well other than these minor exploits, the past few days have been a blur of the sniffles, political science reading that I can't convince myself to do, and planning my trips over to the main land! Hopefully within the next few days I will have definite plans for traveling to share with you, all five of you who read this blog.... mom, dad, oh wait... two people who read this blog. I hope all is well wherever you are be it dear ol' Wake Forest, the VOT, South America or Europe! I'll be in touch soon!