As we have the past few days, we started off by heading to Ramsay Hall and eating an English breakfast. By now, I'm a bit tired of it. I'm used to bacon and eggs just on Sunday, so having it for four days in a row is getting boring. They also have a "continental breakfast" here, so I think I'll probably try that to help break the monotony of it. I tried the sausage here and, while not being bad or anything, it wasn't very good either. I'd prefer some Jimmy Dean any day of the week.
After breakfast it was on to the first class of the "semester". We spent the next two and a half hours (except for a slight break) going over what we would be doing this semester, a few projects we'll be working on, and looking over some British media. Let me go ahead and get this out there: the British are pretty crazy, if you only judge them by their newspapers. Apparently the term "sex sells" has been a big motivator for these people because in every paper there are half-naked (or all naked, if you prefer the page three girls) women and advertisements for various services. Not to mention, they're apparently obsessed with a show called "Big Brother" which they abbreviated "BB". I'm pretty sure it's some sort of reality show.
Once class was over we headed back to the cafeteria for lunch. Lunch for me consisted of mince meat and penne pasta with a roll and a raspberry-topped cheesecake with bits of waffle and powdered sugar on top. The mince meat and pasta was awful--I heard it was leftovers from yesterday. The roll with butter and cheesecake were excellent. From there, I made my way down to Tottenham Court Road (the closest main street to us) to change out some bills, cash some traveler's checks and, most importantly: GET A HOODED SWEATSHIRT!
Today it was rainy and cold all day, except at night where it was just cold. I brought two long-sleeve shirts and a rain poncho, but that was it. I needed something that could do the job of both, so I went looking for a hooded sweatshirt. First though, let me explain the money situation. Apparently some of the bills I had on my when I arrived were "old bills"; go figure. Some places would accept them and some places wouldn't. So, I ended up going to a bank, as instructed, to exchange them. The first bank I stopped at wouldn't change them out and told me I had to go to Barclay's. Well, I went to Barclay's and got the money changed then tried to cash a traveler's check. No dice. Barclay's sent me to Lloyd's to cash a traveler's check because Lloyd's doesn't charge a fee.
Well, before getting to Lloyd's I stopped in a discount store on Tottenham Court Road and picked up a gray hooded sweatshirt for ten pounds. The neck hold is a bit small and it'd be nice if it zipped, but believe me, it was so cold and rainy I really didn't care. From there, I went up the street to Lloyd's and cashed my traveler's checks. Thankfully, Lloyd's was also willing to exchange a five pound note I had which they guy at the discount store had rejected. Frankly, I can't figure this note rejection stuff out. In America we change bills and still just use the old ones. Here, apparently they won't accept them. But, get this: I've used them at the automated check-out at the Tesco (grocery store).
Anyways, after all of that was said and done, Gabe, Gideon, Ryan, and myself made our way up to the British Museum. The British Museum was outstanding. Although, to be honest, I think it may have been just a little too big. There was so much to see that, honestly, you couldn't do it justice if it took you less than half a day to see it all. To really get the most out of it you'd need at least one day, maybe two, to see everything. There are, literally, exhaustive exhibits on every culture in the world. The British Museum is an expansive collection of art and artifacts from nearly every culture and every period of time. The Egyptian room houses artifacts such as columns, busts, sarcophagi, and statues in an area probably two hundred yards long. That it just one room. Another room houses the entire frieze from the Parthenon. Again, just one room on the first floor. It is really all very spectacular.
I only stayed for about an hour and a half because I started getting a bit tired. Because I was getting tired, I wasn't paying as much attention to the exhibits as I would have liked and frankly, I felt like I was cheating myself out of a great experience. I came to a room filled with Etruscan vases (the ones that are black and orange which depict various stories) and I was dumbfounded. I have always been fond of them. Instead of looking at them all in depth, I just browsed around because I was sleepy. I then went downstairs and saw the huge collections there and I realized that I needed to come back at a more opportune time.
So, I headed back to the college. I made a quick stop in a very neat comic book shop on the way (the Batman flag hanging outside of it caught my attention) and then got back to school. After a quick nap, Gabe and I went to the Tesco, bought some food, and ate dinner. I had a chicken sandwich that I had bought a few days ago and it was pretty tasty. I expect for the rest of the week I'll focus on some of the groceries I picked up.
Not long after this was over, we went out to a local pub called The Crown and just got back a little while ago. We played pool on two very tiny pool tables upstairs in the pub and met a bunch of folks from Florida State University. They are staying a campus not too far from the British Museum. They were pretty cool, and it was quite a change in atmosphere when a bunch of Americans got together. Gabe noted how loud we got in just five minutes once we met more Americans. But anyhow, after the pub we headed back to the dorms.
I'll most likely put in my photos from today with tomorrow's photos because, honestly, I took about 180 photos in an hour and a half at the British Museum. I'll need to go through them and see what I can weed out. Nonetheless, today was a good day in London.
