After breakfast at Ramsay Hall (Kellog's Corn Pops, hash browns, and orange juice, mmmm) we went to class. My group had our presentation in class today and it seemed like it went pretty well. As soon as I got up this morning I did laundry, so I thankfully got that out of the way. Once class was over we went to Ramsay Hall and had some sort of chicken dish and French fries for lunch. It was all right, not amazing, but decent. After lunch I went back to my dorm room and typed up my reaction paper for class that was due tonight by midnight and I went ahead and turned it in. Also read a letter from my grandmother about things going on back home. Then, I went to sleep.
Once I woke up I messed around for a little bit before heading downstairs and meeting some of my friends here at the dorms. We walked over to Regent's Park for a game of football--real football. American football. We had to use a Rugby ball, but it worked out pretty well. We played for about an hour and a half and I'm sad to say that I am getting way out of shape. The little bit of running we did wore me out. Right now my legs are very sore and I'm sure that walking tomorrow will be a real pleasure. But, we had a really great time. The weather was beautiful and everything went well. It was nice to go out and play around at Regent's Park.
We came back to the dorms and freshened up a bit. Then, five of us (Donald, Gideon, Gabe, Ryan, and myself) went down the street a little bit to a Mexican restaurant called Mestizo's. I know, the idea of a Mexican restaurant in London just sounds crazy, but believe me: it was awesome. I was a bit surprised because it was, by far, the nicest Mexican restaurant I've ever been to. It was a much calmer, much more classy place than the sort of Mexican restaurants we have back home. The service was good and the food was outstanding. I had some enchiladas with refried beans and rice. The refried beans were stellar and the rice, although quite different from the usual Mexican rice I am served, was very good. Once we walked into the place it was quite apparent this was a much more swanky Mexican restaurant--they asked if we had reservations. We did, and with five of us I was afraid we wouldn't get to eat there. But, they had a table for five, we just had to get done by about 8:45. Thankfully we finished our meal in plenty of time.
I was very pleased with the food tonight and it was nice to just go out and sit down and have a nice meal some friends. We've been doing a lot of meals inside lately and, while it is fun since we still get to socialize, it's even more when you're out at a restaurant. After the meal was over we went back to the dorms. We made a quick stop at the Tesco Express (a smaller version of the Tesco Metro we usually stop at). I picked up some orange juice for tomorrow morning since I won't be able to make it down to breakfast and I'll have to eat in my room.
My train leaves London from Paddington Station at 9:05 a.m. tomorrow. I should arrive in Taunton at around 11:00 a.m. Ray has all ready said he'll meet me there at the station around that time tomorrow. I really look forward to seeing him. It's really great that he and his family are willing to put up with me for a few days. I don't doubt my time there will be great. With all of that said, it should be expected that I won't be making any blog posts for a few days. I should arrive back in London at around noon on Sunday. So, I'll most likely make a blog post on Sunday night talking about my time in Taunton. Also, as another note: my Internet may be expiring shortly. When we got here I bought a four-week long pass to use the Internet. I'm not 100% sure on exactly how long it will last. I don't know if that means I get to use it for 28 days, or it means one month, or just how it works. I was charged for it on the 25th of June, so if it is 28 days then it should expire on the 23rd. Whenever it does expire I won't be bothering to renew it. Four weeks of Internet is about 12 pounds ($24) and since it'll expire so close to the time we leave, I won't pay the money for just a few short days of Internet.
I could always go down to one of the many Internet cafes here in London, but I'm hesitant about logging on at places like that. So, please don't be surprised if I suddenly stop e-mailing or writing on this blog sometime early next week. If I should stop writing, just know that when I get back to America I'll post up what happened on the necessary days just to keep people updated. We fly back to America on Friday, July 27, 2007 early morning. We will have a layover in Germany for about an hour or two and we'll arrive back in Atlanta around 2:00 in the afternoon on Friday (that in Eastern Standard Time). I just wanted to give everyone notice in case I stop writing so that no one begins to wonder where I am.
Midway through this blog post we got interrupted by the fire alarm. The annunciator panel downstairs said it was a smoke detector on Second Floor North in Bedroom 221. From what I heard it was because someone was using their hair drier and it started smoking. I also heard while I was outside that one person has all ready been sent home from the program for putting a plastic bag over their smoke detector in their room. Welcome to college.
I didn't take any photographs today, but I'm sure I'll take plenty while I'm in Taunton. I hope you all have a great weekend.
