Breakfast this morning as not very appetizing. It's getting pretty old, like most of the food here, and really I'm completely at a loss as to why the food here is so bad. Do these people not take cues from other cultures? And it's just the meals--the desserts here are phenomenal. At breakfast though, is it too much to ask that they make some pancakes or waffles one day? Or instead of doing bacon (which is just fatty, salty ham) and eggs, maybe make some omelettes? I don't know, it's just getting annoying and to the point where I'm just going to eat my own breakfast in my room.
I did laundry while I sat in class today. The laundry room has been packed the past few nights, so I decided I'd get it out of the way while I was doing something else anyways. It worked pretty well. After class we went to lunch and my culinary frustration just got worse. They were serving some sort of curry over rice (that looked like vomit, I am not kidding) and ham (what is it with these people and ham) with, get this, apricots, on top of it. I'm beginning to think they're choosing the most unappetizing dishes possible just to mess with us. I chose just to eat a few French fries. I then walked down the street to the Greggs and for 1 pound and fifty pea, I managed to get a steak pie (which was awesome) and a doughnut (also good).
After lunch, Alex and I went to the National Gallery. It was very impressive, although the gallery was very poorly laid out. Each room had about two or three adjoining rooms on it, so it is very easy to get turned around or lost completely. But, we saw works by the likes of people like Picasso, Van Gogh, Rembrandt, Michaelangelo, Raphael, Leonardo Da Vinci, and other masters of their craft. No Donatello work, though. Anyhow, we left before we could see it all because Alex had a meeting to go to. Frankly, you'd need a day to really take in and appreciate the entire gallery, there really is just that much artwork there. One of the guard / people that make sure you don't mess with the art, at the National Gallery kept making odd noises and talking with another employee about a weird leprechaun named Shamus that visits people in their sleep. I honestly had no idea what he was talking about so we got away from him. It kind of makes me think about three British girls we saw throwing stuff at each other on the bus the other day. Are these people really that wacky or is it just because I'm an outsider? I suppose we do some pretty ridiculous stuff back home too, so maybe they're not that weird. I will tell you though, I plan to celebrate the Fourth of July with much more appreciation from now on though because, if just for the food, I'm glad we're liberated from these people.
I'm honestly amazed at how our two cultures can be so alike and yet so completely different. The way they do things here is really strange. I personally believe the American method of handling certain things tends to be much more efficient and make a bit more sense. It's funny, because everyone I talked to back in the States made it seem like coming over here would make me a much more cultured and inviting person, and I honestly have never felt more ethnocentric in my entire life. I have so much more appreciation for America and so much more love for my country that I can't even really express it. There is just so much that we take for granted. I think a lot of my complaints against some things though really has a lot to do with London itself. I don't think London is at all an accurate representation of England, just like Atlanta is not a good example of the South. Which by the way, I spoke with some women who are staying here that from Oxford the other day. They were so polite and a lot of fun to talk to. One of them knew right away that I was from the South. She asked if I was from Texas. I told her that I wasn't, that I was from Georgia. I'm just glad she didn't ask if I was from Alabama, then I'd be offended. I think overall, halfway through my trip now, the best way to sum up my thoughts are like this: I love England, but I really don't care for London. I am looking forward to spending several days next week with my grandmother's brother and his family and getting out of London for a couple days and sampling the real England.
I didn't ride back to the dorms immediately. I stopped at money changer to pick up a souvenir for someone, which ended up being an uncomfortable experience. The money changer was literally right on the street. You stand on the street, with passer-bys going right behind you, while your money is changed. Some suspicious gentleman was staring at me while my money was changed and even when I looked back at him he continued to stare. I just took the changed funds and put them in my front pocket and put my hand in my pocket and walked away. Almost immediately some guy came up from behind me and started say "Excuse me, Excuse me." It wasn't the same guy that was watching me, but I was pretty sure it was some sort of scam or con going on. I simply put my hand up and told him I didn't have time to talk to him then I just walked off. I immediately went into the nearest store (a Waterstone's bookstore) and secured my money better.
I went back to the dorms and then took a nap. I woke up and went to heat up dinner. I ended up having to throw away one of my microwaveable Tesco meals because it was about 6 days old. They don't keep long at all. I ended up heating up a curry and chicken meal and after having one bite of it I decided I wanted something else, so I threw it away and walked down the street to a Chinese Thai (whatever that means) buffet. All of the food was vegetarian, but I was able to get a to-go plate for four pounds so I loaded up with several different dishes and walked back to the dorms. Even though it was vegetarian stuff, it was still mighty good. I really enjoyed it and I'm glad I ate chose to eat there. By the way, the restaurants here are kind of strange. If you buy something to go, it is cheaper if you buy it there and eat it. So if a cookie is 1 pound and 50 pea to go, it might be 1 pound and 75 pea to eat it there in the store.
After that delicious dinner I made my way out on the town. I went and saw the actual London Bridge. It wasn't very impressive. It looks like a normal bridge. I then walked a few blocks and saw the Gherkin, also known as 30 St. Mary Axe. While I was walking away from the building to the tube station at Bank, I stopped to take a photograph of a place called Prohibition Bar and Grill because I thought it was funny. As I started walking away, some man started yelling at me for me to take his photo. Judging by the way he looked and talked, I think he may have been mentally handicap. But, I walked for several blocks with this man walking a couple feet behind me yelling for me to take his photo.
I rode from Bank over to Hyde Park Corner and went over to the Hard Rock Cafe. I saw a couple of friends from here in the dorms (Gideon, Gabe, Jen, Tanya, and Ryan). They were coming out of the shop as I was going in. They told me they'd wait on me while I bought a t-shirt, so I went inside and bought one them came back out and met them. They said the Hard Rock was pretty awesome, but a bit expensive. I think I'll go there to eat one night because I really am fond of Hard Rock Cafes. Also, this is the original Hard Rock Cafe, so that's pretty cool. We then walked back to the Hyde Park Tube station and rode back to Goodge Street and made our way back to the dorms. And that brings me to where I am now, typing up this journal entry. I wrote my reaction paper to yesterday's field trip earlier this afternoon, so I'm done with all of that.
I'm thinking that tomorrow I may go to the Tate Moder and Tate Britain galleries since I didn't get to see them when I had originally planned. But, who knows what will happen. Photos of today's trips around London can be found here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8494714@N03/
