A Supplement

Dear Loyal Readers,

(you're still in that British accent, right?)

I'd like to start by apologizing for the weakness of the distraction possibilities of my last update, but now that I am not paying for the Internet by the hour, I will provide those interested with some more information about my current life here in London and another excuse to put off homework by a few minutes, as I believe it is getting to about that time of the day back home.

My dorm room is, of course, not unlike a cell in it's uniformity and compactness. This effect is aided by the fact that I have my own (extremely minimalistic) bathroom and decorations are only allowed on one approximately 4' by 4' section of one wall that is covered in the kind of carpet one might find in a doctor's office where one comes out worse off than one went in. That said, I've done what I can with what I've got, which would be lots of pictures and pushpins and a cheap, poly/cotton blend duvet cover of my own choosing, as opposed to the one provided which looked like it once belonged to the Beave, for my lovely, attached-to-the-wall bed.

Speaking of duvets, the Brits seem to have a similar outlook to the Japanese on the bedding front, using just a fitted sheet and duvet. Now that I've experienced it both at my homestay and through the utter lack of complete bedding sets available at the various shops around, I guess I'll just accept it as a cultural norm and look forward to my unfitted sheet awaiting me at home.

This week I have even more of my favorite activity ever: orientation!! Today, after extended lectures about the uses of my new ID card and yet another reminder of how unsafe it is to wander around dark, abandoned alleys alone (from police officers in seemingly unnecessary bullet proof vests. I thought there weren't any guns in this country. What happened to that?), we got a tour of the neighborhood the school is in, which also happens to be the neighborhood my dorm is in, so I got to see where Shakespeare practiced his plays before getting them approved by the censors, the street Oliver Twist and the Artful Dodger ran down after Oliver's first pickpocketing experience, and the fruits of the labors of the only American to be buried in Westminster Abbey (who was promptly reburied in Massachusetts after his will was actually read). Tomorrow we're supposed to go on a "safari," but I think I will used the free day and free Tube (that's the subway for those of you out of the loop) pass to take care of some business I have on the other side of town and to check at least one thing off my lists of "Musts", namely the Tate Modern.

Random Observations:
-even the street beggars are classier and more clever here, as they say please, speak politely, and position themselves in places like ATMs to so their mere presence works in their favor instead of on street corners where they can be quickly passes
-it's so rainy, they actually cover baby carriages in plastic, which seems a little dangerous but I guess they know what they're doing
-instead of giving directions to the "exit", signs direct you to the "way out"

So now you really must get back to your homework, you have wasted enough time on my ramblings. Although I hear there's a really good clip on youtube...

Cheers!

Meghan

Be well. Do good work. Keep in touch. ~ Garrison Keillor