i've FINALLY started classes. my summer is officially over, but it went out with a bang. here's what happened last week...

wednesday: went to the globe theatre and stood in line to get �5 standing tickets to "taming of the shrew," which was played by an all-female cast. it was a lot of fun, even with aching legs and much confusion on the stage. the company was pretty unlucky that day, since a girl was already understudying another girl who had broken her foot previously, and then the actress playing kate collapsed backstage, so all these parts got switched around. girls who were playing boys were suddenly playing girls, and several of them were reading off their scripts. but the spontaneity of it was great. then we went to covent garden and spent another night at the hayfield, which is the local pub. pretty nice because there are no tourists, it's cheap, and it's open later than other pubs.

thursday: a bunch of us went to kensington gardens and walked around the grounds (we were too cheap to pay the palace's admission charge), and then visited the victoria and albert museum. the best part was when meredith and i got to try on a corset and hoop skirt. that night, we went to a drum & bass club, which was ok, but not the greatest for me since i don't really like that kind of music. but it was good to get out and dance, though next time we're definitely going to a standard dance club.

friday: i spent the whole day with four guys and didn't want to kill any of them! i'm definitely getting used to hanging out with the guys and i love it, since they are much more entertaining than many of the girls i've met. but anyway, we walked around westminster and parliament, then went to the national gallery, and joined the rest of our study abroad friends at "joseph and the amazing technicolor dreamcoat." it was good, but i didn't know a show could have such a long finale. there were like fifty encores and four different colored coats.

saturday: went to see the changing of the guard (yawn) and went inside buckingham palace! it was �10, but i'm glad we coughed up the money, because it was the last weekend when we could go inside. and it was gorgeous inside. the outside is pretty drab, but the rooms are so luxurious. i can't believe people live there. well, not just any people, royalty. our audio guides played classical music and i just felt like waltzing through the ballroom and drawing rooms. i'm so glad i went. it is definitely a must-see for anyone coming to london next summer.

sunday: yesterday, co be and manuel came home, so i spent the day with them. manuel can walk so well now! he's kind of going through a whiny/clingy stage right now, but hopefully that will pass soon. apparently he has a reputation with our family in the us for being a bit spoiled. but it was so nice to see them again, and manuel hasn't forgotten who i am.

classes are all right so far, i had "presentations of london in lit, fine art, and film" and "italian genre cinema" today. i think they won't be too hard, but i'm just annoyed with the schedule. most of my friends have three, four, or even five-day weekends, so they can travel, but i can't because my day off is wednesday. i'll just have to plan really short trips, i guess.

i hope things are going well at home! even though i'm having a fantastic time here, i miss you all!