it seems that i only have time now to update every week, so each blog is really long.

on tuesday, we had our first themed dinner party, which was french night. we played french music, ate cheese and crackers, and meredith and i made crepes (sweet and savoury). and i must say, they were pretty good and we got pretty skilled at cooking them since we were at it for 2 hours. we surpassed our record and cooked for 11 people this time, and it would have been even more if the fire alarm hadn't gone off. unfortunately, the alarm was faulty and kept on going off throughout the week. pretty annoying, but it was a great night. meredith and i would make great short-order cooks.

after class on friday, meredith, kate (mere's flatmate) and i went to the british museum and did the touristy thing by going to the hard rock cafe (not our choice, kate's friends from spain wanted to go). it was nice to get a real burger and fries though. my meat-eating has been down, which you all know is quite a change of habit. yesterday, meredith, vito (guy from w&m who knows tina) and i went to camden market, which is a huge/delightful/eclectic/tacky place, but didn't end up buying anything. it was more like a scouting trip. then we went to regent's park, and wandering through the amazing rose garden, which has the best names for the different types of roses (singin' in the rain, ingrid bergman, ice cream, can-can). that night, will (another nu-guy) suggested this club called the notting hill arts club, which was pretty chill since it was for older people and not annoying hyper teenagers. and it was flamenco night (tina, i was thinking of you!), so the music was danceable and it was a lot of fun.

today, kate, meredith and i took a bus to dover (known for its white chalk cliffs), which is over two hours away, and spent the whole day there. needless to say, i'm pretty tired, especially since we were climbing up and down the massive hill there. we explored the castle at the top of the hill and its underground tunnels, but we were a bit put-off by its attempts to be like disney world. in the tunnels, they played all these fake recordings to "show you what the atmosphere was like in wwII," but we felt like we should be strapped in a car watching scary animatronic people. they even had fake bloody pieces of cotton in the operation rooms, which was a bit much. but it was a fulfilling day overall, and i'm glad that i'm taking advantage of my time here and exploring different parts of england. and to think, i was reluctant to apply to study abroad. don't want to sound too gushy here, but the decision to study abroad was probably one of the best i've ever made.

bleah, but now back to classes and the daily grind...