Exchange Rate Blues

Hello All,

It has been a while since my last post but we remain busy and it is hard to find time. Also I feel like I spend half of my time here reflecting because I have a journal for one of my classes, a personal journal and then this blog. It all gets a little bit repetitive.

Everything is going really well. I had a really relaxing weekend that I spent mostly in the Earl's Court area where we live. We also had a paper assigned for the London as a Visual Text class that we have. We had to write about some way the River Thames has effected the City of London as we know it today. It wasn't too tough but it got a little bit time consuming and just today I found out it is worth 10% of our grade, which is a bit much.

Last night and today were particularly cool. Last night we saw an amazing play called War Horse. It is one of those plays that after you leave you think everybody should see it. It is a story of a boy and his horse. They become very attached and as every story must have the conflict they get separated. The horse gets sent away during World War 1 for an officer to use in the cavalry. The boy is so attached that he follows the horse to the front lines and tries to find him. It chronicles the vast amount of horses that died during that war (something like 8 million) and also the struggle, specifically in the 1st world war, between machines and horses. World War 1 brought on the invention of the machine gun with which the horse can obviously not compete. The even more miraculous thing is that they used giant puppets for the horses that moved in a very life like way. It was amazing that how emotionally attached you got to the horse as the play progressed. In any sense you guys, if you ever come here, should try and make it the show. It is very high budget and very awesome.

Today on the other hand was overwhelmingly packed with history and information as we toured Westminster Abbey. We got permission to go into the shrine, which is not normally open to the public and it was an amazing experience. Unfortunately you cannot take pictures inside the building because if we had been able to I am sure I would have been snapping them the whole time. This building is more ornate than I ever imagined anything could be; on the outside and on the inside. It was built over the span of several centuries and therefore incorporates many different styles of architecture and decor. It is mostly Gothic. Imagine a place where the designers were told to fit as much into every square inch as possible. It is filled with gold and extremely old tombs containing every King or Queen up to Elizabeth Queen of the Scots. It was an amazing experience that one can hardly write down. By the time I was done my brain was fried and I needed a nap.

Tonight we are going to our Prof. flat in Euston Square for a home cooked Spaghetti dinner that is sure to be delicious. It is especially nice to not have to eat my own food or pay for something as the exchange rate is worse than anybody ever imagined and is a thorn in all of our sides. Hope all is well back in the states. Cheers!

Lee