My "favourite" things

My good friend Mara informed me that she would like to see some pictures, and since it was her birthday yesterday I'll oblige. I guess she hasn't been on Facebook to see my five albums. Sidenote: At this point, Mara is calling me sassy. Well, this is for Mara and all those who can't see Facebook or don't have five hours to go through all the pictures. These are my favorite things so far.

Waffles! - We went to Brussels last weekend and I lived on waffles whilst there. Words cannot express how delicious they were. I'm craving as we speak.




Oxford - We went to Oxford for a field trip and got matching sweatshirts. We look like future PTA members. Weird.



Snow day - London was covered with snow and completely shut down. Hilarious. Everyone freaked out and no one knew how to deal with it. I loved it and took so many pictures. This is by far my favorite, not only for the beautiful background but the funny little people struggling through the snow.



Stonehenge - It really is breathtaking up close. Plus, it was sunny that day. Quite a rare occasion here in the UK.



Leo! - We stumbled onto the Revolutionary Road premiere and were mere feet from Leo. I think i'm in love.




Big Ben - The most photographed landmark in the UK. I helped add to that number with the 14 pictures I took of just Big Ben. No big deal.



Piccadilly Circus - This is in almost every single advertising textbook. It is amazing in person.



Well, there is a brief glimpse of what I've seen since I've been here.

I'm off to Barcelona tomorrow morning! Adios!

I am living in the Twilight Zone.

Do you ever have one of those days where you ask yourself, "Is this a joke? This day has to be a joke. Am I still asleep? Is this a dream?" Well, today was one of those days. Here is the run down.

7:29 am - Woke up :30 seconds before my alarm went off. That never happens. I didn't even hit snooze...even weirder.

8:55 am - I ran into an older Pi Phi who graduated last year. We bumped into each other at Earl's Court tube station as we were both going to work. I had totally forgot she was living in London. So nice to see a familiar face. But again...who runs into people they know at a tube station where there are 200 other people?

9:05 am - I board the tube and there are SIX pregnant women in my car. And they weren't even together. They were all sitting or standing seperately. The entire way to work I was just hoping no one went into labor.

1:00 pm - I head to McDonalds for lunch...by myself. Yeah, I don't really have any "lunch friends" at work yet. You should also know that it was pouring all day, so I was rocking my rain-boots with my dress pants. I walked into McDonalds, ordered my food and then went upstairs to find myself a table. There weren't any tables open so I stood awkwardly in the corner while I waited for someone to leave. Thankfully, a woman got up and left within a minute. I set my food on the table and as I set the tray down, my Coke fell over and onto the bench. I grabbed it just before the lid came off. I needed some napkins, so I went over to the little kiosk to grab some. As I am walking, I apparently missed to sign that said "Caution: Wet floor" and completely wiped out. This would have been fine, minus the table of three 16-year-old girls laughing at me. Excuse, why are you not in school? And secondly, why are you so mean? I gathered myself and my pride off the floor and sat back in my slightly sticky seat (from the Coke, remember?). There was a table in between another girl and me and she shot me an encouraging smile across the empty space. That helped a little. I pulled out my book and began to read and enjoy the quiet time. That didn't last long. Moments later, a seemingly homeless woman sat down at the empty table next to me. I didn't really pay attention to her until she starting singing along to "American Boy." By "singing along" I mean "loudly and sporatically screaming the words." After the song, she got up and started walking out. I guess the other girl sitting alone looked at her or something because the woman started screaming at her. Calling her an idiot and making fun of her blue eyeliner. The girl then said "I'm sorry. I wasn't looking at you." The woman continued to yell obscenities at her and then.... She threw her tray and coke at the girl. Seriously. She was out of her mind. I don't know what I would do if I was that girl. I was shaking and I didn't even get Coke thrown on me.

Rest of the day - Thankfully, nothing else too exciting happened. I had my fill today.

On a lighter note:

I need receipes. I'm really grossed out by what I have been eating - carbs, ready meals, carbs, carbs, and more carbs. All we eat is pasta and grilled cheese. So, I am pleading with everyone, please send me receipes. You can email me (MEWolfe@mizzou.edu) or you can put them on here or you can call me or send it via post, I don't care. I just really need some ideas for good, inexpensive, healthy food. (Bree and Mara, this is strongly directed towards you two. Help me out). Please and thank you.

Alright, time to go pack for Brussels.

Love.

Oxford, Harry Potter, and The Eagle and Child

Today is Wednesday. Therefore, we went on a fieldtrip. I seriously feel like I'm in second grade every time I tell someone I'm going on a "fieldtrip." Nonetheless, I actually looked forward to today. We went to Oxford.

I'm kind of a nerd, so I couldn't wait to see the famous school. We all piled in the bus at 7:45 this morning and made our way to Oxford, an hour and a half away. Once we got there, we immediately had a tour of Oxford from Trudy, our trusty tour guide. Here is a Harry Potter reference: She sounds like Moaning Myrtle. Seriously. Ok, back to the tour. We walked all over the grounds, saw the famous library and even had the chance to see inside a dining hall. But the chapel was by far my favorite. Such incredible architecture. So beautiful. Everything is so proper and ancient. By ancient, I mean actually 800 years old.

When we were by the entrance to the campus our tour guide stopped and made us all gather around this spot on the ground. After we all stared at her for a good minute, she decided to tell us what were were looking at.

Trudy: Well, as you all can see, there is a carving in the ground. Now, you all may or may not know that the first Harry Potter was filmed all over Oxford and a majority of it was right here in this square. Daniel Radcliffe wanted to leave his mark so he carved this lightening blot into the ground right here.

Everyone then started to paid attention and crowded around it to get a better look. Yes, I was right at the front of that group. And yes, I got a great picture. Again, sorry for all the Harry Potter references, but we are in the UK. He is a national hero. I'm dead serious.

After we all gawked at the tiny little lightening bolt in the middle of the sidewalk, I mean, "pavement," they gave us four hours of free time. Again, I'm dead serious. We walked straight to the Oxford bookshop were we all purchased striped rugby shirts with the Oxford crest and crew neck sweatshirts, again, with the Oxford crest. And, of course, we all immediately put them on...while we were still in the store. Walking around with our matching sweatshirts, we looked like the PTA board for Oxford. We all had a serious flash forward about 15 years. Scary.

Oxford is a cool city, but it isn't that big. So, what did we do after we bought our super cool sweatshirts? We went and sat in a pub. But not just any pub. We went to The Eagle and Child. This is the pub were J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis sat everyday to drink, eat, and debate. I loved every second. I think I was a little more excited than the rest of my party, but, again, I'm kind of a nerd with those things. I also took a picture of a note they wrote on the wall. Priceless.

We are now back in our flat and attempting to make chili. Rachel is hitting the can with our broken can-opener. It looks like someone with metal teeth has been gnawing on the edge. I'm trying to find Mamma Mia online so we can all watch a movie tonight.

Hope we can open up that chili. It is all the food left in the flat. We should probably go to the store tomorrow.

Love.

Crisis Mode

If you had just walked into central London for the first time, you might have thought it is the end of the world. Central London is currently deserted. No buses running. No tubes working. No businesses open. The city has shut down.

You may be asking why. The reason... 6 inches of snow. Those of you living in the Midwest are probably dying of laughter right now. Let me explain why the city is dead.

London just had more snow than it has in the past 20 years. There were some children today who saw snow for the very first time. Besides being historic and exciting for some children, today was great due to my work giving me the day off. Yes, I had a "Snow Day" today. I don't even get snow days in college but in London they give you days off from life when it flurries. However, it was justified. All the trains were suspended and the buses pulled off the roads. Also, there was not a single snow plow on the road. Not only were they not out and about clearing the roads, but they don't exist in the first place. Trust me, I talked to the transport authority. They said they do not have any plows and had minimal salt. I would think that as one of the largest cities in the world you would have a plan for this sort of thing. Eh, I'm kind of glad they didn't.

Once I found out I didn't have to work, I decided to make the most of my day... and went back to sleep. After my nice nap, I needed to get some lunch and quickly realized I needed to go the grocery store. Unfortunately, the employees couldn't get to the grocery store this morning. No luck there. Thankfully, there is a McDonalds down the street from me. I went with my flatmates and bought a wonderful quarterpounder meal. While walking back, we were bombarded with snowballs. At first, I thought the source was most likely the guys that live below us. However, I soon learned it was a group of grown men frolicking in the snow. One of the men had their small son with him and he was joining in on the fun too. So we were attacked all the way down the street by a group of men playing in the snow. One of my flatmates finally got so fed up she yelled at the little boy. He then paused, stuck out his tounge, and hit her in the face with a snowball. Priceless.

After my delicious lunch, I braved the weather and tried to go meet up with Neili and Michael. I say "tried" because it literally took me 40 minutes to travel 4 tube stops. While waiting for one of the four trains runing that day, I couldn't help but laugh to myself about the way people were behaving. Adults were wearing full-body snowsuits and had on about four hats. One woman had plastic bags wrapped around her shoes. I wish my hands had been warm enough to get out my camera and document the ridiculousness. Eventually, the train arrived and, let me tell you, it was a mad rush. You would have thought that it was the last train to ever come through Earl's Court. It felt more like I was fighting for a place in the last lifeboat of a sinking ship than for a seat on the Eastbound District Line. But don't worry, I made it on the train. I eventually made it to Michael's and we had some delicious pizza and laughed at everyone in the park next to him. There were some pretty impressive snowmen.

Well, I am anxiously waiting to hear if I work tomorrow. There is a good chance I may not have to go tomorrow either.

Thank you, London, for not having snow plows and for running out of salt.

P.S. Most interesting person I saw today: A girl wearing a hat with a cat face and cat ears, taking pictures of the ground. Oh yeah, she had whiskers painted on her face. No big deal.

Superbowl: BBC Style

I'm currently watching the Superbowl via the BBC online broadcast. Let me just say this...it is hilarious. I'm sitting here actually laughing while watching the Superbowl. Well, I'm laughing now, I wasn't earlier. I'm not ashamed to say that I did tear up a little as Jennifer Hudson sang the national anthem. I mean, really, how great is our country? Being so far away really makes me miss it. You know what else I am missing? I really want some chips and salsa right now. And a Dr. Pepper. And some nachos. Basically, I wish I was at a Superbowl party. Instead, I am sitting in my flat watching the game on my computer. Gotta love the Internet though.

Here is the funniest part about all of this. I am forced to listen to British commentary. Yes, a little British man is attempting to explain "American football" to his entire country. Seriously wish you all could see/hear this right now. Best comment so far: (this was in reference to overturning the initial Steeler touchdown)

British Commentator: So, help me get this straight. If any part of your body is touching the ground you are down?
American Commentators: Um, yes. Other than your feet and hands, yes.
British Commentator: So your hands can touch the ground?
American Commentators: (Stifling laughter) Yes. Your hands can touch.
British Commentator: (to audience) For those of you viewing, you can click on the red box to your right and get a complete list of rules to better understand the game. Now, back to the game. Let's see how they fair.

SERIOUSLY? If you are assigned to cover the SUPERBOWL, maybe you should understand FOOTBALL. And by football, I mean the basic rules. I think a four-year-old could do better coverage. Unfortunately, the other American commentators aren't doing much to help clarify. They got the job no one else wanted. They get to do commentary for the Brits while the rest of America watches the commercials. Yes, that is correct. We don't get to see the commercials. We get to listen to a confused Englishman along with Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum attempt to do commentary. If it wasn't so incredibly hilarious I would be annoyed. Thankfully, I can watch the commercials online as well.

Question of the hour: Do I stay up and watch the game, or do I go to bed because I have to work in the morning?

Things to consider: It is already midnight here and not even end of 1st quarter. I don't get to see the commercials right now. The English commentator just said something else dumb (a lame joke about American football players).

Well, I think I have my answer.