Day 25: British Museum and Ku Bar (LATE POST!!)

For our second day of Creative Writing, our teacher took us to the British Museum to give us some plot inspiration. We were asked to pick a single picture from the photo gallery and write a story about it. I chose to write about Keith III by Chuck Close. I think I will spend the rest of my class revising the piece and then use it for my final submission at the end of class.

After class, I chose to tour the rest of the museum by myself. I spent another hour and a half roaming around looking for mummies, the Rosetta Stone and the Lindow Man. To my dismay (extreme dismay!), I could not find the Lindow Man. And to make the day worse, the Pompeii exhibit did not have another opening until three hours later. Still, I got to see some fabulous pieces.

This giant foot really got to me for no apparent reason. Possibly because it is so darn huge.

This kid is into it.

Preserved body in the Egypt exhibit

This is a real mummy. Now I can check that off my list.

People crowded around the Rosetta Stone

The Rosetta Stone

This dance party will forever be remembered.

People getting in my selfies -- I'm not having it.

Greek Sculptures

Inside the British Museum

Entrance to the British Museum

After walking two miles to the next tube station with an attendant to pay for a ticket home (seriously), I rested before heading out with my friends. We went to ladies night at Ku Bar, a local gay bar. I had one of the best nights since I have been here. The music was on point ranging from 1990/2000's R&B to boy bands. We had a blast dancing and spending time in a new place. The highlight of my night, however, was meeting a deaf woman at Ku Bar. During the song "Call Me Maybe," I used American Sign Language to dance to the song. The woman noticed me signing and came over to ask if I knew how to sign. Unfortunately, she was using British Sign Language and we found it very difficult to communicate. Still, I was thrilled to have met a deaf person that found my signing clear enough to know that it was sign language. 

Day 23 Summary

After sleeping over at Milla's, I got breakfast at a place in Hoxton called The Diner. FRENCH TOAST. After, we all went to the London Eye to meet the other students from the university. Our social programme organized a group event at the Eye and we finally got to ride it. Here are some pictures:

We ended the day at a pub with the university students and ate dinner at a decent Japanese restaurant in Lambeth. Good day? Good day.

UPDATE: just kidding I'm pretty sure this is what food poisoning feels like and this is what I need.

Boat Party and Brighton Video and Pictures

On the Fourth of July, the University of Westminster held a celebratory boat party at the end of the first three-week term. We had the chance to get together as a group and say goodbye to those that would be leaving us. It was a blast! We had a wonderful night dancing for one last time with some really great friends.

Although it was hard for me to say goodbye to each and every one of my first-term-only friends, I literally cried when saying goodbye to Bekah and Jon. The three of us had photography together four days a week and ended up spending time together everyday for three weeks. By the end of our time together, I no longer felt like a third wheel in their relationship and started to feel like their third... person(?) I enjoyed every moment I had with them and am deeply saddened by their absence. Below are pictures of us at the boat party doing our thaang.

The boat party was the icing on the cake that was the first term here at the University of Westminster. My heart is warmed by the wonderful relationships that I have built here.

The next day, we took to Brighton. Milla, Kyla, Angelica, Alyssa, and I left bright and early to spend a day in the coastal city. Brighton is beautiful. The highlight is the pavilion. It is an old palace that is more beautiful in person than words can describe. We spent time sunbathing on the lawn and resting out aching feet. 

For the rest of the day, we wandered around the Lanes and the pier. I spent all my money on food and it was money well spent. 

I was ecstatic when I saw a Helter Skelter ride in person and immediately had a photoshoot in front of it for my boys from the Beatles. 

Brighton is a must-see for a day trip in the UK.

Video Update

SORRY THAT I'VE BEEN A TERRIBLE BLOGGER!! It has been super busy here in London. If you have a few minutes, below is a video update of the days that I have missed with information about what we did, where we went, where to go if you go to London, etc. Further below are some pictures of the events I talk about. Thank you for checking in! I will get back into the swing of daily blogging ASAP.

June 29th: A fabulous night out with Mila

June 30th: View walking back from London Pride picnic

July 1st: Mimicking Big Ben after going to the arcade

Stonehenge/Bath

Day 14 in Pictures

This weekend we missed out on going to Dublin due to reservation difficulties. Luckily, there was a trip planned for Stonehenge and Bath on Saturday. We wanted to make the most of Friday to make up for Dublin and this is what we did:

First we went to the Tate Modern in the South Bank of London. 

We saw the works of many artists and notably Picasso and Monet. I was unfamiliar with most of their work but was thrilled when I came across Water Lilies by Monet. It was just as beautiful as I had imagined. 

Source

Then we went to Borough Market. GO THERE. It is amazing. Free samples left and right. We bought some delicious preserves to bring home as souvenirs, but there is a 98% chance that I will eat them and have to go back to buy more.

We ended the day at Buckingham Palace. I had never seen pictures of it before and - to be honest - it was a bit anticlimactic. Still, it is a must-see when you're checking off places you've been in the UK. 

P.S.  Any movie that tells you that you can go up to the guards and mess with them is lying. I'm starting an angry letter writing campaign regarding this travesty. 

Camden Photos (Day 13)

Today we returned to Camden. Here are a few pictures that illustrate how wonderful this place really is.

Later we went to a few bars and kicked back after a (hardly) exhausting week of classes. (Pictures to come)

I'm having a blast. Thank you to everyone for all of your support and the positive feedback about the blog. It means so much to me to know that people are keeping up. Miss you, USA.