Cheers from London!
For probably (okay, definitely) the only time in my life, I'm having the luxury of living in the middle of Regents Park right in Central London. Regents College isn't such a bad place and has one great location. Hop on the Baker Street tube stop, and you can go anywhere in this city.
Classes are going well, for the most part. Some are pretty unimpressive, but some are fabulous. Though my studies are important, in all honesty, I'm not in London for class, I'm in London for adventures and experiences. My favorite class is my Intro to Drawing class. Who wouldn't like a class that consists of traveling to London's famous museums and sitting on the floor drawing faces for a few hours. My kind of museum visit. Besides, class that doesn't take place in a classroom can't be beat.
The students at school here, particularly the European Business School students, are ridiculous. I don't mean to be offensive in my assessment, but they all just come from a world that is surreal to me. Not all of them of course, but more than I could have ever imagined. I've never seen so many fur coats and designer jeans in my life. Plenty of them, from what I can tell, have been sent here on their outrageously affluent parents' dimes and don't really care weather they pass or fail. How strange to live such a life.
I'm probably looked at more strangely than them, of course. This city is incredibly expensive. I'm not sure how much longer I can last here. Money gets spent so fast, and I have so little of it. I would kill for a job of any sort. Of course any sort is actually limited to something relatively illegitimate seeing as that I am without a work permit because, ha, I couldn't afford it. I'm beginning to think that was foolish. I don't know what I was thinking trying to live a semester in the most expensive city in the world without any sort of income. What a stupid American, I am.
The men here are lovely. Terribly charming. Though, this is probably due to the fact that they all have adorably foreign accents that an untraveled American girl like myself is easily drawn to. Irish, Austrian, Turkish, Australian, Scottish, British, Albanian, Nigerian. From what I can tell most of the people I seem to meet in this city aren't English at all. They're from all corners of the world and I'm (almost) always eager to talk to them. Many of them offer to buy me drinks, since I'm a student and obviously "skint". The feminist inside me wants to refuse, but the beer loving girl without a pound in her pocket always seems to accept. What can I say?
Though I've been here only 3 and a half weeks, I feel that I have a pretty decent grasp on the city. I've been to most of the major tourist spots. I've taken the pictures. I've done the foreign thing. I absolutely hate looking like a tourist, but it's inevitable. The minute I open my American mouth, they know. "You have a bit of a twang," the friendly hobo with the missing teeth told me. Me? A twang? I'm from D.C.! I don't have a twang! I almost want to stay in this city for the sole purpose of loosing my American accent. I'm jealous of the proper British accent and their nice rounded vowels, I can't lie. I could try to fake it, but would most likely just make a fool of myself. I'll just keep attempting to meet locals and cross my fingers that it might come naturally.
I traveled to Bath today. Though we spent more time on the bus ride there and back, the town was pretty lovely. The architecture was cool and the shops and boutiques were endless. I love the street performers as well. Any time I can hear some Stevie Ray in England, I'm happy. The Roman Bath's themselves were pretty cool. Weird the things that Mother Nature can pull off. Must've been cool to live back them and cleanse yourself in the hot water (physically and spiritually, mind you). Sure beats a chlorine swimming pool. However, in all honesty, there's a good chance I might have just been a peasant lugging around water rather than bathing in it. Therefore, I can't really make that statement for sure.
I'm off to one of the many markets tomorrow. Maybe I'll find someone who wants to hire me. I feel like if I can barter for a Sherlock Holmes pipe, I can barter for a job.
Oh, and it's Valentines Day! Happy Valentines Day to all of you valentine-less loners like myself. To all of you happy couples, well, you can wish each other you're own darn Happy Valentines Day. Most of my special day will be spent in my room doing homework with my roommates who's valentines are thousands of miles away. At least they have an excuse...
Cheers&Hiccups, LNNS
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