Beginning of November

So last Friday night was Halloween. I very quickly learned here how different it is from America. In America, we would have been celebrating for about a week. Here, most people dont even celebrate it. We went into Camden town because if people were going to be celebrating anywhere, it was going to be there. There were a few people dressed up, but the majority of people were not. Im glad though that I did not dress up and my costume was an America, so easy to do! Pat and I went to a few places, but in the end we were home earlier than normal since Halloween here is just so lame.

Saturday, Meaghan and I went to Westfield. Westfield just opened two days before, and is now the biggest mall in Europe! It was huuuuuuge! When I told people at work that, they could not believe that an American thought that a European mall was huge. We spent our whole day shopping. The mall was unbelievable gorgeous. There was even an orchestra playing in the middle of it! The only problem was that a lot of the stores were still closed since the mall had just opened. I did a lot of shopping, and got a few ideas to put on my hanukkah list when I get back to the states and all the prices are back to normal for me :). Since the mall had just opened, it was PACKED! We later learned that there were ove 100,000 people there. Because of this, they had closed the tube station due to it being so overcrowded. We then had to walk in the pouring rain to the next one, which totally sucked. But except from the part, it was an awesome day.

Sunday was my day to stay in and do some homework. People always forget that when you are studying abroad, there is that part about studying. So far I am the only one who has even started their portfolio, which I am really glad that I did since it is going to take a lot of work. 26 pages done already!

Monday I went to work then class. Class however was a little different than usual. This is because our professor decided that his lesson was going to be boring, so he brought in wine and candy for all of us. That always makes a class better!

Tuesday was of course election day. First though, I had to go to work during the day. It wasnt bad though because they let me be on CNN website all day to follow the election coverage. After work, I met Jen for dinner at this really good Thai restaurant in West Hampstead. I didnt know I liked Thai! And West Hamstead was a really fun area, there were a lot of young people there and seemed completely different from the area that I live in, which is kind of stuffy some times with nothing to do. When I got home, it was all election coverage. We had been planning this night since we got to London! It was so exciting all of us Americans watching the election together. And it was even weirder that all 16 of us were hoping the same person won. We stayed up til around 430 am since that is only 1130 NY time. It was sooo exciting when we found out Obama won! We were having such a party for it, at 5am. And I thought that his speech was so excellent, I almost cried during it.

Wednesday was Guy Fawkes Day/Bonfire day. Class was cancelled so that we could watch the fireworks. Since we live right at Primrose Hill, we didnt need to leave the flat to watch them, which was really nice since it was so cold! The fireworks were really nice, but compared to the fireworks on July 4, these were like nothing. But it definitely beat class!

Thursday night whoever was home this weekend stayed in. This is because most people are away for the weekend, and we all finally have our own rooms! This was definitely better than going out, just staying in and having a nice relaxing night :)

Friday I went to Portobello Road market to pick up some gifts for some people. I could not do anything that would take too long since I had to register for classes. I was hoping that with the time difference I would be able to register 5 hours earlier, but no such luck. But I did get all of my classes that I wanted which I was super happy about. After that, I met Christina for mexican food since she went to Oxford for the day. I liked Oxford when I was there a few years ago, but definitely did not feel the need to go back.

Yesterday I went to Wales! I liked that I was able to hop on a bus and just go to another country. The Welsh countryside was really pretty on our drive over. It was very green and reminded me a little of Scotland, although I thought Scotland was prettier. The bus dropped us off at the Cardiff city centre. We definitely didnt know that the biggest rugby game of the year was going on, wales v. south africa. There were people all over the streets trying to sell stuff for the game. While they were all at the game, we went to the Cardiff Castle. It was gorgeous, just like all of the other castles that I have been to while Ive been over here. There was however a watch tower that I climbed that I didnt get to in the other places. The stairs were so scary though since they were so small. I guess people back in the day didnt have huge feet like I do. The gardens in there were so pretty too. Inside the main part was my favorite though. Im convinced even if you wanted to you couldnt make a place look like the inside of these castles. The drawings and architecture are just so pretty that I dont think anyone these days could make them. Overall, I liked Wales and am glad I went. However, it is number 3 of the 3 UK countries I visited, with England of course first then Scotland. But now I can say that I have been to Wales too :)

I think today Pat and I are going to go to the Victoria and Albert museum. I was told they have a huge fashion and jewelry exhibit that I want to see. Then back home to do some homework.

I cant believe that I will be back in America in only 2 weeks from today! It is going to fly by! Especially since this wednesday I will be shadowing an MP which I can not wait for, then Paris for the weekend! The next 14 days are going to be so great, and so bittersweet at the same time.