London: Day 3 (May 15, 2012)

Today we did a walking tour of a few places in London.  We started out by going to the Noel Coward Theatre where we will be seeing Noel Coward’s Hayfever this evening.  Then we walked to Trafalgar Square, which is the considered the center point of London.  

Just off Trafalgar Square is the road that leads to Buckingham Palace.  We walked to the road and Charmian, our program director, pointed out the way to the palace so that we could go another time.  Then we walked down to the River Thames and crossed the river on the Waterloo Bridge.  We got great views and picture spots for Big Ben, the Parliament Building, the river and The Eye of London which is a gigantic Ferris wheel right on the river’s edge.  

We had lunch on the east side of the river near the National Theatre (an important landmark for our trip).  After lunch we got on a double decker bus (yay!) and road to St. Paul’s Cathedral.  We all rode on the top deck of the bus.  

We got excited when we realized that we were driving down Fleet Street.  You may or may not be familiar with Stephen Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street.  Penn State is doing this show in the fall and we are seeing it tomorrow night here in London.  (I don't think this is a picture of Fleet Street, but it is a cool intersection).

We did not go into St. Paul’s Cathedral, but I did pause for a moment on the steps to sing, “Feed the Birds.”  If you don’t know what I am talking about you must reacquaint yourself with your childhood and watch Mary Poppins again.  

We then walked from St. Paul’s to the London Wall which is an excavation site found after a fire that was started by a blitz in WWII.  It is believed to be the wall around the city that dates to 200 AD when the Romans occupied and ruled England.  

We ended at the Museum of London and spent the afternoon learning about the history of London – you know, the Black Death and the Great Fire of 1666 and Henry VIII tearing down churches, and Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show came to England for Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee and that was her first public appearance after Albert’s death 25 years earlier. Just a few facts I remember from the large amount of information that passed through my head. 

Tonight we saw Hayfever, our first show.  It was British comedy about a quirky upper class family in the 20's.  It was an all-star cast including Jeremy Northam (Mr, Knightly- the G. Paltrow Emma), Lyndsey Duncan (Lady Catherine in Lost in Austen) and a guy that had Downton Abbey in his bio but he must have been a small part because I don't recognize him.  Anyway, it was fun and funny.

Tomorrow, we actually have classes so it will feel more like school...

London: Day 2

I think I am pretty close to being over jet lag and on London time.  I slept for almost 12 hours last night and have felt pretty good most of the day.  There wasn’t a lot planned into our schedule to give us time to overcome the jet lag.  We had an orientation and that was really all.  Some highlights of the day:

Yogurt: I ate the best yogurt I have ever tasted for breakfast.  Then for lunch had some really great cheese.  All just from the regular grocery store.  Wow!  I thought the milk products in Pennsylvania were good, but British cows have got something over PA cows. 

Beautiful British Man: one of the salesmen at the local cell phone store was a really beautiful British man…

British Bacon:  Have you ever seen bacon like that?  It is quite tasty!

Dinner with Charly and Loren: The best part of the day was that I met up with my friend Charly and her husband Loren.  Charly and I have served in the Nauvoo Pageant for the past 3 years.  They helped me sort out some things with getting a British cell phone (although we didn’t buy one from the store with the good looking salesman) and then we went out to dinner.  And it was a lovely evening.  I so enjoyed catching up with them.  They live about 20 minutes away from where I am and so I look forward to seeing them often.  In fact, we talked about going to Bath and I asked if we could go to the Jane Austen museum.  Charly said yes and Loren said he would drop us off and he would go to the skate park.  It has made a big difference to me knowing that they are here in this city.  And I am so excited and grateful that on Friday I will travel to Northern England to see another friend from the pageant and we will go to the temple and I know that I will feel at home.  I am so grateful for the church.  I don’t know how people live and especially travel with out it.

My 17th Century London Townhouse:  So, I am living and going to school in a 17th century London townhouse originally built by English aristocracy.  The painting is on the ceiling in the entryway of the building that is the "school" and it is 300 years old and the stairway and sconces are in the same room.   Then I live in the "dorms" in a town house a couple of doors down from the school.  I knew we were living in an old refurbished building but I didn't realize how old and how cool.  This is the door knocker on the front door of the school.

 I don't think that Caroline Bingley could turn up her nose at Great Russell Street.  But then I don't really know.  I am a country girl from Utah, any London townhouse seems grand to me.  

London: Day 1

I made it safe and sound.  We got to NYC at about 5PM our flight boarded at about 8:30 PM and then after the cabin door was closed and everyone was ready to go there was a technical problem with one of the engines, so we sat at the gate for another hour and a half, while the problem was fixed. It was a 6 hour flight.  I slept most of the way here, but don't really feel like I had any sleep last night.  I am trying to hold off going to bed for another couple of hours so that I can get on London time.

So far London doesn't seem as fast paced or as intimidating as NYC.  I haven't seen any skyscrapers yet.  Most buildings are only about 5 stories high.  We are staying in Central London which is very close to the West End (the Broadway of London).  From the plane window I spotted Buckingham Palace, "Old Ben," the famous clock tower, and Westminster Abbey.  On the way from the airport we drove through Hammersmith and I thought of "Lost in Austen."

I am sharing a room with 2 other girls.  One is a costume designer and one is an actor.  Our flats are newly remodeled and are quite nice, but look like a model out of Ikea.  The hot water pressure in the bathroom is a little iffy.  I haven't tried to shower yet, but I did make sure that we have a large pot that I could boil water in for a bucket shower if necessary. 

I will write more soon.  I realized when I sat down how sleepy I am.  I hope this is making sense.  Here are some pictures I took this afternoon.

I love you all!

Christy

A Gallon of Vinegar and 4 lbs of Baking Soda

On September 1st I was finally able to move into my apartment in State College. Prior to that I stayed with one of my professors for two weeks and in a hotel for the week before that and driving around with my life still packed into my car. Needless to say I was thrilled to carry all my stuff up a flight of stairs and into my apartment. The only problem, and it has been a challenging one is that my apartment still wreaked of cigarette smoke. The previous tenent was a heavy smoker. I knew this before I signed the lease but I seriously underestimated the lingering power of cigarette smoke. The carpet was brand new, the walls newly painted, new blinds and the apartment had been vacant for two weeks with the windows open, but the smell hit you before you even got to the front door.

Well to make this sob story a short one. I spent the next two weekends scrubbing every surface that had not been painted with vinegar. I bought two mums plants which are apparently smell deterrents and many other candles and odor products. In the end I think the biggest offender of holding the smoke smell was the top of the kitchen cabinets. I got up on the counter and poured vinegar over that dusty sticky blackness and scrubbed one Saturday and then did it again the next Saturday. By the end of that day, pieces of particle board were starting to come up so I decided that I had better stop there. I then took the gigantic box of baking soda and poured the vast majority on top of the cupboards, spread it all over and then left it there. In a month or so, I'll sweep it up and more some more down, if needed.

And on Friday, the painter finally came back to paint the closets, which had not been painted when the rest of the apartment was. So, yesterday I was finally able to really unpack everything and put it in the closets. The smoke smell is significantly better. Now when I burn a candle I can actually smell it and sometimes I even get a whiff of those mums. I am really grateful that some people put random information on the internet like how to get rid of smoke smells. That is how I learned about the baking soda and vinegar. And I am really grateful that in PA they sell vinegar by the gallon and baking soda by the 4 lb. box. I used all of it!

I Survived My First Week of Grad School!

All in all, it wasn't that scary. Things started out slowly I only have a couple of classes on Monday, one of which is an undergrad class that really is just a review. But on Thursday is my Theatre Research Class. It is the class I am most nervous about and my nerves were not eased by the teacher saying things like: "Uh, midterm and final...well it depends on how I'm feeling whether we have them or not." and speaking of our 10-15 page paper which will be the only thing we are graded on if there is not a midterm or final "You should get an 'A'. Why would you come to graduate school if you aren't going to get an 'A'? " And then the thing that discouraged me the most, "If you get less then a C, you may not be invited back to the program next semester."

So, since I am taking 12 grad credits, plus doing 1 1/2 assistantships, plus practicing for my voice and piano lessons and writing a research paper that I have to get an A on, I went to my advisor to discuss maybe dropping a class or two. But she assured me that if I didn't get an A on this paper I will be fine

So, I'm not hyperventilating anymore, but I do sort of feel like I am staring at a tidal wave of school work that is looming above me and will crash onto shore about mid-October.

Charming and Quaint Pennsylvania

PSU is in State College, PA. But because I am a little late in trying to find an apartment I have looked at a couple of apartments in a neighboring town called Bellefont, about 10 miles north of State College.

I fell in love with the Victorian District of Bellefont. I was seriously tempted to sign a lease on an apartment that had the address of 220 1/2 High Street. The address was cuter than the apartment. However it was in this red building and across the street from this park and historic train station. The trains still use these tracks. Enchanting! I love it! I will go there often, I'm sure. It also reminds me a lot of the set for The Music Man tour. I think the set designer must of been to Bellefont, PA.

Hotels Should Never Have PINK Sheets!

I left Utah on Tuesday, August 9th at about 4 PM. I arrived in State College, PA on Friday August 12 at about 10 PM. From my parents' house in South Jordan, Utah to the Penn State campus I drove 2,020 miles. I made a wrong exit near Chicago and had to drive 9 miles before I could turn around so if I hadn't made a wrong turn, it would have been almost exactly 2,000 miles. It was a long but pretty uneventful drive. I listened to the first to Harry Potter Books and got a good way through one of the Narnia books.

My least favorite states were Indiana and Ohio - they don't have nice rest stops, they have tolls, the speed limit was only 70 and highway patrol everywhere (I got pulled over in Indiana - just a warning! Whew!)

But the most interesting thing I saw on my drive were the pink sheets on the bed in my hotel room in Rawlins, WY. I have been in a lot of hotel rooms and this is the first time I have ever seen pink sheets.

In spite of the cheap hotel rooms with their pink sheets, Woohoo! I made it to Pennsylvania!