Well I managed to accomplish some of my 'big plans' on Friday. I found a WH Smith that's about two miles from campus. It was pretty much straight down Mile End Road, so I thought 'I'll walk, see more of the neighborhood.' The sun was shining, it was a beautiful day & I'm always all about a good walk. There were some Indian and Somali markets along the way, selling food, clothes, and numerous other things, that I would like to check out.
I made it to the block that the store was supposed to be on, but I didn't see it. I just saw a bus station, a Starbucks, and some office buildings. So I went to the Starbucks purely to ask where the store was, but somehow ended up with a sugar-free vanilla soy latté. They're my favorite. I also accomplished my original goal of finding out where the WH Smith was, and it turns out, it's in the bus station.
I sat outside and drank my coffee appreciating the beautiful British blue sky more than I can say and realizing that a store in a bus station is probably going to be very small and might not have what I need. It was very small and it didn't have notebooks. Even though I didn't achieve my initial goal I did get a really nice walk in and see more of the Tower Hamlets neighborhood.
As I started the journey back I figured that there must be some store between there and campus where I could buy notebooks. There was! I found a Sainsbury's, which can be anything from a small grocery store to super Targetesque , depending on its size. This one is in the super target size range, so they have pretty much everything.
I should mention that to get in I had to turn off the street that I was on. I picked up what I needed and left out a different door than the one I had come in. Bad call. I walked through the parking lot and thought that I was on the same street that I'd come from, but I wasn't. I didn't really realize this until I'd walked about six blocks and London is not set up on a grid, the streets just kind of go every which way. I decided that it made the most sense to turn right because I thought I would eventually have to make it back to Mile End Road. I didn't, but I did find the Canal after awhile, which was quite a relief because I really wanted to be able to find my way out of being lost myself and I was going to have to ask someone soon. Thank goodness for the Canal! Once I found that it was a simple ten minute walk back to my dorm.
All in all, the walk ended up being a bit longer than I planned, but that's okay. Like I said earlier, I think it's totally necessary and inevitable that you get lost a few times in a new place. I was able to explore more of the neighborhood and definitely get in all my exercise for the day.
When I got back to the dorm, I decided to check the mail and to my surprise and absolute delight, there was something there for me! A letter from Lizzie! That was really nice to find for multiple reasons; it's just sweet in general, and I really wasn't expecting anything so soon.
I'm sure everyone in Varey House is a cool person, but some of them like to stay up a lot later than I do on much more regular basis than I do. This is totally fine, not everyone keeps the same schedule and I understand that. I just hope it calms done a little bit once classes start next week. My room is literally right next to the door and that doesn't always make for the quietest night.
I partially accomplished another one of my goals; I've written a few letters, but not all of the ones I meant to. Hopefully I'll have some time today to work on those. There's no post on Sunday anyway, so I don't feel quite as unaccomplished.
On Saturday Jess and I went the GLBT group and marched in the East London Pride parade. Met some fun, nice, interesting people. It felt good to be a part of this because although I am not gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender I completely support and have love in my heart for anyone that is. I'm always all about being a part of something that allows me to express that love and support. And essentially I'm really just all about loving other people. The world would be a far nicer place if we all loved a little more.
Yesterday Jess, Roxana and I went to the British Museum, Covent Garden and Chinatown. The British Museum is insane! Both in sheer size and scope of the items it houses. We were there for hours and I'm still not sure that we saw everything that there was to see. We had a good laugh about the fact that most of the objects in that museum are; A. Not British in origin and B. Things that the Brits essentially stole from other places. So many interesting sights though. My personal favorite was anything having to do with Egypt. I love that stuff. I even went as far, in fourth grade, as to write a report about how Zahi Hawass (look him up, seriously) was my personal hero. They even have actual real live (I suppose 'very dead' would be a much more accurate way to describe them) mummies! If you're in London and you have a few hours and you're up for a big museum, do it.
Covent Garden was exciting largely because it's so famous. The shops were crowded and overpriced such as one might expect. There was however an open market that I'd like to go back to and explore more in depth. I'm sure there's a reasonably priced gem waiting for me there. Chinatown was good. I feel I didn't get the full experience because I didn't eat there. I did have a cheap pastry in a shop that also sold Palmier cookies, which reminded me of my job. I love Turtle Bread. I could write a whole lengthy post devoted to my love of that place and those people, but that's for another time. I do plan on going back and having a proper meal there.
This morning I had a meeting with an advisor in the English department just to talk about my classes, make sure that I'm in the right ones. I felt fairly confident in my selections, but it's always nice to have some sort of confirmation and reassurance. The woman that I met with was incredibly nice and American. Not that I have anything but love in my heart for the Brits, but it was nice to talk with someone who is well versed in both school systems. Our meeting really put my mind at ease. She told me that all the instructors in the English department are very nice people, that generally the American system has a more standardized approach to teaching writing so that will be very helpful for me, and the exacting and intense language on the syllabi about how to get an 'A' is only that way because the school deemed it necessary for the academics to be very explicit in saying exactly what they were looking for. She said that everything would be fine and if for some reason it wasn't don't hesitate to speak with her again. Quite a nice way to start the day.
Jess and I went to Sainsbury's this afternoon and managed to take the same wrong turn that I took the previous time I was there. I swear that place is the Bermuda Triangle of supermarkets! One day I will successfully figure out how to exit that store and make it back to Mile End Road.
I just got back from letter writing in one of the coffee shops on campus and I feel really good. I feel like I belong here, now. I'm so happy to be here. I had that feeling of comfort. The coffee shop was busy and cozy, people talked to me and they were nice.
The view is good from where I'm sitting.
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