Despite the heat and lack of air conditioning in this country, I have continued to go out and explore. Last week was our first trip to Shakespeare's Globe theater with my Shakespeare and Elizabethan English class. We went to see A Midsummer Night's Dream. Staying true to typical Shakespearean times, we stood for the entire play. I am happy that we did because we were right near the stage to see and hear everything that was going on. Before going to see the show, the only knowledge I had about it was the part America Ferrera played in Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2. I came to find out a great deal more after watching the play and seeing how the characters interacted. They even made the audience get involved! The atmosphere was much different than any play I've ever been to before, mostly because there was no roof (actors had to adjust to the outside sounds such as planes and birds flying overhead) and the building was shaped like a circle. Yesterday, we went back to the Globe with our other class, but instead of seeing a play we went on a tour. We were informed about the history of the globe and learned how Shakespeare would have conducted his plays. During his time, the cast would be made up solely of males and rather than having copies of the play to hand out, each actor only got the lines of their character written on a scroll and rolled up, this is why their part is called a "role."
Last Wednesday, after discussing the play we saw the
previous day, two of us decided to go to Brick Lane. From the very first day
that we met British people here, they were telling us to go to Brick lane for
Indian Cuisine. It may be hard to believe, it was for me at least, but Chicken
Tikka Masala is actually the favorite dish of the Brits, not fish and chips! We
took the tube to the Aldgate stop and had a minor set back when we could not
figure out where Brick lane was in relation to us, but luckily we have been
trained to always have our maps with us! On our journey from the tube to Brick
lane, we stumbled upon “Petticoat Lane Market” which was actually a magnificent
find! We spent some time walking around the market and taking in the different
shops and kiosks that were set up there. After a little while, we decided to
continue our journey and we found even cuter little shops! By the time we
reached Brick lane, we were famished and so ready to have some Indian food. One
of the unique things about Brick lane is that men line the street trying to get
people to eat at their restaurants. The way that we chose were to eat was based
on the amount of people in the restaurant, so we ate at the most crowded place
and let me tell you it was delicious! It was my first time trying Indian food
and I was not disappointed. After dinner, we shopped a little bit more and we
discovered the mecca of vintage stores; it is called Blitz. They had everything
from refurbished Converse to old records and even older books. Unlike many other
vintage stores I’ve been in before in Philly and New York, there was not that
distinct smell of used clothing. Instead it smelled fresh and clean as if the
clothing didn’t have years of history and memories attached to them. 
Thursday was the fourth of July and I was a bit hesitant
about celebrating our independence from the country that I am currently in.
Nevertheless, I decided to wear my Free People American flag scarf. Before
class, we went to take pictures at the infamous Platform “9 ¾” from Harry
Potter. I have only ever seen the first movie, but I went along with my flat
mates because as a tourist I felt like I just had to! Then we had class and
after class, we went to Selfridges. We went on a day where Free People was
having a pop up shop in the department store, so that was comforting to see a
familiar brand in a store that I have never been in. My fear about being “too
American” was squashed when two girls who worked at Selfridges started talking
to me about how cool New York is and then proceeded to wish me a happy 4th
of July. That night, we went to a bar called Bar Rumba which to my surprised
was packed with Americans, some wearing American flags as capes…that to me was
a little bit much, but it was kind of nice to almost feel like I was at home on
the 4th, minus a firework display.
On Friday, we went to Parliament for a tour. It was a
beautiful day to see Big Ben and Westminster Abbey. During our tour we learned
all about the Royal family and how decisions are made in Parliament. While we were
in the House of Lords, our tour guide explained that the four seats in the
front of the room would possibly one day be filled by Prince Charles, Prince
William, Prince Harry and then the Royal baby whether it is a boy or a girl!
Our tour guide also filled us in on all of the traditions that parliament
members still engage in today such as bowing before they enter the room to vote
because back in the day, members of Parliament would send their servants to
vote on their behalf but by bowing, one could tell if the member is wearing a
wig or not by checking the back of their neck. Members of Parliament would
always be wearing a white wig and so if the person was not wearing a wig, they
were not a MP (member of Parliament.) This practice is still done today obviously
not because the MPs wear wigs, but just out of tradition. After Parliament,
three of us went to a sushi dinner and then to see the Bling Ring movie that
came out that day here. The movie theater was pitch black and it was difficult
to see where we were going, the other strange thing was that there was nothing
playing on the screen until 21:00 when the movie was set to start and that is
when previews began playing. People also didn’t start coming into the theater
until about then so for about fifteen minutes, we were the only three in whole
theater.
On Saturday I decided to venture out on my own again. My
friend who studied in London for five months told me that if I ever feel
homesick to go to Westfield Mall and I would feel right at home. She was most
definitely right! Westfield had stores like Zara, Urban Outfitters and Mango.
It also had its fair share of stores customary to the UK that I enjoyed
exploring. I spent about 4 hours there and only navigated the second floor! I
got an iced coffee but it was more like a frapaccino because the ice was
blended. That is one of the things that I am getting used to here—iced coffee
is not a delicacy of theirs. I am happy to say that I navigated the tube on my
own and had a lovely day shopping at the mall. I got a few books that were on
sale. One was an Opening Ceremony book that features a catalog of Chloe Sevigny
and her collection for OC. On Saturday night, almost all of us ventured into
Camden to check out the nightlife. The bar we went to, The Monarch, does themed
nights and luckily Saturday was “Soundtrack night.” That was right up my alley!
I got to dance and sing along to songs from some of my favorite movies such as
Grease and Dirty Dancing.
