There's been a bit of a BADA plague going around these past two weeks. Alexa's been feeling very under the weather the past week or so, and yesterday, during High Comedy, I suddenly found myself starting to sniffle at the beginning of class. By the time we were done with Drama Crit, I was phlegmy and stuffed up. Let the plague begin.
That hasn't stopped me, luckily. It's just a head cold and I can survive with it.
During previously-mentioned High Comedy class, I had to learn how to serve a proper Afternoon Tea. Here were the big takeaways from class, and my later, subsequent research:
1. Here is the definitive order: Pour Tea, Add sugar, Add milk.
2. When pouring tea, hold the top of the teapot, so the lid doesn't crash off, and be gentle, leaving room for milk should they desire it.
3. The "pinky up" idea came from the upper classes only using three fingers to eat and hold utensils, while lower classes usually used all five. So, it's just a symbol of upbringing, and not actually lifting your pinky high into the air.
4. When serving food with tea, eat the savoury stuff, then scones (unless wherever you are is serving them hot), then sweets.
I can't wait to go to tea in London. I've been compiling a list of potential places to go, based on recommendation and Buzzfeed Articles. I have yet to organize it by location and price. Hopefully we can find some great places before the semester is up!
Dramatic Criticism, my other Friday class, is going to be interesting. Every week, we'll meet and discuss the plays we've seen, and we have to keep journals of all the performances we go to. Christopher, the same teacher from Theatre History, teaches it, and I like him a lot, so it'll be good.
Speaking of tea, after class on Friday, Karli, Olivia, Alexa and I went to get tea at Yumchaa- our local favourite tea chain. Turned out to be a good idea, since it started raining for a short while. We beat it walking back though.
The rest of the evening was homework, homework, homework, until the boys invited us down to the pub to hang out. By the boys, by the way, I mean Charlie, Alex, and Nahome (and usually Ari, but he wasn't there last night). We ended up having a very long and fun conversation, both at the pub and back at our flat over drinks, brownies, and tea. It was too intriguing to leave, even though I was dead exhausted (and by now, suffering from the worst of sinus headaches). I probably shouldn't have stayed up so late, but did anyways. At least it was worth it.
Today, Saturday, I dragged myself out of bed pretty early and walked somewhere new: Leicester Square! There, I met Emily and Brooke, and, after coffee, we went to the box office of the Prince Edward Theatre and snagged four tickets for Miss Saigon!
Before the show, though, the girls took me to Trafalgar Square. I haven't been around this part of London much before, but this is the center of the West End, and the beginning of the London area with all the tourist and iconic "London" attractions. For example, M&M World.
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| Because this actually exists. |
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| Emily, Brooke, and Me! |
Why is this a big deal to me? I honestly don't know, but seeing Big Ben for the first time gave me, once again, that certainty that I am, in fact, in London, England. Sometimes, I almost forget just where on the map I am, and how special it is to be here and see and do what I'm seeing and experiencing. But, there it is- the iconic clock of London- and I'm seeing it, though far away, in person. And that... That's pretty cool.
On top of Big Ben, there are layers and depths of history saturated in every corner of this city- even the dark alleyways and suburban living areas. Even more so, though, at big places like this.
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| There he is... Hi Ben. |
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| The whole Square, plus some Japanese festival happening there |
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| These two cuties |
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| View from the National Gallery |
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| Art Museum. |
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| One of the pieces I got to see in person. |
We had to dash out of the museum and begin a frantic search for food, since the show was going to start in an hour and a half. Emily was luckily able to snag us a nice Chinese place around the corner from the theatre, so we burned our mouths on our meals and booked it back for the show. Emily's friend Maddy met up with us there (hence the fourth ticket), and we took our seats- three rows away from the stage!!!!
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| SO CLOSE |
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| Yay! |
The show, as a whole, was good. I got very emotional more than once, I admit. However, we were unfortunate being at the matinee because we saw the understudy for Kim perform. This woman, Tanya, was a very talented singer, but lacked dimension in her portrayal of Kim, I think. What came across was a variant of degrees of passion throughout the show. However, the man playing the Engineer (a pimp) was brilliant, as was the man playing Chris (the American soldier). What I most admired about Chris was the clear distinction between the character during his time in Vietnam and after. It's very hard to villianize him, during the show, because of this, which I find wonderful and fascinating. The ensemble was solid, the tech aspects perfect, and the orchestra lovely. But, we had cheaper seats, even though they were so close, because the sound wasn't optimal that close to the stage. Perhaps because of Kim's shortcomings, but I found that there was a kind of magic or energy or luster lacking from the show. I didn't latch onto the story as much as I wanted to as quickly as I wanted to. I can't quite name what was missing, but that's why I've given it my judgment of "good", and not higher.
After the show, Brooke and I met the actor who played Chris before deciding it was time to go home and get work done, though we did grab some cake on the way back. That was really funny, actually- we stopped right outside the cafe, in front of a table with two English men, and had this entire conversation in their earshot:
"Ooohh, cake. Do we want cake?"
"Do you want cake?"
"Would you want cake?"
"I always want cake"
"I think I want cake"
"Let's get some cake"
"Let's get some cake"
It's hard to convey, just through a blog, the tempo and tone of the conversation, but if it helps, we and the two men at the table were all giggling to ourselves over the exchange and the eavesdropping as we walked inside. It's the little things.
And the cake was delicious. I had mine once I'd gotten home and started getting work done.
Hopefully I got enough work done- tomorrow is going to be another big day, and not everything is crossed off my to do list. I wouldn't have traded today for more productivity by a longshot though. I had so much fun, and got to see so much more of London and culture than I thought I would when I woke up this morning.
Alas, it is late. I have another early morning tomorrow, and I'm sick. Bryn keeps reminding me how much later I stay up then everyone else in my flat- perhaps I should make writing my blog quicker, or start doing it sooner... Well, now we know one reason I got a cold. Lack of sleep.
Sleep well yourselves, and Fight on, friends.
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