This Is What Dreams Are Made Of

Monday

Monday began with a tube ride and a lovely walk on the banks of the Thames, on a perfect dirt path through trees and fields and things. It was beautiful. It wasn't until this moment I realized how city-crazy I was feeling. Not being able to go hiking and stuff has been surprisingly difficult.

We ended up at Ham House, the coolest, hauntedest house ever. The Tower of London and Hampton Court were really cool, but Ham House was closer to home - I could actually imagine myself living there. There was a room of miniature paintings that also contained a pair of earrings made from the hair of a beheaded man and worn by a duchess. So basically that's what I would burn first, if I was Sam or Dean Winchester. I didn't see any ghosts.

Ham House

The best part of Ham House, though, was the outside. The gardens were beautiful and kinda spooky, in a "if it was dark and there was fog" sort of way. We lounged on the softest grass ever and I made a flower crown. We spoke to a couple volunteer gardeners. Neeko spoke to a gardener named Dave who had been there since childhood and, after a ghostly encounter, refused to go inside the house.

Artsy?

Me, Amanda, Collin (on Malori's face)

Ham House Gardens

Malori, Collin, Alexis, Amanda, Elizabeth

Also, there weren't any hams there...?

Then I did some homework! Woohoo!

Then we saw "Cycling with Moliere" at the Cine Lumiere, about a block from our flats. In a nutshell, it was about a couple of old men rehearsing for Moliere's "The Misanthrope." It was very French and pretty beautiful and I liked it quite a lot. It was cool how they did it, because I got to know the characters through the characters they were playing, and vice versa. Yes.

Then I did more homework.


Tuesday

I went to class on Tuesday, and it was awesome, as usual.

Immediately following class, my flatmates and I went to the BFI Mediatheque to log our two hours for the week. I watched "Date With A Dream" (1948) and "4D Special Agents" (1981). Both exceeded my expectations.

Then we decided to get food, and I was s.t.a.r.v.i.n.g. You don't want to know me when I'm that hungry. First I get quiet and then I get...angry. Luckily I've learned to recognize when it's happening and I can avoid people. I don't want to hurt anybody's feelings. So I grabbed a pizza, ate it in one bite, and immediately shut myself in my room. I hid in my bed, listened to Twenty One Pilots, and dozed until I could handle people again.

I felt better.

THEN we had tickets to see "Medea" at the National Theater. This miiiiight be my favorite play that we've seen so far. It incorporated modern dance and it was very subtly powerful. It's interesting to compare it to the explicit violence from "Titus Andronicus," which is also a revenge tragedy. It was also much shorter than I expected, which really just added to the power.

I've JUST learned that this is the woman who play Narcissa Malfoy.

Then I was absolutely forced to either do my laundry or wear dirty underwear. I gave in and paid for the machines rather than washing my stuff in the sink again. It was too hard.

A bunch of people came over to our flat and watched "Rise of the Planet of the Apes," which I hadn't seen yet! I'd heard some pretty good things about it, but I was pleasantly surprised nonetheless.

Wednesday

On Wednesday morning, we went to the Tate Britain: a museum full of art. There was a TON of Turner and also some really cool modern art and I just love museums in London. While we were waiting for the museum to open, I made a goat noise and it has haunted me ever since.

Caitlin and I took this stalker pic of Neeko and I'm just really proud of that.

Discussing art.

Me, Jeff, Malori, Alexis

Contemplating humanity.

Photographer (Caitlin): busted.

We did this really cool meta thing where we took a photo of a photo of a photo of a photo of a photo of a selfie. Neeko is supposed to compile them, but for now here's my part:

Alexis, Caitlin, Malori, Neeko

So art. Much meaning.

Me, Jeff, Malori, Caitlin

Then I did homework which is a lie because what I really did was sleep.

Then we went to the Cine Lumiere again, this time to see "The Young and Prodigious T.S. Spivet" which I LOVED. I loved it for all the same reasons I love "Big Fish" and "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty." They're movies that make you feel happy and remind you that it's good to daydream/dream big.

Then my flatmates and I had a slumber party, which was exciting because we had been planning it for days.

I know I know, we sleep in the same room every night. But wait! Slumber parties are different.

We pulled our mattresses into the living room and ate cake and lemonade and popcorn and...got engaged to Neeko.

Yes, all of us.

No, this isn't polygamy.

Remember when we hacked his Facebook and changed his profile picture? Well...he only THOUGHT he logged off on Alexis' computer.

Ha. Haha. Hahaha. Hahahaha.

So we created an entire fake account for "Beatrice Butts" and put them in a relationship.

Several very entertaining comment threads followed. There was giggling.

Then I taught my flatmates how to play fortune, and we each played a round. Funsies!

Then we did oatmeal/cinnamon/lemon facials and it felt pretty good but the gloppy nature of the stuff cracked me up a bit. My skin currently feels amazing, so I think it worked.

Then! We watched the Lizzie Mcguire Movie, which is something I somehow missed growing up. And it's super relevant because we, too, are studying in a foreign city and meeting attractive pop stars. So. I loved it.

UP NEXT:  A weekend trip to Heaven aka the Lake District!