Simply Me: Tea and Little Venice

The term ended today. It's sort of amazing to think about, really. I simultaneously feel as if I've been here forever and that my life here just started. It's an interesting sensation. I still remember clearly the first night I was here; I needed an adapter for my computer and when I went to pay for one I ended up holding out my hand with a bunch of coins that meant nothing to me and the cashier picked out the right amount. It was embarrassing, but it was also my first day. Experiences like that happened for about a week, but then I started to get the hang of it. I can now recognize the currency here almost as well as the U.S. currency I was raised with, I can navigate the tube system by myself, and I can figure out where I'm supposed to be going most of the time. I'd say the term was a success if this was all I learned, but I learned so much more. I learned about literature and music and art, of course, but I also learned about people and culture and myself. This is absolutely something I'll be grateful for for the rest of my life.

Our Fine Arts final was this morning, and I think I finished it in just over fifteen minutes. I hope I did well because there were definitely things I guessed on, but there were also things that I know I got for sure. I feel pretty good about it. I guess we'll see what I get in a bit.

I left the Centre to visit Parliament a little after nine, so I wasn't expecting it to be blisteringly hot yet. I'd worn a dress today because it was warm, but even with a warm-weather outfit I was sweating before I reached the tube station. That was pleasant.

I got back from Parliament and I was a bit grumpy because I was hot and sweaty and I don't like being so sweaty after a leisurely stroll. Next time I'm grumpy I need to remember to listen to this song sooner. . . It cheers me up like little else. Also, pretty much every busker sings it in the subway which is fun and happy and I always walk away with a smile.

Caitlin made reservations for us at the Kensington Garden Orangery for afternoon tea at noon, so we (Caitlin, Kenna, Sarah, Mary, Lizzie, and I) got dolled up (ish. I didn't do a whole lot because sweat) and headed over. It was pricey, but delicious, and the experience was worth every penny.

Because we were so dolled up (most of the group was wearing hats, and we were all wearing dresses) we had several people taking our picture. They started asking if they could about five people in. It was funny, but I would've preferred to not have been such the subject of attention. Blending in is much more pleasant most of the time.

Most of the people taking pictures of us were French tourists (thought there was one British lady who asked, too), and we finally asked one woman to take a picture of us with our (read Mary's) camera. Mary is a photographer and so she has a big, nice, and marginally-intimidating camera. The woman got scared and ran to get her husband who was a professional. He also struggled, though, and started trying to communicate in broken English and a lot of French I couldn't understand something about the camera focusing.

After he took a picture (it didn't include the entire table, just a few of us), one of the French women asked, "Haven't any of you studied French?" The group pointed to me and I had to explain that my education didn't include photography terminology. It also made me a bit nervous for spending time in Paris. . . But hey! Adventures can be a lot of fun. I'll take it as it comes :)

After tea Mary took a bunch of pictures, and I left in the middle because I was stressed about getting all my homework done (I had one more walk to do today). The walk was short, though, so it wasn't a big deal. I probably could have stayed longer, but better to have an assignment safely completed.

Again, the weather was sweltering. If yesterday was a million and three degrees, today was two-million and fifty-seven. It was actually only eighty-one, but the humidity killed me. I can't wait for my desert air!

The walk I did today was Little Venice. Honestly, it was a bit underwhelming. It was teeny for one thing, and the streets were indistinguishable from any other high-end London street for another. I don't know what I was expecting (music, pasta, color?), but it wasn't what I got. I guess I'll just have to visit actual Venice someday! The canal was pretty cool, though. I will give Little Venice that much.

After dinner I had no plans except think about writing a blog post (while distracting myself a little longer with fairy tales) when Amy invited me on a spur-of-the-moment evening adventure. We walked from the Centre to Primark (which is all the way in Oxford Circus) to get these cute, inexpensive (and possibly cheap as well, but hopefully not) rain jackets called parka-in-a-pocket.

Primark is a great place for deals, but it's also a bit of a nightmare. It's like Black Friday every single day. All day. It's sort of terrifying, actually. We made it out alive, though, and got ice cream cones at McDonald's to celebrate. Then we headed home (on the tube this time). It started raining and it was the most wonderful thing that could have happened weather-wise today. We were so excited about the rain that we kept our newly-purchased rain jackets in the bags and let the rain get us wet. It was pretty great. Life is good.

This was before they brought out the tea and all the treats that came with it, but it's still a good picture.

Seen on my walk. It was sort of nice doing it alone after I figured out where the map was trying to take me. One day I'll be better at reading maps. Probably. Maybe not. But probably.