Egham - so little to do, so much time

That's right I'm starting to get the jitters from being alone for so long and not doing much... It's a bit hard because I don't really know anyone apart from Miranda so I don't really socialise too much. It's worse right now because Miranda is in London and I'm here. I was going to go down there today but it would have been too expensive for me to try and stay with Caitrin and Sally so I'm going down for the day tomorrow - HOPEFULLY. So for the past two days I've been bobbing about - reading, watching movies errrrr yeah. Wow it's really windy right now my windows are rattling. No wonder the genre of the Gothic was created here in England - it's spooky!

Anyway yesterday Miranda was here for most of the day so, like I said, we watched movies and goofed off. Last night - the joys of this college continue - because the lights in the shower wouldn't turn on which meant I had to resort to having a bath. Something I haven't done for many years. The showers here are all in little individual cubicles with almost no room to turn around in let alone get dressed. Anyway that's the reason I wouldn't shower in the dark - scary. Later that night was fun as well (this is complete sarcasm) as various members of this college had too much to drink and kept me awake until 5am. I wish Miranda had been here to call security because I wasn't brave enough to. It's very frustrating because the hall really echoes and no matter where anyone stands in the hall they sound like they're in the room with me talking about - well not much to be honest. I have included a picture of the hall which is far brighter than it actually is. So when you look at it just squint your eyes a bit and you'll see the cave I wander through everyday.

Today I did chores to pass the time. I was so tried and in a zombie-like state that I couldn't concentrate and do my uni readings - everyone relax - I'll do them on Monday. I decided to walk down to Egham and get some more supplies because my previous lot were depleted. I learnt my lesson from last time I ventured far with groceries and brought my backpack so my shoulders wouldn't separate - again. It was a really lovely walk to the high street because there were blue skies and even though it was midday it felt like early morning. On my way back to the uni the sun made it look like late afternoon - I was out for about an hour and half. There is seriously very little sunlight here and it's totally messing with my body programming because by 5pm I'm ready for dinner and bed! Argh!

It's 8:37pm and bed is looking pretty appealing. It's a single bed and I'm not use to it. I've almost fallen out a couple of times now. Oh I also have attached a photo of the view outside my window which had a bunch of boys playing American football - Gridiron (?) so there was much shouting and so on. Hopefully tonight I'll get some sleep! Yay!

The Learning Part 2

Had to be up at the crack of dawn this morning - well 8:45. It's not that light yet so it feels so early. I'm a sleepy sleepy girl. So I got up and got dressed made my way to "Ways of Directing" which is my other class here at Royal Holloway (I'm providing context for new readers). The students here are so lucky! They have so many drama stages and places on campus to enjoy. This studio was plain black with all available equipment like chairs and what not about the place. Nothing flash but it's a lot more practical than anything we have at home.

The class itself is 4 hours long without a break - though he did give us 15 minutes towards the end as we were all visible melting off our chairs. It's weird because here I'm doing 2 classes which is 9 hours a week and at home I would do 4 subjects and 16 hours a week. They told us when we arrived here that Royal Holloway has a lot more private study and reading to do like in preparation but so far it's been the same as what we would get at home... So I'm not really sure. They also have a different marking system here which is really harsh apparently. The International lecturer was saying that it's very rare for anyone to get over 70% ! That's not very much so they must mark really hard here which I'm worried about because I have 50% assessments for each - Yikes.

Anyway back to the class at hand. The guy who is our lecturer is really funny and honest. For example he gives us practical tips for dealing in the Director life and one of the most important things is to not sleep with your cast members - yes, I'll store that away. He's very funny but, as I said, very...honest. It was a good class I mean I did learn things - oh! - like the fact that "The Terminator" was written by a 70 year old woman. There you go. The things I learn.

I can't really say anymore about what happened in class because we didn't get up and do anything like the last class. Though with both classes I don't have any assessment after the Easter break because "they don't teach then" which basically means my second 7 week term will be doing whatever I want because I've finished my subjects! Crazy! Naturally, that's the time when I'm going to go to Euro Disneyland!

Had dinner this evening and had a delicious vegetarian stroganoff. It was weird because it had pickles in it. I ate it. I mean the food here is actually surprisingly good though they sell everything individually. So if you want carrots with your roast you'd pay extra for the carrots or whatever. The system works I guess. They have good desserts though as you can see by the photos of Miranda and I! Now I'm off to watch a movie in Miranda's room - the title is too embarrassing to admit so I'll will omit it and be off!

Pottering about...

Hello dedicated readers! Today I had no classes so Miranda and I went exploring around the campus and found the lovely chapel. I have attached a photo of the chapel inside which was beautiful. I mean I saw loads of churches and fancy buildings but I didn't think I had one on campus. At the time we were in there a woman was playing the organ so it a very grand visit. There was a serious fog today - we could barely see 3 metres outside our windows.

After we did some mundane tasks about campus - like me paying my accommodation fee - ERK! - we ventured into the town of Egham. Yeah the "high street" of Egham, which is like the city centre, has 2 second-hand stores, a Subway, Tescos, Iceland (?), cafes and pubs. There is other various shops like a hardware store and newsagent but I'm thinking as I observe these surroundings that I hopefully won't be spending a lot of money around here. We went into Tescos to but supplies like milk and bread so we don't have to troop all the way to the Refectory every meal. It was fun because we casually perused every aisle looking at what was the same as home and what was different. They have a product here which is exactly the same as Napisan - pink packaging and everything - but it's called Vanish. How weird is that? Buying the goods was stressful enough, there was a huge queue by the time we got to the check-out and I got plastic bags thrust at me as I furiously tried to pack the bags before she finished scanning them but no! So I to quickly snatch my purse from my handbag throw coins and run before people glared at my incompetence... I use to work at a supermarket - you think I could handle it. I've now learnt that when you want groceries you only buy what you can carry because lugging it all back to uni (which is a fair walk) was not fun. Poor Miranda strained her foot so we stopped a couple of times along the way which suited me in my puffing and red-faced state.

Had a cruisy evening of watching movies which was nice for a change and had to listen to the very loud people which gallop up and down the hallway at 11:30pm and onwards. Once I go to sleep I don't wake up but Miranda does and she told me there were people loudly talking and pushing one another down the hall in a SHOPPING TROLLEY at 2am. No idea how they got the shopping trolley from the supermarket in Egham to here - let alone up to the third floor. I have my other class tomorrow so hopefully it will be more promising than the last!

Ah yes...the Learning part...

I've come this far and just realised that I'm actually here to learn - not to shop and just have a general goof. Sigh. All these rules to life.

Yes, today was my first day of classes, or rather class because I only had one that went for five hours. I kid you not. It started at 11 and went to 5 (with an hour lunch break in case you were criticising my math ability). Long day. Especially because the subject is called "Theatre & Therapy". Now you're probably wondering what that entails... well so am I. As far as I can tell from the exercises today a drama therapist gets their "clients" (Oh yes I have to use their lingo) to build little houses for themselves around the room. That's right my very intellectual 2nd year class was spread around the room in little cubby houses with various paraphernalia that she had given us the option of using. My house consisted of several post cards lined against the wall with fabric draped over the table so I could be under the table. The only problem was that I had parked myself under the mood music and when she started giving instructions I had no idea what she was saying or the rules of the game so I began to follow everyone else. I hopped from one house to another trying to figure out what the hell I was doing. It's times like these when I really question whether I will have a job after this degree...hmmm. Well I guess this leads me to the opening and closing of the class which consists of a chosen guardian (her word) who gets to light and then choose how to blow out the candle at the end of the session. Stifling laughter is hard. All in all it seems interesting because once I got over the whole "this is wanky" sentence running through my head it was intriguing. The room our class is in is the Noh Theatre (which is pictured) and is the only Japanese style theatre outside of Japan. It's a beautiful stage and makes me think of all the time I spent doing Zen Zen Zo which was Japanese style theatre techniques - physical.

I met some very lovely girls in the class - they all dress so cool! As in one girl was in heels, another full make-up, perfect hair and so on! The pressure is on for next week. Though I was still in four layers, inside and cold. I'll never win.

I had dinner with Miranda this evening and we went to a free screening of "A Hard Day's Night" which features The Beatles. A hilarious film with all the songs and a bunch of lovable scamps. It made me love John Lennon which worked out well because Miranda was after George Harrison. It was funny because at the end of the film they do a concert and the girls in the audience go crazy! Every minute they're screaming, tearing out their hair, crying and mouthing the various band members names. Naturally, Miranda and I had to mimic this behaviour and on our way back to our rooms we began looking like we were having seizures. Good times. Had some delicious chocolate cake at dinner - I am eating healthy I swear!

London Town (again)

So I'm, once again, combining two days into one blog. Sunday and the Monday I was in London because Mum is off to Australia on Monday. So on Sunday we went back to Spitalfield and Petticoat Lane markets and I did the unthinkable - I bought some ug boots. Oh cruel cold world forcing my tootsie toes to go cold without unattractive footwear! Lovely markets as usual and then delicious Greek food that night. I stayed over in Mum's hotel instead of coming back to uni managed to watch brilliant UK tv. Gameshows here are the best.

The next morning (well this morning) Mum packed her bag and we set out to go to the Victoria & Albert museum which is filled with everything from all over the world and all over time. We managed to see about half because we decided to see what we wanted to see instead of - everything. We started with the fashion exhibition which had dresses from the 1700s! Original clothes from then with corsets and everything. Amazing clothes which seemed so tiny. The people were so small back then and the women were obviously strapped into cruel undergarments. They had an evolution of fashion to today which meant there were very unattractive 70s and 80s garb - shoulder pads bleh. I found an interesting fact because they had four different weddings dresses starting from the 18th century - which was white. It said that women began wearing white because it was easier to wash and then it really boomed when Queen Victoria wore white to her wedding - so there you go -now you know. Apparently people back in those days were meant to wear black to mourn not only for their family members but the royal family as well! On the topic of fashion they had various interactive parts of the museum which allowed you to try on various old style fashion. So that's why in the photo above I have massive hips - it's the skirt I tell you! The second photo is a real dress worn which was the height of fashion and impossible to go through doorways. The point was to show off the lovely fabric of the dress with the flat panels.

After stumbling on some no-good-teenagers taking hilariously intimate photos with naked statues when they thought no one was looking we found our way into a historical treasure trove. There was the most amazing clock which they had a display of how it worked and the various little figures on the roof of the house type shape would ding little bells and then beneath them there were tiny little 2D figures moving back and forth. It was really clever. There was a lock they had which had a little man with a hat next to the doorknob. To put the key in you would press a little button to make the soldier kick his leg so the key could go and then open the lock. It had a counting system though so when the master would go away he could return and see how many times his vault had been opened in his absence! Very clever. Also in this museum was a type of harpsichord which belonged to Elizabeth I and may have been played by her.

By this time the sky started darkening and the inevitable happened - it started raining. So Mum and I took the tube to Waterloo and I bought my ticket to return to Egham. I had to say goodbye to Mum for the last time and we both said we didn't need to cry this time - though I started crying when I got on the train - silently. Now I'm back at uni and in the warm safety of my wee room awaiting dinner! Classes start tomorrow so I'll let you know how it goes!

Windsor Castle and The Crown

Today was misty, snowy, icy and fun! What a quirky introduction you're probably thinking...At least I hope you're thinking that and not "wow Phoebe has gone barmy". Anyway today included Runnymede, Staines, Eton and Windsor. We started off having a buffet breakfast of traditional english food - Miranda had Coco Pops and I had Cornflakes. We got on our lovely warm coach and watched the white blanketed fields whizz by until we reached one particular field in Runnymede. What could possibly be special about an old field you ask? Well Britain has so much history that any old field, such as this, had the Magna Carta signed there. I kid you not. Britain has history coming out the whazoo. After we saw the monument we then went driving through Staines and stopped at Eton.

Eton is a little town which consists of one street of various shops and then a high school. Now don't go thinking this is any small town run-of-the-mill school because Eton is prestigious. It was founded ages ago and has become a host for upcoming young boys to aspire to go to. One such pair was Prince Harry and William - woopee. The main interesting point about this school is their uniforms! They only JUST stopped wearing top hats - to school. Top hats people! They wear long pinstriped trousers (you can't say pants because the British call underwear pants so that's wrong) with a vest and these long black coats with tails! Fancy stuff and we were all gawking at these boys so they must have felt pretty out of place especially when we started to spot the prefects who wore grey trousers and a special type of vest. Very lovely town nonetheless. Afterwards we toddled over to the town of Winsdor and the temperature dropped another million degrees it felt like...

Windsor is a lovely town which has more shops than Egham (which isn't saying much) so we got to see the castle and then go shopping. So the castle of Windsor was built by William the Conqueror and then updated and beautified by Charles II who had a sweetheart named Nell Gywn (drama people should know who I'm talking about in great detail) so there was a pub across the road called the Nell Gywn. There you go. So we went into the castle and lo and behold one of fountains was frozen - are you getting an idea of the weather yet?

We started off in the chapel - St John's (?) - and saw its beautiful architecture. It was amazing inside with a huge ceiling, way up high, ornately decorated with various symbols. We saw the tombs of Henry VIII, Jane Seymour, the Queen Mother and her husband and the most incredible memorial that Queen Victoria built for her husband Albert. Now looking at the memorial you could tell she missed the man because it was jaw-droppingly lovely. We weren't supposed to take photos but Miranda may or may not have sneaked one in so that is shown.

After the chapel we got to peruse the state apartments and, no the queen wasn't home today. So we saw all the various fancy rooms of the castle which included an amazing doll's house that Queen Mary I commissioned. It had real wine in the little bottles in the cellar and real books in the library! Very cute. The castle also contained the bullet which killed Lord Nelson (guy who did great military work - Battle of Trafalgar) and a gorgeous Grand Ballroom with huge mirrors, glittering chandeliers and gold dripping from every surface. It was in this room that Miranda sneezed. Of course, we made a big deal about saying "Oh my gosh Miranda you just sneezed in the Queen's Grand Ballroom - it will have to be destroyed" and so on factoring girlish laughter throughout.

We also saw the guards which protect the Queen - the ones with the fuzzy hats (this is a long blog but a lot of stuff happened). We got a photo with one of them who looked about 17. There were a group of four which seemed to be chasing us around because they turned up where ever we did! There was one guard who must have thought no one was watching and he SCRATCHED HIS NOSE. They are not supposed to move! Treachery in the ranks! Alert! After that (Miranda and I were the last in the castle, I think everyone else was more concerned with shopping) we went into the shops and then back on the bus. We got back to the uni and found out that we had to fend for ourselves for dinner so we all trooped down to Egham to go to "The Crown" pub and were called "great" by some local guy in the pub. He assumed we were all American (I was the only not American) and was like "that's so great. I love listening to you guys talk. Happy Days!". Happy days indeed kind sir! Tomorrow I'm off to London, once more, to see Mum. Toodles!

My First Day at Hogwarts...

Sitting in my dark room alone I type my experiences of my new temporary home. I know it's been two days and I'm compiling it into one but whaddaya gonna do? Nothing much happened yesterday except that it was Mum's birthday and we put all my junk into my room here at Royal Holloway. Pretty cruisey sort of a day yesterday. My room is a lot bigger than I expected - twice the size of college rooms back home and it's warm! Thank goodness! It's all a bit empty right now because none of non-international students have arrived (there are only 50 internationals - most from America).

But that was yesterday! It was really hard saying goodbye to Mum this morning - even though I'll see her on Sunday. I rang her before and she said she was sad when she was going to London. Anyway I'm here now in Egham and the sun is shining! I arrived on time and found no one in sight, had a panic, until one girl turned up. Her name is Miranda and she's from Arizona - very nice, lives down the hall - nerves are easing. After hours of introductions to every aspect of the uni we had a sandwhich lunch which I mananges to keep down after my serious nerves. I found out that I don't actually start uni until Tuesday so I've got a couple of days to float around and everyone seems to be in a state of confusion which is relieving. No one has timetables or maps so we're all in the same boat.

Thankfully the hall I'm in (Founders) has wireless internet but they only got it like a year ago!! This whole campus needs a technological face-lift because we were shown the computer labs which consisted of really old computers and they began teaching us how to check our email and other basic stuff - quite strange. My hall looks like Hogwart's castle and is pretty much the oldest building on campus which is nice - though it smells old - musty. They warned us when arriving that we weren't to use hair irons and that sort of thing incase we short circutted the whole building - which has happened before even with a convertor plug. Miranda was telling me how she arrived yesterday and in a state of pure jet-lag plugged in her electric blanket and heard a loud pop. Needless to say Miranda is the first person this year to break something - who knows who will be next? I mean my hair does need straightening...

Touring around the campus - I cannot believe how small it is! Mum and I did tour the high street of Egham which consisted of supermarkets, cafes, pubs and a bunch of pharmacies - oh the night life. Anyway I knew the town was small but so is the uni! They showed us around the main library which would be 8 times smaller than the one at home. It's crazy. Oh, another thing, there are only about 6000 students on campus and I found out from good ol' Wikipedia that there are around 6000 residents of Egham so we uni students rule the day! Everyone has been really friendly and helpful which is good and tomorrow we go to visit Windsor Castle and all lovely things. Talk then - trying to stave off feelings of lonliness...