What a weekend...

I'm SO ready for school to start. Although I am walking great lengths every day, I need to be dancing. Tomorrow morning, I'll get up at 6:30 AM, catch my rides (yes, plural) to Deptford, sit through a seminar, and enjoy or not enjoy a 4 hour break until contemporary auditions. I'll also be testing out the food on campus and perhaps around Greenwich. Let's hope it's a good day.

This past weekend, I had quite the variety of experiences. On Friday night, Mk, Emily, and I went out to The Champion pub down the road, where we striked up a conversation with some Brazilians who were nice enough to offer us a spot at their table. I'm not allowed to repeat what happened after that, but let me just say that I was the prude for the evening who was kept company by the only married man in the group, while my friends got hit on...all night. I had fun...

I naturally needed some alone time the next day. I wandered around central London, solo, during the afternoon and quite enjoyed myself as I smiled and waved to strangers strolling down the streets. Independence never gets old. I surprisingly ended up finding Wagamamas, a japanese restuarant my old youth pastor recommended, and ate a delicious plate of noodles that I washed down with peach ice tea, which reminded me of the tea one of my best friend's mom makes. Brilliant. The girls and I stayed in and had a low key night by watching Never Been Kissed. We all went to bed feeling hopeful, or depressed, about being single and finding love in London. I couldn't sleep...damn romantic comedies always get me. "Cause I know a place where the sun is always shining..." Well, not always.

Today we went down to London Bridge and attended the Thames Festival, the largest free annual festival in London. We walked the cobblestone pavement where you could feel the elevated stone press in to the soles of your feet like a kiss, as we oohed and awed at all the different venues. The wind and overcast gave London it's notorious look, but it wasn't enough of a threat to send people home. A small ampitheatre, located in the middle of the festival, called The Scoop had performers from all over the world showing off their talents and introducing passer-byers to their cultural arts. From choirs singing to support organizations who raise money for the four-thousand African children who die from a lack of clean water everyday to Korean dancing and martial arts, it was all there. They even had a separate dance floor for commoners to come and do a little swing. The girls and I took artsy pictures of the area, including ones of kids playing in the local fountain. Little things like that still bring joy to my life, and I love capturing tangible memories of moments such as these.

I ended the evening in disappointment when I travelled to the Hillsong Church site, just to find that for this week they relocated to a different venue. Oh well. The songs my heart sings will keep me in touch with the Lord till next Sunday I suppose.

I'm excited for what the week will bring. I'll try and give an update at least once a week. We'll see how exhausted I am at the end of each day. I begin practicing going to bed at an earlier, more reasonable hour starting...now. :)