Back from England…

I’m back from England! And what a great trip :). Aside from the rampant tourism and busied people there wasn’t too much to complain about. Oh yeah, and I wish they hadn’t broken the wheel on my luggage on my flight home…

I guess I’ll give you a brief photo tour of my trip, mention some of the highlights, etc. I left on a Virgin Atlantic flight on Thursday, April 5th. Fly Virgin, it’s wonderful. The staff was kind, the food was good, they have video games and movie selections… and free liquor. Yes, I enjoyed both of my flights on Virgin Atlantic.

On Friday I did all the touristy things. I took some pictures of St. Paul’s and spent some time at the National Galleries. I enjoyed it all… but not as much as I expected. They were so darn commercialized. If you walk through the Smithsonian you won’t feel bombarded by people trying to sell you things and a bunch of commotion, but walking through Leicester Square or Piccadilly Circus you’re lucky if you have room to breathe (nevermind dodging the pigeons…). However, that night I saw Les Miserables at the Palace Theatre, which was definitely a highlight of my trip.

Saturday was nice, as well. I saw the Dali Universe Exhibit, right next to the London Eye. And that night I went to the 100 Club for some lindy hopping. I also met a really cool woman from San Diego, with whom I chatted and walked around with for a few hours.
On Sunday I left for the beautiful “3D Entertainment Camp” in Weymouth, England. We were right on the southern shore… and I was in heaven. Throughout the week there I did a lot of walking along the shore, hiking along trails, and relaxing in the grass; it was so nice…

 

But more than walking around, we all did a lot of dancing. There were about 250 of us, and every morning we had workshops. Most afternoons were competitions. The evenings were either competive or social. I met a lot of cool people, like Caroline, who’s dancing with her partner from Oxford (to your right). Aren’t they amazing!?One night was karaoke. Check out the Delaware and GW girls on the left, and Amber (URI) and Lisi (CUA) on the right, singing. 

Sadly I don’t have any pictures yet of me dancing, but you can check out me in my latin outfit with Caroline. She and I competed against each other in the freestyle. She won, I didn’t… but I think I deserve an honorable mention anyways, trust me (I didn’t know I could do a full split…).

The majority of my trip was set in Weymouth, and I had a great time there. As I didn’t come with one school I got to spend time with a lot of different people. Thanks Lisi and the CUA kids, Caroline and the Oxford blokes, and Samantha and Dr. John for putting up with me…

I need to mention the other cool guy I met, Chris Loh. He’s a med school student at University of London… and he let me crash at his place on Saturday on Sunday. It was a lot of fun to hang with him and his crew. But when we weren’t chilling I was out in London. On Saturday I saw the (intellectual) comedy Art and had a great meal at The World’s End pub in Dorset. (I wish I remembered what was in that banana dish…) That night I also bartered for a pair of black Doc Marten’s… and I love ‘em. Sunday I spent at Camden Market, which was quite the experience. All kinds of crazy clothing, food, and gadgets :). Then I relaxed at a pub for a few hours, reading, looking out the window, and sipping away at whatever it was I ordered. My trip ended with a night of lindy hop at the 100 Club. *sigh*

Today I returned home. It’s nice to be back on my floor… though I’m not so excited about getting back to homework. Fortunately I actually managed to do a lot of work while waiting in queues and on the planerides. Oh, and my residents greeted me with a surprise on my door that you can observe for yourself.

Now that you’ve had a laugh I think I’m going to get some sleep. I had dinner with Chiles a little while ago but I need to catch up on time and be less social. This week is going to be a lot of homework… I’ll put up some more pictures and thoughts later. Take care. Stay tuned for some reflections in a few hours…