Knaresborough Suck
I'm starting to realize that we really got the shaft when it comes to living arrangements. We're in the one building without heat or AC. Our shower's so small my shoulders touch the opposite walls. The communal ovens barely heat up. The washing machine breaks down fairly regularly. And the internet is down more than it works, currently down for three days. I guess Temple gets shat on no matter what country we're in.
Tuesday we finally got to go to the BBC, although it wasn't what I expected at all. We weren't at their main headquarters, but their television complex. And it wasn't any kind of special tour - it was the basic tour that anyone can go on. So we didn't get to see anyone at work, or talk to anyone who works there. If you've ever seen a television station, this was more of the same.
That afternoon I took the make-up midterm. Everyone had been going on about how hard it was, how long it took. Well, I dunno what they were bitching about, I was done in 20 minutes. How'd I do? We'll get to that later.
Then, the rains came. About 6 oclock, the skies opened up and the strongest storm I've ever seen started. Lightning, thunder, monsoons, the works. It came on so fast that when it started raining, I walked from the kitchen down the hall to my room to shut the windows, but when I got there my bed and my laundry was already drenched through. The whole storm lasted about an hour, but it played havoc with the city. Things essentially shut down - the roads, the Underground, everything flooded.
It wasn't until today that we found out the extent of the damage. The amount of rain that fell in an hour was about equal to London's average rainfall for the month of August. One boy was killed by lightning, and several others were struck and are still in the hospital. The Victorian-era sewers overflowed into the rivers, killing about a third of the fish in the Thames. This city is woefully unprepared for what happened.
That night, Deanna and I took the Jack the Ripper Walk, which was suitably creepy. We made sure to go on a night when a certain guide was leading it, he's this tour company's main attraction. He's pretty much spent his life studying the Ripper case, written books and everything. There must have been over a hundred people on this tour, compared with the 40 or so that have been on the ones I've already taken. It's funny how that case still grabs the imagination - unsolved crimes are the most fascinating, I think.
This morning we got a tour of the rebuilt Globe Theater. I was struck at how small it was, and how sparse. They say it looks exactly like it did in Shakespeare's day, and I believe it.
In class this afternoon we got midterms back. I got an A Minus, which apparently is one of the top two or three grades in the class. I'm not sure how that happened, as I really didn't think it was hard at all. And I don't even take notes in class. These are the people who got accepted for study abroad when Temple came damn close to rejecting me?
Tonight we had the option of going to see Romeo and Juliet at the Globe, but I passed. First off, I've seen and read the play about 8 million times. Second, Temple wasn't willing to spring for the couple extra bucks to actually get us seats, under cover. So I wasn't about to spend 3 hours standing in the rain. It would have been cool to see, but I have better things to do with my remaining time in London.
Tomorrow we're getting a tour of Cambridge! I'm wearing my letters - maybe we can start up an AEPi chapter over here?
Tuesday we finally got to go to the BBC, although it wasn't what I expected at all. We weren't at their main headquarters, but their television complex. And it wasn't any kind of special tour - it was the basic tour that anyone can go on. So we didn't get to see anyone at work, or talk to anyone who works there. If you've ever seen a television station, this was more of the same.
That afternoon I took the make-up midterm. Everyone had been going on about how hard it was, how long it took. Well, I dunno what they were bitching about, I was done in 20 minutes. How'd I do? We'll get to that later.
Then, the rains came. About 6 oclock, the skies opened up and the strongest storm I've ever seen started. Lightning, thunder, monsoons, the works. It came on so fast that when it started raining, I walked from the kitchen down the hall to my room to shut the windows, but when I got there my bed and my laundry was already drenched through. The whole storm lasted about an hour, but it played havoc with the city. Things essentially shut down - the roads, the Underground, everything flooded.
It wasn't until today that we found out the extent of the damage. The amount of rain that fell in an hour was about equal to London's average rainfall for the month of August. One boy was killed by lightning, and several others were struck and are still in the hospital. The Victorian-era sewers overflowed into the rivers, killing about a third of the fish in the Thames. This city is woefully unprepared for what happened.
That night, Deanna and I took the Jack the Ripper Walk, which was suitably creepy. We made sure to go on a night when a certain guide was leading it, he's this tour company's main attraction. He's pretty much spent his life studying the Ripper case, written books and everything. There must have been over a hundred people on this tour, compared with the 40 or so that have been on the ones I've already taken. It's funny how that case still grabs the imagination - unsolved crimes are the most fascinating, I think.
This morning we got a tour of the rebuilt Globe Theater. I was struck at how small it was, and how sparse. They say it looks exactly like it did in Shakespeare's day, and I believe it.
In class this afternoon we got midterms back. I got an A Minus, which apparently is one of the top two or three grades in the class. I'm not sure how that happened, as I really didn't think it was hard at all. And I don't even take notes in class. These are the people who got accepted for study abroad when Temple came damn close to rejecting me?
Tonight we had the option of going to see Romeo and Juliet at the Globe, but I passed. First off, I've seen and read the play about 8 million times. Second, Temple wasn't willing to spring for the couple extra bucks to actually get us seats, under cover. So I wasn't about to spend 3 hours standing in the rain. It would have been cool to see, but I have better things to do with my remaining time in London.
Tomorrow we're getting a tour of Cambridge! I'm wearing my letters - maybe we can start up an AEPi chapter over here?
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