The True British Culture ;D

Alright. Almost two weeks in and, if it hadn't been for the fact that I royally messed up on when my first class started this morning, I may not have written this post. Plenty has happened, but between me getting sick this weekend and a general desire to not crawl out of my prison-like cot, I wasn't too keen on sitting down and writing anything. London has been good to me, don't get me wrong. I'm blaming my lack of motivation entirely on living in the hostel. You can only live like a street urchin for a short while before needing a change, no matter how wonderful the people are. So, I checked out this morning for another hostel and will probably wait there until I can move into my (soon to be permanent) room at the end of the month. So, since I'm an hour early to class with no where to go, I will write.

I am proud to announce that I have now successfully traversed a large portion of zone 1 London, (mostly by foot, not always by choice) and have not gotten severely lost again! I have even found Gluten Free food at Tescos (aka. London's attempt at a super market). One thing that was strange, however, were some of the labels, especially the knock-off ones. For example, I was looking for soap for a shower and kept seeing labels for "shower milk," which I can only assume, must be body wash. I was also pleasantly surprised when the lady at the register told me my total, and there was no sales tax! A simple fact that I am way too excited about. That means when I go buy a bottle of water, I can prepare my money without doing a tax-guessing game! It makes so much sense!

Later in the week my story of survival at the hostel took a turn for the better as I began to meet some really cool people! I loved listening to everyone's stories and hearing all of their backgrounds. I made really good friends with a Brazilian girl, a Brazilian/Italian guy, an English/Egyptian guy, a French guy and several others from Greece, Spain, Italy, Norway, Poland, and almost anywhere else you can think of with just about any combination of heritages (Pic. Brazilian girl, French guy, me and Italian guy [names left out on purpose]). Living in a hostel is not for the faint of heart, but it is certainly enriching and an experience that will change your life. I have an enriched view of the world now. I had also become so used to speaking to people with varying degrees of English that I began to forget some of my own vocabulary and instead began speaking in the simplest terms at an agonizing pace. This is when I decided that I needed to go out and experience London in the truest way possible. So I went to a pub.

That weekend I was fully initiated into the British culture, which brings me to:

London Fact number nine: You cannot truly understand the British, or appreciate their culture, until you've partied with them.

I went out to several different pubs with the English/Egyptian (the closest I had to a full Brit) and had a wonderful time! Everyone in London (I can't speak for the rest of the country) goes out on the weekends to forget the week. Not to say that they are reckless, but they aren't afraid to have a good time, no matter what others think. Which leads to:

Fact number ten: The Brits are not nearly as judgmental as Americans. Especially if it's the weekend. For example, there was a woman at the first place I went to who was in a French-maid costume. It was rather risqué and I assumed she was crazy, but no one else seemed to mind. Then later that night I saw several people dressed up as sailors or pirates.

It was a good time wherever we went and I quickly got over the shock and awe of being able to legally enter a pub. I also noticed, that every pub/bar played mostly American music. And old American music at that (from the perspective of a 20 year old anticipating recent pop... don't take offense). "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" and "Time of My Life" were met with a huge, enthusiastic response. Then, just when I thought the music couldn't get cheesier, "Grease Lightning" played... and everyone knew the dance moves! It was hilarious! All of that being said, there is a huge variety of pubs and venues all over London that it's impossible to get burned out of one style.

I experienced this later on in the week, when a good friend of mine from Russia, and his Russian friend visited. I met up with them (5 hours after I was supposed to, long and boring story) and of course, what is there to do on a Wednesday night, except drink? I didn't have much because I had class later the next day, but they treated me to such a good time! We went further into London, ate at a good restaurant, and visited a countless number of bars. Some were playing rock, some pop, some were quiet and just had the sound of other drunken citizens. They were such gentlemen and very fun! It was a truly Russian experience! :D At the end of the night they walked me home and we parted ways.

Now that my grandma's heart is about to stop from all of my stories of debauchery, I will end on an enlightened note. All throughout the week I had kept up with my classes and began organizing everything I needed to catch up on my reading. I have not talked about classes in this post since I've only been to each no more than twice, but I will post my class experiences later. I am also now a prestigious member of the British Library! One of the greatest libraries in the world!!! And I'm not going to lie, being one of the intellectuals allowed into the reading rooms of the grand BL, I feel very pompous and exceedingly important for a street urchin. But it is wonderful and my inner Belle/book nerd sings every time I walk through the front doors! :D Now, back to studies and back to class!

As a reward for reading all of my long, raving posts till the end, here is a pic of a pigeon on the underground. No Benedict Cumberbatch, but still worth a photo.