'Twas the Week Before Christmas

Passing time is the hardest thing to do. Ever. And we've all been there. It's the catch 22 of life where fate gets her cruel giggles. If you sit there and do nothing but focus on the time, it never seems to move and you're stuck feeling like you're being dragged through the mud across the pavement. However, once you begin to occupy yourself with enjoyable tasks to take your mind off of all of the emotional pavement burn you've acquired, suddenly time flies by and you're left wishing you had more. Welcome to my week.

All of us lining up for food!

Class ended (for me) last Thursday and my flat mates and I decided to celebrate the end of term with a pot-luck-ish Christmas dinner before everyone left for home. It was kinda like what we did for Thanksgiving, but fewer people cooked more food and more people showed up to eat. It was nice spending “family-time” with my new friends before we all left for a month. I cannot tell you how excited I am to visit Germany with my friend and be a proper tourist for a month! However, I still had a little under a week to wait.

YUM! with our Christmas crowns!

 In no time, the stress and chaos from the semester quickly caught up with me and I found myself, Friday morning, staring at ridiculous pictures on 9gag with my face being dragged across the proverbial pavement. In the week previously I had even fallen into the oh-so-common trap of beginning to watch a new series in the last few weeks of school, which was not helping me feel like I was doing anything productive. It may sound crazy (and I have been accused of being a work-o-holic), but in the past 20 years of living with myself I have found that I am the most relaxed and stress-free when I fill my time with “stuff”. The difference between me and a work-o-holic, however, is that my “stuff” consists of things I want to do, haven't been able to do, or want to do again. I realized that if I was going to survive this wait, I would have to schedule my time in the only way my mother taught me how- by detailing every minute. So, I planned at least one activity or “big thing” for the remaining 5 days that would get me out of the flat and moving.

Science Museum gift shop

Since Friday was spent with me mostly sprawled on the floor or watching “TV” on my computer, Saturday was the first day of any real consequence. I decided to visit the Science Museum! I am an absolute child when it comes to science museums! I love looking at the exhibits and touching the breakable objects, bouncing from one display to the next while munching on my overly-priced snacks. Where else can you find so much knowledge in one convenient, fun to play with package? I know, I'm a bit of a nerd. My excitement was only added to when I discovered that the museum had recently opened a psychology exhibit alongside a history of medicine throughout cultures display! Had I died and gone to heaven! I roped one of my flatmates, who is also a science nerd, into coming with me so I could look childish with someone and we were off! The museum was wonderful! It wasn't quite as interactive as I had hoped, but enough to where my inner 5-year-old was satisfied. I looked at maps of the brain, marveled at dissected and dried animals, stared at cool electronic thingies that looked extremely complicated, and the medicine display even had a real live mummy!!! My friend and I bounced around the museum for hours before we were, quite literally, kicked out as they tried to close around us. We ended the day by gathering two of our other friends/flat-mates and watching a Christmas-y movie in her room. It was a great fun-filled day. 
 

The psychology exhibit

The view of the museum from the top floor

The next day was also plenty of fun as I went to the cinema (not theatre/movies) to watch Catching Fire. Since my sister begged me to read the Hunger Games trilogy the summer after my Freshman year, I had fallen in 12-year-old-preteen love with the stories. I didn't think I would ever love a series as much as I loved Harry Potter, but then life is full of surprises (though Harry Potter does have a special place in my heart). Unfortunately, none of my friends here felt the same way, and some of them had never even seen the first one! To be fair though, I wouldn't have either if my sister hadn't made me read the books. So I did something I'm almost certain I've never done before- I went to the cinema by myself! It wasn't nearly as depressing as I thought it would be, but did teach me the hard way that:

London Fact # 15: Cinemas have assigned seats! Not knowing this I went to sit wherever and had the … seat-checker-lady have to chase me down and WATCH me take my proper seat. At first I thought it was just this cinema, but when I was recounting my experience to my friends later they were surprised that I was surprised and said it is a normal thing. Was not expecting that one!

Christmas crackers!!! (Where we got our crowns)

Anyway, I LOVED the movie SOOOOO MUCH!!! It was so true to the book and made all of my little feelings run around inside me. It also took a solid three hours out of my day (previews and walking time included). When I returned I found my friends all sitting around in the corridor (not hallway) with a bunch of random objects (pans, brooms, wooden spoons, balloons, and decorative tinsel) telling me that they had started a band and I should join. We spent most of the rest of the evening making WAY too much noise and playing “keep up” with the balloon (with the rules varying constantly). After we got tired of that we decided to get ready and go out. In between waiting for them to get ready I Skyped my parents and grandma and had a “mini-Christmas” opening gifts that they had shipped to me (because of all of these packages I am now famous at the mail desk: “The famous Toft with an endless supply of packages”). I loved them all and am very grateful for such a wonderful family! My friends and I then ended that night by going out to a local pub that featured live bands on Sunday as our last time out until the next term started.

We Will Rock You

Oxford Street

Monday soon showed up and I spent most of it catching up on some studying that I really should finish before my break actually begins... yeah. After I couldn't take any more time in the library I headed down to Tottenham Court Road where I was to meet up with a friend I had made while living in the hostels. I hadn't seen her in about a month as she was busy working and I spent most of my time reading. We had fun walking along Oxford Street, looking at all of the pretty street lights and shop designs. At first, we tried to look for a pub that wasn't hosting a Christmas party since she has been working and unable to go out for a drink with anyone in a long time. However, it was still too early in the evening and most of the pubs were full of creepy-looking older men; so we pressed on. After we got tired of the slight drizzle that always seems to be coming down anymore we popped into Starbucks for some hot chocolate! Being around all of the Christmas music with a warm drink and pretty lights made me feel like Christmas was actually coming (though you wouldn't guess it by the weather). It was fun getting to catch up with her and hear about our other friend who is also her roommate. We even made plans to meet up again after I returned from my holiday in Germany. After we parted ways to go home I walked back up Tottenham Court Road and stopped in a few shops I have been wanting to see. I didn't buy anything though, and soon made my way home to watch some computer TV, read my new book my mom sent me, and go to bed.

Today, I am here. Typing. I have plenty of little plans, but the greatest things on my schedule are working-out, doing laundry and packing! Tomorrow I wake up at 5am (ouch) and head to Heathrow to fly to Germany! It still doesn't quite feel real to me that in a few hours I'll be in Germany trying to use what little German I remember from high school to make it to my hostel and survive until my friend meets up with me. I just hope I won't be too homesick come Christmas day as this is the first year ever I've spent it away from my family. I also hope Germany will put me into the Christmas spirit more since, apparently:

London Fact # 16: Brits regard Germany as the Christmas mecca! I went to Winter Wonderland last Friday (an amazing experience by itself), and among the massive carnival rides, ginormous pubs selling delicious mulled wine and mulled cider, and other amusements were TONS of stands selling Bratwurst and Jagermeister. Apparently Bratwurst and Jagermesiter are also the only things Brits think of when they envision Germany. An eternal Christmas full of hot sausages and a tipsy Father Christmas.

I will have to tell you if these stereotypes are true and if German Christmas markets and Winter Wonderland (Winter World in Germany) are any different. Until then, I still have 21 hours and counting to occupy myself before my next great big adventure!!! Next post from me will probably be from Germany! Auf Wiedersehen und Frohe Weihnachten !!!

Merry Christmas!!!