Weekend Wrap-Up

My classes start tomorrow, so we’ve all been enjoying the free week, trying to get as much into it as possible. Here are some of the highlights from the weekend.

1. Karaoke night at ISH Bar
The girls who went last year raved about karaoke night and how they would go there every Thursday night, so we decided to check it out. It was free since we’re full-time students in London, which was awesome, since a lot of the cool places have cover charges. Here are my two flat mates and me waiting for the tube.

Rockin the leggings

Let me tell you. Karaoke was a blast. Drinks were really cheap (£1.90 for a pint of Strongbow ale, which would be about $3), karaoke was really bad, and there were lots of international and British students in there to talk to.  Most of the bars we’d been to so far never had many students in them, and if there were, they were usually in groups and not really open to talking to other people. This place was a perfect place to meet new people; since it was student bar, everyone was friendly and were there to talk to people they didn’t know, so it was fun. I didn’t sing this time (although Sarah and Emily did), but next time I will fo sho.

2. Leicester Square
When I pictured London before I got here, I saw it as more of a NYC city than it turned out to be. Leicester Square is more like what I saw London as looking like.

 
It was a really cool place. We found a cool pub to eat dinner at and all ordered a quintessential English dish. I ordered Chicken and Leek Pie with an ale.

It was very tasty, but really really filling. I could only eat half of it. The others got fish and chips or sausage. It was really fun to eat the traditional food, I’m definitely going to try to order traditional dishes when we go out.


3. Shopping in Oxford Circus
Oxford Circus is another place that looks how I imagined all of London to look like: busy streets, tons of shops, huge department stores, etc. [I didn’t take a picture of Oxford Circus, lo siento. Next time I’m there I will.]  That section of London is so different than from the areas we’re usually around, which sometimes have heavy car traffic but not too much foot traffic.
We went to H&M there, where I bought a slightly overpriced really cute new outfit.

Likey?  I’ll wear it going out some night to a club or nicer bar. Although I have seen girls walking around town in these kinds of skirts…I don’t think I’m there yet.
Also found a department store called Primark, which was nuts. It was pretty big (although only 2 floors) and PACKED with people. There were clothes and hangers all over the floor and lines for the dressing room and check out were over 30 customers long each, but the prices were so low.  I bought a plaid shirt for £9 and another shirt for £7.  They had sweaters for £3. It was nuts, cheaper than in the states. Emily and I were changing in the middle of the store in front of mirrors so we didn’t have to wait in line. It was crazy, but the deals were amazing.


4. Flower Market on Columbia
Every Sunday morning there are various markets open all over the city, so we decided to first go to Brick Lane, which we had heard good reviews of. Uhhh, no. It was a creepy city-street version of a neighborhood yard sale.  The food and fruit stands were cool, but the rest was shadyspice.
We saw a sign for the Flower Market on Columbia and decided to go there instead.

It was really cool. There were vendors lining a whole street selling plants and flowers I’d seen before and a lot that I hadn’t.





5. Emirates Stadium
So a block down from our campus is Emirates Stadium, home to the Arsenal football team. The stadium is huuuge.

Yesterday was a game day, and we were walking down the street towards the stadium to check it out. All of a sudden there is a huge ROARRRRRR from the stadium, guessing Arsenal had scored.  It was so loud. It was awesome. We decided then that we are most definitely going to game.
Today Sarah and I spent about 2 hours trying to find where our classrooms are. The place is a maze. There are multiple buildings at each campus site, and not necessarily in close proximity to each other. We found the rooms though in time for our first classes tomorrow.
That concludes my Weekend Update. I’ll post a new entry after my first classes. For the comments: I’ll have many opportunities to travel while here. Where’s one place you recommend I go?