So much to blog, so little time...

It is hard to believe that I have already been here for more than three days! There has been so much going on and I feel like everything I do could count towards my "one thing a day that I can only do in London". Although not all of these things are particularly exciting, they count in my book.

A New Thing I Learned:
"Did I just detect an American accent?" the leather-clad man carrying a purse-sized dog into the Hat and Tut on Thursday night says to me and the gaggle of men with me. It was somewhat alarming, which was probably augmented by his attire and the few front teeth he was missing, but we affirmed his observation. "Well, I'm from Missouri!" I unfortunately did not do my third grade state project on Missouri, so my knowledge of the fine midwestern state is somewhat limited, and I was also pretty bummed that our first "local" encounter was American too. However as the night continued, we learned that there is a very fine but serious distinction. English is, yes, a language, and before coming to London, I thought that American and British were adjectives describing nationality. However, this is not the case. "American" is apparently an entirely different, inferior, language, and "British" does not exist. "We're not British" the locals keep insisting. "We're English". And they speak English too, the "real" language.

Some New Things I Did:
1) I went for a run along the Thames with my roommate Maureen! Although it wasn't like running in South Bend with Matt, it was definitely one of the coolest runs I've been on. We ran down Farringdon Road from our flats across the Blackfriars Bridge and then past the London Eye and across another bridge to Big Ben. While this sounds absolutely amazing, the only hiccup was that it was pouring rain. Everything I was wearing was soaking wet five minutes in, but we just kept running. I know it sounds like I"m complaining, but it was the most quintessentially "London" experience I could think of to hopefully define my semester.

2) I cooked dinner! And it wasn't a tuna melt. (I had a tuna melt on Friday night...) I made dinner for the boys upstairs, and for never having successfully cooked a meal on my own, it turned out pretty well. I'm definitely not going to be A Voltaggio's sous chef anytime soon, but it is only my third day here...

3) I navigated public transportation - and made it to Notting Hill, home of the Portobello Road Market. We just walked up and down the street, looking at all of the antiques and jewelry and scarves and bags that vendors had for sale, while also admiring the stunningly quaint neighborhoods and candy-colored row houses. And being the adventurous group we are, we decided to take the bus to Paddington Station instead of retracing our steps to the Notting Hill Gate tube stop, and taking another train back to the flats.


The Plan:
Right now, I think I have lived up to my three initial goals (I've been writing down every tuppence I spend - thus living up to budget goal) so I just need to make sure I can keep it up! I need to get into running schedule for the week and get reacquainted with my new friend Jillian. Also, if you have some easy, relatively cheap recipes you like, I am welcoming all suggestions. I will probably get sick of chicken sooner or later...