| American in London |
Tuesday 2 August 2005I decided last week that I was becoming boring and I needed to get out and start seeing all the things I wanted to in the city. So on my Wednesday off last week I went to the National Portrait Gallery in the afternoon. One of my absolute favorite things about London is the museums because they're free! And there is so much art and history. Because they are free, I don't feel guity when my attention span only lasts a couple of hours. I pretty much just checked out the oldest paintings from the Tudor era (the 15th century I believe - you know Henry VII and Elizabeth I). And then the 16th and into the 17th centuries. Very cool. There were so many famous people there, a lot who I didn't know but I enjoyed reading the writeups and finding out more about British history. There was even a small section on colonial America. I was in one gallery and turned around surprised because there in front of me was a painting of George Washington! After the gallery I met up with my Australian friend Michelle and we had a girlie night out, we have lots of girlie nights, but it's great! We went to this great little hole in the wall Japanese restaurant where I had a noodle soup that was super tricky to eat with chop-sticks and a ceramic spoon and sushi. Then we went for ice cream and coffee. I met Michelle my first week here and she moved down to Greenwich now so I still see her a couple times a week because she works in the city (central London) and we try to meet up weekends. When I was in Leister Square on Wednesday waiting to meet up with Michelle I was surprised to see armed police patrolling. For those of you who don't know, law enforcement rarely carry firearms here, unlike at home. I knew that after the bombings and more attempted bombings law enforcement had been stepped up quite a bit, but I hadn't realized quite how much. It actually made me more uneasy to see them because you realize how serious the threat still is. Living and working outside of central London, I don't often go through that area so I hadn't seen all the increased security. They also have police stationed on many of the tube lines. We were on the Northern line and there were three officers in just our coach. Makes me a bit uneasy, to be honest, even though I know they are here for civilian protection. I'm really looking forward today to my friend Emily arriving. I'm not sure that I will get to see her today, but I hope she will be able to call. My phone has been acting up, though and I really need to get it straightened out. I hate that thing! That's one thing I miss is my nice phone at home :-(. That is besides my family and lovely friends! I miss you all so much sometimes! Especially when I am feeling worried about work. Anyway, I digress, it will be so nice to have a friend from home around here! Life, it seems, has just begun to settle here, so I have consequently begun to feel a little sad and homesick. But you know me, my moods change on a dime sometimes, so I'm sure I'll snap out of it in a bit. Just keeping busy! Plus I get all sorts of nice emails and sometimes even letters and cards from home! Thank you all so much who have kept me updated on your lives and my lovely friends who have sent me mail! What a surprise to get up this morning and have a card and pictures sent to me from my roomate! Yay! I think that's probably plenty for you all to read for now. More to come I'm sure. 5:07 AM - 8/2/2005 - post commentShare and enjoy
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Description A journal of my experiences as an expatriot. Home User Profile Archives Friends My Wall Recent Entries - Home again! - Tuesday 18 October 2005 - Wednesday 12 October 2005 - The Scheme 5 October 2005 - Sunday 2 October 2005 - Royalty Friends - linzykinz83 - dvoshell |
