when you put a shot glass made of ice on a bar made of ice...it slides away and cracks on the ground. lesson learned.
working our thermal capes
the cold makes you do crazy things
bar made entirely of ice!
things got a little rowdy at the ice bar (the other two in the picture are Emily and Dontea by the way!)
There were 12 of us there in total. I think someone managed to get a picture of all of us but they haven't put their pictures up online yet. When they do, I'll be sure to add one!
School is going a little slowly for me - 8 papers is a lot. I've written one about art history and I think it came out ok (I've never written an art history paper before). We read some sample essays in my seminar yesterday and the ones that got A's didn't seem too unattainable. They just write so differently here! The person had headings and subheadings in their paper. I see that in journal articles, but never an essay. Our instructor also said to write a really good introduction because as he put it, "Why would the teacher read the whole paper? That is so long. You usually know what grade you would give it after reading the introduction." Why am I bothering with writing the entirety of these 8 essays then... He also said that grammar and punctuation mistakes aren't that big a deal. Um. What? Karen wouldn't stand for this (that's my mom). Karen is obsessed with grammar. Our other relatives used to call our house "Karen's Grammar Camp." Whenever people start a sentence with "Me and my brother," I respond with "My brother and I" like it's a reflex. It's a habit that has taken years to suppress (though it hasn't gone away entirely). She also one time said "it was very not good" about a movie, and everyone in the family flipped. They framed a poster that said "We's shocked!" at the top and it had the entire story about Karen's grammar folly "while she was discussing a movie with her fellow Grammar Camp faculty." Family - what can you say? We keep things interesting. I hope my DeForest family stories aren't too boring - anyway, back to London.
We finally finished booking our entire travel plans for Reading Week (which there will be no reading during). I basically can't do anything besides write essays for the next week (except for Halloween - reunion with Australian friends!) but it's going to be an amazing. Thursday we leave for Rome, where we will stay until Sunday when we go to Florence (which I have been reading all about in my art history class). From Florence, we go to Barcelona (and by going from Florence to Barcelona I mean we have to take an hour and a half bus from Florence to Pisa, fly for 5 pounds from Pisa to Girona, and then take another hour a half bus from Girona to Barcelona). We're flying RyanAir the entire way. I'm not sure if any of you have ever flown RyanAir before, but it is absolutely the cheapest airline I have ever seen. I mean, our flight from Pisa to Girona was 5 pounds (like $7.50). They also find ways to charge you for anything. And if your bag is more than 10 kg (about 22 pounds), you have to pay 20 pounds (money) to get it on the plane. So basically, I'm going to wear the same shirt for a week. Don't judge me when I am wearing the same clothes in every picture - this is how students travel.
I'm also trying to plan trips for every weekend right up until I go home. I may not be able to go out during the week anymore but at least I'll get to see more of Europe! We are definitely going to Ireland the weekend of November 18-21. Hopefully I will be going to Budapest for Thanksgiving weekend (more Oktoberfest friends...) and then Portugal and Greece the last two weekends! I also need to get up to Cambridge at some point (but I may do that during the week, Donnie just doesn't know it yet).
I really need to get a Halloween costume! I have no idea what to be. I am feeling sick today so I don't think I'll be up for getting something but I'll need to be prepared for tomorrow. We're going paddle boating on the Serpentine in Hyde Park and then getting our costumes!
Hope everything is going well in the US! I can't wait to see everyone!
Lucas, please promise me you'll continue blogging after you get back. Topic: DeForest Family.
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