CRAZY Busy!!

Hello Everyone!!!
I have had no time to myself! It is quite tiring- not that I'm not having a blast but it's a lot! I have already been to see three shows and I have at least six more to see, if not more. I have been keeping a notebook, jotting down little tid-bits of info here and there. The show we saw last night, "1984" was really thought-provoking. I really enjoyed it! It was minimal...not a big set, no fancy costumes, not a lot of color, cardboard puppets (which were really cool) and no spectacle. The show really made me think about the world and how we need to slow down and enjoy each moment of each day for what it is and appreciate what beauty we have in our lives. I have also seen "Billy Elliot" which was really awesome! The dancing was incredible. There was a bit too much spectacle for me but I was highly entertained. We also saw a production of "Twelfth Night" and that was okay, but not the strongest. I visted the Tower of London today. It's creepy to think that I walked through a bunch of stone buildings that imprisoned criminals hundreds of years ago. It was really interesting and kind of creepy (and REALLY cold!!!) It is sooooo cold here. I feel like I have not even left New York. We have heard from the locals and on the news here, that this is the coldest it has been here and the most snow that they have had here in over thirty years...perfect timing, yea? It stinks having to bundle up so much just to walk to the tube (like NYC's subway) and then walk a few blocks to get to where you want to be or to walk to another tube station. Today, I think was the worst- it was so cold that I couldn't even feel my fingers! Regardless, I am having a blast. I am so tired and wish that we had a little bit more down time, but I am in LONDON so who's complaining. I went to a service (evensong-it's what they call their evening services) at Westminster Abbey. We went on a tour there earlier that day. I brought my notebook and wrote entries and took notes, while walking around. Here are some quotes from it:

"Great writers are the ones that leave a legend on paper. We saw so many of their graves at Westminster Abbey. I didn't even know that people were buried there, let alone some of my favorite writers! Charles Dickins, David Garrick, TS Elliot, Jane Austen and William Shakespeare are just some of the many graves that I saw. I kept joking around that every time I would see a statue with a frilly collar I would say, "Look, it's Shakespeare!" and then......(drum roll) I turned around and there was his statue!!! And then I looked next to him and there was a plaque for another one of my favorite authors: Jane Austen."

"Shari and I wanted to get a program, but we had been behind the group and missed out on getting one, so later we saw one on the ground and we picked it up. Little did we know (and we didn't find it out until about twenty minutes later) that it was not in English- we had picked up an Italian one...just leave it to us!!

"There is a presence here-I can feel everyone and all of the history. Being next to/in the same room as a Queen has a power of its own- but being in the same room as Queen Elizabeth...that's amazing!!"

"In the 'Chapter House' there was a quote on the wall:
' 'as the rose is the flower of flowers, so this is the house of houses.'

Well I am headed to bed because I am very tired and I have class in the morning.
Thanks for tuning in!