Episode 6: I Watch a Depressing Play...Which I Like

Yesterday was my first Theatre class. My first real class in any case. But since it didn't start until 2, I spent part of my morning going grocery shopping again. I am now down to eating meat (only turkey, chicken, and ham), fruits, and vegetables. Yes, that's right I cut out bread from my diet. Which makes is so much harder to eat since much of my diet at Western consisted of toast. You can't make toast without bread. But at least I don't feel as sick anymore. When I get back to the states I'll try adding dairy back in. Because yogurt would be a welcome snack right about now.

Now, our grocery store here is called Sainsbury's and it is a rather odd store. I'm not sure if this is simply because it's British or because it's just that weird. First of all, they do not sell grape jam/jelly. They have every other flavor known to man but not grape. Then they have like three shelves of Kit Kat varieties: mint, caramel, orange, milk chocolate, dark chocolate, it's just crazy! Also, they have like four aisles of cake and pie and bread, but only one of meat and only half of one with pre-made dinner options. It also has a second level although I haven't been up there. Peculiar.

I went a little early to class because I had to print off the writing pieces for class tomorrow. But of course as I go out to catch the University Bus (which sadly will only be running til the end of the week) I see it leaving the gates. Clearly I am not on it. So I have to wait another ten to fifteen minutes for the bus to come back.

Then once I get to Kingston I have to find a computer lab, which luckily I have a list of so I can easily locate them. I spend about three minutes trying to figure out the correct way to swipe my card and I'm in. I sit at a computer close to the printer and then have to wait approximately the length of time it took for man to discover fire for the computer to wake up. Very. Very. Slow.

But I finally got to my email and pulled up the two pieces I needed. Because of course I forgot to bring a flash drive with me on this adventure. I didn't think I'd need one. Oh such a foolish child. Anyway, I hit print on the first document and went over to the printer. Which was asleep, so I hit the button to wake it up. But still nothing happened. I must have been staring rather perplexedly at the printer because one of the other students there (not from EuroLearn) came over and asked if I needed help. Then he showed me how to log in so it could print.

I got everything printed off and put in my backpack, ready for tomorrow. And then I tried to leave. I pushed on the door I'd come in but it only gave a little and made that clicked sound of a locked door. Anyone whose been desperate to get into a school gym after hours knows this sound (I'm not saying that's where I know the sound from. I rather avoided the gym like the plague and if I left something in there, clearly I didn't need it bad enough to warrant entering the soul-sucking vortex of evil that is the setting for PE. I'm just giving an example of locked doors that most people can relate to. This is what we Creative Writing majors call Relating to the Reader).

So I go to the other side of the lab and push on the doors there. No dice. I stood there staring at the doors for a few minutes and even tried pushing on them a few times more. Nada. Finally I turn to the guy who helped me with the printer and say "Is there a trick to getting out of here?" He tells me to push this green knobby button on the wall and voila! I'm able to leave.

In Theatre (pronounced Tay-ah-truh, as the French say it, in my head) we mostly played games. Which is the reason I love theatre classes. They are always much more fun than work. We played the knot game and I got to impress people with my flexibility prowess (I may be a klutz, but I'm bendy dang it). We still couldn't actually escape our knot though. We made it a little impossible. I'm not sure how exactly but there you go.

Then we played an improv game where we got in pairs or threes and made a story out of the phrase "The most incredible thing happened to me yesterday..." My group of three were on London Bridge when it fell into the river. And then we combined all the stories which was crazy. Here's what we had by the end.

Two girls were on the tube when the train started shaking and suddenly they came out on a beach with a town on one side and the ocean on the other. As the train had broken down, everyone got off and went down onto the beach. Meanwhile, I and the two girls with me were walking on London bridge to escape the crowds when it collapsed into the river. I cannot swim so I'm flailing about as the debris fly past me. Luckily one of the other girls with me carries floaties around with her. She blew them up, got them on my arms and I was fine. The other girl with me liked the water so much she built an apartment underwater so she could stay there. She also apparently did not speak English. When the rapids of the river died down we'd been washed to the beach shore the first pair was on. Another two girls also arrived when the first class began giving out food because they wanted some of the buttered chicken. Also on the train with the first two girls were the Brazilian Volleyball team and Emma Thompson (USA Volleyball star). Many people on the beach decided they wanted to play a match: Brazil vs Team Emma Thompson. I do not play sports so I painted my face and cheered like mad for Team Emma Thompson. Then we found out this was all a publicity stunt set up by the girl who went to live in the river (who was also a spy!) for Jay-Z's new opening act, another two girls from our class who'd been rapping near the stage where he had an impromptu concert in Hyde Park and who he asked to join him. So they set up a concert on our beach and afterward we had dinner with Jay-Z and Beyonce and Emma Thompson. Then the underground train got fixed and we all went home.

Kind of sounds like one of my crazy dreams doesn't it? Anyway after that game we left for Surbiton Station to catch the train into London. I walked with Patsy because I didn't really know how to get there and because I have walking issues. So everyone met up and we got on the train and got off at Waterloo Station. Then we walked to the National Theatre for our backstage tour. Then I had about a hour in which to eat dinner (which I packed and brought with me because that's just the kind of diet I'm on now. Do I sound bitter? 'Cause I'm not. Okay, maybe a little), check my bag, and go into the theatre to find my seat.

I was very confused when I first tried to find my seat. It said the seat was O 10. Which to me looked like 0 10 and when you walk in all you see is letters on the ends of the rows. Then someone else in our group was like "Ohhh, it's an O!" Yay for smart classmates. Everyone took their seats and the play began.

It was actually a pretty good play for being a rather sad ending. It had a lot more humor than I was expecting out of it and the acting was superb. I felt like I was watching something real, like I was actually there. And I spent a lot of time discussing the whole thing with my classmates, which only happens when I actually feel engaged by something.

The play did not end until 10:30. At night. Then we had to walk back to Waterloo and catch the 11'o'clock train. On the walk back to the station it was so sad. We saw this homeless guy under the sheltered tunnel area where only foot traffic passes. And he had a dog with him to which he gave most of his blanket. I knew intellectually that homeless people exist but not being part of a large city, I'd never seen one up close. It made me sad.

Still, I got back on the train and took the thirty minute trip back to Surbiton as the train stopped at every stop on its way back. Then we all got out and walked back to Seething Wells. Now, I am not afraid to walk at night, maybe some folly on my part, but still true. Plus it's much cooler at night and I don't have to worry about the sun heating my skin uncomfortably.

However, I was walking back with three other girls and still talking about the play when one of them said "I liked it but at some parts I was like 'Kill me now!'" From behind us comes this masculine voice saying "I'll kill you now" and I thought I saw this shadow on the ground behind us (I did not turn to look and see who said this because that is how bad things happen in movies. Ignore it and walk faster) And we were at the back of the groups who'd gone back to Seething Wells. So we picked up our pace until we were almost running. Then almost to the dorm I thought I saw that same shadow and began walking even quicker, but it was just the shadow of someone in front of me. Whew.

When I got back to the dorm I Skyped Mom and Dad, even though it was close to midnight and I had class at ten. Because I didn't get to Skype them the day before and I missed them. so we talked for quite a bit and then I finally had to go to bed. Today's lesson: Walking alone in Surbiton during the day= okay. Walking alone in Surbiton at night= scary death men. Ciao