Day 2: Tired but Excited

Wow! What an exhausting second day! Jet lag is still hitting me, but I believe that tomorrow I am going to be in ship shape since I don’t have to be up super early also its a free day, and also because I am super tired so I am just gonna pass out once this is posted. First things first, I have to discuss the first show that I saw while here, Orpheus Descending by Tennessee Williams. Now I am not a huge Tennessee Williams fan, I have read and seen a couple of his shows and none of them really impressed me, this show did. I don’t know if it was the actors, the directing, or the writing but this show really keep my attention, and made me ask questions. The first one I had was during intermission, I asked some of my classmates sitting next to me, “what is the plot of this show?” because it really was scattered around everywhere, tons of subplot stories and you could not really get a grip on who the protagonist and antagonist were. I thought this girl was pregnant, she wasn’t, I thought there was a possibility for slaves in the plot, nope, tons of questions were running through my mind. Then the second act roles around, and it was as if a light went across the stage and really showed what this whole show was leading up to, and it was amazing. There was a raw chemistry between the two leads, they fell in love, but it was not just sudden. Their love was slow and gradual and they had conflict that was relatable and then when they can finally come together, it was almost a weight lifted off of you because you were waiting for this moment and it finally comes, then just like Tennessee Williams always does, he rips your heart out and takes away all that made you happy in that moment. Something I noticed was their accents. They were trying to have very southern, American accents. It was very interesting to see them try to have these accents that I hear everyday and it doesn’t phase me. I heard where they put their emphasis on words that made me chuckle a bit, because we really don’t do that and it was kinda like how people sound when they speak southern on SNL. Finally the set, lighting, sound, and costumes. This is where I got the most confused. The set was very nice, reminded me of something we could do a global campus, and the lighting and sound were very nice and exact, how you practice it to be and get right in rehearsal, then on stage it is always a second behind. The costumes on the other hand, didn’t enjoy. Some of the costumes were very modern in my eyes and it made the timeline very confusing, some dressed like they were in the wild west and some dressed like they were in the 90’s, not a fan. Also the main guy smoked a real cigarette on stage, and I guess that okay if the actor is comfortable with that, but he lit an actual match and through it on stage, that made me a little uncomfortable. Overall I would suggest going and seeing this show, it was very interesting and it gave you a few lessons about life like don’t settle for a boring life, search for adventure, and sometimes the wisest people are probably not the ones who you expect.

Now that my play review is out of the way, let’s talk about my day! Today I wore mostly Old Navy. I had an cream tank top on, a burnt orange jacket, and some light jeans with my white Reeboks. So I ate breakfast at the hotel, it’s free and filling and I am trying to save money for excursions. I had some eggs cooked over medium, toast, hash browns, ham, and some coffee. I did not like the ham, it was super salty and dry. Everything else was pretty delicious. I wish they had some fresh fruit though, but hey beggars can’t be choosers. We then got to go on a bus tour and it was so cool! We saw so many places and we were told to go back and see them. Our excellent tour guide took us through a mall, and up to this roof top where we saw St. Pauls cathedral. I also saw The Shard, which those who are not Doctor Who fans it is just a cool business building, but those of you who are THE DOCTOR DROVE UP THAT AND IT WAS SO COOL SEEING IT! I WAS SO HAPPY! We also got to see The Tower Bridge which many believe is London Bridge but it is not, we drove on London Bridge which was crowded, and there was a lot of traffic. We saw the House of Parliament and she explained that Lords eat under the red canopy and commons eat under the green canopy. Sadly they are completely renovating big ben (one, if not the main attractions in London) so we couldn’t see it, and I wasn’t going to take a picture of it being renovated. Then she lead us through a really big park and showed us a really nice view of London and Buckingham palace. Now the queen is staying at the Buckingham palace at the moment, but I could not see her (sorry Meme) there was a garden party happening today. We then got back on the tube and went our separate ways. A group of us decided that we were gonna go get lunch and went and got Nandos. This restaurant was highly suggested to us by other groups in the past, and it was really good if you like spicy food. I really don’t but I got a vegetarian option and it wasn’t too bad, 8/10 would go again. Then we walked around a few shops and I was craving ice cream. We found this cute little place called “Bens Cookies” where I got some gelato and a chocolate chip cookie. Then after eating quite a lot and not sleeping too well, I felt kinda sick and went and took a small nap. When I woke up, we got back on the tube and went to see our first show, which I have already written about. Funny story: Shawn, one of our chaperons, walks really fast. He has that mom about to grab your ear and drag you to the car walk down. Ask anyone who as ever walked around a city with me, or Walmart, or anywhere, I walk really slow. Most of the day I was very sweaty and told Shawn “short stubby legs don’t walk very far” with lots of huffs in between those words. This is important because as we were walking back we found a Tasco (small food and drink shop, they are everywhere) and got some dinner. I was checked out and walking back with a group of people while Shawn was checking out, as we reached the crosswalk, I hear his shoes clicking behind me, he had caught up and then walked in front of me. I had a five minute head start, yet he still beat me to the hotel. Now I have eaten my weird, but good sandwich, chugged a coke, and had some chocolate and I am on my way to a blissful sleep.