Classes and Wanderings

Hello all!

I'm so happy that you all are keeping up on my travels. I miss all of you, so it's super awesome when I get comments here and messages on facebook. It makes me so happy.

So these last couple of days have been packed full. Classes started on Monday and I think all of my CMD comrades are suffering from culture shock. This isn't our professors' CMD. I mean, that's why we're here, to gain a new perspective on life and our work, but since our professors' way has been the only way for so long it's tough trying to reconcile the two. We're all completely enamored with our two teachers, and the assignments are really going to make us stretch our design minds and our leg muscles. I'll tell you more about the projects as soon as I understand them better.

I will tell you that the project for our Multidisciplinary Design class has us visiting the Tate Modern (Museum of Art. To do this my buddies and I ventured into the City for the first time. The City is the oldest part of London, originally settled by the Romans. Since then it has been burned, bombed and rebuilt. It's got some of the oldest and newest structures in all of London. Today it is the business section of London, like our Wall Street. We clamored out of the tube stop, turned a corner and there was one of the Structures I have been waiting to see up close, St. Paul's Cathedral! I couldn't get Feed the Birds from Mary Poppins out of my head the whole day after that.

After admiring that magnificent structure my buddies and I proceeded to get very lost. We walked all the way across the City, and then back a bunch of it. We crossed the Thames and waled past Shakespeare's Globe Theater until finally. exhausted, arriving at the Tate. I was really tired. Really. Kate (a CMD flatmate of mine) used the term "cranky" as well to describe my state of being. I was pooped. We observed all we needed to and then left. I couldn't handle galleries at that point. Some other day. The way back to the tube station was painfully direct. I went back to Faraday, did some research for our project, dragged myself home via tube and collapsed in my bed. I don't remember too much bout the rest of that night. I think I attempted to do more CMD... nothing exciting.

NEXT DAY! Our first CMD class! Sandra, our professor, is wonderful. She's very sweet. (A CMD prof? Really?) We got to know each other, and also the ad design kids in our class. Yep. We got ad design. It should be interesting to see how they react to CMD, or how the class changes to accommodate the two majors. Of course, this isn't the 'Cuse brand of CMD, so who knows. We learned about branding and did an exercises making mood boards. Yep.

After class I decided it was cheaper to eat out here than to pay for the tube home and back, so Janet and I decided to get lunch and dilly dally until the inauguration party started at 4:00. We went to a cheap sandwich shop around the corner (recommended by Halley, another CMDer). It was delicious food, and the Chinese guy who runs it had a conversation with me about Obama. I can see myself going back there a lot. Good food. Friendly dude.

After lunch Janet and I decided to go to the Thames. Sandra had told me that a lot of family records are kept in a beautiful building there called the Somerfield House. Turns out they haven't been there for years. the ladies there were very helpful in pointing me in other directions. Basically, I'm gonna have to go to where ti all began. Bath. I hear it's lovely.

We had some time to kill so I asked Janet if we could try and find an arch that I though was very petty in a street nearby. We succeeded in finding it. After admiring it we walked under the arch, turned the corner, and there was Covent Garden. I was in heaven. From the covered plaza we heard a woman singing. We walked toward the music, and as soon as we passed through the door she started singing I Could Have Danced All Night from My Fair Lady. It was perfect. Janet and I flitted from store to store. i couldn't get enough of it. I even found the columns that Eliza sits upon. Yep! I got a picture!

Well, class is gonna start soon. I have three classes today. I'll write all about hose and Obama's inauguration as soon as I can. Until then, take care and keep on writing me!

Cheers!