It's getting colder!

The weather has been getting progressively colder here and I'm beginning to think I may not be prepared for the bone-chilling cold...especially not after 3 consecutive winters in temperate San Diego. Needless to say I'll begin some serious coat shopping soon for items in wool and long lengths!

I'm thoroughly enjoying myself here though. Here's what I've been up to:

School! I'm taking 3 courses this term, one is called Symbolic Systems which is basically the anthropology of religion from a variety of perspectives...very cool for those of you that know my fascination with spirituality in general. Another is a "What is culture?" class which is so theoretically based I'm finding myself lost having not been in an academic setting for so long. But I'm working through it! The last class is probably my favorite (because it's the one I grasp!) and that's a course called Data Made Flesh where we examine the body, and perceptions of the body looking at biomedical advances and their effects or how technology and medicine change the way we view the body and how more and more medical "disorders" are created every day...that stuff is really cool with my pre-med background. Mostly I'm really enjoying finding new ways of thinking about things and connecting my own beliefs and passions in a way I hadn't been able to before. What I'll be doing my dissertation on is still very fuzzy as I'm just trying to make sense of things, but I know inspiration will strike when it's ready! (Hopefully it'll strike in a timely fashion coinciding with my deadlines and such :)

Jitsu! Yup..that's right...I've taken up Jiu Jitsu every Tuesday and Thursday. I decided to test it out just to meet some new people and have found that I love it. It's challenging both physically and personally in a way other sports I've done haven't been, so it's great. I've made a great group of friends and I'm getting quite strong since Sensei makes us do gazillions of push ups, squats, sit ups and crazy sprints and stuff. My club is through the Jitsu Foundation so if you're interested in seeing what it's all about, you can visit www.JitsuFoundation.org.

Touristing! I'm doing my best to balance out my self-disciplined reading schedule (not easy to keep!) with wandering about the city. I haven't gone outside of London yet, but am planning trips to Brighton, Dover Castle and a few others in November. And I'll be going to Birmingham in November for Jitsu nationals. For the most part I've just been getting acquainted with the city. We went to the Tate Modern two weekends ago where they have this rad slide exhibition that's totally free and it's this huge set of slides that go from different levels of the museum, with the highest one being the 5th floor, spiraling all the way down. I've been told it's like luge-ing without the ice and sled! I also went to see a play with some friends last Friday called "The Woman in Black". It's a thriller play that's been long running in London and was soo good. What's more amazing is sitting in a theatre that's so old, with seats so close together and so steep you feel like you'll fall over the balcony quite easily, but that it's the way it was hundreds of years ago when the working class (instead of us students) sat in the upper circle to enjoy plays and cultural events when movies weren't around. That's still one of the things that gets me...the old buildings. It really is amazing to look at something and try to fully grasp how old it is...it's virtually impossible...just awe inspiring! As for the rest of the touristing...I've wandered around Soho, Covent Garden, Leicester Square, Picadilly, Regent's Park, Green Park, Hyde Park, Knightsbrige, I've gone into Harrods (the most confusing and largest store on the planet), I've seen parlaiment, walked on the Millenium Bridge and London Bridge, visited Camden Town and Borough Market (the BEST food!) and just made friends with the city. What I find is the more I wander the more I fall in love with this place. It really is a fantastic city. And although I don't think I could live here long term (there really are a GAZILLION people here!) I'm so excited to be able to say I've lived in London!

All that aside, the rest of my time is spent doing yoga and making new friends. I've made friends with people from all over the world and in fact, my flatmates are all from different places. Dheeraj is from India studying Feature Film, Hala is from Lebanon studying Image and Communication, Take is from Japan doing his PhD in politics and Preena is from the UK studying Organizational Psychology. The great part is we're all so different, we get along fantastically! So I'm really grateful for that. Other friends I've made are from Vancouver BC, Norway, Australia, Northern Ireland, Wales, Dublin, Greece, Dubai, France, Spain...all over the place...including a bunch of Americans because Americans are all over the place over here. Kinda makes me forget I'm in London some times. But then I hear someone talking on the street and I'm snapped back to reality..I'm in London :)

Okay...sorry about the lengthy, probably grammatically incorrect paragraphs. Just wanted to give everyone the rundown on this second post so I can start from here on out putting up pictures and letting you all know about my experiences.

Take care and feel free to post comments here or email me at angelfroggi@yahoo.com.

Hugs to everyone!
Heather :)

Pictures: 1) Sidewalk Painting by the Thames 2) Princess Diana Memorial Walk emblem 3) On the Millenium Bridge (that's St. Paul's Cathedral in the background) 4) Walking path along the Serpentine in Hyde park 5) The slides at the Tate...woo hoo!