4AM UPDATE

So I've been slacking on my blog, which, I think is a good thing, because it means I'm caught up in my new life here and not thinking about home as much. Writing this is a way for me to write home, and when I don't update, I feel like it's because I got caught up in what I'm doing here. I know to someone reading this from home, that probably sounds like a bad thing. But to me it's good, because I have a long trip here and I want to be in every moment of it...not lost in my head thinking about stuff I could never get to...that doesn't mean I'm not thinking about you guys though, and this post goes out to all the people who are actually reading this...including Lori, who reminded me to stop slacking and keep writing.

But alas here I am, 3:15 am on a Friday morning. Monday was the first day I woke up here and felt at ease. I went grocery shopping finally, so I poured myself a my first bowl of cereal in forever (i've just been eating turkey sandwiches) and it felt, well, comfortable. I got dressed, walked out into my busy city and felt totally calm...or like used to it. I smelled the daily morning scent of eggs clashing with kebab that always wafts through New Cross at any time of the day, English Breakfast and English dinner always being served, and I felt warm. I walked across my same busy cross walk I've been going on, but I didn't feel anxious and I'm no longer comparing everything I see to the US or Old Bridge, I finally feel welcome, no longer a stranger to this strange new land. I'm used to talking in polite English, I don't think I've used slang since I've been here. I say "cheers" when someone holds the door for me, and can quickly count out british pence and pounds to pay for something with no effort now. I'm no longer shocked when the teacher (tutors, they're called here) refers to me as "foreign student" , and I no longer feel that distanced or strange from the British people I've met. I'm starting to feel comfortable. Really comfortable.

After breakfast I trudged out with my friend Casey for my first class. We got a cup of coffee (garbage coffee) in the student center. In England, they ask you if you what black coffee, or white. I'm sure you can figure that out, but it took me awhile to realize that if I wanted milk in my coffee I had to ask for white. I had London History. This is an international class, so the class is largely American with the tutor being British of course. She assigned some easy work, and every other week we meet at some famous place in London and have class there. Next Monday I have to take the train into central and meet at some museum...which I'm really excited for. The class was good, my friend Kyle (who is also my flatmate) was in the class as well so at least I'll be able to make sure were doing the right stuff to please these teachers in the UK.

After that class, I had my first British class. I entered the room, and sat with all British kids who were friends. They were all talking in heavy accents, commenting on the pub last night or talking about British music. Some British people have such a heavy accent that I can't understand them, this is usually people from different cities like Leeds or Cambridge. I felt like the whole class was talking like this. The professor walked in, and he looked...just...like...Alan Richman....yano, Snape. He talked like him too.

The first thing the tutor said was, "Is there a Mr. Ginsberg in the class?". I raised my hand and everyone looked at me. Snape continued, "Congratulations on finding the room on the first day, even some locals can't do that....how are you finding the UK...is it different from the U.S?". "It's fine" I mumbled quietly, "not to different".

"Good".

So now everyone knows that I'm American. We read through a bunch of British poets, all the students commenting and raising their hands, talking wisely about poets they've probably read their whole lives, and I , for the first time in an English class...had nothing to say. I've never heard of these poets, I never read these poems...I have some catching up to do.

Eventually Snape gave us a cigarette break...no literally, he said, "I have a terrible cigarette problem so if you want to join me for a smoke, come out now, if you don't smoke...well, I don't know what nonsmokers do...I suppose they knit or something..." and he trailed off and walked out of the room.

After the class ended I was tired, but I cooked my flatmate Kelly some Franklin St chicken!!! They don't have Adobo here but I found some bootleg spices that taste sort of the same. We made chicken wraps and she made some brown rice, and I was really feeling good about this whole situation. I have friends, I have class, I have a great city, and a whole future ahead of me.

I didn't do too much that night I don't think.

The next day I had no class so I slept late, and got ready for TACO NIGHT. Me and my friends here had decided to cook tacos for TACO NIGHT. It is the single best night ever. Everybody I hang with here is really different from the friends I have at home, and just like the people from Old Bridge, my friends from CEA/LORING/LONDON are all beautiful and interesting in their own unique ways and I feel so well rounded from all the different people I've met and called friends in my life.. ahhaa, of course,Some things are the same...like they love tacos as well, and its the similarities that I find so funny sometimes. Since they had class, I spent the afternoon cooking black beans which I later brought over to Kate's apartment for taco night, and we ate tacos and wraps and beans all night. It was real communal, and I felt good having friends and no longer feeling alone in London, this feeling of moving along.

Afterwords, a few people wanted to go to O'Neils, but me Kate, Emily, and Daria, wanted to walk around central. We took the train in and got lost in a really ritzy area. It was so weird to be lost in a place surrounded by like "Gucci" and such. I was pronouncing all the names of the stores wrong and yelling things in a New York accent which they got a kick out of...hehe its funny how they are starting to get exposed to the real Andrew Ginsberg as I get more comfortable with them....Kate and I really wanted to find a cool British pub, (like the SHAKESPEARE'S HEAD) but everything closes at like 10:30 during the week, so we wound up at O'Neills, and I got drunk on double shot gin and tonics and just had a good time. I also think I had an Extra Cold Guinness, which ruled.

The next day, I think I'm at Wed now (wipes sweat from brow), whew, lots to talk about...the next day I had one class at 5pm. It was my london theatre class. The class is simply we get to go to see a show in London every week, and talk about the show for one hour before the play. The teacher announced that, that night, we would be seeing "Inherit the Wind" with Kevin Spacey at the Old Vic. Daria and Jose were in that class so we were really excited. He gave us our tickets ( 20 pounds each) and said "seeya there".
We wound up taking the wrong train, but its ok, we ran as fast as we could and took a few tubes to get to the Old Vic in time. The play was awesome, Kevin Spacey was great, it was about creationism versus evolution in public schools. All the British actors had to like have southern accents, and some were bad, so it was funny.It was just neat to sit in an old theatre that is currently run by Kevin Spacey, and watch a play in London. After the play we looked for some food, and ate some rubbish at a fast food place. We got back, went to our favourite bar in New Cross, the Hobgoblin, had a few drinks and chilled. I got a warm british beer with no carbonation, which wasn't to good, but worth trying. I met a Brit named Charlie at the bar and he says he plays guitar and he beatboxes really good. He reminded me of Larry Imbro. Charlie and I plan on jamming soon...well, maybe. We left the bar and I went to bed that night not feeling homesick at all.

You know what, I'm realizing I got my dates messed up. This is why I need to post like every two days....Monday I didn't sit in and do nothing, THAT was the night we went to O'Neils...all that stuff happened on Monday, and I drank the gin and all that....TUESDAY night AFTER taco night, yeah, yeah I remember now, Me Chris and Kate went to a Casino...

It was great! We went out to a Casino in central London, got membership cards, and gambled a bit. I won like 8 pounds but than I lost it. We fooled around in the casino for like an hour and then we went to search for another bar. We were walking by a neat little bar called Oxygen, and Chris talked the guy outside into letting us skip the 10 pound cover and get in for free. Since we got in for free, we all ordered weird drinks...I had Mai Thai, although Kate says hers tasted the best. It was really cool watching them make it, she must have poured like twenty different things into my glass.

The downstairs area was relaxing but after I finished my drink we went upstairs and it was a more personal environment. It was all little nice with buddha statues and zenish light. I was a little buzzed from the drink and we all got to exchanging stories. It was cool for me to watch as I told them stories about home for the first time, stories about parties at Nick's house, or the night I burned my leg in the fire. I told them aboutt how my friends pee in stuff and drink it by accident, and how I got suspended from high school. I told them about me and Justin in Franklin Street, and the jobs I worked over the summer. It was during this time that I started to feel really proud to be we're I'm from, I love my friends and I can never ever run out of stories to tell about them when I'm meeting new ones.

We called it a night, I learned alot about everyone through stories exchanging and went home.

Today I woke up and did laundry. I don't want to talk about it. The dryers don't work and my clothes are dangling all over the kitchen trying to dry. My class at night sucked, and I'm going to try and switch out of it tomorrow.
...the night was good though, My friends and I just stayed in and cooked food, and we exchanged more stories, I told them some serious stories...so now we're definitely friends.

Anyway I will try and post again soon. Tomorrow I'm going on the London Eye with a bottle of champagne and knowing myself I'll have a lot to say about it. Saturday were doing something, and Sunday I'm going on another tour.
Oh yeah, and we're planning our trip to Amsterdam, Dublin, Paris tomorrow...boo yeah.
Oh yeah, and Nick is coming in a week and a half, all my friends can't wait to meet him.

Oh yeah, I'm really enjoying myself.

Cheers-
Andrew





I got was awoken by the sounds of the nearby comprehensive school as usual My first class was cool because it's a London History course,