4th of July in the Country That Lost

Yesterday was pretty mellow. I slept in for the first time since I've been here, really, aside from when I was sick. Becka and Nikki (not to be confused with Nicole), my two other roommates, and I planned on going to get Dim Sum in Chinatown, but instead had kind of a lazy morning and then went to the Globe to get tickets for Anne Boleyn and to see if there were any left for Much Ado. Tragedy of tragedies, there weren't. For the entire rest of the time I'm here. I had a very cranky walk back to the Tube.

For dinner we went back to our "local," The Builder's Arms, who had apparently had a very busy weekend given the Wimbledon finals and were almost completely out of food. I had a really overdone burger that was oddly spicy, so I kept piling it with ketchup to counteract the spice. 3/4 of the way through I realize it's the ketchup that's spicy, and I'm just making it worse. To remedy it all a couple of us went over to Nando's and got the best mash in the entire world (the menu actually says "we defy you to find better"), but then they didn't have any dessert so we had to stop for ice cream on the way home. I know this is all terribly fascinating.

Clearly, our American Independence Day isn't a very big deal over here. Seeing as the Brits are the ones that lost the war and everything. We didn't make it a big deal either, really. Class in the morning as usual, and then Dobby took a few of us out to lunch who volunteered to act out scenes from Richard III in class tomorrow (This is the third time I've done it. Just can't stay away). Then since we had yet to actually read the play, my 3 roomies and I hopped the Tube to Northern London, where Nicole's boyfriend lives. We got free burritos because we were American (seriously, they had this 4th of July deal... just had to show our Drivers Licenses) at a Chipotle-like chain and then went to read in a little park. We only got a scene through, though, when Matt (the boyfriend) texted and invited us to a barbecue in a different park, with his co-workers. So we went to that for a while until I started to feel stressed about finishing the play by tomorrow. This is not exactly concise material. We spent the rest of the night reading the play aloud, always an entertaining event. Especially when there are only 3 people to read approximately 30 different characters, half of whom are named Richard, Edward, or Henry.

It's supposed to rain tomorrow, which likely means a) museum or b) sit inside and read plays. We still have one more act of Richard to go before seeing the show tomorrow night, and then we have Hamlet the night following... not a whole lot of time to cram in all that Shakespeare. I'm terribly excited for both, though. Richard III is starring Kevin Spacey and is directed by Sam Mendes, and it's not at the Globe, it's at a theatre in the West End. Very legit. And Hamlet, of course, is my favorite play of all-time (also Romeo & Juliet). Then Thursday is our trip to Stratford-upon-Avon, Shakespeare's birthplace. So we've got a very packed week.

Also, I got the wonderful news that just because tickets are sold out for Much Ado doesn't mean that all hope is lost. A lot of times they have returns on the day of the show, and if I call in the morning I can usually get a seat. Or if not in the morning, then I can wait in line like an hour before the show and almost definitely get one. So I have faith! I knew there must be a way.

I hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July--God Bless America!