In Sickness and In Health.

I have one thing to say at this point, being sick in another country is awful. On Friday, I woke up and felt awful. I had a temperature and felt weak throughout my entire body. It was one of the sicknesses where your body just tells you that you have to stay in bed all day and that there is no option but to drink orange juice, watch TV, and take advil. I would have no arguments against these demands except that I had NONE of the previous things. Friday was one of those days where you wish your mom could just wait on you hand and foot. Unfortunately, she is miles and miles away.

On a better note, because I gave in to my body's demands and slept all day Friday.. I awoke Saturday feeling fantastic. I left the flat and toured the Victoria and Albert Museum. The museum is filled with just about everything from all around the world. The first floor is Korean, Japanese, and Chinese art and artifacts such as Kimonos and traditional Buddhist statues. While walking throughout this floor, I listened to Japanese sounding music and I felt as if I was sent back in time. On the second floor, there was a hallway of gold and silver artifacts such as Celtic Crosses, Chalices, and Jewelry. The museum also housed a series of class British paintings. The most impressive rooms were the rooms that contained statues such as the models of "David" and "Moses" by Michelangelo. In addition, there was Trajan's Column, which was constructed in A.D. 113 in Rome. The Column was so enormous that it practically touched the ceiling. The museum also contained an extensive tapestry collection from the Roman empire and traditional Protestant church.

Later on in the day, my flatmates and I attended an authentic British Premier League Football Game. The match was Fulham vs. West Bromwich at Fulham Football Stadium. This was an essential part of the British cultural experience. The sports culture in Britain dominates the media and culture far more than in the states. At the game, both teams fans had designated chants that they would belt out when their team gained control of the ball or scored goals. It was truly an incredible feeling to be among these people and get involved in their culture. The game was very similar to a Red Sox vs. Yankees game because the fans were extremely hostile towards each other because of the rivalry between the teams.

Today (Sunday), my roommate Dan and I went to the LSE library, printed our papers after extensive revision and decided to visit the Tate Britain Art Museum. Although we only got to see around half of it before it closed, I was very impressed. This past semester in British literature class, I read a poem entitled "The Lady of Shallott" by Alfred Lord Tennyson. It was one of my favorite poems in the class. At the museum, there was a painting by John William Waterhouse that depicts The Lady of shallot on her journey down the river while she freezes to death. The painting really struck a chord in me and really tied in many of themes the poet represented and demonstrated a strong tie between the visual and written arts. I don't think I will ever be so lucky as to have so much culture in one period of my life again. London embodies so much of British culture.

There are a myriad of exciting events to come in the next few weeks. This Friday, two friends and I are going to visit the beautiful English town of Bath. This city hosts traditional Roman Baths and is about 20 minutes from Stonehenge. We return on Sunday and then leave for a 6 day trip to Edinburgh and Glasgow Scotland. The fun never stops on this trip but I am learning so much about myself and the British culture in the process that it seems like a perfect mixture of education and travel.