things that I will talk about and that I hope you want to hear about.

I know it has been literally ages since I last posted, which makes it even harder to begin a new one-- I can't even recall all that has happened. so I will go category by category, highlighting the more interesting stuff, and the stuff I need to vent and rave about. But not tonight-- a lab report and tutorial presentation are due tomorrow. FUCK!

but, here are some bits and pieces of what my next blog will feature :) :

• the first assignment i got back graded, i got an A- on. Good for my confidence.
• I had my first professional photoshoot. check it out on facebook. another confidence booster, and a great way to spend V-Day.
• i got hit on by a girl at party with lots of gay guys. LOVES IT.
  
• I went on three dates with three different boys in one week. One was really sweet but no sparks. another really cute but too immature. the third one was just a complete turd. Look forward to that story, it's a gem.
  
• I spent time with Nicole (Scripps friend) around London, saw Spamalot with Pomona people from Cambridge, and had dinner with Sammy at Heathrow airport during her layover to Israel. It was some much-needed Claremont love.
  
• I went with my gut and took a risk...and fell in love with a Swede. :)

so, as you can tell, I'm trying to take chances and say yes to opportunities, people, places, and things, for better or worse. I'm continually discovering more about myself, my preferences, what is really important to me, and most of all, why i am here in London for five months. Because I'm really not here to stud neuroscience (haha, good joke). I'm here to experience life, to live on my own, to be an adult and a student and a tourist and a resident all at once. Its a struggle every day to stay brave, motivated, and optimistic. But I sure as hell am trying.

I came back from Sweden renewed, and ready to tackle my course workload, travel planning, my musical opening in three weeks, my out-of-shape-ness; I am using Sydney and my mother's upcoming visits and the end of classes/trips around europe as motivation and things to look forward to.

once i get a little break from assignments (hopefully in the next week or so) I'll write a real blog. For now... I miss you all so much and hope that this finds you well and happy.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

sorry, another downer. i swear, i do have fun here. i only feel the need to write for the sad ones, though...?

i'm getting really sick of being made fun of and being judged for being American. I don't care if it's in jest or not-- it's getting really fucking old. Why did I have to get stuck in a dorm full of immature, retarded, insecure 18 year old boys? If I get called a Yank one more time or hear the words cock or dick one more time, i swear to god, i'm going to lose it. i almost did tonight. after an illogical debate with three hormonal idiots about whether or not people are born gay, they proceeded to talk shit about some american girls that live in our dorm, and complain that this one girl burps a lot (god forbid, a woman is a bit rude?!you know they would laugh if it was a guy doing it). this one guy said, "yeah she burped so loud, i thought it was her fat friend, i would've understood then at least." what, so just because she's fat, she's a disgusting rude person? just because she's fat, she must eat a lot and can't control her bodily functions? i was so pissed, i called him a fucking asshole, and he proceeded to yell fuck you at me and curse me for "defending every Yank they talk about". wow. real cute. and so i stand up and say fuck this and go to leave, and he yells at me that it was just a joke and not to jump down his throat everytime he says something bad. you see, it's not just that one thing, though. the other night when asked whether or not he'd have a threesome with a fat ugly girl and a hot one, he said, "yeah, i'd just put a hamburger in the corner to distract the fat one." and that was just the icing on the fucking cake, believe me. it's my own damn fault for spending so much time around these cretins, but i honestly just wanted to be social and make some friends and not spend so much time in my room on the goddamn computer, and they're convenient since they live in my dorm. but fuck. i can't listen to anymore bullshit, it's like high school all over again. yes, I'm american. i get it. i must be an ignorant elitist asshole who pronounces EVERYTHING poorly. it was funny the first thousand times when they made fun of the way i talk. but a person can only take so much before she needs to hear at least one nice thing about her. for christ's sake, it's hard enough being so far from home and so far away from everyone who loves me, but to have to tolerate the constant bullshit from these guys is like rubbing salt in the wound.

a knock at my door....

ok, so, that guy came up here. he made things right. i dont feel like explaining it all now, but these guys are good guys. they are. they just forget sometimes. they're good people though. i respect that guy for coming up here, he felt terrible. it was genuine. it really was. he said, he heard comments about british people for 10 minutes and felt angry, and he couldnt even imagine how i could tolerate all the shit they give me. he said they just forget to take it easy, because i gel so well with their group that its like i'm one of them, and after i left the room, they agreed that they need to stop making so much fun of me and of americans, because they really like me and want me to keep hanging out with them. he said when he met me he thought i was so great, and he doesnt want anything to change between us. i can understand. i told him i was really homesick, so thats why it was even harder for me to take all the jokes all the time. i do respect him for coming up here, that took balls.

and i will say, i love the look on a guy's face when he sees he's made you cry. it almost makes it worth it.

To Be Perfectly Quite Honest...

First, here's the link again to my Photobucket albums, I put up more pics today:
http://s247.photobucket.com/albums/gg135/Alissa6587/
I also made a facebook album with some of the same photos, and some ones that I don't want my family to see... :)

so guyz, this blog will probs be kinda depressing, and as a disclaimer, I don't want you to think I am having a terrible time, or want to come home for real, or wish I hadn't come or anything like that. I also don't want you to think that I'm being a whiner or a brat, but hopefully since you are reading this, you are a friend and know me and know that I'm only those things sometimes...no, really, I just don't really have anyone to vent to except this blog (not true, I could call you, but really, it isn't the same. I don't have anyone here that I want to vent to..ANYWAY)

I'm just going through a slump, if you will...the initial excitement and bewilderment has faded some, and now I'm left with," holy shit, I'm actually LIVING here for five months.." I have to rebuild a life, with a new country, new culture, new school, new teachers, new students, new home, new friends, new setting...new everything. If that wouldn't overwhelm you, I don't know what would. I KNOW I'll settle eventually, I KNOW I'll find my niche, I KNOW it's only been a couple weeks, it'll get easier....but that doesn't make it much easier RIGHT NOW. To be a bit unsure, on edge, confused, and insecure 24/7 is, needless to say, exhausting, overwhelming, and at times, awful. Some of the time all I want to do is curl up in bed with magazines, movies, and endless junk food and cry. Other times I want to get so drunk that I can't feel anything, or do a line just to get 30 minutes of confidence and exhilaration. Fortunately, I haven't done either. I do force myself to socialize, go out, go to the gym, dance, study....but it's hard. I don't have a lot of motivation right now (hence why I'm writing this blog instead of doing reading). Normally I'm so pumped to begin a new semester: you get to start fresh, new courses, new ideas. right now I have no desire to learn anything, see anything, be around anyone. Anything that anyone says to me that is remotely rude or unfriendly or standoffish (or anti-american... I am getting REALLY sick of the jokes) just GETS to me like it normally doesn't.
I spend way too much time in my room on the internet, on facebook, iChat, skype.... it actually just makes things worse, i zone out and look at pics of friends and talk to my parents on skype and it all makes me even more homesick. I'm not the type that adjusts to change quickly. There are some international students here that already have BFFs and tons of pics on facebook of them being all adjusted and shit. Fuck them, man. i need time, time to feel comfortable and adjust and get my bearings, but by the time that happens, everyone's all fucking settled and happy and i'm left in the dust.
the worst part of all of this is that i feel like in order to fit in and make friends, i can't be myself. and you all know that being anyone but myself is NOT something I at all enjoy doing or desire. I am, in fact, quite bad at it. so i can either silently be myself inside and sell out on the outside, or i can shut down and wither away not being me at all.
i keep wondering how i am coming off to everyone. as a bitch? a stranger? an american? a cute girl? a freak? a nerd? a slut? any of those, or none? or worse, is no one noticing, or caring? i just want this part to be over, and i want my vision of many darling british friends, fun pub/club nights, studying, and cute euro boys that love my california-ness to come true. i feel displaced and unsettled, and i can only tolerate that for so long. this experience makes me appreciate how pomona spends the entire first month of college forcing us to interact and make friends. as childish as it made us feel then, i probably wouldnt have made the friends and gained the support that i got that first year. now pomona isn't here to hold my hand, and i hate to say it, but i'm a bit lost. everyone keeps saying, "oh alissa, don't worry, just be your wonderful self and everyone will love you and you'll have tons of friends, etc". don't forget, though, people judge books by their covers, and you only get one shot at a first impression. and i am pretty terrible at those, dont deny it, you all met me for the first time at one point, some of you more recently than others, and you know that sometimes i dont come off well. and to top it off, i dont have any of you here to back me up and assure people that yes, i'm a cool person, and no, im not a bitch, my natural expression is a frown. :) only this isn't pomona, a small community where i have four whole years to impress people. and this isn't ADF, where i'm only here 6 weeks and only hang out with mikey anyway. and this certainly isn't Analy where everyone knows each other since kindergarten or middle school. are you getting my gist yet?
so now i'm off to halfheartedly finish my reading and drift into a deep sleep where i wake up unrefreshed and un-enthused.

Week Two: Musicals, Eliza, and Karaoke: Good. Laundry, Smelly Feet, and Vag-Poking Creepers: Bad. (?)

Friday: on Friday, Petey, A.J. (Petey's g/f) and I went to a party in our dorm, to try to meet and make friends with some of the kids who live in Campbell House. They had bought a bunch of beer and vodka and were playing Kings Cup in the kitchen. The guy that got the King's Cup had to drink a mix of beer, cider, vodka, soy sauce, mustard, and salt. FOUL. but, he drank it. FOUL. There's a lot of boys, and not many girls that hang around with this crowd (surprise)...they can be sweet and silly, but a bit immature...they're all first years, so they are 18 and fresh into college :) so they drink heavily and constantly are trying to impress one another. Entertaining, but probs not people I will be besties with.
..................................

Saturday: Friday afternoon (we need a little backstory here), the UCL Musical Theatre Society e-mailed me (I had previously written them and the Dance Club, somewhat begging for an opportunity to participate in something, but they had already cast their shows in December, lame) and said that one of their actresses had dropped out, and would I like to come audition for them in the morning? WOULD I?!?! The part available was Jenny from the musical "Company" (I know a few of you definitely are familiar with it, especially if you've seen the movie Camp-- remember the song where the weird girl poisons the bitchy girl?), and I went and sang a verse from "Ladies who Lunch" and did a quick scene, and they gave me the part!!!! I start rehearsing this coming Sunday!!! I was SO stoked to finally join a club that I like (stupid choir), and I get to hopefully make friends with them!
That afternoon, Eliza came to London! She had been traveling all over Europe after her study abroad program in Kenya ended in December, and she was flying out of London to go home on the 15th, so she came and stayed with me for a few days. Saturday night we went to the Rocket (pub) and chatted with an excellent neuro student named Dylan, who I adore (another dread-locked one...dreadlocks seem to be popular in the UK, but they do not imply that you do drugs or listen to reggae? weird). anyway, his friend wanted me to be able to dance at the pub (I told them I was a dance major as well, they were like...wha?), so at my request, he told the DJ to play Gimme More, and he did, and A.J. and I were the only ones dancing, but I would like to point out that I fucking BROUGHT BRITNEY TO THE UK, BITCHES. That's right.
Then we went to a bar in the student union, and they had karaoke!! I learned quickly that Dylan is a HUGE karaoke fan, and AJ, Dylan, and I belted out some hits like Don't Speak by No Doubt and I Don't Wanna Miss a Thing by Aerosmith...obvi. We had an absolute blast, it was such a hoot. Defs want to Dylan to be my bestie-- he's like, 6'5" and has long ass dreadlocks, and is just excellent. Eliza can attest to this, and that Kristin would love him. so would Kendall. and basically everyone.
OMG SO amazing story. so, Petey makes fun of me and says I love gay people because he caught me bouncing in my seat while watching Will and Grace (i just love jack and karen, ok?) and cuz I'm a dancer. So anyway, after eating out in Chinatown the other night, Petey and A.J. were teasing me about me wanting to walk through Soho (the "gay" area of London). We did, and I giggled and skipped along, i mean, duh, I love homos, whatever. anyway, the people we were with (other international students) looked a bit confused, but were apparently more confused than i thought, because on saturday night, I told this French Canadian guy, Pierre-Luc, who goes to UCL and is EXCELLENT, that I knew how to say something dirty in French ("I would like your penis in my vagina"-- thanks, Katie, it's really coming in handy), and he laughed but looked confused and said to me, "but wait, why would you ever need to say that?" and I said, "what do you mean?" thinking I had gotten a word wrong or something. and he goes, "I mean, you're gay, right?" I was like, "no! what makes you think that?" and he was like, "well i just thought....you were so excited to walk through Soho....ohhhh....ok....oh my god, i am so embarrassed...." he had assumed i was gay because i liked Soho!!! it was so fucking hilarious, he was like, really afraid he had offended me, i was like, dude, no worries, but i am totally going to make fun of you for it....
..........................

Sunday: hung out with Eliza's friend who live here (she used to do Grand Bethel Girls, or however you say it, too.....hahahahahaha;)) and walked all over London, haha not really, but we did walk through Bloomsbury, Leicester Square, next to Soho and Chinatown, through Trafalgar Square and all the way to Westminister. Whew!

.............................

Monday: Petey, Eliza, and I went to Camden Market, this like, market-thing (duh) with tons of cheap clothes, ethnic food, and other decorative fun things, basically the best thing EVER if you are into cheap shopping and funky stuff. Which I absolutely am. I bought pretty fabrics to put on my blank sad walls in my room, and two scarves, YES. I wanted to buy so many things...fuck you, exchange rate!!! Actually, the things they sold the most there were: winter clothing, amazing boots, ethnic food, bongs, and creepy sex toys/clothing. Basically Mikey's dream mall. Seriously....i could just see him gasping every 2 seconds and buying literally everything.
That night Eliza and I were going to go to "Slavic Madness" (the student union bar advertised Eastern European music and vodka... i mean, what more do you need?) but when we got there at like, 9:30, it was over. lame.

...........................

Tuesday: Eliza bade me farewell with her many heavy bags (haha), and I went to class. It was heavily raining and I felt frumpy, so obvi I went shopping at H&M. Seriously, people here dress so fabulously like every day. i have never seen so many cute boots, hats, and coats in my life. Seriously, boots here are like the London equivalent of California's flip-flops. Damn it. I went to the gym for the first time and discovered that it, too, smelled terrible-- WHY DON'T EUROPEANS BATHE/WEAR DEODORANT?!?! for Christ's sake. i ran angrily on the treadmill cuz all the fucking ellipticals were full.
After that I rehearsed with this jazz vocal group, they weren't as good as the choir (which isn't saying too much...), but I liked the music and they seem kinda fun, so I might stick with it, we'll see. That night I went to a club with Petey/Megan/Lauren/AJ, other international students that go to UCL, and some of the Pomona kids at Cambridge-- Caroline Flynn, Peter Kurtz, and Dorothy Shapiro! It was really cool to see them, they'll be coming out here plenty, and we'll go out there, too. The club was packed, but seriously, the music they played....it was as if they had taken the playlist from my iTunes entitled "Dance Party" (or CooterTwat Instant Sass ;)) and played it. Britney, Nelly, Timbaland, Kanye, Rihanna, and Madonna....I was going nuts. Then some fucking drugged-up guy decided to crowd surf off the stage and right onto AJ's head, poor girl. what a tool.

...........................

Wednesday: I'm quite tired today, so I just went to class (Developmental Neurobiology and Ancient Egypt in London, of course) and to my dance class (smelled even worse and moved even slower than last week-- I'm trying Level 3 next week), and made some food and relaxed in my room. LOVELY!

..........................

Thursday: slept in, did laundry (which costs like, 3 pounds to wash and dry...that's fucking six goddamn american dollars wtfffff), took Pilates with Nicole and went to the gym, did some reading for class. At night, i went to the Rocket (pub) with a ton of the international students and Pomona kids because it was Pierre-Luc's birthday. People don't normally dance in a pub, but it was a crowded night and people started dancing (thank GOD). The DJ was playing really excellent hip hop songs from the 1990s, like 112 and Tupac-- it was excellent. And he played Gimme More upon my request, after rolling his eyes like 20 times (excuse me, you clearly are wrong here). There was this super tall black guy who could shake his ass better than I can and was sassing me like no other, putting his hand in my face and ruffling my hair and shaking his ass at me, it was so f-ing hilarious and great, it was like a sass duel! until he tried to get me to go outside with him...look, when a guy can shake his ass that well, I usually kind of assume he's, well, a homo. Shit.
The kicker was when this guy came up behind me and starting dancing with me (girls, don't you just LOVE when a guy, or rather, a guy's crotch, seems to just appear behind you, without any warning or introduction? Well, that phenomenon is even more prevalent in Europe, it seems. great.). It was all fine until he turned me around and asked if I had a boyfriend (oh boy). i said no (WHAT THE FUCK WAS I THINKING), and he says, "oh, well I'll be your boyfriend then." Really, guy? you really think that actually works on a girl? So I said, "....no. I'm not that easy, dude" and turned around. he came up behind me again, even though I had grabbed my friend Paul and given him that look that says, "please save me from this creeper behind me" (the look I often give to Katie when she sees Michael and I at a party....ZING!), and, here's the best part-- the guy proceeds to slide his hands onto my crotch, and not just like, near it, but actually on it...he like, poked my vag with his finger. I was so stunned, I shoved his hands off and clutched onto to Paul. Man, I am so fucking pissed that happened. Like, who fucking does that??!?!?! I told my other friend Pat, who had the best reaction: "He touched your lady-parts?!?!?!" He was appalled (as most people should be). I swear, wtf is wrong with some f-ing people. EW. Honestly though, probs like, 50-60% of guys are completely decent to dance with and don't try to grope you (at least not your "lady-parts"), and about 25% will try to make out with you, which is easier to avoid and less intrusive than trying to touch your vag, which hopefully will never happen again. I've gotten pretty good at sensing when a creeper is approaching and scooting away when he seems to be moving in on me....or I just dance crazily or make a really unattractive face. Seems to work. Dancing by myself or with girls (or homos) is way more fun anyway. Guess I need to hit up the gay clubs.
I also met these other UCL students that live with Lauren and Megan, one guy from Romania who was really nice, and a guy from Italy, who spoke limited English but didn't need to because his actions spoke volumes: kissing my hand, winking at me, and "woo-hoo"ing a lot. I thought, especially since he was quite attractive, that I would be tickled by him, but I was mostly just creeped out, especially when he stuck his tongue down my throat. When I kind of pulled away and smiled awkwardly, he actually had the audacity to look away and roll his eyes. I'M SORRY, LET ME JUST PULL DOWN MY PANTS FOR YOU RIGHT HERE IN THE PUB. Jesus. I was so irritated by then that I said, "Hey buddy, sorry but I'm not that easy. I'M NOT A SLUT, OK?!?!" He looked surprised and starting pleading, "I so sorry, I only kidding, just a joke, I sorry!" I was just like, whatever, let's go. I mean, wtf. I'm so over these goddamn Europeans (I know I know, not P.C., whatever, i was groped).
I did have one excellent conversation that night, however, with a very nerdy but sweet Singaporean guy (Mikey, you will LOVE this):
Him: so, this is probably a really stupid question, but since you're American, do you like Britney Spears?
Me: (my inner monologue is screaming, OMFG) OH MY GOD, OF COURSE I DO!!!! I LOVE HER!
Him (a little startled): What do you think about her as a person?
Me: I mean, she's basically mentally ill...but really, she's just going through a hard time right now.... (hahaha)
Him: I guess she is. I'm a fan of rock music, so I'm technically supposed to hate Britney, but can I tell you something? Her new album, Blackout, is so great! I really love it!

Seriously, I almost shit myself. Best conversation with a foreigner EVER, and it came completely out of nowhere.

COMING UP NEXT...

• the weekend-- crazier than weekdays, or not as crazy? Guess I'll find out...
  
• lots of people go to Paris this weekend, but not me. :( Petey, AJ, and I do tourist-y things to pass the time
  
• my first musical rehearsal on Sunday-- hope I make lots of homo BFFs!!!!!
• I get an attractive, sweet, smart, funny boyfriend with an accent...oh wait, that's definitely not going to happen. :( f-ing creepers
  

Other interesting tidbits:

• for some reason my feet smell like, a million times worse than they normally do here. Luckily my feet don't normally smell bad, really. But honest to god....maybe it is all the shoe-wearing and walking? wtf i don't know.
• I saw an item in the frozen foods section of the grocery store entitled "Pork Faggots". I seriously stood and stared at it for like, 15 seconds. I know faggot means "stick" (thanks Mikey), but....really, England? Pork faggots? HAHAHAHAHAHA
  
• I miss Mexican food, driving, friendly strangers, wearing flip-flops and sweat pants outdoors (you know how hard it is to get dressed...), and the sun, as well as best friends, dancers, my dog, and my mom. :( homesickness is beginning to set in, and I don't like it. I need to find a bestie!!!!!
  

The First Week: Stupid Americans, "Lovely" Brits, and Swedes?

Cheers from jolly ol' London!

so, I think instead of going chronologically, which a) could become quite boring and b) will be difficult since a week here has simultaneously felt like months and seconds, I will go by category, starting with the serious and moving to the ridiculous (sort of):

• adjusting to England, and living in a big city, and living in England in a big city: for some reason I was under the assumption before I came to London that, simply because the British speak the same language (kinda...we'll get to that), their culture and...demeanor (?) would be very similar to Americans, well, at least some Americans. Friends that have studied in the UK before me can attest that this is DEFINITELY NOT TRUE. I mean, Brits are certainly not so drastically different that I can't relate to the ones that are my age, or are students and such. But it really is a different culture here, especially because I am in a biiiiiiggg city. Now, when I describe people I've encountered, y'all know I gotta be P.C. and say that obviously not all British people are the same...these are just a few observations I've made. Anyway, I've found people are not as friendly (or what Americans consider being friendly) to strangers: they don't smile much, many cashiers don't say anything besides how much something costs, and they are generally more aloof. It is less formal and "polite" by our standards, and at first, I felt like everyone was judging me or being rude or disrespectful. Some examples:
• still can't get used to saying "toilet" instead of restroom or bathroom. To them, our words are beyond the point of polite. To me, toilet sounds kinda gross to say to an acquaintance.
• I auditioned for a choir here (and I ended up getting in!). The process was quite informal, and I felt a bit like I wasn't being paid the respect you might normally receive. It was partly due to the choir director being, well, an asshole (anyone who's been in PCC: he was like a less effective, more negative, mean British male version of Donna. frightening, right?) quick digression: i liked the choir, however, they are singing a French opera, and I found that the French language is like the UK's version of California's Spanish, in that if you don't speak it here, you at least know how to pronounce it. And I do not. Great. moving on.

• The English version of English: again, was not expecting it to be so difficult. Shopping for groceries and anything practical is near impossible at first; everything is called something slightly different. Also, different foods are much more expensive or more cheaper here, so I have to think about what I buy differently. And let's not even talk about pounds versus the dollar. Shudder.
• slang: well, slang everywhere is weird, and Britain is no different. And just like we have different accents for different states, they obviously have different accents for different regions, some of which are a) not really the English language and b) impossible to understand. And that brings me to...
• ...accents...: zomg YES. Anything a British person says automatically sounds five million times classier, smarter, and hotter than anything I say. Guys are a thousand times hotter, wittier, and smarter than they probably actually are (with some exceptions). And when guys actually say something cute or funny? Good god...I swoon every time. It's dangerous.
• teeth: mmmm, not as bad as people make them out to be. BUT, the body odor factor here is WAY worse. I guess it's a trade-off: our country is plagued by obesity, theirs by body odor. Which would you prefer? (I'll take body odor-- less showers! :))

• groups of people I've met: some excellent, some not
• the other pomona kids: it was really nice to have them (Petey Kass, Megan Prior, Lauren Lederle, Amelia Yu, Brooke Rosen, and Amanda Barkley-Levenson) here from the start, made everything waaaay less scarier. Plus any friends they make, we get to meet them, too! Petey lives three floors down from me, which has been really nice and comforting. AND NICOLE GUILLEN IS HERE!! We are planning on busting out with some Interloper, Water-Polo, and the Look-Back AT LEAST once at a club, pub, or party. or all three. :)
• the other new international students: and when i say "international", i basically mean 99% Americans. Most are pretentious WASP-y girls from east coast private schools and Ivy leagues-- my absolute favorite! I avoid them at all costs. Really. I can't be bothered with that shit. :D
• people in my dorm: met a really nice girl named Sommer from Texas who has been here all year. She serves as sort of a translator for us, since she's been here a while, but is from America. She introduced Petey and I to a bunch of sweet, nerdy, video-game playing, practically alcoholic boys that live here-- very similar to boys you might find at Pomona :) Anyway, they seem like a good group, we just haven't hung out with them much yet.
• the UCL neuroscience students: pure excellence. an eclectic group of about 15 students, they took us (the seven Pomona neuro kids) out for drinks the other night so we could get to know each other. For some reason, three of them have dreadlocks...? Including one boy that I fancy in particular...more about that as it develops ;) anyway, we met mostly the neuro boys, and they are all really interesting and fun to talk to. I give them an A+, and hope to hang out with them more.
• random people in pubs, aka Swedes: oh, the Swedes. Met three sweet Swedish boys visiting London in a pub. One particularly charming and funny boy, Simon, had us laughing a bunch. I took a particular fancy to him as well :) I mean, really guys, Swedes are generally tall, lean, blond, and feminine...with accents. aka my type hahahahahaahahahahaha. There's a possibility that this Swede might be coming to Vegas in the future??! hahahaa so excellent
  

• places I've been so far:
• Big Ben/Buckingham: I mean, it is what it is. Really cool and stuff. The palace was actually less impressive than I was expecting. I haven't done a whole lot of sightseeing yet, but there's plenty of time left.
• the area around where I live: basically Petey and I's housing is in the most convenient location possible. It's a block from the student union and the gym, a five minute's walk from all my classes, and about three or four blocks from a main road that has tons of food and shopping and of course, pubs, which are on literally every block. That road, Tottenham Court Road, intersects a little ways down with another road, Oxford St, which has shopping similar to Union Square in SF-- clothing, stuff like that. So everything I need is within a 10-20 minute walk. Including...
• ..."The Place", which is literally three blocks from my dorm!!! The Place is a well-known center for dance that John and Laurie recommended I go take class at. I took my first class there the other night, Comtemporary Technique (Limon/Release). I really liked the teacher and the movement style, the class was not super challenging, but it was fun and a good workout. The body odor thing was DEFINITELY noticeable in the hot studio. Gross. But it was really nice to move around again, and be in a setting that I'm familiar with. I'm going to take this class once a week, and go to the gym...gotta work off all the pints and heavy British food!!
  

• University College London:
• my housing: like I said, super convenient location, renovated recently. My dorm consists of five converted Victorian row houses next to each other, with about four stories each, and 2-3 rooms (mostly singles) and a bathroom on each floor. So I basically share a bathroom with one other person, and a kitchen with about 6 or 7 people. Not too shabby, I'd say! I have a single room that is far more spacious than my Gibson or Smiley singles at Pomona, haha. It has a pretty nice little view, carpeted, my own sink and mirror. The two bad parts: it's on the fourth floor (another semester of drunkenly stumbling up the stairs at night...), which means part of the ceiling is slanted, so I consequently hit my head on it approximately 3.5 times a day. The other bad part: the only bathroom that has showers is on the ground floor. The rest only have bathtubs. Really, UCL? Who fucking BATHES? honestly. But really, my housing is more than decent, and I enjoy my cozy attic room.
  
• my classes (modules): all the terminology for classes is totally different (a class is called a lecture, a course is called a module, most teachers are lecturers, not professors, etc). For most classes, science ones in particular, 75% of your mark (grade) is the final exam. seventy-five fucking percent. And they are in essay form-- my favorite. What the fuck do you write essays on in science?!?! However, there are only 3-4 practicals (labs), and they have a time limit... so no crazy ochem-style labs till 6:30 (these are only three hours). My two neuro classes are Developmental Neurobiology and Cellular Neurophysiology. Tell you more about these later, as we've only had two classes...er, modules...??? My two "fun" classes are Ancient Egypt in London (archeology) and Renaissance Art in London Collections (Art History). I'm really jazzed for both of these because 1) at Pomona I don't have time for anything besides science, dance, and singing, and 2) both courses meet and are held at museums and galleries!!! every class period!!! It's really an opportunity that I will probably never have again, and I'm so intrigued by both topics. YAY!
  Oh, and did I mention I don't have class on Mondays or Thursdays? ZING.
  
• Pomona versus UCL?: different, different, different. Thank god they at least speak English...well, sort of. More on this as it develops :)
  

I think for next blog I'll try to write a little bit as I go along each day, especially when interesting things happen. might be more accurate and hilarious that way. :) <3

>COMING UP NEXT:

* party in my dorm on friday AND party with the neuro kids
* Eliza comes to London on Saturday!!
* I actually have to start doing homework?!? FUCK.

I miss you all terribly, there are so many things that I see, say, and do that I want to share with you!!! I wish all of you could visit me here....so please do!!!! I hope you all are doing well and enjoying the end of your breaks/beginning of your terms. I'm still trying my best to sass all over London for ya ;)

Love,

Alissa

The REAL Adventures of Alissa in the UK...

Hello friends!

So, I know I put you all on my big, fat, formal email list, but ya know, I included like, my grandmother and neuroscience advisor on there, so... I thought it would be quite entertaining if I also made a more informal, truthful blog for those of you who I feel can handle the REAL me :) Y'all know what I'm saying... I'm not about to email my aunts, uncles, and the light-hearted about that time I stayed at the pub til five am, or how many British boys I've hooked... but I'll tell all of YOU about it!!!!

I began writing this blog on the plane from San Francisco to London, and i'm now finishing it as I sit in my room on the 4th floor on Campbell House West at University College London in Bloomsbury district.......

Whoa quick interlude, the flight attendants are walking through with the alcohol cart. Too bad we are probably only flying over, like, Utah, so I'm not legal yet. mmmm I wonder if they have gin? :)

So anyway, I'm on the flight to London right now, with, according to my personal television, about 8 an a half hours to go. I was delighted to find not only Sex and the City AND Will and Grace (unfortunately no Law and Order SVU, though) on the flight's entertainment roster, but also new releases like Hairspray... whee!!! I also have four hours of battery on my laptop, a puzzle book with logic problems (love it), and People's "Best and Worst of 2007" magazine, which has Jamie Lynn Spears on the cover and a three-page spread dedicated to just Britney....YES. WHOA A HOT GUY JUST GOT NAKED ON SEX AND THE CITY hahha big surprise... oh and thank god this fucking baby stopped crying, or I was going to have to throw it off the damn plane.

Well, better be off to take a loooong nap and enjoy some plane food. I'll pick up writing when I get to Heathrow or on my flight to Paris to meet Morgan and Eliza!!!!!!

............................................................

Kay just kidding about the writing again when I get to Heathrow part, it'll be more fun to give you short updates as the flight progresses. It's like I have someone to talk to and tell things, so I don't go insane. We're flying over Montana now, with another joyous eight hours to go. I watched a Will and Grace episode and silently shook with laughter at Jack, who had an eyepatch on due to a "GRI"- "Glitter-Related Injury". ahahahahaa LOVE HIM. I also enjoyed a delightful meal of chicken and rice pilaf, salad, a roll, weird orange-y cheesecake, a chocolate, and of course, tea, served by flight attendants with British accents. Lovely! Kay, gonna watch Hairspray and bounce in my seat/get a boner for Zach Efron. Back later...

...........................................................

Hokay, so, the flight is almost half over. The goddamn baby is crying again, only it's not crying, it's fucking shrieking. Stupid brat, why do people take babies on international flights, grrrrr. Just watched Hairspray-- I'm not even going to begin telling you all the things I'd like to do to Zach Efron...damn, he's tasty. I fell asleep for most of the movie and woke up just in time to watch the ending, sweet. I'm sitting in an aisle seat with no one next to me, so I get to stretch out and kind of lay down, thank god. I wonder if I can roll on my Ma Roller in my seat somehow? The guy in the seat in front and across from me is such a dick, he keeps frowning at everything they bring him and asking for special shit and sending stuff back. asshole. Whoa it's so weird, the flight attendants came by with carts of like, stuff to buy, as in perfume, jewelry, mp3 players. So random, like, why the hell would you ever buy something like that on a plane? And they had all these colognes and no Intimately Beckham...I mean, come on. Hmmm, what to do now. Read People? Do a puzzle? Watch something on the computer or TV? Oh, the options. For now I'm content listening to "Smooth Criminal" :)
OMG HAHAHAHA Katie Duberg: my computer just declared "IT'S NINE O'CLOCK" at full volume in Ralph's voice put on slow. Dear lord. Good thing it didn't say any of the things that we normally make it say...

..........................................................

Less than four hours to go. We are flying over the Atlantic somewhere between northeast Canada and Greenland. We're going 600 mph and it's -70F outside up here. SWEET, defs don't want to leave this aircraft at the moment, 37,000 ft in the air. I've been organizing my photos on my laptop to pass time, occasionally glancing at a few. Good god, I have ridiculous friends.. I mean, what? Anyway, you know how organizing and making lists brings me comfort, so back to that and listening to Britney (duh).

..........................................................

Whoa. I'm back, three days later and much wiser (?) I'm on my flight back from Paris to London to meet up with the other Pomona kids and move into our housing. What a three days, lemme tell you. I made it to London fine and killed time before my Paris flight by ordering my first legal alcoholic beverage-- Guinness on tap. At noon. haha. I got on my flight to Paris no problem, but had a bit of trouble navigating to meet Morgan and Eliza once I got off the plane. I didn't realized quite how disorienting it is to take a 10 hour flight, then another one hour flight and land in a country where you don't speak a word of the language. Had a little confusion in meeting up with my friends, but we managed to find each other, thank God. I was sooooo glad to find them and see them!!! We took the metro to where we stayed-- we "couchsurfed"! There is a website called Couchsurfing.com which is basically like facebook for people to advertise couch space for people travelling (mostly young people I think?) Anyway, it's pretty legit, they check people out and people leave reviews after they stay with someone, so you kind of have an idea of what they are like. Anyway, we stayed with Richard, Ivan, and Simon, three 28 year old Parisian guys. YES.

We were all tired once we got back to their flat, so we went to bed early so we could get up and sightsee. On the 31st, we went allll over Paris-- the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre (which was soooo amazing), we also went to H&M, hahaha. We walked from the Eiffel Tower to the Louvre along the Seine...everything was so incredibly beautiful and breathtaking, I couldn't believe I was there!!!!! I could spend days and days in the Louvre, there is so much to see. We took tons of pictures (I'll send a link to my pics once I make an account), some cute and some ridiculous, obvi. Different parts of Paris made me think of you all, from French Bugles (Kira) to the water-polo statue (dance drama people) to creepy art in the Louvre (Kendall).

On New Year's Eve, our couchsurfing hosts had a little dinner party with some of their friends and invited us to join them, which we did. They had some DELICIOUS hors d'oeuvres, and their friends were very fun and spoke mostly in English for our sake (although once there were a few drinks in everyone, the English usage gradually faded...) Well, I'll let Morgan tell you how HER night went (muahahahahahahaha), but Eliza and I had a great time ringing in the New Year, or should I say, "bon annee"! I danced salsa (Alex!!!) with Ivan and for some reason one guy, Hugo, asked me if I was Mexican and if I did cocaine...not really sure if and how those are related...anyway, we were all dancing drunkenly in the living room, and my drunken mind thought, what better time than now to put on Britney? So I ran to my room and grabbed Blackout (which I brought to Europe, obvi) and put it on, shrieking, "It's Britney, bitch!" That's right, people... I brought Britney to France. WORD.

At some point (I think around 2am?) we thought it would be a great idea to go out to a club. so we did. just me, Ivan, and Simon. can we say, awk? They kinda both were drunkenly hitting on me, then started talking angrily at each other in French....hmmmm.....but I was far too drunk to care, so drunk that we were refused entry into the first club we went to (if you think that's bad, seriously, ask Morgan how her New Years was...:)) we did make it to one club, where they played only American 70s music. lame. we came back at 6am and I ended up hooking the wrong Frenchman. Don't ask. Worst. hangover. ever.

Anyway, we saw some more of Paris the next day (Notre Dame, Arc du Triomphe, Moulin Rouge), and the next morning I said goodbye to Eliza and Morgan after a far too short visit. After standing in the wrong line at the Paris airport and almost missing my flight (and by almost, I mean I was running/sweating), I'm in one piece and on my way to jolly ol' Britain.

........................................................

I will conclude the blog for now, as it is already far too long. I will write another one shortly, probably tomorrow (Jan. 8) after my first class at UCL, to fill you in on how my first week in London went!!! And trust me, there's plenty to say :)

I miss you all terribly and hope your winter breaks/whatever you are doing is going very well. Belated Happy New Year!!!!!!

Love love love from London,

Dirty/Twat/Whore/Betch/Alissex/Roomie/Missy/Liss/Ate/Delish/Alissa, or whatever it is that you call me :) (why are at least 50% of my nicknames derogatory, you guys????)