So Sara and I just got back from Midterm Break. We spent four days in Paris and Versailles! We hit most of the major landmarks and it I also had my birthday there! Sara took hundreds of photos which she is not done editing, so as soon as she finishes them, we will have the full rundown of the trip.
This past week was the dreaded return of classes and work. We had a very difficult midterm exam in Musical Theatre History welcoming us back, but it is just a reminder I guess that we are technically here to study a little bit. Last Friday I was asked to help out with a rehearsal in Cambridge for my internship. So I caught an early train by myself and got my first look at the beautiful city. I spent some time before rehearsal walking around the city past the designer shops that are next to ancient buildings. Then I met up with Helen to go to Emmanuel College for rehearsal. This is what you see as soon as you walk through the gate:
It was like entering the world of Harry Potter (a lot like Oxford) and super cool. The theatre space we used for the day was described to us as "not the best" and the college apologized for it a few times. But it ended up looking like this:
Sooo awesome. Anyway, I hadn't realized that this rehearsal for the Cambridge Greek Play Agamemnon involved university students! It was one of the best days I have had in England, spending time with theatre kids my age and talking about musicals, the West End, etc. with other people as obsessed as me.
After a day of mask work and choral chanting (all in Greek by the way) the cast, Helen, and I headed to unwind at the pub. The kids chuckled a little when I ordered a Coke, but then we started talking...and talking, and talking...
I ended up being asked to go to dinner with a girl and boy at one of the university dining halls. So I walked through more beautiful courtyards and spent another hour or two discussing everything from Next to Normal the musical to Sarah Palin and Bass Pro. (They were fascinated by American things.) Anyway, I am headed back to Cambridge later this week and am planning on meeting up with theses kids again. So great to meet new friends!
Saturday, Sara and I had tickets to a Queenspark Rangers professional football game! (English football that is--our soccer.) We got to the crowded stadium just in time for the kick-off and it was quite the experience. Mobs of police officers were on site to keep the physical confrontations between fans to a minimal. The opposing teams' fans shouted some very harsh words back and forth. The most surprising thing were the small children standing beside their drunken fathers joining in on flipping the other team off. I suppose football is part of a solid English upbringing. The game was exciting and very interesting to watch. We sat in a section specifically assigned to Queenspark fans, so we cheered them on. It ended up a tie game, 1-1, and they do not generally have overtime, so we didn't exactly win...but we didn't lose!
Saturday night I spoiled myself and saw two back to back shows with chocolate gelato in between. Both shows (Lord Arthur's Bed and Naked Boys Singing) were very brash, but very good. I got all dressed up and enjoyed my night out on the town.
Sunday was a very, very lazy day. We both had papers to write so basically stayed in all day.
So it is back into the routine, back to class and work and being exhausted at the end of the day. We will post the Paris trip when Sara finishes the pictures, so look for that soon(ish).
Cheers!
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