Pancake Day!

As many of you know, today was Fat Tuesday. Some celebrate Mardis Gras. Some celebrate Carnaval. England celebrates Pancake Day! I went with my friends Ray and Thalia to the Annual Pancake Day Race right next to the House of Parliament, where members of parliament and members of the press came together to raise awareness for the organization Rehab UK. The schtick was that everybody had to relay, running in their business suits and chef hats around the park while flipping their pancakes at least three feet in the air. Here are the hilarious pics of the area, the race, and the yummy pancakes.

What time is it? Check out Big Ben!

Here are the participants warming up and posing for pics.

They're oh so close, but the press wins!

Can't forget the delicious pancakes, which are not at all like ours. They're more like crepes with toppings of lemon juice and sugar.

Mmmmm, pancakes.

London, Take Two!

Here I am, back in London! I'm studying with the Danenburg Oberlin-in-London Program, which is where Oberlin College sends over two professors to teach a group of 17ish students every semester. I'm taking a Museums course with a history professor (Steve Volk), a London Stage course with a professor from here (Donna Vinter), and a British Colonialism and Identity course with Volk and an English professor (Anu Needham). It's so insane--I get credit to go to a museum and a play each week! I'm looking forward to seeing Judy Dench in one play and Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart in another. Cool, huh?


I've been so busy since arriving that this is the first possible time to update everybody. Within the first week, I've found a flat, taken a supertour of Saint Paul's Cathedral (even going to the crypt and back through a secret doorway where they filmed a Harry Potter staircase scene in Prisoner of Azkaban), walked through loads of markets, seen the play English People Very Nice, and so much more. Time has seriously flown by, but I'm making the most of it.


SoOoOo, today's Valentine's Day. Normally not a day for us singletons, but my day rocked anyhow. After sleeping in (I've been sick and pretty much passed out for the past 24 hours), I woke up and did some reading (we've got loads to do). Then I went to the National Theatre to see an interview of Tom Stoppard--the playwright who wrote Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, Jumpers, and more. He was pretty hilarious, and afterward we went to his book signing. Then Ray and I walked down the River Thames past the Globe Theatre to get some fish and chips before returning to the National Theatre. We met Thalia (my housemate from Oberlin) and Ben (Grinnell student on our program) to watch Shakespeare in Love projected on the roof. Oh yeah, Tom Stoppard cowrote that, too. After a quick tube ride home, I baked some cupcakes with another housemate, Tom. Thalia and I share a room in a house with 5 others--Tom from southern England, Tim from France, Kim from Canada, Ka from China, and Charity from Zambia. They're all uber friendly and chill.

Anyway, there's a pretty brief intro of my time so far. More to come soon!