10 Mar

Only two more weeks of class left! I can hardly believe it! Seminar was fun today and I found out from Qamer about a neat event going on this weekend at the Olympia center in Kensington (near where Harrods and some museums are). ZeeTV, the Asian television channel, is hosting a South Asian Carnival of sorts where some big name Bollywood actors will sign autographs, top artists will showcase their music, fashion designers will conduct fashion shows, and food vendors will serve delicious meals. Sounds like fun, eh? The entry fee is £12.50, which is rather steep but I think the experience will be worth it. I’m going to spend some time with Andy Garcia and Jessica Binkley (who’ll be coming to town today) on Saturday so I think I’ll hit up this carnival on Sunday.

Jack the Ripper tour tonight! Lainey’s been excited about this all week and today she could hardly contain herself. In case you’re not familiar with the man, “Jack the Ripper” was a serial killer, perhaps the first in recorded history, who terrorized the East End of London in the autumn (the “autumn of terror,” according to our tour guide) of 1888. He not only killed but violently butchered his five prostitute and destitute victims and sent London into a panic for the rest of the year. Various conspiracy theories surround the case and to this day no one knows for sure who he was. Our tour went around the East End (near the Tower of London and Brick Lane) to various locations, including murder sites and former homes of the victims. Few buildings remain of that time due to heavy bombing of the area during WWII.

The night was cold, windy, and slightly drizzly. All we needed was some real heavy London fog to make the mood perfect. The smog in those days could get so heavy you could hardly see a few feet in front of you. Imagine walking down a poorly lit alleyway then! We call those kinds of places sketchy now but then they must have been terrifying. Who knew what lurked in the darkness of the shadows…

We got back home around 22:30. Katie was just coming back from the library so I talked with her on the walk back from the train station. She’s a cool kid and way more sensible about alcohol than many of the people I’ve met here. I could learn a lot from her (especially about wine; she told me it took her a long time to get used to the taste but when she did, she really liked it). Who knows? If I go slowly, I may be able to down a real English ale without gagging before I leave here. We shall see. Cheers!

P.S. I just found this picture and thought it was funny. (me in Brussels)