Easter Weekend Escapades

Easter weekend in London is surprisingly quiet. Most of my British friends left the city to return to their family homes and it looks like most of the city has as well. Even the Central Line has empty seats! There is an increase of British and European tourists at the moment. There are even more languages spoken than usual and lots of people with British accents looking over maps. It's a strange thing to have someone with a British accent ask you for directions in London, but (if I know where it is) I always feel smug replying accurately with my American "accent." (Despite my British friends protesting otherwise, I still maintain that American is the default accent.)

This weekend I went to see Phantom of the Opera at Her Majesty’s Theatre in Leicester Square.  It was fantastic! I was with two very knowledgeable theatre-goers so my attempts to explain why I enjoyed the performance will not be nearly as eloquent or with the appropriate terminology.  The set was fantastic; I would decorate my house with the candles, chandelier, and Venice-eqsue gondolas and canals.  

Over the past six months or so, I’ve gone out for ramen on an average of probably 1-2 a week (there was one week when a friend and I went four consecutive days in a row).  Even if my chopstick technique is not perfect, by now I find chopsticks just as easy to use as a fork.  A few of us decided to try a new place this weekend. I told my friends about my chopstick skill improvement as we waited. Shortly after our ramen arrived, one of the waitresses came over to me and asked, “Excuse me, would you like a fork?”  No, she wasn’t asking our whole table, she knelt down right beside me.  Do I just not look capable of using chopsticks? I was rather insulted, but it provided entertainment for my friends at least!  I felt like I needed to prove my chopstick abilities the rest of the time.  After I had finished, I did manage to knock a chopstick off the table and onto the floor (dropping utensils on the floor seems to be just as common as tripping for me lately – meaning it happens multiple times daily) so she might have had a point.  I was also using a tiny spork at Borough Market the other day and a friend handed me a fork without me asking for it.  Apparently, I looked like I was struggling, even though I didn’t feel that I was.

 I don’t think I’ve shared my other recent amusingly insulting moments.  A few weeks ago, I found some US dollars in my room and went to a currency exchange place.  The worker asked if I was enjoying my trip to London.  Oh please, I live here, I’m not a tourist!

The other time was at the rink in January when I asked the qualifications for skating the advanced session.  Without ever having watched me skate, the worker said, “That wouldn’t apply to you.” I know I’m really bad at skating given the amount of effort I’ve put into it, but I didn’t think you could tell that just by looking at me!  I then proceeded to accidentally run over two poor small children during crowded sessions…there was a reason I asked about the advanced session.  (I also later looked up the qualifications and it was the equivalent of a US Figure Skating intermediate test, which I actually passed on my first try when I was fourteen or fifteen.  Thanks for your confidence in my abilities, random rink worker.)

The Columbia Flower Market is always gorgeous and offers a selection of flowers.  I bought blue roses last term and they have dried beautifully.  A couple of months ago, I bought an orchid that is actually still growing and blooming (though I take no credit for that, as my flat mate’s mom and grandma made it a special orchid feed and my flat mate waters it a lot more than I do – Thank you, Amy and family!) This time, I decided to buy some tulips from Holland for Easter!

My next adventure is a trip to Scotland.  Thanks for reading and stay tuned!