An American Suburb in London

My apologies to everyone who’s been waiting with baited breath for my next installment—last night I was simply knackered, and couldn’t bring myself to type anything out. So, tonight you get a two-for:

YESTERDAY:

I had the day off yesterday, and spent most of it hunting for housing via the interwebs. No real luck, though, so I decided to sign-up for something called speed-flatmating. It’s like speed-dating, but…well, looking for flatmates. Hopefully that will work (especially after today’s experience—but more on that later)!

Later in the day, I attended a film night sponsored by UEL’s GLBTQ group. The event was...okay. But the film, called "Fit," should have been titled "Meh."

I mean, sure, I'm glad I did it for the experience, but it certainly wasn't worth the money or hours it took me to get there. There were only six other people there, and not a single one of them even introduced themselves to me, let alone did anything to make me feel welcomed. I was pretty disappointed by the whole thing.

We did watch two episodes of "Will & Grace" before the movie (which I find increasingly problematic the older I get, and the more academically minded I am). Nonetheless, it was interesting to see which American-based jokes landed, and which ones went over their heads. As for the movie: imagine "Step Up" (2, 3, or 10, since the first one was at least mildly enjoyable), meets "Fame," meets a high school coming out movie. My gravy, it was sooooo bad. 

I was feeling kind of disgusted after the fact—the group didn't even make an effort to get to know me as I was leaving—and I think that's because I partly assumed it would be kind of a ready-made friend set, you know? Like, they'd wonder what it was like to be gay in America or something. I don't know. But it wasn't what I expected.

So, at any rate, I tried to make myself feel better by swinging by Buckingham Palace on the way home for some more night photos. Wow—unlike Tower Bridge and the Tower of London, it was super sketchy and dark all around. And people were few and far between. I kind of feared for my safety a bit. (Unrelated to that last thought, but it was also the first place I've seen unhoused persons since I've been here, and someone vandalizing property—a young, well-dressed white woman tagging a phone booth). But I pushed through, determined to turn my mood around. I got one or two decent photos out of at least.

Buckingham Palace

I tried to get in, but they wouldn't let me...

...Or did they?

Finally, when I returned home, I watched two episodes of “The Inbetweeners,” which Nic and I typically watch courtesy of BBC America. For once, though, I was able to watch it unedited—and it was a bit overwhelming, actually. I just might prefer the bleeped out version a touch more. (Or, looking back at what I’ve written so far, maybe I’m just in a crabby, I-don’t-care-for-much mood today…)

TODAY:

Today was another non-school day, and another day of searching for housing. And this time I actually got an appointment to check out a place. Everything seemed good—the price, the location, the lack of a deposit—until I actually arrived: a huge portion of the wall against which the headboard was resting was caked in mold. Ugh! Obviously, I won’t be living there…

But, since I was in Stratford already, I decided to check-out one of London’s newest attractions, which has the UEL campus officials positively abuzz…

Ready…?

A Westfield’s mall.

Don’t get me wrong, it was a nice mall—but, I can honestly say that if when (and if) I ever get homesick for American culture, I can just pop over to the Westfield’s and it’ll be just like I’m home again. Except with a Marks & Spencer’s instead of Target. (Sadly, there was still no sign of Grace Brothers Department Store…)

They're free...mainly because I haven't found them yet. (Or because all but two of them are dead now...)

In short, I’d prefer spending my time in a more interesting London environment than one that I can find in practically any American suburb.

Ah, well, at least I got to watch another batch of episodes from “Come Dine with Me” (the celebrity version this time) when I came home. Oh, and I had dinner at a pub called “The Trout”—it was pretty tasty.

Until next time, remember: you've all done very well!