Orientation is over, let the real work begin! Wednesday was the first day of classes. Though in typical "syllabus week" fashion, Wednesday consisted mostly of going over the course. My schedule is set up so that I have Urban Geography on Monday and Tuesday, Art & Architecture on Wednesday and Thursday, Advanced Theatre Monday through Thursday, and the mandatory course, Encountering London, Monday and Friday, so some professors I won't even meet until next week. So far, though, everyone seems excellent. With Art, we even jumped right in, not even wasting a day. It's great to see how motivated and dedicated these professors are, and how knowledgeable they are regarding their respective fields.
Thursday I had my first Theatre course, which take place at the professors home. It's lovely - we sit on the couch, she makes us tea, we play with her dog, and discuss theatre. There's only five of us in the class as well, so, needless to say, I love it already. For Art, we went to the British Museum to look at the Parthenon sculptures, particularly the frieze work. That museum is absolutely incredible - I could go there every day and I still don't think that I would be able to see everything in the 4 months that I'm here!
As the final task of our orientation, we went to see a performance at the Roundhouse Theatre in Camden. The space is known for hosting big rock concerts, particularly in the '60s, and apparently used to really be hardcore, as told by Sheila. She, by the way, seems to have an endless supply of leather pants, so I would trust her to have a lot of firsthand knowledge! Fuerzabruta, the show, was nothing like I expected. It was like a cross between an acid trip, a dream, and the circus. I didn't really get it at first, but it was fantastic once you stopped trying to find a story. The cast was consistently suspended in the air, a man ran on a giant treadmill through cardboard walls, people swam in clear pools suspended about 2 inches above the audience - it was insane. I usually hate when people get intoxicated for performances, but this is one where I think it would have been a great idea, if not necessary!!
Thursday was also our friend Josh's 21st birthday. Since it doesn't hold the same meaning here as it does in the states, as the legal drinking age is 18, we made sure to do it in good old ratchet US fashion! Icing, of course, was a must - we are St. Lawrence students after all. We went out to a bunch of bars and pubs in Camden after Fuerzabruta. One was even a biker bar, where we stood out even more than usual as the obnoxious drunk American! It was an experience, to say the least! Although, I was the sober voice of reason all night (there you go, Mom!)
