It’s reading week, or “employability and enhancement week” as Roehampton calls it, which means that I have a full week off of classes. It seems so early to have a break, but I am honestly exhausted from my first 5 weeks and recovering from a cold, so I’m not complaining! Reading week is supposed to be for catching up on course readings and having a little mid-term breather. Roehampton also brings employers onto campus to talk about postgraduate and career planning.
However, especially for American international students, it is considered a week off to travel since the UK and Europe feel tiny compared to our massive home country. I decided to do some TLC at home and day trips around London instead of a cross-country, international jaunt.
Monday 10/23 - Meet Calvin!
I walked over to Willesden Green Library on a surprisingly sunny morning (the sun did not last long) to rent a sewing machine from the “Library of Things” for just £5! I have been craving a sewing project for a while, and I’m so glad renting a machine is so affordable. For my fellow sewing nerds, it was a Janome machine from John Lewis and sewed like a dream. Not clunky at all! I did alterations on Zoe and my Halloween costumes that we’re wearing to a party this weekend… stay tuned for pics!
I was feeling under the weather, so I had quite a lazy day otherwise. I watched YouTube home renovations and started brainstorming Zoe and my shared vacation cottage in the rural English countryside (work in progress considering our chosen careers don't offer financial windfalls).
We also made delicious Nutella banana bread before I desperately needed a nap.
We ended the night with an unusual 8pm weekday Spurs game, where Son scored with a stunning strike and Madders got his first home goal as a Lilywhite!
Tuesday 10/24 - An Introvert's Dream Day Out
Happy 88th to my beautiful grandma, Mama Aida!
I had a slow morning again before returning Calvin the Sewing Machine to the library and hopping on the train to Hampton Court Palace. Surprisingly, today was another gorgeous sunny day, which made wandering around the Palace even more dramatic and gorgeous. Henry VIII really wanted the most, from pheasants to paintings to wives.
My jaw dropped as I walked across the Thames and turned into the main entrance walkway. Talk about drama. The Palace was even more massive than I thought, and it was a maze to wander around all of the Royal living quarters, kitchens, and hallways. In honor of spooky season, they even had haunted rooms set up with impressive light shows and sound effects.
Actors dressed as the infamous royals even haunted the halls: I trailed a painter wandering around in an aimless trance, kept running into an unnerving old woman (Queen Caroline??), and said hey to Anne Boleyn as she gave a literal death stare to Henry VIII's portrait. Fun fact: that was the hallway he strutted down every day to go to chapel! I imagined him clomping down the runway and creepily flirting with ladies in waiting.. ick.
Speaking of the wives, I had the soundtrack of Six the musical stuck in my head all day. Bios and displays of the six wives were set up around the huge Great Hall, where I could totally picture Henry chowing down on an entire deer. My footsteps echoed on the wooden floors and stone walkways, and I tried to imagine them walking around here, pregnant and desperate for a boy or being detained and sent to the Tower of London. The feminist in me was pissed and glared at Hans Holbein's portrait of the womanizing king, but then Caroline's (?) ghost scared the living daylights out of me and I returned to reality.
I treated myself to a latte and pumpkin soup outside in the garden cafe and started reading The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (thanks for lending me your copy Hebe!). It finally felt like fall, and I relished that rare moment of pure bliss, just reading a book in the warm sun without stressing about work or deadlines.
I must have been a little too comfortable with not having a schedule because when I walked back to the station, all trains to Waterloo were canceled due to an incident on the tracks. I ended up taking 3 buses to Wimbledon and two tubes home. But I made a little adventure out of it, getting to see Kingston and Old London Street and the charming suburbs of greater London. I stopped by yet another haberdashery and art supply store on my way to Hobbycraft, the equivalent to Michael’s, to pick up more crafting supplies for Zoe and me. It took me 3 hours to get home, but I enjoyed the adventure.
Wednesday 10/25 - Sleepy Hump Day
Since Zoe only has night classes, we hung out and had a chill morning setting up our chalk wall decal in the kitchen. We did so much math to make sure everything was even, and Zoe killed it with the fonts and details.
Later, I went to Primrose Hill at sunset, and it was absolutely gorgeous. Picture perfect weather, dogs chasing balls, friends celebrating birthdays, tourists taking photos of the skyline — it was bliss. Then I walked to Camden Market and got a burrito from a “Mexican” food stall. The burrito had carrots and peas in it which just felt so British. It was still yummy. Plus, when the vendor passed me my burrito, he randomly said, “You’re Filipina.”
My. Jaw. Dropped. No one has ever accurately identified me as Filipina thanks to my ~ethnic ambiguity~ or because I’m white-passing. But this made my DAY and he was so nice! I said, “Salamat (thank you),” and he replied, “Walang anuman (you’re welcome),” and I left with the biggest smile. He wasn’t even Filipino (I think he said Indonesian) but he made that effort.
Thursday 10/26 - I want to write for The Daily Prophet
After unexpectedly sleeping for 10 hours, I met Zoe at a big Pret in SoHo to do some work. I narrowed down my dance practice as research topic to prep for my first MRes (Master of Research - not sure if I ever said that I switched from an MA… surprise!) portfolio session next week. I also sat in front of a reflective star on the window, so I could people watch outside and behind me which was very entertaining and highly distracting.
Later, we killed time before Zoe’s 5pm class by walking to House of MinaLima, an art gallery and store created by the graphic designers from the Harry Potter movies, Miraphora Mira and Eduardo Lima. It was so cool to see how detailed every prop was. The Daily Prophet prints actually had entire stories written out. I always thought they were just gibberish under the headlines! They also just released an illustrated, pop up, interactive version of Prisoner of Azkaban, which was so stunning. We bought some postcards and took lots of photos of the quirky shop.
Zoe and I ended the day sitting in Gordon Square near UCL campus and had a really lovely heart-to-heart about life, love, and our dream countryside cottage with sheep, a pet cow, and lots of home renovation crafternoons. Then a kid farted loudly while hiding in a bush right behind us which killed the mood.
Friday 10/27 COYSCOYSCOYS
Zoe and I spent the morning working on our latest art project, a surprise gift and thank you for our amazing newfound friends who turned us into educated rugby fans (if you’re reading this, we’re almost done I promise!!) It’s the first time Zoe and I have collaborated this much on a big art piece, so it’s an extra special craft. We have very different artistic styles, and it’s been fun to learn how to merge Zoe’s perfectionism with my messier go-with-the-flow vibe. We’re learning a lot from each other, and we’re very happy with our work so far!
Later, we finally visited our local pub to catch Friday night football: Spurs v Crystal Palace. Angie’s Bar is women-owned (you can tell from the cozy decor and “live laugh love” fonts) and we loved it from the start. We met up with some friends there who put the Rugby World Cup on one screen and the Premier League on the opposite side, so we watched over each other.
We happened to sit next to a table of New Zealander Arsenal fans, and the woman next to me jokingly asked if she should have her husband leave since he was wearing an Arsenal shirt. We didn’t come to fight, so we said he could chill, and we all had a great chat after. Spurs had a rough first half but came out with the win in the end! COYS! Top of the table babyyy (knock on wood).
Saturday 10/28 - Kachow!
Happy Halloweekend! Our dear flatmates and friends invited us to a wicked Halloween party, and Zoe and I went all out for our costumes as usual. I’m also realizing this should just be renamed Zoe Week because we are inseparable and I love hanging out with my bestie in our dream city. Anyway, we went as the best friends-couples costume ever: McQueen and Mater. Many a crafternoon was spent making our anthropomorphic hats and altering our costumes, but it was so worth it in the end.
After we had a girls-get-ready-and-eat-potatoes pre-game and met the sweetest, coolest gals, we met up with the boys to watch the Rugby World Cup final at the party host’s flat. It was a thrilling match, but South Africa came out on top with New Zealand just a point down. Then, the party really got started. I stitched someone back into their dress after the zipper broke and was told I should have dressed as Luigi since I’m great at these pit stop changes. Then we danced and drank and took photos and chatted for hours into the night. In the UK, daylight savings starts at midnight, so we went home only 4 hours apart from our families back home.
Sunday Scaries
After a fun and relaxing week, I have to flip back into school mode and mentally prepare myself for returning to my early morning long commute to Roehampton, but I am so excited to get into rehearsal and research mode and reunite with my friends and professors. Also, special guest and Conn bestie PAYTON FERRIS will be joining us tomorrow, so I’m even more pumped!
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