Monday, 3-25-96
7:45 PM London
1:45 PM E-Town
For 3 nights in a row I have had Kraft “Mac & Cheese” or “Cheesy Mac” for dinner! (YIKES… it’s gotta stop — though, oh so yummy!) I don’t feel like writing in here anymore right now, no real reason…
Wednesday, 3-27-96
1:22 AM London
Tuesday, 3-26-96
7:22 PM E-Town
Okay, real tired… Long day! But I had to take a few mins. to write in here… Last night saw “Trainspotting” w/ Lori, Ruth & another friend! It was about some Scottish blokes who are heroin addicts. Very good, yet disturbing!
Also, last night Lori & I got into another one of our conflicts… I don’t feel like getting into it now, it was frustrating, but it is over.
This morning we went to the Tower of London! I had been really looking forward to going there & it was fabulous! First we went on a “Beef-Eater” tour & then to see the “Crown Jewels!” We both bought books about the jewels, monarchy and coronation! We also saw carvings prisoners made in the walls of a tower while captive waiting to be executed!
After British Society class today Jill, Paul, Adam, John, Jason, Tom, Jack & I went to the “Duck-n-Dive” pub for a little socializing & Happy Hour w/ our amazing prof: Matthew Broderick! Then Jill, Adam & I went to church — Adam had never been to a Catholic church.
After that Adam & I did e-mail! I got messages today from Mom, Deb, Gwen, Sue, Colleen, Hillary Hunt, Nina Anderson, Mitch & surprisingly Lloyd Bradford (he must’ve gotten the address from Jacquie)! Yesterday I got real letters from cousin Casey & her hubby Mike in Spain & Deb (a postcard from her spring break at Disney)! Today from Dynamite! Cas & Mike said Ruth & I could stay w/ them & visit if we can! ☺︎ We plan to… ☺︎
After e-mail, during which I received another message from Lloyd 15 min. after writing him back, Adam & I finally headed home about 9 PM!
We were both tired, hungry, & there for extremely amused!
We went to this kebab place for a cheap “Diner in a Pita” dinner! The guy who works there is a real character! (especially when you try to order… ☺︎)
All night Adam & I were calling each other “Elaine & Jerry” cuz we felt all this evening’s experiences would make great Seinfeld episodes!
Later, after I was home awhile… Lori, Nick, Ruth, Mel & I finally settled our plans for Scotland this weekend! Yea! Major load off… ☺︎ I even reserved us a hostel for Fri. & Sat. nights in Edinburgh! ☺︎
Lori & I stayed up talking about random things again & it is now after 2 AM… So I gotta get to sleep! This was very much the abridged version of the past 48 HRS! Oh, quickly, yesterday Jill & I finished up the research for our Business project! We also went souvenir shopping for family & friends! I bought 12 shot glasses of London for friends & 4 more Monet paperweights for family!
CHEERS! ☺︎
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Note from Present Day Kathy: I almost didn’t share the first entry in this post, since it is so short. However, I appreciate that I didn’t feel like writing at the time, was honest with myself, and then stopped. I also wasn’t sure how I wanted to include it, as I didn’t think it was enough to be a stand alone blog entry and yet I have only shared multiple London Semester Journal entries that were written on the same day/date, not more than one.
Every once in awhile there is something in my journals that doesn’t make sense to me. When I talk about going to see Trainspotting with (not their real names) Lori & Ruth, I also wrote another short name. So apparently there were three of us, hence I wrote “another friend” in the entry above. However, somewhat strangely, the name isn’t familiar to me and I don’t recall who this person is/was. It almost looks like a nickname, but even that doesn’t ring a bell, as most of my friends from that semester if I referred to them by a nickname, I used it frequently in my journals. I have a running list of the “London Semester Aliases” that I’ve been using for these blog posts and this person is not included. Hmmm… Oh, well. I guess that will remain a mystery.
Trainspotting reminds me so much of my semester abroad, especially because I bought the soundtrack and hearing the songs from it always take me back to that time in my life! Not that long ago Bob and I rewatched it and it is still disturbing, though at 45 I have a different perspective than I did at 21. We also watched the sequel, which was made over 20 years after the original. I didn’t think it was as good, however I did enjoy seeing where the characters were imagined to be in the future and love seeing anything that takes place in the UK.
When I think back on the relationship my roommate (not her real name) Lori and I had, it’s understandable that we had conflicts, as living and spending so much time together, even though we attended different schools in London, made us more like siblings. I appreciate even more now that being around anyone that long can get old after awhile and we all need space/breaks, even from those we really care about.
I’m glad we made it to the Tower of London and that it lived up to my expectations! I am also intrigued that I mentioned buying souvenir books, as I am not sure where they are right now. This gives me more motivation to spend time organizing our many boxes of stuff in the guest room, as I imagine mine are in there somewhere.
I continue to find it amusing remembering what a production it was to check email back then! We could only do it while on campus, which was a 30 minute tube ride from where we lived. It was still faster than snail mail, especially across the pond… That said, 21 year old Kathy would be dumb founded that 45 year old Kathy is typing this on my laptop computer in my home, with my iPhone next to me, both of which allow me to email and so much more!
It was fun to revisit (not his real name) Adam and my night feeling like we could be on Seinfeld. He is another friend from that semester that I really enjoyed spending time with. We lost touch within a few years and as with others who were special to me back then, I wonder now and then how he is doing/what he is up to almost 25 year later. His first and last name is relatively common and the few times I’ve tried to find him via social media I haven’t been successful.
The last page of pictures were of my roommate and two of our housemates that we hung out with a lot being silly. I think my roommate had just gotten her nose pierced and that’s why I was pointing to her in the first photo. I also like that you can see our room and how we decorated the walls by our beds with photos of loved ones from home, as well as cards that we got in the mail.
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Reminder: Unless I’ve been given permission to use people’s actual names, in most cases I’ve removed or replaced the names of the real people who were part of my journey/experience there, in effort to protect and respect their identities/privacy in my London Semester Journal entries. I will also not share details that I think and feel are too personal for anyone I interacted with, my loved ones, and me.
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Here’s the back story of My London Semester Journals from 1996, including what prompted me to revisit and decide to share them here in 2018. And here’s a list a list of the entries, which I will update as I share them.
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