Hair highlights

Alright so as much of a recap as I can accomplish I will, since I haven’t had internet since I got to London – or if I did I was paying a pound/ half hour, kind of ridiculous in my book. But so far the trip is totally worth everything! I have seen so much of London already and yet have so much more ahead of me. The second night I was here, Gary (prof), Darrell, (student) and I went to see the Westend play Hair! A little ironic that Hair would be the first big show I see, but nonetheless it was great! My absolute favorite is listening to the actors and actresses sing, and boy could they sing! Not being a theatre buff like Darrell and Gary, and basically everyone else on this trip, I wasn’t knowledgeable of the live actors in the play but I’m trying to keep up and retain as much information as possible. The knowledge and culture I’m receiving is for the most part all new and I love it! While we were waiting for tickets an hour before the show (in order to get the student discount 25 pounds!) we met two other students from Illinois who are also studying in London for the semester. While we got talking, while I was basically listening because they were theatre buffs chatting away with language I’m not all that familiar with, they brought up their favorite part of seeing Hair (this not their first time). The best part they said was at the end when everyone was invited to get on stage and dance. I didn’t even know what to think about this because I knew as nervous as I was, I was definitely getting up on that stage, and I did. The entire crew stays on stage and dances while the audience joins them. I lost Darrell in the mix but ended up dancing to the Age of Aquarius until the very end! Only being the second night in London I was still a bit jetlagged and got sleepy towards the end of the show, however when I was able to get on stage and just dance it was amazing. Being alone on stage, but yet a part of that moment was a good feeling.

While the show has been a big highlight of my trip so far, there is a lot I haven’t even touched on and it may have to wait until a later date. The time difference, lack of Internet, and chaotic days is road blocking most of my communication – but I’m not complaining, I am in one of the greatest parts of the world. In short I’ve walked most of central London and reached The Globe, where we went tonight to see Merry Wives of Windsor, which was hilarious except for getting rained on (not so funny, but definitely an experience) as well we saw Big Ben! London is full magnificent architecture that takes my breath away and it still surprises me that I am witnessing everything first hand.