Reading week

Well, it's reading week now, which is a week off from classes in which we're supposed to catch up on our reading and studying, but everyone leaves town instead. I myself am going to Amsterday Friday-Sunday, and am either going to Sussex with Holly for a day, or to Oxford with Carina and others for a day.

Yesterday, we had a "module fair" to help us decide which classes to take for the rest of the year. I had an insanely hard time deciding between "AIDS" and "Gender and Health," but in the end, I think I'll go with AIDS as the safe bet. It's taught by the guy who does all the TB/HIV work at the school, and since I'm interested in TB/HIV coinfection, I should try to get to know this guy.

I studied a bit in the afternoon, then a few of us from CID went bowling. Well, we were planning to go bowling, but all the lanes were booked until 9:30, so we did karaoke instead. SO MUCH FUN!!!

Alek, Cheryl, and Holly singing their hearts out

Food!!

It was in a private room, so the 10 of us crammed into this little room and sang our hearts out en masse for two hours. I particularly enjoyed "Stronger," by Britney Spears, "It's all coming back to me now," by Celine Dion, "Total Eclipse of the Heart," by Bonnie Tyler, and "Believe" by Cher.

Adorable Alex and her nachos

Aparna and her dog

Afterward, a few of us went for a pint, and I decided to get a half-pint of cider (such a better alternative to beer!) Holly, who is one year younger and five inches shorter than me, ordered her drink. Laura, who is the same age as me, ordered her drink. When I ordered my half-pint, the bartender said something that I couldn't understand. "Do you not have half-pints?" I said. "A pint then." That was not what he was saying. "I need to see some ID," he repeated, this time a little sheepish.

Now, I get carded all the time back home, and think it's weird when I don't get carded. The policy in England is that they don't serve alcohol under 18, but they card if they think you look 21 or under. I haven't been carded here except to get into clubs, so this really threw me off and embarrassed me. I totally blushed, and was making a big deal of it with my friends, and when the guy gave me my change, he seemed really embarrassed. It was so awkward! I was upset because I felt like a 14-year-old, and Laura was upset because she didn't get carded. The 21-year-old in our group didn't get carded, but that might have been because she came after me and the guy was too embarrassed to card anyone else. Or it might have been because she looks like an adult and I look like a child. Hard to say.

It's hard to recover from that. It's hard to sit down with your drink in a room full of men and have any confidence that you're attractive. It's hard to stop being paranoid that everyone in the room is wondering who let a 14-year-old in the pub.

So Christmas is on everyone's minds, and it seems that EVERYONE is going home, leaving me alone in London. People keep asking me what I'll do for Christmas, and it's starting to make me feel a bit sorry for myself not having an answer for them. I told a couple of my friends last week that I'm expecting to meet my future husband any day now, so I'll probably spend Christmas with him, whoever he is. But then two great things happened in two days to solve my problem. First, Jacque booked a flight on the 27th of December! Yaaaaaayyyyyy!!!!!! I'm so excited!! As for Christmas itself, Holly told me that she talked to her parents, and they said they would love to have me for Christmas! Woohoo! Her family was awesome, so I'm excited about this. Thanks, Holly!

I hope that Jacque booking a flight to visit me will motivate some of my family to make plans to come visit me. It's depressing to hear my North American friends talk about their family visiting every other week, while I have no idea if anyone will visit me. Well, now Jacque is visiting, and I know Sara definitely intends to. Maybe I'll just replace family with friends. Who needs family anyway, right? Let me put it this way, family: after this year is up, I'll probably move to someplace like India or Africa. Would you rather pay the less-than $1000 to visit me in London, or $3500 to visit me in India or Africa?

Well, I'm off to learn all about TB/HIV coinfection. Unfortunately, the library chose today, in the middle of reading week, to move their catalogue to a different server, so it's unavailable. Thanks, guys!