The tea stains my mug and I can't scrub it off...

Here is the conversation I have with every single person I meet:

New Friend: Where in America are you from?
Me: Well, I'm from California, but I don't go--
New Friend: Really? I'm so jealous. You must hate the weather here.
Me: Actually, no... I really like it. I get burnt easily, so this whole lack of sun thing works out pretty well for me.
New Friend: Where in California are you from?
Me: I'm from Berkeley, but I don't go--
New Friend: Where's that? I've been to (insert city in California, usually LA, San Diego, or San Francisco)
Me: It's about forty-five minutes away from San Francisco.
New Friend: That's amazing. You must go there a lot. So, you're on the California exchange program?
Me: Uh... haha... no. I'm from California, but I go to university... um... somewhere else.
New Friend: Where?
Me: Um, in Wisconsin? It's in the middle and by Canada.
New Friend: Oh... why?

And here, depending on my mood, I either say something along the lines of "I wanted to see a different part of the country," or "I wanted to know what seasons are like," or just "because I'm crazy."

 My Own Personal Teatime

This weekend, I bought my train ticket to Paris. One of my favorite people, Karina, is studying there for the year, and during my reading week break in early November, I'm going to go stay in her little Parisian apartment. Then, during the week so as not to distract her from her studies, I am going to go to Lodeve to visit my cousins. I've never been to Paris, and here is what I am expecting:

• Illegal can-can performances interrupted by the police, as seen in Can-Can
• Interpretive dancing in cafes like Audrey Hepburn in Funny Face
  
• Tall men in tailcoats and top hats and elegant women singing "The Night They Invented Champagne," as seen in Gigi
• All colors to be instantly saturated once I step off the train, as seen in Amelie
  
• Baguettes with pate

Last week, I went on my very first pub crawl with the Shakespeare society and met some hilarious people. It was also my first time outside of the campus.... a relief since I had been feeling a bit claustrophobic. We went to Leamington Spa, which was adorable, especially in comparison to Coventry. The Shakespeare society is putting on All's Well That Ends Well this semester and I plan on getting involved in some way or another.

Tomorrow night my entire Shakespeare class is going to Stratford-Upon-Avon to see Twelfth Night at the Courtyard Theatre. I see on my ticket that I will be sitting in row A of the gallery, meaning I can put my elbows up on the railing, which is my favorite thing to do in the theater... theatre.

My life here is Shakespeare-themed if you couldn't tell.

I don't really mind.


New discovery: watching X Factor is essential in English culture. Enjoying X Factor is not.