it's been awhile

Hello everyone! I've realized that it's been a few weeks since I've sent out an email. I got pretty busy with traveling and the end of term stuff. Now classes are all over and everyone is heading back home for christmas (including me next week, yay!) I keep forgetting to take my camera with me places so I don't have any fun pictures. That and it's dark by 4pm everyday. We went to Oxford Street (the main shopping street in London) for their official opening of the christmas season on Dec. 1. It was crazy. They closed the street off so it was completely pedestrain for the day and a lot of the shops had promotionals. There were marching bands (my fav was the indian bagpipe group, it was the most unusal thing to see), street performers, salvation army brass bands, lost of santas and elves, a high school musical pep rally, crazed looking shoppers. It was an interesting day, and I was helping my friend Jane shoot a documentary on it so I got to interview a few random people. I saw it the other day, it looks good. London really does alot for christmas time. All the major streets are decorated with christmas lights, the department stores put up fun displays in their windows. The big toy store, Hamleys is very scary though all month long. We went in there one day wandering around and the lines at the checkout area were crazy. The rest of the store was fun though. I've spent a lot of time lately wandering around the streets, window shopping. Its a fun way to kill time between classes, when I didn't have to run to the library or anything. We've also found many "secret streets" or narrow streets with little shops the pop in and out of the major streets. They are often the best decorated places too. Also there are carnival rides set up at random places all over London. I've been to 2. The one in Hyde Park was rather lame and everything was overpriced and the ice skating rink was sold out for the night, but the one we happened on in Leicester Square was a lot of fun even if I got in trouble later for taking some people on too many spiny rides. Oh, and if anyone comes to London as a tourist, avoid the Science Museum, I went today and was totally unimpressed. The Natural History museum right next to it is better, go there instead. Oh, and I saw the Golden Compass last week and was also unimpressed with that as well. I believe that is all my news. If I don't see you, Merry Christmas!