First of all, things have been going really well in Oxford--I'm starting to really know my way around since every afternoon after my second class I've been trying to take a walk by myself and explore more of the city. Yesterday I also bought my required Oxford University gear (sweatshirt and t-shirt), and now that it's cold and I need to wear my sweatshirt all the time I look like a complete tool. It's great :-)
So...today. The plan originally was for my friend Carol and I to meet up in London this afternoon for the Harry Potter premiere, with her taking the 1:30 train from Oxford and me taking the 3:30. This, however, did not really end up happening--check it out:
My day started out normally, just class and then homework and then lunch in my room (a terrible quiche that I threw half of away... will be important later) and then a group meeting for my ethics class. My group meeting got done early so I decided to run and get a Kebab for lunch (since I was still hungry after the terrible quiche). On my way back with my Kebab, my friend Amy essentially tackled me outside of my dorm, telling me that the woman running my program needed someone to take the train to London Paddington RIGHT AWAY because one of the group leaders forgot their passport in Oxford and they were flying back to the states today. They offered to excuse me from class and pay for my train ticket and everything, so I ran to the office, grabbed the passport, ran to the train station, and met Carol for the 1:30 train. We made it and got to London by 2:30 or so, where we caught a bus and headed to Leicester Square, where the premiere was to be held.
For one thing, the square was CRAZY--some people had been camping out in the rain since ten am the previous day, which is a bit much if you ask me. Anyway, after wandering around for a bit Carol and I decided on what we thought was a good spot, which actually turned out to be an AMAZING one...we were right next to the entrance to the actual theatre behind an overhead red carpet walkway, so we had a clear view upwards of all of the actors as they walked into the movie. The really exciting part was that in the five hours we were standing there, it
A. Was sunny
B. Drizzled
C. Rained
D. Poured
E. Hailed
It was so much fun, though! The atmosphere was fantastic (we all huddled under our umbrellas together), we talked to a bunch of cool people (and some slightly odd ones), and it was just a really exciting place to be! We saw most of the major actors (Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Alan Rickman, Helena Bonham Carter and the people who played Dean, Neville, Seamus, Luna, the Weasley twins, Mr. Weasley, and Malfoy), as well as a bunch of British pop culture personalities who I didn't recognize but who everyone else screamed at. I took lots of blurry pictures, although I definitely found myself more interested in seeing the actual film next week than getting glimpses of the celebrities. It was still fun, though, and I'd do it again in a heartbeat. Even if we did have to take the train back all cold and wet afterwards :-)
I grabbed some Thai food on the way back from the train station, and now that I'm full and warm and dry I think it's time for bed. Pictures will hopefully be up tomorrow; right now I'm too tired. The one below should give you some idea of the crowd and it's demographic--you can see Alan Rickman tiny tiny in the middle signing autographs for all the screaming teenaged girls.
Night!
Dara
what happened to the foreshadowed quiche?
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