Goodbye, January.

It's hard to believe that February has arrived - I'm coming up on a month that I've been here already. Time flies.

Another week in the books, and only one more full one before the travels begin. I am glad to say I am continuing to enjoy my time here, and although I do miss friends and family and certain aspects of life in the States, I haven't had to deal with any significant feelings of homesickness or tiredness of being here - having Jillian around certainly helps with that. It will be nice to have visitors in March beginning with Mom and Dad, though.

Classes are in full swing now. International Security continues to be my favorite class of the bunch, and we have moved into the section on nuclear proliferation and terrorism which interests me. Developmental was a bit better this past week, as was Psych and Education. Art History... remains Art History.

Early in the week Jillian and I met up with her friend Lauren for another half-off dinner at Pizza Express to welcome her to London. When Jillian and I went there the first time, we finished up and asked for a box for our leftovers, but the waiter informed us they couldn't do that since they didn't have a "take-out license." Very odd. So he asked if we wanted him to leave the leftovers after all, to which we agreed. We finished them off, and he returned and said "So you won, eh?" Well, this time around, Jillian was not to be denied. She smuggled a Tupperware container in her purse, and then when she was done eating with three pieces remaining, cautiously looked left, then right. In a flash of quickness the pizza was shoveled off her plate and into her Tupperware, which was then jammed back into her purse. A content and mischievous smile crept across her face. And the pizza crept into her stomach for lunch the next day.

On Wednesday Jillian and I went with two of our flatmates (who brought another friend and a boyfriend, respectively) to see Avatar. George (Rosie's boyfriend) and I had already seen it once, and Rosie had actually seen it twice before, but the other three hadn't seen it yet. It was just as good the second time, and remains the best movie I've seen in a while. Jillian, despite an initial lack of interest when it first came out, seemed to enjoy it. Continuing her smuggling ways, Jillian had us stop at a convenience store en route to the theater so we could all stock up on snacks for the film. Han Solo would be proud.

Other than that, during the week we passed the time with some online games (The Game of Life was a brief hit before we couldn't find any more free 60 minute trials) and more of The Wire. We finished Season 1 and are half way through Season 2 - for those who haven't seen it, I'd highly recommend it. I've also found that I can watch episodes of Around the Horn and Pardon the Interruption on ESPN.com, so I've been watching the previous day's episodes.

Over the weekend, we attempted to go out to eat at a Mexican place called Wahaca, that was supposedly Chipotle-esque (and some people online dared to claim it was even better). It's right by Trafalgar Square, so we walked down only to find that there was an hour wait. Jillian didn't feel like waiting (yeah, I just threw you under the bus on that one) so we headed out to find a different place to eat. We settled on the Spaghetti House, which was a decent chain restaurant. Nothing special, but it was good enough. Afterward we hung out with Lauren for a bit at the UCL Union's Pub. Sunday we did our weekly grocery shopping, including some items at a different store called Mark's and Spencer's. A bit pricier, but with some different options. After that we walked up to Camden Market to walk around and check it out. It's a HUGE market with all sorts of flea market type stalls with food, clothing, etc. Many offers for free samples and for "4 pound mix and match" Asian food. Also an offer from a British kid around my age consisting simply of the word: "Marijuana?" Right in the middle of the street. Very interesting. But the market was cool, and we'll definitely head back sometime.

Tonight we went out to dinner with Lauren and Michael (he got in yesterday) to a place called Yo! Sushi. We had 40% off coupons (even with those it was expensive... upwards of 5 pounds for two pieces of sushi) and had heard it was a fun place to go. The sushi comes around on a conveyor belt like at Pod in Philly. It was a good and fun dinner, and in a part of town we hadn't been to yet (Russell Square) that was really nice. The restaurant was part of an outdoor mall, which included a grocery store called Waitrose that was even bigger than the main Sainsbury's we usually go to. We walked around and Jillian and I eventually decided to get a delicious looking Apple and Blackberry pie. We had some when we got back for dessert with ice cream - indeed, delicious.

So tomorrow, back to class bright and early. I did a big chunk of reading today, so I think I'm finally getting back into school mode - or at least something resembling that. No big plans yet this weekend except to watch the Super Bowl at Lauren and Michael's since they have a TV. I'll be monitoring Freeney's ankle...

If there is a long gap between this blog post and the next, it's probably because the Colts lost and I fell into a mild depression. Only slightly exaggerating. Go Colts.


This week's cultural difference:

No Cheetos. How could you not have Cheetos growing up?!