Theatre

So, I've found the greatest thing about London are the student discounts. Yes, the exchange rate is terrible and the U.K. is generally much more expensive than the U.S., but the help given to students over here is fantastic. I've seen 3 shows outside the group's theater adventures and for every one, the tickets have been more than 50% discounted! And it doesn't stop there either. Every museum store gives at least a 10% discount, as do many concerts and other events. Without being a student while spending all this time here, we'd all have a much more complicated time of finding things to do and enjoy at decent prices.

Today the entire group had a tour of the National Theatre. Seeing how they operate 3 theaters within the one building, including props, sets, and all the storage capability was really interesting. We got an insight to the inner-workings of a very esteemed performing space. Having the opportunity to see the background along with all the performances makes seeing the shows more valuable. Many of us realize all the hard work that goes into shows from having personal experience, but it's more vivid when you're standing next to the workers in the set room and the actors practicing on the stage. The speed in which they put together these shows, that we had a short glimpse of, makes it even more amazing.

It really feels like everyone's getting a strong feel of our surroundings at this point, which is really nice. I thought we wouldn't really know the city until right before we left, but after these couple of weeks it seems as though we're all getting familiar with the area. It certainly doesn't feel like this much time has gone by and I feel more pressured every day to make sure I don't miss any opportunities while I'm here... But then I have to remind myself, there's a TON of time left to accomplish it all.