No one mourns the wicked!

As you can tell by the title, Wicked was one of the highlights of the day! But I will start at the beginning. There was no rain today! Amazing! We actually dared to leave the apartment without an umbrella and there was no problem. We also were able to go out without jackets and we didn't freeze. However, even though today was not freezing, we still went shopping in search of a jacket to help us last the rest of the trip.

We decided to check out Primark that we had heard tons about. It was an experience like no other. This store is two stories with clothing everywhere. Picture a Forever 21 on speed or crack or some other drug. It was insane. There was a line of probably more than fifty people for the dressing rooms. The preferred means of trying on clothing was to simply put the clothing on over your present outfit. Many had ingenious ideas to wear leggings in order to try on pants with ease. There are about a billion people there. Like the mall at Christmas Eve or Black Friday. Insane. Seriously. And there was a ton of merchandise and then a ton more on the floor. In order to prevent a sensory overload, we decided to stick solely to jackets. It was simply to much to casually browse. It's too hectic and you are constantly watching your purse while holding hangers. This all sounds so negative, but that place is great! Everything was precious. Pants in so many different colors, (I love colored pants) and jackets of every color. Seriously. We came in for one jacket and I personally left with three. I simply could not help it. And the prices were SO cheap and the sales had not even started! I absolutely recommend this place! It's right on Oxford Street.

We had been craving McDonalds and there happened to be one on Oxford Street. Do not judge. All we wanted was a place to get a quick cheap meal that was not a sandwich. Therefore, McDonalds is one of the only options. They don't really have fast food there. The McDonalds here is very clean and quiet. Lovely indeed. We then had class. British Life and Culture to be exact.

Today's class was a introduction lecture on the UK by Justin Lorentzen. We completed a worksheet where we had to fill out a list of famous British people (past or present, real or fiction), then write down stereotypes of the UK, and then define the terms United Kingdom and Great Britain. After listening to our answers, Justin painted us a picture of what Americans think and know of Brits. We also learned some history of the country. So here are a few things we learned:

• Britain and Europe as well receives a large amount of information regarding media, politics, etc from the US and there is not as much info flowing back to the US.
• People in Britain typically know the names of a lot of politicians, especially those during the time after the World Wars. Americans on the other hand, really only know British politicians that were present during times of crisis.
• Before the Beatles, there was no massive British profile in the US; the Beatles helped to break that barrier down.
• The term Great Britain is becoming less popular and United Kingdom is being used instead
• In May 2011, Queen Elizabeth visited Ireland. She was the first monarch in 100 years to visit Ireland
• There has recently been a push for the smaller countries in the UK (Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wales) to have their own parliaments. In 2014 there is a possibility that Scotland will break away from the UK
• The UK has one Olympic team but several football teams

He also shared with us some stereotypes that British people have of us Americans.

• We are loud in public (apparently they don't like when ya start singing to favorite songs in the pubs)
• We are gun crazy
• Americans, particularly the men, are poorly dressed and have no fashion sense. Now, I will say, this can be true. Compared to European men, American men don't dress as sharp. Which is a shame fellas. Ya'll would look smashing.
• We are also prudes in regards to issues of sexuality

So that was class part one. Then after a break, came part two! Wicked at the Apollo Victoria Theater in the West End. Aka best thing ever. Last time I came to London, I saw Wicked at the same theater, but it was just as spectacular! I was tearing up during the whole play. I am always so impressed by the set and costumes. I also watched the choreography a bit more intently and it was fascinating! I simply love Wicked. The actress who played Elphaba sang incredibly. I was blown away during the big numbers. Afterwards, we managed to find the stage door and hung around to get autographs and take pictures with the cast! So exciting, right? We met the man who played Fiyero. Um, hello.

We made our way home after and of course pulled out the biscuits. I also read my newspaper again today. It's all just so interesting.

Week Two: Day Three: BLC 7