"I've Got the Power!"

Question: What do you get when you cross a power line or two, thus resulting in a school wide power outage at Charlotte Christian? Answer:  No School! Thats right. Due to a severe power surge, Charlotte Christian had to shut its doors to students on Monday. I mean you just CAN'T survive in this day and age without internet/smart boards/ air conditioning, now can you? So the administration had to call off our classes. And you would have thought that Christmas had come early the way everyone was cheering when they made the announcement. Only Mr. Fair was disappointed, reminding all of us that we would be making up this day sooner or later!" But no one cared. Everybody was to busy signing out and gearing up for an impromptu day off. And so I, along with all the pubic school kids, enjoyed the "final day of summer". Polly and I signed out, and then headed to our now-not-so-spontaneous spot, The Pancake House, to enjoy an amazing breakfast. Then we went to the mall to shop for homecoming dresses. We ran into half of the high school while there, too. My afternoon was spent with a group of friends at the movies seeing "500 Days of Summer." I thought it was a brilliant film. Bittersweet fun, i would say. Most of the group disagreed with me ( they thought it was to sad), but whatever. I recommend any movie buff go see it for the high acting caliber and cinematographic creativity.  But like I said, most of my friends didn't like it. So to cheer them up, we got ice cream. The rest of the day was a whirlwind of more shopping ( I got a dress by the way...), work at the pool, and a Friends marathon in the evening to cap off the day. Talk about a randomly fantastic day. But thats not even the best part. At school today, we found out that the power did end up coming back on....15 minutes after we had been dismissed. :) 

Its A Mall World After All

You know what's weird? Walking through a mall when its closed. On Sundays, South Park Mall closes at 6:00, but the department stores stay open until 7:00. Since Polly and I have been out of the country for two weeks, we thought it would be a good idea to go shopping to get some school clothes tonight. So, after I got off snack bar duty, we were off to the mall. Thats how I got to experience "after hours South Park". In trying to get from Belk to Macy's, we had to walk through a practically deserted mall. There were a few people here and there (walking from one big store to another like us), and a janitor mopping the tile beside the fountain, but aside from that, all was still. The lights were dimmed, or off depending on the portion of the hallway, and all the stores were vacant. There was no "mall music" filtering through the sound system, no attendants asking you to try their perfume, no crazy teenagers eating an Annie's pretzel. It was quiet. And it got me thinking. Without the people and the hubub, all that stuff in the store windows was just...stuff. Suddenly, without the glimmering lights, and the "oh you have to get it!"s from store attendants, that $400 purse didn't look so grand sitting by itself in a window. It just made me think about the extreme materialism that our world has fallen into today. People today seem to add an extra emphasis on whatever is "in", no matter what the price. Everyone is a victim of it- look at me. I am currently writing this post from my amazing brand spankin' new mac book. Hypocritical? Probably. I mean, don't get me wrong- pretty clothes and new computers are always fun...every once in a while. But when you just HAVE to have the newest thing all the time? Thats when theres a problem. And its not like that one thing will make you happy- a pair of lucky brand jeans can't solve your problems, as much as the store clerk would beg to disagree. Thats all I'm saying.  I didn't mean this post to be all deep or serious, but oh well. Just my ponderings. If you have a chance, you should walk through the mall at night some time. All this thinking of mine aside, it is pretty neat. Plus its a unique time to window shop- you don't even have the temptation to go in and buy stuff! 

There and Back Again

Adjusting back to "normal life" has been an adventure in itself this week. Yes, thats right- its been a week since I was over in blustery Scotland singing my heart out and eating chocolate eclairs. My, my, it seems like forever ago. What with school starting up the day I got back, heading back to work, and starting with our one act shows all this week, its been hectic to say the least. I went from vacation to AP homework in twenty four hours flat. And the whole jet lag thing has been just plain irritating. It messed up my eating patterns, and more annoyingly my sleep patterns. I think its been worse coming back than it was going over. I'm still not entirely back to normal yet. With all the homework that school has piled on I'm still not caught up on my sleep. Although, its still good to be home. Sure I miss a ton of stuff about our trip- like getting to see all my awesome cast mates 24/7, or bursting out in song randomly. But thats ok. Like I said, I've had plenty to preoccupy myself with this week. And as far as the first week of school goes, it was pretty ok. I can tell its gonna be a hard year class wise, but not impossible. And it was so nice to see everyone again. Thats always fun to me. And speaking of fun, the first season football game was last night. It was a blast. CCS owned, of course, and it was fabulous getting to hang out with everyone and cheer on the team. Talk about a great way to kick off the first weekend of the year...but on a not so great note- the swine flu has reared its head at our school. Week 1 and we already have a 6th grader out from it. Talk about a nightmare. The only funny thing about it was that as soon as it was diagnosed, all us Scotland kids got called to the nurse to get checked. They thought we were "carriers" or whatever since we had been overseas. Of course, none of us are infected. But the rest of the afternoon we were treated like we were contaminated. Its like "Welcome back, you sickies, you." Personally, I thought it was hilarious...So, thats my week at a glance. Next week the public school kids go to school. Back to the traffic filled, scrambling mornings of a school year. Hello Junior year, nice to meet you. 

The List of Awesomeness!-The Europe Experience Cont.

After dwelling on all the horribleness that ensued on my trip in yesterday’s post, today’s post is devoted to the amazingness that also occurred. So, sit back, and enjoy it!
-TOP TEN AMAZING THINGS OF THE TRIP (in no particular order of greatness)-
1. The scenery- Everything is so green, and unique overseas. There was a mix of old, majestic architecture and contemporary buildings that would take your breath away. One of my favorite parts of the trip was being able to climb to the top of a dormant volcano in Scotland. You could see for miles and miles- the sea, many cities, and distant mountains made the view absolutely breathtaking. It was the most beautiful place I have ever been. And I will go back…I promised myself.
2. The Food- This particular topic hits both lists, because as I realized, there was no in between in Europe. It was either detestable, or delicious- like fish and chips, paninis, caramel and chocolate shortbread, baguettes, candy, fanta, this amazing pasta with cream sauce, nachos, and chocolate mousse pudding. And now that I mention food…
3. Starbucks- Ok. Starbuck’s coffee in Europe is so much better than it is here. No arguing. The drinks are FAR better (larger, taste better), the employees that I encountered were always super nice (like Asher haha!), the food selection was 100x larger than here in the states (we’re talking cake, marshmallow twizzies, cookies, pie, sandwiches-like a restaurant), and you had the option to stay in the facility and drink your coffee in a big mug, versus ordering it to “take away”. And also, the facilities are gigantic- at least two stories. *sigh. I miss that a lot now that I’m back…
4. Topshop- Stand back Forever 21, there’s a new store on the block. At 3 stories, this fashion spot was one of sheer bliss for the girls in our group. Accessories, shoes, dresses, pants, skirts, and tops all in vibrant patterns, textures, and styles packed the place to the bursting point. It was all so modern and European. We stayed there for almost half a day. It was heaven!
5. London- “Oh there’s no place like London!” Seriously though, I love that city!!!! I have a feeling that I’ll end up living there some day, what with West End and all that. But it just had a magical vibe about it. And no, its not just because of Harry Potter.
6. The accents- Thanks to the fringe, I got the chance to talk to people from all over, which meant more accents. Can you say paradise for my ears? Because it totally was.
7. The Royal Mile- The headquarters of the Fringe, this strip of street served as the key advertising joint for all shows. And it was spectacular- people singing, or playing, or dancing on street corners. You saw everything from A-Z. We got the chance to advertise our show here. And people stood and watched, and asked for our pictures, and cheered. It was such a cool performance and “venue” of sorts! Another highlight…
8. Billy Elliot- If you get the chance to see this, please do. Having been a dancer for 8 ½ years, this show hit home with me. It transported me right back to Mrs. Porter’s ballet class and into my ballet slippers. The music was also really impressive, but I would expect nothing less from Elton John. Anyway, it was a great first professional show experience for me.
9. British humor- because everything is funnier when said with an accent!
10. The dorm life- We got the chance to feel like what it would be like for us in college on this trip- living by ourselves in dorm rooms, eating at the cafeteria, using the school stores and café, staying up past midnight to order pizza and study lines, etc. I loved the independence! So now, I can’t wait till college!

*honorable mentions- Mr. Long’s sense of humor, the improve show we saw, actually performing, our late night talking and tea parties, taxi rides, and the hot british guys :)

Not So Much- The Europe Experience

To continue the debrief of my two week adventure overseas, I have decided to compile a list of the top ten “No’s” of the trip. These are the things that annoyed be beyond belief/ things that I really could have done without…drum role please.
-TOP TEN “NO THANK YOU’S” OF EUROPE(in no particular order of bad)-
1. Smoking- I don’t know why, but in Europe, EVERYONE smokes. From 12 yr. old kids, to little old ladies, they all walk around with cigarettes. I probably got lung cancer from all that second hand smoke…no joke.
2. Money- Europe is far to expensive. But what can you do? That’s right. Nothing. So, suck it up. and pay.
3. The Food- haggis, hockey- puck like blood pudding, stewed mushrooms for breakfast, and prawn chips…all get the gag reflex going with just their aromas. And speaking of food…
4. Sketch restraints- like Chinese food in Scotland. That’s not even a good sounding idea in theory…
5. The traffic- its insane!!! The whole “pedestrians have the right of way” rule is totally nonexistent. Kids almost getting hit by the big red busses was a daily occurrence.
6. The weather- you would think that a nice chilly wind would be a nice change of pace from boiling charlotte. But not really- London was in the high 90’s, and Scotland…well, I don’t even know. It was so unpredictable. We’d have heat waves, rain storms, cold fronts, and 40mph winds all in the same day. It could give you some serious whiplash.
7. The train- I didn’t like it. I’m sure it partially had to do with the whole 5 hour trip turns into 7 hours, and the fact that we had no food, but still. Just not great. Lurchy, hot, not comfy…
8. The cussing. This was just one of those cultural things. Everyone in Europe seemed to have a trash mouth, And ok, sometimes it was funny to get cussed by a little scotish man about starbucks coffee. But the rest of the time it seemed unnecessary. Every other word…really?
9. The waiting- I found that you had to wait everywhere- bathrooms, restaurants, shops, bus stops. You had to allot at least 15 minutes of buffer “standing in line” or “Queing Up” time. Its just so crowded over there.
10. The attitude- ah stereotypes.No matter where you went, Europeans always looked at you as “Loud Americans”, and were uber disdainful towards us.

*Honerable mentions: Landing in airplanes, and having your ears pop, Europe’s excuse for bacon (like glorified ham), and dirty public bathrooms that you had to pay to use.

Around the World and Back Again

I made it back- I’m alive, healthy, and exhausted….wow. Where to start? The trip was such a roller coaster for all of us; so many emotions in play- It was stressful in the sense that we had a huge job to do what with the show being premiered and such. It was inspiring to have the privilege to watch other kids with just as much passion perform. It was eye opening in the sense that you saw EVERYTHING ( from dance, to comedy, to half naked people blowing into large conch shells) at this festival and all was considered art. It was moving when you got the chance to see a show with a powerful story, like Blood Brothers or Billy Elliot. It was grueling, since you had hardly any sleep for two weeks and were going literally nonstop all day. It was breathtaking to get to survey a piece of the world that the Lord has so beautifully designed. It was funny, what with the improve shows, and the comedy of my fellow cast members antics that left me in stitches for the entire time. And it was overwhelming on so many different levels….and speaking of different- being a naïve and sheltered child, and never having gone anywhere, I thought that when I got over to Europe that I would go into culture shock or something. But in reality, it wasn’t super different on the outside. They speak the same language as us, don’t wear anything to crazy, and don’t eat anything to incredibly disgusting (I’ll just let that whole haggis and blood pudding thing slide…). The real differences are in the little things- like the lingo, the weird flushing toilets, the location of their steering wheels in their cars, the over-the- top amount of smoking going on, and the fact that Europeans have never even heard of strawberry cream cheese. And those little things made the trip so extremely interesting. It was such fun to find these differences. That alone was like an adventure. But that wasn’t the only adventure I experienced. Not even close. There were so many “firsts” for me on the trip- first plane ride (over the ocean to! I know. Quite the accomplishment.), first train ride, first taxi ride, first ride on the subway, first time singing/performing overseas, first time I saw a professional show (Blood Brothers- amazing, made me cry. Billy Elliot- HILIGHT! Go see it if you ever get the chance), first time I stayed up for 28 hours straight….way to many to count. Anyway, it was such an inspirational trip. I learned so much, challenged myself, and got to know new friends so much better….But not gonna lie, by the end of two weeks, I had forgotten what American syrup tastes like, what American accents sound like, and all the cold weather and rain was making me a tad irritable. So, it was so good to sleep in my own bed on Tuesday night. And now that I’m home, I have realized what a huge blessing the trip really was. Clearly I have so much to write…More in the next few days.

My Great Adventure Has Begun

Ready or not, here it is, the moment we’ve been waiting for. SCOTLAND! I leave today for the airport at 3:00pm. I will be gone for 14 days total…I can honestly say that this is the start of the biggest adventure in my life thus far. Its pretty exciting, not gonna lie. And also, for those of you who were able to make it to our little studio show last night, thank you so very much for supporting us! It meant a ton, esp. since we all were exhausted/stressed/delirious from all the rehearsals and packing. So anyway, I may not get to update this for two weeks (how will I live!?!?!), but then again I may have time…I just don’t know. But If this isn’t updated, follow us via twitter or Facebook. Those will be updated! See you soon!