I am currently in Kaunas, Lithuania staying with Lina's parents. We are not so far away from Russia. Right now we are even having the same weather as they are. When I arrived here late monday night it was almost -20C, far colder than Oslo, which surprised me. Luckily Lina met me at the airport, with warm things to wear and a car to her house. I spent all day tuesday catching up with Lina, and then wednesday Aura (the resident contemporary dance company) already h...

Oslo was wonderful. Ane's parents were incredibly sweet, and I had a good time talking to them about art, culture, and the differences/similarities between our countries. The audition went really well. At first I had some trouble finding it, so I walked in just as it was supposed to begin. But the man I spoke to at the front table happened to be the artistic director, and he was nice enough to wait for me to get dressed before begining class. It was a very lon...

My largest impression in england is that we have gone downhill (as a culture) in the last 500 years. It is disturbing to look at the parliment building, St.Paul's cathedral or the lady's chapel of westminster and then turning the corner to see a hulking '60's building fall apart! It was extremely apparent when I went to the national gallery today. (This picture was taken from the steps of the national gallery.) There was a young artist begging for dimes with a ...

Of course I'm so jet lagged that I fell asleep at 7pm and woke up at 5am the next morning!! The other girls in my room must have been wondering what was wrong with me. But this is better than the way I am normally, since all the museums and monuments are only open 9-5. So, I quietly did yoga in the dark while my roommates slept and got to hang with all the late night staff before they went home in the morning. There was an Aussie girl who was jet lagged like me,...

I'm staying in a lovely old building right off Hyde Park, near Notting Hill. After checking in on monday I took a walk through the park to the Prince Albert monument and then down to the Victoria and Albert museum. It is about 40 degrees and raining (all week) just like CA in winter. The park is full of fat swans, geese, ducks feeding on sweeping lawns spotted with huge elm trees. The swans are tame, begging for tidbits just like the pidgeons, but huge! I've ne...