I thought I would give everyone a quick update about the new photos I have posted. As requested I have added some photos from the Brunel campus in the album called "My New Home." There are still a few places on campus that I would like to get pictures of, so I will work on that soon.

I've also created a new album called "Off Campus" that has photos from a few places I've gone recently off campus (yes, I know--creative name!). The first few pictures are from the birthday party I told you about in my last journal entry. If you remember, that was the party at the bowling alley in London with the gay bartender dressed like a pimp. The next few are from a pub not too far from campus called the Malt Shovel. I went there with two of my classmates, Maria and Monica, last Thursday evening to celebrate the completion of our first two essays. It was a cozy place along the canal with a great atmosphere and tasty desserts. Monica (who is Bulgarian but grew up in Romania and has been living in Norway for a few years) was nice enough to send me the photos she took since I didn't have my camera with me. It was good to have a relaxing evening after the stress of the essays. While we were chatting that evening Maria (who is from Germany) invited me to join her for a Guy Fawkes' Party Saturday night. Let me sum up Guy Fawkes' Night as I understand it. Many, many years ago there was a plot to blow up Parliament (in London). The plot was uncovered, and when Guy Fawkes showed up at Parliament to light the fuse that would detonate the gunpowder they had used to fill a room in the basement, he was captured. They tortured him (he gave up everyone else so they were also captured), quartered him, and burned him at the stake. Every year the Brits celebrate the foiling of the plot with bonfires and fireworks. Of course I accepted her invite, and was rather excited to be able to experience this exciting British event. Yiota and Lindy also joined us, and we met Maria's friend Brian (who is British) at the Uxbridge tube station. We took the Metropolitan line to Harrow-on-the-Hill and then walked to the party location. This turned out to be not such a good idea because: 1. Yiota had twisted her ankle less than two weeks before and it was just starting to feel better. 2. It turned out Brian didn't really know exactly where we were going so we ended up walking nearly 45 minutes down some shady streets and through a dark, misty park (cue the stereotypical horror movie). 3. It had gotten quite cold and despite all wearing scarves and gloves we were rather chilly. So, we finally arrive at the "party" which ended up not being a party but more like a gathering of some older people and children. To make a long story short, we each paid three pounds for a cold hot dog, one sparkler each, really lame fireworks, and no bonfire. Maria was not very happy because it was not what she expected. We were all a little disappointed that our attempt at experiencing a piece of British culture was such a bust, but at least we have a fun story to tell. And that explains the rest of the photos in that album.

This coming weekend should be even more exciting. Lindy, Yiota, and I leave Friday morning from London to head to Belgium for a long weekend. Most of our time will be spent in the city of Brugge (Bruges) but hopefully we will get to see a bit of Brussels also. We are prepared to eat our fair share of chocolate! Our fasting plan didn't quite work (Yiota and I made an apple pie with a couple of our flatmates tonight--opps) but that won't hold us back from enjoying any and all delicious treats! So, check back next week for some more photos and a Belgium update!