“Sometimes the right path is not the easy one…”

-Grandmother Willow, Pocahontas

Hello family and friends!!

I know it’s been a while, but time moves differently when you’ve got 9AM-6PM classes every day and a strong affiliation for napping.

I’m here to fill you in on some of my adventures that I’ve painstakingly wedged in around all the hard schoolwork we’ve been up to here at LDA. But, Grandmother Willow said it right up there- the right path…ain’t always easy, folks. (Is anyone else catching on that all my titles are Disney quotes? I thought that was super clever…)

So, last Thursday I saw the most INTERESTING piece of theatre I’ve seen in my entire life. Okay, so the audience is seated on steep bleachers and the stage is on the floor in front of them. The ENTIRE place is pitch black the whole show…EXCEPT what handheld lighting equipment the actors used to tell the story. It kind of reminded me of Tron. Like, lasers and beams of light showing hallways and doors. Oh, did I mention there was no dialogue? No SPOKEN dialogue. It was sort of comic-booky because there was a monitor that scrolled one line of text at a time on the wall behind the performers. The dialogue wasn’t even that important, though, because the story was being told through meticulous, nuanced movement and LIGHT. Gosh, it was clever. It was about a future where the entire population is equipped with chips in their brains that allows for constant communication, but constant surveillance by the government. There’s a resistance movement to it, and the main character is charged with crushing the uprising, but he finds out that he may empathize more with their cause. He’s given the choice, then, to betray the government and take them down from the inside, or to crush the rebellion like he’s told. It was inspired, apparently, by the Edward Snowden scandal. (The lead’s name is literally Dearden.) It was called “Light” and it won some stuff at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival last year.  It underlined the importance all the LaCoq movement work we’ve been doing.

What else…I went to the Vaults (a spooky underground music/party venue) for a Valentine’s Day Ball! My roommates and I dressed up and danced all night to weird folk and jazz bands. Everyone was decked out in “fancy dress” which is what the English call costumes. Some people went ALL out and had fur and masks and feathers, they looked fantastic! I felt like I was conjuring demons with like wiccan as we spun around throwing glitter and feathers. Wait, no! I know what it was like! It was like the nightlife of the Renaissance Faire back home! Like, if those people had a club, it would be like this. Gosh, it was cool. Alexa even did a love potion spell with this lady dressed as an owl!

I ALSO went to the worlds GREATEST outdoor marketplace. It’s called the Borough Market and it’s in the heart of London, but it’s full of foreign cheeses, wines, fruits, veggies, pates, fish, meats, pastries, breads, oils, sweets, candies, and anything else you could possibly imagine. Now, when I picture heaven, that’s what I think it’s gonna be like. Food everywhere. And everyone wants you to try their food! They just leave little trays of it out on the counter and you can walk up and eat as much as you want! and the SMELLS. Oh my GOODNESS. You’re hit with warm cider brewing, then you turn and get sharp smell of cheese, then crisp baked bread… then garlicky oils…then meat pies! I can’t emphasize my love for this place enough! I’m taking my mom and friends when they visit for spring break for SURE.

WELL, I had quite a few adventures this week, but they weren’t easy to cram in to my busy schedule. Sitting here reminiscing has reminded me how important it is to push through the exhaustion and hit these fun and exciting experiences. Sometimes I just have to stop and remember WHERE I am! LONDON. How could I possibly nap in a place like this? With all these experiences and places open for me?! Oh, I’m just getting started. A week from tomorrow marks my mother’s arrival and the beginning of mid-semester break. Let the adventure continue!!

Cheers!

Taylor