Goodday sunshine

Every morning the sun wakes me up, my room facing directly east, unable to shield me from the daily flaming ball of annoyance. I look at my clock--it's bloody 5:30! Why the hell is the sun up at 5:30--it should be asleep like the rest of us but like a pestering neighbor, it inconsiderately wakes the rest of us at the most inconvenient of times. But his appearance is a good thing--good weather (read: no rain) might be a possibility.

Yesterday Kevin, Tony, Brede and I went to Rochester, home of Charles Dickens part Medieval museum part shrine for their famous townsman but still a quaint village relatively untouched by tourists. We walked through a Cathedral originally built in the 600s that was burnt down and rebuilt, burnt down and rebuilt and a castle that was invaded in the 1200s and burnt down. Man this town should really take out some fire insurance! London is just bustling with so much activity that it gets difficult, almost impossible to leave (sound familiar Yalies?). I only have 2 months here and I want to see as and experience much of both London and England as much as possible.

I've been here for a week now and honestly I've been horrible with my updates. England is (surprise surprise) not that much different from the states. It's tiny things- British milk tastes less proteiny, tramp means homeless rather than hussy (finally Lady and the Tramp makes sense!) and everything is twice as expensive, literally. The lower drinking age makes things easy for me (out of the past week I've had at least a beer 6 out of 7 days and been drunk...4?). their take on alcohol is much more relaxed than in the states where pubs are centers of activity and alcohol is a conduit for bonding, not an escape from the world. Crown and Anchor, a pub across the street from my flat was bustling with activity all day Friday. Uni students were literally pouring out of the building and filling the streets in the afternoon and only a couple hours later an older crowd dressed in business suits, fresh from a weeks work, were putting the college students numbers to shame.

But the system is not without it's problems. Their laissez-faire attitude makes alcohol readily accessible to teenagers who don't always practice responsible judgment, especially when shitfaced smashed. You can't bring liquor on the tubes anymore since last Sunday--Saturday night was interesting...--and bars are carding everyone. Is their drinking culture healthier? We Americans have been drinking so much, true partly because we're celebrating our summer in England, but also because it's just so... easy. Wednesday we were all drunk from a meet and greet organized by our contact here, Thursday I brought back some bottles from my Job (they market a lot of liquors and were giving them away! I cleaned up) and we went out of a pub after a couple of drinks back in my flat, Friday I had some cocktails at my job with coworkers, a weekly tradition there, only to have a Pibbs happy hour and clubbing that followed. Saturday? Beers while watching the Port/Turkey game, Kings with the Yalies and...you get the point.

It's not just tourists who completely abuse and ignore the consequences. To mourn the new prohibition of cocktails in the tube every person under 30 had a blood alcohol content of at least .08. While walking back from the market with some friends, we ran into a crowd funneling beer right in front of the Euston Station entrance and two cop cars and an ambulance. What were the police doing? Well... not a whole lot...When even the supermarkets Sainsbury's and Tescos have house wines, scotches, etc alcohol is cheap, plentiful, and oh-so-easy to abuse.

Oh well it's 11:40 right now and I should grab brunch. I'll keep you guys updated!

Cheers!