Hello Mates!
So London has turned us into rebels. I (Carmen) wanted to get my belly button pierced for years. My friends and family always talked me out of it. However, being thousands of miles away, I decided to be spontaneous.
After looking up a tattoo and piercing parlor near our flat, my friends accompanied me for moral support. I admit that I was intimidated as I walked into a sketchy hole-in-the-wall of a place. The manager had two golden teeth and brashly asked me what I wanted. I put on a brave face and announced that I wanted my belly button pierced. After a quick and somewhat painful procedure, I can now cross off another item on my bucket list.
After Carmen’s act of bravery, my friend Tessa and I (Katie) decided that we also wanted to get piercings. Although we were not quite as daring as Carmen, we did manage to go to Claire’s and get our ears double pierced! All and all it was quite an impulsive Wednesday afternoon!
In London we have been trying to avoid spending money, as going out is extremely expensive. However, this weekend we decided to make an exception. On Friday night, one of our friends heard about a popular pub-crawl around the Camden Market area. It was twelve pounds for entry into four bars and one club. At the second bar we went to, we were invited into a private “stag party,” or what we would call a bachelor party.
While drinking free champagne, we talked with the attractive British army men that were accompanying the groom. Our final stop was a club called “Koko.” Although we weren’t really sure what to expect, we were shocked to find that the clubs here are much different than the ones we experienced in Florence. There was a live hard rock band followed by techno music!
After dancing the night away, it took us an hour and a half to navigate the night bus system home. (The Tube closes around midnight, but the buses run 24 hours). As rough as it was not to fall asleep, we did get to sit at the front of the top level of the double decker buses, which was an experience in itself.
Until next week, cheers!
Carmen and Katie
*Katie Caffrey is a junior psychology major with a linguistics concentration from Oak Park, IL. She is currently splitting her semester abroad between Florence and London where she is studying both art history and theatre.
*Carmen Stubblefield is studying abroad in Italy and England on the ACM Arts in Context Program. She is a junior psychology major from Oregon, her favorite foods are pizza and ice-cream.