I feel British!

Today I went to a Cricket Match!!! It was actually a ton of fun. I never realized how hard it is for your eyes to follow a deep red ball over green grass when it is being pitched at 85mph. Basically, the ball was invisible most of the time. We actually had a lecture this morning to help us know what it was that we were watching. Unfortunately, Britain lost to South Africa but it was so much fun to watch. South Africa just played much better. It was a very interesting experience. Don't ask me to explain Cricket to you but I can at least explain how scoring works. It was just so much fun! Fun fact: everyone wears white. Both teams do, however, at any given time only the two batters are from the other team on the field.

Cricket field with the game in play!

After Cricket I headed out on my lonesome to the British Library. There I went into a literature exhibit that was so worth the money I paid. It had a Tolkien original painting of the Shire. He painted it himself and it was so beautiful. There was a manuscript of Persuasion by Jane Austen. I saw one of the original Sherlock Holmes books and Alice in Wonderland. There was things by Dickens, Conrad and so many other authors. There was a 1,000 year old book and the original manuscript for Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone. J.K Rowling has very legible handwriting. The two pages that you could read was the page where Harry was asking Vernon for a ride to the train station and Harry being unable to figure out how to get onto the platform. It was so cute to read! There was also an old copy, I hesitate to say original because they did not specify, of Wuthering Heights. There was also a copy of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. So right after it came out in the 1880's it was turned into a stage production. Then in 1888 was Jack the Ripper and people made connections between the book/stage production and Jack the Ripper. It was just very interesting to read about. It was a new way to think about things. All in all it was a fantastic exhibit and I was very glad that I did it at my own pace.

At this moment I have been working on my homework which feels a little overwhelming. I have no idea if I have time to go on an optional hike in Kent tomorrow because I have a paper and book I need to finish and really not a lot of time to do things. If I don't do the hike tomorrow I can finish all of my homework and then free up my time for finishing my expansive To Do list before I leave. If I go on the hike I run the risk of not finishing my work and losing even more sleep. Well, as I ponder my decision I am going to see Batman! In the oldest theater in London with a bunch of really cool people. Have a wonderful day! Love you lots and lots!