This is my travel journal from my study abroad trip to the UK and France. The names of my teachers and classmates have been changed for privacy reasons.

DAY 10- May 29
               I was so tired that I frittered away most of the morning with sleep. (Made it to breakfast, though, because that's the one free meal of the day.) After that, I spend some time napping and some time doing homework. Really, this isn't a lot of work for two courses but it's all compressed into two weeks, and we're also in freakin' Scotland, so that makes it a bit difficult.

               Anyway, I ended up going to church with some of the others at around four-ish.

               "Can I come to church with you guys?"
               "You know it's a Catholic service, right?"
               "Yeah."
               "Okay."

               We went to St Patrick's. It's been a while since I've been to a Catholic service, but it's not that much different from an Episcopalian one. The cadences were different but beautiful and we didn't sing very many songs. Most of the service was familiar to me and I didn't need to resort to the prayer book very often to know what to say when. I wasn't allowed to take Communion because I'm not Catholic. That felt weird. Once, when I was a kid, I acted up in church and my parents wouldn't let me take Communion. That memory came back to me again today, and while everyone was hitting the Christian Shot Glass, I felt like I was in trouble.

               After the service, I noticed they had a tiny gift shop. I picked up a little pin and a rosary for Nana. I doubt she'll notice, but it's the thought that counts. I saw the Father and went to go say hello and tell him I enjoyed the sermon, and he blessed the rosary for me. I didn't know they could do that! Then again, I've never been to a Catholic church with a gift shop. He was a very nice guy, too. Today was his last sermon at this church. Near the end of it, he asked for visitors to identify themselves. (Texas won.)

               Went to the Tron again for lunch. We managed to squeeze seven people in a table meant for four. I had fish and chips and discovered another drink I like. After that, we went right back to campus.

               I should be studying right now. I will when I'm done with this, I promise!

               Still getting frustrated with the rest of me class, though. I want to go see a show at one of the theatres here, but I can't find anyone who will go with me. Or do a lot of things with me. I think I'd much rather go it alone.

               But let's talk about something more positive: television! Most of my TV-watching happens either early in the morning or at night. Or at midday after class and before anyone wants to go out. Right now, I'm hooked on CBBC. There's this one program that's like an adventure game-slash-quiz show. A woman who may or may not be Agatha Christie takes kids into a museum and they have to battle the forces of darkness by learning history...or something to that effect.

               Speaking of history, I absolutely love Horrible Histories. It's hilarious! And, oddly enough, it's actually helping me out in class. We've got to learn some British political history, and some of the sketches on that show are helping reinforce what I learned in class. There's a rap about Charles II, a song about all the kings and queens, and a few others that help me remember what order things go in and who did what.

               There's also a show called Ooglies, which is interesting in a quirky sort of way. I also saw a couple other kids shows that I don't remember very well. Also, I now have a huge crush on one of the presenters. He's Scottish and works with a little dog puppet, and I think his name's Iain. He's pretty much the reason the TV's always on CBBC.

               On another note, there are two things in my room. One is in the bathroom, the other is by the window. They're white and metal and have a knob on the end, and I think they're called radiators. How they work or what they do, I'm not entirely sure of but sometimes I touch them and they're warm. I've started offering them small sacrifices in the hopes that it will appease them and they will let me live in peace.