Good old London town

Hello again!

I've left Wales and arrived yesterday in, well, you can probably guess from the title. As per a suggestion I'm going to try to do the next few posts in a bit more of an organized way, in small digestible bites, and see how that goes. I'm not sure my brain can really be made to work like that, but I'll give it a shot.

Here's what I've done in London:
-I've gone to see Billy Elliot. Yes indeed, I was drawn to the theatre within mere hours of being here. All I can say is this: IT WAS SO GOOD. I was expecting it to be good, I was expecting to enjoy it, but it far surpassed all of my wildest fantasies. It was well-written and put together. It was a compelling story (both the surface story of a boy who wants to dance, and the background story of a passionate socialist-leaning coal-miners strike in a poor North England town), and the stories were well blended together. I don't even need to tell you how good the dancing was. It was nothing short of awesome, and I am not a big appreciator of dance as these things go. Suffice it to say I have never been so impressed by a thirteen year old, not even at my own Bat Mitzvah. ;) The lead got at least three standing ovations and could have stood a few more.
All right. I suppose I've made my point. It was really good. I'm glad I went.

-I went to two museums: Natural History and the Victoria and Albert. I'm not a HUGE museum enthusiast, as these things go, but education and culture and all that, it's good stuff, especially when you're not going to school like a little delinquent. I liked them both a lot, and none the less because museums in the UK are free. Now there's something these people have really gotten right.

-Tonight I went to the Chabad house of South Kensington for Rosh Hashana dinner. I was hesitant at first, I went mainly to keep my friend Troy company, but it ended up being really great. Delicious (free) hot meal + a chance to meet some really great interesting strangers. I particularly enjoyed the company of the secular Israelis who had made their way there, as I often tend to do.

Those are the highlights. Give me a break, I've only been here a day! Stay "posted," there's more to come.
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Speaking of puns, as we must, now and again, at dinner one of my new Israeli friends asked me what kind of people there were in Maine. She said, "There are a lot of WASPs aren't there?" I said, "Yes, I suppose. A lot of mosquitoes too."

Sigh. How I miss Maine, and its beautiful autumns. So far, though, Great British weather has been remarkably kind to me. I count my blessings.