Posted by Ksenia
So much has happened recently so there was completely no time to write about it)
On the Monday morning (the 2nd of February – I guess many people will remember this date for a long time), I was as usual regretting the end of the weekend and realizing that I haven’t done the majority of the stuff I planned to do (getting enough sleep was the first one on my list and obviously the goal that I haven’t achieved). It was snowing the previous night but I still was really surprised to see a layer of snow lying on the ground. It wasn’t too big compared to the amount of snow we can get in one night in Russia but I’ve never seen anything like it before in the UK (and I wasn’t alone – it has been 18 years since it snowed as heavily in England – the fact I didn’t know at the moment, of course).
My host mother had already woken up and asked me if I had to go to the college. At first I even didn’t understood her question. Even the idea that Bellerbys can be closed because of several centimetres of snow seemed ridiculous and totally impossible. It’s an international college – it’s always open!
Now I feel that after spending two and a half years of my life in the UK I really should not be surprised about anything. One phone call suddenly changed the whole picture - a friend of mine was also saying that there is no college that day. As I still was thinking that those people are simply making fun of me I called one of my friends from the residence – her voice was sleepy and told me to forget about the lessons and go back to bed. I was still too excited to do that so I switched on the TV and realize that the whole country was paralyzed – no train service, planes cancelled, roads blocked, taxis, buses and even London tube (!!!! How can snow prevent underground from working? In that case I guess the cold was to blame) were not operating so a lot of people just decided to stay at home.
The ones to really enjoy this force major were the children – the lessons were cancelled everywhere so there was plenty of time to play snowballs and built snowmen! Students around the country celebrated the weather conditions and made the most of their extended weekend. I was very happy as well, both for seeing the snow which reminded me of my home country and to have a day-off.
But even though the feeling was a bit strange – Monday without college is definitely abnormal! So thanks to the weather I finally got time to write this post (a bit long for an introduction isn’t?) So now I will start to write everything in order (as far as it possible for a girl who has a complete disorder in her head).
The 18th of January was my birthday. The temptation to have a great party with all my friends who I absolutely adore was huge – but I had to resist it. The problem was that it was Sunday and the next week (even on the next day) we all had lots of exams. And I knew from the start that even if I will try to organize a quiet evening and have an early night I will sill disrupt everybody (including myself) from the revision (can you imagine me going to bed early on my own birthday if I am surrounded by friends? I certainly not)). So I stayed at home and tried to concentrate on my studies.
But there wasn’t a moment for me to feel lonely - everybody was constantly calling me and leaving messages and all those kind wishes and lots and lots of attention from my friends and relatives made this day very special and happy for me. The words cannot really express how much I love and appreciate all those people! And then, on Thursday, the exams were finally over so I went straight to London where my parents have already arrived to celebrate my birthday (finally!).
We had just a few days together – I had to go back to college on Monday and they had plane tickets back to Russia but we had a fantastic time. Even though my mum was a bit ill we still had the most of our stay – a bit of shopping of course, but also lots of walking, meeting people and we even had a chance to visit Victoria & Albert Museum (but not to explore it all obviously) which I highly recommend to everyone who has never been there before. There is something for everyone – from temporary exhibitions to collections of objects from different époques and counties.
So on Monday I went back to Brighton, but not for long – on Tuesday straight after lessons several other girls and I were on the train to the London Victoria. We were really excited as we had a great evening in front of us – The Pussycat Dolls concert. The fact that Ne-Yo and Lady Gaga were also taking part in it was making us even happier! When we go out of the tube it was impossible not to choose the right direction – everybody was heading towards the O2 Arena.
Personally, I’ve never been in such a huge concert hall before so even the look of it was really impressive. The energy and excitement that everybody felt was absolutely amazing – the audience was singing and dancing – we all felt like a part of a big whole in total euphoria. It was so great to see the people whose songs you are passionate about and listen to those idols singing in front of you.
When the concert was coming to the end the audience still didn’t want to let the singers go asking for more and more. Nobody wanted this unbelievable evening to finish! I was singing and shouting with everybody else and when we went out of the Arena I felt almost deaf and my voice has gone – but I was still absolutely happy.
It took us quite a while to get back to Brighton but the next day even though I was really sleepy I was (almost!) on time for my 9 o’clock lesson –very proud of myself!! My voice didn’t quite come back to me during the week – I guess I somehow caught a cold as well. But we decided to go out on Friday well in advance – to celebrate the end of the exams (some poor people still had them that week) and the birthdays that have past – I wasn’t the only one to miss mine. No excuses were allowed so I went out as well and had a great time but went back home quite early and spent the rest of the weekend trying to recover from my cold. Not completely successful yet – but feeling much better now!
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