echoes reflect

On the first Monday evening after I arrived (last Monday) we (my summer school program) took a group trip into downtown Brighton. The university is located on the outskirts of Brighton so it takes about fifteen-twenty minutes by bus to get downtown. Due to my being both ridiculous and forgetful I didn't bring my camera, and I have yet to remember to take pictures while downtown so I will try and remedy this situation tomorrow. We saw the most famous parts of Brighton like the Royal Pavilion, the Pier, the West Pier, and the beach. We also went through an area called the North Laine that has a lot of cool art and vintage shops, and finished in another similar sort of area called The Lanes, that has a lot of cool shops and cafes. Stores here close really early compared to Toronto (and Thunder Bay). Pretty much everything except clubs, bars, restaurants, and movie theaters closes around 7:00 PM. Although I've been back to The Lanes since, I haven't properly explored it, so that and North Laine are my tentative plans for tomorrow.

On Tuesday I started class. I'm taking British Cinema. There are only eight people in the class which is pretty nice because I feel like it's easier to engage in the class, and we all participate a lot more. It's mainly analytical, although we are doing some screenwriting this week. I'm enjoying it and I feel like I've already learned a lot so it's been successful. Tuesday night my friends and I went to see Bridesmaids (the second time for me). In England you get the choice between sweet or salty popcorn. I opted for salty, but tried the sweet and it's like a less sweet kettlecorn. The more you know.

Wednesday was my second day of class, and we had Carol Cleveland from Monty Python give us a master class, which was pretty amazing. She gave a talk about Monty Python that provided a lot of insight into the group, and then we watched Monty Python and the Holy Grail (I don't think I'll ever get tired of it). That evening my friends and I cooked dinner together. It's odd because I live alone in Toronto, so I'm normally used to eating alone, but here I jump at every chance to eat in a group, and I find it so comforting. Maybe it's because I'm so far away from home.

Thursday my class went on a field trip to the Duke of York's Picture House. It's the oldest cinema in Britain, that was built as a cinema and has always run as a cinema, which is pretty neat. We got to go into the projection box. It's pretty crazy because most films just come on hard drives now, and the ads were on a usb key. We watched Beginners which I highly recommend. After that I got some super delicious take-out from a Jamaican restaurant across the street (which I can't remember the name of, but also highly recommend) and that was pretty much my day.

I had an incredibly busy weekend after that, but it really deserves it's on post or two, so I will leave you here.