Back to School from Buxton

I am typing from a patio in Buxton basking in the first sunny sky we’ve seen in the UK! Hooray!

The rest of our time in London was great! We went on the Eye, a boat on the Thames and shopped a lot. The amount of consumerism taking place on this trip is borderline sinful. The streets of London are so much fun with all the shopping, pubs and restaurants are so fun to just walk by, and I’m already excited to go back some day!

My favourite part of our last couple of days in London was taking a tour of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre. We got to sit in on a rehearsal of a new play being put on there, called God of SoHo. I was anticipating some painfully awkward moments with my parents and younger siblings when upon entering the theatre, we saw a disclaimer warning viewers about “nudity, sexual scenes, filthy content and strong language”. No joke, it said “filthy content”.  It turned out to be pretty cool, and we got to see the live band and hear a little bit of dialogue. It made me miss the drama and acting I used to do, and I’m a little bit inspired to give it another shot, so kudos to the Globe for that.

We arrived in Manchester on Tuesday night and were able to adequately support all kinds of child labour at Primark and shop around at various other stores in the city center area for the better part of Wednesday. It’s quite shameful. Wednesday night was the long awaited Arcade Fire concert featuring Noah and the Whale!!! I dragged dad along for the ride, which he wasn’t originally excited about at first, but after some encouragement from his colleagues at the UofGhent, he decided to come which was totally fun. He wasn’t even a part of the old crowd! There was a whole old generation of Brits who grew up listening to similar sounds like Simply Red and the Thompson Twins, and there were loads of bald people, so dad felt young and hip. I can honestly say that Arcade Fire was the best concert I have ever been to, because embarrassingly, it was my first concert that wasn’t a part of a festival, conference or targeted towards 12 year olds (Hillary Duff and JBiebs… don’t judge me.) It was fun and my buddy Cai will be happy to know I found him a t-shirt. ;)

My friends went back to school today which to be honest makes me a little homesick to think about. I’m only two weeks into these four months and there are so many people I’m missing already! And as much as I love the ol’ fam jam I’m lacking some teenage interaction. I’m also worried I’m gonna develop cabin fever and pull a Jack Nicholson in The Shining and kill them. So maybe pray that that doesn’t happen. Haha I’m actually kind of missing the first day of school, cause I have the feeling that the first day of online school won’t be nearly as fun. As much as there is a lot to dread about going back to school, I tend to enjoy it for these few reasons:

1.       School Supplies:  Don't you love New York in the fall? It makes me wanna buy school supplies. I would send you a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils if I knew your name and address.- Joe Fox (You’ve Got Mail) Europe in the fall makes me feel kind of the same way. And as nerdy as this is gonna sound, I like a new, full, healthy looking pencil case. The kind Lizzie McGuire always had in the classroom scenes with sparkly pencils and a full set of gel pens. My best friend Beth is a big believer in colour coated notes and there is nothing she likes better than a full Roygbiv of markers to take her notes with. And at the start of a school year, I’m all for that! I think the reason I like the idea of fresh binders and bountiful pencil cases is because usually by early November my collection of school supplies usually don’t look so hot. I lose all of the lead for my mechanical pencils, I’ve leant out all of my pens until I only have a red one, and my desk buddy in English has etched the word POOP in all caps into my binder. That’s why those first weeks with new school supplies is just so darn good.

2.       Clothes: We’ve spent the summer shopping and dangit, we’re gonna look good on the first day of school. From grade two until just last year, my friend and I have called each other first day back eve to describe to one another our first day of school outfits. It’s an important thing man, ‘cause the entire outcome of this new school year rests on your butt and how awesome it looks in your new skinny jeans. 

3.       First Day Back Classes: First day of school classes are a joke, as nothing even remotely productive is accomplished. Every teacher does something different, but you can count on some pretty chill class plans such as going around the room and saying your name and the best thing you did this summer, reviewing expectations and deadlines or listening to the teacher talk about themselves. All in all, you don’t do anything, and it’s a blast.

4.       The Reunion: Summers sometimes take a hit on social lives, with family vacations, summer jobs, and other preoccupations; it’s tough to keep up with some friends. That’s why it’s great when you get to see people you haven’t seen for a solid two months and remember why you liked them in the first place.

So, there’s just a little update from a mildly homesick, online schooled dork who wishes she had a pencil case brimming with highlighters and a bouquet of freshly sharpened pencils. Hope everyone’s first day was awesome despite my absence ;) Until next time!