A Whirlwind of Culture, Mystery, and Craziness

And that's exactly what yesterday's Photo Frenzy event was: a whirlwind of craziness. In teams of seven or more, Kingston international students were dashing all over London, attempting to answer answer questions about some of the most famous sites and photographing the answers. Furthermore, prizes would not only be given to the fastest team, but also to the group with the most creative picture. My team was comprised of ten individuals, and it became increasingly difficult to think of new and creative ideas to pose in front of sites such as Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square, Chinatown, and Westminster Abbey. My personal favorite was a picture taken in midair--as in, nine of us jumped on command while the tenth member snapped a picture. This happened in front of St. Paul's Cathedral.

The photos are posted on Facebook under the album, Chris and the Nine Roses. That was our team name, which I thought sounded more like an 80s rock band. The name was inspired by a point of interest of the day when Chris--our only male member--was conned by a street vendor into buying a rose for each of the group members for two pounds apiece! If you tally up the amount, it adds up to quite a bit of money. He was a good sport about it, and nearly all of us found a way to pay him back. Plus, he was the only one on our team to be given a prize--though our team didn't win any of the categories--as a reward for his gallantry, and none of us saw fit to correct the misconception.

Following the award ceremony, the majority of the team ended up going to see the London Philharmonic. Sarah, onr of the group members and a new friend, had a friend in the choir who was able to get us a deal: 5 pounds apiece for seats that were normally priced at 38 pounds a ticket! How could I pass up such an opportunity? It was beautiful and surprisingly entertaining. I say it was surprising because I never imagined that I could truly enjoy doing nothing but listen to music for over two hours, yet I did. The music was relaxing and soothing, which perhaps wasn't the best for college students who'd been running around London in the cold for hours at a time. I managed to keep from dozing off, however, and thoroughly enjoyed the music to Dvorak's Requiem.

This may seem really random, but it was one of the earliest highlights of the day yesterday. Upon arriving at the meeting place for the event--the London Eye--you'll never guess what I saw parked near a door below the overhang: a large, brightly painted van in characteristic neon colors of orange, blue, and green. Scooby-Doo fans everywhere know it as the Mystery Machine and, sure enough, the words were even painted on the side. I don't know whose it was, whether a fan's or a purposeful advertisement, but you can bet that was my first picture of the day! And so--however odd it may seem--I am ending this blog update with this amazingly coincadental glimpse at an icon of one of myfavorite American shows: