"For happiness is anyone and anything at all, that's loved by you"-Charlie Brown

My weekend is not off to such a great start, but I spoke to one of my best friends from home last night and she made me feel so much better, and I looked at some pictures of my family, and that made me happy. But then I started feeling really homesick as a result (moral of the story? My friends from home and my family need to be less wonderful so I will miss them less). So to cheer myself up I am making a list of things in London that make me happy.

1. Parks: There are so many parks here (apparently about 30% of London is parks), and they are all well maintained. And I love that there is a park by my flat that will only let adults in if accompanied by a child. There’s even a gate monitor to make sure no childless adults sneak in. Even though I can’t go in, I think it’s great that there is such a park, especially because it is so close to a major children’s hospital, so very often I will see children from the hospital going there with their families, and that always makes me smile.
2. The Markets: I absolutely adore going to markets. There are the giant ones that are always packed but have lots of cool stuff, like Portobello Road and Camden Market, but then there are lots of smaller markets that have great stuff and there is usually a crepe station. And nothing cheers me up like a crepe.

3. Chicken korma: England loves Indian food, and I have learned it is not hard to cook. I have successfully made chicken korma and it was delicious! I am very proud of myself.

4. Milky Bars: There is an abundance of white chocolate in London, and Milky Bars are just like Hershey Bars, except that they are made with white chocolate so I can eat them! (And they come in 2 types, one of which is only 116 calories).

5. Babysitting: I miss the families I baby-sit for back home so much. But I’ve done a bit of babysitting here, and the kids are just adorable. I ran into one of them on the street as he was heading to the park with his weekday-nanny, and he just looked at me and grabbed my hand (or my finger, because he is only 18 months and cannot quite hold my hand) and walked me into the park with him. It was so cute!! Being around kids always lifts my spirits.

6. My classes: Ok, fine, I’m a dork, but I am here to study, so the fact that my classes are fantastic makes me really glad I’m here. On a similar note…..

7. My art history class: every week we go to a different museum and study the paintings. I haven’t taken an art history class since high school, but this class helps to remind me why I love art so much, and how awesome it is to be here surrounded by so much history.

8. Les Miserables: It is my favorite show of all time, based off of my favorite book of all time, and I only got to see it three times when it was on in New York. London is the only place where it is showing now, which is a tragedy, but works for me. I saw it a few weeks ago and it was the best cast I have ever seen. And because of student tickets, I can (kind of) afford to meet my goal of seeing it at least 5 times before I leave. I’m seeing it again on Tuesday ☺(me in front of the theater raising an imaginary glass to The Master of the House)

9. Theater besides Les Miserables: I’ve seen two other shows and they were both fantastic, and I plan to see a lot more. A lot of the shows here are the same as in New York but I think because I’m from New York I don’t always take advantage of what is so close to me, so I have never seen The Lion King and it’s been a while since I’ve seen Wicked. But while I’m here I plan to really make the most of it and go see lots and lots. (Seeing Oliver! on November 19th with my parents!!!!!!)

10. The fact that I no longer feel like a tourist: There are certain things I am used to around my area (the old lady who sits outside the corner pub chain-smoking and drinking, all day, every day; the Indian restaurant just around the block from my flat where the “Special of the Day” has been the same since I moved in) that make it feel more like home. I’ve learned my way around, I know where to go to get the things I need, and I can successfully give tourists directions (sometimes). It’s nice not to feel such like a stranger in a strange land anymore.