Lazy Sunday

Today was incredibly relaxing. I woke up in a much better mood than the one I left the night before...went to the gym with Olenka and Bri in the morning. It was the first time that I have exercised since October! The last time I exercised I felt sick-and lo and behold, a day later I got the flu. After getting mono, I was done; stick a fork in me, I could barely walk 10 feet, let alone go to the gym. I'm finally starting to feel rather like my old self, which is incredibly invigorating! I still get tired sometimes (like yesterday), but all in all, most of my energy levels have returned to normal. I still wake up exhausted every morning, but this might just be mono coupled with jet lag. Even if I sleep nine hours, I wake up feeling like somehow has punched me in the face and stomach--and it takes every ounce of energy, will and strength to get myself out of bed.

The gym was awesome. The men/guys don't dress like their male counterparts in the states. They wear shorter shorts (well this is the country that's obsessed with rugby, so go figure), and the girls didn't seem to care one way or another whether or not they were wearing makeup. Olenka, Bri and I walked over to the gym in the morning, marvelling at the fact that it was sunny outside! The sun felt incredible against my face, and Olenka was right--going inside on a day like today was next to sin. We got to the gym though, threw our jackets into empty lockers, and headed into the gym proper.

After we were done stretching we wandered around the gym, but sadly due to construction we couldn't find the archery or rifle range...or rather, it wasn't the construction that stopped us, but the fear of accidentally wandering in the wrong direction and getting shot in the head.

After showering Bri and I headed over to The Elephant House, a delightful coffee shop nearby our flats. We stayed there for over four hours, catching up on homework. I read Shakespeare's comedy, "The Merchant of Venice," as well as John Bunyan's autobiography, "Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners." I might have had pizza, a brownie, two cups of cocoa and a mocha coffee during the course of those four hours. Chris joined us for a bit, which was nice.

After the sun had set (it sets by 5pm) we headed over to Tesco--it's their equivalent to a Vons, or I'm not sure..it's a cheap grocery store. I love grocery shopping here...most likely because the variety of food that I buy is ridiculous. I got chocolate digestive crackers, rice milk, orange juice, an assortment of frozen dinners, trash bags to throw my laundry in (I'm too lazy to actually buy a laundry basket) green tea, as many disgustingly unhealthy cereals possible, and some rather pleasant Scottish oats...they have a picture of a man wearing a kilt on the front. I couldn't resist.

We made dinner, and then I had even more homework. I read a short story by John Bunyan, and now I'm currently debating whether or not I can sparknotes a play by Congreve...any more reading and my head might burst!