I have had a very lazy day- My friends and I did not get in till 5 am last night, so I def slept till 2 today. On top of that I have a cold. I am sneezing every other minute. Luckily I brought plenty of medicine so hopefully I will get better quickly.
Last night was the first night I have been out in London. My roommates and I decided to go and do something together. We spent hours getting ready, picking out the right outfit, doing hair and make up. We went and met some people I sort of know at their flat, we decided not to stay because we wanted something more upbeat. We all love to dance and since it was our first night out, we wanted to do it BIG. Ha The first place we went just because we were walking around in Piccadilly (an area of London, that has a lot of nightlife) and someone handed us a coupon to get in free. The club was called Sirocco; it was alright, a good place to start out. Oh, and if you are wondering what people do with their jackets and scarves when they go out, I will tell you. I was really curious of this myself, as I never really have to wear a heavy coat and scarf in Birmingham. Most of the places have coat checks. You pay per item, and receive a ticket. This can get pricey however if you go to multiple places. It is usually 1.50 to 2.00 pounds per item. Some people find areas in the room to hide their coats. The first place we went, we hid ours behind a couch. Anyways- thought you would like to know- J
After Sirocco we wanted something even more upbeat. We had passed a club earlier in the night that had the longest line I had ever seen to get into a club. Long line = must be fun right? We went back, got in line, and as we got closer we realized you had to be on the guest list. We started talking to the guy in front of us, and he said he could try and get us in. It worked! They paged someone from the back; he came and looked at us, and let us through. We felt really cool. VIP style. This place was huge. There were so many people. A lot of international people were there. Lights were flashing, music was blaring. It was awesome. We danced until our bodies wouldn’t let us anymore, and probably some after that. We stayed till it closed and took the bus back to our hostel. It was a lot of fun, but I don’t know if I can handle staying out that late again for a while. It makes me feel old, I can’t bounce back like I used to.
Friday (day)
I worked on Friday. Wanja called around 10 and told me I had a job from 9 till 3 30 if I wanted it. Obviously I was going to be late. She told me it was working at an elderly day care center. It sounded interesting so I agreed. I arrived at the center, which was only 17 min away, a lot closer than the nursery. I had no clue what I was going to be doing. My initial thought of what I might be doing came to mind: changing bedpans! Hopefully not… My job was to basically hang out with the old people. It was great! I helped serve them lunch, and helped a few walk to another room, but other than that I sat and spent some quality time with them. One lady broke out in song and dance with her cane. It’s amazing to see how people of this age become like children again. Some of them are helpless in everyday tasks that you never think will be taken away from you, especially by age. It’s humbling to a degree. Another way they appear childlike is in their demeanor and/or attitudes. Some of them were so giddy at the smallest things, and yet some would pout because something did not go their way. It was a bit humorous. One lady I talked to was from Spain, I told her I lived in Spain for a month (in Spanish). She refused to speak to me in English after that. I had no clue what she was saying, but I just nodded. I smiled when she smiled and laughed when she laughed, and that seemed to work out. I kept telling her I didn’t understand much, but she kept rolling away in Spanish. Soon after we were talking, I looked over and she had her head hung down asleep. Maybe I wore her out. The staff then got out a fake Christmas tree to put together, and all the elders were so excited to be apart of putting the tree together. They kept asking for more to do. You could tell they wanted to feel needed and helpful. I was talking to one of the workers about why they have the center, and she said basically to just let them feel like they have a purpose. I think that is awesome. I have not studied much on the psychological effects of aging, but I imagine it is a lot to deal with. The body is pretty much decaying, your friends are dieing, and your mind is getting worse. There can be a sense of hopelessness and despair. I would love to go back and work at this center again. It was a lot of fun, and I think a lot can be learned from the attendants there. The older the wiser right?

By the way, I have posted pics from my cheesy bus tour- Look up at the top left for the link!