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It's difficult to study the language.

1. How many words were there in the author’s essay?
2. What night did she go to see fireworks on?
3. What musical did she see?
4. What Hall is located near Hyde Park?

Dear all,

Hello, how are you?

It's been three months since I arrived in London. I'm afraid I am not quite sure when it was the last time I wrote to you. Well, I think I will talk about what I did during the last month. The first two months passed sort of slowly, I thought. But time flew for the next month... I feel a bit horrified that the day I'll leave London might come soon! Many things happened actually...hmm....what shall I write here?

Let me start with school events... I did my first Japanese assistance in a class of some third year students. It was an interview session and they asked us some questions which we had to answer. Their Japanese was really good! It was very impressive!!...That made me realise that I must study English harder!! Since I arrived here, I often feel frustrated with my English level! It is good inspiration, though!!

I completed one essay in a linguistics class. It was a 2500-word essay. I had never written such a long essay, so I was horrified! I put too many ideas in my essay outline and ended up struggling to reduce the amount I had written!! I had a Reading Week (one-week holiday) before handing it in. I actually wanted to have fun by going for a trip etc, but couldn't. I spent almost every day working on the essay - although I was just sitting at my desk for the first few days...

I live in a university hall of residence. There are 7 people in my flat - each has their own bedroom and there's one shared kitchen. These days someone has been stealing food from the kitchen!! Especially bread!! I had my ham stolen as well! I actually have an idea who is doing it. The other day when our bread was stolen, I found lots of bread without crusts (хлебные кори) (not the other way round!!) in a dustbin. After a while, I saw a flatmate eating only crusts. Actually she eats only tuna from the can and ham from the package! I decided to lock my bread in my cupboard ever since. She doesn't steal anything which has to be cooked. No expensive food has been stolen, so I've been keeping secret what I saw.

There seem to be many false coins here. I once received a one pound coin as change which was darker and heavier than the others. I tried to use it in the laundrette (прачечная -автомат), but it wasn't accepted by the machine. A friend of mine received a false one pound coin once. She didn't know it and used it on the bus. The bus driver was suspicious of her and she had a scary experience there. I haven't been able to use the coin. It could perhaps be a souvenir...

There was another serious incident. Some people were shot in the road beside our accommodation. I didn't hear anything, as it was early in the morning. However, I saw many policemen that day. A policeman even came into our flat and I was asked some questions. Now, there are many flowers in the street. It's actually a bit frightening to use the road.

I'm a member of the travel club and I went to the Cotswolds. We were supposed to meet at 8.30am. I decided to leave my room at 7.45 and woke up at 6.30! When it was 7.30am, I remembered something!! Yes, the summer time finished last night! Hmm... that means I woke up one hour earlier! I had actually remembered it until the previous evening...: (I loved the Cotswolds! The country houses were very pretty. I felt time passed slowly. In the vast fields, I could see sheep, cows, and horses grazing (пасущихся).

During the reading week, I went for a one-day trip to Hastings and Eastbourne, on the south coast of England. It was a stormy day, but I thought it suited the atmosphere of the ruined castle in Hastings. It was a very cold day (at night we had the first snow!!) but it was nice to see the sea. I was getting a bit tired because of the essay etc, so looking at the sea made me feel better. The Seven Sisters (chalky cliffs) in Eastbourne were lovely. To get there, we had to walk in a field where lots of sheep were grazing. They all looked at us. My friend said, 'It's like they are saying " Who are these idiots? We haven't seen tourists for such a long time!! " (because of the foot-and-mouth disease-(ящур)'!!!! I loved walking in the fields surrounded by nature. It gave me a warm feeling to be in a quiet field with the sound of a stream.

I went to see fireworks on Guy Fawkes night. Unlike Japan, where summer is the season for fireworks, winter (autumn??) is the season for fireworks here. There were many fireworks all over London. I went to Primrose Hill. I could see London from there, which was so beautiful. Looking at the big city from above where I'm living made me think how small I am... I realised any worries which I have are just small things in this big world.

I saw the musical Lion King. It is very popular, so it's difficult to get tickets on the same day. The only ticket left was a standing ticket. Well... it wasn't a good ticket for a small person like me. There was a wall up to my neck, so I had to stand still during the musical, which was quite tiring! The musical was very nice!

I also went to the Royal Albert Hall for the concert Classical Spectacular! It was very interesting. Colourful lights were dancing to the typical British music. They were using guns, fireworks, and balloons as well! We bought the national flag and waved it to some music. It was interesting to see the audience waving flags all over the hall! English people were even singing some songs! The Royal Albert Hall is near Hyde Park, which means it is close to Harrods. I saw the illuminations of Harrods as well. It was lovely! The day is becoming shorter and shorter. The weather isn't so nice. I actually started to feel a bit homesick, or some kind of depression. Well, but I'll be alright. I was crying everyday for the last couple of weeks...but I started to feel alright recently. Of course, I'll enjoy my stay here from now as well!!:)

Yours, T