What a busy shej-oo-wool I have!

Shej-oo-wool...that's the way they pronounce schedule here. I learned that today when I was at work at The Unicorn and I was punching the rehearsal and performance shej-oo-wools into the online computer office diary (calendar.) Today at work I also sat in on a meeting with a representative from the Shakespeare in Schools Festival. A number of different schools in the area are going to come to the Unicorn for Shakespeare workshops, and then for a final performance of a shortened Shakespeare play towards November. That should be exciting, and I'll get to see the whole process which is really going to be interesting. Monday was my first day of interning. After having a full tour of the beautiful and huge building I sat down and read the entire 32 page Unicorn Theatre staff handbook. Then I went with the assistant production manager, the technical director, and the wardrobe director to an event put on by the Professional Lighting and Sound Association (PLASA, for short.) It was a gigantic exhibition for techies to see new age lighting and sound techniques, fabrics, electric platforms, seat upholstery, rigging systems, and pretty much anything anyone can think of that can be used in a theatre or concert hall. It was BONKERS! Flashing lights, lasers, the works! It was really cool to get a taste of what is out there and available for theatres around England to use. Anyway, the greatest part about working at The Unicorn so far has been 11 o'clock tea time. Every day at 11 we stop what we're doing and go to the Green Room for tea. I love the British!
Anyway, other things I've been doing....hmmm, last Thursday we went on the London Eye. It was incredible to be in one of those huge cabins looking out on the entire city of London, and the day we went was absolutely gorgeous and clear. We also went on a bus tour of London. We made some stops where we got off the bus to take pictures and see the sites. We saw Big Ben, Parliament, Buckingham Palace, The London Bridge, The Tower Bridge, The Globe Theatre, The Tower of London, St. Paul's Cathedral. It was insane! I've certainly seen every touristy place there is to see here. We went on a Shakespeare and Dickens walk of London where we saw some sites where inspired by Shakespeare and Dickens like where King Lear took place, and a Christmas Carol. It was really interesting. We've been to SoHo, Piccadilly Circus, Oxford Circus, it has been crazy! Last night I even got to see Sister Act the Musical, and that was really cool because it's not even playing in NY. Every thing's just been great, it's just that I feel so run down because I've been doing so much, what with classes, interning, homework, site seeing, not to mention food shopping, cooking, and laundry.
As far as things I've been noticing about Great Britain, I've been keeping a mental list so I will just run some things off:
-If someone asks "Are you on the queue?" they are asking if you are standing on line.
-Coffee shops ask you if you want white or black coffee with whole or skinny milk.
-British people are more reserved when it comes to pride in their country.
-Most Irish or Scottish people don't consider themselves British even though they too are part of the union.
-You have to pay for everything! Playbills at the theatre, bread at restaurants, soy sauce at sushi places, you even have to pay extra for sitting in Starbucks rather than taking your coffee away.
-High Schools are known as Colleges, and Colleges are known as Universities.
-A cable box is known as a digibox.
-People love to ride their bikes everywhere, and they rudely disobey stoplights or pedestrian crosswalks.
-You have to walk on the left side of the sidewalk.
-You have to stand on the right side of the escalator so those who are in a rush can walk past you on the left.
-Allison is never spelt with 2 L's.
-Dental care is not a high priority.
Those are just a few things I can think off the top of my head that I've noticed about Britain in the past week and a half. I learn something new every day, and the more I pay attention to the people around me the more differences I notice between here and The States. I'll keep my ears and eyes open for more, but as for now I have to finish my laundry, get some work done, and go to bed at a reasonable hour because tomorrow I have quite the busy shej-oo-wool.