June 26

Aleesia and made our way to Speaker's Corner, in Hyde Park, to watch our friends give speeches. We walked, because we didn't want to use our Oyster Cards. They took a bus, so they showed up 45 minutes after us, and after waiting for so long I left to go on a run. Once I left, I ran into them and looped around to go back. The speech professor started off, doing yoga, basically, and speaking really quietly to draw a crowd. After learning that each speech was required to be 7 minutes, for all 9 of them. I took off running again. I made my way around the park and I returned as Christian was up on the pedestal, and a crowd surrounding him. He talked about racism, because his family is from Colombia, but the people surrounding him were heckling him, which was expected in Speaker's Corner.

As I was watching and stretching a Scottish man came up and started talking to me, something I've learned is not unusual here. He was telling me that Speaker's Corner is not what it used to be 20 years ago. Every other person speaking, besides the FSU students, were speaking out on religion and he didn't enjoy how split everything has become. He thought it was great that this was like, "back then," because Christian just got up and started speaking his mind, then got down. My friend Jorge then got up, and he was hysterical. I was so beyond happy I made it to see him speak. He was speaking on gun control and he doesn't think we need it. The crowd cheered, seriously or not, and he went on with his rant. At the end he switched his point of view, and that we need gun control and everyone boo'd, because they, "liked (him) better when (he) was against it." He has a personality that is very open and very argumentative, when he wants to be, it's amazing. People would argue with him and he would fight back and it was really great to watch. The Scottish man was laughing so hard, he was asking if I knew them, and I explained who we were and why we were here. It was a very, very interesting experience. I'm really glad I went and even more glad that I did not have to participate. 

When we got back we were told that one of our local stores was closing down and everything was 70% off. Aleesia took off running, and I followed, even though I didn't get anything. Everything was cleared. It looked like the zombie apocalypse was taking place. Aleesia got a bag of m&m's, a large bag of rollos, 2 bags of Doritos, 5 ciders, 2 pasta sauces, and a Dr. Pepper all for 4 pounds. It was a mad house.