Time for some random observations and tidbits that haven't really fit in to any of my posts up to this point.
~*~HERE WE GO~*~
—Mind the gap: Everyone has heard this, right? It's one of the quintessential things people think about when they think of Britain. What I wonder is why they say it so much. From what I've seen, in the vast majority of tube and train stations, if you were actually to have an issue with the gap between the train and the platform, you would have to be extraordinarily clumsy, almost to the point of actually trying to fall down, or you would have to be very very small. Like, green army man size.
—Arachnids: I am really surprised "Charlotte's Web" was not written in Britain (rhyme!). Nearly every morning on my walk to to bus stop I notice a new spider web on someone's bush or flowering shrub. And these are not your Tulsa sized spiders or webs. These are big, fat spiders that sit in the middle of huge, beautifully constructed webs. I don't think they are any sort of dangerous variety, but they sure look menacing. Since it rains so much here, it's usually really easy to see them, covered in little water droplets. It's a pretty amazing thing.
—Fun fact: You know those Princeton Review college ratings, like Happiest Students and Dorms Like Prisons or whatever? Well, there's one called Town/Gown relations. That term comes from Oxford! Because of the weird little robes they wear to meals and graduation and stuff. You've seen pictures, I'm sure. And the funny thing is, Oxford and Cambridge both have terrible town/gown relations. In Oxford, although all the buildings are mixed in with the town, there are just certain places the townspeople always go, and places students always go: especially pubs. Apparently if a student walks in to a townspeople pub, the whole bar goes silent and everyone puts down their drinks and stares. How creepy. And in Cambridge, the college and students are in a completely separate part of town as the Cambridge locals.
—College sports: are just really not as big a deal here as they are in the States. From what I can tell, there's not really any sort of NCAA equivalent for like, the elite or whatever. For example, my roommate, who, granted, is really athletic, was able pretty much to walk on to the ladies' football (soccer) team here. Tomorrow I am going to try out for the volleyball team, and if my suspicions are correct, I will be able to join without much of a problem. (This is great for me; I am really looking forward to competing in something organized again.) They are sort of more like club sports, much like the rugby team at TU. I wish TU had more club sports like this; something in between intermurals and the legit school team.
—Gents: The don't call anything "Mens'." It's always "Gents'." Which I love. Gents' toilets. Gents' barber. There are a surprising number of those, by the way. Barber shops. Just for gents, just for ladies, just for ethnic hair. There are also ones fashioning themselves as unisex, which I'm sure means open to both, but to me sounds like the give the same haircuts to both ladies and gents.
—Gardens: I'm sure you've heard of English gardens, and for the most part this is really true. Most people have tiny front yards, which they line with cute little flowerbeds planted haphazardly with flowers and shrubs. Or, if they have all brick in front of their houses, there are still flower beds at the edges, or at least pots and flower boxes. All the houses are really close to the street, which means even in the suburbs the yards are a lot smaller than in the States, which is great, because it makes it much easier to see when there are
—Cats: or kittens in the windows. One house on my way to and from the bus nearly always has a different kitten in the window. It's one of my favorite parts of the day.
That's all I can think of for now. My classes seem great so far; I had Gender, Sexuality and Popular Culture today, and I felt a lot like how Mary must feel in her classes all the time. It seems really interesting, and I am excited to start. One of the lectures scheduled for later in the semester is called Laura Croft's Breasts (It's about gender portrayals in video games. I am going to bring up all that stuff Mary told me about World of War Craft.). Friday is the class I'm most excited about, in which I'll be learning how to do video journalism. I am going to have such a great range of journalism skills!
Now I'm off to read an article about gender in the media, some stuff about 18th cent. lit, and some Jonathan Swift poems.
Catherine
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Purgatory
Please excuse the less-than-joyful tone of this post. I know these things are supposed to be about how amazing and fulfilling this *experience* is, but you are all probably jaded and tired of that by now anyway. Right? RIGHT?
The point of this is that I have not had the greatest few days. Remember that solo trip out to Charleston I was going to take? Well, that turned into a profound disaster. All told, I must have made about a dozen public transportation mistakes which ended up costing me more than I care to think about, and in a twelve hour day, I spent only about two hours at my destination, and the rest in transit. And Charleston is only about an hour away from London, technically. The place itself was really cool; it's the old home of Vanessa Bell (Virginia Woolf's painter sister) and Duncan Grant, two of the most important figures in the Bloomsbury bohemian-type movement in Britain. It was great to have learned so much about it in school at TU and then to actually see it in person. I wish I could just have stayed there, and in fact, I probably should have, since it turned out that the bus I hurried to catch never came, and I ended up waiting for it for an hour and a half outside in the cold and drizzle, before having to walk another couple of miles in the shrubs along the highway to get to the nearest train station. People kept honking at me as they drove by too, and I have no idea why. It was really disheartening.
So that was lame. The next day, a trip for internationals to the Cotswolds and Oxford, was not as lame. I was worried because I didn't know anyone on the trip, but I ended up making friends with a girl called Nadua from Bosnia. Problem is I don't know her last name and am having a hard time finding her on facebook. Frustrating. F-game.
The Cotswolds were almost too cute to be real; think England from a BBC original miniseries of a Jane Austen novel. Or even a Shakespeare play. In the Costwolds you have something called cream tea, which is basically just tea and scones, but the scones... They're more like what we call biscuits, only they have fruit and rasins in them and stuff, and for cream tea, you put clotted cream and jam on them. Clotted cream is somewhere between heavy cream and butter, and is my new favorite thing in the world.
Oxford is a strange place. This whole trip was one of those where they really don't give you enough time to do everything you want to do, and I feel like I missed out not getting to just roam around for hours. Also I was feeling a little bitter about not having gotten to go to school there; there was some kind of graduation ceremony going on and all these people were wandering around in their little Oxford robes and grad caps.
What I really wanted to do but couldn't was go to the pub where C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien used to hang out. Our guide pointed it out as we drove by, but of course there was no time to visit. I might try to get up there again. It seems like a great town.
Mostly the problem with little trips like this is that I just want to be a local everywhere I go, instead of an observer. Like, a huge reason I wished I could've studied at Oxford was to eat in the Christ Church dining hall. Hogwarts, anyone?
Oh well. I bought a few school supplies today, and I'm hoping that classes starting tomorrow will improve my mood. I try out for volleyball on Thursday, so I guess I also need to go buy some court shoes and knee pads. I am just writing this week off as a total fail financially.
Aaaaanyway. I'm off to write an opinion piece for the Collegian (Vote NO on SQ744!!!!!!), for which I will hopefully get paid, even though I'm abroad. Dear TU payroll, please understand that I am poor and need your money!
Peace.
C
The point of this is that I have not had the greatest few days. Remember that solo trip out to Charleston I was going to take? Well, that turned into a profound disaster. All told, I must have made about a dozen public transportation mistakes which ended up costing me more than I care to think about, and in a twelve hour day, I spent only about two hours at my destination, and the rest in transit. And Charleston is only about an hour away from London, technically. The place itself was really cool; it's the old home of Vanessa Bell (Virginia Woolf's painter sister) and Duncan Grant, two of the most important figures in the Bloomsbury bohemian-type movement in Britain. It was great to have learned so much about it in school at TU and then to actually see it in person. I wish I could just have stayed there, and in fact, I probably should have, since it turned out that the bus I hurried to catch never came, and I ended up waiting for it for an hour and a half outside in the cold and drizzle, before having to walk another couple of miles in the shrubs along the highway to get to the nearest train station. People kept honking at me as they drove by too, and I have no idea why. It was really disheartening.
So that was lame. The next day, a trip for internationals to the Cotswolds and Oxford, was not as lame. I was worried because I didn't know anyone on the trip, but I ended up making friends with a girl called Nadua from Bosnia. Problem is I don't know her last name and am having a hard time finding her on facebook. Frustrating. F-game.
The Cotswolds were almost too cute to be real; think England from a BBC original miniseries of a Jane Austen novel. Or even a Shakespeare play. In the Costwolds you have something called cream tea, which is basically just tea and scones, but the scones... They're more like what we call biscuits, only they have fruit and rasins in them and stuff, and for cream tea, you put clotted cream and jam on them. Clotted cream is somewhere between heavy cream and butter, and is my new favorite thing in the world.
Oxford is a strange place. This whole trip was one of those where they really don't give you enough time to do everything you want to do, and I feel like I missed out not getting to just roam around for hours. Also I was feeling a little bitter about not having gotten to go to school there; there was some kind of graduation ceremony going on and all these people were wandering around in their little Oxford robes and grad caps.
What I really wanted to do but couldn't was go to the pub where C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien used to hang out. Our guide pointed it out as we drove by, but of course there was no time to visit. I might try to get up there again. It seems like a great town.
Mostly the problem with little trips like this is that I just want to be a local everywhere I go, instead of an observer. Like, a huge reason I wished I could've studied at Oxford was to eat in the Christ Church dining hall. Hogwarts, anyone?
Oh well. I bought a few school supplies today, and I'm hoping that classes starting tomorrow will improve my mood. I try out for volleyball on Thursday, so I guess I also need to go buy some court shoes and knee pads. I am just writing this week off as a total fail financially.
Aaaaanyway. I'm off to write an opinion piece for the Collegian (Vote NO on SQ744!!!!!!), for which I will hopefully get paid, even though I'm abroad. Dear TU payroll, please understand that I am poor and need your money!
Peace.
C
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Percolate?
I couldn't think of another relevant P word.
I am sitting here writing lots of postcards, since I went overboard buying them at the British Museum, so I thought I would do a blog post too, while I'm at it. And I am tired of just blabbing about where I've been going, so I thought I would do this one in a list form.
Top ten reasons living in Kingston is better than living in Tulsa:
10. Developed river: Kingston's full title is Kingston upon Thames, and that is no lie. There is a lovely walking path along the Thames, and High Street (which is what you call the main street/town center of any British village or neighborhood — remember this from Hogsmeade?) runs right along the Thames's east side. The theater and dozens of great restaurants come right up to it, it's full of swans and ducks, you can take river tours and even catch a ferry down to Hampton Court, which was Henry VIII's favorite royal residence. That's on my agenda of things to see.
9. Shopping: There are multiple H&M locations in Kingston, and it is really not that big of a town. Need I say more? I am going to have to be careful not to spend all my food and rent money there...
8. Pubs: I have not really taken advantage of this yet, but we are going to do a typical British pub night tomorrow for my roommate's birthday. Bring on the fish and chips and beer!
7. Developed town center: Going back to High Street — there is nearly always something going on here. There are tons of cute cafes and little shops, and you can get pretty much everything you need, including help from the Kingston study abroad office, right in the space of about a half-mile. Every day there is an outdoor market with the cheapest and freshest produce in town, which is great for day-to-day cooking. Next on my list: the gelato place. I expect I will go here to reward myself after our first day of class, coming up Monday.
6. Old shit: There is a bridge on High Street across a little canal tributary to the Thames which was built in the 1200's. Insane.
5. Food: For one thing, there is delicious Indian food everywhere you go. For another, I just discovered these things called pasties (again, recall your Harry Potter) which are like hot pockets only a trillion times better. Plus they are cheap.
4. Proper public transportation: Our bus stop is a ten minute walk from our house, and on weekdays, 7 to 7, the bus runs every ten minutes. Then, there are trains into London about every twenty minutes during peak hours. Best of all, with an Oyster card, you top off the amount you can be charged for travel at about £6 per day, so no matter how many busses you take that day or how far you go on the tube in London, they won't charge you more than that. Oh, and, the tube. Easiest way to get around ever.
3. Easy access to the ocean: All the study abroad people went to Brighton today, which aside from being one of the cutest towns I have ever seen, is also right on the ocean. It's just an hour away. The beach isn't exactly a Pensacola-type set up, since it is covered in pebbles instead of sand, and the water is pretty freezing, but it is still a great place to be. I did a tiny little sea-bathing today (a la Jane Austen's characters).
2. Easy access to the rest of Europe: Lea, Carolyn and I are going to Stockholm for the weekend in October, and the plane tickets plus our hostel only cost me about $150 in all. That is fantastic, plus, I'm going to Sweden??? Ridiculous. I just wish we could have stayed in the ice hotel.
1. LONDON: Subcategories to this include the British Museum (free), the National Gallery (free), Trafalgar Square (free), the Tate modern art museum (free), the Globe (£5 for tickets to the best Shakespeare in the world), the West End (discount tickets for students, where you can decide to see a random Beckett play and not realize till he says his first line that the show stars Michael Gambon, the guy who plays Dumbledore), Hyde Park (free), places where you can get better fish and chips in a box than you can in Oklahoma at a sit-down restaurant (£4), and really, the list never ends.
All of this sounds great, of course, but in the interest of journalistic integrity, I am going to construct an alternative list.
Top ten reasons living in Kingston is NOT better than living in Tulsa:
10. Paying rent: While it is true that TU is technically paying this, it is a big drag to remember to pay these people £95 per week. I think that is a little bit ridiculous for how far we are living from campus, and how we must use and cook all our own food and stuff. That's as much as my trip to Stockholm. At TU, Stead just pays my rent every semester. Thanks, Stead!
9. Not having a bicycle: The busses are great, but they are only really handy during peak hours. Out much after nine at night and they get more and more infrequent and inconvenient. I really wanted to get a bike so I don't have to depend on them all the time, but people apparently take their biking very seriously here, and I would have to drop like several hundred pounds to get even a used one that I don't have to fix.
8. British accents: While sexy in a select few people, mostly they are just hard to understand, and I hate having to ask people to repeat things.
7. Spinach: is very hard to find here. I knew they had it, since it's in a common Indian dish, saag, but I couldn't find it until recently, at the outdoor market on High Street. Even then, you have to buy a huge bundle, and I am going to have to eat it very fast in order for it not to spoil and go to waste.
6. Lack of Mexican fast food: Even when I am starving, I can resist places like McDonalds and Burger King, because, I'm in England for heaven's sake. But, I don't even have the option of going to T-Bell or Bueno when I am starving in my room after eating toast for dinner yet again.
5. Food in general, I guess: It's very expensive, in most places. I often feel awkward cooking in our hosts' kitchen, and I have been living pretty much on toast and eggs and oranges for the past week here. If anyone has any cheap, fast recipes that they like that don't require use of an oven (because I don't understand the one here), please send them my way.
4. Laundry: I am still too afraid to ask our family about their facilities, since I am fearful they are going to charge us extra. Carolyn's landlady does. But the laundromats (launderettes, here) are also really expensive. I am going to run out of clothes soon...
3. Not having a cat: Pretty self-explanatory. I have always had a cat, since second grade. Even living at TU, I can always go home and see Gracie whenever I want. And we all remember Sodapop. Our host family doesn't have any animals at all.
2. TV: Gossip Girl is a week and a half behind in the U.K., and sites like Hulu don't work here. It's nearly impossible to watch episodes of shows that have aired in the U.S. but not in the U.K. Same with House. It's torture. I just thank heaven LOST is over, and I don't have to be tortured by waiting for it.
1. People: Everything — and I truly mean everything — would be more incredible if I could share how great it is with the people I love. I miss my family and my friends and my jobs so heartbreakingly much. Fortunately, I have made some great friends here, so I am not lonely, per se. And I am having the time of my life. It's just, it would be even better to be able to share it with everyone I love most.
Sooooo that's that! Two competing perspectives on life in England. I wish everyone could have this experience of becoming a local in a new place, because it has far exceeded my expectations. Next up, joining clubs at the activities fair tomorrow, maybe a solo trip out to Charleston farmhouse near Lewes on Friday, International student trip to Oxford on Saturday, probably another day in London on Sunday, and my first class at Kingston on Monday! Fortunately I met someone today who will be in my very first class, so when I have to skip to go traveling, I can get his notes, and vise versa!
Pleasant day to all,
Catherine
I am sitting here writing lots of postcards, since I went overboard buying them at the British Museum, so I thought I would do a blog post too, while I'm at it. And I am tired of just blabbing about where I've been going, so I thought I would do this one in a list form.
Top ten reasons living in Kingston is better than living in Tulsa:
10. Developed river: Kingston's full title is Kingston upon Thames, and that is no lie. There is a lovely walking path along the Thames, and High Street (which is what you call the main street/town center of any British village or neighborhood — remember this from Hogsmeade?) runs right along the Thames's east side. The theater and dozens of great restaurants come right up to it, it's full of swans and ducks, you can take river tours and even catch a ferry down to Hampton Court, which was Henry VIII's favorite royal residence. That's on my agenda of things to see.
9. Shopping: There are multiple H&M locations in Kingston, and it is really not that big of a town. Need I say more? I am going to have to be careful not to spend all my food and rent money there...
8. Pubs: I have not really taken advantage of this yet, but we are going to do a typical British pub night tomorrow for my roommate's birthday. Bring on the fish and chips and beer!
7. Developed town center: Going back to High Street — there is nearly always something going on here. There are tons of cute cafes and little shops, and you can get pretty much everything you need, including help from the Kingston study abroad office, right in the space of about a half-mile. Every day there is an outdoor market with the cheapest and freshest produce in town, which is great for day-to-day cooking. Next on my list: the gelato place. I expect I will go here to reward myself after our first day of class, coming up Monday.
6. Old shit: There is a bridge on High Street across a little canal tributary to the Thames which was built in the 1200's. Insane.
5. Food: For one thing, there is delicious Indian food everywhere you go. For another, I just discovered these things called pasties (again, recall your Harry Potter) which are like hot pockets only a trillion times better. Plus they are cheap.
4. Proper public transportation: Our bus stop is a ten minute walk from our house, and on weekdays, 7 to 7, the bus runs every ten minutes. Then, there are trains into London about every twenty minutes during peak hours. Best of all, with an Oyster card, you top off the amount you can be charged for travel at about £6 per day, so no matter how many busses you take that day or how far you go on the tube in London, they won't charge you more than that. Oh, and, the tube. Easiest way to get around ever.
3. Easy access to the ocean: All the study abroad people went to Brighton today, which aside from being one of the cutest towns I have ever seen, is also right on the ocean. It's just an hour away. The beach isn't exactly a Pensacola-type set up, since it is covered in pebbles instead of sand, and the water is pretty freezing, but it is still a great place to be. I did a tiny little sea-bathing today (a la Jane Austen's characters).
2. Easy access to the rest of Europe: Lea, Carolyn and I are going to Stockholm for the weekend in October, and the plane tickets plus our hostel only cost me about $150 in all. That is fantastic, plus, I'm going to Sweden??? Ridiculous. I just wish we could have stayed in the ice hotel.
1. LONDON: Subcategories to this include the British Museum (free), the National Gallery (free), Trafalgar Square (free), the Tate modern art museum (free), the Globe (£5 for tickets to the best Shakespeare in the world), the West End (discount tickets for students, where you can decide to see a random Beckett play and not realize till he says his first line that the show stars Michael Gambon, the guy who plays Dumbledore), Hyde Park (free), places where you can get better fish and chips in a box than you can in Oklahoma at a sit-down restaurant (£4), and really, the list never ends.
All of this sounds great, of course, but in the interest of journalistic integrity, I am going to construct an alternative list.
Top ten reasons living in Kingston is NOT better than living in Tulsa:
10. Paying rent: While it is true that TU is technically paying this, it is a big drag to remember to pay these people £95 per week. I think that is a little bit ridiculous for how far we are living from campus, and how we must use and cook all our own food and stuff. That's as much as my trip to Stockholm. At TU, Stead just pays my rent every semester. Thanks, Stead!
9. Not having a bicycle: The busses are great, but they are only really handy during peak hours. Out much after nine at night and they get more and more infrequent and inconvenient. I really wanted to get a bike so I don't have to depend on them all the time, but people apparently take their biking very seriously here, and I would have to drop like several hundred pounds to get even a used one that I don't have to fix.
8. British accents: While sexy in a select few people, mostly they are just hard to understand, and I hate having to ask people to repeat things.
7. Spinach: is very hard to find here. I knew they had it, since it's in a common Indian dish, saag, but I couldn't find it until recently, at the outdoor market on High Street. Even then, you have to buy a huge bundle, and I am going to have to eat it very fast in order for it not to spoil and go to waste.
6. Lack of Mexican fast food: Even when I am starving, I can resist places like McDonalds and Burger King, because, I'm in England for heaven's sake. But, I don't even have the option of going to T-Bell or Bueno when I am starving in my room after eating toast for dinner yet again.
5. Food in general, I guess: It's very expensive, in most places. I often feel awkward cooking in our hosts' kitchen, and I have been living pretty much on toast and eggs and oranges for the past week here. If anyone has any cheap, fast recipes that they like that don't require use of an oven (because I don't understand the one here), please send them my way.
4. Laundry: I am still too afraid to ask our family about their facilities, since I am fearful they are going to charge us extra. Carolyn's landlady does. But the laundromats (launderettes, here) are also really expensive. I am going to run out of clothes soon...
3. Not having a cat: Pretty self-explanatory. I have always had a cat, since second grade. Even living at TU, I can always go home and see Gracie whenever I want. And we all remember Sodapop. Our host family doesn't have any animals at all.
2. TV: Gossip Girl is a week and a half behind in the U.K., and sites like Hulu don't work here. It's nearly impossible to watch episodes of shows that have aired in the U.S. but not in the U.K. Same with House. It's torture. I just thank heaven LOST is over, and I don't have to be tortured by waiting for it.
1. People: Everything — and I truly mean everything — would be more incredible if I could share how great it is with the people I love. I miss my family and my friends and my jobs so heartbreakingly much. Fortunately, I have made some great friends here, so I am not lonely, per se. And I am having the time of my life. It's just, it would be even better to be able to share it with everyone I love most.
Sooooo that's that! Two competing perspectives on life in England. I wish everyone could have this experience of becoming a local in a new place, because it has far exceeded my expectations. Next up, joining clubs at the activities fair tomorrow, maybe a solo trip out to Charleston farmhouse near Lewes on Friday, International student trip to Oxford on Saturday, probably another day in London on Sunday, and my first class at Kingston on Monday! Fortunately I met someone today who will be in my very first class, so when I have to skip to go traveling, I can get his notes, and vise versa!
Pleasant day to all,
Catherine
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Pleased!
I LOVE living here. I love it. It so far surpasses just traveling here I can't even believe it.
There are these things called Oyster cards, that give you almost half off on all public travel fare, and only people who live and work in and around London carry them, for the buses, trains and Tube. I have one. It is so exhilarating to swipe. Here is an example of why it is so great to be here as a resident:
Today Lea and I got up to meet our other friend Carolyn at the train station that's halfway between our two places. We went to the Globe and bought tickets to see Henry IV Part I. This was the original plan. I had mentioned that I wanted to go see the Rosetta Stone, so we headed off to the British Museum. When we got off the tube for the museum, what should we see but the theater that plays "We Will Rock You," the musical of Queen music. We go in to check student prices (£30). We thank the woman at the box office and are about to leave when we realize the matinee is at 2:30, in a few hours. So instead of coming back another day, we get tickets for that afternoon. So after a few hours roaming through ancient Egyptian, Assyrian, Greek and Roman artifacts at the museum, we go to see the show. "We Will Rock You" is really fun, and although it apparently didn't do well in the States, it is a great show. The lead male sounded uncannily like Freddy Mercury.
Then, after coffee, we stand for three hours to watch Henry IV, which is probably the best theater production I have seen certainly this year, and possibly in several years. I was blown away. I can't wait to go back and see Part II, which will be another night at the globe.
The best part is, with our Oyster cards, all that travel only cost us about £6. The tickets and some food and postcards were more, but that is incredibly cheap for two trains, bus rides to the station and back, and two rides on the tube (normally costing almost £5 each).
I love this city so so much.
I am getting sick, however, and I just dosed myself with a lot of Benadryl, so I am crashing presently.
C
There are these things called Oyster cards, that give you almost half off on all public travel fare, and only people who live and work in and around London carry them, for the buses, trains and Tube. I have one. It is so exhilarating to swipe. Here is an example of why it is so great to be here as a resident:
Today Lea and I got up to meet our other friend Carolyn at the train station that's halfway between our two places. We went to the Globe and bought tickets to see Henry IV Part I. This was the original plan. I had mentioned that I wanted to go see the Rosetta Stone, so we headed off to the British Museum. When we got off the tube for the museum, what should we see but the theater that plays "We Will Rock You," the musical of Queen music. We go in to check student prices (£30). We thank the woman at the box office and are about to leave when we realize the matinee is at 2:30, in a few hours. So instead of coming back another day, we get tickets for that afternoon. So after a few hours roaming through ancient Egyptian, Assyrian, Greek and Roman artifacts at the museum, we go to see the show. "We Will Rock You" is really fun, and although it apparently didn't do well in the States, it is a great show. The lead male sounded uncannily like Freddy Mercury.
Then, after coffee, we stand for three hours to watch Henry IV, which is probably the best theater production I have seen certainly this year, and possibly in several years. I was blown away. I can't wait to go back and see Part II, which will be another night at the globe.
The best part is, with our Oyster cards, all that travel only cost us about £6. The tickets and some food and postcards were more, but that is incredibly cheap for two trains, bus rides to the station and back, and two rides on the tube (normally costing almost £5 each).
I love this city so so much.
I am getting sick, however, and I just dosed myself with a lot of Benadryl, so I am crashing presently.
C
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Prequel Polished
One of the BCP mornings, we did a seminar about goals, so taking into consideration their advice, I am revising mine.
NEW GOALS
1. Visit at least 5 new countries.
2. Visit out-of-the-way destinations in the U.K., including Charleston Farmhouse, Sean's castle in Wales, AP television headquarters, the Durham cathedral, etc.
3. Don't say mean things about people.
4. Understand the London bus system.
5. Send at least one postcard a week.
6. Keep rented room and bathroom tidy.
7. Don't forget to apply to summer internships (at least 8).
8. Don't use any of my parents' money.
9. Make more friends.
10. Do one thing per day of which I'm afraid.
I think those are pretty solid. The hardest one may be the London bus system... but it will also help take care of number ten!
Today was International Welcome Day and sort of orientation? I never thought I would have much good to say about TU's orientation, but I certainly appreciate it compared to this. I don't know if it is just a U.K. thing, but communication across the board was pretty bad. The staff wasn't all on the same page, and some important things were only mentioned a couple of times. One of these things was to bring your passport to enrollment, so that Kingston could identify you properly. Well, this was mentioned to us yesterday maybe once or twice. And, I realize, I am a forgetful person, but a lot of other people forgot too, such as Lea, my suite-mate. We had to go back to our house and get them, and since we decided to try walking instead of spending bus fare, it ended up taking us over two hours.
Also, it was really disheartening to have been thrown into such a huge group. There were no small group sessions, except a quick tour, which was also chaotic, and certainly nothing like the orientation groups of TU. I think I really would have benefitted from something like that, as today I wasn't very successful with the meeting new people thing.
However, I think that might change a little later. We got some brochures with a bunch of student societies listed, and there are several that look promising, the Catholics being the main one, and also a radio society, which apparently does podcasts and things. I hope I can get involved with that. There is also a cake society, a cooking society, a skateboarding society, a creative writing society and a wine society, all of which are somewhat intriguing.
Also, I finally got my schedule today, and it looks like the Video and Photo Journalism class I'm taking is more like a lab-type thing, so hopefully I'll be able to make friends there. I have to change my schedule up a bit though, if I can, since right now the day I have with no classes is Wednesday, which really puts a damper on weekend travel plans.
Anyhoo. I think I'm going to go brave the kitchen downstairs, since I just bought groceries.
...Or I might just eat another banana.
Peace.
C
NEW GOALS
1. Visit at least 5 new countries.
2. Visit out-of-the-way destinations in the U.K., including Charleston Farmhouse, Sean's castle in Wales, AP television headquarters, the Durham cathedral, etc.
3. Don't say mean things about people.
4. Understand the London bus system.
5. Send at least one postcard a week.
6. Keep rented room and bathroom tidy.
7. Don't forget to apply to summer internships (at least 8).
8. Don't use any of my parents' money.
9. Make more friends.
10. Do one thing per day of which I'm afraid.
I think those are pretty solid. The hardest one may be the London bus system... but it will also help take care of number ten!
Today was International Welcome Day and sort of orientation? I never thought I would have much good to say about TU's orientation, but I certainly appreciate it compared to this. I don't know if it is just a U.K. thing, but communication across the board was pretty bad. The staff wasn't all on the same page, and some important things were only mentioned a couple of times. One of these things was to bring your passport to enrollment, so that Kingston could identify you properly. Well, this was mentioned to us yesterday maybe once or twice. And, I realize, I am a forgetful person, but a lot of other people forgot too, such as Lea, my suite-mate. We had to go back to our house and get them, and since we decided to try walking instead of spending bus fare, it ended up taking us over two hours.
Also, it was really disheartening to have been thrown into such a huge group. There were no small group sessions, except a quick tour, which was also chaotic, and certainly nothing like the orientation groups of TU. I think I really would have benefitted from something like that, as today I wasn't very successful with the meeting new people thing.
However, I think that might change a little later. We got some brochures with a bunch of student societies listed, and there are several that look promising, the Catholics being the main one, and also a radio society, which apparently does podcasts and things. I hope I can get involved with that. There is also a cake society, a cooking society, a skateboarding society, a creative writing society and a wine society, all of which are somewhat intriguing.
Also, I finally got my schedule today, and it looks like the Video and Photo Journalism class I'm taking is more like a lab-type thing, so hopefully I'll be able to make friends there. I have to change my schedule up a bit though, if I can, since right now the day I have with no classes is Wednesday, which really puts a damper on weekend travel plans.
Anyhoo. I think I'm going to go brave the kitchen downstairs, since I just bought groceries.
...Or I might just eat another banana.
Peace.
C
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Progress
Hello people.
Tonight is the eve of my officially becoming a student at Kingston University: tomorrow is Orientation, and I'll have a student ID made. I am pleasantly impatient.
I am pretty sure the last five days have actually spanned about three weeks. Every minute has been so completely full. I'll try to give an idea of how everything went down.
Since my program actually didn't begin until today, you may be wondering what in the world I was doing in London so early. Well, my program, Eurolearn, organized a short pre-orientation-orientation in central London, I posit to get us used to the culture. This is a good guess, because it is called the Bridging Cultures Program. QED.
Each of the three full days we had, we would spend the morning in the hotel conference room going over various things we are likely to encounter: British politics and colloquialisms, views about Americans, differences in the British and American education systems, etc. These were simultaneously extremely useful and uncomfortably stressful, especially about the differences in college. I guess British students don't do things like make friends with professors, or ask questions in class. Sorry Schroeders, you'd be out of luck. They also don't have anything like a liberal arts education; when they reach university they study their "major" and nothing else. But then they're only in school for three years.
So, right, mornings. Then, in the afternoons, we would go out into London for sightseeing and to learn the tube. Let's have a ...
~*~RECAP~*~
Wheeeeee!!!!!
Buckingham Palace
The Queen lives here. We took tea with her. NOT! I wish. Her place is pretty damn cool though. Last time I was here I went to see Windsor castle, and it was similarly extravagant. A lot of diplomatic entertaining is done there. Our audio guides kept talking about which staircases and hallways which guests would go through and when, and it just really made me want an invitation to a Garden Party. Unfortunately no pics were allowed inside, but here is a look at the front...
And here is a photo of the back, which you can only see if you go through...
The Queen has quite a backyard.
After this, we went too see what they said was a Medieval Banquet... It was sort of fun, with Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine hosting a banquet for the peasants. But, after Medieval Times in Dallas, I can't say I was impressed. Perhaps that's peevish. Oh well.
Then, that night, there was a festival going on, so we went down to the Thames by Parliament to watch fireworks...
I will be getting better pictures of this at some point, but from the left is the London Eye, the Parliament building and Big Ben.
Trafalgar Square
The second day we took a bus through central London just to pass some of the best stuff. We stopped at Trafalgar square to have a look around...
George Washington is hanging out there, in front of the National Gallery, which is directly behind
^^that...
One of the guys in my group had seen 1776, so we had a lovely chat about what a masterpiece of cinema it is.
Fun fact: back when Texas was a country, it had an embassy in London.
I was going to upload a picture of the Texas Embassy Cantina here, but it is taking so long and I have to get up really early in the morning to figure out the bus to school. So, that's that.
Shakespeare's Globe
This might have been my favorite thing we did the whole BCP. We saw "Merry Wives of Windsor" — have you ever heard of it? Because I hadn't. But it turns out it is hysterical. And of course the actors are working at the freaking Globe Theater, so naturally they were all fantastic. It wasn't even a big deal to be standing for that long; we were in the very front section, right next to the stage. I met someone going to Kingston with me who is a theatre person, so I will have a buddy for going to see Henry IV. Or some number Henry, I'm not completely certain which. But it will be great.
Tower of London
This was our big thing for the third day. I've been here before, but since last time we were pushed for time and had to leave early, I got to see a lot more than last time. Here is where they keep the crown jewels, and it is where several of Henry VIII's wives were beheaded. A lot of high class prisoners were kept here, including Sir Walter Scott. A little out-of-the-way building inside the tower walls is where they would keep the prisoners, and at the top is a room whose walls are covered in all the engravings of the people who have stayed there since something like the 16th century. Some of them were impossibly elaborate, but I guess they didn't really have anything else to do...
After this, we met up with a guide to take us on the Jack the Ripper walking tour. I have heard some mixed reviews of this particular attraction in the past, but I thought it was a lot of fun. Our guide was a character, of course, and I think he must have know everything there is to know about Jack the Ripper. Obviously they really don't know much about him, since he was never caught, but he gave us some pretty compelling theories. He said that one of the only reasons Jack the Ripper is so well-known is that about the time he started his rampage, newspapers had just figured out how to make paper dirt cheap by using wood pulp. So they could make a lot of papers for way cheap. They just needed to sell them, and a Jack the Ripper headline was a total money spinner. If journalists didn't have much to write about, a lot of times they would write a letter from someone claiming to be Jack the Ripper about how the police were fools and he'd never be caught, and that would be the headline for the next day. It was really interesting.
Then we went to eat Indian!!! Piquant.
This brings me to the end of BCP. Today we took a cab to Kingston, which is a fantastic little town that isn't as terrifyingly huge as London proper but still has pretty much an international feel. I already love it. My suite-mate, Lea, and I have a really nice family who cooked for us and took us to get bus passes. This is starting to feel real for the first time — all of BCP pretty much felt like camp or a vacation or something. Now we are actually at school, and in the place we are going to live for three and change months. It's perfectly petrifying, but exhilarating at the same time.
I had an easier time making friends than I thought, so that is prodigiously pleasing. I am actually kind of surprised how solid of friends I made in such a short time. Weird.
Oooookay everybody, I had a late night clubbing last night (I'm serious. I made a big scene when Stronger came on.) so I am going to pass out.
I love you! Add me on Skype!
C
Tonight is the eve of my officially becoming a student at Kingston University: tomorrow is Orientation, and I'll have a student ID made. I am pleasantly impatient.
I am pretty sure the last five days have actually spanned about three weeks. Every minute has been so completely full. I'll try to give an idea of how everything went down.
Since my program actually didn't begin until today, you may be wondering what in the world I was doing in London so early. Well, my program, Eurolearn, organized a short pre-orientation-orientation in central London, I posit to get us used to the culture. This is a good guess, because it is called the Bridging Cultures Program. QED.
Each of the three full days we had, we would spend the morning in the hotel conference room going over various things we are likely to encounter: British politics and colloquialisms, views about Americans, differences in the British and American education systems, etc. These were simultaneously extremely useful and uncomfortably stressful, especially about the differences in college. I guess British students don't do things like make friends with professors, or ask questions in class. Sorry Schroeders, you'd be out of luck. They also don't have anything like a liberal arts education; when they reach university they study their "major" and nothing else. But then they're only in school for three years.
So, right, mornings. Then, in the afternoons, we would go out into London for sightseeing and to learn the tube. Let's have a ...
~*~RECAP~*~
Wheeeeee!!!!!
Buckingham Palace
The Queen lives here. We took tea with her. NOT! I wish. Her place is pretty damn cool though. Last time I was here I went to see Windsor castle, and it was similarly extravagant. A lot of diplomatic entertaining is done there. Our audio guides kept talking about which staircases and hallways which guests would go through and when, and it just really made me want an invitation to a Garden Party. Unfortunately no pics were allowed inside, but here is a look at the front...
And here is a photo of the back, which you can only see if you go through...
The Queen has quite a backyard.
After this, we went too see what they said was a Medieval Banquet... It was sort of fun, with Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine hosting a banquet for the peasants. But, after Medieval Times in Dallas, I can't say I was impressed. Perhaps that's peevish. Oh well.
Then, that night, there was a festival going on, so we went down to the Thames by Parliament to watch fireworks...
I will be getting better pictures of this at some point, but from the left is the London Eye, the Parliament building and Big Ben.
Trafalgar Square
The second day we took a bus through central London just to pass some of the best stuff. We stopped at Trafalgar square to have a look around...
George Washington is hanging out there, in front of the National Gallery, which is directly behind
^^that...
One of the guys in my group had seen 1776, so we had a lovely chat about what a masterpiece of cinema it is.
Fun fact: back when Texas was a country, it had an embassy in London.
I was going to upload a picture of the Texas Embassy Cantina here, but it is taking so long and I have to get up really early in the morning to figure out the bus to school. So, that's that.
Shakespeare's Globe
This might have been my favorite thing we did the whole BCP. We saw "Merry Wives of Windsor" — have you ever heard of it? Because I hadn't. But it turns out it is hysterical. And of course the actors are working at the freaking Globe Theater, so naturally they were all fantastic. It wasn't even a big deal to be standing for that long; we were in the very front section, right next to the stage. I met someone going to Kingston with me who is a theatre person, so I will have a buddy for going to see Henry IV. Or some number Henry, I'm not completely certain which. But it will be great.
Tower of London
This was our big thing for the third day. I've been here before, but since last time we were pushed for time and had to leave early, I got to see a lot more than last time. Here is where they keep the crown jewels, and it is where several of Henry VIII's wives were beheaded. A lot of high class prisoners were kept here, including Sir Walter Scott. A little out-of-the-way building inside the tower walls is where they would keep the prisoners, and at the top is a room whose walls are covered in all the engravings of the people who have stayed there since something like the 16th century. Some of them were impossibly elaborate, but I guess they didn't really have anything else to do...
After this, we met up with a guide to take us on the Jack the Ripper walking tour. I have heard some mixed reviews of this particular attraction in the past, but I thought it was a lot of fun. Our guide was a character, of course, and I think he must have know everything there is to know about Jack the Ripper. Obviously they really don't know much about him, since he was never caught, but he gave us some pretty compelling theories. He said that one of the only reasons Jack the Ripper is so well-known is that about the time he started his rampage, newspapers had just figured out how to make paper dirt cheap by using wood pulp. So they could make a lot of papers for way cheap. They just needed to sell them, and a Jack the Ripper headline was a total money spinner. If journalists didn't have much to write about, a lot of times they would write a letter from someone claiming to be Jack the Ripper about how the police were fools and he'd never be caught, and that would be the headline for the next day. It was really interesting.
Then we went to eat Indian!!! Piquant.
This brings me to the end of BCP. Today we took a cab to Kingston, which is a fantastic little town that isn't as terrifyingly huge as London proper but still has pretty much an international feel. I already love it. My suite-mate, Lea, and I have a really nice family who cooked for us and took us to get bus passes. This is starting to feel real for the first time — all of BCP pretty much felt like camp or a vacation or something. Now we are actually at school, and in the place we are going to live for three and change months. It's perfectly petrifying, but exhilarating at the same time.
I had an easier time making friends than I thought, so that is prodigiously pleasing. I am actually kind of surprised how solid of friends I made in such a short time. Weird.
Oooookay everybody, I had a late night clubbing last night (I'm serious. I made a big scene when Stronger came on.) so I am going to pass out.
I love you! Add me on Skype!
C
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Predictably...
...I arrived latest of all the people in the program, so everyone already sort of knows each other. Naturally.
My current roommate seems nice. She says they (whoever that is) plan to go out tonight. That seems scary, since I have a feeling I am going to be a sort of social pariah for a while.
I know Eleanor Roosevelt said to do one thing a day that scares you. Well, I am sorry, but yesterday I got on a plane to start living in a different country for three months. I think that counts for two days.
I miss familiar faces. I guess I will go brush my teeth and start trying to make some friends.
With partiality,
Catherine
My current roommate seems nice. She says they (whoever that is) plan to go out tonight. That seems scary, since I have a feeling I am going to be a sort of social pariah for a while.
I know Eleanor Roosevelt said to do one thing a day that scares you. Well, I am sorry, but yesterday I got on a plane to start living in a different country for three months. I think that counts for two days.
I miss familiar faces. I guess I will go brush my teeth and start trying to make some friends.
With partiality,
Catherine
Friday, September 10, 2010
Prequel
Welcome friends!
Here I sit at the Atlanta airport, waiting to board the plane to London. Preposterous.
I decided to come up with a list of goals, since I was so impressed with the goals lists of Kate, Jamie and Kristin. Especially Jamie.
1. Make friends.
2. Always say nice things about people instead of nasty things.
3. Visit at least 5 new countries. More if at all possible.
4. Send at least one postcard per week.
5. 4.0? Perhaps.
6. Don't forget to apply to lots of summer internships.
7. Meet/marry someone who is pretty much a younger version of Hugh Laurie. Who is also a Duke.
#7 is my favorite.
I miss everyone so much already! Hopefully soon I'll have more interesting things to write about than my dilemma about whether to eat at Panda Express or Quiznos. Panda will probably prevail...
Love,
C
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