Blog Suspended

Hello! I have decided that I am rubbish at keeping a blog. I am sorry for anyone who has been checking for updates that simply will never come. I appreciate that you have stayed with me on this journey, but from now on if you would like to hear from me please send me an e-mail. I would love to hear from you!
Cheers,
Hanna

Vacation from vacation.

Hello neglected readers. I've missed you. 

I pretty much always feel like I am on a vacation in London, but last week was spring break. So I took a vacation from my vacation and went to Ireland. It was great, but I came home feeling like a I needed a vacation. Now try to wrap your head around what I just said (case and point).

I woke up in the wee hours of the morning on Friday 25 April to catch a train with a friend to the coast of Wales, where we hopped on a ferry over to Dublin. I slept for most of the train ride, sprawled across two seats. I have found that they hardly ever wake you up to check your tickets. I have now slept through three ticket stampings! Our ferry was quite luxurious, not what I was expecting. We were probably the only people on the ferry who didn't have an elaborate picnic lunch and many bottles of alcohol. The people sitting next to us got totally wasted (in the middle of the afternoon). They were a bit ridiculous and could hardly walked themselves off the ferry. But it provided me with entertainment. My friend and I exchanged many raised eyebrows. We spent the first half of our spring break in Dublin, seeing the sites and listening to as much free music as we could (that means every night). The highlights for me were the Guinness Storehouse, the Jameson Distillery (don't judge me, these are essential visits), Kilmainham Gaol (jail), and the full english breakfast included in our hostel. An english breakfast includes: hashbrowns, eggs, sausage, bacon, beans (like baked beans), and toast. Plus they had cereal and amazing bread and jam and juice and tea and coffee and I was pretty much in heaven every morning!  We did a ton of walking in Dublin (had to work off that breakfast!) and had very good weather. We even managed to have a picnic in the sun one day!

Our last day in Dublin we decided to get out of the city and take a bus tour to Newgrange. It was definitely one of my favorite parts of the whole trip! Our first stop on the tour was the Hill of Tara. While most people wandered around on the interesting grass mounds, I decided to stalk the sheep in the distance. I managed to get pretty close and discovered that there were a bunch of tiny babies! Anyone who knows me will understand that seeing baby animals makes me very happy. If only I could have kidnapped one and brought it home.

Tiny nursing lamb

The Sheep that I stalked at the Hill of Tara

Then we continued on to Newgrange which is a UNESCO world heritage site that no one seems to have heard of. It is a passage tomb that happens to be older than the pyramids in Egypt and older than Stonehenge (no big deal)! The stone carving was amazing and beautiful. The best part was that we were able to go inside the passage tomb and see a demonstration of how it works. Some of you may be familiar with Chaco Canyon in New Mexico (another UNESCO world heritage site) where cool stuff happens on the solstice. Well Newgrange works in a similar way, only it was built approximately 4,000 years earlier. When you go into the tomb you walk along a slightly curving path so that you cannot see the entrance from the chamber. It is pitch black inside (when they turn off the lights that were more recently installed). On the solstice, when the sun comes up it shines a beam of light through the opening above the entrance, lighting up the entire inside of the tomb. The demonstration was awesome, and I can only imagine what it must be like for the real deal. They hold a lottery for people to visit on the solstice. It was a beautiful day, and I was so happy to be just where I was. It was the perfect way to end our stay in the Republic of Ireland. The next day we departed for Belfast.

The Stone in front of Newgrange

I absolutely loved my time in Dublin. All of the people that we met were extremely friendly, and it is a small enough city that we kept bumping into people we "knew" on the streets (including the drunken folks from the ferry). We even came upon another student from our program in London one evening. The music every night was great and by the end of our stay in Dublin we knew the words to all the songs. It's like a party every night.



Belfast coming soon...

Today's Lesson

Despite the fact that I generally feel like I am on an extended vacation, I am actually going to school while I'm in London. I know, it's a shocker! So this post will be devoted to school and my internship.

I am taking two classes at AHA London Centre. My school is tiny! There are about 35 students total between the semester program (my program) and the quarter program. I am taking two classes, Britain Today: Issues and Perspectives and Empire: The British Experience. Most students take four classes, but I decided to do an internship instead!

Britain Today is mostly a politics class. We are learning all about the political system in the UK by going on excursions to Scottish Parliament, The House of Commons, Mayor's Question Time, and more to come. Our class time is often held as more of a Q & A session with the professor. We sit around asking questions about parliament, elections, the prime minister, political parties, healthcare, and whatever else we can throw at him. And he tries to help us understand what is going on. Coming from the U.S. and having not traveled before, it is sometime difficult for me to comprehend that a country could be run any other way. For example, the UK has no separation of powers between the executive (The Government) and the legislative (Parliament).

My other class is about the British Empire. The title pretty much says it all. We are learning about the great conquerors and how they acquired so many colonies. I recently gave a presentation about the British Empire in the Cape Colony of South Africa (real school work). It was interesting, but I would have been much more interested to learn about Apartheid and Nelson Mandela. But I guess that is the wrong country's history. It is also fascinating to learn about the British Empire from a British perspective. Growing up we always learned about the evil Red Coats and the American Revolution, but this class gives the other side.

The other half of my week is spent at my internship. I work about 12 hours a week at Johnson King, a PR firm that focuses on the technology industry. Most of my time is spent doing research for relevant news stories, updating lists of journalist who cover technology and social media, and writing blogs. I am hoping that by the end I will have the opportunity to sit in on client meetings and write press releases. The work atmosphere is extremely relaxed and the attitudes of the employees fits well with my nerdy side. But this internship has also shown me that I could never have a job that requires me to sit in a desk and stare at a computer screen from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. five days a week. I'm pretty sure that would kill me!

Even though I have to wake up at 6:30 a.m. two days a week and sit in a little desk for a few hours a day, I still don't feel like I am really in school. I am constantly learning in and out of the classroom, but it's mostly by direct experience; no textbook, no lecture. It's pretty wonderful!

Photos for your Viewing

Inspire Me!

Hello readers! I know you are out there somewhere. This is your chance to tell me what you want to know. Leave a comment, send me an e-mail, message me on Facebook, send a carrier pigeon! I need inspiration, so ask me a question, give me a topic, do your part to help out a desperate blogger!
Thanks!

Living life on the fast track

Golden Jubilee Bridge

It has only been a week since my last post, but I am a week behind. So today is catch up day! The last two weeks have been very busy. I will start with Monday, 28 February. On Monday I met up with a friend that I made here. It was nice to spend time with someone who has lived here for many years and to get a few minutes away from the 19 students I am with every day (as much as I love them). We met at the Southbank Centre near the London Eye. The Southbank Centre was designed by the architect that I mentioned a few posts back. It was a freezing night, but we walked along The Thames past the London Eye and crossed Westminster  Bridge overlooking the beautifully lit up Houses of Parliament and Big Ben, back down the other side of the river and across the Golden Jubilee Bridge. It was a beautiful little walk.

On Wednesday, 2 March a few friends from school and I went to The Barbican to see the London Symphony Orchestra. They performed Shostakovich's Cello Concerto No 2 and Mahler's Symphony No 9. The cello soloist, Mario Brunello, was amazingly expressive, but I was not a huge fan of the cello concerto. I absolutely loved the Mahler though. The whole thing was pretty amazing and made me want to go to more concerts. The great thing about music in this country is that the tickets are subsidized, so I was able to see a world class symphony for £9 (~$13). Sometimes you can even get a student discount as well!

The next day my school made a trip to Kingston (south of Central London) to see Shakespeare's, As You Like It. The show was wonderful! The stage was a huge mound of dirt (real dirt) with little water holes in the corners. It was as real as it could possibly be. It was also very entertaining. I've never been the biggest fan of Shakespeare so I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it.

My route from London Eye to St. Paul's

Friday I worked at my internship for half a day. So after I left I went over to the London Eye. It was a beautiful sunny day and there were lots of tourists out. There were various street performers on the embankment so I watched some of them and sat on a bench enjoying the sun and the view. Normally I would have hopped back on the Tube, but it was such a nice day that I decided to walk to my next destination. My housemate, Megan, and I met at St. Paul's Cathedral and attended the Evensong. Attending the evensong is the best way to see the cathedral because you don't have to pay (there is a fee for the tour) and there is music. The choir is really good and it was definitely an experience for me. We both enjoyed it very much. The only disappointment was that they didn't play the organ, which I would have loved to hear. The architecture was beautiful; you could stare at the ceiling for hours!

Now on to this week...

On Wednesday my school went to see The Mikado, a Gilbert and Sullivan operetta. I recommend that you watch the trailer. I'm still on the fence about opera, but the set was beautiful (all white), the costumes were neat, and the dancing was great. There was even some tap dancing! Unfortunately, the seats were ridiculously uncomfortable, and my feet hardly touched the ground. It had also been a long day, so I was ready to go home by the end of the show. Early in the day we watched Prime Minister's Questions, which is a weekly half hour slot when the PM must answer questions (surprise!). It was very entertaining to watch and nothing like American Politics. The two opposing parties pretty much jab at each other in a very unfriendly way until the "moderator" tells them the time is up. Then we went down to Houses of Parliament and watched part of a debate about Welfare Reform. Honestly, it wasn't very interesting. I had no idea what they were talking about!

Richmond - I sat on those benches

Thursday after class I took the train to Richmond in Southwest London. It's a town along the Thames. I sat by the river and watched people rowing downstream and some men were building boats on the side. Someone decided to feed the birds, which was a terrible idea because they started swarming and I was slightly fearful for my life, but I made it out alive. Then I walked up to the top of a hill and watched a smoggy sunset. It was still pretty nice and the view was expansive. The top of the hill is also right next to where Mick Jagger has a house, pretty neat. I don't think he actually lives there anymore though.

Yesterday (Friday) my school made a trip down to Portsmouth. I wasn't very excited about the trip. It sounded like it was going to be all about military/navy history, which I get bored with really fast. But it ended up being pretty fun. Portsmouth is about an hour and a half train ride south of London. The highlights for me were touring two ships. First we went on the HMS Warrior (1860). On that ship we could just wander around and look at everything. Then we took a tour of the HMS Victory (1765). The tour was very interesting, although sometimes a little too graphic. I am very happy that I did not live on that ship; it sounded pretty wretched! And even I almost hit my head on some of the beams. We even had some sun when we first arrived, but it was freezing cold by the time we headed back home.

Whew, so that is what I have been up to for the last two weeks! More adventures to come and spring break is almost here. I have been planning a week-long trip to Ireland (Dublin and Belfast) so if anyone has any suggestions of what I should do while I'm there I would love to know!

Musical Education

For those who are interested here are samples of the musicians I mentioned in my last post:

Ye Olde York

On Friday, February 25 eight girls stepped off a train and began a 30 hour adventure in York. Six of us booked beds at the same hostel with the other two across town. When we arrived we asked if we could be put in the same room even though our bookings indicated otherwise. After almost an hour at the front desk, the man behind the counter managed to place the six of us in a 10-person co-ed dorm. We went out for a group dinner at a pub, and then spent a relaxed night in. We all went to bed early so we would be well rested for our one day in York. I was disappointed to here from one of the women staying in our room that this was one of the nicer hostels she had stayed in. Apparently the hostel we went to in Edinburgh was deluxe. I think I will be investing in some shower shoes!

York minster

On Saturday we woke up at a reasonable time, had breakfast and all reconvened at York Minster, an amazing cathedral. We didn't want to spend the money to do a tour, so we were only able to stay in the entrance, but it was still amazing. I am so impressed by all the arches and detail work inside the cathedrals. It's hard to imagine how these buildings were possibly built so long ago with so little technology. All the more impressive. From there we walked over to an old building that had been converted into a restaurant. The sign outside said that we were welcome to come in and look around, so we wandered the halls looking at the local artist installations. There was also a great garden in the back! We could see why it was advertised as one of the best places to get married in the area. The garden had a staircase that led up to the York City Walls. The walls surround the entire town and walking along it gives some great views of the cathedral.

Viking Battle

We hopped off the wall when we saw that lots of people were gathering in the museum garden. When we walked over we saw that there was a viking battle going on. We knew that there was a Viking Festival over the weekend but we hadn't expected to see much of it. It was very fun to watch the people dressed in Viking attire battle the Anglo-Saxons in the middle of town. When we left the Anglo-Saxons were winning, but I think the Vikings won in the end.

Next stop was the National Rail Museum. We really only went because it was free and we had heard that it was Harry Potter week at the museum. We were able to see a mini version of the Hogwarts Express, take a photo with Dumbledore, and admire the live owl exhibit.

Shambles

After lunch we all separated and Megan and I wandered through Shambles, an old street with cute shops and a street market. I bought some chocolates and a blood orange. The weather wasn't great, and we escaped a downpour by stepping into the Disney Store on the corner. It was fun to walk around and there were lots of things I wanted to by, mostly food. Megan ended up buying a ring that was made out of the handle of a spoon. The man selling them was from Zimbabwe and was playing some really good music in his booth. I have made lots of new music discoveries since I got here. So far the list includes Thomas Mapfumo, Mogwai, The xx, and I'm always open to more recommendations! I love music!

It was a nice end to our journey, and we were all ready to head home. Sunday was a day of recovery. My feet were definitely spent! But the fun never stops.

What Happens in Scotland...

Last Wednesday I woke up at 5:15 a.m. to take the tube to Kings Cross where I was meeting the 18 other students in my program and two teachers. From there we  caught the 8 a.m. train to Edinburgh, Scotland. I've always been really terrible at forcing myself to go to bed early, particularly on nights when I know I have to get up unreasonably early. I was just too excited! It was raining on the way to the tube station, which seemed like a bad sign for the rest of the trip. We had been told that it was likely to snow in Scotland, and I was prepared to be freezing the whole trip.

I slept the first two hours on the train, sprawled across two seats. It was a lovely nap, but I was glad I didn't sleep the whole four and a half hour train ride. The rest of the trip I attempted to read, but spent most of my time staring out the window and trying to snap photos as the beautiful sites zoomed past. The english countryside is as beautiful as the photos, and there really are sheep grazing in the fields. The North Sea was especially beautiful and made me miss the ocean. As soon as we touched down in Edinburgh we were kept busy non-stop.

Our first stop was Edinburgh Castle. The castle is perched on top of a hill in the middle of the city, and it looks as though it was simply carved into the mountain rather than built on top of it. Did I mention that it was warm? Well, maybe not warm, but it definitely wasn't snowing. Luckily, I was smart enough to abandon my down coat at the hostel where we ditched our bags or I would have been way too hot. So for Scotland standards it was warm... maybe a balmy 48º F. We spent a couple hours wandering the castle, and I made a little trip up a tower to see the Scottish Crown Jewels. From there we went to the Scottish National Gallery before dinner and an early bedtime.

Thursday we got up quite early again to make a little trek across town to Scottish Parliament. I find the government system very complicated in the UK. Scotland has it's own parliament even though it is part of the United Kingdom. There are also Scots in the UK Parliament in London. The way I understand it, Scotland is allowed to make a few decisions about how to spend their budget and levy taxes. All the rest of the decisions are made by UK Parliament (foreign policy, economic policies, etc.). We went to parliament to watch a live debate. It was a little bit like watching CSPAN, except they had interesting accents and made some amazing comments. One person compared a fellow member of parliament to Voldemort and another person got up and announced that he wished his opposing party a record-breaking year... for second place. It was quite harsh in my mind. But the best part about the visit to parliament was the building. It was just built in 2004 and was so beautiful. There were tons of windows and natural wood. It was also a really interesting contrast to all the extremely old buildings throughout the rest of the city.

Scottish Parliament Building

University of Edinburgh

Next, a former member of Scottish Parliament came to talk to us about the prospect of Scotland becoming an independent nation in the future. I have to write a paper directed at Prime Minister David Cameron about what I think should happen with Scotland (free them or keep them?). And after that we went over to the University of Edinburgh. We met a man there who talked about Scottish Enlightenment. In truth I know absolutely nothing about the enlightenment. By the time he was there talking to us we were all exhausted and a number of people completely fell asleep (I was not one of them). But I did enjoy talking to him while we walked to a little museum. He told me how he went to university in Pennsylvania and then decided to teach at University of Oregon for a couple of years. He also told me about how he met his wife in the U.S. and convinced her to move to Scotland with him. He was great to chat with and told good stories.

Along with the architecture theme, a few of us decided to attend a free lecture on Thursday evening by Rick Mather, a pretty famous architect (and University of Oregon alum). The lecture was great, I was very impressed. He has been the architect for some amazing buildings, including The Southbank Centre (which I went to yesterday), The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, and so many others. I recommend visiting his website and just looking at the pictures. His buildings are beautiful. He also has quite an obsession with natural light and roof gardens, and I'm not complaining! The only thing I wished from the lecture was that he talked more about his history and how he came to be an amazing architect living in the UK.

We had missed dinner at our hostel, so the four of us who attended the lecture went out to a cute little italian restaurant we had walked past a few times. The food was delicious, and there was a 20% student discount! My friend and I both couldn't decide between the cannelloni and a vegetarian pizza with goat cheese. So, naturally we decided to get both and share. It was a great decision. I don't remember the last time I ate so much! I also had to go back the next day to get a scoop of chocolate mint gelato. I couldn't resist.

The view of Edinburgh with the North Sea beyond

That was our last night in Edinburgh so we all stayed out late and decided we could sleep on the train. In the morning our professor took us on a walk around the city. We made the steep climb up Calton Hill where we could see a beautiful 360º view of the city. That was definitely one of the highlights. And it was still great weather, the whole time. A bit windy, but it didn't knock me down. We walked through a few old cemeteries and had free time to shop and eat lunch.

Scottish National Monument (not the Parthenon)

That was the end of our Edinburgh adventure. We got back on the train on Friday afternoon and said goodbye to the old city. I planned to sleep on the train, but I once again could not tear my eyes away from the window. Eight of the girls decided we couldn't go straight home, so we had planned to spend a night in York. Although our Scotland adventure was over, we hopped off the train a couple hours later and started a new adventure. I will save that for next time.

English countryside from a speeding train

Stay Tuned...

It's always a learning experience

How long have I been here? I guess this is only the two week mark, but it seems like longer. I am a firm believer that people learn something new every day, and here in London I learn something new every minute!

Street Smarts
I am still adjusting to the cars on the other side of the road. In fact, I'm not certain that I will ever be totally comfortable with it. It is just so unnatural for me to look right and then look left when crossing a street. Luckily, I haven't been hit by any cars. It doesn't help that on the skinny roads cars just drive right down the middle; that just confuses me even more! The roads are certainly not made to have cars parked on either side and two-way traffic. Margery explained to me that you can tell which roads the Romans built and which roads the English built. Roman roads are straight because they wanted direct lines between their cities to make travel easier, especially when trying to protect an empire. English-built roads are curvy because they simply build around whatever gets in their way.

I love seeing all the cars that are sold here that we don't have in the U.S. It makes me wonder who decides which cars should be imported. Like the Toyota Aygo, why don't we get to have that one? And I think the Nissan Micra is pretty cute. It sounds like they are paying me to advertise for them, but I just like cute little cars. And here, they are everywhere! It's probably a good thing that everyone drives little cars because it allows them to maneuvre through traffic better, which is necessary when everyone drives like their wife is in the hospital about to give birth. Just keeping us on our toes!

Buses
The double-decker buses are another London classic that I am learning about. My Oyster card allows me unlimited access to the Tube and the bus system. The buses are great. There are tons of them and they go everywhere! I was told that the best seat on the bus is the second level, front row, on the left (what would be the driver's side in an American car). From this seat you are up quite high and have a great view. Plus, next to you is the sidewalk, so it's great for people-watching. However, it can be a little bit scary. Every time the bus makes a turn you feel like you are going to slam in the street signs. And when the bus stops, it's possible that your face will smash into the windshield.

The Tube
The Tube is really easy to use. I haven't had any problems knowing where I'm going or what train to take. But, once on the train I have made a few mistakes. The other day I was on the train home and these three teenage boys wanted to get on. Two of them jumped on before the doors closed, but the third smashed into the closing doors and was left at the platform (it was quite funny). But then the two who made it on the train realized that they were actually on the wrong train, which was additionally funny to me, until I realized that I too, was on the wrong train. Most trains have one line and it's hard to make a mistake. But the train to my house splits and one of the trains is a "fast train" which means it only stops at a few stations (not Pinner). I was on a fast train and ended up 3 stops past where I wanted to be and had to hop back on and go back. I also fear that one of these days I will fall asleep or space-out and miss my stop. They don't make announcements at the stops on some trains.

Pubs
Here is what I can say about pubs. They have pretty good food that isn't too expensive and are a good place to hang out with friends. Some of the pubs we have been to have pool tables, but the pool tables are much smaller and the balls come in two different colors rather than stripes and solids. Pubs also don't stay open late. Most of them close around 11 p.m. during the week and maybe 1 p.m. on the weekend. Although, that is in Pinner, I'm sure the pubs in central London stay open much later. We went to a pub in Greenwich last week and saw A Comedy of Errors upstairs in a tiny little theatre. It was a great show and the performers were less than a foot away from me. It was great fun! Why don't we have pubs in The States?

Dubstep
Anyone who knows my family would know that my brother Damian is the dubstep man, and that I stick to the likes of James Taylor and Crosby, Stills, and Nash, but apparently I like dubstep. Who knew? On Friday night my new friends from school wanted to go to a club. I decided that I would go, no matter how apprehensive it made me feel. The plan was to leave the house at 11 p.m., get there by midnight, and then catch the first Tube back in the morning (around 5:30 a.m.). Needless to say, I was concerned. I was also convinced that I was going to hate it, despite my best efforts to be excited. I decided to think of it as a learning experience, if nothing else. But I think this club may have changed my life...

Fabric is an extremely well known club in London, and we happened to go on a big night. Unfortunately, that meant we had to wait in line for hours. Here is a quick rundown on my night.

• 12:00 p.m. – Arrived at Fabric and got in line.
• 12:15 – Met drunken man who called me Caterina or California and decided I was "his girl" so he helped get Megan and me further up in the line.
• 12:45 – Met Jarred and Jack who rescued us from drunken man and helped prepare us for what to expect inside the club.
• 1:00 a.m. – Lost all feeling in my face, hands, and toes. Did I mention that it was about 35° F outside? 
• 2:30 – Finally made it in the doors. 
• 2:30-6 a.m. – Danced the morning away.
• 7:30 – Arrived home safely and as quietly as snowflakes.
• 7:45 – SLEEP.
• 11:15 a.m. – Started my day!

Me, Amanda, and Morgan before we left for Fabric

I think that my ears have stopped ringing now, but they were still ringing when I went to bed last night. I don't think I could explain why the night was so great, but it was pretty epic. Between the people I met in line, the incredibly loud music, the amazing light show, and experiencing something unlike anything I could possibly imagine, it was one of the best nights of my life! One of the great things about a venue like Fabric, or probably any night club, is that there is a sense of freedom. The same way I think about a masquerade, behind a wall of pounding bass and dim lighting where no one knows your name or who you are, it's judgement free! No one cares if you are a good dancer or not. No one is going to see you the next day and give you a weird look because you were yourself instead of the person they want you to be. Plus, it's also a great community event. That sounds weird to say, but it's true. Everyone is there experiencing the same thing together and sharing the joy. So, I have been converted. Little Miss Hanna appreciates dubstep, likes night clubs, can stay up until 8 in the morning, and knows how to have a good time! And it only cost me £11. I also got a free Caspa T-shirt at the end.

Like I said, this is all a learning experience. And one of my greatest goals for my time abroad is to learn about the world, but especially myself. I think I'm off to a great start. Next up, Edinburgh and York. 

In England they Drive on the Left?

Hello readers! I am in fact alive in London, even though my blog would indicate that I got lost somewhere in the Atlantic. People tell you about the double-decker buses (they do exist!) and the Tube, and the cathedrals and the London Eye, but what they fail to tell you is that time moves at a completely different speed! So my apologies for neglecting you.

I will have to take a hiatus from food-blogging because, although my host cooks me great meals, they aren't necessarily something to write home about. But tonight she made mashed potatoes with regular potatoes AND sweet potatoes! As for my host, Margery, she is fantastic. I feel like I have known her for years. She is so easy to talk, we can chat for hours. And every time I mention traveling she starts researching for me and giving me tips and suggestions. She seems to know a thing or two about jet-lag as well. The morning I arrived she dragged me and my housemate Megan out of the house and showed us the little town of Pinner that she lives in. Pinner is in an area called Harrow which is considered to be in Northwest-ish London. Then she took us to a park to go for a walk. And she kept me up until after 8 p.m., so by the time I woke up in the morning I was on London time.

Riding the Rails

Megan and I had our first adventure on the Tube the very next morning (it's always an adventure). It takes two transfers (if we are lucky) and about an hour and a half (when you factor in possible delays) to get to school. Unlike the New York subway, the Tube is very clean and most people who ride it are nicely dressed reading the newspaper. There are two free newspapers in London, so it's very easy to stay in the know about current events. And what better way to spend a commute! I really don't mind the commute, which comes as a surprise to me. What I don't like, are the delays. It is never as simple as getting on one train and then getting off at your destination. But all the passengers grumble together, it's a bonding experience. Today I had to wait as three trains came and went, before I was able to squeeze onto the fourth one. The first three were quite literally filled to capacity. Then I had to transfer to another train and get off to get back on the same line because the first train was planning to skip my stop. It was quite the ordeal, and all I have to say is, at least it wasn't pouring when I got back. But the trains are great. Coming from Santa Cruz where I probably took the bus twice (?) it is an amazing feeling to be able to get anywhere I want to go for free.

View of the Financial District from Greenwich

Our second day we made a group trip to Greenwich where I got to straddle the Prime Meridian. It was a beautiful day. Tomorrow I am going back to Greenwich to go to the National Maritime Museum with my history class. Then we are going to see Shakespeare's Comedy of Errors. I am also going to the British Museum in the morning. I have heard that you could spend a week in the British Museum and still not see it all, but I think I have plenty of time. Lucky for me, the British Museum is a 10 minute walk from school.

St. Albans Cathedral

Last Saturday Margery took Megan and me to St. Albans. There is a cathedral there and we happened to go when they were rehearsing for a concert. It was really great to walk around with beautiful music in the background. There was also a small street fair there and I was longing to buy a whole cheese cart. But I resisted. Margery then took us to a museum about the Romans who had conquered the English and lived in St. Albans for a time. There were some neat artifacts, but we were all disappointed that the Roman dress-up bin was gone.



Today I started my internship with Johnson King PR firm. I think it's going to be a great fit. Since their focus is mostly social media, my first task was to set up a Twitter and a LinkedIn account. Today I worked on a blog post about how social media can be used to plan events. It should be posted on their website at the end of the week. All the people are really friendly and create a great work atmosphere.

I think that brings you up to date. Next time I can tell you about the pubs and the double-decker buses.

But first...

In order to start at the very beginning, before I can tell you about my experience abroad in London I must tell you about my adventure in New York. Although I just landed in London two days ago, it already seems like ages ago that I left Brooklyn headed for JFK International Airport.

In truth, at this time last week I was out discovering the inner-workings of the New York subway system and exploring the city for the first time. Upon my arrival, I quickly realized that my trip would be centralized around meal time. Every night I ate something completely different and had the opportunity to try foods I'd never had before. On Friday I ate a sandwich from the corner shop and Vietnamese, on Saturday I ate pizza and mexican (who thought you could get good mexican food in NY?), on Sunday I ate malaysian noodles, on Monday I ate a bagel and homemade pasta with turkey meatballs, on Tuesday I ate West Indian stewed chicken with beans and "peas" (actually rice), on Wednesday I had thai, on Thursday I had more pizza, and on Friday I had a red velvet cupcake with cream cheese frosting and one big juicy burger. And if I had woken up before noon, I would have had time to eat even more food! I probably would have liked to curl up in a cocoon and turn into a beautiful butterfly, but instead I just kept walking.

It is amazing how much more walking people do in a city like New York, where the car is not the prominent means of transportation. I've never broken in a pair of boots so quickly, but tromping through heaps of snow everywhere I went made the boots quite a necessity. My brand new boots now look well-worn and approximately 3 years old. But they took me everywhere!

The piles of snow did not slow me down though. My brother, Damian took me to as many parts of the city as he could, and when he was at work I went to museums. I saw the statue of liberty from the free Staten Island Ferry; walked through Times Square which looks like daylight even at night; walked around Rockefeller Center (which was fitting since I developed an acute obsession with 30 Rock while I was in town); and walked through many other parts of New York that I had always wanted to see.

Times Square!

Then I got up the courage to take the subway by myself from Brooklyn to Manhattan so that I could go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I had no idea a museum could be so big! I only spent about 3 hours there, and I feel like I hardly saw anything. My favorite part had to be the modern art. It was just fun to look at. And then I got even more bold and rode the subway to the American Museum of Natural History. Not only did I stand nose to nose with a T-Rex, but I also had to make a transfer on the subway. If you go to NY, I would recommend this museum. There is so much there, and the special exhibits all sounded amazing, but I didn't pay the extra money for that. In fact, I skimped and paid under the suggested admission. The AMNH has tons of cool displays about earthquakes, fossils, early humans, and nature. There is something very different about standing next to the true dinosaur models rather than seeing photos on the internet of on TV (or in Jurassic Park). And honestly, one of my favorite parts was the life size model of a blue whale. Animals just shouldn't be that big!

So New York was great! Next time I want to go when it is above freezing and visit Central Park and some of the other outdoor sites that were buried in snow. As for the menu I plan to eat ethiopian food, east indian curry, doughnuts, a pastrami sandwich, more bagels and pizza, and anything else that strikes my fancy. Oh, and I want to get a cup of black tea mixed with coffee, milk, and sugar. I sampled Damian's and it was quite an interesting flavor.

Thank you for bearing with me through my non-abroad post, but now I can move on to London: 2011.

"It's a dangerous business... going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to."

                                      - J.R.R. Tolkien