Well, I think it's safe to say that my weekend in Barcelona was ridiculous. I had a fabulous time. We were off to a bit of a rough start, but overall we pulled the operation off with great success. We had to do quite a bit of traveling just to get to the airport to leave for Barcelona. We had to take the Bus to the Tube (as usual), then we rode the tube for about 35 minutes, before getting onto a train and riding that for almost an hour just to get to the London Stansted airport. Now I say we got off to a rough start because our flight out was delayed almost 2 hours and we ended up not being able to land in the airport that we were supposed to land in, and were redirected to a nearby airport (which really worked out nicely for us, because this airport was closer to Barcelona then the airport that we were supposed to be flying into). We took a bus from Girona (a suburb of Barcelona) into the city. This took almost an hour, then we took a 10 minute cab ride to our hotel, which turned out to be in the middle of the city, in a great location. So that worked out. By the time that we got all checked in it was almost 2am. Then to add onto everything else there was a problem with our room assignment, because they did not have any rooms with two double beds, but only rooms with one king sized bed. We had four people, Ellen, Raquel, RJ and I (duh). That is a bit tight, four people in one bed. Two people in a twin is manageable, but four in a king wasn't looking so good. RJ ended up on the floor, but we gave him one of the two pillows in the room. Raquel, Ellen and I all shared the bed, with Ellen and I sharing the other pillow and Raquel sleeping with her head on the towels. Sharing a pillow, especially with someone with a chest infection was really hard. Ellen and I basically spooned the whole night, and a few times she had to put me in my place and tell me to scoot over because I was basically pushing her off the bed. I guess she didn't really sleep that night because she was paranoid about waking everyone up with all of her coughing. Poor baby. Despite the numerous problems, we did not it get us down.
Saturday we got an early start (at least we thought), getting out of the hotel by what we thought was 9:45. Little did we know that Spain is an hour ahead of London, so it was really 10:45. We went across the street from our hotel into this department store, which Raquel says is the Macy's of Spain, and in the basement of the department store they have basically a grocery store. Since we were on a budget (which I worked out on the hour bus ride from Girona to Barcelona) we bought 2 bags of chips (queso flavor, and jamon flavor--that is cheese and ham flavored chips) and a bag of croissants and each of us got a drink. We decided to eat our breakfast/lunch out on a park bench across the street. The whole day the weather was beautiful. Warm, sunny, not a single cloud in the sky (which would later cause some very embarrassing tan lines from my dress, swimsuit, and sunglasses). RJ discovered that if you eat a queso and a jamon chip at the same time as eating the croissant, it tasted like a ham and cheese sandwich. So that was breakfast. After that we got on one of those double-decker tourist buses (which I had been against, but I have been persuaded to a fan), It was only 19 Euros for an all day pass, on both the bus line going to the North of the city and the line going to the South of the city, and you could get on and off whenever. It was nice because everything in Barcelona is pretty spread out, so we wouldn't have been able to see as much if we had been walking, and we got little explanations on all of the things. The history and architecture of Barcelona is amazing. They went through this modernisme phase with a lot of their buildings in the late 1800's and early 1900's. There was this one architech, Antoni Gaudi, who has all of these really amazing houses and churches and a park all over the city, with really interesting building designs, that are all really colorful and a lot of them are very mosaic-looking. It is hard to describe you just have to see it, So we stopped over at the Sagrada Familia, a MASSIVE church designed by Gaudi that is still under construction because it is funded by anonymous donations and because Gaudi died before they got close to opening it. We also stopped at the Park Guell, a park designed by Gaudi that it now owned by the city of Barcelona. It was so beautiful, Again you will just have to look at my pictures. A lot later in the day we also stopped at the beach and did a touch of suntanning and swam in the Atlantic Ocean. Again, fabulous. After our oceanic adventures, we hopped back on the bus to finish our second tour. We got off again at the Placa de Catalunya, a sort of open square area in the middle of the city, mostly because I needed to make a run to the Hard Rock Cafe for some t-shirts for mommy and daddy. I am a little bit sad, because those two t-shirts were the only things I bought (other than food) on the trip. I didn't have time to find anything for myself or anything for anyone else. After the HRC, we wandered the city a bit looking for food and souvenirs (the only thing we had eaten all day were the chips and croissants at 11 that morning, and this was about 8pm. We ended up going to this all you can eat buffet, where apparently the food was marginal at best. But I guess the positive thing about a sinus infection is that I couldn't taste anything, so it was satisfying to me. The one positive thing about the all you can eat buffet (other than the obvious, that we were able to eat a lot) was that they had a salad bar. It is SO difficult to find a decent salad here that is not like 15 GBP or Euro or whatever. No vegetables exist on this continent. Probably because they all have to be imported. Anywho, after dinner we took a normal city bus home, and I took a hot shower (because I was freezing because my dress was soaking wet from my swimsuit). While Raquel and RJ went to the bus station to learn about the necessary means of transportation for our trip back to the airport (this time it was Reus, where we were supposed to land Friday) I took a nap (which I later was very glad I did).
After they got back, I pulled myself together and went out with them to the beach for the summer solstice festival. It was insane. Words cannot begin to describe this event. On the Metro I honestly thought I was going to be trampled and die. There were probably over 100 people in the one car of the train (and I assume it was the same way for the entire train). I, unfortunately was in front of the door, and was getting shoved and shouldered and everything. I was gripping onto RJs arm for dear life. The windows of the train were dripping it was so hot because of all of the people. But after everyone was finally on the train and there was no more room to fit anyone else on, everyone was singing and laughing all the way to the beach. I later found out that they had to close down one of the lines because there were so many people trying to get down to the beach for the festival. I forgot to mention that this whole time, all of Barcelona sounds like Baghdad because of all of the fireworks and firecrackers going off. When we finally got to the beach, I was speechless. The same beach that we were on that afternoon was full of people and bonfires and fireworks as far as you could see, from the walls all the way down to the water and as far out as I could see. We met up with Raquel's cousin, Gerardo, and some of his friends down at the beach, including the next president of El Salvador's son, Hernando, who was obsessed with me. So we sat on the beach drinking and hanging out until 4am. Everyone was calling me Bunny, like at home, or 'Michigan' (for obvious reasons) and proposing marriage. It was hilarious. We killed a couple bottles of wine, a case of this beer and mixer drink thingy, and a LOT of vodka. Good times were definitely had by all. When we finally left at 4, because we had to be out of the hotel by six to make our 6:30 train to the airport, we were stopped from getting back into the Metro because there were still SO many people trying to get in and out of the beach (when we left, it was still the same, if not more people down at the beach). When we finally got back to the hotel, it was a flurry of packing, then basically running to the train station, still a little tipsy from the beach. Then it just seemed like a flurry of transportation, especially after the all nighter. We had to walk to the station, take a train to Reus, and a taxi to the airport, then the flight to Stansted (duh), then a train from Stansted into London, then the Tube to King's Cross, then a bus home.
The rest of my day has been spent eaten some lunch (a delicious burger and fries, or shall I say, chips), uploading my pictures to various websites, and taken a nap mid-writing an email (it was intended to be 45 minutes, but turned into almost 6.5 hours, so that is basically like just going to bed). Now it is almost 2am, so I think a return to my bed is necessary.
Although I am exhausted and sunburned, there is always more energy for another adventure...
Sunday, 24 June 2007
Thursday, 21 June 2007
Excuses for not writing... But I still love you!
Sorry I haven't really posted in a while. On the positive side, I finally have a job and I am working in Ealing. Excuse 1) I am working a real job finally, and my commute is almost two hours therefore I have been much busier and I have less time for fun things. And excuse 2) I have been sick since the last day I wrote, and I am pretty sure that the simple cold has developed into a sinus infection. Yuck. I persevere none the less. So there is lots of updating to do.
Well since we last came together in this little cyber meeting spot there has been quite a lot of sleeping in a feeble attempt to turn my health around. The remainder of Wednesday and all day Thursday were spent in bed, either sleeping or watching movies. Thursday evening was spent at the White Swan, a new tradition, for Curry Night. Unfortunately my stuffy nose kept me from enjoying the beauty of the Chicken Tikka Masala. But I will be seeking redemption later tonight. Friday was slightly more interesting as there was a birthday party to execute! My flatmate Raquel celebrated her 22nd birthday Saturday, and I gave her a party in typical Harbin fashion. Details are to come. I had class Friday morning, discussing pre-World War I England and the problems the country was facing, followed by an extensive trip to Sainsbury's grocery for the dinner supplies to feed 7 (later 8) people. Raquel the Mexican requested tacos for her birthday dinner (Raquel is actually from El Salvador, but it has become a bit of an inside joke to refer to her as Mexican). After class I alternated between napping and cooking, both dinner for Ellen and I, and for the following night's dinner extravaganza. The non-sick kids (also known as all of the boys in our friend group and Raquel) went on a bar crawl beginning around 6:30. As I was cooking there was what we have labeled a "D-Dubs Attack." I know that I have mentioned Davidson as the most annoying person in existence (at least within the context of the TWC world). Well he secretly strolled into our flat as I was busy cooking on Friday night. He snuck up on me in the kitchen until I turned around and he was directly behind me, startling me enough to nearly spill a VERY hot tea down my chest. Fortunately, all parties made it out alive. Unfortunately I was forced to survive through a 45 minute talk with D-Dubs, because I am such a polite person. All the while Ellen was sitting in her room with the door open, knowing what was going on, and she left me out to dry. Brat. After all of that slaving away in the kitchen, Ellen and I settled into my bed and watched Sin City, only to be later accompanied by a very drunk RJ. Overall, a satisfying night.
Saturday there were many birthdays to be celebrating. Ellen and I started off the day with a visit to Buckingham Palace to see the Queen's Birthday Parade and Trooping of the Colours (gotta have the British spelling). We saw a large portion of the British Military, dressed in the traditional red uniforms with furry hats, either march or ride by on horseback. I was actually quite impressed as a approximately 100 person band rode by on horseback, playing their instruments. I definitely think that they deserve major props for that kind of control (and the horses too for being so calm, despite someone blasting a trumpet in their ears). The Queen rode by in a carriage, wearing sexy little green number. Unfortunately we couldn't see very well because there were hordes of people standing in front of us. The crowd thinned out quite a bit after she rode past, and Ellen and I took that opportunity to find better seats to wait 2 hours for her return. When she finally came back, we had slightly better seating, but still not ideal. Thinking that all the action was over after Liz returned, we started to walk away, only to remember that Elizabeth was set to stand out on her balcony and watch the Royal Air Force fly by. Fortunately for us, our attempts to leave found us in a much better position to see the action. Quite amusingly, right as the first plane passed over Buckingham it started downpouring out of nowhere. Equipped with umbrellas we were just fine. We continued to watch all of the different planes fly over, in various formations, crescendoing to the Grand Finale with the final planes giving off trails of red, white and blue smoke. Just as the last plane flew over, the rain stopped. Gotta love London weather. After yet another extensive commute home, Ellen and I returned to do some more cooking. We made/finished making beef taco meat, chicken taco meat, pico de gallo, guacamole, rice, beans, and nachos, all the time juggling getting ready for a night out and cooking. Dinner was a smash, hosting Ellen, Raquel, RJ, Carter, Tomas, Ray and Michael. After Mexican, we sang Raquel "Feliz Cumpleanos" equipped with a very cute cake, ice cream and a video camera (operated by yours truly). I really felt like a mom. After dinner we walked down to the Tube station to go to the Milk & Honey. The Milk & Honey is a speak-easy themed bar, members only, unless you plan ahead and make a reservation. The atmosphere was great, and everyone really enjoyed themselves. The drinks were slightly pricey, but hey, we were celebrating. After a few hours of relaxed drinks by candlelight, we headed to a more energetic atmosphere, the Floridita. Initially I was a little pissed that we were going to this place, mostly because there was a 15GBP cover charge, and I was still very sick, and therefore miserable with my stuffy nose. But, in the long run it was well worth it. The Floridita is a salsa club, with live bands, a dance floor and a wicked Mai Tai. Since we were celebrating, Raquel bought us girls a round of shots. Working my very well developed flirting skills, I convinced the very attractive bartender to give Raquel a birthday kiss with our shots. Overall, the Floridita experience was great. I would definitely go back.
Sunday was spent in the new tradition, a late wake up, a very filling breakfast (I cooked sausage, eggs, bacon, pico de gallo, and cheese in addition to some impromptu quesadillas made with left overs), and a recap of the previous night's more humorous events. After our team meeting we retreated to the bedroom once again to discover a new dirty little secret, High School Musical, a Disney Channel made for TV movie. I downloaded this off of iTunes for a well invested $10. To date I think that I have watched in about 6 times. In two days. While it is VERY cheesy, we love it. By the end of the trip we hope to have all of the songs memorized, and have at least one of the many dance numbers memorized (possibly making an appearance at a local disco).
Monday began the monotony of the 9 to 5 work day. But, it has not been monotonous. I have recently lifted getting lost to an art form. Now, I am working for a doctor who is trying to become a Member of Parliament. I find my job can get really frustrating, because a lot of the time I am at work, I sit at the computer waiting for my next task, usually because Dr. Onkar is in a meeting, so there is no one to assign me anything. Also, like many doctors, Onkar Sahota is HORRIBLE at timeliness. For example, Tuesday we were supposed to be meeting at 10:30 to discuss some of the things that I had done on Monday, and to let me know what I needed to do for the rest of the day. He FINALLY showed up around 11:45, then left again at 12:30. We were supposed to be meeting with some potential printers at 1:30 to talk out some designs and prices for some fliers we needed, and he didn't even come back to the attic (Yes, I work in an attic) until almost 2, then we still had to drive to the printers. Not only that, but I sometimes have to do the same thing over and over again because he is not here in the first place to ask questions. Basically yesterday I was writing up and little Q and A for the flier. I had to do it all by hand (because when I got to work I couldn't log in to the computer), then I typed it all out, and then when he was finally in the room, I had him dictate basically the whole thing over again to me.
Overall Tuesday was just not my day. I couldn't really get moving in the morning, so I ended up missing the bus (to the point that I saw it leave the stop, but I was still too far away to get there--I probably missed it by less than a minute). Then I have an hour commute by Underground, only to get on another bus. When I finally got to work I couldn't log into the computer (Like I said), and Onkar was late (like I said). The day was slightly frustrating but manageable. Then I missed my bus going home too (and its raining now- so I am waiting for a bus in the rain). When I finally get to the Tube station, I just barely caught the train (phew). I have to transfer trains during my commute, so I thought I would transfer at a different station to see if I could get home any faster. Well that was a terrible idea, because I ended up getting on a train that didn't go all the way to the station that I needed to catch the bus. However, I did not notice this until I felt the train switch directions (I had been listening to music and didn't hear the train driver announce that that would be the last stop for that train). So I get on another train, and finally make it back to the station to catch the bus (and it's still raining). Then I realized that I didn't have my room key, and therefore couldn't get into the building. To make matters worse, I also realized that my phone was dead, so I couldn't even call to see if anyone was home to let me in, or call the front desk to have THEM let me in. I remembered that a bunch of people were going to a pub not too far away for dinner, so I figured that I would just meet up with them there and grab a bite to eat(This is at about 7:45, and I left work at 5:15). Of course when I get within a block of the pub (still raining) I see the group heading back to the flat, and they tell me that my roommates were all home. Fabulous. I was supposed to be meeting up with Sonya (my professor's daughter), but I just ended up calling her and rescheduling to yesterday. I settled for a local kebab place and a doner for my dinner. Meanwhile, Raquel, RJ and I were looking to find a hostel or hotel for us to crash at for our upcoming weekend adventures to Barcelona. After our arrangements at a hotel were settled, I retreated to my room for a bit of High School Musical therapy.
Yesterday, however, shaped up much better. I finished up work around 1:30, and went to the Student Travel Agency to try to settle out some details in my research regarding a solo trip to Scotland for a weekend. After hearing everything I wanted to hear, I walked back to the Tube and went home (It was a beautiful day). After getting home for a little bit of ice cream and a shortbread cookie, I turned around and headed back to the Tube, this time going to the Highbury Islington station choosing to walk rather than take the bus to King's Cross. I met up with my dearest little Sonya Williams, daughter of Paddy Scannell-- legend of the Michigan Communications department, at the Earl's Court Tube station. We returned to her borrowed flat for a bit of cheap wine. After killing the wine, we headed to Mihiki, an absolutely fabulous little bar, themed in a Hawaiian luau fashion. Again, the drinks were pricey, but it was a great experience, and I had great company. Every drink was made with fresh juice and nice liquor, and each drink had a different type of container, everything from a fresh pineapple to an antique style iron underwater helmet. The service was great, the music was great, and the seating area was really cute. A definite 10. After a few drinks and a solid 3 hours of laughing about everything under the sun (including my attempts to have a British accent, and Sonya's attempts to sound American), Sonya and I parted ways and returned to our respective homes. Great night.
Today was another relatively good day, I got to work around 10, only to be sent home at 1. Not a bad deal. And I was given 20GBP to cover all of my travel expenses out to Ealing (which is in Zone 3, on the opposite side of London, hence my hour and a half to two hour commute). Before hopping on the Tube I grabbed a little bit of Burger King, sampling the British menu. When I finally got home to Islington, I took a nice long nap, had some more ice cream, this time accompanied by graham crackers, and motivated myself to take on updating our lovely meeting place.
Things for me to look forward to coming up:
Tonight, in 30 minutes: Curry Night
Tomorrow through Sunday: Barcelona (and possibly booking my trip to Scotland)
Monday: Dinner and Drinks with Brett's friends from Australia who live in Ealing
Tuesday: REGINALD PROUD BROWN IV COMES TO LONDON!! (randomly on Sunday night, my friend from school, Reggie, informed me that all of my pestering had broken him down and he had bought a ticket to London to come visit me. So next week will be quiet lovely.)
Great Times are ahead, so tune in for more adventures!
Well since we last came together in this little cyber meeting spot there has been quite a lot of sleeping in a feeble attempt to turn my health around. The remainder of Wednesday and all day Thursday were spent in bed, either sleeping or watching movies. Thursday evening was spent at the White Swan, a new tradition, for Curry Night. Unfortunately my stuffy nose kept me from enjoying the beauty of the Chicken Tikka Masala. But I will be seeking redemption later tonight. Friday was slightly more interesting as there was a birthday party to execute! My flatmate Raquel celebrated her 22nd birthday Saturday, and I gave her a party in typical Harbin fashion. Details are to come. I had class Friday morning, discussing pre-World War I England and the problems the country was facing, followed by an extensive trip to Sainsbury's grocery for the dinner supplies to feed 7 (later 8) people. Raquel the Mexican requested tacos for her birthday dinner (Raquel is actually from El Salvador, but it has become a bit of an inside joke to refer to her as Mexican). After class I alternated between napping and cooking, both dinner for Ellen and I, and for the following night's dinner extravaganza. The non-sick kids (also known as all of the boys in our friend group and Raquel) went on a bar crawl beginning around 6:30. As I was cooking there was what we have labeled a "D-Dubs Attack." I know that I have mentioned Davidson as the most annoying person in existence (at least within the context of the TWC world). Well he secretly strolled into our flat as I was busy cooking on Friday night. He snuck up on me in the kitchen until I turned around and he was directly behind me, startling me enough to nearly spill a VERY hot tea down my chest. Fortunately, all parties made it out alive. Unfortunately I was forced to survive through a 45 minute talk with D-Dubs, because I am such a polite person. All the while Ellen was sitting in her room with the door open, knowing what was going on, and she left me out to dry. Brat. After all of that slaving away in the kitchen, Ellen and I settled into my bed and watched Sin City, only to be later accompanied by a very drunk RJ. Overall, a satisfying night.
Saturday there were many birthdays to be celebrating. Ellen and I started off the day with a visit to Buckingham Palace to see the Queen's Birthday Parade and Trooping of the Colours (gotta have the British spelling). We saw a large portion of the British Military, dressed in the traditional red uniforms with furry hats, either march or ride by on horseback. I was actually quite impressed as a approximately 100 person band rode by on horseback, playing their instruments. I definitely think that they deserve major props for that kind of control (and the horses too for being so calm, despite someone blasting a trumpet in their ears). The Queen rode by in a carriage, wearing sexy little green number. Unfortunately we couldn't see very well because there were hordes of people standing in front of us. The crowd thinned out quite a bit after she rode past, and Ellen and I took that opportunity to find better seats to wait 2 hours for her return. When she finally came back, we had slightly better seating, but still not ideal. Thinking that all the action was over after Liz returned, we started to walk away, only to remember that Elizabeth was set to stand out on her balcony and watch the Royal Air Force fly by. Fortunately for us, our attempts to leave found us in a much better position to see the action. Quite amusingly, right as the first plane passed over Buckingham it started downpouring out of nowhere. Equipped with umbrellas we were just fine. We continued to watch all of the different planes fly over, in various formations, crescendoing to the Grand Finale with the final planes giving off trails of red, white and blue smoke. Just as the last plane flew over, the rain stopped. Gotta love London weather. After yet another extensive commute home, Ellen and I returned to do some more cooking. We made/finished making beef taco meat, chicken taco meat, pico de gallo, guacamole, rice, beans, and nachos, all the time juggling getting ready for a night out and cooking. Dinner was a smash, hosting Ellen, Raquel, RJ, Carter, Tomas, Ray and Michael. After Mexican, we sang Raquel "Feliz Cumpleanos" equipped with a very cute cake, ice cream and a video camera (operated by yours truly). I really felt like a mom. After dinner we walked down to the Tube station to go to the Milk & Honey. The Milk & Honey is a speak-easy themed bar, members only, unless you plan ahead and make a reservation. The atmosphere was great, and everyone really enjoyed themselves. The drinks were slightly pricey, but hey, we were celebrating. After a few hours of relaxed drinks by candlelight, we headed to a more energetic atmosphere, the Floridita. Initially I was a little pissed that we were going to this place, mostly because there was a 15GBP cover charge, and I was still very sick, and therefore miserable with my stuffy nose. But, in the long run it was well worth it. The Floridita is a salsa club, with live bands, a dance floor and a wicked Mai Tai. Since we were celebrating, Raquel bought us girls a round of shots. Working my very well developed flirting skills, I convinced the very attractive bartender to give Raquel a birthday kiss with our shots. Overall, the Floridita experience was great. I would definitely go back.
Sunday was spent in the new tradition, a late wake up, a very filling breakfast (I cooked sausage, eggs, bacon, pico de gallo, and cheese in addition to some impromptu quesadillas made with left overs), and a recap of the previous night's more humorous events. After our team meeting we retreated to the bedroom once again to discover a new dirty little secret, High School Musical, a Disney Channel made for TV movie. I downloaded this off of iTunes for a well invested $10. To date I think that I have watched in about 6 times. In two days. While it is VERY cheesy, we love it. By the end of the trip we hope to have all of the songs memorized, and have at least one of the many dance numbers memorized (possibly making an appearance at a local disco).
Monday began the monotony of the 9 to 5 work day. But, it has not been monotonous. I have recently lifted getting lost to an art form. Now, I am working for a doctor who is trying to become a Member of Parliament. I find my job can get really frustrating, because a lot of the time I am at work, I sit at the computer waiting for my next task, usually because Dr. Onkar is in a meeting, so there is no one to assign me anything. Also, like many doctors, Onkar Sahota is HORRIBLE at timeliness. For example, Tuesday we were supposed to be meeting at 10:30 to discuss some of the things that I had done on Monday, and to let me know what I needed to do for the rest of the day. He FINALLY showed up around 11:45, then left again at 12:30. We were supposed to be meeting with some potential printers at 1:30 to talk out some designs and prices for some fliers we needed, and he didn't even come back to the attic (Yes, I work in an attic) until almost 2, then we still had to drive to the printers. Not only that, but I sometimes have to do the same thing over and over again because he is not here in the first place to ask questions. Basically yesterday I was writing up and little Q and A for the flier. I had to do it all by hand (because when I got to work I couldn't log in to the computer), then I typed it all out, and then when he was finally in the room, I had him dictate basically the whole thing over again to me.
Overall Tuesday was just not my day. I couldn't really get moving in the morning, so I ended up missing the bus (to the point that I saw it leave the stop, but I was still too far away to get there--I probably missed it by less than a minute). Then I have an hour commute by Underground, only to get on another bus. When I finally got to work I couldn't log into the computer (Like I said), and Onkar was late (like I said). The day was slightly frustrating but manageable. Then I missed my bus going home too (and its raining now- so I am waiting for a bus in the rain). When I finally get to the Tube station, I just barely caught the train (phew). I have to transfer trains during my commute, so I thought I would transfer at a different station to see if I could get home any faster. Well that was a terrible idea, because I ended up getting on a train that didn't go all the way to the station that I needed to catch the bus. However, I did not notice this until I felt the train switch directions (I had been listening to music and didn't hear the train driver announce that that would be the last stop for that train). So I get on another train, and finally make it back to the station to catch the bus (and it's still raining). Then I realized that I didn't have my room key, and therefore couldn't get into the building. To make matters worse, I also realized that my phone was dead, so I couldn't even call to see if anyone was home to let me in, or call the front desk to have THEM let me in. I remembered that a bunch of people were going to a pub not too far away for dinner, so I figured that I would just meet up with them there and grab a bite to eat(This is at about 7:45, and I left work at 5:15). Of course when I get within a block of the pub (still raining) I see the group heading back to the flat, and they tell me that my roommates were all home. Fabulous. I was supposed to be meeting up with Sonya (my professor's daughter), but I just ended up calling her and rescheduling to yesterday. I settled for a local kebab place and a doner for my dinner. Meanwhile, Raquel, RJ and I were looking to find a hostel or hotel for us to crash at for our upcoming weekend adventures to Barcelona. After our arrangements at a hotel were settled, I retreated to my room for a bit of High School Musical therapy.
Yesterday, however, shaped up much better. I finished up work around 1:30, and went to the Student Travel Agency to try to settle out some details in my research regarding a solo trip to Scotland for a weekend. After hearing everything I wanted to hear, I walked back to the Tube and went home (It was a beautiful day). After getting home for a little bit of ice cream and a shortbread cookie, I turned around and headed back to the Tube, this time going to the Highbury Islington station choosing to walk rather than take the bus to King's Cross. I met up with my dearest little Sonya Williams, daughter of Paddy Scannell-- legend of the Michigan Communications department, at the Earl's Court Tube station. We returned to her borrowed flat for a bit of cheap wine. After killing the wine, we headed to Mihiki, an absolutely fabulous little bar, themed in a Hawaiian luau fashion. Again, the drinks were pricey, but it was a great experience, and I had great company. Every drink was made with fresh juice and nice liquor, and each drink had a different type of container, everything from a fresh pineapple to an antique style iron underwater helmet. The service was great, the music was great, and the seating area was really cute. A definite 10. After a few drinks and a solid 3 hours of laughing about everything under the sun (including my attempts to have a British accent, and Sonya's attempts to sound American), Sonya and I parted ways and returned to our respective homes. Great night.
Today was another relatively good day, I got to work around 10, only to be sent home at 1. Not a bad deal. And I was given 20GBP to cover all of my travel expenses out to Ealing (which is in Zone 3, on the opposite side of London, hence my hour and a half to two hour commute). Before hopping on the Tube I grabbed a little bit of Burger King, sampling the British menu. When I finally got home to Islington, I took a nice long nap, had some more ice cream, this time accompanied by graham crackers, and motivated myself to take on updating our lovely meeting place.
Things for me to look forward to coming up:
Tonight, in 30 minutes: Curry Night
Tomorrow through Sunday: Barcelona (and possibly booking my trip to Scotland)
Monday: Dinner and Drinks with Brett's friends from Australia who live in Ealing
Tuesday: REGINALD PROUD BROWN IV COMES TO LONDON!! (randomly on Sunday night, my friend from school, Reggie, informed me that all of my pestering had broken him down and he had bought a ticket to London to come visit me. So next week will be quiet lovely.)
Great Times are ahead, so tune in for more adventures!
Wednesday, 13 June 2007
Weekend Extravagance and Early Week Adventures
Well, since we last met, very little has changed. My wallet is much lighter, thanks to the nature of the lovely city of London, and my friendships have grown closer. Unfortunately, I am still jobless for June, but I have been officially hired at DODS, a political communication and information company, for the month of July. I will be working in their media department, which consists of a monthly magazine, The House, a number of weekly publications, and an online magazine, epolitix.com. Apparently I will have an opportunity to write a few special pieces for at least one of these publications, and I will be able to attend press conferences, potentially one of the weekly press conferences with the Prime Minister. I am very excited to start. The potential of my July job is the keeping me positive lately as I continue to search for employment in June. I have a few things on the agenda today, so hopefully things will begin to fall into line.
But there are many updates to be given on the crazy life of a student in London. Friday night we went to a few dance clubs around the Piccadilly Circus area (slightly over-touristy). We went first to a club called Bar Rumba, after much research in travel books and online. All of that research was a waste of time and a load of bollocks. This bar's sketch factor was probably a 9 out of 10. We females were escorted into a basement to use the ladies, and the bar was littered with creepster guys staring onto the dance floor, with their mouths watering. Needless to say, we did not stay there very long. We actually left before the drinks we had ordered were even delivered (service in England is total crap, because waiters have a high minimum wage, and therefore don't get tipped). We moved down the street to the Rainforest Cafe's dance club. This place was pretty fabulous, with two DJs spinning sweet music, fish tanks, waterfalls, and a huge bar. I decided that I was going to pretend like I only spoke Spanish, so I got in for only 5GBP, instead of the normal 8. After I shared this information at our Saturday afternoon recap of the evening, I became a legend. The evening was an overall success, minus the tiny hole burned into my silk dress (one of the many downfalls of allowing people to smoke indoors). After some miraculous work my RJ, navigating the night buses like a champion, we returned to our humble Islington abode. An advantage of living in a Turkish neighborhood is the cheap kebab places still open at 3:30am. We took advantage of one of these places, tapping them of all of the lamb that they had left, with 5 lamb doners (a kind of sliced lamb sandwich in a pita with lettuce, onion, and tomato). Apparently I was feeling adventurous, because I decided that putting chili sauce on my doner was a good plan. I immediately regretting that decision, but corrected the problem with some thousand island dressing after returning to the flat. Yet another instance of expanding my spicy tolerance.
After finally retiring to my bed at 7:00am on Friday, after a long night of dancing, food, and conversation, I slept until 3:30pm. When I finally arose from my sleep, I treated my roommates to some yummy omelets, and we laughed for almost two hours about all of the ridiculous events of the night before. Feeling lazy, and needing to gather energy for the night to come, Raquel and I settled into her bed to watch a bit of 1980s glory, Pretty in Pink. With our cheesy romance needs satisfied, we created a mean taco salad, and socialized a bit with our gentlemen neighbors, who were playing drinking games in our kitchen. These boys were seeking shelter in our kitchen because they had successfully made such a mess in their that they did not have any clean dishes, or an counter space remaining (because it was covered in dishes, pots, pans, pizza boxes, and beer cans). A group decision was reached to go to a club in Angel (a relatively short bus ride away, compared to the hour commute to Piccadilly). This club, The Egg, supposedly served breakfast at 7:00am, and stayed open until 1pm the next afternoon. We did not make it this long. We arrived at Egg, to be charged a 15GBP cover (questionable if it was worth it). We danced for about an hour, before retiring to some comfy couches. This club was very strange, in that it did not make any mixed drinks. Your choices were shots or beer. Seeing as they did not know how to serve a shot of tequila, I settled of a Corona. Unfortunately this undesired Corona was interrupted by my motherly nature. My friend Tomas's stomach ulcer was acting up, so I sat with him before finally laying down the law and taking him home. This time I navigated the London night buses like a champion. After finally getting Tomas to bed, I was soon joined by the rest of the group, returning by cab, rather than the bus. We retreated to the female kitchen once more, slowly dwindling in numbers. I finally surrendered at 7:00am once more, and apparently after I left everyone else went to bed (yes, I am that cool).
Sunday was another late start, but this time breakfast was not made. Instead I was in charge of cooking some Turkey Melts for lunch, satisfying myself, my other half Ellen (also still has not started her job), and Ellen's friend Morgan, known as Frenchie (because he is French, duh! I know, we are so creative with our nicknames). Morgan stayed with us for the weekend, and was quite a little ball of energy (and also stocked our cabinets, which was WONDERFUL). I finally woke Raquel up at 5pm, and we organized an evening trip to the London Eye, a giant ferris wheel-type of contraption on the Thames. Our ride on the London Eye put us out a relatively significant number of pounds, but was definitely worth it, as it gave an amazing view of the city (assisted by the beautiful weather Sunday and the beginnings of a sunset). We capped off the adventure with a bit of McDonalds, breaking our promises not to each at American food chains. We just couldn't resist. After returning home, we watched another movie, She's the Man, and settled into bed.
Unfortunately, my Monday was not as exciting as the previous weekend. I woke up early and forced myself to finally write my proposal, due the following day, needed to earn credit for my internship from UofM. A simple three page proposal ended up taking me almost seven hours to write, mostly because the majority of it was supposed to be a description of my intern duties (which I barely knew) and a connection between how my internship connected to a segment of my academic study of communications. I was supposed to list a number of sources that I would be drawing from, but the only problem was I didn't have a library to find these sources. It took quite a bit of internet searching, but the overall mission was a success. Between the proposal, and my Perspectives on Experiential Learning Abroad class (looking at how the British workplace is different than the American workplace, and how everything fits into the bigger picture of us finding real jobs) my day was gone. As a sort of study break/ treat Ellen, Raquel and I all went to the Sainsbury's near our class, and bought some groceries and ate an entire tub of Ben and Jerry's Phish Food ice cream (it would have melted if we had tried to get it home! :0)). Following our gorge-fest on the Tube, we returned home to finish up my proposal and have a bit of cheese, wine and bread, complimented with good conversation, to wrap up the evening.
And finally, yesterday was a lovely day in London. I woke up and wrote a few emails and tried to find myself a job (because the program has been disappointing overall, to say the least). Afterwards, I woke up Ellen, and made us some macaroni and cheese. When we finally got out of the flat, we were intending on going to the Natural History Museum, but the Tube was running with severe delays, and was blazing hot (there is essentially no A/C anywhere in England). So on a split second decision, we decided to ditch our museum plans and went shopping instead (in proper housewife fashion). We spent almost 2 hours in this one store, called Top Shop. Its 4 floors of the coolest clothes ever. I had to exhibit some serious restraint. But, I ended up finding my mommy's birthday presents, and a new top for myself (to help me look more European, thereby fitting in a bit better). By this time it was already 5, so Ellen and I headed back home. The Tube was ridiculously crowded (to the point that people were smashed in all the way pressed into all the doors) and was even hotter than before. I was sweating just standing still. By the time that we actually got back to the flat, RJ came down and told us that we had 15 minutes before we needed to leave to get some Indian food with some of his friends. We were a little hesitant at first, because the Tube ride alone took an hour, plus a 20 minute bus ride. Long story short, it was sooo worth it. His buddies were hilarious, the food was amazing, it was a great time. RJ is a pretty funny guy, but dinner last night was like RJ multiplied himself 4 times. We laughed the whole night. We had probably 8 or 10 different Indian dishes, and I ate them all, even the spicy one that is supposed to light your behind on fire the next day (results still in deliberation). I also drank some Indian beer, called Cobra, and it really wasn't that bad ( I normally despise beer). And I think the best part of it all was that his buddies picked up the tab, drinks, food, everything. We ran up a 160GBP bill. That's basically $320, holy moley. After dinner his buddies drove us to the Tube station, and we BARELY made all of the last Tubes from two stations. Tubes stop running between 11:45 and 12:30. Fortunately we made them all, otherwise there would have been a lot of bus riding. Overall, I would give the night a 10 out of 10. Fabulous. We are trying to convince his buddies to come out for Raquel's birthday on Saturday, and I will make them dinner (to try to return the favor, more or less). The menu is tacos. Silly Raquel, she thinks she is Mexican (she is really from El Salvador). Her birthday is shaping up to be quite a night, but if I told you any more about that, I would have to kill you.
You will just have to tune in next time, for more Tales from Across the Pond...
But there are many updates to be given on the crazy life of a student in London. Friday night we went to a few dance clubs around the Piccadilly Circus area (slightly over-touristy). We went first to a club called Bar Rumba, after much research in travel books and online. All of that research was a waste of time and a load of bollocks. This bar's sketch factor was probably a 9 out of 10. We females were escorted into a basement to use the ladies, and the bar was littered with creepster guys staring onto the dance floor, with their mouths watering. Needless to say, we did not stay there very long. We actually left before the drinks we had ordered were even delivered (service in England is total crap, because waiters have a high minimum wage, and therefore don't get tipped). We moved down the street to the Rainforest Cafe's dance club. This place was pretty fabulous, with two DJs spinning sweet music, fish tanks, waterfalls, and a huge bar. I decided that I was going to pretend like I only spoke Spanish, so I got in for only 5GBP, instead of the normal 8. After I shared this information at our Saturday afternoon recap of the evening, I became a legend. The evening was an overall success, minus the tiny hole burned into my silk dress (one of the many downfalls of allowing people to smoke indoors). After some miraculous work my RJ, navigating the night buses like a champion, we returned to our humble Islington abode. An advantage of living in a Turkish neighborhood is the cheap kebab places still open at 3:30am. We took advantage of one of these places, tapping them of all of the lamb that they had left, with 5 lamb doners (a kind of sliced lamb sandwich in a pita with lettuce, onion, and tomato). Apparently I was feeling adventurous, because I decided that putting chili sauce on my doner was a good plan. I immediately regretting that decision, but corrected the problem with some thousand island dressing after returning to the flat. Yet another instance of expanding my spicy tolerance.
After finally retiring to my bed at 7:00am on Friday, after a long night of dancing, food, and conversation, I slept until 3:30pm. When I finally arose from my sleep, I treated my roommates to some yummy omelets, and we laughed for almost two hours about all of the ridiculous events of the night before. Feeling lazy, and needing to gather energy for the night to come, Raquel and I settled into her bed to watch a bit of 1980s glory, Pretty in Pink. With our cheesy romance needs satisfied, we created a mean taco salad, and socialized a bit with our gentlemen neighbors, who were playing drinking games in our kitchen. These boys were seeking shelter in our kitchen because they had successfully made such a mess in their that they did not have any clean dishes, or an counter space remaining (because it was covered in dishes, pots, pans, pizza boxes, and beer cans). A group decision was reached to go to a club in Angel (a relatively short bus ride away, compared to the hour commute to Piccadilly). This club, The Egg, supposedly served breakfast at 7:00am, and stayed open until 1pm the next afternoon. We did not make it this long. We arrived at Egg, to be charged a 15GBP cover (questionable if it was worth it). We danced for about an hour, before retiring to some comfy couches. This club was very strange, in that it did not make any mixed drinks. Your choices were shots or beer. Seeing as they did not know how to serve a shot of tequila, I settled of a Corona. Unfortunately this undesired Corona was interrupted by my motherly nature. My friend Tomas's stomach ulcer was acting up, so I sat with him before finally laying down the law and taking him home. This time I navigated the London night buses like a champion. After finally getting Tomas to bed, I was soon joined by the rest of the group, returning by cab, rather than the bus. We retreated to the female kitchen once more, slowly dwindling in numbers. I finally surrendered at 7:00am once more, and apparently after I left everyone else went to bed (yes, I am that cool).
Sunday was another late start, but this time breakfast was not made. Instead I was in charge of cooking some Turkey Melts for lunch, satisfying myself, my other half Ellen (also still has not started her job), and Ellen's friend Morgan, known as Frenchie (because he is French, duh! I know, we are so creative with our nicknames). Morgan stayed with us for the weekend, and was quite a little ball of energy (and also stocked our cabinets, which was WONDERFUL). I finally woke Raquel up at 5pm, and we organized an evening trip to the London Eye, a giant ferris wheel-type of contraption on the Thames. Our ride on the London Eye put us out a relatively significant number of pounds, but was definitely worth it, as it gave an amazing view of the city (assisted by the beautiful weather Sunday and the beginnings of a sunset). We capped off the adventure with a bit of McDonalds, breaking our promises not to each at American food chains. We just couldn't resist. After returning home, we watched another movie, She's the Man, and settled into bed.
Unfortunately, my Monday was not as exciting as the previous weekend. I woke up early and forced myself to finally write my proposal, due the following day, needed to earn credit for my internship from UofM. A simple three page proposal ended up taking me almost seven hours to write, mostly because the majority of it was supposed to be a description of my intern duties (which I barely knew) and a connection between how my internship connected to a segment of my academic study of communications. I was supposed to list a number of sources that I would be drawing from, but the only problem was I didn't have a library to find these sources. It took quite a bit of internet searching, but the overall mission was a success. Between the proposal, and my Perspectives on Experiential Learning Abroad class (looking at how the British workplace is different than the American workplace, and how everything fits into the bigger picture of us finding real jobs) my day was gone. As a sort of study break/ treat Ellen, Raquel and I all went to the Sainsbury's near our class, and bought some groceries and ate an entire tub of Ben and Jerry's Phish Food ice cream (it would have melted if we had tried to get it home! :0)). Following our gorge-fest on the Tube, we returned home to finish up my proposal and have a bit of cheese, wine and bread, complimented with good conversation, to wrap up the evening.
And finally, yesterday was a lovely day in London. I woke up and wrote a few emails and tried to find myself a job (because the program has been disappointing overall, to say the least). Afterwards, I woke up Ellen, and made us some macaroni and cheese. When we finally got out of the flat, we were intending on going to the Natural History Museum, but the Tube was running with severe delays, and was blazing hot (there is essentially no A/C anywhere in England). So on a split second decision, we decided to ditch our museum plans and went shopping instead (in proper housewife fashion). We spent almost 2 hours in this one store, called Top Shop. Its 4 floors of the coolest clothes ever. I had to exhibit some serious restraint. But, I ended up finding my mommy's birthday presents, and a new top for myself (to help me look more European, thereby fitting in a bit better). By this time it was already 5, so Ellen and I headed back home. The Tube was ridiculously crowded (to the point that people were smashed in all the way pressed into all the doors) and was even hotter than before. I was sweating just standing still. By the time that we actually got back to the flat, RJ came down and told us that we had 15 minutes before we needed to leave to get some Indian food with some of his friends. We were a little hesitant at first, because the Tube ride alone took an hour, plus a 20 minute bus ride. Long story short, it was sooo worth it. His buddies were hilarious, the food was amazing, it was a great time. RJ is a pretty funny guy, but dinner last night was like RJ multiplied himself 4 times. We laughed the whole night. We had probably 8 or 10 different Indian dishes, and I ate them all, even the spicy one that is supposed to light your behind on fire the next day (results still in deliberation). I also drank some Indian beer, called Cobra, and it really wasn't that bad ( I normally despise beer). And I think the best part of it all was that his buddies picked up the tab, drinks, food, everything. We ran up a 160GBP bill. That's basically $320, holy moley. After dinner his buddies drove us to the Tube station, and we BARELY made all of the last Tubes from two stations. Tubes stop running between 11:45 and 12:30. Fortunately we made them all, otherwise there would have been a lot of bus riding. Overall, I would give the night a 10 out of 10. Fabulous. We are trying to convince his buddies to come out for Raquel's birthday on Saturday, and I will make them dinner (to try to return the favor, more or less). The menu is tacos. Silly Raquel, she thinks she is Mexican (she is really from El Salvador). Her birthday is shaping up to be quite a night, but if I told you any more about that, I would have to kill you.
You will just have to tune in next time, for more Tales from Across the Pond...
Friday, 8 June 2007
There are advantages to being Unemployed...
Well, the quest for my internship is still delayed. I did have an interview yesterday with a political consultancy, where I would basically be running one man's entire campaign for gaining a seat in Parliament, and I have another interview in two hours with a political communications company to work in their Media department. Unfortunately, nothing seems to be quite what I was hoping for, a broadcast journalism internship. I am trying to stay positive, and I am sure that whatever job I end up with will be a wonderful experience.
None the less, there are advantages to being unemployed. Wednesday, while everyone else in my group was slaving away at work, my friend Ellen (whose supervisor is on holiday, so she doesn't have to work) and I slept in, and went down to Piccadilly Circus and Leicester Square to take in some sights. We were on a mission to buy tickets to see a few shows for our group of friends to see while we are in London. We went to see what sort of seats were available at Avenue Q, and ended up buying tickets for that night's performance. We only paid 20GBP (about $40) and were in the eighth row, dead center of the stage. But more on that later. After grabbing a Cadbury McFlurry (justified because they don't sell these in the States) we looked into a few other shows and headed back to the flat. After getting all dolled up, we cooked some dinner and headed back into the city. Theater in London was an interesting experience, partially because we were able to take photos in the theater, as long as the curtain was not up, we were allowed to eat in the theater, and there is a service such that you order a drink at the beginning of the show, and it is ready for you to pick up at intermission (and of course you can bring it back to your seat with you). Overall, Avenue Q was an amazing show, and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who hasn't seen it. It can best be described as Sesame Street on crack, complete with gay puppets, porn, nudity (by puppets, of course) and songs about racism. At one point in the show the a sign was supposed to fall when the actors pulled a string, but got stuck on one end. After numerous attempts to fix this, the actors moved on with the show, only to get hung up on their lines. One of the actors was laughing so hard he could barely get his lines out. It was hilarious.
Yesterday (Thursday), Ellen and I were joined by our friend Raquel. Raquel is technically employed, having worked the rest of the week, but her supervisor went on a holiday, so she had the day off. We got another late start, and woke up with some lovely breakfast burritos, cooked by yours truly. Raquel was our official cruise director for the day, and decided that we would pack some lunches and go down to Kensington Gardens for a picnic. So three sandwich preparations later we were off to Kensington. Right as we were walking down the main pathway at the entrance of the park (maybe 200 yards in), we heard a helicopter overhead. As we watched it, it landed in a field just next to Kensington Gardens. After it landed we noticed that it had the royal crest on the side of the chopper. So like proper tourists, we decided to hang around to see who was going to be getting in, hoping it would be one of the princes perhaps:-). About 10 minutes later, three cars came out of the gate and pulled up to the chopper on the far side. We didn't have a very good view, all we could see was a little purple hat. (I was video taping this whole time, zooming in as close as possible). Soon after the helicopter takes off, and the three Americans are still standing along the fence. Since we didn't have a very good view, Raquel approaches one of the police officers in the area and asks who just left. THE QUEEN! I have a pretty good view of her getting into the helicopter. As I was recording I thought that it was her, but there were only 2 police officers standing guard. Based on the American standard of security, I thought that it couldn't possibly be the Queen. But I was proved wrong. After a few excited phone calls back to the states, we went down to the Round Pond and had our lunches. We took in the scenery and took lots of pictures (to be posted soon, fear not). It was here that I received a phone call informing me that I had a telephone interview with the political consultancy. So, we rushed to finish up a bit of Kensington Gardens sightseeing, taking in the Italian Fountain, and the statue of Peter Pan, before heading off to CAPA (the internship coordinators).
After my interview, Raquel, Ellen and I were joined by RJ (having just got off of work) and went to the posh High Street Kensington area to do a bit of shopping. I bought a few new tops and a dress to help me blend a bit more with the British girls. On a side note, even if I am completely silent on the Tube, I still feel like I stick out. I have noticed that British girls dress much trendier (hence the new clothes) and have choppier haircuts. I have also noticed, along with other girls, that British girls don't really wear makeup. I have taken these observations to heart and I am trying to be a chameleon (I plan on cutting my bangs a bit tonight after my interview--in case I botched it up). Back to yesterday. We did a bit of shopping, and went over to the recently opened Whole Foods Market. This is the first Whole Foods in the UK, and is even more posh and expensive than at home. Needless to say, we did not buy anything. After yet another long Tube ride home, we got back to the flat just in time to be dragged out again by other people from the group. We went to what has become our new hang out in Islington, the White Swan. On Thursdays at the White Swan they have any curry dish and a drink for 4.95GBP. So, I treated myself to an order of tikka masala and a Strongbow (a sort of cider). It was delicious. Soon after finishing up, Raquel and I headed home and went to bed.
The exact plans for today are still in the works. I had my first class about London and England 1886-Present at CAPA. Today we talked all about the Jack the Ripper murders and London in the 1880s. Thus far, the class seems really interesting. And as usual, I dazzled the professor with my knowledge. Another professor in my pocket. Soon I will be running out of room! Just kidding. Well, now I am just finishing up all of my preparations before I head out to my interview at Dods, the political communications company. Hopefully something will materialize there. By the looks of things, we are going to go out to one of London's many dance clubs tonight, so that should be fun.
Don't worry, more tales from across The Pond are sure to come! Until then...
None the less, there are advantages to being unemployed. Wednesday, while everyone else in my group was slaving away at work, my friend Ellen (whose supervisor is on holiday, so she doesn't have to work) and I slept in, and went down to Piccadilly Circus and Leicester Square to take in some sights. We were on a mission to buy tickets to see a few shows for our group of friends to see while we are in London. We went to see what sort of seats were available at Avenue Q, and ended up buying tickets for that night's performance. We only paid 20GBP (about $40) and were in the eighth row, dead center of the stage. But more on that later. After grabbing a Cadbury McFlurry (justified because they don't sell these in the States) we looked into a few other shows and headed back to the flat. After getting all dolled up, we cooked some dinner and headed back into the city. Theater in London was an interesting experience, partially because we were able to take photos in the theater, as long as the curtain was not up, we were allowed to eat in the theater, and there is a service such that you order a drink at the beginning of the show, and it is ready for you to pick up at intermission (and of course you can bring it back to your seat with you). Overall, Avenue Q was an amazing show, and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who hasn't seen it. It can best be described as Sesame Street on crack, complete with gay puppets, porn, nudity (by puppets, of course) and songs about racism. At one point in the show the a sign was supposed to fall when the actors pulled a string, but got stuck on one end. After numerous attempts to fix this, the actors moved on with the show, only to get hung up on their lines. One of the actors was laughing so hard he could barely get his lines out. It was hilarious.
Yesterday (Thursday), Ellen and I were joined by our friend Raquel. Raquel is technically employed, having worked the rest of the week, but her supervisor went on a holiday, so she had the day off. We got another late start, and woke up with some lovely breakfast burritos, cooked by yours truly. Raquel was our official cruise director for the day, and decided that we would pack some lunches and go down to Kensington Gardens for a picnic. So three sandwich preparations later we were off to Kensington. Right as we were walking down the main pathway at the entrance of the park (maybe 200 yards in), we heard a helicopter overhead. As we watched it, it landed in a field just next to Kensington Gardens. After it landed we noticed that it had the royal crest on the side of the chopper. So like proper tourists, we decided to hang around to see who was going to be getting in, hoping it would be one of the princes perhaps:-). About 10 minutes later, three cars came out of the gate and pulled up to the chopper on the far side. We didn't have a very good view, all we could see was a little purple hat. (I was video taping this whole time, zooming in as close as possible). Soon after the helicopter takes off, and the three Americans are still standing along the fence. Since we didn't have a very good view, Raquel approaches one of the police officers in the area and asks who just left. THE QUEEN! I have a pretty good view of her getting into the helicopter. As I was recording I thought that it was her, but there were only 2 police officers standing guard. Based on the American standard of security, I thought that it couldn't possibly be the Queen. But I was proved wrong. After a few excited phone calls back to the states, we went down to the Round Pond and had our lunches. We took in the scenery and took lots of pictures (to be posted soon, fear not). It was here that I received a phone call informing me that I had a telephone interview with the political consultancy. So, we rushed to finish up a bit of Kensington Gardens sightseeing, taking in the Italian Fountain, and the statue of Peter Pan, before heading off to CAPA (the internship coordinators).
After my interview, Raquel, Ellen and I were joined by RJ (having just got off of work) and went to the posh High Street Kensington area to do a bit of shopping. I bought a few new tops and a dress to help me blend a bit more with the British girls. On a side note, even if I am completely silent on the Tube, I still feel like I stick out. I have noticed that British girls dress much trendier (hence the new clothes) and have choppier haircuts. I have also noticed, along with other girls, that British girls don't really wear makeup. I have taken these observations to heart and I am trying to be a chameleon (I plan on cutting my bangs a bit tonight after my interview--in case I botched it up). Back to yesterday. We did a bit of shopping, and went over to the recently opened Whole Foods Market. This is the first Whole Foods in the UK, and is even more posh and expensive than at home. Needless to say, we did not buy anything. After yet another long Tube ride home, we got back to the flat just in time to be dragged out again by other people from the group. We went to what has become our new hang out in Islington, the White Swan. On Thursdays at the White Swan they have any curry dish and a drink for 4.95GBP. So, I treated myself to an order of tikka masala and a Strongbow (a sort of cider). It was delicious. Soon after finishing up, Raquel and I headed home and went to bed.
The exact plans for today are still in the works. I had my first class about London and England 1886-Present at CAPA. Today we talked all about the Jack the Ripper murders and London in the 1880s. Thus far, the class seems really interesting. And as usual, I dazzled the professor with my knowledge. Another professor in my pocket. Soon I will be running out of room! Just kidding. Well, now I am just finishing up all of my preparations before I head out to my interview at Dods, the political communications company. Hopefully something will materialize there. By the looks of things, we are going to go out to one of London's many dance clubs tonight, so that should be fun.
Don't worry, more tales from across The Pond are sure to come! Until then...
Tuesday, 5 June 2007
Finally in London! A quick overview (May 21-June 4)
Well, after a few bumps along the way, I finally have internet, and I can finally get to updating all of you on my adventures to date. It's really strange, but I still don't quite feel like I am in London yet. Perhaps that is a result of the good old "British Reserve." Yesterday was the first time any Brits even spoke to me, other than those running my program of course. But I suppose I should start by getting everyone up to speed on my adventures thus far.
I started out my travels in Washington D.C., on May 21st. Myself, along with the rest of the group lived up on Capitol Hill, literally right behind the Supreme Court Building, at a little place called The Congressional. This building was lovingly renamed, Le Congressional. During our stay in Washington we had a nice mixture of touristy things, and non-touristy things. After we were fully orientation-ed (a process that took a hefty 6 hours and could have been done in 2), we visited the Capitol Building, the Supreme Court building, Arlington Cemetery, and all of the monuments and memorials (Lincoln, Washington, Jefferson, FDR, WWII, Vietnam, Korea, etc). In addition to all of these relatively accessible Washington Musts, we also took a tour of the White House (although we were only allowed to see about 6 rooms), and we were able to go sit down on the floor of the House of Representatives, and sit in Nancy Pelosi's (Speaker of the House) office.
Our group was also able to take a tour of the D.C. neighborhoods that tourists don't think about including Georgetown (the playground of the Washington well-to-do), Howard University (a historically Black college), U Street (a historically Black neighborhood), and Columbia Heights (a Latino, especially Salvadorian, neighborhood). This tour of the different D.C. neighborhoods was actually quite interesting, seeing the different people interact and learning the different histories behind each neighborhood. In Columbia heights we were able to visit the Latin Youth Center's Arts and Cultures building, which was amazing. In this center kids pay $15 or do community service, and in exchange they are able to take classes on painting, radio DJing, mixing, editing, and producing music, broadcasting on television, hip hop dance, and much more. The facilities were great, and the whole project was so inspiring. Being in the center almost made me want to stay in D.C..
The group also visited a variety of businesses and hosted a number of speakers on various topics while we were in D.C. Collectively the group visited the Federal Reserve Bank, the American Society of Association Executives (which was way more interesting than it sounds), the Canadian Embassy (which turned out to be a bit of a flop, mostly because the woman presenting only knew about her little piece of the big picture, and couldn't share anything else), Amnesty International (which I heard was also disappointing), Time Magazine, the Peace Corp, a public relations company, and the IFC. We also had speakers visit us from the British Consulate, a lobbying firm (this speaker would become a legend within the group, a man by the name of John Chwat), and a former member of the State Department. All in all, the speakers from D.C. were very interesting, although there were a few duds.
After some group bonding, and two weeks of evening adventures throughout D.C., the Washington Center group headed off to England!
The flight was pretty good, I had a glass of free wine with dinner (I love international flights) and a Tylenol PM and was out like a light. I convinced the 2 girls in our group that had been sitting next to me to switch their seats with my friends RJ and Sean, and I sat between them. So for about 5 of the 7 hours I alternated between sleeping on Sean's shoulder, then RJ's. Needless to say, it worked out quite nicely for me. But apparently on the flight, our group leader, Brian Feely (who we are convinced is a Nightmare Before Christmas character, and plotting evil deeds internationally) passed out unconscious, literally 2 feet from my head, and neither myself or Sean or RJ woke up. My roommate Raquel says he went down like a ton of bricks and there were flight attendants all over the place, but we kids slept away peacefully. He probably passed out because of the mixture of alcohol and cold medicine. (For the record this guy is like 6'2 and 115 pounds, and totally a lightweight when it comes to drinking).
On Sunday we had a little orientation in downtown London, and then went on a tour of the city. We saw almost all of the must see sights, like the Tower of London, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Parliament, the Millennium Bridge, Piccadilly Circle, the Globe Theater,the Tate Museums, Downing Street, and more. The only down side, was that everything was on a bus, so we couldn't fully explore. But, I still have 8 more weeks for all of that. Our tour ended back at our apartment building, but we wanted to make the most of our Tube passes, so we went back into the city. Ellen, RJ, Sean, Raquel, Micheal and I went in to Piccadilly Circus and took in a few of the sights. Piccadilly reminded me of a smaller Times Square, with bright signs, and lots of people (especially tourists). After we went to Trafalgar Square, Buckingham Palace, Big Ben and Westminster Abbey. We only got lost once, thanks to Micheal, who we have determined has no sense of direction. One angry outburst-caused-by-extreme-hunger later, and we were back on track. After all of our sightseeing and acting touristy, we headed back to our apartment, made dinner and booked a trip to Barcelona.
Monday, however, was not quite such smooth sailing. My friends and I were slightly delayed in the morning, because Ellen's alarm did not go off. That was just the beginning. After all of that, we headed into London on the Tube, arriving too late to run errands, and just sat at our classroom for 45 minutes before our intern orientation. During those 45 minutes, we were forced to listen to the ramblings of Davidson Wissing, arguably the most annoying person I have met to date, hands down one of the most socially awkward people on this trip. Finally after yet another orientation, everyone in the group was supposed to be getting information on their interviews for their assigned internship. This, for me, meant actually finding out where I was assigned, ending the overly-long anticipation period. But alas, I was the only person in the group who did not receive this information. My internship is still in the works, putting pressure on me to complete the University of Michigan requirements to complete the paper needed to get credit for my internship. After this disappointing news, I tried to change my return flight home from London to accomadate my additional post-internship European travels, only to find out I would have to coordinate this with people in the US. More frustration. Now Ellen and I decide that we are going to head back to the apartment, change, and grab a quick bite to eat before we had to be back downtown for a dinner. Well, after arriving at the Islington Tube Stop, Ellen and I proceeded to get lost for about 45 minutes trying to get home, only to give up and go back downtown. The dinner was lovely (free food is always good), and I found out a little bit of information on my internship status, so that was all well and good. After the dinner, we went to Sainsbury's (a local Kroger-like grocery store) before heading back to Islington. After taking the Tube home, Raquel, Ellen and I decided we would try out the buses, hoping to find a better way back to the apartment, other than our 30 minute walk. Well, going along with the theme of the day, we missed our stop and didn't realize it until about six stops later. We ended up in Clapton, about 20 minutes away, and were kicked off of the bus at the last stop. Fortunately we ran into some cute older ladies, who gave us directions on the correct bus stop to get off at. As the bus returned, it was the same driver, who laughed at our situation. As each old lady got off the bus she reminded the driver to drop us off at the correct stop. After we finally got home, almost an hour and a half later, with groceries still in hand, the rest of our friends got quite a chuckle.
Well, thus far London is amazing, and I can't wait to explore even more. Although, hopefully I will not get lost quite as often :-).
Now I just have to work on looking right, then left before crossing the street... there have been one too many close calls. Silly Brits, driving on the wrong side of the road.
Well, that's about it for now. Until next time...
Cheers!
I started out my travels in Washington D.C., on May 21st. Myself, along with the rest of the group lived up on Capitol Hill, literally right behind the Supreme Court Building, at a little place called The Congressional. This building was lovingly renamed, Le Congressional. During our stay in Washington we had a nice mixture of touristy things, and non-touristy things. After we were fully orientation-ed (a process that took a hefty 6 hours and could have been done in 2), we visited the Capitol Building, the Supreme Court building, Arlington Cemetery, and all of the monuments and memorials (Lincoln, Washington, Jefferson, FDR, WWII, Vietnam, Korea, etc). In addition to all of these relatively accessible Washington Musts, we also took a tour of the White House (although we were only allowed to see about 6 rooms), and we were able to go sit down on the floor of the House of Representatives, and sit in Nancy Pelosi's (Speaker of the House) office.
Our group was also able to take a tour of the D.C. neighborhoods that tourists don't think about including Georgetown (the playground of the Washington well-to-do), Howard University (a historically Black college), U Street (a historically Black neighborhood), and Columbia Heights (a Latino, especially Salvadorian, neighborhood). This tour of the different D.C. neighborhoods was actually quite interesting, seeing the different people interact and learning the different histories behind each neighborhood. In Columbia heights we were able to visit the Latin Youth Center's Arts and Cultures building, which was amazing. In this center kids pay $15 or do community service, and in exchange they are able to take classes on painting, radio DJing, mixing, editing, and producing music, broadcasting on television, hip hop dance, and much more. The facilities were great, and the whole project was so inspiring. Being in the center almost made me want to stay in D.C..
The group also visited a variety of businesses and hosted a number of speakers on various topics while we were in D.C. Collectively the group visited the Federal Reserve Bank, the American Society of Association Executives (which was way more interesting than it sounds), the Canadian Embassy (which turned out to be a bit of a flop, mostly because the woman presenting only knew about her little piece of the big picture, and couldn't share anything else), Amnesty International (which I heard was also disappointing), Time Magazine, the Peace Corp, a public relations company, and the IFC. We also had speakers visit us from the British Consulate, a lobbying firm (this speaker would become a legend within the group, a man by the name of John Chwat), and a former member of the State Department. All in all, the speakers from D.C. were very interesting, although there were a few duds.
After some group bonding, and two weeks of evening adventures throughout D.C., the Washington Center group headed off to England!
The flight was pretty good, I had a glass of free wine with dinner (I love international flights) and a Tylenol PM and was out like a light. I convinced the 2 girls in our group that had been sitting next to me to switch their seats with my friends RJ and Sean, and I sat between them. So for about 5 of the 7 hours I alternated between sleeping on Sean's shoulder, then RJ's. Needless to say, it worked out quite nicely for me. But apparently on the flight, our group leader, Brian Feely (who we are convinced is a Nightmare Before Christmas character, and plotting evil deeds internationally) passed out unconscious, literally 2 feet from my head, and neither myself or Sean or RJ woke up. My roommate Raquel says he went down like a ton of bricks and there were flight attendants all over the place, but we kids slept away peacefully. He probably passed out because of the mixture of alcohol and cold medicine. (For the record this guy is like 6'2 and 115 pounds, and totally a lightweight when it comes to drinking).
Well, after we landed at Heathrow Airport on Saturday, I moved into my apartment in Islington (the northeast corner of London). My actual apartment is pretty great. It is new just this year, I get my own bedroom and bathroom, and my room is pink! You all know how much I love pink! I weaseled my way into rooming with my best two girlfriends here, switching rooms with another girl in the group. So things are just peachy, in that sense. Unfortunately, as I said, I had a number of internet problems, requiring long (and expensive) phone conversations with tech people. What they say is very true, Brits have no customer service. But that is neither here nor there.
So after we got all settled, we took a little tour of the area we are living in, pointing out various streets, the Tube stop, the grocery store, all of that. After the tour, we did a bit of grocery shopping, came home and unpacked. Since we knew we couldn't go to bed too early, because we needed to adjust to the time change, we decided we wanted to go out for a drink (Yes, I am finally legal here!). We went exploring, and found a little hole in the wall bar called The Oak Bar. We got there around 9, so there was obviously no one there, and we told the rest of the group to come meet us there. Well as we waited for everyone we began to notice that the people there were a bit dodgy. Around 10:30, as they were putting up a sign that said "9 out of 10 gay men use condoms", we realized that we were in a gay bar. It was quite amusing. We stuck around there for a while before coming back to the apartment, and then I finished unpacking and Ellen and I watched a movie and went to bed.
Monday, however, was not quite such smooth sailing. My friends and I were slightly delayed in the morning, because Ellen's alarm did not go off. That was just the beginning. After all of that, we headed into London on the Tube, arriving too late to run errands, and just sat at our classroom for 45 minutes before our intern orientation. During those 45 minutes, we were forced to listen to the ramblings of Davidson Wissing, arguably the most annoying person I have met to date, hands down one of the most socially awkward people on this trip. Finally after yet another orientation, everyone in the group was supposed to be getting information on their interviews for their assigned internship. This, for me, meant actually finding out where I was assigned, ending the overly-long anticipation period. But alas, I was the only person in the group who did not receive this information. My internship is still in the works, putting pressure on me to complete the University of Michigan requirements to complete the paper needed to get credit for my internship. After this disappointing news, I tried to change my return flight home from London to accomadate my additional post-internship European travels, only to find out I would have to coordinate this with people in the US. More frustration. Now Ellen and I decide that we are going to head back to the apartment, change, and grab a quick bite to eat before we had to be back downtown for a dinner. Well, after arriving at the Islington Tube Stop, Ellen and I proceeded to get lost for about 45 minutes trying to get home, only to give up and go back downtown. The dinner was lovely (free food is always good), and I found out a little bit of information on my internship status, so that was all well and good. After the dinner, we went to Sainsbury's (a local Kroger-like grocery store) before heading back to Islington. After taking the Tube home, Raquel, Ellen and I decided we would try out the buses, hoping to find a better way back to the apartment, other than our 30 minute walk. Well, going along with the theme of the day, we missed our stop and didn't realize it until about six stops later. We ended up in Clapton, about 20 minutes away, and were kicked off of the bus at the last stop. Fortunately we ran into some cute older ladies, who gave us directions on the correct bus stop to get off at. As the bus returned, it was the same driver, who laughed at our situation. As each old lady got off the bus she reminded the driver to drop us off at the correct stop. After we finally got home, almost an hour and a half later, with groceries still in hand, the rest of our friends got quite a chuckle.
Well, thus far London is amazing, and I can't wait to explore even more. Although, hopefully I will not get lost quite as often :-).
Now I just have to work on looking right, then left before crossing the street... there have been one too many close calls. Silly Brits, driving on the wrong side of the road.
Well, that's about it for now. Until next time...
Cheers!
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