Florida student goes to london

Belgium

Sage and I had discussed going to Belgium several times, but it was always very expensive. Finally, she found a deal online and we were able to go over our long Easter weekend. What better place to celebrate a chocolate holiday than the land where it was perfected? We took the longest overnight bus ever; in fact it ran into the next day. Note: make sure your driver knows where he is going, speaks the language of the country, and tries not to get pulled over for not wearing a seatbelt leaving you stranded in France for 2 hours. Each time I woke up, I was in a different country. I woke up first in London, then France, the Belgium. We might have even wandered into Germany at some point. I don’t even know.

We finally go there and checked into our lovely hotel. Showers with water pressure! What was this novelty? We went to the grocery store and gawked at some funny foods

and got some funny flavored beers, like raspberry.

We spent the next day exploring the city, a bit confusing at first.

But we got some chocolate covered waffles, and took a ton of pictures.

We went out for a drink that night at the Delirium Bar, boasting a bazillion beers on tap (yes, a bazillion).I had a mango beer. We wandered all over the city, and headed back to the hotel before it got dark.

The next day was Easter, and we got free Easter chocolates! And of course ate more waffles.  

I was surprised how many people were out and about on a holiday. I’m exactly sure what I was expecting, more people to be at home with their families and going to church? We walked by several churches, but even more chocolate shops, I think the total came out to be around 35 stores.

On our last day, we conquered both the Atomium and every country in the EU in miniature. The Atomium is an impressive piece of architecture, and is cool inside as well. It is a functional space for events and conferences. There is even a section to housing underprivileged youth; giving them a space to live and study. It looks small from the outside, but each ball is a few levels with quite a lot of space. A lot of it is a museum dedicated to modern architecture and the World Fair.

Next we went to Mini Europe, which is exactly as it sounds.

Ok, it’s more like a huge advertisement for the all the countries in the EU. But it was a great way to travel to all the countries I didn’t get to go to. Like Berlin, and the Berlin wall. Can I now say I’ve signed the wall?

We also saw some familiar places. The first is Amy catching me falling off the cliffs of Dover… too soon?

And of course, some sights that I see at least weekly while living in London.

I thought mini europe was a brilliant idea. Admission came with a a detailed booklet of the sights to see in each country, it really inspires people to travel and see new things. 

My best friend’s mom, my second mom, sent me a care package with Girl Scout Cookies.

Colliding at this same point in time was when I started really missing American food. We spent a whole interval during the play Bingo discussing what foods we were going to eat when we were back in the states. From Panera to Goldfish to Nutterbutters, there were quite a few things on our collective list. Although London has many foods that are “the normal” that we don’t have in America (aka almost every sandwich at EAT and Prêt) and some of those are very good, you start to miss the familiar. I think we had the adventure of London wearing off, and we were really settled into life here. I am going to miss brie panini’s, but I would trade that 1000 times over for a normal sized Coke at a normal sized price. Also, they really don’t do ice tea here like in the US, and only Sainsbury’s sells “American style” ginger ale. The list goes on. And even if we have care packages

I still miss American food. Which I 100% did not think was going to happen. I think it may be easier to be my kind of vegetarian in the US as well. It’s harder to go to  a restaurant here//Europe in general and find something meat free on the menu that is not pasta. 

Matilda the Musical

            I saw the poster for Matilda the Musical in the tube and knew I had to find a way to go see it.

It was one of my favorite books, and I absolutely adored the movie. A musical?? It was the perfect trifecta. I explored a bit, and found out that 10 £5 student tickets were sold at 10 am every day of the performance. Sage and I naively woke up one morning, around 8 am and showed up to the theater a bit before 9. There were already 10 people lined up in front of the door, much to our disappointment. We took it in stride; we asked them how long they had been waiting, hours.

            So the next time, we went prepared. We woke up at the crack of dawn, and were first in line! At 7:15 in the morning. We waited in the cold under many layers and blankets, watching movies on the laptop. People slowly trickled in. That is the brilliant thing about people here, they know how to queue and respect in. Then, not even 15 minutes before 10am the dumb American have to roll in. They start a queue on the other side of the gate, clearly within view of the already-established queue. I was furious, and so were the other people in line, we had some sort of solidarity, standing in the cold for hours together, and were not even going to begin to allow these idiots to have a fighting chance for our tickets. I confronted the girls who started the other queue, who said “Oh we didn’t see your line” I responded with a “fine, well why don’t you just join the end of ours then?” They were not too into that idea. I explained we had been waiting in line for hours, and they argued that their queue was just as good as ours, and challenged us to join at the end of theirs! The nerve!!! The entitlement!!! I have never wanted to just slap a person across the face as I did at that moment.

I am still furious just thinking about it right now. I won’t bother with the details of the conversation we had with them. In the end, their line got more expensive and blocked view seats that were further in the back. The people who waited in line got the £5 tickets, which were a few rows up and full view. All I can say is QUEUING IS A REAL THING. RESPECT IT. RESPECT AN ESTABLISHED QUEUE.

            The show was spectacular, and made up for any negative emtions I felt in the morning. The little girl who performed Matilda was the best performer I have ever seen, and certainly the best singer. Hands down, that girl has more talent in her pinky finger than I have in my whole life. The stage was amazing, there were block letters all over it, the desks rose from the floor, swings came down from the ceiling, and a whole library came out of the wings.

Everything was colorful, the lighting was amazing. The child cast was phenomenal. I would see it again if I could, but maybe a bit closer to the stage and not in student seats! I am so happy I got to see it, it was a nice refreshing different change from the more sophisticated and mature plays we have been going to in theater class. I love musicals, and I was happy to see one over all the plays.

            I also loved all the British-isms in the show. When the father was listing off green things, he didn’t say money, because money isn’t green here! Ms. Trunchball was watching BBC news. And there were several other things that, as an American I thought was funny.

            I LOVED THIS SHOW. I think everyone, young and old, should go see it. 

Nikita visiting

            I have known Nikita for almost 10 years now, we started out doing Girl Scouts together, went to the same high school, and have become very good friends.

            She is currently studying abroad in Denmark, and it was really exciting to have her come in and visit London for the weekend. Roma (my best friend from home, also studying abroad in London) and I took her around and showed her all the touristy sites.

            I was really happy to see her, and had a great time with her. Her visit really made me think about my time in London. I know that she had a good time, and felt like she really saw London. Personally, I could not do London in a weekend. I have months here and feel like it is not enough time to see and do everything. I want MORE time here, and hopefully in the future I will. Just walking by Parliament would not have been enough, I am so appreciative that I have been in, and have had the time to see all the museums, the art, able to take day trips around England. I know that she is having an amazing time in Demark, but I am so happy I chose London and can spend a whole term here. 

Interactions with English Government

            Our wonderful politics professor, former Sergeant at Arms Muir Morton, got us into Parliament for a tour. It seemed that our professor knew more than the tour guide. I think that Muir would have preferred to take us around, but you know, the rules. I thought the inside of parliament was beautiful. Part of it was burned down, but then it was rebuilt in the gothic style. The inside and outside is a shrine to their history. Their history spans so much further than ours, I love it. Our tour guide probably said some interesting things, and I did pay attention to some of what he said “this man painted this in this year and it was commissioned by this king and put up here because…” but I spent more of the time either listening to Muir, or just staring at the walls and ceilings. Everything was so intricate, there were so many details. The paintings were beautiful, but also told a story; of different battles one or even just different morals people of power should uphold. I also enjoyed how they incorporated the different areas of the UK (Whales, Scotland, etc) into the engravings and decorations.

            Senate, the house, and any other American government building aren’t even close to the same level as parliament. It is comparing a peacock to a pebble. They aren’t even on the same playing field.

            In addition, we were also allowed to sit in on the House of Commons and House of Lords. The debates in the House of Commons was fascinating, I didn’t yawn once, unlike the times I have spent listening to senate and other American government sessions. The debates were heated; facts and opinions were thrown back and forth. Members were passionate, and overall it was way more intriguing than anything I have seen in the American system. There were topics and issues discussed, that through my classes and experience here, I actually knew something about, and had an opinion on. It was just so cool to head politicians debating such relevant things, that even I knew a thing or two about what they were talking about.

            In complete contrast, the House of Lords was much more like American meetings I have seen. They were discussing some wording over some legislation. Muir only made us stay for 5 minutes before we were allowed to leave. It was really fascinating to compare both rooms, both areas of parliament and see how drastically different they were. I think I prefer the way the House of Commons worked, and I think that is a good governing structure; allowing people to challenge the government can only result in better and more just laws.

            Finally, this week in class we had a Commons style debate. It was really a capstone to the parliament experience. Actually being able to discuss issues, in a structured way, really opens your eyes to how the governing system works. The little quirks, like addressing the speaker and not your opponent, demonstrates how they keep calm in such a situation that can get quite heated. This side of British culture only opens my eyes even more to the everyday style of things they do here. Seeing what they are based on, their tenants, elucidates how they act as a cultural whole. 

Natural History Museum

            I have lived outside DC my whole life, and therefore have gone to the Smithsonian Natural History museum say, 1000 times with school. In addition, I was an intern for the museum’s conservation department for a winter term. To state that I am intimate with the goings-on of a natural history museum is not an exaggeration. Consequently, I was really excited to see the British natural history museum.

            First, I have never had to wait in line to get into the museum in DC, but we waited about 20 minutes to get into the one here. There were several school groups going into the museum, and a lot of parents with young kids.

            When we finally got in, we first went into the dinosaur exhibit. It was jam packed with screaming kids “MUM, MUM LOOK AT THAT. WHAT DOES THAT SAY? LOOK AT THAT ONE IT MOVED!!” As an interesting method of crowd control, the exhibit was 2 levels, the floor with individual exhibits, and then a catwalk over the whole thing, for a nice aerial view, and to see some of the fossils hanging from the rafters. The crowning achievement of this piece was the “life size” animatronic t-rex, that made some kids hide behind their mothers (aka Amy behind me), and others want to jump over the guardrail and touch him. Needless to say, this was a shocking first gallery to see, because it was just SO busy.

            Amy and I, the budding marine biologists, wandered off to the ocean and invertebrate section.

This section was much less crowded. There were very few people in the exhibits that Amy and I were really interested in, the much less popular and more science-intense ones. I felt very at home in these, and the mammal galleries, they were more what I was used to, and less flashy.

            I was astounded by the human health/body gallery. There were things in there that would NEVER EVER be in an American public museum. I would like to elaborate. The exhibit took the visitor through the stages of life; it was like reliving my 5^th grade sex ed class. The exhibit explicitly explained intercourse, with labeling diagrams from the cellular to organ level.

         There was also a very graphic section on how babies are born. I personally think babies are little parasites and childbirth is the most disgusting process ever. I love babies and children, but even as an almost-21 year old, the whole process creeps me out. So I did not appreciate that section, but it could have been very enlightening to someone who was less educated.

            The exhibit continued, taking both psychological and biological approaches to growing up and life-cycles. There were areas targeted for younger children that were colorful, lit up, and made noises, and there were also things for older people to find interesting as well. I saw this sign, and again thought how it would not say the same in the US. “Basic Needs: thirst, hunger, curiosity, sex” 

            I really like this progression about gender roles and how we assign them. Again, this is something I would expect to learn in a college class, not in a museum, and I think it is really impressive that they would include this.

            Overall, I think it is amazing how open they are about sexuality and the actualities surrounding it. I saw parents openly talking to their kids about sex, and I think this museum is a really good tool to help parents open up to kids about practicalities of sex, talking about it in a more natural and biological way. I also know that America is nowhere near being this open in a public setting. Our sex education system is not as advanced, and I hope one day we can be this progressive.

            On a completely un-related note, I loved the architecture of the building. Even though it looks like a palace, and is terracotta, you can tell it was built as a natural history museum if you examine the details of the architecture.

There are fish jumping through waves, and monkeys crawling up the banisters. Unlike the DC museum, that is Grecian and matches the surrounding political building, the British one is inspired.  It is like Jumanji almost, where you are in a “normal” setting, but there are animals crawling all around. It really puts you in the setting, the natural world coming out to you in the city.

            In complete contrast, the geological museum is completely different. You are literally transported to a different world. It is a bit flashy, but it is beautiful, and does the trick of putting you in a different mindset.

            I liked the museum here. There were definitely parts that were a surprise and then there were parts that were expected and felt like home. Sort of like a metaphor for my term in London. 

Boudica

We heard a lot about Boudica in the first few weeks at London. We spoke about her in Brit Sem, watched a video about her, and even got to visit her statue. She was a force to be reckoned with, a woman so strong-minded she took on a military force that was so powerful, it is still know to this day, the Roman Empire. When her husband died, the Romans took away her kingdom, and what she was entitled to. To add insult to injury, they flogged her and raped her children.

I believe the phrase is “hell hath no fury like a woman scorned” and I think that phrase was never so well applied as with Boudica. It was not so much the success/failures of her uprising that hit me, so much as that she was a woman in a time period were women were cast aside as less fit than their male counterparts. She was inspirational, rising out of what was an embarrassment and should have thrown her into depression, and instead using that fury into an effective rebellion that has held its place in history. There are statues all over the city, the one dedicated to Boudica it very powerful, although it is not tall, it is quite imposing, with her hands in the air and the horses coming out towards the onlooker. 

After we were doing some walking around from Tower Hill to London Bridge, we happened upon a card store, Shelly wanted to go in and look at some Valentine’s day cards. We ended up staying a bit longer than expected, just because the cards were so ridiculously funny, and not at all what you would find in America. Some were just plain cute and nerdy 

And some we really didnt get:

And some were just plain grotesque: 

I don’t think you would ever find the above card in a Hallmark, it may be even too much for a Spencers. However, it was here amoungst all the other cards in this card shop right off the street. It is just a reminder again, that we are NOT in the US, and that there is a whole different culture here, from simple humour (cats don’t wear shoes duh) to a whole new openness about sex.