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. 

When you’re walking down the street in London and see something that you’ve said 1000 times… 

National Art Gallery

National Portrait Gallery 

            Amy and I were feeling very artistic one day and decided to conquer both the National Art Gallery and the National Portrait Gallery. You could spend days in both, if you were to stare at every piece and read about each piece. Amy and I are not those kind of people, we know what we like; so we stare at things we like and gloss over the less important. Some may argue that this is not the way to go about things, but that’s how we do it and it’s worked so far.

            The beauty of the National Art Gallery is that is has something for everyone. The collection is so expansive, that even if you are not an avid art-viewer, there is something to see. In addition, the gallery has its “flashy” pieces, works from the masters. I personally like Van Gogh, Rembrandt, Monet, and Renoir; all artists that can be seen in the gallery.

            What interested me the most in the National Portrait Gallery was the Tudor section. Tudor history has always interested me, and I was already familiar with what the family and its associates look like. I get cheap thrills looking at a painting and knowing who it is before reading the description. I like that the people look very characteristic and recognizable in their portraits. In this section, there were also descriptions on new discoveries about the paintings, which I found particularly fascinating; Notes on how the paint color had changed over time, or carbon dating showing that the painting was painted 100 years after the person had died. I think these tid-bits of information bring the painting to reality, instead of something hanging on a wall.

            I thought it was funny that queuing theory was thriving in both galleries, you could tell those who abided by it, and those who were foreigners. It made for an interesting mix, of some queuing to see the more popular works, and some pushing their way, or edging their way forward. I love queuing; it’s so polite and standard here. I think when entering the country people should get a stamp on their passport and a leaflet on queuing. 

Court pub quiz

            We took Nikita to The Court, our favorite pub, for dinner on Sunday. Sunday night is quiz night at the Court. It’s great for the pub, because it attracts a lot of people on a day that would otherwise be empty. Everything in London closes at 6 on Sundays. Ok, not everything, but the city really does rest on this “holy” day. Anyways, we were not going to embarrass ourselves in the quiz, but it was only a pound per person, so we thought why not. We named our team “American Revolution.” The whole thing was a joke. Out of 50 questions, I think we knew about 7 answers, and half of those were based on American things anyways.

  We knew that it was going to be based on English culture, but DAMN some of the questions were really specific. We were crushed. We got second to last place. It was a good experience, I’m glad we did it. The questions were not all pop culture, but some on history, languages, and geography as well. I think that education system is much more well rounded, or they are just a smarter people, or more sneaky with their smart phones because we were put to shame. I wish we had an American version of a pub quiz, because I would like to see how little I actually know. It seems overall though, that in this country they take history much more seriously than we do in America. I think once was enough, I don’t think we will be playing a pub quiz again, maybe next time just listen to the questions. 

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. 

Jane’s

A few weekends ago, I went to my friend Jane’s with Saige and Katie (two other girls in the program). I met Jane the summer before last at jew camp (sleep-away summer camp for Jewish kids).

I hadn’t seen her in a year and a half!! I was SUPER excited to go see her; we still kept in touch over facebook, etc. I remembered her talking about her uni at camp, and I really wanted to see it. She was study a subject similar to mine, she oceanography and myself marine biology. She just graduated from University Southampton, and is still living in the seaside university town.

            After being in London for 3 weeks, we were definitely ready to leave town and head out of the city. The three of kept repeating how nice it was to be out of London, of all the people and the hustle. I wasn’t sure when I was going to visit her, but I remember the night before we left I was just thinking “I HAVE TO GET OUT OF THIS HOUSE”.

            Even though English is the main language spoken here, everything is completely different. I was really not expecting a culture shock, so I was doubly shocked when I experienced it. I didn’t realize how hard it would be to break out of the Eckerd Bubble, the literal (Floridian) and metaphorical warmth of being surrounding by good friends and familiar sights. I only knew one person in the program really well (shout out to Amy) before I came here, and it was an adjustment, of course now everyone in the house is much closer than before.

But I digress; the point here is that I wanted to see a familiar face (Jane) and a familiar atmosphere (university + sea).

We booked our tickets on the National Express and headed out Friday night. The bus dropped us off at the university theater, and we looked VERY confused and American as we waited for Jane to come find out. I call her, and she answers screaming she was going to run out to find us, as I’m on the phone with her, I can hear her in real life, and turn the corner to see her running up like a crazy person, no coat on. I drop my bag, she hangs up the phone and I get the best hug I’ve had in weeks J

Turns out, the university student lounge area is right around the corner. After meekly asking “can we check our back-packs and pillows” to the very obliging coat check girl, we headed to “the Bridge” which was pretty much a bar. We got to meet a bunch of Jane’s friends from the lacrosse team (which I liken to a fraternity/sorority), and her some of her housemates. Everyone was extremely welcoming and nice. It was exactly as if I brought someone to Eckerd, everyone was very open, and curious what we were doing in England, etc. It was a 90s themed party night, so after pre-drinks on the Bridge, we headed downstairs to the “Cube”, which was essentially a club, complete with flashing lights, a stage for the DJ, and later live band, and packed FULL of students. I had a great time; I can’t believe they have a club in their student center. I wish Eckerd had something like that! Although I think we are like 1/18^th the size of Southampton, so maybe I’ll just have to deal with the pub.

We un-checked all of our things, and headed back to Jane’s. She lives in a townhouse/ row house. It is very skinny in the front, and extends back, sort of like the London house. One very restful night later, we woke up and had an awesome breakfast at a local restaurant. Jane gave us the option to go the lacrosse game, or drive down seaside, so of course we all said to the sea! After living about 30 steps from the bay from 2 ½ years, my heart was aching to see the water. There is something about the sea that makes you feel small, it puts things into focus. I also love the openness of the sea, how far reaching and unpopulated (with humans). It makes you take a breath of relief. Or perhaps that’s just me. Everything in London, in life, is so busy and crowded, and the water’s surface is just open, blank, and calming.

We also got to go into the yacht club, because Jane belongs to the sister one a bit further down from her school.

All I can say was, it was beautiful and I want to belong to one someday, when I own my own boat and I live seaside. In England.

I can’t stress enough how this trip brought me back to focus, back to real life. College students are college students, things made sense again. It’s hard to put into words. I don’t think I can go that long again without seeing the sea. This trip was very good for my emotional well-being. The opening line for Moby Dick is a famous one, and summarizes my feelings sometimes very well : “it requires a strong moral principle to prevent me from deliberately stepping into the street, and methodically knocking people’s hats off - then, I account it high time to get to sea as soon as I can.” 

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.