Reflections

I’ve been having a hard time writing my final blog entry due to mixed emotions about coming back to the states. I realized it would be easier to express myself in a poem. Normally I don’t show my poems to anyone until I’ve whittled them down to symmetrical, logical, polished packages, but this one is really raw and not quite finished (except for the ending, which sounds too neat, as though I’ve wrapped the whole thing up with a bow… I don’t care for it). Nevertheless, the poem more adequately depicts the way I’m feeling than I can do in a blog format. Ok enough babbling... here goes nothing:

Gaps

On the tube, you’re never alone,

even when your company’s

the mice, or that rhythmic,

automated voice—

“…a good service

running on all London

underground lines.”

My car has four extra seats.

The windows gape,

letting in so much air—

“please mind the gap.”

On my birthday, I sobbed

in a blue velvet seat

during rush hour—

cars crammed together

like rows of shiny teeth—

and a businessman interrupted

himself to ask me, “Are you okay?”

Here, I furrow my brows

between CD skips—

Jeff Tweedy and Thom Yorke

sing on.

There, it was too dark to see.

Nothingness whipped by

beyond the windows.

These long sunlit roads

I drove so many times—

Shelbourne and 96^th street—

are strange and stark now.

The more days pass, the stranger

it all grows to me.

If anyone has suggestions, let me know.

There are high expectations projected onto the study abroad experience. Everyone who has been abroad says it is life-changing, which is absolutely true, but not in the way I expected. I imagined coming back from London with some stories about site-seeing and bar-hopping and the cool restaurants… and yeah, I do have a few of those up my sleeve. But I came back with much more than just those stories. I see the world differently now. It’s bigger, more diverse, and fuller of possibilities than I ever realized.

My trip to London represents one big learning experience made up of many smaller ones. I went on a program in which I knew no one, and had no idea what kinds of people or classes I was in for. I worked in an inner-city youth center where I sometimes felt like I was not only in a different country, but on a different planet. I lived with strangers in their home. I spent much of my time in London alone… riding the tube, or the bus, or going to museums, or even eating dinner in a restaurant alone, which, surprisingly, wasn’t that awkward.

And after all that, I came home not only alive, but more alive than ever. I have a completely new perspective on the world, humanity in general, and my life in particular. I discovered both weaknesses and strengths I didn’t know I had. For instance, I run like hell from any kind of confrontation, and I’ve resolved to work on that. I own up when I’ve made mistakes, and then learn from those mistakes. I make the best of things and try to see the positive in situations and people. Learning all this stuff about myself scared me at first, but I’m glad it happened. For the first time in a long time, I feel like I can take control of my life… that’s a powerful feeling.

But perhaps the most important thing I’ve internalized as a result of my study abroad experience is how thankful I am for the support of my friends and family, both in London and back in the states. It was so comforting to come home every night to my housemates, particularly Carolina and Amalia. Vera and Dragon welcomed me into their home and treated me as much more than a guest, which I’m eternally grateful for. I had so much fun getting to know Emily, Sean, and Max, and would have been lost without their friendship. And, of course, there’s Donnie Smith. Donnie’s passion for so many things—even things I don’t necessarily love or agree with, like veganism—has inspired me, and his confidence is infectious.

While in London, staying in touch with people from home helped me tremendously. My weekly Skype calls with Mom, Dad, Rach, and Grandma Julian helped me stay sane. My e-mails from Grandma and Grandpa Ogle, which I receive no matter where I am, gave me a sense of constancy. I loved getting postcards and Skype calls from Nathaniel, long and lovely Facebook messages from Ellie, and Skype conversations, both silly and serious, with Alli.

There are many people I haven’t mentioned who have motivated me simply by putting a smile on my face. All of the aforementioned people and their generosity have helped me tremendously. You know who you are, and I am at a loss for how to properly thank you.

If you’re having doubts about study abroad, do it. Yes, it’s scary and you’re going to miss your parents and your boyfriend and your school but for God’s sake, this is literally a once in a lifetime opportunity. In fact, don’t just do it… savor it. Try to enjoy every single moment, even on mornings when you’re waiting for the bus in the rain and it’s 10 minutes behind schedule. Because sometimes, I even miss stuff like that, like the 20-minute walk home from the tube stop and the long line at the post office at Gloucester Road… but I digress. Do it… it’s worth it.

Cheers,

Rebecca

Rebecca's British-American Dictionary: A practical guide to everyday slang

Don't get me wrong, I love my Rick Steves guidebook, but his British-Yankee Vocab. guide is NOT helpful. Some of the terms he includes are out-of-date or never used, and other terms are so obvious they're hardly worth mentioning ("the full Monty" is applicable to both those complaints). Rather than write up an extensive translation list, I'm going to define only words that I hear on a regular basis, or words that I legitimately had to ask about because I had no idea what they meant. Also, I'm excluding words like "bloody" and "lift" which most people already know.

Bear in mind that I spend 40 hours a week at a community center in Camden Town. Very few terms on this list are going to be droll BBC-style anecdotes, and some may only be used by working-class or teenage Brits.


cheeky: ...?
(I still don't fully understand what this means, and it isn't on Rick Steve's list at all! A co-worker described it as joking around and crossing the line a bit, but I've also heard it in contexts in which it means flirtatious, sly or even rude.)
i.e. "I can't believe she made fun of my sweater! She's so cheeky."

chips: French fries.
i.e. "Can I have some ketchup for my chips?"

crisps: chips
i.e. "I'll have a bag of Salt and Vinegar crisps, please." (I can usually keep those two straight until I start thinking about it too hard...)

cuppa: cup of tea
i.e. "I'll have a quick cuppa before the meeting."

fanny: vagina... not butt!
i.e. "If you want, I'll show you my fanny." (This was what the little girl in "Billy Elliot" said to Billy Elliot, which is the only time I can remember hearing this word, but it's an important one to tell people to save them embarrassment and confusion.)

first floor: second floor
i.e. "You're on the ground floor, floor 0, so go up one flight, because the loo is on floor 1." (I still find this confusing.)

fizzy drink: soda, Coke
i.e. "I'd like a fizzy drink with my crisps."

fringe: bangs
i.e. "I should get my fringe trimmed this week."

half-four: four-thirty
i.e. "Oh dear! It's already half-four and I haven't had my afternoon cuppa!"

in'nit: isn't it
i.e. "Beautiful day, in'nit?"
Note: This term is often used in contexts in which it doesn't really make sense.
i.e. "You've got blonde hair, in'nit?"

knackered: exhausted
i.e. "I've been up since half-six... I'm knackered!"
Note: This expression originates from Cockney: cream crackered.

oh my days!: oh my gosh!
i.e. "Oh my days, is it teatime already?"

shoot off: leave, head out
i.e. "It's 9:30, so I'm going to shoot off for the night."

subway: underground walkway
i.e. "Just walk down this subway, tap in your Oyster card, then get on the tube."

take-away: take-out, carry-out
i.e. "Is this to eat in or for take-away?"

tick: check mark
i.e. "Just tick the box next to 'female'"
Note: "Tick" is also used in the expression "just a tick," which means, "just a second."
i.e. "Wait just a tick while I get the door."

trainers: tennis shoes
i.e. "I can't wait to go for a run in my new trainers!"

trolley: backpack with wheels
i.e. "Do you want to bring the trolley to carry the sandwiches?" (Someone at work asked me something to that effect, and I said no simply because I didn't know what a trolley was. But I got so curious that I had to ask later.)

queue: line
i.e. "The check out queue at Pri-Mark was sixty meters long!"

quid: pounds, money
i.e. "My new ring from Portobello Road Market only cost two quid!" (True story.)

zed: the letter Z
i.e. "The code is c, d, e, zed."

You say it's your birthday!!!

Du na na na NA na na na! I'm 21!!! Here's how I celebrated:

WEDNESDAY

My actual birthday got off to kind of a rocky start. I went into work for a few hours, though I told my boss ahead of time that I was leaving early to get ready to go out. Those few hours were very frusturating. Long story short, the office administrator was supposed to be back from vacation that week, but decided to stay in Mexico for a THIRD week. I was extremely stressed, but then my boss pulled everyone who was around into the dance studio and they sang happy birthday to me, which was embarassing but really nice! Then they gave me a chocolate cake, signed card, perfume and gummies. After we ate the cake, my boss made me leave.

So that night, Sean, Emily and I met in a pub in Ealing Broadway called Parkview. It's not the most exciting pub but they have a lot of good mixed drinks. Emily bought us all a shot and then I got a Long Island ice tea, which I had never had before! It was okay. Donnie met us as well, which was extremely nice of him, because from where he lives Ealing Broadway might as well be China. Donnie left after an hour and a half or so to start his trek home, and Sean, Emily and I went to this place called Finnegan's Wake. I love it because they always have live music. That night was open mic acoustic guitar night, so we saw some really good musicians along with a few bad ones.

FRIDAY

Donnie made reservations at this cute Indian tapas place in Leicester Square. Unfortunately I still don't know the name of it! Sean and I were talking to Donnie on the phone while trying to find it and I kept asking Donnie the name, but he wouldn't tell me... he just kept saying "I, M, P, D" or some letters like that. All I know is that the restaraunt name started with an "I." Anyway, when we sat down Donnie gave me the first present from him and Max (his roommate who I've been hanging out with a fair amount)... a book! Donnie said he'd been reading it lately and thought it was good. I asked him what it was about and he wouldn't tell me, so I still don't even know what genre it is (he was being mysterious that night!). Anyway, Sean and I ordered two different types of chicken curry and shared them, and that was quite good. After the meal was over, the waiters brought out a raspberry chocolate cake with candles! Donnie and Max had ordered it from their favorite bakery, and I must say it was really good. Finally, Donnie and Max gave me their third present! It was a dress I had tried on when I was shopping at TopShop with Donnie!! We'd both liked the dress, but I didn't have enough money to buy it.

After dinner, Donnie and Max left to get ready for an early flight the next morning. Sean and I wandered around looking for an affordable club, and we finally found one! It was only 5 pounds to get in with a coupon, and it was probably my favorite club we've found since I've been in London. It was a medium-size venue with fairly cheap drinks and LOTS of people our age (which is strangely hard to find sometimes... often clubbers are in their late 30's which is a bit too old for us...). They also played really good music like the Beatles and Passion Pit, which was a very welcome change of pace from the usual Lady Gaga/"Riverside"/etc.

SATURDAY

Birthday celebrations were over by Saturday, but I thought I'd put it on here anyway, as I had a fun day/night. The weather in the daytime was absolutely beautiful, so I went to Portobello Road Market, which I've been meaning to do. I was planning on just window shopping, but I found a really cool ring for 2 pounds! All in all though, I like Camden market better. Portobello has a lot of antiques and knicknacks, and I'm not into either one.

I wasn't planning on going out that night at all, but had dinner with my two new Austrian housemates. They were going to Ealing Broadway and asked if I wanted to come show them around, so I said why not. They are 17 and 18. They're funny because they when one gets the giggles, so does the other one, and they can't stop. Also, I never understand why the things they laugh at are funny...

Anyway, we met their two friends at the tube station and started to wander around. It didn't take long before I realized I had no idea how to get to any of our usual pubs without Sean, since I usually just follow him, haha! So I called him up and he joined us. We were going to go to O'Neill's, which was packed because of a big football game against Spain's two biggest and best teams, but there were very strict bouncers at the door, and since one of the girls isn't 18 yet we couldn't go in. So we went to Parkview, which doesn't card, and to the Red Lion, our staple and a personal favorite of mine. The girls wanted to go somewhere with lots of people our age, and dancing and music, which unfortunately we couldn't do, but they said they still had fun.


Today I HAVE to clean my room, which is even more of a mess than usual, and start writing papers. Boring, but necessary.

Cheers,
Rebecca

Edinburgh, I'm Yours

Sean, Emily and I left for Edinburgh on Saturday morning at 7:55 a.m.! It was about a 4-hour train ride. When I wasn't trying to sleep, I saw lots of rolling green hills, sheep, horses, and even the ocean and its rocky beaches out the window! Absolutely beautiful.

We got to the city and checked into our hostel, Princes St. East Backpackers. The best thing about the hostel was its location: five minutes from the train station and about ten from the main street of the city. The second-best thing was the decor: cartoon characters, mermaids, and cool designs were hand-painted all over the walls. But most impressive to me were the bathrooms, which are definitely cleaner than Earlham's bathrooms! Emily and I threw our bags into our 6-person room, and the three of us headed out to find lunch.

After eating a great lunch in a pub in town, Emily and I went to Edinburgh Castle (Sean didn't go because he's been before and the tickets are 12 pounds). After waiting about 45 minutes in line, we saw Scotland's crown jewels, which aren't as impressive as Britain's but definitely still worth seeing. We also went into the room where Mary Queen of Scots was born, and into a chapel dedicated to the life of Queen Margaret. The chapel was built in 1130 so it's pretty amazing that it's still standing. We also marveled at the 70-million-year-old rock which made up part of one wall of the castle.

We ate dinner at a Pizza Express and spent the rest of the night pubbing and bar-hopping. I hardly ever drink whiskey, but I tried some and actually did like it (but it was probably better quality... it is Scotland, after all).

On Sunday morning, Emily, Sean and I got crepes for breakfast, then Sean got a train home. Emily and I had some time to kill before our walking tour at 1:00 p.m., so we decided to go to the Camera Obscura, which has been in Edinburgh since the mid-1800's. I still don't really get how it works... I just know that it's a mirror that tilts on an antenna, and lenses transfer the image to a convex screen, so that you can see everything within a mile or so radius from the camera's location.

At 1:00, Emily and I met a group for a free walking tour. Our guide was really funny. He basically told us about some of the lesser-known oddities of Edinburgh, including "the dirtiest spot in Edinburgh" (where the tax office used to be located, there's a heart made of bricks where people used to spit), and an awful, out of proprotion statue of an old Scottish leader in Roman garb. He also told us a few stories of famous murderers. The tour was supposed to last for 3 hours, but we left after about two, as it was really windy and freezing. We grabbed lunch at a really cute restaraunt that I think was called Maxine's, where I got a traditional Edinburgh draft beer and an enchilada. After lunch, we went into a tartan store to do a little shopping. One side of Emily's family was Scottish, so we looked for things labeled "MacBean" and asked an expert about the history of the name. He also looked up "Ogle" even though it's traditionally British and told me that it had its origins around the 1300's, when Richard II was king. After we finished shopping, Emily and I went to a cute coffee shop for some spiked hot chocolates. Then we went back to the hostel, grabbed our bags, and caught our train for another 5-hour journey. All in all it was a great weekend!!

I'll update soon with 21st birthday celebration stories. With so many things going on in the past couple of weeks, I've been really behind on this blog...

Cheers,
Rebecca

Vegan Routes and Banksy

I tried to relax this weekend since last week was extremely busy and full of siteseeing. My original plan was to not leave the house at ALL today, and just watch "Skins" and write my multiculturalism paper. I did do those things, but I also went to...

"Exit through the Gift Shop" directed by Banksy
Banksy started out as a graffiti artist in London (the picutre I've posted is one of his most famous works), but eventually held a proper art show and all sorts of celebrities bought his work. But the film is mostly about this absolutely insane French dude called Thierry Guetta (aka Mr. Brainwash), who got obsessed with filming street artists. I won't say any more, as it will ruin the movie, but I did enjoy it. It definitely made me think twice about the artistic process...

Vegan Routes
This is a restaraunt I went to with Donnie and some of his friends from school on Saturday night. The restaraunt is actually located inside a red double-decker bus! The bottom part of the bus has a kitchen and cash register, while the top part of the bus is decked out with couches, tables, a heater, and even a flatscreen T.V. I got a delicious risotto and side salad with an orange and rum cake for dessert.

Ta-ta!

Rebecca

FAMILY!!

So, Mom, Dad and Rach came this week, and it was amazing! My only regret is that I didn't get to spend more time with them... I basically didn't see them Wednesday or Thursday because I had class, work and Sean's birthday party. But on our other days out, we had so much fun and ate SO much food! They did a lot of siteseeing on their own, but here are some things we all did together:

-Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace
We showed up just before the guards (and marching band?) marched from some smaller palace to Buckingham, so we ran alongside them with the rest of the crowd and got some good photos. Once they went behind the gates of the palace, we couldn't really see anything, but stuck it out for a while anyway.

-St. Paul's Cathedral

-Tate Modern

-London Eye
The Eye was pretty good. It was a little overcast when we went so we didn't get a lot of great pictures. The young-ish couple who were in our pod asked us, "Have you guys found any place to eat around here?" Um... actually yes, it's a huge city with a million great restaurants. Dad told them to get Rick Steve's. The other funny thing that happened was at the end of the ride they take a photo. Rach and Mom refused to get in it, but Dad and I did. The problem was, I had no idea where the camera was, so in the photo I was looking way off to the side and Dad was actually looking at the lens. He bought it anyway...

-Westminster Abbey
It was really cool to see the stone of scone and the tombs of old royalty... and to even just be in the place where nearly every king has had a coronation ceremony. Poets' Corner was probably my favorite though... I saw headstones for Jane Austen, Rudyard Kipling, and Charles Dickens.

The most memorable part of the Abbey, though, was Isaac Newton's tomb. Rachel wanted to find it because she could get extra credit for school by taking a picture of herself on Spring Break with her Calculus book. Isaac Newton's grave seemed like an appropriate backdrop. It took us forever to find the tombstone. No photography is allowed in the Abbey, so we had to quickly and subtly take the picture before being accosted by one of the many guards milling around. As you may know, subtly is not a particular strength of the Ogle family... as Mom took the photos, Dad paced, I fled the scene altogether, and Rachel giggled continually and nervously. After 2 very blurry photos were taken, a guard walked over and told us not to take any more, at which point we left abruptly. Only the Ogles.

-"The White Guard" at the National Theatre

-"Billy Elliot" at the Victoria
Rachel and I loved the show and giggled through most of it. It's much more lighthearted, humorous and showy than the movie, which is actually a bit somber. The actor who played Billy is the youngest to ever have done so! Dad didn't like it quite as much, as he doesn't really like musicals. He and Mom wanted to leave before the final number, but Rach and I stayed, and it was quite amusing as the entire cast wore tutu's.

-Gordon's Wine Bar
Near Trafalgar square, this place is the oldest wine bar in London. The food was just okay, as it was traditional British food (pork, beans, various kinds of potatoes, etc.) The venue was really cool, as we sat in a very dark cellar that looked like a cave, lit only by candelight. Rachel hated it, the rest of us gave it a "thumbs up," as Dad always says...


Today I absolutely have to do laundry, and then I'm meeting Donnie at Selfridge's for some shopping. Going out for Sean's birthday tonight (again)!

Locked Out & Other Stories

I had so much fun Saturday & today that I just had to write a little something...!

SATURDAY

Sean and I went, rather spontaneously, to the 4 p.m. showing of Avatar. I'm glad we went. The 3D was cool and the cinematography was incredible... buuut the cheesy dialogue and re-hashed Pocahontas plot line were definitely underwhelming. Oh, well. After dinner, we grabbed some Chinese and headed to Piccadilly, where we mostly hung out at the O Bar and Madame JoJo's, our usual haunts in that part of town.

Got home at 4 a.m., as it took us an hour and a half to get back to Ealing on the night bus. Walked up to my front door and realized that I didn't have my house key. Somehow scaled the 10-foot-tall fence to the backyard, hoping to get in through the side door. Side door was locked. Examined the possibility of climbing up to my 3rd story window... decided against it. Realized phone was nearly out of batteries. Called Sean & begged to sleep on his floor (of course he said yes and even let me borrow some PJ's).

SUNDAY

We tried to sneak out of Sean's house before his host mom came back (one of the main rules of homestays is absolutely NO overnight guests). But of course, her car pulled up just as we were walking out the front door. Luckily for me, she was really understanding, though poor Sean was definitely teased later. Sean is a bit addicted to Subway, especially since they give out coupons on every street corner, so we went there and grabbed some lunch.

After returning home, still in my going out clothes and smeared makeup, I took a much-needed shower. There are a few vintage stores near Brick Lane I've been dying to check out, so I hopped on the circle line & went to Liverpool St. I went to Blondie and Absolute Vintage. Both stores were really cool but overpriced. Still, I spent about an hour in Absolute Vintage and was unable to leave the store without buying a certain purse. The whole time I was there, I kept picking this purse up and putting it back down... I even hid it under a pile of other purses to deter myself, then had to dig through them all to get it. I wish I had a picture because it. is. gorgeous. Real leather & boxy with gold buckles... kinda 70's, like my style. It was wayyyy out of my price range but it's so perfect that I'll have it forever.

Cheers!
Rebecca

Friday madness

I had a really, really busy but fun day yesterday! Here's where I went:

-Brick Lane for a field trip with my fiction class. As usual, our professor didn't tell us much about where we were walking. He stopped us at a few historic pubs and talked about the famous fights that had gone down in each, but that was about it.

-Castlehaven (my internship, in Camden Town) to return a key to the storage closet. I found it in my pocket earlier that morning and figured they would need it.

-St. Martins-in-the-Fields for a free concert at 1 p.m. Students at the Royal College of Music played piano and sang opera. Gorgeous.

-Covent Garden Market, where I wandered the stalls for a bit & got a Ben's Cookies triple chocolate cookie. Somehow this market seemed more pricey than most... there was an entire hall of high-end stores that looked like they belonged on Oxford St.

-Somerset House, a huge historical building that contained...

-The Courtauld Gallery, some rich guy's small collection of art. The most famous paintings I saw were Manet's A Bar at the Folies-Bergere and Van Gogh's Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear. Most of the gallery is impressionism and post-impressionism (i.e. Manet, Monet, Cezanne, Gauguin, etc.) with some earlier and later stuff.

-In another part of Somerset House I saw a photography exhibit that had photos both of random people off the street and of Kate Moss, Audrey Hepburn, Prince William, etc. I still have no idea what the coherent thread or theme of the exhibit was... it seemed pretty random to me.

-PRI-MARK!!!! (The one at Marble Arch). In hindsight going there at 5 p.m. on a Friday was not the best decision. You couldn't even move. The line to the dressing room was 50 people long, and I'm not exaggerating. I got a sensible pair of black tights, 2 pairs stockings, and a new shirt.

-Home for dinner with Vera & international students. It was my favorite, chicken & "chips."

-A hookah bar in Ealing with Sean. We were a little wary about going in, as a huge group of thuggish-looking Middle Eastern guys were standing out front and the only people inside were Middle Eastern as well... but the owner directed us to the back of the store, which was much cozier. We got peach-pineapple flavor which was quite good, and a free cup of tea each! We also met a nice couple who were from Britain and Syria.

-The New Inn, our usual pub, for a pint before the tube closed.


Today will not be as fun, unfortunately, as I've decided it's errand day. Here's my to-do list:
1. Laundry
2. Bring boot with faulty zipper to shoe repair shop
3. Bring crappy camera to camera repair shop
4. Clean room

Cheers,
Rebecca

Barcelona Part II

During our last day in Barcelona, Donnie and I went to la Sagrada Familia, Gaudi's latest work-in-progress. He designed the whole thing before he died, but it's far from done. Most of the inside is a huge construction site, but we did see a few finished stained glass windows. They looked like typical Gaudi mosaics and were done in every color. I can't even imagine how gorgeous the entire place is going to look when it's done. We also took an elevator to the top of the chapel, where we saw a beautiful view of the city. We had to take the steps to go back down... there a lot of steps. A looooot. This is super embarrassing, but my legs are still sore! Guess it's been a while since I've worked out...

Anyway, Donnie and I also did a lot of shopping on our last day and went to Desigual, a cool & colorful Spanish brand. I splurged on a shirt and am too mortified to even repeat the price... but it is beautiful! We really did spend a lot of money though. We ate really amazing food for basically every meal. Secretly, I kind of missed my peanut butter & honey sandwiches, which is what I eat for lunch pretty much every day in London. Yummy and, more importantly, cheap.

Our flight got back on Sunday at 6 p.m., so you can bet going back to work this morning was definitely not easy! But I'm getting excited about a huge project I'm doing with a co-worker. The premise is, teens from 4 local youth centers (including ours of course) try out for a Big Brother imitation show that's going to be webcast live. There'll be 20 contestants and they have to stay in our youth center for 24 hours straight and complete challenges. It's going to be super intense, but fun!

Cheers,
Rebecca

Barcelona

Cool Things Donnie & I have Done/Seen So Far:

1. Park Guell- Gaudi intended the park to be an outdoor market and a "playground for the rich" (according to the guidebook), but it was bought by the city and now is basically empty except for a few stray street performers, vendors, and of course tourists. The architecture adorned with mosaics, as well as the plants and cavernous walkways, is absolutely beautiful.

2. Casa Museu Gaudi- This is a house in Park Guell where Gaudi lived during the later years of his life. The house is now a museum filled with lots of fantastical furniture designed by Gaudi.

3. Picasso Walking Tour- A guide took us on an hour and half long walking tour of some Barcelona streets where Picasso used to hang out with his buddies. We saw the Four Cats, the coffee shop where he had his first exhbition as a teenager, the apartment building where he lived with his parents, and the building where he took art lessons. Then the tour guide took us on a half-hour-long guided tour of the museum, where we saw some of Picasso's earliest works, including a self-portrait he did when he was only 15 years old (it was ridiculously good).

4. Barcelona's Contemporary Art Museum- Donnie and I saw an exhbition by Rodney Graham, featuring lots of cases for books and weird stuff in general, and one by John Baldessari, the highlights of which include an optical illusion of a chandelier and a video of the artist throwing potatoes at a gong.

General Observations:

1. Most people here know a few words of English, and I remember a few words of Spanish, so communication hasn't been difficult. Hand gestures and pointing make up the difference.

2. Locals don't serve lunch until around 2 p.m., and dinner starts around 9 p.m. Shops and museums are generally open until 8 p.m., which is awesome. Clubs don't really get started until around 1:30 or 2 a.m., which makes for some late nights and rough mornings...

3. None of the public toilets have toilet seats! And while we're on the subject, most bathrooms have timed lights, so it's a race to beat the clock or risk feeling for the toilet paper in the dark...

4. Weather has been mild, about 20-30 degrees warmer than London, which is nice. Honestly, just seeing the sun is enough to make me blissfully happy.

5. Spanish women wear very little makeup or hair products and still look gorgeous, while men seem to spend a lot more time on their look/clothes.


That's enough for now. More to come.

Hasta luego,
Rebecca

Are you getting somewhere?/Or did you get lost in AMSTERDAM!!!!

Anyone recognize that song? It's Guster and has been stuck in my head all weekend...

FRIDAY: 4 countries in one day!

So Friday morning I woke up at 5:15 to get to Waterloo station by 7:15, but I didn't leave early enough. I got really flustered going to Waterloo Station and got on the wrong tube, but luckily I made it to the group on time! There were about 40 of us and several people I recognized from CAPA but didn't know personally.

We all got on a coach and drove to Dover, where we got on a board ferry to Calais, France. The ferry was really cool... it was such a big boat that we actually drove our bus onto the bottom deck (along with a lot of other cars). A group from the tour wandered up to the 9th floor (yes it had 9 floors!) of the ferry and found a deck. I don't think we were actually supposed to be up there, as the deck was roped off, but oh well. From there, we could see the white cliffs of Dover, which are huge and beautiful! It was at this point that I first tried to use my camera, but alas, it didn't work. It kept telling to turn it back on and off again, but I couldn't. Unfortunately this meant that I got absolutely zero photos from the entire trip... so this post is going to be really long, so I can remember everything.

Anyway, on the ferry I exchanged about 30 pounds for Euros (though in the end I spent about twice that) and watched the water from a window seat inside. Once we got to Calais, we went through no customs or border patrol whatsoever, which I was a little surprised by. From Calais we drove the coach to Amsterdam, stopping by a roadside chocolate shop on the way, where I bought some amazing Belgian orange slices dipped in dark chocolate.

Finally, around 7 p.m., we got to the hotel in Amsterdam and I met my roommate, Alyssa. After putting down our bags and settling into our rooms, we left for a quick tour of the area of Amsterdam around Central Station (the closest tube station to our hotel). It was around 8:30 p.m. when the tour was over, and I was starving, so Alyssa, her friend Elizabeth, and Lena, a girl I know from CAPA, wandered around looking for a restaurant. While we were wandering, we accidentally found ourselves in the red light district! It was pretty crazy to see all the prostitutes in windows literally surrounded by red lights. Luckily we didn't get offered drugs before we got out of there (I read in a guidebook that happens a lot, and the drugs are often rat poison or something ineffective). Anyway, we ended up at this great Asian fusion restaurant. I got a sampling of different kinds of sushi for about 6 Euro, which I thought was pretty good, and a Heineken... it IS Amsterdam after all! After dinner, we took the tube back to the hotel, since it had been an extremelyyyy long day.

SATURDAY: Edam, Volendam, Museums, Etc...

On Saturday morning, all of us got back on the coach and drove to Edam, which took about 30 minutes. Both Edam and Volendam are small towns also in the Netherlands, and our tour guide said he wanted to take us there to give us a feel of life outside the big city. Edam is known for its cheese, so I wandered into several little shops and tried free samples (but was too cheap to actually buy any...) Both towns are cute because they have canals, brick roads instead of paved, and tiny streets with different-colored houses. Also, Edam has the largest 3-room church in Europe. For some reason it has a Jewish star on the front even though it's I believe Catholic... On the way back from Volendam, we went into an amazing cheese shop and factory. A lady dressed in traditional clothing (clogs, hat, etc.) gave us a rundown on how the cheese is made. Then, we got to sample at least 15 different kinds of cheese, including the factory's herb-filled specialty.

After leaving Volendam, our coach driver dropped us off in downtown Amsterdam. I met a girl named Sarah and we went site-seeing together. The main thing I wanted to see was the Anne Frank museum, which is built around the annex where the Franks and others hid during the Holocaust. It was incredible to see original telegrams, shopping lists, and even Anne's famous red diary. We also walked around in the actual rooms where they stayed. The pictures of movie stars and advertisements that Anne pasted in the walls of her room are still there, which was really cool.

After the Anne Frank museum, we went to the Van Gogh museum, which was on the other side of town. We got there at 5:00 and only had an hour until closing, but we were still able to see all the Van Gogh paintings, including "Skull with burning cigarette," "Wheatfield with crows," "The potato-eaters," and "Blossoming almond tree." We also saw one in the "Sunflowers" series.

Then Sarah and I headed into Leidseplein, which we soon discovered is not actually pronounced "Led Zeppelin..." oops. We didn't really stay in the main square but did wander around the area and went to the Bulldog, a fun chain bar & coffee shop. Around 7:30 p.m., we found a really cute Italian restaurant where I ordered some delicious pesto pasta for dinner (amazingly only 5 Euros! haha sorry I like sharing my great deals). I also got a martini, which was random as I've never had one and am still not really sure what it is. It tasted okay. Sarah got a huge banana split and a local beer, also huge. After that we sort of wandered down random streets and met some crazy people. Around midnight we started looking for a ride home, and were lucky enough to find a tram to Central Station! They're supposed to stop running at midnight so we were cutting it close.

I'm glad I went to Amsterdam and I had a ton of fun, but I probably won't go back anytime soon. One of the things I like most about the city are all the canals, gorgeous swans, and boats. It was also weird but cool to see stores that actually sell marijuana seeds. However, there are two things I dislike about Amsterdam: one, it's dirty, and two, it's creepy. There are some creepy men in London, but the men in Amsterdam are just plain nasty, and I was not a fan of that. The good news is that coming back from Amsterdam, I felt like I was coming home to London, in a sense.

SUNDAY: Bruges!!!

We left Amsterdam for Bruges at 8:30, which was pretty brutal, but I did sleep on the bus. It took about 3 hours to drive to Bruges, which I was super excited about because I love the movie "In Bruges." We spent about 2 hours in the city. The way our coach driver explained what it's like was by saying that nearly all the buildings were built around the 13th century, so it feels like walking into a time warp. The only tourist attraction we saw was a Madonna and Child sculputre by Michelangelo, which was located in a big church in town. It was cool to see, especially considering like 95% of Michelangelo's work is located in Italy. I wanted to go up to the tower in the main square, but it cost 8 Euros, so I passed and looked at it from the outside. I did, however, buy a Belgian waffle, a local beer, and some more chocolate! The chocolate is going to be a gift, but the waffle & beer were absolutely delicious.

We spent the rest of today in a coach, and I got back home around 10! And now I really do have to go to bed because I have to get up early for work tomorrow...

Cheers! (I would write my sign-off in Dutch, but it is seriously the most confusing language ever. It sounds like German only not, and about half the words in every sentence are the same as the English words. So weird.)

Rebecca

Happy Chinese New Valentine's Day! Wait what?

Since Valentine's Day & the Chinese New Year were both yesterday, Amalia (1 of my Italian housemates) and I decided to celebrate both by going to Chinatown. There were lanterns everywhere and it was beautiful! We shared a very expensive crepe that was worth it because it was The Most Delicious Crepe I've eaten in my entire life. It came with chocolate ice cream, bananas, and chocolate sauce, my 3 favorite food groups... yes, groups.


So, moving on. I've finished three books since I've been here. I love reading on the tube because it makes the time go quickly. It's nice to have that hour or two per day to catch up on reading, particularly if it's for school. Want to hear what I've read so far? Not really? Well I'm going to write about it anyway...

1. "The Secret Agent" by Joseph Conrad
Read for Fiction class. Conrad channels Dickens in that he uses an omniscient narrator, which I liked. But the thing I hate most about Dickens is how he incorporates hoards of rather tangential characters, which Conrad also does in this book. I like the story of the family--Verloc, Winnie and Stevie--and their drama, but I could give a crap about the rest. Seriously, Conrad wastes entire chapters on the rag tag band of anarchists and their intellectual masturbation sessions. Who cares??? 2/5 stars.

2. "The Quiet American" by Graham Greene
Read for Fiction class. I love it. Greene turns a morally ambiguous, sexist British journalist into a very human, nearly lovable man (and does sort of the opposite with Pyle). Greene also manages to meaningfully incorporate themes of love, religion, East vs. West, war, sex, etc. without sounding pretentious. Brilliant. And probably the first book about Vietnam I've read that didn't bore me to tears. 5/5.

3. "The Museum of Dr. Moses" by Joyce Carol Oats
I checked this book out of the Northfields library when I realized I wouldn't have anything to read for a week. I already knew what to expect--dark, disturbing murder stories--and I ate it up! Some stories were almost too open-ended, in particular, "Feral" and "Stripping." My favorites were definitely "Valentine, July Heat Wave," which was very prose-y, and the title story, which was the creepiest of all. 4/5.


Ciao! (Figured I might as well switch it up since, after all, I hang out with Italians more than British people, haha)

Rebecca

Canadians & the Tate Britain

...that pretty much sums up the first half of my weekend.

Last night Sean and I went to a pub in Ealing Broadway, intending to have a pint or two and call it a night early. We met a huge group of British people, and when they found out we were from the U.S., one cried, "I'll get the Canadians!" Long story short, we ended up hanging out with our 2 "American neighbors" until 1 a.m. I don't think I've ever met any Canadians before, but they were fun, and not that different from Americans.

I went to the Tate Britain today. The coolest thing I saw was probably the famous painting of Ophelia by Sir John Everett Millais (the one where she's lying in the river surrounded by flowers... anyone?) They also have a lot of crazy modern art, which I always love. Here's a contraband photo of a Bridget Riley I took. Shortly afterward a guard reprimanded me... oops.

As for the second half of my weekend, tonight I'm going out with the Italians; not only the girls, but also Francesco, who used to live in our homestay, and possibly another guy. Not sure where we're going yet but it should be fun.

Attractions I Haven't Seen Yet that I HAVE to do (this list is for me as much as it is for you, dear readers):

• St. Paul's Cathedral
• Westminster Abbey- I've been waiting on those 2 because, unlike most things, they cost money
• Courtauld Gallery- Smaller art gallery highly recommended by Rick Steves
• Covent Garden- Shopping district
• Portobello Road Market
  
• Harry Potter walking tour
• Beatles walking tour
• The Globe- I'm signed up to do a tour & museum with Capa sometime in April
• Geffrye Museum
• Buckingham Palace stuff

Maybes:

• Churchill Museum- Ok I know this is supposed to be a must-see, but honestly it sounds boring...
• Imperial War Museum- Same.
• London Eye- Seems cool but super pricey.
• Madame Tussad's- Same.
• Wallace Collection- I don't know anything about this except that it's free.
• Cartoon Museum- Not free and I probably wouldn't get most of the cartoons, as British humor goes over my head approx. 85% of the time.
  

Ellie Update (yes, I remembered):
1. I would love any suggestions/advice you could give me on these lists if, of course, you have time.
2. I finally got some points, although actually they might be negative points... not sure.

Cheers!
Rebecca

Small world!

So two really crazy coincidences happened this week. One, I bumped into an Earlham student! I saw her in the tube and we ended up talking for a good 15 minutes. I think it's crazy that I can run into people I know in a city this huge.

The second thing was pretty cool too. Last night my friends and I went to a random pub. We didn't know at the time that they had a small back room with a stage, or that a free concert was happening that night. But when we heard the cover band start, we wandered back there to listen. When the second band, Outside Royalty, came on, we realized that they were from America... what tipped me off was when they played a song called "Ohio." After the concert, we went up to the band and asked where they were from (this wasn't difficult as there were only about 20 people in the audience). The lead singer is from Ohio, and the drummer is from the same town in Pennsylvania as my friend Emily! It was great to meet fellow Americans and to familiar accents. And besides that, the concert was really good!! They're even going on tour with the Cranberries... yes, The Cranberries.

Actually that photo is of the cover band, Monkeyfinger... not sure why but I didn't take any pictures of Outside Royalty. It was such a cute venue though! Here's the Outside Royalty fan site:
http://www.outsideroyalty.com/band/

Cheerio!
Rebecca