Today I didn't do anything. This weekend I'm kind of taking it easy after spring break and our overnight, and since I'm still kind of sick. I'm getting better though! It's helping to lie around a bit.
So, as promised, here are my observations from Manchester and Liverpool yesterday and Wednesday. I thought they would take up more space, since they take up a whole page in my half-size notebook. Hmm.
Anyway.
Both Liverpool and Manchester seem to be desperate to break away from their reputations as the poor area of Europe. Each has obviously done a lot of work to "regenerate" the area, with "luxury apartments" and new commercial areas in what were some of the poorest parts of the cities.
Although I knew about the rivalry between the two cities, I had no idea how real it was – any time the tour guides mentioned the other city, it was always with some kind of snide comment: "Of course it was cold in Manchester," our guide said this morning. Interestingly, there was much less rivalry between the two football clubs in Liverpool, or at least our guide didn't seem to care. She was pretty impartial to both teams.
Both towns were much more spaced out than London, and I thought a lot of the midwest, especially in the new developments. A lot of neighborhoods could have been in the United States if the cars had been driving on the other side of the road and there had been a few more white picket fences.
Friday, February 29, 2008
Thursday, February 28, 2008
manchester and liverpool
Last night we spent the night in Liverpool with the entire Ball State group. We took a bus there, which took about four hours and was kind of awful with so many people on the bus. (I think the capacity was 50, and we're about 48.)
Yesterday we went to Manchester, which is a few miles away from Liverpool. The two cities have a huge rivalry, and both tour guides who talked to us were pretty obviously biased against the other city. I thought that was really interesting.
I liked Liverpool better, maybe because we spent more time there. In Manchester, we did get to take a stadium tour of the Manchester United football stadium, but, since I don't really care about football (British or American), I was less than impressed.
Both cities used to be really, really poor, and both have made obvious efforts to move past that image, with a lot of "regeneration" projects everywhere. Which basically meant a lot of construction. Liverpool had a few nice new subdivisions that we drove past, which really reminded me of parts of the United States. So that was cool. Liverpool is also the birthplace of the Beatles! There were all kinds of Beatles landmarks around the city, including a Beatles museum we paid $12 to go through. I dunno if that was worth it, but it was pretty cool. I learned some stuff about the Beatles, so I guess it was cool. We also got to see Penny Lane, and took pictures with the street sign. Definitely felt like a tourist.
Last night we stayed at a youth hostel (yes, all 48 of us). It was nice because they let us explore the city a little by ourselves, so we were able to go to Matthew Street to see The Cavern, the club/bar place the Beatles played at something like 292 times. It's supposedly the most famous club in the world. So that was neat. We also went to The Cavern Nightclub, which was 70s disco-themed and really, really lame. But the Cavern Club was neat.
I think I've been on a bus about nine hours today and about the same yesterday, so I'm really glad I'm not traveling anywhere this weekend. No more transportation!!
Cheers!
Oh, I have some things I wrote down while I was on the bus, but I don't have my notebook with me so I'll post them later. They're good, I promise.
Yesterday we went to Manchester, which is a few miles away from Liverpool. The two cities have a huge rivalry, and both tour guides who talked to us were pretty obviously biased against the other city. I thought that was really interesting.
I liked Liverpool better, maybe because we spent more time there. In Manchester, we did get to take a stadium tour of the Manchester United football stadium, but, since I don't really care about football (British or American), I was less than impressed.
Both cities used to be really, really poor, and both have made obvious efforts to move past that image, with a lot of "regeneration" projects everywhere. Which basically meant a lot of construction. Liverpool had a few nice new subdivisions that we drove past, which really reminded me of parts of the United States. So that was cool. Liverpool is also the birthplace of the Beatles! There were all kinds of Beatles landmarks around the city, including a Beatles museum we paid $12 to go through. I dunno if that was worth it, but it was pretty cool. I learned some stuff about the Beatles, so I guess it was cool. We also got to see Penny Lane, and took pictures with the street sign. Definitely felt like a tourist.
Last night we stayed at a youth hostel (yes, all 48 of us). It was nice because they let us explore the city a little by ourselves, so we were able to go to Matthew Street to see The Cavern, the club/bar place the Beatles played at something like 292 times. It's supposedly the most famous club in the world. So that was neat. We also went to The Cavern Nightclub, which was 70s disco-themed and really, really lame. But the Cavern Club was neat.
I think I've been on a bus about nine hours today and about the same yesterday, so I'm really glad I'm not traveling anywhere this weekend. No more transportation!!
Cheers!
Oh, I have some things I wrote down while I was on the bus, but I don't have my notebook with me so I'll post them later. They're good, I promise.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
the magic flute
Today we went to see the Magic Flute, an opera by Mozart. I think I was one of the only people in the group who liked it, even though I almost fell asleep once. It was three hours long! But the singers were really good, and the costumes and set design were incredible. The story was kind of strange, and in German (noo...) but overall I liked it.
That's pretty much the only interesting thing I did today. I picked up my laundry (yes, I paid someone else to do my laundry. I felt kinda dumb, but I'm pretty sick, so I thought I had an excuse). I paid about 10 pounds, since I split it with Kyle. A pretty good deal, since it was about 12 to do it myself and then it wasn't even dry.
That's it.
Cheers!
That's pretty much the only interesting thing I did today. I picked up my laundry (yes, I paid someone else to do my laundry. I felt kinda dumb, but I'm pretty sick, so I thought I had an excuse). I paid about 10 pounds, since I split it with Kyle. A pretty good deal, since it was about 12 to do it myself and then it wasn't even dry.
That's it.
Cheers!
Monday, February 25, 2008
oh, the humanity!
So I kind of gave up on describing my whole entire spring break... I'm kind of tired tonight so I'm just going to write about today. I promise I'll get to it soon.
Today was my first day of class in a week and a half. I know what you're thinking: "what a trooper! she's very brave to do all that work even while living in a foreign place!"
Save those compliments for someone who deserves them!
Today in class we listened to music. This week for our trip we're spending the night in Manchester and Liverpool, the birthplace of British music, so we learned some history. They brought in a guest teacher, a guy who had worked in the music industry for a few years in the 90s and now teaches sound design at the City of Westminster College. Needless to say he's a little bitter. He is also a Beatles fanatic, and told us the entire history of the band. I was fascinated. We went through the decades, from the 1960s onward. Actually he stopped at the 90s, since he hates all music from this decade. Especially Thom Yorke of Radiohead, one of my favorite bands. I lost a little respect for him then, but still, he's clearly passionate about music, and I definitely understand that. And now I've got more music to find when I get back to the United States.
After class Kyle and I went to see "Be Kind Rewind," Michel Gondry's new film. Michel Gondry is my favorite, favorite, favorite director, so today turned out to be really great. Honestly I could only watch Michel Gondry films for the rest of my life and be OK with that.
Closing statement:
Michel Gondry has restored my faith in humanity.
Something to ponder:
Are there Things going on that I have not written about? You decide, based on the previous statement.
Cheers!
Today was my first day of class in a week and a half. I know what you're thinking: "what a trooper! she's very brave to do all that work even while living in a foreign place!"
Save those compliments for someone who deserves them!
Today in class we listened to music. This week for our trip we're spending the night in Manchester and Liverpool, the birthplace of British music, so we learned some history. They brought in a guest teacher, a guy who had worked in the music industry for a few years in the 90s and now teaches sound design at the City of Westminster College. Needless to say he's a little bitter. He is also a Beatles fanatic, and told us the entire history of the band. I was fascinated. We went through the decades, from the 1960s onward. Actually he stopped at the 90s, since he hates all music from this decade. Especially Thom Yorke of Radiohead, one of my favorite bands. I lost a little respect for him then, but still, he's clearly passionate about music, and I definitely understand that. And now I've got more music to find when I get back to the United States.
After class Kyle and I went to see "Be Kind Rewind," Michel Gondry's new film. Michel Gondry is my favorite, favorite, favorite director, so today turned out to be really great. Honestly I could only watch Michel Gondry films for the rest of my life and be OK with that.
Closing statement:
Michel Gondry has restored my faith in humanity.
Something to ponder:
Are there Things going on that I have not written about? You decide, based on the previous statement.
Cheers!
Sunday, February 24, 2008
I've been a slacker... but listen to my adventure!
Basically I just forgot to post Friday. So I apologize. I know you were waiting eagerly to hear more about my European Vacation. I'm afraid you're going to have to wait a little longer, though.
Instead, I'm going to write about my adventure yesterday, In Which I Went Alone to a Strange City to Visit My Friend.
So my friend Nicole is a sophomore at the University of Evansville, and she's studying at Harlaxton College in Grantham, about an hour by train north of London. This was the first weekend we both were free, so I decided to go visit her All By Myself. That morning, I left at exactly the time I had meant to leave, got to King's Cross station with 10 minutes before the train departed, ran to the auto-ticket kiosk, bought my ticket and hopped on the train. I was pretty proud of myself. I arrived in Grantham at exactly the time the timetable said I would, and didn't have any trouble finding Nicole. Exactly as planned!
Grantham is a fairly small town of about 34,000 people. The town was busy yesterday, though: there's a market every Saturday that takes up a few streets and you can buy fresh fruits and vegetables, as well as clothes and other knick-knacky things. There's also a little mall with some shops. So we walked around there for a while, and then took a bus back to Harlaxton College, which is a few miles outside of the actual town.
The college is in a manor house. It looks like something out of Harry Potter, all stone with spires and tall windows and Gothic arches. I can't believe Nicole goes to school there, and she says sometimes she can't believe it herself. She doesn't actually live in the manor, but in a smaller carriage house down a hill. But everything else is there – the classrooms, the "refectory," i.e. cafeteria, the all-important movie-watching equipment, and the even-more-important "bistro," which is actually a bar. That part kills me, since Evansville is a dry campus. Yeah, a dry campus with a bar in the basement. Weird. Actually, Evansville is not the only school that works with Harlaxton College, so maybe the Evansville kids just aren't supposed to go there. Yeah, right.
I spent a good long time with Nicole, walking around the area and watching Sleepless in Seattle, but eventually it was time for me to go. I took a taxi to the train station, which arrived right on time, and I got to the station with half an hour to spare. I already had my ticket, so I went to sit down in the waiting area with a punk kid about 17 years old, and a couple about my age. About 10 minutes before the train was scheduled to arrive, we heard an announcement: there had been a fight on the train, and now it was waiting for "police action" at a station about 45 minutes away from Grantham.
Great.
It ended up taking an hour for the police to get to the station, which kind of makes me wonder about the quality of law enforcement in the United Kingdom. I was glad I had my iPod and "This American Life" to listen to.
I finally got back to my flat about 12:15, just about exactly an hour behind schedule. I was glad I didn't have a connecting train or an airplane to catch – I just had to worry about the Underground closing. I think I caught the last train. So that was lucky.
Instead, I'm going to write about my adventure yesterday, In Which I Went Alone to a Strange City to Visit My Friend.
So my friend Nicole is a sophomore at the University of Evansville, and she's studying at Harlaxton College in Grantham, about an hour by train north of London. This was the first weekend we both were free, so I decided to go visit her All By Myself. That morning, I left at exactly the time I had meant to leave, got to King's Cross station with 10 minutes before the train departed, ran to the auto-ticket kiosk, bought my ticket and hopped on the train. I was pretty proud of myself. I arrived in Grantham at exactly the time the timetable said I would, and didn't have any trouble finding Nicole. Exactly as planned!
Grantham is a fairly small town of about 34,000 people. The town was busy yesterday, though: there's a market every Saturday that takes up a few streets and you can buy fresh fruits and vegetables, as well as clothes and other knick-knacky things. There's also a little mall with some shops. So we walked around there for a while, and then took a bus back to Harlaxton College, which is a few miles outside of the actual town.
The college is in a manor house. It looks like something out of Harry Potter, all stone with spires and tall windows and Gothic arches. I can't believe Nicole goes to school there, and she says sometimes she can't believe it herself. She doesn't actually live in the manor, but in a smaller carriage house down a hill. But everything else is there – the classrooms, the "refectory," i.e. cafeteria, the all-important movie-watching equipment, and the even-more-important "bistro," which is actually a bar. That part kills me, since Evansville is a dry campus. Yeah, a dry campus with a bar in the basement. Weird. Actually, Evansville is not the only school that works with Harlaxton College, so maybe the Evansville kids just aren't supposed to go there. Yeah, right.
I spent a good long time with Nicole, walking around the area and watching Sleepless in Seattle, but eventually it was time for me to go. I took a taxi to the train station, which arrived right on time, and I got to the station with half an hour to spare. I already had my ticket, so I went to sit down in the waiting area with a punk kid about 17 years old, and a couple about my age. About 10 minutes before the train was scheduled to arrive, we heard an announcement: there had been a fight on the train, and now it was waiting for "police action" at a station about 45 minutes away from Grantham.
Great.
It ended up taking an hour for the police to get to the station, which kind of makes me wonder about the quality of law enforcement in the United Kingdom. I was glad I had my iPod and "This American Life" to listen to.
I finally got back to my flat about 12:15, just about exactly an hour behind schedule. I was glad I didn't have a connecting train or an airplane to catch – I just had to worry about the Underground closing. I think I caught the last train. So that was lucky.
Thursday, February 21, 2008
a short synopsis of a long week
Hello! Finally back from my Very First Spring Break Trip, and pretty much exhausted. We got back around 1 p.m., and since then we've been lounging around the flats. Needless to say, this will not be the giant post you might be expecting.
Instead, I will give you a brief synopsis of our adventures, and let you decide for yourself if you'd like to read more tomorrow.
Instead, I will give you a brief synopsis of our adventures, and let you decide for yourself if you'd like to read more tomorrow.
- Thursday 14 Feb: 8:15 a.m. plane from London Gatwick to Berlin Schoenfeld. Immediately lost when we realize we don't speak any German. Refer to previous post.
- Friday 15 Feb: Wander around, finally decide to take a bus tour around Berlin. See what's left of the Wall.
- Saturday 16 Feb: Take trains all day, first from Berlin to Munich (eight hours) and then a night train from Munich to Montreux, Switzerland (another eight hours). Escapades on night train lead to 3 a.m. upset.
- Sunday 17 Feb: Visit Montreux castle, marvel at the Swiss Alps around us and Lake Geneva in front of us.
- Monday 18 Feb: Take cog wheel train from Montreux up to Rochers-de-Naye, a 2000-meter-tall mountain. Take panoramic train from Montreux to Interlochen through the mountains during sunset. Take night train from Interlochen to Venice.
- Tuesday 19 Feb: Wander around Venice.
- Wednesday 20 Feb: Wander around Venice more. Take gondola ride. Eat Italian food.
- Thursday 21 Feb: Take water bus to Venice Marco Polo airport, fly back to London Gatwick.
Friday, February 15, 2008
ich spreche neicht deutch
Despite knowing almost no German, I'm having a good time in Berlin - yesterday we took a bus tour of the city, which was nice but not the walking tour. We missed that.
I think it's interesting how much of an impact the War still has on this city... we saw a lot of memorials and parts of the Berlin Wall still up. And everything is so new! It seems like most of the city was destroyed durnig the War. We saw a church that was partially destroyed, and now is kind of a monument to the war - it's the first real, tangible proof i've seen that the war was real. That sounds silly but it was really shocking to see it so close.
Today, it's 4:30 a.m. and we're taking the earliest train we could to Munich. It's something like 8 hours, and we only have today in the city. Great. So we're going to get there at 2-ish, and leave on a night train at 10. Great.
Cheers!
I think it's interesting how much of an impact the War still has on this city... we saw a lot of memorials and parts of the Berlin Wall still up. And everything is so new! It seems like most of the city was destroyed durnig the War. We saw a church that was partially destroyed, and now is kind of a monument to the war - it's the first real, tangible proof i've seen that the war was real. That sounds silly but it was really shocking to see it so close.
Today, it's 4:30 a.m. and we're taking the earliest train we could to Munich. It's something like 8 hours, and we only have today in the city. Great. So we're going to get there at 2-ish, and leave on a night train at 10. Great.
Cheers!
psych!
We picked a really great hostel in Berlin called Jetpack, and we're lucky enough to have computers and the Internet! It's really nice – clean, with good beds and really friendly staff. We actually got here yesterday and went out with one guy who works here. He's from Washington state and just decided to come over here to live. He said he was going to go to Austria after this, but liked Berlin so much he didn't leave. That's awesome. Anyway, we went to a few museums with him and an Australian guy (the museums were free on Thursdays... why are we so lucky?). They were good, but since we had just gone to the British Museum it was kind of a let down. Also it's hard to appreciate ancient ruins when you don't know what they are and the signs are all in German. That's rough.
Today we're going to take a walking tour of the city. It's supposed to be really great, and we see like all of the city. It's about four hours of walking. I'm excited.
Until tonight,
Cheers!
Today we're going to take a walking tour of the city. It's supposed to be really great, and we see like all of the city. It's about four hours of walking. I'm excited.
Until tonight,
Cheers!
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
oh yeah...
I leave for spring break tomorrow! I'm going to Berlin, Munich, Zurich and Venice in a week... it's definitely going to be an adventure. I can't wait!!
I guess what I'm trying to say is, don't expect a lot of posts from me over the next week. I know, I haven't been very reliable anyway, but this week at least you'll have some warning.
Cheers!
I guess what I'm trying to say is, don't expect a lot of posts from me over the next week. I know, I haven't been very reliable anyway, but this week at least you'll have some warning.
Cheers!
Stonehenge
Today we went to Stonehenge... it was really cool. I'm not sure what else to say; there was a ton of tourists, it was really sunny and warm, I'm still amazed that people were able to put those huge rocks on top of the other rocks. Overall, it was really really cool. I uploaded a picture.
Yesterday, we went to see the Welsh National Dance company at the Southbank Centre. It was neat – modern dance to really interesting music. I liked it a lot.
That's all...
Cheers!
Yesterday, we went to see the Welsh National Dance company at the Southbank Centre. It was neat – modern dance to really interesting music. I liked it a lot.
That's all...
Cheers!
Monday, February 11, 2008
a haircut!
Today was sort of average: I went to school, ate some lunch, went back to school... you know, the usual Monday.
After school, I got my hair cut at this place called Twin Cuts. I don't know why it was called Twin Cuts. I did not see any twins doing any kind of cutting. Mystery. I didn't know what to expect, but it turned out to be pretty similar to any other hair cut in the United States. It's a pretty European haircut, though, so at least that was different. I'll post a picture.
When it was over, I was going to play the "I'm an American, I don't know about tipping" card, but I ended up not having the correct change, so I tipped about 30% accidentally. I'm a little mad about that; it was not a cheap haircut to begin with. I'm trying not to think about how much I spent on something that I pay $20 for at home.
Let's change the subject.
This week I'm not going to art history class; I'm leaving for spring break early Thursday morning. We're flying to Berlin, spending a few days there, taking a night bus to Munich, then going to Geneva, then ending in Venice the next Thursday. It's going to be a crazy, awesome week. I can't wait.
I'm going to post a picture of my haircut, so stay tuned.
Actually I guess the picture will show up first here, but bear with me.
Cheers!
After school, I got my hair cut at this place called Twin Cuts. I don't know why it was called Twin Cuts. I did not see any twins doing any kind of cutting. Mystery. I didn't know what to expect, but it turned out to be pretty similar to any other hair cut in the United States. It's a pretty European haircut, though, so at least that was different. I'll post a picture.
When it was over, I was going to play the "I'm an American, I don't know about tipping" card, but I ended up not having the correct change, so I tipped about 30% accidentally. I'm a little mad about that; it was not a cheap haircut to begin with. I'm trying not to think about how much I spent on something that I pay $20 for at home.
Let's change the subject.
This week I'm not going to art history class; I'm leaving for spring break early Thursday morning. We're flying to Berlin, spending a few days there, taking a night bus to Munich, then going to Geneva, then ending in Venice the next Thursday. It's going to be a crazy, awesome week. I can't wait.
I'm going to post a picture of my haircut, so stay tuned.
Actually I guess the picture will show up first here, but bear with me.
Cheers!
Sunday, February 10, 2008
pretend like it says thursday
Thursday we went to the National Museum. We saw a lot of mummies, Greek and Roman art, and the Rosetta Stone. I thought it was really cool. We only had two hours there; I could have spent the entire day there easily. I probably will some day, since it's free to get in.
That's all.
Cheers!
That's all.
Cheers!
Spontaneity is Fun!: an annotated dialogue
Thursday, 4:30 p.m. Kyle: "What should we do this weekend?"
Me: "Let's go to Nottingham... that sounds like fun"
Kyle: "Ok, let's take the train there. Here's the timetable."
Thursday, 4:37 p.m. Kyle: "Let's go right now!"
Me: "Well, ok, I mean, it's kind of short notice, but..."
Kyle: "Ok! Get packed!"
Thursday, 5:45 p.m. Me: "We'd better go, we're going to miss the train..."
Friday, 1 p.m. We walk around the downtown area of the city and discover Nottingham is having a huge celebration tonight.
Me: "Wow! This looks so cool! There's even a ferris wheel!"
Kyle: "Maybe we should stay another night."
Me: "That's crazy talk."
Kyle: "No way! Let's do it."
Me: "Well, i guess so..."
Saturday, 5 p.m. Made it back to the Nottingham train station just in time to catch the 5:30 to London St. Pancras. Reflected on a fantastic weekend.
So that's what happened to me this weekend.
Cheers!
Me: "Let's go to Nottingham... that sounds like fun"
Kyle: "Ok, let's take the train there. Here's the timetable."
Thursday, 4:37 p.m. Kyle: "Let's go right now!"
Me: "Well, ok, I mean, it's kind of short notice, but..."
Kyle: "Ok! Get packed!"
Thursday, 5:45 p.m. Me: "We'd better go, we're going to miss the train..."
And so it begins – what started as a casual conversation turned into a run to the train station and the start of an excellent weekend. We arrive in Nottingham, UK, at 10 p.m., after a two-hour train ride. We took a taxi to the hostel that we had booked three hours before we got there. We're pretty tired, but we decide to walk around the city a little to get our bearings. We learned later that there are about 20,000 students living in the city, and I think they were all on the streets that night. Drunk. This is the first time I've really seen what happens when it's legal for 16-year-olds to drink, and, to tell you the truth, I'm kind of glad kids in the United States have to do it in secret. These kids were screaming (actually screaming) and jumping and generally embarrassing themselves. I'm not sure it was all the alcohol's fault – wikipedia says Nottingham has one of the worst education systems in the country. So these kids aren't really the brightest crayons in the box anyway. We got back to the hostel around midnight and fell asleep.Friday, 10 a.m. We check out of the hotel and head towards Nottingham Castle, where we saw an exhibit about a Robin Hood TV show on BBC. There was a beautiful view of the city, too; we realize what a large place Nottingham is; when we walked around the night before, we were able to get across what seemed like the entire city in about 15 minutes.
Friday, 1 p.m. We walk around the downtown area of the city and discover Nottingham is having a huge celebration tonight.
Me: "Wow! This looks so cool! There's even a ferris wheel!"
Kyle: "Maybe we should stay another night."
Me: "That's crazy talk."
Kyle: "No way! Let's do it."
Me: "Well, i guess so..."
And so we went back to the hostel and booked another night. After we dropped our stuff off, we walked around the area again. By this time, it's starting to get more crowded, and light displays are lighting up. I still can't believe how many people are in this town; when I picture Nottingham, I see a sleepy little town, not this thriving city. As it gets dark, more and more people appear in the Market Square, where there is a ferris wheel and a bandstand where local kids are singing and playing instruments. We decided to take a tour sponsored by the visitor's center about Nottingham's "forgotten nooks and crannies," thinking we would see some cool places around the city, but instead we went down some dark alleys as the tour guide told us some boring stuff. We decided to be rebels and leave the tour early. I'm glad we did, since the festivities were in full swing when we got back to the square. There were people on stilts, and drummers, and a Corona party bus with people dressed in inflatable beer bottles. The festival was called "Light Night," so there were lights everywhere. I felt like a kid again; it was absolutely beautiful.Saturday, 10 a.m. Checked out of the hostel, took a bus to Sherwood Forest. The bus ride was an hour long, but definitely worth it. It was about 60ยบ and sunny when we got to the forest, and it stayed that way until we got on the train for London. I can't stop wondering what I've done to be so lucky. At the forest, we walked to the largest tree I've ever seen. It's called the Great Oak, and it must have been at least 8 feet across.
Saturday, 5 p.m. Made it back to the Nottingham train station just in time to catch the 5:30 to London St. Pancras. Reflected on a fantastic weekend.
So that's what happened to me this weekend.
Cheers!
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
dungeness and rye
Today we took a field trip to the cities of Dungeness and Rye. They're typical British towns, so it was a really nice change from the big city. We went for our Brit Life and Cuture class, so I made a few "cultural anthropologist" notes. Here they are!
Dungeness is a really, really small town right on the English Channel. It's almost not even a town – there were probably 20 houses at the most, spaced really far apart and sort of run down. Even though it was sunny, the general feeling was sparse and sort of morose. The beach was a shingle beach, so the entire area was pretty rocky. It's also a nature reserve, so a lot of the vegetation was really wild, and we saw a lot of birds. The English Channel was beautiful there – we could see the white cliffs of Dover from where we were, which was really pretty.
Then we went to Rye, which was quite a bit different. It's a town with about 5,000 residents and dating from before the Norman Conquest. It's the site of the Battle of Hastings in 1066, when William the Conquerer invaded England. Rye is the typical English town, with small houses and shops and narrow roads, surrounded by rolling hills and sheep farms. My favorite part was going up to the top of the cathedral, which was. It was on the top of a hill, so you can see the entire town and the surrounding countryside. It was amazing.
Cheers
Dungeness is a really, really small town right on the English Channel. It's almost not even a town – there were probably 20 houses at the most, spaced really far apart and sort of run down. Even though it was sunny, the general feeling was sparse and sort of morose. The beach was a shingle beach, so the entire area was pretty rocky. It's also a nature reserve, so a lot of the vegetation was really wild, and we saw a lot of birds. The English Channel was beautiful there – we could see the white cliffs of Dover from where we were, which was really pretty.
Then we went to Rye, which was quite a bit different. It's a town with about 5,000 residents and dating from before the Norman Conquest. It's the site of the Battle of Hastings in 1066, when William the Conquerer invaded England. Rye is the typical English town, with small houses and shops and narrow roads, surrounded by rolling hills and sheep farms. My favorite part was going up to the top of the cathedral, which was. It was on the top of a hill, so you can see the entire town and the surrounding countryside. It was amazing.
Cheers
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
super tuesday
hooray politics!
See, I'm keeping up with American news... I thought I should at least mention the election today, since it is Super Tuesday. As of right now, Clinton has 241 delegates and Obama has 169. I'm not sure how I feel about that.
aaand back to me
I had my first cinema experience today. I told myself I wouldn't spend any money on films, but the mystery of "Cloverfield" drew me in. The cinema was interesting - there wasn't stadium seating, and the screen was much smaller than we're used to. That I could deal with. The thirty minutes of television commercials was what I had a problem with. They just kept going! Be happy, people of America, that you only have 15 minutes of movie trailers. The movie was awesome though, so it kind of made up for the ridiculous amount of adverts, as they say.
After that Amanda and I went to the Hampstead library to hear a lecture about a children's story character from 1908. Why, you ask? Because we had nothing better to do. We started talking about the character in my Brit Lit class, so Amanda and I decided to go with our prof to the lecture. I thought it was really kind of interesting - the speaker was a biographer of the author, so she was really knowledgeable about the subject. It would have been really cool if we had had any idea who the character was. Apparently it's a big thing here.
The library we went to was really small, probably about half the size of a small gymnasium, if that helps at all. The place was packed, though, with members of the library and fans of the stories. We were definitely the youngest in the crowd by a lot: nearly everyone was over 60. Looking around, I'm not sure it was obvious these people were actually British. They were just people... maybe a little better dressed (there were a few men with ties), but, for the most part, just people. There wasn't much diversity, which isn't really typical for London, but wasn't surprising considering the neighborhood we were in was a pretty upper-class area. Our prof told us it's where a lot of writers move once they make it big.
Here are a few observations that I remember, since I didn't have any paper or a pen to take my anthropological notes.
Cheers!
See, I'm keeping up with American news... I thought I should at least mention the election today, since it is Super Tuesday. As of right now, Clinton has 241 delegates and Obama has 169. I'm not sure how I feel about that.
aaand back to me
I had my first cinema experience today. I told myself I wouldn't spend any money on films, but the mystery of "Cloverfield" drew me in. The cinema was interesting - there wasn't stadium seating, and the screen was much smaller than we're used to. That I could deal with. The thirty minutes of television commercials was what I had a problem with. They just kept going! Be happy, people of America, that you only have 15 minutes of movie trailers. The movie was awesome though, so it kind of made up for the ridiculous amount of adverts, as they say.
After that Amanda and I went to the Hampstead library to hear a lecture about a children's story character from 1908. Why, you ask? Because we had nothing better to do. We started talking about the character in my Brit Lit class, so Amanda and I decided to go with our prof to the lecture. I thought it was really kind of interesting - the speaker was a biographer of the author, so she was really knowledgeable about the subject. It would have been really cool if we had had any idea who the character was. Apparently it's a big thing here.
The library we went to was really small, probably about half the size of a small gymnasium, if that helps at all. The place was packed, though, with members of the library and fans of the stories. We were definitely the youngest in the crowd by a lot: nearly everyone was over 60. Looking around, I'm not sure it was obvious these people were actually British. They were just people... maybe a little better dressed (there were a few men with ties), but, for the most part, just people. There wasn't much diversity, which isn't really typical for London, but wasn't surprising considering the neighborhood we were in was a pretty upper-class area. Our prof told us it's where a lot of writers move once they make it big.
Here are a few observations that I remember, since I didn't have any paper or a pen to take my anthropological notes.
- Class is still a major issue. We've talked about it in my British Life and Culture class, but I didn't quite believe it. Today someone asked a question specifically about class relating to the readership of the newspaper; that's something I would never have even considered.
- French is much more integrated into the common language. During the author's speech, she used French phrases at least three times. I'm not sure if this is a common thing, but no one in the audience seemed phased.
- There is always a guy who thinks he's hilarious. This is true everywhere.
Cheers!
Monday, February 4, 2008
From Hell
Today we went on a Jack the Ripper tour around East London. Usually on Mondays we go see a play or a musical, but today Popo (Mark Popovich, the director) decided we were going to traipse around in the cold and hear gory details of the murders instead of doing something classy and indoors. Thanks, Popo.
Whatever, the tour was kind of cool... the tour guide was really into it, so he made it pretty good. Other than that I was kind of bored.
I stayed up last night and watched the Super Bowl. I told myself I wouldn't, since it ended around 3 in the morning, but I couldn't help it – once we turned it on, I was hooked. Mostly on how badly the British butchered the presentation of the game. They'd say things like "the offense has been on the field for nearly 10 minutes! That's quite a long time for them!" Clearly they did not respect the game of football. And there were no adverts, as they call them. None. Not even stupid British ones. What we got were "Super Bowl Memories," in which they recounted some memorable games and told us the basics of the game. Grr. So that was frustrating. At least Giants won, though, right, right?!
I think that's about all that happened to me today.
Cheers!
Whatever, the tour was kind of cool... the tour guide was really into it, so he made it pretty good. Other than that I was kind of bored.
I stayed up last night and watched the Super Bowl. I told myself I wouldn't, since it ended around 3 in the morning, but I couldn't help it – once we turned it on, I was hooked. Mostly on how badly the British butchered the presentation of the game. They'd say things like "the offense has been on the field for nearly 10 minutes! That's quite a long time for them!" Clearly they did not respect the game of football. And there were no adverts, as they call them. None. Not even stupid British ones. What we got were "Super Bowl Memories," in which they recounted some memorable games and told us the basics of the game. Grr. So that was frustrating. At least Giants won, though, right, right?!
I think that's about all that happened to me today.
Cheers!
Sunday, February 3, 2008
[nothing]
I really didn't do anything today... after walking for two entire days straight, I thought I deserved a rest. So I sat around, watched a movie, went grocery shopping, blah blah...
Boring. The Super Bowl starts tonight at 10, but we don't get to see the American commericals, just the stupid BBC ones. A lot of people are going to stay up to watch it, so they canceled class tomorrow morning. I think I might just sleep in.
End.
Boring. The Super Bowl starts tonight at 10, but we don't get to see the American commericals, just the stupid BBC ones. A lot of people are going to stay up to watch it, so they canceled class tomorrow morning. I think I might just sleep in.
End.
Saturday, February 2, 2008
Wales Was Amazing So I'm Writing the Longest Post Ever
Since I was twelve years old, I have wanted to see Wales. I read a book about it once and fell in love. Real love.
When I finally got to go, I was not let down. On the contrary, I am more in love with Wales.
Kyle, Amanda, Laura and I took a bus from London to Cardiff, the capital city. It was a three and a half hour ride through the English countryside, getting more and more beautiful – and foreign. Coming out of London, it looked like we could have been in Indiana, with fields of crops and the horizon stretching out into the distance, but as we went farther west, the ground got hillier and the grass got greener, and soon we could tell we were in Wales. The signs added another language: Welsh Gaelic. I hadn't realized the language was still used in everyday language, but according to one Web site I found, about 20 percent of the Welsh population speaks it regularly, and even more can understand it. It's a beautiful language, and I was really interested to actually hear it spoken. I think we found about three people using it.
We arrived around 11:30 a.m., and the first thing we did when we got off the bus was find a place to eat. I had done a little research, but apparently I didn't think opening times were important enough to include in my notes. We ended up wandering into a pub that advertised "Brains" – how could we resist? Turns out Brains is a local beer – the brewery was right in Cardiff.
Then we went to the castle.
OH MY GOSH
I have never seen anything so beautiful as the Welsh countryside from the top of the castle keep. The keep (the center of the castle) is at the top of a hill surrounded by a moat. The castle was originally built by the Romans (the Romans!) about 2000 years ago, and it was an actual working castle for quite a long time. The eldest son of William the Conquerer was even kept in the dungeon of the keep for the last eight years of his life. History! At the top of the keep, you can see the entire city of Cardiff, as well as the rolling hills and green fields surrounding the capital. My heart exploded. I was speechless.
We spent a while in the castle, taking a tour of the inside, which was renovated in the early 19th century by a genius architect. It was gorgeous.
By the time we finished at the castle, it was about dinner time, so we wandered around a little more and found another restaurant. I got some fish and chips, which were pretty good. Maybe I'm just not a fan of fish... this was the first fish and chips I've had since I've been in England.
Then we took a cab to our hostel. The cab turned out to be about 3 pounds. Supposedly that would take us about a block in London; I've been afraid to find out how expensive London taxis are.
The hostel was nice. It was pretty new, with a common room that had couches and a TV. We played cards for a while, and by the time we went to bed around 11 p.m., the common room was pretty crowded. I've never been in a hostel, so it was really interesting to see the mix of nationalaities and people. We met some girls from Texas who were studying a little ways outside of London. They gave us some good places we could visit around the UK, so hopefully we'll be able to take their suggestions.
The next day, we went to the National History Museum. There, we learned about the evolution of Wales, starting with the creation of the earth. Fascinating! Then, on the next floor, we saw paintings by Welsh painters, and Italian painters, and Dutch painters. We also saw some potter by Picasso. That was neat. And it was all free!
Then we took another cab to a place called Cardiff Bay, where we ate lunch (fish and chips again) and walked around a little. Cardiff is right on the water, so it used to be a big shipping port. It was pretty, but really cold.
We walked back from the Bay, about a 30 minute walk, to a shopping area (of course). We walked around the Queen's Arcade a little before we had to catch our bus back at 5. I thought it was interesting that "arcade" means "mall" here.
There was a really interesting mix of people in Cardiff: the fashionable young kids ranging from preps in skinny jeans and boots, to punks wearing black and piercings, mixed with elderly Welsh locals with long pea jackets. These were the people I heard speaking Welsh; most of the younger kids spoke English, or were from a different part of the world. I think we walked behind some Italian kids for a while.
We left at 5, happy to be able to sit down for a while, but I really think I could have spent a much longer time there. It was a pretty big city, with about 300,000 residents, but it seemed like a small town.
In summary, I loved Wales.
Really loved.
When I finally got to go, I was not let down. On the contrary, I am more in love with Wales.
Kyle, Amanda, Laura and I took a bus from London to Cardiff, the capital city. It was a three and a half hour ride through the English countryside, getting more and more beautiful – and foreign. Coming out of London, it looked like we could have been in Indiana, with fields of crops and the horizon stretching out into the distance, but as we went farther west, the ground got hillier and the grass got greener, and soon we could tell we were in Wales. The signs added another language: Welsh Gaelic. I hadn't realized the language was still used in everyday language, but according to one Web site I found, about 20 percent of the Welsh population speaks it regularly, and even more can understand it. It's a beautiful language, and I was really interested to actually hear it spoken. I think we found about three people using it.
We arrived around 11:30 a.m., and the first thing we did when we got off the bus was find a place to eat. I had done a little research, but apparently I didn't think opening times were important enough to include in my notes. We ended up wandering into a pub that advertised "Brains" – how could we resist? Turns out Brains is a local beer – the brewery was right in Cardiff.
Then we went to the castle.
OH MY GOSH
I have never seen anything so beautiful as the Welsh countryside from the top of the castle keep. The keep (the center of the castle) is at the top of a hill surrounded by a moat. The castle was originally built by the Romans (the Romans!) about 2000 years ago, and it was an actual working castle for quite a long time. The eldest son of William the Conquerer was even kept in the dungeon of the keep for the last eight years of his life. History! At the top of the keep, you can see the entire city of Cardiff, as well as the rolling hills and green fields surrounding the capital. My heart exploded. I was speechless.
We spent a while in the castle, taking a tour of the inside, which was renovated in the early 19th century by a genius architect. It was gorgeous.
By the time we finished at the castle, it was about dinner time, so we wandered around a little more and found another restaurant. I got some fish and chips, which were pretty good. Maybe I'm just not a fan of fish... this was the first fish and chips I've had since I've been in England.
Then we took a cab to our hostel. The cab turned out to be about 3 pounds. Supposedly that would take us about a block in London; I've been afraid to find out how expensive London taxis are.
The hostel was nice. It was pretty new, with a common room that had couches and a TV. We played cards for a while, and by the time we went to bed around 11 p.m., the common room was pretty crowded. I've never been in a hostel, so it was really interesting to see the mix of nationalaities and people. We met some girls from Texas who were studying a little ways outside of London. They gave us some good places we could visit around the UK, so hopefully we'll be able to take their suggestions.
The next day, we went to the National History Museum. There, we learned about the evolution of Wales, starting with the creation of the earth. Fascinating! Then, on the next floor, we saw paintings by Welsh painters, and Italian painters, and Dutch painters. We also saw some potter by Picasso. That was neat. And it was all free!
Then we took another cab to a place called Cardiff Bay, where we ate lunch (fish and chips again) and walked around a little. Cardiff is right on the water, so it used to be a big shipping port. It was pretty, but really cold.
We walked back from the Bay, about a 30 minute walk, to a shopping area (of course). We walked around the Queen's Arcade a little before we had to catch our bus back at 5. I thought it was interesting that "arcade" means "mall" here.
There was a really interesting mix of people in Cardiff: the fashionable young kids ranging from preps in skinny jeans and boots, to punks wearing black and piercings, mixed with elderly Welsh locals with long pea jackets. These were the people I heard speaking Welsh; most of the younger kids spoke English, or were from a different part of the world. I think we walked behind some Italian kids for a while.
We left at 5, happy to be able to sit down for a while, but I really think I could have spent a much longer time there. It was a pretty big city, with about 300,000 residents, but it seemed like a small town.
In summary, I loved Wales.
Really loved.
Friday, February 1, 2008
adventure!
i can die happy now... I'm in Wales for the night. I'm not going to write much because there's a line for the computer (i'm in a hostel) but today we're in the capital city of cardiff staying the night at a hostel. Today we went to a castle, it was incredible and all i've ever wanted in my life.
we come back tomorrow; i'll write more then.
cheers!
we come back tomorrow; i'll write more then.
cheers!
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