Wax Patriotism

Update update!

I don't want to say that things have been slowing down over here (because that's far from the truth), but classes are actually going on and I've had to do reading. Ugh. So less to write about (unless you'd like to hear about the theoretical bits of Public Economics -- and if you do, please go away because I don't want to talk about it).

My taco night with Kevin went well, I think he bought the hottest taco seasoning they had which turned out to be perfect because it was just bland enough for me. So tacos = amazing. I had been craving them, but we'll be making it again relatively soon because my avocados STILL aren't ripe after 5 1/2 days.

On Monday, I had classes and I wept at the thought of actually doing work. Why do they insist on cramping my style? This is my semester off! haha. But Kevin and I did bake cookies, which is always fun. I decided to go for homemade this time (partly because Matt has been making me feel guilty about not cooking from scratch and partly because the "buiscit powder" ones weren't so great).


This batch was questionable, but that was entirely the fault of their brown sugar being strange and too dark. I'm going to search for normal brown sugar and once that happens, I'll try again. Why are cookies so difficult in this country? haha

Tuesday marked the beginning of Obama's Presidency and it was interesting to see it from the British perspective. Although I remain decidedly neutral (he's a wonderful orator, but let's see what he actually gets done), the mood in the UK is very positive. And I'm very appreciative of that. It's a great time to be abroad! Obama doesn't have time to screw up too badly while I'm here and Europeans seem to be so glad that Bush is out of office that their goodwill is spilling on to their treatment of Americans. So I will gladly take their better attitudes (and the better exchange rate, which went down to $1.37 this week), thank you very much.

In this renewed spirit of goodwill, Madame Tussaud's let all Americans into the wax museum for free on Inauguration Day. It was packed with people just as rude and arrogant as myself (read: there were a lot of Americans), which was very refreshing. =) They had the inauguration live on two big projectors and we all stood in a 30 minute line to take a picture with Obama in the Oval Office.


Here, some cricketers are so famous that their likeness is forever preserved in wax. These figures were about 20 feet from Sir Isaac Newton. I'm taking that as a tribute to their relative importance.


Looking back, it was probably very foolish of me to have my neck that exposed next to Henry VIII...


There was an entire room dedicated to Daniel Craig and Dame Judi Dench -- and rightfully so.

After Madame Tussauds, I went to see Slumdog Millionaire (which is apparently up for 10 Oscars?). It was very good, but very heavy. If you're interested in devlopment like me (that's you, Dan), it's a good movie to see. It wasn't as much of a "feel good" movie as it claimed to be, but the Bollywood style dance-off at the end was great. On a side note, I think I want to see a Bollywood film while I'm here.

Whilst writing this (hell... when in Rome!), a "parcel" was delivered to my flat! For me! It's the first one and it's from my mom, so here's some live commentary. A care package... it feels like Freshman year all over again (no complaining). Sweethearts (aww. I wonder if they have them here), Popcorn, Easy Mac (oh how well she knows my cooking ability -- it's a good thing I've made friends who throw outrageous dinner parties), brownie and lemon bar mix (!!), a pan to cook them in (even better!!), tea (right-o!), a few more snacks, and a recipe for some good home cookin'. I'll thank you via skype, but here's another big thank you! xo

Wednesday was filled with classes, but I got some stuff done around the flat and went to a dance class that evening. As with ice skating, I am going to claim that I was the best one there. The instructor was in awe of my superb grace (read: I'm hoping that when they start a new dance next week, I won't have to struggle to keep up).

Yesterday, Sammy, Kevin and I went to the National Portrait Gallery. It wasn't as great as the V&A, but it held a bunch of really amazing paintings. Some of them were so intricate; the clothing, especially. We were able to see the originals of many paintings I've come across in classes (famous ones of Richard III, Henry VIII, Elizabeth I, etc.), which was pretty interesting.

Afterwards, Kevin and I went on an adventure to an Indian restaurant (my first time!). We walked down the canal by campus and I agree with Kevin when he mentioned that it was the first time he felt like he actually lived in London. It wasn't in a touristy area by any means, nor was it in East End. On our way, there were apartments lining the canal and a park where people were playing football. It was nice to walk somewhere that wasn't right by campus. The restaurant itself was nice. They had indian music videos on loop the entire time and I've decided that they're much better (or at least funnier) than American ones. The food ended up being great, too (although I limited myself to the mildest parts of the menu).

Today will more than likely consist of me doing research for a presentation. It's rainy outside and I know I'll get used to it, but I actually have to get some reading done and I'd rather spend a rainy day inside than a sunny one.

Cultured

I'm still loving life in London and trying to squeeze every bit of culture out of England that I can. That's not to say that the US doesn't have any culture, but I'm much more appreciative of it here and I love how nearly everything has a history. I've never explored LA like I've been exploring London. I may try to blame that on its lack of public transportation, but the reality is that I just haven't been as interested.

My architecture class has field trips every other week and our first one was to Parliament on Wednesday. For those interested, it was built from 1836 to 1868 in the English Gothic Revival style of architecture. What was interesting to me is that they tried to make it look similar to Westminster Abbey (right across the street) which was renovated in the Gothic style the 14th century. See, I'm learning things. =)

After our trip to Parliament a group of my friends and I went to the Cabinet War Rooms and the Churchill Museum. It was incredible... they kept the Cabinet War Rooms exactly as they had been in WWII (well, except for the wax figures). Even the maps are just as they left them.


The blue yarn on the right shows the German advancement in January, 1945.

The Cabinet War Rooms are connected to the Churchill Museum, both of which are under ground near Parliament and the PMs house.


Churchill's childhood tin soldier set. I was hoping for a plain white flag for the Frenchman in the back.


Churchill Fights On! [Tangent: USC's use of the Victory sign to mean "Fight On" dates back to WWII. Also, USC President Von Kleinsmid wrote in 1944 that "Fight On!" was played to inspire troops in the Aleutian Campaign.]

The entire museum was amazing and I couldn't help but think of Papa the entire time I was there -- it was really something he would have enjoyed. It's been one of the most interesting places I've seen here and I easily could have spent another few hours in there.

On Thursday I made British friends -- hooray! A guy from orchestra invited me to a dinner party he was throwing (homemade soup, roast duck in red wine sauce, and chocolate mousse = delicious), so I got to meet a bunch of his friends. It was really fun to On a side note, the use of the word "whilst" in everyday conversation never ceases to make me smile.

On Friday, my American friends and I went to a comedy club called the Banana Cabaret. It was standing room only, but well worth it. The comedians were great and we're definitely planning another trip back there (and to some other comedy clubs as well). Cheap (and great!) entertainment is always nice!


Yesterday I went to the Victoria and Albert Museum with a bunch of friends. It was really great -- they have an exhibit on the Tsars of Russia that I'm going to go back to visit. Here are some of my favorite things.


"Athlete Fighting a Python." I thought his eyes were somehow intense. Definitely my favorite statue at the museum.

I made a detour to the Musical Instruments room (surprised? I didn't think so). They had an entire floor of beautiful harpsichords, old guitars, a few lyres, brass instruments, and tons more.

The "serpent," an old woodwind instrument with a brass mouthpiece. Straaaaange.


Fancy? An old cornet from the 1830s... I think it'd be really hard to tune, haha.

The girls and I also spent a lot of time in the jewelry room, for obvious reasons.


So pretty! They had some jewelry from BC and a large collection dating from the 1300s to the present... I definitely would have been happy spending a few hours there.

After the museum, I went ice skating again, this time with my British friends. I was going backwards and doing a few tricks. Actually, that's a lie... but since I'm the one writing, you'll never know how bad I am. ;)

Here's a fun story: after skating, we all decided to warm up in a pub for a bit. We found a nice one by Liverpool Street and Matt pointed out that the pub was "older than my country." Everyone thought that was really funny. But when we went in they told us it was going to close in 15 minutes, so I pointed out that in my city, nothing ever closes. =)

So that's it! I'm having a taco party with Kevin tonight. We've been craving Mexican food (and seasoning in general), so we managed to find salsa and a taco kit. I bought avocados yesterday, but they won't be ready... they're quite possibly the least ripe avocados I've ever seen. I give them 2 weeks until they're able to be made into guacamole.

Peeved, Pubs, and Poltergeists

Let's start with a synopsis of this morning. At some ungodly hour (7:45am? Whenever it was, it was far to early to be coherent), the fire alarms went off in my building. I was warned that this was a regular occurrence at QMUL (we have sensitive fire alarms) and was hoping that God would favor my sleeping habits by preventing them this semester.


This is a notice on the door to my bathroom. I'd hate to be the person that set it off by taking a hot shower. In a towel, outside in the cold? No thanks. Today was a drill, so that meant we had to listen to a half hour lecture outside in the cold (I was smart and grabbed a coat and fuzzy slippers as I went out the door). Needless to say, that drained all of the time I leave to ignore my alarm and get that extra half an hour of sleep (that's the best part... you appreciate the sleep more). So with that gone, I had to hurry to get to class at 9. Boo.

I'm really looking forward to the rest of the semester in my Global Development class and my EU Integration class. I've got to say, the Politics lecturers here are really great so far. Econ... not so much. But oh well, Architecture is looking to be a fun "class" (I say that because every other lecture we have a field trip, hooray!).

Last Saturday marked my first week in London, so I decided to commemorate that occasion by going SHOPPING. Hooray! I didn't buy much (mostly because I'm cheap), but it was fun walking around Oxford Circus for a bit. I think the trip can best be showcased by this picture.


That's it, guys. I don't have to take any more pictures while I'm here because I can't get any more touristy than that (haha, that's a lie -- I love taking pictures too much to ever stop).

My friend and I got back from shopping and decided to spend a few hours going over guidebooks to see where we wanted to go in London while we're here. So we stopped by an inviting pub near campus, ordered a drink, and got to work on our guidebooks (and if you don't think it's work, I still have over a hundred pages more to go through on one of the books). Anyway, some nice old Scottish man took an interest in us, bought us two rounds of drinks each, and told us to stay away from the other "pricks" at the bar and to keep out of trouble. Although we appreciated the sentiment, we left - drunk - in a hurry before he could buy us another round (it was only 7 by that time). All in all, a great (and cheap!) first pub experience.

Sunday's big adventure was grocery shopping at Sainsbury's (riveting, I know). But it taught me never to trust bus drivers. We walked the mile there to save money and decided to take the bus back to campus with our armloads of groceries.

"Excuse me, do you stop at Queen Mary?"
"Yes."
"Thanks!" All of us pile in. A few minutes later we couldn't recognize anything, so I went to the front of the bus.
"Sorry, but have we passed the Queen Mary?"
"Where is that?"
(insert blank, appalled look). "It's on Mile End."
"Oh, then it's not on my route. Also, you and your friends need to pay for the bus fare. I enjoy preying on associate students laden with groceries because I know they're desperate for a bus and will believe me if I say I'm headed their direction."

All of that conversation is accurate, save the last two sentences. That's my bit of poetic license. But we did have to pay the fare, walk to the nearest tube station (that's all we trusted at that point), and make our way slowly back to campus, at which point I made a delicious salmon dinner, had some ice cream, and felt better about life.

Mondays will consistently be boring, as I have class all day. So nothing to note there besides the fact that I actually made it to my classes this week (yay?).

Yesterday I had my first orchestra practice. One of the guys let me borrow his cornet and ended up directing the band (the conductor was out), so I was the only trumpet. The band is small and... well, horrible. But at least my chops won't wither away and die! And I'll get to play lead, which is a better setup than concert band back home. Also, it's not stuffy and serious (which is just annoying) because there's no music school at QMUL and the people in orchestra are just goofing around.

Last night a bunch of us took a Ghost Tour of London, centered around St. Paul's Cathedral. It was a pretty interesting tour, lots of stories about executions, prisons, unfaithful husbands and wives, people who were hung drawn and quartered, and (usually) friendly poltergeists. My favorite was an old priest who would make a racket when he didn't enjoy the choice of music (or the performance).

Which brings us back to the present. I've got one more class today, an architecture field trip to the House of Parliament, and a tour of the Cabinet War Room with friends afterwards.

... cheers!

Recap

It's been a few days and a LOT has been going on. I'll keep it brief (well, for me):

I went to an orientation dinner and a show with a bunch of USC students studying at Queen Mary (I think there are 28 of us total). It was nice to get to know some of them better and 39 Steps at the Criterion was great. The show was hilarious and the acting was incredible.


Afterwards, a few of us wandered around Piccadilly Circus and Trafalgar Square for a bit... it was so cold that some of the fountains froze over.


The next night, I took a boat tour on the Thames with the all of the study abroad students at QMUL. The view was great, but the highlight of the tour was definitely the disco floor on the boat. We danced for hours and had a wonderful time. =)


Last night, I went ice skating with friends at the Tower of London. The ice rink was put where the moat used to be (it was drained in the 1800s when they realized that the dirty water was a cause of cholera... now you can't say I haven't learned anything while I'm in London).


They still had Christmas music playing, which made it even better. I mean, it's hard to beat recreational ice skating at the site of tortures and executions. But seriously, the tourist in me was really excited.


Here's the picture of our group. Most of us are awesome and from USC.

Today I slept in (hey, I had a busy week) and finally got a phone. Hooray! Afterwards, Kevin and I took touristy pictures of the London Eye, the Palace of Westminster, and Big Ben.

The London Eye. I've got to say... I'm particularly fond of this photo.

Big Ben. Also, that's not the moon -- that's definitely Tinkerbell.

In front of the Palace of Westminster.

The Palace of Westminster reflected in the River Thames.

Lots of pictures, I know... Tonight my fingers were so numb that I actually couldn't tell if I was pushing the button or not. I'm surprised they turned out as well as they did. ;)

Busses and Biscuits

The bus tour of London was great. Some of the pictures from the bus weren't the best, but we were able to get out a few times and see some really great sights. Here are my favorite pictures...


Tower Bridge! Ok, I'm pretty much in love with this picture. Awesome! I'm really glad it didn't rain that day.


In front of Buckingham Palace. They still had Christmas decorations up - there was a beautiful tree in the doorway. =)


The traditional picture with the guards. I think I'll visit them again when it's warmer... I'm pretty sure they wear the gray coats when it's cold? Also, you can't really tell, but they've replaced their muskets with bazookas... or something close to it.

Today marked the beginning of classes for me. I've had to change my schedule a bit (QM has this nasty habit of changing peoples class times without telling them and making it near impossible to find the room your class is located in), but I think that everything is settled now. If things stay the way they are, I won't have classes on Thursdays or Fridays. Yay!

After classes, I went on another shopping adventure with a bunch of orientation friends to buy towels, dishes, etc., and walked the mile and a half back to campus (awkwardly) with them. It was a rather unpleasant experience, but my first "homecooked" dinner was fantastic.


Yes: pizza, cookies, and cherry coke. But to be fair, Kevin (one of my flatmates) and I did bake the frozen pizza ourselves. As a side note, there is no cookie dough in England. They don't sell it in dough form, I could only find it as "biscuit powder." And who would think to ask for "biscuit powder?" The person working at the store had no idea what cookie dough was. British children are deprived - I loved sneaking cookie dough from the fridge! Powder just doesn't do it for me.

A final note before I go to bed. Kevin and I have decided that 2 of our mystery flatmates do not exist and the third is named B. Smythe (named for his residency in room B), a midget secret agent whose drink of choice is strawberry daiquiris.

Night!

Arrival

I'm finally in London! I've been looking forward to this day for so long, but it seems like I haven't had the chance to fully appreciate it... being incredibly busy with school and finals and Rose Bowl week nearly deprived me of that opportunity.

Yet here I sit, drinking coffee out of my new Queen Mary mug, sitting in my flat just before orientation. Hooray!

I'm all unpacked and had a relatively smooth trip to England (disregarding a minor hold up at customs). I've met 2 of my flatmates - both study abroad students as well - and took a shopping trip to get some essentials. Unfortunately, I'm still in need of a towel. That made this morning's shower interesting, to say the least.

This is a picture of the very front of my apartment building. The door off in the distance is my stairwell. I'll put a picture up of my room once it's done being decorated - I have yet to learn the British term for "thumb tack," and have gotten strange looks from the clerks I asked to point me in that direction, so right now my cork board is sad and empty.

More later, but for now I'm off to Orientation and a bus tour of London! =)