Since I last updated, I had a few classes, and things are finally falling into place as far as how class works. I have two that I love: my abnormal psych class is very interesting - so far we've discussed anxiety, depression, social phobias, eating disorders, and watched Girl, Interrupted (starring everyone. Like seriously. Who isn't in that movie? I think I'm in that movie). Not always the lightest of topics, but the professor is so wonderful and funny, and she liked our presentation last week. Plus, the disorders themselves are fascinating to learn about. And it's easy. Always good. The other class I love (surprisingly) is our required lecture series - we have about an hour lecture every Monday night on a different topic currently affecting Britain, and the lecturers are INCREDIBLE. Tonight's was this Indian woman, born in Uganda, raised in post-colonial times, discussing immigration and racism in Britain. It was awesome, and showed a lot of the differences that exist between America and Britain. Even though America is perhaps a more tolerant place, and recently took a huge step electing a black man as president, the Muslim community (and this is a generalization), she told us, feels unable to voice criticisms of the current state of the government. In Britain, she hypothesizes it'll be another hundred years until they have their first black Prime Minister, yet she has never felt uncomfortable voicing her opinions as the nation's first, and only, non-white columnist for a major newspaper. She was funny, a bit provocative, and very insightful. I really enjoy this class. Also, easy. Win.
The other classes... ehh. One is just kind of dry and boring, my communications class. I'm going to start a drinking game where I take a drink every time he says "globalization" or "context". There will be no survivors. I have a presentation this week on Twitter and its effect on crisis communication, during times like the earthquake in Haiti and the Iranian Election last summer ... I should probably work on that... but onward, I blog.
My other class, the European Union seminar, is just tough. It's a lot of reading, a lot of critical thinking, and I feel a bit behind since I'm not a politics major. Thus, I'm learning how to critically dissect political theory while at the same time learning a LOT of theory about the EU. It's a bit much, especially since we had an extra class on Friday to make up for a class we're missing next week.
Beyond class, though, London is AWESOME. I like it a bit more every day, which means it feels a bit more like home. No worries, it hasn't and won't ever beat New York, but they're hard to compare. After class Thursday, I did some work and then went shopping - spent not too much money on a new hoodie, a tie, and a shirt that I'm probably returning, but oh man, it's hard not to spend the big bucks. I found the Suit section at TopMan, and I kind of want a new suit, and I kind of spent like a half hour there, so..... no money spent (yet)! Then Thursday, we enjoyed some cider in the communal kitchen (or, as we have abbreved, the comm kitch) with the usual group, plus Kaila's best friend Katie, who was visiting from Madrid. Katie and I fell in love instantly. Expect a marriage invitation soon. Also, Hannah and I fail at matching each other drink for drink. We went to The Rocket after that, enjoyed some music (although my jukebox curse continued) and some cider. After some 24 hour McDonald's (DAMN you, 24 hour McDonald's. You seductress. You TEMPTRESS), I made it to bed with no time to spare - class in the morning!
Quote of that night - Rachna (every 5 minutes): Finish your drink NOW. We're going to Social Club.
Woke up with a bit of a cold, felt slightly less than P. Diddy, still had homework, and the walk in the cold to class... blah. Rough morning altogether haha, but I napped after class and got myself ready to be a human again. That night we went to this amazing place called Hummus Bros for dinner (SO GOOD!), then walked back and hung out with some Kronenbourgs (aka a French beer that we love, aka Kroneys) in the comm kitch. Hannah's friend Mike was here, also from Madrid, and we had a great time hanging with him. That night we went back to Camden, which is increasingly becoming a very cool, very odd part of the city. It's very eclectic, with clientele ranging from girls with too short skirts (wear some tights, ladies!) to metal-Goth headbangers with colorful wigs and everthing pierced to ... people dressed up in superhero costumes. Seriously. We hit up several bars and clubs, and made the mistake of following a British couple to what was, in my estimation, Whole Foods meets a rave. It was in a smoothie store (aka a bookstore), and we walked in and couldn't get out of there fast enough. 50 year olds clubbing. With dreadlocks. Not okay. We ended the night with some chicken doner (ugh... food baby alert) and then enjoyed a nice walk back home with Kelly, Athena, Morgan, Mike, and Hannah, and some much-needed rest.
Saturday I slept in, watched some Lost (why, Boone, whyyyyyyyy), and worked out hardcore to the max with Hannah. Then we ate at Wagamama (really good, really cheap Asian food), did some grocery shopping at Sainsbury's (oh hey there, 8 Hoegaardens for 8 pounds! and the Gummi Bears Greatest Hits collection from Haribo? YES PLEASE!), and ate some nice froyo. We actually (gasp!) took the night off, watched Up, did some work, and just chilled before our day trip.
Sunday we woke up early and hopped on a bus to head to Stonehenge and Bath. I will admit, I was completely... whelmed by Stonehenge (yes, it can happen, but only in Europe). It was cool, definitely worth seeing, but after 10 minutes it's like, ehh, guess that's it huh. Still, a pretty good Wow moment when you first see it, and once you think about what it means and how they got the 50 ton stones there (still unresolved), it's pretty epic. I was NOT a rebellious penguin and did NOT run up to them to push them over. I did squish Hannah with my fingers though.
Me at Stonehenge!
Me at Stonehenge - again! With a new jacket on!
Me squishing Hannah with my fingers (at Stonehenge!)
After taking pics of Stonehenge from every angle, frolicking with English sheep, and driving past some epic countryside, we made it to Bath! Named for ... the baths! This may be my favorite place so far though. It has a small village feel but is still a cultural center, with a history of aristocracy and promenades, royalty and Jane Austen books, and baths baths baths! (Anyone who knows me knows I love my baths) It was such a great town. We took a walking tour that showed us the Bath Abbey, the old and new bathhouse spas, the Royal Crescent, King's Circle, and other cool sights. I have pics - yay! I also talked alot with the tour guide, she was a really sweet older British woman and was very interested in our adventures so far in Europe. I may have a bit of an old lady crush...
The Abbey in Bath
An old series of houses from the back - if you see the little brown clapboard box, that used to be a bathroom. There weren't pipes. Use your imagination.
Royal Crescent - the oldest and largest of Bath's 11 crescents
King's Circle aka my future home - legit, the entire circle looks like this, with amazing apartments around this beautiful central circle
The bridge in Bath - so pretty, but Ponte Vecchio much?
After the tour, we walked around and saw some of the cute shops and chocolate and fudge stores, and I sampled some DELECTABLE raspberry ganache and rum ganache. SO GOOD. Morgan, Hannah, Evan and I got lunch at this amazing Moroccan place and had some really great conversation. I really love my group here in London. Next was the tour of the actual bathhouse where the town gets its name - these were amazing, dating all the way back to the Roman Empire. The water is warm, bubbling, and unfortunately for us, not good to bathe in any longer. Too bad - I'm about sick of showers in my tiny little bathroom at Nido. Afterwards, we got to try some actual purified spring water - NOT so good haha, it tasted like eggs or blood, we weren't sure which. But apparently, it has healing powers. Take THAT, cold!
A shot of one of the bathing pools - the sacred one, if I remember correctly
Gosh I sure am LEARNING thanks to this amazing audio guide!
The main bath - so amazing!
The Bath Abbey over the main bath
Me in front of the bath, likely thinking about how much I would kill for a bath (or at least a jacuzzi, come on Nido, you let us drink, now give us a hot tub!)
Post-baths, we hopped back on the bus and took the long journey back to London. I slept for most of it, listened to some music, unwound. After all, we had a SUPER BOWL to watch!!! Regrettably, the Super Bowl didn't start til 11pm here, so our eagerness to celebrate made us soon realize we had started enjoying some cider too early. It was a blast though, we enjoyed Hoegaarden and cider in the 2nd floor lounge, watched TV, played some games, and just enjoyed some chill time. A few of the guys decided drinking an entire 2 liter of Strongbow cider was appropriate. They were quite hammered. I stuck with my Ho-Hos, so delicious, and our game of "Screw the Dealer" turned out to be quite dangerous for both Morgan and Mike. Once the football game started, I realized with dismay there were no commercials. Let's be real. American football has never been, and probably will never be, my forte. It's all - ALL - about the commercials, and none of them showed here. Instead, we got commentary from bored British men who were thinking "Our football is way cooler than this shit." At least we got the halftime show - The Who is pretty badass (nobody ever let Bryan Rogala know I said that)
I didn't make it through the whole game, as I was tired and didn't really care much about the outcome, so I retired pretty early. Good weekend overall, love getting some time with my new friends here. Missing everyone back home of course, but loving the skype/facebook/AIM time I get with you all! Keep reading, let me know if you want to see anything new on the blog! I leave you with this:
The predator in his natural habitat (aka, Morgan falling asleep while on the computer)
No comments:
Post a Comment