London Life

24 January 2008

........Hello from London. So I’m starting to “get the hang of London.” I’m looking right before I look left when I cross the street. I’m remembering street names more and more. And I’m realizing that I need to save money if I’m going to survive in this city! Everything is so expensive. As I sit in the laundry room at school and wait for my 2.5 pounds or five dollar laundry to dry, I realize that unless I want to be like the many, many homeless young people I see all around London, then I need to watch what I spend. Luckily, I don’t have to spend much on food because the meal plan that Regents College offers is fantastic. I have had fish every dinner since I have been here! The food is practically gourmet (no Point Park cheese quesadillas for me) and the prices are actually reasonable in comparison to my spending limit on the meal plan.
........To help compensate for all the money spent, Nicole, Ashley, Eric and I have been walking everywhere! We have walked from Regent’s Park all the way to the River Thames, and then back! The Tube is great, and not too expensive but by walking we’re experiencing the side streets of London with the neighborhood pubs and chic boutiques. There are so many people walking the streets and it’s great just to people watch and listen to them speak. I can walk one block in London and hear about 5 different languages being spoken! It’s incredible how many people there are here from all over the world! I love that it’s such an eclectic mix of people and food and fashion!
........ To finally fulfill our tourist roles, this past weekend we saw Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, the Houses of Parliament, and Big Ben. The buildings themselves were breathtaking but the fact that I was seeing them made me feel like a true traveler of the world. It’s the same feeling I had when I saw the Eiffel Tower. I appreciate the skill that went into the building and it's beauty and the fact that millions of other people have seen these sights. It makes me feel like a part of a true global community.

........Classes started on Monday here at Regents. I am in love with each and every one of my classes. Monday I start out with Media Ethics and then move onto my English class. This English class is what I have been looking forward to most. It is called Modernism and the Novel: Virginia Woolf, James Joyce, DH Lawrence, and Henry James. Right now we are reading Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf. What’s incredible is the fact that this novel was written about one day in London. I have been on the streets and seen the monuments that are described in the book! Virginia Woolf has one of her characters go to Regents Park…right where we are! My other classes are great too! I have a theater class and Contemporary London Music. In both of the classes we get to go on trips. I get to see 8 plays and go to 6 gigs in London…for FREE! It can’t get any better than that :)

........Almost every night this week Eric, Ashley, Nicole and I have gone out to a pub! It is so amazing that there is nightlife on a weekday…certainly very different than Pittsburgh! Nicole turned 21 on Monday so we celebrated at a few different pubs with her! Then last night was my favorite…we went to a blues club in SoHo! It was full of locals, and when I say full, I mean full! We could barely move and there was even a line outside just to get into this little hole in the wall! Luckily we didn’t have to wait in line but I definitely would have waited to get in…it was so cool! My new favorite drink is Strongbow (I hope you’re happy Jack) and even though it’s only hard cider, I look like I can handle a beer, haha. Tomorrow night we are going to Fabric. Apparently it’s suppose to be the 2nd best club in Europe! It should be fun!! This weekend we are all traveling to Stratford-upon-Avon, where Shakespeare was born, and Warwick Castle! It’s certainly going to be a packed weekend but that’s what I like…it makes me less and less homesick! I’m still missing everyone and hope you keep the emails coming! Cheers from London!

First Impressions

18 January 2008

I have officially been in London for a whole day. I am not sure how I feel about the city yet. I am absolutely thrilled to be here and I appreciate all that London has to offer but I’m not sure if it is fulfilling my expectations. I don’t even know what I expected other than I thought that I would like it more than Paris. I thought London could be my home but I don’t feel that yet…granted I have only been here for one day! I shouldn’t make such broad decisions yet about what city I like best.
Despite my indifferent initial reactions of the city, I am in love with the college. It is located in the picturesque gardens of Regents Park. The people working at the school have been nothing but friendly and helpful. They know that we have expectations of London and they want to make sure their city is displayed proudly so they constantly recommend places and share their insider’s knowledge. The college itself is very small…just a quad with a few buildings. I walked around the library today and I am very pleased with the selection. I hope to take a book out every week to read. There are so many topics that interest me from cinema books, tointernational media studies, to contemporary British fiction. I want to learn about the world on this trip and I know that but I have to be more willing to practice that. I think if I maintain this attitude of excitement and the willingness to experience something new then I will truly love this city.
Ashley, Nicole and I traveled to Picadilly Circus this evening. We chose to walk around ourselves rather than go on the trip the school offered. I want to experience London, not as a tourist, but as a traveler and I don’t feel the school travel group is conducive to that. We did, however, have to take the mandatory tourist photos in the red phone booths! We walked from our school in the north of London all the way to Picadilly Circus. It was a somewhat long walk but WOW it was worth it! We went through winding streets with little shops and cafes. The Gaps and Starbucks littered every street that we went on but the independent small shops, bars, and clubs certainly outweighed all of that. To get to Picadilly, which seemed much like New York’s Time Square, we had to travel through Oxford and Soho. Oxford was very much a commercial street with wide sidewalks and very trendy looking teenagers. Soho couldn’t have been more different with dark, narrow streets with hopping clubs and people pouring out onto the streets with a pint in hand. It was such a vibrant area with everyone having a fantastic time, looking cool. That is one thing that does not seem to differ…the trendiness of everyone. It’s incredible how almost every person I see looks like they are out of a magazine. I hope to acquire some of this London style! To end our first night out on the town, we went to a small café selling baguettes, wine, and desserts. We each had a whole piece of the most decadent chocolate cake I have ever had(I know, that’s not helping me acquire the waistline for the hip London style!) It was a great night with lovely friends in a beautiful city. I think that maybe I just need to have more days like the night I had tonight. I need to see the diversity and realize that I can fit into this city but I first need to drop my tourist illusion of it. To help shed that stereotypical view of London, Ashley, Eric, Nicole and I are going to “do the tourist attractions” tomorrow. We will see the quintessential London sights…Buckingham (pronounced without the “H”) Palace, Big Ben, the Tower of London, Parliament, and the London Eye. I am very excited about it and I think once we see those sights I can become less and less of a tourist.
It is also hard today to be extremely happy because I found out that my computer will not hook up to the schools wireless network. Their system does not support Mac’s Leopard…damn updates from Apple! I have to use the schools public computers, which makes it harder to use instant messenger and virtually impossible to use the webcam. I think today was the combination of many disappointments and homesickness. I know that I will always be a bit homesick but I also know that if I don’t enjoy myself then this was a waste of a trip. I want to have an amazing time and come back with loads of stories to share with everyone. I’m looking to the positive and hope that London will lighten my spirits tomorrow. Until then, “Cheers” from a homesick daughter, sister and girlfriend.