the preamble to my spring break…
Posted April 9th, 2009 by Michael
::heavy sigh::
Here I am, a day or so away from beginning the greatest trip I’ll ever take, and I find myself at a loss for words. I’ve spent the week in an almost vegetative state. Okay, that’s not true. I’ve run every day this week. However, LMU has a two-week break, so I’ve been off since Monday. I’ve been freaking out, anticipating anxiously my departure.
I’m writing this blog as a precursor. I won’t be on or even near a computer until I return from spring break. And then, upon my return, things are going to fly. There are only two weeks left of class when we return, so I’m going to have quite a bit to do. However, I will, upon pain of death (or an overwhelming amount of work to do—which, if you’re keeping track, is far more likely) get a blog entry up either Monday or Tuesday when I return.
I’m flying out of London Gatwick tomorrow afternoon. We are flying to Rome. We are spending the weekend in Rome; and while in Rome, we are attending Easter Sunday Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica. I would have written that sentence in all capital letters to try and convey my excitement, but honestly, this entire blog would be in all caps; and that would just be awkward to read. But anywho, I got tickets to attend Easter Mass with the Pope, so that’s going to be fantastic to the max. On Monday morning, we are flying to Athens, Greece and spending the next few days there. I really want to see all of the touristy things, like the Acropolis, the Parthenon and the like. However, after that, I really just want to enjoy everything. I’ve been told the beaches in Greece are to die for, so there’ll probably be some relaxation time spent there as well. Then, on Wednesday night (honestly, the flight is at, like, eleven in the evening) I am flying with a couple of friends to Cairo, Egypt. (That sentence, on top of being in all capital letters, needs to be in size 84 font to properly convey my excitement.) We’re going to be in Cairo, couchsurfing, until Sunday morning. Our flight leaves Cairo at 2:45 a.m.
One morning last month, I was in the shower and that was when I got this bright idea. We had already booked Rome and Athens, and I was trying to think how to punctuate my glorious spring break adventure. Then, I started to play “connect the logical dots” in my head, and it dawned on me that I was going to see the Coliseum and the Parthenon, so I was seeing two great ancient civilizations. Then, it hit me! There’s another incredible ancient civilization just across the Mediterranean that I’ve always had a fascination for. So, in my head, my spring break is Ancient Western Civs. 101.
Yeah, so I’m preparing and avoiding packing. I’m not taking anything that I can’t carry in my backpack. I’m not wasting my time with any sort of large luggage. So right now I’m trying to figure out what I should and shouldn’t take. In Egypt, I’m probably not going to be able to wear shorts, so I need to pack a few pairs of trousers. I’ve asked our host in Cairo for his advice as far as appropriate dress. However, it’s going to be a bigger deal for the ladies who are joining me in Egypt.
Anywho, sorry there hasn’t been anything exciting to chat about. Although! I did go and get my haircut on Monday. It was almost terrifying because I decided to go to a cheapy place. The sign advertised £7 haircuts, which is really cheap. I, feeling poor, decided to go there rather than a nice place. It was painful, but I’m pleased with the final product. It felt like the woman did more pulling of my hair than cutting it. However, all’s well that ends well, I guess.
Okay, I’m going to continue to fake being productive and look at tourism websites. So long for now…
Parliament Building = Amazing
Posted April 6th, 2009 by Michael
Before I dive into the nuts and bolts of a blog o’ramblings, I want to apologise for such a smarmy title to my last blog. It wasn’t my intention at all to have something so snide. It happened because when I went to post it and I needed a title, I reread my first few lines where I talk about the dog races. Because it was so long, I kinda forgot that I included that portion of my experience, so I just found it amusing that I had opened and closed my blog discussing different cultural experiences with canines.
I can’t believe another week has passed so quickly. It’s terrifying to think that I’m going to be flying home in a month. It’s finally started to hit me that my time in London is coming to an end. I really feel unprepared to go back to the States. But enough of my silly insecurities, I had a fantastic week in London this week.
The week was really, looking back, a blur. I can’t believe it happened so fast. Monday ended without a second thought. I’ve got an end of the semester project looming in my Education class that I must finish before I leave London, so I have two weeks less than the rest of the class to finish it. Tuesday was really great! As I promised, I went back out to Greenwich to enjoy it with improved weather. Jenna’s older sister and aunt are in town for the week to sightsee and then see Jenna and Andy in the play that they’re in, so Jenna’s sister came with us out to Greenwich. It was great there now that the weather’s not miserable. We took some more silly photos at the prime meridian and just took in the city. Jenna and her sister left early, so Andy and I continued to wander around the park. Then! It happened! We found another tree to climb! It was the coolest tree I’d ever seen. It looked like it had grown out of the ground and twisted anti-clockwise as it grew. It was soo amazing! It was funny because we both kind of paused and looked at each other at the same time. It was straight out of a movie. We tore off up the tree. However, when we were both up there, a little clique of kids walked by and I thought they were going to steal my bag—which was sitting at the foot of the tree. He looked right up at us and even slowed at the foot of the tree. I thought I was going to have to fly down the tree and chase him; my heart stopped for a minute. It was terrifying. But after my heart started back up again, we continued to enjoy the tree. It was really a fantastic time. From one place in the park, you could see the entire London skyline; it was amazing. And I bought that shirt I didn’t buy last time I was there, so it was a fantastic day.
Wednesday is one of my favorite days because I really enjoy my Differential Equations class. That sounds mildly insane, but I do really really enjoy it. We’ve got a test the week back from spring break, and I can’t wait. I was entirely unproductive this week. I spent most of my time reading things about the G20 summit—either things going on with the world leaders or the riotous protesters and anarchists that were losing their minds. I just finished reading the graphic novel for V for Vendetta, and so part of me was excited at the idea of something big and nasty happening. I’m sure that sounds terrible. hahaha! I blame it on the graphic novel. The G20 stuff was kind of terrifying though. They were prepared for the worst. The tube stations near protests were closed; the entire Waterloo & City Line was closed; at one point, I heard that Bank station had to be evacuated. There was total media coverage as well. All of the papers, legit and freebee, were running story after story about it.
Wednesday night also brought with it Jenna and Andy’s London debut! Earlier in the year, they tried out for and were cast in a production of You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown and Wednesday night was opening night. They did such a wonderful job. It was a cute little production in this tiny theatre and it was just great. That night, we chose to walk from Waterloo back to Vandon because it was such a beautiful night. While meandering our way down streets and alleys, we discovered this tunnel, aptly named “the tunnel,” that was a specific place designated for graffiti artists to tag the walls, floors and ceilings. It was so amazing! I really want to buy a can of spray paint and make my own mark there…. Then, Thursday brought with it more musical adventures of creamy delight. The Central Programme got the group tickets to see the London Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Holy cow! It was so amazing. I forgot how much I enjoy classical music. I didn’t buy a program at the door, so I can’t tell you what they played exactly, but I enjoyed it quite a bit. There was a guest violinist who soloed throughout one of the songs, and it was melt-your-face-off incredible and beautiful to hear him play. Then, after two hours of classical elegance in music, Jenna’s sister and I went wandering off to find this random pub that was having a free show. It was kind of random, but so great. We took a long tube ride out there, but then, when we to leave, it was too late and all of the tubes had stopped for the night. It was actually my first time being out late enough to have to find my way home on night buses. It was actually a pain because a lot of buses that were supposed to be running were not. We ended up walking from Marble Arch back to Vandon just because the night trains were so inconsistent. However, we got to the pub and listened to the last band play. It was really a glorious indie/garage scene where it’s such a small show, nothing could go wrong. It was highly enjoyable to go to a little show like that and just enjoy the music and the company. Alissa (Jenna’s sister) and I bonded earlier in the week over a common taste in music and a geeky love for teaching.
I need to get some sleep because it’s been such a long week. I said it went quickly, which it did. However, I have gotten less sleep this week than any other week of the semester it seems. It didn’t help that today was a long and exhausting day as well.
We spent the morning exploring London’s East End and Spitalfield Market. In the East End, it’s one of the largest immigrant populations in the city. Most of the street signs are even in another language as well as English. Then, to make the day even more wonderful, the Central Programme bought us an authentic Bengali meal. Let me just say it was delicious. The one buzz-kill that I realised was that because it was Friday, I had to consume the vegetarian option for lunch. However, what I had—the vegetarian meal—was still incredibly tasty. Seriously, it was so delicious. I enjoyed it quite a bit; and the best part was, it was free! Central paid for our lunch! Also this afternoon, we got a tour of Parliament. That was a stunning tour. The inside of the building was incredible. I was sad they wouldn’t allow anyone take photos inside the building other than in a single room. It really was grand. Then, we almost got into serious trouble outside the visitors entrance because we were trying to take goofy photos, and an angry police officer yelled at us and told us to “move along.”
I don’t feel like I should move on, because I don’t think I’ve done it justice. The houses of Parliament are really incredible. That is one thing that I would recommend to anyone visiting that they should try and see while here. That was also organised for us through the Central Programme, so it was also free for us. But seriously, it was incredible.
i talk about dogs in this blog entry… it’s really swell
Posted April 1st, 2009 by Michael
First I must explain that this has been a fairly uneventful week, so I apologise to my faithful audience for not writing up two blog posts this week (hahaha! I don’t know who I’m kidding… Sorry Mom). I spent most of the week faking productivity and attempting to write a paper due next month.
Tuesday night, however, was interesting because there was another outing through the Central Programme. Tuesday, they arranged for us to go to a greyhound race. Greyhound racing is (as they told us) the second highest spectator-sport in the UK. I wasn’t originally going to go because I didn’t want to pay to enter, nor was I entirely comfortable with the idea of dog racing. However, the afternoon before we went, Mark told us they were going to pay for it, so that was enough of a push to convince me to go. It was, like I said, interesting. Really, the thing that stuck out is simply the perpetuated fact that I should never ever gamble. Never in my life. I bet on a dog to place in both races, which means the dog either had to get first or second. However, in both races, the dog I bet on got last place. Meanwhile, it’s important to note that some of the guys around me bet on the winning dog for three and four races in a row, while I find myself in-the-hole five pounds. It was pretty bad.
One thing I will say that I really enjoy about the London Abroad Programme, other than being in London (obviously), is the fact that I’m cooking for myself. I’ve never really done that before; I still live at home during the summers back in corntown Indiana, and so it was never something that was necessary. However, I’m having quite a bit of fun cooking for myself and making random dishes and experimenting with different things together. For example, I cooked a “chicken apple skillet.” I stole an apple from breakfast that I didn’t cook, so I decided to cook it with the chicken I bought earlier that day. I was first really terrified because it was my first time dealing with real raw meat, but I got over that and cooked it up all nice and tasty like. It was incredible.
This weekend brought with it my greatest adventure thusfar in my time abroad. ::insert excited anticipation:: I spent the weekend in Zürich, Switzerland! Before this weekend, I was the only person in the house that hadn’t left England yet. This was my first chance to see something in Europe that wasn’t British. I was really excited about it. Also, on top of being my first chance to see Europe, it was also my first couchsurfing. One of the guys here has talked about it a couple times, so I looked it up. There’s this incredible website that networks travelers from across the globe to spread the good cheer of humanity. It’s a way to find people in different cities and countries, connect them and help them find places to stay.
Anywho, I signed up and joined the site and hooked up with a guy in Zürich, Stephan, who allowed us to crash for the weekend—“us” being Severa and I. The weekend was really really fantastic, and I attribute a lot of it to Stephan and his hospitality. I really don’t think Severa and I would have had nearly as much fun without everything they did for us.
We got in on an obscenely late flight Thursday night (and then Friday morning if you want to be technical about it), but it wasn’t bad because Swiss Airlines gives you complimentary chocolate. Yeah! Like, I’m sure by real “swiss” standards, it’s just crappy cheap chocolate, but it was still crappy cheap SWISS chocolate, so it was friggin’ delicious. I was really excited.
But yeah, it was supposed to rain all weekend, so I was a little bummed, but then Friday ended up being an incredibly beautiful day. The sun was shining and it was gorgeous, and that was perfect because it was a gorgeous city! It’s the largest city in Switzerland, but it was surprisingly small—and by small, I really mean compact. It wasn’t really necessary to take any sort of public transportation to get from place to place. The city is just nestled in the Alps on the shore of Zürich Lake. Really, words can’t describe how beautiful it was. There were mazes of cobblestone alleys on one side of the river (that feeds into the lake), and on the other was the expensive Zürich. The Zürich that would charge you for window shopping it’s so expensive. It was all so wonderful.
We went up into one of the church towers of Grossmüster and I got some gorgeous photos of the city and the lake, all of it set into the backdrop of the Alps; it was breathtaking. We went out and just sat in a park and enjoyed the weather for a while. While I was at the park, I found an orphaned football that I then proceeded to dribble around with me for the next hour or so until I lost it under a parked car. I was so sad. But yeah, one thing I really liked about Zürich was, while we were wandering around the residential area in the mountainside outside the center of the city, as well as the city itself, it seemed like everyone had art. There were sculptures everywhere. Also, there were quite a few fountains, but they were kind of a mixture of both of the mental associations people have with fountains. They were like public displays—including some sculpture—but there were quite a few that then, while having adornment, appeared to be built to drink from. A couple even had similar pools near the ground, presumably for canines. That brings me to another observation: they love their dogs in Zürich. I saw people with their dogs on leashes everywhere—and that includes in building. I watched a woman enter a bizarre, super-ritzy-type department store with one. It was outrageous. The only place dogs weren’t allowed, from what I gathered because this was the one place I saw some tied to lampposts outside, was the post office.
Saturday, all of that rain that was predicted came, and it rained from the time we woke up until around six in the evening. That was kind of a bummer. It was cool though because we spent a lazy morning in Stephan’s flat. I don’t know if I made it clear enough, but he was such a fantastic host. While we were relaxing, we even played his Wii. At first, that may seem dumb. I spent time in a foreign country playing Wii. However, it was really nice to do something that was normal, if that makes sense. I have a Wii back home, and so there was a reassuring level of normalcy doing something that I haven’t done since I left in January. That, and it’s just a lot of fun. Also, while in Zürich, I managed to show a bit of will power. I really, REALLY wanted to buy a nice Swiss Army Knife, simply because I was in Switzerland and there was a gargantuan selection of them in one of the stores. It was a jaw-dropping arrangement of knives. What made in really difficult was that they had a special purple Boy Scout knife that had the international insignia of scouting on it. (The International Patch is purple, so that’s the significance of the knife’s color). I wanted it so bad. It was fifty Francs. The Swiss Franc is almost the same as a US Dollar; it’s like a Canadian Dollar.
Okay, this has developed into a rather lengthy blog. If I remember more anecdotes from my weekend, I will include it in my next post.
Cheers!
“by the sea”
Posted March 26th, 2009 by Michael
Friday, the Central Programme paid for us to take a day trip to Brighton. Brighton is one of the English cities that are seaside on the English Channel. It is really famous because King George IV made it his home for most of his life and it’s today very popular for its bohemian culture and beautiful coastline.
The Programme first paid for us to see the Royal Pavilion. It was the palace home of George before he became King of England. It was outrageously gorgeous. George IV was a very elaborate and extravagant gentleman. The “beach house” looks like it should be the guest house of the Taj Mahal, with an obvious Indian architecture. However, as soon as you step in the front door, you think you’ve stepped into an elaborate Kung-Fu movie. The interior of all of the entertaining rooms—rather the rooms George would entertain guests in—had oriental dragon motifs. The audio tour explained it was in vogue at the time, so naturally, George had to do it better. I wish I could have taken pictures in there to capture what it was like. It was incredible. In the dining room, there was this chandelier to put all other chandeliers to shame. The audio guide said it weighed about a tonne. Yeah! An entire tonne! There was a dragon coming out of the ceiling holding it; there were six smaller dragons holding lotus flowers in their mouths; there was more glass, crystals and mirrors than I’ve ever seen hanging in one place. Then, there were a few other chandeliers in the room along the outside of the room, as if the one Godzilla Chandelier wasn’t enough. The entire house was full of equally flabbergasting elegance and extravagance.
After the Pavilion, we headed down to the water and Brighton Pier. The Pier was cute. I enjoyed it quite a bit. It was delightfully quaint and fun. There were a few little roller coasters that we road; it was a good, wholesome and fun time. The one thing I couldn’t believe was that when we went into the arcade, there weren’t any skee-ball machines! I love skee-ball machines; I will always play one at least twice when I go into an arcade. Call me idiosyncratic, but I think there’s something so delightful about playing them. It’s nostalgia at its finest. So needless to say, I was super disappointed to see that they were absent. I wept. Well, that’s not true, but I was still sad. However, it was too beautiful of a day to be sad for long. It was a gorgeous day outside and the Channel was beautiful. After exhausting the novelty of the pier, we went down to the water. The girls waded in first while I finished my apple. They all screamed because it was cold, but I didn’t believe them. They’re from Texas, so I figure they’re completely spoilt by the Gulf of Mexico. When I rolled up my jeans and waded in, it was cold; don’t get me wrong. But I didn’t think it was terrible. I mean, it is only the middle of March. We relaxed on the beach and soaked up the sun for a bit. The one odd think was that there was no sand on the beach, it was entirely rocks. It was something to get used to running around without shoes. However, when I got back into my shoes, my feet felt better, like they’d been given a massage. There was also a nude beach a walk down the shore, so we all turned into curious tourists and wandered down there. We couldn’t stop ourselves.
After that, afternoon was waning, so we explored town a bit and hopped a train back to London. It was such a great day, by far one of the best day trips I’ve been on. In the town, there were these tiny alleys full of great shops and the like. It was neat to explore and window shop.
Today (Saturday), I was going to go out to Stratford-Upon-Avon today and see the birthplace of Billy Shakes, but decided instead to relax. I’m going to run and sleep; hopefully be a bit productive.
Also, below, I’ve included some links to my pictures on Facebook. They’re all public albums, so everyone should be able to view them without any trouble. Cheers!
Brighton: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2010751&id=1161450072&l=b388fb1871
Canterbury: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2010490&id=1161450072&l=ea196f12c1
I perf’d it!
Posted March 24th, 2009 by Michael
I think I’ve mentioned this before, but it must be said again: I love London.
The weather is improving everyday as spring inches closer and closer. The parks have put out collections of lawn/beach chairs for the public to sit in and enjoy. When I got off the tube and walked home through Green Park, I saw them and was flabbergasted. There was a small plaque that said they cost some nominal fee (I cannot recall specifically now), but I didn’t see anyone around collecting money from the peoples in the chairs. The weather has been wonderful since the weekend. It’s that early spring weather that’s chilly in the morning and evening, but gorgeous during the day to the point where you wish you were wearing shorts and a t-shirt.
During my Differential Equations class today, we received our marks from the test we took last week. I GOT A PERFECT SCORE!! Needless to say, I was pretty excited. It was funny; the professor said that he was disappointed that people did so well. He said that meant he could have made the test harder. I was honestly surprised by how easy it was, to be honest. Oh well, no complaints here.
I also went to see Watchmen “the largest screen in Britain” (read: in IMAX). It was a fantastic film. I enjoyed it quite a bit. I’ve started a forum on my blog to discuss it, as well as the graphic novel, and how they compare. That was also my first experience seeing a movie in IMAX. It really was amazing how large the screen was. I couldn’t believe it when I first saw it. I’m still in awe. Then, after the movie and dinner, we headed out for a bit of St. Patty’s Day shenanigans. It was a bit disappointing because most of the pubs stopped serving at eleven. I got a sweet leprechaun hat and I had a sip of my friend’s Guinness, so I think I fulfilled my obligations for the holiday. It was a nice evening, and I was told I looked good in green, so overall a plus.
This post seems fairly short in comparison to some of my previous ones, but I had to let everyone know about my mark on the DiffEq test. I was far too excited. I practically skipped back to Vandon.
frisbee, pi, pie and bridges
Posted March 16th, 2009 by Michael
Friday the Thirteenth struck me bitter. Friday I hopped on a bus to Cambridge by myself because I found myself with nothing to do on Friday. When I arrived, I discovered my camera had stopped working. It’s done this once before, before I went to a show back in Chicago. It fixed itself when I plugged it back into the wall, so do not fret; I was just terribly disappointed because I spent the day wondering through Cambridge without the ability to take photos to remember everything. Regardless, I spent the day walking and walking; I did what I could to never walk the same street twice for that matter. Overall it was a glorious day.
My first goal for the day was to find Christ’s College and the gardens they have within the college walls. John Milton studied at Christ’s College, receiving both a BA and Masters from the school. It’s said that the gardens were Milton’s favourite place to sit and enjoy the beauty of nature. Wow. Entering Christ’s College, the initial green had a small, quaint pond and there were ducks just sitting along the shore, by all of my estimates, sleeping. They were sitting with their heads turned around backward and nestled into their feathers; I assume to keep their bills warm. There were probably a dozen of them, all in rows. I walked right next to them, they never moved.
Then, however, I followed a path to another garden, and that’s when I knew I had found the place. I simply froze in my tracks; I understand why Milton studied to become an Anglican priest and so frequently wrote about God, he saw it all around him in the blessed beauty of the natural world. Slowly strolling along the footpath, I felt like I was in another world. All of the college’s gardens—but especially Christ’s College’s—were havens of tranquility, nestled into the walls of the school, protected from the pandemonium of the outside world. The realm of chaos has no bridge to this Eden. The massive trees, in fact, perfect timeworn relics that have been watching the garden since Milton sat under them, penning some of his early works, contemplating God and man, life and death, heaven and hell. The footpath went most of the way around the garden, through epic trees, juxtaposed with blooming bulbous flowers of all colours and sizes. I do wish that I had words elegant and wonderful enough to properly paint a portrait of how beautiful it was. It was hallowed ground for me; to walk too loudly was to disturb an absolute tranquility that blanketed nature
I can honestly say that Cambridge was by far my favorite place in England, outside of London. I cannot fairly compare it to my trip to Oxford because they were under different circumstances. When I went to Oxford, I was with a semi-large group of people. Don’t get me wrong, I loved my trip to Oxford and all the people I went with, but Cambridge by myself was completely different. One super-extreme bonus that I discovered, I apparently look like a college student. Who knew?
If you don’t follow, allow me to explain. Some of the larger, more popular colleges require tourists to pay an admission to see their hallowed grounds. Well, I didn’t pay an admission for any of the colleges I entered. I was never once stopped by any of the people taking money. They must have thought I looked like a college student; and in fact, one who attends their respective universities. So, I figured this was a blessing on my budget, so I just walked by with a stern, studious look on my face. It probably didn’t help that I had my man-bag on, it containing a few books. This gave me an opportunity to see a lot of things that I would not have because I couldn’t have paid for it.
The Cam is a river that flows through the western portion of the city, and a few of the more prevalent colleges own the territory on either side for a good length of the river. Because of my good fortune, I managed to walk every bridge that crossed the Cam for the mile of the river that is the touristly attracted area. The first bridge was by far my favourite. It is called Mathematical Bridge! (Anyone who knows me well is now rolling their eyes, possibly burying their head in a hand or two). The bridge dates back to 1902 and is the only wooden bridge still in Cambridge. You notice immediately its unique design, and the apocryphal story is that when it was originally built, it didn’t need nails or any bonding tools of any sort; it was solely made of wood arcing over the water. It was one of the times I really really wished I had a camera.
Every single one of the colleges was awe-inspiring. To go on about each individually would be a superfluous repetition of descriptives and silly superlatives. I can list all of the colleges I entered though: Christ’s College, Emmanuel College, Queen’s College, St. Catherine’s College, King’s College, Clare College, Trinity College, St. John’s College, and Jesus College. Like I said, all of them were gorgeous and amazing to just walk around in. Some highlights included Trinity College. The road leading up to the school was lined with bulbs of flowers that were just starting to bloom; the great part was that all the bulbs were purple and white, which are Trinity’s school colours. It made me smile quite a bit. St. John’s College has another great attraction called the Bridge of Sighs. It is an old covered bridge that architecturally matches the surrounding buildings. It was really beautiful. And again, it’s not something that they allow tourist to even get close to. There is another bridge parallel to it that tourists can take pictures from, but because I looked like I knew what I was doing, I wandered up and down it, admiring the architecture and the Cam from the inside.
I also went to the pub where Watson and Crick first announced their discovery of the double helix. It was across the street from King’s college. It was a nice little pub called the Eagle. There was a plaque outside commemorating the event. That makes sense; I mean, they DID win a Nobel Prize for their discovery. I also took a short jaunt through the Fitzwilliam Museum. I didn’t stay for very long. I just did a little wandering and then set off to discover more of the city. It was all so delightful.
The weekend, after a glorious trip to Cambridge, was pretty satisfying. There is a paper due for class that I finished on Saturday. Also, Saturday was Pi Day. As a mathematics major, to not celebrate such a glorious day would be blasphemous to say the least. This Pi Day was by far the greatest I have ever experienced, though. Jenna, Andy, Jill, Jill’s friend and I actually made our own pie from scratch! Can you believe it?! I googled a recipe and we ran to Sainsbury and bought all the stuff we needed. It was the most glorious apple pie I’d ever had. We baked it, cut it into five pieces, covered the pieces in vanilla ice cream and feasted in a glorious celebration.
Sunday, I went and played Frisbee with the ultimate club I found online! I discovered a website, londonultimate.com, that had information on every club that meets in the city, and I found one that meets in Hyde Park on Sunday afternoons. So today, Schnicker and I went out and played a couple of pick-up games with them. I relaxed in the evening and watched two movies.
Posted March 12th, 2009 by Michael
After that last cliff-hanger of an ending last time, I know people have been dying to read another blog, including my mysteriously mentioned perplexity. I heard a bit on the news this morning that just added to the quizzical nature of the whole thing. But first, I must address something else. My grandfather, in a letter he sent me, asked me what the weather was like here, so I thought the best way to answer him (also his suggested method) would be to include the information in my blog.
The weather, as stereotyped, has been rather wet. However, as the days get longer and spring approaches, the rainy days have decreased considerably. When we first arrived, it seemed like we only saw the sun once a week. Now, however, the opposite is true; we really only get serious rain once, maybe twice a week. It’s still almost chilly on most days, but the sun just makes everything feel wonderful. London is a windy city; not as bad as Chicago, but windy enough to where it makes me want to wear a hat every time I go out. There was a terrible storm, complete with a single bolt of lightning, on Sunday (8 March). It also rained yesterday (10 March). When it storms, the wind inevitably picks up quite a bit. This city eats umbrellas for its morning coffee, breakfast, brunch, lunch, mid-day snack, afternoon tea, dinner, supper… you get the idea
And now onto my mind-meld of a pondering: Every country—obviously—has a superiority complex; it’s quite apparent in the States. However, given history, I feel like there’s a special love-hate relationship between the UK and the US. I find myself wondering why it was all such a big deal so many years ago. I feel like there’s this uncomfortable complex separating the two nations, and most of it revolves around who is better. It’s bizarre. Then, part of me gets caught up in it, and I wonder if I’m horrible because I feel like there are quite a few things that they do better than we do. Obviously, the reasons for these differences can be traced in some way back to our breaking away and establishing something different. Other differences may seem trite or arbitrary, but looking at it honestly, it still means something. Take, for example, faucets… most sinks over here have two—a hot and a cold. At first, it seemed terribly odd and an overall pain. However, it was pointed out to me that this reduces waste. Someone cannot turn it on to whatever temperature they deem perfect and then just let it run. If you need a mix of hot and cold, you have to fill the basin with a mixture you deem appropriate. The amount of waste is reduced considerably. Another thing I’ve noticed, you rarely, if ever, see cars speeding in London. Sure, you can say it’s a crowded city, but that doesn’t make it impossible. People also don’t run lights here like they do in the States. When it turns yellow, you stop, not pump the gas to make it through. On the ride back from Canterbury, I had a discussion with Mark, the Programme Director (and a wonderful and pleasant guy, I might add) and he told me it’s because most places are monitored quite heavily. If you’re caught on camera breaking traffic laws, the city will send you a bill in the post. I think that’s wonderful. It has clearly been effective in eliminating the problem. Also, there was something else that I learned on the first tour of the city we had back in January; I don’t know if I mentioned it then, but Mark shed some new light on it as well. If anyone wanted to drive their vehicle within the city, they are required to pay for it. Now, I didn’t ask if there’s some permit, or any of the logistics for that matter, but these cameras also will catch you if you’re not supposed to be there. They have these regulations on driving in the city for obvious congestion reasons, but nowadays, there’s a green reason to control things like this. Originally, the tour guide from January said that it does cost different amounts for different makes and models of cars. I find that to be a brilliant thing to implement.
Continuing in this vein, I chuckled this morning because I heard that there are talks to implement American-style crosswalks (zebra crossings is the British colloquialism) throughout London to try and eliminate the “straggler” pedestrians who try and cross when it is too late. American-style crosswalks are the type which countdown the amount of time remaining before the signal changes. I laughed at this report because after all the times I feel they’ve one-upped us, they have deemed something we do more successful. Also, at crosswalks, I’ve noticed that traffic lights get yellow lights on both sides of a green light. So right before the light turns from red to green, it goes yellow again. This, I feel, has increased the problem they’re having at crosswalks because the cars are then starting to inch forward and there are still pedestrians thinking they have time to walk. However, I don’t blame the extra yellow; I actually think that it’s a wonderful idea. I wish we had yellow lights to signal both changes. And on top of all of this, we’ve had some lectures about the British monarchy and how the British government works; so on top of all of the little stuff, I’ve been processing everything I’ve learned about Parliament and comparing it to what I know about our own governmental workings (which is, granted, still considerably more than what I know about how they do things here).
I had my first real test today in my Differential Equations class. It was awesome! I feel like I did really well, so we’ll see what kind of marks I get. I’ve got my first real paper due tomorrow morning (Thursday, 12 March), so I’m excited to turn that in. I have another paper due Monday, but it’s only 1200 words, so I’m not terribly worried about getting it done in a timely manner. That being said, I’ve got nothing planned for the weekend. I waited and tried to plan something now and I’ve had no luck at all. It’s fairly discouraging; however, it’s my own fault for being lame and not planning anything sooner like I should have.
We went on a Ghost Walk around London this evening and it was grand. The guide was actually the same guy I mentioned above, who gave us our first tour. He’s a really really funny guy. There were less of us, so he was a bit looser, and had some pretty delightful asides about certain things. It was cool because it was around the City of London specifically, and that’s a part of London I haven’t really been out to very much, so it was like walking around for the first time. I’m always discovering new places I’ve never been. I love it here; I can’t say that enough.
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