Well, I've decided I'm going to keep blogging, even though I'm no longer on adventures abroad. Feel free to continue reading or stop reading as you desire. Most of what I say here will just be random things that pop into my head with whatever commentary i come up with.
With that said...
I'm adjusting to being home rather nicely. Sometimes it feels as though the whole semester was just a dream, but I have things that remind me it was real, like pictures, friends I wouldn't otherwise have met, and souvenirs. WIthout a doubt, the souvenir I use the most is the purse I got in Greece (Ha, I bet some of you thought it would be a shot glass. Got you!). It's adorable, but it's pretty difficult to organize. It only has one small pocket on the inside that's about big enough for my sunglasses and my cell phone, or my cell phone and my ipod, or my keys. When I set my purse down, sometimes the things spill out of the pocket into the purse anyway.
As a result, my old sunglasses got pretty badly scratched up by my keys. So I went to Target and got some new sunglasses, and I thought to myself, "Let's not do that same thing again! I'll get a case for my sunglasses, like any sensible person would do!"
I couldn't find a single glasses case in the store. I thought, "No matter, I've got some spares at home, maybe my sunglasses will fit into one of those." They didn't fit.
When I went to visit my best friend a little over a week ago, we thought we'd do some shopping, and I told her that I wanted to try and find a glasses case. We're pretty good at finding random things, I figured we be victorious rather easily. Nope.
I know glasses cases haven't gone extinct, I've seen a few people with them here and there. They must definitely be highly endangered though, because In the entire Columbia mall, the only place we found hard cases were Claire's. They were even the right size, but they were pretty ugly. The only soft ones we found were pretty plain, nothing decorative. And it left me wondering:
Why does no one make sunglasses cases anymore? I know people still wear sunglasses. And sunglasses aren't getting any more indestructable. Generally I'm pretty against the whole "more material things" notion. There are countless "inventions" out there that we don't need, mountains of junk that beg to clutter our lives. But sunglasses cases are not in these categories. They are simple and useful, and I just can't understand why I'm having such a difficult time finding any.
Maybe it would be easier to find a case to keep my keys in.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
We're Gonna Make Our Way to America
I’m on my flight back to the States (but by the time I post this, I’ll probably be be sitting comfortably in my own room. It’s a long flight (about 7 hours remaining, and then a layover, and then the 2 connecting flight), and I’m ready to be home. I miss my parents and my friends, and being in a reasonable time zone to the majority of them. I miss food with flavor and being able to eat when I want. I miss my double bed in my own room with my own bathroom and a real-sized shower that provides water at a variety of temperatures (as opposed to only ‘uncomfortably warm’ and ‘scaldingly hot’-- except for that week that the hot water went out and the only temperature was ‘colder than ice’). I miss my car and being able to sing along with my music at the top of my lungs.
But I’m going to miss London, too. I’ll miss the big, beautiful, royal parks. I’ll miss being able to hop on the Tube and get just about anywhere pretty quickly. I’ll miss being around so many people who are so different from me. I’ll miss the beautiful architecture all over the place and the buildings that are older than our country. I have had the most extraordinary semester, and I can hardly believe how blessed I am to have gotten such an experience. I’ve seen things that I didn’t think I would ever get to see in person, like Stonehenge, the Rosetta Stone, and Big Ben.
It will feel strange being back home. It took me about three months to get used to Sterling not feeling like play money, and I kind of feel like Dollars are going to feel like play money now. It will also be difficult for me to remember that display prices don’t include tax at home. I really got used to not having to add that on when I bought things. I think I’ll also have to adjust to hearing American accents all over the place. It was getting to the point where I was so used to hearing English accents that sometimes after talking to someone, I would walk away and wonder, “Wait, did he have an accent?”
Here’s my obvious statement of the day: The ocean is really big. Even from way up here, it just goes on as far as you can see. When I look at a map or a globe or something, it doesn’t seem like it should take almost 9 hours to fly from London to Charlotte (and to be fair, it was less than that on the way to London. I have no idea why this flight is almost two hours longer). I wish the ocean weren’t so big. It makes traveling more difficult.
Thank you all for reading my blog this semester. Your comments have been very encouraging, and I look forward to seeing you all again soon.
Much Love,
Holly
But I’m going to miss London, too. I’ll miss the big, beautiful, royal parks. I’ll miss being able to hop on the Tube and get just about anywhere pretty quickly. I’ll miss being around so many people who are so different from me. I’ll miss the beautiful architecture all over the place and the buildings that are older than our country. I have had the most extraordinary semester, and I can hardly believe how blessed I am to have gotten such an experience. I’ve seen things that I didn’t think I would ever get to see in person, like Stonehenge, the Rosetta Stone, and Big Ben.
It will feel strange being back home. It took me about three months to get used to Sterling not feeling like play money, and I kind of feel like Dollars are going to feel like play money now. It will also be difficult for me to remember that display prices don’t include tax at home. I really got used to not having to add that on when I bought things. I think I’ll also have to adjust to hearing American accents all over the place. It was getting to the point where I was so used to hearing English accents that sometimes after talking to someone, I would walk away and wonder, “Wait, did he have an accent?”
Here’s my obvious statement of the day: The ocean is really big. Even from way up here, it just goes on as far as you can see. When I look at a map or a globe or something, it doesn’t seem like it should take almost 9 hours to fly from London to Charlotte (and to be fair, it was less than that on the way to London. I have no idea why this flight is almost two hours longer). I wish the ocean weren’t so big. It makes traveling more difficult.
Thank you all for reading my blog this semester. Your comments have been very encouraging, and I look forward to seeing you all again soon.
Much Love,
Holly
Sunday, April 5, 2009
It's a Beautiful Sky on a Beautiful Day
I don't have much to report today. I had some friends visit last weekend, which was a lot of fun. Greta brought a couple of her friends from Poitiers, and it was great to meet them, and to get the chance to show them around. I really feel like I'm getting the hang of this city when I can show people around.
And Chris successfully graduated from Basic Combat Training on Friday. We got to talk on the phone for about 20 minutes yesterday, which was really nice. I've gotten to talk to a couple of other people from home as well, which has also been nice. I'm really enjoying it here, but I do miss everyone, and I'm looking forward to seeing them all in around a month or so.
And today is Palm Sunday. I didn't make it to a church service or anything, but after I woke up and showered and dressed and all that, I noticed that it was an absolutely beautiful day outside, with a wide blue sky and a few puffy white clouds, and it was already 50ºF, so I had a nice little meditation by myself out on the balcony. As I read in Luke about Jesus's journey to Jerusalem, and how the crowd was shouting about all the wonderful things they'd seen, I thought about the wonderful things God's done for me.
There are miracles I've seen long ago, like strangers stopping to pray with each other, and out-of-control vehicles somehow landing in the only safe place on the entire hill. There are small things like songs coming up out of nowhere saying exactly what I need to hear, and friends calling at just the right moment.
I thought about how so many little things happen and disappear, but leave an impact and bring us to where we are, and end up being really important for reasons we could never forsee, like all of the reasons that got so many of us here at Regent's at the point in particular. If a few small things had worked out differently, I wouldn't have met the people I have met, and would not be having the same experience at all.
"If these were quiet, the stones would cry out!" It's a wonder the stones don't cry out more often. I don't think we acknowledge daily miracles enough. Maybe that's why birds sing so much. They sing because we don't, and singing stones would draw a lot more attention (and probably make people uncomfortable with the strangeness).
I wish I could enjoy the sunshine longer, but I have to write a paper now, and the books I need have to stay in the library. Hopefully the sun will still be out when I finish...
And Chris successfully graduated from Basic Combat Training on Friday. We got to talk on the phone for about 20 minutes yesterday, which was really nice. I've gotten to talk to a couple of other people from home as well, which has also been nice. I'm really enjoying it here, but I do miss everyone, and I'm looking forward to seeing them all in around a month or so.
And today is Palm Sunday. I didn't make it to a church service or anything, but after I woke up and showered and dressed and all that, I noticed that it was an absolutely beautiful day outside, with a wide blue sky and a few puffy white clouds, and it was already 50ºF, so I had a nice little meditation by myself out on the balcony. As I read in Luke about Jesus's journey to Jerusalem, and how the crowd was shouting about all the wonderful things they'd seen, I thought about the wonderful things God's done for me.
There are miracles I've seen long ago, like strangers stopping to pray with each other, and out-of-control vehicles somehow landing in the only safe place on the entire hill. There are small things like songs coming up out of nowhere saying exactly what I need to hear, and friends calling at just the right moment.
I thought about how so many little things happen and disappear, but leave an impact and bring us to where we are, and end up being really important for reasons we could never forsee, like all of the reasons that got so many of us here at Regent's at the point in particular. If a few small things had worked out differently, I wouldn't have met the people I have met, and would not be having the same experience at all.
"If these were quiet, the stones would cry out!" It's a wonder the stones don't cry out more often. I don't think we acknowledge daily miracles enough. Maybe that's why birds sing so much. They sing because we don't, and singing stones would draw a lot more attention (and probably make people uncomfortable with the strangeness).
I wish I could enjoy the sunshine longer, but I have to write a paper now, and the books I need have to stay in the library. Hopefully the sun will still be out when I finish...
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
We've Learned to Change, but Did We Change to Learn?
I got a letter from Chris last week, and he asked what I've been learning over here in London. I didn't really know how to answer that at first, because my classes are all rather easy.
And yet I'm here for a semester of my college education. I ought to be learning something, oughtn't I? In Adolescent Psychology, most of what we've talked about was mentioned in my AP Psychology class in high school (I knew Gillam was a good teacher). My Media class mostly watches movies about non-Western culture and briefly discusses them (actual movies, not documentaries; the kind that play in theaters). All I've learned in English Palaces and Country Houses is not to eat in the class room because the professor is a real stick in the mud who would rather us fall asleep during his lecture than silently enjoy a bit of chocolate. I'm always a little paranoid that he'll try to teach us something important and I'll miss it because I have so much trouble staying focused in there, but the most substantial thing he's tried to teach us were the orders of classical architecture, and I learned that from Mr. Vellios back in high school. And I've learned that my theatre class has no tests, just a couple of essays about shows, and the professor really enjoys my writing.
It's not all that bad. I do enjoy my classes mostly. I enjoy the free field trips to the theatre and to old palaces. And the movies and discussion in my media class really aren't bad. ... Psychology is pretty unforgiveably dull, but what's a semester without one of those classes? (erm, exciting??)
So the classes are all easy. But that doesn't mean that I'm going the whole semester without learning. I'm just not learning traditional 'class-room' things. For example, I've learned how to use the London Underground system (The maps make it look intimidating. It's delightfully easy, in fact).
And I've learned a few random Greek words over spring break (but I can't spell them, so it's no use on the blog. You'll just have to take my word for it).
I've learned that the foggy, rainy London stereotype exists for a very legitimate reason. I've learned that just because the English drive on the left side of the road doesn't mean that they walk on the left side of the sidewalk (any side of the sidewalk is fine, just don't run into anyone else. This does not apply to escalators, however, where the rule is strictly 'stand on the right, walk on the left').
I'm also learning things about myself. I'm learning just how much I really appreciate home and the relative quiet friendliness of the Midwest. While I've found Londoners to generally be friendly, most of the American College is from the North East, and while I've made some very good friends from them, there's a definite difference in background and culture. And London is never, ever entirely quiet.
I always knew I liked driving in my car with the windows down and the music up, singing at the top of my lungs, but being without that makes me realize how much I miss it.
Similarly, I always knew I like my privacy, but I'm learning that I can, in fact, adapt to sharing a room for more than a week.
I'm also learning that I can never figure out how to end blog entries. I just run out of things to say and click "publish post."
And yet I'm here for a semester of my college education. I ought to be learning something, oughtn't I? In Adolescent Psychology, most of what we've talked about was mentioned in my AP Psychology class in high school (I knew Gillam was a good teacher). My Media class mostly watches movies about non-Western culture and briefly discusses them (actual movies, not documentaries; the kind that play in theaters). All I've learned in English Palaces and Country Houses is not to eat in the class room because the professor is a real stick in the mud who would rather us fall asleep during his lecture than silently enjoy a bit of chocolate. I'm always a little paranoid that he'll try to teach us something important and I'll miss it because I have so much trouble staying focused in there, but the most substantial thing he's tried to teach us were the orders of classical architecture, and I learned that from Mr. Vellios back in high school. And I've learned that my theatre class has no tests, just a couple of essays about shows, and the professor really enjoys my writing.
It's not all that bad. I do enjoy my classes mostly. I enjoy the free field trips to the theatre and to old palaces. And the movies and discussion in my media class really aren't bad. ... Psychology is pretty unforgiveably dull, but what's a semester without one of those classes? (erm, exciting??)
So the classes are all easy. But that doesn't mean that I'm going the whole semester without learning. I'm just not learning traditional 'class-room' things. For example, I've learned how to use the London Underground system (The maps make it look intimidating. It's delightfully easy, in fact).
And I've learned a few random Greek words over spring break (but I can't spell them, so it's no use on the blog. You'll just have to take my word for it).
I've learned that the foggy, rainy London stereotype exists for a very legitimate reason. I've learned that just because the English drive on the left side of the road doesn't mean that they walk on the left side of the sidewalk (any side of the sidewalk is fine, just don't run into anyone else. This does not apply to escalators, however, where the rule is strictly 'stand on the right, walk on the left').
I'm also learning things about myself. I'm learning just how much I really appreciate home and the relative quiet friendliness of the Midwest. While I've found Londoners to generally be friendly, most of the American College is from the North East, and while I've made some very good friends from them, there's a definite difference in background and culture. And London is never, ever entirely quiet.
I always knew I liked driving in my car with the windows down and the music up, singing at the top of my lungs, but being without that makes me realize how much I miss it.
Similarly, I always knew I like my privacy, but I'm learning that I can, in fact, adapt to sharing a room for more than a week.
I'm also learning that I can never figure out how to end blog entries. I just run out of things to say and click "publish post."
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
The Air Gets Clean and the Seas Get Wide
So, I haven't updated in a while, and for that, I apologize. I didn't do much traveling for the rest of February or the beginning of March, since I was saving up for spring break, which was absolutely and unbelieveably amazing.
I packed up and went with a couple of friends to Greece, where I had the best spring break I could imagine. We spent most of our week in Volos, staying with our friend Mark who is studying there for the semester, and was kind enough to let us stay at his apartment for free and show us around town when he was out of class.
Greece is, in many ways, entirely opposite of what I've experienced in London and in the United States. In Volos, things don't happen so much on a schedule, and everyone seems to actually enjoy what's going on around them rather than trying to rush past to where ever they're going. When people go for a walk in the evening, it's not a walk to burn off calories at the fastest pace you can go. It's a gentle stroll to take in the cool air and enjoy the waterfront by night.
Going out for coffee with friends is a four-hour event with long conversation, rather than 30-40 minutes with a bunch of watch-checking.
On our first full day in Greece, a Sunday, Mark took us up Mt. Pelion to see Makrinitsa, which was absolutely gorgeous.
Up on the mountain, there were a bunch of little fountains that spouted cool, clean water constantly, and the runoff just went on down the mountain. I tried some, it was delicious. We had lunch in a little restaurant, where I had some of the best spaghetti I've ever tasted, and I'm certain it was greatly influenced by the freshness of the ingredients.
We also walked up to an abandoned monastery, and just as we got there it began to sprinkle. It was a perfect sort of rain though, and as I looked around, it was no surprise to me that Greece is such a religious country. With so much peace and beauty around, how can you not feel like there's someone bigger out there?
We spent the rest of our time in Volos exploring the coffee shops, local food, and the old part of town. My favorite part of being in Volos, I think, was breakfast. We would all buy whatever we wanted, and on Monday morning, we took it out onto the jetty and ate breakfast from there, looking at the Aegean in one direction, and Volos in the other on a perfect spring morning.
At the end of the week, we went into Athens for a few days, which was also a lot of fun. We did the typical sight-seeing, such as the Acropolis. I didn't realize how really enormous the Parthenon is until I was standing at the foot of it. To think that people could build something like that without cranes and such is amazing.
We also saw the new and old Olympic stadiums. Next to the Acropolis (well, kind of on? but not quite...) is where Paul preached to the Athenians, which was really exciting to see.
Not too far from that was the cave where legend holds that Socrates drank the hemlock.
I could go on and on about how beautiful and relaxing and fun Greece was, but I need go get some lunch and do some laundry (I still haven't washed my clothes since I got back, and I'm nearly out of things to wear...), but hopefully I'll update again before long!
I packed up and went with a couple of friends to Greece, where I had the best spring break I could imagine. We spent most of our week in Volos, staying with our friend Mark who is studying there for the semester, and was kind enough to let us stay at his apartment for free and show us around town when he was out of class.
Greece is, in many ways, entirely opposite of what I've experienced in London and in the United States. In Volos, things don't happen so much on a schedule, and everyone seems to actually enjoy what's going on around them rather than trying to rush past to where ever they're going. When people go for a walk in the evening, it's not a walk to burn off calories at the fastest pace you can go. It's a gentle stroll to take in the cool air and enjoy the waterfront by night.
Going out for coffee with friends is a four-hour event with long conversation, rather than 30-40 minutes with a bunch of watch-checking.
On our first full day in Greece, a Sunday, Mark took us up Mt. Pelion to see Makrinitsa, which was absolutely gorgeous.
Up on the mountain, there were a bunch of little fountains that spouted cool, clean water constantly, and the runoff just went on down the mountain. I tried some, it was delicious. We had lunch in a little restaurant, where I had some of the best spaghetti I've ever tasted, and I'm certain it was greatly influenced by the freshness of the ingredients.
We also walked up to an abandoned monastery, and just as we got there it began to sprinkle. It was a perfect sort of rain though, and as I looked around, it was no surprise to me that Greece is such a religious country. With so much peace and beauty around, how can you not feel like there's someone bigger out there?
We spent the rest of our time in Volos exploring the coffee shops, local food, and the old part of town. My favorite part of being in Volos, I think, was breakfast. We would all buy whatever we wanted, and on Monday morning, we took it out onto the jetty and ate breakfast from there, looking at the Aegean in one direction, and Volos in the other on a perfect spring morning.
At the end of the week, we went into Athens for a few days, which was also a lot of fun. We did the typical sight-seeing, such as the Acropolis. I didn't realize how really enormous the Parthenon is until I was standing at the foot of it. To think that people could build something like that without cranes and such is amazing.
We also saw the new and old Olympic stadiums. Next to the Acropolis (well, kind of on? but not quite...) is where Paul preached to the Athenians, which was really exciting to see.
Not too far from that was the cave where legend holds that Socrates drank the hemlock.
I could go on and on about how beautiful and relaxing and fun Greece was, but I need go get some lunch and do some laundry (I still haven't washed my clothes since I got back, and I'm nearly out of things to wear...), but hopefully I'll update again before long!
Sunday, February 22, 2009
We'll Carve Our Names in The Unknown
Well, it's been a while, and I've been on more adventures. On the 14th, I went to Salisbury and Stonehenge. It seems kind of silly to me that so many people can be so fascinated by a bunch of big rocks, but honestly, I thought Stonehenge was amazing. The whole thing was roped off, so you couldn't get close, which was a little disappointing, but I enjoyed it anyway. I also had Eddie Izzard jokes going through my head the whole time.
I also found out sometime around then, that the school has gotten all of the official signs for our back gate to be useable now, so we can walk through the school grounds directly into the park (down the little path that you can see in the pictures from my balcony). I took this path and was delighted to discover that flowers and trees are beginning to blossom, even though it's only February.
Tuesday was my 21st birthday. I'm sure all of you know that in the US, 21 is the legal drinking age. In the UK it's 18, so it didn't matter over here, but my friends and I went out to celebrate anyway. We went to a fun little pub called The Rocket, and had a great time. I found this sign a few days later and thought it was hilarious. I hope you're all pleased to know that this fate did not befall me or any of my friends after celebrating.
On Friday, Becky and I went to Windsor Castle. Windsor Castle is, I've been told, the oldest castle in the world that is still inhabited. The queen and the princes live there sometime, though none of them were in when we went to visit, as was made apparent by the Union flag flying, rather than the royal flag.
It was really neat to see though. The inside part of the castle that we got to see made me realize how incredibly ridiculous it would be to actually be royalty, and to own that much stuff that you'll never possibly have need for. The enormity of it doesn't really hit you until you see it... I couldn't get pictures of all those things though, because there was no photography allowed inside. Boo.
Becky and I also went exploring yesterday because the weather was uncommonly beautiful for London. It was sunny and about 50 degrees Fahrenheit. We were going to tour Westminster Abbey, but it was closed on Saturdays, so we walked about 2 and a half miles to Hyde Park, and then another mile or so through Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens.
Things were blooming here as well, and a lot of people were out enjoying the lovely weather. We found the cool Peter Pan statue in Kensington gardens as well. I tried to get a good picture of it, but it was difficult because there were a lot of people hanging around near it, and as soon as one group would move on, another group of people would rush up to it, making good photography difficult. That's okay, though, because I'm out of pictures for this blog anyway.
The weather is still fairly nice, close to 50 all week long, though the clouds have moved back in for a while. I'm going to enjoy the rest of my Sunday. Take care, all!
Edit: I can't believe I forgot to post a title on this! Fix'd!
I also found out sometime around then, that the school has gotten all of the official signs for our back gate to be useable now, so we can walk through the school grounds directly into the park (down the little path that you can see in the pictures from my balcony). I took this path and was delighted to discover that flowers and trees are beginning to blossom, even though it's only February.
Tuesday was my 21st birthday. I'm sure all of you know that in the US, 21 is the legal drinking age. In the UK it's 18, so it didn't matter over here, but my friends and I went out to celebrate anyway. We went to a fun little pub called The Rocket, and had a great time. I found this sign a few days later and thought it was hilarious. I hope you're all pleased to know that this fate did not befall me or any of my friends after celebrating.
On Friday, Becky and I went to Windsor Castle. Windsor Castle is, I've been told, the oldest castle in the world that is still inhabited. The queen and the princes live there sometime, though none of them were in when we went to visit, as was made apparent by the Union flag flying, rather than the royal flag.
It was really neat to see though. The inside part of the castle that we got to see made me realize how incredibly ridiculous it would be to actually be royalty, and to own that much stuff that you'll never possibly have need for. The enormity of it doesn't really hit you until you see it... I couldn't get pictures of all those things though, because there was no photography allowed inside. Boo.
Becky and I also went exploring yesterday because the weather was uncommonly beautiful for London. It was sunny and about 50 degrees Fahrenheit. We were going to tour Westminster Abbey, but it was closed on Saturdays, so we walked about 2 and a half miles to Hyde Park, and then another mile or so through Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens.
Things were blooming here as well, and a lot of people were out enjoying the lovely weather. We found the cool Peter Pan statue in Kensington gardens as well. I tried to get a good picture of it, but it was difficult because there were a lot of people hanging around near it, and as soon as one group would move on, another group of people would rush up to it, making good photography difficult. That's okay, though, because I'm out of pictures for this blog anyway.
The weather is still fairly nice, close to 50 all week long, though the clouds have moved back in for a while. I'm going to enjoy the rest of my Sunday. Take care, all!
Edit: I can't believe I forgot to post a title on this! Fix'd!
Saturday, February 7, 2009
I Think We're Going Somewhere
Sorry it's been a while. Things got busy, and then when they slowed down, I got a little homesick. But I'm feeling better now, and since it's a nice, quiet Saturday, but still a little too cold to go exploring, I'm finally updating. Let's see...
Maybe blogger will be nicer this time and let me put up more pictures.
Leeds Castle was gorgeous, and it had great gardens and such around it. Becky and I thought we made friends with a peacock, but he was just begging for handouts and when he found out I didn't have any, he tried to eat my leg. No good.
The next "adventure" was to the Tower of London with my English Country Houses and Palaces class. Our class mostly focused on the White Tower in the middle of the castle.
It was built by the Normans shortly after the Norman Invasion in 1066, so this building is nearly a thousand years old. After having the year 1066 drilled into my head in Latin class (It was turning point for language as we know it, apparently), it was interesting to be able to connect something with it.
There were lots of other neat things at the Tower. The Crown Jewels were unbelievably sparkly, but, sadly, no pictures allowed. Helpful signs showed you where you could do your shopping, find the bus stop, and, apparently, get beheaded.
Last weekend, I went on the school trip to the city of Bath. I was geeking out over all the Roman things at the bath, and even --yes, I'll admit it--bought a copy of Harry Potter in Latin.
The city was built around an old Roman bath on the hot springs in the area. The baths were dedicated to the goddess Minerva
Well... That's the main bath. I was going to put up a couple more pictures, but Blogger has decided that I've put up enough.
My theater class also went to see Spring Awakening last Monday (even with the crazy snow-- I'll have to post pictures of that too. I'll try and do another post tomorrow). It was a really neat show. I loved the music. It was kind of a shocking show; not what I was expecting, and not the kind of show you'd want to take your grandma to see, but I loved it.
I was going to go on an adventure today to find the part of London where some of my family is from, but it's a bit on the chilly side, so I might wait for the weather to get warmer.
Maybe blogger will be nicer this time and let me put up more pictures.
Leeds Castle was gorgeous, and it had great gardens and such around it. Becky and I thought we made friends with a peacock, but he was just begging for handouts and when he found out I didn't have any, he tried to eat my leg. No good.
The next "adventure" was to the Tower of London with my English Country Houses and Palaces class. Our class mostly focused on the White Tower in the middle of the castle.
It was built by the Normans shortly after the Norman Invasion in 1066, so this building is nearly a thousand years old. After having the year 1066 drilled into my head in Latin class (It was turning point for language as we know it, apparently), it was interesting to be able to connect something with it.
There were lots of other neat things at the Tower. The Crown Jewels were unbelievably sparkly, but, sadly, no pictures allowed. Helpful signs showed you where you could do your shopping, find the bus stop, and, apparently, get beheaded.
Last weekend, I went on the school trip to the city of Bath. I was geeking out over all the Roman things at the bath, and even --yes, I'll admit it--bought a copy of Harry Potter in Latin.
The city was built around an old Roman bath on the hot springs in the area. The baths were dedicated to the goddess Minerva
Well... That's the main bath. I was going to put up a couple more pictures, but Blogger has decided that I've put up enough.
My theater class also went to see Spring Awakening last Monday (even with the crazy snow-- I'll have to post pictures of that too. I'll try and do another post tomorrow). It was a really neat show. I loved the music. It was kind of a shocking show; not what I was expecting, and not the kind of show you'd want to take your grandma to see, but I loved it.
I was going to go on an adventure today to find the part of London where some of my family is from, but it's a bit on the chilly side, so I might wait for the weather to get warmer.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
They've Got Years On Us
It rains here a lot, but I like the rain. It's not very warm, but I don't do heat very well. I'm loving being here. There are so many things to do and places to see. I love being able to wake up on a Friday morning and say to my friends, "What should we do today?" and they reply, "I don't know.... Hey, let's go to the British Museum!" and we hop on the tube and go there.
I also love meeting up with my friends on Friday afternoon and saying "What do you want to do tonight?" and they reply "Do you want to go to a show? We could see which shows have half-price tickets!" and then going to a professional musical on the west end for £25.
I also went to see Leeds Castle, which was gorgeous.
I have far too many pictures to put them all up to show all the awesome things I've seen at the museum and on the castle grounds. I am in awe of how old some of the things are. I've seen things that are thousands and thousands of years old, and they're in great condition. It floors me to think of the people who made these things. When they made those pots and urns and carvings, I'm sure they wanted them to last, but probably had no idea that they would last this long and that people would be walking by them en masse to admire them. I have more pictures to put up, but blogger is being mean and not letting me at the moment. I'll add them later.
I also love meeting up with my friends on Friday afternoon and saying "What do you want to do tonight?" and they reply "Do you want to go to a show? We could see which shows have half-price tickets!" and then going to a professional musical on the west end for £25.
I also went to see Leeds Castle, which was gorgeous.
I have far too many pictures to put them all up to show all the awesome things I've seen at the museum and on the castle grounds. I am in awe of how old some of the things are. I've seen things that are thousands and thousands of years old, and they're in great condition. It floors me to think of the people who made these things. When they made those pots and urns and carvings, I'm sure they wanted them to last, but probably had no idea that they would last this long and that people would be walking by them en masse to admire them. I have more pictures to put up, but blogger is being mean and not letting me at the moment. I'll add them later.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
This Paper Posed as Photographs
We had some nice weather for a bit and some of us decided to do the tourist thing and go on one of the Double Decker bus tours. It seems like the annoying, cliché thing to do, but I highly recommend it. The tour guides are great and you get to see everything. It's also pretty reasonably priced and you can get off the bus at any of the stops and look around and take pictures and get back on the next bus. Our ticket also included a free tour down the Thames on a little boat, which was pretty neat.
I'm still getting used to being here and all of the things that are different, but it's a lot of fun. Classes started on Monday as well. They seem to be going pretty well, and I have a couple that go on field trips, so I'll have pictures from those as well before long.
Regent's Park
One of the lions in Trafalgar Square
Big Ben and Boudicca
Apple!
Tower Bridge
I'm still getting used to being here and all of the things that are different, but it's a lot of fun. Classes started on Monday as well. They seem to be going pretty well, and I have a couple that go on field trips, so I'll have pictures from those as well before long.
Regent's Park
One of the lions in Trafalgar Square
Big Ben and Boudicca
Apple!
Tower Bridge
Friday, January 16, 2009
It's Dangerous Business Walking Out Your Front Door
I ventured out again today! Some of us went and bought oyster cards for the Tube, and later we took the tube to an Ikea (okay, not that culturally different).
I'd never ridden a subway of any sort before, so riding the tube was kind of exciting just in its novelty. The announcements at the stops remind me of the beginning and end of a rollercoaster ride, but the ride itself is rather uneventful.
We're all starting to talk about the places we want to go and the things we want to see. There will be more pictures soon, because some of us are planning on going on a doubledecker bus tour.
I've never been much of a city person. They always seemed dirty and crowded and dangerous to me. London is crowded, and fairly dangerous, but this is a beautiful city. The green of the grass blows my mind, there are actually big trees along some of the streets, and the architecture is beautiful.
These are a couple of pictures from the balcony at my room, and then a few pictures of the sunrise from the airplane.
These are a couple of pictures from the balcony at my room, and then a few pictures of the sunrise from the airplane.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
I'm On a Flight Tonight, You See Me
Well, I'm not actually on the flight anymore, but I had two to get here to London, and they both went pretty darn well. It was difficult saying goodbye to my parents, but I really wasn't nervous about the flights themselves. I don't know why I wasn't at all nervous, but I certainly won't complain.
I've decided that I like flying. I don't mean just in comparison with other modes of transportation, or as a positive way of saying, "Well, I don't hate it." I actually like it. The lines at the airport and the security checks are all bothersome, and I don't think anyone could like in-flight lavatories, but there's something extremely powerful to me that hits me when the plane leaves the runway.
I know it's just physics, nothing breaking rules or anything like that, but there's something of a miracle in an enormous metal vehicle making itself and a bunch of people airborn. People aren't supposed to be airborn, but especially not along with heavy chunks of metal.
And the clouds! Clouds can be beautiful from the ground, but up close, they're even better. I took some pictures of the sky on my flights, mostly of the sun rising above the clouds. I'll put them up when I can figure out how.
Until then, I'm going to get some sleep (I got about 10 minutes of sleep on the flight last night), and keep reminding myself that I'm actually, finally here.
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Aim My Getaway Van at the Sun
Well, it's time to re-introduce my blog, since it'll be covering something else and new people will (hopefully) be reading it.
I'm getting ready to leave for a semester in London. I'm making this blog to share stories and a few pictures with my friends and family (rather than trying to contact each of you individually each time).
I don't know exactly what I'll write about. Hopefully fun and exciting things that happen (provided I can find the time and internet access to share them on here). And my habit of using song lyrics as titles will be challenged, but we'll see how creative I can be.
Anyway, I leave on Wednesday, and I'm pretty excited. I'm a little nervous about the flight, and I'm going to miss everyone at home a lot. The goodbyes are becoming difficult. It looks like I should have internet access during my layover, so maybe I can update then. Wee!
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