It has been somewhere in the vicinity of 7-8 months since I have returned to America. I know that I have forgotten many things from my journey. Many of the things I never wanted to forget. Not the major things, the awesome things, like seeing the Eiffel Tower, conversing through a dinner in another language, or looking up for the first time at Parliament. (That last one was strange because we took the Tube to Westminster and the first bit we saw was the caged in bit as you exit the Tube, and we had to cross the street for a better view). Anyways, I feel like its the little things, the moment to moment seconds that make living, life. As a result, I feel like I spent several months of my life in a dream. A dream that I will never forget, but not necessarily something familiar to me.
The one thing I will never forget, though, is the attachment I felt. The way when I walked out of my flat every morning, I felt like I belonged. Was every minute of every day happy? No, but nevertheless, the city welcomed me, and I felt at home. When I returned to America, I was happy. Happy to see everyone I missed, and happy to have my own room, and happy to...umm...well... I fell like there is something missing here. It was hard for me to express because everyone was so happy to see me and wanted to hear story after story (which I gladly told in epic detail), but mostly because Alan feels at home here. And though he had a good trip, I don't think I could foresee him doing it again any time soon. He didn't really understand the burning in my heart to return. It was strange. And though I have returned to my normal life here, and I rarely think about my adventures in London and around the world, I cannot forget the feeling of home. And some day, I will go back. Maybe it won't be to stay (sigh), but I will go back again. For a great length of time. I will live my life there, if only for a short while. Because I can't let that feeling go. I won't.
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Friday, April 24, 2009
Saying My Goodbyes...
This will be my last message from London. I know I haven't updated for a while and I will write about what has been happening since last time once I get home. I just wanted to send one last message while I am here.
It was great. Thanks for listening. Signing off for one last time.
Sincerely,
Rachel Cline
It was great. Thanks for listening. Signing off for one last time.
Sincerely,
Rachel Cline
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Down to the Wire
There are just over 10 days until I come home. 11 in fact. Considering how fast my first couple weeks here went that is practically no time at all. I haven't yet completed everything that I want to do in London and in Europe. I keep making silent promises to myself to return, but I don't know if that will happen. I hope it will though.
I haven't started packing yet. I'm definitely putting it off until the last minute. I want to make sure I have enough space to shove everything in and not leave stuff behind, but at this moment in time I have other concerns. Like making sure I finish what I came here to do.
Right now, I have As in all of my classes. Or at least the ones that I know the grades for. I am impressed with my ability to do so well in classes in a foreign country, though I must admit they weren't terribly difficult. Not in comparison to O Chem and my other sciences. Maybe I should have been an art major. Haha. No really though, college classes are so subjective and everyone thinks their major is the hardest, but when it comes down to it, writing a 15 paper is easier than taking a 3 hour Chemistry final. Really, try it sometime.
Leaving London is going to be a big swirl of emotions. Two weeks ago I really wanted to leave. Now that I only have a week left, I know it won't be enough time. I do want to go home, and I do want to stay. I'm not sure how I will feel when I get home. It will definitely be interesting though.
So, Saturday night we went to see Brittany's Host Brother's Band, The Sweet Resonance, play at a pub near where she lived. It was a nice night out of the flat, as we have been trying to find ways to stay out of the flat recently. Its just better when we aren't around for us and for my flatmates. They hate it when we are there, we hate being there, so it works out. Anyway, the band wasn't bad. They definitely aren't the worst band that I have ever heard, but they aren't top of my list either. It was nice to meet some of the people that she lives with on a daily basis, and they all seemed really nice. It was a cool experience. We also got our oysters scanned with a cool scann-y thinger on the special train that we took there. It was interesting. It makes me think of how different our lives actually are on a daily basis. I guess I had never thought about it before.
Anyway, Sunday was Easter and nothing much really happened. Alan and I were too lazy to actually navigate the half shut down Tube system to find a church to go to. Instead, we made phone calls to people whom we haven't spoken to in forever. Alan called his mom, I called Kiersten and Sam, Alan tried to call his dad, and I tried to call my family, but the last two had no luck. At least I tried though.
Yesterday was interesting. We had class in the morning as usual. Our last normal class of Shakespeare for the semester. Next week is the final and then we are down. Wow. Yeah. Anyway, after that, since we can't go back to the flat, we wanted to find something to do. So we decided that because it was a nice day we would try to go ride The Eye, which is something that we have yet to do despite having lived in London for 3 months. Anyway, we got down there and the line was just insanely long. It would have taken much longer than the two hours that we had planned to get tickets and therefore, we left to do other things. It was a beautiful day out after all. So, we took pictures of Westminster Abbey, Parliament, The Eye, The Thames, Sunset, and multiples of those combined.
Mostly this is because there is a photo competition on Friday that I want to enter, but I can't because I realized that even though I have been living in London, I don't have that many pictures of it. Though I guess I don't have many of Hummelstown either. I guess we just aren't impressed by the places we live no matter where they may be. Its weird. I have a lot from Scotland that I could enter. Unfortunately, only ones from London are allowed.
So yeah, anyways. I have lots of work to do before I leave, so I should be doing that now...
I haven't started packing yet. I'm definitely putting it off until the last minute. I want to make sure I have enough space to shove everything in and not leave stuff behind, but at this moment in time I have other concerns. Like making sure I finish what I came here to do.
Right now, I have As in all of my classes. Or at least the ones that I know the grades for. I am impressed with my ability to do so well in classes in a foreign country, though I must admit they weren't terribly difficult. Not in comparison to O Chem and my other sciences. Maybe I should have been an art major. Haha. No really though, college classes are so subjective and everyone thinks their major is the hardest, but when it comes down to it, writing a 15 paper is easier than taking a 3 hour Chemistry final. Really, try it sometime.
Leaving London is going to be a big swirl of emotions. Two weeks ago I really wanted to leave. Now that I only have a week left, I know it won't be enough time. I do want to go home, and I do want to stay. I'm not sure how I will feel when I get home. It will definitely be interesting though.
So, Saturday night we went to see Brittany's Host Brother's Band, The Sweet Resonance, play at a pub near where she lived. It was a nice night out of the flat, as we have been trying to find ways to stay out of the flat recently. Its just better when we aren't around for us and for my flatmates. They hate it when we are there, we hate being there, so it works out. Anyway, the band wasn't bad. They definitely aren't the worst band that I have ever heard, but they aren't top of my list either. It was nice to meet some of the people that she lives with on a daily basis, and they all seemed really nice. It was a cool experience. We also got our oysters scanned with a cool scann-y thinger on the special train that we took there. It was interesting. It makes me think of how different our lives actually are on a daily basis. I guess I had never thought about it before.
Anyway, Sunday was Easter and nothing much really happened. Alan and I were too lazy to actually navigate the half shut down Tube system to find a church to go to. Instead, we made phone calls to people whom we haven't spoken to in forever. Alan called his mom, I called Kiersten and Sam, Alan tried to call his dad, and I tried to call my family, but the last two had no luck. At least I tried though.
Yesterday was interesting. We had class in the morning as usual. Our last normal class of Shakespeare for the semester. Next week is the final and then we are down. Wow. Yeah. Anyway, after that, since we can't go back to the flat, we wanted to find something to do. So we decided that because it was a nice day we would try to go ride The Eye, which is something that we have yet to do despite having lived in London for 3 months. Anyway, we got down there and the line was just insanely long. It would have taken much longer than the two hours that we had planned to get tickets and therefore, we left to do other things. It was a beautiful day out after all. So, we took pictures of Westminster Abbey, Parliament, The Eye, The Thames, Sunset, and multiples of those combined.
Mostly this is because there is a photo competition on Friday that I want to enter, but I can't because I realized that even though I have been living in London, I don't have that many pictures of it. Though I guess I don't have many of Hummelstown either. I guess we just aren't impressed by the places we live no matter where they may be. Its weird. I have a lot from Scotland that I could enter. Unfortunately, only ones from London are allowed.
So yeah, anyways. I have lots of work to do before I leave, so I should be doing that now...
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Wicked, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, and Good Weeks full of American Things
This entry is well over due. So much has happened in my last week here. So much that I am certain I have forgotten some things. I will do my best to include the whirlwind of events that have happened to me over the last week and a half and hope that I haven't forgotten anything.
We'll start where I left off on last, last Thursday the 2nd. We had class that day walking around the city again. It was a pretty cool trip until I tripped (haha no pun intended) and hurt my ankle. Don't worry it wasn't broken or anything. I didn't need crutches. It does still hurt now, but it isn't swollen any more. I was and am perfectly capable of caring for myself (so stop worrying mom). Needless to say though, that made class a bit more dreadful, and when it finally ended instead of limping back to the tube station, Alan and I made our way to Reagents park, which was closer, and prettier, and full of park benches where I could sit. I took some pictures of the flowers, which reminded me of the conservatory and my time spent there in Pittsburgh. I miss the conservatory. Buut Reagents park is a lot lovelier. We sat on a bench by a pond and watched these cool ducks with mohawks who don't just stick their head underwater for food, but actually go completely underwater, for a pretty long time. Atleast for a duck. Then we moved to a different park bench in the center of the rose gardens, which were bluming yet, but still exteremely beautiful. We made friends with a bird.
After that, we made our way back to the Tube station. On the way, we stopped and got soe Baskin Robins. It was funny because it is a very American ice cream company, but I have never seen an actual store in America. I was sad because I was looking through flavors, and they were all very American. They had Rocky Road and several other favorites of Americans, and I got my hopes up for moose tracks. But then I remembered that the British have this thing against peanutbutter, and even though there were 30 flavors, Moose Tracks wasn't there. So I got chocolate chip cookie dough and enjoyed my Americaness anyway.
I've found recently that I have been enjoying the pleasures of American life more. I'm hoping to put an end to that this week because I want to spend my last two weeks completely immersed in the pleasures of British life. I don't want to revert back to an American before I come home.
Anyways, that weekend all of my roommates were gone. It was lovely, even though the weekend itself was pretty uneventful. We did some work for homework and Alan did some stuff for jobs and we didn't go out very much. That makes me sad everytime it happens because I have at my fingertips one of the greatest cities in the world, and I have become so used to being here, that I don't even really take advantage of it anymore. Its like not going to HersheyPark because I live in Hershey. It's sad because my time here now is really starting to run out.
Anyways, Monday and Tuesday we had class as usual and the only really eventful moment was our gallery trip to TATE modern. I hate Tate modern. I hate the building. I hate the artwork. I hate the people. BUT. We had tickets for my art class to an exhibit on Constructionism and Rodechenko and Popova. Because it is a gallery you have to pay to get into, it was much less full and I actually really liked this artwork. It was better than the other works in the other galleries there.
Wednesday was really really amazing though. Wednesday we woke up early, got Starbucks (yeah.) and made our way to London Bridge to catch a train to Greenwich with Brittany. The best part about this train is the free-ness of it. I had always thought that Greenwich was far from London. But in all actuality it was an 8 minute free train ride with my oyster card. Win.
We got to Greenwich and it was pretty. It was close enough to London that we could still see the city. We could see the Eye and the Gurkin and various other buildings, and the city is right on the Thames, but it is so different. It has a very small town feel. We walked from the train station through some cute streets to the park that was there. It was warm enough to take my coat off, which hasn't been happening all that very much. It was lovely. From there we walked through the part to the royal observatory and the Prime Meridian. We walked around taking some pictures of the views from the hill and then went into the actual museum which was pretty cool! It was all about astronomy and time and the history of both. It was really neat! I looked through a telescope and saw pluto (haha the dog not the "planet") and eventually made our way down to take pictures of us standing on the Prime Meridian. 0° 0' 0" And the basis for Greenwich Mean Time. It was cool.
From there we walked to the Planetarium and more interactive part of the observatory. It was definitely made for little kids, which meant I had a blast there. We didn't get to see a planetarium show because at the time we were there the only ones they had playing were the little kid invasion of mars ones. It was still a pretty cool place though. After that we toured the free (I love Greenwich because of its Freeness) art galleries in the Queens House. It was a surprisingly normal house for a royal family, back when they used to stay there. It was beautiful and such, but not as much as would be expected. Though it also had many other uses through the years and several rennovations which probably had something to do with it.
When we had finished, Brittany had to go back to London for class, so we went with her and tried to decide on something to do for the rest of the afternoon. Taking after Brittany, we decided to get tickets to see Wicked that night. We ended up getting pretty lucky because when we got there they said they didn't have any seats together and we were just going to go and sit apart, but then she ended up giving us these seats which were originally £60 but we were getting them at the student rate of £25. she said we could have them because they were a bit restricted view by the hand rail, but we got there and realized that the hand rain is pretty much not in the way at all. It was totally worth it! It was an amazing production, with only some minor flaws that we could tell. I have realized that being in the musicals at school was really helpful when it comes to seeing shows now, because I pick up on details that other people don't always notice. Alan notices even more different things because of his stage crew experience, and together we just analyze the show to bits. Its great. We only wished Maya had been with us to make the show perfect. We decided you can't really fully enjoy Wicked unless Maya is sitting next to you! :-) But Brittany and Stacy were only one row away which was cool. We had a blast.
We went home and the next day had a class which took us to a Hindu temple. That was a really enjoyable class visit compared to the other ones we had had with that professor. We were able to talk with one of the people in charge of the temple and I had never realized how much I actually knew about the Hindu religion. In tenth grade we had learned about it in English when we read part of the Bagauvah Gita (excuse my spelling) but I never realised I had learned that much. The woman was explaining soul, and she used almost the exact same analogy that my teacher had used in 10th grade and I was really startled. It was cool though. There was one kid in class who insisted upon having an argument with her about the political aspect of the Untouchables of the Caste system. Most of the kids in class didn't even know what he was talking about, but we had learned about it in world cultures in 11th grade. What upset me though, was that the woman was talking about the religious aspect of the caste system and how she thought India was actually holding themselves back by having the caste system and how she didn't agree with it. But the kid kept going on about the politics and why its wrong and they were actually arguing the same point but the kid couldn't see this because he was so closed minded about the fact that India isn't doing it right and it is inhumane and he was pissed and didn't like anything she had to say even though she was agreeing with him. He was actually being really rude and she eventually told him that he should move to India and fight for the rights of the Untouchables if he feels that strongly and that finally shut him up.
After that, we walked to a store called Forbidden Planet, which I think I have mentioned here before. On the way there we stopped and got some Cinnabun which always reminds me of the PA turnpike. Like I said, I have really been living up the Americanisms this week. It was AMAZING! But we finally got there and had a good time walking around and looking at the books and comics and starwars figurines and stuff! We then made our way back to CAPA to print a map for our trip yesterday, and to get dinner. We went to Sainsburys and got a whole BBQ Roast Chicken and some cheese balls and tortia crisps. I really just haven't been able to pull myself away from America. But that turned out to be some of the best chicken I have ever eaten. It was really phenomenal. I ejoyed every last bite. And there really were no bites left when we had finished. We finished dinner with a pack of Wine Gums from the vending machine. They are kind of like gummy life savers, except that they taste different, and they are British, which makes me feel a bit better.
Yesterday, though, was what really made the week a winner. It was completely filled with Americanisms and good luck, with a little bad luck too. But it was worth it. Yesterday, we woke up really early and made our way to Liverpool Street Station. There, we got McDonald's for breakfast, and can I just say, that not only was it as delicious as McDonalds for breakfast in America, it was better. They used better quality meat and eggs and it was superb. The hashbrown was exactly like in America and I loved every second of it. From there we got on a bus. It was supposed to be a train, but they are having rail replacement bus services because of construction. So, the bus took us to Ingatestone and we picked up a train there. The train ride wasn't terribly exciting. I think I fell asleep. But we ended up in Norwich.
Norwich was cool, but there was a very specific reason we went there. There is a show playing on stage there. It will be moving to London 5 days after we leave which is why we had to see it there. The show is sold out. It has been since the tickets went on sale. The reason it is sold out is because the two lead actors were Patrick Stewart and Sir Ian McKellen. The guy who played on Star Trek and the guy who played Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings. We didn't have tickets, but we were going to wait at the Theater and see if there had been any returns. As far as the show was concerned, I hadn't been terribly interested. The only reason I wanted to go was because Alan wanted to go so bad. The trip was a surprise for him, and we went and kept our fingers crossed.
We walked from the train station to the theater, because we were hoping to get there early enough that no one else would have been in front of us in line for tickets. But when we got there the theater was closed. We found out later that it was a bank holliday (Good Friday) and therefore they didn't open until later. But at the time we didn't know for sure. We found a carnival! right next to the theater. It was very much like the street carnivals we have at home. Complete with unsafe looking carnival rides, games, and food. We were going to get burgers for lunch but decided it was too expensive. So we went to get lunch at Subway. One, because I am on an American high right now, and two because it was really close by so we could keep checking to make sure there wasn't a queue forming. After lunch we went to check again to see if they had opened, but they hadn't. So we walked to a mall near by and got some really good fruit smoothies. Then we walked around Borders and outside again. It was a strange little mall, because you had to walk this path through a cemetary to get into it if you came through the front. that was kind of weird. People just sat on the grass talking and eating like it was a park. But it was a cemetary from the 1850s and earlier. It kind of creeped me out.
We went back and checked the theater and then walked down into this pretty neat market place. We got drinks and then walked to the castle. The castle is pretty cool, but we didn't pay to tour it. It seemed like it was kind of the goth-emo-punk kid hangout. But we sat on a bench and looked at the flowers and hill leading up to the castle. Then we walked into the castle mall to use the bathrooms. There we found a cool toy store and hung out there for a while. We also found an Auntie Anne's. And yes, we got some. Lol. Enjoying the pretzles, we walked through the streets or Norwich back to the theater to see if it had opened yet or if there was a queue waiting to get in. There wasn't, so we went and sat on a bench in the park near the carnival. We could see the theater from there and watched some dogs and kids playing in the park. It was fun. Alan though he saw a crowd gathering outside the theater, and we walked up there, but he hadn't. We stayed up there anyway and hung out outside the theater. We sat on a bike rack for an hour or so while I talked about leaving to get some cheesey chips and doughnuts from the carnival. I couldn't leave though, becasue I was in intense I-will-get-alan-tickets-mode. Another guy finally came looking for tickets and we talked to him for a while and he "did the proper british thing and made a queue behind us." That made us the first in line!
They finally opened the doors, but only for people who had restuarant reservations. So we waited a bit more, and they let us in. I asked the lady at the desk for a list to put our names on for return tickets, but she said they wouldn't do that until an hour before the show. So we waited. Then this old woman came in and returned her tickets. The woman called me over and said because I was first in line i could have them even though they hadn't started the list yet. I almost kissed her!!! I wanted to scream or jump or something! Anything! I was so excited! I have never been that lucky before! I didn't even want to go and now I did because Alan and I were just so happy! We went to the carnival to celebrate. We got cheesey chips and doughnuts and took lots of silly pictures! We had to keep moving because when we sat down we got antsy! We walked back to the mall to use the bathrooms again and wandered a bit. Then we made our way back down to the theater. We bought programs and posters and finally took our seats!! It really was amazing! Waiting for Godot reminded me a lot of Rozencrantz and Guildenstern are dead. It was very funny. At intermission we got ice cream bars and waited for the second act. We knew we were going to have to leave early. The show wouldn't end until 10 or later. Our train left at 10 and was over a mile away. We left at 9:50 and sprinted to the train station.
We didn't make it. We didn't make it. We had left early. We had run. We had been too slow. I had been too slow. I couldn't run the whole way. I had to walk. If I had run the whole way we would have made it. It was my fault. It was 10:01 when we got to the station. We could have made it, but there were no more trains to London that night. I didn't know what to do. We had had such a great day. We had made its so close. We had gotten the tickets and had the best day ever and we had missed our only train home. I freaked out. I always plan everything and I am always in charge and I just didn't know what to do. So Alan took over. Cuz when my life falls to pieces, he picks them up and puts them back together. And he told me to get up off my butt and walk with him to the bus station so that we could find a bus home. There was supposed to be a bus home at 11:25, so we waited. And it never came. And they shut the lights off. I knew we were gonna be stuck there forever. Without a place to stay or sleep. It was devastating. We tried to get inside the station but the doors were locked. So we walked away. Then a man came to the door and asked us what we were doing and where we were trying to get to...he said there was another bus coming at 1:15 and if we wanted to we could wait inside. Alan talked to him for a while and tried to get us tickets and had to make some phone calls and ended up spending a lot of money to get us home...when we should have just got on the train that we already had tickets for...so it was my fault he had to pay to get us home...and it was over a 4 hour bus ride to get us home...we didn't end up back in our flats until 6 in the morning. So we went to bed. And I woke up at 3:30 this afternoon...
Alan decided that it was all worth it. Cuz unlike me, he can keep his head under pressure. I can plan and pack and make my intenerary perfect, but I kind of fall apart when my plans go awry and thats why he is here. Because he can get us home at 1 in the morning when I'm sure were stuck. And he decided that the money and waiting and trouble was worth it because we had the best day ever in Norwich. We got to see at least a part of an amazing play with amazing actors and eat carnival food and enjoy ourselves. So, I guess it was worth it. I've never seen him smile so much, and that was worth it.
Now, we have an hour to leave. We are going to see Brittany's host brother's band play at a pub. Which is funny because we only woke up a couple hours ago, but anyways...that should be a fun event to make up for our awful night last night on the bus...
Talk to you later!
We'll start where I left off on last, last Thursday the 2nd. We had class that day walking around the city again. It was a pretty cool trip until I tripped (haha no pun intended) and hurt my ankle. Don't worry it wasn't broken or anything. I didn't need crutches. It does still hurt now, but it isn't swollen any more. I was and am perfectly capable of caring for myself (so stop worrying mom). Needless to say though, that made class a bit more dreadful, and when it finally ended instead of limping back to the tube station, Alan and I made our way to Reagents park, which was closer, and prettier, and full of park benches where I could sit. I took some pictures of the flowers, which reminded me of the conservatory and my time spent there in Pittsburgh. I miss the conservatory. Buut Reagents park is a lot lovelier. We sat on a bench by a pond and watched these cool ducks with mohawks who don't just stick their head underwater for food, but actually go completely underwater, for a pretty long time. Atleast for a duck. Then we moved to a different park bench in the center of the rose gardens, which were bluming yet, but still exteremely beautiful. We made friends with a bird.
After that, we made our way back to the Tube station. On the way, we stopped and got soe Baskin Robins. It was funny because it is a very American ice cream company, but I have never seen an actual store in America. I was sad because I was looking through flavors, and they were all very American. They had Rocky Road and several other favorites of Americans, and I got my hopes up for moose tracks. But then I remembered that the British have this thing against peanutbutter, and even though there were 30 flavors, Moose Tracks wasn't there. So I got chocolate chip cookie dough and enjoyed my Americaness anyway.
I've found recently that I have been enjoying the pleasures of American life more. I'm hoping to put an end to that this week because I want to spend my last two weeks completely immersed in the pleasures of British life. I don't want to revert back to an American before I come home.
Anyways, that weekend all of my roommates were gone. It was lovely, even though the weekend itself was pretty uneventful. We did some work for homework and Alan did some stuff for jobs and we didn't go out very much. That makes me sad everytime it happens because I have at my fingertips one of the greatest cities in the world, and I have become so used to being here, that I don't even really take advantage of it anymore. Its like not going to HersheyPark because I live in Hershey. It's sad because my time here now is really starting to run out.
Anyways, Monday and Tuesday we had class as usual and the only really eventful moment was our gallery trip to TATE modern. I hate Tate modern. I hate the building. I hate the artwork. I hate the people. BUT. We had tickets for my art class to an exhibit on Constructionism and Rodechenko and Popova. Because it is a gallery you have to pay to get into, it was much less full and I actually really liked this artwork. It was better than the other works in the other galleries there.
Wednesday was really really amazing though. Wednesday we woke up early, got Starbucks (yeah.) and made our way to London Bridge to catch a train to Greenwich with Brittany. The best part about this train is the free-ness of it. I had always thought that Greenwich was far from London. But in all actuality it was an 8 minute free train ride with my oyster card. Win.
We got to Greenwich and it was pretty. It was close enough to London that we could still see the city. We could see the Eye and the Gurkin and various other buildings, and the city is right on the Thames, but it is so different. It has a very small town feel. We walked from the train station through some cute streets to the park that was there. It was warm enough to take my coat off, which hasn't been happening all that very much. It was lovely. From there we walked through the part to the royal observatory and the Prime Meridian. We walked around taking some pictures of the views from the hill and then went into the actual museum which was pretty cool! It was all about astronomy and time and the history of both. It was really neat! I looked through a telescope and saw pluto (haha the dog not the "planet") and eventually made our way down to take pictures of us standing on the Prime Meridian. 0° 0' 0" And the basis for Greenwich Mean Time. It was cool.
From there we walked to the Planetarium and more interactive part of the observatory. It was definitely made for little kids, which meant I had a blast there. We didn't get to see a planetarium show because at the time we were there the only ones they had playing were the little kid invasion of mars ones. It was still a pretty cool place though. After that we toured the free (I love Greenwich because of its Freeness) art galleries in the Queens House. It was a surprisingly normal house for a royal family, back when they used to stay there. It was beautiful and such, but not as much as would be expected. Though it also had many other uses through the years and several rennovations which probably had something to do with it.
When we had finished, Brittany had to go back to London for class, so we went with her and tried to decide on something to do for the rest of the afternoon. Taking after Brittany, we decided to get tickets to see Wicked that night. We ended up getting pretty lucky because when we got there they said they didn't have any seats together and we were just going to go and sit apart, but then she ended up giving us these seats which were originally £60 but we were getting them at the student rate of £25. she said we could have them because they were a bit restricted view by the hand rail, but we got there and realized that the hand rain is pretty much not in the way at all. It was totally worth it! It was an amazing production, with only some minor flaws that we could tell. I have realized that being in the musicals at school was really helpful when it comes to seeing shows now, because I pick up on details that other people don't always notice. Alan notices even more different things because of his stage crew experience, and together we just analyze the show to bits. Its great. We only wished Maya had been with us to make the show perfect. We decided you can't really fully enjoy Wicked unless Maya is sitting next to you! :-) But Brittany and Stacy were only one row away which was cool. We had a blast.
We went home and the next day had a class which took us to a Hindu temple. That was a really enjoyable class visit compared to the other ones we had had with that professor. We were able to talk with one of the people in charge of the temple and I had never realized how much I actually knew about the Hindu religion. In tenth grade we had learned about it in English when we read part of the Bagauvah Gita (excuse my spelling) but I never realised I had learned that much. The woman was explaining soul, and she used almost the exact same analogy that my teacher had used in 10th grade and I was really startled. It was cool though. There was one kid in class who insisted upon having an argument with her about the political aspect of the Untouchables of the Caste system. Most of the kids in class didn't even know what he was talking about, but we had learned about it in world cultures in 11th grade. What upset me though, was that the woman was talking about the religious aspect of the caste system and how she thought India was actually holding themselves back by having the caste system and how she didn't agree with it. But the kid kept going on about the politics and why its wrong and they were actually arguing the same point but the kid couldn't see this because he was so closed minded about the fact that India isn't doing it right and it is inhumane and he was pissed and didn't like anything she had to say even though she was agreeing with him. He was actually being really rude and she eventually told him that he should move to India and fight for the rights of the Untouchables if he feels that strongly and that finally shut him up.
After that, we walked to a store called Forbidden Planet, which I think I have mentioned here before. On the way there we stopped and got some Cinnabun which always reminds me of the PA turnpike. Like I said, I have really been living up the Americanisms this week. It was AMAZING! But we finally got there and had a good time walking around and looking at the books and comics and starwars figurines and stuff! We then made our way back to CAPA to print a map for our trip yesterday, and to get dinner. We went to Sainsburys and got a whole BBQ Roast Chicken and some cheese balls and tortia crisps. I really just haven't been able to pull myself away from America. But that turned out to be some of the best chicken I have ever eaten. It was really phenomenal. I ejoyed every last bite. And there really were no bites left when we had finished. We finished dinner with a pack of Wine Gums from the vending machine. They are kind of like gummy life savers, except that they taste different, and they are British, which makes me feel a bit better.
Yesterday, though, was what really made the week a winner. It was completely filled with Americanisms and good luck, with a little bad luck too. But it was worth it. Yesterday, we woke up really early and made our way to Liverpool Street Station. There, we got McDonald's for breakfast, and can I just say, that not only was it as delicious as McDonalds for breakfast in America, it was better. They used better quality meat and eggs and it was superb. The hashbrown was exactly like in America and I loved every second of it. From there we got on a bus. It was supposed to be a train, but they are having rail replacement bus services because of construction. So, the bus took us to Ingatestone and we picked up a train there. The train ride wasn't terribly exciting. I think I fell asleep. But we ended up in Norwich.
Norwich was cool, but there was a very specific reason we went there. There is a show playing on stage there. It will be moving to London 5 days after we leave which is why we had to see it there. The show is sold out. It has been since the tickets went on sale. The reason it is sold out is because the two lead actors were Patrick Stewart and Sir Ian McKellen. The guy who played on Star Trek and the guy who played Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings. We didn't have tickets, but we were going to wait at the Theater and see if there had been any returns. As far as the show was concerned, I hadn't been terribly interested. The only reason I wanted to go was because Alan wanted to go so bad. The trip was a surprise for him, and we went and kept our fingers crossed.
We walked from the train station to the theater, because we were hoping to get there early enough that no one else would have been in front of us in line for tickets. But when we got there the theater was closed. We found out later that it was a bank holliday (Good Friday) and therefore they didn't open until later. But at the time we didn't know for sure. We found a carnival! right next to the theater. It was very much like the street carnivals we have at home. Complete with unsafe looking carnival rides, games, and food. We were going to get burgers for lunch but decided it was too expensive. So we went to get lunch at Subway. One, because I am on an American high right now, and two because it was really close by so we could keep checking to make sure there wasn't a queue forming. After lunch we went to check again to see if they had opened, but they hadn't. So we walked to a mall near by and got some really good fruit smoothies. Then we walked around Borders and outside again. It was a strange little mall, because you had to walk this path through a cemetary to get into it if you came through the front. that was kind of weird. People just sat on the grass talking and eating like it was a park. But it was a cemetary from the 1850s and earlier. It kind of creeped me out.
We went back and checked the theater and then walked down into this pretty neat market place. We got drinks and then walked to the castle. The castle is pretty cool, but we didn't pay to tour it. It seemed like it was kind of the goth-emo-punk kid hangout. But we sat on a bench and looked at the flowers and hill leading up to the castle. Then we walked into the castle mall to use the bathrooms. There we found a cool toy store and hung out there for a while. We also found an Auntie Anne's. And yes, we got some. Lol. Enjoying the pretzles, we walked through the streets or Norwich back to the theater to see if it had opened yet or if there was a queue waiting to get in. There wasn't, so we went and sat on a bench in the park near the carnival. We could see the theater from there and watched some dogs and kids playing in the park. It was fun. Alan though he saw a crowd gathering outside the theater, and we walked up there, but he hadn't. We stayed up there anyway and hung out outside the theater. We sat on a bike rack for an hour or so while I talked about leaving to get some cheesey chips and doughnuts from the carnival. I couldn't leave though, becasue I was in intense I-will-get-alan-tickets-mode. Another guy finally came looking for tickets and we talked to him for a while and he "did the proper british thing and made a queue behind us." That made us the first in line!
They finally opened the doors, but only for people who had restuarant reservations. So we waited a bit more, and they let us in. I asked the lady at the desk for a list to put our names on for return tickets, but she said they wouldn't do that until an hour before the show. So we waited. Then this old woman came in and returned her tickets. The woman called me over and said because I was first in line i could have them even though they hadn't started the list yet. I almost kissed her!!! I wanted to scream or jump or something! Anything! I was so excited! I have never been that lucky before! I didn't even want to go and now I did because Alan and I were just so happy! We went to the carnival to celebrate. We got cheesey chips and doughnuts and took lots of silly pictures! We had to keep moving because when we sat down we got antsy! We walked back to the mall to use the bathrooms again and wandered a bit. Then we made our way back down to the theater. We bought programs and posters and finally took our seats!! It really was amazing! Waiting for Godot reminded me a lot of Rozencrantz and Guildenstern are dead. It was very funny. At intermission we got ice cream bars and waited for the second act. We knew we were going to have to leave early. The show wouldn't end until 10 or later. Our train left at 10 and was over a mile away. We left at 9:50 and sprinted to the train station.
We didn't make it. We didn't make it. We had left early. We had run. We had been too slow. I had been too slow. I couldn't run the whole way. I had to walk. If I had run the whole way we would have made it. It was my fault. It was 10:01 when we got to the station. We could have made it, but there were no more trains to London that night. I didn't know what to do. We had had such a great day. We had made its so close. We had gotten the tickets and had the best day ever and we had missed our only train home. I freaked out. I always plan everything and I am always in charge and I just didn't know what to do. So Alan took over. Cuz when my life falls to pieces, he picks them up and puts them back together. And he told me to get up off my butt and walk with him to the bus station so that we could find a bus home. There was supposed to be a bus home at 11:25, so we waited. And it never came. And they shut the lights off. I knew we were gonna be stuck there forever. Without a place to stay or sleep. It was devastating. We tried to get inside the station but the doors were locked. So we walked away. Then a man came to the door and asked us what we were doing and where we were trying to get to...he said there was another bus coming at 1:15 and if we wanted to we could wait inside. Alan talked to him for a while and tried to get us tickets and had to make some phone calls and ended up spending a lot of money to get us home...when we should have just got on the train that we already had tickets for...so it was my fault he had to pay to get us home...and it was over a 4 hour bus ride to get us home...we didn't end up back in our flats until 6 in the morning. So we went to bed. And I woke up at 3:30 this afternoon...
Alan decided that it was all worth it. Cuz unlike me, he can keep his head under pressure. I can plan and pack and make my intenerary perfect, but I kind of fall apart when my plans go awry and thats why he is here. Because he can get us home at 1 in the morning when I'm sure were stuck. And he decided that the money and waiting and trouble was worth it because we had the best day ever in Norwich. We got to see at least a part of an amazing play with amazing actors and eat carnival food and enjoy ourselves. So, I guess it was worth it. I've never seen him smile so much, and that was worth it.
Now, we have an hour to leave. We are going to see Brittany's host brother's band play at a pub. Which is funny because we only woke up a couple hours ago, but anyways...that should be a fun event to make up for our awful night last night on the bus...
Talk to you later!
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Rantings, Ravings, and Thoughts on My Time Here...
So, I've never been homesick in my life. I honestly can't even really say that I am right now. I don't really miss home, as in Hummelstown. I don't terribly miss my family or life back in America. I do, however, miss people from school. I miss Pittsburgh, and I miss the things I have available to me there.
I miss delicious $5 Chinese food. I miss American pizza, that you can get with extra cheese and big pepperoni, and for $5 at 2 am. I miss food that doesn't spoil in two days due to a lack of preservatives. I miss having my own room. I miss swimming pools. I miss cheap movie theaters. I miss potato chips that come in big bags. I miss going to market to go in my slippers and buying a microwave dinner with meal plan money. I miss my friends from school, who even though I don't see all the time are always there for me. I miss whip cream that has sugar in it.
I don't miss public bathrooms, market central, security guards, and buses that are ALWAYS late. In fact, I don't miss the American public transportation system one bit. I don't miss waiting for an elevator, teeny-tiny windows, Panther Central queues, signing out housing carts, and being locked out of my room.
When I leave Britain, I know there will be some things I'll miss. I know there will also be some things I'll be glad to leave behind. I haven't had the greatest time ever here, but I wouldn't trade it for the world. In fact, what I got on this trip was the world, or at least part of it. And for that I will never ever regret my experiences here.
When I leave, I will miss the tube, buses, trains and all other public transportation. I will miss soda made with real sugar. I will miss being no more than 5 hours from every major European city that I can think of. I will miss French Crepes. I will miss German Pretzels. I will miss Italian Gelato. I will miss English Sausage. I will miss cream tea, and biscuits with jam. I will miss Nutella. I will the age and culture of everything. I will miss the history. I will miss my kitchen, bathroom with good water pressure, and dish washer. I will miss being of legal drinking age, and applewood cheddar cheese.
I won't miss lime scale. I won't miss only having 4 channels on the TV. I won't miss not having a clothes dryer. I won't miss the idea of no personal space. I won't miss only standing on the right side of an Escalator. I won't miss walking on the left hand side of the side walk. I won't miss walking like I'm running. I won't miss dogs that aren't dog-like because they are trained to be robots. I won't miss the dirt. I won't miss the smell of Paris or the graffiti of Rome. I won't miss food that goes bad, and the fact that everything is twice as expensive as in America. I won't miss constantly buying store brand products.
I think most of all though, I won't miss the other Americans. If there is one thing I have learned, its that 3/4 of the people who came on this trip don't give one damn about any one except themselves. Not only do they not care how they treat others, they don't care what kind of image they give Americans abroad. They are rude, loud, and drink too much. Many of the world stereotypes that exist for Americans really are true, and they embody themselves in many of the other students on the trip. I am disappointed and dismayed that they act the way they do.
I know I'm not perfect. I know I can never get rid of the American in me, nor do I want to. But I do have resepct for people and their culture, and I do know how to be polite and quiet and kind when I should be. I may not have been born with thousands of dollars, but I was taught respect and manners. I don't think the others here were. I pity Americans for their inability to leave behind their worser qualities in order to make people believe America isn't as bad as it sounds. I do want to smack all of them and make them understand that they are only propogating these stereotypes.
But mostly, I want to smack them all for treating me like shit. I absolutely cannot stand most of the people I live and interact with on a daily basis. There are a few people I love and will miss when I go home. There are a few people I have enjoyed my time with and consider family here. But the vast majority of them I cannot stand. For one, I have never done anything against them. I have never told them not to drink so much that they throw up in the couch (don't ask), and I never told them not to sleep with countless guys. I have never been rude to them, and I have never spoken out against them. Yet, for some reason, they are all running around telling people that I have ruined their lives. That I am the reason they can't have fun here, and they treat me like sub-human trash. It upsets me, and there is nothing that I can do about it. If I said something to them, they would only add it to their list of reasons to hate me. And its not just me. They don't like Alan either.
I suppose every group needs a scapegoat. I guess since I am the different one, the one who trys to fit in with the culture here, the one who doesn't drink until my liver explodes, the one who hasn't had sex with any and every random guy I have met, and the one who acts like an intelligent human being, hoping to change the awful stereotype that they have broadcast, it is only fitting that that scapegoat should be me.
Luckily, I only have 3 weeks left here. I will miss this place. I will miss many things about this place. I will miss my time here. But when I get on the plane to come home, and leave behind the people here, I will not miss them. Yes, I want to come home. But most of all, I want to come back here. I want to come back without 200 other college aged Americans. I want to come back to experience the place as someone who has lived here and knows the city, and some of the world. I want to come back without the looming cloud of outcast over my head.
I love London, and I love Europe. But I truly wish that I could say I loved it more. And I know I could, if they hadn't come on the trip as well.
Oh yeah, I also won't miss having timed internet. Everyone should be allowed to use as much internet as they like. Hmpf.
I miss delicious $5 Chinese food. I miss American pizza, that you can get with extra cheese and big pepperoni, and for $5 at 2 am. I miss food that doesn't spoil in two days due to a lack of preservatives. I miss having my own room. I miss swimming pools. I miss cheap movie theaters. I miss potato chips that come in big bags. I miss going to market to go in my slippers and buying a microwave dinner with meal plan money. I miss my friends from school, who even though I don't see all the time are always there for me. I miss whip cream that has sugar in it.
I don't miss public bathrooms, market central, security guards, and buses that are ALWAYS late. In fact, I don't miss the American public transportation system one bit. I don't miss waiting for an elevator, teeny-tiny windows, Panther Central queues, signing out housing carts, and being locked out of my room.
When I leave Britain, I know there will be some things I'll miss. I know there will also be some things I'll be glad to leave behind. I haven't had the greatest time ever here, but I wouldn't trade it for the world. In fact, what I got on this trip was the world, or at least part of it. And for that I will never ever regret my experiences here.
When I leave, I will miss the tube, buses, trains and all other public transportation. I will miss soda made with real sugar. I will miss being no more than 5 hours from every major European city that I can think of. I will miss French Crepes. I will miss German Pretzels. I will miss Italian Gelato. I will miss English Sausage. I will miss cream tea, and biscuits with jam. I will miss Nutella. I will the age and culture of everything. I will miss the history. I will miss my kitchen, bathroom with good water pressure, and dish washer. I will miss being of legal drinking age, and applewood cheddar cheese.
I won't miss lime scale. I won't miss only having 4 channels on the TV. I won't miss not having a clothes dryer. I won't miss the idea of no personal space. I won't miss only standing on the right side of an Escalator. I won't miss walking on the left hand side of the side walk. I won't miss walking like I'm running. I won't miss dogs that aren't dog-like because they are trained to be robots. I won't miss the dirt. I won't miss the smell of Paris or the graffiti of Rome. I won't miss food that goes bad, and the fact that everything is twice as expensive as in America. I won't miss constantly buying store brand products.
I think most of all though, I won't miss the other Americans. If there is one thing I have learned, its that 3/4 of the people who came on this trip don't give one damn about any one except themselves. Not only do they not care how they treat others, they don't care what kind of image they give Americans abroad. They are rude, loud, and drink too much. Many of the world stereotypes that exist for Americans really are true, and they embody themselves in many of the other students on the trip. I am disappointed and dismayed that they act the way they do.
I know I'm not perfect. I know I can never get rid of the American in me, nor do I want to. But I do have resepct for people and their culture, and I do know how to be polite and quiet and kind when I should be. I may not have been born with thousands of dollars, but I was taught respect and manners. I don't think the others here were. I pity Americans for their inability to leave behind their worser qualities in order to make people believe America isn't as bad as it sounds. I do want to smack all of them and make them understand that they are only propogating these stereotypes.
But mostly, I want to smack them all for treating me like shit. I absolutely cannot stand most of the people I live and interact with on a daily basis. There are a few people I love and will miss when I go home. There are a few people I have enjoyed my time with and consider family here. But the vast majority of them I cannot stand. For one, I have never done anything against them. I have never told them not to drink so much that they throw up in the couch (don't ask), and I never told them not to sleep with countless guys. I have never been rude to them, and I have never spoken out against them. Yet, for some reason, they are all running around telling people that I have ruined their lives. That I am the reason they can't have fun here, and they treat me like sub-human trash. It upsets me, and there is nothing that I can do about it. If I said something to them, they would only add it to their list of reasons to hate me. And its not just me. They don't like Alan either.
I suppose every group needs a scapegoat. I guess since I am the different one, the one who trys to fit in with the culture here, the one who doesn't drink until my liver explodes, the one who hasn't had sex with any and every random guy I have met, and the one who acts like an intelligent human being, hoping to change the awful stereotype that they have broadcast, it is only fitting that that scapegoat should be me.
Luckily, I only have 3 weeks left here. I will miss this place. I will miss many things about this place. I will miss my time here. But when I get on the plane to come home, and leave behind the people here, I will not miss them. Yes, I want to come home. But most of all, I want to come back here. I want to come back without 200 other college aged Americans. I want to come back to experience the place as someone who has lived here and knows the city, and some of the world. I want to come back without the looming cloud of outcast over my head.
I love London, and I love Europe. But I truly wish that I could say I loved it more. And I know I could, if they hadn't come on the trip as well.
Oh yeah, I also won't miss having timed internet. Everyone should be allowed to use as much internet as they like. Hmpf.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Scotland, and its superlatives!
So, I apologize if this is uninteligible. I Just woke up, and I'm writing in Word pad which has no spell check. Lovely thinking there on my part. But its too late now and I'm too lazy to open word, and you are intellegent, so I'm sure you'll be able to figure it out!
Anyway, so Scotland! Yay! Scotland was fun and beautiful. I don't think it was my favorite trip, but there were a lot of little things which contributed to that. Mostly I think it was that I really just didn't want to travel anymore. I kind of consider London a home now and its nice to get to spend time in a familiar place. Also, about the last 6 weekends prior I had been travelling. Paris, Germany, Italy, Wales...the list goes on and the night before it was probably 11oclock and I was sitting in my room trying to decide if I even wanted to pack...lol It was a 3 day trip and in my unamused mind I was considering wearing the same thing for 3 days. Ultimately though, I did pack. And I did wake up at 4 or 5 ish the next morning to get to the train station, even though while walking there I really thought about turning around and going back to bed. (Just so you know, this weekend I stayed in London and it was lovely.)
Then we made it to the train station and found some train station take away breakfast...mmm...not. I think we got cinnamon rolls which actually weren't terrible. After checking in, we had to wait a bit as our train didn't leave until 8. They wanted us there really early since the people on this trip have a habit of showing up about an hour late for things.So we got on the train and I tried to sleep, but since it was 8, the sun was already up and I couldn't pass up the beautiful scenery that I kept seeing. (At this point in my life even trees and grass make me really happy because all I ever see in London is concrete. They have parks and stuff, but you go there and it feels very artificial. The grass is mowed, the ponds all have concrete edges and the trees are clearly landscaped. Its nice for a break, but it just doesn't feel natural. Scotland helped with that a lot. It was gorgeous there.
The further north we went, we started to see coast. I'm not sure if it was an ocean or a sea or a lake, though it was definitely very massive and surrounded by these beautiful cliffs. Every so often there would be a cute little light house. It wasn't actually a bad train ride. It was 4 hours long though.
So, we finally arrived in Edinburgh (Edinboro for pronounciations sake). There we met our tour guide who did wear a kilt the whole time. He was a pretty nice guy most of the time, though he didn't like it when people talked over him or would listen to their ipods while he was talking and he would occasionally tell us to shut up. He did it in a funny way, but after a while I got tired of listening to the other kids complain about him. They really didn't like him. I thought he was interesting, though he was a bit long winded. He would occassionally talk for an hour about what could have been said in 10 minutes or so. That really seemed to bother everyone else. But what started out as a curiousity for us, became very hysterical, and then evetually got quite annoying was his Scottish pride. He was very Scottish. His accent was very Scottish, and he had the pride to go with it. Everything came from Scotland. Everything originated in Scotland. Everything is the best in Scotland. The ones that stick in my mind the most are that Scotland has the best bridge in the world, and Scotland has the biggest dolphins in the world. Somehow, I don't think either are true, but I do think he absolutely believed they were.
So, we went to our hostel in Edinburgh and then got a short quick walking tour of the city. We learned about old Edinburgh and new Edinburgh and why they made the new city, and then we got the change to explore around. We mostly walked through old Edinburgh and saw the castle, the palace, the pub where JK started writing Harry Potter. It was all in a really cute little town. We went to a pub for dinner and had been told to try a local ale that is actually pumped from the tap. What I mean is that beers in America you pull the handle down and stuff pours out. All the local ones have to be pumped and aren't carbonated. Anyway, so Alan decided to be adventurous and try some and it actually turned out to be green, which we think was left over from St. Patricks day the tuesday before. It wasn't very good, but it was pretty cool. The food was amazing though.
I forgot to mention that before our dinner and after walking around we climbed this mountain. It was awesome. Not the climbing, but the views. We didn't climb to the very top, but we made it to the top of a ridge that was high enough up that when I sat down and dangled my feet off the edge Alan about had a heartattack because he was so scared for me. :-)
So yeah, explored, climbed, ate some food, the we got some ice cream, and went back to the hostel because we were tired from getting up at 4 in the morning. The next morning we were up pretty early again. We got some breakfast and were off to the bus. Once there we drove for a bit through some really pretty scenery in Scotland and made our way to the William Wallace memorial momument thinger. It was another hike up another mountain, but it was pretty cool once we got up there. After that we made our way to the Scottish highlands (according to the tour guide, the ONLY wilderness left if Europe. Its that pride thing again. By the end of the trip we figured the Scottish kids probably have a class in primary school on how to be proud). It was beautiful though. We stopped a bit in to pet and feed a scottish highland cow (hairy coo, if your a scotsman) His name was Hamish which translates to James and he was cute! If you put the carrot in your mouth he would give you a kiss, but I wasn't quite that daring. He was pretty slobbery.
So then we ate lunch at this tiny little rest stop thing which kind of operated highschool cafeteria style. I didn't realize how far removed I was from that until I got there and forgot how cafeteria things like that work...yeah...But the food was good. It took me agood ten minutes at the rest stop t o find a store that sold water. I was thirsty pretty much the whole trip and I eventually had to go to this camp like store place thing. They sold firewood and stuff because nearby there is a trail that takes about a week to hike and they sell supplies for the campers. But as a result, they didn't sell anything in sizes under a liter. I felt like I was in America for a bit and proudly carried my liter of water with me...till I drank it about 2 hours later. :-)
In the highlands we passed about 60 different lochs and they were all really beautiful. It really is unspoiled nature out there. There were little streams from the melting snow that made waterfalls at the cliffs, every mountain had a name. It was really just a nice place. We made a photo stop at a place called the 3 sisters, which were 3 mountains with this gorge thing running up the center. It was really quite lovely and everyone took a pipcture of themselves pretending to jump off the cliff that was there. And we saw some deer! Yay! lol I mean it really isn't that exciting because they are everywhere in PA...but I haven't seen one in oh...forever.
Then back on the bus and off to Loch Ness, where I saw Urquart Castle Ruins and Nessie (jk, I didn't see her, but we do have a prettyfunny joke about it). Loch Ness was beautiful. The water is so deep, and it was this dark blue color. It was surrounded by trees and hills and other lovely things and the ruins were really picturesque. I told Alan to take a picture of me with Nessie, but when we looked at the picture, Nessie just wasn't smiling. So, we had to delete it obviosly. Josh said we should have had some keys or a little yellow bird to jingle at her...but she just wasn't cooperating. According to the tourguide there is overwhelming amounts of scientific evidence that point at some rather large fish creature in the loch, but because it is so deep and so dark no one really knows what. He seemed to think it was an extraordinarily large carp. I think it is definitely a prehistoric dinosaur fish monster. And, it probably eats people.
I stuck my hand in Loch Ness though and then it was back on the bus to Inverness, where we spent the night. We went out to a Weatherspoons while we were there. They serve really cheap food and 99 p drinks. The food was actually pretty decent as far as 6 pounds was concerned. By 6 pounds I mean 6.99 ish for both Alan and me. Afterwards we headed to a more expensive bar, club, pub place, where there were so many people you acutally couldn't move. But we went because they were supposed to have some good folk music and such. We hung out there for a while, until I got hiccups which lasted for about an hour and made me miserable. So, we left and headed in for the night. We were up early again the next morning, and off the to bus again.
The first stop of the day was a giant battle feild where the Scots fought the English...and lost pretty terrible. We watched and made fun of this ridiculous 3d video thingy of the battle and then I went to the gift shop and Alan went to play with the replica muskets.
Most of the rest of the day was spent on the bus. We made a stop at a tiny little town for lunch and no one had any time and we were all late. After that we stopped at a whiskey distillery, and got a tour which was a fiasco because apparaently once the people had a group of french students steal a bunch of stuff and put pebbles in the toilets so now they don't like students and didn't want to honor our reservations. Our tour guide ended up arguing with the lady for like 20 minutes, and we did eventually get the tour and a free sample, but they weren't exactly pleasant people and we didn't get a chance to visit the gift shop because they sent us away. They really didn't like us...whatever.
Well, because of all the delays, we ended up getting a late start on the road to the train, and had to sprint to catch the train. I actually mean sprint. I'm not exaggerating. Our tour guide ran ahead to find out which train we had to get on, and then we sprinted. We made it though, with like 30 seconds to spare.
The train ride back was ridiculous. What was a 4 hour ride there, was a 7 hour ride back with a bus transfer in the middle. That was the train ride where my roommate told everyone how I had ruined her life, so I ended up getting really angry and moody and just refused to talk to any one or look at any one and our school accompany person really pissed me off and eventually left Alan and I behind at the one train station. We had our tickets, but still, as the group leader your supposed to keep everyone together though. She tends to be very much like a teenager though still, and is really good friends with our roommates who hate us. She was walking around telling everyone that she really wanted people to try to stay together, and even though she thought 45 people was too much for the one car we should all try to squeeze on. But when she got to Alan and I who were standing a bit further away from the group, but close enough to hear everything, she said "I think 45 people is a but much for one train, you can try to squeeze on if you want, but I don't think we will all fit." She then proceeded to tell us all the times that the trains came through going to London for the half hour or so...basically, what she was saying is we aren't all going to fit. You guys should catch a later train. She told everyone else that she would wait if there were people left behind, but when the next train came she jumped right on despite the fact that we were still standing there. We got an email the next day asking if we made it home ok, saying she would have stayed but thought we wanted some privacy. Which I only wanted because I was about ready to punch someone. They would have deserved it.
So yeah, that was my Scotland trip. Despite the ending, it really wasn't bad. It was nice to get out of the city for a bit, and the landscape was quite beautiful. I could have done without the rest of the kids on the trip, but it was still nice. I had a good time. I would really like to go back without the rest of the people, but then again I have said that about every place I have been.
The week after we got back was just class again. Then Saturday, Alan, Brittany, and I went to a Football Match. The game ended in a disappointing tie, but it was fun to watch. I don't understand football. Its very much like soccer, which I also don't understand, but there is a lot more pushing, shoving, pulling, and tripping involved. It was pretty rough and a couple guys got hurt. One got carried out on a stretcher. American soccer isn't that rough. I enjoyed myself though, and got some pretty cool pictures. Afterwards we went home and made Stromboli and it was delicious.
The next morning was daylight svaings time, and I forgot. I ended up over sleeping for an hour. It sucked. But we met up with Brittany again and went to speakers corner. We listened to some really crazy religious nuts up on their step ladders ranting about everything. The audiance was just as fun to listen to. It was free though, and considering the number on my bank statement, that was nice. I had a great time just listening to them. After that, we had planned to get some starbucks and then go see the Oxford, Cambridge crew race on the Thames. It has been a long standing tradition and Cambridge was going to see if they could maintain their victory status. Unfortunately, we got talking in Starbucks and ended up losing track of time, and missed the race. We made it down to the river, and there was a pretty happening party going on, but there were no boats and no rowers. I was sad, but not a lot. It was still an experience. When we went home, we made left overs for dinner, and I cleaned my room. Then Alan did some applications for jobs, and then we went to bed. Now, it is today, and I have class in about an hour and shouldn't be sitting here writing this, but I am. Oh well.
Later!
Anyway, so Scotland! Yay! Scotland was fun and beautiful. I don't think it was my favorite trip, but there were a lot of little things which contributed to that. Mostly I think it was that I really just didn't want to travel anymore. I kind of consider London a home now and its nice to get to spend time in a familiar place. Also, about the last 6 weekends prior I had been travelling. Paris, Germany, Italy, Wales...the list goes on and the night before it was probably 11oclock and I was sitting in my room trying to decide if I even wanted to pack...lol It was a 3 day trip and in my unamused mind I was considering wearing the same thing for 3 days. Ultimately though, I did pack. And I did wake up at 4 or 5 ish the next morning to get to the train station, even though while walking there I really thought about turning around and going back to bed. (Just so you know, this weekend I stayed in London and it was lovely.)
Then we made it to the train station and found some train station take away breakfast...mmm...not. I think we got cinnamon rolls which actually weren't terrible. After checking in, we had to wait a bit as our train didn't leave until 8. They wanted us there really early since the people on this trip have a habit of showing up about an hour late for things.So we got on the train and I tried to sleep, but since it was 8, the sun was already up and I couldn't pass up the beautiful scenery that I kept seeing. (At this point in my life even trees and grass make me really happy because all I ever see in London is concrete. They have parks and stuff, but you go there and it feels very artificial. The grass is mowed, the ponds all have concrete edges and the trees are clearly landscaped. Its nice for a break, but it just doesn't feel natural. Scotland helped with that a lot. It was gorgeous there.
The further north we went, we started to see coast. I'm not sure if it was an ocean or a sea or a lake, though it was definitely very massive and surrounded by these beautiful cliffs. Every so often there would be a cute little light house. It wasn't actually a bad train ride. It was 4 hours long though.
So, we finally arrived in Edinburgh (Edinboro for pronounciations sake). There we met our tour guide who did wear a kilt the whole time. He was a pretty nice guy most of the time, though he didn't like it when people talked over him or would listen to their ipods while he was talking and he would occasionally tell us to shut up. He did it in a funny way, but after a while I got tired of listening to the other kids complain about him. They really didn't like him. I thought he was interesting, though he was a bit long winded. He would occassionally talk for an hour about what could have been said in 10 minutes or so. That really seemed to bother everyone else. But what started out as a curiousity for us, became very hysterical, and then evetually got quite annoying was his Scottish pride. He was very Scottish. His accent was very Scottish, and he had the pride to go with it. Everything came from Scotland. Everything originated in Scotland. Everything is the best in Scotland. The ones that stick in my mind the most are that Scotland has the best bridge in the world, and Scotland has the biggest dolphins in the world. Somehow, I don't think either are true, but I do think he absolutely believed they were.
So, we went to our hostel in Edinburgh and then got a short quick walking tour of the city. We learned about old Edinburgh and new Edinburgh and why they made the new city, and then we got the change to explore around. We mostly walked through old Edinburgh and saw the castle, the palace, the pub where JK started writing Harry Potter. It was all in a really cute little town. We went to a pub for dinner and had been told to try a local ale that is actually pumped from the tap. What I mean is that beers in America you pull the handle down and stuff pours out. All the local ones have to be pumped and aren't carbonated. Anyway, so Alan decided to be adventurous and try some and it actually turned out to be green, which we think was left over from St. Patricks day the tuesday before. It wasn't very good, but it was pretty cool. The food was amazing though.
I forgot to mention that before our dinner and after walking around we climbed this mountain. It was awesome. Not the climbing, but the views. We didn't climb to the very top, but we made it to the top of a ridge that was high enough up that when I sat down and dangled my feet off the edge Alan about had a heartattack because he was so scared for me. :-)
So yeah, explored, climbed, ate some food, the we got some ice cream, and went back to the hostel because we were tired from getting up at 4 in the morning. The next morning we were up pretty early again. We got some breakfast and were off to the bus. Once there we drove for a bit through some really pretty scenery in Scotland and made our way to the William Wallace memorial momument thinger. It was another hike up another mountain, but it was pretty cool once we got up there. After that we made our way to the Scottish highlands (according to the tour guide, the ONLY wilderness left if Europe. Its that pride thing again. By the end of the trip we figured the Scottish kids probably have a class in primary school on how to be proud). It was beautiful though. We stopped a bit in to pet and feed a scottish highland cow (hairy coo, if your a scotsman) His name was Hamish which translates to James and he was cute! If you put the carrot in your mouth he would give you a kiss, but I wasn't quite that daring. He was pretty slobbery.
So then we ate lunch at this tiny little rest stop thing which kind of operated highschool cafeteria style. I didn't realize how far removed I was from that until I got there and forgot how cafeteria things like that work...yeah...But the food was good. It took me agood ten minutes at the rest stop t o find a store that sold water. I was thirsty pretty much the whole trip and I eventually had to go to this camp like store place thing. They sold firewood and stuff because nearby there is a trail that takes about a week to hike and they sell supplies for the campers. But as a result, they didn't sell anything in sizes under a liter. I felt like I was in America for a bit and proudly carried my liter of water with me...till I drank it about 2 hours later. :-)
In the highlands we passed about 60 different lochs and they were all really beautiful. It really is unspoiled nature out there. There were little streams from the melting snow that made waterfalls at the cliffs, every mountain had a name. It was really just a nice place. We made a photo stop at a place called the 3 sisters, which were 3 mountains with this gorge thing running up the center. It was really quite lovely and everyone took a pipcture of themselves pretending to jump off the cliff that was there. And we saw some deer! Yay! lol I mean it really isn't that exciting because they are everywhere in PA...but I haven't seen one in oh...forever.
Then back on the bus and off to Loch Ness, where I saw Urquart Castle Ruins and Nessie (jk, I didn't see her, but we do have a prettyfunny joke about it). Loch Ness was beautiful. The water is so deep, and it was this dark blue color. It was surrounded by trees and hills and other lovely things and the ruins were really picturesque. I told Alan to take a picture of me with Nessie, but when we looked at the picture, Nessie just wasn't smiling. So, we had to delete it obviosly. Josh said we should have had some keys or a little yellow bird to jingle at her...but she just wasn't cooperating. According to the tourguide there is overwhelming amounts of scientific evidence that point at some rather large fish creature in the loch, but because it is so deep and so dark no one really knows what. He seemed to think it was an extraordinarily large carp. I think it is definitely a prehistoric dinosaur fish monster. And, it probably eats people.
I stuck my hand in Loch Ness though and then it was back on the bus to Inverness, where we spent the night. We went out to a Weatherspoons while we were there. They serve really cheap food and 99 p drinks. The food was actually pretty decent as far as 6 pounds was concerned. By 6 pounds I mean 6.99 ish for both Alan and me. Afterwards we headed to a more expensive bar, club, pub place, where there were so many people you acutally couldn't move. But we went because they were supposed to have some good folk music and such. We hung out there for a while, until I got hiccups which lasted for about an hour and made me miserable. So, we left and headed in for the night. We were up early again the next morning, and off the to bus again.
The first stop of the day was a giant battle feild where the Scots fought the English...and lost pretty terrible. We watched and made fun of this ridiculous 3d video thingy of the battle and then I went to the gift shop and Alan went to play with the replica muskets.
Most of the rest of the day was spent on the bus. We made a stop at a tiny little town for lunch and no one had any time and we were all late. After that we stopped at a whiskey distillery, and got a tour which was a fiasco because apparaently once the people had a group of french students steal a bunch of stuff and put pebbles in the toilets so now they don't like students and didn't want to honor our reservations. Our tour guide ended up arguing with the lady for like 20 minutes, and we did eventually get the tour and a free sample, but they weren't exactly pleasant people and we didn't get a chance to visit the gift shop because they sent us away. They really didn't like us...whatever.
Well, because of all the delays, we ended up getting a late start on the road to the train, and had to sprint to catch the train. I actually mean sprint. I'm not exaggerating. Our tour guide ran ahead to find out which train we had to get on, and then we sprinted. We made it though, with like 30 seconds to spare.
The train ride back was ridiculous. What was a 4 hour ride there, was a 7 hour ride back with a bus transfer in the middle. That was the train ride where my roommate told everyone how I had ruined her life, so I ended up getting really angry and moody and just refused to talk to any one or look at any one and our school accompany person really pissed me off and eventually left Alan and I behind at the one train station. We had our tickets, but still, as the group leader your supposed to keep everyone together though. She tends to be very much like a teenager though still, and is really good friends with our roommates who hate us. She was walking around telling everyone that she really wanted people to try to stay together, and even though she thought 45 people was too much for the one car we should all try to squeeze on. But when she got to Alan and I who were standing a bit further away from the group, but close enough to hear everything, she said "I think 45 people is a but much for one train, you can try to squeeze on if you want, but I don't think we will all fit." She then proceeded to tell us all the times that the trains came through going to London for the half hour or so...basically, what she was saying is we aren't all going to fit. You guys should catch a later train. She told everyone else that she would wait if there were people left behind, but when the next train came she jumped right on despite the fact that we were still standing there. We got an email the next day asking if we made it home ok, saying she would have stayed but thought we wanted some privacy. Which I only wanted because I was about ready to punch someone. They would have deserved it.
So yeah, that was my Scotland trip. Despite the ending, it really wasn't bad. It was nice to get out of the city for a bit, and the landscape was quite beautiful. I could have done without the rest of the kids on the trip, but it was still nice. I had a good time. I would really like to go back without the rest of the people, but then again I have said that about every place I have been.
The week after we got back was just class again. Then Saturday, Alan, Brittany, and I went to a Football Match. The game ended in a disappointing tie, but it was fun to watch. I don't understand football. Its very much like soccer, which I also don't understand, but there is a lot more pushing, shoving, pulling, and tripping involved. It was pretty rough and a couple guys got hurt. One got carried out on a stretcher. American soccer isn't that rough. I enjoyed myself though, and got some pretty cool pictures. Afterwards we went home and made Stromboli and it was delicious.
The next morning was daylight svaings time, and I forgot. I ended up over sleeping for an hour. It sucked. But we met up with Brittany again and went to speakers corner. We listened to some really crazy religious nuts up on their step ladders ranting about everything. The audiance was just as fun to listen to. It was free though, and considering the number on my bank statement, that was nice. I had a great time just listening to them. After that, we had planned to get some starbucks and then go see the Oxford, Cambridge crew race on the Thames. It has been a long standing tradition and Cambridge was going to see if they could maintain their victory status. Unfortunately, we got talking in Starbucks and ended up losing track of time, and missed the race. We made it down to the river, and there was a pretty happening party going on, but there were no boats and no rowers. I was sad, but not a lot. It was still an experience. When we went home, we made left overs for dinner, and I cleaned my room. Then Alan did some applications for jobs, and then we went to bed. Now, it is today, and I have class in about an hour and shouldn't be sitting here writing this, but I am. Oh well.
Later!
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Wales, Day 2
So, the next morning we woke up and got some free breakfast. By breakfast I mean toast and croissants and tea and jam. It was good though. Then we got on the bus and drove for a bit to Big Pitt Mining museum. Big Pitt is an active coal mine in South Wales, but it is also a museum. The tour guides are all miners who have worked in the mine and know the history of it. We all got hard hats with lights and belts with heavy battery packs and oxygen thingers.
So we go down 300 ft into the ground in a rattling elevator in the dark. Brittany and I were reminded of the scene from October Sky, except that we couldn't look up at the stars cuz the elevator was inside...and it was day light. Anyway, the tour was interesting and I think I learned a bit more than the last time I was in a mine. The worst problem was that all of the ceilings throughout the mine were about 4.5 ft high. So any time we were walking places we would have to be ducking and it got a bit uncomfortable. But we saw the stables underground and learned about ventilation systems and other things. It was pretty cool.
I was never so happy to come back up to the ground. The mine was cool, but it was also dark, damp, and difficult to walk through. I do sympathize with the miners who worked there for their whole lives. But after we got out we went to the gift shop and bought some post cards and I got a mug and I got Alan some recipe thingers. I had a good time and my mug is awesome because it has the Welsh flag on it and their flag is an awesome dragon thing.
So after that, we got back on the bus to drive to this adorable little town where we got lunch. We didn't have much time to walk around and explore, but we did get to see a 13th century bridge and eat some delicious Sunday roast. It was kind of buffet style which was interesting because I haven't seen anything like it here yet, but the food was good and we really enjoyed ourselves.
After lunch we speed walked ourselves back to the bus and then realized it wasn't necessary because we had to wait forever for these 3 girls who were getting icecream. When we finally got moving we were off on the last leg of our journey. Following the path of the Wye River we made our way through some beautiful landscapes. Our destination was the beautiful Tintern Abbey.
Tintern Abbey is a ruin that stands in the middle of a small town. When it was built, however, it was entirely secluded from any civilization. The monks wanted their solitude and built their abbey in the beautiful landscape. It was really cool to see what was remaining of the abbey and what had been lost forever. The scene was really impressive, as the monks would have built nearly everything by hand (as much as possible of course) and I just didn't expect it to be so large. To have seen it in its entirety would have been magnificent. It was really a beautiful place.
So from there we journeyed home. It was a several hour bus ride and we were all a little tired. The best part of the ride home was undoubtedly the Badgers for 2 Miles sign...its whole purpose to warn people of the badgers that could make their way on to the road. It was glorious. :-)
But we finally got home and it was nice to be back. Alan and I, being stuffed from our amazing lunch still weren't hungry enough for dinner, but eventually went and bought some frozen food from the 24 hour store below our apartment. It wasn't great but it got us by.
Right now, I am supposed to be researching Paul Nash, a British war time and surrealist artist. I have a paper due about him on Tuesday which involves me critiquing 3 pieces of his artwork that I see in person in a museum here in London. I mentioned it was due Tuesday, right, because tomorrow at 7:15 in the morning I'm getting on a train and heading to Scotland where I will see Edinburgh, Inverness, Loch Ness, and the Highlands. It promises to be a beautiful trip with impressive landscapes. Unfortunately, it also means I won't be getting back until late Sunday night, leaving me Monday to write my 6 page paper...including seeing and critiquing the art...did I mention I have class on Monday. Its right in the middle of the day too, from 1:30-4:30 and all of the museums are a good half hour or more away from school. I'm pretty much screwed. But rest assured. I will succeed. It will be finished by 10:30 am Tuesday morning if it kills me. It's all good. No worries.
Anyway, I still have yet to pack for tomorrow morning and it is almost 9:00 pm here. I'm actually really tired of packing. I want to go on this trip. I'm really excited. But part of me just wants to keep my clothes on their hangers and out of a bag, to sleep in my own bed, to not have to wake up super duper unreasonably early, and to just stay put. Its awful to say, but I'm really tired of traveling. But don't get me wrong. I want to see Scotland. Just have to take the good with the bad, ya know. I can't have everything.
On that note, goodnight.
So we go down 300 ft into the ground in a rattling elevator in the dark. Brittany and I were reminded of the scene from October Sky, except that we couldn't look up at the stars cuz the elevator was inside...and it was day light. Anyway, the tour was interesting and I think I learned a bit more than the last time I was in a mine. The worst problem was that all of the ceilings throughout the mine were about 4.5 ft high. So any time we were walking places we would have to be ducking and it got a bit uncomfortable. But we saw the stables underground and learned about ventilation systems and other things. It was pretty cool.
I was never so happy to come back up to the ground. The mine was cool, but it was also dark, damp, and difficult to walk through. I do sympathize with the miners who worked there for their whole lives. But after we got out we went to the gift shop and bought some post cards and I got a mug and I got Alan some recipe thingers. I had a good time and my mug is awesome because it has the Welsh flag on it and their flag is an awesome dragon thing.
So after that, we got back on the bus to drive to this adorable little town where we got lunch. We didn't have much time to walk around and explore, but we did get to see a 13th century bridge and eat some delicious Sunday roast. It was kind of buffet style which was interesting because I haven't seen anything like it here yet, but the food was good and we really enjoyed ourselves.
After lunch we speed walked ourselves back to the bus and then realized it wasn't necessary because we had to wait forever for these 3 girls who were getting icecream. When we finally got moving we were off on the last leg of our journey. Following the path of the Wye River we made our way through some beautiful landscapes. Our destination was the beautiful Tintern Abbey.
Tintern Abbey is a ruin that stands in the middle of a small town. When it was built, however, it was entirely secluded from any civilization. The monks wanted their solitude and built their abbey in the beautiful landscape. It was really cool to see what was remaining of the abbey and what had been lost forever. The scene was really impressive, as the monks would have built nearly everything by hand (as much as possible of course) and I just didn't expect it to be so large. To have seen it in its entirety would have been magnificent. It was really a beautiful place.
So from there we journeyed home. It was a several hour bus ride and we were all a little tired. The best part of the ride home was undoubtedly the Badgers for 2 Miles sign...its whole purpose to warn people of the badgers that could make their way on to the road. It was glorious. :-)
But we finally got home and it was nice to be back. Alan and I, being stuffed from our amazing lunch still weren't hungry enough for dinner, but eventually went and bought some frozen food from the 24 hour store below our apartment. It wasn't great but it got us by.
Right now, I am supposed to be researching Paul Nash, a British war time and surrealist artist. I have a paper due about him on Tuesday which involves me critiquing 3 pieces of his artwork that I see in person in a museum here in London. I mentioned it was due Tuesday, right, because tomorrow at 7:15 in the morning I'm getting on a train and heading to Scotland where I will see Edinburgh, Inverness, Loch Ness, and the Highlands. It promises to be a beautiful trip with impressive landscapes. Unfortunately, it also means I won't be getting back until late Sunday night, leaving me Monday to write my 6 page paper...including seeing and critiquing the art...did I mention I have class on Monday. Its right in the middle of the day too, from 1:30-4:30 and all of the museums are a good half hour or more away from school. I'm pretty much screwed. But rest assured. I will succeed. It will be finished by 10:30 am Tuesday morning if it kills me. It's all good. No worries.
Anyway, I still have yet to pack for tomorrow morning and it is almost 9:00 pm here. I'm actually really tired of packing. I want to go on this trip. I'm really excited. But part of me just wants to keep my clothes on their hangers and out of a bag, to sleep in my own bed, to not have to wake up super duper unreasonably early, and to just stay put. Its awful to say, but I'm really tired of traveling. But don't get me wrong. I want to see Scotland. Just have to take the good with the bad, ya know. I can't have everything.
On that note, goodnight.
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