It's official; I have gotten extremely lost on the tube. Yesterday I succeeded in taking two hours to get back to Vandon House when it normally takes only forty minutes. I'll start from the beginning of my drawn out journey.
I get off of work at five o'clock and it is about a twelve to fifteen minute walk to the tube station Old Street. Once at Old Street I need to get on the northbound Northern Line. Now it was particularly congested on the platform, and apparently they have no problem pushing little girls out of the way to get on the train; I tried to get on three trains and never got close because I always got pushed aside...I need to build up my arm strength again so I can actually push back in the future. Anyways, I gave up on taking the fast route home and decided to take the southbound line because it wasn't as crowded. I got on the first southbound Northern Line and got off at Moorgate, the next stop. The station at Moorgate confused me and I ended up going to the wrong platform but I realized my mistake before getting on the wrong train, so I head on over to the Eastbound platform and thought I had gotten there just in the nick of time to jump on the Central Line because that train had yellow poles...proud of myself I sat down and relaxed. Then another bump in the road or tracks in this case. I realized I was not on the Central Line but instead on the Hammersmith & City Line, and by the time I had made this big realization I was at Whitechapel. I got off and tried to figure out how to get back and was relieved to find that the District Line runs at Whitechapel so I go to the westbound platform and wait for the train....waiting...waiting...and finally twenty minutes later the train arrives!!! I double check it's the right train, hop on, find a seat and laugh at myself for getting so turned around on the tube the whole way home. Finally I made it back to Vandon House just in time for our family dinner!
Moral of the story. Double check which train you jump on haha
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Great Gorilla Run of London
So this morning I viewed the Great Gorilla Run of London. The morning started off crisp and cool and as I got off the tube at Monument I looked around confused about where the start of the race was located until suddenly a girl jogs past me holding a gorilla mask. I knew I was in the right place and continued to follow here in as none stalker-ish of a manner as possible. I turn a corner and there is a gathering of about 500 runners sporting gorilla suits all stretching and dancing around in an ape-like manner. There was a drum line of apes playing very loud rhythmic beats to get the crowd pumped up. The gorillas all had their own personal style. Some were dressed in pink bikinis and classic running apparel, but some stood out from the crowd. The Santa, angel and Where's Waldo gorillas attracted a lot of attention from the press.
The Gorilla Run of London is a charity event that is held annually in major cities throughout the UK where runners raise at least 400 pounds to go to a fund to help save the endangered gorillas of the world, and then they all gather after months of fundraising to run a 7K throughout some of the famous sites around the cities they are running in. For instance, in London they run around St. Paul's Cathedral, Tower Bridge, and London Bridge. At today's event there were over a thousand gorillas running and supporting the cause. Whether they do it for the chance to run around the city in gorilla suits or actually to save the gorillas remains a mystery to me, but all I know is I want to bring the Great Gorilla Run to Texas if possible.
The Gorilla Run of London is a charity event that is held annually in major cities throughout the UK where runners raise at least 400 pounds to go to a fund to help save the endangered gorillas of the world, and then they all gather after months of fundraising to run a 7K throughout some of the famous sites around the cities they are running in. For instance, in London they run around St. Paul's Cathedral, Tower Bridge, and London Bridge. At today's event there were over a thousand gorillas running and supporting the cause. Whether they do it for the chance to run around the city in gorilla suits or actually to save the gorillas remains a mystery to me, but all I know is I want to bring the Great Gorilla Run to Texas if possible.
Friday, September 16, 2011
Stratford upon Avon Weekend
I know I haven't written lately, but the internet and my computer do not seem to get along well here, so I have given up on my laptop for the time being and I'm resorting to one of the computers in the lounge. Anyways, they are testing the foundation of the building right now and just so happen to have scaffolding set up in front of the door to my room...no room or peace for a while but that's a great excuse to go exploring :)
This past weekend the Central College Study Abroad group went to Straford upon Avon. The drive there was so beautiful., I have never seen such green rolling hills. Everything was picturesque. On the drive there we stopped at Blenheim Palace...the house was beautifully historic, but it was the gardens and paths around the grounds that put me in awe. I can't describe the beauty accurately but I know it is by far on of the prettiest sites I have ever seen. It made me stop and just still my mind which if you know me is something that's really hard for me to do. After having a few hours to explore we hopped back on the bus and continued on our journey to Shakespeare's hometown. When we arrived we went on a walking tour to become oriented with the town and learn about it's history, and I visited William Shakespeare's grave!! (morbid? yes, but also super cool) After that I had my first experience with fish and chips in a pub near the site of Shakespeare's home.
The next day we went to a quaint town about an hour away called Burton on the Water, and it was probably one of my favorite experiences so far this trip. There were many cute shops and places to have a cream tea, but instead I wanted to follow the river...random I know but it led me on an adventure haha which I love. Finding a route to follow this little river wasn't exactly easy, but it was so worth it. Daniel (a guy in my program) and I found this little path that ended up leading to the river, and the first surprise was finding a basket of apples with a note telling people to take them. The apples wern't fully ripe but it was free food and I can't pass that up. We continued on this tiny dirt path along tranquil scenery while its raining on us and then we cam across a fork in the river and the end of the path, but this would be another location that just put me in awe. I'll post a picture soon hopefully. We started heading back into town but decided to hike up to the top of this hill which was massive in my opinion. When you reached the top you could see the town in the valley and the rolling farm land surrounding the town. The countryside of Britian is perfect; I could never get tired of looking at the views. After all the walking or hiking I had my first cream tea which is so good that you just know it's terrible for you, but after all the walking it seemed fine. That night we saw Macbeth, I thought it was pretty good, but my seat was really uncomfortable so that distracted me from the play some. We went to the Dirty Duck afterwords, the place most the actors in the plays go after the show, and partook in British pub culture.
The next day we left Straford upon Avon for good. I'm going to miss our bed in breakfast, the beds were super comfy and the owner was very entertaining during breakfast. Since I finished my breakfast everyday I won a date with my favorite famous person, I should be getting my gift certificate soon...On the way back to London we stopped by Oxford and looked around for a while and I got to see where they shoot scenes for the Harry Potter movies and watch some rowers on the river. The campus isn't what I expected but was still amazing, and come to find out graduate school is cheaper there than in the US...maybe a future option to consider. Well that was the weekend. It was packed full of aimless wandering and getting to know the people in my program, and in my opinion very enjoyable.
This past weekend the Central College Study Abroad group went to Straford upon Avon. The drive there was so beautiful., I have never seen such green rolling hills. Everything was picturesque. On the drive there we stopped at Blenheim Palace...the house was beautifully historic, but it was the gardens and paths around the grounds that put me in awe. I can't describe the beauty accurately but I know it is by far on of the prettiest sites I have ever seen. It made me stop and just still my mind which if you know me is something that's really hard for me to do. After having a few hours to explore we hopped back on the bus and continued on our journey to Shakespeare's hometown. When we arrived we went on a walking tour to become oriented with the town and learn about it's history, and I visited William Shakespeare's grave!! (morbid? yes, but also super cool) After that I had my first experience with fish and chips in a pub near the site of Shakespeare's home.
The next day we went to a quaint town about an hour away called Burton on the Water, and it was probably one of my favorite experiences so far this trip. There were many cute shops and places to have a cream tea, but instead I wanted to follow the river...random I know but it led me on an adventure haha which I love. Finding a route to follow this little river wasn't exactly easy, but it was so worth it. Daniel (a guy in my program) and I found this little path that ended up leading to the river, and the first surprise was finding a basket of apples with a note telling people to take them. The apples wern't fully ripe but it was free food and I can't pass that up. We continued on this tiny dirt path along tranquil scenery while its raining on us and then we cam across a fork in the river and the end of the path, but this would be another location that just put me in awe. I'll post a picture soon hopefully. We started heading back into town but decided to hike up to the top of this hill which was massive in my opinion. When you reached the top you could see the town in the valley and the rolling farm land surrounding the town. The countryside of Britian is perfect; I could never get tired of looking at the views. After all the walking or hiking I had my first cream tea which is so good that you just know it's terrible for you, but after all the walking it seemed fine. That night we saw Macbeth, I thought it was pretty good, but my seat was really uncomfortable so that distracted me from the play some. We went to the Dirty Duck afterwords, the place most the actors in the plays go after the show, and partook in British pub culture.
The next day we left Straford upon Avon for good. I'm going to miss our bed in breakfast, the beds were super comfy and the owner was very entertaining during breakfast. Since I finished my breakfast everyday I won a date with my favorite famous person, I should be getting my gift certificate soon...On the way back to London we stopped by Oxford and looked around for a while and I got to see where they shoot scenes for the Harry Potter movies and watch some rowers on the river. The campus isn't what I expected but was still amazing, and come to find out graduate school is cheaper there than in the US...maybe a future option to consider. Well that was the weekend. It was packed full of aimless wandering and getting to know the people in my program, and in my opinion very enjoyable.
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Interesting Internship
Today I traveled to find my internship so I wouldn't get lost tomorrow on my way to my meet and greet. and it proved to be quite a journey. 10 tube stops away and one line change leads me to a more eccentric side of London than I had been acquainted with up to this point. It's a good 15 minute walk from the nearest tube station and takes you down roads lined with fruit and vegetable stands, primary schools, community colleges, and community centers. I saw two of the largest dogs I have ever seen in my life. One was chained to the fence and the other was walking along peacefully, however, they resembled a tiger and were even striped like one. I did successfully find my internship and will be able to make it there tomorrow on my own hopefully. So my meet and greet is tomorrow and laundry day, and I hope to explore Chelsea also.
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
My first week across the pond
My first week in London has been amazing to say the least.
Tuesday/Wednesday (August 30/31): Arriving in London was quite an adventure in itself because after travelling for over twelve hours, trying to find my ride to Vandon House took about an hour and then another hour to get to Vandon. A total of about 18 hours of travelling time by the end of it all, and then having to unpack and stay awake until that night proved to be one of the longest days of my life, but that day marked the beginning of my adventure.
Thursday (September 1): It started off with hours of meetings to give us all the important information we would need to know, and then began the never ending walking around London. We went on walking tours, had to walk to the grocery store and markets, had to walk to the bank...it seemed like we never stopped walking. Thursday night Andie and I met some interesting locals who proceeded to welcome us warmly and introduce us to the after work life of Londoners. There is apparently a lack of boundaries between the boss and employees as they pelted him with peanuts attempting to have him catch one with his mouth.
Friday (September 2): An epic scavenger hunt occurred where we had to run, and I literally ran, all over London to get pictures, brochures, and small trinkets. Our team didn't win, however, we gave it our all and got to bond as we tried to navigate the cities many routes of transportation.
Saturday (September 3): I ran for the first time in London and it was fantastic, only ran for 30 minutes but through the most beautiful park, St. James Park, surrounding Buckingham Palace. The weather was great to run in and I once again displayed my American side by greeting people at first when I ran past them like I do at home, but here they do not respond with kindness but more annoyance or confusion. We had another walking tour that morning showing us a different part of London. The best part of the day was hands down seeing Dr. Faustus at the Globe Theater that evening. We stood the whole time like they did in the past and watched a magnificent play, where I got "peed" on by one of the characters (it was just water but it was very cold)
Sunday (September 4): We had a free day to explore and rest. I ran again in the park but got more adventurous and branched away from the main paths and found some very interesting parts of the park. The rest of the day was spent exploring different markets around London and shopping for better walking shoes.
Monday (September 5): Intercultural training in the morning had us thinking a lot about how different the UK is from the US but it did not seem to help us understand what we should do to bridge these culture gaps...I guess that is for us to figure out the hard way.
Anyways these past few days have been very busy with exploring and learning about the different culture and trying to adapt to the different lifestyle.
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