"Stress is nothing more than a socially acceptable form of mental illness." ~Richard Carlson

I would like to take this opportunity to apologize to anyone who has had the misfortune recently of encountering Crazy Katherine. Crazy Katherine is not a nice person; she is snippy, cranky, flaky, irritable, constantly hungry, often smelly/disheveled, and basically a vapid narcissist. She is stressed to the max, and will randomly reference something from psychology that is neither relevant nor of any interest to you. Her room is incredibly messy, and she consumes an amount of sugar that would repulse even the most rambunctious kindergartner.

Crazy Katherine takes over my body during situations of extreme stress (and during extremely stressful situations, the brain signals the body to release adrenaline and cortisol, but sometimes during traumatic situations, the medial prefrontal cortex is slow to react, causing a failure to inhibit the fear response once the danger has passed. This is theorized to be a cause of PTSD, according to Pitman et al, 2002, in case you were wondering).

I am, in fact, quite stressed. I have six exams in total, two of which I have now taken, two I have next week, and then two more after that (but the last two are not in psychology, and don’t count for 100% of my grade, unlike the others, so they are somewhat less stressful than the first four). The way the exams work here, at least for psychology, is, in my opinion, an incredibly unfair system. There is no way to properly prepare or even really know what to prepare for. Worse still, there is truly no one to help you. Office hours do not exist, and professors simply do not care about you or how you are doing or if you need help or if you are sitting in your room, hysterically crying because no matter how hard you try you cannot remember the difference between the Furnham 1992 study and the Furnham 2002 study (FYI the 1992 study examined the influence of cognitive style and personality traits and the 2002 study examined why studying personality traits is basically pointless. I admit, there’s a clear distinction but when the same guy has written about half of the articles you need to remember, it gets tricky). I have never encountered a professor who did not want to help his/her students, and they all said that we should not hesitate to ask a question so when I had gone through all of my notes, all of the lecture slides/notes, and looked up all the stuff on psychinfo, and found nothing, I emailed my professor a simple question, just asking for a little guidance as to where to look for answer to a question, and his reply was so snippy and nasty it had me in tears (yes, I am in tears quite a lot in this post, and I am in tears a lot in general, but trust me, this email was mean)

(Dad, if you’re reading this, I’m sure this is the part you’ve been waiting for). The exams so far have been fine. Not great by any stretch of imagination, but not as horrible as I was thinking. I kept calm, and I did the best I possibly could, given the circumstances. Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it) I will not find out my results for a very, very long time. That extra “very” is in there because my professors are likely going on strike and refusing to grade papers, postponing results even further. I’m just glad they’re not postponing the giving of the exams, a threat which sent me into an anxiety attack earlier this week.

So, why am I blogging? I NEED A BREAK! After my exam today, I was completely spent. I desperately needed to shop (not wanted to shop-needed to. I hadn’t taken spring humidity, heat, and a lack of air conditioning into account when I packed to come here).I tried studying when I got home but it just was not happening. So I’m blogging, watching Glee (the cure for all life’s problems), and going to bed early so I can wake up and study, study, study. Social psychology=fun!

Before the hell phase of exams set in I was taking one day off per week, which was lovely. While my lovely friend and I were at Leeds Castle we mentioned that we both really wanted to go to EuroDisney. The next weekend was the only chance I would likely have to make that trip happen, so we decided to go for it!

My previous Disney experiences were less than stellar, so Kristin made it her personal mission to make sure I had a great time, since she loves it so much. And, I am happy to report, it was a fantastic day. We went on just about every roller coaster in Disney World and all but one of the roller coasters in Walt Disney Studios (the equivalent of MGM). They were surprisingly fun, and we had a great time. And, for anyone planning a trip, I highly recommend the new Finding Nemo Roller Coaster. It seems to be unique to EuroDisney, and it was both Kristin and my favorite of the day. It was really fun to hear Mickey Mouse speaking French, and Crash from Finding Nemo speaking French in an Australian accent. We did, however, realize that the Haunted Mansion is a lot less scary when it is narrated entirely in French so you have no idea what is going on or what the significance of the bloody bride is.
Anyway, here are some pictures:

Sleeping Beauty's Castle


Screaming on Space Mountain


Screaming on Tower of Terror (also note the terrified little girl on the far right. She could not have been more than five, and she came off the ride hysterically crying, and it was all I could do to keep from hugging her and calling the French social services.


We went to a really fun blacklight show (where we may or may not have been the oldest people there without children), where they sang and performed Disney songs, alternating between English and French. Mickey spoke French, and Donald spoke English!


Lion King float in the parade (Timon and Pumba spoke French, which was weird)

Blogger is annoying me to no end, so if you want to see more pictures, let me know.

(Also, MAZEL TOV to Chani and Oren and their beautiful baby girl!!!!)

"I'm sorry, I don't speak American"- Mr. Salt (in the 2005 version of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory)

Anyone who knows me knows of my love for Will & Grace. Since I have been in London, I’ve developed a new love and appreciation for this clip:


Even though I am studying abroad in an English-speaking country, I often feel like I am learning a new language, and lately I am catching myself more and more speaking like a Brit. Some of the differences are interesting, even amusing. Others irk me. Some of the biggest differences that stick out to me are:

-The use of the word “the”: The British often omit this word- if you’re sick you “go to hospital”. If you need to run errands you “go to shops”.

-They call cream cheese “Philadelphia” (after the brand). I had a long debate with a British friend over this, but I maintain that this is ridiculous and I refuse to ever pass anyone “the Philadelphia”. I will only hand them the CREAM CHEESE if they call it by its proper name.

- “Really” becomes “quite” and “real” becomes “proper”

- “I have” or “I don’t have” becomes “I’ve got” “I haven’t got”

- They say “Cheers!” as a parting term, but I still haven’t decided if it is supposed to be used in lieu of “thank you” or in addition to it. I generally say both, because I don’t want to be rude, but I hear both ways said equally as often

- “You alright? / You ok?” is the same as “how are you?” It took me a while to figure this one out, and I was very concerned that I must look suicidal considering how often people were asking me if I was ok

- Using the word “awesome” here is the same as wearing a sign around your neck that reads “Hello, I’m American!” I got sick of being mocked so I had to learn to use “lovely” or “brilliant” instead

- “Bathroom” refers to a room with a bath. If you simply need to use the little girls room, it is referred to as the “toilet”, and often the bath is in a room of its own.

- What Americans call “jello” the British call “jelly”. What we call “jelly” just doesn’t exist here. It’s quite sad.

- You don’t rent in London, you “hire”. Someone told me they had “hired a car” for the day, which naturally made me think he had paid a small fortune for a fancy car and chauffer. Really, he had gone to Hertz and rented a little clunker.

- To tease someone is to “try to get the mickey out of them”. I have no idea where this expression comes from.

- When we first got to London, our orientation leaders cautioned us to never, ever, under any circumstances use the term “fanny pack” or anything with the word “fanny.” Here, it refers to a part of the female anatomy and will earn you some funny looks if you use it!

- Similarly, don’t talk about your “pants” in England! What they call “pants” we call “underwear”. So telling someone you need new pants, or that your pants are too tight, etc, will also earn you strange looks

- (This one isn’t verbal, but it is still part of communication, so it counts). Holding up your index and middle finger as if to count to two is not something you should do when trying to teach British children math, as the gesture is basically equivalent to holding up the middle finger. I learned that one the hard way.

- This: “Z” is the letter “zed” and it’s used far less often here than in the states. And this: “.” is a “full stop”.

- In “primary school” (not “elementary school”) you study “maths” (plural. Don’t ask me why.)

I have also been known to say “bloody” when I’m very upset, and an annoying person is a “bugger”.

I suppose the fact that I am speaking in a more British manner speaks to the fact that I have become quite comfortable here, and London feels almost like home (not that anything could ever compare to New York). In a weird way, this makes me feel proud and accomplished. It is nice to look back on how I felt when I first got here, and think how far I’ve come. I remember when I had no idea how to get to King’s Cross Station, and now I know three different ways to get there from my flat. London used to seem so strange and scary, but now I have made a life for myself here, and it’s a life I’m quite enjoying.

Sadly, I will be leaving this life in London in a matter of weeks. Between now and then I have six (killer) exams, and the paper of death. I’m stressed, overwhelmed, exhausted, and frustrated. I was going crazy for a bit, but I am trying to get everything under control, set plans, goals, and rewards for when I meet said goals.

One reward I gave myself was a trip to Leeds Castle yesterday with a wonderful friend. The weather was absolutely gorgeous, and we had a lovely day. Here are some pictures:


There were a million peacocks at Leeds Castles, but they were all being lazy and refusing to move and look pretty!


There's a huge flower show coming up at the castle, so we got a bit of a preview


A lovely cottage on the way up to the castle


Beautiful willow trees


Library in the Castle




Views of the castle


A tucan in Lady Bailie's Aviary


The maze at the castle (it's very tricky!)


Gardens at the castle

Blogger is being very annoying at the moment, so I can't upload as many pictures as I would like, but there are loads more of my facebook.

"Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us or we find it not. "- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Holiday Saga Part 7 (Final!)

Our boat docked back in Athens very early in the morning, and our flight was not until later in the evening, so after we dropped our bags at the airport we got to spend the day in Athens. It was Good Friday, which meant most sights did not open until noon. In the meantime, we had a really nice lunch at a Greek restaurant, and walked around a bit. Athens is really overrun by tourists, and there are a million little souvenir shops on every street. But once we made it to the sights, putting up with the sketchiness and the constant people trying to get us into their shops was well worth it.

The acropolis was beautiful, and it was such a wonderful experience getting to see all of the things I had always seen pictures of in textbooks.

We passed a little square with ancient Greek columns, an old church, and lots of cyprus trees. There are a million cyprus trees in Greece, because in Greek Orthodox tradition they symbolize the resurrection

A bathhouse just across from the acropolis, now underneath the Acropolis Museum, where they have moved much of the original artwork, statues, etc., out of fear of an earthquake

View of the acropolis from the museum

Odeon of Herodes Atticus

Odeon again, and the view of the hill where the acropolis is (it is a LONG way up!)

Theatre of Dionysus

Theatre of Dionysus again. As we were looking at it, an Italian family was standing next to it. When their son, who could not have been more than three-years-old, looked at it he said "Bello" in the sweetest, most innocent voice, as if he were completely in awe of it. It was adorable!

We finally made it to the acropolis!!

View from the top

Parthenon

Erectheum

Temple of Hephaistos

Remains of an ancient Greek library

Hadrian's Gate

Temple of Zeus

The wonderful gelato I got as a final indulgence before heading back to reality

We barely made it to our flight, and it was sad to have to come back to reality, and I am now buried under a mountain of work to do for my exams. But the holiday was very much needed, and it was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I am so glad to have been able to go and see all these places I have always dreamed of seeing.

I was also so glad to spend time with Rachel. She was a most wonderful travel companion, and an incredible friend. We had such a nice time together, got along great, and never ran out of things to talk about. The trip would not have been nearly as incredible without her.

" “Rest when you're weary. Refresh and renew yourself, your body, your mind, your spirit. Then get back to work.”-Ralph Marston

Holiday Saga Part 6

The last day of the cruise was probably the best. We started the day in Crete, where we went to see Knossos Palace. Rachel and I both took art history in high school and had studied the palace, so to get to see it was really a dream come true. And, yes, it was as cool as we had hoped.

The famous columns of Knossos Palace

Giant Urns (and a really sweet, but dirty, dog that followed us around the whole time)

Ruins of the palace

Relief paintings at the palace

The Queen's Room

I forget what exactly this is, sorry!

The king's thrown room

View from the palace

Me at the palace!

The medieval fountain in Crete

On the walk to the fountain, we passed three different people playing the accordion- first someone who looked just a bit younger than me, then a bit closer to the fountain was a girl who looked like a young teen, and then this little boy was at the fountain. The accordion is such a happy sounding instrument but they all looked so sad, that it was a really heartbreaking sight (sorry if that puts a damper on an otherwise happy post)

After Crete we went to Santorini, which was truly breathtakingly beautiful. Pictures hardly do it justice. We saw all the famous white houses and churches with blue roofs, which we were sad to learn did not have any special meaning, but originated because they were the cheapest materials for building, but once it other materials that were just as cheap came to the island, they realized the white and blue was really pretty so they stuck with it. We went to Oia and Thira, which, despite being major tourist destinations, have retained a unique charm. We enjoyed exploring, and then made our way to the shore to watch the sunset, which was incredible. We took a cable car down to the boat, so we got a really nice final view of the city before heading back.

The view from the tender boat as we approached Santorini

Rachel and me on the tender boat to the island

A little church and graveyard in Oia

View from Oia

Another view, this time with a church and monastery (There are a ton of monasteries in Greece!)

We loved the colors on this building!

Me! (It would have all matched if it weren't for the poster!)

Church bells

Another monastery

Santorini is famous for its sunsets, which are absolutely stunning.

Me again

Not sure what this is, but it makes for a cool picture

Another sunset picture, this time with the ship

The donkeys you could take down to the shore. It sounded fun, but we were told they are very dangerous (they are given food at the shore, so they tend to run down the steps, often hurting the rider in the process), plus they smelled really bad, and did not seem friendly or well taken care of. So....

we took the cable cars instead, and got some really great views

Me and the lovely Rachel at sunset in Santorini. Life is good. (also, I love how tall I look here!)

One last sunset picture

Santorini at night (taken in the cable car, so I apologize for the blurriness)