I've been back home in New York for a week now and have been meaning to update this thing for quite a while. My last few weeks in London were stressful, to say the least (my last exam sucked, my computer crashed, packing was a rather intense undertaking, and a most inopportune toothache taught me that NHS is not all it's cracked up to be), but overall it was quite fun. After I finished my last exam (yay!) I spent some time enjoying London!
My computer died just before I headed home and took all my pictures with it, so I can't post evidence from my final adventures (but they are on facebook!). I checked off quite a few things on my bucket lit, including seeing one of my favorite shows again (and having the cast sign my program!), visiting Canterbury with a friend, shopping, having a picnic in Hyde Park with friends, visiting a few museums, horse riding in Hyde Park (on the Queen's Birthday, so we got to see them preparing for the gun salute, which I thought was cool, but kind of freaked my horse out), and checking out Kensington Palace (which I HIGHLY recommend, BTW). And I packed. And packed. And threw stuff out/donated stuff. And packed. (I accumulated a ton of stuff in ten months!). In case you were wondering, getting ten months worth of stuff from London back to New York is very, very expensive. It was not fun.
Being back home has been really nice. I missed my family so much, and it's great to be back with them. Seeing my New York friends was also fantastic (and seeing C&O's new baby was AMAZING!!). It has also been quite lovely to be in an air conditioned house, in my big comfy bed, have a dishwasher, and a garbage disposal. And having my car back has been absolutely wonderful!!!! I went to the grocery store and could buy whatever I wanted without having to worry about getting it home. It was heavenly.
Adjusting has proved challenging. I keep referring to things in the British terms and thinking in a European mindset (every time I walk into a store and see something is listed as being on the first floor I think that means I have to go upstairs, and when I always imagine prices to be too expensive, because I am so used to the pound).
My parents asked me if, knowing what I know now, I would go back, and I honestly don't know. My year abroad was certainly one of the most difficult experiences of my life, but also one of the best. I learned and grew so much, and gained confidence. I learned to stand up for myself, and to take care of myself. I made some truly wonderful friends (who I miss terribly) and got to see things and places I had only dreamed of visiting. So, in spite of how incredibly trying this year was for me, I am not sorry I went and I am so grateful for the experience. But, that doesn't mean I'm rushing off to do it all over again.
Friday, June 11, 2010
Sunday, May 23, 2010
"...Rome. I will cherish my visit here in memory as long as I live. "- Audrey Hepburn in "Roman Holiday"
Before I left for my study abroad, several people who had studied abroad recommended traveling alone, if only for a bit. After my brief adventure in Frankfurt, I was not scared at the prospect, and when all of my would-be travel buddies had (albeit legitimate) excuses not to join me on my Roman holiday, I decided to go on my own.
I have been dreaming about going to Rome since I took art history in high school and fell in love with Bernini and Michelangelo. That love has only grown in subsequent art history classes and I was determined to get back there and see everything, companion or none. Plus, according to people who have previously studied abroad, traveling alone is a great experience.
I got in early on Thursday, and after a lovely lunch (I ate a million carbs during this trip!) I went to the Vatican. I had booked an absolutely fabulous small group tour, that lasted over three hours, and covered every inch of the Vatican possible. It was INCREDIBLE!!! Plus, I had just finished reading The Thorn Birds (which I highly recommend, BTW), so it was really cool to see where so much of the book is set (sadly I did not find Ralph de Bricassart).
Laocoön and His Sons. Backstory for this sculpture: the Pope wanted this old sculpture moved to the Vatican, but Laocoön's arm had been knocked off. So, the Pope called in all the artists who were working in the Vatican at the time, including Michelangelo, Raphael, Bellini, Titian, and a bunch of others (10 in total) and asked them to sketch how the arm should have been. 9 of the ten said the arm would have been extended out (as it is in many later reproductions). Michelangelo said it was bent back. Majority ruled, and a fake arm was put in, extended out. In the early twentieth century some guy went to a flea market in Rome and found this cool ruin that turns out to be Laocoön's arm- exactly the way Michelangelo said it would have been. So they hacked the old one off and put the original back on, and Michelangelo was vindicated some 400 years later.
Afterwards I went to the Trevi fountain, and ate dinner at a café overlooking the fountain at sunset (pretty darn awesome). My hotel room was quite nice, and since I had gotten about an hour of sleep the night before, I loved getting to crash early. Friday morning I was off to Galleria Borghese bright and early, to see the Bernini sculptures, which were even more magnificent than I could have imagined. It was absolutely breathtaking and such a dream come true to see David and Apollo and Daphne and his other works. The Caravaggio, Ruebens, and Titian works were also wonderful.
Sistine Chapel Ceiling
The Last Judgement
(there's tons more pictures, but blogger is being super slow, so I'm not uploading too many right now, but there are lots of facebook)
I took an “Open Tour” which went around Rome and stopped at all the major sites. I saw the Pantheon, the Coliseum, the Forum, Palatine Hill, did a bit of shopping, and just explored the city. The people were all so friendly and nice, even if we could barely communicate (a nice change from the Parisians I encountered during my last excursion).
Pluto and Proserpina by Bernini
Inside the Pantheon
Largo di Torre Argentina, where it is believed that Caesar was killed
I had booked the trip back during my blissfully ignorant days when I thought this last exam would not be as much work, and I would not be crazy stressed. I only realized how horribly wrong I was when it was too late to change anything. But, in the end, I was really glad to have gone. It was so nice to get away and have some time away from the books and stress. I enjoyed traveling alone, and getting to think and reflect on everything and go at my own pace. In spite of the awful sunburn I returned with (OW OW OW!!) I am so glad I did this. It was a great couple of days, but now, sadly, I must hit the books one last time!
I have been dreaming about going to Rome since I took art history in high school and fell in love with Bernini and Michelangelo. That love has only grown in subsequent art history classes and I was determined to get back there and see everything, companion or none. Plus, according to people who have previously studied abroad, traveling alone is a great experience.
I got in early on Thursday, and after a lovely lunch (I ate a million carbs during this trip!) I went to the Vatican. I had booked an absolutely fabulous small group tour, that lasted over three hours, and covered every inch of the Vatican possible. It was INCREDIBLE!!! Plus, I had just finished reading The Thorn Birds (which I highly recommend, BTW), so it was really cool to see where so much of the book is set (sadly I did not find Ralph de Bricassart).
Laocoön and His Sons. Backstory for this sculpture: the Pope wanted this old sculpture moved to the Vatican, but Laocoön's arm had been knocked off. So, the Pope called in all the artists who were working in the Vatican at the time, including Michelangelo, Raphael, Bellini, Titian, and a bunch of others (10 in total) and asked them to sketch how the arm should have been. 9 of the ten said the arm would have been extended out (as it is in many later reproductions). Michelangelo said it was bent back. Majority ruled, and a fake arm was put in, extended out. In the early twentieth century some guy went to a flea market in Rome and found this cool ruin that turns out to be Laocoön's arm- exactly the way Michelangelo said it would have been. So they hacked the old one off and put the original back on, and Michelangelo was vindicated some 400 years later.
Afterwards I went to the Trevi fountain, and ate dinner at a café overlooking the fountain at sunset (pretty darn awesome). My hotel room was quite nice, and since I had gotten about an hour of sleep the night before, I loved getting to crash early. Friday morning I was off to Galleria Borghese bright and early, to see the Bernini sculptures, which were even more magnificent than I could have imagined. It was absolutely breathtaking and such a dream come true to see David and Apollo and Daphne and his other works. The Caravaggio, Ruebens, and Titian works were also wonderful.
Sistine Chapel Ceiling
The Last Judgement
(there's tons more pictures, but blogger is being super slow, so I'm not uploading too many right now, but there are lots of facebook)
I took an “Open Tour” which went around Rome and stopped at all the major sites. I saw the Pantheon, the Coliseum, the Forum, Palatine Hill, did a bit of shopping, and just explored the city. The people were all so friendly and nice, even if we could barely communicate (a nice change from the Parisians I encountered during my last excursion).
Pluto and Proserpina by Bernini
Inside the Pantheon
Largo di Torre Argentina, where it is believed that Caesar was killed
I had booked the trip back during my blissfully ignorant days when I thought this last exam would not be as much work, and I would not be crazy stressed. I only realized how horribly wrong I was when it was too late to change anything. But, in the end, I was really glad to have gone. It was so nice to get away and have some time away from the books and stress. I enjoyed traveling alone, and getting to think and reflect on everything and go at my own pace. In spite of the awful sunburn I returned with (OW OW OW!!) I am so glad I did this. It was a great couple of days, but now, sadly, I must hit the books one last time!
Sunday, May 9, 2010
".....waking up to say 'Bonjour!'"-Beauty and the Beast
First of all, Happy Mother’s Day to my wonderful Mom and my lovely mom friends! You ladies are the best (especially my mom).
Psych exams are over!!! How did they go? They went. That’s all that matters. I just have two anthropology exams left, and then I’m free to enjoy London until 4 June.
To celebrate being done with the most difficult portion of my exams, I went to Paris yesterday. One of my very good friends from New York was in town so I wanted to meet up with her, if only for a bit.
Since she did not get in until the afternoon, I spent the morning at Chateaux de Versailles. In tenth grade I took AP European History, and though the class was pure torture, I left with a dream of going to see the famous Versailles. Taking AP Art History two years later only made this hope grow stronger, and so getting to go was truly a dream come true.
Since I was in Versailles by myself, I took the same approach I took in Germany to make pictures more personal. However, Mr. Chick fell in love with a duck in Greece and he stayed behind to start a strange hybrid family with her (I unpacked my suitcase and he wasn’t there. I have no idea what happened to him). So, I replaced him with Flame, the Gay Lion.
This painting of Lafayette was very special for me, because during my First Year at Smith, I took a class called Reenacting the Past, in which we "reenacted" the French Revolution, and I was Lafayette.
After Versailles, I met up with my friend and her mom. We were all quite hungry, so we had a rather early lunch at a little brasserie. It was delicious!! The French may be snotty (as I experienced many times throughout the day) but they can certainly cook and do amazing things with a duck.
Once we were well stuffed, my friend and I took one of the tour buses around the city. We had a very limited amount of time, she was jet-lagged, it was raining, and I was in a t-shirt, so this was really the best way to see the sites quickly
Maybe I’m strange, but Paris isn’t a place I dream of spending lots of time in. It’s beautiful, but I have been the Louvre before, and I have seen Napolean’s tomb, and I don’t feel like I am depriving myself too much by not spending more time there. I am much more excited about my upcoming trip to Rome (that is going to be FABULOUS!!). . So I think this wonderful day in Paris with a wonderful friend was just what I needed.
Psych exams are over!!! How did they go? They went. That’s all that matters. I just have two anthropology exams left, and then I’m free to enjoy London until 4 June.
To celebrate being done with the most difficult portion of my exams, I went to Paris yesterday. One of my very good friends from New York was in town so I wanted to meet up with her, if only for a bit.
Since she did not get in until the afternoon, I spent the morning at Chateaux de Versailles. In tenth grade I took AP European History, and though the class was pure torture, I left with a dream of going to see the famous Versailles. Taking AP Art History two years later only made this hope grow stronger, and so getting to go was truly a dream come true.
Since I was in Versailles by myself, I took the same approach I took in Germany to make pictures more personal. However, Mr. Chick fell in love with a duck in Greece and he stayed behind to start a strange hybrid family with her (I unpacked my suitcase and he wasn’t there. I have no idea what happened to him). So, I replaced him with Flame, the Gay Lion.
This painting of Lafayette was very special for me, because during my First Year at Smith, I took a class called Reenacting the Past, in which we "reenacted" the French Revolution, and I was Lafayette.
After Versailles, I met up with my friend and her mom. We were all quite hungry, so we had a rather early lunch at a little brasserie. It was delicious!! The French may be snotty (as I experienced many times throughout the day) but they can certainly cook and do amazing things with a duck.
Once we were well stuffed, my friend and I took one of the tour buses around the city. We had a very limited amount of time, she was jet-lagged, it was raining, and I was in a t-shirt, so this was really the best way to see the sites quickly
Maybe I’m strange, but Paris isn’t a place I dream of spending lots of time in. It’s beautiful, but I have been the Louvre before, and I have seen Napolean’s tomb, and I don’t feel like I am depriving myself too much by not spending more time there. I am much more excited about my upcoming trip to Rome (that is going to be FABULOUS!!). . So I think this wonderful day in Paris with a wonderful friend was just what I needed.
Friday, April 30, 2010
"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!!!!)
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!!!!)
Sunday, April 18, 2010
"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.
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.
Thursday, April 15, 2010
"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.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)