This entire week of amazing London was begun with the arrival of a lovely girl, Michelle. I'll have to admit my own determination to post on my blog was definitely not helped by my girlfriend coming to London, but after a great week of helping her move in/get over her her jetlag/meeting her new friends/going out with her, I'm ready to summarize the times.
This week was much crazier in terms of classes and traveling between my new home at UCL aka Michelle's dorm. Luckily its only a 15 minute tube ride, so everything is made much easier. Anyway, this week was basically just filled with a bunch of classes and organizing presentations and travel arrangements. I saw the respondents to my poll, and took into account my bank account when figuring out where i want to go over my fall break. My current plan is to visit Mr. President, Alex Waterhouse, in Edinburgh at the beginning of the break. I mean I'm sure he'll be getting really crazy all the time and I can't wait to join.
The next part of my break will consist of me flying to Frankfurt, Germany to visit my family. My Aunt married a German back in the day so they've lived there over 20 years now. I'm excited to see them considering I did not have a chance to see them when they were in Corning, NY. From there I may travel a couple other places just to see them, but I have yet to decide altogether.
I consider myself quite the lover of high speeds, so I aspire to drive on the autobahn. Don't worry, I won't crash...hopefully. So this Friday night we went out to a club called Fabric again. A lot of fun, but seriously needed to have better music. The beat was always the same with, as many of the girls said, creepers galore. Saturday Matt, Michelle, Cierra and I got up decently early to go to the Everton vs. Fulham game at the Cottage. It was a 0-0 tie, but getting to see Clint Dempsey shoot on Tim Howard was simply, erecting. Onanon was where we went Saturday night, which was CRAZY awesome. Girls scored some points for themselves in the house, but Monica completely lost her blackberry. Today was just about as lazy as all get out. Watched Top Gun, Juno, Sunday football, was a bum, cooked family dinner. We actually ended up setting off the fire alarms all up and down our street due to the amount of smoke that was coming from our kitchen.
Anyway, they're showing the Jets v Dolphins game on Channel 4 here. The coverage is awful but I do miss american football.
Go Jets?
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Monday, September 27, 2010
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Big England Weekend
Hey Everybody! Sorry for the lack of posting on my own blog, but this weekend proceeded to be one of constantly awesome experiences that I will not soon forget. It all began with the holy pope coming by the area and ended with a visit to the Tate Modern.
My Friday started off with class, but ended with a great trip to Westminster Abbey with my flatmate Alex Ronchetti to see the Pope. At first we arrived at the St. James Park stop and asked a London Cop where to go. We only needed to mention the Pope, and he knew exactly where to point us. We proceeded to walk down the road towards the glorious Westminster Abbey, and saw a large crowd of people lining the street. Ronchetti and I knew we had arrived at the right place!
But not so fast, because not too many people where lined up where we decided to post up. Someone next to us was thinking the same thing, so we got up the courage to ask/bother another copper about where we should be headed to see his Holiness. He said to head further down the road because the Popemobile was transporting him from a different direction, so we traveled just down the road, where we discovered a bunch of protestors and a lot more of the crowd.
Anyway, in the end, we waited for two hours and got to see the Pope travel 15 feet away from us in his Popemobile! He even kissed a baby just before he passed us, which was really cool. He seemed like a guy who liked to wave from inside his bubble of bulletproof glass.
Saturday I woke up in the early early morning(7:30 am!!!) to take a coach bus trip to Stonehenge and the lovely city of Bath. It takes only about 1.5 hours to get to Stonehenge and it was definitely worth the nap time. Once you get out of London the countryside simply takes over. It turns from the city to cow and sheep country extremely fast, and is really pretty to travel through. When we got to Stonehenge, it was really pretty underwhelming. Although Stonehenge has a lot of cool history and mystery surrounding the structure, you really couldn't do much but look at it and take pictures. I'm really glad I went though, just to be fair.
We then left to travel to Bath, which is apparently the prettiest city in all of England. I have to say, I think it was the prettiest city because of simply its location and the way it was built.
The Romans first settled in Bath when they colonized England because of its naturally running hot springs.
They built a large complex of Roman baths, that to this day remain the only Roman baths still actually working. This is because the hot spring still runs today. We visited the Roman baths and were able to walk around where the Romans used to walk...and take baths naked.
Unfortunately we were all EXTREMELY tired at this point in the day after deciding to go clubbing the night before at a place called the Ministry of Sound. It was a lot of fun, but that morning was really no fun at all. Cierra and I decided to go get some lunch and have a couple drinks before visiting a little more of Bath. After having Pimms for the first time(its soooo good) we went and saw a street performer for a little bit. He really wasn't very good, but the kids liked him because he was funny. I then went into Bath Abbey, which is where the first King of the English was crowned.
It was a huge place and I think actually a little bigger than the National Cathedral in DC.
We then left to go back to London at around 3:30 pm, which meant some great nap time on the way back. We then proceeded to get ready to go out that night to a BUMPIN' club called Fabric. The place had rooms galore with smoke spilling out onto the dance floor. It was a crazy night where I had a lot of fun dancing and getting real Jersey Shore in London.
The craziest part about the night club was some guy came up to me, started a conversation, then kissed me on the neck. SOOOOOOOO weird as I proceeded to strongly tell him to GTFO. Other than that, great night with the flat mates.
Sunday morning was also pretty rough, but for a good reason. Michelle came in to Heathrow that morning! The funny part is that when I got back from the club, it was 4 am, and everyone said I should just stay up until 8 when I had to pick her up at the airport. I didn't do it, but it was an interesting proposition. Anyway, the rest of the day with Michelle was amazing, as seeing your girl after 1 month apart would be, and I tried to help her move into her room at UCL.
On Monday, Michelle and I proceeded to go to the awesome London Eye. Pretty much a great view of the entire city of London. I'll try to upload pictures, but my camera is currently having issues. Today, for my British Life and Cultures class, we went to the Tate Modern. Its a modern art museum, which isn't my fav place to visit, but I had some fun. Alrighty, Imma stop talking and start doing some work. Gotta get it done before college night at O'Neal's! Everyone should also check out DJ Pauly D's new song because it is really awful. Enjoy!
Modern Family premiers Wednesday!
My Friday started off with class, but ended with a great trip to Westminster Abbey with my flatmate Alex Ronchetti to see the Pope. At first we arrived at the St. James Park stop and asked a London Cop where to go. We only needed to mention the Pope, and he knew exactly where to point us. We proceeded to walk down the road towards the glorious Westminster Abbey, and saw a large crowd of people lining the street. Ronchetti and I knew we had arrived at the right place!
But not so fast, because not too many people where lined up where we decided to post up. Someone next to us was thinking the same thing, so we got up the courage to ask/bother another copper about where we should be headed to see his Holiness. He said to head further down the road because the Popemobile was transporting him from a different direction, so we traveled just down the road, where we discovered a bunch of protestors and a lot more of the crowd.
Anyway, in the end, we waited for two hours and got to see the Pope travel 15 feet away from us in his Popemobile! He even kissed a baby just before he passed us, which was really cool. He seemed like a guy who liked to wave from inside his bubble of bulletproof glass.
Saturday I woke up in the early early morning(7:30 am!!!) to take a coach bus trip to Stonehenge and the lovely city of Bath. It takes only about 1.5 hours to get to Stonehenge and it was definitely worth the nap time. Once you get out of London the countryside simply takes over. It turns from the city to cow and sheep country extremely fast, and is really pretty to travel through. When we got to Stonehenge, it was really pretty underwhelming. Although Stonehenge has a lot of cool history and mystery surrounding the structure, you really couldn't do much but look at it and take pictures. I'm really glad I went though, just to be fair.
We then left to travel to Bath, which is apparently the prettiest city in all of England. I have to say, I think it was the prettiest city because of simply its location and the way it was built.
The Romans first settled in Bath when they colonized England because of its naturally running hot springs.
Unfortunately we were all EXTREMELY tired at this point in the day after deciding to go clubbing the night before at a place called the Ministry of Sound. It was a lot of fun, but that morning was really no fun at all. Cierra and I decided to go get some lunch and have a couple drinks before visiting a little more of Bath. After having Pimms for the first time(its soooo good) we went and saw a street performer for a little bit. He really wasn't very good, but the kids liked him because he was funny. I then went into Bath Abbey, which is where the first King of the English was crowned.
We then left to go back to London at around 3:30 pm, which meant some great nap time on the way back. We then proceeded to get ready to go out that night to a BUMPIN' club called Fabric. The place had rooms galore with smoke spilling out onto the dance floor. It was a crazy night where I had a lot of fun dancing and getting real Jersey Shore in London.
The craziest part about the night club was some guy came up to me, started a conversation, then kissed me on the neck. SOOOOOOOO weird as I proceeded to strongly tell him to GTFO. Other than that, great night with the flat mates.
Sunday morning was also pretty rough, but for a good reason. Michelle came in to Heathrow that morning! The funny part is that when I got back from the club, it was 4 am, and everyone said I should just stay up until 8 when I had to pick her up at the airport. I didn't do it, but it was an interesting proposition. Anyway, the rest of the day with Michelle was amazing, as seeing your girl after 1 month apart would be, and I tried to help her move into her room at UCL.
On Monday, Michelle and I proceeded to go to the awesome London Eye. Pretty much a great view of the entire city of London. I'll try to upload pictures, but my camera is currently having issues. Today, for my British Life and Cultures class, we went to the Tate Modern. Its a modern art museum, which isn't my fav place to visit, but I had some fun. Alrighty, Imma stop talking and start doing some work. Gotta get it done before college night at O'Neal's! Everyone should also check out DJ Pauly D's new song because it is really awful. Enjoy!
Modern Family premiers Wednesday!
Friday, September 17, 2010
Pope In Tha House!
Today I had class from 9-12, but what kept me awake is of course the once in a lifetime chance to see the pope drive by in his Popemobile. He is literally only going to be traveling for 15 minutes, but boy will it be worth it to sit there and watch him wave. Everyone in Britain hates the Pope because he kinda stinks at making sure priests don't rape little boys, but at least he has the guts to visit this really big island. I am mainly making the journey to Lambeth Bridge in order to see the Pope for my mom's sake. She would really love to hear that I saw this extra holy dude. Seriously, check out the Pope with the German accent. Dude has a great blog. In the meantime, at least I can enjoy the freedom of being a bloody Protestant!
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Rupert Murdoch Owns Half This Stuff Too!
I am currently taking a wonderfully interesting class called Media in Britain. The really intriguing part about this class has become a showcase of the way the professor hates the fact that News Corp owns half the news in Britain just like in the US. Thats right, the same News Corp that owns Fox News, run by Rupert Murdoch, supports a very right-wing agenda in the UK. Although it stinks that those in the news who are more left-wing must deal with this constant battle, it definitely will give me something to talk about for the next 3 months.
The Guardian is the newspaper to pay attention to that is basically the UK's Washington Post. So thats awesome since my professor for Media in Britain sides on the left, and pretty much with Labour. He loves The Guardian and literally despises prominent right-wing papers like The Daily Telegraph and The Daily Mail. The professor even had us analyze a Sunday Times(conservative) article where they very subjectively, and without a lot of evidence, said that the Archbishop of St. Andrews damned the BBC for having 'anti-christian' broadcasting. It was very interesting how the Archbishop's comments, that said he thought the channel had an 'institutional bias,' were suddenly turned into him damning the BBC. It really shed a lot of light on the way a news agency can spin a message to help itself out. Even the BBC has admitted its bias against religion, so yes its probably true. Yet the language which really got to me referred to something not quoted, but put into the article as a valid summary of the Archbishops opinion. The author said,
"Cardinal Keith O’Brien, the Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh, claims that a radically secular and socially liberal outlook is tainting the corporation’s news and current affairs output."
I mean come on. It isn't a quote from the archbishop that the author gets the words "radically secular and socially liberal." That is simply the author's way to make it seem like the Archbishop disapproves of the BBC for their association with these two terms. The Sunday Times is also owned by Murdoch.
In the end, the thing that really gets me is that, for a country so rooted in liberal democracy and its leftists traditions, newspapers sold by Murdoch are getting the most audience of all. Now with New Labour and the Conservatives forming a coalition with the Liberal Democrats, things are only going to get worse for those on the left-wing side of British politics. As it seems, my professor and I will only get more disgusted. Lets hope the midterms in the US aren't another example of that!
I am also endorsing Sarah Palin for President in 2012....just so the Republicans won't win.
I'll leave you with this very unappealing find. To say the least, he's really good at making money.
"The Guardian reports that Rupert Murdoch plans to launch a digital newspaper in the US geared specifically to younger readers and to digital outlets such as the iPad and mobile phones. The paper, as yet unnamed, will pool the huge editorial muscle of Murdoch's combined holdings within News Corporation, which include the Wall Street Journal, the New York Post and the financial wire service Dow Jones, as well as his newspapers in the UK and Australia. Earlier this month, Murdoch said of the iPad: 'It's a real game-changer in the presentation of news,' adding 'We'll have young people reading newspapers.'"
The Guardian is the newspaper to pay attention to that is basically the UK's Washington Post. So thats awesome since my professor for Media in Britain sides on the left, and pretty much with Labour. He loves The Guardian and literally despises prominent right-wing papers like The Daily Telegraph and The Daily Mail. The professor even had us analyze a Sunday Times(conservative) article where they very subjectively, and without a lot of evidence, said that the Archbishop of St. Andrews damned the BBC for having 'anti-christian' broadcasting. It was very interesting how the Archbishop's comments, that said he thought the channel had an 'institutional bias,' were suddenly turned into him damning the BBC. It really shed a lot of light on the way a news agency can spin a message to help itself out. Even the BBC has admitted its bias against religion, so yes its probably true. Yet the language which really got to me referred to something not quoted, but put into the article as a valid summary of the Archbishops opinion. The author said,
"Cardinal Keith O’Brien, the Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh, claims that a radically secular and socially liberal outlook is tainting the corporation’s news and current affairs output."
I mean come on. It isn't a quote from the archbishop that the author gets the words "radically secular and socially liberal." That is simply the author's way to make it seem like the Archbishop disapproves of the BBC for their association with these two terms. The Sunday Times is also owned by Murdoch.
In the end, the thing that really gets me is that, for a country so rooted in liberal democracy and its leftists traditions, newspapers sold by Murdoch are getting the most audience of all. Now with New Labour and the Conservatives forming a coalition with the Liberal Democrats, things are only going to get worse for those on the left-wing side of British politics. As it seems, my professor and I will only get more disgusted. Lets hope the midterms in the US aren't another example of that!
I am also endorsing Sarah Palin for President in 2012....just so the Republicans won't win.
I'll leave you with this very unappealing find. To say the least, he's really good at making money.
"The Guardian reports that Rupert Murdoch plans to launch a digital newspaper in the US geared specifically to younger readers and to digital outlets such as the iPad and mobile phones. The paper, as yet unnamed, will pool the huge editorial muscle of Murdoch's combined holdings within News Corporation, which include the Wall Street Journal, the New York Post and the financial wire service Dow Jones, as well as his newspapers in the UK and Australia. Earlier this month, Murdoch said of the iPad: 'It's a real game-changer in the presentation of news,' adding 'We'll have young people reading newspapers.'"
Monday, September 13, 2010
Tower of London, Thames Festival: 25% Fusion
This weekend was an important one in terms of helping me increase my fusion with British culture. After going to a Fulfham FC game, visiting the world famous -- and infamous -- Tower of London, as well as attending the annual Thames Festival, I think that fusion is at at least 25%. I've already posted my personal review of my experience at the Fulham game. The summary of that was it was great DUH!
I had to go to The Tower of London because of all you out there who voted. The London Eye won the coveted second place prize, and I will soon get real high in the sky. Sooo, the dreaded and evil Tower of London...it really wasn't so evil I found. It was founded with the White Tower, built by the Normans as they attempted to control the British people after their victory at the Battle of Hastings. They needed something grandeur and amazing, so the first of many buildings was erected. The crown then continued to expand the fortress from the White Tower, to two subsequent large surrounding walls and a moat. The moat was just plain old disgusting apparently.
The tour guide for our visit was a very striking looking Yeoman, as he called himself. Yet he said we should call him and his colleagues "Beefeaters."
Apparently back when King Henry VIII had to ration beef, thats where they got their names. They are official guards and keepers of the Tower of London fortress. Also they give tours LOL.
We got to hear the stories about executions outside the castle walls, how many people were hung, how many people got their traitor heads decapitated, as well as the interesting stories about the two young princes killed/strangled within the walls.
We got to see the lovely crown jewels, take the cliché pictures in front of the guard, as well as go into the White Tower.
After that, we went and took a short walk over the Tower of London bridge.
Its quite the beautiful bridge to say the least. Let me tell you, the London bridge is a complete disappointment in comparison. We then made our way to the Thames Festival, where we experienced awesome food, great atmosphere, and cool shopping. We then stayed til about 10:00, where there was a fireworks display by the world champion of the firework world. Who knew that was a thing? It was a really great time on a nice lazy sunday. 25% enrichment success. In my opinion the fireworks are just a hint of the energy yet to come.
We got a situation here.
I had to go to The Tower of London because of all you out there who voted. The London Eye won the coveted second place prize, and I will soon get real high in the sky. Sooo, the dreaded and evil Tower of London...it really wasn't so evil I found. It was founded with the White Tower, built by the Normans as they attempted to control the British people after their victory at the Battle of Hastings. They needed something grandeur and amazing, so the first of many buildings was erected. The crown then continued to expand the fortress from the White Tower, to two subsequent large surrounding walls and a moat. The moat was just plain old disgusting apparently.
The tour guide for our visit was a very striking looking Yeoman, as he called himself. Yet he said we should call him and his colleagues "Beefeaters."
We got to hear the stories about executions outside the castle walls, how many people were hung, how many people got their traitor heads decapitated, as well as the interesting stories about the two young princes killed/strangled within the walls.
We got to see the lovely crown jewels, take the cliché pictures in front of the guard, as well as go into the White Tower.
After that, we went and took a short walk over the Tower of London bridge.
Its quite the beautiful bridge to say the least. Let me tell you, the London bridge is a complete disappointment in comparison. We then made our way to the Thames Festival, where we experienced awesome food, great atmosphere, and cool shopping. We then stayed til about 10:00, where there was a fireworks display by the world champion of the firework world. Who knew that was a thing? It was a really great time on a nice lazy sunday. 25% enrichment success. In my opinion the fireworks are just a hint of the energy yet to come.
We got a situation here.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Great Week, Roomies Want Some Recognition
This was a very interesting and crazy week. It all started off with the first day of classes, followed by subsequent back-to-back-to-back-to(you get the picture) nights out. I am at this point almost completely positive that my consumption of calories has included less solid food, and mostly a variety of carbonated alcoholic beverages. Although, in the long run, that will work out perfectly in terms of my personal finances.
Although everyone in the flat has read and enjoyed my blog so far, the real criticism is that I haven't given any awesome shout-outs yet. Don't worry, I've got this. My current four-person in one room living situation has become fairly OK due to the sudden departure of Matt "The Situation" Lafemina. This sudden departure to the smush room came after the smush room was first discovered. The ability of FIE to designate room F as not having a person in accordance with the common need all housemates have after late nights out shows just how wonderful the program is to students.
Matt decided to move into the smush room in order to have a single, which has continued to prove a great decision in terms of overall space in my own room. Now the room is down to myself, as well as the previously named Paul "Pauly D" Bared. We each sleep on the bottom bunks with roomie Thomas on the top bunk above me. Our escapades throughout the house have been, well, they've been well discussed in the comfort of 15 Manson Place.
Our travels this week around London have mainly been restricted by our individual class schedules as we settle in to 3 HOUR classes. I'm telling you, they suck. On Friday, I had a class from 9am-12pm in which the professor cynically talks about the British political system. He's interesting, but could use some work in terms of being less dry. Lucky for us, he decided to show us a movie about Tony Blair for the last hour. Unlucky for him, he fell asleep for most of it. LOL!!! Thats one big difference between the US and London I've found. Americans live to work, Britons work to sleep.
Yesterday Matt and I went to see our first Fulham FC match. It was a great experience with American Clint Dempsey starting for Fulham. They kinda played crappy, but beat the Wolves 2-1, so success. 35 pounds for tickets was not the most fun, but the minute we got home we bought BETTER tickets in the FRONT row behind the goal. That will be awesome as Everton visits Fulham. Thats right, Tim Howard AND Clint Dempsey. Sept. 25 will be a great day. Now I'm off to my poll results. The people have spoken, and the next place I should visit is The Tower of London. Let y'all know what it was like soon!
JoePa Out
Although everyone in the flat has read and enjoyed my blog so far, the real criticism is that I haven't given any awesome shout-outs yet. Don't worry, I've got this. My current four-person in one room living situation has become fairly OK due to the sudden departure of Matt "The Situation" Lafemina. This sudden departure to the smush room came after the smush room was first discovered. The ability of FIE to designate room F as not having a person in accordance with the common need all housemates have after late nights out shows just how wonderful the program is to students.
Matt decided to move into the smush room in order to have a single, which has continued to prove a great decision in terms of overall space in my own room. Now the room is down to myself, as well as the previously named Paul "Pauly D" Bared. We each sleep on the bottom bunks with roomie Thomas on the top bunk above me. Our escapades throughout the house have been, well, they've been well discussed in the comfort of 15 Manson Place.
Our travels this week around London have mainly been restricted by our individual class schedules as we settle in to 3 HOUR classes. I'm telling you, they suck. On Friday, I had a class from 9am-12pm in which the professor cynically talks about the British political system. He's interesting, but could use some work in terms of being less dry. Lucky for us, he decided to show us a movie about Tony Blair for the last hour. Unlucky for him, he fell asleep for most of it. LOL!!! Thats one big difference between the US and London I've found. Americans live to work, Britons work to sleep.
Yesterday Matt and I went to see our first Fulham FC match. It was a great experience with American Clint Dempsey starting for Fulham. They kinda played crappy, but beat the Wolves 2-1, so success. 35 pounds for tickets was not the most fun, but the minute we got home we bought BETTER tickets in the FRONT row behind the goal. That will be awesome as Everton visits Fulham. Thats right, Tim Howard AND Clint Dempsey. Sept. 25 will be a great day. Now I'm off to my poll results. The people have spoken, and the next place I should visit is The Tower of London. Let y'all know what it was like soon!
JoePa Out
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
The Start of Classes
Well the first day of classes has officially started, and I think that at this point my British Life and Cultures(BLC) course will be awesome. We get to basically make the course for ourselves in terms of what questions about BLC we come up with on a day to day basis. The class also gets to go on various field trips over the course of the semester. The thing I am most excited about is a report we have to do that discusses our experiences as we meet British people. That means a contest to see who can meet the most British people in my opinion! Woot! Also my professor is quite good looking, and that aspect may make her 3 hour lectures go much faster.
Now I'm just chilling out at the flat and getting ready to go to the gym. The problem is the gym is a 30 minute walk away. That entails using the wonderful tube.
Its only one stop away, but it definitely takes a lot of time away from walking. The real problem is that I have to walk today because the tube workers are on strike! Now that is some British culture I feel like I would never experience in the US. No one ever strikes at Corning Glass.
I also found out a sweet website that links into the AU network so I can watch videos on Netflix and Hulu like I'm in America. It's vpn.american.edu for everyone overseas who is now profusely thanking me. Yeah thats right, now you can waste your time at home and not traveling. For me that means a little less money spent though, and that is very positive indeed.
I'm starting to think in a British accent a bit more now, so don't be surprised when the way I write begins to gradually change. It may even be interesting to pay attention to the subtle differences. Until next time, I think its time for the gym, or British Deal or No Deal. Although their version has no models holding the cases, it in some ways is tons better. Excuse me, POUNDS better.
If you'd like to know what I will be doing on this lovely night before my two three hour classes tomorrow, it will obviously be going to a local pub to watch the England v. Switzerland match. Ahh yeah.
Now I'm just chilling out at the flat and getting ready to go to the gym. The problem is the gym is a 30 minute walk away. That entails using the wonderful tube.
 |
| Wonderful Funeral Services Ad on the Tube |
Its only one stop away, but it definitely takes a lot of time away from walking. The real problem is that I have to walk today because the tube workers are on strike! Now that is some British culture I feel like I would never experience in the US. No one ever strikes at Corning Glass.
I also found out a sweet website that links into the AU network so I can watch videos on Netflix and Hulu like I'm in America. It's vpn.american.edu for everyone overseas who is now profusely thanking me. Yeah thats right, now you can waste your time at home and not traveling. For me that means a little less money spent though, and that is very positive indeed.
I'm starting to think in a British accent a bit more now, so don't be surprised when the way I write begins to gradually change. It may even be interesting to pay attention to the subtle differences. Until next time, I think its time for the gym, or British Deal or No Deal. Although their version has no models holding the cases, it in some ways is tons better. Excuse me, POUNDS better.
If you'd like to know what I will be doing on this lovely night before my two three hour classes tomorrow, it will obviously be going to a local pub to watch the England v. Switzerland match. Ahh yeah.
Monday, September 6, 2010
X Factor Rules!
Awesome because its X Factor in the UK. More awesome because Miss Cher Lloyd is my new favorite.
Cher Lloyd's Turn My Swag On
Cher Lloyd's Turn My Swag On
First London Rainy Day!
At least now classes are getting going, so there is SOME stuff to do. Yet the real problem is I don't have classes on Monday ever. That basically has meant another Sunday-esque routine of sleeping in and being on my computer 24/7. Lucky for you that means blog posts!
Only thing I had to do today was go change my classes a bit and pick up books, so not stressing at all. They decided to give me two classes at 9 am on Tuesdays. Apparently that made sense the first time they registered me for classes. But now its all worked out. My class schedule is as follows:
Tuesday 9 am-12pm: British Life and Cultures
Wednesday 1pm-4pm: British Politics
5pm-8pm: Media in Britain
Thursday 1pm-4pm: Media in Britain
Friday 9am-12pm: British Politics
This includes the fact we cannot have laptops in classes. At 3 hours a class period I have barely any idea how I will survive. Guess that means I'll have to read read read so I can actually pay attention. Currently trying to figure out what I should sight-see after class on Thursday and Friday, so let me know by answering the blog survey! It would really help! Also Europe travel ideas are in the making so stay tuned.
Cheers!
Sunday, September 5, 2010
London: First Weekend-10% Enrichment
My first weekend in London has been one of a lot of jet lag and a lot of cultural experiences. The first was of course arriving in Heathrow Intl. My flight on Virgin Atlantic was all but restful in my wonderfully small economy seat. To my left sat a tall black man who sounded like he was from some African country like Ghana or Senegal. Maybe Algeria, but thats not the point. The point was he was REALLY tall and wanted to complain about it every two seconds.
Anyway, great flight with seemingly everything in sight being red. Although I got no sleep because the tall guy was leaning on me all night after he nodded off to sleep, still was fun. I got to watch the Karate Kid, which was actually pretty good despite the fact that i knew how the plot would be during the entire movie. Jackie Chan actually makes a pretty good Kung Fu master guy.
Upon my arrival in the UK, I stood in line with like 10 other people from my program waiting for customs to approve my entry. Most people decided to take a taxi, but myself and a few others huffed it on the tube. It was pretty expensive, at 4.50 pounds, but when we got to orientation, we all got something called an Oyster card. This is like a smart trip, since u just swipe it, but better since the program paid for our unlimited use when we use the card all four months! Sweet I know.
The past weekend was a lot of fun. It is very different to get check for ID at the grocery store and be OK to buy the English version of a six-pack, which is a four-pack of pint sized cans. The English tend to stay away from the 30-packs Americans find so popular, and generally at the local Tesco the portions are smaller, and more expensive. It runs 4-5 pounds for a four-pack, so portion control is a large part of English life.
Living in the richest area in London is quite nice, yet probably expensive for everyday stuff. We went to a local pub on Friday night to check out the England vs. Bulgaria game. Crazy fun atmosphere at a place called the Greyhound. England won 4-0 so everyone was very happy and had fun. Beer was kind of pricy of course, but worth the experience. Last night we went to a club called Sound. Great dance floor, and they played basically all American songs. That definitely made us feel awesome. And then luckily they played a bunch of 80's songs, which was a lot of fun.
After the night was over, we took a double decker bus back home, and Matt proceeded to ride an ironing board down the stairs thinking that was great idea. I mean yeah, it is a great idea at 4 in the morning. I know this is a very long post, but this was quite the weekend. As seen in the title, I consider my fusion with London to be currently at 10% enrichment. A lot to go, but significant progress made.
PEACE!
Anyway, great flight with seemingly everything in sight being red. Although I got no sleep because the tall guy was leaning on me all night after he nodded off to sleep, still was fun. I got to watch the Karate Kid, which was actually pretty good despite the fact that i knew how the plot would be during the entire movie. Jackie Chan actually makes a pretty good Kung Fu master guy.
Upon my arrival in the UK, I stood in line with like 10 other people from my program waiting for customs to approve my entry. Most people decided to take a taxi, but myself and a few others huffed it on the tube. It was pretty expensive, at 4.50 pounds, but when we got to orientation, we all got something called an Oyster card. This is like a smart trip, since u just swipe it, but better since the program paid for our unlimited use when we use the card all four months! Sweet I know.
The past weekend was a lot of fun. It is very different to get check for ID at the grocery store and be OK to buy the English version of a six-pack, which is a four-pack of pint sized cans. The English tend to stay away from the 30-packs Americans find so popular, and generally at the local Tesco the portions are smaller, and more expensive. It runs 4-5 pounds for a four-pack, so portion control is a large part of English life.
After the night was over, we took a double decker bus back home, and Matt proceeded to ride an ironing board down the stairs thinking that was great idea. I mean yeah, it is a great idea at 4 in the morning. I know this is a very long post, but this was quite the weekend. As seen in the title, I consider my fusion with London to be currently at 10% enrichment. A lot to go, but significant progress made.
PEACE!
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Leaving the US of A
As I get ready to embrace this opportunity to go abroad through American, I cannot help but reflect on my years IN America. They were great.
Anyway, to let everyone know where I will be staying would be tooooooo simple of a post. So yeah, thats what I'm going to do. My address is different from my mailing address because apparently everyone gets their mail at a certain place. But not like too many people will be sending me stuff when they can just read my really interesting and hilarious blog.
So here is where I am living: 13-14 Manson Place, London SW7 5LT, UK
If you street view it, you might be impressed.
Here is where I get my mail: 3-7 Queens Gate Terrace, London SW7 5PE, UK
I'm leaving my house tomorrow @ 9 am. Ugh. Although my flight doesn't leave Dulles until 6:40 pm, my parents have to drive back to Corning, NY and its amazing politicians such as myself. My new cell phone number will soon follow, but until then, I'll be saying hello to the epicenter of all time zones. The good 'ole Britannia.
Anyway, to let everyone know where I will be staying would be tooooooo simple of a post. So yeah, thats what I'm going to do. My address is different from my mailing address because apparently everyone gets their mail at a certain place. But not like too many people will be sending me stuff when they can just read my really interesting and hilarious blog.
So here is where I am living: 13-14 Manson Place, London SW7 5LT, UK
If you street view it, you might be impressed.
Here is where I get my mail: 3-7 Queens Gate Terrace, London SW7 5PE, UK
I'm leaving my house tomorrow @ 9 am. Ugh. Although my flight doesn't leave Dulles until 6:40 pm, my parents have to drive back to Corning, NY and its amazing politicians such as myself. My new cell phone number will soon follow, but until then, I'll be saying hello to the epicenter of all time zones. The good 'ole Britannia.
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