New things to report on!

On Wednesday, like I left off the last post, I got to tour the Globe Theatre. For those that don’t know, the Globe Theatre in London is not Shakespeare’s Globe…that one was built in 1599 by Shakespeare’s company, the Lord Chamberlain’s Men, and was destroyed by a fire in 1613. Another Globe Theatre was built there again in 1614, but closed in 1642. The one I visited is a modern reconstruction of the Globe from the idea of an American actor and director, Sam Wanamaker. This theater is about 800 feet from the original Globe. Just some history in case you didn’t know!

Side note: To get to the Globe, which is across the River Thames, I had to walk the Millennium Bridge. That was a dream! The Millennium Bridge is used in the Half-Blood Prince in place for the Brockdale Bridge that collapsed due to an attack by the Death Eaters. Ok, ok. I had my moment. Also on the other side of the bridge was a beautiful view of St. Paul’s Cathedral.

Regardless of actual Globe or not, it was very interesting to tour the museum and then get to go into the theatre. I am not the biggest Shakespeare fan, but it was still very cool to see such an accurate recreation of the theatre and to stand in the groundling area, as well as the galleries. To make it even better, there was a rehearsal happening during our private tour for Midsummer Night’s Dream. Last week with my Theatre in London class I got to see a very contemporary interpretation of that play at the Hammersmith Lyric Theatre, which was amazing!! So, it was great to understand what was going on and enjoy the dress rehearsal with professional actors right in front of me at the freakin’ Globe!

Skipping ahead to Friday, my friend Molly and I took to exploring an area of London we hadn’t been to yet. Kensington. In Kensington you can find the Kensington Palace, which is where Princess Diana lived. But it also has been a residence of the British Royal Family since the 17th century. A part of the Kensington Palace is the Palace gardens, which is now one of the Royal Parks of London. The park is absolutely beautiful, as are all of the parks in London. One thing that has been great about this city is how well kept and clean things are from the Underground to the parks. After walking around the outside of the Palace, we went on to explore other boroughs and wandered through Knightsbridge, Bayswater, and Paddington, which are more residential areas of London.

To top off our day of exploring, we stopped at the British Library, which is right down the block from my dorm. In the Library there are many collection rooms, but the one I spent time had in it the likes of: DaVinci’s left-handed, mirror writing journals, the first ever printed page from the Gutenberg machine, the original copy of the Canterbury Tales, the first ever printed King James Bible, lyrics to Yesterday written by John Lennon the back of his son Julian’s birthday card, and the Magna Carta. Pretty amazing, huh?

Then on Saturday, I decided to visit Harrods with my friend Lisa. Harrods is like a Macy’s on very, very expensive crack. It is an upscale department store that is over one million square feet and has over 330 departments, selling anything from the most outrageous chandeliers to the craziest electronics section. I was there for two hours and I felt like I barely even skimmed the surface. However, I did see a woman singing opera from a balcony, a fashion show for spring trends in women’s wear, legitimate spy gear on sale (glasses and ties with micro cameras, a teddy bear camera, walkie talkie watch, and a debugger), and a million pound vanity and chair set…it was very beautiful, but really?!

And today, I had my first day outside of London. I took a tour to Windsor Castle and Hampton Court Palace. Windsor Castle was amazing and can I just say that the Queen was there when I was there?! I didn’t see her, but it was confirmed that she was there. There is a flag that flies when the Royals are staying at the Castle and sure enough it was at mast when I showed up for the tour. I felt very lucky because it’s not a very common thing for the Queen to be at Windsor as she stays at Buckingham Palace for the most part. So, needless to say it was very fun to be touring Windsor while the Royals were there because there was a different energy to the Castle as more guards were out and about and protecting the residential sections not open to the public.

At Windsor I got to tour the very luxurious and beautiful State Apartments. I also saw Queen Mary’s doll house, which is an insanely detailed and precise replica of the Castle; it is also equipped with running water for the tiny pipes and electricity. 

Our next stop was Hampton Court Palace. Unlike Windsor, the Royal family has not inhabited this palace since the 18^th century. I loved the outside gardens to the Palace and it definitely seems to be worth going again in the spring when the flowers have bloomed and the vineyard is bearing fruit. Inside of the palace wasn’t so great to me. It was still interesting to tour, but it seemed kitschy with the reenactors of Henry VIII and his wives and to be honest, the interior seemed a bit rundown. But again, the outside gardens, courtyards, fountains, and vineyards were beautiful and made me want to go back before I leave London!

Wow, that was a lot. I’ve been keeping busy and trying to venture out to see as much as possible and make my time here worth it! As for this week’s agenda, I am seeing Jersey Boys at the Prince Edward Theatre in the West End on Tuesday. Then, Wednesday night I have a play Long Day’s Journey Into Night at the Richmond Theatre for my class. And on Friday I leave for the weekend to Amsterdam and Bruges with Molly and my friend Kristen from home! Again, keeping busy!

That’s all I got for now and I think that’s quite a bit.

Until next time, xx

Phew! So, I totally thought blogging was going to be a lot easier of a feat than it actually is. And I suppose that means I’m doing well if I’m not able to update every few days or so because that means I’m out exploring and keeping busy!

I’ll just jump right into things because I don’t have the wherewithal to have a seamless transition into describing the fun parts of the last week.

My roommate for the past two years, Kate, came to visit me in London this weekend. It was so great to have her here and get to show her around the city and to have her see firsthand what my study abroad experience is looking like. Her arrival went off with a bang as I could have sworn I read she was getting in 11:38…nope, read that wrong it was 11:28. This resulted in me sprinting down the few blocks from my dorm to Kings Cross with my shoelaces untied and my hair wreck. Thankfully, like a true movie moment, as I pushed through the crowded platform not knowing if she’d even still be in that area because I was ten minutes late, a sea of people moved and there was Kate!

We took no time at all before tackling the city. Poor thing, I kinda put her through the ringer for her first day in. We walked around Covent Garden with my friend Lisa to show her the street performers, the piazza, Ben’s Cookies (SO GOOD), and then went off to Primark. How do I even begin to describe Primark?  It is a giant clothing store that sells trendy clothes, shoes, and accessories for dirt-cheap…so, naturally every one and their mother is always in the store. You have to be in the right mental state and ready to force yourself through and between pushy, frustrated shoppers, but it’s so worth it!

To ease us out of the chaos of the day, Kate and a few friends of mine went to get some Indian food in Camden. Thanks to TimeOut London I found a great restaurant that was yummy and cheap, and that’s hard to come by! After dinner we went to The Blues Kitchen, a cool bar that has awesome live music every night of the week.

The next morning was the big sightseeing day. I started Kate’s tour off at Trafalgar Square. This is where the last Harry Potter movie had its premiere, so I knew Kate would be a fan of that. From there we walked to the London Eye, Big Ben, House of Parliament, Westminster Abbey, Westminster Bridge. After that we visited Buckingham Palace and then we hopped back over to Piccadilly Circus and Chinatown and ended up at Leicester Square (cinema land) to get some lunch. To note, we did all that between 11am and 2pm…kind of awesome.

That night we went out for a friend’s birthday dinner to a swanky Chinese restaurant, Shanghai Blues. After the dinner we came back near my dorm and tried out this bar called The Lexington, which is one of my favorites that I’ve been to thus far. They had an extensive American beer list, so I got me some Brooklyn Lager and we all had fun talking and listening to the DJ set.

The next morning was unfortunately the day that Kate left. After I dropped her off at the train station, I went with friends to the Imperial War Museum for the rest of the afternoon. There is SO much to see there that you need to visit more than once. We all spent the majority of our time at the Holocaust exhibition. It was so well done and so moving. I learned so much more about the Holocaust and all the events surrounding it. Such an affecting experience, it’s hard to put into words, but if you are ever in town it is something that you should 100% make time to pay a visit to.

On Monday, I finally booked my Spring Break trip. My itinerary is to fly from London to Rome, then off to Florence, next stop Nice, and rounding it all off in Paris. I’ll be staying two nights in each city. I’m SO excited. I also booked a daytrip for this Sunday for Windsor Castle and Hampton Court. Some other trips I have in the works are Edinburgh in April, and maybe Dublin. For May, hopefully Berlin or Prague and Budapest. I’m trying to make my time living in London worth it!!!!

As for today, I had classes and they seem to be getting better. My professors are actually pretty humorous and some of the subjects are starting to get more interesting. The scheduling and classroom etiquette is still bizarre, but if I’m laughing then that’s better than being uncomfortable like I was the first two weeks. I wrapped tonight up by going to a pub quiz, which is a trivia night. I am happy to report that out of five teams, our American team came in third place! If we were an Olympic team we would be bestowed a medal and have a spot on the platform!

Well, that’s all I got for now. Tomorrow my Theatre in London class is going to tour The Globe, so I will give details on that next time!

Hope all is well stateside

xx 

So, as I expected I’m not too great at keeping up with my blog. However, I’m going to keep trying. Thank you Sarah for the motivation. You are a very dedicated reader.

Let’s first start on a positive note. YEAAAAAAAH GIANTS!! I went to a sports bar in Shoreditch to watch the Super Bowl until 3am and it was great! There were surprisingly a lot of Patriots fans in the house…the Brits liked them because they were from New England…emphasis on the England. That’s not really a great reason, in my humble opinion, but nevertheless they cheered on for them. Thankfully the Giants were victorious and I was very happy.

Then a few days later I started school and I was not very happy. You see, there is this thing called the UK education system. It’s kinda mad…and not in a good way. My first week of classes was an absolute roller coaster. The British seem to have a very topsy-tervy way of carrying out their education. I’ll start with the basics. You have an hour lecture, which is you listening to a professor talk for an hour. You as a student, sit, take notes, and be quiet. Then you head off to either an hour or two-hour seminar that is with about 15-20 random students from the lecture class. Here you get broken off into groups and discuss the highlights of the lecture and answer questions that your module leader gives you to discuss. This all seems perfectly normal, yet it’s anything but.

Here are some curveballs. No one, I mean no one, shows up to class on time….that includes the professors. One of my classes started 45 minutes late.  In Charleston, I would’ve been on my merry way in 10 minutes flat. Also, students just tend to come and go as they please. Professors don’t bat an eye when in the middle of their lecture students just pick up their things and head for the door, of course walking right in front of them and not even bothering to be discreet. I cannot tell you how many times I’ve cringed thinking the professor was about to unleash on the student.

Then we get to the syllabus, or really lack thereof. There are no coursework (homework) assignments here. In my classes, I have a group project, essay, or exam. That’s it. The exams I have to take are called “seen exams”, meaning in Week 7 I am given the actual exam, complete it during the week, turn it into a tutor for corrections and feedback, and then in Week 14 I take that very same exam for my final assessment. What?!

And then there are the books. Every class that I’m in assigns about 30-40 books for you to read…but those are the recommended books. You are assigned about a chapter or an article a week that’s requited, but then it’s up to you to hit up the library and apparently spend your life wasting away in the stacks reading the ones the professors recommend. Not doin’ that.

ANYWAY, my classes on the whole seem interesting and the professors seem pretty nice. I’m taking Social Thought & Social Change; Media, Culture, and Society; Investigating the Social; and Theatre in London. I’m most excited about the theatre class because every week we go and see a play or a musical and on some weeks tour the venues like the Globe or the National.

Now on to the fun stuff…

This weekend, after a long week of school, I went on a pub crawl of Camden with friends and other people from my dorm. What seemed like a dubious tour actually turned out to be a lot of fun. Our tour guide, Sophie, took us to four bars and then dropped us off at a club for the end of the night. With the tour we got free shots at every bar and discounted drinks, so that was at least a small help for my bank account.

The next day, a bunch of us took to planning out some trips. So far I’m going Amsterdam and Bruges (March 2-4) and Barcelona (March 8-12). Very, very exciting! I’ll be spending a few nights in both places, so I’m sure lots of stories will come from those mini-vacations, whether that is from the hostels (…yikes) or the awkward encounters I always seem to find myself in.

Once I started to plan trips I began to realize how quick time goes here. There are so many places I want to visit, but when you start to factor in weekends and schoolwork/assessments, the time really starts to sneak up on you!  So in turn I’ve also been taking advantage of my time here, like by exploring random tube stops and venturing off or going to museums like the British Museum. I went there this weekend and boy, is there A LOT to see. The museum has works from prehistoric dates to modern times with collections from all over the world. So, the hour and half I spent there clearly did not even make a dent. But that doesn’t matter because public museums are free here!  

To top off this weekend, I went to my first concert here in London. Brand New was playing their second night at the London Roundhouse in Camden and thankfully I was able to get a ticket. Both shows sold out! My friend Chloe from Charleston fortunately came with me, without knowing the band, and I’d say we had a pretty damn good time. It was really nice to not only be with someone familiar, but also be in a familiar environment with familiar music. Like a little slice of home!

Thankfully I’ll be feeling that way again soon because Kate, my roommate of two years in Charleston, is visiting ol’ London and me this weekend!

Here’s to hopin’ I’ll be better with updating!

xx

It seems that every three days is how blogging is going to work for me, and most likely for you too. So, I’ll just jump right into things.

London is a very fast-paced city. People here like to move quickly or have the opportunity to move quickly. Take escalators for instance, you best stand to the right on the escalator because the left side is not for the weak of heart. It’s for people who like hurdle themselves down a practically vertical moving staircase of doom. I try not to look up or down on the escalator because it either gives me vertigo or Mario hands[1]. And then there are the iconic double-decker buses, however, they become infinitely less charming when you realize you are in a real life game of Frogger. If you’re on them, then life is great! If you’re not, it’s really just best to wait for the little green man to pop up on the streetlights and guide you to safety. Also, I can’t seem to get sidewalk/tube walkways etiquette down yet. It seems like every side I try to walk on is the wrong way and I’m the salmon swimming upstream. I’ll get there.

Despite Londoners and their need for speed, everything else has been great! My orientation included a bus and boat tour of central London so I had a chance to take in some great views, which hopefully you have had a chance to see from the photo album I posted. My favorite part was taking the boat cruise down the Thames and getting a panoramic view of the London Eye, Houses of Parliament, and Big Ben. But there were plenty of other sites to see on the cruise, like the Globe Theatre, The Gherkin, and Millennium and Tower Bridge. 

After the tour, a bunch of us went out to a local pub down the road called The Rocket and had an interesting night to say the least. We ended up talking to a group of guys for the night. One a Nigerian who took a strong liking to me and has since been calling me for the last few nights. Don’t quite remember how he got my number…as I didn’t give it to him. I think if I get another call I’m just going to pick up and start speaking another language that he hopefully doesn’t know. But anyhow, we also learned from these guys that Kings Cross is big on prostitution, Islington is the second most deprived area of central London, and that Shoreditch has the best bars (although a friend has been there and said it’s pretty much the ghetto.) Classy! Oh well….moving on.

On Friday, a group of girls and I went to Portobello Road Market, which I had been to when I was sixteen but managed to not remember too much about it! It’s blocks and blocks and blocks of antique shops, boutiques, and fresh produce stands, vintage jewelry stands, and some touristy shops. At one of the tourist stands, I was looking at a very cheap replica of Kate Middleton’s engagement ring for giggles and the owner very kindly told me, “You need rich boyfriend for real one!” That’s very true indeed.

After that I of course made a few purchases, not the engagement ring, but I think I got them for some pretty good prices! We had lunch there too at a small pub and I had my first fish and chips of the semester and it was pretty decent. Food here is not superb, or at least I haven’t had anything too great yet. But I was forewarned about that. Once we left Portobello Market, I met up with a friend from Charleston who is at Westminster and we continued the day of shopping by hitting up Oxford Circus. Ladies and gents, this is a dangerous place for your wallet. I walked up from the tube and the neon lights of Top Shop, Urban Outfitters, H&M, French Connection, and all other wonderful stores put me in a trance. I managed to reel it in and get a few steals from H&M and called it a day.

On Saturday, even though the bus and boat tour was fun and informative, a few friends and I went back to some of the sites to get better pictures and explore other parts of central London. One of the stops was Westminster Abbey, which just has some of the most breathtaking architecture. Unfortunately we missed the last tour of the day, so we’re going to have to head back again and check it out. We also took part in our very own Harry Potter tour. We hit up Diagon Alley and Gringotts. Very exciting! Thankfully there are plenty of Potter fans here, so it was fun to share that with other fanatics.

Today a bunch of us went out for breakfast and wandered into a really cute part of Islington near the Angel tube stop. I’m assuming it’s the more trendy (hipster, what have you) area of the neighborhood. On a journey to find some school supplies, we walked down a few blocks and found some great bars, restaurants, and coffee shops that we made sure to make note of. Once we finally got to Ryman’s, which is like a small Office-Max, I got some notebooks and pens for classes. The cashier was really nice and told me she liked my nail polish (Thank you Amy and OPI for your ‘Bring on the Bling’ glitter nail polish as it has started many a conversation here.) The cashier also confirmed that there are indeed gel manicures in London and pointed me in the direction of her nail salon that does a solid job. You may not think this is crucial information, but it is!

As for tonight’s agenda, well it’s the Super Bowl! Surprisingly it’s a pretty big deal here and a lot of sports bars and pubs are staying open the whole night to air the game. A few us will be going out and reppin’ the Giants. Thankfully, classes start on Tuesday for me so if it’s a good game, I can stay ‘til the end!

That’s all I got for now! Hope all is well stateside xx

Ok, so I’m not entirely sure where to start, but I’m gonna do my best! I’m going to try and do the past three days by section because everything has been a whirlwind.

I left from JFK at 7:30 flight for London to arrive at 7:30am. That was quite a flight. It was one of those moments where the first thought that popped into my mind when the plane started to pick up speed to take off was, “This is looney tunes! How exactly did I come to decide that I want to move to London.” Well, I’ll save the bated breath…because it’s amazing here! But back to the plane, thankfully I sat on the aisle (score!) and no one sat in between my charming British “mom-type” window passenger and me. However, the man sitting behind me had quite an aggressive pointer finger as I pretty much constantly felt a jab whenever he touched his TV screen, which was conveniently attached to the back of my headrest. But I digress. I think I got an hour and a half of sleep total on the 7 hour plane ride, and that was with the help of sleeping pills. I think the anticipation and adrenaline overtook the diphenhydramine and kept me awake…and again that man didn’t help.

But we arrived early into Heathrow to very London-esque weather: cold, foggy, and gray. It was wonderful. Thankfully I was with five other people from my program on the plane, although we all sat separately. We all met up outside in the terminal and then went through customs together, which was actually quite easy. Then it was off to get our luggage. Probably should remember next time to bring suitcases that all have a handle, so I can actually use the wheels. When you don’t it results in bruises all over your legs and a noodle-like arm from having to carry it through the twists and turns of Heathrow and then up the flight of stairs to your dorm. JUST A TIP!

Anywho, London Met had a greeter to put us on the bus which thankfully drove us from Heathrow to the NIDO dorm (Yes, that’s pronounced Neat-o, and no it isn’t Neat-o…more on that later.)  After a long and disorganized process to check in and find out our rooms, I took the elevator to the seventh floor to my room and was slapped in the face by the cruel sting of reality. I’m living in a shoe box. I’m dealing.

My room consists of two twin beds that creak every time you move. Two adequate desks. Two “closets”. No drawers. And an airplane bathroom with a shower thrown in for good measure. Seriously, you close that door and you are touching the toilet, the sink, the shower curtain, and the bathroom door. No frills. It’s cool, though. I’m living in London. I’ll deal.

Thankfully a lot of the friends I’ve made live on the seventh floor or the sixth floor so we’re all in close quarters, which made it easier on us when we all didn’t have phones yet.

The second day was better. A group of us went to explore after orientation sessions and hopped off the tube at Covent Garden, which is the cutest little neighborhood. The theaters are here, so there are a lot of swanky restaurants. But it also has an eclectic feel with bakeries (Primrose Bakery) and coffee shops (Double Shot Coffee) that are practically out of my daydreams. We stopped into a small Italian restaurant and got a decent lunch special for 6 pounds.

After lunch we started walking and found ourselves in Leicester Square, which is equally beautiful. The architecture really is breathtaking in the older districts of London. As we were walking though, it started flurrying. And I thought I got away scot-free from snow this winter! We dipped into the National Portrait Gallery, which has free admission and found ourselves on the third floor having coffee with a beautiful view of Parliament, Big Ben, and the London Eye. That was my moment. It finally felt real, that I wasn’t daydreaming and I actually made it after months and months of trying to make study abroad happen. So great!

Another fun thing I did that day was stumbled across this Wal-Mart on crack department store. It’s called Argos and basically you go in to the store and there is a thousand page catalogs of everything the store sells and a computer to search their inventory. THEY HAVE EVERYTHING! So you punch in your any desire and bring up your slip with the catalog number of your items, pay, and then stand off to the side while people scurry behind the scenes to produce your order. I got some real steals here: 3 pound hairdryer, 4 pound magnifying mirror, and 30 hangers for 4 pounds. Grandma would be proud.

Also that night I had my first night out. A group of us went down the street to a local pub called The Big Chill and celebrated surviving being overwhelmed with all the information that was being thrown at us, mixed with all the information that wasn’t. We survived!

Today was equally as fun. We had orientation sessions again, but after that we explored Piccadilly Circus, which I found to be the equivalent of Times Square. Super touristy, but still fun to walk through. Without even knowing it we stumbled across Chinatown and decided to stop there for lunch. That was an experience. I got some weird dish with things I don’t want really want to know what they actually were…I think some of it was raw squid. I don’t know! But that happened.

Later in the day I finally got a phone. Another steal, and a tip for people going abroad! I brought an old blackberry with me, that was unlocked, and my orientation gave out a free UK SIM card, so all that was left for me was to get a plan. I went to O2 and purchased a 15 pound a month plan, but unlimited texting and calling to people who have O2 which is pretty much which all of my friends have. Also, I suggest O2 because the guys that work there are babes. So, it’s really all positives on that end.

Tonight I just stayed in with the usual suspects and we all caught up with Facebook and the internet in the café, which has great wifi. And we figured out our class timetables because class starts on Monday!

Ok, I think I’ve written enough for now…hopefully you made it this far. I’ll try to be better on updating for both of us, so you don’t have to read this much and I don’t have to produce this much.

Hope all is well with everyone.

Cheers xx

So, are y’all ready to follow yet another study abroad blog?!

Just like many of my fellow friends, I’m going to attempt to keep a “daily” account of my experiences while living in London for the next four months. Can I just say how unreal that still sounds to me?! Four months…London, WOW!

I’m going to make the very best of my time overseas. From meeting locals, traveling the United Kingdom and Europe, to frequenting some of the greatest art museums, and absolutely taking advantage of living down the block from Kings Cross Station…can anyone say impromptu adventures to Paris?!

I am so extremely grateful for getting the opportunity to study abroad. The lengths it has taken me, and my very patient mother and father, to get to London it seems are starting to finally pay off as the departure date gets closer and closer.

London to me is more than just living in not only another city, but a country; it’s one more opportunity to push myself outside of my comfort zone. Three years ago in August, I did the hardest thing I’ve thankfully had to do in my life and transitioned from New York to South Carolina and along the way had some wonderful experiences and met some of the most amazing people that I am grateful to call my friends. I am hoping that I can repeat even just a bit of this success abroad and transition a little easier as I am now, I like to think, more okay with being away from home. So, I’m uprooting myself once again in hopes of a great adventure and a new chapter in my life.

I’m still two weeks out until I leave for London and yes, I’m still nervous and yes, I’m still afraid, but it’s okay because it’s mixed with a whole lot of excitement. London has been on my radar since I was twelve and I was lucky enough to visit for a week when I was sixteen. And now I’m going to be studying and living in England. It’s still surreal and I don’t know if I will quite believe it all myself until the plane lands in Heathrow on January 30^th.

Like I said, it’s been quite a journey in and of itself to simply go through the fire hoops to apply and prepare to study abroad, so I’m ready for the fun part. (Side note, thank you friends for being so nice while I had my fair share of breakdowns with this process.)

So, yep, I’m not blind to the fact that there will be some not so great moments abroad whether that is from homesickness to insecurities, but always ringing in the back of my mind will be: SHELBY, SHUT UP! YOU’RE IN LONDON!!!