Monday was a busy busy day for me. I had my normal four classes, two of which I had to present in. During our BES class I told the group about my internship, what I do every day, how I like it (not very difficult). In Contemporary Britain we discussed health. A lot of English people think of the U.S. and think of overweight people. Sweet. Apparently that phenomenon is moving into England as well and is becoming more of a problem in Great Britain. Although really in London I haven't seen many overweight people, our professor said that probably outside of the city is where you would be more likely to find not so thin people. Anyway, that is beside the point of my day. After my morning classes I had about an hour break which I used to work on my theatre presentation and then I had theatre class. My presentation went well although I had the cheesy topic of "Describe your imagined perfect visit to a theatre." After the presentations were finished, Imelba Staunton who played Kath in the production, "Entertaining Mr. Sloane." Imelba is also in: Harry Potter and the order of the Phoenix as Professor Umbridge, Freedom Writers, Nanny McPhee, and many many many other movies/films/tele. As you can she she is pretty cool. Imelba came in and is a very small, adorable woman. She was so cute as she talked to us and very modest. She talked to us about many different things from how she got started to what she is working on now. When she was telling us about the different films she had been in she said, I don't know if you know about Harry Potter, but I played professor Umbridge. She was just adorable and it was my favorite theatre class.
After class, I had about an hour before we had to head to the theatre performance for the night. Our professor told us it took over an hour to get to the theatre, plus we needed to be there early because the seats weren't reserved. So we left at 6pm to a performance that started at 8pm. It only took about 40 minutes to get there so we were WAY early. The play was titled, Victory. It is probably the darkest, most vulgar play I have been to. The acting was good, but the idea of the play was not my favorite. Through this course I have decided that I like happy musicals.
Today, Tuesday, I had my internship as usual and was in the Yellow Class. I only have five more days left at the Jack Taylor School and the days go so fast. I took the bus home and then went for a run around St. James's Park, Buckingham Palace, and Hyde Park. London is sort of craziness at the moment with the G20 in town. I saw way more police on motorcycles than ever and at one point I saw about seven police motorcycle men leading a group of important cars as another police stopped traffic. I also saw a herd of about 200 motorcycles ride down the road honking. I guess they are part of some protest, I'm not sure against what- a tax maybe. After I got back I made the best dinner for one: chicken, veggies, and rice stirfry thingy. Yum. Now we are booking hostels for spring break. Gross.
Tuesday, 31 March 2009
The last of Barcelona - Saturday & Sunday
Saturday in Barcelona was rainy, but not terribly cold. In the morning it rained off and on. We took the metro up to see the Gaudi architecture: Sagrada Familia and a few other buildings designed by him. They were really interesting to see and much different from any architecture I have seen previously. After seeing the Sagrada Familia we walked more along what seemed like the main city area of Barcelona. It was really nice and there was a walk way down the middle of the road with the trees that curve inward and make sort of a balcony. The trees were all green so it made it even prettier. After walking around the city we headed back to la Rambla to check out the market again and then we attempted to find a gondola that would take us up to the top of this big hill/mountain. Unfortunately the gondolas weren't running because of the rain so we were out of luck. By this point it started raining harder and was windy so we grumpily headed back to the apartment to change our soaking socks.
That night we went to eat at the Hard Rock Cafe Barcelona. On the way we stopped for our first and only margarita in Spain. The food at Hard Rock was delicious and our waiter was very helpful. We ended the night walking in the pouring rain to find this fountain that we had seen in lots of brochures that had music and lights. We walked for at least a half hour in the rain and as we got close, we found out it wasn't running due to the weather. Super. So we got on the metro, found an ice cream place, and went back to the apartment.
We woke up Sunday morning about about 3:45am to head to the airport. We decided to get a taxi because it would be easier and it was still raining a bit out. We called the taxi service, but the woman on the other end could not understand anything Allie was saying to her. We even tried to use the Spanish alphabet to spell out the street we were staying at, and I think we did quite good. Since that didn't work we walked to one of the main roads and waved down a cab. Our driver played Spanish music and hummed along as he took us to the airport without a problem. It was way worth the money.
Sunday = back in London. I arrived back in London after a fabulous weekend in Barcelona and was exhausted. Early flights just take it out of me! I took a little nap and showered when I got back to Vandon. The highlight of my Sunday afternoon was grocery shopping (which I am becoming quite good at) and going to the Muffin Man. Jenon, Allie, and I decided we needed some tea and scones to make our Sunday afternoon even better. Jenon and I shared tea and scones with jam and cream and Allie opted for the hot chocolate and a scone. The Muffin Man is just a cute little tea place and it was so good! I think we are going to make this a normal outing. Yummm... Sunday evening was spent, well part of it, working on my theatre presentation that I presented on Monday. Early to bed, early Monday class.
That night we went to eat at the Hard Rock Cafe Barcelona. On the way we stopped for our first and only margarita in Spain. The food at Hard Rock was delicious and our waiter was very helpful. We ended the night walking in the pouring rain to find this fountain that we had seen in lots of brochures that had music and lights. We walked for at least a half hour in the rain and as we got close, we found out it wasn't running due to the weather. Super. So we got on the metro, found an ice cream place, and went back to the apartment.
We woke up Sunday morning about about 3:45am to head to the airport. We decided to get a taxi because it would be easier and it was still raining a bit out. We called the taxi service, but the woman on the other end could not understand anything Allie was saying to her. We even tried to use the Spanish alphabet to spell out the street we were staying at, and I think we did quite good. Since that didn't work we walked to one of the main roads and waved down a cab. Our driver played Spanish music and hummed along as he took us to the airport without a problem. It was way worth the money.
Sunday = back in London. I arrived back in London after a fabulous weekend in Barcelona and was exhausted. Early flights just take it out of me! I took a little nap and showered when I got back to Vandon. The highlight of my Sunday afternoon was grocery shopping (which I am becoming quite good at) and going to the Muffin Man. Jenon, Allie, and I decided we needed some tea and scones to make our Sunday afternoon even better. Jenon and I shared tea and scones with jam and cream and Allie opted for the hot chocolate and a scone. The Muffin Man is just a cute little tea place and it was so good! I think we are going to make this a normal outing. Yummm... Sunday evening was spent, well part of it, working on my theatre presentation that I presented on Monday. Early to bed, early Monday class.
Saturday, 28 March 2009
Salsa please.
Yesterday (Friday) was a beautiful day in Barcelona, Spain. Jenon, Allie, Erin, and I woke up at a decent time and headed out to find some breakfast. We were pretty unsuccessful for a while and could only locate sandwich places. Since it was nice we wanted to eat outside and found a little cafe that had outdoor seating. We all ordered spanish omlets and they were very good, but much smaller than expected. Next we headed to la Rambla which is a street in Barcelona that is very busy and has several little stands set up, mostly with souveniers. On la Rambla we found the best market ever. It had the best looking fruits and veggies I've ever seen in my young life and it had chocolate and nuts too. Our favorite part may have been the ice cream/gelato stand. We each splurged and got three scoops - I went with chocolate, ferrero, and a yogurt and berries one. Yum! Definitely enough to tide us over until supper. After the market we headed to the beach! Although it wasn't nice enough for our swim suits, we changed into comfy clothes and layed out on the sand. It was perfect.
The beach was pretty busy and there were definitely some interesting characters close to us. There was one European woman with quite hairy armpits and legs and then behind us was a topless woman giving another woman a massage. This was almost too much for us so we turned the other way and enjoyed the rest of our afternoon. It got a little colder later in the afternoon so we headed back to the apartment and then on a mission to find sangria. I've never had sangria before, but Jenon had it last week at the mexican restaurant in Greenwich and said it was good. Aparently four blonde girls walking together quite the thing, because everywhere we went people looked and stared and even a few quite old guys tried talking to us. We found a little bar/pub and shared a pitcher of sangria. It was good, but tasted quite a bit like wine. I did enjoy the pieces of orange in it though. Afterward, Jenon had to head back to the apartment to register for classes so Erin, Allie, and I went on a mission to find salsa. I had it in my head that I was going to be able to have some really good chips and salsa while I was in Barcelona, I forgot that that is more of a Mexico thing not Spain. We eventually found an actually grocery store instead of little nugget convenient stores and seached for salsa. We ended up with frozen pizza, chicken nuggets, pop, ketchup, chips, and... spaghetti sauce. It said salsa on the outside of the jar. like most other jars did. We couldn't decide which 'salsa' to go with so we chose the one that looked the most like salsa. Fail. We got back to the apartment to taste our chips and salsa and discovered it was spaghetti sauce. Bummer. We did also pick up ingredients to make guacamole, so that part was successful and we had good guacamole to use for our chips.
We spent the majority of Friday night hanging out in the apartment, sort of having a much needed girls night. Today has been quite busy and rainy. More on that later...
The beach was pretty busy and there were definitely some interesting characters close to us. There was one European woman with quite hairy armpits and legs and then behind us was a topless woman giving another woman a massage. This was almost too much for us so we turned the other way and enjoyed the rest of our afternoon. It got a little colder later in the afternoon so we headed back to the apartment and then on a mission to find sangria. I've never had sangria before, but Jenon had it last week at the mexican restaurant in Greenwich and said it was good. Aparently four blonde girls walking together quite the thing, because everywhere we went people looked and stared and even a few quite old guys tried talking to us. We found a little bar/pub and shared a pitcher of sangria. It was good, but tasted quite a bit like wine. I did enjoy the pieces of orange in it though. Afterward, Jenon had to head back to the apartment to register for classes so Erin, Allie, and I went on a mission to find salsa. I had it in my head that I was going to be able to have some really good chips and salsa while I was in Barcelona, I forgot that that is more of a Mexico thing not Spain. We eventually found an actually grocery store instead of little nugget convenient stores and seached for salsa. We ended up with frozen pizza, chicken nuggets, pop, ketchup, chips, and... spaghetti sauce. It said salsa on the outside of the jar. like most other jars did. We couldn't decide which 'salsa' to go with so we chose the one that looked the most like salsa. Fail. We got back to the apartment to taste our chips and salsa and discovered it was spaghetti sauce. Bummer. We did also pick up ingredients to make guacamole, so that part was successful and we had good guacamole to use for our chips.
We spent the majority of Friday night hanging out in the apartment, sort of having a much needed girls night. Today has been quite busy and rainy. More on that later...
Friday, 27 March 2009
Yo no hablo espanol. Darn.
Yesterday (Thursday) was full of traveling. Jenon, Allie, Erin, and I left Vandon at about 1:30pm to take the extremely busy tube to Heathrow. We arrived at the airport without a problem, checked in with the help of a nice man and then checked our luggage. The man who checked Jenon's luggage told her it was about an hours walk to our terminal so we took off. We got split up as we went through security with Jenon and Allie in one area and Erin and I in another. Erin and I found the other two once past security only to find out that Jenon's favorite Iowa State water bottle had gotten tossed by the mean security man. She was pretty upset about it and apparently the security people were not very kind. When we looked at a sign telling us departures it said our flight was boarding so we took off running. We were half-sprinting to our gate and when we got to the desk where they check our boarding passes, the lady said to Jenon "No rush." Turns out we still had about 30-40 minutes before our flight would board and we had run past people just waiting patiently for our flight. Whoops.
Once one the plane, we saw that a guy had taken pictures with these two younger boys and then went into first class, so we assumed he was famous of some sort. The two younger boys continued to try to go to first class and were carrying paper and pens to get his signiature. Erin stopped one of them and apparently the guy is a football player - Sans Fabia or something similar to that. This was our entertainment as our flight was delayed and we had to sit on the plane for about 50 minutes before take-off. Our flight was normal and we arrived safely in Barcelona, Spain. Once off the plane we headed toward the baggage claim that our luggage was supposed to be at. We waited at one of the information signs for our flight to appear so we would know which baggage claim to go to. This probably went on for about ten minutes or so before someone came up and told us the London flight had been switched to a different baggage claim. So we headed around the airport to where our luggage was only to find out we had to turn around and go back through security to get to our luggage. In the process of turning around to find this area we ran into two girls who were on our same flight, not to be judgemental but I'm guessing they were sort of wealthy and princesses. They continued to complain saying that, this shouldn't be happening because they chose to fly British Airways and British Airways owes us a free flight for this, I'm going to call them and complain....on and on. Anyway, we made it through securtiy once and again and found our luggage just fine after the minor set back.
Now was the misson of finding our apartment. We talked to information who told us to take the train and then the Metro. They gave us a few maps so we figured we'd be good to go. We waited a while for the train, which seemed to go quite slow. After we got off the train, we had a few issues trying to find the Metro. Since we only speak un poco espanol, the fact that all the signs are in spanish is tricky. We asked a couple and they literally pointed us in the right direction. Once we got to the Metro finding platform L4 was a hike. It took us at least a fifteen minute walk up and down stairs and around corners before we finally got to the right platform. This definitely made me appreciate London's underground system. It is just so easy to use and get around and all seems very well put together. Plus one of the first things I noticed about some parts of Barcelona is the odd smell of rotten eggs in some places, London does not smell this way. Anyway we make it to platform L4 at about 9:55pm, note that our plane landed at 7:30pm. Our Metro ride was quick and once we got off we were a bit disoriented and since we don't know our way around Barcelona it was a bit of a struggle, especially in the dark. We looked at our map and then just started walking. It was really cute at night because it was right by the marina.
We finally made it to Whotells, the apartment building we are staying in, and then our next dilema happened. We couldn't get in. You need a key to get into the building and well, we didn't have one. So we stood there for a couple minutes contemplating what to do, we attempted to call the woman who was in charge, but none of our mobile phones would make calls. Now, picture this: four bright blonde girls standing outside a building, looking tired, lost, and with luggage in a dodgy neighborhood in Barcelona, where it is dark and the only little businesses around are closed for the night. I pushed one of the call buttons and then Jenon tried a few and a lady who lives in one of the apartments let us in. Okay so now we were in the building, but there was no one around and we didn't know where to go. We walked up the first flight of stairs and knocked on the woman's door who let us in. She opened the door, dressed in her pink night robe - slippers and all, dyied reddish/pink hair, dog barking, and knowing pretty much no english. We tried to tell her how our phones wouldn't work and that we were staying in the building and that we knew very very little spanish. She yelled up to Juan and all I could understand was 'las chickas.' Juan was not much help, for he wouldn't even come down to help. Erin gave her a couple phone numbers to try to call the head woman, but they didn't work so then we had to explain to her that our mobile phones wouldn't work and we tried one last number. Winner! The woman was on her way. So we finally got in our room, approximately 11:00pm. Our apartment is a little nugget, but very nice. We have two bedrooms, one with two twin beds and one with a queen bed, a bathroom, kitchen, and little eating/living room. We headed out on a search for some snacks and food for breakfast in the morning. We stopped in the first place we could find and bought some biscuits, crackers and cheese, and water. The man working there was from Pakistan and was quite friendly. While we were checking out Jenon just said that these little waffel things with chocolate on them looked good and he said, "gift" and gave each of us one. It was very nice of him! So we headed back to the apartment for the night, ate our crackers and made some popcorn. The waffel with chocolate tasted like a hoho without the cream filling, it was good- but not great. Then bed.
Once one the plane, we saw that a guy had taken pictures with these two younger boys and then went into first class, so we assumed he was famous of some sort. The two younger boys continued to try to go to first class and were carrying paper and pens to get his signiature. Erin stopped one of them and apparently the guy is a football player - Sans Fabia or something similar to that. This was our entertainment as our flight was delayed and we had to sit on the plane for about 50 minutes before take-off. Our flight was normal and we arrived safely in Barcelona, Spain. Once off the plane we headed toward the baggage claim that our luggage was supposed to be at. We waited at one of the information signs for our flight to appear so we would know which baggage claim to go to. This probably went on for about ten minutes or so before someone came up and told us the London flight had been switched to a different baggage claim. So we headed around the airport to where our luggage was only to find out we had to turn around and go back through security to get to our luggage. In the process of turning around to find this area we ran into two girls who were on our same flight, not to be judgemental but I'm guessing they were sort of wealthy and princesses. They continued to complain saying that, this shouldn't be happening because they chose to fly British Airways and British Airways owes us a free flight for this, I'm going to call them and complain....on and on. Anyway, we made it through securtiy once and again and found our luggage just fine after the minor set back.
Now was the misson of finding our apartment. We talked to information who told us to take the train and then the Metro. They gave us a few maps so we figured we'd be good to go. We waited a while for the train, which seemed to go quite slow. After we got off the train, we had a few issues trying to find the Metro. Since we only speak un poco espanol, the fact that all the signs are in spanish is tricky. We asked a couple and they literally pointed us in the right direction. Once we got to the Metro finding platform L4 was a hike. It took us at least a fifteen minute walk up and down stairs and around corners before we finally got to the right platform. This definitely made me appreciate London's underground system. It is just so easy to use and get around and all seems very well put together. Plus one of the first things I noticed about some parts of Barcelona is the odd smell of rotten eggs in some places, London does not smell this way. Anyway we make it to platform L4 at about 9:55pm, note that our plane landed at 7:30pm. Our Metro ride was quick and once we got off we were a bit disoriented and since we don't know our way around Barcelona it was a bit of a struggle, especially in the dark. We looked at our map and then just started walking. It was really cute at night because it was right by the marina.
We finally made it to Whotells, the apartment building we are staying in, and then our next dilema happened. We couldn't get in. You need a key to get into the building and well, we didn't have one. So we stood there for a couple minutes contemplating what to do, we attempted to call the woman who was in charge, but none of our mobile phones would make calls. Now, picture this: four bright blonde girls standing outside a building, looking tired, lost, and with luggage in a dodgy neighborhood in Barcelona, where it is dark and the only little businesses around are closed for the night. I pushed one of the call buttons and then Jenon tried a few and a lady who lives in one of the apartments let us in. Okay so now we were in the building, but there was no one around and we didn't know where to go. We walked up the first flight of stairs and knocked on the woman's door who let us in. She opened the door, dressed in her pink night robe - slippers and all, dyied reddish/pink hair, dog barking, and knowing pretty much no english. We tried to tell her how our phones wouldn't work and that we were staying in the building and that we knew very very little spanish. She yelled up to Juan and all I could understand was 'las chickas.' Juan was not much help, for he wouldn't even come down to help. Erin gave her a couple phone numbers to try to call the head woman, but they didn't work so then we had to explain to her that our mobile phones wouldn't work and we tried one last number. Winner! The woman was on her way. So we finally got in our room, approximately 11:00pm. Our apartment is a little nugget, but very nice. We have two bedrooms, one with two twin beds and one with a queen bed, a bathroom, kitchen, and little eating/living room. We headed out on a search for some snacks and food for breakfast in the morning. We stopped in the first place we could find and bought some biscuits, crackers and cheese, and water. The man working there was from Pakistan and was quite friendly. While we were checking out Jenon just said that these little waffel things with chocolate on them looked good and he said, "gift" and gave each of us one. It was very nice of him! So we headed back to the apartment for the night, ate our crackers and made some popcorn. The waffel with chocolate tasted like a hoho without the cream filling, it was good- but not great. Then bed.
Wednesday, 25 March 2009
Back to Normal..... Mon-Wed.
Remember what I said about the weather on Sunday, well forget it. The past few days have been a bit colder and it rained off and on yesterday and today.
Monday was a normal day of classes, we are giving presentations in my theatre class so that was a bit more entertaining than usual. I don't go until next Monday and mine is probably the best topic of all (sarcasm) : ...your imagined perfect visit to the theatre. I'm pretty excited to present. Along with class, we went to the play 'Entertaining Mr. Sloane.' I give it 3.5/5 stars.
Tuesday I was in Yellow Class again. It was sort of an exhausting day overall. Although I have been in this classroom for almost 8 weeks now, I am still learning new things about the children all the time. After my internship I did a little shopping, it was practically on my way home. I got a couple new things all which I can completely justify if I need to :)
Today I was in a new classroom called 'Senior One.' It is a class of about six/seven students between the ages of 12-16. It was a really good day. They can't verbally communicate but they are so good at their pecs and symbols. The girl who forced me to play kick ball with her the first day is in this class and I think she likes me, then again I think she likes everyone. I did kick the ball with her for a long time today, so that probably helped. Since these children are older and more advanced they do a lot more work with numbers and matching things. It was actually quite impressive since I have been in Yellow Class so long and I hope that the younger children can get to the stage that these kids are at. Tonight there is not much going on, I have a few things to catch up on and I need to pack for Spain!
Monday was a normal day of classes, we are giving presentations in my theatre class so that was a bit more entertaining than usual. I don't go until next Monday and mine is probably the best topic of all (sarcasm) : ...your imagined perfect visit to the theatre. I'm pretty excited to present. Along with class, we went to the play 'Entertaining Mr. Sloane.' I give it 3.5/5 stars.
Tuesday I was in Yellow Class again. It was sort of an exhausting day overall. Although I have been in this classroom for almost 8 weeks now, I am still learning new things about the children all the time. After my internship I did a little shopping, it was practically on my way home. I got a couple new things all which I can completely justify if I need to :)
Today I was in a new classroom called 'Senior One.' It is a class of about six/seven students between the ages of 12-16. It was a really good day. They can't verbally communicate but they are so good at their pecs and symbols. The girl who forced me to play kick ball with her the first day is in this class and I think she likes me, then again I think she likes everyone. I did kick the ball with her for a long time today, so that probably helped. Since these children are older and more advanced they do a lot more work with numbers and matching things. It was actually quite impressive since I have been in Yellow Class so long and I hope that the younger children can get to the stage that these kids are at. Tonight there is not much going on, I have a few things to catch up on and I need to pack for Spain!
Saturday, 21 March 2009
Sun
I cannot believe the weather, it has been gorgeous here. Okay so it's not 70 degrees yet, but it is getting warmer. Thursday through Saturday I spend with Katie, a friend from Central, who is visiting London with her aunt and uncle. She spent the mornings with her aunt and uncle and then we met up every afternoon. On Thursday we did normal touristy things such as Trafalgar Square, Covent Garden, National Gallery, Big Ben, Parliament, Westminster, and the London Eye. We walked a lot on Thursday, I think we may have only taken the tube once. The London Eye was cool, but it didn't quite make my expectations. I thought it was going to be amazing, it was pretty, but I must have had my expectations too high. The coolest part was that we could see St. James's Park from the top! Thursday evening, Katie and I went to Nando's to eat. It is a semi-nice, but also fast place to eat that has all chicken dishes. It was really good, but confusing and we had some awkward moments with a couple of the people who worked there. Overall we ended up fed and happy so it worked out and I think I will go back sometime. Thursday was also karaoke night at the International Student House. Usually I don't take part in the singing, but I found an Nsync song that my friends were willing to sing with me, so six of us got up on stage and sang the great song "bye bye bye" by Nsync. It was pretty hilarious and we were pretty good :)
On Friday, Katie and I spent the majority of the day in the Oxford Circus area. I had been on Oxford Street a few times, but I had never just wandered around. We did a little shopping and looked in a lot of stores that I had never heard of before. There are some really cute areas around Oxford Street. During our wandering we saw a huge store that looked interesting so we though we'd check it out. It was the most expensive store I have ever seen. A thin little dinky scarf was 165 pounds, I don't even like buying a scarf for 10 pounds! My goodness! Some of the purses were just ridiculous. The craziest part is that their were a lot of people in the store buying these outrageous priced items. We did a little people watching in a nice little cafe across the street. We continued wandering and ended up at Piccadilly Circus and then back to Leicester Square. Friday evening, Erin, Katie, and I went to Garfunkel's which is more along the lines of an Apple Bee's. It was pretty good and quite fast. We all got hamburgers and fries. The hamburgers were good, but they are just not the same as the ones in Iowa. They do have good food over here, but we win the hamburger contest by far. America also wins the dill pickle contest too. Anyway, later on Jenon, Mark, Erin, Katie, and I headed to the zoo bar for the rest of our evening. It was fun and loud and overall funny.
Today Katie and I went to Camden Market and then to the London Zoo. The first time I went to Camden Market I didn't like it at all. The people there were not people I was used too and I just felt really out of place. This time I really liked it and I want to go back. Katie and I spent probably close to two hours there. They had really cute clothes shops/boutiques and random shops. The food area was pure craziness. It had mostly Mexican, Chinese, and Japanese food. The people were practically throwing their food at you so you could taste it. We tried a piece of chicken from one and it was decently good so we just opted for that because the piece we tried from the next place was cold - gross. I got chicken and rice, which was a little questionable. I ate it and then later worried a little about what I was eating. So far neither Katie nor I have gotten food poisoning so I think it was okay. After the market we headed to the London Zoo. It may seem weird of all the things there is to do in London we would go to a zoo, but Katie really wanted too and I like zoos so I didn't object. It was sort of weird that all these exotic animals are in the middle of the huge city of London. Our favorites were the giraffes, monkeys, and penguins. I still think the Omaha Zoo is the best, sorry London Zoo. I was exhausted today so tonight has consisted of organizing some things on my computer and making a list of things I still want to see in London. Exciting, I know. Katie came over and hung out for a bit too, it was really fun having her around and I'm glad I got to help show her around a little.
On Friday, Katie and I spent the majority of the day in the Oxford Circus area. I had been on Oxford Street a few times, but I had never just wandered around. We did a little shopping and looked in a lot of stores that I had never heard of before. There are some really cute areas around Oxford Street. During our wandering we saw a huge store that looked interesting so we though we'd check it out. It was the most expensive store I have ever seen. A thin little dinky scarf was 165 pounds, I don't even like buying a scarf for 10 pounds! My goodness! Some of the purses were just ridiculous. The craziest part is that their were a lot of people in the store buying these outrageous priced items. We did a little people watching in a nice little cafe across the street. We continued wandering and ended up at Piccadilly Circus and then back to Leicester Square. Friday evening, Erin, Katie, and I went to Garfunkel's which is more along the lines of an Apple Bee's. It was pretty good and quite fast. We all got hamburgers and fries. The hamburgers were good, but they are just not the same as the ones in Iowa. They do have good food over here, but we win the hamburger contest by far. America also wins the dill pickle contest too. Anyway, later on Jenon, Mark, Erin, Katie, and I headed to the zoo bar for the rest of our evening. It was fun and loud and overall funny.
Today Katie and I went to Camden Market and then to the London Zoo. The first time I went to Camden Market I didn't like it at all. The people there were not people I was used too and I just felt really out of place. This time I really liked it and I want to go back. Katie and I spent probably close to two hours there. They had really cute clothes shops/boutiques and random shops. The food area was pure craziness. It had mostly Mexican, Chinese, and Japanese food. The people were practically throwing their food at you so you could taste it. We tried a piece of chicken from one and it was decently good so we just opted for that because the piece we tried from the next place was cold - gross. I got chicken and rice, which was a little questionable. I ate it and then later worried a little about what I was eating. So far neither Katie nor I have gotten food poisoning so I think it was okay. After the market we headed to the London Zoo. It may seem weird of all the things there is to do in London we would go to a zoo, but Katie really wanted too and I like zoos so I didn't object. It was sort of weird that all these exotic animals are in the middle of the huge city of London. Our favorites were the giraffes, monkeys, and penguins. I still think the Omaha Zoo is the best, sorry London Zoo. I was exhausted today so tonight has consisted of organizing some things on my computer and making a list of things I still want to see in London. Exciting, I know. Katie came over and hung out for a bit too, it was really fun having her around and I'm glad I got to help show her around a little.
Wednesday, 18 March 2009
It's Wednesday!
A recap of St. Patrick's Day:
I had my internship and was in the Yellow Class again. Everything went really well, with the exception of play time after lunch where a couple of the assistants got into an argument with one of the cooks (or I think she is one of the cooks). It was entertaining and very awkward to witness. Anyway, with the lovely spring/sunny weather, we spent a lot of time outside. Yay. After my internship, I forced myself to run and then get ready to go out since it was St. Patrick's Day. Actually at my internship they played some Irish music because of the holiday and because one of the teachers is Irish so she did a little Irish dancing for us which made me want to do some Irish dancing. A pretty large group of us headed to O'Neils which is about a 20 minute tube ride or so. As the name suggests it is an Irish pub. It was a fun atmosphere right when we walked in the door. People were wearing fun hats and the pub was decorated with anything green. Erin and I tried the Irish cider which was not terrible, I still don't know how people can drink Guinness. I was only disappointed by the fact that they played only one or two Irish songs and the rest were American, lame. Since I had work the next day, Erin and I headed out at about 11:20pm to go home. We made it to the tube station and waited patiently for our train. We got on the train, which was completely empty besides us, and soon discovered we were going the wrong direction. Whoops. So we got off at the next stop only to find out the trains were severely delayed. This was probably around 12:35 or so. For the next half and hour we sat at the station waiting for a train. During this time, we made some pretty funny videos and shared a granola bar. When the train decided to show up, we then had to wait another ten minutes or so for it to move. So the 20 minute commute home turned into an 1 hour and about 20 minutes. The only not fun part of our adventure was the creepy older man who talked like Austin Powers who thought it would be a good idea to talk to us or hit on us, I don't know what he was doing. He asked too many questions and tried to hard and then followed us off the train. As you are well aware I am still alive so nothing happened. But after we got out of the station, Erin and I ran all the way to Vandon.
Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday:
Today has been a brilliant day :) Although I didn't get much sleep because of Erin and my little tube mishap last night, my internship went well. We spent the majority of the afternoon outside because it was so nice/sunny/warm. I love it and so did the children. On my way back from my internship I ran into a obstacle. The nearest tube station is Swiss Cottage and it is about a 5 minute walk from my school. I walked to the tube station to get home like I normally do, only to find that it was closed down. I still don't know why, but there were about 5-8 emergency vehicles outside the main entrance to the station. Unfortunately, I have no sense of direction and didn't have a map. I looked around a bit, not entirely sure where to go, I considered calling one of my friends but decided I should figure it out myself. This was not as hard as I thought although at first when I saw the station I was a little nervous. I saw a sign that pointed toward Camden and walked the opposite way. I looked at a bus map and figured out what number bus I needed and continued to look for that bus stop. I found it not long after and my bus soon came. It was pretty full because I think a lot of people had turned to the bus when they saw the station was closed. I made it back without any problems! I was pretty happy I had done it myself, it may seem like a little thing, but oh well. About a block away from Vandon, an older couple also stopped me and asked me for directions. I am choosing to take this as a sign that I look like competent and normal. :)
I went on a run in the parks today and have decided that spring in London is the perfect time to be one of two things: homeless or in love. Homeless because the parks are so pretty and it is the perfect temperature (well maybe a little warmer would be okay). Obviously the latter would be better. I have never seen so many couples as I do in the parks. It's sort of depressing actually, but whatever they can be happy. I'm hoping the sun continues to shine for the rest of the week.
I had my internship and was in the Yellow Class again. Everything went really well, with the exception of play time after lunch where a couple of the assistants got into an argument with one of the cooks (or I think she is one of the cooks). It was entertaining and very awkward to witness. Anyway, with the lovely spring/sunny weather, we spent a lot of time outside. Yay. After my internship, I forced myself to run and then get ready to go out since it was St. Patrick's Day. Actually at my internship they played some Irish music because of the holiday and because one of the teachers is Irish so she did a little Irish dancing for us which made me want to do some Irish dancing. A pretty large group of us headed to O'Neils which is about a 20 minute tube ride or so. As the name suggests it is an Irish pub. It was a fun atmosphere right when we walked in the door. People were wearing fun hats and the pub was decorated with anything green. Erin and I tried the Irish cider which was not terrible, I still don't know how people can drink Guinness. I was only disappointed by the fact that they played only one or two Irish songs and the rest were American, lame. Since I had work the next day, Erin and I headed out at about 11:20pm to go home. We made it to the tube station and waited patiently for our train. We got on the train, which was completely empty besides us, and soon discovered we were going the wrong direction. Whoops. So we got off at the next stop only to find out the trains were severely delayed. This was probably around 12:35 or so. For the next half and hour we sat at the station waiting for a train. During this time, we made some pretty funny videos and shared a granola bar. When the train decided to show up, we then had to wait another ten minutes or so for it to move. So the 20 minute commute home turned into an 1 hour and about 20 minutes. The only not fun part of our adventure was the creepy older man who talked like Austin Powers who thought it would be a good idea to talk to us or hit on us, I don't know what he was doing. He asked too many questions and tried to hard and then followed us off the train. As you are well aware I am still alive so nothing happened. But after we got out of the station, Erin and I ran all the way to Vandon.
Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday:
Today has been a brilliant day :) Although I didn't get much sleep because of Erin and my little tube mishap last night, my internship went well. We spent the majority of the afternoon outside because it was so nice/sunny/warm. I love it and so did the children. On my way back from my internship I ran into a obstacle. The nearest tube station is Swiss Cottage and it is about a 5 minute walk from my school. I walked to the tube station to get home like I normally do, only to find that it was closed down. I still don't know why, but there were about 5-8 emergency vehicles outside the main entrance to the station. Unfortunately, I have no sense of direction and didn't have a map. I looked around a bit, not entirely sure where to go, I considered calling one of my friends but decided I should figure it out myself. This was not as hard as I thought although at first when I saw the station I was a little nervous. I saw a sign that pointed toward Camden and walked the opposite way. I looked at a bus map and figured out what number bus I needed and continued to look for that bus stop. I found it not long after and my bus soon came. It was pretty full because I think a lot of people had turned to the bus when they saw the station was closed. I made it back without any problems! I was pretty happy I had done it myself, it may seem like a little thing, but oh well. About a block away from Vandon, an older couple also stopped me and asked me for directions. I am choosing to take this as a sign that I look like competent and normal. :)
I went on a run in the parks today and have decided that spring in London is the perfect time to be one of two things: homeless or in love. Homeless because the parks are so pretty and it is the perfect temperature (well maybe a little warmer would be okay). Obviously the latter would be better. I have never seen so many couples as I do in the parks. It's sort of depressing actually, but whatever they can be happy. I'm hoping the sun continues to shine for the rest of the week.
Monday, 16 March 2009
My new found talent
Today started off on a sad note. This morning at about 5:45 am I took my family on the tube to Paddington to catch their train the airport. They got back to the Midwest about an hour or so ago. It was more sad more me leaving them this time than it was when I left at the start of the term. I am not terribly homesick, I really love London. I just like having my family around, they are pretty great.
This morning was the usual with classes, but today it was sunny! I think this is the true start of London's spring/summer weather and I LOVE it. In the afternoon my theatre class took a tour of the Globe Theatre. Our tour was sort of pathetic, the guide talked for a bit outside of the theatre, mostly quizzing us on facts, and then we went into the theatre and sat while he talked for about then minutes. I did learn that the original Globe Theatre was not actually in London, but on the other side of the Thames River. This was because somethings the theatre did was not looked well upon by the Church and the majority of the people I think. Also back in the day, all kinds and classes of people went to the theatre. After our little nug tour, we were forced, yes forced to do an 'actors' workshop. Our tour guide, who was also an actor, led this workshop which lasted about an hour and fifteen minutes. It consisted of us running around the room, yelling lines at each other, learning about iambic pentameter, and reciting some lines from "Twelfth Night." As much as I wasn't enjoying it at the time, it was sort of cool to be in a real workshop at the Globe Theatre. Unfortunately I didn't get discovered for my outstanding acting skills.
This evening was actually sort of busy for a Monday. I went to a bigger grocery store a little ways away and found some good deals, or I hope they are good deals. I got a chance to talk to a friend from back home and then I went to a pub near Covent Gardens with Billy, Nick, Allie, and her bf Brandon. Tomorrow is back to work!
This morning was the usual with classes, but today it was sunny! I think this is the true start of London's spring/summer weather and I LOVE it. In the afternoon my theatre class took a tour of the Globe Theatre. Our tour was sort of pathetic, the guide talked for a bit outside of the theatre, mostly quizzing us on facts, and then we went into the theatre and sat while he talked for about then minutes. I did learn that the original Globe Theatre was not actually in London, but on the other side of the Thames River. This was because somethings the theatre did was not looked well upon by the Church and the majority of the people I think. Also back in the day, all kinds and classes of people went to the theatre. After our little nug tour, we were forced, yes forced to do an 'actors' workshop. Our tour guide, who was also an actor, led this workshop which lasted about an hour and fifteen minutes. It consisted of us running around the room, yelling lines at each other, learning about iambic pentameter, and reciting some lines from "Twelfth Night." As much as I wasn't enjoying it at the time, it was sort of cool to be in a real workshop at the Globe Theatre. Unfortunately I didn't get discovered for my outstanding acting skills.
This evening was actually sort of busy for a Monday. I went to a bigger grocery store a little ways away and found some good deals, or I hope they are good deals. I got a chance to talk to a friend from back home and then I went to a pub near Covent Gardens with Billy, Nick, Allie, and her bf Brandon. Tomorrow is back to work!
Sunday, 15 March 2009
Weekend in Wales: buses do not wait for people, people wait for buses.
Thursday 12th:
Today we took a train from Euston Station to Conwy, Wales. Luckily we didn’t have any issues finding the right train. The train ride was nice, I forced my dad to listen to my new ipod with me, no worries I played good oldies for him. That was my entertainment before I fell asleep. We arrived in Wales a little before 3pm. Conwy is a little town that is very cute. There is a castle with castle walls surrounding much of the town. We are staying in a little flat that has a small balcony with a view of the castle. I can also see the ocean and a river from our flat. We dropped our stuff off and went wandering around the town. We ended up eating dinner at a local fish and chips place. I think I have had my share of fish and chips and will now stick with other foods, probably hamburger. Jessica and I pretty much crashed after eating. We were extremely tired for some reason so we put in Madagascar and watched a movie in our little closet of a room. The flat has a down stairs with a living room and a kitchen and then the upstairs has a nugget room that can only fit bunk beds where Jessica and I sleep, a bathroom, and a master bedroom for my parents. Jessica soon decided she enjoyed imitating the lemur on Madagascar. She was pretty good at doing the voice, but after about the 20th time she continued to get worse.
Friday 13th:
Today we went to the Conwy Castle. It was build for more of a fort type of castle to protect people or fight off other people rather than for the royalty to live in. It was really old and cool to walk through. Apparently it wasn’t made for very tall people either because I hit my head on one of the entrances. Jessica thought it was quite funny, it wasn’t. Most of the ceiling was gone, except for a couple archways. It was sort of hard to imagine what it looked like back in the day, but I’m sure it was fancy. After wandering the castle we went to eat at a local place and then found a bus that took us to Betws y Coed. The roads are so narrow around here that it is more like a death trap when you’re on a bus. Some of the roads look more like a one way road, although many times a car will be coming right at us. The scenery was pretty, there are literally sheep everywhere. The lambs are the cutest and the bigger sheep have ugly tails. Since it was a chilly day and kind of dreary outside we wandered around Betws y Coed and decided to go to a little place for afternoon tea. Actually, we all got hot chocolate. J My mom got her fruit scone and clotted cream, which she had been wanting the whole time she has been in the U.K. We looked around in the little Welsh shops and walked along a river than ran through the town. Then we headed back to Conwy. Right now we are sitting in our living room, listening to some MJ and figuring out our day for tomorrow.
Saturday 14th:
Today we took a trip to Caernarfon which is east of Conwy just past Bangor. We took a bus on this trip, the morning bus took us all the way there which was about an hours trek. This bus ride was fairly normal compared with the bus ride we took in the afternoon. We went through many little nugget towns on the way there, and we saw lots and lots of sheep. Caernarfon is a smallish town that had more ‘townies’ than I am used to seeing. We went to the castle in the middle of town which as much bigger than the Conwy castle. It is better preserved too and had more rooms and such that we could go into. This castle is where Edward the prince of wales was crowed in 19599? At the castle we saw the cutest little boy with red curly hair. He was dressed as a Knight and was running around with his sword hitting random things. At certain times he would fall over pretending he had been wounded. No worries I took a picture as he was definitely part of our entertainment for the day.
After the castle we ate at a local pub, which was showing the Manchester United vs. Liverpool football match. We all got the bacon cheeseburgers, sound good right? Wrong. They tasted a little funny and definitely not like our Iowa beef. Anyway, after lunch we proceeded to wander around the little Welsh town, going in and out of random little shops. Many of the locals actually spoke Welsh, I understood none of it. After enough ‘shopping’ we found our bus home aka to Conwy. We hopped on the first bus that was going the general direction of Conwy, this one stopped in Bangor and then we would have to switch to a different bus. This first bus was full of local crazies. We had one woman who was talking to herself, angrily I might add, something about her daughter and how she had be pregnant for 9 months, yada, yada. There was also another man who continued to talk/annoy the bus driver and then speak in Welsh to a random girl. The third was a younger boy who was talking about how he was out on bail right now and the final man was intoxicated and his pants were falling down. Luckily the trip to Bangor was the shortest leg of our trip. We got off that bus as fast as we could and found our next one without a problem and not full of crazies.
For our last evening in Wales, we went out to eat at a pizza and pasta restaurant down the street. It was very tasty and we all ended up getting meals we enjoyed. We finished the weekend by watching Madagascar... again. Jessica has become very fond of that movie. Tomorrow we take a train back into London.
Saturday 15th:
We made it back to London safely! Today was a beautiful day. Once the Rabe's hauled their luggage to Vandon, we set out to find some lunch. We decided to grab a quick sandwich and then take it to a park to eat. All of the parks were filled with people on this lovely Sunday afternoon so there weren't many benches available. Once we saw one, we grabbed it. After eating we just wandered around Green Park and then over to Hyde Park. Some of the flowers are blooming so it is extra pretty. After my family finished packing, I took them to eat at Albert's which is a pub just down the street. It is a really cute pub and our last meal was definitely a good one. Tomorrow will be another early morning and is also my sister's birthday.
Happy Birthday Jessica!!
Today we took a train from Euston Station to Conwy, Wales. Luckily we didn’t have any issues finding the right train. The train ride was nice, I forced my dad to listen to my new ipod with me, no worries I played good oldies for him. That was my entertainment before I fell asleep. We arrived in Wales a little before 3pm. Conwy is a little town that is very cute. There is a castle with castle walls surrounding much of the town. We are staying in a little flat that has a small balcony with a view of the castle. I can also see the ocean and a river from our flat. We dropped our stuff off and went wandering around the town. We ended up eating dinner at a local fish and chips place. I think I have had my share of fish and chips and will now stick with other foods, probably hamburger. Jessica and I pretty much crashed after eating. We were extremely tired for some reason so we put in Madagascar and watched a movie in our little closet of a room. The flat has a down stairs with a living room and a kitchen and then the upstairs has a nugget room that can only fit bunk beds where Jessica and I sleep, a bathroom, and a master bedroom for my parents. Jessica soon decided she enjoyed imitating the lemur on Madagascar. She was pretty good at doing the voice, but after about the 20th time she continued to get worse.
Friday 13th:
Today we went to the Conwy Castle. It was build for more of a fort type of castle to protect people or fight off other people rather than for the royalty to live in. It was really old and cool to walk through. Apparently it wasn’t made for very tall people either because I hit my head on one of the entrances. Jessica thought it was quite funny, it wasn’t. Most of the ceiling was gone, except for a couple archways. It was sort of hard to imagine what it looked like back in the day, but I’m sure it was fancy. After wandering the castle we went to eat at a local place and then found a bus that took us to Betws y Coed. The roads are so narrow around here that it is more like a death trap when you’re on a bus. Some of the roads look more like a one way road, although many times a car will be coming right at us. The scenery was pretty, there are literally sheep everywhere. The lambs are the cutest and the bigger sheep have ugly tails. Since it was a chilly day and kind of dreary outside we wandered around Betws y Coed and decided to go to a little place for afternoon tea. Actually, we all got hot chocolate. J My mom got her fruit scone and clotted cream, which she had been wanting the whole time she has been in the U.K. We looked around in the little Welsh shops and walked along a river than ran through the town. Then we headed back to Conwy. Right now we are sitting in our living room, listening to some MJ and figuring out our day for tomorrow.
Saturday 14th:
Today we took a trip to Caernarfon which is east of Conwy just past Bangor. We took a bus on this trip, the morning bus took us all the way there which was about an hours trek. This bus ride was fairly normal compared with the bus ride we took in the afternoon. We went through many little nugget towns on the way there, and we saw lots and lots of sheep. Caernarfon is a smallish town that had more ‘townies’ than I am used to seeing. We went to the castle in the middle of town which as much bigger than the Conwy castle. It is better preserved too and had more rooms and such that we could go into. This castle is where Edward the prince of wales was crowed in 19599? At the castle we saw the cutest little boy with red curly hair. He was dressed as a Knight and was running around with his sword hitting random things. At certain times he would fall over pretending he had been wounded. No worries I took a picture as he was definitely part of our entertainment for the day.
After the castle we ate at a local pub, which was showing the Manchester United vs. Liverpool football match. We all got the bacon cheeseburgers, sound good right? Wrong. They tasted a little funny and definitely not like our Iowa beef. Anyway, after lunch we proceeded to wander around the little Welsh town, going in and out of random little shops. Many of the locals actually spoke Welsh, I understood none of it. After enough ‘shopping’ we found our bus home aka to Conwy. We hopped on the first bus that was going the general direction of Conwy, this one stopped in Bangor and then we would have to switch to a different bus. This first bus was full of local crazies. We had one woman who was talking to herself, angrily I might add, something about her daughter and how she had be pregnant for 9 months, yada, yada. There was also another man who continued to talk/annoy the bus driver and then speak in Welsh to a random girl. The third was a younger boy who was talking about how he was out on bail right now and the final man was intoxicated and his pants were falling down. Luckily the trip to Bangor was the shortest leg of our trip. We got off that bus as fast as we could and found our next one without a problem and not full of crazies.
For our last evening in Wales, we went out to eat at a pizza and pasta restaurant down the street. It was very tasty and we all ended up getting meals we enjoyed. We finished the weekend by watching Madagascar... again. Jessica has become very fond of that movie. Tomorrow we take a train back into London.
Saturday 15th:
We made it back to London safely! Today was a beautiful day. Once the Rabe's hauled their luggage to Vandon, we set out to find some lunch. We decided to grab a quick sandwich and then take it to a park to eat. All of the parks were filled with people on this lovely Sunday afternoon so there weren't many benches available. Once we saw one, we grabbed it. After eating we just wandered around Green Park and then over to Hyde Park. Some of the flowers are blooming so it is extra pretty. After my family finished packing, I took them to eat at Albert's which is a pub just down the street. It is a really cute pub and our last meal was definitely a good one. Tomorrow will be another early morning and is also my sister's birthday.
Happy Birthday Jessica!!
Wednesday, 11 March 2009
The start of Jessica's new obsession with royalty.
Today was a long day, but a good day. We started out the day taking extra clothes of ours that didn't need to make the trip to Wales to Vandon. From Vandon, we walked along St. James's Park heading to Trafalgar Square. On the way we saw a procession of guards on horses. I'm not really sure what they were doing, but it looked cool. Next we made our way to Trafalgar Square where Jessica and I did the normal climb on the lions and take a picture. Apparently the lions body is based off a great dane, and you can tell because cats don't sit like the lions are shown sitting. The face is unmistakable a lion and they are huge. After Trafalgar Square we walked to Covent Garden's. There we walked through the little market and bought some fruit. Yum. We did quite a bit of walking today, at least to the places I knew how to walk to. Note: I did not get us lost at all today or lock us out of any buildings.
Next we went to the Tower of London. Luckily it was a really nice day today, although the sun wasn't out it was moderately warm and not raining. On the way to the Tower, my mom almost got hit by a car. She claims she was just following me and I say if she was she needed to be quicker. :) We waited to take a guided tour with a 'beefeater' I don't know why they are called that and apparently they don't either. They live in the Tower of London and there are even 11 children who live there as well. I totally recommend that if you go to the Tower of London that you get a guide. You could tell our guide really enjoyed his job. He was also pretty entertaining because he would give one of the women in our group a hard time because she wouldn't stop talking. After the tour was over, we went into the tower where the prisoners were held and then to see the crown jewels. This is the point where Jessica's new obsession started. In order to try to understand the story of a King's brother who somehow (either he did or he hired someone else) suffocated the two heirs (the King's sons) to the throne. Jessica connected this with the Lion King and how Scar tried to off Simba to become King. This really does make sense if you think about it. Anyway, after the Tower of London we found a pub to get some food and then headed off to St. Paul's Cathedral. It was at the same time as their evensong service so we sat in on that and got to see a little of the inside.
After that we were pretty much ready to crash. We made a few stops on the way back, picking up some pastries at a local bakery. :) Tomorrow we will be in Wales!!
Next we went to the Tower of London. Luckily it was a really nice day today, although the sun wasn't out it was moderately warm and not raining. On the way to the Tower, my mom almost got hit by a car. She claims she was just following me and I say if she was she needed to be quicker. :) We waited to take a guided tour with a 'beefeater' I don't know why they are called that and apparently they don't either. They live in the Tower of London and there are even 11 children who live there as well. I totally recommend that if you go to the Tower of London that you get a guide. You could tell our guide really enjoyed his job. He was also pretty entertaining because he would give one of the women in our group a hard time because she wouldn't stop talking. After the tour was over, we went into the tower where the prisoners were held and then to see the crown jewels. This is the point where Jessica's new obsession started. In order to try to understand the story of a King's brother who somehow (either he did or he hired someone else) suffocated the two heirs (the King's sons) to the throne. Jessica connected this with the Lion King and how Scar tried to off Simba to become King. This really does make sense if you think about it. Anyway, after the Tower of London we found a pub to get some food and then headed off to St. Paul's Cathedral. It was at the same time as their evensong service so we sat in on that and got to see a little of the inside.
After that we were pretty much ready to crash. We made a few stops on the way back, picking up some pastries at a local bakery. :) Tomorrow we will be in Wales!!
Tuesday, 10 March 2009
Crocus is a flower, not to be mistaken for a bird
Monday:
Yesterday was a full day for my family, they went on a guided walk that ended up at the Globe Theatre, ate lunch at The Anchor pub, and then went to the Imperial War Museum. I met them after my classes. It was such a bummer to be in class when I knew my family was here, but oh well. I was almost late for class on Monday as I underestimated the time it took to get to Goodge Street from Baker Street. Whoops.
When I met up with my family, my mom and Jessica had just returned from taking an adventure to find some delicious chocolate milk shakes. The last time my mom and Jessica and I were in London two summers ago we fell in love with these chocolate milkshakes that were at Victoria Station at a little kiosk. Unfortunately they are no longer at Victoria but we found them at Bond Street. They are still as good as I remember them and I will be going back for more at some point in the semester! Yum. After our milkshakes we wandered around the neighborhood here and looked at the blue plaques that are all over on the sides of buildings representing famous people who lived on the site. It is fun to find random ones and even more fun when you recognize the name of the person. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle creator of Sherlock Holmes lived on the street where our apartment is. After that we went to eat at the Golden Hind, which I highly recommend. They get fresh fish daily and we had the best fish and chips I've had so far. My dad said he hasn't had any better fish than what we had and I'm sure he's had his share of fish. It is a very small restaurant, but tasty.
After dinner, we headed to Westminster where a group was meeting for a guided walking tour called, 'London by Gaslight.' Right when you walk up the steps to exit Westminster tube station, you see Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament. It is quite the sight. The first time I stepped out and saw them I was just amazed and now I don't even think twice. I almost forgot that it was my dad's first time seeing them. I think they are even prettier at night, so I'm glad he got to see them like that. The walk lasted about two hours and took us around the neighborhood of Westminster. The guide talked a lot about Parliament and the two sections of it -the House of Commons and the House of Lords. During daytime you can tell if Parliament is still in session by whether or not a flag is flying on the building, but at night you can tell by a light that will be toward the top of Big Ben. Big Ben is also just the name for the bell, not the bell tower. So although we talk about Big Ben all the time, really we never see it. It is one of the most accurate clocks in London and it is cracked which is the reason for its unique sound. The walk took us behind Westminster Abbey and to a really nice neighborhood where some of the members of Parliament may live because it is a good distance from the House.
After the walk we headed back to our flat and crashed.
Tuesday:
Today I was at my internship all day and my family made the trip to Leed's Castle which is about an hour from London. It is sort of between London and Canterbury and I think it may be the castle I saw out of the coach window when I was on my way back from Canterbury. Anyway, my internship was the usual. I got to talk to the speech therapist a lot so I feel like I am getting the experience I need. The only good story from the day is: one of the children bit on of the teachers, and she said "ouch that really hurt" in a British accent. I had to hold back from laughing because the only thing I could think of was "ouch Charlie, that really hurt" (also said in a British accent). I'm assuming the youtube video Charlie Bit my finger is not popular over here so I kept it too myself.
I beat my family back to the flat, but I had the keys so I was able to get in. They got back sooner than I thought and pounded on the window so I would hear to let them in. There are two doors that lock automatically to get into our apartment. The first is the one from the outside that lets you into the apartment building and the second door which is approximately 10 feet or less from the first door lets you into our actual apartment. Anyway, I let them in the door from the outside only to turn around and realize I had locked us out of the apartment with the keys inside. Whoops. I went up to the main level to use the intercom system to try to get a hold of the man who we rented the apartment from, I must have pushed the wrong one because I got a lady. The first time I couldn't really understand what she was saying and so about five minutes later I tried again and got the same lady. I proceeded to tell her how we were locked out the of apartment and she asked, "well how do you expect to get into your apartment?" and I said, "Well I was hoping you could help us with that". She was very confused and apparently she was not the person who would have extra keys but a resident of the building. Again, whoops. So I called the guy and he laughed at me as I told him the story and said he would bring the spare keys to us, but he wouldn't be back for an hour. So, we headed out to find a bookshop for Jessica and then some dinner. We ended up eating at a pub just down the street. It was a really cute pub that served only typical 'English' pub food. I had a chicken and mushroom pie, which was actually quite tasty although the name would suggest otherwise. We also tried a cherry beer which is not so tasty. It was odd because it tasted as though it would be cherry cola but with a beer after taste. We finished the night off with brownies and ice cream and planned our day for tomorrow. :)
Yesterday was a full day for my family, they went on a guided walk that ended up at the Globe Theatre, ate lunch at The Anchor pub, and then went to the Imperial War Museum. I met them after my classes. It was such a bummer to be in class when I knew my family was here, but oh well. I was almost late for class on Monday as I underestimated the time it took to get to Goodge Street from Baker Street. Whoops.
When I met up with my family, my mom and Jessica had just returned from taking an adventure to find some delicious chocolate milk shakes. The last time my mom and Jessica and I were in London two summers ago we fell in love with these chocolate milkshakes that were at Victoria Station at a little kiosk. Unfortunately they are no longer at Victoria but we found them at Bond Street. They are still as good as I remember them and I will be going back for more at some point in the semester! Yum. After our milkshakes we wandered around the neighborhood here and looked at the blue plaques that are all over on the sides of buildings representing famous people who lived on the site. It is fun to find random ones and even more fun when you recognize the name of the person. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle creator of Sherlock Holmes lived on the street where our apartment is. After that we went to eat at the Golden Hind, which I highly recommend. They get fresh fish daily and we had the best fish and chips I've had so far. My dad said he hasn't had any better fish than what we had and I'm sure he's had his share of fish. It is a very small restaurant, but tasty.
After dinner, we headed to Westminster where a group was meeting for a guided walking tour called, 'London by Gaslight.' Right when you walk up the steps to exit Westminster tube station, you see Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament. It is quite the sight. The first time I stepped out and saw them I was just amazed and now I don't even think twice. I almost forgot that it was my dad's first time seeing them. I think they are even prettier at night, so I'm glad he got to see them like that. The walk lasted about two hours and took us around the neighborhood of Westminster. The guide talked a lot about Parliament and the two sections of it -the House of Commons and the House of Lords. During daytime you can tell if Parliament is still in session by whether or not a flag is flying on the building, but at night you can tell by a light that will be toward the top of Big Ben. Big Ben is also just the name for the bell, not the bell tower. So although we talk about Big Ben all the time, really we never see it. It is one of the most accurate clocks in London and it is cracked which is the reason for its unique sound. The walk took us behind Westminster Abbey and to a really nice neighborhood where some of the members of Parliament may live because it is a good distance from the House.
After the walk we headed back to our flat and crashed.
Tuesday:
Today I was at my internship all day and my family made the trip to Leed's Castle which is about an hour from London. It is sort of between London and Canterbury and I think it may be the castle I saw out of the coach window when I was on my way back from Canterbury. Anyway, my internship was the usual. I got to talk to the speech therapist a lot so I feel like I am getting the experience I need. The only good story from the day is: one of the children bit on of the teachers, and she said "ouch that really hurt" in a British accent. I had to hold back from laughing because the only thing I could think of was "ouch Charlie, that really hurt" (also said in a British accent). I'm assuming the youtube video Charlie Bit my finger is not popular over here so I kept it too myself.
I beat my family back to the flat, but I had the keys so I was able to get in. They got back sooner than I thought and pounded on the window so I would hear to let them in. There are two doors that lock automatically to get into our apartment. The first is the one from the outside that lets you into the apartment building and the second door which is approximately 10 feet or less from the first door lets you into our actual apartment. Anyway, I let them in the door from the outside only to turn around and realize I had locked us out of the apartment with the keys inside. Whoops. I went up to the main level to use the intercom system to try to get a hold of the man who we rented the apartment from, I must have pushed the wrong one because I got a lady. The first time I couldn't really understand what she was saying and so about five minutes later I tried again and got the same lady. I proceeded to tell her how we were locked out the of apartment and she asked, "well how do you expect to get into your apartment?" and I said, "Well I was hoping you could help us with that". She was very confused and apparently she was not the person who would have extra keys but a resident of the building. Again, whoops. So I called the guy and he laughed at me as I told him the story and said he would bring the spare keys to us, but he wouldn't be back for an hour. So, we headed out to find a bookshop for Jessica and then some dinner. We ended up eating at a pub just down the street. It was a really cute pub that served only typical 'English' pub food. I had a chicken and mushroom pie, which was actually quite tasty although the name would suggest otherwise. We also tried a cherry beer which is not so tasty. It was odd because it tasted as though it would be cherry cola but with a beer after taste. We finished the night off with brownies and ice cream and planned our day for tomorrow. :)
Sunday, 8 March 2009
Family Time!
Today was the day the Rabe's arrived in London. I woke up early to meet my parents and my sister at Paddington where they would be arriving by train from the airport. I got there a little early which gave me enough time to pace the train station and get even more excited. When they arrived our reunion (which makes it sound like I've been away for ages) was full of big hugs that are probably the best ever. I love my family.
Anyway, we headed back to the underground station and to Bond Street which is the station I thought was the one I knew how to get to the apartment we would be staying from. Wrong. I needed to take them to Baker Street. Baker, Bond, don't they sound the same? Whoops. So on my family's first day in London, I got us lost. This wouldn't have been so difficult except that the street where the apartment is, is only a short block long. Meaning, most locals don't even know where it is or that it exists so they were no help when asking for directions. Luckily, we found some very nice and helpful tube worker people who helped us. Although they didn't know where the street was, they called other workers until they could help - who says Londoners aren't friendly? Anyway after what ended up being a long morning we found the apartment. I felt absolutely terrible for being such a sucky tour guide my first morning on the job.
Since my family had been up since Saturday morning at about 6:30 am they were exhausted. We took it easy the remainder of the day. We ate lunch in Regent's Park at a little cafe and made our own dinner in the apartment. The apartment is very cute and nice. My parents have a bedroom and then Jessica and I share the living room. It is bigger than I though and is a nice little place to stay for the next few days. To top the evening off we had brownies and ice cream to celebrate my dad's birthday which was in February and my sister's which is next week. Yummmmy.
Tomorrow is going to be a full day for my family and I can't wait to see them after class. Too bad I can't take the week off..
Anyway, we headed back to the underground station and to Bond Street which is the station I thought was the one I knew how to get to the apartment we would be staying from. Wrong. I needed to take them to Baker Street. Baker, Bond, don't they sound the same? Whoops. So on my family's first day in London, I got us lost. This wouldn't have been so difficult except that the street where the apartment is, is only a short block long. Meaning, most locals don't even know where it is or that it exists so they were no help when asking for directions. Luckily, we found some very nice and helpful tube worker people who helped us. Although they didn't know where the street was, they called other workers until they could help - who says Londoners aren't friendly? Anyway after what ended up being a long morning we found the apartment. I felt absolutely terrible for being such a sucky tour guide my first morning on the job.
Since my family had been up since Saturday morning at about 6:30 am they were exhausted. We took it easy the remainder of the day. We ate lunch in Regent's Park at a little cafe and made our own dinner in the apartment. The apartment is very cute and nice. My parents have a bedroom and then Jessica and I share the living room. It is bigger than I though and is a nice little place to stay for the next few days. To top the evening off we had brownies and ice cream to celebrate my dad's birthday which was in February and my sister's which is next week. Yummmmy.
Tomorrow is going to be a full day for my family and I can't wait to see them after class. Too bad I can't take the week off..
Friday, 6 March 2009
More reasons to love England
Yesterday was spent mostly with Allie trying to ignore the fact that our Internet was down and attempting to get our homework done. With my family coming on Sunday (YAY!) I want to get my papers and presentations done, so I don't have to do any homework when they are here. That went well, until I got bored of the homework idea. No worries, it will be done before Sunday.
Today, our program took a day trip to Canterbury which is about 1.5 hours away from Central London. We took a coach to Canterbury and I couldn't believe how long it took us just to get out of London. I keep being surprised by how big this city is! It made me want to just go walk until I can't walk anymore and see where I end up. Anyway, the ride to Canterbury was pretty and once we arrived we took a group tour of Canterbury Cathedral. The cathedral was really pretty, like all cathedrals are, but this one was the biggest one I have been in yet. The sun was shining so it was a really good day to see the stained-glass windows.
After the Cathedral tour, we had free time. The friends I headed exploring with ended up visiting the remains of a castle in Canterbury and then going to the top of a tower. The castle was pretty cool, although I am still waiting to see a castle like the one that I have a picture of in my head. This castle was mostly just the outer wall and a few towers that were still standing. It was fun. On our way to the other tower we walked by a place that advertised the best fish and chips. Obviously we stopped, although we opted for just the chips part and they were not lying. The chips were excellent. The tower was on the edge of town and we were able to climb the spiral staircase to the top. It gave us a good view of the town of Canterbury, the canal, and the cathedral.
All in all, I really enjoyed Canterbury. It was sunny and the people I was with were entertaining and fun. On the coach ride back, I saw a castle in the distance when we were about halfway back to London. That is one thing that I couldn't see if I was just taking an hour and a half drive in Iowa. It was way neat to see one just off the road a ways. It also made me realize how much I enjoy England. Don't get me wrong Iowa is pretty fabulous too, but they are just two opposites almost.
Today, our program took a day trip to Canterbury which is about 1.5 hours away from Central London. We took a coach to Canterbury and I couldn't believe how long it took us just to get out of London. I keep being surprised by how big this city is! It made me want to just go walk until I can't walk anymore and see where I end up. Anyway, the ride to Canterbury was pretty and once we arrived we took a group tour of Canterbury Cathedral. The cathedral was really pretty, like all cathedrals are, but this one was the biggest one I have been in yet. The sun was shining so it was a really good day to see the stained-glass windows.
After the Cathedral tour, we had free time. The friends I headed exploring with ended up visiting the remains of a castle in Canterbury and then going to the top of a tower. The castle was pretty cool, although I am still waiting to see a castle like the one that I have a picture of in my head. This castle was mostly just the outer wall and a few towers that were still standing. It was fun. On our way to the other tower we walked by a place that advertised the best fish and chips. Obviously we stopped, although we opted for just the chips part and they were not lying. The chips were excellent. The tower was on the edge of town and we were able to climb the spiral staircase to the top. It gave us a good view of the town of Canterbury, the canal, and the cathedral.
All in all, I really enjoyed Canterbury. It was sunny and the people I was with were entertaining and fun. On the coach ride back, I saw a castle in the distance when we were about halfway back to London. That is one thing that I couldn't see if I was just taking an hour and a half drive in Iowa. It was way neat to see one just off the road a ways. It also made me realize how much I enjoy England. Don't get me wrong Iowa is pretty fabulous too, but they are just two opposites almost.
Wednesday, 4 March 2009
Internships and 'Football'
Today was an overwhelming day. I worked in a new classroom today, called the Purple Class. It felt like it was my first day in the school all over again. I had just adjusted to the children in Yellow class and how I could work with them, and the children in Purple Class are on a completely different level. It is just hard trying to get to know the children quickly enough that you are helping and not just a distraction for them. It is still hard for me when I learn more about different children, the best way to describe the feeling is being overwhelmed. I just wish I had more experience and knew what I should be doing to help. I guess that is the point of my internship and I'm gaining that experience. I just need to stay as positive as the children are. I realize more and more how lucky I am.
Now for the 'good' stories from the week. On Tuesday I was in my normal classroom at my internship. I had been sent with two little boys to the soft play room where we were playing quite nicely. In this room there is a ball pit, much like the ones in Chucky Cheese. Anyway, one little boy grabbed my hand and let me over by the ball pit, accidentally when he let go of my hand he also pulled one of my rings off which then proceeded to fall in this large pit of balls. I remained calm telling myself it was only a ring and then reminding myself that I really liked that stupid ring. I attempted to search for it for a while and was unsuccessful as the balls really wouldn't move out of the way. I dug around for it with my foot and found my precious ring. I guess that will teach me to wear jewelry when working with children!
On Tuesday it was Yared's birthday so his parents came and we sand extra songs during circle time and they also brought cake. I'm not one to pass up cake so obviously I took the piece that was offered. From now on I will think twice. Although the cake looked good, looks can be deceiving. It was a cake made in an Italian bakery or shop or something and along with the fruit chunks there was definitely some form of alcohol mixed in. Although this may sound tasty, it was not. I finished the piece quickly because I didn't want to be rude although I'm sure the parents could have cared less whether I ate the cake.
Tonight was my first experience at a 'football' aka soccer match. Considering I haven't been to a whole soccer game in the U.S. and know nothing about the sport, I enjoyed it. I sat by a friend who plays soccer for Central and he was nice enough to answer my simple questions and explain the game a bit more. It was a zero-zero game until about the last two minutes, when one team finally scored. I was going to be pretty disappointed if it was a no scoring game. It was fun to see how the fans of the team who won reacted with songs and chants. There were so many of them! The match didn't get me hooked on 'football' but I'd give it another try.
Now for the 'good' stories from the week. On Tuesday I was in my normal classroom at my internship. I had been sent with two little boys to the soft play room where we were playing quite nicely. In this room there is a ball pit, much like the ones in Chucky Cheese. Anyway, one little boy grabbed my hand and let me over by the ball pit, accidentally when he let go of my hand he also pulled one of my rings off which then proceeded to fall in this large pit of balls. I remained calm telling myself it was only a ring and then reminding myself that I really liked that stupid ring. I attempted to search for it for a while and was unsuccessful as the balls really wouldn't move out of the way. I dug around for it with my foot and found my precious ring. I guess that will teach me to wear jewelry when working with children!
On Tuesday it was Yared's birthday so his parents came and we sand extra songs during circle time and they also brought cake. I'm not one to pass up cake so obviously I took the piece that was offered. From now on I will think twice. Although the cake looked good, looks can be deceiving. It was a cake made in an Italian bakery or shop or something and along with the fruit chunks there was definitely some form of alcohol mixed in. Although this may sound tasty, it was not. I finished the piece quickly because I didn't want to be rude although I'm sure the parents could have cared less whether I ate the cake.
Tonight was my first experience at a 'football' aka soccer match. Considering I haven't been to a whole soccer game in the U.S. and know nothing about the sport, I enjoyed it. I sat by a friend who plays soccer for Central and he was nice enough to answer my simple questions and explain the game a bit more. It was a zero-zero game until about the last two minutes, when one team finally scored. I was going to be pretty disappointed if it was a no scoring game. It was fun to see how the fans of the team who won reacted with songs and chants. There were so many of them! The match didn't get me hooked on 'football' but I'd give it another try.
Tuesday, 3 March 2009
A weekend in the Swiss Alps!
This is a bit overdue but....this past weekend (Feb. 26-Mar.1) a group of seven of us traveled to Switzerland. Allie, Erin, and I took the early flight, although I’m not really sure why, and arrived in Geneva, Switzerland midmorning. We spent the day lugging around our luggage and burning time before the guys met us at the airport to take the train to Interlaken. Luckily the weather was gorgeous so we were able to sit by Lake Geneva and enjoy a day in the sun. The whole lugging our bags around the town was not so much fun, but the weather and mountains in the distance definitely made up for it. Before we headed back to the airport to meet the rest of the group, we stopped at a McDonald’s for some ice cream. This was the nicest McDonald’s I have ever seen, and the menu was in French with the exception of McFlurry’s and chicken mcnuggets. The assortment of mcflurry flavors is limited over here, which I suppose is a good thing because if they had oreo mcflurrys I would get them more. Anyway this McDonalds was tricky because you needed a code to get into either bathroom aka toilet as its called in Europe, which was on the receipt. This was the first time I needed help and tried to talk to another person and she said, “no English.” It was a really weird feeling for me because I’m still in the mindset that everyone speaks English and can understand what I say, but in reality I live in my own little world because there are so many languages out there. Also, no worries I finally figured out the code for the bathroom.
The group headed to Interlaken, Switzerland that night on a three hour train ride. Since it was in the evening you couldn’t see the view from the train so most of the time was spent playing ‘name that tune’ or sleeping. When we arrived in Interlaken we were on a mission to find out hostel which is called, Funny Farm. I remember at one point during the walk looking behind me to talk to Allie and I looked up and I could barely see a mountain in light from the stars and street lights. It was ridiculous. Friday was spent in the gorgeous mountains. We even had a view of them from our balcony, talk about a good view to wake up to. Erin, Allie, Blake, Nick, and Cody decided to ski while Billy and I opted for a gondola ride up the mountain. Yes it sounds lame that I didn’t ski, but I actually had an amazing day. Billy and I got to just relax on the top of a mountain, in beautiful weather and then we climbed up to the peak of a mountain right next to the ski slope. We accidentally met up with the others who were enjoying skiing. A few of them had quite the stories about falls, mostly humorous ones such as running into snow banks or sliding down the slope on their bums. All in all it was a great day. The view was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. It felt as if I was on top of the world and that we could see for miles because it was such a clear day. Anyway, I will add pictures soon, although a picture just isn’t the same.
The next day we walked around Interlaken some more and went to a lake nearby. We ate lunch along the lake overlooking the mountains. As we were walking around I saw a poster for ‘Rabe Fest’ which was being put on by ‘radiorabe’ I obviously thought this was extremely cool so I took a picture and found some brochures in our hostel. I told my dad about it later and he told me that Rabe is pronounced ‘rabba’ in German which means black bird. Either way it’s still cool. Go Rabe’s.
After our day in Interlaken, the boys took the train back to Geneva early and Erin, Allie, and I explored a little more. We took the later train and got into Geneva Airport around 10:00pm or so. We decided it would be more economical to sleep in the airport, saving money and all. This would have been a brilliant plan if our plane left early on Sunday. Unfortunately our plane didn’t leave until 10:40am on Sunday. I spent over 12 hours in an airport. Looking back on it now, I’m glad we did it. At the time, I was not a fan. We stayed up talking and learning way too much about each other and didn’t fall asleep until about 1:30am. Note: sleeping consisted of five of us crammed onto one thin blanket on the hard and cold airport floor. We woke up around 4am due to the custodians cleaning the floor with their machine. We didn’t go back to sleep so we were up from 4 in the morning until our plane finally took off at 11:00am. As my parents said, good thing I’m young : )
I love Switzerland.
The group headed to Interlaken, Switzerland that night on a three hour train ride. Since it was in the evening you couldn’t see the view from the train so most of the time was spent playing ‘name that tune’ or sleeping. When we arrived in Interlaken we were on a mission to find out hostel which is called, Funny Farm. I remember at one point during the walk looking behind me to talk to Allie and I looked up and I could barely see a mountain in light from the stars and street lights. It was ridiculous. Friday was spent in the gorgeous mountains. We even had a view of them from our balcony, talk about a good view to wake up to. Erin, Allie, Blake, Nick, and Cody decided to ski while Billy and I opted for a gondola ride up the mountain. Yes it sounds lame that I didn’t ski, but I actually had an amazing day. Billy and I got to just relax on the top of a mountain, in beautiful weather and then we climbed up to the peak of a mountain right next to the ski slope. We accidentally met up with the others who were enjoying skiing. A few of them had quite the stories about falls, mostly humorous ones such as running into snow banks or sliding down the slope on their bums. All in all it was a great day. The view was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. It felt as if I was on top of the world and that we could see for miles because it was such a clear day. Anyway, I will add pictures soon, although a picture just isn’t the same.
The next day we walked around Interlaken some more and went to a lake nearby. We ate lunch along the lake overlooking the mountains. As we were walking around I saw a poster for ‘Rabe Fest’ which was being put on by ‘radiorabe’ I obviously thought this was extremely cool so I took a picture and found some brochures in our hostel. I told my dad about it later and he told me that Rabe is pronounced ‘rabba’ in German which means black bird. Either way it’s still cool. Go Rabe’s.
After our day in Interlaken, the boys took the train back to Geneva early and Erin, Allie, and I explored a little more. We took the later train and got into Geneva Airport around 10:00pm or so. We decided it would be more economical to sleep in the airport, saving money and all. This would have been a brilliant plan if our plane left early on Sunday. Unfortunately our plane didn’t leave until 10:40am on Sunday. I spent over 12 hours in an airport. Looking back on it now, I’m glad we did it. At the time, I was not a fan. We stayed up talking and learning way too much about each other and didn’t fall asleep until about 1:30am. Note: sleeping consisted of five of us crammed onto one thin blanket on the hard and cold airport floor. We woke up around 4am due to the custodians cleaning the floor with their machine. We didn’t go back to sleep so we were up from 4 in the morning until our plane finally took off at 11:00am. As my parents said, good thing I’m young : )
I love Switzerland.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
