Good evening, or if you're in the US, good afternoon :-)
London is a super posh city, if I haven't said that before. Last night I was walking with some girls to the tube station and we started talking about the differences between Americans and the British. They actually like, get dressed up to go everywhere. It makes me wonder what they wear when they're hanging around their flats on a rainy Saturday. Anyway, in an effort to fit in and not appear so "American" we've all subconsciously, I think, been trying to dress and act a bit more "British", which is actually beginning to feel a little embarrassing!
One of the girls I was with last night had put on a very classy dress and heels. She looked lovely, but still said she felt like all Brits could just look at her and know right away that she was an American. We physically look the same, so it can't be so obvious, but I have the same feeling every day. Ironically, I feel less obvious when I'm wearing my typical jeans a flip-flops, which is trademark American gear.
Today I was hanging out with a different group of UNH kids and one of the guys was saying that it must be so much easier being an American woman in England than being an American man. British men apparently love us ladies-- someone actually told me that our accent is beautiful. Ugh, I think it's gross, especially if you're from the southern east coast.
Last night a small group of us stopped at McDonalds for some late night munchies on our way home from a pub. A mixed group-- two guys, myself, and another girl. We got our food and sat down. We hadn't been there long when a friendly, chatty young British guy came over to chat with us. We were sitting down, having a good conversation about why were in London and such, and then some other, much older guys came over, who had been with the young guy that had been chatting with us. Somehow something was mentioned about good ol' G.W., the phrase "fucking Americans" was dropped by one of the men. Kelly, who was a little drunk, very happily wanted to know why they were putting "fucking" in front of "Americans"... Next thing I know one of the friends I was with grabs me and tells me to get up and leave with Kelly and wait for them outside. I don't really know what happened, except that they clearly didn't like us.
Thinking about it now, and taking into consideration what was said today about being an American guy in England, I don't think there would have been any sort of problem if it had just been a group of American girls last night. It seems like American men are pretty much a target for someone to pick a fight with, because of course, American women have such beautiful accents...
Friday, September 18, 2009
Sunday, September 13, 2009
New York is the Big Apple-- London is the Big Orchard
Tonight we went to The River Thames Festival on the banks between Tower Bridge and London Bridge, complete with music, food, vendors, and the most spectacular parade and fireworks display I've ever seen. I would love to say that we stood on Millennium Bridge and watched said fireworks with The London Eye, Big Ben, Parliament, and Westminster Abbey in the background, and I would love to describe the reflection of the fireworks in the water and all the noise that would have shook the bridge. Why can't I?
Because we were on the wrong fucking side of the bridge!
Imagine the beautiful scene which I could have just described, turn around, and imagine a rusted railroad bridge, with the fireworks behind it... Yup.
Oh well, we still had a great time. The parade was the most colorful, exciting parade I'd ever seen. It was like mardi gras, but with out all the boobies! I have no words to describe how great it was.
Yesterday about 100 students piled into two buses and took a nearly three hour drive to the city of Bath to see the Roman Bath Houses. You can check out my album on Picassa by clicking here. Once we got out of London, the drive there was beautiful. The first few pictures in the album are just of the country side, out the bus window. I have no idea where we were. There is so much empty green land out here and very few highways. I definitely like the country more than the cities. The city smells like a million different kinds of ass.
We were told that we wont live in Regent's Park again unless we're filthy rich, which is true. Hugh Grant lives somewhere next door... I'd like to stake it out. Anyway, the park is so fantastic because even though it's right in the middle of one of the largest cities in the world, it's no where near the city. People jog, walk their fluffy little dogs, read, have picnics, feed the birds... I love to sit by the lake and watch all the birds.
Sometime within the next couple days I'll put up some more pictures of the park.
Because we were on the wrong fucking side of the bridge!
Imagine the beautiful scene which I could have just described, turn around, and imagine a rusted railroad bridge, with the fireworks behind it... Yup.
Oh well, we still had a great time. The parade was the most colorful, exciting parade I'd ever seen. It was like mardi gras, but with out all the boobies! I have no words to describe how great it was.
Yesterday about 100 students piled into two buses and took a nearly three hour drive to the city of Bath to see the Roman Bath Houses. You can check out my album on Picassa by clicking here. Once we got out of London, the drive there was beautiful. The first few pictures in the album are just of the country side, out the bus window. I have no idea where we were. There is so much empty green land out here and very few highways. I definitely like the country more than the cities. The city smells like a million different kinds of ass.
We were told that we wont live in Regent's Park again unless we're filthy rich, which is true. Hugh Grant lives somewhere next door... I'd like to stake it out. Anyway, the park is so fantastic because even though it's right in the middle of one of the largest cities in the world, it's no where near the city. People jog, walk their fluffy little dogs, read, have picnics, feed the birds... I love to sit by the lake and watch all the birds.
Sometime within the next couple days I'll put up some more pictures of the park.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
BBQ turned Soiree!
I'm beginning to get a little less cranky about the food... It's still pretty bad though! I do however looooooove salmon and cream cheese sandwiches!!! Mmm'mm!
It's been pretty exciting around here. A bunch of us went out to The Sports Cafe in Picadilly last night. For 2 pound pints, we'll go anywhere! Londoners love their techno, and I'm beginning to appreciate it simply for decent (okay, good) dance music.
It's very posh here. None of the European students would wear blue jeans, a plain white T and flip flops to class, which is what I'm wearing now. Lots of tights, heels, big belts, high waisted skirts, loafers, sweater vests, and suit jackets. So yes, I feel a little out of place, but not horribly. The funny thing is that only Americans wear flip-flops, so you pretty much can always tell the American students from the European students.
There was a student "barbeque" the other day on the front lawn. Barbeque certainly wasn't the word for it. It was more like an outdoor soirée! American barbeques have burgers, beer, cole slaw... Yeah, this barbeque had all of that---including more. There was a big white tent with a gossamer ceiling, CHANDELIERS (!!!), wine, beautiful white picnic tables, astro turf on the inside of the tent. It was like a wedding, or the kind of wedding I would have, at least. Oh yeah, and the catering staff served us our food. Yes, much more classy than an American barbeque. ...I wonder if they know what a pig roast is...
I'm in the process of planning some trips with a few friends. This weekend there is a school trip to the Roman bath houses in Bath. Next weekend we're taking the bus to Liverpool to see The Beatles Museum, and what ever else we might happen to stumble across. It's about a five hour bus ride, but it's like, 5 pounds. If it's cheap, I'll do it. In a few weeks there is a school weekend pony trekking trip in Wales, so out in the country side. I'm super excited for that :-D Some people are talking about going to Greece for our semester break in October. I think I might like to go to Vienna to see the Spanish Riding School, so I may do that instead... You can also travel to Ireland fairly cheaply, so we'll see...
It's been pretty exciting around here. A bunch of us went out to The Sports Cafe in Picadilly last night. For 2 pound pints, we'll go anywhere! Londoners love their techno, and I'm beginning to appreciate it simply for decent (okay, good) dance music.
It's very posh here. None of the European students would wear blue jeans, a plain white T and flip flops to class, which is what I'm wearing now. Lots of tights, heels, big belts, high waisted skirts, loafers, sweater vests, and suit jackets. So yes, I feel a little out of place, but not horribly. The funny thing is that only Americans wear flip-flops, so you pretty much can always tell the American students from the European students.
There was a student "barbeque" the other day on the front lawn. Barbeque certainly wasn't the word for it. It was more like an outdoor soirée! American barbeques have burgers, beer, cole slaw... Yeah, this barbeque had all of that---including more. There was a big white tent with a gossamer ceiling, CHANDELIERS (!!!), wine, beautiful white picnic tables, astro turf on the inside of the tent. It was like a wedding, or the kind of wedding I would have, at least. Oh yeah, and the catering staff served us our food. Yes, much more classy than an American barbeque. ...I wonder if they know what a pig roast is...
I'm in the process of planning some trips with a few friends. This weekend there is a school trip to the Roman bath houses in Bath. Next weekend we're taking the bus to Liverpool to see The Beatles Museum, and what ever else we might happen to stumble across. It's about a five hour bus ride, but it's like, 5 pounds. If it's cheap, I'll do it. In a few weeks there is a school weekend pony trekking trip in Wales, so out in the country side. I'm super excited for that :-D Some people are talking about going to Greece for our semester break in October. I think I might like to go to Vienna to see the Spanish Riding School, so I may do that instead... You can also travel to Ireland fairly cheaply, so we'll see...
Sunday, September 6, 2009
I can't sleep. It's too cold and pillows the give us suck. So do the <200 count thread sheet (Yes. That does say "sheet", as in one. Not "sheets", as in two, which would be on most beds). The plastic mattresses suck too. And the scratchy blankets... But at least I have my stuffed piggy!!!!
....Oh no, wait. I forgot him at home.
....Oh no, wait. I forgot him at home.
Busy day
Yesterday was a very busy, exciting day. We all climbed on a red double-decker bus and took a guided tour around London. We saw everything... Tower Bridge, The Tower of London, Big Ben and Parliament, St. Josephs Cathedral (from quite a distance), The London Eye, Buckingham Palace, The Wall of London, and tons of other great places.
We got off the bus at The Tower of London, and then took a boat tour up The River Thames to Parliament. I even put my feet in the river! It was yucky though... All slimy and dirty. I had typical British fast-food for lunch-- Fish and Chips, which was pretty much a deep fried fish stick about the size of my forearm and a handful of french fries (Here, french fries are called chips, and potato chips are called crisps). The fish was the greasiest thing I had ever had in my life. It seemed like something that should be served at the redneck county fair.
We started the tour with one group of 15-20, and by the end I think we had four or five smaller groups. We can basically go wherever we want and do whatever, which is kind of fun, but also a little scary because we don't know where we are. But I guess if you don't have a plan or schedule, you can't really get lost, can you?! Anyway, after getting off the boat, two other girls and I decided to go visit Westminster Abby. Wow. We didn't go inside it because it cost about 15 pounds, which is about $30 USD. The outside was beautiful. It was so huge that I couldn't fit it in the viewfinder of my camera without standing in the middle of the street.
After that we walked to Buckingham Palace, which wasn't what I was expecting. It's pretty much a stone building with a pretty gate and gold statue. At some point we'll go see The Changing of the Guard, which happens every other day at 11:30 am.
We finished our day with dinner at the original Hard Rock Cafe on Park Lane, near Picadilly Circus. Circus is Latin for "circle", and is not referring to a spectacle of lion tamers and elephant rides under the big-top. It's essentially a much larger, more exciting Times Square. I paid ten pounds (about $15) for a chicken sandwich, but above our table was Mick Jaggers green sequined jacket... Pretty sweet.
I couldn't figure out how to put my photos from the day directly in my blog, but you can look at them through my Picassa Web Album at http://picasaweb.google.com/lmsr46/BusBoatTourOfLondon#
We got off the bus at The Tower of London, and then took a boat tour up The River Thames to Parliament. I even put my feet in the river! It was yucky though... All slimy and dirty. I had typical British fast-food for lunch-- Fish and Chips, which was pretty much a deep fried fish stick about the size of my forearm and a handful of french fries (Here, french fries are called chips, and potato chips are called crisps). The fish was the greasiest thing I had ever had in my life. It seemed like something that should be served at the redneck county fair.
We started the tour with one group of 15-20, and by the end I think we had four or five smaller groups. We can basically go wherever we want and do whatever, which is kind of fun, but also a little scary because we don't know where we are. But I guess if you don't have a plan or schedule, you can't really get lost, can you?! Anyway, after getting off the boat, two other girls and I decided to go visit Westminster Abby. Wow. We didn't go inside it because it cost about 15 pounds, which is about $30 USD. The outside was beautiful. It was so huge that I couldn't fit it in the viewfinder of my camera without standing in the middle of the street.
After that we walked to Buckingham Palace, which wasn't what I was expecting. It's pretty much a stone building with a pretty gate and gold statue. At some point we'll go see The Changing of the Guard, which happens every other day at 11:30 am.
We finished our day with dinner at the original Hard Rock Cafe on Park Lane, near Picadilly Circus. Circus is Latin for "circle", and is not referring to a spectacle of lion tamers and elephant rides under the big-top. It's essentially a much larger, more exciting Times Square. I paid ten pounds (about $15) for a chicken sandwich, but above our table was Mick Jaggers green sequined jacket... Pretty sweet.
I couldn't figure out how to put my photos from the day directly in my blog, but you can look at them through my Picassa Web Album at http://picasaweb.google.com/lmsr46/BusBoatTourOfLondon#
Thursday, September 3, 2009
I don't know when I last slept
That was a loooooong flight with really, really bad food, which made it even longer! It was either pre-cooked tortellini, a chicken thing, or beef stew... Yuck. The salad was good though! Somehow I dropped or misplaced my boarding pass before I got on the plane, so they had to print me a new one, which wasn't a big problem, but still kind of embarrassing. Six hours later we're in London. One of the other girls had booked a shuttle because she didn't want to take the train, and I was going to go with her. We couldn't find it. No one seemed to have any idea what we were talking about. Sooo we wandered around the airport for an hour or so looking for it before we decided just to head for the trains.
Anyway, this place is amazingly beautiful. We were beginning to fly over the UK just as the sun was coming up. There were tons and tons and tons of clouds and were so poufy that it made you want to run and jump in them. The countryside was gorgeous. Every pasture was some different shade of green, with some ranging into browns. They were all separated by rows of hedges. When we got to the outskirts of the cities, you could see each little house with it's perfectly rectangular yard fenced in by its own smaller line of hedges. There were no real street blocks here, which I found entertaining. It mostly seemed like there was a maze of streets and tons of dead ends!
Flying over London we could see the River Thames, Buckingham Palace, The London Eye, and Tower Bridge. I didn't take any pictures though, I didn't feel like getting my bag out of the luggage rack :-\
I went with some friends to walk in Regent's Park this afternoon, which was beautiful. There are several football (soccer) fields, ponds, an outdoor theatre... and lots of squirrels. The Queen's Garden was probably one of the most beautiful places Id ever seen. I'll put the pictures up later. It's so insane.... You just want to lay on the ground and soak it all in, which I did.
Anyway, this place is amazingly beautiful. We were beginning to fly over the UK just as the sun was coming up. There were tons and tons and tons of clouds and were so poufy that it made you want to run and jump in them. The countryside was gorgeous. Every pasture was some different shade of green, with some ranging into browns. They were all separated by rows of hedges. When we got to the outskirts of the cities, you could see each little house with it's perfectly rectangular yard fenced in by its own smaller line of hedges. There were no real street blocks here, which I found entertaining. It mostly seemed like there was a maze of streets and tons of dead ends!
Flying over London we could see the River Thames, Buckingham Palace, The London Eye, and Tower Bridge. I didn't take any pictures though, I didn't feel like getting my bag out of the luggage rack :-\
I went with some friends to walk in Regent's Park this afternoon, which was beautiful. There are several football (soccer) fields, ponds, an outdoor theatre... and lots of squirrels. The Queen's Garden was probably one of the most beautiful places Id ever seen. I'll put the pictures up later. It's so insane.... You just want to lay on the ground and soak it all in, which I did.
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