Week Two in London!

Ashley’s Field Journal

1/29/12

 So week number two in London Town is complete and I love it more and more! This week was definitely hectic but incredibly exciting at the same time. It also flew by so quickly I can tell that this semester is going to fly by a lot faster than I think. Here is my past week in a nutshell:

Monday was a wonderful trip to the Globe Theater! We were able to stand on the actual stage as our tour guide told us all about the way performances are run and the history behind the theater. Unfortunately the shows for the theater do not run in the winter so we were unable to see one but the offical season starts April 26th so we are hoping we can catch a show before we leave London. It seems like such a unique experience. Though the day was cold and rainy me and my friends had a great time learning about the theater and seeing it from every angle. 

After the tour of the theater our witty tour guide brought us inside to do some "acting" which basically required us to make fun of ourselves for an hour and a half! We did some great stretches and vocal exercises along with some reading of lines and physical movements as well. It was a blast and I learned a lot about how actors and actresses prepare for their performances

I really enjoyed walking over the Millenium Bridge to get to the theater and it was definitely a must see for anyone who plans on traveling to London. 

On Tuesday I went to the theater with my class and we saw Matilda! It was phenomenal. To see little kids act and sing and dance as well as they did was unbelievable... the theater so far has been such a treat (literally)….they serve Ice Cream at intermission! There is nothing better than that!

Mrs. Trunchbull, Ms. Honey and Matilda!

My favorite character throughout the play was Mrs. Trunchbull. She was played by a man and he did was HILARIOUS and definitely the highlight of the show. On Wednesday I had my Art and Architecture class and we went to the National Portrait Gallery in Leicester Square. We saw some incredible Art from the 16th century all the way to the 20th century both painted and photographed. Wednesday night was a fun because my group and I decided to go out and well, I learned the hard way not to “Google” a place called Roxy's in a city as big as London because it could take you to the complete wrong side of town! I ended up at a bar in Borough instead of at a bar in Camden! It really wasn't that bad I just now know to check the address a little more carefully before I decide to hop on the tube.

   

Thursday was a standard day everyone had homework to catch up on and we wanted to get all of our work done before the weekend started so we could have time to do everything we wanted to. Friday we had a scheduled bus tour, which sounds somewhat cliché but it was so much fun! We got to see all of the touristy sights that everyone comes to London to see and it was an absolutely beautiful day so we lucked out with that.  Here are some of my photos from the bus tour:

We said hello to “Big Ben” (actual name: St. Stephen’s Tower)

 

The Tower Bridge! (not London Bridge)

 

Greenwich, England

I actually now feel like I am in London as weird as that sounds but after I saw Big Ben and Buckingham Palace it all started to feel very real. I am enjoying every minute and am beyond excited that I actually decided to go. I was telling my mom I cannot believe I was so close to not taking this opportunity. I am just so glad I saw the bigger picture and decided to challenge myself. I enjoy the commute to and from school and exploring all over the city on weekends. So after the bus tour on Friday my friends and I went to this bar called KOKO which used to be a theater and was converted into a bar and they played live music all night which was awesome, it was three floors and a roof top deck that looked out onto Camden so that was definitely a fun experience. On Saturday my friends Brittany and Chelsea and I got up at 9:30 and trekked to the Embankment tube station and went on a free guided walk called everything else London, which took us to some cool little spots that not very many people get to visit. What was funny is that we already knew most of the stuff the guide was saying because of our encountering London class where we learn all the history of the city and go on walks throughout. It was fun but we decided to leave early and explore another aspect of the city...Well... We went to Harrods and I followed the rule LOOK BUT DON’T TOUCH!

 

We had a great time walking around exploring everything from the puppies to Pucci!   

Today (Sunday) Brittany and Chelsea met me in Leicester Square for the Chinese New Year celebration! It was so fun walking around and eating street food and watching the performances going on around us. We walked through China town and ran smack into a flash mob, which was extremely entertaining, and then we had tea at a small cafe. There were tons and tons of people celebrating the Chinese New Year so it was fun to people watch and see all the different types of people who came to engage in the celebration.

Beautiful Decorations in the Streets of China Town!

Next weekend our groups will be taking a trip to Bath and Stonehenge, which is going to be awesome, and then the weekend after that I will be going to Brixton with my friend Brittany to stay with an Afro-Caribbean family! Our program gives us the opportunity to travel to a different part of London and stay with another home stay family for the weekend in order to experience a different culture within the city of London. My roommate Emily just came back from South hall, which is the predominantly Indian area of London, and she LOVED it. She ate and ate and ate... apparently they just feed you all of this amazing food and take you out around the area so you can see it all! Well, I am beyond excited to go because I am hoping to get some authentic Caribbean food! The women we are staying with is also a minister so she will be taking us to church on Sunday morning (I know my mom is excited about that part). 

 Week two went by WAY too fast and I am trying my hardest to hold on to every moment! The theater class is going to see The Lady Killers tonight and I heard it is quite hilarious! (yes, I used the word quite...my vocabulary is really expanding in the two weeks I have been here. So many more words to express the way I want to say something)

That is all for now…

First Week in London!

Primrose Hill/ Camden Market Excursion:

Our first walking to tour as a group was extremely interesting, overwhelming and fun all wrapped up in one. Though the Jetlag had me feeling confused and quite tired I was ready to take London by storm. My roommate Emily and I were excited and nervous to travel to Chalk Farm and start to put our sense of direction to use. Taking the Overground and the Underground for the first time and using walking directions to get to a place I had never been before was nerve-wracking but gave me a sense of excitement. I had never had the opportunity to tackle a big city on my own and have always had the question in my mind…can I do this? I have always been curious to know if I could handle the hustle and bustle of city life and would I even enjoy it? Questions such as this have been and continue to spin around in my head but I am enjoying every part of London thus far.

                            Beautiful Streets and Architecture in Chalk Farm!

Shortly after conquering the Tube and the walking directions to Chalk Farm Me and Emily arrived at Tom and Mila’s Flat for “Drinks and Bites” I felt accomplished as I walked up to the front door ten minutes before 1 O’clock, knowing that I didn’t get terribly lost on my first official day in London. I drank my first cup of Mulled Wine and enjoyed seeing the whole group together for our first meeting. It slowly started to be come more real to me that I was actually in London and that this wasn’t just a vacation. After we got through the technical details of the trip and my expectations for the semester I was on sensory overload. Tom announced he would be taking the group out for our first walking tour around Primrose Hill. Though I felt extremely touristy I whipped out my camera and started taking pictures of everything that caught my attention. We had the opportunity to walk to the top of Primrose hill and see a beautiful skyline of southern London. We took our first group picture and I got the feeling I was not only going to enjoy all of the places I was going to see but also enjoy all of the people I was with on this trip.

Our first group picture! Hopefully there are many more to come…

                                                                At the top of Primrose Hill! What a pretty sight!

After we toured Primrose Hill we made our way towards Camden Market. Before arriving in London I had been instructed to make my way to Camden Market at some point while I was in London so I was excited when Tom said that we would be walking through the Market and seeing all sides of it. He began to describe the food, jewelry and clothes! The second he said clothes, I was sold… I knew this would be a place I would be spending a lot of my time. As we got closer Tom warned us that Camden is one of the busiest places to be on the weekends and that we might be a little overwhelmed at first and well he was right. There was so much to look at and I wanted to go into every stall and experience what they all had to offer. As we walked Tom briefly told us the history behind the Market stalls and how they were used to accommodate the horses that pulled the Canal boats across the water. It was interesting to see how the metal rails had indentations in them and Tom explained that this was from the wear and tear of the ropes rubbing against the rails when the horses would pull the boats. That small fact made me realize that before the Markets were in Camden that area was used for a completely different purpose and it was fascinating to retrace the history right under my feet. 

                                         Camden Market! Lets go shopping!

I was absolutely exhausted after our first day in London and after the walking tour a few people from the group decided to meet up at a pub called Worlds End. We all thought it would be appropriate to have our first taste of Fish and Chips and so we ate, we drank some beer and really began to bond. I made it back to Alexandra Palace with Emily without any problems and which was another sigh of relief and began to get anxious about the next time I would have to navigate myself around the city.

Worlds End in Camden…Fish and Chips anyone?

So the day came to a close and I began my travel blog and my personal written journal so I don’t miss a beat while I’m here. I am loving every aspect of London thus far and excited to see what is in store for me in the weeks and months to come!

Walking Tour of Bloomsbury:

I woke up feeling extremely jetlagged but knew I had to get out of bed in order to make it to Gower Street for our orientation session. I was excited to see the infamous Gower street that I had heard so much about and was also interested to figure out my route to school for the duration of my time in London. Upon my arrival at Gower I soaked up tons of information varying from emergency contact forms to proper British etiquette. After we handled all of the paperwork at Gower, Tom took us on a walking tour of Bloomsbury so we could become more acquainted with the area. First we walked to Russell Square where we learned about how many of the parks and gardens in London were privately owned before they were open to the public. They were owned by wealthy families who lived in that particular area and normally had the parks named after them when they became public.

                                                  Russell Square!

From Russell square we walked to the British Museum. It was extremely grand and royal looking and I couldn’t begin to imagine all of the history it contained. I knew I would be spending a good amount of time there because of my Art and Architecture class but I had a feeling it would take me more than one trip to see everything inside. The design of the building was beautiful and I had really never seen a building with such a modern looking inside and such a historical and antique looking outside.

                                               The British Museum!

I enjoyed briefly looking through all of the stone structured rooms and also engaging in some people watching while we walked through the Museum. There were so many different types of people I really felt the effects of what its like to be in a global city. There were old people and young people, all different races and ethnicities and many languages being spoken. Though our tour of the Museum was brief I enjoyed getting a small taste of the history inside. Next we were able to step inside a museum with a 3D model of London.

 Although it took me a while to orient myself with where we were currently standing I was able to see how London was structured from a birds eye view. Since I am not the best with directions it was nice for me to see where the rest of the city was in comparison the where I spend most of my time. I picked out places that I wanted to visit and found myself beginning to realize how big of a city London really is. I found my legs getting more and more tired and somewhat sore as I realized I had been doing a ton of walking since I first arrived in London. Luckily our day wrapped up back at Gower and I took the commute home without any problems. London thus far has definitely been a taste of a new culture and a new environment that feels very different from home but this experience has already taught me how much more I can do on my own and how much more of a global citizen I am becoming by having the opportunity to live in London.

My Personal Experience: London Town Adventures and Findings:

This pictures depicts my first day of classes heading to Gower street from the Warren Street Station. Transportation is something I have thought about a lot since I have been in London and it is constantly on my mind. Every since I arrived in London I have been using all modes of transportation in order to get to where I need to be. Whether it be taking the tube, walking or taking the bus I am in the process of familiarizing myself with a whole new city and definitely a new way of getting from point A to point B. I am very used to just getting in my car and driving somewhere or walking out of Dean Eaton or Sykes and walking two minutes to class. The transportation portion of this experience is something that worried me from the beginning. I was worried I would never know how to get around and get terribly lost every time I attempted to go somewhere new. Thankfully this was not the case and I picked up on the transportations systems faster than I thought I would.  

I realized that there are so many different ways to get to one place and depending on what mode of transportation you take it can lead you there. I have really come to enjoy taking the Overground, the tube and the bus but there is nothing like walking around the city, it makes me feel like I can turn down any street and find something new and exciting and it’s the best feeling in the world to find your way around a new city. I enjoy using TFL and plotting out my next move and where I need to connect the dots in order to get to my destination. Walking around the city also makes me feel as though I am apart of the London culture and I honestly have never felt like that in a city before. Though I am only 45 minutes away from New York City I only spend a limited amount of hours or days there but since I have been in London investing time and effort in this place I feel apart of a larger community and it feels more comfortable then I thought it would.

This morning when I got off the Tube with Emily we decided to take a different walking route than normal and found it quite enjoyable. We stumbled upon this adorable little café and stopped in to grab a coffee before class. We both got Cappuccinos and were pleasantly surprised to look down to find two hearts made out of foam in our cups!

It’s the little things like a heart in your coffee that excites me to be in a completely different city, stepping out of the norm of my everyday life and experiencing something new. Just a small coffee put a smile on my face and made me feel that much more thankful for the experiences that I am able to have everyday while in London.

More to come soon! Stay tuned