I have decided to give out awards to countries I have visited.
Best Country for Parks
And the winner is...United Kingdom. Far and away better public parks than any where I have ever been.
Best Country for Food
And the winner is...America. It has to be America. We have the best of every country.
Best Nightlife
And the winner is...France. It doesn't involve bars or clubs, but rather picnics beside the river, the lawn of the Eiffel Tower, or in parks. Not just regular picnics, but 5 course picnics. Wine is also abundant.
Nicest People
And the winner is...The South. Do I even need to explain?
Strangest People
And the winner is...Europe. Rat tails and mullets are never okay.
Best Looking Girls
And the winner is...France. Maybe it is all the fashion that draws them there? I really don't care. It works.
Gayest Men
And the winner is...France. Maybe it is the fashion that draws them there...
Best History
And the winner is...England. It is everywhere, and very well preserved.
Cleanest Cities
And the winner is...Austria. Especially Vienna's Innerstadt (The old part of the city) and almost all of Salzburg was very clean.
Best Public Transportation
And the winner is...England. London's Tubes are incredible and the taxi drivers are great too.
Best Mountains
And the winner is...Austria and Germany. The Alps, duh.
Worst dressed people
And the winner is...Austria. Jean shorts and tank tops are still a common occurrence. Need I say more?
Best Country to Open a Cigarette Stand
And the winner is...Austria. Smoking is still allowed in restaurants, and people take advantage of it.
Best Healthcare
And the winner is...England. My roommate and friend Ben fell and cut a gash above his eye, blood was everywhere. He went to the hospital and the sewed him up and all they asked was for his name. He didn't have to show ID or insurance. Oh, and it was completely free. Now I know it is socialized healthcare, and it really stinks for the doctors, but it sure was great for Ben.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
God Bless America
In my last blog post I mentioned that because Sunday was my favorite day of the trip it would get its own blog post, well here it is.
Sometime on Friday my friend Clay asked if I was interested in taking a trip to Normandy, and my response was, "Of Course". So we did a little research on the computer to find out how much tickets would cost and how to get there. Nothing on the Internet was very clear. We could find no train schedules and we didn't even know what train stop. Normandy didn't seem like a possibility. Well on Saturday night I checked again, and by checking I mean typing in "Normandy from Paris by train" on Google. This time I actually found a pretty good website. It said that the trains leave from St. Lazare every couple hours to Caen. I found this website pretty late Saturday night and immediately called the girls to see if any of them wanted to go. Three said they were in, and we set up a meeting time of 10:00 at St. Lazare.
The next morning Clay and I arrived at St. Lazare at about 9:45. We went to the information information desk and asked in a mixture of French and English how to get to Normandy. The guy informed us that we needed to get a ticket to Caen, get on another train and head to Bayeux. So we went to the ticket place and tried our best to explain the saleswoman what we wanted, and after about ten minutes we were set up. By the time we had bought our tickets the girls had arrived, so I handed them my ticket and told them to hand the people my ticket and say they wanted the same thing. The girls got there tickets without a problem. Or train didn't leave until 11:45 so we had some time to kill, so we went to go grab some breakfast. We went to cafe where once again everything was extremely expensive. Clay and I didn't feel like spending fifteen euros on breakfast so we just got toast and jam. The girls had huge breakfasts. We went back and hopped on our train and we were off for the coast. The train ride was incredible, it was through the French farm land. Nothing but green and gold fields as far as the eye could see. We arrived at Caen, and hopped on the train headed to Bayeux. The sign said the train was "retard 15" which we took to mean it was fifteen minutes slow. The train ride from Caen to Bayoux is only fifteen minutes, so in no time we were in Bayeux. Bayeux is not a very big city, in fact I would use the word dead to describe it. We saw a sign for tours of the beaches, so went and knocked on the door, but apparently there are no tours on Sunday. There was a sign with a number for a taxi so I called it, and some how through a mixture of English and French the taxi guy agreed to pick us up in five minutes. He came and we told him we wanted to go to the American Cemetery, and we were on our way. I don't know a lot about the geography of Normandy, but I am pretty sure we made about three to four laps around Bayeux before we arrived at the cemetery. It was a pretty pricey cab ride, but we were at the cemetery and the sun was shining.
The cemetery is actually owned by America, so there are American flags flying. It felt good to see Ol' Glory again. It is not just a cemetery, but also a museum and monuments. One enters on top of the hill where the Germans would have been set up, and one can look out over the English Channel and the beaches. We decided to go and see the beaches first. There is a switchback trail heading from the top to the beaches. It was much more lush and green than I expected. Once we got to the beaches I was immediately reminded of South Carolina beaches. The sand was brown and the water was murky. Still very pretty though. We took some pictures in the dunes, and then took some pictures of us standing in the water. I also picked up some rocks for paper weights. We then took about a half mile walk through the dunes and then walked back on the beach. By this time the sun was not shining and a thick fog had rolled in, but that didn't stop a few French kids from playing in the ocean. We then climbed back up the hill to the top and to the cemetery.
I hate to use the word incredible when describing a cemetery, but it was incredible. The landscaping was immaculate and the buildings were subtle. We walked amongst the tombstones for about an hour. It was foggy which added to the ominous feeling, and almost made it feel more sacred. There is a small chapel right in the middle and a statue and monument on the east end, but beside those it is nothing but tombstones, grass, and trees. After about an hour I over heard a guard saying they were about to lower flags, so we headed over to watch them lower the flags. The lowering of the flags was awesome. I was so proud to be an American. We all stood and watched for about ten minutes as someone played the trumpet and the flags were lowered. We then had to leave because the cemetery was closing, so we caught a taxi and then caught the train back to Paris. Once back in Paris we meet some friends at the Eiffel Tower and had some wine before going to bed. It was one of the best days of the trip.
Because it was Sunday no places were open to eat so the only thing I ate all day was toast and peanut M&Ms, until we got back to Paris at 9:30. I then ate an entire large pizza.
Sometime on Friday my friend Clay asked if I was interested in taking a trip to Normandy, and my response was, "Of Course". So we did a little research on the computer to find out how much tickets would cost and how to get there. Nothing on the Internet was very clear. We could find no train schedules and we didn't even know what train stop. Normandy didn't seem like a possibility. Well on Saturday night I checked again, and by checking I mean typing in "Normandy from Paris by train" on Google. This time I actually found a pretty good website. It said that the trains leave from St. Lazare every couple hours to Caen. I found this website pretty late Saturday night and immediately called the girls to see if any of them wanted to go. Three said they were in, and we set up a meeting time of 10:00 at St. Lazare.
The next morning Clay and I arrived at St. Lazare at about 9:45. We went to the information information desk and asked in a mixture of French and English how to get to Normandy. The guy informed us that we needed to get a ticket to Caen, get on another train and head to Bayeux. So we went to the ticket place and tried our best to explain the saleswoman what we wanted, and after about ten minutes we were set up. By the time we had bought our tickets the girls had arrived, so I handed them my ticket and told them to hand the people my ticket and say they wanted the same thing. The girls got there tickets without a problem. Or train didn't leave until 11:45 so we had some time to kill, so we went to go grab some breakfast. We went to cafe where once again everything was extremely expensive. Clay and I didn't feel like spending fifteen euros on breakfast so we just got toast and jam. The girls had huge breakfasts. We went back and hopped on our train and we were off for the coast. The train ride was incredible, it was through the French farm land. Nothing but green and gold fields as far as the eye could see. We arrived at Caen, and hopped on the train headed to Bayeux. The sign said the train was "retard 15" which we took to mean it was fifteen minutes slow. The train ride from Caen to Bayoux is only fifteen minutes, so in no time we were in Bayeux. Bayeux is not a very big city, in fact I would use the word dead to describe it. We saw a sign for tours of the beaches, so went and knocked on the door, but apparently there are no tours on Sunday. There was a sign with a number for a taxi so I called it, and some how through a mixture of English and French the taxi guy agreed to pick us up in five minutes. He came and we told him we wanted to go to the American Cemetery, and we were on our way. I don't know a lot about the geography of Normandy, but I am pretty sure we made about three to four laps around Bayeux before we arrived at the cemetery. It was a pretty pricey cab ride, but we were at the cemetery and the sun was shining.
The cemetery is actually owned by America, so there are American flags flying. It felt good to see Ol' Glory again. It is not just a cemetery, but also a museum and monuments. One enters on top of the hill where the Germans would have been set up, and one can look out over the English Channel and the beaches. We decided to go and see the beaches first. There is a switchback trail heading from the top to the beaches. It was much more lush and green than I expected. Once we got to the beaches I was immediately reminded of South Carolina beaches. The sand was brown and the water was murky. Still very pretty though. We took some pictures in the dunes, and then took some pictures of us standing in the water. I also picked up some rocks for paper weights. We then took about a half mile walk through the dunes and then walked back on the beach. By this time the sun was not shining and a thick fog had rolled in, but that didn't stop a few French kids from playing in the ocean. We then climbed back up the hill to the top and to the cemetery.
I hate to use the word incredible when describing a cemetery, but it was incredible. The landscaping was immaculate and the buildings were subtle. We walked amongst the tombstones for about an hour. It was foggy which added to the ominous feeling, and almost made it feel more sacred. There is a small chapel right in the middle and a statue and monument on the east end, but beside those it is nothing but tombstones, grass, and trees. After about an hour I over heard a guard saying they were about to lower flags, so we headed over to watch them lower the flags. The lowering of the flags was awesome. I was so proud to be an American. We all stood and watched for about ten minutes as someone played the trumpet and the flags were lowered. We then had to leave because the cemetery was closing, so we caught a taxi and then caught the train back to Paris. Once back in Paris we meet some friends at the Eiffel Tower and had some wine before going to bed. It was one of the best days of the trip.
Because it was Sunday no places were open to eat so the only thing I ate all day was toast and peanut M&Ms, until we got back to Paris at 9:30. I then ate an entire large pizza.
Monday, June 15, 2009
Paris and Such
I am now back in London after spending the past four days in Paris. Paris is neat, but London is way better. Don't get me wrong I had a fabulous time in Paris, but if I had to pick a city to live in/study in I would choose London. However, I did see more attractive girls in Paris. Always a plus.
Our train left London at 5:25 in the morning on Friday. We had to be at the Kings Cross/St. Pancras train station by 4:30, and it is about ten minutes away by bus. Since I have had an overall poor experience with London buses I made sure we met at 4:00 in the lobby and were at the bus stop no later than 4:10. I woke up at 3:30, or should I say got out of bed after laying there and not sleeping a wink. It is hard for me to fall asleep if I know I am only going to be able to get three hours of sleep. I guess my mind tells my body there is no point. Once I got on the train I happened to be sitting next to girl who was also from Regent's College. She was from Utah and born a Mormon, but now is an Atheist. I was planning on sleeping on the train, but she was too cool and interesting for me to fall asleep on. We spent some time talking and some time discussing the many tattoos she had on her body, including the two love sick robots on her side. We got to Paris a little before ten, and Clay and I hoped on the Metro (their subway, which is very much inferior to the Tube) and headed to our hostel. Once we got out of the Metro we tried to call our friends Ben and Ross (they had came a day earlier) to get directions, but we couldn't get in touch with them. So we pulled out our map and tried to figure out exactly where we were. As we were doing this a very well dressed older man asked, in broken English, if we were looking for a hostel. We said yes, and followed him there. The French aren't that bad. We were staying at the Aloha Hostel, no idea why Aloha. The place is a dump with a two o'clock curfew. Not that I was planning on coming home any later than two, but if I can travel between countries by myself I don't need a curfew. We checked in and then headed back out. We hadn't eaten so we went to a cafe overlooking Notre Dame, where my first meal in Paris, the most famous city in the world for cooking, was the called the Tex-Mex. A very large and far too expensive mistake. After paying too much we headed over to Notre Dame. I took some pictures, but because I was so tired the pictures are awful, I couldn't hold the camera straight. The cathedral looks like it is falling over. After checking out Notre Dame (yes, we talked to the hunchback) we headed for the Louvre. We decided not to go in, but kept walking down the Champs-Elysees, which starts at the Louvre, passes through the Tuileries Garden, and eventually ends at the Arc de Triomphe. Probably the most famous road in the world. Most of the road is just a pedestrian walkway, and very nice. Let me go ahead and say that the Arc de Triomphe is freakin' huge, and looks a lot closer than it actually is. I thought it was a mirage, it never got any closer and I just kept walking. This probably had more to do with the lack of sleep though. Once we got to the Arc, we sat on lip that goes around the base for about an hour and watched cars drive in hectic circles. Very few words were said amongst us guys during that rest period. I did call home trying to reach my parents, but instead got Jordan Woo, who reminded me they were in the Bahamas. It was strange to call home and have Jordan Woo answer, but it was also good. We then headed to the Eiffel Tower. If one gets lost trying to get to the Eiffel tower, there is not much hope for them. It can be seen from all over the city. However, like the Arc de Triomphe, it looks closer than it actually is, but unlike the Arc, the Eiffel Tower massive size is not caused by a lack of sleep. It is HUGE. Way bigger than I thought. Once we got there we took some pictures, then I promptly fell asleep in the grass at the base. My friends woke me and we went to go get dinner Once again I had a sub par meal that cost way too many Euros. We then headed back to the hostel where I fell asleep at 7:30, exhausted from walking hundreds of miles and not sleeping the night before.
The three guys sitting at the base of the Arc de Triomphe.
The next morning we went to the Louvre. If one spent eight hours a day for a month with a art major one could still not learn or see everything in the Louvre. We spent about a four hours and just saw the highlights. It would have been a much better experience if I spoke French, but beggars can't be choosers. After the Louvre we had another terrible overpriced meal. I had a ham, cheese, and stick of butter sandwich. We then went to a few parks around town. On the way back to our hostel we came across a protest. So we decided to join in. We weren't sure what we were protesting, but everybody was playing drums, blowing whistles, waving flags, and chanting. The French are only good at a few things: baguettes, wine, surrendering, and protests. I can now check off three of the four things, but surrendering...please I am an American. Later that night Clay, Ben, and I met my friend Rohan at the Eiffel Tower for a night bike tour. Rohan is a friend of mine from Auburn and he has a job this summer giving bike tours in Paris, so we went on one of his tours. It was an awesome tour. The tour lasted over four hours and we saw tons of Paris. Not all of it was on bikes though. The final hour was a boat ride up and down the Seine River. Wine was included, and I think some people forgot that they had to get back on a bike after the boat tour, because some people drank a good amount. After the tour we met some friends on the lawn of the Eiffel Tower for some wine. We then headed home.
Sunday was my favorite day. It gets its own blog post.
On Monday, we woke up and Clay and I met the girls at their hotel. We then went out to eat with the girls and had a good meal for the first time, and it was the cheapest. After the meal most of the girls went to a duty free store to buy perfume and purses, while Clay, Jordan and I went to climb the Eiffel Tower. It was raining so the lines were not very long, but I do think every school in France was taking a field trip there. Kids everywhere. we climbed the seven hundred or so steps to the second level and then took the elevator to the top. One is way up there when at the top. I wish it had been clearer so my pictures would have turned out better, but oh well. We then climbed all the way down and headed back to the hotel to pick up our luggage. Once we got down we headed to the train station to go back to London. When we got to the station the same protesters from Saturday were there. However, this time we did not join in because we wanted to clear immigration. We then got on the train and headed back to London. My temporary home.
Clay, Jordan, and myself at the top of the Eiffel Tower sticking our head out of the fence.
Our train left London at 5:25 in the morning on Friday. We had to be at the Kings Cross/St. Pancras train station by 4:30, and it is about ten minutes away by bus. Since I have had an overall poor experience with London buses I made sure we met at 4:00 in the lobby and were at the bus stop no later than 4:10. I woke up at 3:30, or should I say got out of bed after laying there and not sleeping a wink. It is hard for me to fall asleep if I know I am only going to be able to get three hours of sleep. I guess my mind tells my body there is no point. Once I got on the train I happened to be sitting next to girl who was also from Regent's College. She was from Utah and born a Mormon, but now is an Atheist. I was planning on sleeping on the train, but she was too cool and interesting for me to fall asleep on. We spent some time talking and some time discussing the many tattoos she had on her body, including the two love sick robots on her side. We got to Paris a little before ten, and Clay and I hoped on the Metro (their subway, which is very much inferior to the Tube) and headed to our hostel. Once we got out of the Metro we tried to call our friends Ben and Ross (they had came a day earlier) to get directions, but we couldn't get in touch with them. So we pulled out our map and tried to figure out exactly where we were. As we were doing this a very well dressed older man asked, in broken English, if we were looking for a hostel. We said yes, and followed him there. The French aren't that bad. We were staying at the Aloha Hostel, no idea why Aloha. The place is a dump with a two o'clock curfew. Not that I was planning on coming home any later than two, but if I can travel between countries by myself I don't need a curfew. We checked in and then headed back out. We hadn't eaten so we went to a cafe overlooking Notre Dame, where my first meal in Paris, the most famous city in the world for cooking, was the called the Tex-Mex. A very large and far too expensive mistake. After paying too much we headed over to Notre Dame. I took some pictures, but because I was so tired the pictures are awful, I couldn't hold the camera straight. The cathedral looks like it is falling over. After checking out Notre Dame (yes, we talked to the hunchback) we headed for the Louvre. We decided not to go in, but kept walking down the Champs-Elysees, which starts at the Louvre, passes through the Tuileries Garden, and eventually ends at the Arc de Triomphe. Probably the most famous road in the world. Most of the road is just a pedestrian walkway, and very nice. Let me go ahead and say that the Arc de Triomphe is freakin' huge, and looks a lot closer than it actually is. I thought it was a mirage, it never got any closer and I just kept walking. This probably had more to do with the lack of sleep though. Once we got to the Arc, we sat on lip that goes around the base for about an hour and watched cars drive in hectic circles. Very few words were said amongst us guys during that rest period. I did call home trying to reach my parents, but instead got Jordan Woo, who reminded me they were in the Bahamas. It was strange to call home and have Jordan Woo answer, but it was also good. We then headed to the Eiffel Tower. If one gets lost trying to get to the Eiffel tower, there is not much hope for them. It can be seen from all over the city. However, like the Arc de Triomphe, it looks closer than it actually is, but unlike the Arc, the Eiffel Tower massive size is not caused by a lack of sleep. It is HUGE. Way bigger than I thought. Once we got there we took some pictures, then I promptly fell asleep in the grass at the base. My friends woke me and we went to go get dinner Once again I had a sub par meal that cost way too many Euros. We then headed back to the hostel where I fell asleep at 7:30, exhausted from walking hundreds of miles and not sleeping the night before.
The three guys sitting at the base of the Arc de Triomphe.The next morning we went to the Louvre. If one spent eight hours a day for a month with a art major one could still not learn or see everything in the Louvre. We spent about a four hours and just saw the highlights. It would have been a much better experience if I spoke French, but beggars can't be choosers. After the Louvre we had another terrible overpriced meal. I had a ham, cheese, and stick of butter sandwich. We then went to a few parks around town. On the way back to our hostel we came across a protest. So we decided to join in. We weren't sure what we were protesting, but everybody was playing drums, blowing whistles, waving flags, and chanting. The French are only good at a few things: baguettes, wine, surrendering, and protests. I can now check off three of the four things, but surrendering...please I am an American. Later that night Clay, Ben, and I met my friend Rohan at the Eiffel Tower for a night bike tour. Rohan is a friend of mine from Auburn and he has a job this summer giving bike tours in Paris, so we went on one of his tours. It was an awesome tour. The tour lasted over four hours and we saw tons of Paris. Not all of it was on bikes though. The final hour was a boat ride up and down the Seine River. Wine was included, and I think some people forgot that they had to get back on a bike after the boat tour, because some people drank a good amount. After the tour we met some friends on the lawn of the Eiffel Tower for some wine. We then headed home.
Sunday was my favorite day. It gets its own blog post.
On Monday, we woke up and Clay and I met the girls at their hotel. We then went out to eat with the girls and had a good meal for the first time, and it was the cheapest. After the meal most of the girls went to a duty free store to buy perfume and purses, while Clay, Jordan and I went to climb the Eiffel Tower. It was raining so the lines were not very long, but I do think every school in France was taking a field trip there. Kids everywhere. we climbed the seven hundred or so steps to the second level and then took the elevator to the top. One is way up there when at the top. I wish it had been clearer so my pictures would have turned out better, but oh well. We then climbed all the way down and headed back to the hotel to pick up our luggage. Once we got down we headed to the train station to go back to London. When we got to the station the same protesters from Saturday were there. However, this time we did not join in because we wanted to clear immigration. We then got on the train and headed back to London. My temporary home.
Clay, Jordan, and myself at the top of the Eiffel Tower sticking our head out of the fence.
Monday, June 8, 2009
Pounds and Dollars...Lots of 'um.
Here is a perfect story of how expensive England is. I realized that today was going to be a super busy day and that I didn't have time to wash my clothes. However, I really needed to wash my clothes--same boxers for the past three days. A couple days ago I noticed a place that washed clothes for you about ten minutes from the school, so I thought I will just take my clothes there and if it cost ten or fifteen pounds it isn't too big of a deal, it will cost me five pounds to wash them at the school. Plus, folding clothes is my least favorite chore in the world so it would be nice to have someone else do that for me. I crammed all my clothes, I have way more clothes than I thought, into my laundry bag and took off through the streets of London with my laundry bag over my shoulder like Santa Claus. The walk is about a ten minute walk, but it is a very nice walk, part of it is through the park. I got to the cleaners and set my bag on the counter and the little Chinese woman told me she would have them ready on Friday. Friday? It takes four days to wash two loads? These better be the best washing machines in the world, ones that never wrinkle my dress shirts, press my pants, fold my socks, and make everything smell like heaven. Literally heaven. Then I remembered I am going to be in Paris on Friday and that I would need them sooner. I finally got her down to Wednesday, still two days, but better. She then rang it up and informed me it cost 44.20. What? 44 pounds? That is 70 dollars! I looked at her and simply said, "Never mind" and walked, Santa Claus style, through London back to wash my own clothes. I guess that is what you get for being lazy.
70 Dollars!
70 Dollars!
Sunday, June 7, 2009
List Number Three
Here is another list of anecdotes, things I have learned, and other things I deem worthy.
-I still hate clubs. Anything with music playing so loud one can't carry on a conversation is a club. London is full of them and I have yet to have an enjoyable experience at one. They are perfect places for people with zero social skills to hang out. No talking required and manners are thrown out too. Just sit, drink, and bounce around. Plus, clubs can have covers as high as fifteen pounds--almost twenty-five dollars. Awful.
-Pubs are wonderful. They don't play overly loud music and the casual setting encourages conversation. The food is good and of course the drinks are good too. My favorite pub is The Volunteer. The Volunteer has a friendly staff, the best food I have had in London (their Sunday roasts are unbelievable), the drinks are not overpriced, great atmosphere, and board games. Yes, board games. Last night the guys went and enjoyed a few drinks and played Trivial Pursuit for a couple hours. A great time was had by all. Oh and my favorite part of all is pubs close at midnight, meaning one gets in bed at a reasonable hour. Why can't every where close at midnight?
-We played Trivial Pursuit Genus Edition and the UK version at that. I probably batted about .100. So hard. Here is sample question: What is a humuhumunukunukuapuaa, one of the official symbols of Hawai'i? I did not make that up. Not only do you have to be a genus to answer the questions, but also to read them.
-It has been a true blessing getting to meet people from all over. I have had legitimate conversations with people from Germany, Hong Kong, Australia, France, Tajikistan, Austria, England, Serbia, Canada, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, India, and the North. They make me feel so dumb for not being fluent in at least one other language.
-The key to taking good pictures is...take thousands with a good camera. Chances are at least ten will be worth looking at later.
-There are eight different types of coins. Way too many. You can hear me coming from miles away. Cling clang cling clang cling clang. It took awhile to get used to coin money that is actually valuable. I had to constantly remind myself that at times I had about fifteen dollars worth of change in my pocket, and that I shouldn't just throw it on my desk and forget about it.
-It is still cold here. Yesterday I don't think it reached 55 degrees here and it can be cloudy for long periods of time.
-I am starting to feel like a local, at least a little. Today I took the tube to church and then walked about a mile back after church and not once did feel lost or out of place, I didn't even use my handy map. There have been times when I have walked all over the city by myself and even eaten by myself. True signs of a non-tourist. The other day I gave directions to a actually tourist. Yeah.
-Everyone needs friends like Dana White and Lindsay Patton--friends that keep things from getting too serious. There is never a dull moment when those two are around...
This upcoming week is going to be my most busy as far as school work goes. I have two papers due and a lot of reading, but then this weekend I head to Paris. I just checked the weather for Paris and it looks perfect--mid 70's and not a cloud in the sky. We should have fun. Well it is Sunday, so off to The Volunteer for a Sunday Roast.
-I still hate clubs. Anything with music playing so loud one can't carry on a conversation is a club. London is full of them and I have yet to have an enjoyable experience at one. They are perfect places for people with zero social skills to hang out. No talking required and manners are thrown out too. Just sit, drink, and bounce around. Plus, clubs can have covers as high as fifteen pounds--almost twenty-five dollars. Awful.
-Pubs are wonderful. They don't play overly loud music and the casual setting encourages conversation. The food is good and of course the drinks are good too. My favorite pub is The Volunteer. The Volunteer has a friendly staff, the best food I have had in London (their Sunday roasts are unbelievable), the drinks are not overpriced, great atmosphere, and board games. Yes, board games. Last night the guys went and enjoyed a few drinks and played Trivial Pursuit for a couple hours. A great time was had by all. Oh and my favorite part of all is pubs close at midnight, meaning one gets in bed at a reasonable hour. Why can't every where close at midnight?
-We played Trivial Pursuit Genus Edition and the UK version at that. I probably batted about .100. So hard. Here is sample question: What is a humuhumunukunukuapuaa, one of the official symbols of Hawai'i? I did not make that up. Not only do you have to be a genus to answer the questions, but also to read them.
-It has been a true blessing getting to meet people from all over. I have had legitimate conversations with people from Germany, Hong Kong, Australia, France, Tajikistan, Austria, England, Serbia, Canada, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, India, and the North. They make me feel so dumb for not being fluent in at least one other language.
-The key to taking good pictures is...take thousands with a good camera. Chances are at least ten will be worth looking at later.
-There are eight different types of coins. Way too many. You can hear me coming from miles away. Cling clang cling clang cling clang. It took awhile to get used to coin money that is actually valuable. I had to constantly remind myself that at times I had about fifteen dollars worth of change in my pocket, and that I shouldn't just throw it on my desk and forget about it.
-It is still cold here. Yesterday I don't think it reached 55 degrees here and it can be cloudy for long periods of time.
-I am starting to feel like a local, at least a little. Today I took the tube to church and then walked about a mile back after church and not once did feel lost or out of place, I didn't even use my handy map. There have been times when I have walked all over the city by myself and even eaten by myself. True signs of a non-tourist. The other day I gave directions to a actually tourist. Yeah.
-Everyone needs friends like Dana White and Lindsay Patton--friends that keep things from getting too serious. There is never a dull moment when those two are around...
This upcoming week is going to be my most busy as far as school work goes. I have two papers due and a lot of reading, but then this weekend I head to Paris. I just checked the weather for Paris and it looks perfect--mid 70's and not a cloud in the sky. We should have fun. Well it is Sunday, so off to The Volunteer for a Sunday Roast.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Bertolet and Team Take a Bath
Like every week so far this past week has been incredibly busy. In school alone I had a paper, a test, and had to read Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. I loved Pride and Prejudice. Call me what ever you want for enjoying a "girl book", but it is a good book. At first I thought I was going to hate the book because Mrs. Bennett and the little Bennett girls would never shut up, but once I realized that they were supposed to get on your nerves and they would make you like Elizabeth, Jane, the Gardiners, Mr. Bennett, Mr. Darcy, and Mr. Bingley all the more I understood why Austen made them so annoying. It was also pretty neat to be able to see where Jane Austen lived in Bath and see her tomb in Winchester Cathedral. It makes learning much more hands on and enjoyable.
This past weekend I did some serious traveling throughout England. On Friday, we went to Warwick to see Warwick Castle. Warwick Castle is incredible, but the lame Renaissance Festival going on inside the castle was not incredible. We knew we were in trouble when the signs outside of the castle were claiming that Warwick Castle was "the number one family attraction in England", and that it was possible to buy season passes. Season passes are great if you are going to Six Flags or White Water, but not that great for a castle built in 1068. There was a guy spitting fire, a extremely cheesy joust (think medieval times meets WCW wrestling), an exhibit showing the torture devices used in Warwick, and a falconry exhibit which made my want to chant War Eagle every time the bird landed on the arm of the trainer. That doesn't sound that bad, but think of that with about a thousand other people and the majority of those people are toddlers dressed up in knight outfits crying and waving plastic swords. It became old quickly. The one redeeming factor was the train ride. Warwick is Northwest of London, almost to Birmingham, and it was the most beautiful countryside I have ever seen. I must have seen a billion sheep and cows.
The next day, on Saturday, we went by train to Salisbury and Stonehenge. Stonehenge is one of those things that I am glad I have done, but have no real desire to do again. It does boggle one's mind to think how people 5,000 years ago could move such massive rocks, especially from as far away as Wales, but all one can really do is look and take some pictures. We took some pictures and decided that it was indeed done by aliens then headed to the town of Salisbury. Salisbury sits on the Salisbury plain, it looks like the Midwest, so very flat. It was beautiful though. Nothing but green pastures, hedges, fields of gold flowers, streams, and sheep. Salisbury is a very neat old town, and the cathedral has the tallest church spire in Britain. Salisbury used to be very important and was the place where Magna Carta was signed. Magna Carta (the great charter in Latin) was a document signed in 1215 by King John of England and the barons. The Magna Carta basically said the king couldn't do anything he wanted and that he was not above the law. It also laid the groundwork for trail by jury and habeas corpus (an appeal against unlawful imprisonment). It is the founding document of democracy in the English speaking world. Inside the cathedral is one of four remaining copies and the best preserved at that. Pretty neat.
Saturday was my roommate and friend Ben's birthday, so that night we decided we were going to have a Euro Trash Bash. We went to a couple stores and bought some cheap European clothes: tight pants, bright and tight shirts, fake glasses, and hair gel. I also shaved a moustache and chops (I still have them). About fifteen of us went out to some North African restaurant and had a surprisingly good meal. By the time we were done with our meal it was 11:00 and so we set of to find a Euro Trash club, one with a lot of techno. Remembering my last experience with a club as soon as it was midnight I took off so I could catch the tube home and wouldn't have to walk home like everybody else did.
This past weekend I did some serious traveling throughout England. On Friday, we went to Warwick to see Warwick Castle. Warwick Castle is incredible, but the lame Renaissance Festival going on inside the castle was not incredible. We knew we were in trouble when the signs outside of the castle were claiming that Warwick Castle was "the number one family attraction in England", and that it was possible to buy season passes. Season passes are great if you are going to Six Flags or White Water, but not that great for a castle built in 1068. There was a guy spitting fire, a extremely cheesy joust (think medieval times meets WCW wrestling), an exhibit showing the torture devices used in Warwick, and a falconry exhibit which made my want to chant War Eagle every time the bird landed on the arm of the trainer. That doesn't sound that bad, but think of that with about a thousand other people and the majority of those people are toddlers dressed up in knight outfits crying and waving plastic swords. It became old quickly. The one redeeming factor was the train ride. Warwick is Northwest of London, almost to Birmingham, and it was the most beautiful countryside I have ever seen. I must have seen a billion sheep and cows.
The next day, on Saturday, we went by train to Salisbury and Stonehenge. Stonehenge is one of those things that I am glad I have done, but have no real desire to do again. It does boggle one's mind to think how people 5,000 years ago could move such massive rocks, especially from as far away as Wales, but all one can really do is look and take some pictures. We took some pictures and decided that it was indeed done by aliens then headed to the town of Salisbury. Salisbury sits on the Salisbury plain, it looks like the Midwest, so very flat. It was beautiful though. Nothing but green pastures, hedges, fields of gold flowers, streams, and sheep. Salisbury is a very neat old town, and the cathedral has the tallest church spire in Britain. Salisbury used to be very important and was the place where Magna Carta was signed. Magna Carta (the great charter in Latin) was a document signed in 1215 by King John of England and the barons. The Magna Carta basically said the king couldn't do anything he wanted and that he was not above the law. It also laid the groundwork for trail by jury and habeas corpus (an appeal against unlawful imprisonment). It is the founding document of democracy in the English speaking world. Inside the cathedral is one of four remaining copies and the best preserved at that. Pretty neat.
Saturday was my roommate and friend Ben's birthday, so that night we decided we were going to have a Euro Trash Bash. We went to a couple stores and bought some cheap European clothes: tight pants, bright and tight shirts, fake glasses, and hair gel. I also shaved a moustache and chops (I still have them). About fifteen of us went out to some North African restaurant and had a surprisingly good meal. By the time we were done with our meal it was 11:00 and so we set of to find a Euro Trash club, one with a lot of techno. Remembering my last experience with a club as soon as it was midnight I took off so I could catch the tube home and wouldn't have to walk home like everybody else did.
On Sunday we went to take the waters, or that is what we would have said if it were 1700 and we were going to Bath. Bath is known for its hot springs and its baths. As early as the first century the Romans had built baths there. To this day you can still see the Roman baths. They are pretty incredible. There is not much difference between a modern spa and the Roman baths. They had steam rooms, saunas, hot baths, warm baths, and cold baths. There were even people available to give massages. After seeing the Roman baths we walked around Bath and saw all the sights, including Jane Austen's house. We then headed home to get ready for another long week of school.
Remember to check out my Flickr page for more Pictures!
Remember to check out my Flickr page for more Pictures!Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Pictures
I have just figured out how to post pictures and videos on my blog, which is great because it gives you a face for my silly writings, but if you want to see more go to my Flickr page. The address is http://www.flickr.com/photos/38508554@N08/sets/
Monday, May 25, 2009
Vienna, Salzberg, Germany, and Tajikistan
"So here we are, four American college kids in the cheapest suits imaginable with a very small man from Tajikistan, who is also the sleepiest person in the world, sitting on the seventh row of a Mozart concert in Vienna."
I am on a roll when it comes to blogging, my third in five days.
I am back in London. No more Austria for me, at least for a little while. This past weekend has been one of the best weekends I can remember. We never stopped doing things. I haven't even slept. Over the past two nights I have probably gotten five to six hours of sleep in total. Go. Go. Go.
Saturday morning we decided to get a late start, because we were so tired from walking all through Vienna on Friday. We met at 10:00 and and got some breakfast. In Vienna, it is still legal to smoke in restaurants, so we enjoyed a healthy dose of second hand smoke with our eggs and coffee. We then went to the Hundertwasser's apartments. Hundertwasser is the Picasso of architecture. The building is wacky. No straight lines and crazy colors. There is cafe on the balcony of the apartments, so we got some coffee there. We then decided to go see the Danube, because it is a major river in Europe and I had to memorize it in eighth grade World Cultures. We decided to go through Prater Park on our way to the river. Prater Park is a beautiful natural park with meadows, walking trails, bike trails, woods, and an amusement park. That's right an amusement park, actually it was half amusement park and half carnival. It was a very strange experience to go from walking in the woods to suddenly being in an amusement park. People were everywhere, and like most places in Europe techno music was blaring. They had an American themed bumper cars ride complete with Uncle Sam, eighteen wheelers, Confederate flags, girls in bikinis, and state names. Pretty much everything that is America. Then we saw it--The Boomerang. A roller coaster that went backwards and forwards. Of course we rode it. Actually by most American amusement park standards it was a pretty lame roller coaster, but by Austrian standards it was awesome. From there we went to the Kunsthistorisches Museum, an art and history museum. It was one of the best museums I have ever been to. It had extensive collections of Mesopotamian, Egyptian, Greek and Roman artifacts, but the most impressive was the art. They had works from some of the best ever, including Titian, Veronese, Raphael, Rembrandt, Durer, Rubens, Bruegel, Van Der Weyden, and Van Eyck. Those are just the people I remember from art history class. I am sure that a more informed person would have enjoyed it even more than me. We then headed home to rest up before the Mozart concert.
While at home we met the most interesting person. His name was Farzod, but we called him Oddjob, because he was small and we couldn't really understand what he said when he first introduced himself. He was from Tajikistan, and he didn't speak English very well. Here are some sample conversations between Farzod and myself:
Farzod: What is your name?
Me: Joe
F: Jim?
M: No, Joe.
F: Jim?
M: No JOOOEE
F: Jim?
M: Yes, Jim.
F: Oh, ok, I am Farzod.
Me: Oh, cool, you are from Tajikistan. I have never met anyone from Tajikistan. I know it is by Afghanistan and China, but what is it like?
Farzod: It is between Russia and Afghanistan.
M: Oh, ok, but what is it like?
F: No, no, no it is between Russia and Afghanistan.
M: Oh, well, I am from America.
F: Oh, the land of dreams.
All of us: Yeah, I guess you could say that.
Me: Farzod, I am going home to go to sleep. Goodnight.
Farzod: Huh?
M: I am going to sleep.
F: NO! I sleep here.
M: Ok.
F: Keeps pointing at his bed.
M: Goodbye, Farzod.
F: He gets up and shakes my hand.
I am not making those up. I couldn't they are too good.
When we first met Farzod we thought he was really into partying, but we were wrong. We came to this assumption because every time we saw him he was sleeping. We would wake up in the morning, and he would be sleeping. We would come home in the middle of the day, and he would be sleeping. We would get back at night, and he would be sleeping. The boy could sleep. Our only conclusions was that he was going out and staying out all night long and then sleeping all day. When we finally got up the nerve to ask him why he slept so much he said that he had been working the night shift at the hospital and that he was in Vienna training to be a doctor. We felt dumb. However, he did sleep on average at least fifteen hours a day. He was always asleep. Well after our long discussion with Farzod, we had to get dressed to go to the concert. The attire was dressy so I had bought a 25 pound suit from Primart--their version of JC Penny. The suit actually doesn't look that bad. As we were about to leave Farzod came and asked if he could come too. None of us had the heart to tell him no, but we told him how much it cost and that it might be sold out. He didn't understand any of it. He got dressed in jeans, corduroy blazer, and a tie but because he is so short he had to tuck the back skinny part into his dress shirt, like a kid when he wears his Dad's tie. We took the subways over to the concert and went inside to pick up our tickets and for Farzod to buy a ticket. Tickets cost 25 Euros with a student ID. Farzod could not afford a ticket, so we all pooled our money and bought him a ticket. I think the ticket lady was so impressed by our kindness that she gave us 80 euro tickets, even though we only bought 40 euro tickets. We were on the seventh row. So here we are, four American college kids in the cheapest suits imaginable with a very small man from Tajikistan, who is also the sleepiest person in the world, sitting on the seventh row of a Mozart concert in Vienna. It was like the Beverly Hillbillies at the opera. As soon as the music started Farzod feel asleep--like always. At first the only reason I went was to say that I had seen Mozart in Vienna, but I must admit I actually enjoyed it. After the concert we all went home and went to bed because we had to be up at the crack of dawn to catch a train to Salzburg.
The next morning we were up at 4:00 to catch our 6:55 flight back to England. Both Airports were a breeze and we where back at Regents College by noon. It was an incredible weekend, but I am very tired, so I must go.
Friday, May 22, 2009
Another List
Hear is another list of things I have learned, but this is the German model, the BMW if you will.
-People in Austria speak English very well, they just don't like to. I bought some soap today from an Austrian style CVS and went to check out when the lady behind the counter barked something at me in German. I gave the universal sign of confusion--elbows bent, hands shoulder height, palms facing the sky, and slight tilt of my head. Her eyebrows furrowed, she rolled her eyes and smugly said "Do you want a bag?" She had no accent.
-Vienna is beautiful. A very new city by European standards, very little dates before the 17th century. This is due mainly to the fact that the Ottoman Empire was always a very real threat. Then when the Ottomans started to decline and the Hapsburgs made Vienna their capital the city flourished.
-Vienna is very laid back. Lots of outdoor cafes and plazas for sitting and eating.
-The Danube is swift and dirty.
-London has exponentially more pigeons.
-Vienna is considered by many as the furthest east major Western city (I wish I could word that better). This idea even dates back to the Romans. It has a very different feel than any other European city I have been to.
-Having a glass of wine at an Italian restaurant in the middle of a plaza over looking a baroque style church feels good.
-German street signs always appear as if they are yelling at you.
-People at hostels are much too happy. I walked in my hostel and people from about a thousand different nations were sitting around listing to Bob Dylan, sharing instruments (bongos, guitars, and ukuleles), drinking beer, laughing, and telling stories. I felt like I was in some uber cheesy utopia.
-I want to be miles away if bongos are being passed around, because most people can't play so they end up playing the same beat. BOOM BOOM BOOM TAP BOOM BOOM BOOM TAP BOOM BOOM BOOM TAP drum roll.
-People love to make fun of America. They do this as they sit around listening to their iPods, playing on their Mac Books, wearing an entire outfit of Nike gear, and drinking a coke. You can't have your cake and eat it too.
Okay, so here are two quick stories from today, my first full day in Austria.
-We met a Dutch girl named Claudia, very attractive and spoke very good English, but she hated America. She said she never wanted to go to America because she was afraid of running into George W. Bush..... Yeah, just randomly running into W. As we all know, Bush is so bored and confused by his lack of power that he has been wondering the streets of major American cities since January. Watch out.
-We went to the Austrian natural history museum and came across one of those large plywood things with some painting on the front and holes cut out where the peoples faces used to be so that you can stick your face in the painting. Most of the time these things are at carnivals and the painting is of a gorilla and girl in a bikini pinching the gorilla's nipple. This one was of a Renaissance painting and the heads of four people had been cut out. Since there are four guys on our trip we decided to get our picture taken in it. Clay went and asked someone that worked at the museum to take the picture. The guy he picked didn't speak any English. I handed him my camera and pointed to the button and then went and got in the picture. He stood all the way against the opposite wall and took the picture. I got my camera back and looked at the picture and I couldn't even see our faces, because he was so far away. So I asked him to take it again and showed him where I thought he should stand. He must of thought that I was asking to take his picture because he promptly walked around the back and stuck his face though. All the other guys left the room because they were laughing so hard. So here I am with this German speaking museum worker and his head is sticking out of a Renaissance painting. I quickly took the picture and left before I fell on the floor of laughter. It is the funniest picture I have ever seen. He never once smiled.
So as I was typing this a guy and girl walked in made up two separate beds then turned the lights and crawled in the same bed. These are little beds too. I swear if I am woken up in the middle of the night. I might punch someone...or tell on them. Not sure.
Well tomorrow we have another full day in Vienna, but then on Sunday we take the train to Salzburg, Austria. If you have never seen pictures of Salzburg I implore you to Google them. Think Sound of Music.
-People in Austria speak English very well, they just don't like to. I bought some soap today from an Austrian style CVS and went to check out when the lady behind the counter barked something at me in German. I gave the universal sign of confusion--elbows bent, hands shoulder height, palms facing the sky, and slight tilt of my head. Her eyebrows furrowed, she rolled her eyes and smugly said "Do you want a bag?" She had no accent.
-Vienna is beautiful. A very new city by European standards, very little dates before the 17th century. This is due mainly to the fact that the Ottoman Empire was always a very real threat. Then when the Ottomans started to decline and the Hapsburgs made Vienna their capital the city flourished.
-Vienna is very laid back. Lots of outdoor cafes and plazas for sitting and eating.
-The Danube is swift and dirty.
-London has exponentially more pigeons.
-Vienna is considered by many as the furthest east major Western city (I wish I could word that better). This idea even dates back to the Romans. It has a very different feel than any other European city I have been to.
-Having a glass of wine at an Italian restaurant in the middle of a plaza over looking a baroque style church feels good.
-German street signs always appear as if they are yelling at you.
-People at hostels are much too happy. I walked in my hostel and people from about a thousand different nations were sitting around listing to Bob Dylan, sharing instruments (bongos, guitars, and ukuleles), drinking beer, laughing, and telling stories. I felt like I was in some uber cheesy utopia.
-I want to be miles away if bongos are being passed around, because most people can't play so they end up playing the same beat. BOOM BOOM BOOM TAP BOOM BOOM BOOM TAP BOOM BOOM BOOM TAP drum roll.
-People love to make fun of America. They do this as they sit around listening to their iPods, playing on their Mac Books, wearing an entire outfit of Nike gear, and drinking a coke. You can't have your cake and eat it too.
Okay, so here are two quick stories from today, my first full day in Austria.
-We met a Dutch girl named Claudia, very attractive and spoke very good English, but she hated America. She said she never wanted to go to America because she was afraid of running into George W. Bush..... Yeah, just randomly running into W. As we all know, Bush is so bored and confused by his lack of power that he has been wondering the streets of major American cities since January. Watch out.
-We went to the Austrian natural history museum and came across one of those large plywood things with some painting on the front and holes cut out where the peoples faces used to be so that you can stick your face in the painting. Most of the time these things are at carnivals and the painting is of a gorilla and girl in a bikini pinching the gorilla's nipple. This one was of a Renaissance painting and the heads of four people had been cut out. Since there are four guys on our trip we decided to get our picture taken in it. Clay went and asked someone that worked at the museum to take the picture. The guy he picked didn't speak any English. I handed him my camera and pointed to the button and then went and got in the picture. He stood all the way against the opposite wall and took the picture. I got my camera back and looked at the picture and I couldn't even see our faces, because he was so far away. So I asked him to take it again and showed him where I thought he should stand. He must of thought that I was asking to take his picture because he promptly walked around the back and stuck his face though. All the other guys left the room because they were laughing so hard. So here I am with this German speaking museum worker and his head is sticking out of a Renaissance painting. I quickly took the picture and left before I fell on the floor of laughter. It is the funniest picture I have ever seen. He never once smiled.
So as I was typing this a guy and girl walked in made up two separate beds then turned the lights and crawled in the same bed. These are little beds too. I swear if I am woken up in the middle of the night. I might punch someone...or tell on them. Not sure.
Well tomorrow we have another full day in Vienna, but then on Sunday we take the train to Salzburg, Austria. If you have never seen pictures of Salzburg I implore you to Google them. Think Sound of Music.
Books, Buses, and Babes...okay babes is pushing it, but the alliteration is awesome.
5-21-09 12:20 AM
It has been almost a week since my last post, and I am sorry about not keeping ya’ll up to date. This lack of blogging is caused by my hectic schedule, not by my forgetfulness. I promise. It has been such a long time I am having trouble remembering what all I have done since my last post.
Last Saturday the entire Auburn class went to Canterbury, the home of the Archduke of Canterbury, the head of the Anglican Church, and also the destination of the pilgrims in The Canterbury Tales. We went to Canterbury because our teacher is obsessed with Chaucer, lets just say he wears a Canterbury Tales neck tie on a regular basis. Canterbury is about an hour and half from London and it was a beautiful train ride through the countryside. Once one is out of London it becomes rural quickly. We toured the cathedral and the city for about 4 or 5 hours. Canterbury is very small and very lovely, a stream runs through the middle of it, and the stream is full of trout. The guys walked through a park where we saw two strange looking teenagers walking their ferrets. Actually they were dragging their ferrets, we could hear the ferrets claws scratching against the asphalt as their “masters” pulled them along. Ferrets are dumb pets.
Once we got back to London we decided to go out to a local pub called The Volunteer. I had a great time there, then made the worst decision I have made on the entire trip. I agreed to go to Piccadilly Circus and try and find a place that stayed open a little later. The tubes close at midnight so we had to take a bus. We waited for about fifteen minutes at the bus stop and during that waiting we lost half of our crowd. They decided they were too tired. In hindsight I was too tired too. It was now just me and four girls: one girl from University of Florida, one from LSU, one from the University of South Carolina, and one from a small school in Wisconsin. We finally got on a bus and made it to Piccadilly Circus and went to a place called Club Storm. I hate Club Storm. Club Storm is one of those places that you hear exist in Europe, but you aren’t really sure if they are as bad as they sound. They are worse. Techno music was screaming out of the speakers and half the people were making out on the dance floor and the other half were strange looking men with mullets. We stayed for about an hour and left at 1:45. On the way out the girl from South Carolina saw a friend from USC and of course she joined in on our party. We are now a party of six, really only two because four of the girls are drunk. We walk around for about an hour trying to find a bus station with a bus that will take us home. We can’t. Well the whole time was not searching, we (myself and the girl from LSU) also spent some of the time making sure the girls kept their shoes on and telling them it was not a good time for pizza. Finally, I hailed a cab and we all piled in, the problem is London cabs only hold five. I got out and told the Cabbie to take the girls to Regent’s Park. He says okay and starts to pull away when the door opens and Hope, the girl from LSU, gets out and says she is staying with me. I am a little upset, but Hope is by far the most level headed out of all the other girls, so I finally give in. We walk around for about another hour and finally find the right bus stop. We get on the bus and start heading home. Hope and I are just sitting on the bus and talking when I notice that I don’t recognize anything anymore. I get up and ask the bus driver who informs me that we missed our stop about ten minutes ago. Who know you had to tell the bus driver to stop at your station? She stops the bus and Hope and I cross the street to the other bus stop and wait for the bus to come back by. We are in northwest London all by ourselves, except for these four German guys waiting at the stop and throwing full Heinekens in the road so cars run over them. After about twenty minutes another bus picks us up and we make it back to Regent’s Park. We walked back to the school at 4:45 as bird were chirping and the sun was coming up.
The next morning I woke up after very little sleep and went to All Souls Church. It was a wonderful service and sermon. It was an expository sermon, which are always okay with me. The church was extremely international, there were almost as many Asians as white people. I went to bed very early Sunday night.
The next day I meet up with Camilla and some of the other Auburn folks and had a great time hanging out with them. Then on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday I was doing school work almost all day, including writing my first paper while being over here. I did take a break on Wednesday and went to some of the really fancy men’s stores and looked at price tags. I also went in the Beretta store where I picked up a gun that cost 300,000 USD. Pocket Change.
Right now, it is Thursday night and I am laying in a bed at a hostel in Vienna, Austria. I am staying in a hostel by myself, my three traveling partners are in a different hostel about two miles down the road. It is a long story. This is my first ever hostel experience and so far so good. While I was typing this a girl from Korea who is sleeping on my top bunk leaned down and asked if she could “tern de wights off?” A couple of minutes ago three guys walked in and walked over to the window and smoked some weed. I am probably second hand high right now, which I am not sure is even possible. The hostel I am staying in is very clean and the staff has been very friendly. The only problem so far is that it is about the temperature of the sun in here, oh and the internet doesn’t work (I am typing this on Word and am going to post it later). You just can’t beat fifteen euros a night.
Hopefully Austria will be exciting, it has to be. The three other guys and myself don’t speak a lick of German. I don’t even know how we made it to our hostels with out getting terribly lost. Lets just hope I don’t have to take the bus anywhere.
It has been almost a week since my last post, and I am sorry about not keeping ya’ll up to date. This lack of blogging is caused by my hectic schedule, not by my forgetfulness. I promise. It has been such a long time I am having trouble remembering what all I have done since my last post.
Last Saturday the entire Auburn class went to Canterbury, the home of the Archduke of Canterbury, the head of the Anglican Church, and also the destination of the pilgrims in The Canterbury Tales. We went to Canterbury because our teacher is obsessed with Chaucer, lets just say he wears a Canterbury Tales neck tie on a regular basis. Canterbury is about an hour and half from London and it was a beautiful train ride through the countryside. Once one is out of London it becomes rural quickly. We toured the cathedral and the city for about 4 or 5 hours. Canterbury is very small and very lovely, a stream runs through the middle of it, and the stream is full of trout. The guys walked through a park where we saw two strange looking teenagers walking their ferrets. Actually they were dragging their ferrets, we could hear the ferrets claws scratching against the asphalt as their “masters” pulled them along. Ferrets are dumb pets.
Once we got back to London we decided to go out to a local pub called The Volunteer. I had a great time there, then made the worst decision I have made on the entire trip. I agreed to go to Piccadilly Circus and try and find a place that stayed open a little later. The tubes close at midnight so we had to take a bus. We waited for about fifteen minutes at the bus stop and during that waiting we lost half of our crowd. They decided they were too tired. In hindsight I was too tired too. It was now just me and four girls: one girl from University of Florida, one from LSU, one from the University of South Carolina, and one from a small school in Wisconsin. We finally got on a bus and made it to Piccadilly Circus and went to a place called Club Storm. I hate Club Storm. Club Storm is one of those places that you hear exist in Europe, but you aren’t really sure if they are as bad as they sound. They are worse. Techno music was screaming out of the speakers and half the people were making out on the dance floor and the other half were strange looking men with mullets. We stayed for about an hour and left at 1:45. On the way out the girl from South Carolina saw a friend from USC and of course she joined in on our party. We are now a party of six, really only two because four of the girls are drunk. We walk around for about an hour trying to find a bus station with a bus that will take us home. We can’t. Well the whole time was not searching, we (myself and the girl from LSU) also spent some of the time making sure the girls kept their shoes on and telling them it was not a good time for pizza. Finally, I hailed a cab and we all piled in, the problem is London cabs only hold five. I got out and told the Cabbie to take the girls to Regent’s Park. He says okay and starts to pull away when the door opens and Hope, the girl from LSU, gets out and says she is staying with me. I am a little upset, but Hope is by far the most level headed out of all the other girls, so I finally give in. We walk around for about another hour and finally find the right bus stop. We get on the bus and start heading home. Hope and I are just sitting on the bus and talking when I notice that I don’t recognize anything anymore. I get up and ask the bus driver who informs me that we missed our stop about ten minutes ago. Who know you had to tell the bus driver to stop at your station? She stops the bus and Hope and I cross the street to the other bus stop and wait for the bus to come back by. We are in northwest London all by ourselves, except for these four German guys waiting at the stop and throwing full Heinekens in the road so cars run over them. After about twenty minutes another bus picks us up and we make it back to Regent’s Park. We walked back to the school at 4:45 as bird were chirping and the sun was coming up.
The next morning I woke up after very little sleep and went to All Souls Church. It was a wonderful service and sermon. It was an expository sermon, which are always okay with me. The church was extremely international, there were almost as many Asians as white people. I went to bed very early Sunday night.
The next day I meet up with Camilla and some of the other Auburn folks and had a great time hanging out with them. Then on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday I was doing school work almost all day, including writing my first paper while being over here. I did take a break on Wednesday and went to some of the really fancy men’s stores and looked at price tags. I also went in the Beretta store where I picked up a gun that cost 300,000 USD. Pocket Change.
Right now, it is Thursday night and I am laying in a bed at a hostel in Vienna, Austria. I am staying in a hostel by myself, my three traveling partners are in a different hostel about two miles down the road. It is a long story. This is my first ever hostel experience and so far so good. While I was typing this a girl from Korea who is sleeping on my top bunk leaned down and asked if she could “tern de wights off?” A couple of minutes ago three guys walked in and walked over to the window and smoked some weed. I am probably second hand high right now, which I am not sure is even possible. The hostel I am staying in is very clean and the staff has been very friendly. The only problem so far is that it is about the temperature of the sun in here, oh and the internet doesn’t work (I am typing this on Word and am going to post it later). You just can’t beat fifteen euros a night.
Hopefully Austria will be exciting, it has to be. The three other guys and myself don’t speak a lick of German. I don’t even know how we made it to our hostels with out getting terribly lost. Lets just hope I don’t have to take the bus anywhere.
Friday, May 15, 2009
Press Ups
The first thing I need to do is apologize to Alysha for a insensitive and careless comment I made in my last post. I am sorry.
Since my last post I have been very busy. Wednesday morning Clay, Jordan, Brittnee, Rachel, and I met in the lobby with intentions of seeing the Prime Minister take questions from Parliament. The PM only sees Parliament on Wednesday mornings at 11:00, and they leave forty spots open to the public. Well when we got there the House of Parliament guards told us that all the spots were already full and that most people make reservations months in advance with the help of a representative. Dang. Not to worry, Westminster Abbey is right across the street. We walked over and paid our 12 pound student fee and picked up a headset for the self guided tour. The Abbey is incredible. It was finished in 1065, one year before the Norman invasion of 1066, and is the last Saxon style church built in England. Most churches built after Westminster Abbey are known as Norman style churches, or as they are called on the mainland Romanesque. However, very little of the original church is left because different monarchs have added rooms or done renovations. I saw the tombs of Elizabeth I, Geoffrey Chaucer, Handel, and almost every other monarch and famous person from England. When I was about to leave a priest came up to me and asked if I was there to attended the service. I thought about it for a split second, and didn't see any reason why I shouldn't attend. So, I said, that is exactly why I am here. The service lasted about 30 minutes and consisted mainly of sitting, standing and reading responsive prayers out of the bulletin. The cool thing was at the end they said if you would like to receive communion please come and kneel at the alter. I went down and knelt at the alter and priest handed me a wafer off an extremely shiny plate, then another priest tilted my head back and poured some very odd tasting wine in my mouth. The priest then dismissed us. I didn't really know what I was doing the whole time but the lady next to me was dressed in nun gear so I just followed her lead and everything worked out alright. I think it is pretty cool to have taken communion at Westminster Abbey.
We then walked past the Prime Minister's house, into Trafalgar Square, past St. James Park (I think), then to Buckingham Palace. The palace is a site to see, but that is really all one can do. There is a big fence and guards in tall hats with automatic weapons guarding it. We stayed about ten minutes and then took the tube to the Tower of London. We walked around Tower of London and then across the Tower Bridge, not to be confused with the London Bridge (which was bought by an American and is now in Arizona), to the south side of the Thames. We stopped and got a drink at this really cool bar over looking the Thames, Tower Bridge, and Tower of London. It was pretty dark by this point so we decided to head home.
The next day was Thursday, and on Thursdays I have class from 10:00 to 5:20 with only a 30 minute break for lunch. So nothing too exciting happened during the day, but that night everything changed. The four guys decided that we would go to Camden Park and walk around for awhile and grab a bite to eat. We ended up eating at this place called Woody's Grill, an appropriate name for a restaurant made entirely of wood, however not a very appropriate name for a Middle Eastern restaurant. Being guys, what originally attracted us to Woody's was the two huge spinning things of meat in the window. We walked in and what they should have said is "Welcome to Moe's", but they didn't. Woody's was a Middle Eastern Moe's. I got a lamb burrito looking thing. They kept asking me if I wanted different things on it and since I couldn't understand what was being said I kept saying yes. My buritto was huge. When I put my burrito down to pay it rolled of the counter and they had to make me one again. We ate pretty fast then headed back to dorm to meet the girls to go out to a few pubs. Once we got back to the dorm we sat around and waited on the girls for about 2 hours. By this time it was 9:00. We walked to the Globe Pub, Sir Arthur Doyle and Charles Dickens drank there, and ordered a few drinks. We had been there about an hour when this extremely drunk and British 50 year old man came up and started hitting on Leslie, a very attractive Auburn coed, so naturally I acted like she was my long time girl friend. Well he kept telling me and her that she was the must beautiful girl in the bar and that if she was his girl he would treat her like a lady should be treated. He also told me that I was the ugliest person in the bar with my curly hair and big nose, and that she was way out of my league. I kept telling him that we were in love and that I would be willing to fight over her. Jokingly of course. Well he said he accepted my offer and so I stood up. Well I guess he didn't realize it when I was sitting down, but a good head taller than he was. We both then decided that we shouldn't fight over her and that we should have a press up competition instead. We quickly cleared the air that a press up was the same as a push up so I accepted only on the grounds that he go first. I didn't think he would do it, but never underestimate a drunk person. He got down on his hands and knees and did about ten of the worst push-ups I have ever seen. I am far from Trent or Chris Goodson when it comes to push-ups, but I was able to do a few more than ten. The most surprising thing is that he then shook my hand and left with out really saying a word. We then sat around and laughed for a long time about how strange it was and that I might have been the first person in the 250 year history of the Globe Pub to have a push up competition. That pub closed at 11:00 and so we were forced to go to a few more pubs, but none were as exciting as the first.
This morning we had to be at the train station at 10:00 to go Hampton Court Palace. Hampton Court was the royal residence for Henry VII and for about 200 years after him. The palace is very neat, but the gardens around the palace are wonderful. We stayed for about 3 or 4 hours eating, walking through the house, and around the gardens. There is a maze on the grounds that was very disappointing in its difficulty. We then rode the train back and have been hanging out in the dorms every since. It is raining pretty hard.
Tomorrow we go to Canterbury which I am very excited about, but I am probably more excited about the two hour train ride through the English countryside. Pray for good weather.
Since my last post I have been very busy. Wednesday morning Clay, Jordan, Brittnee, Rachel, and I met in the lobby with intentions of seeing the Prime Minister take questions from Parliament. The PM only sees Parliament on Wednesday mornings at 11:00, and they leave forty spots open to the public. Well when we got there the House of Parliament guards told us that all the spots were already full and that most people make reservations months in advance with the help of a representative. Dang. Not to worry, Westminster Abbey is right across the street. We walked over and paid our 12 pound student fee and picked up a headset for the self guided tour. The Abbey is incredible. It was finished in 1065, one year before the Norman invasion of 1066, and is the last Saxon style church built in England. Most churches built after Westminster Abbey are known as Norman style churches, or as they are called on the mainland Romanesque. However, very little of the original church is left because different monarchs have added rooms or done renovations. I saw the tombs of Elizabeth I, Geoffrey Chaucer, Handel, and almost every other monarch and famous person from England. When I was about to leave a priest came up to me and asked if I was there to attended the service. I thought about it for a split second, and didn't see any reason why I shouldn't attend. So, I said, that is exactly why I am here. The service lasted about 30 minutes and consisted mainly of sitting, standing and reading responsive prayers out of the bulletin. The cool thing was at the end they said if you would like to receive communion please come and kneel at the alter. I went down and knelt at the alter and priest handed me a wafer off an extremely shiny plate, then another priest tilted my head back and poured some very odd tasting wine in my mouth. The priest then dismissed us. I didn't really know what I was doing the whole time but the lady next to me was dressed in nun gear so I just followed her lead and everything worked out alright. I think it is pretty cool to have taken communion at Westminster Abbey.
We then walked past the Prime Minister's house, into Trafalgar Square, past St. James Park (I think), then to Buckingham Palace. The palace is a site to see, but that is really all one can do. There is a big fence and guards in tall hats with automatic weapons guarding it. We stayed about ten minutes and then took the tube to the Tower of London. We walked around Tower of London and then across the Tower Bridge, not to be confused with the London Bridge (which was bought by an American and is now in Arizona), to the south side of the Thames. We stopped and got a drink at this really cool bar over looking the Thames, Tower Bridge, and Tower of London. It was pretty dark by this point so we decided to head home.
The next day was Thursday, and on Thursdays I have class from 10:00 to 5:20 with only a 30 minute break for lunch. So nothing too exciting happened during the day, but that night everything changed. The four guys decided that we would go to Camden Park and walk around for awhile and grab a bite to eat. We ended up eating at this place called Woody's Grill, an appropriate name for a restaurant made entirely of wood, however not a very appropriate name for a Middle Eastern restaurant. Being guys, what originally attracted us to Woody's was the two huge spinning things of meat in the window. We walked in and what they should have said is "Welcome to Moe's", but they didn't. Woody's was a Middle Eastern Moe's. I got a lamb burrito looking thing. They kept asking me if I wanted different things on it and since I couldn't understand what was being said I kept saying yes. My buritto was huge. When I put my burrito down to pay it rolled of the counter and they had to make me one again. We ate pretty fast then headed back to dorm to meet the girls to go out to a few pubs. Once we got back to the dorm we sat around and waited on the girls for about 2 hours. By this time it was 9:00. We walked to the Globe Pub, Sir Arthur Doyle and Charles Dickens drank there, and ordered a few drinks. We had been there about an hour when this extremely drunk and British 50 year old man came up and started hitting on Leslie, a very attractive Auburn coed, so naturally I acted like she was my long time girl friend. Well he kept telling me and her that she was the must beautiful girl in the bar and that if she was his girl he would treat her like a lady should be treated. He also told me that I was the ugliest person in the bar with my curly hair and big nose, and that she was way out of my league. I kept telling him that we were in love and that I would be willing to fight over her. Jokingly of course. Well he said he accepted my offer and so I stood up. Well I guess he didn't realize it when I was sitting down, but a good head taller than he was. We both then decided that we shouldn't fight over her and that we should have a press up competition instead. We quickly cleared the air that a press up was the same as a push up so I accepted only on the grounds that he go first. I didn't think he would do it, but never underestimate a drunk person. He got down on his hands and knees and did about ten of the worst push-ups I have ever seen. I am far from Trent or Chris Goodson when it comes to push-ups, but I was able to do a few more than ten. The most surprising thing is that he then shook my hand and left with out really saying a word. We then sat around and laughed for a long time about how strange it was and that I might have been the first person in the 250 year history of the Globe Pub to have a push up competition. That pub closed at 11:00 and so we were forced to go to a few more pubs, but none were as exciting as the first.
This morning we had to be at the train station at 10:00 to go Hampton Court Palace. Hampton Court was the royal residence for Henry VII and for about 200 years after him. The palace is very neat, but the gardens around the palace are wonderful. We stayed for about 3 or 4 hours eating, walking through the house, and around the gardens. There is a maze on the grounds that was very disappointing in its difficulty. We then rode the train back and have been hanging out in the dorms every since. It is raining pretty hard.
Tomorrow we go to Canterbury which I am very excited about, but I am probably more excited about the two hour train ride through the English countryside. Pray for good weather.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Oh The Things I Have Learned
Well it is Wednesday morning so I guess it is the beginning of my fourth day and I have already learned a lot. I have decided to make a list of the things I have learned because I like lists.
-When they say London is an international city they are not lying. There are as many Indians, Arabic/Persian/Middle Eastern, Asian, and Africans as there are white people. Everywhere you look a new language is being spoken, don't know how one sees a language, but you get the picture.
-English bacon is not bacon, but rather a combination of country ham and Canadian bacon. I still eat it though.
-An extensive public transportation system is far superior to driving cars. The tubes (subways) are easy, quick, efficient, and go everywhere. I don't want to say that I have mastered the tubes, but I have become much more proficient at getting from point A to point B. I still spend much of my time looking at my tube map praying I am on the Bakerloo line heading towards Baker Street.
-There are no such things as waiters/waitresses. No matter how long one sits at a table in a pub no one will ask for your order. I learned from experienced. I sat for about 30 minutes and was about to get up and complain about the service, when I noticed the only person working the pub was the barkeep. I promptly stood up and awkwardly ordered a beer. This is a sample conversation between me and the barkeep. Me: "Umm, yeah, like, umm, what is your favorite beer?" awkward eye contact Barkeep: "Well are you looking for something dark, light, hoppy, nutty, full-flavored, sweet, bitter, wheaty or Guinness?" more awkward eye contact Me: "Yes" even more awkward eye contact and a long silence Me:"Okay, you guys got Budweiser?" Barkeep: "Yup" Me: "I will have one of those." Barkeep: "That will be (some amount of money that I can't quite understand)." I then hand him 20 pounds and receive about fifteen to twenty coins back, at least 3 lbs worth of specie. Okay so it normally isn't that bad, but I am no pro.
-The parks over here are way better than parks in America. I was not expecting to be blown away by the flora and fauna on this trip, but I really have been. Regent's Park has a garden right in the middle known as Queen Mary's Garden which has about 3 billion different plants and trees and 2 million ducks and pigeons. It is quite incredible.
-People from the southern United States are way more normal, nice, and attractive than Yankees. I already knew that but there are some Yankees from schools I have never heard of in my classes, and I have some advice. NFL themed hoodies are never okay, unless you are in Green Bay in November. Oh and hair gel should be treated like a fossil fuel, use only when necessary so that we do not run out in forty or so years.
-Going to one class for three and a half hours is awful, especially if you have two of them back to back. Four day weekends sure will be nice though.
-It is possible to get 4 papers and two tests assigned in one class even if you do only meet twice a week for six weeks. That is a test or a paper a week. The good news is that we really only have class on Thursday because every Tuesday will be spent at a different cathedral around England. Thank you Lady Sophie Laws (that is my Religion and the Arts teacher, she is a member of the aristocracy, and is married to a Lord--crazy ).
-Concerts are the same everywhere. People bobbing their heads, awkwardly dancing, making out, and getting high.
-It is chilly over here. I don't think it got out of the 50's yesterday. No rain so far though. Which is a little bit of a bummer, because I really want to try out my new rain coat.
-Oh and London is legit, dog, for real.
Well that is a brief list of the things I have learned. Hopefully there will be more to come.
P.S. I totally got this British girl's e-mail address at the Andrew Bird concert. Everyone knows what that means, right?
-When they say London is an international city they are not lying. There are as many Indians, Arabic/Persian/Middle Eastern, Asian, and Africans as there are white people. Everywhere you look a new language is being spoken, don't know how one sees a language, but you get the picture.
-English bacon is not bacon, but rather a combination of country ham and Canadian bacon. I still eat it though.
-An extensive public transportation system is far superior to driving cars. The tubes (subways) are easy, quick, efficient, and go everywhere. I don't want to say that I have mastered the tubes, but I have become much more proficient at getting from point A to point B. I still spend much of my time looking at my tube map praying I am on the Bakerloo line heading towards Baker Street.
-There are no such things as waiters/waitresses. No matter how long one sits at a table in a pub no one will ask for your order. I learned from experienced. I sat for about 30 minutes and was about to get up and complain about the service, when I noticed the only person working the pub was the barkeep. I promptly stood up and awkwardly ordered a beer. This is a sample conversation between me and the barkeep. Me: "Umm, yeah, like, umm, what is your favorite beer?" awkward eye contact Barkeep: "Well are you looking for something dark, light, hoppy, nutty, full-flavored, sweet, bitter, wheaty or Guinness?" more awkward eye contact Me: "Yes" even more awkward eye contact and a long silence Me:"Okay, you guys got Budweiser?" Barkeep: "Yup" Me: "I will have one of those." Barkeep: "That will be (some amount of money that I can't quite understand)." I then hand him 20 pounds and receive about fifteen to twenty coins back, at least 3 lbs worth of specie. Okay so it normally isn't that bad, but I am no pro.
-The parks over here are way better than parks in America. I was not expecting to be blown away by the flora and fauna on this trip, but I really have been. Regent's Park has a garden right in the middle known as Queen Mary's Garden which has about 3 billion different plants and trees and 2 million ducks and pigeons. It is quite incredible.
-People from the southern United States are way more normal, nice, and attractive than Yankees. I already knew that but there are some Yankees from schools I have never heard of in my classes, and I have some advice. NFL themed hoodies are never okay, unless you are in Green Bay in November. Oh and hair gel should be treated like a fossil fuel, use only when necessary so that we do not run out in forty or so years.
-Going to one class for three and a half hours is awful, especially if you have two of them back to back. Four day weekends sure will be nice though.
-It is possible to get 4 papers and two tests assigned in one class even if you do only meet twice a week for six weeks. That is a test or a paper a week. The good news is that we really only have class on Thursday because every Tuesday will be spent at a different cathedral around England. Thank you Lady Sophie Laws (that is my Religion and the Arts teacher, she is a member of the aristocracy, and is married to a Lord--crazy ).
-Concerts are the same everywhere. People bobbing their heads, awkwardly dancing, making out, and getting high.
-It is chilly over here. I don't think it got out of the 50's yesterday. No rain so far though. Which is a little bit of a bummer, because I really want to try out my new rain coat.
-Oh and London is legit, dog, for real.
Well that is a brief list of the things I have learned. Hopefully there will be more to come.
P.S. I totally got this British girl's e-mail address at the Andrew Bird concert. Everyone knows what that means, right?
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Jet Lag
Well, we arrived at Gatwick airport yeasterday at 6:45 in the morning, and I didn't sleep a wink on the plane. Since everything was new and exciting I wasn't very tired. Baggage reclaim, it's what the British call baggage claim, was a breeze and the line for immigration was short too. Things were looking great. When I got to the front of the line I was sent to a miserable immigration officer, she was short, fat, black and on a power trip. I showed her my passport and she immediately called for backup. Two other immigration officers came over and after showing my drivers liscense and Tiger Card (I was about to pull out my SCUBA liscense, the only other form of photo ID I had on me) they finally believed the passport was actually mine. I then had to present every document I had on my person to this lady who took about ten minutes to read each one and asked as many questions as possible. This whole time everyone else in my group is standing on the other side watching me squirm. Finally after an eternity I was allowed to enter the country.
We then took the Gatwick express from the airport to Victoria Station in downtown London (on the train ride I saw a fox wondering through someone's backyard--I felt very British). Once we got to Victoria Station it was about a twenty minute tube ride to Baker Street stop, and then a ten minute walk from there to our dorm. The school is in Regents Park, a beautiful park with tons of ducks, joggers, and gardens. The school is beautiful as well but the beds are awful. Most summer camps have better beds. We hung out around the dorm for awhile and ate lunch there, I had a truly terrible chicken salad sandwich. After lunch a group of us set out to explore our neighborhood and purchase cell phones. We found cell phones and found out that British people drive awesome cars. I saw three Farraris, two Bentleys, and a slew of Range Rovers, BMWs, Jaguars, Lexus, and Mercedes. No Fords or Cheavys. A then smaller group of us set out to find bath towels. Finding Atlantis would have been easier. We asked about ten people and no one knew what we were talking about, or let alone where we could find one. We finally found a towel at Marks and Spencers. If a Target, Nordstroms, and Ikea had a baby together it would be M & S. After that we walked back to the dorm where I tried to get the internet on my laptop to work to no avail. Me and the other three guys then went to a pub called Volunteers where I almost fell asleep in my beer. I came back and ate dinner at the dorm and went to bed at 7:00. Which is why I am making this post at 6:00 in the morning.
We then took the Gatwick express from the airport to Victoria Station in downtown London (on the train ride I saw a fox wondering through someone's backyard--I felt very British). Once we got to Victoria Station it was about a twenty minute tube ride to Baker Street stop, and then a ten minute walk from there to our dorm. The school is in Regents Park, a beautiful park with tons of ducks, joggers, and gardens. The school is beautiful as well but the beds are awful. Most summer camps have better beds. We hung out around the dorm for awhile and ate lunch there, I had a truly terrible chicken salad sandwich. After lunch a group of us set out to explore our neighborhood and purchase cell phones. We found cell phones and found out that British people drive awesome cars. I saw three Farraris, two Bentleys, and a slew of Range Rovers, BMWs, Jaguars, Lexus, and Mercedes. No Fords or Cheavys. A then smaller group of us set out to find bath towels. Finding Atlantis would have been easier. We asked about ten people and no one knew what we were talking about, or let alone where we could find one. We finally found a towel at Marks and Spencers. If a Target, Nordstroms, and Ikea had a baby together it would be M & S. After that we walked back to the dorm where I tried to get the internet on my laptop to work to no avail. Me and the other three guys then went to a pub called Volunteers where I almost fell asleep in my beer. I came back and ate dinner at the dorm and went to bed at 7:00. Which is why I am making this post at 6:00 in the morning.
Friday, May 8, 2009
Waiting...
Well, this is my first blog and first ever blog post, and I am more nervous about this post than I am about spending six weeks in a foreign country. Don't ask me why.
Tomorrow is the big day. I fly out of Atlanta tomorrow at 5:35 pm (Atlanta time) and should arrive in London at 7:00 am (London time) Sunday. I am traveling with nine Auburn students, one student from NC State, and two Auburn faculty, and I know none of them. By no means am I looking for a new set of best friends, but normal people sure would be great. You know people that are somewhat culturally aware, like they can name Auburn's new football coach and what Brittany Spears actually means by If U Seek Amy. People I can talk to. However, if the people do turn out to be wacky I will still have Camilla Thompson to keep me company. Camilla and are to be world travelers, or at least European travelers. We shall leave no country unexplored, no museum unvisited, no discotheque undominated... Okay, so that might be a little bit of an exaggeration, but not that big.
Well, I hope that my first ever blog was not too much of a disappointment, and that everyone will stay tuned. I am going to try and make at least two posts a week and post a few pictures, but I can't promise anything. My next post shall be London.
Tomorrow is the big day. I fly out of Atlanta tomorrow at 5:35 pm (Atlanta time) and should arrive in London at 7:00 am (London time) Sunday. I am traveling with nine Auburn students, one student from NC State, and two Auburn faculty, and I know none of them. By no means am I looking for a new set of best friends, but normal people sure would be great. You know people that are somewhat culturally aware, like they can name Auburn's new football coach and what Brittany Spears actually means by If U Seek Amy. People I can talk to. However, if the people do turn out to be wacky I will still have Camilla Thompson to keep me company. Camilla and are to be world travelers, or at least European travelers. We shall leave no country unexplored, no museum unvisited, no discotheque undominated... Okay, so that might be a little bit of an exaggeration, but not that big.
Well, I hope that my first ever blog was not too much of a disappointment, and that everyone will stay tuned. I am going to try and make at least two posts a week and post a few pictures, but I can't promise anything. My next post shall be London.
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