It has been a whole WEEK in London and it still hasn’t sunk in yet. We’ve been so busy I haven’t had much time to collect my thoughts about this week. I am very happy to be here and I’m so glad that I’ve found some friends to have adventures with.
9.21.15 - Lost in London (It was Inevitable)
My flight from Madrid to London was the first time that I had flown by myself. I was a bit worried about it but it proved to be quick and easy. The whole flight was filled with business people so boarding and unboarding was fast. I had no problems getting my visa, bags, or cash. I had to take the Heathrow Express to a different terminal to find the Arcadia group but I found them eventually. After rushing to get to them, they said we had to wait an hour and a half to get our coach. It gave us all time to get some food and chat. The Arcadia people kept apologizing for the weather and the traffic, promising that it is definitely not always that bad. After over two hours on the coach and a short slosh through the rain, I had made it to my new flat! Octavia was there and we freaked out about the room for a good 15 minutes. It was so huge and bright and welcoming - despite the rain clouds outside.
We were then escorted to the Arcadia center and we took the bus there. After a quick chat, we went to a Chinese restaurant and had a huge meal with all of Arcadia’s London students. After, a few girls from my building, Octavia, and I went to Primark to get sheets and towels. The place was an absolute zoo; a terrible mix between an H&M and a messy TJ Max. Octavia and I were fed up with it and left empty handed. Then, of course, we go super lost trying to get back. It took us about 45 minutes to go what should have been about 10.
We were definitely ready for bed by the time we got home.
9.22.15 - Not Lost in London (We did a lot better today)
After a quick cup of coffee from a cafe down the street, we made our way (in the rain) to the Arcadia center again for orientation. We got to meet some of the people from Arcadia, as well as City University.
After that was over, a group of us headed out to go to Argo’s, which is essentially Amazon in store form. They have a bunch of iPads spread out on tables and customers flick through the digital catalog of practically everything.
Arcadia bought everyone tickets for Billy Elliot the Musical at the Victoria Palace Theatre. We successfully navigated the tubes (on our first try) and got there with plenty of time to spare! The kids in the show were fantastic, the music was amazing (as one would expect from Elton John), and the lighting was very cool. The cursing was a bit strong for my taste but it yielded plenty of laughs from the crowd. Overall, it was a great night and I’m definitely looking forward to many more live productions in London.
We didn’t get lost on the way home, either!
9.23.15 - Free Stuff & Wine, Courtesy of City Uni
Today was filled with more orientation sessions. We did get a break to go the Fresher’s Fair, which is essentially a bunch of first years crammed into a gym with a bunch of clubs and companies trying to get people to give out their personal information in return for free stuff (mostly food). There was also loud music. I did not like this. The girl at the women’s rugby table tried to get me to sign up. I was stuck in front of her table so there was nowhere for me to go. I took a flyer just to make her stop talking.
After that introvert’s nightmare was over, we went back to meet all of the international students for a little wine party hosted by City. I met people from four countries! A girl from Australia, a girl from France, a guy from Italy, and a girl from Serbia. They all had really cool accents and spoke a bunch of different languages.
9.24.15 - Professional Tour Guides
Today we registered for classes and got our ID cards. They basically sat us a foot in front of a computer webcam. My photo is awkward. (I later discovered that you can see a photo list of all of the students in your course on the school site. Awesome.Also, the homework site is called “Moodle” and I can’t help but laugh every time a British person says it.)
After a lunch break, we got to go on a tour of the area with professional tour guides - which I guess is really a thing. She explained some of the history of Clerkenwell as well as its transition into becoming an up-and-coming area for young artists. We saw an old bank that had been turned into apartments, a winery that is now an architecture studio, and a massive functioning meat market. I didn’t have my camera so I’m going to have to re-create this tour soon!
A short walk from where we finished the tour was a cute cafe called Niche. They serve breakfast until 3:00pm and have a dish called the “Niche Quiche”. I like these people. After we were stuffed with scrumptious eggs and espresso, we walked up to the Angel mall and found a store called Muji. It’s a Japanese store with a wonderful minimalist style that extends through their homegoods and clothes. I wanted to buy it all but showed good restraint. We left with only tiny notebooks. Until next time Muji.
9.25.15 - An Afternoon in Greenwich
On recommendation from Jamie (our advisor from City Uni), we took the tubes to Greenwich. The exit we chose dumped us into a residential area. It was very quiet and weren’t sure where to go. After a few minutes of walking, we found ourselves in the middle of the Greenwich Market! What a happy coincidence! There were little pop up tent with all sorts of antique goodies, imported items, and tasty treats. In addition, we found lots of boutiques filled with yummy-but-far-to-expensive clothes. I did end up finding some great boots that I decided to wear out of the store. They are like Clarks Dessert boots but they are made in Spain. They are the color of my hair. I got blisters on both of my heels but I really couldn’t care less!
After a quick look in the Naval Museum, we walked over to the University of Greenwich. This university is another great example of how England holds onto the past in the best way possible. The old buildings were repaired and additions have been made onto them to accommodate the needs of a university without destroying what has already stood there for years. It is right on the River Thames and built on the former site of a palace. We learned this from a little old man that came up to us on the shore. He saw us picking through the rocks and told us how he likes to come down there to collect old relics that wash up with the tides. He talked for about 20 minutes about the site and then tried to get us to sign up for his archaeological society. We kindly declined and thanked him for his stories.
After some more exploring and selfie-taking (Michelle has a selfie stick and it’s hot pink), we picked out a little family owned restaurant for some food. I ordered a chicken pie, which is essentially a chicken pot pie without the veggies. It was delicious and burned my tongue but I was too cold to care.
Overall, it was a great day and, as we rode the tubes home, we all agreed we must come back again soon.
[Me, Mackenzie, Octavia, Michelle, and Emily. At the University of Greenwich.]
9.26.15 - Tower of London
Arcadia does a great job of organizing big group events for us. Today, they offered free tickets to the Tower of London - which, by the way, is not really a tower. We spent a few hours navigating the castle grounds and reading the signs in the various towers. The grounds also house the Crown Jewels in a massive vault. There were cases of crowns, robes, and gold encrusted everything - including a gold punch bowl that I could take a bath in. There was so much of these royal treasures that I was no longer amused by precious jewels that were any smaller than a golf ball. By the way, there was a 530.2 karat diamond (like what?) that WASN’T EVEN IN THE CROWN JEWELS VAULT IF THAT TELLS YOU ANYTHING ABOUT WHAT WAS ACTUALLY IN THE VAULT. We weren’t allowed to take photos so just know that it was crazy.
Across the courtyard was the the White Tower (which again isn’t really even a tower, it looks like a full on castle) that is a weapons museum that shows the evolution of England’s military. It had floors of mannequins in the armors of various kings, cases of gifts from other countries, and a other artifacts that belonged to important military leaders. Mackenzie and I found a 914 page book, which was the most amusing part because we are book nerds.
Something I will remember about the Tower of London more than the diamonds and architecture will be the short video I watched about the art installation that took over the grounds in 2014. It was called “Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red” and was finished 100 years after the first day that Britain was involved in World War I. The two head artists along with 20,000 volunteers covered the Tower of London and the surrounding lawns with 888,246 red ceramic poppies in remembrance for those who had passed during the war. There was also a nightly ceremony in which the names of 200 soldiers were read. This went on for weeks. I wish I could’ve seen this in person.
On a lighter note, that night we attempted to have six of us cooking in our miniature kitchen. It was good fun and we made some really good “toasties”, or grilled cheese. Then we walked down the street to a pub to catch the end of the England versus Wales rugby match. It was funny how the random shouts transitioned from an occasional “Come on lads!” to frequent and more colorful phrases. England lost by three points in the last few minutes causing the one Welsh guy to cheer by himself in a quiet pub. He left quickly after a few guys yelled at him to shut up. Later, a guy with sunglasses on started dancing as his friends sang a rather loud and poor rendition of The Weekend’s “Can’t Feel My Face”. We decided that was our cue to call it a night.
[Me, Miranda, Octavia, Mackenzie, Michelle, and Emily. With the Tower Bridge.]
