Londinium

Kaffy trying to make sense of Olympic security.

[kaffinengrand]

fifteenth of august

It's been a busy/crazy last two weeks, so I'm re-posting what I wrote on my flight to Estonia:

I originally thought I would make this my final post, but after not posting for more than week, I figured I would do some more about this beautiful city and Tallinn as well before capping off my summer. There have been so many great moments in the past two weeks, so just to highlight the special ones including Kaspar and Alexa’s visit, gold medal match to women’s “football” and the Harry Potter studios (hey Mary, prepare for pictures)

After a struggle of a Saturday, which included free tea at the Scotland house, a fearful and exhilarating bike ride with Marla and Sharpie through Picadilly Circus (think mini-Times square), London greeted Kaspar with the heaviest rain in weeks. Thankfully, it cleared up later in the day and we were able to visit Parliament (Palace of Westminster). I’m really sad we couldn’t take pictures inside the Parliament, except in one hall, but I loved contrast between the House of Lords and the House of Commons.

All the MPs and Lords are on summer holiday for a couple months, so Parliament is open to the public. We saw the path that the Queen takes to greet her government and the seats where politicians take when debating and making big decisions! Afterwards, we had a double date with my friend from Barcelona, Aura and her Austrian boyfriend, Georg, at a Spanish tapas that had the worst service in the history of all restaurants, but it was so cute to enjoy the company of a couple who are so different from Kaspar and I. (Kaspar more or less had a man crush on Georg)

Shortly after Kaspar’s departure, Ari and I ventured out to Wembley Stadium (1948 olympic stadium) to enjoy the gold medal women’s football match between USA and Japan. Being Canadian and all, it was very hard to support either teams considering the US had just beaten Canada the day before in overtime to make it to the gold medal match (Christine Sinclair, you’re still my girl), but I remembered a question my wise Leslie Bargmann had once asked me, “If you don’t like the US, why are you studying here?!” So I decided to claim my Princeton allegiance and support the Red, White and Blue. Honestly, I thought the US fan base would overpower the Japanese, but the crowd was very divided. Most of the Brits actually supported Japan, so the crowd roared whenever the ball would enter either half field…the atmosphere was incredible. There were 81 000 spectators there (more than the closing ceremonies) and we broke some kind of record for the biggest crowd at the Games and in Wembley Stadium.

To boast my soccer analytical skills (HA) that I’ve picked up after watching FIFA, I have to say that the Americans, tactically, were much stronger than the Japanese. And I have no doubts for why people love Hope Solo now. She is such a powerful women who barely let anything go past her. BUT, the Japanese women (who, I swear, averaged under 5 feet tall) played with so much passion and heart. They had so many shots on goal and tried so hard to land a goal. Their effort was incredible, and made me want them to tie US and go to overtime. Luck was not on their side that day though, and US came home with the gold. (Canadian women also made us proud by beating France in the bronze medal match)

And to add to my happiness, more p13 came to visit! (Had just met up with Char also the day before when she was visiting London. Quirky pictures to come…) The highlight of Alexa’s time was definitely the closing ceremonies and the Harry Potter studios (!!!!!!!!!!) Alexa had just spent 2 months in Sardinia doing thesis research on dolphins. She had such a productive summer, including finishing 2/3 of her thesis already, being soo bronzed and meeting some cute locals. She came right in time for the conclusion of the Olympics, and we caught the Men’s Marathon in front of the Buckingham Palace/the mall. A Ugandan man was able to upset the dominating Kenyans, and won the race comfortably. The Men’s Marathon has traditionally always been on the last day of the Olympics, because its existence dates back to the Ancient Olympiads in Greece. The medals were presented during the closing ceremonies, which made the recognition of these incredible men even more special. (Another shout out to Canadian Richard Weinberger, who won the men's 10k in Hyde Park 2 days before)

We watched the closing ceremonies with Marla at an outdoor bar on Brick Lane. Our original plan was to go the Puma Yard (which was a temporary base for the Jamaican fans), but due to the “online ticket” situation that seems to happen everywhere in London (almost every free event at clubs, bars, and venues require you to purchase your ticket online way in advance and charge you 2-3 pounds for transaction fees; it’s like a guestlist), we couldn’t get in. But the Vibe Bar across the street, which had a large screen provided a great alternative and meant that we could also get our favorite Brick Lane bagels (Brick Lane Beigel Cake for Aislinn and Merbs!!)

Ok, plane is landing in Munich! weee more on London and Tallinn later!

[kaffinengrand]

time flying by, seventh of august (already!)

I love this place. Really really really do. And not just love-at-first-sight, but the deep passionate kind that you develop more of as you get to know something well.

The Olympics are already in its second week and the spirit is still high. Swimming finished saturday, which makes me sad but track is still keeping me interested (hey Usain)

Just to back it up, I followed the Olympic torch on its last legs with Ari around London starting in Clampham common. When it first came, my heart was racing like crazy and I was chasing it like a man woman with the crowd. the best part was when it was within my arm's reach!! (happen to stand right next to one of the torch bearers)

What I liked the most about the relay was how much it brought different people together. The torch bearers are regular people like me and have done something wonderful to either give back to the community or bring positivity to this world. That's what the Olympics is really about. These athletes, as amazing as they are, are just humans. It's hard to remember that sometimes with the media portraying them to be demi-gods (or with fans treating them as so) but when it comes down to it, they are athletes who have worked hard to be where they are. What's sad is that people view Olympians as celebrities, or even worse status symbols...they're role models, not immortal royalty (marla and sharpie, feel like you guys know where I'm going with this!)

After the torch ended in Hyde Park, there was a huge celebration/concert with popular British bands. The Wanted and Dizzee Rascal were among them (Mango and Alexa, Glad You Came is still my make out song of choice) and it was a great combination of Olympic tributes and concert

Oh, and how can I forget about the Opening Ceremonies! Marla, Sharpie, Reid and I lined up for 2.5 hours to try to watch it in Victoria Park. We finally got in right after it started, and watched it with a crowd of 30 000!! It was so exciting to share the experience with everyone, and watch crowds of people cheer for their countries as athletes marched out. Such an example of multi-culturalism and inclusion (although the UK, especially London is not that inclusive...more on this hot/much debated topic later). On the way back (after our failed attempt to catch Usain Bolt at the Puma Yard/Jamaican house), we ran into many of the performers! These girls were especially sweet

This was my favorite piece in the Opening Ceremonies dedicated to those who were killed by the 7/7 bombings in 2005. I later found out that this segment was CENSORED by american broadcasters, and replaced by a Phelps interview...unbelievable!

In a couple days, I'm seeing the gold medal women's soccer match between Japan and USA. It was such a hard breaker in the semi's today between USA and Canada for the gold medal match position and came down to overtime...it would've been awesome to see my country in action!

Kaspar is now in London town, and we'll be joining Charlotte tomorrow for some triathlon watching and adventuring!

[kaffinengrand]

Rebecca Adlington

Most of you guys probably don't watch the BBC commentary on swimming (which has been both good and bad, good being Ian Thorpe contributing his expertise and good lucks, and bad being their sense of dry humor which doesn't come across as very enthusiastic), and don't see Rebecca Adlington's interviews after her races, but she is quite a character. She is very outgoing and straightforward with her emotions, and I've been really moved by what she has to say. First of all, she is not a photogenic girl...hehe

Her brows are always furrowed and you can just see the pain and disappointment in her eyes...After getting bronze in both 400 and 800 free (both of which she won in Beijing), she felt like she had let her country down. She kept apologizing to those who had expected her to win gold for GB, but is unnecessary because everyone knows she tried her best. I haven't found videos of her post-race interviews, but off of the top of my head, she said this after the 400:

"That race was really really hard (pronounced: haw-rd). The 400, for some reason, is always harder than the 800, and I knew that. 12 years, I've been training for this, and I gave it all I got."

And after the 800 was what really got me:

"Swimming is such a hard sport you know, because it's so different than other sports. Swimming is hard everyday and not just once every 4 years when everyone knows about it."

The amount of work we put into swimming is unmeasurable. Not just the hours we put into the pool, but the mental and psychological strength that heeds in order to produce maximum results. And Rebecca, you are right. The world only really pays attention to swimming once every 4 years, or when Phelps swims, but those who put in the hard work and focus, including those swimmers that will never make it into the limelight deserve respect and praise for our devotion to the sport...Just some deep thoughts for today, the promised Olympic post tomorrow or Sunday! Also welcoming Kaspar Raigla to London on Sunday!

[kaffinengrand]

1:40, this is how I feel about London

(dedicating this to the Joline 123 extended fam!)

[kaffinengrand]

second last day of july

procrastination really takes over every aspect of life...including the blogosphere! so many awesome things happened this week I don't know where to start. KP came to visit me for 3 days and she highlighted our weekend way better than I ever could, so check it out! (she's on her way to becoming a pro-instagramer) She just left Paris for Switzerland and Italy and will be traveling for the next week with her family!

http://perryfrance.wordpress.com/2012/07/24/london/

(once again, my beloved garden)

(Desperate selfie...lawl?)

Just hours after KP left, London was graced with the presence of Marla and Sharpie! It happened to be Marla's birthday the next day (and mine 2 days later), so we labeled last week "birthday week" with some sort of celebration everyday. Starting with a cute tapas near Holborn:

And oh yeah, I turned 21!

(Special thanks and love to Alex and Jonas for organizing the whole thing, and Marla and Sharpie for passing on the birthday crown and necklace. what a honor!)

lol, roflmao, ok ok that's just for shits and giggles. but really, it was a fantastic birthday! I was so happy to be spending it with new and old friends from all over the world. we really are the united colors of benetton, right Jonas?

Some other highlights of birthday week include a trip to the Stonehenge (5000 years old!!), Bath, and Salisbury, chasing the torch all day and seeing the finale concert in Hyde Park, and of course, THE OPENING CEREMONIES!!!! I'll show you the pictures first

Bath

Roman bath

Salisbury

Salisbury cathedral

Stonehenge!! (rocks on rocks on rocks)

My favorite was definitely Bath. The town grew to fame after the Romans discovered the natural hot spring, which eventually became an attraction across the Roman empire. The buildings are all made out of bath stones, and the town is so adorable with cute antique shops, bakeries and green spaces (KP, you would've loved it!) We also saw the house that Jane Austen lived in!! (number 4)

I feel like I really need to make a separate post for all the Olympic events that I've attended. It's weird because before it started, I kept forgetting that the Olympics were starting within miles of my temporary home in a couple days, but now, it's hard to ignore with all the media attention. I absolute love the movement despite the down sides that I hear from local residents, like traffic, taxes, and even evictions in East London. More on this tomorrow...One last thing before heading to bed: there was a Princeton gathering today in Dorset Square and it was quite a turnout! it made me miss Princeton a lot and feel so grateful for attending such an incredible institution that allows me to travel and do the things I love...seeing old alums from the 60s and 70s sing together like they were young left me overwhelmed by the fact that I will know some of my friends (and meet new ones) for the rest of my life!!! deep though eh? (speaking of "eh", Marla, Sharpie and I decided that we want to visit all the Olympic houses this weekend, like the Canada house, Kiwi house, Brazil house, etc.)

PUCSDT represent too!

[facesofolympians]

@teravb and Canada swimming team mates

[kaffinengrand]

adventures in Lithuania!

just kidding I didn't actually go there (although my Baltic adventures will start on Aug. 15!), but here's an awesome post about Lithuanian ice cream by my friend, rower extraordinaire, Alex Morss.

Unexpectedly qualifying for the under 23 World Rowing Championships caused a great deal of last second scrambling and reorganization. All of the sudden I needed plane tickets… for Lithuania of all places! After finally getting the logistics under control, I had time to reflect on the smaller details of the trip and think about what I was getting into. Besides rowing, I had absolutely no idea what I would find at Lake Trakai in Lithuania (which as I discovered after some quick googling, was just east of Poland and next to Russia). What did they eat? What did Lithuania even look like? Was it warm? And most importantly, did they have ice cream?? As someone who rarely goes a day without eating ice cream (sometimes multiple times), this was particularly worrisome. After my parents’ hotel advertised painted walls as one of the bonuses and a friend’s parents’ hotel advertised toilets, I was fully expecting the worst. And I definitely wasn’t having high hopes for the ice cream situation.

            However, I was pleasantly surprised on all accounts. I should have known that the trip would be amazing upon receiving free ice cream sundaes on the flight to Europe after the flight attendant discovered my coach and I were traveling to the world championships... Lithuania was beautiful, there were lakes to swim in, and there was a beautiful old castle right at the finish line of the racecourse. Although the walls may not have been beautifully painted at the hotel and the internet was extremely slow (which is only to be expected with a full hotel of athletes all trying to use it at the same time), there certainly were very functional toilets and the food they served was more than adequate. The only piece missing for most of the week was the ice cream.

            Although I’m embarrassed to admit it (sorry Siobhan!), I didn’t find myself missing ice cream all that much with all the racing and excitement going on. But when I finished racing and the weekend rolled around, I realized what I’d been missing out on. My dad was the one who showed me the little ice cream stand along the edge of the lake in town. He told me I had to try the chocolate since it was the best he’d ever tasted. Considering the fact that he gets a chocolate malted milkshake pretty much every time we get ice cream, this was pretty high praise. Still, I was doubtful because honestly, we were in Lithuania! Why would they have good ice cream?!

            After having the first taste of my Lithuanian sized ice cream cone (aka a much smaller portion than what I was used to), I had to agree with my dad. Although, the scoop was much smaller, it seemed as if the all the flavor from our gigantic American scoop had been concentrated into this smaller portion. But it wasn’t too overpowering or rich and tasted completely fresh. There were some hints of mocha in it as well, and even though I hate all things coffee tasting, especially in ice cream, it was still delicious. For my second scoop, I chose blueberry, and once again, I was completely satisfied. I’ve found that often blueberry ice cream can taste a bit sour (and also not that much like blueberries), but this blueberry ice cream tasted exactly like perfectly ripe, sweet blueberries. Sooo good!

            I was back at the ice cream stand the next morning (yes, morning. 10 AM to be exact). Luckily it was open! And luckily my travel companions were lightweight rowers who had just had their last weigh-in and were celebrating after living off of vegetables and coffee for the past week. This time I went with both kiwi and chocolate with cranberries in it. Once again, amazing. From the reviews of my friends, the caramel with some sort of nut in it (the signs were in Lithuanian and only had pictures of the flavor next to them) was just as good. And later that night, a different ice cream stand was featuring a maple flavor that I can definitely add the list of delicious Lithuanian ice cream flavors (basically all of them). My only complaint was the lack of variety. Each stand had about nine flavors, two of which were some sort of chocolate, one was caramel or maple, and the rest were fruit flavored—mixed berry, mango, peach, strawberry, kiwi, blueberry, and something that may have been banana judging by the picture next to it. I guess when all the flavors are delicious, you don’t need quite as much variety. However, as a parting gift to the Lithuanian people for an excellent trip, maybe I will introduce their ice cream manufacturers to mint extract… they will definitely thank me for it later. 

Alex is a boss. Thanks to our other love, Tay Snay for this pic:

[kaffinengrand]

eighteenth part two

just to update everyone back home (or abroad I guess since there are so many of us!), there has been a huge controversy with the olympics security in the past week. G4S, the private contractor that has failed to meet its expectations is being put under the spotlight. interviews with hired G4S employees revealed that their screening process was 5 minutes and consisted of a test to see if they could distinguish between water and vodka...SO the company has been a laugh of the town. the government also tried to cover this up, but didn't reveal this to the public until last week, which shows inadequacies and miscommunication from between the olympic committee and the government. 

with the additional 3500 troops, (and maybe 2000-3000 more on top of that if G4S doesn't deliver) the olympic village looks like a warzone!!

on the research side, I've been talking to a ex-G4S employee who became famous after exposing G4S's disorganization and delay. she told the media at the beginning of June that each employee had at least 10 applications to go through per hour, and piles and piles of applications went unprocessed. she was laid off right after this incident, and looking back at it now, it's as if she had warned everyone! her tweets are bitter and hilarious:

MPs fiddle expenses,Banks commit fraud and launder £ and nothing G4S mega screw up & he takes a bigger grilling then both of these?

Dear G4S I know some great business consultants seems your managers could do with some coaching

Jus to add I aint no G4S fan and I think their a disgrace but hmmmmmz

other research progress include a very helpful and fun meeting with my london "advisor." I was randomly searching for professors that might specialize in my area, and she responded with enthusiasm. She teaches at the London Metropolitan school and took me to a few ethnic bars that could give us some information. One of them was owned by Ecuadorian (? people from Ecuador) and another was owned by Colombians. 

never have I done a pub crawl with my professor, but I have to say, I don't hate it. she was one of those people that you could tell was cool in her 20s...race is a factor that I definitely want to include in my research, especially because I've noticed huge differences between how race is viewed here versus in the US. more on that later, but KP's coming tomorrow! we'll have to be sneaky because apparently I'm not allowed to have guests in my room...oops! (or Oawps like the brazilians would say, right Amy? or Opa for Paraguayans). Excited for the Dark Knight on Friday weeee!

[kaffinengrand]

eighteenth

first off, interesting sightings in london:

Lobster à la carte

Street performers at the London Eye

and my favorite, New Jersey Fried Chicken in South London.

[kaffinengrand]

Big Dance 2012 grand finale!

[kaffinengrand]

The first weekend

Where do I even begin? Too many activities, too little time! (too many dumprings, too rittle time...HI stace!)

Well, I thought I really missed Parisian food, (Gusto Italia beside KP's apartment: the improved Theresa's)

but I was wrong! Discovered that outdoor markets are really the way to go. Ventured out to the Portebello road market on Saturday morning despite the heavy rain, and found myself in Notting Hill. And it really is what they portray it to be in the movie, except even prettier and daintier!

Quirky too!

Then, I found myself being pulled to Trafalga Square by intuition. And with my luck, came upon the Big Dance 2012 grand finale. The Big Dance is like an organized flash mob that randomly pops up in spots around the UK. It just so happens that their last HOORA was in Trafalga Square, where hundreds of dancers, young and old, grooved to the music. The screens flashed between their dances and clips of historical Olympic moments, which made my hairs stand up to see the beautiful and inspiring flashes of pride, happiness, and failure... There were thousands of people surrounding the square, but luckily, I got VIP standing with my research media pass! 

Continuing to push through the rain, I met up with my Greek friends, Stavroula and Arionas, for dinner and drinks. They introduced me to one of their go-to Italian restaurants by Paddington, and the gnocchi really pushed me over the edge. It's funny to me that although we're from far corners of the world, and from very different cultures, we can relate to each other easily because we share the same problems with money, family, academics, you name it!

Jumping to more fun free events (LIMITLESS here), I listened to a Paul Simon concert in Hyde Park with another Princeton student. He may be THE luckiest person alive, landing himself a FREE Bruce Springsteen ticket yesterday but just standing in front of the ticket area. The sun finally showed some love today, and it was so enjoyable to just chat about American/Canadian in the park. (Although he NAILS the BBC British accent, which will be making a special appearance on my blog soon!)

Oh and to preview the Olympic village folks, here it is! It is completely closed right now except for contractors and security. When I visited today, there was nearly a hundred military personnels on site...I'm not sure if you guys have heard, but G4S, the private security company, came up short with their staff TWO weeks before the Olympics, so 3500 extra British troops were called in to fill the gap.

Lots more on Olympic stuff tomorrow!

[kaffinengrand]

Friday the Thirteenth

Last night's adventure for dinner turned out to be a search for scissors (it occurred to me that I REALLY needed to them for clipping newspaper articles for research). Where does one find scissors in a place like this? Not the grocery store, or the convenience store...and there's no Staples anywhere! Finally, after walking around in the rain (more on rain later), I gave up and bought a pair of nail scissors from the pharmacy. 10 pounds! talk about ridiculous. 

Let's talk about rain. It rains EVERYDAY here. and I'm from Vancouver, one of the wettest cities in the world, but nothing like this. It's summer! However, I love the clouds. They are like facial expressions on someone that you can read easily. When the gray clouds roll in, you know it's coming down hard. 

And when it's sunny, with thin wisps of white, you cherish the rare moments even more.

After being advised by several people that the London markets are a MUST-GO, I ventured to my first one: the Camden markets. It was an extensive network of streets and canals, consisting of three small markets. One of them was the Horse Tunnel market, which has been around since 1854.

And you can really find everything here, from clothes to food, to cheap tattoos. My favorite part was that all the food stands were beside a canal, and small motorbikes were placed to accommodate seating.

Camden market was definitely very different than the one I went to with KP in Paris, which were all stands set up under a metro bridge. Camden market was more permanent, steady (and regular) customers every day of the week.

One thing I have really discovered in Europe is LEBANESE FOOD! (hey Carter; oh and re-discovered yogurt, but more later) My parents and I first tried it in a restaurant in the Latin Quarters in Paris, and just my luck, I live two blocks away from a middle-eastern area in London! There are so many Lebanese restaurants/cafes around, I didn't know how to choose. It also didn't help that half of them had Arabic signs and menus, but the £3.5 meal option quickly convinced me. I got the mixed Shawara with chicken, beef and lamb, wrapped in a pita with yogurt sauce and some kind of spice, which is similar to the Greek gyros that I (and Slater and Kaspar...He ate 3 one day, no joke) lived off of last summer.

Ok, sleepy time! Excited to hang out with my Greek friends tomorrow, Arionas and Stavroula, whom I met last summer through Nikita. They're here getting their masters at UCL, and actually live one tube station away from me. Such a small world!

OH, and I found a pool here! Which I think completes my "settling-in" process. The only problem was that I couldn't get a monthly membership, because you can only pay online with a British bank account (logistical problems...), but I'm willing to pay per visit. ANYTHING is better than the frustrations of Greece, where a foreigner needed 5 doctor notes to swim (gyno, cardio, ortho, dermatologist AND regular doctor). this place even has zumba classes!!! (come take it with me Nicky!)

[kaffinengrand]

You have to go to nandos, my favorite! :)))

haha I've been told it's awesome. Will try it out tomorrow, thanks! :)

[kaffinengrand]

Twelfth of July

First blog post, but feeling a little behind considering that I've been in Europe for almost 2 weeks now! Finally settled down in my single in the University of London housing on the north-east side of Hyde Park. It's not my 260 sq. ft. Dod single, but it's fully equipped with a sink, and even a tea kettle!

My favoUrite part (now that I'm in the UK, I can start using the British/Canadian spelling again! Vonderrrrful) is the little backyard/garden.

Sad part is, my parents left this morning! This trip was a big step for them, but I loved seeing them for more than just two weeks this year. Now, the loneliness sets in a bit...especially after hanging out with 24 brilliant students 24/7 for two and half weeks straight (miss you guys!)...and then transitioning to a couple friends, and now, SOLO exploring!

Paris, I have to say was a DREAM. It made me appreciate everything around me (mostly because everything was so beautiful), but at the same time, I experienced huge culture shock coming directly from middle-of-nowhere-Indiana. Versailles, for example, was extravagant to the point of excess. Every room was filled with treasures, from the ceilings to the gardens. It was such a big change from being around students who didn't have much...

A couple of my best students at X-Mester (the beloved cowboys) from Danville (aka farmville), Indiana.

Nonetheless, Paris was still amazing. I'm not big on going to touristy landmarks everyday (how non-Ajin of me, I know), so it was great to spend 2 days with KP after doing all the popular sights with my parents. We just walking around, and spontaneously ran into markets, and cute streets, and not to mention ALMOND CROISSANTS! One of my favourites was walking around at night...no joke, the Notre Dame is beautiful from every angle at anytime of the day.

Ok, this is shaping up to be a long post already, so more on London tomorrow! Off to find some dinner options! (Mary, I haven't had the chance to try Nando's yet, but I loved Wagamama! Will report back soon)