Game of Scones: June 2012

I am currently writing my last final post for my study abroad blog. I am on the flight home and figured I should write about my final days in London. My journal has turned into a sort of diary for myself, which I can always look back on in the future and remember what I experienced. It is going to be bittersweet to look back and read it, but I know it will bring back great memories.

Tuesday May 29^th

Tuesday was my last final. My friend Shay’s birthday was the day before (the 28^th), but since we all had finals on the 29^th we did not get to celebrate properly. Though we had a nice brunch picnic in Tabard Gardens on her actual birthday, the real party was the 29^th. After my final, Zach and I literally sprinted out of the finals room and caught the first tube back to the dorm. We got dressed for our night and met up with some friends. We went to Piccadilly Circus to our favorite ‘club’ (which is pushing it) called Piccadilly Institute. We had all been there before, but since Tuesday was their student night, it was cheap and easy. Since we got there super early before the bouncers start charging for entrance (we are cheap college kids), we ended up just sitting around for an hour or two just chatting away and relaxing now that almost all of us were done with finals. As the night progressed, the place got more crowded and we danced the night away. We got home around 4 AM the next day, which is way past my bedtime. Also, now since the sunrises super early, we basically went to the bed as the sun was rising. Not pleasant since our shades are so bad!!

The Birthday Girl getting goofy in Piccadilly Station.

Piccadilly Institute

Zach and I survived together!

Piccadilly Institute

Leaving the club at night into Piccadilly Circus

Piccadilly Circus at night.

Wednesday May 30^th

I was leaving on Sunday, so I only had a couple days to enjoy in London. The first stop was getting my last meal at the Blue Eye Maid. That weekly lunch date became so much more than just good Indian food, but it became a special place to my friend’s group. We went there to complain, gossip, and just waste time. We became friendly with the workers and to be quite honest, I should’ve gotten compensation for bringing in so much business. After getting my fill, Zach and I walked off lunch by making our way to Tower Bridge. We walked along the Thames and acted like mini tourists taking pictures.

Never forget the Indian Buffet!

After wandering, I made my way to the Globe Theatre. Taking the tour of the globe is like 16 pounds, which is just way expensive and not even worth it since it is not even the original!! But, I still wanted to see a play in it! While the actual Shakespeare Company does not perform until late June, the Globe was having a special series of ‘plays from around the world.’ Basically, it was all the most famous Shakespeare plays performed in any and every language. Romeo and Juliet was in Chinese, Hamlet was in French, and Othello was performed by a Chicago troop in ‘Ebonics.’ All of the famous plays had been sold out by the time I bought my tickets, but I did get three for me and my friends to see The Comedy of Errors, which is one of Shakespeare’s earliest plays. We originally thought the play was in Brazilian Portuguese, but actually found it was going to be performed by an Afghan group in the Persian dialect of Dari. What we didn’t know is that along with the language being changed, the environment and names would also be changed. So instead of the Comedy of Errors being performed in ancient Rome, it was being performed in Afghan cities. The characters had Persian names and had Persian costumes. They did stick true to Shakespearean times by having no real set and almost no objects. They even had one of the female characters played by a man. What made the play that much better is that half the audience spoke Dari and the other half had absolutely no idea what was going on. Since the play was a comedy, the actors would say a line and random people would just laugh out loud while everyone else just nervously giggled. There were screens in the globe giving a one-line summary of the scene in English to help out.

What I can say about the play is that even though it was not in English, I truly enjoyed it. As you probably know, you don’t really need to know what is being said in order to understand the plotline. If the actors are good enough, you can follow along just as well. I mean, it is the same for when the plays are performed in Old English. I don’t know ‘ye’ and ‘thee,’ just as I don’t understand Dari. Moreover, I really liked how the play had a cultural feel to it. You could tell there were cultural jokes that only Afghani people would understand. There was a lot of dancing and singing that was added to the plot, all for comedic relief. Also, there was a three person pitt of some sort that played Afghan instruments as the actors acted out scenes. The actors even got to interact with them.

Since it is cheaper to see a play than to buy tickets for a tour, I had bought 5 pound groundling tickets. That means I get to stand in the center of the theatre and watch at eye level. Yes it is tiring to stand, but being so close to the stage and actors is super intimate and fun. The actors would run around the crowd and interact with people. The Globe itself is super small, so even if you buy tickets for a seat, you can get a good view from anywhere. Moreover, with groundling tickets you could leave and enter whenever you want. With that relaxed environment, you could not complain.

After the play, I separated off my friends and made my way up to Reagents Park. I was unsure about the weather for the rest of the week and wanted to make sure I got the most of it. I had been to Reagents Park earlier in the year with Erica, but when we went it was winter and none of the gardens had bloomed, so obviously I had to go back. It was definitely worth it the trip. Queen Mary’s garden in the Park has roses on roses and paths leading to just breathtaking flowers. The scent is remarkable and just gorgeous. I walked along the river and sat in the grass for a while until I felt a little bit of rain.

Reagent's Park

Jubilee Gates leading into Queen Mary's Garden in Reagent's Park

Queen Mary's Garden

Since I had completed no touristy shopping while I’ve been here, I ran to Oxford Street and did some shopping. It was the most expensive and had to give my mother a heads up. After a little too much shopping, I headed back to my flat and made myself an eclectic dinner of what was left in my fridge. At night, we all headed out to a bar/club called Walkabout. Walkabout has zero affiliation with Kings College, but it is right next to our campus and has student nights on Wednesdays, when is when everyone has their sport matches. That means that as soon as the sport teams finish, they head off to Walkabout to get a pint. Casual Brits…Walkabout on Wednesdays is a ‘Kings Tradition’ and everyone goes. I had never been since I always had class Thursday and I am not on a sports team. I made sure I went to the last main one with all my friends.

I was not prepared for what I ran into. Since almost all of the students were all done finals, they made their way out to Walkabout. I queued an hour even after we jumped half of it. I almost peed my pants in the meantime. Once we got in, I realized this place was no different from a frat. It was just much much bigger. The sports teams kinda ran the place, it was sweaty, the floors were sticky, and people were sloppy drunk. What was awesome about Walkabout this night is that almost everyone I had met at Kings was there. It was a weird reunion/sending off party that nobody planned. I just got to dance and chat with everyone I had met one last time. To make matters even better, they even played the song ‘Call me Maybe’ TWICE. YES!! We danced until 2 AM and the flat+Americans walked back to our dorm. My feet were killing me from walking/dancing all day, but I suffered through. I wanted to Barclay bike back, but no one was into the idea. Once again, I got to go to bed as the sun was rising.

Thursday May 31^st

Thursday was spent shopping a little more. I gave Covent Garden one last visit, which turned out to be one of my most favorite places in London. I was on a mission to find my father a nice tie from London. I asked my British flat mates what they British brands or designers they recommended and they offered up some good ideas. When I went into the actual stores though, I realized that this was not the place to buy my dad a tie. The new fashionable ties are ones that are skinny and long. Moreover, they are some neon pink, purple, or blue with flowers on it. It makes me laugh to picture my dad wearing those ties. Some guy tried to sell me a rainbow-striped tie for my dad and I just laughed in his face. Additionally, when I looked at the prices they ranged from 50-75 POUNDS. HA. I moved on quickly and ended up getting my dad a tie I hope he likes. The guys on my flat seemed to appreciate it, so we shall see. After Covent Garden, I went to Kings College’s Strand Campus one last time to say goodbye even though I never took classes there. I headed back to Trafalgar Square, which is another of my favorite places, and went into the National Gallery one last time. I can successfully say that I am museum-ed out, but I have grown fond of the Gallery and have my favorite paintings there. Since I was so tired from the day before, I accidentally took a nap when I sat down in the comfy viewing chairs and was awoken by a worker. Oops! Well, I walked around one last time, said goodbye to my free museum.

The main building at Kings

Canada giving the Queen a shoutout at Trafalgar Quare

Setting up for the Jubilee in Trafalgar

Later that day, a group of us walked back to Monument, climbed the approximately 200 stairs, and got our final view of the London skyline. We stayed up there for almost 45 minutes just enjoying the amazing weather, view, and church bells that for some reason were playing uncontrollably!

View from Monument.

The wind up at the top of monument made Zach and I feel as if we were
skydiving again.

As we had been busy for the past 2 nights, people wanted to lay low that night. We decided to go to Nandos for dinner, which is one of my favorite restaurants. It is a nicer chain that sells just chicken. Such good chicken….Afterwards we walked back over to Covent Garden to Snog for desert. Snog is a frozen yogurt place that is basically heaven. My friend Toby literally goes every day and the guys that work there have learned his name and order. Speaking of the men that work there, they are all blond, tall, and muscular. Like, just take Hollister models and given them frozen yogurt and they could work at Snog. But, the guys would just need to be completely bleach blond. It is a huge laugh. Snog has become a flat favorite and we tend to find ourselves having desert there a lot. It is a nice 1 hour walk from Borough that takes you to Waterloo, over Waterloo Bridge, up Strand, to Covent Garden. This time when we got to Snog it became a special occasion as Toby, Thomas, and Aysha both got two Snog Specials, which is like saying 2 ‘gotta have it’ at Coldstone. They were yellow by the end of the second one and I couldn’t tell if the workers enjoyed the site or were disgusted with us. We walked off our big dinner on the way back to the dorm and at this point I was feeling a little sick, but we will get to this later…

Amazing sky on the Thames

Thomas, Aysha, and Toby getting their second
rounds of Snog.

Anyways, it became a tradition to end our nights in Thomas’s room, as in my entire flat will just plop down on Tom’s floor and chat until 3 AM. It can get goofy and weird, but especially by the end it was really comforting that I was getting to spend a lot of time with everyone.

Friday June 1^st

As I mentioned before, I wasn’t feeling so hot and this carried into Friday. I woke up Friday ill with the shivers, but sweating. I couldn’t tell if it was from the Nandos or a virus I had picked up. I had been getting little sleep and was stressed earlier that compromises the immune system, but no matter the cause it was a real Debbie downer. I really couldn’t handle myself. I stayed in bed most of the day and watched movies. I attempted to start packing, but I was too nauseous and too sad. My flat felt so bad for me and tried to be accommodating. Each one actually spent a good amount of time in my room just sitting and talking to me. I guess they realized they were going to miss me ;)

It was a friend’s birthday that night and I had been planning to go out, but I realized if I did then I would just be sitting near a toilet all night. While I didn’t physically go out, I went down to the Birthday kid’s flat and sang to him, mingled, ate some cake, etc etc. It was the last time I was going to see some of the people, so it was my first real time at saying goodbyes. It still hadn’t hit me that I was leaving in two days. AH! So when everyone else left, I ate the chicken noodle soup Shay brought me, packed a little, and watched the original Alice in Wonderland with Tom.

The highlight of this day was when my flat in its entirety walked into my room with a little gift they made me. It was a picture collage with photos of my time here and on the back were personally notes they wrote me. I hate crying in front of people, but I just couldn’t help it. They made sure the collage had a picture of me with each one of them and some of the best memories we’ve had. It was so special and just showed how much of an impact we have had on each other. Later, we took a family flat picture that I plan on blowing up and hanging on my wall.

Top row left to right: Jade, Aysha, me, Emma
Bottom row left to right: Oren, Toby, Thomas

My flat on a normal day.

Saturday June 2^nd

Sick or not, I was not going to let my last day go to waste. I woke up super early since I had slept so much the previous day and finished my major packing. I am super impressed with my packing as I accumulated so much crap over the time. When my American friends finally woke up, we headed over to Borough Market for the last time. I was feeling a little better, but still not up to par. We have become somewhat possessive of Borough Market, as we live down the road from it, and it was super hard to say goodbye. I bought all my veggies there for months now and learned the place like the back of my hand. Oh, you want good peppers? Well, you walk past the tea place, make the third right, walk past the bread stands, and into the store. You want to go to the brewery? It is in between the paella and duck sandwich! I splurged and finally bought a sandwich I had wanted for so long. It was kind of expensive, but so worth it. It is basically a huge cheese sandwich that is melted and covered in onions. I couldn’t finish it since it was so big and I wasn’t feeling so hot, so I shared it with friends. From the market, we walked along the South Bank all the way down to Westminster Bridge. Since the Jubilee flotilla was the next day, the walkway started to get crowded with tents with people camping out for good seats. At Westminster, we said goodbye the London Eye, Parliament/Big Ben, and Westminster Abbey. We wandered through St. James Park and I saw Buckingham Palace from afar. London is literally COVERED in Union Jacks for the Jubilee and it just so festive. I couldn’t get enough of it and was still in disbelief that I was missing it.

Camping out for seats for the Jubilee Flotilla!

On the Thames

Jubilee decorated road leading up to the palace.

Flags everywhere!

My favorite English boys at tea!

From Trafalgar Square, we caught a bus down Strand to St. Paul’s Cathedral, where we met my flatmates for tea. It had gotten chiller again, but as I was sipping my warm tea the sun came out and toasted us. I had to quickly eat my scones and clotted cream before the heat ruined them. We chatted for an hour or so, then crossed the Millennium Bridge back to our dorm.

Back at the dorm I watched a little of the National English versus Belgium football match and chilled with my flat in Tom’s room. Since it was my last night, they wanted me to decided where we were eating dinner and this process turned into a two hour ordeal. We ended up choosing a BBQ restaurant near Tower Bridge. We literally ran there since we were late to our reservations, but then spent hours there talking. On the way there, we did get to see some of the boats for the flotilla on the river. So cute. Also, at night Tower Bridge is light up red, white, and blue for the Jubilee. The red and blue make more of a purple, which could also be done on purpose, but is still a really nice sight to see. Walking back was not an option as it started to pour, so I got to take the tube one last time! So bittersweet. I have come to love public transportation. Yes it is super expensive, but just so damn convenient!

As no one wanted to go to bed/say goodbye a big group of us ended up watching Dodgeball in Tom’s room. Afterwards, the Americans left and we said our ‘see you laters.’ It was hard to say goodbye to the Americans I have made friends with, but they all live so close by and go to school near me. Most of them go to Fordham, which is only in NYC and a place I could easily visit/want to visit! Also, my cousin is going there next year, so it is perfect reason for me to visit. One of the American’s younger brothers is going to Villanova next year, which is right next to me so I know I’ll see her around…and probably even her younger brother.

The English people on the other hand stuck around with me until 3 AM in Tom’s room. We were all so tired, but no one wanted to go to bed knowing I was leaving in the morning. We just stopped talking after a while and sat around together. I made them all promise me I would see them in the morning before I left.

Sunday June 3^rd

After no more than 4 hours of sleep, I woke up to do some final packing and ‘cleaning.’ I felt so bad as I had to throw so much stuff out, but I tried to give away/donate anything that I could to my flatmates. I just left food, hangers, plates, etc in the kitchen hoping they would either want it or donate it. My English friends kept their promise and woke up early. They all helped me carry my stuff down to the lobby where I handed in my keys, loaded my stuff into the taxi, and said my final goodbyes. I am so bad at goodbyes and I always cry as soon as I leave them. It made it awkward on the taxi driver, who tried to comfort me the whole time. It was the hardest to say goodbye to my English friends since I really don’t know when I will see them again. I know I will be back in London someday, but I don’t know where we will be in our lives and how much will have changed. I had grown to be so close to them and for 5 months, their lives and friends had become mine. Now I have to go home and find a ‘new life’ as no one wants to hear my British gossip or can even understand it! I love them all so much and I really hope they know that!

An ongoing joke: This was made by a flatmate
and it puts each one of us with our animal look-
a-likes. Supposedly I am a badger.

My journey to the airport did not go as smoothly as planned. As my goodbyes were too short, I literally started bawling in the taxi. The taxi driver, who happened to be a nice Scottish man from Glasgow, tried for the 45 minutes ride to cheer me up. Also because of the Jubilee, everything is just shut down, so we had to take the dodgiest way to the airport. Anyways- as I am crying my eyes out, he tries to talk to me about how much I have loved London, which just got me crying more. When we get to the airport, I just pay him and run in since I am the most embarrassed. And when I say ‘run,’ I mean hobble since I had 4+ bags with me that weighed each around 30 kg.

The weather in London when I left was proper London weather as it was cloudily, rainy, and cold. Too bad the Jubilee is…NOW!! I have become accustomed to this weather and now it will be hard to get readjusted to the heat and humidity. I did get a good laugh hearing the Americans complaining about how cold it was outside. It is like 50 degrees and they were crying. This is like…beautiful weather for me!!!

So I get in line at US Airways and I am faced with the reality that (1) I am officially going home (2) Airports suck (3) My flight is all Americans, which have grown to annoy me. Literally. The people in line with me were ‘bro’ laxers who were wearing their lacrosse pinney’s and backward sunglasses. DID THEY NOT SEE THE RAIN OUTSIDE? Also, they were playing the guitar in line.

So, I finally get into the self-check in counter. And the machine BREAKS. After waiting for 10 minutes until the guy noticed that my machine broke, he moves me to another machine. AND THAT MACHINE FREAKING BREAKS. I am also wearing like 6 bags on me, wearing 4 jackets, still somewhat sick, and emotionally unstable after leaving my loved onses at GDSA. As I am legit tearing up in front of the people in line, I was finally just put to the front where they manually printed out my ticket and checked my two bags without weighing them (thank the lord).

NOW, on to the best part. Well, I usually never travel with a laptop. Why would I? And the security guys in line usually remind you to take out your laptop and ipods. Since I am hungry, tired, sad, and already angry and no one reminded me of taking it out I forget to take out my laptop. It was almost like a bomb went off in Heathrow because they swarmed my backpack and yelled 2-inches from my face, “EXCUSE ME MA’AM, WE’RE GOING TO HAVE TO CHECK THIS.’ Mind you, I packed to the fullest amount possible and my blue backpack when I left was so full it was about to rip at the seams. The look on the Indian security guard’s face when he opened it was hilarious. Since it had to be properly checked, he had to take out each piece of stuff that I specifically packed in place and put it in a bin. My bag was like a clown car as it took around 7 minutes for him to entirely unpack it and look through it. I also had to explain what my retainers were. [Proof that English people still have no idea what proper dental/ortho care is]. I was standing there with another American dude who was also waiting to get his bag checked and we literally just laughed for 20 minutes. It was all because I forgot to take out my dumb laptop and they assumed I was a terrorist. Fine, in London standards I am ‘somewhat brown,’ but I ain’t gonna blow you up so calm down.

It took me another 20 minutes to repack my bag and when I finished, the security guards gave me a mini-applause. I kid you not. I gave them a look and ran into the waiting area. My gate was a 20 minute walk from the waiting area and it was a goooood thing (sarcasm) I had two extremely heavy bags. I broke a major sweat on the walk there. I did get to sneak on my 4 carry ons somehow, so I can’t really complain!

I am excited to see my family again, but it will be hard to come to terms with leaving behind London and my friends. I hope I don’t get too bored in suburbia now that I am ‘spoiled’ by the city life. Also, I don’t know when my next visit to London will be and I can only hope it is soon so I can reunite with all my uni friends.

I had completed everything I had wanted to do in London on my study abroad experience. My bucket list is checked off completely. I couldn’t have asked for anything more or any better people. I will be that ‘annoying study abroad kid’ just because I have made so many memories that I want to share with people, even if they don’t want to listen. My world has been expanded beyond belief and I cannot wait to take everything I have learned about life and myself from my time in London and grow with it. London will always have a special place in my heart.

For those who actually finished reading this, thank you for being an audience! While this started for family and friends, it also became a good event for me as it helped me reflect and remember. I land in an hour or so, so see everyone so soon!

Game of Scones

Sunday, June 3, 2012

The Final Post