Game of Scones

Thursday, May 24, 2012

The Evolution of my Room

Living in London for almost 6 months, I have acquired....a lot. Also, while traveling I tried to pick up postcards from each place to decorate my walls. Now my room is full of character and pizzaz. Weird to think that I will be having to pack everything back up so soon to head back to America!

BEFORE

AFTER

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Sunburnt in London?!

I think nice weather has finally hit London for good. I don't want to jinx it, but today it was almost 75 degrees. Basically when the sun is out, Londoners flock out of their homes and just strip down to minimal clothing in order to take in some sun. If there is sun, every park in London is full and no one is being productive.

I did work in the morning and then went on the weekly group date to our Indian buffet for lunch. While I had planned on being productive in the afternoon, it was just too nice to go back to my room and do work. I took my work to the park behind my dorm called Tabard Gardens and sat with some friends.

Living in London, I have learned that I am culturally ambiguous. People that I look Spanish, Italian, Jewish, annnnd mostly Middle Eastern. This is a prime example: So, I am sitting in the gardens listening to my music and this older woman walks up and literally sets up camp right next to me. I thought nothing of it, but she suddenly started talking to me. I had to take my earphones out to understand her, but when I did I realized she was talking to me in Arabic! It took me a couple seconds and then I replied that I don't speak Arabic. Well as it turns out, the Middle Eastern woman is taking English classes and needed help on her homework. I ended up basically helping this woman cheat on her homework since I ended up doing all the writing. Anyways, in the end she thanked me in her broken english and swore she "thought I was a Muslim girl." I wasn't offended, but more confused. Maybe it is the fact that I haven't gotten my eyebrows done in a while? I'm darker than usual? Whatever, that was not the first nor the last time I will be told I look Middle Eastern.

Obviously being in the gardens with friends meant I was not going to be productive at all. Which is just GREAT given that my first final is Thursday. That being said, I had one of the best days in a while. After being cooped up in my room being slightly depressed/lacking Vitamin D, it was nice being outside with friends. A big group of us started to accumulate, which was nice since people are starting to leave and I want to make sure I spend time with everyone before we all separate. A couple hours later we headed to the Roebuck Pub for a drink and to soak up more sun.

When I got back to my room, I realized that I had gotten burnt! This is laughable due to the fact that there is almost NO sun in England and the one time I venture outside, I get some color. I mean, I LOVE it since I am the most pasty EVER. I am giving a presentation on medical cannabis tomorrow for a class, so I decided to bake brownies for my class. (Get it?) Hopefully they like them/the joke.

I actually just got back from a local pub. Most of my flatmates are done and we want to spend as much time possible together before I leave. Next week we are planning on going to an amusement park right outside of London as a flat! Can't wait!....I just need to survive this next week....

Here is an accumulation of pictures of where I live/the sun today!

The Saturday Flower Market in Shoreditch.
All plants go for a 'fiver!'

The Saturday Flower Market in Shoreditch.

A plaque commemorating the original Shakespeare Globe Theater.
The original globe is about half a mile away from the
one on the Thames now.

Walking down Borough almost at Great Dover Street.

Tabard Street! Also known as Stab-ard Street. It runs
behind my dorm and has the park along it.

Walking back to my dorm on Tabard Street.

On Tabard Street. On the left is the park. On the near right is
estate housing and in the distance on the right
is my dorm.

An apartments neighborhood right next to my dorm.

Once a week, we indulge.
The workers know our name now. It's scary.

The Blue Eyed Maid - a pub on the bottom floor and the Indian restaurant/buffet
on the second floor. At night (every night), the pub turns into a karaoke bar.
Mostly adults go to the Blue Eye Maid and are always awful at singing.

Friends lounging in Tabard Gardens.

Tabard Gardens with The Shard in the distance.

Tom and I in the park.

Tabard Gardens right behind my dorm.

SEE THAT WHITE DOG IN THE MIDDLE OF THE PICTURE.
That dog is in Tabard Park EVERY DAY and I see it ALWAYS
when I walk to class. It is the happiest dog I've ever seen (except for Simmy)
and is so well behaved. I NEED TO MEET THIS DOG BEFORE I LEAVE.

Some of the group in Tabard Gardens.

The London Bridge and the 'City of London' borough at night.

I splurged and bought the special Diamond Jubilee Magazine (seen on left).
It was super expensive, but necessary...obviously?

Monday, May 21, 2012

Football & Banksy

This past Saturday was the Champions League football final between England’s Chelsea and Germany’s Bayern Munich. I don’t go out of my way to watch football games over here, but whenever there is a big one on, they are hard to miss. Either the pubs all over London are showing them or one of my flatmates is watching in the kitchen.

What I’ve learned over here is that there are multiple football leagues and the best way for me to describe them is by depicting an onion. An onion has multiple layers almost like the leagues here. There are multiple leagues in England and there are in some ranking order. Obviously, the most famous one is the Premier League, which has teams like Chelsea, Arsenal, Fulham, and Liverpool. These are the big names. Under the Premier League are like tons of other leagues, but go down in descending order on how good they are. The Football League Championship is ‘Level 2’ and then Football League One is ‘Level 3.’ Under that it goes Football league Two, Conference National, and then all the way down to Northern Premier League Premier which is the worst league. This is super confusing since I never know which team is in what league or which league is better than another. Obviously, this system is more complicated than back at home where in American football we just have the AFC and NFC or in baseball when we have the American League and the National League.

To make matters worse/more complicated, each team is never really safe in their league. Every year, they not only compete to win their league, but to either move up a league or remain in their league. For example, the bottom three teams of the season from the Premier League are demoted down to the Football League Championship. For the Football League Championship, the top three teams are promoted up to the Premier League and the bottom three are demoted down to the Football League One. This ‘top three’ and ‘bottom three’ is approximately the same for all 8 leagues. I guess all this movement makes each season new and exciting because you get to play new teams each year and its always stressful since you never know where you’ll be.

By the way, those leagues I just talked about are just for England. The game I watched on Saturday night was the Champions League, which is a league for all the teams in Europe. I am not sure how the teams get chosen to play in the finals, but this year it was Chelsea versus Munich. Ironically, Chelsea didn’t win the Premier League title (Man City did) so I really have no idea how they got to the Champions League.

I wouldn’t have even known about this game if it weren’t for Oren having a mini-watching party in our kitchen. I went in to make dinner and suddenly the whole KCL hockey team was there, so I decided to stick around and watch the game with them. The game was exhilarating and it was hilarious hearing the guys screaming at the screen. No one really like Chelsea, so it was basically a lot of screaming of “wankers” and other curses I will refrain from writing.

Basically, Chelsea is known to be that team that plays awful for most of the game and then suddenly scores in the last 5 minutes to win the game. Everyone hates it and everyone recognizes it. Throughout the game Munich was outrunning and having more shots on goal. It was 0-0 up to the 75’ mark when Munich finally scored. Everyone was cheering and they thought that would be the game. Well lo-and-behold around the 85’ mark Chelsea scored some crappy goal to tie it up. The boys were furious and were even angrier due to the fact that they would now need to watch overtime. “If they would’ve only just let Munich win!” 30 minutes of overtime later, it was still 1-1, which meant penalty kicks. The boys were literally furious and were sure that ‘Chelsea being Chelsea’ would some how win even though they deserved to be crushed 4-1. Anyways, Munich scores first on the penalty kicks and Chelsea misses. In the second to last penalty kick, Chelsea gets it in and Munich misses, making them TIED AGAIN IN PENALTY KICKS. So basically it came down to the final penalty kick for both sides. Everyone was screaming “Typical Chelsea.” Well, the Munich kicker got cocky, tried to do a fancy kick, and hits the post! With the last kick, the Chelsea player scores and wins the League.

[Side note: The Munich took a penalty kick and got it in! That is almost like a field hockey goalie taking a stroke and scoring. It is almost unheard of and I was so proud for that goalie!]

Let’s just say no English people were happy. But all the Americans on my news feed were there most excited. Goes to show how no British people never really support the big teams.

Anyways, throughout the game I was amazed/stupefied by the football talk going around me. Almost every guy in England can name each player on each team and their manager. Like, there were continuous arguments about this guy being traded and this manager getting fired. Yes, Americans know other players on other teams, but keep in mind there are around 5x more teams in England for football. Also, I don’t know exactly how trading works here in England, but I don’t think players have such long contracts to teams, so they are traded pretty often.

A lot of the boys were Tottenham fans and supposedly had to route against Chelsea because if they lost then they would never get this player, or that manager, or that player would leave the team. Whatever, it was just super stressful in that there is so much to worry about since no player is ever really tied down to a team. Also, in football, team coaches are fired more readily than at home, so they kept on talking who was going and staying. Lastly, betting is huge here, so a lot of guys lost a lot of money on this game!

Chelsea: Champions League Champions

This is a random thought, but it has to do with football. So, Americans always support our soccer teams, especially during the Olympics. What we don’t know is that we aren’t playing against the other countries’ best players. Over each summer is the Euro Cup, which is basically like the FIFA World Cup, but for just Europe. The Euro Cup is a bigger deal than the Olympics for Europe and this is where they send all their best players. That being said, since the English National Team will be playing in the Euro Cup, they will not be playing in the Olympics. The National Team will not be supporting their nation. And this is for all of Europe. So when we loose to these teams like Spain and Germany, American soccer should be embarrassed since we are loosing against their backups.

Moreover, since no one really cares about football in the Olympics, there are still Olympic tickets for the English football games! HA! No one even wanted to pay for them!

Watching football in the UK has really been enjoyable. I felt so damn British watching the game with Oren's friends and cheering on teams. I understand the game more and feel some more connections to teams. I understand why it isn't big in America too. It is not a high scoring game, not the quickest game, and there aren't a lot of fights. But man...when a game is on and you walk by a pub that is literally overfilling with fans holding a pint...THAT's the life. That being said, never try to go to a bar or pub on a game night. It is super awkward when you walk in and there are no seats and everyone's eyes are fixated on the screen.

[Side note: One of Oren's friends was literally the most British thing I had ever met. He had the most posh accent and was so proper. He is from Suffolk and when I asked him to describe the place in three words he said "farms, wealthy,.....very wealthy. His father WENT TO THE ROYAL WEDDING AND MET KATE. And his family has a crest...WHATTT? Things like this still exist.]

Earlier that day, I took a study break by finding the new Banksy art in London. I went on a Banksy scavenger hunt earlier on in the term, but this piece was literally done over the weekend. The graffiti went up Thursday and immediately hit the news. Zach and I went to find it and when we did, it already had been covered by plastic protecting it from the crowds. It is truly amazing how Banksy gets away unnoticed since he does his art in such public places. Like, you’ll see in the pictures below, the graffiti is right off a main road ON a busy store.

The graffiti done by Banksy is depicting a young sweatshop worker bent over a sewing machine. Everyone keeps on saying it is ‘just in time for the Diamond Jubilee’ as if Baksy did this as a message to the Queen. Out of the graffitied sewing machine is real Union Jack bunting that goes across the wall. Most of it has been removed so it can be kept under Plexiglas, but some still remains. After Zach and I saw it, we went into the Poundland store in which the graffiti is drawn on and saw that the store was selling the same bunting! That means Banksy probably walked into the store, bought some bunting, and then directly graffitied it onto the wall! Amazing!

The original artwork with the bunting still intact!

The graffiti now under the Plexiglass.

Me + Banksy

See the graffiti on the lower left? It is in such a public place! And
he still goes unnoticed!

Inside Poundland-
Most likely where Banksy bought the bunting!

You can read more about the graffiti here

My first final is Thursday, which is also the same day as Erica’s graduation! I hope I can keep up the studying!

Oxford Street getting ready for the Jubilee!
It is covered in Union Jacks!

Saturday, May 19, 2012

100 Things I've Learned in London

100 Random and Fun things I’ve learned while studying abroad in London:

British Sarcasm is nothing like American Sarcasm.
British people don’t find us funny.
Just as American’s don’t live like the TV show ‘Friends,’ the British youth do not live like the show ‘Skins.’
Pants in British terms means underwear and trousers mean pants.
It’s a mobile…not a cell phone.
England is not Lord of the Rings. Meaning: it is York-shur NOT York-shire.
People don’t really eat fish and chips that much. They rather have mash, beans, and sausage.
They don’t really know what the word ‘sassy’ means, so I explain it as ‘cheeky with attitude.’
Just as we say ‘bucks’ instead of dollars, Brits say ‘quid’ instead of pounds. “I paid 20 quid for that!”
After work, you don’t head home. You go to a pub and get a pint. Do not be surprised in the afternoon of any day you see dozens of men in suits standing outside a pub having a drink.
Be careful with the coin pounds (£). They are not ‘cheap change’ and you will most likely spend them quickly and freely!
No matter where you are in the world, always look both ways [at least 5 times] when crossing the street.
If you don’t know how to get somewhere, just hop onto a bus in that general direction. You’ll find your way eventually.
The drivers test in England is 10x harder than the one we have in the states.
When buying a Guinness in London, you will never pay less than £2.70 and you should never pay any more than £4.95.
When Tesco has Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream on sale, buy it. You don’t want to be caught paying the full price of £5.50!!!!
Most British bands and singers that we know in the states aren’t that famous in England.
British people are measured in ‘stones.’ 1 stone = 14 pounds.
When you visit England, drink a Magners or Bulmers. They are ciders and we don’t have them at home.
Along the same lines, you should probably try Ginger Beer. That is hard to find at home.
If you want to go to the gym, but are used to lifting in ‘pounds.’ Just take whatever you usually bench/squat and divide it by two. It is a good approximation. (I.E. I want to squat 100 lb. So I put 25 kg on both side of the bar.)
Your British friends most likely will not find that YouTube clip you are about to show them funny.
People run to work and run home from work. If you see someone zoom by with a backpack on, they most likely just got out of work.
Taking the tube is actually a hassle. I would recommend the buses to anyone.
England is the country. The United Kingdom is made up of Scotland, Wales, and England. Great Britain is the UK, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.
Scottish people can’t stand England and England believes Scotland can’t survive without it.
I have a friend whose dogs are named Poppit and Henry. That wins as the most British animal names possible.
The London Tube is a lot more expensive than the Paris Metro, but at least it is not covered in graffiti and pee.
If you hear Adele’s “Someone Like You” in a Karaoke Bar, every English person (male and female) will stop what they are doing and sing along.
In the states, we use the terms “Asian,” “Indian,” and “Middle Eastern,” to refer to certain people, but in England everyone is just “Asian.”
Leicester Square during the day is 100% different than Leicester Square at night.
The Union Jack is the flag of Great Britain. England’s flag is just St George's Cross.
Just as American money has cents, the British money has the pence. To shorten they just call it a ‘p.’ “I’ll give you 50p for that!”
The Queen actually does nothing.
British people don’t care about the monarchy………… at all.
British students still complain about school loans, but they really have no idea at all what real school loans are/how much American schools cost.
You do not want to be called a Chav.
That really pretty bridge you are taking a picture of most likely has a gay club under it at night.
You can only climb The Big Ben if you are a UK citizen.
Harry Potter’s Diagon Alley used to filmed in Covent Garden until they decided to just entirely build a whole new set of it.
Harry Potter’s Gringotts Bank is actually the Australian Embassy.
Dumbledore’s office is found in Kings College’s Maughan Library. If you want to actually do work in there, you should probably show up at 4 AM.
People put mayonnaise on everything. They even eat it plain with French fries.
Do NOT see a movie in Leicester Square. You will pay at least £16.
Geordie Shore is just as bad as the Jersey Shore.
Calling someone ‘fit’ is equivalent to calling someone ‘hot.’
British teens have prom and take it just as seriously, but theirs is outfitted with alcohol since they are legal.
A benefit of having a quasi-socialist government is the BBC. It is probably the most un-biased news ever, as it is funded by citizen taxes.
Northern accents are unbearable.
The British university system makes little to not sense and I am still surprised that people learn here.
Unlike America’s affirmative action, Oxford and Cambridge’s affirmative action means that there must be spots open for public school kids.
If you want your child to be successful and famous, send them to Eton College for prep school.
Hackney (AKA East London) is not as bad as everyone makes it out to seem…now South London on the other hand…
While Americans like to compare American football and rugby, the Brits would be offended to even try liken the two.
Instead of touch football, the youth actually play cricket.
No matter how many times people explain the rules of cricket, you won’t understand it.
Professional cricket games have tea times….and can go on for days.
They had to move the famous guards from the front of Buckingham Palace to behind the gates since so many tourists were harassing them.
If you visit London, you have to visit a £5 Indian buffet. It will change your life.
Though some English people think they are ‘tough,’ I would love to drop them off in Camden, NJ or Detroit and tell them to act ‘tough.’
British people never write z’s in the middle of words. For example, we write colonize. They write ‘colonise.’ We write recognize. They write ‘recognise.’
British people do not know the difference between New York State and New York City.
Subway still has the £5 foot-long even though they don’t measure things in feet.
That being said, they only really know where NYC, LA, Chicago, and D.C. are. The rest of the country is a mystery.
British people don’t understand why American’s always compare ethnic backgrounds. “Aren’t you American?” “Well…no…I’m 20% Irish, 40% Italian, and 40% German…”
According to everyone, England didn’t need America to win WWII….or WWI.
Expect to pay an obnoxious amount of money on groceries.
If you do not get into Medic School (AKA Medical school, which starts freshmen year of uni) then you are screwed and most likely go into Biomedical Sciences.
They play netball instead of basketball.
They don’t understand the concept of a ‘liberal arts education.’
While American’s splurge and go skiing ‘out west,’ the English go to the Alps or Austria. Yeah…I know where I’d rather go…
Primark is a touristy shop. English people see it as cheap and gross, but I see it as a gift to my wallet!
Topshop is overpriced and ridiculous. And that 20% student discount won’t help.
British people don’t eat Mexican food and have a hard time understanding the difference between a burrito and a taco.
That smell you just smelled on the street is most likely marijuana. That’s the ‘bonus’ of everyone rolling their own cigarettes.
From the British prospective, the Falkland Island inhabitants actually want to be UK citizens.
Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre is around a half a mile away from the one standing toady.
ASDA is England’s Wal-Mart. Literally…it is the same thing, but the company had to rename it to ASDA to fool the residents that thought negatively of Wal-Mart.
English people pride themselves of eating fresh food with zero preservatives (Unlike the US), but that also means that all their salads, fruits, and veggies go bad in a day.
There is a Law and Order UK, but it is truly awful.
Abbey Road is a working road, so don’t get hit by residential cars as you cross it.
Dogs in every country except America are well behaved and are never walked on leashes.
In every country except America, expect to find dog poop on the sidewalk.
In London, there is actually a law that states that bikers are forbidden from biking on the sidewalk. I don’t know how there aren’t more accidents.
America is trying to make our healthcare more like the NHS, and England is trying to make their healthcare more like America.
You would be surprised how many British celebrities you don’t know about.
If you are a true Brit, you don’t support a Premiere League team (examples: Chelsea, Manchester United, Liverpool). You support that nothing team from your hometown.
British people don’t have ‘hipsters’ and don’t understand what ‘bro-laxers’ are.
You’ll know when someone has a posh accent when you hear it.
British people use the word proper for everything. ‘Proper tea,’ ‘proper meal,’ or ‘proper sleep.’
Even though it rains so much here, no one really wears rain boots or a proper rain jacket.
They actually say the word ‘bloody.’ “Well why don’t you just go and bloody do it already!”
You don’t know where you are going to university until you get you’re A-level scores back. That means you aren’t really in anywhere really until a month before you move into the dorm.
We say yo-gurt, they say ‘yuur-gurt.’
British university is only three years, but almost everyone takes a gap year between high school and college.
Next year, university tuition in tripling. That means instead of paying £3,000 a year, students are paying a whopping £9,000.
The new socialist government in France will do wonders for London. Since the rich are now going to be taxed 75% in France, they all plan on moving into Chelsea and Kensington in London and spending all their mullah.
After 5 PM on Sundays, all the big groceries are closed, so don’t make that mistake…
The month of May is a month of rain. You can go up to 2 weeks without seeing the sun.
When you ask any British person to mock an American, three thing will always come up: Obama, Jesus, and Hamburgers….oh- and how loud we are.

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

A 'Wee Bit' of an adventure in Edinburgh!

My friend from Haverford, Sarah, is currently studying abroad this semester in Edinburgh. Since my finals are late in May, I decided I would visit her in Scotland. As it worked out, another friend from Haverford, Christie (AKA Quake) would be there the same time as me and it would become a mini reunion!

Coincidentally, the other week I went to the square where William Wallace was executed (Think of Mel Gibson screaming FREEEEEEEDOMMM!!!) So I guess after that I was ready to visit Scotland...

May 10

The trip started with me catching a train out of Kings Cross Station up to Edinburgh. The train ride was a little longer than 4 hours and I expected to study and rest a little on it. I had not traveled much out of London and into the rest of England, so this would be a nice way to see the countryside. I was pleasantly surprised by how nice England was. Especially I guess this time of year there were fields everywhere of yellow flowers. It was really gorgeous. We made stops in cities along the way like York and Newcastle and I would have to agree with my British friends that the Northern cities are not the prettiest things. Newcastle was seriously hideous.

My trip was somewhat interrupted by a northern man sitting next to me. When he initially came up to my row, he asked me a question. I literally had zero idea what he said to me and he had to repeat it like 3 times…he was only asking if he could sit next to me. Looking back, I should have said someone was sitting there, but at the time I thought nothing of it. Well, THIS GUY decided to call almost everyone in his freaking mobile contact book and talk LOUDLY to them. To make matters worse, his northern accent was SO strong, that he just sounded like he was talking gibberish. My English friends always joke about the Northern accents, but I never fully understood them until I heard this guy talk. Ohhhh my lord. With my iPhone, I creepily recorded him talking in order to prove how awful this guy’s diction was. [Side note: When I got back to my flat, I asked my friends to see if they could understand him/translate what he was saying. They had zero idea. I guess that just goes to show that even though England is a small country, each part just really drastically differs from one another.] To prove how awful his accent is, please watch video below:

Finally, I got to Edinburgh around 8 PM and met up with Sarah. It was raining when I arrived (no surprise). Edinburgh is much more highly than London (which has no hills) and I was pleasantly surprised by the different surroundings. Edinburgh had a great feel to it. It is an older looking city with nice stone buildings. Plus, on the outskirts of the city there are really pretty hills and you can even spot Arthur’s Seat from spots around the city.

Sarah had her last final the next day, so we went back to her room and studied. Well…more like caught up and studied a little. I met some of her study abroad friends, who were really cool. After getting a little work done, we decided to go to bed.

May 11

We woke up a little late and decided to watch 30 Rock from the night before. Sarah wanted to de-stress before her final, so the TV show was a perfect touch. When the time for her final came around, she dropped me off at a coffee shop nearby, so I could do some work while she took her final. I attempted to be productive and was so happy when Sarah came to pick me up! To celebrate Sarah being done her last final, we went to a bar and got a cider. From there, we went to the bus station and waited for Quake to arrive. Since it was torrential down pouring, everything was super delayed. Two hours and a lot of rain later, we finally met up with Christie. Quake is studying abroad in Grenada, Spain, so the 45-degree weather and rain was a rude wake up call. Oh, the pleasures of the United Kingdom!

The Weather Channel....everyday.

After Quake dropped her stuff off in Sarah’s room, Sarah took us out to a local restaurant she likes. Sarah got Quake to try a Scottish dish called Haggis. Haggis is made from a sheep’s heart, liver, and lungs mixed with onion, spices, and oatmeal. I was and still am convinced it is not kosher, so I got out of trying it. Quake said it wasn’t too bad, but we withheld the ingredients from her. After dinner, we sat in Sarah’s kitchen for hours just talking and catching up with each other. I saw Sarah earlier in the semester when she visited London, but I haven’t seen Quake since December. We talked about our study abroad experiences, Haverford, and field hockey. We then went off to sleep in preparations for the next day.

May 12

When we all awoke, we were BLESSED with a gorgeous day. Well…a gorgeous day in the United Kingdom is (1) a blue sky (2) little wind (3) any temperature over 48-degrees. Quake strongly disagreed with our definition of a ‘nice day,’ as she thinks Spain’s temperature is the best, but for Sarah and I this weather was a gift.

We began our day by walking towards the Edinburgh Castle. Edinburgh’s castle is situated on a ragged hill and overhangs on some cliffs. It is truly beautiful and can be viewed from all over the city. We walked up to the gate, but decided not to pay to go in. Sarah said she had gone in previously and didn’t think it was worth it, partly since it is 16 pounds to enter! AH! We found a market behind the castle and decided to explore. Like Borough Market, it is full of freebies and yummy samples. We got some good chocolate, salsa, and bread. We splurged and got some porridge. A little bland, but I can’t really complain.

Edinburgh Castle

Edinburgh

Edinburgh Castle

Edinburgh

Edinburgh Castle

You could tell we were really enjoying ourselves.

Enjoying our Porridge!

From there, we walked to Calton Hill. Calton Hill, Arthur’s Seat, and Castle Rock are all part of the inactive volcano from the Ice Ages. On the hill were a bunch of random monuments each dedicated to something. The hill also provided a breathtaking view of the city and Arthur’s Seat. We all had mini photo shoots since we all three had cameras and wouldn’t stop taking pictures of the view and each other.

Walking to Calton Hill...

Union Jack & Scottish Flag

Calton Hill

View of the city from Calton Hill

The Crag + Arthur's Seat

Calton Hill

Quake and I exploring the monument/having a photo shoot

After we explored Calton Hill, the three of us walked toward the Crag and Arthur’s Seat. In doing so we walked by Scotland’s Parliament, which is surprisingly modern and drastically different from England’s. If you didn’t know better, you would’ve just thought it was ugly apartment buildings.

View of Calton Hill from afar.

The Modern Looking Parliament

Sarah decided that we would climb the Crag before we climbed Arthur’s Seat. For some reason, I thought it would be a nice little hike, but I was rudely surprised with the steep incline. This was a nice workout and a wake up call. We each would hide our breaks for breath saying “Oh, I stopped to take pictures!!” but really we were dying. Sarah said she tried once to run up it as a workout, but failed miserably. I still give her props for trying. After what felt like forever, we made it to the top of the crags and got an awesome view of the city.

Starting to climb the Crag

View of the city from the Crag

The Crag

View of Arthur's seat from the Crag

The Crag

View of the Crag as we walked towards Arthur's Seat

Nature always likes to play tricks on us, so in order to go UP Arthur’s Seat, we had to go back DOWN the Crags. Arthur’s Seat is higher and much more steep. Also, Sarah admitted she took us up the harder way. Love it. When you see children running up this thing, it just gives you motivation to keep on going. The funniest thing is that while we were climbing, there was some guy practicing playing his bagpipe. How cliché, right? It echoed through the hills and was like a battle song as we climbed.

About to climb Arthur's Seat!

The bagpipe player at Arthur's Seat.

Climbing Arthur's Seat.

Just gorgeous! As we climb Arthur's Seat!

Looking down at the Crag from Arthur's Seat.

Finally we got to the top and the view made it completely worth it. Seriously, Scotland is GORGEOUS. It is so green. Yes, it is rainy and mostly cold and has little sun, but really….it is beautiful. From the top of Arthur’s Seat, you could see the sea, the city, and the landscape beyond the city. We sat up there for almost 30 minutes just looking out. When climbing, we sweat a lot, but once at the top it was super windy and cold. Thank the lord Sarah told me to bring an extra jacket since she knew we would be cold from our sweat.

Almost to the top!

The top of Arthur's Seat.

My failed attempt at a 'falling' picture.

The sea!

After descending from Arthur’s Seat we walked towards the ruins of St. Anthony’s Chapel. It provided a nice seat of the valley, a lake, and Arthur’s seat. On the walk there, we got to wander through fields of the yellow flowers. I couldn’t get enough of it. We got both perfect weather and a perfect landscape. Sarah said before she left Edinburgh, she was going to try to climb Arthur’s Seat for the sunrise. I think that would be AMAZING. I really hope she does it and takes fantastic pictures.

The walk down from Arthur's Seat.

Can you spot me in the wall of flowers?!

Looking out from St. Anthony's Chapel

St. Anthony's Chapel

Group + Arthur's Seat

Looking up at St. Anthony's Chapel

BEAUTIFUL!

A fun story is that there was a pile of rocks near the Chapel where a little boy was climbing around with his dad. At one point, his dad crawled around saying in his best Gollum voice to his son, “Come here lil’ hobbisis!” It was a magical Lord of the Rings moment and I decided right there and then that was how I was going to interact with my children. That being said, Sarah, Quake, and I filled our conversations with Hunger Game and Game of Thrones theories. We are truly nerds and I am so blessed with my friends. When I cry about Samwise Gamgee being a good friend to Frodo despite Frodo’s lack of love in return, my friends agree instead of judging me. What else could I ask for?

After the climb, the three of us got a quick lunch at Sarah’s apartment and headed back out. We walked through Sarah’s campus and a huge park/field complex called The Meadow. We walked through by ‘The Elephant House,’ where J.K. Rolling wrote Harry Potter. Not being an avid Harry Potter fan, I took a few pictures and lost interest. On the other hand, Quake flipped. Oh, Harry Potter fans….

The Meadow.

Casual Bagpipe.

And nine months later, Harry Potter popped out...

We then walked around Edinburgh’s shopping district. I got my necessary postcards and magnet. Sarah and I decided we would introduce Quake to Primark, as there was one in the city. Edinburgh’s Primark is much smaller than mine and much less crowded, but it seemed if Quake was properly enchanted by the store. Shoes for 3 pounds? Yes PLEASE!

Wandering through Edinburgh...

Bagpipes everywhere!

Real men wear skirts!

Traveled to Edinburgh. Went to Primark. YOLO.

Afterwards, we headed back to Sarah’s apartment to get ready for dinner. We headed out to a diner type of restaurant and then headed to Sarah’s school’s student union bar/club. Their student union played the WEIRDEST music, such as the YMCA and Macarena. We were goofy and ‘danced the night away.’ They played a lot of British music that Sarah and I have become accustomed to being living the UK for so long, but it was all new for Quake. I was happy when she liked the rappers and singers. [On a side note: Since Sarah and I have become so used to life in the UK, we forgot what Quake would know and not know. Like, we know how to properly shop in a Tesco, how to use the self-checkout, and how to properly use our credit cards. We realized Quake was completely lost and had to help her out. Also, I forgot that ciders are a UK thing and we had to recommend different drinks she should try. In Spain all they drink is wine, so she got to experience the UK pub scene…]

Out at the student union.

When we got back to Sarah’s apartment, we skyped with a group of friends since it was normal time for the US people back at home. Also, Haverford’s graduation was the following day so we left a bunch of videos for our leaving seniors. It was really hard to not be at graduation this year, as a lot of my best friends graduated and are moving so far away! We then decided we were exhausted and headed off to bed.

May 13

When we woke up, we headed off to brunch at J.K. Rolling’s ‘The Elephant House.’ We tried to sit at the ‘famous table’ where Rolling sat and wrote the series while looking out onto Edinburgh’s Castle. Though we did not get ‘the’ seat, we were close. Sarah told us to bring our camera’s into the bathroom and told us we would understand why once we got thee. I did as she said and understood right away. The bathroom was COVERED in Harry Potter graffiti. There were such cute messages like “THNX FOR MY CHILDHOOD, HARRY POTTER!” and “RIP DOBBY!” My personal favorite was, “I may not be Luna, but I can still Lovegood.” I spent way too much time taking pictures in the bathroom since people were knocking angrily on the door.

Inside the Elephant House

Graffiti in the bathroom

After eating, the three of us went to Scotland’s National History Museum. The big site was ‘Dolly,’ which was the first cloned animal ever. Other than that, the museum was eclectic, unorganized, and all over the place. One room was ancient history and mummies, then you walked into a room about the cosmos, and then went up a floor to learn about sea animals. The highlight of museum was the terrace on the top that gave a good view of the city.

Biology before our eyes! Dolly!

Once we left the museum, we walked around Edinburgh more and went into some vintage and second hand stores, which Sarah told me Edinburgh was known for. We got goofy with the outfits, as I tried on a corset and weird dresses. I actually bought a pair of suspenders (I know you just love it Mom) and so far, they have been a huge hit.

I thought the suspenders worked.

Hopefully the corset did the trick...

Wandering through Edinburgh.

For dinner, we brought over some groceries to her friend’s apartment and we all pitched in to make burritos. I chopped the tomatoes and peppers, as I have gotten good at! Sarah’s friends are really cool and hilarious. Oh by the way, during dinner it started SNOWING OUTSIDE. Don’t you just love the UK weather?

After dinner, the group of us went to a nearby pub for the Sunday night PubQuiz. Just to let you know, we came in DEAD LAST. To be honest, we were doomed from the start since we were all American. We really tried to be creative with our answers, but when the question is “What British Journalist…” there is just no hope. Sarah’s friends were pretty helpful with answers and I must say held the weight of the team. I did have some clutch answers that I want to share with ya’ll.

“What you would find in a formicary?” WELL, in 7^th grade Latin, we translated a little story about ants. The Latin word for ant is formica! A formicary is just a fancy word for an ant farm! Who knew middle school latin would come in such handy? Especially in a Pub….
“Who was the last British monarch to win the throne on the battlefield?” Well, since I am a royal historian, I knew this answer RIGHT AWAY. Ever head of the War of Roses and the guy named Richard III (made famous by Shakespeare’s play)? Well Henry VII defeated Richard III on the battlefield, ended the War of Roses, and declared himself King of England. He then fathered the famous King Henry VIII and the rest is history. BOOM.
“For all those geeks out there….what is the name of Gandolf’s horse?” OBVIOUSLY THE ANSWER IS SHADOWFAX. I love LOTR trivia. Also, I then got in a mini debate with the pubquiz guy about the ‘ownership’ of Shadowfax, but I guess that is all semantics.

Our best round. Note SHADOWFAX!

One question that it did help to American with was “Which US state has the largest coastline?” I would have gone with California, as they wanted you to, but the guys realized it was Alaska. Those Brits probably don’t even know Alaska exists! So yes, we came in dead last, but we had a TON OF FUN doing it.

After the pubquiz, we went back to the apartment and skyped with our friend Bridget who is studying abroad in Argentina. The four field hockey girls were finally reunited and we had a nice long conversation about our experience and the next season. It was so nice seeing Bridget, as I literally haven’t talked to her in forever!

May 14

The three of us had to wake up super early at 6 AM to see Quake off to the airport. It was nice seeing the sunrise on the city while it was empty. Sarah and I rightfully went back to bed after dropping Quake off and awoke sometime later. We watched our episode of Game of the Thrones from the previous night and then headed out to the city. I stopped by an AMAZING (and super cheap) chocolate shop to pick up some fudge friends. (Literally, the best fudge ever. All my friends raved about it and still are…) We then went to a coffee shop for me to do work/studying. As the time approached for me to leave, I stopped by Tesco to get dinner for later and made my way to the train station. It was bittersweet saying goodbye to Sarah, but I knew I would see her this summer since she is living at Haverford!!

Best chocolate store ever!

So, now…the drama about my train home. My train was supposed to leave at 4:30. While I was waiting for the platform to popup, I saw the notification that my train was CANCELLED. I started to flip and I ran to the ticket booth. I was informed that I could easily take the next train to London at 5 PM and I wouldn’t need to buy a new ticket. I was also informed that my train was cancelled due to a FATALITY ON THE TRACK. I’ve found that in the UK they have zero qualms about informing you about a fatality. If anything, they make it their job to tell you. They will announce it over and over again on the loudspeakers that someone killed themselves on the track. THANK YOU. We got it! Ahh!!!

Well, since the 4:30 train was combined with the 5 PM train now, all the seat reservations were canceled and it was a free-for-all. Well…around 4:45 the platform was still not announced. At this point, around 200 people were waiting under the screen waiting to sprint off and get a seat. So much anticipation…Finally, around 4:49 PM, the platform was announced. Since I was traveling alone and didn’t have a rolling bag, I could easily sprint ahead of the pack and got a good seat. I then learned that since the two trains were combined, we would be stopping at more stops than usual. Meaning my train ride went from a 4 to 5 hour train ride. Awesome. I got some work done, but then suddenly the train stopped on the track. We were informed that we had to be delayed since another train broke down on the track! AHHHH!!! FINALLY AFTER 6 HOURS, I GOT BACK TO LONDON. I literally was going crazy and since the guy sitting next to me wouldn’t let me out to pee, I thought I was going to die.I got back to my flat and was reunited with my friends.

Fun fact: While I was gone, I missed a HUGE Manchester City football game. Toby recounted the game for me and I am so bummed I missed this. Basically, Man City won the Primere League, but won it by the skin on their teeth.

Edinburgh was the first place I traveled to that I could have seen myself studying abroad in. It was definitely smaller than London, but I really enjoyed my time there. I wish I could have seen the rest of Scotland since judging by Sarah’s pictures it is truly beautiful. Also, three weird/unlucky things happened to make this trip the best and unforgettable. (1) When we were walking on a main street, we saw some random girl just chunder everywhere. She literally vomited in the street. It was also at 2 PM in the afternoon. (2) We saw a really strange car accident. (3) Sarah found a small worm in her food in a restaurant.

Comically, I noticed the huge push for Scottish Independence. Scotland is voting in the next year or two to separate from England and continually I heard anti-English comments and jokes. My English friends are convinced that Scotland couldn’t survive without England, which I find plausible for multiple reasons. It’ll be interesting what the vote comes down to, but I did learn that Scotland truly hates England.

In talking to Sarah and Quake, I got to tell a lot of my stories and experiences from my time in London. It made me really nostalgic about my time here. While I wish my finals were over, that means that I would be leaving soon. I miss my family and friends at home, but I know that I will never get this experience again. I have made so many amazing friends and it will really hurt to leave them behind. I wish they would come home with me. I’ve already made it known that if they ever came to Philly, they HAD to stay with me…but Philly isn’t really on many people’s tourism lists. I have begun to understand why people find it so hard it go back to Haverford after studying abroad. I have so many fun stories, but no one will understand them or be able to relate. Also, each of my classmates will have their own study abroad experiences that they will want to tell. My time here has been shared with a special group of [English] people and I will just have to skype with them at odd hours during the day to relive it with them.

Home away from home.