Mind the gap!

Sorry for the delay in updating; time seems to get away from me here!! The days always seem to go by so fast!  The past week and a half have been great, though I'm still adjusting to life here (like the sun starting to set at 4:00 every day).  Figuring out how to work the oven was a whole other story that was a lot of trial and error, but I proved victorious and only slightly burned my food the two times I've used it.

Last week was the first week of classes, and I survived.  There seems to be a lot of reading, and its a lot different than in the States. It's very independent and its up to you to teach yourself what you need to know.  My friend Deanna and I went to the Victoria & Albert museum, which was even more amazing than the British Museum (which I didn't think was possible).  They had amazing collections of European history and a great Medieval and Renaissance room that had a plaster cast of Michaelangelo's David statue.  We spent a good three hours there before we left, and even then, there was still much more to see.  The good thing is that the majority of the museums here are free!! So we can go back whenever we want.  That Friday a group of us went to the school bar, where they had a Back to School disco.  Everyone was dressed up in their school uniforms and that was a really good time.  The rest of the weekend was made up of laundry and homework.

This week was another week of classes, though for one of my classes, we had to meet at Parliament in order to see the architecture (the course is Architecture in London).  Of course half the tube was shut down that afternoon, so we had to jump a few trains in order to get there.  I only had classes on Monday and Tuesday, but Thursday and Friday afternoons were spent in the library attempting to get the books and information I needed for my courses. Last night (Friday) was particularly exciting because a few of us decided to go to a drag show in the East End.  It was a group called The Lip Sinkers at a bar called Bistrotheque.  It was a great show and so much fun.  They lip-synced to songs from each decade and had really awful costumes that were actually amazing, and it was just a great time. 

Today was really exciting to me because we went to the Tower of London.  Once again, due to tube closures, it took a bit longer to get there (and involved more walking than originally planned).  We got there in time for the Yeoman Warders's tour at 12:30 and stayed there until 4.  It was phenomenal.  We may have been there for three and a half hours, but it still feels like there was so much more to see. We followed the path of a body that had been executed (like Anne Boleyn); so we walked from where they were brought to the tower through Traitor's Gate, to where they were killed, and then their body was lain in the chapel within the fortress's walls.  It was so amazing because that structure has been there since the Norman Conquest in 1066.  That's nearly 1000 years and you can just feel the history there. We walked through several of the towers, like the White Tower, which now holds the Royal Armouries, and displays all the armor of the previous kings.  We got to see the Crown Jewels and they had a film streaming of Queen Elizabeth II's coronation in 1953.  We also went to the "unofficial torture chamber" where they tortured prisoners off the books. 

I could go on for hours about the history of the Tower of London, but I'll stop for now. Hopefully this wasn't unbearably long! Since at this point I have epically failed at uploading pictures on Facebook, here are some more from the past week!

Next weekend I'll be going to Scotland, so I can talk all about Edinburgh, the Highlands and Loch Ness! :)

Megan 

My second favorite sculpture at the V&A museum.  It's by Rodin and called The Fallen Angel.  It shows a fall angel being held by a woman. Its a little hard to make the two figures out in person, and even harder in the picture.  At first I didn't like it at all, but then you just see it and then you love it.  My favorite is a little more macabre, and is the cast of Donatello's Judith and Holofernes, which is Judith slaying Holofernes in order to save her people.

This is the memorial on Tower Green, marking where Anne Boleyn and Kathryn Howard (both wives of Henry VIII) were beheaded in the Tower of London, along with five other British nobles.  The bottom of the memorial reads "Gentle visitor pause a while, Where you stand death cut away the light of many days.  Here, jewelled names were broken from the vivid thread of life. May they rest in peace while we walk the generations around their strife and courage,  Under these restless skies."

This is me with my strapping new iron boyfriend, one of many iron sculptures with bows and arrows and other weapons along the tower walls to illustrate its use as a defensive structure and a fortress of the city.  Of course, it is important to remember that the Tower of London is first and foremost a Royal Palace of the Queen.

 

First day of classes...

    Bonjour!! It's been an exciting weekend and Monday here at Queen Mary.  Saturday I met up with my friend Becky from Rockhurst.  Well, meeting up took longer than expected.  We were unaware that they had closed half the tube for engineering repairs for the weekend, so it took a tube ride, a few walks, a replacement bus line, and 45 minutes for us to finally catch up with the other! But after that, it was a great afternoon.  We took the tube into central London (which always freaks me out because whenever I'm in the tube I think of that scene from Atonement where they use the tube stations as bomb shelters during the Blitz and a water main breaks and everyone inside drowns... cheery thoughts as I'm walking down in to the bowels of the city!!!) We walked all around Oxford Street and Piccadilly Circus, which are big tourist/shopping areas of the city.  It was ridiculously busy and packed with people.  Luckily, it wasn't raining, and the sun even made an appearance in the late afternoon, which is always a nice surprise.  That evening was pretty relaxed, and I skyped with my friend Erica from back home and later with my brother Sean! :)

     Sunday morning was the bus tour of the city, with stops at Buckingham Palace and St. Paul's Cathedral.  We didn't go inside either sites because of money and time constraints, but it was good to get a glimpse.  I definitely want to go back to Buckingham Palace to see the history there (Queen Victoria was the first monarch to live there in the mid-1800s).  St. Paul has a tour that allows you to climb to the top of the bell towers to see over the city, which would be a very cool thing to see.  We saw some amazing buildings that still showed damage from the Blitz, but did not critically harm the building so it was not repaired.  That was truly a sight to see.  Later I skyped with the parental units, and then I went out with my flatmate and a big group of people to the nearby pub called Half Moon Theatre.  It was a lot of fun and we spent a couple hours there just hanging out. 

     Monday morning, I had my first class.  I got up at 9 intending to look around campus to make sure I knew where the classrooms are.   At 945 I'm sitting at my desk, eating a bowl of Frosties, half-dressed and I looked at my schedule (called a timetable here) and notice that my class was actually at 10.   Fortunately I made it on time and even got to chat with a student.  The class is Society and State in Britain from 1450 - 1720, and apparently, its a course that runs all year long, from September to May.  So myself and a couple other girls are coming in halfway through with no idea what they covered before the Christmas holiday (they will take the final for the class in the spring).  Needless to say, we feel a little overwhelmed and unprepared for the course, but the teacher seems very helpful.  After an hour lecture, we have an hour seminar for the same class, which we meet in smaller groups to discuss topics more in depth.  It's definitely a different system than the States, but so far, I like it. It allows for students to ask questions in the seminar, and the teacher can discuss what the group seems to be having trouble with, rather than taking class time.  My second class is Architecture in London: 1837 to Present.  This consists of alternating lectures and field trips, so next week, we are meeting at Westminster Station to look at the Houses of Parliament (which, I can tell you from my lecture today, were designed by AWN Pugin, who was a Catholic architect at the time when Catholics were not allowed in political positions, therefore it was not publicly addressed that he was designing the seat of power for the monarchy and state!) 

     Tonight, the school hosted a Thames River boat cruise.  It was a lot of fun for being freezing cold on the river and there not being enough seats for everyone on board!! They had a buffet dinner and a dance floor.  I bet they got a laugh out of watching us Americans dance!  I was supposed to meet my flatmates at the pub on campus for a little get together, but we walked by and the line into Drapers was about half way across the quad.  It's Monday, which is one pound pints for the students, so apparently many take advantage of that! Next Monday I'll have to get my seat early. 

    Tomorrow is another day of classes. I have the International Politics of the Developing World, which sounds incredibly interesting.  That class also includes a seminar.  I also plan to go talk to the history department to see if I can get into a class called Europe since 1890 because I really want to take a class on World War II in England.  It's one of my favorite periods in history!  Wednesday I have no classes, and Thursday is U.S. Foreign Policy (but if I change into the new history class, I won't have any class on Thursday or Friday, which would be exciting to have no class on Wednesday, Thursday or Friday, which I just realized. I don't even know if that's legal here!! That would be amazing!! I'm almost giddy with the idea of it! That's so much traveling I could do for five whole days every week!! I have to go mull this idea over!!)

     Here are some more pictures (since I've epically failed uploading any to Facebook...my bad).

Becky and I in Piccadilly Square Saturday afternoon!

The amazing Buckingham Palace.  This is still the royal residence, but Queen Elizabeth II was not in residence that day, which is indicated by the color flag flying above the palace.  This custom started after the death of Princess Diana, when the Queen was not in residence, and there was no flag to fly half-mast for the mourning of the Princess.

This is the Parliament buildings lit up at night from the boat on the Thames River cruise. It should be noted that Harry flies past these in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. :) 

Alright, I'm off to bed as its an early morning tomorrow!

Until next time!

Megan

Surviving the first week in London!!

     I can't believe I'm finally here in London!! After a year of planning, its so strange to be sitting in my flat in London!! Its been a crazy five days since we arrived Monday morning.  Sunday was a day of traveling, and my first flight left Omaha at 6am, went to Chicago, then DC, then New York.  My flight from JFK left at 730pm so luckily I had plenty of time to figure out that airport because it was massive and very confusing.  Nothing like our humble Eppley... An overnight flight later we're in London around 8am.  We were taken to our place of orientation at the St. Giles Hotel off Tottenham Court Road. (Harry Potter 7, anyone?!)  After getting a cell phone and some lunch from the grocery store Sainsbury's, I took a nap at noon, intending to sleep until 2. Four hours later, I woke up for dinner at a local pub with all the fellow IFSA-Butler travelers.  After a traditional English meal of shepherd's pie and a dessert of spotted dick, a few of us went to a pub near the hotel called The Rising Sun.  Honestly, we were all too tired to really appreciate it, but it was pretty cool to see how old some of their bars really are.

     Tuesday was all orientation with IFSA-Butler where they proceeded to scare us into safety and studying so as not to be mugged or fail classes. Useful tips, I guess. That night we took a tour around Convent Garden and Camden Market area. We walked through Trafalgar Square, saw where the Harry Potter premiere was, where they filmed Gringotts bank in the first Harry Potter (is there a theme here?), and major points of the West End district.  We went to see the play The Woman in Black, which personally, I've never been to a thriller/suspense/horror play, so imagine my surprise when I'm jumping out of my skin throughout the performance.  Very unexpected, but very good! We walked the 30 minute back to the hotel for bed.

      Wednesday was our first meeting for Queen Mary, which was short and equally frightening in terms of what is expected of us class-wise.  We don't get credit for showing up to class or even participating, like in the States. Instead, its based purely on academics - one or two grades throughout the semester and maybe a final exam or a big paper.  After that we had a free afternoon, so several of us walked to the British Museum, which was only a few blocks from our hotel.  Its free to the public, except major exhibits, and they have an amazing collection of ancient artifacts from Egypt, Greece, and the Romans. It was brilliant.  They also have a great Asia exhibit that has a small tea room on display as well as their famous tapestries. Unfortunately, it cost money to see the Egyptian Book of the Dead exhibit, so we missed that one. I hope to make it back sometime this semester if I watch my bank account!!  From the British Museum, we walked about a mile or so through the city to get to the London Eye, which essentially is a huge ferris wheel that takes you 135 meters above the city. You can see for miles around London and the surrounding areas.  We managed to navigate the tube (or underground) to get home, rather than walk, which was a very interesting experience. We ate dinner at this charming little French restaurant called Cafe Rouge, which made me want to speak French/go to France. It was a perfect little place to eat.

     Thursday was a very exciting day because we got to move into our flats or dorms at Queen Mary.  One flat holds 8 or 9 rooms along a long hallway and then all the flatmates share a kitchen. The view from mine isn't very picturesque but I do get to see light rail trains pass every ten to fifteen minutes which is pretty cool. We get our own bathrooms and a fridge, which is nice.  There are two other American students that I know of living in my flat, and the other students have yet to return.  Term starts Monday, so they should be arriving in the next day or so.  Today was a maze of trying to figure out scheduling and classes. It is a very confusing process but I proved successful!! I'll be taking two history and two political science classes, so it is a good mix of subjects.

     This afternoon has been particularly exciting because we have been without internet since we arrived. You had to pay for internet at the hotel and at the school, you need a user ID and code, which we got today. Even then, I need an ethernet cable to get internet in my dorm.  I guess I always took 24/7 wifi for granted!! Luckily McDonald's is pretty classy over here and they have free Wifi, along with small coffee shops!
 This weekend I am meeting up with a fellow Rockhurst student who will be in London and we will do some exploring!!  Sunday the school is hosting a bus tour for the international students, along with a Thames River boat cruise on Monday.  That will let us see the sights and get to know fellow students!!

    Bravo and thank you if you made it through that long monologue of my life for the past few days!!  Hopefully I will update soon with some more exciting stories from the weekend! Until then, here are a few pictures of my dorm and some places I've been to thus far (more will be posted on Facebook throughout the semester so check there if you want to see all of them! :)

I'm in front of the Parliament and Big Ben which is across the River Thames.

The London Eye which is situated on the banks of the River Thames.  The capsules take 30 minutes to make a full rotation along the wheel!

My dorm room...this is pretty good living for the middle of London, which can be comparable in pricing to Manhattan in New York City.  Next to my closet in the back is a door to my own bathroom, which is an adventure all on its own!

     Okay!! I'm all out and my fingers are getting numb! Its freakishly cold in these dorms!!! Last night I wore a long-sleeved thermal, a long-sleeved t-shirt, a sweatshirt then long-john type pants covered by pajama pants to bed and I was still freezing!!! I thought I knew cold but it just gets right to your core and you won't know you're cold until you start shivering uncontrollably!

...Now I'm really done!! :) 

Megan