Watching a country mourn: The Iron Lady

One advantage, or sometimes disadvantage, of living abroad is watching different culture react to the changes in their country and in the world. You also get to watch your home country from afar while hearing the opinions of those in a different country. For example, I experienced the UK react to Obama’s election, like I posted about before, and more recently I’ve observed the UK react to North Korea and the UK react to the US reacting to North Korea (clear as mud, right?) Anyway, it’s always an enlightening experience to see things from a different perspective while abroad. It also sometimes is very strange. This is one of those stranger times.

If you live under a rock, you’ll be surprised to hear that Margaret Thatcher, the Iron Lady, passed away in London today.

This left me in an interesting position. Yes, I know what you’re thinking: “you weren’t even born when she was Prime Minister!! How could you understand!? You’re not British!!”
I am fully aware of these things, but that does not make me ignorant of Baroness Thatcher’s policies, actions, or legacy.

The interesting position I speak of is one of the “outsider looking in” type. I, as you may or may not have pointed out to your computer, am not British, but I am in London, and when the news broke of Baroness Thatcher’s passing, I witnessed (and continue to witness) not only a city, but a country, say goodbye to a leader.

Since the news broke this morning, (more specifically, since I woke up this morning) I have seen responses to the passing of the Iron Lady, whether it is on Twitter, out on the street, in a Starbucks, or on the Tube. The responses varied from celebration to disdain, but the vast majority of them, even if they were from those who opposed her, were indeed mournful and respectful. (Though with a woman who was in power a decade and a half ago, it is inevitable, and sad, to see youths and others unaware of who she was.)
Some people were happy, some were infinitely saddened by the news, and some couldn’t be bothered. It is much like watching the U.S. mourn a president, but because I’m an outsider, there’s a bit of a disconnect. I am not British, so it’s not quite the same.
I’ve seen people that disagreed with her and her staunch policies and people that supported her come together to talk about the first female Prime Minister and her place in history. Most people have begun to talk about her fierceness, power, and strong will, the things that earned her the nickname the Iron Lady.

David Cameron said that he expects her to go down in history as the best peace-time Prime Minister the UK has ever seen, and Ed Miliband (leader of the Opposition Labour Party), has said that while his party has disagreed with her policies, they can still respect her achievements and her strength. (AFP/BBC)

The BBC has an entire page dedicated to covering the world’s responses to her death, and it has been going on all day. This is how important this woman was, love her or hate her, to Britain, and to the world. They list leaders and figures everywhere and their responses including Nancy Reagan, Barack Obama, Koffi Annan, Mikhail Gorbachev, and many, many more.
They also cover the unfortunate, tasteless things that people have been doing, which I cannot stand. Holding parties for someone’s death is, in my opinion, very distasteful. I know many people hated Thatcher, and I know many people who couldn’t stand Reagan in the States, but I see no reason to actually throw a street party celebrating her death. But again, that’s my opinion. (And I cannot do much to stop them anyway) It has been much like people throwing parties after the death of Osama bin Laden, which regardless of taste, I don’t think the two people should be placed in the same category. I guess this is part of the disconnect, and also where my age shows. As much as I have read or researched about Baroness Thatcher, I was not around to actually have experienced what she was like in the public eye. (Which is something to always keep in mind)

And it is an interesting position, being someone from another country, watching a country mourn for one its greatest leaders. Being an American born in 1992, and at the same time, a history major who has taken numerous poly sci classes and also happens to be a bit of an Anglophile, I do mourn her passing, but in a different way. I can, as many have done, appreciate and honor what she has done, learn more about her, and mourn, but it is obviously different. Like I said before, it feels as if there’s a disconnect.

I do not agree with quite a few (read most) of the policies she implemented, but I do understand how important she was to the world of politics (on a global scale) and how important she was to Britain. She was a no-nonsense woman from humble beginnings who is famous and infamous for leading her country back to its world status. I can respect that. Not just as an American, a woman, or a democrat, but also as a human being, I can respect her wanting to do her best for her country. (I wish our politicians in the States would do that.)

So even though there is that odd disconnect, I join the Brits, as an observing participant, in mourning a lightning rod figure who has very clearly made her impact on the world.

x

Watching the Iron Lady tonight.

April Fools

No I am not actually staying permanently in London.

I wish.
Sorry for any confusion, but it was hilarious.

x

Visitors (From another dimension? Maybe)

No not really, though sometimes I think my brother is from another planet. (Don’t we all?)
It’s been way too long since I’ve written. Apologies, but I’ve been quite busy with lots of visitors and school. (Yeah there’s that word again, school)

Visitors you say?
Indeed! More visitors (you mean I have to entertain these people? Only kidding!)
My brother came to visit me for EIU’s Spring Break a few weeks ago. Here’s a tip for you that are going to have people visit. Don’t try to plan it all out minute by minute. You’ll drive yourself insane. The key to a fun time when people are visiting is knowing what kind of vacation they want, what they want to see, what they’re willing to skip, and foods they want to try, etc., and start there.
You both can do research to meet these points, (getting travel cards, hotels, and other logistics like that covered is always a good start!) but I’ve found that overdoing absolutely everything, much like when you travel, ends up just driving you completely mental (crazy) because you’re too busy or something goes wrong. So just plan it roughly and kind of take each day as it comes (as I’ve said about studying abroad in general).
There’s something to mention: something going wrong. I’m telling you, we could all learn something from Mr. Harry Potter here. Like when my brother visited, there was a bit of an issue with him staying with me at first, but we figured it out together and everything worked out fine. So (even though I freaked out a little bit at first) when issues do arise with travel plans, people visiting, or just anything at all, try not to freak out…think of your options and take the next best one.

Remember…best laid plans of mice and men often go astray. (Of Mice and Men. Read it if you haven’t! Or don’t. That’s not up to me, but you really should read it.)

So what my brother and I did was picked out the things he wanted to see and do, and kind of just went with the flow. We had some great food (Random sample of what we ate: Lantana for breakfast/brunch is pretty fantastic if you’re in London and looking for a good place), saw some great sights (not all of them, because we did what he wanted to, not everything tourists seemingly HAVE to do), and just had fun. We even saw Singin’ in the Rain, which was fantastic (look a picture that isn’t of me!)

And then, near the end of his visit, my sister and her boyfriend (who live in NY) came to visit, so we got to spend some time together (all 4 of us) too.

Again, with these two visiting, we planned some things, got reservations and all of the logistical stuff done, but we didn’t over pack things into the few days there were here visiting. My sister and her boyfriend have studied/lived abroad too, so they knew this trick already. Again, we saw sights, ate food (I need a new workout regimen after all of this eating out!), and just enjoyed London. We ate at a fantastic italian restaurant (on St. Patrick’s day?!) and found some great cocktail bars/craft beer places. Overall, all of us being foodies, it was great. Not to mention, we saw Book of Mormon, and I will tell you right now: IT WAS SO FUNNY. Definitely not overrated, though it really is not for the easily offended.

The fun thing about them visiting was that my sisters boyfriend was planning on proposing. The not-so-fun bit was that it rained the ENTIRE TIME they were in London. Not so conducive to romantic atmosphere, eh? But it was interesting waiting to see if Raj would propose or not at random intervals and talking to him about it when my sister wasn’t around (Voldemort laugh sorry Aubs). Thanks to the lovely London weather, he decided to wait until Scotland. They drove there like I did last semester, but I didn’t go along. (I kind of wish I did just to see them driving on the left! I can only imagine) I gave them some recommendations of places to go and see in Edinburgh before they left, said my goodbyes, and got to sleep in for the first time in about a month. (Not really complaining, but who doesn’t appreciate a good sleep-like-a-champion type morning every now and then? If you don’t, I’m sorry.)

That’s another thing. As the resident of the place they are visiting, you’re kind of like the map and knowledge base of all the little secret places – the good food that you would have never tried otherwise and other recommendations, etc. – but don’t feel like you have to know EVERYTHING either. Google does exist for a reason. (I feel like people forget this a lot) See this site: lmgtfy.com for a good laugh and for a smartass answer to overly obvious questions.

The boring stuff:
Since they left, I’ve done a lot of coursework and stuff, which isn’t that interesting, but it’s that time of the semester (I don’t want to think about it. It means the semester is ending, and I’m in denial) I’ve also started the whole home university registration process, which again, reminds me that I’m going home and is not fun. (Makes me think about my future – blech! Yay more denial!)
(This one’s not so boring) I also saw The Audience with Helen Mirren (front row seat! My reaction) which was absolutely phenomenal. (You don’t say, Mattie, she only won an Oscar for The Queen) If you’re in London, see it! I’ve obviously been spending a lot of time and money in the West End theatre district lately… and that’s not going to end any time soon. (Seeing Judi Dench and Ben Whishaw in Peter and Alice next week!)

I also don’t know where to put this, but I saw the Queen, The Duke of Edinburgh, and Kate Middleton in Baker Street Station. WOO.

I’m also going to have more visitors! My sister and I are going to Paris and then my parents are coming!

What to take away from this rambling: having visitors doesn’t need to be about seeing every single tourist attraction. It also doesn’t need to be so perfect it becomes stressful on you. Make it about having fun, seeing the things they want to, and enjoying the culture. While the big sights like Big Ben are nice, they do not define London. There’s so much city to see, (I haven’t seen all of it myself) so much culture to appreciate (especially in a city), and so much to just experience in general, that just focusing on the touristy things would almost be an insult to the city I love. That applies all over the world. There is so much more to the little towns or the big cities than we give them credit for, sometimes. So remember that when people visit. Allow them to see the real place, the real people, not just the postcard stuff.

Until next time,
x

OH RIGHT! I almost forgot. She said yes. (So, now you can go back and change all of those references to her boyfriend to fiance!! So exciting.) Also, thanks to my family for visiting! I like visitors almost as much as I like mail

From the second largest Polish population to the first…

If you didn’t know this little fact about Chicago, it’s home to the second largest Polish population in the WORLD after Warsaw.

And that’s here I was this weekend. Warsaw, (And Krakow) Poland.

This trip was kind a spur of the moment type thing with my friend Chelsea who is studying in Verona, Italy. We decided to meet there for a weekend and just have a fun weekend of food, drinks, history, and all around camaraderie, and we did just that.

I flew on Wizz Air, which I now call the Barbie airline because it’s colors are pink and purple. It’s kind of like the Hungarian version of RyanAir, I guess, though there are fewer ads plastered all over the place!
Once I landed in Warsaw, (Polish = Warszawa) I had this fantastic (and kind of oh shit moment) of “I know ONE thing in Polish! ONE! (which is Na Zdrowie – cheers/to your health!)” It’s not something I can really describe. But I loved it. Being kind of lost (as much as you can be with certain things being in English anyway) was exhilarating and really made me think on my feet while being responsible.
Tip: when you’re in a country where you don’t know the language, you sometimes tend to feel like a nuisance or constantly judged, and that’s not always the case. Just have fun with it. And, you can, as I did, learn some phrases while you’re in that country!
Even better tip: full immersion in a language is the best way to learn it.
Final tip on not knowing the language: Not knowing the language doesn’t give you a free pass to be a jackass. Remember your manners, even look up some simple etiquette (tipping, politeness, etc.) before you go, if you want. But please, for the love of food, don’t make the rest of us look like assholes please.

Our hostel, on the outside, was kind of creepy. The building definitely yelled “post-communist” (much of the city still does, though they are very proud to be independent) and the hallways did look like they received regular maintenance, but the hostel itself was really nice, clean, and well taken care of. The owner was super nice and helpful, we had free breakfast every morning in the kitchen (which was also a type of common room), the location couldn’t have been better, and it was just a homey feel. To be honest, regardless of the outward appearance of the building, it was probably the best hostel I’ve ever stayed in. Not to mention it had this in the kitchen (which just made it more awesome):

The history-nerd in me squealed a bit at this. If you don’t get it, look up JFK jelly donut and you won’t be disappointed.

So like I said, the hostel owner was really helpful. He gave us this huge map, pointed out all of these historical areas to visit, a great free tour to do, monuments and museums to see, and some cheap, traditional places to grab some food. (YUM!) He also showed us his cheat sheet for Polish phrases that he had posted, and from there we started our weekend!

The first day, because we got in midday and because our hostel was in such a good location (near the university between Old Town and the rest of the city) we just walked about Warsaw and grabbed some pierogies, along with mulled wine (LOVES OF MY FOOD LIFE), for dinner. I got my friend obsessed with blueberry pierogies right off the bat (something I’m quite proud of).

The next day, we got up really early, caught the bus (we got three-day passes which I recommend), and grabbed our train to Krakow. From the train station, we took the bus  to a town called, in Polish, Oświęcim, though it’s better known by its German name, Auschwitz. As I’m sure you can guess, this part of the trip was quite heavy and emotional. I’m glad we went, I will never regret going, but it was (as expected) was very solemn and thought-provoking. Walking through Auschwitz-Birkenau isn’t something that is easily conveyed by words. It’s a haunting and makes you lose your faith in humanity a little bit, especially when the guide was telling stories of the victims. As a history major, it was something I wanted to see and experience, but I don’t think you’re ever ready for something like that. It just makes you feel helpless and small. I also experienced the most aggravation I’ve ever felt towards tourists here. It’s one thing to take pictures of the grounds or the buildings, but there were some taking photos in the most inappropriate areas, and I just wanted to smack them.
After the tour (which is about 3-4 hours), we took the bus back to Krakow. (Note: this bus takes an hour and forty minutes, unlike what much of google says, so try to take the train if you’ve got other plans) Once we got off the bus, we took a short walk around Krakow’s Old Town and Royal Square to take in the feel of the former royal capital.

While walking, we encountered a political march (not an ideal place for tourists, so we didn’t stick around for too long) that was basically the equivalent to the Polish Nazi party. (Definitely didn’t stick around for long, but it was interesting to see for a few seconds) After that we boarded our train, where I learned more about Polish etiquette (you’re expected to say good day/evening when you enter the car and goodbye when you leave), and went back to Warsaw.

The next morning, we had breakfast in the community kitchen and made friends with a few other people who were planning to have a day quite like ours, starting with the Orange Umbrella Free Walking Tour in Old Town. We all headed there after breakfast. The tour itself was really informative and interesting, but our tour guide really made it what it was. He was interesting, funny, and knowledgable. About halfway/two-thirds way through the tour, he took us to a bar to get free shots of some good Polish vodka with some Polish bar food (all free!), and it was quite the experience. I’ve never really liked vodka on its own, but this was actually quite good. We also learned more etiquette (saying no to drinking vodka with someone in Poland is really rude.) He told us more about the history of the city, like how it was almost completely destroyed in World War 2, and how the people rebuilt everything. We also learned about this building that Stalin “gave” to Warsaw. It’s really pretty at night, but the history behind it makes it a very separating topic in the city. Basically, Stalin was giving them this really nice looking building as a gift and sign of goodwill towards the Polish people, but as it’s Stalin, nothing comes free, and he forced people out of their homes and demolished a good deal of the newly rebuilt city to build it. (It’s Stalin, nothing’s perfect or nice with him, is it?)

(Sorry this is the never-ending post, but I just liked this trip so much!)

After the walking tour, we went to a milk bar for lunch. The milk bars (only three or four left in Warsaw) are cheap, traditional places to eat that were built during the communist era basically as places that were cheap enough that everyone could eat there. The food there was great (basically all Polish food is great) and people even came up to us to recommend dishes! After the milk bar, we saw some more sights, like the monument to the Warsaw ghetto and other parts of Old Town.

The next place was like heaven on Earth. We went to the chocolatier that started Cadbury, known as Wedel (pronounced Vedel) chocolate. And I could have just died there, I swear. We ordered their traditional hot chocolate (basically chocolate gold), and their Chopin chocolate liquor, which was amazing.
Just to make you jealous, I’ll add some photos here too.

So as you can see, it was basically chocolate nirvana. We picked up some chocolates to take back with us as well, which taste amazing

After this, we went for dinner at this traditional Polish restaurant that was just called Speciality Regionale. We were lucky enough to have a waiter who had just returned from living England who decided that we HAD to try basically all Polish traditions. He kept bringing us free stuff to try so we could just get a taste of Polish culture. I tell you, they are on par with the Irish with how nice they are in Poland. The list of new things we tried included Kabanos (sausages), warm beer with honey (yum), Polish specialty cheeses and meats, and finally an extremely alcoholic liquor called Slivovitz. (We shared that one between the 5 of us and it’s a good thing we did!) The food was phenomenal and we all just really had a great time.

The next day meant leaving and saying goodbye to our new friends, but not before Chelsea and I walked around the royal gardens. I’ll just leave you with a few photos of that. (Including a peacock in the wild?)

Overall, this trip was nothing short of amazing. I learned so much about Polish culture (being Polish, it makes it even better), and experienced so much. I made some really good friends from staying in our hostel and just had a fun weekend.

For anyone that wants to visit: do it. Eastern Europe in general is just such a different experience from Western Europe, and any trip there won’t be a waste. Poland was no exception. It was fun, cheap (the zloty is 5 to 1 pounds!), and I can’t wait to get back there someday!

Do Widzenia!

x

When the train pulled into Castletown…

(So this post was halfway done before I left on my next trip…so prepare for some back-to-back blogging!)

Just returned from the land of the Irish, specifically Dublin, and it was phenomenal. (There may or may not be quite a few Quiet Man references here…blame my dad!)

Overall, we spent the time drinking, (Ireland – can’t expect anything less), sightseeing, doing a bit of hiking (YES HIKING YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW HAPPY I WAS), and eating! (pretend like you’re surprised?)
Guess I’ll start with the food and drink. With the eating, the trip included myself, my flatmates, and their friends (six in total – try getting a table for six, not always easy! My family knows) Aside from my complaints about how many people, (which by the way isn’t a bad thing at all! We only had the issue of getting a table once or twice so don’t mind me) Ireland, if you’ve been you know, is a place that consists of VERY friendly people. The phrase “the more the merrier” definitely applies and it worked well with our group.

We, of course, ate at McDonald’s the whole time…(I can’t even finish that as a joke because it’s so bad, actually) no but seriously, we ate at pubs basically every day, and it was great. The pub life in Ireland is similar to that of London and England overall except you have (I feel like I’ll say this a lot and I apologize in advance) the Irish and that really makes a huge difference. Irish people are, indeed, JUST THAT NICE. For example, we went to this pub called Grogan’s that was recommended by our hostel staff (good hostel in Dublin – Generator hostel right next to Jameson) as a real “old style” Irish pub. What does that mean? Old people? No. Not really, though there were some elders there drinking their fair share, it means that there were no TVs playing a match, no background music taking up those horribly awkward silences, and that you had to actually talk to the people you went out with. SHOCKING. This concept of talking to people when you’re out. I wasn’t sure we could handle it, really.

Once again, my horrible humor comes out here. We actually made some friends in the pub (Again – friendly Irish!) who told us about Ireland and a good place to see some live music called Frank Ryan’s. So we grabbed a bite to eat and headed towards this place they recommended. It was a big change because they had music playing, and then had live jazz playing. JAZZ. Awesome, right? Right. So we had some good drinks, some live jazz, and then we ran into our tour guide from earlier in the day there! He told us about other places outside of Dublin to see and just chatted a bit. Such nice people. Also, something worth mentioning about pubs in Dublin outside of the friendly atmosphere and great selection of beers (TRY GUINNESS IN IRELAND. I don’t even like beer and I liked Guinness in Ireland. Other Irish beer to try – Smithwick’s. Also, more on Guinness later!) So where was this tour guide from?
Well, that would be the Jameson Distillery of course! (Our hostel, as I said before, was quite conveniently placed next to this distillery…couldn’t tell you why! ) This was actually one of the first things we did in Dublin because a few of us (I may or may not be included in this “few”) do enjoy our whiskey. (All I can think of is “could you use a little water in your whiskey?“) We got to the tour a little early and had a few drinks beforehand, which if I may step away from the “study” part of this blog for a moment, (as if I don’t do that enough already) to recommend a drink from the Jameson distillery, it would be the Honeycomb Irish Coffee. It’s heaven in a glass. (Photo below)

At the tour we learned all about the creation of Jameson whiskey and near the end, they asked for volunteers to do a tasting. Now being the study abroad student wanting to experience as much as possible, I may have raised my hand. Purely for experiencing Ireland as it should be – that’s all. But in order to get one of the last two spots, we had to guess a number between 1 and 100. The hint was “Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy,” and if you know me, you know the answer, and you know I got it right. And if you don’t…I might be a little disappointed. So I got to do the taste testing that pitted Jameson against Johnnie Walker Black and Jack Daniel’s. I think you can guess which was best.

After that, we ate and then hit those two pubs I spoke of before. The next day was the really exciting (for me anyway) bit. We took a day tour to the Wicklow Mountains called the Wild Wicklow Tour. If you’re ever in Dublin and want to get out of the city on a great tour…do this tour! It wasn’t hours upon hours of riding in a bus just to get out for 3 hours and then get back in the bus! It was quite a few stops that were all interesting, like the James Joyce museum, Bono’s House (not kidding, though we only drove past it), Avoca Handweaver’s (Can’t say enough good things about this place), Kilmacanogue, Glendalough (St. Kevin’s monastic site), the P.S. I Love You bridge and more. (I haven’t even seen P.S. I love you…er…sorry?) It also included free Jameson. Can’t really complain about all of that in one day with a funny and knowledgable guide leading the way. My favorite part was hiking about and taking pictures in Glendalough (waterfall and lake below). And to top it off, we were back in the city early enough to have some food and then head to our pub crawl.

Again, if you know me, you know how excited I was to be roaming about in this beautiful area. It was such a welcome change after being in London and then Dublin for so long. So welcome because while I love the city, I really love the outdoors… (one place I really want to hit in England is Snowdonia Wales – google it)

In comparison, for me, our final day or so in Dublin didn’t really compare. Seeing the tourist stuff was awesome, but the bus tour took the cake for me. I must admit that Trinity College library will knock your socks off  - that’s the real reason I went to see the Book of Kells…I just wanted to see the library (and nerded out a lot when I did) and you might understand why with this photo:
Our last real touristy thing we did was go to the Guinness Storehouse to do the tour. Offering one of the best views of the city, the Gravity Bar is probably Guinness’ main attraction, though pouring your own “perfect pint” is pretty cool too. (I even have a piece of paper that says I can pour a perfect pint to go with my whiskey tasting certificate) Like I said before, I don’t even like beer and I enjoyed a good pint of Guinness while at the Storehouse, so definitely try the Guinness in Ireland. It just tastes better.

Overall, I really enjoyed Dublin, but I really want to get back to Ireland to see places OUTSIDE of the city…like number one is Galway, then Cork and Waterford, etc. I also want to make it up to Belfast as I hear that’s the better of the two cities. So if you’re going to Ireland, my recommendation is to see Dublin, but see more of Ireland itself than you see of Dublin.

Next post will be quite soon…on Poland!

x

Here it goes again!

And no I’m not dancing on treadmills. That would be awesome though, wouldn’t it? (If you do not understand this reference, please click here to join the 21st century  )

Okay, moving away from musical references and into what I’ve been doing for the last few weeks… (I really need to stop being late on the posting, but then I wouldn’t be me, would I?)

Well…what have I been doing? No more food poisoning. That’s good.
I’ve mostly been busy getting into the swing of my new classes, which I will be honest, I do not like as much as last semester’s bunch. I had some really fun and interesting seminar leaders last semester, and this semester not so much. (Though it is early, so I will reserve my final judgments for a later date just to be fair)

Here’s a breakdown of the courses I’m taking just in case you needed something to put you to sleep:
- Cultural History of World War 1 (Mondays)
- The Great Wen – Culture and History of Victorian England (Mondays)
- Romantic Writings – Tuesdays
- Shakespeare and His Contemporaries – Thursdays

So, I get Fridays off this semester. I really shall miss having Mondays off too, but alas, a break mid-week isn’t bad.
And I don’t mean to bash on my classes, as I’m actually interested in the subject matter of each of them (or I wouldn’t have bothered with the classes, let’s be honest), but the combination of the timing of the classes and the seminar leaders being kind of “meh” kind of kills them in comparison to last semester. (Once again, being honest )

Obviously, I’ll get on with it and do the requirements of each class well enough to get As, so hopefully you won’t have to hear my griping about classes again! Yay! (which by the way, haven’t really gotten any harder, that’s always a plus – always look on the bright side of life…do do do do dod odo do…sorry. That was bad.)

Outside of classes, I’ve done quite a bit of roaming about London with the new peeps. (Walked all about London on one of the rarer nice days we’ve had) Also went to a fantastic burger and cocktail restaurant (because what else do you expect from me?) called MEATLiquor. If you’ve read my blog before, you know I’m in love with MEATMarket, and MEATLiquor is the mother restaurant to that one, so obviously it was to die for. (AND THEY HAVE FRIED PICKLES. YUM)
I’ve also discovered an amazing comic shop, which I may have mentioned before, that I basically plan on living at called Forbidden Planet. It’s a NERD Mecca. Just saiyan. (Get it? No? Aww…)

And before all of this discovery, my cousin and her husband came to visit for their “babymoon” which was all kinds of fun. Got to go to a private tour of Buckingham, a really fancy afternoon tea, on the London Eye, (pic below) and walked A TON. Oh and the not-so-awesome part was that it was basically blizzarding the whole time. While there was actually decent weather in Chicago, it was blizzarding here. But either way, we still had a fabulous time with good food and a rum keg (not for the pregnant lady, don’t worry!) Oh and did I mention we went to the Churchill War Rooms? Because I could basically live there and go through that entire museum for a week. Not even exaggerating. The timeline alone would take forever, and it’s AWESOME. (History nerd moment, don’t mind me) Also, I would like to just mention that my cousin’s husband thought there was actually a circus in Picadilly Circus. Just throwing that out there
OVERALL: THANK YOU JEANETTE AND ZACH FOR VISITING AND FOR EVERYTHING
Note: In case you’re new to the snow-meets-Europe thing, when it snows, major cities basically shut down. I was honestly surprised (and so were many of my professors) that the Tube was still working after one inch of snow. ONE INCH. Ladies and gentlemen, London freaked out after one single solitary inch of snow. I would personally love to see them face the Snowpocalypse because I think they’d all faint.
Second Note: When people visit you abroad on holiday, you’re basically on holiday yourself. Seriously! You do more and walk more as if you’ve actually left the city and gone off to visit somewhere you’ve never been. It’s fun yet kind of crazy.

So here’s some photos from my recent escapades! (Lucky, you get three.)
Snow at the Tower Bridge (and by blizzard, I meant blizzard, people):

Churchill War Rooms (Specifically Churchill’s Office!!!):

London Eye view (West End – see that really bright bit to the left? Picadilly Circus):

I’ve also now experienced a holiday from another continent in a different continent than the holiday actually is from. Confused yet? Yeah I would be too.
Basically, we celebrated Australia Day in London, and Australia Day is a national holiday in (you guessed it) Australia. So we celebrated Australia’s version of the Fourth of July in England. Overall, it was quite fun. My flatmates and I went to an Australian pub called Walkabout (which was about 1000 degrees – I think they were trying to mimic Australian summer in there) and found out that there are MANY more Aussies in London than any of us originally thought. We also took this opportunity to learn more about Australian culture, (more slang, yay!) listen to Aussie music, and learn Aussie songs. It was ace.

So yeah, I’ve had an eventful few weeks! And more to come this semester. I’m pumped to see what’s in store. As of right now, I’ve planned a trip to Ireland with my friends on my floor and possibly am going to Salzburg and Munich. I also will be going to Paris and Scotland again, so that’s super exciting. Other trips I’m looking at include Italy, Poland, and Spain. So that’s ridiculously exciting.

Sad I’m missing the SupHarbaughl though. (First world problems. Might actually watch it at a charity event? Maybe? That’s awesome, right? I think so.)

I don’t really have any thought provoking study abroad tips this time around. I really need to work on that. Something to think on, I guess: if you have people come visit you, be prepared to walk a lot, do a ton of things you may have already done (I was lucky this time, I hadn’t done a whole lot of what they wanted to do), and be as flexible as possible. It makes it easier for them and for you if you’re prepared, just like most things in life (shocking, I know!)

Anyway, I’ll stop yammering now. PARTY ON DUDES! (Bill and Ted, anyone?!)

x

I’ll be back…

(obvious Terminator voice)
And yes I did come back to London! (What? You’re NOT surprised? Oh. Well then.)

So, I figured I should probably write something since I’ve been lazy as of late.
I’ve been back in London since right before New Years Eve, which by the way, I finally know what Indiana looks like on the 4th of July (Note: fireworks are illegal in Illinois because we are fun-suckers), and it is AWESOME. I attempted to actually get down to the river to see the fireworks, but the viewing areas were full hours before…so that didn’t work out. I would have gone earlier, but I was feeling like utter shit to be completely honest. I got the luck of contracting food poisoning from the airplane food on United. Can you say awesome? Because I can’t. It was actually quite horrible, and because I basically had to sleep it off, I completely threw off my sleep schedule. :/ But even from my halls (17th floor has a good view, can’t complain too much) with food poisoning, the fireworks were marvelous, and being able to watch most of the city light off their own fireworks on top of the main ones was even better.

Protip: This is one of those “roll with it” type of situations I spoke of a few blog posts back. Did I get food poisoning? Yes. Did it suck? You betcha! But the key to being sick abroad is basically really listening to your body and not pushing yourself. SLEEP IF NEED BE! I know you want to see all the sights in some ridiculously small amount of time, but sleep is good.
Also, if you’re sick when studying abroad, it’s easier on you not to freak out and make yourself more sick because you’re stressed and constantly calling home or still trying to run around and get through the day. This applies to things like food poisoning, the flu, mono, etc. (If you get mono I will laugh at you. No, I won’t but mono is THE illness to poke at people for fun, isn’t it? You know you agree!) If you have a easily treated cold or a sore throat, you should just react like you would back home at college (or if you’re at EIU you always have strep or mono so…) If it’s worse than that, then obviously, you should probably seek medical attention if possible!

OVERALL: use your brain!

Good news aside from kind of boring New Years due to sickness, while at home I did have a fantastic time with friends, family, and of course, deep dish pizza. Food recommendation discovery from my time in Chicago: Bar Toma. Great pizza (get the BOMBA!), great small plates, and REALLY AWESOME HOT CHOCOLATE.
And yeah, spending time with the family and friends was a nice little break from my single room here in Marylebone hall. That and a real shower/bed (not all in one, I promise). So choice.
Got a chance to see Les Miserables while home as well – definitely recommended but keep in mind that the translation is “THE MISERABLES!” People seem to think it’s a happy musical, which I don’t understand.

What else was I saying in my last post? Oh yes, horribly depressing saying goodbye to my friends. Having now experienced this and gone through it, I can honestly say it was quite sad, though I’m glad to have made those friends as they will be ones I keep for life. (And I have a place to stay in Australia, which isn’t too bad, I reckon!)

Moving on from that group of friends to making new ones as the “sage” whole-year student is proving to be interesting. Lots of questions, which is fine, though I think people should also learn on their own by exploring London, and these kids don’t really want to do that…which is sad for them. If you’re going to study abroad, go out and experience something! Try some of the food, drink a local ale, do a traditional dance even if you look like a complete ninny (don’t do the dance if it’s culturally offensive for an outsider to do it or something, and yes I used the word ninny), speak the language (best way to learn – full emersion), and just have fun.
Sorry, I turned into a study abroad commercial there for a moment. But yeah, it’s sad that they don’t want to find out this stuff on their own (asking me where to get phones is one thing, asking what it’s like to go to the British Museum so you don’t have to go is another – yes someone asked)

Now that I’m back here in London, I’ve done some exploring of my own and seen some stuff I haven’t seen yet, which is always nice. Took a nice walk down to Covent Garden and found this AMAZING comic book store called Forbidden Planet. (London’s version of Midtown Comics) Let’s just say I’m quite glad it’s kind of far away…or there’d be some issues with my wallet. There’s also a new wine store down the street…another issue for my wallet! (Keep reminding myself I’m on a budget! Budget. Budget. Budget.)

Also, I got an iPad for Christmas, and no I’m not just saying that to show off. It’s actually a good investment for traveling/studying abroad if you can afford it, because it’s light and does most of what a computer does. If you can’t do an iPad, tablet computers in general are quite good for travel and studying like this, so if you are so inclined, pick one up

Starting school on Monday! Should be interesting. Also, beginning to plan new trips for the semester…which is much more interesting than school if I’m being honest.
x

Winter is coming…

To Grove Highschool.

Yeah, I went there.
Outside of the Game of Thrones, (and Princess Diaries!) it is quite cold here in London town! Cold, cloudy, and it get’s dark at like 3:30. (Someone call the WAHHMBULANCE) Not much colder than Chicago, truthfully, but to me it really just means the end of the semester and that’s no bueno.
I fly out on Monday. Whoa.
I’ve made friends that I will never forget and learned more about myself all while having this amazing experience in London and other places around Europe. I’m so lucky to have this opportunity and also to be able to do the things I’ve been doing lately.
Let me update you on that, shall I? And then we’ll get back to the weird-heavy-conversation of going home.

So for the last week or two, I’ve been a crazy busy Mattie…I went to Wicked in London! (If you don’t know me, I kind of love the musical Wicked..) I’ve gone to Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park and enjoyed the Christmas market life, I’ve gone to two premieres for movies in Leicester Square: Les Mis (AAHH I CAN’T WAIT FOR THE MOVIE!) and The Hobbit, I’ve gone to a Hobbit Q&A at an Apple Store and had front row seats, I’ve gone to the Jingle Bell Ball and had seats three rows from the stage, and I’ve been to a Mumford and Sons Concert.

The Apollo Victoria Theatre where I saw Wicked…I must say it was fantastic yet really strange because I’m used to seeing it sans accent and British colloquialisms, but it was great!

Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park. Absolutely brilliant with a German village included…steins, mulled wine, and all the German food you could want – win!

That’s Richard Armitage, Martin Freeman, Andy Serkis, and Sir Ian McKellen left to right. Not sure my nerdy self can put that into words.

The O2 at Greenwich (pronounced Gren-ich) where I went to the Jingle Bell Ball and saw Mumford and Sons. It’s literally a mall in there. Still can’t believe it.
The Jingle Bell Ball was an unexpectedly awesome night – JLS, Little Mix, THE SCRIPT (who I went for if you couldn’t tell), Rizzle Kicks, Lawson, Cheryl Cole (and Will.I.Am showed up), One Direction (scream fangirls, scream!), and Bruno Mars. I didn’t think I would enjoy it as much as I did due to the amount of small children screaming for 1D, but it was actually really fun. 1D wasn’t half bad, I have to admit :s

I also did some coursework, don’t worry. I am still a good student. (I’ve actually gotten a few of my grades back – it’s quite strange to be happy about getting a 70, but that’s the equivalent to 100 here…so yay!)
Okay so now that I’ve kind of showed off a bit…how pretentious

I now have the unfortunate problem of having to say goodbye to my friends who will not be here for an entire year. I really have made friends that I will keep forever while in London, and while some of them live in Chicago and it won’t be hard to see them, some live farther away…LIKE AUSTRALIA. (An excuse to go there? YES. But right now it’s sad.) At this moment, I honestly do not know how I’m going to deal with this…crying? laughing? mixture of the two?
The one thing I can count on is technology making it easier to keep up with my friends, and for that I am thankful. I don’t think I’ve ever realized how much I take for granted until I studied abroad, and I just keep learning and finding new appreciation for every little thing. That sounds so cheesy but it’s true. (Judge away!) I’ve been able to keep up with my family and friends back home using technology, and I’ve been able to use this blog to tell people my adventures…that’s all amazing. The fact that anyone reads this amazes me.
Overall, I honestly have taken many things from this semester…one of them is not taking the little things for granted, and another was learning to go without certain things, as I have said before. For example, I can’t wait for a Chicago pizza, real bed, (the lovely plastic mattress I have is…well…plastic) a working heater, video games (couldn’t resist adding that) and constant hot water. (Let’s just say having taken numerous freezing cold showers has taught me that hot water is amazing)
But at the same time, I’ve learned to budget and pass up the stupid shit I really don’t need in order to do what I want – travel, see plays, go out with my friends, etc. It’s been a privilege to be able to do all of this, and those who have made it possible…I can’t thank enough (cough EIU Study Abroad, EIU Honors College, et al. cough).

And I’m going to continue to learn and tell you about it next semester, but I’m going to have to make new friends and everything. That’s what’s currently on my mind. It’s ultimately a selfish thing to worry about, but I really will miss these guys and our dinners together and our nights out and everything. (How sappy.)

Students who are studying abroad, take this from me: your time abroad goes by so fast. I still have a semester left, but it feels like I just arrived in London yesterday. Everything flies by…so take advantage of every opportunity. Try the food, listen to the music, speak the language (if it applies), travel, go to the Harry Potter studio tour, and be smart. (CLICHE ADVICE. WIN!)

Sitting here in my sleeping bag, penguin style…

x

See you soon, ‘Merica.

Ritual sacrifice with pie…in London?

Yeah! Buffy references!
Sorry, I figured that since there wasn’t that many references in my last blog post, I should probably make up for it.

If you don’t get the reference, it’s about Thanksgiving.
Yes, Thanksgiving…the American holiday that people here don’t quite understand. Any Londoners I’ve met were asking me about it in this fashion: “You mean you have a holiday solely dedicated to eating?” And the answer, as we all know, is that awkward admittance that we tend to eat a lot in America: “err…kind of.” (If you don’t believe me that we eat a lot in America, here’s some food for thought: Our small sized fries, drinks, etc. are the equivalent to the large sizes in Europe…not that I’m really complaining. It’s just a fact)

After that ambiguous answer, you can’t just leave it. So, I followed up with the actual reason behind the holiday: celebrating the first dinner with the Native Americans, etc. and I suppose more importantly, celebrating what we are thankful for. That tends to help everything make sense quite quickly, because celebrating what you are thankful is actually pretty awesome. And who doesn’t like a good turkey?

And unfortunately, that’s what our Thanksgiving meal (that was 2 days late due to hectic scheduling and homework…yeah…Thanksgiving late, I know) was missing. We did manage with 2 full chickens, stuffing (weird but delicious stuffing with horseradish?), veggies (sweet potatoes, potatoes, carrots, you know what I’m talking about – the good stuff), and lots of desserts. Here’s some photos:

Here’s an interesting custom we should really contemplate doing in America…though it’s for Christmas… See that really funky looking black thing behind the cherry trifle and next to my less-than-beautiful-but-still-delicious pumpkin pie? That’s Christmas Pudding or plum pudding? (yes, wrong holiday, I know)
It’s soaked in brandy, you steam it for 2 hours, and when that’s finished, the tradition (that we sadly could not do as our fire alarms are already crazy enough as it is) is to pour MORE brandy on it and light it on fire. LIGHT THE PUDDING ON FIRE? Yes, please! It also helps that this pudding is frakkin’ delicious, but who doesn’t like lighting things on fire? I mean isn’t that why creme brulee was invented? Obviously, that’s why. For the minor pyromaniacs of the world like myself. Not for the delicious factor.

Shifting back to the actual dinner and whole thing we pulled together: I can’t sugar coat it…it wasn’t the easiest because of the ovens here in halls but MAN WAS IT WORTH IT. The only thing really missing was cranberries and a tryptophan coma, but we Americans…and one Aussie and one Brit…pulled it off!

Speaking of which, Pat (the Australian that I pay out all the time on here – sorry Pat), completely killed it at Thanksgiving. If you want someone who can eat and eat and eat, it’s him. I’m going to take the initiative and say he is now an honorary American after that display of Thanksgiving prowess. Chloe (who is British) didn’t absolutely destroy her plate of food like Pat, (not sure I could so…) but she made it through the Thanksgiving wilderness too. (Whoa Madonna!)

Overall:
It isn’t impossible to do Thanksgiving abroad. Other American holidays may be a bit more difficult…especially in England. (4th of July? Probably not overly popular, but when they have Guy Fawkes day, you really don’t need it.) You just have to want to do it and be willing to actually work at it/pay for it. (Being honest here, Thanksgiving is not a cheap meal ANYWHERE)

In other news, we only have about 2 weeks left until the end of the semester, and honestly, I have no idea what I’m going to do when I have to make a whole new set of friends. I love these guys and I’m actually quite scared of how different it will be next semester. Re-entry is going to be interesting…

To avoid ending on a sad note: I’m going ice skating at Hampton Court and possibly making it down to Brighton before the semester is over!

Still want my turkey and cranberries though.

x

Paris, je t’aime.

I have a decent excuse this time for being late to the writing. I don’t really know why I even try to make excuses anymore as I’m late basically every week, but still.

I spent the last weekend (Thursday to Tuesday actually – 5 days!) in Paris
Yeah, you’re jealous…I would be too. Sorry that’s a bit conceited, but if you’ve been to Paris, you understand.

My friend Jon and I went and stayed with a friend of mine, Laura. (who is absolutely fantastic for allowing us to stay with her!) He had never been to Paris, so it all worked out brilliantly – we’d do the touristy stuff during the day and then hang out with Laura when she was finished with classes.
To start out the trip though, we missed our Eurostar train. Can you say best way to start a trip to Paris ever? Because I can’t. Now it’s funny…at the time, we were just happy the lovely people at EurostarUK were so accommodating and changed our tickets for us. (Even if the lady did mom us for being late.) But what is travel without hiccups? Not normal. That’s why it’s important to just go with the flow as much as possible when you travel.

We spent the first two days seeing sights and eating, as is the Parisian way, along with walking your feet off. Fair warning to anyone that wants to visit Paris: after two days of all the sightseeing, your feet WILL hurt. But, it’s a small price to pay to follow wanderlust into one of the great cities of the world. (Oh, and the food makes it worth it too, I reckon. Walk off all that food!) My personal recommendation for a MUST SEE in Paris: Eiffel Tower sparkles at night at 6pm and then every hour on the hour after that. Don’t miss it. (Jon’s favorite part, if I remember rightly)

Following that, as our plans to go to Giverny were dashed by the fact that Monet’s house closes post 1st November (always check these things…otherwise it could be disastrous…), we went on the lovely all day, still more feet killing trip to Versailles!
Now, here’s what the Versailles gardens NORMALLY look like:

And here is how they looked like when we were there:

Not as majestic, Paris/Versailles. Just saying. (Kind of being generous. The weather this weekend, of course, sucked.)
It was, still, an amazing trip to Versailles. And I actually got to do something I’ve never done before there, and that is go into le Grand Trianon and le Petit Trianon! (The little farm thing was closed for the winter, not surprisingly.) It was a great new experience for me, and if you haven’t been able to tell from earlier posts, I’m a giant nerd. I’m also a history major. Those two things tend to make me ridiculously (unnecessarily?) excited about seeing new historical sights and reading all of the FREE (what? I’m a student!) reading material on said sights.

During our trip, I also realized how much the Paris Metro sucks. Now, don’t get me wrong, the French have got it down pat when it comes to national rails, but their Metro, especially in comparison to the Tube, sucks. If you’ve ever been on the ‘L’ in Chicago, it isn’t very different, although it DOES run on time, unlike in Chicago. Which is always nice. (Not complaining or anything here..)
Trust me, when you study abroad in the land of great underground trains, (there are many in Europe) you will begin to form a preference to a certain one, whether it’s the Tube in London or the one in Prague. (does Prague even have a subway? I should probably check.) It might be because you’re used to it and don’t like change, or it might be because the Paris metro is all over the damn city with no sense of organization. (I think they seriously just keep adding lines for fun – there’s like 30.) I know, I know: Tell us how you really feel…

No, but outside of my gripes with the Metro, I absolutely adore Paris. Not sure I could live there because of my slightly broken French and the whole I’m-afraid-to-speak-don’t-judge-me thing, but the food. The FOOD. If you didn’t gather from my last post, (or the sentence before this one) I love French food. Crêpes, Croque Monsieurs, ham and cheese sandwiches, baguettes, crêpes, little delicious macarons, hot dogs in baguettes, crêpes, and pastries. Did I mention crêpes? Because I really like them. (YUM in general for this entire paragraph)
Also…if you’re like me and like Parisian food, in London, it’s a bit hard to find regularly, but Paul does a pretty decent job.

I also, (if you didn’t notice this…I really don’t know what’s wrong with you) love wine. It’s a family thing, I think. We all love wine. Bunch o’ wine-o’s, really.  And man, did we have wine. Some of it wasn’t amazing…maybe because I just randomly picked up a bottle next to the checkout due to a 5 Euro minimum for cards….but that’s beside the point. Most of it was damn good and cheap! Funny thing about Paris: sometimes, the alcohol is cheaper than water, especially beer, which I find weird but also, for you beer drinkers, awesome.
But we’ll leave that subject there. I’d rather not go into a conversation about beer. (Sorry I’m not sorry, beer drinkers.)

What would a Mattie blog post be without some coffee? CAFE VIENNOIS. MY LOVE! (It’s basically espresso and whipped cream – espresso con panna for you Italian lovers)
I think that basically sums that up.

So…food..wine…coffe…sights…lots of walking…oh and did I mention the cafe lifestyle that I absolutely adore as well? Sitting for hours at a cafe (not my favorite cafe as it closed – disaster! ) drinking just a cafe viennois or a glass of pinot noir while people watching? Brilliant. 5 days living this life? Even better. Not so brilliant when we had to come back and live real lives again.

Maybe you think I’m over-romanticising Paris. Maybe you’re right. Or maybe you should just go to Paris and find out for yourself.

x

ps – There might be some back-to-back postage of blogs going on. I’m super duper late on this. Apologies!