Oh man. This last week has been a crazy one. I am currently sitting on a computer in the executive lounge in the Hilton Metropole in Central London. Anyone jealous yet? Well, it's ok. My internet connection is actually really horrible so I thought I would just write a few quick things so you know I am still alive before they kick me out (they are supposed to be closing in about 3 minutes.)
First, the CAPA London program has actually come to an end. I definitely did not think that was going to happen for awhile there. It really ended up creeping up on me and I think most of the other people in the program. We had a final good-bye celebration on Thursday night and then when I woke up on Friday morning, a few of my roommates were already packing their things away. It was definitely one of the saddest days I have had in a long time. I did not know what to do with myself. Since I always pack late at night because I am usually packing in Emery, where I have my own room, I was completely thrown off by this middle of the day packing. And then I realized that all I really needed to do was decide if I wanted to keep things or not, because it all had to be put somewhere. I was not going to be living in Flat 41 of Ability Towers in Islington, Central London ever again. Way. too. sad.
On to better things, though, a big group of the girls I have gotten to live, eat, breathe and travel with these last few months all got together Friday night and went out to eat. When we came back home even more girls joined us in our flat and we ended up reminiscing about all of the things we have done and seen and experienced and we sang and danced and just had a really great last night. I couldn't have asked for more.
But then Saturday came.
And Saturday was hard.
I got woken up first by Mary Kate who left at about 6am. It was a very hard good-bye and really set the tone that for the entire morning, this is what I was going to have to do. A few hours later all 4 of my flat-mates left, which was one of the most heart-breaking things. When I went back into my deserted flat, I truly did not know what to do. After I finally got everything cleaned and packed up I met up with 2 other girls and we all got a taxi (due to the torrential rains occuring in London all day) and came to our hotel. They head home Monday morning, when I will be reunited with my parents and sister! I am so glad they are coming. They have been having quite a few problems so far with delays and Midwest weather (in December...of course!) but things are looking good for them still arriving in London tomorrow morning, but maybe just a little later than planned.
So that is all that has been going on! I will be putting up pictures once I get a decent internet connection/home. For the next 8 days this is the schedule:
Monday 15 Dec: My family arrives!
Tuesday 16 Dec-Friday 19 December: Paris, France
Friday 19 - 23 Dec: London!
And we will all be home, hopefully, by nighttime December 23!
Wish us safe travels and hope you all have a really great next week. See you soon!
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
My New 'do
If you cannot tell from the title, I got a haircut!
I went to the Toni and Guy Academy, a major label's hairstyling school in London to get it done. (Similar to a higher class Stewarts, for those of you from SD.) Hair cuts, particularly for women, are incredibly expensive here in London. For a simple cut, it can be around £60-£80 ($90-120.) And then you talk color! Coloring is a big thing for British women, and very few have their natural hair color. In other words, for a British woman to get her hair cut, it will be a mini fortune. Because I do not possess the means to pay a mini fortune for a haircut, I went to the school where I got one of the most intricate cuts of my life for just £5 (around $7.50.)
When we went into the academy, I gave them my appointment number and waited in line with all of the other "hair models" as we were referred to. We then were sent off in groups to different rooms, based on what we wanted done. Apparently, they didn't have enough people who wanted color so a man literally came around to each of us one by one begging us (and convincing most) to get their hair colored. Knowing full well that I would see my parents in a few days as well as the fact that hair color in Britain is not simple brown/blonde but instead wild purple/bright red, I very insistently told them that I could not get my hair colored. Thankfully, enough of the other hair models gave in so I did not need to.
The room we were in was full of 25 Spanish-speaking students (which I was excited for, I could use my Spanish!) and literally two Italian-speaking students. I happened to get one of the Italian speaking students, so I had absolutely no idea what she was saying the entire time. There were teachers walking around and constantly checking the work the students were doing. They sectioned our hair off into around 6 different parts and then individually cut each part. It took around 3 hours for the entire process to finish, but I am a happy customer!
And here are the results with before and after pictures! (I know my hair might look darker, but that is only because they cut off all of my lightened hair from this summer.)
I went to the Toni and Guy Academy, a major label's hairstyling school in London to get it done. (Similar to a higher class Stewarts, for those of you from SD.) Hair cuts, particularly for women, are incredibly expensive here in London. For a simple cut, it can be around £60-£80 ($90-120.) And then you talk color! Coloring is a big thing for British women, and very few have their natural hair color. In other words, for a British woman to get her hair cut, it will be a mini fortune. Because I do not possess the means to pay a mini fortune for a haircut, I went to the school where I got one of the most intricate cuts of my life for just £5 (around $7.50.)
When we went into the academy, I gave them my appointment number and waited in line with all of the other "hair models" as we were referred to. We then were sent off in groups to different rooms, based on what we wanted done. Apparently, they didn't have enough people who wanted color so a man literally came around to each of us one by one begging us (and convincing most) to get their hair colored. Knowing full well that I would see my parents in a few days as well as the fact that hair color in Britain is not simple brown/blonde but instead wild purple/bright red, I very insistently told them that I could not get my hair colored. Thankfully, enough of the other hair models gave in so I did not need to.
The room we were in was full of 25 Spanish-speaking students (which I was excited for, I could use my Spanish!) and literally two Italian-speaking students. I happened to get one of the Italian speaking students, so I had absolutely no idea what she was saying the entire time. There were teachers walking around and constantly checking the work the students were doing. They sectioned our hair off into around 6 different parts and then individually cut each part. It took around 3 hours for the entire process to finish, but I am a happy customer!
And here are the results with before and after pictures! (I know my hair might look darker, but that is only because they cut off all of my lightened hair from this summer.)
Monday, December 8, 2008
It's the Final Countdown!
This is the absolute last week of my program!
Oh my gosh. I cannot believe that I started this around 3 1/2 months ago! I have met some truly amazing people and have learned so much since coming to London.
Here is a little timeline of my last week, just in case I don't update as much as normal because of finals/final week celebrations!
Monday, 8 December: 2nd to last full day of work, Mean Girls homework party (because it is going to be on TV.)
Tuesday, 9 December: British Broadcasting Final Paper/TV program proposal due; IT Pro Christmas party; night reservations at the Absolut Ice Bar
Wednesday, 10 December: Last full day at IT Pro; lunch with the staff; final PELA Portfolio Due
Thursday, 11 December: Last day at IT Pro (half day); final Post War UK Popular Culture research paper due; CAPA send off party
Friday, 12 December: Last full day with the girls and everyone in the program!
Saturday, 13 December: Almost everyone heads back to America; I will be checking into a hotel for a couple of days!
...and then fast forward to Monday, 15 December: My mom, dad and sister arrive in London! Whew. I think I will take the few days in between to sleep, figure out everything my family and I will do during their trip, and hopefully go to a few more museums!
Oh my gosh. I cannot believe that I started this around 3 1/2 months ago! I have met some truly amazing people and have learned so much since coming to London.
Here is a little timeline of my last week, just in case I don't update as much as normal because of finals/final week celebrations!
Monday, 8 December: 2nd to last full day of work, Mean Girls homework party (because it is going to be on TV.)
Tuesday, 9 December: British Broadcasting Final Paper/TV program proposal due; IT Pro Christmas party; night reservations at the Absolut Ice Bar
Wednesday, 10 December: Last full day at IT Pro; lunch with the staff; final PELA Portfolio Due
Thursday, 11 December: Last day at IT Pro (half day); final Post War UK Popular Culture research paper due; CAPA send off party
Friday, 12 December: Last full day with the girls and everyone in the program!
Saturday, 13 December: Almost everyone heads back to America; I will be checking into a hotel for a couple of days!
...and then fast forward to Monday, 15 December: My mom, dad and sister arrive in London! Whew. I think I will take the few days in between to sleep, figure out everything my family and I will do during their trip, and hopefully go to a few more museums!
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Pantomime!
Pantomime is a British traditional musical-comedy theatrical production! It has nothing to do with actual mimes, just for the record. It is very funny - geared towards children but with humor that adults understand. It is almost always politically incorrect, making fun of politicians, actors, singers, etc. At one point, an actor said that their full name was "Dotty Britney Spears Pussycat Dolls Girls Aloud Obama Yes We Can Potty!" So great.
The stage before the production - I wish I could have taken pictures during it, because the costumes are a character within themselves. The mother or oldest woman is always played by a man - similar to John Travolta in the movie version of Hairspray.
As you can see, the production that we went to was Jack in the Beanstalk. The pantomimes are traditionally only around during the holiday season, and are incredibly interactive. You have to boo and hiss when the villain comes on the stage, sing at some points, say "He's right behind you!" when the villain is behind the main characters, and are constantly engaging with the actors.
They also have very popular songs that they put into the storyline. For example, in Jack and the Beanstalk a big part is the cow being sold for the magic beans. The cows name was Buttercup, so they were always singing "Build me Up, Buttercup." The lead song was "Footloose," they did "Grease Lightening," and even a song from High School Musical. It was so great; I loved it!
A really great thing was that CAPA put on this trip, too, so we could get free tickets. I wanted to go because I had learned a little bit about pantomime in one of my classes so I got Mary Kate and Andrea to come along with me and we all had a really great night! Then, at the end of the show they were saying who was in the audience and CAPA got a shout-out! It was just like being a kid again, shouting for our school!
The stage before the production - I wish I could have taken pictures during it, because the costumes are a character within themselves. The mother or oldest woman is always played by a man - similar to John Travolta in the movie version of Hairspray.They also have very popular songs that they put into the storyline. For example, in Jack and the Beanstalk a big part is the cow being sold for the magic beans. The cows name was Buttercup, so they were always singing "Build me Up, Buttercup." The lead song was "Footloose," they did "Grease Lightening," and even a song from High School Musical. It was so great; I loved it!
A really great thing was that CAPA put on this trip, too, so we could get free tickets. I wanted to go because I had learned a little bit about pantomime in one of my classes so I got Mary Kate and Andrea to come along with me and we all had a really great night! Then, at the end of the show they were saying who was in the audience and CAPA got a shout-out! It was just like being a kid again, shouting for our school!Saturday, December 6, 2008
Norwegian Tree Lighting
Thursday night was the annual Norwegian Tree Lighting ceremony in Trafalgar Square! A couple of us went right after class to see what it was all about and it was pretty cool. Since it was my first large-scale tree lighting, I was definitely excited. They are all about their ceremonies here in London, though, so it was a little longer than it probably would have been in America!
The tree pre-lighting. You can see Big Ben on the left hand side, Nelson's Column closer to the tree and then the 90-foot tree from the forests of Oslo, Norway. Ever since 1947, the people of Norway have given a tree to the people of Britain to thank Britain for supporting Norway during the Second World War.
The chorus singing Christmas carols. There was also a band that played at the festivities.
Boris Johnson, the mayor of London, telling the history of the tree lighting ceremony. The mayor of Oslo was also present and was the one who actually lit the tree.
And it's lit! It is always lit with white lights and is topped with a star.
Todd and I had gotten as close to front-row viewing as possible!
Then, later that night, there was a CAPA Christmas party that the people who live in our flat complex put on.
Me, Joey and Mary Kate outside of the flats.
Our last traditional Thursday night - 2 for 1's at Bar Room Bar!
Andrea, Mary Kate, me, Sarah and Erica!
The tree pre-lighting. You can see Big Ben on the left hand side, Nelson's Column closer to the tree and then the 90-foot tree from the forests of Oslo, Norway. Ever since 1947, the people of Norway have given a tree to the people of Britain to thank Britain for supporting Norway during the Second World War.
The chorus singing Christmas carols. There was also a band that played at the festivities.
Boris Johnson, the mayor of London, telling the history of the tree lighting ceremony. The mayor of Oslo was also present and was the one who actually lit the tree.
And it's lit! It is always lit with white lights and is topped with a star.
Todd and I had gotten as close to front-row viewing as possible!Then, later that night, there was a CAPA Christmas party that the people who live in our flat complex put on.
Me, Joey and Mary Kate outside of the flats.
Our last traditional Thursday night - 2 for 1's at Bar Room Bar!Andrea, Mary Kate, me, Sarah and Erica!
Friday, December 5, 2008
Oxford
The next stop on our day tour was Oxford! When I decided to study abroad in London I had planned on making a trip to Oxford, just because it is such a staple sight in England in my mind.I wish I could have had even more time to explore the city, but it ended up being quite chilly and raining the entire time we were there. We took a quick little tour with our tour guide and then were released to do whatever we wanted for a few hours.
On the tour we took, we saw this pub, The Kings Arms. This is where Princess Diana's brother would act very drunk and crazy on the weekends, making the royal family second-guess whether Princess Di was really suitable.
This was the rotunda in Radcliffe Square. This area holds over 600,000 books underground, and it needs at least one copy of every single book ever published. Even if someone decided to publish 500 copies of a book, one would have to be sent here. There are also the original documents of many, many books and plays including Leo Tolstoy, William Shakespeare, and J. R. R. Tolkien. However, only students at Oxford or people with written permission (from their university or publisher) can look at these documents.
When we got released, we went to Corpus Christi College and Cathedral! This is where many scenes of Harry Potter were filmed for the movies!
A really great hallway right in the entrance - doesn't it look like a scene from HP?
Very close to the Great Hall! :D
The stairs actually moved. Crazy, huh?(The above comment is a lie.)
The main courtyard at night.
On our way back to the centre of the city, we got sent to the Deans (Deanery) Office.
This picture is just so odd because I look like a ghost! Must be that Harry Potter magic....Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Stratford Upon Avon
My roommate Andrea and I went on a day trip to Stratford upon Avon and Oxford last Sunday! We got to Kings Cross station at about 7:30am, literally waited for the Starbucks to open (which did so about 6 minutes late), got our coffees and then waited to board the coach that would take us around for the day.We started the tour in Stratford upon Avon at Anne Hathaway's house! Anne was the wife of a little old man named William Shakespeare. The house was where the Hathaways lived for multiple generations, including up into the 1900s. It was a very cute little cottage that truly felt like from the Shakespearean age.
We were not allowed to take pictures inside the house, but Andrea and I, being the rebels we are, decided that it would be absolutely fine if we turned off the flashes on our cameras and took pictures that way. Oh wow, we were definitely excited for the day. This is the Hathaway's kitchen, I'm just chilling with the homemade scones. :)
Us in one of the main bedrooms! Right before we saw an information lady who probably would not have approved of this picture.
Isn't the cottage so picturesque?
We then went a little off the beaten path and walked through a small apple orchard near the cottage. All of the apples had already fallen from the trees, though.
There was also a serene little stream running through the gardens. It was just a really cool sight.We then went into the town of Statford upon Avon for some lunch and a little sight-seeing.
The town had already decorated for Christmas! It was so nice to see. Quite a few places in London started decorating for Christmas before Halloween, but once it turned December, everywhere seemed to have at least one Christmas tree and lights.We went out to lunch at a little restaurant within the village, and then went to scope out the birthplace of William Shakespeare!
See?
I was invited inside! Ok, Willy, I'll come watch a play.
The house had a little addition put onto it by the extended Shakespeare family, but was primarily the same way that Shakespeare had it when he lived there.
So cool!
Stratford upon Avon definitely left a cool impression on us! We loved seeing the river and all of the old buildings. There were thatched houses and just really cool architecture everywhere. The place held so much history and so many theatres, but was still people's town where they went shopping. It was really cool to see the contrasts in buildings and the stores that occupied them - this is the same in London, too. I really need to take a picture of the Starbucks nearest me because it is in this really beautiful, old building that you would not expect a Starbucks to be occupying!
Monday, December 1, 2008
Happy December!
Hello everyone! I cannot believe it is already December; the last three months have gone by so fast! And, this is the same month that I will be back home! Wow. It is so weird to think about. Thankfully, I still have two more weeks to cram in homework and London fun and then another week to show my parents and sister around. I can't wait!
I thought that you all may be interested in the new terminology I have picked up in Britain. There are so many small terms that may seem minimal in the grand scheme of things, but definitely are necessary to know to hold a conversation in which both people know what is actually being talked about.
You will all be quizzed on these when I get home, so pay close attention to them. :)
British terms compared to what we use in America
Chips - French Fries
Crisps - Chips
Lemonade - Sprite/7-Up
Queue - Line
Cheers - Thanks/Bye
Trolley - Shopping Cart
Mobile - Cell Phone
Flat - Apartment
Rubbish - Trash
Rubbish bin - Trash can
Bit - Piece
Lift - Elevator
Torch - Flashlight
fancy - like
Well-fit - attractive
Register - Roll call
Sauce - ketchup
Are you all right? - How are you?
Holiday - Vacation
Pavement - Sidewalk
Solicitor - Lawyer
Mind - Watch out for
Motorway - Highway
Mate - Friend
Pants - Underwear
Jumper - Sweater
Trainers - Sneakers/Tennis Shoes
Trousers - Pants
Fortnight - 2 weeks
Biscuits - Cookies
Pudding - Desserts
Pie - Pot Pie with Meat (not like Apple Pie)
Fancy Dress - Dressing up in costume (as in on Halloween)
Pitch - Field (as in Soccer Field)
Football/Footie - Soccer
Rubber - Eraser
Toast - Bread no matter what, it is always toast
Vest - Tank Top
Fringe - Bangs
Quid - Pounds (Similar to us saying "Bucks" instead of "Dollars")
Take Away - To Go
Let - Rent
Row - Fight
Wee - Little
Oh wow. I know there are so many more than this, but I hope you like them! I have also noticed that my friend Tanya, who is in Australia, has blogged about a few of these differences as well. They must use more British English in Australia than American English. :) If you would like to see some really great pictures/stories from Australia, head on over to her blog at http://schm1761.blogspot.com/.
I thought that you all may be interested in the new terminology I have picked up in Britain. There are so many small terms that may seem minimal in the grand scheme of things, but definitely are necessary to know to hold a conversation in which both people know what is actually being talked about.
You will all be quizzed on these when I get home, so pay close attention to them. :)
British terms compared to what we use in America
Chips - French Fries
Crisps - Chips
Lemonade - Sprite/7-Up
Queue - Line
Cheers - Thanks/Bye
Trolley - Shopping Cart
Mobile - Cell Phone
Flat - Apartment
Rubbish - Trash
Rubbish bin - Trash can
Bit - Piece
Lift - Elevator
Torch - Flashlight
fancy - like
Well-fit - attractive
Register - Roll call
Sauce - ketchup
Are you all right? - How are you?
Holiday - Vacation
Pavement - Sidewalk
Solicitor - Lawyer
Mind - Watch out for
Motorway - Highway
Mate - Friend
Pants - Underwear
Jumper - Sweater
Trainers - Sneakers/Tennis Shoes
Trousers - Pants
Fortnight - 2 weeks
Biscuits - Cookies
Pudding - Desserts
Pie - Pot Pie with Meat (not like Apple Pie)
Fancy Dress - Dressing up in costume (as in on Halloween)
Pitch - Field (as in Soccer Field)
Football/Footie - Soccer
Rubber - Eraser
Toast - Bread no matter what, it is always toast
Vest - Tank Top
Fringe - Bangs
Quid - Pounds (Similar to us saying "Bucks" instead of "Dollars")
Take Away - To Go
Let - Rent
Row - Fight
Wee - Little
Oh wow. I know there are so many more than this, but I hope you like them! I have also noticed that my friend Tanya, who is in Australia, has blogged about a few of these differences as well. They must use more British English in Australia than American English. :) If you would like to see some really great pictures/stories from Australia, head on over to her blog at http://schm1761.blogspot.com/.
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