Dublin

O'Connell Street: One of the busiest streets in City Centre, maybe even the busiest. The Spire was built for the millenium. It is huge!

The River Liffey and the Quays: Prominent in City Centre. Every time we asked for directions before we got a map, we were told, "It's just over the Quays [pronounced 'keys']" or "Go past the Quays" and I was baffled about these keys. Then we found a map and realized what the keys were.

Gravity Bar at the Guinness Storehouse: The middle of the tourist-friendly brewery is designed to look like a giant pintglass. The Gravity Bar is at the very top, the creamy froth! You get a complimentary pint of Guinness and an amazing bird's eye view of Dublin. I'm glad we went at dusk because the sky and lights were spectacular.

Howth: A seaside town 30 minutes west of Dublin. Lots of fishing boats, sailboats, fish markets, seafood. There is also a nice little town. Reminded me of Catalina Island.

Filipino grocery store in the middle of Dublin: There are a lot of Asian people in Dublin. I heard that immigration in the city is going up. It's becoming very international! I had to take a picture and go inside this market because I haven't seen a Filipino market even in London. They had lots of familiar food and familiar smells.

First time I've felt embarrassed as a foreigner..

One of the best things about London is the Underground, more commonly known as 'the tube'. One of the best things about FIE (my study abroad program) is that the day after my arrival they gave us our tube passes, ready to go. Tube passes are called Oyster cards. Don't ask me why they are called Oyster cards, I have no clue. I vaguely heard that in some other country the transportation card is named after another sea creature. My conjecture is that in London, the world is my oyster...Here is a bad picture of my Oyster card. So when you want to use the tube, you have to scan the Oyster card to get into the station and then you have to swipe again to get out of the station. It's important to swipe out because that's how they can tell if you've paid for the amount of traveling you've done. My Oyster card is set only for zones 1 and 2, zone 1 being central London and zone 2 an area that surrounds zone 1. So if I want to travel outside of zone 2, I have to put more money on my card.

Anyway, tomorrow I am going to Heathrow airport which is in zone 6 so I had to put money on my card. So a friend and I went to the nearest tube station to use the ticket kiosk. Sam tried his card first. He scanned his card, clicked the option that said "Top up/pay as you go" ('top up' means to fill your card up; you can also top up a gift card), and inserted his debit card. Then the screen asked which kind of ticket he wanted to purchase. We got really confused because we thought he had already chosen. We tried pressing cancel but that didn't work. We also didn't want to press "zones 1-6" or "single destination" because we didn't want his card to be charged twice.

Sam decided to go to the ticket attendant while I waited in front of the ticket kiosk. Unfortunately, there were two women talking rather frustratedly to the attendant and Sam had to wait a good amout of time. While he was waiting, I stood in front of the kiosk to make sure no one would use it. I felt bad because it was getting to be rush hour and I blocked several people. But I also tried to discreetly watch the people using the next kiosk to see what we did wrong. Though I felt a little foolish trying not to stare so that I wouldn't be accused of stealing debit card PINs, I was able to watch a couple of people top up their card successfully. And I couldn't figure it out! Then, after a woman wearing a large fur coat topped up her card and left right after paying, I realized that her screen had reverted to the same exact screen that Sam's screen was on. The kiosk wasn't asking for more money - it was ready for a new transaction!

So I relayed this to Sam and we had a little conversation in front of other people in line about how we were complete idiots. But Sam decided to check anyways since he had waited for so long and since the women before him had finished. Sure enough, his card had a new balance of 10 pounds.

Just thought I'd share that little incident. Such a smack-yourself-in-the-forehead moment.

Glimpses.

Glimpse 1: Kensington Gardens (which is really a park), about 5 minutes from my flat. This was taken the 1st or 2nd full day I was here. I was amazed by the sunlight. And the trees reminded me of Sleepy Hollow. So pretty.

Glimpse 2: This is the view out my flat's kitchen window. If you look closely, you'll see Mary Poppins. This was a cloudier day, which is still quite nice, if you ask me.

Glimpse 3: Baker Street tube station. It's not a particularly special station, it's not the tube station closest to my flat, it's not even a particularly nice station. I just happened to have my camera at the time (all too often I forget to bring it along). But it's a pretty standard station and still holds charm for my foreign eyes.

Glimpse 4: Obama-rama. Just thought I'd include this, if only to show that I'm safe and sound - in the arms of Obama (though I suppose he's really in my arms). This was, if you couldn't tell, at Madame Tussaud's.

One last note for the time being, everyone is now allowed to post comments here (thanks Agnes)! Just post anonymously and then sign off with your name, unless you want to remain anonymous...

I'd love to hear what everyone is up to!

London calling.

Hello!

I am currently sitting in an Internet cafe basement in Leicester Square because I haven't been able to check Gmail or update this blog at my residence. The moody Wifi (sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't) is a popular topic in our flats. The only good thing about it is that it has given us something to talk about and bond over in the first week.

Anyway, I don't really know where to start. I really am going to try blogging each day which will make my life easier. There's a computer lab back at school.

I guess some highlights the past week or so (in no particular order):

1. Portobello Road Market: flea market/bazaar. We heard about a vintage sale going on in an old theatre so we went. I found an awesome pair of green boots from the 1980s and I love them. They were only 28 pounds! There are a lot of new and vintage stores there so I definitely will be going back. Amazingly, that pair of boots is the only thing I've bought that I don't really need. I also had a crepe from a crepe stand there and it was pretty good, but definitely not as good as KC's, a little crepe place right outside LMU's doors.

2. We Will Rock You: at the Dominion Theatre. This is the musical that features Queen's music. The music was pretty awesome but we couldn't understand why they musical has been running for 7 years straight...We figured it's because they don't want to remove the huge golden statue of Freddie Mercury from the front of the theatre. The plotline and production is rather tacky, if you ask me. BUT it was highly entertaining and free so I won't complain much more. I'm hoping to watch Phantom and Les Mis pretty soon.

3. Stonehenge and Bath: Stonehenge was as cool as a pile of rocks can get (and smaller than you may think). Bath was wonderful!! The Roman baths are so cool. But the town itself is really great. Think of a little English town nestled among hills and you get Bath. But there are also a lot of cute shops and streets and pubs. I had a delicious English breakfast there: sausages, bacon, ham, eggs, chips, and beans. Beans are so yummy with breakfast. Who would have thought? But the best thing about Bath was getting to see Jane Austen's old home! She lived there for a bit and her door is marked: "Here lived Jane Austen". So some of us girls went to worship at her door..and take a ton of pictures, all the while hoping that the current residents wouldn't catch us.

4. Inauguration Day: yesterday!! I wasn't able to watch the ceremonies live but I celebrated by taking a picture with Obama! A bunch of us went to Madame Tussaud's which was having America Day - U.S. citizens got in for free. The line to take a pic with the new statuesque president was 40 minutes. But it was worth the wait. I got to hug him :D Then I had class in the evening but after class we went to a local pub for a celebratory pint. Then we realized that we had to do something American. So, of course, we trekked 20 minutes to McDonald's! And it was the most perfect thing (McDonald's restaurants in London are pretty fancy). Nothing beats cheeseburgers, french fries, and McFlurries - at least on Inauguration Day whilst in London. Most people here are very happy. Obama is in the newspapers, on TV, on people's shirts even. One woman in the street, after realizing that we were American, turned around and said "Well done!" Well done indeed.

Well, I'll have to end here. I had hoped to post pictures but don't have them with me right now. Next time. Oh and just to let you all in on my plans: I am going to Dublin this weekend with some friends just to check it out. And then the weekend after that I am going to Istanbul, Turkey on a field trip for one of my classes! I am very excited for both!

I hope everyone is doing very well and enjoying the weather, which I hear is quite warm. It is still chin-numbingly cold here but today is nice and sunny so I am loving it : )

Thanks for reading!

Man, finally.

I've been having trouble logging onto Gmail and Blogspot, which is why I haven't updated. But I finally figured out how to login through iGoogle. Anyway, for now, since it's past midnight here and I have to wake up early, I'm going to post some emails I've sent to my parents (sorry if some of this stuff is old news). They asked me questions and I answered...

Mass was very interesting. Brompton Oratory is a big old beautiful cathedral! Look it up, it's pretty amazing. I felt weird being in a Catholic Church in Britain because there are Churches of England on every street. Brits aren't usually associated with Catholicism so it was hard for me to believe that the Cathedral is Catholic. Anyway, masses there are very formal: they still have some in Latin, though the one I attended was in English. It was very cold in the Cathedral since it's enormous. Mass was a little different: I guess English people don't hold hands or hold out their hands at all during the Our Father and there is no sign of peace at all (the priest just said "Peace be with you" and we responded "And also with you" and that was it). It kind of perpetuated the stereotype of cold English people for me. The mass was also old school: they rang the bells during consecration and during communion we got into line and then had to go up to the railing at the alter to receive the host. Most people received by mouth but I don't feel comfortable with that so I just held out my hands. I'm glad I attended that Mass and I want to go to another one in Latin, but I want to find another, friendlier feeling church. Maybe even another cathedral, as long as it doesn't feel as cold. I didn't know about the 3 personal intentions thing, though I did pray for intentions. Now that I know though, I will next time. One of the LMU guys has tickets to go to Rome during Easter and attend all the ceremonies, so I'm kind of jealous. Oh well.

My first day of school was really good. I had class at one so I got to sleep in. The building we have classes in is about a 10 minute walk away. My class was intro to creative writing with a Brit professor. There are 9 students in the class but I'm the only one from LMU. Only one from the West Coast actually. One student is from New Jersey, and the others 7 are from North Carolina. I like how the professor has set up the class so we'll see how it goes. It's a 3 hour class but we got a half hour break in the middle which was really helpful. A couple of us went to a coffee place nearby that the professor recommended.

FIE is hosting a free day trip to Bath and Stonehenge this Saturday so I signed up for that. I'm really excited to get out of London , especially on a free trip. I'm especially excited to see Bath because Jane Austen uses it a lot for her settings! FIE is also providing 30 pound tickets to see Cirque du Soleil's Quidam at the Royal Albert Hall so I'm pretty sure I'm going to see it. As you know, I've been wanting to see Cirque du Soleil and I can't think of a better venue to see it at : )

I went shopping at this supermarket called Sainsbury's. It's a 15 minute walk but it's pretty much like a Vons or Albertsons. I bought mostly Sainsbury's brand stuff which is pretty good and cheaper. I have to "cook" or go out if I want to eat. I'm going to be eating cereal and sandwiches for 4 months. Nutella and PB&J's have also become very popular in my flat, but I can't eat either of those of course. There is no cafeteria. There is another little chain grocery store called Tesco Express about 5 minutes away. It's a little bit more expensive but not much, so if I need something like water or milk I can go there.

I was kind of grumpy last night and this morning because I was tired and hungry but then we just got back from a bus tour of London. We saw a lot: Buckingham Palace, Tower of London, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, London Bridge, all the touristy stuff. But we didn't get out of the bus, except at Buckingham Palace. The tour guide just showed us where everything is and where to get off the tube so now we know and can go back on our own. And I realized that Harrod's is about 10 minutes away. Everything is so close. London is so much smaller than I thought. Well at least on a bus. So point is, I went on the tour and just ate lunch so I feel better.

I have met students from other schools. American University is in the flat across the hall downstairs and a couple of them came to hang out with us the other night. I haven't really met students from other countries. Though some of the LMU guys met these British guys and brought them back to our flats to hang out. One of them slept on our couch in the common room for one night because his (I'm assuming rich) parents locked him out of the house.

There are a lot of French people here though. There's a posh French high school just around the corner so there's this French quarter street where I had a really good chocolate croissant and mocha coffee. And actually there are just a lot of foreigners here in general. French (lots of black French people), Middle Easterners, Asians.

The weather is pretty crazy. It was beautiful and sunny (though still cold) on Friday. And then yesterday it was freezing. Literally. I went to Camden Market, this outdoor Venice Beach-like bazaar, and it snowed for about 2 minutes. Verrrrrrry cold. Just like flakes, but snow nonetheless. Then this morning is blue skies and sun again! The tour guide said to get used to these fluctuations in the weather. She said it's rare that the weather will be that cold though. She said it doesn't snow much. I like seeing the sun though.

I am having fun. Last night about 12 of us went to The Queen's Arms, a local pub. When we were leaving around 11 this older British man was outside and asked us for a light and one of the girls had one. He was verrrrry appreciative and said he would take us to a local club where we could get in for free. So we went, in our chunky sweaters and all, and I got to see my first English club. Not much different from the ones in LA except that the coatcheck is free, the temperature is a little warmer, and girls are more modest. Better dancers in LA though : ) But then when we came back I was exhausted so I went to sleep for about 7 hours and then had to wake up at 9 to get ready for the bus tour. So I'm still pretty tired.

We found the bank, it's on a road close by. I still have about 150 pounds in my room though. Once I get down to 50 I will withdraw more. I don't take it all out with me all the time though. I'm going to try to find a church with times that fit my schedule tomorrow. FIE has stuff scheduled. The coins are called pence - there are 5 pence, 10 pence, 20 pence, and 50 pence. Then there are 1 pound coins and 2 pound coins. There are no 1 pound notes. The notes start with 5 pounds. And restaurant service is a lot slower. You have to signal to the waiter/waitress somehow that you need something or you need the bill, not the check, the bill. And they don't notice if you need water or not, you need to ask.

good morning! i woke up around 10 am yesterday, so i slept for about 11 hours which felt really good. today was quite a different story. i'm really glad that i have a single room because i don't have to worry about my passport and money and stuff but i do have to worry about misplacing my keys! i couldn't find them last night so i slept on the couch in the common room/kitch (which was actually really comfortable, the cushions were a lot nicer than the pillow provided which are all super flat, and i mean like a quarter of a pillow at home). when brian woke up this morning though he found them sitting on his desk where i had unknowingly left them when i was talking to him and a couple other people. so luckily i got into my room this morning. i definitely learned my lesson and will be more careful about how i treat my keys. i kind of miss my one card! instead of 15 bucks to replace it, i would have had to pay 60 pounds.

i bought some food yesterday for at least 1.5 weeks for about 11 pounds so i was pretty happy. we went to one of the few supermarkets here, called sainsbury's. i got milk, cereal, grapes, oranges, bread, and pasta. i have to go back and get something to eat with my bread though. i didn't bring vitamin c pills but pharmacies (what we would call a drug store, like Rite Aid or CVS, are all over the place. so if i start to feel sick i will get something.

it is cold here! i always have to wear gloves and a scarf. though it was actually a really nice day yesterday, the sun was out! i couldn't get over the sun because everyone kept saying there would be no sun. we got lucky. but i still had to wear gloves because it was about 40 degrees F. when we were walking around after the sun went down it dipped to about 28 degrees F. but i like the weather so far.

i got my tube pass from FIE yesterday so a bunch of us are going to go to Camden Road and maybe Covent Garden to do a little sightseeing/possibly shopping today. we have all day off. then tomorrow FIE is taking us on a coach tour of all of London which should be informative.

Hullo hullo. I'm here in my flat in the common room/kitchen. The stairs are killerrrrr. We counted at least 100 steps. And they're narrow stairs so it's super tiring. Maybe I won't need to go to the gym. My flight was pretty good. It was weird because they offered red wine without even asking. I declined though. Yea so since I landed about 12 I wasn't able to make it to meet Brian. I just took a taxi, it cost me 60 pounds. The driver kept calling me "dawling." It was crazy to be driving on a European highway on the opposite side of the road. We had a short orientation meeting and a walking tour of the immediate neighborhood. It's a pretty nice place. The Natural History Museum and the Royal Albert Hall are just down the road. Went to dinner at this litte Italian place just down the road with about 7 other LMU students. It was ok. It's pretty cold but I was okay without gloves as long as I kept them in my pockets. I'm planning to go grocery shopping tomorrow morning/afternoon. I have another orientation meeting at 3. I'm going to go to bed now though because I'm so tired.

Here and exhausted!

I'm in London! Couldn't believe I was driving in LA for the last time in 4 months. Saw a bunch of people from LMU at the airport. Said goodbye to my family. And then I started to get nervous going through security and walking down to the terminals. I have never flown alone so it felt weird going on such a long flight without someone I knew sitting right next to me.

The flight was fairly painless. Though I never sleep well on planes so I only dozed off once for 10 minutes during the 10 hour flight. It was a packed flight so it felt pretty cramped. I wasn't able to talk to the 2 women sitting next to me because they couldn't really speak English. But they slept most of the way.

And then I arrived at Heathrow! Weather was like LA cold at first, though a bit foggy (as the sun went down though it definitely got colder, couldn't feel my fingers or face). Also couldn't believe I was in London til I got to the immigration check and had to go to the booths labeled "All Others" instead of "UK Nationals." My friend Brian said he would wait for me til 12:30 so that we could take the tube together but I was done at 12:30 and couldn't get to his terminal anyway. Blah blah blah. I ended up taking a taxi because I didn't want to deal with my 3 suitcases. And it was a good thing I did because I had to go to one place first to pick up my keys and then to my residence several blocks down. And THEN I'm on the top floor, so I had to climb about 10 flights of stairs. Major pain since I had to make 3 trips. But I'll be climbing those stairs everyday so I guess I'll get used to it.

Everything is pretty different here. The townhouses all look so old. There are no street signs, just signs on the side of buildings at the corners. Traffic runs in the opposite direction so I have to be especially careful crossing the street. Cars are smaller and somehow seem to drive differently. Oh and I saw a bunch of little schoolgirls who looked like they jumped right out of the pages of Madeline!

Finally here's my room! I ended up with a single somehow. There are rooms with 3 girls or 3 guys in it on my floor. I was a little bummed at first about not having a roomie but I'm definitely seeing the bright side now..I can just leave my stuff wherever I want and can have time for myself really easily. I have a great view too. Apparently Kensington, the neighborhood I am in, is really upscale. I can see into some really nice flats. The guy who led our short walking tour today said they go for about 10 million pounds (!!!!). Anyway, I'll post a pic of my view later.




This post is pretty dry because I'm exhausted! I want to go to sleep because I haven't slept in 24 hours but I don't want to mess my system up, it's only 7 pm here. I'll probably end up going out with the other LMU people to get a quick bite to eat, maybe at a pub, which seems fitting on my first night in London : )

Countdown..

..Two days til my departure date!

I am in the process of fixing my bank account (just got the customer service rep after 20 minutes on hold), testing my rented pay-as-you-go phone, and finishing last minute paperwork such as my financial aid packet and work reflection that my boss requested.

And after I am done running errands, I can actually start packing! All I've done so far was moved the clothes that were chilling on my bed all break down to the floor on top of the duffel bag that will become the home of the rejected clothes while I am away.

While in Mammoth, I didn't really think too much about London - well I guess that's a lie. I thought about London a lot, but only in snatchets, minute moments of recollections that I'd be leaving the country very soon. Then I'd forget again because I'd have to put on my jacket, or get off the ski lift, or avoid the reckless rider about to clip my board.

Anyway, now I can't believe this whole study abroad thing is about to start in less than two days. During pre-departure meetings, the study abroad team at LMU talked about culture shock. I admit, I laughed a little bit inside. Me, experience culture shock? Yea, right. But now that I have been thinking about London pretty much non-stop, I have realized that I am going to be in a foreign country for the first time on my very own. I won't even have a cell phone (I hate to say it but I am so reliant on my cell that I have been texting friends constantly to make up for the 4 months I won't be able to text them)!

Now that I have had to figure out how I am going to exchange my US dollars for British pounds (should I make the exchange here? should I make the exchange at the airport?? should I make the exchange in London???) and how I am going to get from Heathrow to my residence building (should I take the tube? should I take a taxi?? should I walk to save money???), I have realized that these things are a little bit complicated when you're doing them for the first time.

But I am off to a good start. I know that I have a great big adventure ahead of me and even with mistakes made, I shouldn't really worry about it. Because I am ready to enjoy every second of it. While staying smart, of course.