I have officially been in London for one week today. I'd have to say that I like it and adjusted a lot better and quicker than what I was expecting. However, more adjustment is soon to come! Classes start next week on Monday and I am beginning to get very nervous. Not only was I dumb enough to pick one of the top schools in the UK/the world, but schooling is very different over here. The professors, or tutors as they call them, teach one class for two hours a week. They then give you a bibliography of suggested readings that are extensive and you are supposed to figure out what would be beneficial to read. Why they do this is beyond me. I don't think giving out page numbers for readings is that difficult, but I guess they want to weed out weak students, which I am beginning to fear will be me!
On a happier note, yesterday was a busy day when it came to sight seeing. In the morning I got up and went to the National Gallery. It was truly an unforgettable experience. I got to see so many famous works including the one and only Vincent Van Gogh. mmmmm it was wonderful! I love how you can take a short tube ride and get to see all of that for free, something I will probably never get to take advantage of again.
So after spending about 3 hours wandering around the National Gallery, I decided to get coffee and see if any of my friends wanted to venture to Buckingham Palace. Alonzo turned out being my companion for the trip and the palace was incredible. I have never seen so much gold and beauty in my life! The palace was huge and there were so many things to see! Oh what it would be like to be the queen haha.
After the palace, Alonzo and I decided to go check out the Tate Britian Museum, which is another art museum but houses the works of only British artists. My favorite section was the contemporary art. A lot of it seemed like simple scribbles and nonsense, but I enjoyed reading the description and trying to find meaning in the piece. However, there were definitely pieces that I wondered about being art at all. One artist proceeded to paint the entire canvas one color and then make holes in different parts of the painting. He said it was to evaluate color and make some other kind of meaning, but I wonder if he just got lazy and decided to do something simple and then call it art! Why not? People will look at anything these days :)
After the museum I went and met some of Alonzo's friends from the building he lives in. They were all British and they were all very very funny. I think I laughed the entire time. They taught us British slang and we taught them words that we use differently in the United States. For instance, I said that their kitchen was legit and they didn't understand how I used to word. It was one of the most fun times I have had here thus far.
Overall, I have been having a great time. I am loving learning and experiencing their different culture. I feel so alive in this city, but again, that may change once I begin classes and those daunting reading lists!
Until next time,
Lorinda
Wednesday, 29 September 2010
Monday, 27 September 2010
London Part 1
Despite my stubborn attempt to not have a blog, I have decided to start one as an easy way to keep everyone that I love in the loop with what I am doing in London. I have been here for almost a week now and tons of stuff has happened so far, so I'm afraid this blog post is going to be a long one but I hope that whoever may be reading this can hold on till the end! I will try to summarize the last days as much as possible.
The first day here was a tough one. I got out of the Heathrow airport and was immediately thrown into my first experience of public transportation with 100 pounds and no sleep. After getting of the train and attempting to start walking towards the taxis, my bags were being a hassle. They kept falling off so I was constantly stopping and swearing. A nice British man saw the scene that I was making and offered to help. He carried my heavy bag all the way to the taxi and wished me luck on my journey. The rest of the day was filled with attempted rest, culture shock, and exploring the street which I live one. At dinner time, the company which I applied through took me out to dinner with two other students. After some reassurance and some good food, I was ready for bed but anxious for the next day.
Thursday came all too soon and I started the day off going to orientation at UCL. I quickly realized that the schooling system here is quite different and there is little to no assistance in enrolling and signing up for classes. I attended a meeting for the History of Art affiliate students and after, I felt a lot better about where I was at with class sign up. Signing up within days of classes actually starting was something that I was not used to and was apprehensive about. That night, I went out for another dinner and met 6 girls that are in my program but going to a different school. They are a loud and wonderful group of girls that I had a lot of fun with at dinner. By the way, all the dinners were already paid for by the company, so we were free to order as much food, drinks, and desert as we wanted. :) After dinner the 9 of us went out to a local pub in the area, which was a really fun experience.
Friday was the Big City Bus Tour. It was absolutely marvelous. We were all freezing, but all of us wanted to sit on the top of the bus to take pictures and get soaked by the rain that is constantly falling here. However, we got to see so many sights and it really put the whole city in perspective. It was truly wonderful. I posted pictures on my facebook that were taken quickly and without much artistic taste, so please pardon their lack of talent. That night we went to a pizza place where I had the best pizza I have ever tasted! We got to explore that part of town a little bit more and then went to the theatre, where we saw the comedy, 39 Steps.
Saturday was here and I decided to explore Camden Market with one of the girls from the CIEE program. We shopped for the necessities and saw a variety of people. There was even one man that was holding a sign to the tattoo parlor who had his hair styled in two foot spikes! :) That night I went to the pub with my roommate and some girls next door.
Yesterday was Sunday and I decided to take a break from the shopping scene and explore some museums. In the morning I went to the British Museum with a girl named Luxi. We had a good time looking at all of the art. I was struck with how powerful and magnificent it was to actually see the Egyptian sculptures, the Rosetta Stone, and the Greek art, including parts of the Parthenon. I was so overwhelmed and happy to experience and see the things that I had only read about in my school books. After lunch I proceeded to the Tate Modern Museum of Art. There I fell in love. The building was boxy and was decorated just like one of my favorite magazines. But inside those rooms were paintings and masterpieces of some of the greatest artists in history. There I saw Picasso, Cezanne, Rivera, Warhol, and Monet. There was also a man who's paintings filled an entire room. His name is Gerhard Richter and his paintings may seem plain and pointless, but their beauty astounded me when I got to experience them in person.
Today was a pretty boring day. I finally got more than 5 hours of sleep last night and this afternoon I signed up for classes. When it was starting to creep towards late afternoon, I decided I was being lame and went for a run in Regent's Park. I don't think that I have ever been in such a beautiful place! The park is HUGE and it is all perfectly manicured. There is also a section called Queen Mary's Garden, which is a great rose garden. The path extends for what seems like a couple miles and is entirely filled with the smell of roses! It is a gorgeous and refreshing place to be with all of the roses, willow trees, ponds, and statues.
Overall, I love London so far. The people are very open to change and I think they are absolutely hilarious. Everyone does their own thing and everyone is different and free to be who they want to be. No one seems to care what others think of them as long as they are comfortable with what they are doing. It is truly a great place to be! The only complaint is the weather! It constantly rains here and the sky is always grey. People also walk everywhere and FAST. I have been definitely getting some power walking in!
Sorry that I am unable to share in greater detail, but I feel like this blog is long enough! I hope to continue the blogging process so look forward to more info on my trip! :)
The first day here was a tough one. I got out of the Heathrow airport and was immediately thrown into my first experience of public transportation with 100 pounds and no sleep. After getting of the train and attempting to start walking towards the taxis, my bags were being a hassle. They kept falling off so I was constantly stopping and swearing. A nice British man saw the scene that I was making and offered to help. He carried my heavy bag all the way to the taxi and wished me luck on my journey. The rest of the day was filled with attempted rest, culture shock, and exploring the street which I live one. At dinner time, the company which I applied through took me out to dinner with two other students. After some reassurance and some good food, I was ready for bed but anxious for the next day.
Thursday came all too soon and I started the day off going to orientation at UCL. I quickly realized that the schooling system here is quite different and there is little to no assistance in enrolling and signing up for classes. I attended a meeting for the History of Art affiliate students and after, I felt a lot better about where I was at with class sign up. Signing up within days of classes actually starting was something that I was not used to and was apprehensive about. That night, I went out for another dinner and met 6 girls that are in my program but going to a different school. They are a loud and wonderful group of girls that I had a lot of fun with at dinner. By the way, all the dinners were already paid for by the company, so we were free to order as much food, drinks, and desert as we wanted. :) After dinner the 9 of us went out to a local pub in the area, which was a really fun experience.
Friday was the Big City Bus Tour. It was absolutely marvelous. We were all freezing, but all of us wanted to sit on the top of the bus to take pictures and get soaked by the rain that is constantly falling here. However, we got to see so many sights and it really put the whole city in perspective. It was truly wonderful. I posted pictures on my facebook that were taken quickly and without much artistic taste, so please pardon their lack of talent. That night we went to a pizza place where I had the best pizza I have ever tasted! We got to explore that part of town a little bit more and then went to the theatre, where we saw the comedy, 39 Steps.
Saturday was here and I decided to explore Camden Market with one of the girls from the CIEE program. We shopped for the necessities and saw a variety of people. There was even one man that was holding a sign to the tattoo parlor who had his hair styled in two foot spikes! :) That night I went to the pub with my roommate and some girls next door.
Yesterday was Sunday and I decided to take a break from the shopping scene and explore some museums. In the morning I went to the British Museum with a girl named Luxi. We had a good time looking at all of the art. I was struck with how powerful and magnificent it was to actually see the Egyptian sculptures, the Rosetta Stone, and the Greek art, including parts of the Parthenon. I was so overwhelmed and happy to experience and see the things that I had only read about in my school books. After lunch I proceeded to the Tate Modern Museum of Art. There I fell in love. The building was boxy and was decorated just like one of my favorite magazines. But inside those rooms were paintings and masterpieces of some of the greatest artists in history. There I saw Picasso, Cezanne, Rivera, Warhol, and Monet. There was also a man who's paintings filled an entire room. His name is Gerhard Richter and his paintings may seem plain and pointless, but their beauty astounded me when I got to experience them in person.
Today was a pretty boring day. I finally got more than 5 hours of sleep last night and this afternoon I signed up for classes. When it was starting to creep towards late afternoon, I decided I was being lame and went for a run in Regent's Park. I don't think that I have ever been in such a beautiful place! The park is HUGE and it is all perfectly manicured. There is also a section called Queen Mary's Garden, which is a great rose garden. The path extends for what seems like a couple miles and is entirely filled with the smell of roses! It is a gorgeous and refreshing place to be with all of the roses, willow trees, ponds, and statues.
Overall, I love London so far. The people are very open to change and I think they are absolutely hilarious. Everyone does their own thing and everyone is different and free to be who they want to be. No one seems to care what others think of them as long as they are comfortable with what they are doing. It is truly a great place to be! The only complaint is the weather! It constantly rains here and the sky is always grey. People also walk everywhere and FAST. I have been definitely getting some power walking in!
Sorry that I am unable to share in greater detail, but I feel like this blog is long enough! I hope to continue the blogging process so look forward to more info on my trip! :)
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