Chivalry and Solsbury Hill

I find it interesting that one of the stereotypes Americans seem to have towards the British is that they seem to have a cold persona about them, rude almost. On the contrary, anyone who I've spoken to who’s visited or lived in the UK has said quite the opposite of this very wrong stereotype. I can attest to this as well just from my short time here in London.

It never ceases to amaze me that in this big, fast pace city everyone is willing to lend a helping hand.

On our first weekend here my friend from the program and I went to go locate our internship sites since both of ours are in the same area of town. We wanted to make sure we knew exactly where they were for our “interviews” the following day. I put interview in quotations because it was more of tea time and cake than an interview. I’m not really complaining, it’s just the way they were describing how the process was going to be during orientation was a lot more formal and nerve racking than it actually was.

Anyways, when we were looking for her internship site we ended up getting a little lost. We eventually asked someone at a crosswalk if they knew where this particular street was. When he said he wasn't sure, I was surprised when he took out his iPhone, and began looking up where it was and showed us on a map. Not only did this man take time out of his day to help us, he was extremely nice about it.

The other night at a local bar, it was pretty packed since it was a Saturday night. I had to stop and take a moment when I realized one guy after the other (I think it was three that I counted), stopped and moved over to the side and gestured for me so I could walk by comfortably. And I don’t mean this in a flirty way or any sort of sexual context, just out of pure politeness.       

The fact that these types of actions genuinely surprise me makes me sad. And I don’t know if it’s because the British use words like “darling” or “love” when they speak to you, but I really think us Americans could learn a lesson in general manners from the British. Maybe we’re the cold ones.

Now I’m not trying to totally bash my own culture, and I'm not saying these types of things would never happen in America. I just think in the age of technology we have become increasingly more standoff-ish. I ask you my friends, instead of looking down at your phones and tablets when you’re walking look up. Look around you, smile at someone. Say good morning, hi, or hello. And that is a challenge.       

On a different note, this weekend we went to Stonehenge and Bath. After having a typical London morning of finding out that the tube was closed and scrambling to find an alternative bus route, my housemate and I were running through the streets of London to get to our meeting point for the couch. Thankfully the driver was late as well, and we made it with minutes to spare.

Stonehenge was both impressive and unimpressive, if that makes any sense. The history behind it is really impressive. The fact that these people spent most of their lives doing back breaking labor, pulling upwards of 5 tons for literally years, and the fact that some of it still stands is really impressive. But the act of getting there, going through the metal rails and walking along a rope pathway was quite unimpressive. And it might sound strange, but what really took a lot away from the scenery were the fucking black birds sitting on the very top of the stones. They ruined everything.

Note the birds. 

Then we rode over to Bath through the rolling hills of Solsbury Hill. I could see why Peter Gabriel would want to write a song about it, they really are beautiful. And Bath is situated right in the middle of them, taking on the rolling like structure of the hills.

We walked around the town and then went to the Roman Baths, and at the very end tasted some of the natural spring water that was semi-warm. Overall I really enjoyed Bath, and I wish we had a bit more time there.

The bath in Bath 

Until next time, and remember: look up. 

A very merry British July 4th

I was cooking pasta for the first time in my new flat the day after I arrived. I finally got some groceries, and am lucky to live directly across the street from a store. I’m also lucky enough to like right next to a heavy metal pub, but that’s another story. For me cooking, even though my cooking skills are sub par, is really one of the first milestones in claiming a new place; really making it feel like yours. So its official, I live in London.

The word that keeps coming to mind when I try and describe celebrating the 4^th in the same country that we rebelled from is ‘interesting.’ The phrase that keeps coming to mind is, ‘are we good?’

But in all actuality, even though it was very ‘interesting’ the whole day was quite nice. After our first orientation session, we went on a boat cruise on the river Thames. On the boat they had decorations, and on one side of the boat little American flags were hanging in the breeze and on the other side little British flags, as if to say, ‘Why yes, we are good.’

There was a barbecue for us and they tried their best in making hamburgers, sausages, chicken wings, coleslaw and pasta and potato salad. Sailing down the Thames it’s a mix of old and new buildings and it’s where I got my first glimpse of the London Eye, Big Ben (which fun fact is not the tower itself but the bell inside of it that you can’t even really see), the London Bridge, the Tower Bridge, and the Tower of London.

In the evening we celebrated the night with people from all parts of the European Union: British, Irish, and Spanish. That’s what made this 4^th so memorable (aside from the irony), and that is precisely why I love my neighborhood. It is not one homogeneous city, but a rich culturally diverse place. Each corner turns into something different, and holds all different types of foods and shops. You can also tell punk and metal never left Camden, with mohawks and about 5 different piercing and tattoo parlors within a block radius of each other. Camden is definitely a place for young people, and I am so happy to be living here.

Monday I have my interview and Tuesday starts classes. It’s easy to forget real quickly that I came here to study when there are so many things to do. But I’m going to forget a little while longer and explore the Camden Market some more today, and see Primrose Square tomorrow. I hope everyone back home had a fantastic and safe 4^th of July. Cheers!  

Round Two

It's hard to believe that the last blog post I wrote was months ago. In that time I enjoyed my last semester at SUNY Oswego with some amazing people, had a pretty awesome graduation party (from what I remember; damn you gin and tonics), and applied/got accepted into an internship program in London. I leave for the program in, oh about, four hours!

Yes, I'm very pleased to say that this blog will once again turn into a travel blog, another journey of a mad white woman. I'll be living in Camden, apparently a hipster town with lots of great pubs, and working at the Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development. I could not be more happy with the internship placement, exactly the one I was hoping for when applying for the program.

I've been itching to travel abroad again ever since I got back from Spain. The memories still feel like yesterday, but it's been over a year since I touched down in a sea of Spanish and well dressed people. Now I'll be arriving in a sea of British English and well dressed people. I just hope the same thing doesn't happen at customs like the last time I was in England: For the life of me I could not understand the man who was taking my passport. It was utterly embarrassing. He threw my passport back at me and said, "Get used to the accent." I was horrified. Wasn't he not speaking English?

Well lets hope that doesn't happen again, but now I have to catch my flight. Write again when I'm across the pond!

Cheers.