blog neglect

Yes, I realize I've gone missing. Where to? Oh, just Ireland, all of London with my sister, Thanksgiving, Christmas carnivals, day trips through England, etc. The weather here has finally gotten to that damp, dreary, typical London fog you always hear of. It's as if one day it just started to rain and I doubt it will stop before I leave. Stepping outside gives you a chill and it's dark very early now; it's getting dark right now and it isn't even 4 p.m.

With only about two weeks left in the semester, class work has started to accumulate and group projects, final papers, final exams, and class presentations are approaching their deadlines. Meanwhile, I'm trying to squeeze out every last bit of this London experience before I head back to the states. So while I've been jam packed with things worth blogging about, trying to fit everything in and still be a decent student has led me to neglect this little site.

I know I'll have time to write and reflect when I'm settled in at home this January, but I worry by then I will have forgotten the little details of all my adventures. A quick update for now then: today I got up early and took the train to Windsor to tour Windsor Castle, the Queen's home when she's not at Buckingham. The castle was the best I've ever seen! The rooms were done up beautifully and one friendly tour guide showed us where the Queen's bedroom is, her favorite living room, and even promised to tell her we say hello when he sees her December 14th (she's got a Christmas gift for him.) After the castle we walked through town and stopped for lunch in a nice, warm pub before going to Eton College, a boy's only school where royalty like Prince Henry and Prince William attend. Now I've got two group projects to work on, a paper to write, and an hour or so to spend at the gym before I'll call it a night. I love not having Monday classes, but I still kind of doubt I'll finish everything before this dreary weather gets the best of me and I wind up on the couch.

class trip

SU London offers several weekend trips to different countries throughout the semester to places like Paris, Scotland, Berlin, and Istanbul. These trips allow students to see a different country without the hassle of planning the trip. The school organizes transportation, the hotel, several meals, tour guides, sightseeing, and even provides chaperones in case you need any help. When I traveled to Barcelona by myself, I couldn’t even get the cab driver to take me to my hotel without calling my Spanish-fluent friend and handing over my mobile. I had the freedom to do whatever I wanted, but I wasn’t that sure what to do. Traveling with the school’s group narrowed my itinerary options, but it eliminated the worry of winding up in a foreign country not knowing the language and having no clue what to do.

On Thursday, my class went on a fieldtrip… to Belgium. The beauty of studying abroad in Europe, aside from getting to know a different culture, is that weekend trips to foreign countries are typical. Every Thursday PSC409.1: The European Union studies how the EU and NATO work, but this weekend we saw it first hand. If that sounds slightly boring, consider that Belgium produces around 750 different brews of beer and you can see how this weekend was both educational and entertaining.

Friday morning the group spent an hour or so seeing the main square of Brussels, which was full of old-fashioned buildings and lots of chocolate shops. We saw Manneken Pis, which is to Brussels as the Eiffel Tower is to Paris. Like the name suggests, it’s a statue/fountain of a tiny boy peeing and for debated reasons has been a national icon since the 1600s.

Later we went to the European Union headquarters and had four sessions with various EU employees who explained their jobs to our class and answered our questions. Being able to discuss Europe’s issues in such a small group was an opportunity no student could have organized on their own. After a quick tour of the EU building we went to NATO headquarters and discussed the organization’s involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan with NATO and US Mission employees. It was amazing to be able to talk so candidly about such important issues with the people directly involved in them.

On Saturday we toured the quaint city of Bruges and indulged in some of Belgium’s finest products: amazing chocolates and mussels and frites (fries) with mayonnaise. We took a guided tour along cobbled streets, viewed a sculpture by Michelangelo, saw how lace is made and went on a boat tour. It was relaxing to be away from the bustle and busyness of London.

Each night we returned to the hotel before dinnertime and had the nights to ourselves. We paired off into small groups to explore. Belgium is the home of waffles, and they were so fresh, light and sweet I don’t ever want to eat an Eggo again. I hung out in a pub, which had more than two dozen different beers on draft. I tried mango, cherry, Christmas-tree, and honey flavored beers which were all delicious. Belgium beer is a lot stronger than the US with many brews, including the one I drank out of a glass boot, around eight percent alcohol. I had one, small glass of a brew that’s 10.5 percent and minutes later got the best French fries I’ve ever eaten (they originated in Belgium) covered in mayo. It sounds gross, but it’s a Belgian tradition. 

The trip allowed me to see great speakers I normally would never have access to, really get to know my class professor, bond with my classmates from other universities, and explore two new cities I never would have thought of visiting. Some of my favorite European cities are ones I didn’t even know were there.

yes, there is homework abroad

Yes, there is homework when you study abroad. There are also term papers and midterms and finals and group projects and presentations. While the work load isn't as much as I normally have at SU, fitting it in between weekend trips to foreign countries and exploring London is a bit more challenging than sacrificing a night out on Marshall to study. So please excuse the lack of posts. I have quite a few due dates coming up, spent last weekend in Belgium, leave for Ireland on Friday, and have my sister coming into town for a week. Though busy, life in London right now is better than ever and I am thoroughly enjoying this half of the semester. More soon...

class field trip!

Tomorrow, PSC409 is going on a class field trip... to Brussels! On the itinerary are three meetings with European Union employees, two NATO discussions, and a guided tour through Bruges. But what sounds most intriguing to me is Saturday's lunch time activity: eat mussels and frites with mayonnaise. I'm all for free food, but I'm not sure how much I'll enjoy that.

 

Be back Sunday!

poppy day

This article was published in The Daily Orange on November 12th.

The evidence of war is more obvious here in Britain than it is in the United States. War memorials and statues of military leaders dot the city, and the area to the right of SU London’s classroom building was flattened by WWII bombing. The casualties of war have been immense in Britain with 908,000 killed and over 2 million wounded in World War 1; 400,000 military dead in WWII and nearly 90,000 civilians killed by wartime bombing of British cities. But this week the memory of war was stronger than ever. November 11^th is Remembrance Day, also known as Poppy Day, and for more than a week leading up to it the country has come together to commemorate those lost in war.

Remembrance Day marks the signing of an armistice to end WWI. At 11 a.m. on 11 November 1918, gunfire ceased on the western front after more than four years of consecutive fighting. Since then, the day is held in honor of Britain’s armed forces and to raise funds for troops and veterans.

About a week or two ago, I started to notice little red artificial poppies all throughout London. They were on people’s jackets, in the lapels of TV broadcasters, stuck on the grill of taxis, and printed on the pages of newspapers. I asked a man on the tube what they were for and after he gave me a brief explanation, I decided to find out more.

Poppy seeds can lay dormant in the ground for years without growing, because the flower needs rooted up soil to germinate. In Belgium, where WWI battles tore up the earth, fields of poppies bloomed in the spring. The tiny red flowers became a symbol of winter’s end, a sign of hope, a reminder of life. Worn by civilians, the poppy shows support for troops. The first poppy day in 1921 raised 106,000 pounds. This year the Royal British Legion raised 4,392,007 pounds, mainly for the armed forces in Afghanistan and veterans.

Last Wednesday as I hustled to grab coffee before my 9 a.m. class, I stopped to buy a poppy from a veteran selling them on the street. I placed the tiny fake flower on my jacket, proud to show my support for the cause. As we approached Remembrance Day, the overwhelming British support only grew. I haven’t seen a group of people so unified since the months immediately following 9/11. I felt like I was one with the supporters. I had researched their cause and donated money. I blended with the British.

But when I turned on the TV Wednesday to watch coverage of Poppy Day, I saw the coffins draped in flags, but I didn’t feel the same emotion. The British flag didn’t evoke the immediate sense of feeling and pride that comes instinctively with our stars and stripes. As much as I understand and support the poppy cause, I realized how strong my own nationalism is. After three months, much of London feels like home to me, but I sincerely doubt if any amount of time could ever make me identify with England’s symbols as strongly as I do with the symbols of America. Even with a poppy on, the faces of British soldiers looked like American soldiers to me.

go abroad

As the deadline for SU study abroad approaches, I urge students who are still unsure if they’re interested to apply. I know it’s expensive (my bank account dipped to $0.35 last week) and I know you love America and your friends and all that SU has to offer, but trust me, it’s worth it. About once a week my friends and I have the, “I’m so glad we came abroad” talk.

Studying abroad opened my eyes to the wonders of the world. I sunbathed under the Eiffel Tower, stuck my toes in the Mediterranean, looked over the Cliffs of Moher, listened to speakers at the European Union, and cohabitated with the British for four months. I’m still reflecting on my time here, but I know being abroad has shown me how much the world has to offer. These past months have been a glimpse into life beyond the USA, a tiny sample of the people, cultures, and history of the world. It’s made me evaluate what I think it means to be American, and it’s pushed me to adjust to life in a foreign country without any family or close friends.

I’ve learned so much more in this city than I ever thought possible. Being a SU student doesn’t force you to live in the city of Syracuse. Your world at SU can be very small if you let it, expanding no more than a few blocks past Marshall and Euclid. Being abroad, I’ve learned to navigate a huge metropolis and how to take advantage of one of the most famous cities in the world. I came without any of my best friends, and it forced me to form quick but strong friendships with the people I’m with. I’ve met people from Britain, France, Australia, and Germany and hang out regularly with the students in our program from Wake Forest and the University of Colorado at Bolder. It’s been like freshman year all over again, a daze of new friends, too many photos, and lots of memories.

Before this semester, I questioned if I could live in a big city, but now I know better than to impose false limitations on myself. More than that, I learned that people, regardless of the country they call home, are still the same. I find similar mannerisms in any country I visit, and that friendliness is universal. I love SU and I’m excited to get back, but I am so grateful that I decided to go abroad and hope that more students at SU realize the benefits the program has to offer. I’ve learned a lot of lessons in my courses at SU, studying current affairs, evaluating political and religious philosophy, memorizing AP style; but what has triumphed coursework is meeting the challenges of moving away from home, learning to accept and understand others, discovering what I can handle on my own, and growing up.

upcoming trips update

The semester is winding down and my traveling is speeding up. Thursday-Sunday I am going to Brussels to see the European Union through the school's trip (more details on that soon) and I'm very excited! Then Sunday-Tuesday, a cousin of mine is coming to London for work, so I hope to meet up with him at some point. The following Friday my sister and I are flying to Ireland to see Dublin, Galway, and Shannon until Monday night. She's staying with me for the rest of that week, a little piece of home for Thanksgiving. On Saturday the 28th, she flies back to the states and I think I'm going on a day trip to Oxford and possibly also to Cadbury World (like Hershey's Park, yum!) The next weekend (December 4th-6th) I have made arrangements to participate in HostUK, a program that places students with a host family, in the Devon countryside. And that brings me to December 11th... my last weekend in London. My last Friday abroad. My last few days before it's back to the USA.

Even though I still have more than a month left, when I think about my time here in terms of weekends, I realize just how little there is. It's starting to feel bittersweet.

guy fawkes

Remember, remember the fifth of November

November 5th is Guy Fawkes day, a British holiday based on the ritual execution and dismemberment of a religious extremest caught trying to blow up the Houses of Parliament in 1605. The story says Fawkes and a dozen other conspirators were unhappy with how the monarchy and government were treating Catholics. In an attempt to kill those who were making life difficult for Catholics, the group placed gunpowder in the House of Parliament's basement. 

There's some disagreement about if Fawkes and friends were really going to go through with their plot, or if it would have worked, but regardless, Fawkes was caught alone in the basement with the gunpowder, and executed.

Somehow, and this is the bit I don't really understand, this odd slice of British history has turned into an annual event called Guy Fawkes Night or Bonfire Night. It is the perfect holiday for my younger brother- fireworks are sold throughout the city and for the whole weekend everyone goes nuts lighting them off. I heard explosions during class, on my way to my flat, while I was eating dinner, and randomly for three nights. There are larger firework displays arranged in a few areas across the city. For more info on the holiday, the SU London Director suggested checking out this website: http://www.bonfirenight.net/gunpowder.php.

covent garden

I must have passed by the general area of Covent Garden hundreds of times since my arrival in London. I've seen plays on the outskirts of it, gone to pubs and small clubs to the sides of it, but before Sunday I have never actually gone in it. In the words of Julia Roberts (Pretty Woman)... "big mistake. Huge! HUGE!"

Covent Garden is a cozy little cobblestone square filled with delicious eateries, an open market, and tons of great shops. The area is a nice mix of posh and affordability, with bargain stores like H&M mixed with higher-end shops like Next and Guess. There are singers, musicians, and comedians in every little area of the square, each surrounded by a tiny crowd. My friends and I went for a late lunch and sat outside, enjoying all the different street performers. Later we did some shopping, wandered around the crafts, and sipped tea through the crisp, cool day.  Families and little children walked by, along with teenager shoppers and couples. A giant green reindeer lit up the square's front, and Christmas cheer filled the afternoon (I even did some holiday shopping!)

christmas comes early

It's the first week of November, and it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas... already! I don't know if it's because the Brits don't celebrate Thanksgiving, but the whole city is decked out for the holiday season. On Tuesday, the lights of Oxford street were lit up. Now whenever I go down that street I'm stunned by A Christmas Carol theme display of hundreds of dazzling blue lights. Giant stars, presents, and Scrooge figurines fill the sky. If I'm trying to get home after midnight when the tube has closed I take a red double-decker bus that passes right through Oxford. Zooming past all the twinkling lights looks magical.

Yesterday some friends and I got up at 7am to rush off to the Harrods Christmas Parade. We got out of the tube station, up to street level, and were immediately greeted by gusts of snow! There wasn't a cloud in the sky, and the weather was cool but not cold. We smiled like five-year-olds, yelling, "Our first London snow!"

It took about five minutes for us to realize that it was fake, just a part of Harrods' Christmas atmosphere. The store itself was lit up in hundreds of green lights. The parade's theme was Wizard of Oz meets Christmas and Dorothy and the crew danced down the street. Children went nuts when a horse-drawn sleigh pulling Santa came down the street, followed by a herd of live reindeer! The window displays were amazing, mixing the playfulness of the movie with the materialism of the store. Grand story books were open in each window telling a Harrods version of the Wizard of Oz tale (like how Dorothy slipped on her designer dress). Inside the store was a Christmas wonderland. An entire section was devoted entirely to Christmas decorations, ornaments, cards and wrapping paper. Bows and trees and wreaths and lights were everywhere throughout the store. 

It might be a little earlier than I'm used to, but standing around in "snow" sipping hot tea from a Christmas Starbucks cup and seeing little children's eyes light up as they watched Santa was the best way to start my day. Happy Holidays!

hallowhat

The roommates and I returned to London (from Spain) Friday night. Saturday was Halloween- the college student's dream holiday. Knowing we'd have to take the tube, we all dressed in modest costumes. I expected to find a crazy, NYC-style affair.

As we jumped on the tube, I quickly realized no one else had costumes on. A group of just-passed-middle-aged women were sitting in front of me, noticeably and rightfully staring.

"Oh, now don't you feel silly?" one woman said. "Yes, actually I feel very silly. Uh, you err don't celebrate halloween then, do you?" I replied. "Well, no not quite," she said. "Right, uh, it's pretty big in the states. Huge actually," I muttered. "Is that so?... Interesting. Well, was your party fun?" she asked. "Uh, I uh, actually haven't gone to a party yet. I just left my flat." 

This whole conversation was getting to be too much. I decided I needed to move to a less-crowded part of the train and escape this embarrassment. Problem was, I was still wearing a costume and all my hopes of entering a costume-clad bar came crashing down when I realized the club was equally Halloween-deprived. I stuck it out anyways, rocking my hippie peace sign all night. I guess my last college Halloween was uneventful. Good thing the first two were enough on their own...

tuesday night football

This article was published in The Daily Orange on November 5th.

Tuesday night I took the next step in becoming a true Londoner. I’m not a sports fanatic, and if it weren’t for my freshman roommate I probably still wouldn’t be able to follow a football or basketball game. But a London soccer game has more to offer than pure athletic talent, like hot guys and crazy fans. With tickets as cheap as 15 pounds and games played through May, I just might become a soc- I mean, ‘football’ fan.

The match was between Queen’s Park Rangers (QPR) and Crystal Palace (CP), which are both Championship League teams, one tier below the highest-level Premier League teams and comparable to a less-popular NFL team. Outside the stadium, vendors sold fish and chips. Security searched through bags as fans filed past the fences topped with barbwire. The stadium entryways had sharp spurs on the edges, presumably to prevent people from jumping over.

As I took my seat seven rows up from the field and halfway between midfield and the visitors section, I quickly realized there were two events to watch: the game and the fans. Syracuse v. Pitt would pale in comparison to the rising anger I could see among these Brits. For more than 90 minutes there was a not one second of silence. The weather had dipped to 40 degrees, I could see my breath, I couldn’t feel my toes and fans were taking off their shirts to wave them overhead. The crowd control looked more like a pack of bouncers than ushers. Cheers came like debates with CP hurling insults and QPR sending ones back.

“You’re support is f***ing sh**!” “You’re team is f***ing sh**!” “You’re team is full of rejects!” “They aren’t your rejects!”

With the insults came songs that all the fans, including the grandmother-grandson duo to my right, knew. QPR sang, “Up your arse, up your arse, we’ll stick the blue flag up your arse!” Some of the more rowdy CP fans orchestrated choruses of “We’re the boys in blue, who the f***ing hell are you, and we're out to show the world how to score!” Despite only filling a quarter of the stadium, CP fans dominated spectator response. I don’t think they sat down all game. If Otto’s Army ever wants some new material, they should start watching soccer.

The 20-something QPR fan beyond me was getting frustrated. “They’re rubbish,” he said. “Crystal Palace is usually a wallup team.” Minutes later, QPR scored the first goal and the noise was deafening. The 45-minute half flew by and before I knew it I was sitting dumbfounded during halftime wondering what I’d just witnessed.

CPR scored early on in the second half and the game tensely waged on. In the last few minutes the score was still 1-1 and if I thought fans were nuts before, it was nothing compared to now. People were screaming and pointing, jumping out of their seats as if their whole lives depended on the game. The announcer reported three minutes of time would be added to the game (to make up for pauses in play when the clock hadn’t stopped) but the minutes weren’t added to the scoreboard. As the ball volleyed back and forth between goals, I wondered how much time was left.  No goals later, time was up and I couldn’t believe that after all that tension, everyone just came to terms with a tie. Regardless of how many London activities I partake in, there will always be things I don’t understand about the British.

traveling fool

Monday morning my parents met me at the flat and the three of us loaded our bags into a cab and headed off to Heathrow. They dropped me off at my terminal and I hugged them goodbye, consented to one last picture, and embarked on my transnational journey solo to meet up with my roommates in Spain.

Checking in and going through customs was quick and hassle-free. I spent the majority of the next hour perusing bookshops and newsstands for the perfect smutty reading: the latest issue of Cosmo and a steamy beach read called Tan Lines. For all my flights this break I flew KLM airlines, which was great. There was plenty of elbow space, friendly employees, no turbulence, and refreshments and snacks on even short, 45 minute flights.

As I sat reading on the plane, waiting to take off, the stewardess began giving safety instructions. I looked up for a second and then thought, "Oh I don't need to listen to this... I'm not flying over water."  Er, hang about... England is an island you idiot, of course you're flying over water- big, BIG water. Oh god, I am not smart enough to be traveling alone! Let's call that incident brain fart number 1 (BF1 for short.)

Sad to admit, BF2 came not long after. The plane landed at my layover in Amsterdam and as I reached up to grab my bag from the overhead compartment, panic set in. Where the hell is Amsterdam? What country am I in? What language do they speak? I got my answers from the terminal gift shop. Amsterdam is in Holland, home of the Dutch, and I definitely need to work on my geography skills before graduation.

OK, I'm traveling alone and I have a two hour layover... time for lunch. I sat down, ate, and read my book. Ten minutes before I needed to get to my gate, I started walking over when BF3 hit me: I had to go through customs. I had ten minutes to go through customs, pass security, and get to my terminal and if I missed my flight I'd be stranded in a country where I don't speak the language or know a single person. A new wave of panic washed over me. After a few minutes of begging, I got to cut the line and ran to the gate, only to find they were having delays and I had an extra 20 minutes. Finally though, I was on my way to Spain.

I arrived in Spain around 7 p.m. and followed the directions I'd been given to meet up with my friends. I took the Aerobus to the center of the city without a problem and checked with some apparently British tourists before getting off at my stop. I texted my roommate to ask what next, and she told me the address to take a taxi to. I moved to the row of taxi's and tried my best to read the street names. When he looked at me like someone who only speaks Spanish looks at someone who only speaks English and some French, I showed him the address on my phone. He got up and started waving his arms, pointing down the street.

"Is it just up there?" I pathetically asked in English. "Mutter mutter wave wave point point yell," he responded. "Uhh, okay I guess it must be close by, but I still want to take a taxi," I tried. Fail. He got in his cab and left me. BF4. I moved on to the next cab, only to get the same response. BF5. Time to call for help. I dialed my roommate but my phone started speaking in Spanish, saying I have no clue what. BF6. Frantically I texted her for help and luckily she called me with her Spanish speaking friend, who was kind enough to tell the cab driver where to take me and explain that, even though the destination wasn't far and may be a "waste of his time," I really wanted a cab. He agreed to let me in, and I muttered my best "Gracia!"

About three minutes later I was exactly where I needed to be. My friends met me outside, and before I even went to the bathroom I had an ice cold beverage in my hands. Despite all my stupidity, fall break was here and so far, Spain was pretty good.

so, spain it is.

Planning for fall break is no easy task. First off, there's the issue of deciding where to go. I think my group's main problem was that every destination sounded so good, we could never choose. Sailing through Greece, traversing Italy, relaxing in Spain... who wouldn't want to do any one of those things?

Next issue- trips are a lot of work. There are itineraries to make and flights to schedule. On top of that, you have to figure out where you're staying in each city, and how to get from one city to the next. Which brings me to my next point-

Money. Trips through Europe are expensive! Even if a flight is cheap, you still have to pay for the room, food, alcohol, getting to and from the airport, taxi's, etc. Factor in the exchange rate and the fact that London is already an expensive city and this semester abroad could wind up as expensive as someone's college career.

Initially I wanted to travel through Italy for fall break, but when I realized how much work was involved in scheduling it and how much money it would cost, I started to have doubts. Plus, break is about 10 days long and, after visiting Paris, I realized that I don't enjoy rushing to sight see. Visiting a city or a country shouldn't be like a scavenger hunt to race through all the landmarks and cross them off your to-do list. I like to be able to move slowly and take my time through a new place. I'd love to see Venice, Rome, and Tuscany... but not if I have to run through them to do so.

So even though half the program saw around 4-5 different landmark cities on their break (one group saw 11!) I just saw one. In the end, I decided it mattered more to me to spend time with my parents while they were in London than to travel through Europe; so I waited until Monday to leave for break. My roommate's close friend from high school offered to let us crash at his place in Barcelona, and a week of (free!) hanging out in Spain looked good to me. For awhile I wished I was going on wine tours through Italy, but I think I would really rather do a trip like that when money and time aren't so limited. My advice through this whole, semi-stressful ordeal would be that if you are going abroad and have a mid semester break, you plan for it early and you solidify your decision quickly. There are so many options to chose from, but you need to pick one and make arrangements early in the semester (ie: the first month) if you want to find good deals. Ryan Air can offer cheap flights, but not 3 days before you leave. When it comes to break, planning is key.

recap

Sorry for the recent lack of posts. Life here in London has gotten pretty crazy, but I vow to stop being so M.I.A. from this blog. Because it's been so long since I last wrote, here's a recap of what I've been up to...

Mid-October was filled with frantic attempts to plan a (last-minute) fall break excursion while simultaneously planning what to do when my parents came to visit and finishing reading and studying for midterms before they arrived. On Monday, October 19th, Mom and Dad flew into London to stay for a week! Having them here was amazing, but more on that later. I spent every waking class-free second Monday and Tuesday with Mom and Dad, soaking up my time with them and re-sightseeing London.

Wednesday the world travelers jet-set off to Paris, to spend their 31st Anniversary in the city of love. Meanwhile, I had 4 midterms and a midterm paper on Wednesday and Thursday. On Friday my roommates left for fall break, but I stuck around to spend the remainder of my parent's London visit with them. Saturday morning my parents came back and I spent the weekend with them.

Monday they flew out of Heathrow back to the states, and I packed my bags and left for fall break in Spain! I returned from Spain this weekend, and have since been trying frantically to catch up on fast-approaching deadlines for jobs, scholarships and graduation, and finalize travel plans to Brussels and Ireland, as well as plan out my sister's upcoming visit to London.

So that's what I've been up to. It's hard to complain when everything on your to-do list takes place in Europe, and trust me, I'm not complaining. Crossing "buy ticket to Dublin" off my list beats snowshoeing to a SU midterm any day.