Things I've Learned in a Month

Since being here a month there are a few things I've learned.

         1. I am really bad at consistently taking photos and then posting them.

This blog is supposed to be filled with photos and that is likely what everyone wants to see, but I never remember until I start the blog post and look for things to edit. I take a few every so often, but not enough good ones that I want to put on the internet with my name attached.

I will get better at this. I need to bring my camera with me everywhere and shoot interesting things and the other people that I'm with. Expect more, definitely more than this post, next week when I am hopefully more organised.

I actually have quite a few photos that I haven't posted yet, so I will add photos of places I've been on this post so this isn't one big block of text.

random view of London underground tracks from a bus tour

        2. Things are expensive here.

In my experience, dealing with money abroad is a really tedious task and I have had terrible luck so far, but my luck is changing.

Good news! I got a job as a waitress for large events all over London through Esprit and will once again have an income. The best part is the flexible hours so it fits perfectly around my school schedule, so now I cary trays full of wine glasses for hours or run up and down stairs bringing food to tables. So far it has been very fun and everyone had been nice, but it may be too early to tell for sure.

Generally, prices for food and going out feel higher than in the States. I can tell for sure that produce is more expensive and some random things as well, but some of that is likely attributed to the VAT taxes on everything. Upsettingly, even when food is the same price there is less of it because serving sizes are smaller. I know that living in London is expensive, but I really hate to see the money in my wallet slowly (or quickly) disappear.

National Gallery one weekend during a Japanese Festival

         3. Traveling around is really easy as long as you have a sense of direction and Google Maps and City Mapper.

I am so glad that I have Google Maps. I would likely not get anywhere on time if I didn't have it because sometimes I don't have time to wander around until I find a store or to walk all over London because I have the day off. Thankfully in Central London things are close to each other and everything is flat so walking is easy and does not take all too long. 

I am definitely not saying that I haven't gotten lost, but I get lost much less with Google than I would if I was relying on a map or my own memory. I am really hoping for the best when I travel outside the UK and won't have access to the internet outside my room. It will be a learning experience for sure.

Horse Guards Parade in the evening 

         4. Time is passing quickly so there is likely no way I can do everything I want in the time allotted and still have time to sleep.

Along with the restrictions that money brings, there is no way I can go to Paris, Barcelona, Rome, Venice, Amsterdam, Berlin or even all over the UK within the semester. Yes, if I went somewhere every weekend then I could potentially check everything off, but I would have no life in London and would be extremely poor as well. I need time to do homework, sleep and make money, and that would be hard to manage along with travelling.

I want to travel more though. I am going to organise more trips next semester since I will be completely settled and will know how to navigate traveling better. There are still so many places I want to see and experience, and I am not giving up yet.

St.Paul's Cathedral

         5. I did not bring the right clothing for cold weather.

The weather is starting to get cooler than Santa Cruz and I don't quite know how to deal with it. Thankfully it isn't too cold yet, but it will and I want to be prepared. How I have been dealing with it recently is either wearing the same thing I usually do, jeans, a shirt and my green jacket, or i will wear the same thing but with a long sleeve shirt.

Not surprisingly, London's weather is quite different compared to California, and while I knew that, I just don't feel like I have the right stuff. This will get resolved through shopping and figuring out what exactly London weather means, but in the mean time I will just be slightly cold and out of place.

On the London bus tour I took, we drove past a statue of Abe Lincoln and I thought it was ironic so I had to snap a photo.

         6. Modules here go on field trips to cool places, and I am really excited.

In three out of my four classes I get to go to different museums to look at the art and films on display. Unfortunately, I will have to write essays with regards to the museum space and the different pieces of art from the Impressionist and Modernist movements. Despite writing essays, this is so much better than just sitting in lectures.

Inside the National Gallery I was mesmerised by the architecture.

         7. In each class, my grade will be totally reliant on the last assignment I turn in.

While it's nice that I am not writing a response to a piece of art every week or turning in research papers every few weeks, this means that the research paper I turn in at the end of the semester has to be flawless. That is a lot of pressure to put on one assignment. It finally settled in when my lecturers were talking about proposals and requirements for the essay this past week. Most of them are at least 50% of my overall grade if not more. I am not used to this, but I better start coming to terms with it and prepare as much as I can right now.

I know that studying abroad is not an extended holiday, but sometimes it feels like that until I look at one of my syllabi and remember that if I don't get good grades it will affect my GPA.

My Birthday

I have spent the past three birthdays away from home, so celebrating my birthday with new people in new places is not new phenomena. Despite that, this year I had one of my best birthdays I can recall, and it is not specifically because I am in London or because I have "finally escaped" my family. It was just generally a great day with great people.

I woke up to a video from my family singing me "Happy Birthday," which was a nice change from the typical voice mail rendition of the song. One thing I am still confused about is why they decided to record in my room instead of anywhere else in the house.

The day didn't start with any expectations that it was going to be a day filled with excitement or that much of anything was going to happen. I am not a big party person and would much rather have a fun night with a group of people then some sort of rager. I went to class in the morning, a class I ended up switching out of, and came back to the flat to take a nap. Right as I was waking up Sophie texts asking where I am and what my plans are for the day.

I came out of my room and into the kitchen finding Sophie, Hetty and Shannon around the table with cupcakes and cards on the table. Yes, they were store bought, but they were still delicious. Including the cards and drawings on them there were a total of eleven cupcakes thanks to the addition of Hetty's artwork.

At about seven o'clock three of my flatmates including Jack, who is pretty much a flatmate at this point, took me out to dinner. They would not tell me where we were going or even which tube we were taking until we got to it. Of course the entire time I kept pestering them to find out where we were stopping or what we might be eating. They would not tell me no matter what. We finally got out of the station and walked right past the London Eye down the Thames, and it was beautiful at night with the lights with fewer people around compared to the day.

Flashback: A week or so before while walking around Covent Gardens, my flatmates and I found a Mexican food restaurant called Benito's Hat. As a result, I had the honor of showing what Mexican food could taste like while getting to eat a delicious burrito with Sophie and Hetty. They kept pointing out the quesadillas on the menu since I had said I could make them before. They know the basics right now, but by the time I'm done with them they will likely know more about Mexican than they could have asked for.

So as you probably guessed at this point, they took me to Wahaca, what the internet said was the best Mexican restaurant in London. We waited for a table up at the bar where I had the best two Mojitos I could have ever imagined, but those are just two of the delicious choices on their drinks menu. The food was satisfying, especially their tacos, but I doubt it would stand a chance against the hole-in-the-wall Mexican food places in San Diego or Santa Cruz. Still, I did get their delicious guacamole recipe along with matchbook style chili pepper seeds to plant.

While waiting for our food my friends learned the difference between nachos and tortilla chips. I had to explain that nachos are made from tortilla chips (crisps if you want to be nit-picky) and while nachos have cheese and other toppings on them, they are not inherently the same thing. Of course that was only important to me, but it was funny trying to explain the difference.

They later revealed that they wanted to take me to get Mexican food to make me feel more at home in London on my birthday. I thought was extremely sweet and thoughtful of them, so if you read this thank you again. The scenery was breathtaking on the way back as well and all in all wrapped up a great day.

I am extremely grateful for the friends I have made here so far, and while I have only known them for a few weeks it feels like its been forever, in a good way.