BES Journal 2

    Ahh, my second week of London. Now that I've been in London awhile, I feel that I'm growing more accustomed to the difference in culture and city life. I can definitely manage the tube and the bus better than I did my first few days here. I find that the tube is easier to take than the bus. I've mastered crossing the street as well, sort of. I still have my moments where I'm hesitant to cross and have to look at others around me to see if they're crossing too, ha.
    I went to the Museum of London this week. It was interesting and had cool artifacts, like an old female skull and an old Victorian dress encased behind glass. It was smaller than I imagined and Sherlock Holmes seemed to be very popular there. I enjoyed the new Sherlock Holmes movies, so it made me want to buy the books I saw there.

    My roommate Kiley and I tried to find Abbey Road through bus, and ended up incredibly lost. We somehow ended up in Bow church and didn't recognize anything. We ended up finding a train station that led us back to Russell Square. By then we had wasted most of the day getting lost and it was too late to go back to finding it, so we decided to save it for another day. I was disappointed, but I guess that's a lesson for next time. 

    This week was also the first week of classes through the Central program. I like that we have to learn about politics and the news in our Contemporary Britain class. Because I'm majoring in Journalism, these are things I had to be aware of and learn about in classes back home. So, this wasn't something really new. I actually have a CNN app on my cell because I had to be constantly updated and remembering what was going on in the news for my classes. I think it's important to know what is going on in the world around you and to be an informed citizen. 

    I also started my Religions class through Central this week. The first religion we are learning about is paganism, which I find very interesting. The professor played a movie for us, which I liked because I get very absorbed into movies, and said perhaps the following week we could go to a shop to meet an actual pagan witch. I'm looking forward to that. I've taken a Religions class back in the U.S., but it was only Christianity, Islam, and Judaism, so I'm excited to be learning about a different religion. 

   Because food expires quickly here in London, I've been food shopping a lot. I've been trying to save money and not eat out as much, so I've been buying things I can cook such as spaghetti or chicken. I keep thinking I'm done and then later on in the week I'll see something I decide I can cook, and I buy it. So managing money with food and with the constant refill of my oyster card has been crucial. Money seems to fly by here. 

    I returned to Camden Market this weekend because I liked it so much the first time. I toured the food vendors and the clothes shops. I couldn't resist and ended up buying two beanies as well as a sweater. I haggled the guy to lower the price though so I'm satisfied with that, ha. Overall, it was a good week and I'm learning more about London every day.

Museum of London

    I went to the Museum of London with my roommate Kiley yesterday and enjoyed it. It had lots of interesting things, such as an old automobile car and a carriage. There was an entire room in the shape of a city map and you could step on all the streets. It was really cool. I also really liked the pleasure gardens room. It was a big room with mannequins dressed in old timey dresses having tea in a garden. There was also a movie playing on the walls showing how people spoke and acted in a pleasure garden as well as what the purpose for it was.

    Something that took me by surprise was how small the Museum of London was. I expected it to be much bigger like the ones in New York. It had interesting time periods, such as the Romans. I also liked that they had a real barred door of a jail cell in older days and a jail cell room so you could experience for yourself what it would have been like to be stuck in prison.
    I also liked how they had glass boxes full of things of certain time periods. For example, for the era of the 60's they had a photo of the Beatles as well as a mannequin dressed in what the style was for the 60's. They also included magazines and things that were popular in the 60's. It was cool because it gave you an idea of what life would have been like in those days and what was in.
    I also saw a lot of signs of Sherlock Holmes. There were Sherlock Holmes books, calendars, cups, signs, and more. I didn't realize how popular he was in the museum. I've never read the actual books so it sort of encouraged me to want to read them just because he seemed to be everywhere. Overall it was a good experience and a fascinating way to learn about the past.

Camden Market

    I went to Camden Market on Tuesday and loved it. I'd been wanting to go because I heard it was for punk, eccentric people and I figured it would be a cool place to check out. The group I was with explored around a bit and walked by the Camden canal, looking for a place to eat before deciding to eat at the food places in Camden Market. It reminded me a lot of a Spanish flea market that I go to back home that usually has a a lot of things to sell and lots of food to offer. There was lots of different foods from different places and I liked the diversity of all the options. 

    I tried a vegetarian wrap from an Italian vendor and it was delicious! As horrible as it sounds, I don't usually eat vegetables or anything green. Pretty much anything unhealthy is what I eat so I felt good trying something vegetarian and enjoying it. 

    There were also lots of vendors selling things such as t-shirts, sunglasses, cell phone covers, hats, and more. It was fun simply walking around and looking at everything. There was so much to look at too. I wanted to stop at every place and look through all the things they had to offer. I like places like that. There was also a huge John Lenon graffiti on a wall at Camden Market and being a huge Beatles fan, I enjoyed that. It was a fun trip and I plan on going back for more food or sunglasses, ha. 

BES Journal 1

    I arrived in London January 10th and have been here an entire week. It is both a culture shock and not one. In a way it is similar to the city life in New York, such as the busy streets, the subway (the tube), and a variety of people walking quickly past you. Yet at the same time, I've never been to London before, and it is quite different from North Carolina. For example, taking a double decker bus is new to me and something I was excited about just because I'd never been on one before. I love the architecture of the buildings, the way historic and modern collide to meet somewhere in the middle.
     My first day here I went to a Gourme Burger restaurant near Woburn and the food was pretty delicious. I was surprised at how skinny the fries were, like strands of hair. I've yet to try something different than American food. I've been mostly eating burgers, but I need to try something that's popular here and different from my usual appetite.
    I went to the British Museum, which was grand and interesting. I went to see Big Ben and the London Eye. That was pretty exciting. I think it didn't really hit me that I was in a different country until I saw Big Ben. I was busy with settling in and buying groceries typical to my return to college from visiting home for break, so when I stood in front of Big Ben, it hit me that I was actually in London.

    One thing that surprised me about being here is that pedestrians don't have the right of way. The first few days, I didn't know when to cross the street and would look around to see if anyone would go first, then quickly follow them, ha. Also the driving on the opposite side of the street. I knew that in London everyone drove on the other side of the street, but being exhausted from the flight, I completely forgot. From the airport I took a shuttle straight to Woburn Place and was surprised when the driver drove on the other side. I remember my head bobbing trying to fight sleep and sitting up immediately, feeling alarmed when I noticed the car was on the left of the street. I was also surprised and a little nervous at how close the cars were to each other and how quickly the car seemed to be moving.
    I've also figured out how the tubes work, where to get off, and where to get on, which is a success for a directionally challenged person like me. I think the tubes here are much cleaner than the ones in New York, which are usually full of trash, and the people here are less creepy, haha.

    One thing I really like about London is simply walking around and seeing everything. Everyone drives everywhere in North Carolina and it's not the same as breathing fresh air, as well as seeing everything up close. I love seeing tall buildings and busy people. It makes everything feel exciting and important.
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    I'm excited to be here and hope I get to accomplish all the things I set out for. I hope my experience here only continues to get greater and that my adventures will be grand.

Cheers,
Kimberly