“An American Student in London” and my own “Brighton Beach Memoirs”

Hey everyone!
Me in London

This past Friday, I ventured into the great city of London along with some of the other study abroad students. The train ride in only took about twenty minutes! We wandered through Westminster, Trafalgar Square, Leicester Square, and Piccadilly Circus before heading east to see the Tower of London. I was surprised by how quickly I remembered my way around the city from my trip last year (London Theatre Seminar). The group somehow established me as their tour guide, which made me feel silly yet proud.

Although the entire day was great, there was indeed a highlight: a usually stone-faced horse-guard broke into a slight smile! Such a rare occurrence, indeed! A couple of the girls decided to take a picture in front of the horse-guard, when the horse proceeded to nibble and tug at one of the girls’ jackets! It was such a funny and absurd sight that even the horse-guard could not help but stifle a laugh. So, the guards do have a sense of humor after all!
Horseguard

The next day, all of the visiting students took a bus ride down to Brighton, the popular seaside resort city. Brighton is the equivalent of Atlantic City, but with more history and elegance. We took a tour of the Royal Pavilion, the residence of George IV, established during his days as Prince Regent. The building is like none other in Britain, as it resembles the Taj Mahal. George IV’s fascination with Eastern art and architecture resulted in a home with a glorious, illogical and inventive mixture of Indian and Chinese styles. The tour guide was this enthusiastic Viennese woman who was almost as much of a character as George IV himself.
Brighton Pier

After the tour, I explored the Brighton Pier. Complete with rides, games, and a fish-and-chip shop, it is the boardwalker’s paradise. Even in the cold of January, the Pier was bustling. I can only imagine what it will be like when the weather gets warmer! The Pier really offers amazing views of the sea and the shore that I took advantage of with my camera. Only an hour from London by train, I plan to visit Brighton again.

I plan to visit you all again soon as well!

Over 4,000 miles and more than a month later

It’s been over a month since I returned home from the Czech Republic. It’s been a rather drastic change for me and I have to say that I miss Prague a lot.

One of the first major differences I was confronted with coming home was volume. I first encountered this in Frankfurt, when I was waiting for the flight to JFK to board. The waiting area was packed and loud. Not just loud, but noisy. The majority of people on the flight were Americans returning home after a short visit to Europe. It’s a marked difference between Americans and (what I can only assume) the rest of the world. Americans are loud. Even now, I am amazed at how loud some people can be when there is no call for it.

I had gotten to the airport in Prague with entirely too much time to spare. Better safe than sorry I guess. I took pictures of the airport while I was waiting. Just bored pictures, nothing special. Something to occupy my mind while I waited for the counter for my flight to open up. I took all sorts of pictures throughout my Prague airport experience. Nothing of interest, really, and I didn’t think anything of it. Nobody cared. When the plane arrived in JFK and we all queued up in the massive customs lines, I saw a sign that made me think of my flight over to the Czech Republic as well as my flight down to Rome. The sign had to do with the added security measures that non-residents had to endure. Fingerprinting and mugshotting or something. I can’t recall exactly, and I lack a photo of it because right above the sign, but below one of the TVs showing a Giants game, was a sign yelling “No Photography” and a big picture of a camera with a big red X through it. When I flew down to Rome, I walked from the plane, straight out to the waiting area. The first person I talked to was Mike. I didn’t need to have my fingerprints or mugshot taken, and, if I wanted to, I could have taken a whole bunch of photos of Mike waiting for me. It got me thinking about what we, as a nation, are so afraid of. Here I was, returning from a former Soviet bloc country, and right away, I couldn’t take pictures. If I were Czech, I’d be booked before I could enter the country. I realize that there are justifications for these measures, and I don’t want to turn this into a political post. I’ve made it an entire semester without being political. But comparing my experiences flying into the Prague and flying into New York, I really wonder what sort of impression people get when they come in to America.

I miss smazeny syr. That fried cheese delight that (in my opinion) is best served on a bun, on a little rectangle of paper, in the middle of the night.

I’ve definitely grown from my experiences abroad, and plan on returning to Prague for some extended period of time. It’s not just that I miss the fried cheese, but I miss the city itself. All of the decent guidebooks will tell you that while Prague has a couple of big interest sights (Old Town Square, Prague Castle, Charles Bridge) the true magic and beauty of the city is found just by wandering. Prague isn’t about a single attraction. You can’t have a single photograph and say that it defines Prague. The attraction is the city itself. The experience is what makes Prague worthwhile. The tourist attractions are nice for a short visit, but I miss the side streets, the alleys, the basement bars and crowded trams. I even miss waiting for the night tram at five in the morning as the wind off of the river makes it feel like it’s only a few degrees above absolute zero. That is what makes Prague for me.

I never got to Prague Castle.

Greetings From London, Mates!

Well, I’m finally here! It’s my third full day in Kingston and it has been quite an experience so far. The flight on Virgin Atlantic was great; I had a row of seats to myself, watched Wallace and Gromit, and had an amazing view of the atmosphere. My arrival at Heathrow aiport was smooth and I got to my place residence in Kingston rather quickly.

Middle Mill

I live in a student housing complex called Middle Mill which is in a great location. It is close to the town centre as well as my classes. There are eight people to a flat in my building, and all of the rooms are singles. I live with two other American girls, two British girls, and three British guys. They are all very friendly, inviting and good company! I have joined them on social outings to the pub where we’ve played pool and discussed our humorous cultural differences.

These past few days have been a lot to take in! Still somewhat jet-lagged, I’m slowly getting settled in. My emotions have been up and down, as they should be, with such a life altering experience. The concept of “Study Abroad” suddenly became a reality. I’m not just in London for a visit, but here for five months. That realization, often called culture shock, was a little bit frightening at first but I’m becoming more comfortable with it.
Talk to you all again soon!