So I’ve realized that when I began this blog I set out to do something- to discover English culture and decided whether my perception of it was correct or not. But I realized halfway through that it’s sort of a silly question, for several reasons.

First of all I was studying in North London, I’ve had many people tell me that London is not England at all (and some like it better that way) and I think it’s true. London is a huge captial city and microcosm of the world. Culture exists but it’s everyone’s old, new and mixed culture. Finding English people in London is difficult and the ones you do find are usually more “global” with the places they’ve traveled, the people they’ve dated and the way they think. I felt this even stronger at my university especially with the people I interacted with.

I chatted to one of my few English friends about this and I remember him agreeing that “English culture” or what was previously thought to be “English culture” is slowly disappearing and becoming more ambiguous like “American culture”. Things you would normally associate with being English are no longer as true as they used to be. However I still found shadowy glimpses of it within London (like Cornish pasties, Sunday roast dinner you could get at wetherspoons, and of course tea and pub life, however I feel even this can be debated or perhaps seen as a “watered down” verison of culture).

I also see my previous association of “English culture” as pure “consumer culture” and entertainment since I was familar with their TV shows, movies and music. I was guilty of the same perception and lack of knowledge as the English have of Americans, since conversations on the night bus (once someone finds out your American) usualy evolves around 9/11, Iraq and TV shows. (I have had more reminiscent talks over TV shows with people who are from anywhere but the U.S.!) At first this seemed a hostile view as my old flatmate felt, but it’s purely a lack of knowledge based on anything besides what is presented in the media.

So I’m not really sure how much I learned about England, but I do know I’ve learned a lot about London and through London a lot about many other places in the world. So if anything, I’ve learned about London culture something unique in itself. And it’s an enriching experience that I will continue to expand on and never forget.

Since I finished the bulk of all my essays before my friend arrived, the whole time she was here I felt extremely relaxed and was really happy to spend time with her. The day she arrived I met her at Liverpool St. Station and from there we walked to Spitalfields market (which was empty since it was a weekday) and I bought a few books for £1 each. We walked around Brick Lane for a bit before hopping on the tube and getting off at St. James Park where we did the walk from Buckingham Palace, past Big Ben along South Bank. We stopped at the book stalls underneath the one bridge and browsed there but it was too chilly and so we walked further on to the Tate Modern. I had just been there a month ago for a class trip but my friend, Monica, had never been before, or to London for that matter. Since she has worked in a museum before she pointed out things, like the layout of the artwork in the rooms, to me that I wouldn’t have thought of on my own. Cris met us there after work and after the museum we headed up to St. Paul’s and then took the tube to Southgate and Cris’ flat. We ate dinner there and chilled out for a bit, mainly because Monica had been up since 4am.

The next day Monica and I went to Leicester Square, was yet again tempted by all the bookstores on Charing Cross Rd. and then finally  to the National Gallery to see the exhibition on Renoir landscapes. After that we scouted out the rest of the museum with Monica’s Art History and Religion knowledge. It was getting late and we planned to go out that night so we walked over to Piccadilly Circus, stopping off at Lillywhites so Monica could get a new pair of sneakers that she was in desperate need of! (We compared the condition of our beat up shoes and hers won!) They were on sale for £12 and I liked them so I bought a pair too. We quickly got ready at my flat only to take a long time having our pasta, drinking wine and talking. By the time we got to Cris flat (he was the only one I could convince to come out with us, though we made a bargain that I’d help edit his essay due on that monday) it was pretty late but we caught one of the last tubes to tottenham court rd and found the club we were looking for- The Roxy. It was only £3 to get in, there were good drink deals and a really good selection of music (some of which I hadn’t heard in a long time, like The Offspring!). So Teenage Kicks @The Roxy is being added to our indie night calendar!

The next day Monica and I decided to get up at a leisurely pace since we got back late the night before but we ended up getting up earlier than the day before, so we went to Camden Market. I love showing people Camden Market, because Monica kept saying “is this is?” and I would say “no, there’s more”. On this particular day however we were both weren’t our usual money controlling selves. We both bought zipper bags because it was a good deal, she bought some tea, I bought a journal and a belt for £1. But we should have expected that, you can never go to a market “just to look”. After that we returned once more to Cris and Damon’s flat, or should I say the stressed out study flat. Petros was there helping Damon study. They all graciously took time out of their studying (well, I didn’t really have to twist their arm) and the five of us walked to ASDA and returned home to make dinner. We ate our quesadillas in their living room where Damon had lit lots of little candles. It was the first time in a long time that their flat had that many people in it! It was a nice little dinner while it lasted, but then Damon and Cris had to get back to work. Monica left that night to catch the bus to the airport for her early morning flight and had a few adventures on the way to round off her entire trip. When she left I couldn’t believe that 3days had gone by already.

The day of deadlines was a major relief to everyone. Suddenly you saw people called your friends, that you hadn’t seen in weeks. Cris, Damon and I met some of Damon’s friends at Wetherspoons after 5pm. Then Cris and I pub hopped over to The Goat to meet Evan and Bertan joined us. The atmosphere was light and we talked about TV shows (mainly current American ones like Lost and Heros) and sports. After that we headed to Tesco and ran into a bunch of our other friends who were on their way to the party at Evan’s flat. We stocked up on supplies and then headed over to Evan’s flat and ran into the rest of our crew. It was great to finally see everyone all together especially since the uni bar has been closed for a few weeks and that was our main meeting place.

The next day Cris, Evan, Bertan and I hung out a bit since Evan was leaving for the States the next day. Later on a couple more of our friends joined us  and we had dinner at Wetherspoons (one leaving for the states the day after, one staying; it’s hard to keep track of who’s leaving when, for how long and if they will ever be back). The next day I had to run around North London (and get lost, but see the . . . uh. . . sights?) to find Middlesex’s New Southgate administrative campus. Damon is working there for the summer but as luck would have it he doesn’t have a phone, and just as I was about to give up I found the place! And this was on the hottest day in London! (It’s now currently freezing and raining.) After that I headed back to Ponders End to make and eat dinner with Raggy who was leaving for Rome the next day to visit her sister and go to a concert. Thursday was The Twins’ Unbirthday. Two of my friends have the same birthday, different year, but in August when no one will be around to celebrate so they decided to have a party anyway. They went all out and bought balloons and card games for four year olds which we somehow managed to mess up because someone (I won’t name names) didn’t read the directions properly. It was pretty fun and a chance to see the ever dwindling group again.

Friday, Cris, Damon and I went to see Rodrigo y Gabriela. They’re from Mexico and play spanish  guitar and are pretty amazing. (http://www.rodgab.com/) Afterwards Damon and I were still up for some fun (Cris went home to work on his website) and so we went to Club NME (New Musical Express, a music magazine) at KOKO’s, where we definitely didn’t feel hip enough compared to the NME kids. We had a good night anyway, KOKO’s is an amazing venue, it’s this huge, old elaborate theatre now used as a venue/indie club. The next night I dragged the boys plus Bertan and Max to see the film, Joe Strummer: The Future is Unwritten. It was really good; even if you weren’t that big of fan a lot of the stories about Joe or things he himself said were pretty funny and it didn’t focus too much on just his career in The Clash.

Yesterday I had breakfast with a New Paltz friend and we talked about going back home and how strange that will be. It will be really weird to live with my parents again, after being used to living in my own flat and cooking all my own meals. What will be even weirder is that when I go back to the U.S. I won’t be able to drink. Not that this has a major impact on my life or is a major need, but it’ll be strange. Here, I’m used to being able to stroll into a pub, bar, club with no problem. I’m used to meeting a friend for a drink and a long conversation or a great indie night out (yeah and no indie nights either), it will just be strange to suddenly be dubbed too young to do any of these things. Money-wise, as everyone says, the States will feel like everything is half off. There will be no more curfew with the tube and night buses to get home, but there will also be no more incredible markets, no indie nights, no trashy free LondonLite or LondonPaper newspapers on the tube, no tiny fridges and for the most part healthier, fresher outlook on eating. And no erratic weather either! (its changed from sunny to rainy twice since I’ve written this!)

Anyway, there’s yet another birthday party tonight though many of the group are gone. I’ll be leaving soon as well though it certainly doesn’t feel like it. Part of me does want to go home, especially since here those who are staying have already started summer jobs and I need to find one as well, but part of me wonders if the English ever truly get a proper summer!

The semester is really starting to wind down and it’s bringing up a mixture of emotions in everybody. Last friday the group got together for one last night out with Will who left on Monday to go back to the States. Saturday Cris, Damon, Bertan and I went to a night called Casino Royale at Barfly, specifically for DJ Black Knight. We had gone to this same event in October or so and really enjoyed the music. The four of us ended the night by stepping up on the small stage and dancing to Bloc Party’s “Banquet” and then Blur’s “Song2″. Sunday a large group of us went to Wetherspoons to have sunday roast dinner sort of in honor of Will even though he didn’t show up. We then went back to Flat 19 and hung out in the kitchen, drank white russians and played charades. Will came back to the flat and then we got to say our last goodbye to him.

Monday and Tuesday I worked on essays. Tuesday was the last pub quiz and at it Petros and I decided that we should dress up for the last Half Time. We wondered what to dress as and then looked over and saw Damon at the table and we decided to dress like him. It was sort of a big inside joke and so on Wednesday most of our friends showed up dressed as Damon, wearing stripes and we handed out sheep nametags. It was fun and I’m glad we dressed up because so did several other people at this last, packed Half Time. There were smurfs, batman and robin, and teenage mutant ninja turtles! Thursday I went to class and returned library books and then came home with even more. Friday I went to Trent Park campus because I had a tutorial about the last essay I have to write. Then I met up with a girl from my postmodern class who used to go to New Paltz and lives in LI for a drink. It was cool to talk to her because we got to chat about things that are similar/different about the US and England and things we like and don’t like. After that I headed over to Enfield Campus where I live and met up with a sparse group of friends for the last “Fun Friday” at the Forum. Some of us were kind of sad for the small turnout or that it was just our last “Fun Friday” of the semester but we still had a good time, good if not strange talks and lots of laughter.

Today until Wednesday will be spent on finishing as much of my essays as possible since Wednesday my friend studying Amsterdam is coming to visit. Most everyone’s deadlines is May21 so everyone is a bit stressed, tired, and sometimes dismal. Though on the 22nd I’m sure we’ll all feel alive again and everything will look much better.

Last friday night I had to leave my group of friends early because I started having intense pain in my lower back. Damon said I was just dehyrdated, it was my kidneys hurting and I should drink some water. So I went back to my flat and did just that. But the pain grew worse and my stomach hurt as well as my right side. I thought maybe it was the Carling but I had barely two pints. It wasn’t that. I thought maybe my stomach had too much acid in it so I took some antacid and Petros brought me over some cammomile tea. That helped my stomach a little but the instense pain in my side persisted. I then remembered the night before when I woke up with a pain in my back, took aspirin, went back to sleep and took nothing of it. I wondered what that was a result of. The pain worsened and Cris and Petros asked what side it was that hurt, I said my right and they both looked at each other and said “appendix”. Now I was really freaked out.

Eventually I felt good enough to sleep. I was thinking about my flight to Spain the next morning and something told me I wasn’t going to make it. I was right. Two hours later the pain had returned. I woke up and decided to go to the hospital. I remembered some insurance thing called Medex that I bought from SUNY and Cris called them for me to see if they suggested we go to a specific hospital. Good thing Cris talked to the woman for me because I don’t think I would have been able to stand it! She asked all sorts of questions, and really random ones too like the ID number on my New Paltz and Middlesex IDs. I would have thought that most of my information would be in a database somewhere since I was issued a card with a number on it, but apparently not. Finally we were recommended two hospitals, in Central London of course and I’m in North London. It was now 5am and by the time we got the bus to the tube luckily it was already running.

I was so happy to finally arrive at London Bridge and see that the hospital was right across the street, however that’s where my happiness ended. We soon found out that the London Bridge Hospital that was recommended, was actually a private hospital with no emergency room, no doctos until monday and unavailable anyway unless you’ve booked an appointment. A lot of good that would have done me! I don’t understand why I was recommended to go there, especially if I was in fear that my ailment might be appendicitis! Across the street was another hospital (not recommended) but we tried there anyway, however it was closed until 8am!

Finally we took the tube to the second recommended hospital and hoped this one was open, had doctors and an emergency room- what I would have thought to be standard procedure for a hospital! After around an hour or so of waiting I got to see a doctor at St. Thomas’ Hospital. My pain at this point had almost entirely gone away however I discovered that it was due to a urinary or kidney infection and the pain in my back was in fact my kidneys. We were also told that any hospital will provide this service (emergency room check up) for free because of England’s NHS healthcare, however at the time I feared I would have to be kept in overnight and wanted to go with what the insurance said. Armed with antibiotics and instructions to drink loads of water, Cris and  I crossed westminster bridge, got on the tube and headed north.

For five days or so after I mainly stayed at home, took antibiotics for three days, and drank loads of water. On Wednesday my pain was fully gone and I celebrated this by writing part of my essay : ( This is not a good time to fall ill not only because I missed my flight to Spain to visit Ang but also because I have tons of work to do for my deadlines. I do feel a little stupid though because I know that I have issues with getting dehydrated easily, though at least this happened here and not while I was meant to be in Spain! Medex called me on Monday to check that I was alright, however I was caught so off-guard by the brief phonecall that I didn’t have a chance to ask why they would suggest a private hospital that wouldn’t treat me! But, I’m fully recovered and feeling alive and pain free again, the only change is that I now have a constant water bottle by my side!

Last week I mainly worked on one of my essays the whole week. Friday and Saturday night I went out with friends however I think everyone is stressing out or tired because the vibe wasn’t as lively as it normally is. But doing all that work on my essay made me feel better about my travel plans this week.

Monday I had a “class trip” to Tate Modern for my postmodernism class. Some of the paintings/scupltures were impossible to make a comparison between what we had read and learned in class though others I could actually see some sort of connection. I think it was a good idea to try and link the concepts were were learning and reading about with something more visual. It helped, in my mind, to link the concepts more within the arts and bring it to a broader plane. After our trip I headed to Liverpool St. Station and met Cris there. We took Stansted Express to the Airport and waited for our flight to Zadar, Croatia.

When we landed at Zadar Airport, we realized that we must have been the first or one of the first Ryanair flights to land at Zadar because we were greeted in the airport with food, drink and music. From there it was a quick bus ride to the central bus station of Zadar. We then got a local bus to our guesthouse. The flight from London to Zadar was £44 for the two of us and to stay in the guesthouse for the two of us for two nights was around 60euros.

In the morning when we woke, we walked to the old town of Zadar which is situated on a peninsula. We crossed the footbridge (which at night is illuminated like the Millennium Bridge) and entered the the main square where we had our first 8kuna cup of cappuccino (about 70p or $1.40). After going to the information centre we walked down the main street. Our first stop was the roman Forum and Church of St. Donat which is the very emblem of Zadar and on the cover of the map and various other tourist information. From there we walked to the northern edge of the peninsula to look at the boats and coast. There was construction at the northern tip of the island, it felt like they were preparing for the influx of tourists that are expected to come, especially since Ryanair has just started flying there and the £ is so strong at the moment. We stopped off at the sea organ, a newly deviced tourist advice and also nice way to enjoy the sea (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_organ). It was there we ran into a couple- a guy from Chile who is going to be working in Croatia, and a woman from France- who were on our bus the night before and we chatted to when confused and trying to figure out where our guesthouse was. We agreed to meet them for lunch an hour later.

Cris and I continued walking down the promenade or The Quay of King Petar Kresimir IV under a sunny cloudless sky. The water was really clear and the area around the promenade had several benches in the shade with nice freshly planted flowers. We walked to the edge of the promenade and noticed a school was situated there and we remarked upon how the surrounding area is so beautiful, who would actually stay and not skip school everyday? We turned and walked along the edge of what I think were castle ruins to the Land Gate and Fosa bay area. The Land Gate had a lion on it which looked familar and only after reading the book we bought about Zadar on the plane did I realize that it was the symbol of Venice, which goes along with their history. I learned that in the past Zadar was under Venetian control several times.

We then met up with the couple from earlier and had lunch at this place near the Forum where we got calzones literally the size of your face for 15kuna (about £1.50 or $3). We had seen people, who looked like students, walking towards us with them and they smelled amazing so we followed our noses. Then Cris and I got cappuccino at the Forum caffe bar (funny because our Forum bar on our campus doesn’t have roman ruins!) and filled out postcards. Later on we saw children running and playing among the roman ruins as if it was a typical playground! After chilling out in the cafe a bit away from the scorching sun we got a mandatory ice cream for 5kuna (about 50p or $1) and then headed to the southern part of the peninsula outside the Land Gate to explore the small but neatly kept park. We returned to the promenade to watch the much acclaimed Zadar sunset only for it to be blocked by clouds. By this time we had a good grasp of the city and walked around to find a place to eat. We ended up eating out for 200kuna (about £20 or $40) which included appetizer, 2 main meals and drinks. We tried some Dalmatian smoked ham (Zadar is in the region of Dalmatia) because I had read about it in a guidebook (we also later ended up bringing home some Croatian beers such as Ozujsko and the famous liqueur of Zadar- Maraschino- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maraschino ). I got pasta with scampi because I figured the pasta would be good as a result of Zadar’s Italian influce and some sort of seafood because of the promixity to the sea. After dinner we walked outside the city walls along the port and then back across the footbridge and into the city walls to get ice cream. From there it was a 20 minute walk or so back to the guesthouse.

The next day we checked out and left our suitcase at a place in the city. To begin the day, like naughty schoolchildren, we bought ice cream and went around the market. It was a real market, not a “London market” so there was mainly vegetables and a few cheap clothing and bags, though Cris bought the mandatory fashionable pair of sunglasses. We then settled down for a cappuccino, deciding that since we’re on vacation and it’s more than affordable we were going to have as much ice cream and pizza we could handle. I had mapped out the areas of Zadar we had explored the day before and decided to walk through the areas we hadn’t already seen. We walked back towards the promenade, walked passed the Franciscan Monastery (stopping at one of the many free WCs on the way) and then came out onto the main street where we bought ate and an amazing pizza and calzone. We then walked back towards the area around the school that we saw the day before, browsed one of the many boutiques, and then settled down for a Croatian beer at a Caffe and discussed what else we had to do before leaving. This of course involved more pizza and more ice cream, before heading to the book store to buy a book about Zadar and Damatia. These books would have been perhaps more handy the day before to discover what we had really been seeing since we didn’t really have much information on Zadar- the guidebook had very little and the tourist information centre was only stocked well with maps. However the new, modern up and coming vibe of this old city with the mark of Romans, Venetians, Turk invaders and later the bombs of WWII and then bombs of Yugoslavia has resulted in a relaxed Mediterranean vibe is sure to be soon invaded by tourists. It was something I could feel, perhaps because of the construction and renovations, the change I could see from the pictures in the book based on now only 4 years later. It felt good to be there now but I have a feeling it might be unrecognizable and much more crowded in 5 years from now.

It was a short but amazing trip and I would definitely go back to Zadar as well as to other areas. I’ve now had about two days to adjust to being back in North London, but tomorrow I am going to Oviedo, Spain. This will mark the end of the my travels for now since next month will be devoted to essay writing for my deadline on May 21! So I’m enjoying this all now, in light of the fact that soon the only place I’ll be travelling to is the library!

Before I left to Amsterdam I went to XFM’s Big Night Out and Acid Monkey at Seone. XFM was amazing, it couldn’t have been a better night. My feet were killing me the next day after dancing for 5 hours and I had bruises on my knees from falling (the floor was slippery and at Brixton Carling Academy it slopes down in certain areas near the main stage) but it was worth it! New Young Pony Club took the stage first, they were alright but The Rumble Strips were much better. The last band to come on was The Enemy who weren’t that good and so we set off led by Damon to find the “4th room”. The stage area was one room where the bands performed and later a DJ. Then near the main entrance there was another DJ playing older songs from The Clash, The Cure, Sex Pistols, etc. Upstairs in another hallway was another DJ playing newer sort of stuff (Cris and Damon heard a new Bloc Party remix), but that only makes 3 and all the information we got said that there were 4 rooms. Damon was convinced that there was a 4th room and that he found it last time he went to Big Night Out. We never found it and it became the mysterious 4th room but it was still an amazing night. Raggy had a friend visiting from Norway, who had just arrived that afternoon before we headed out, and she enjoyed the night as well.
Then that Saturday a group of 11 of us went to Acid Monkey at Seone (the name of the club, I think I was told, is just its postcode spelled out-SE 1). It was a cool venue with two large rooms. One was more intense with the psychedelic trance and the other room had couches with more relaxed trance and they even sold chai tea. In between the two rooms was a tunnel like room that connected the two where there were people selling things. We said in some ways it reminded us of Camden, and it definitely had a sort of NP vibe to it! I’m glad I went because I had a much better time than I thought I would, even if at the end I was really tired and we didn´t get home until 8.30am. This really didn’t matter so much because all I had to do the next day was pack to go visit my friend who’s studying in Amsterdam.

I got up early on Monday and probably spent more time in the airport than on the actually flight which was around 45min to Eindhoven, from there I took an hour and half bus to Amsterdam. I fell asleep for most of the bus ride but woke up just as we had arrived in Amsterdam, saw all the houseboats and instantly liked the city! I met up with my friend Monica in front of Centraal Station and we went back to her flat (her on bike, me walking; though I got to borrow her friend’s bike for my whole time there so I got to experience the city as the locals do). There were some touristy things that I wanted to do but I also wanted to just see her and catch up and do whatever she normally does since when/if I go back she won’t be there to show me around and so I might as well take advantage of this “local knowledge” now, plus I can always go back and do the touristy things later. So that night we met up with some of her friends and went to this movie night- Cinemanita- which she goes to frequently. It reminded me of when we used to go to Film Club in high school, so it was a good way to spend my first night. We watched a short film first and then this strange Argentinian film called Fuego. Fuego was actually banned in Argentina and we watched an introduction by John Waters for it first which gives some insight into how truly bizzare this movie is!

The next day Monica had class and so I took the map she had left for me and the bike and went to the Van Gogh Museum which was pretty cool. It felt nice to already be exploring the city on my own and on a bike (and I didn’t get lost, it was easy, like she said “just follow the canal”). She met me at the museum after class and then took me to the residential area where she was doing an essay on the architectural style. We then went to a market and ate french fries with mayonnaise. I didn’t think I would like this at first but it’s how the Dutch eat them and the mayo tasted different which was actually really good. The day before I had also tried stroopwafels which are amazing syrup waffle type cookies (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stroopwafel) I brought two packages home with me and one is gone already! That night we went out for Chinese food in Chinatown, then went back to her flat and I met some of her friends. Her room is huge compared to mine and she shares her kitchen with 3 other people. Their kitchen was really cozy with a couch and TV (I haven’t watched TV in months! And Dutch sounds almost familar and similar to English but also sort of silly) and a balcony with an amazing view! We decided that we didn’t want to go out to a club or anything that night and so we just went to a cafe and got dutch apple pie (which is a lot thicker than American apple pie- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_apple_pie) and cappuccino.

The next day we went to a photography museum called Foam. Monica has this card which you pay €20 and get into museums for free (I don’t know which are included and which aren’t) though for students it was only €5. There were three exhibits- one about eyes and photographs that were collected where eyes were either closed or obscured; then a really powerful one by a photographer named James Nachtwey that had photographs from Iraq, 9/11, Eastern Europe in the 1990s, as well as famine in Sudan and Somalia in 1992-1993; the last one was a guy who took pictures of Barcelona’s backstreets. We then went to Dam Sqaure where the royal palace is and lots of tourist shops so I could buy the necessary Dutch wooden shoes accessories. We walked around some more and then went home to make dinner for my last night there (which seemed to have come so fast!)

My last morning there we got up early and got breakfast- what else but dutch pancakes! We joked that I’ve eaten all the typical Dutch light/snack foods, she then told me about some of their more hearty meals. The pancakes were good, really thin almost like a crepe. I still had awhile before bus left so we sat down near a canal and talked for a bit and then went around some more of the stores. By the time we said goodbye and got on the bus I couldn’t believe that I was leaving already I had gotten used to so many things (like bikes!) and really enjoyed my stay and the city! I really liked how to get anywhere all you needed was a bike (and a good sense of hearing to dodge other bikes, trams, motorbikes and cars!). I also felt like because of Monica I got a sort of “artistic tour” of Amsterdam since we mainly went to art museums and she would point out architecture and such. While in the airport I finished reading a book for class and thought about the places I’m going to take Monica when she comes to visit next month.

Yesterday was Friday and although the Forum was still closed a group of us got together at The Goat to catch up since over these past two weeks we’ve had off for Easter, everyone’s been all over the place. It was nice, as always, to see my friends after coming back from a trip away. Today, since the weather’s still nice we’re planning a picnic at Robbins Hall (a short distance from my residence hall) to take in the sun while it’s still here. We don’t want to be tricked like awhile ago where is started getting nicer out and then we were blasted with another week of cold! I feel a little out of sorts I guess because I haven’t travelled away for that long in awhile and also because we’re still on vacation but that’ll all change on Monday when school starts up again!

There’s nothing much to report for last week seeing as I was sick, then recovering and also completing an essay and I assume no one wants to read my essay either! Friday night though, on our usual “Fun Friday” forum night, Maggie made some German food and we enjoyed that before heading over to the Forum for the usual.

I’ve been feeling a little antsy recently, probably because this marks the beginning of our 2weeks off for Easter. I’m glad to have the time off but always fall into the dilemma of feeling useless once I run out of schoolwork to do or classes to go to. I haven’t really gone out much this week yet (unless you count handing in my essay on monday or going to to movies last night- which I hate doing here because I feel like I can be doing so many other things!) mainly because I’m trying to conserve my resources (£) for this weekend and next week as well. This Thursday me and the indie creware going to XFM’s Big Night Out. XFM’s a radio station ( http://www.xfm.co.uk/home.asp), and according to Damon the event that they’re host-Big Night Out- is not to be missed by any indie lover. Then Saturday I’ve been convinced, against my musical preference and completely opposite to Thursday night’s plans, to go to an event called Acid Monkey. It’s mainly centered around psychedelic techno music. Not my first choice for a Saturday night but I’ve never been to anything like that before and so it has to be done! Plus there’s a group of about 10 of us going so it should be fun. Petros and I were talking about it and I concluded that if it can boast “magicians and chai tea” then it’s got to be some strange event not to be missed! Then next week from Monday to Thursday I’ll be in Amsterdam visiting a friend from home. So if I’m feeling a little dose of cabin fever right now I know that soon I’ll be out and about again!

The only thing that makes me sad about this Easter is that I won’t be spending it with family. My mom said that she’ll call on Easter and pass the phone around the table so I can talk to most of my family (she joked though only after they eat because otherwise everyone would be too hungry and no one would want to talk to me!) but it won’t really be the same. And Easter, unlike Thanksgiving where we had a huge bash, somehow doesn’t really feel like a holiday you can celebrate for fun with friends. Plus since we have two weeks off lots of people have gone away and campus feels a littel deserted as of late. And now I’m trying to convince myself to start work on one of my essays due in May since I have free time now- a precious commodity- and this month already has a massive amount of travel plans to otherwise consume my time! So the next time I post I swear it will be more interesting and have tales of indie nights,psychedelic stories and adventures from Amsterdam.

So as Ang has recounted in her blog, yes the three of us had an awesome time! However I fear her sleep deprivation and just usual self professed craziness means she might have gotten our itinerary a little wrong, but I’ll forgive her! ; )

Omar was supposed to arrive 8.25pm on Friday night but because of the snowstorm in NY his flight got delayed and then finally cancelled. Everytime my phone rang that night I feared worse and worse news. So Ang who was due to arrive Sat afternoon ended up arriving before Omar! Then Ang, straight from Stansted airport, and I headed to Heathrow to finally be reunited. As soon as we got on the tube Omar snapped a picture of the three of us and looked at me and said “What? I’m a terrorist!” and then we burst out laughing as we realized he meant to say tourist. It must have been all those hours in the airport getting to him!
The next morning, I regrettfully got them up early as they both probably could have and perhaps should have slept a whole day, but getting up early was the only way we’d get to see all I had planned. We first went to Spitalfields Market, and yes I got a brownie, Cris even called me when he was in the airport back from Spain just to request that I get him a brownie as well! They were impressed with the market and I was glad, although Omar complained about all the pushing and shoving, I suppose I’ve become accustomed to it only because it’s a small area with lots of people and to be expected. We then took the tube to St James’ Park and walked to Buckingham Palace taking all the necessary pictures, then through St. James Park, much windier and colder (They both didn’t believe me that only last week the weather had been warm and nice, like it is today! I think Omar brought the storm with him!) than I remember in September. We passed by the Horse Guards just in time to see the last change of the day, I joked I had timed our walk to coincide with that but Omar knew better!

We met up with Cris and Damon near Big Ben and then embarked on the famous South Bank walk, going up to the Oxo Tower observation deck as we had with Cris’ friend, crossing the Millennium Bridge, before going into St Paul’s briefly and for free since there was a service starting. We then took the tube to Oxford Circus and walked to Leicester Sqaure from there, settling down at Waxy’s Little Sister which was still celebrating St. Patrick’s Day even though it had been the day before. It was a long tiring day but I felt like they had seen the most crucical touristy points of the city. As Cris once said, on your first visit to London, you have to just walk. There’s so much to see that there’s no time to actually pick one thing and explore it, that’s for the next trip, you have to walk around and see everything (famous or not) and just get a feel for it all.

Monday I took Omar and Ang to Camden. They loved the area and the market, I was glad they were feeling the same way about my favourite parts of my adopted city as I do. After grabbing some cheap food (huge container of noodles plus a drink for £3) because it was a weekday and bargaining for a shirt or two, we headed to Trafalgar Sqaure, which I think has slowly embedded itself in my mind as one of my favorite places in London. I think there also might be a logical reason for this too since it’s very central to most things in central london. We stopped off at Cris and Damon’s flat to convince them both to come to my flat for a sort of impromptu dinner, which yes they ended up cooking mainly (we had salad stuffed into pita bread) because I was trying and stressing to find a way Omar and Ang could get to Luton Airport for their 6AM flight since the tube inconveinently closes at night. But everything worked out well and they got their flight, though Omar’s absence meaning I had to read as much of Trainspotting for my postmodern class on Monday as I could since he was leaving on Sunday. The first 50 or so pages of Trainspotting were really difficult to read because of the Scottish dialect but after awhile I was breezing through it.

Thursday I ran into Petros on Trent Park campus after my class (we had read Alice Walker’s short stories entitled “You Can’t Keep A Good Woman Down”, very good) and various tutorials, and traveled back to Enfield campus with him, running into Raggy and then finally picking up Omar from the train station. It was decided that we would all meet later in Raggy’s flat before going out. So Omar and I went back to my flat and got ready for the night out, I was a little disappointed that Omar, Ang and I didn’t get to go out to a club or something one night while they were both here but it was a tight schedule in the first place and Omar’s delay didn’t help much!

So Omar, Petros and I went over to Raggy’s flat and was joined by Maggie. Eventually after much chatting and relaxed drinking we said goodbye to Maggie, convinced Raggy to come out with us and headed off to Tottenham Court Rd. We went to a club called The Ghetto and by showing your student ID you could get in for only £1! They played good music towards the end, like around 2.30AM but by that point we were all really tired and decided to head home. The night bus seemed less choatic on a Thursday night than a Friday or Sat.

Friday was as usual £1 Carling night at the forum or “Fun Friday” as Damon jokingly calls it. I really wanted to take Omar to the Forum that night and stay there the whole time instead of going out just so he would first get to meet all my friends but to also get a feel for the dynamic that the group has especially on Friday night at the forum. Afterwards we headed to Will and Maggie’s kitchen for an impromptu gathering and then Omar and I stayed up with Cris and Damon until around 4am so they could get the first morning bus home.

Saturday night (notice I’m recounting all in “nights” now, that’s because having all the touristy things done, it was now time for Omar to catch a glimpse of nightly student life in London), we went to our beloved Underworld for indie night. Omar met up with a friend he knows from NP who’s studying at Kingston and Cris, Damon, Petros and I enjoyed the likes of Bloc Party and Kaiser Chiefs. Luckily Omar had kept his eye on the time. His flight left at 10:15AM Sunday morning so we worked it out that we were going to leave the club at a certain time. However we didn’t realize that we would loose an hour that night for daylight savings time! Omar’s “global” phone had switched to the now “real” time and we left immediately. We picked up his stuff from the strategically located Cris and Damon’s flat and then Cris, Omar and I set off to Heathrow at 4AM. We had to take two buses and even though the Piccadilly line seemingly takes forever to get to Heathrow, it’s more so with the bus! But we got Omar there on time, in fact with enough time to grab a sandwich for “breakfast”. Said goodbye to Omar in a sort of sleep dazed (I had fallen asleep briefly on the bus while Omar and Cris conversed in Spanish and occasional English) state and then Cris and I jumped on the tube falling asleep from Hatton Cross to Hyde Park Corner, briefly waking up then falling asleep from Green Park to Arnos Grove. We got back at around 11AM.

That “morning” when I woke up at 5PM after a confused call from my Mom as to why I was still sleeping, I focused on reading some H.G.Wells which I’m writing about for my proposition module. I’ve already read The Time Machine and The Invisible Man.
Today I’m missing a Literary Festival on Trent Park because I have an essay due next Monday that I’m working on as well as a killer cold that ’s working on me. My whole head feels congested, though it’s probably a result of being out in the cold weather last week and having a messed up sleep schedule that same week, but it was all worth it. And I’m now on my way to book tickets to visit Ang in Oviedo!

I figured I’d give just a quick little update before Omar and Ang arrive because I’m sure I’ll have another crazy time like last weekend and won’t have much time to take a breather let alone write a blog. Friday I went into Central and ended up trashing my plans to go to the National Gallery and just walked around instead because it was another nice day out (the weather seems to be getting nicer and more spring-like), though it did rain heavily at one point as I was crossing Hungerford Bridge. For some reason I really like the area of and around Trafalgar Square, it’s near all the bookshops on Charing Cross Rd and near enough other attractions like Parliament, Piccadilly and Leicester Square. Perhaps I was also inadvertantly checking out where I want to take my friends when they get here. I went home sort of early to prepare for a night at the Forum with friends and £1 pints. As usual our table started with just a few and by the end of the night we were what made up most of the Forum. It was followed by the now customary breakfast at lunchtime at the cafe on the High St the next morning.

Later that day I met up with Cris and Manu near St. Paul’s. We went to visit Manu’s uncle who works at Merrill Lynch and he showed us around. Since it was at night it was quiet but it must be crazy during the day. There were tons of desks for at least 100 people or so, each had 4 or up to 8(!) computer screens and of course phones. Manu’s uncle has headphones that he wears when he wants to block out the noise. The boys then wanted to watch Barcelona vs. Real Madrid and so we found a pub near Leicester Square and I braced myself to watch my first full football match. Manu told me that the guys in the white (Real Madrid) were the good guys and to cheer for them, however I wasn’t needed. As it turned out the guy sitting at the table next to us was Spanish and also rooting for Madrid. Whenever they scored a goal the three Spainards in the room made more noise than the 20 or so English who were half-heartedly watching the game. In fact the DJ (?yes there was a DJ in the pub for some reason) turned down the music after the first goal and said something like “You’re Spanish, huh?”

We left the pub (I don’t remember the score, shows how much I was paying attention!) and headed to Camden to finally return to our beloved Barfly for our much needed indie night. When we arrived there was a band called We Are The Physics setting up, we were a little let down but then 5 of our friends showed up. After the band, they put DJs on who were alright but I keep coming the conclusion that Damon and Cris should somehow throw an indie night at their flat with Damon DJ-ing! At least then no one would lose their wallet in Camden, have someone almost get into a fight with them over a kebab and we wouldn’t have to continuously keep an eye on someone who has a tendency to wander and then forget his jacket at the club! But I guess that’s part of the fun of going out in Camden!

As if our ears hadn’t taken enough damage for one weekend on Sunday, Cris and I went to see Nine Inch Nails at Carling Academy at Brixton (I was disappointed, a pint of Carling was pretty expensive!). Cris had got tickets, he’s not really a fan of them but had gone to Camden that day and came back wearing a NIN shirt so at least he got into the spirit of things. I think he enjoyed it (I hope!). It was great to finally see them live but as I said to Cris, now I’m that much closer to dying. He had asked me awhile ago what bands haven’t I seen yet. I said “Before I die I have to see NIN and Radiohead”. I think we’re going to hold out on Radiohead for awhile!

Monday was beautiful and springlike on Trent Park. The daffodils on campus were blooming. Our tutor turned up and said she couldn’t find her lecture notes and was going to drive home to look for them, she gave us questions to do in the meantime and me and my two classmates decided to do our questions outside. After having a coffee and talking first, we finally got down to work in the warm sun. Yesterday I began reading for next Monday, I want to have all my work finished by the time Omar and Ang get here. Cris has a few days off for “reading week” which I don’t quite understand since he’s doing graphic design and I’m the one with all the reading, but he went back to Spain for a few days. So everyone is practically in transit right now. I’ve got one gone to Spain, one on his way from New York, one on her way from Spain! By Sunday afternoon we’ll all be in one place, and that will be miraculous!

My eyes are straining from the long emails I’ve just sent out but I’ll soldier on with another blog! Last week was basically just full of reading and “the usual”. Went to Postmodernism and Comptemporary Culture, had a little scare because we were kind of learning (after reading A History of the World in 10 1/2 Chapters) that history isn’t as true as we think it is because it’s writing and essentially you’re looking at documents and excluding some things while including others, picking and choosing. It was sort of scary, shook some foundation inside of me, as well as sitting through the lecture and thinking “Wow I think all of the short stories I’ve written can be classified as post-modern”. It’s hard to recreate here, I don’t have my lecture notes beside me.

I watched the Godfather for my American Violence class, though I watched it on Tuesday so I didn’t have to get up early to trek to Trent Park from Enfield campus on Thursday morning. I’ve actually never seen the whole movie and I think that our class isn’t so much analyzing “American” as much as “violence” in the novels and poetry we read and movies we watch. A little disappointing, but I suppose I was just looking for an easy “other perspective” of America. Wednesday I went into Central and I think I’m going to make Wednesday my offical day to go into Central from now on because I seem to be slacking with that as a result of normal routines and increased classwork. I went to Chinatown first to get Cris’ spanish phone unlocked, thus undoing my communication dilemma (for a couple days while in my room there was no outreach to the outside world since I don’t have my own computer and I didn’t have a new phone yet). Then walked along Charing Cross Rd checking out the bookstores (though not buying anything because I don’t have time to read for fun anymore and am still working on the 600pg Joe Strummer biography) while admiring the fact that London still tries to be creative with its weather, it was raining while it was sunny out. Trying to keep things new and exciting, I guess. Walked down to Trafalgar Square, the National Gallery is having an exhibition of Renoir landscapes which I mentally made note of and will return to see. Then I finished my personalized walking tour by venturing down to Westminster (there’s a bookstore across the street with books all about Parliament for your curiousity), crossing the bridge walking by the London Eye (basking in the sun for the few moments it lasted before more rain), crossing back over and heading up to Piccadilly before heading home.

Friday I made a brief venture into the Wood Green area, I was there to see if I could get an external harddrive repaired (no need to ask who accidentially dropped it!). I had gone with Damon and he said maybe I was there for a reason and would have a life changing experience in Wood Green, I didn’t, I had a sandwich instead. Later on met up in the Forum with Damon, Petros, Will and the rest of the usual (for this week, all male) Friday night Forum gang. Later on made the ceremonious journey to Wetherspoons to squeeze in the extra hour before they close, then stopping off at the chicken shop on the way home.

The next morning, Damon, Petros and I had breakfast around lunchtime at a cafe near campus, ordering the essential greasy English breakfast. Only Petros subsituted something for this kind of cheese which I now forget and we laughed at how you can get spaghetti bolonese “with chips”, I’m sure in some places even coffee comes “with chips”. There’s been a few times where I’ve need to take a “chip break” and not eat or even look at them for awhile, even though they are apparently part of the staple diet. Had a quiet weekend, spent reading for class and starting on The Godfather II (of course!) with Cris and Damon in sleepover style Saturday night after listening to Kaiser Chiefs concert on XFM, our subsitution for an indie night that night. (While sort of on the topic of food, let me put in a good word for those two, even though they’re students, the things Cris and Damon cook are amazing, fresh, not “made from a box” as Cris teases about “American cooking”, and for the most part, chip-less.)

Spent all day Tuesday reading and finishing The Piano for next Monday’s class. It was first a movie then a novel. It’s strange but that sometimes happens, Cris said to name five instances, I could only come up with Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere being a TV program first and then a book. Also went to the post office to sent off a much delayed card and letter (yes, amidst the internet, I still like sending letters) as well as a mother’s day present, since in England it’s celebrated on March 18 or rather 18 March, as advirtised in Tesco.

Yesterday, since I freed up my week by finishing my reading so early, I decided to uphold my promise to myself and went into Central. I went to the British Museum which is pretty huge but since I got there sort of late, I breezed through most of the rooms (seeing pretty much all of the upper and main floors) though taking notes on which rooms I liked the best so I could return and not have to waste time going through the things I didn’t like. (nerd, yeah i know). I felt as if it was like the Museum of Natural History and the Met put together, probably because I know those two museums the best.

On a side note, I passed one of the museum guards who was talking to a co-worker (some of them were serious and didn’t talk, others were chillin with their co-workers and looked as if they were having a good old time, some of the female museum guards would sit in whatever room they were assigned with their huge purse on their lap or strung around them as they walked through the rooms). He was commenting to her about how there are people from all over the world visiting, “Like from Italy” he said as I walked by. I gave him a look and he asked where I was from. “New Yawk,” he replied jokingly. I joked back that I was just glad I could pass for something other than American. I’ve been told (though don’t take this as credible since it’s always when I’m in the forum after a few pints) that people though I was French, Norwegian, Romanian, all kinds of things, then I start talking and all the mystery goes out of it I guess. (Not that I’m implying that I have a thick NY-er accent! I’ve been told I’m understandable and pleasant to listen to compared to other Americans).

I walked out of the museum, surprised (after being inside with my mind aching from all the stimulation for three hours) that 1. there was a world outside and 2. the area around the British Museum has all sorts of nice coffee shops and things like that. But I couldn’t stop, I was on my way to Westminster to meet Cris and his friend Manu, from Spain. I met up with them and we did the typical Southbank walk that Cris guides so well that he should charge. We went up to the viewing balcony on the 8th floor of the Oxo Tower before crossing over the Millenium Bridge, bringing back memories of my first day in London back in September during Cris and Damon’s first original London Tour. It feels like that was years ago.

We took Manu to Half Time last night (a must!) and tonight I think I’m going to catch up with my friend who’s just recently returned from a month in Moscow (as part of the theatre program). Saturday is designated indie night, we’ve decided to go to either Barfly or Underworld to avoid disappointment since a true indie night has been in need for weeks now!

As I don’t have my own computer it’s difficult to upload pictures but I will hi-jack someone’s computer (probably Cris’) soon enough and truly update this blog!

Oh and one last thing. My timetables have been messed up for awhile now, long story, but I am now going to take a proposition module where I pick a topic and books and write a long essay while meeting up with a tutor every so often. I don’t think we really have anything like that for undergrads in the States so it seemed like a reason to take it, that and it was the only thing to fit into my schedule!

Next week, live from London, Omar and Angela (yes, Anglea as in Oviedo blogging Angela) come for a visit!