The Last Update

For those wondering what I've been up to since getting back, I refer you to my old blog. If you don't know where that is, ask me and I might tell you (or might not... it's more personal than this blog was, so I don't want it to be as open, no offense meant.)

Endings

Obviously, that last entry wasn't actually my final one from the UK; I couldn't let it rest there. Perhaps I'm guilty of trying to hard to narrative-ize, but I think this needs more closure.

It feels like an eternity since I left the states, and the thought of being back there in just a little over 24 hours from this writing (assuming the flight is on time) is surreal. So, it's appropriate to look back a little.

This is not a personal blog, nor will it become one, so it is not an entirely complete account of my experiences. Suffice it to say that the experience of being here has not always been perfectly happy. But I look back on the things I've seen and done, the stuff I've learned (the academic aspect of things should not be overlooked) the people I've met, the places I've been...

Are there things that I would have, in hindsight, done differently? Of course. But do I regret coming here in the first place? Would I regret not having come?

The answers are, I think, obvious.

Over and out,
--Aaron

Things I've Learned From British Commercials That Run Before Movies

1. Buying bootleg DVDs will result in bizarre encounters with strange old men in pubs who sing insulting songs that will cause your girlfriend to leave you and basically destroy your life.
2. Guinness reverses time and freezes things. (I don't get it, either.) (1, 2, 3).

(This is kinda weird to have as what may well be my last post from the UK, but then, I'm quirky.)

Not much to report on this end. Packing is still going smoothly. Mailed a lot of books home (at considerable expense -- no, parents, it was not cheap in the slightest), but I'm going to have to get rid of a few (say goodbye to the travel guides).

Said some needed goodbyes to friends here, and took a few last photos of the campus.

It'll be weird to be back. Weird that Nathan will be in NYC, and I'm still in Philly... ah, well.

Packing is thus far going smoothly. Meanwhile, I have to recommend the film This Is England, which I just saw. It's deservedly gotten rave reviews from the UK press -- it's not out in the US until July (in limited release), but I do recommend it, either then or whenever it hits DVD. What was particularly weird about watching it was that it was mostly shot in and around Nottingham (the director lived in the area for a number of years, and has set most of his films here) -- and several scenes were shot in places about two minutes' walk from the theatre where I was sitting. First time I can say that about a movie.

Photos!

First: yes, I made it back safely. And I've actually managed to complete a substantial amount of packing -- enough to give me faith that I can pull this off, if I make judicious usage of every nook and cranny of my luggage. Of course, that feeling may well evaporate once I finish this huge load of laundry.

Anyway, what you've all been waiting for:
Edinburgh
Amsterdam
And a few more photos of Nottingham for good measure.

Amsterdam, Day 2

Even with all the weird things I've seen in this city, this has to take the cake: a guy in a black hooded robe, wearing a goofy mask, playing a guitar right next to Damrak (sort of the city's main street). What pushed this into the upper stratosphere of weirdness was the inexplicable presence of a large plastic toy of Baby, from the early-90s sitcom Dinosaurs, attached to the guitar. (No, I am not embarrassed to recognize this. I can't be the only one who remembers that show, if only vaguely.) I'd have taken a photo, but I'm not sure the guy would've appreciated it.

I am utterly worn out, but have had a very good day thus far. Spent most of the day on a free (but actually quite good) tour of the city, with the same company that ran last night's tour of the Red Light District. Very informative, and lots of good opportunities for photo taking [insert qualifier regarding the condition of my camera here]. Then visited Oude Kerk, a massive church, incongruously located in the Red Light District. Currently, it's hosting a fascinating (and, in some cases, disturbing -- lots of war images) exhibit of the award winners for the World Press Photo competition (according to Wikipedia, the church is also where the awards ceremony is held.

My feet are sore as hell, which I guess says that I've done a lot (even if I at times feel like the one person who apparently didn't come to the city for the primary purpose of toking up... ) It'll be good to be back in Nottingham... not that there's much relaxation on that end, what with packing. Probably not doing to much in the way of that tomorrow, though -- I have to get up around 6:30 or 6:45 tomorrow, and though I plan on hitting the sack early tonight, I fully expect to be exhausted nonetheless.

After all this time, it's surreal to think that I'll be back in the States in only 4 days. It'll be weird leaving again so quickly, however temporarily. (To non-family members: I'm leaving for California on the 14th (along with my dad and my brothers) to visit my grandmother. It's just for the weekend, though.

Red Light District tour was fantastic - definitely worth the money, and very informative. I think I've seen more than enough, though.

Amsterdam...

is really, as they say, "something else." The sex and drugs make it feel like my freshman dorm writ large, but the canals, the bicycles, the bridges... it's just amazingly beautiful.

Already finished my sightseeing for now (until the tour I mentioned in my last entry), so I've got a few hours to kill.

A few notes:
--Damn, this city is beautiful.
--The Anne Frank House is a very unassuming building on the outside (though it is scenically located right next to the stunning Westerkerk), but extremely powerful.
--The other museum I visited (I'll avoid detail to keep this "family-friendly," to preempt parental nagging) was, shall we say, very Amsterdam. More tacky than legitimately shocking, though that may say a lot about how desensitized I've gotten.
--It's hard to find souvenirs/gifts that seem genuinely thoughtful and not tacky. Maybe I should just resort to chocolate. For Nathan, however, I have picked out the bestest*, most special present a brother could possibly ask for, and I can only hope that he treasures it always.
--Dutch pancakes are tasty.
--No, seriously - damn, this city is beautiful.

*lest anyone attempt to question my grammatical skills, my usage of that non-word was ironic. It adds to the sarcasm.

Edinburgh/Amsterdam

Weather was finally cooperative on my last day in Edinburgh. Spent some time at the Royal Museum and the Museum of Scotland, and a good deal of time wandering about taking pictures.

Made it to Amsterdam safely; I'm going to try to get to the Anne Frank House tomorrow morning before it gets too crowded, but I'm still expecting long lines.

Being in the city sort of makes me wish I weren't traveling solo -- limits my ability to wander around at night. I kinda want to see the Red Light District for myself, out of sheer curiosity. I am planning on going on a walking tour of it tomorrow, though it won't be dark at the time.

More later. Internet access at this hostel isn't terribly cheap, and it seems to be much in demand, too.

Nothing more planned for today, other than some aimless wandering (isn't that the best kind?), so I might as well give a brief update.

Started the morning by heading down to Holyrood, visiting the Scottish Parliament building (it's pretty weird looking --- I'll post photos after I get back) and taking a brief hike up the mountain - yes, there's a mountain in the middle of the city - known as Arthur's Seat. The view was quite spectacular. Visited a few of the art museums that constitute the National Galleries -- some interesting surrealist stuff at the Dean Gallery, but otherwise, kind of dull (at least for my tastes).

Oh, I should make note of this. Made a stop at a cafe called Chocolate Soup (thanks for the recommendation) -- which serves hot chocolate of a very rich sort, as suggested by the name. Mmm.

It's late here, so I'll keep this quick.

The vegetarian haggis was actually quite tasty, but I don't think it bore much resemblance to the real thing. Didn't exactly seem to be trying to imitate actual meat.

The Museum of Childhood was really not too exciting. With a good deal of daylight still left, I decided to head up to the top of Calton Hill - even with the weather a tad greyer than I might've liked, it was still spectacular. Then simply walked around the city for a while -- not much in particular to report, but it was beautiful.

Tomorrow: Holyrood and its environs.

A brief midday update -- taking a break at the Central Library, which has free internet access. Spent the morning and early afternoon at Edinburgh Castle, which was scenic and, I guess, educational, though I'm dubious that it was worth the steep (£11, no student discount available) price tag. It also was a little heavy on military history of the "in [year], [regiment] was sent to [country]" variety, which I ultimately find rather mind-numbing.

Took some nice pictures, though. Then my camera went haywire -- I'm not quite sure if I can afford it, but I need to replace the thing. I may have worked out a solution of sorts, but there's no way of salvaging this morning's photos.

Heading off to the Museum of Childhood in a bit -- should be fun.

Haggis

Posting from the hostel in Edinburgh.

For those wondering, haggis is a traditional Scottish delicacy, "normally made with the following ingredients: sheep's 'pluck' (heart, liver and lungs), minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices, and salt, mixed with stock, and traditionally boiled in the animal's stomach for approximately an hour." Mmm-mmm!

Anyway, though I have no desire to sample the stuff, I am willing (with some parental needling, though curiosity would compel me to do so anyway) to try a vegetarian equivalent somewhere.

Parents, while I do appreciate all the restaurant suggestions, I'm trying to be very frugal in regard to food -- which means I'm mostly limiting myself to fast food (ie, cheap sandwiches). Fortunately, I happen to have walked past a vegetarian fast-food place en route to the hostel -- and guess what it has on its menu? I'm going to try to head there for lunch tomorrow.

Oh, and the city is beautiful at night (unfortunately, my camera doesn't handle night photos well at all).

European travels: the final leg

Heading off in a few minutes for the airport, en route to Edinburgh. I'm flying from there to Amsterdam on Wednesday evening. This gives me less time in Amsterdam than I might like, but my travel time was limited given that I had already bought the Summer Party ticket, and I needed enough time to pack (which is still going to be stressful as hell -- parents, I may need some advice on your end).

Truth be told, by this point, with the academic end entirely wrapped up, I'm getting more than a little antsy to head back to the states. But I know that I wouldn't want to miss an opportunity to travel like this -- as I've said, I'm not going to be back in Europe anytime in the foreseeable future.

Well, at least the night wasn't a total loss; met some interesting people, had a very good conversation. I know, I'm specific.

Summer Party

I brought my camera along with me. I doubt I'll actually be using it, as it does not appear likely that I'll have any particular desire to remember this. Not that it's traumatic or anything, but it's really, really, not my thing... the closest equivalent would be Spring Fling at Wes, which I do like, but that's with a student body less than one-tenth the size. Here, it's just way too damn massive and hectic for my tastes. And I'm just not going to spend the money to get drunk -- the prices are ridiculous.

Summer Party

Somehow I've neglected to mention this thus far... but exams ended yesterday (thank goodness for being done early). To, I guess, celebrate that, today is the massive Summer Party, with a lot of bands and several tents operated by local clubs (I think). I suspect it'll prove too hectic to be worth what I paid for my ticket (I'd rather not think about that.) Anyway, since my hall is near the stage, I (delightfully) get locked out of my room for 10 hours. Fun!

that TV exam (not gloating, really)

I thought I did badly, but according to one of the two professors for the module, "I do recall you got one of the highest marks on the exam, so good job there." (This was not apropos of nothing -- I had to email him to enquire about the procedure for getting back my exam, or at least comments on it.)

Also, I forgot to mention the Astronomical Clock in Prague in any detail -- every hour, a mechanical skeleton rings a bell, which is cool.

Prague photos

Here. None with Peter, though, because I didn't think to bring my camera.

More 5/30 notes, and opera

Truth be told, I don't know that I really have that much more to add about today's adventures...

In regards to the aforementioned statue: one of the many statues of Christ on the Charles Bridge has in gold, the Hebrew words "Kadosh, kadosh, kadosh" ("holy, holy, holy) above it (quoting a verse from Isaiah, and a common declaration of faith for Jews, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Hosts"). In the 17th century, a Jew was put on trial for defaming the statue (spitting on it, allegedly), and the Jewish community was forced to pay for the letters as a means of humiliation. (There's an explanatory plaque next to the statue, which I photographed as well.)


Peter is a wonderfully friendly person; he didn't mind, thankfully, that I left the flowers I had bought in my room. The opera was, as I expected, not really my cup of tea, but the singing and music were at, least, very impressive. I was a tad taken aback that one scene topless female singers (and full frontal from one); nobody seemed fazed, so maybe this was just American prudishnes on my part.

A note on cathedrals, and Day 3 in brief

I need to get ready for the opera, so I can't update in detail (will try to do that later tonight, or back in Nottingham tomorrow, depending on how late I get back tonight). But I did make it to the Prague Castle and the Museum of Communism (and yes, Mom, I did see that statue on the Charles Bridge).

St. Vitus Cathedral -- impressive? Sure. Pretty? You bet. Did I feel anything more than the most perfunctory sense of awe and wonder (if that)? Hell no. Yes, folks, I'm officially 100% jaded when it comes to cathedrals. Though admittedly, after Notre Dame and the Vatican, it's pretty much inevitably downhill.

Prague Day 2: Terezín

I thought I had plans well figured out, but not quite. Upon exiting at the appropriate Metro station, it took me a disconcertingly long time to actually find the bus terminal, and then to find the correct ticket kiosk, by which time I had missed the bus I intended to catch. The next bus wasn't for an hour and a half.

The tour of the camp itself (the Small Fortress) was quite informative; I usually dislike guided tours, preferring to see things at my own pace, but this was worthwhile. I hadn't been aware of how much history the area had; the whole fortress (which, in its entirety, encompasses the town as well) was built in the late 18th century. Before WWII, the camp was where Gavrilo Princep (at the risk of sounding elitist, I hope I don't need to provide any biographical info there) was imprisoned in the years prior to his death.

The camp is as dreary and depressing as one would expect (complete with an ironic "Arbeit Macht Frei" inscription); it was on several occasions "beautified" to use for propaganda purposes (it worked, persuading international inspectors that conditions were far better than they actually were). The sight of a still-intact gallows was chilling, although I'm told it was only actually used once (to execute several would-be escapees, as a warning to other prisoners).

The town itself, which is surprisingly pretty (though the weather helped), was a ghetto during World War II. There's a very informative Ghetto museum (with more of those heartbreaking children's drawings), as well as a number of smaller museums (including a Jewish museum) that I didn't have time to visit. I did, however, stumble across one with surprisingly extensive exhibits on the art, music, and writing that occurred in the ghetto -- it's remarkable -- as well as a reproduction of a very cramped apartment from the period.

On tomorrow's itinerary: Prague Castle and, I think, the Museum of Communism. Also meeting up with Dad's old friend Peter (Mom, I keep forgetting if you know him as well) and going to the opera -- not necessarily my sort of thing, but it should be a valuable cultural experience nonetheless. (The opera in question is Verdi's "La traviata," of which even an opera philistine such as myself has at least heard.)

Czech tidbits

1. I forgot to mention this in yesterday's update, but I did get to a few non-Jewish locations (the Astronomical Clock and the Charles Bridge (well, at least one end of it -- I plan on seeing the whole thing tomorrow.)

2. On Czech keyboards, the letters Y and Z are reversed from the usual layout.

3. My favorite Prague native (um, that I can think of): weirdo cult surrealist animator Jan Švankmajer. I recommend Faust in particular.

Prague, Day 1

I don't anticipate much of anything else of interest happening today, so I might as well summarize today's events.

Had breakfast at the hostel (inconsistently spelled as "Chili Hostel" or "Chilli Hostel") -- very simple, but adequate. Then hiked off to Josefov, the old Prague Jewish quarter -- still in remarkably good condition, which can (perversely) be attributed to the Nazis' desire to maintain a "Jewish Museum." It still is a Jewish Museum, of a different sort, split among several old synagogues. A lot of interesting artifacts; some of the displays, particularly in regard to Jewish holidays, are clearly aimed at those with absolutely no familiarity with the religion.

Mom, you may or may not be pleased to know that there's a decent amount of Golem-themed tourist kitsch (I took a photo of a Golem Restaurant, miniature ceramic Golems are pretty ubiquitous, and I saw an ad for a very tacky-looking musical based on the story.)

This is stream-of-consciousness, so I think I may be getting ahead of myself, for those of you unfamiliar with family history. My great-great-great-great... (et cetera, et cetera -- no clue what the correct number of "greats" is) grandfather was Rabbi Judah Loew, a somewhat famous rabbi known as the Maharal of Prague. Legend (admittedly, I don't really believe it, but it's an interesting story nonetheless) has it that he once created a Golem (a living creature made out of clay) in order to defend Josefov from anti-Jewish attacks, but was forced to destroy it when it became too violent. (I may not want to cite Wikipedia for papers, but their entry on this has a lot of interesting context. Take a look, people.)

Anyway, I managed to visit Rabbi Loew's former synagogue, the "Old-New Synagogue" (aka Altneushul, aka Staronová) which is still in use -- quite impressive, given that it dates back to the 13th century -- and the Old Jewish Cemetary next door, which has Rabbi Loew's tombstone. It's quite a sight -- the Jews were forbidden to expand it, which forced them to stack graves vertically, and also resulted in a rather dense collection of tombstones.)

The most moving exhibit was a Holocaust memorial at the Pinkas synagogue, with thousands of names of victims surrounding its walls, and a collection of lovely (and, given the context, disturbing) children's art from Terezín (Theresienstadt). More on that tomorrow, since I'm planning on visiting the site then (it's less than an hour from Prague by bus), based on a parental suggestion. (No, Dad, I don't feel like you pressured me into it; it seems interesting, and I didn't really have enough planned to fill three full days, anyway.)

As you may have gathered, there's not so much wacky fun stuff I'm doing... this trip is, I guess, mostly educational. What can I say?

As should be apparent, I did, in fact, make it to Prague safely. Unfortunately, I am very, very, very short on sleep -- I seem to be turning into an insomniac -- so I'm not planning on seeing or doing much of anything tonight.

The weather when I left England was very cold and rainy, whereas here it's almost 80 F. Since I was wearing a sweater, this meant that the walk to the hostel was a sweaty one indeed.

Will keep this updated. Planning on visiting some family history at the Old-New Synagogue (Altneushul) tomorrow.

UPDATE: I forgot to mention that I took off the sweater en route. And it seems to have disappeared in the interim. Fortunately, I'm not normally quite this absent-minded, but damn, do I hate feeling stupid.

Leaving for Prague (well, for a bus into town, from where I will take a bus to the airport) in less than an hour. I'd like to pretend I have this all well planned, but I don't have anything resembling a clear schedule planned out in advance. Then again, I didn't in Paris, Barcelona, or Rome, either, and those worked out adequately...

EDIT: Forgot to mention -- I will hopefully take plenty of pictures, but none of them will have me in them. As Nathan can attest, my camera is in such a state of disrepair that I cannot reasonably ask anyone else to use it.

Grammar

The computer network here displays a screen with various notices whenever one logs in. There's one currently up that refers to "cyclist's" and "user's."

APOSTROPHES ARE USED FOR POSSESSIVES AND CONTRACTIONS. THEY ARE NEVER, EVER USED TO INDICATE PLURALS. Thank you.

Had a good night last night, which I'm not really going to elaborate on (nothing too crazy, though), and I'm off to Prague tomorrow. Should be fun, I hope.

Thrown like a star in my vast sleep...

1. I am pleased to say that I am done with my exams. The South exam went well, I thought; I kind of had to rush through my conclusions, and I'm worried I did too much name-dropping of supplemental reading I had done, but... so be it. I can't begin to express what a relief it is not to have academic obligations hanging over my head... for now.

Anyway, though I feel a need to celebrate the end of my exams, that will be saved in earnest for tomorrow night (when certain recreational expenditures, which I will leave to the imagination, will reach... higher than usual levels. Look, I'm only young once.) Instead, I went to see Zodiac, which I had been looking forward to for... over a year, at least. It came out in the US in early March and flopped (God bless the taste of the American public), but wasn't released here in the UK until last Friday. I decided I should wait until my exams were over with to see it, but anyways, it is a brilliant (though long) film, and one which I strongly recommend you all see.

Note: The title of this post is the first line of Donovan's 1967 hit "Hurdy Gurdy Man," which is used to fantastic effect in the film.

Breaking news

Well, not really, but I watched this online just now...

The Daily Show, which I love so much, called Wesleyan a safety school on last night's episode. I'm heartbroken. Well, not really, but a tad frustrated.

The clip in question
The full segment, for context

instead of studying (or, um, "revising") I offer some insights into British food

Standard british condiments:
"Salad Cream" - apparently this is sort of like mayonnaise. But it isn't actually mayonnaise, which is also a popular condiment.
"Brown sauce" - akin to steak sauce. I like it.
Mint sauce - made with mint leaves soaked in vinegar. Unaesthetically appealing, but I've acquired a taste for it.

Golden syrup - sugar syrup, a common ingredient in desserts

Hard candies are called "boiled sweets."

Wine gums are gummy candies. They do not actually contain wine.

Flapjacks are not pancakes; they are, rather, bar cookies, usually with oats and butter (or oil of some sort) as a main ingredient. They're very dense, and very, very high in calories and fat; I've stayed away from them.

"Fudge" is similar in consistency to its American equivalent, but here it does not contain any chocolate unless specified.

Lemonade -- well, Brits don't know what it is, really. "Lemonade" here is simply lemon-flavored soda, often devoid of any actual lemon-based ingredients. The closest thing to American lemonade I've seen here is lemon squash.

(Yes, I have a sweet tooth. Sue me.)

Essay grade was, in fact, good.

I'm happy to report that my second exam (Politics of Science Fiction) went much better. I kind of had to rush a little towards the end of the second essay, but overall I think I -- to quote a certain TV series -- nailed it; I knew what I was talking about, and I think I explained myself well. Anyway, it's not as though an essay written in an hour can be held to quite the same standards as an essay that one is given several months to work on.

Speaking of essays, my professor for Representing the South is supposed to have the essays ready in her office... right now. So I'm off to take care of that -- hoping for the best.

Survived (in a manner of speaking) my first exam - Television Cultures. I don't think it went terribly well, though since it only counts for 40% of my grade, and I've done very well on the other 60%, I'd have to have done disastrously not to wind up with something passible in the final equation. I really, really, don't like these types of exams -- lots of questions asking me to explain something "as discussed in lecture," which to me suggests valuing memorization and near-verbatim regurgitation of lecture notes, as opposed to an actual understanding of the underlying concepts. Hopefully I got at least partial credit on most questions, though.

Exciting update on upcoming travels

Made my reservations.

In addition to the aforementioned Prague trip at the end of the month:
Edinburgh - June 3rd-6th
Amsterdam - June 6th-9th

Leaves me with a few days to pack up and say my goodbyes before I head home. The last night in Amsterdam, I'm staying in a Christian (!) hostel, of all places; I'm leaving on a Saturday, and most of the other hostels seem to require that one stay for the whole weekend (if during a weekend at all). Fortunately, according to the reviews I've found online, it's not a shove-bibles-in-your face sort of Christian establishment. It is, however, both drug- and alcohol-free, which strikes me as a tad... odd in what may well be the world's most decadent city.

the continual butchering of the English language

"Located just off the Royal Mile (High Street), this hostel is literally within spitting distance of the Edinburgh Castle, the Waverly train/bus station, and a slew of the best restaurants and pubs in Edinburgh."

thrills

Certain parties (ok, one "certain party") have expressed concern over my lack of updates. Look, if I really thought there was anything remotely enthralling to post, I'd have done it...(OK, I saw a couple good performances by the student theatre. And there was a really impressive rainbow yesterday (it disappeared by the time I got my camera, though).

Aside from that, the past two weeks have been full of such enthralling incidents as... writing essays... and procrastinating by browsing web sites when I should have been writing my essays... and writing my damn essays.

As of this morning, I am finally done with both of them, PRAISE THE LORD. Now I just need to start studying (um, "revising," in crazy Brit-speak) for my three exams. I'm actually not that worried, though... hopefully that's not naive.

Might as well update now, before things get really crazy. Trip back to Nottingham was uneventful.

Not much has happened this week -- back to the usual academic routine. The campus JSoc did do a big party for Yom Ha'atzmaut, which was fun. I've been working on essays pretty heavily -- I have one (for The Politics of Science Fiction) due a week from tomorrow (May 4th), and one (for Representing the South) due a week from Tuesday (May 8th -- it was originally due the 7th, but that got changed because it's a bank holiday).

My exams are, respectively, the 19th (unfortunately, they do have exams on Saturdays here), the 21st, and the 24th. Or maybe it's the 19th, the 22nd, and the 24th. Whatever. This is a little compressed, given that the exam period lasts over two weeks (May 15th - June 1st). It could be worse, though -- I've talked to people who have all their exams in as little as three days, and I get done relatively early -- more time for travelling.

I'm going to Prague from the 27th through the 31st. After that, there are still-very-tentative plans to go to Amsterdam with some British friends. I return to Philly via London on June 12th.

More to follow at some point. Let's just hope the academics don't drive me nuts.

The holiday is coming to an end -- today is my last full day in London.

A few notes on things I've done in the past week:
--The Imperial War Museum is well worth your time, even for someone like me who isn't exactly a huge military buff.
--The Globe Theatre is kinda interesting -- well, I only saw the theatre itself, not any of the exhibits.
--The Lives of Others (the most recent Oscar winner for Best Foreign Language Film) is, indeed, very, very good. Strongly recommended.
--The Cartoon Museum, right near the British Museum, is a fascinating diversion, though it probably depends on one's interest in the subject matter. Good collection ranging from vintage caricatures to mondern comic art.

And oh, how they danced...

A change of scenery, even a very temporary one, is very good for my sanity at this point, so it was good timing for a visit to Stonehenge. The weather was lovely (not too hot, not too cold) and the site was, as I surmised, not terribly crowded on a Monday afternoon. Beautiful to see, but not that much to do -- I think I only spent a little over half an hour there in total.

Afterwards, wandered around Salisbury for a little while -- see the photos. The Salisbury Cathedral is, I guess, nice, but with all the cathedrals I've seen in the past few months, I've gotten very jaded about such things.

Note that I've added a few photos (of St. Peter's Basilica) to the Rome album; I had mistakenly left them on my camera without uploading them. Anyway, the Stonehenge photos are here.

The last day in Rome was a day of failures of various sorts, albeit not severe ones. Nathan and I had planned a bit of a food trip, visiting a Jewish bakery that was recommended by the guidebook, the (allegedly) best pizzeria in Rome, and a gelateria for which I'd found a recommendation online. Except that the bakery was sold out of most of their pastries by the time we got there, the pizzeria was only open at dinnertime, and we couldn't find the gelateria. We made do.

Trip to the airport was uneventful. Unfortunately, my flight back to London was about an hour late, and passport control was woefully understaffed (at least for non-EU passengers). Didn't make it back to the flat until after 2AM. And failed to get a good night's sleep, unsurprisingly.

Friday, didn't get much work done (though I hadn't planned on it). Did my laundry, browsed around a comic book store (ah, nerdiness), saw "Sunshine" -- great visuals, disappointing narrative).

Today -- got some work done on an essay. Then off to the Museum of Childhood, a small but charming collection of children's toys. Very enjoyable.

Barcelona & Rome photos

Barcelona
Rome

Rome Updates

Tuesday 4/10:

Certain parties had repeatedly suggested that the two of us make a day trip to Pompeii. This would, however, require spending at least twice as much time in transit as at the actual site, which did not seem a particularly ideal use of time. Instead, we visited the massive ruins at Ostia, which are only about half an hour away by train (and accessible via a regular Metro ticket!) Beautiful weather, and great scenery. Dad, you'll be thrilled to know that they have the "oldest preserved synagogue in the Western world" (I took photos for you) although there's not much of anything recognizably Jewish there.

Wednesday 4/11:

The Vatican.

Waited in a dauntingly long line to get into the museums; fortunately, we elected to disregard a tour operator's advice that it would take another three hours to get in. (It was more like one; I guess they have tickets to sell, honesty be damned.) Sistine Chapel was amazing, though the museums as a whole suffered from a severe lack of explanatory signage or labels.

After lunch, another incredibly long (but nonetheless manageable) line for St. Peter's Basilica -- definitely one of the most beautiful buildings I've ever seen. We were both a tad worn out and in need of some refreshment after that -- so, generous portions of gelato were in store. (I'm going to miss this city for that, if nothing else.)

Tomorrow, not much planned pre-flight other than some food destinations: the place that has the best pizza in rome, according to Let's Go Europe, is on the itinerary.

Brief summary:

Trip to Rome was uneventful. Despite it being Easter Sunday, we managed to find good pizza and gelato not too far from the hostel.

Today: visited the Ancient City. The Colosseum is certainly impressive, but expensive -- more time spent waiting in line than actually seeing the structure itself.
Ate lunch at a restaurant nearby, and learned the hard way that it was perhaps rude to decline the bread (standard with all meals, but seems to typically cost a euro per person) and ask for tap water -- an angry waitress chastised us ("This is bar, not restaurant!")

Spent some time in the Roman Forum, then walked to the Pantheon (impressive on the outside... it was closed), and the Trevi Fountain (just beautiful). Always amusing how certain sites (particularly Trajan's column) were very heavy-handedly Christianized by the Church.

Went for gelato at San Crispino, allegedly Rome's best. Personally, though, I didn't think it was so superior to other gelaterias to justify the small portions and high prices (over twice the typical cost). A disappointment, but a tasty one.

Today´s travels:
Sagrada Familia -- probably the most famous Gaudí building (see the Wikipedia link in the previous entry.) Has the bizarre distinction of being in construction more or less continuously since 1882, with no real interior, and much of the exterior still absent.

Stopped at a very impressive chocolate store near the hostel, and bought a gift for Bencie -- hope she appreciates it.

Had a nice lunch at a Let´s Go-recommended restaurant. Then, Nathan and I headed off to the Museu d'Art Contemporani de Barcelona (MACBA) -- a surprisingly small main collection, but their highlighted special exhibit was very cool: weird, elaborate "sound sculptures". Will have to explain this more sometime.

Tomorrow: off to Rome! Pizza and gelato = yummy. I also hear there´s some ancient stuff of some sort. And some church or something.

quick update

Need to sleep - a brief overview of today´s adventures:

--Returned to the Cathedral with Nathan, who wanted to see it. Got to actually keep some pictures this time.
--Back to the hostel for a walking tour of town, spotlighting the buildings of Antoni Gaudí (famous modernist architect who designed spectacular buildings throughout the city). But it was cancelled. Went instead to La Pedrera and Park Guell. (See the links -- yes, they are as impressive as the photos would suggest. Didn´t get the full tour of La Pedrera, though -- too much time to spend in line.
--At this point, Nathan returned to the hostel for a nap, while I went to another museum, only to find it was closed for Good Friday. Maybe tomorrow?

--Definitely on the roster for tomorrow: Sagrada Familia and MACBA - the city´s modern art museum. And a (hopefully) good Spanish lunch at a well-reputed restaurant.

Barcelona

Both seders went wonderfully. First seder was with the family of a friend of one of Dad´s colleagues; second was with Beit Klal Yisrael, a (very) liberal London congregation. By sheer coincidence, met Danny Sapon´s sister at the second seder.

Arrived in Barcelona yesterday, and did some wandering around -- got there too late for substantial sightseeing, but it´´s a beautiful city. Ran into some fellow americans I knew from Nottingham, which was wonderful.

No progress, that I´m aware of, in finding a place for Shabbat dinner tomorrow. Will have to check with Nathan (oh, yeah, he should be getting to the hostel soon).

Today, anyway, was enough sightseeing for one lifetime. Walking from the hostel (which seems to be fantastic -- clean, great facilities, huge breakfast), I visited:

Barcelona Cathedral (my guidebook refers to this as Eglesia Catedral de la Santa Creu, but that´s not what the signs I saw called it): between England and Paris, I´ve seen my fair share of cathedrals over the past few months, but this was still utterly stunning. Also free! Unfortunately, my camera wiped all my pictures taken there, and when I returned in an attempt to retake some of them, the line was too long for me to feel it worth bothering.

Monument a Colom: Towering monument to Christopher Columbus, with a statue of the man on top, inexplicably pointing towards Libya rather than America. Took an elevator to the top, which provides for quite a view. Again, my camera ate the pictures.

Dalí Museum: Right near the Cathedral. I´m a big fan of Dali, so I couldn´t pass up the chance to visit this, even though it was a tad pricey (€6 for students) given its small size. It also consisted mostly of his later work (1960s and 1970s); his better-known stuff is elsewhere. (There´s another museum in the town where he was born, about an hour and 15 minutes away from here, which is reportedly excellent, but there´s no chance I´ll make it there. There´s also a Dali museum in Paris, which I missed. Cést la vie.)Some interesting stuff there, including a menorah (!), various weird sculptures, and some truly nightmarish depictions of Hell (for an illustrated version of The Divine Comedy).

Museu D´História De La Ciutat: as the name suggests, this regards the history of Barcelona. Part of the museum is the former palace of the Catalán monarchs; part is a huge archeological exhibit containing ruins of the Roman city of Barcino (which preceded Barcelona). I almost skipped this, but I´m glad I didn´t -- pretty interesting, and effectively free (if my ticket in fact, as I was told, admits me to another museum to which I was already planning on visiting.)

Enough for now, I hope.

Interesting Things I Did Today

--Returned to the Victoria & Albert Museum to see a new special exhibit they have on Surrealism and design. I quite like Dali, Magritte, and Man Ray, so it was good to see them well-represented. Definitely worth the £5.

--Made a stop at Harrod's, the famed department store. Beyond massive, beyond pricey (often to the point of hilarity, particularly the food prices at the many cafes throughout the store).

--Walked back from there to the flat, all the way through Hyde Park, which is utterly massive. Wandered into an area which is apparently a location for street preachers of all sorts -- all of them rather angry. Several Muslims, a Christian guy of some domination (giving an anti-Muslim diatribe), and, most unusually, a Jesus-looking (long beard, long hair) man in a white robe and a yellow security vest, wearing a plastic lobster. He delivered a long, very funny rant/comedy routine about religion, and his intention to start his own (with the aforementioned lobster as its icon).... maybe you had to be there.

Neil Gaiman. Need I say more.

Not that much to report today, but any day in which a long-standing entry on one's Things To Do Before I Die list is fulfilled has to be a good one.

After spending a fun morning reading and photocopying after the UCL library, headed down to a certain London retailer, only to discover that previously unbeknownst to me, my favorite author -- yes, a certain Mr. Gaiman -- was doing a signing there THAT EVENING.

I did not actually manage to get anything signed, but, well... hell, I am in awe of the man, and simply seeing him in person is just surreal. And I have the photos to prove it.

Paris photos

http://wesleyan.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2020720&l=110b6&id=4200229

Walked up to the top of the Sacre Couer (oh, yeah, my hostel was right near it -- forgot to mention that) for the last time in the forseeable future this morning.

The trip back to London was thankfully uneventful (except for when I feared I had lost my passport -- turned out that I just misplaced it in a location other than the usual). Left Luton smoothly, and got my train to King's Cross on time.

Arriving at Bencie's flat, unfortunately, was not so smooth a process. Well, getting there was, but I had some trouble with the locks... fortunately, all figured out now.

Bayswater is a very nice area -- lots of stores and a cinema right nearby. And most of all, a supermarket. Seems like that's what I'll be relying on while I'm staying here and on my own for food (pre-Pesach, that is... and parents, I could use some help pointing to a place to buy some matzah). This is not necessarily a bad thing. Sure, it's not gourmet eating, but it liberates my diet from the constraints of the Nottingham meal plan (or the "traveling in Paris and buying a lot of street food" meal plan). I mean, it's been months since I've had a PBJ -- practically Ambrosia. And without a convenient supermarket, there's no way I'd be able to get a box of the wonder that is Cracklin' Oat Bran (or "All-Bran Crunchy Oatbakes," as Kellogg's has dubbed it here in the States).

Plus, cheap supermarket stuff leaves money for a very well-regarded gelato place just around the corner. Between that, Paris, and Rome, no shortage of frozen desserts on this trip. Ah, me and my sweet tooth...

Last night in Paris

So, my time here is reaching its conclusion...

I should give an update. Yesterday, I spent most of the day at the Louvre, which necessitated enough walking to produce blisters on my feet. I was far more interested in the ancient Egyptian and middle eastern artifacts than in the classical paintings, so I mostly skipped the latter. I did, of course, see the Mona Lisa.

Also managed to visit Reid Hall, the building where the Wesleyan-Vassar Paris program, along with several other American overseas programs, is based. Not really that exciting, but the facilities seemed decent enough.

The two of us had dinner together at a place to which Nathan had been wanting to go -- a fondue restaurant, Les Refuge des Fondus, that happened to be right near my hostel. It was excellent, though not exactly nutritious (you could choose from bread dipped in cheese, or raw beef and potatoes that you cook yourself in oil, then top with cream-based sauces.) Also, the meal includes a baby bottle (yes, actual baby bottles) full of wine. Needless to say, the place is popular with visiting students. A truly raucous atmosphere -- noisy, graffiti all over the walls, and you have to climb over the table if you're sitting against the wall. Would go again.

Today, visited the Memorial de la Shoah, a moving (and free) Holocaust museum, based on a parental recommendation. Definitely worth my time.

Afterwards, met up with Nathan at a very good gelato place, then had a cheap and filling lunch at L'As du Fellafel, reputedly the best felafel in Europe. Kosher, too. (Walking through a Jewish neighborhood felt very comforting, in a way I can't quite put my finger on.)

Then -- the Eiffel tower. I did not want to spend the money or time waiting in line to go all the way to the top, but I did walk up to the 2nd floor. Not so good for my feet, but the view was worth it. Then, for some reason, I decided to abuse my feet a little more, and walked to the lovely Citroen park - full of quasi-futuristic landscaping. Lots of parents with cute lil' urchins.

Tonight, I met Nathan at St. Michel, an area with lots of street vendors and many bookstores. Paid a visit to Shakespeare & Co (I think that's the name), an English-language bookstore that was quite fun to browse around.

I'm going to miss French pastries. Cheap, relatively speaking... I indulged quite a bit over this trip. What can I say -- it's France. I'll have to take something with me tomorrow -- there's a bakery conveniently located right across from the hostel. Heh, heh.

This trip has been my first-ever hostel experience -- and it has proved quite successful. Thank goodness.

That's all for now. A trip "post-mortem" and pictures later... I think. Can't upload till I get back to London.

Brief update from Paris

Bencie, the woman who is letting me stay in (and use) her London flat for much of the holiday, is a lovely person.

Notre Dame and the Sacred Couer church are absolutely stunning. Photos later.

Travel advice:
--Be on time for your airport train. I got there an hour later than I had planned because of missing the first train, and had a rather terrifying ordeal (thought I was going to miss the flight... not fun).

Tonight's wacky incident -- wandering away from the hostel, I found that it is surprisingly close to Pigalle, Paris' designated red light district. Don't get me wrong -- this was a fairly well-lit area, along the main street, but I still had no desire for further exploration. A gentlemen accosted me about seeing a "show;" I did not inquire as to the precise nature of that evening's entertainment, but I gathered from the card he handed me that it would no doubt be as classy and sophisticated as the area itself.

Random British Things That Amuse Me, #1

#1 in an irregularly-updated (if at all) series:

Male chauvinist chocolate bars.


Text elsewhere on the wrapper reads "NOT FOR HANDBAGS!"

Vacation, all I ever wanted/ Vacation, had to get away

Ah, me and my love of cheesy 80s references.

Clearly, it's been too long since I updated this. Not much to report in the interval, though. I've gotten a good amount of work done for my essays -- lots and lots of photocopying of books had to be done, though. (Since they can be recalled over the holiday, I felt it wasn't prudent to take anything with me.)

Finally got a haircut today. Hooray.

The vacation schedule I mentioned earlier is now definite. Getting back from Rome on the 12th (technically, early in the morning on the 13th).

Break plans finally on the verge of being finalized:
Paris - 3/24-3/28
London - 3/28 - 4/4
Barcelona - 4/4 - 4/8
Rome - 4/8 - 4/12 or 4/13
London for the rest of break, maybe with some day trips in there (Stonehenge?)

Received a letter today from the Wesleyan Havurah -- great to hear what the Jews there have been up to over the past couple months.

Lincoln

Following in Mom and Dad's footsteps, made a day trip to Lincoln today. Thanks to a "Visit Lincolnshire" tourist promo weekend, everything was free today -- can't argue with that. The cathedral is amazing. Not sure if it can quite compete with Yorkminster, but still...

Photos:
http://wesleyan.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2019905&l=3bed2&id=4200229

Another delayed update.

Family visit was wonderful, though it's tough to say goodbye again. Should see Nathan again in the next couple weeks, though, once my month-long (hurrah) Easter break starts.

Heading on a day trip to Lincoln tomorrow -- thanks to a tourist promo thing, the major attractions are all free.

A few miscellaneous tidbits:

British English vs American English (expect more of these on occasion): "revise" is used to mean "review" (ie, study), not specifically to "rewrite"

Also, when I mention to British students that I'm from Philadelphia, nobody ever mentions American history (Liberty Bell, Declaration of Independence, etc). It's nigh-invariably one of the following three that's the first thing they think of:
1. Philadelphia brand cream cheese (yeah, they have it here too)
2. Rocky
3. The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air -- for the less culturally savvy among you (IE, parents), this was Will Smith's sitcom, before he got Really Famous. Anyway, he played a character from Philly, who... oh, just IMDb it.

Family visit

Clearly, I'm long overdue for an update here...

Survived my first graded assignment -- a group presentation for Television Cultures. Got a 65, which is about equivalent to an A- here. Will get my first essay back on Tuesday -- I'm really not too worried.

More importantly, my parents came up to visit the past few days. A brief summary:

-Wednesday -- Dinner at a nice vegetarian cafe near the B&B where they're staying
-Thursday -- Parents visit Lincoln (I'm sure they'll provide more details) during the day -- dinner at an Indian restaurant
-Friday -- My evil twin, Nathan arrives. Lunch at another vegetarian cafe, then some sightseeing -- first, the "City of Caves" -- look it up -- which is, bizarrely, entered through a shopping mall. Corny but fun. Then, to Nottingham castle (not actually a castle) which is a 17th-century (I think) mansion housing an eclectic art collection and historical exhibits. Dinner at a Latin American restaurant.
-Saturday -- Visit Nottingham's liberal synagogue, where Dad gives a d'var torah. Then, a visit to the university campus, and my very messy room. Back into town, took the tram a ways out and back just for the heck of it. Dinner at a Thai place (doesn't beat Middletown, but it suffices), then I said my goodbyes to Mom and Dad. In all honesty, it was pretty tough on me. But I'll manage. Nathan and I then headed off to the JSoc (campus Jewish Society) Purim party, which was... fun.
-Sunday - Nathan and I will meet up, wander into town, and eat lunch at a Vietnamese place. Then, we'll say our goodbyes as well -- not so big a deal as with my parents, because if all goes according to plan, we'll see each other in Paris in about 3 weeks or less.

a summary of my London hijinx:

--Friday: after the Ramah run-in, headed off towards the Tower of London, where the Butler program (for those not aware, I'm studying via Butler University in Indiana, which coordinates a ton of study abroad programs in the UK -- they sponsored this whole weekend) has us staying nearby. The hotel is very nice, and ludicrously overpriced -- breakfast would have cost £13 if it hadn't been prepaid, and drinks in the hotel bar are insane -- £5.80 for a vodka and mixer. I skipped that. They set up a buffet at a pretty fancy restaurant nearby, the Ivory Grill (I think that's the name -- very tasty.)
--Saturday: Had breakfast, then headed off to the Tate Modern, a damn good (and free) modern art museum in a former power station -- architecturally stunning. Some of the stuff there I think is brilliant (especially Salvador Dali and other surrealist works); other, more abstract items leave me with a decidedly less positive impression of modern art. (No, I don't think a canvas with two colors on it says anything profound.)

That night: boat cruise, with dinner, karaoke, and dancing. It was a costume thing, with a nautical theme -- I just put on swim trunks, a T-shirt and a towel; others put more effort into their costumes (see photos). A fun time was had by all. Then ended up hanging out with some interesting students from the University of Leeds.
--Sunday: not much. Headed to Euston, near King's Cross, where butler provided a very good brunch. Then back to Nottingham.

London Weekend

Photos for you all: http://wesleyan.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2019421&l=df001&id=4200229

Weekend went pretty well, though I didn't get enough sleep. I did not succeed at finding sahlab, though I did get some muhalabia, which is clearly related (also a milk pudding, but served cold). Ran into some people from Camp Ramah, very unexpectedly (Gary, Jen, Jamie -- great to see you).

More later. I think.

Random notes (plus sahlab)

Thanks again for all the birthday thoughts (really, I can't be grateful enough).

Had my first graded assignment on Tuesday - a group presentation for Television Cultures. I presented on Lost and 24, and have an essay due next week that will focus on those shows as well.

Some friends and I are going out to dinner tomorrow night as a belated birthday thing. Should be fun.

The educational system here is a little weird. Unlike in the US, where assessments are given throughout the semester, your whole grade here can be made up by one or two tests or papers. (In my case, it's one test, one paper for my classes). Professors give out a dauntingly lengthy reading list over the course of the semester, from which one is expected to read extensively in advance. I'm not sure I've done nearly enough in this regard, though I'll have much more time to work on this in the next few weeks, after the TV essay and my summer internship applications are out of the way.

The food here continues to be pretty mediocre. You can eat pretty much anywhere on campus for lunch, as long as you spend £4.68 or less (no idea where they got that figure from) and the options are really pretty respectable in that regard. Dinner, though, must be eaten in halls, and while the food surpasses my very low expectations, it's not great. The options available lean way too heavily towards red meat, cheesy stuff, and fried food (even the vegetarian options, in the case of the last two), and whole grains are not nearly common enough.

On the plus side, I am acquiring a taste for custard.

This weekend: London! Butler is paying for, well, a lot, and I'm not passing up what should be a very fun, not-terribly-expensive weekend. (Itinerary, for the curious: here) (Typically for me, I'm going to totally half-ass the costume. Whatever.) Plus, I am making it my goal to hunt down a cup of sahlab, though it may not be as easy as I'd like.

What, exactly, is Sahlab, one might ask? Well, I happened to fall in love with it in Israel and Turkey last year. It is a drink/hot dessert pudding, made with sweetened milk, thickened with orchid root powder (though cornstarch can be used instead), and typically topped with cinnamon, crushed pistachios, and a little coconut. It's kinda like rice pudding, but without the rice. And it is delectable. My hope is that I'll find it if I go to one of the areas of the city with a lot of Middle Eastern places, but that remains to be seen.

Photos

York & London:
http://wesleyan.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2019121&l=b6dc4&id=4200229
http://wesleyan.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2018417&l=84c78&id=4200229

IMs

don't know if anybody reading this has tried to IM me lately, but AIM doesn't work with the firewall here. Use MSN or Yahoo instead.

Photos

My host family - Gemma, Stephanie, Jack, Andrew




Melanie and Jessica in the "sewer"


Andrew sings at the party


English countryside

Family visit

Friday (9/2)
No classes, so I wandered into town a few hours early. Eventually met up with the rest of the Butler Nottingham contingent at the station. The train ride was long and boring (not much to see after dark), but thankfully uneventful.

Upon arriving in the lovely little town of Marple Bridge, we all met our host families with a very generous 'traditional British dinner' -- at an Indian restaurant. Curry, over the past few decades, has become as much of a national food as, say, Yorkshire pudding. Met my host parents -- Andrew, who works as a consultant, and Stephanie, an occupational therapist.

Saturday (10/2)
Went with the whole group into the city of Manchester -- I liked what I saw, though I'm told the city as a whole isn't that great. Paid a visit to the Museum of Science and Industry, which seems pretty good, and is also free. I particularly enjoyed an exhibit on Manchester's sewage system, complete with a replica sewer (really).

After that, we had lunch at a nice Spanish restaurant, then went to watch a football game at a pub in Marple.

That night, all the students and their families gathered at my host family's house for a rather large party. More than a few people in attendance ended up, shall we say... well, you get the idea.

Sunday (11/2)
I woke up feeling awful, but fortunately recovered in time for lunch at the house of another host family - Ian and... damn, I'm forgetting his wife's name already. Should she happen to read this, I do apologize. The food was amazing, the house was lovely, and the view utterly incredible.

After that, time to take the train home. Except it was cancelled. Fortunately, there was a bus offered instead at no cost -- only got us home a little later.

Very cold weather of late. I slipped twice on icy ground today, getting a pair of jeans very, very dirty... not to mentioning falling hard enough to scratch my cell phone and bend (yes, bend) my room key. No permanent damage.

Today was the 'lunch meeting' -- a Butler representative took us all to lunch at a pretty good pizza place in town. Exciting, I know.

Being surrounded by first-year students is a little frustrating. They're all on a pass-fail system for all their classes (modules), and only have to get 40% to pass. The result is that the academic pressure on them is, shall we say, minimal. This means that they drink and party... a lot. Unlike in the US, where such things occur mainly on weekends, they do it during the school week -- Monday, Wednesdays, and Fridays are the big nights, respectively, at three of the most popular local clubs. Even if I were inclined to engage in heavy clubbing, though, I don't think my wallet could quite take it.

Overall, I think I'm settling in better. Coming this weekend -- a mandatory family stay somewhere to the north of here (can't remember exactly where). Hopefully it goes smoothly; it can apparently vary tremendously depending on how enthusiastic the family in question is about the whole thing.

(Mom, Dad -- your envelope came. I don't know when it came, though, because it turns out I'd been looking in the wrong mailbox for the past few days.)

So, finally took the opportunity to wander into town today. I didn't get the chance to see any of the museums, but I did see the Robin Hood statue -- very popular for photo-ops, as one might imagine. The public transportation is surprisingly good, not to mention reasonably priced. Unlike most cities I've been in, though, there's no unified system -- it's fragmented among multiple companies, which makes things a tad complicated.

I discovered (OK, OK, so the parents pointed me to it already) a great little place called Chocolate Utopia -- delicious hot chocolate, with a free gourmet chocolate on the side. And it's right across from a comic book store! Truly, I am fulfilled. (Not really.)

Gotta go get dinner -- then I might head off to a film screening a campus group is doing. Should be interesting. (I made the mistake of paying to see the Super Bowl... then realizing that minus the American TV commercials, I really don't care. C'est la vie.)

The English brunch offered by my dining hall includes many, many greasy fried options. This includes slices of black pudding -- according to Wikipedia, 'a sausage made by cooking animal blood with a filler until it is thick enough to congeal when cooled' -- mmm, mmm, mmm! Yummy!

I also finally sampled Marmite, which is every bit as vile as its reputation suggests.

Coming soon: I attempt to discover what the heck 'salad cream' and the ever-mysterious packets of 'brown sauce' are. Or possibly not.

Dammit... days late and I still don't feel like I have time to write that promised update on the British educational system. I have a lot of reading to catch up on.

Modules:
The Politics of Science Fiction
Representing the South
Television Cultures (comparing British & American television)

Went to something unusual last night -- an election for the British UJS (Union of Jewish Students). The Chief Rabbi of England spoke in person -- I don't agree with everything he said (he's Orthodox, after all) but he is a remarkably effective speaker.

In a little while, I'll head to my first Friday night dinner at Notts. After that...? Not quite sure yet.

So...

I've faced a very, very rapid adjustment to being here. After getting in yesterday afternoon, I unpacked, then took a walk around campus -- pretty, but also rather deserted, with many people missing for the weekend (exams just ended). The hall I'm in is OK, but the British students I'm with (mostly, maybe all, first-years) aren't the most forthcoming of people. I'm going to need to be more outgoing.

Today, after a brief registration session, we've been thrown into the thick of it. Modules (what we in the States would call courses or classes -- here, a "course" is the equivalent of a major back home) began today, so we're registering after they've already started. This means, in many cases, violating a cardinal rule of academics: Never Miss The First Class. Nevertheless, the professors are apparently well aware of the situation, which makes it better.

The registration sessions are by school (subject area) -- today I signed up for my first module, The Politics of Science Fiction. It's at a pretty high level, so I'm a little apprehensive, but the class I went to today (well, what I was there for -- had to miss part of it for the registration session) seemed promising. Tomorrow, I register for what should be the other 66% of my courseload - American Studies.

I'll try to provide an explanation of the British educational system later for context, but I have to head off to dinner in a few minutes. In any case, I'm learning that if Nottingham is going to force me to hit the ground running academically, I had better do it socially as well. So far, so good... I think.

A brief update (not much time, and very tired):

Orientation was OK after all, the show was pretty damn good, and this city is way too expensive. Thank God Nottingham will be cheaper.

The hotel Butler put us all at, the St. Giles, doesn't have free internet access. I'm typing this on a PC on which they charge by the minute -- the rates are a ripoff compared to the internet cafe nearby, but they charge a £2 minimum there -- which would end up going largely to waste.

There's actually no real orientation today -- just got to the office, was handed some forms and papers, and sent off to the hotel. There's a group dinner tonight at Wagamama's, a national Japanese chain that's very popular here. The actual orientation comes tomorrow -- it'll likely be very boring, like I said, but hopefully useful. We have the afternoon free, and then we all meet up to go to a show together - fortunately, the show in question is Avenue Q, and not... something that I'd have much less interest in, i.e., most musical theater in general.

Wandered around SoHo this afternoon -- it's the theater district, so lots of huge marquees everywhere. Some amusing juxtapositions between the theatres themselves and the stores nearby. The repetition of chain stores and restaurants -- sometimes more than one at a given intersection -- is beyond laughable, though the same could be said of any large city.

Tonight is free -- hopefully I'll get a chance to do some nightlife stuff, like finally visiting an actual pub. Maybe I'm just too timid, but I didn't quite feel safe doing that by myself.

More later.

Thoroughly worn out -- but I might as well type all this out before I hit the sack.

My timne today was mainly occupied by museum-going. The Natural History Museum is huge, and one can't argue with the price (free)... though it has a certain been-there-done-that factor for those who have been to museums of that ilk. Dinosaur skeletons, taxidermied critters, gemstones, meteorites... all interesting, but kinda blah after a while.

The Science Museum. Also free. A lot of interesting displays of various varieties. And, oh yes, a special exhibit on video games. That wasn't free (or terribly cheap), but I decided it wouldn't be terrible to spend money on one tourist attraction. It was worth it... a surprisingly eclectic collection of games, with some very niche stuff well-represented.

After that, made a very brief trip across the street to the Victoria & Albert Museum (more art and artifacts... unlike the Soane's Museum, this stuff was actually organized). Decided to leave promptly because I was all museumed out.

Next: Tottenham Court (actually, not that far from my hotel), where there are a ton of electronics stores, in search of a cell phone. Didn't manage to get a phone yet, but I think I have a plan picked out. Should be able to get something tomorrow morning, if I get out on time. I had an inexplicable craving for Indian food -- thought of heading all the way to Brick Lane, where there are many, many such restaurants, but decided I was too hungry to take the time. Fortunately, I found a pretty good (if a little bland) Indian vegetarian place (no, it wasn't on your list, Dad) which had a very, very cheap dinner.

Odd moment of the day: a young guy at a Tube station delivering a monologue of sorts to his girlfriend that sounded like it came out of a bad movie. (No, I wasn't eavesdropping; they were right in front of me on the escalator, and I couldn't help but overhear parts of it. I only caught snatches, regardless.)

Tomorrow: I meet up with the rest of the IFSA-Butler Nottingham contingent (most of my fellow Americans there, in all likelihood), and suffer through what I suspect will be a rather dull orientation. Dull, at least, compared to being out actually seeing stuff.

Wrote this yesterday, but Blogger wasn't working at the time:

Despite being exhausted, I knew I had to take the opportunity to get some
touristy crap done.
First, paid a visit to the Sir John Soane's Museum (it's in walking
distance), a wonderfully eccentric collection of art and artifacts
(apparently, Soane kept most of this stuff that way while he was alive...
weird guy).  Photos on the web site: http://www.soane.org/

Then, headed down near Westminster Abbey.  Didn't feel like paying for the
tour, but I got some good photos of the building, and Big Ben.  Will post
them when I get the chance... which isn't now.

Next, went to Picadilly circus (I think I'm already getting pretty good at
navigating the subway).  This is basically the London equivalent of Times
Square -- giant video screens and glitzy, tourist-friendly megastores
galore.   Went a little out of the way to visit Hamleys, a particularly
famous (and gigantic -- much bigger than the Times Square Toys 'R US)
toy/game store.

Finally, I ate dinner at a cheap, unextraordinary, but sufficiently
pleasant vegetarian Thai buffet, close to the hotel where I'm staying.
The hotel, by the way (Ridgemount Hotel) is small, but nice -- I believe
it's family-owned, meaning that there's a human touch absent from your
typical chain.

That's all for now.  Going to crash soon.  (Yeah, it's not even 9 here,
but I need it.)

Anyways, this morning had an unexciting but tasty breakfast at the hotel (eggs, cereal, toast, juice, coffee.)  I'm going to head out to go to the Natural History and Science museums - both free.  If there's time after that, I might try to stop at the Tate Modern - modern art, as the name suggests, and also free.

I survived the flight, despite already being ridiculously short on sleep, and getting virtually none on the plane. Then I survived dragging all my baggage to the hotel... hell on my back. Anyways, about to head out for some museum-visiting and lunch.