Skip to content

By maxikaplan

With my family visiting this weekend for what was dubbed “Thanksgivvukah,” I had no choice but to explore London, despite my workload.  And, frankly, I am happy that I put off some work this weekend to spend time with my family and with London, because it had been too long since I adventured around.  One of the perks of family visits is, of course, the meals you get to eat, and I was lucky enough to get a taste of some of London’s best food and museums this weekend.  The combination of my family and my friends visiting from home shaped this weekend quite perfectly.

If I can think back as far as last Sunday, I probably wrote in my blog about worrying how I would manage my time between preparing for this interview I have next Friday, my school work, and my family visiting.  What I learned is, in short: don’t waste time.  The little amount of time that I had to myself this weekend I spent studying and preparing for my interview, and although I would have preferred to spend it at a pub or with my friends, it was worth it.  I was able to get just enough work done to keep my stress level down and enjoy the events my family was taking me to.  I suppose things like this happen quite often in every day life, but for some reason this time was particularly eye opening.  It might have been because this interview is so important to me, but either way I definitely learnt what it means to use your time wisely.

With all my complaining out of the way, I should probably mention the museum’s I visited and places I ate.  First off, ox cheek is apparently something that can be eaten and digested, and it is incredible.  Secondly, apparently espresso can go on top of vanilla ice cream, which can definitely be digested, and which tastes amazing.  These foods I discovered in neighborhoods in London that I didn’t know existed until my family took me there—yet again one of the perks of family visits.  As far as museum’s go, we took a trip to the National Portrait Gallery to see an exhibit of artists that painted in Vienna around 1900.  This worked out well for my family, since my brother currently lives in Vienna and I visited there this time last year.  All in all, a great experience.

Next weekend I am in New York, but do not fret, reader--I will write as usual.

By sonyakalmin

Hey there! My name is Sonya and I am a junior at GW currently studying English Literature for a semester in Edinburgh, United Kingdom. Stemming from a first-generation Ukrainian family, I have always oscillated between my American and my immigrant identity. Growing up in an all-Italian neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York further accentuated the difference between my peers and me. However, it wasn’t until High School that I began to understood how little of a role my heritage played in the grander scheme of things, and by that I mean the millions of various backgrounds each teenager growing up in New York encounters.  So in a nutshell, while feeling confused, even uncomfortable with my identity as a pre-teen, by the time I reached young adulthood I was fully aware that I wasn’t alone in the ‘strange family’ category. It wasn’t long before I became quite content with my own unconventional heritage. ...continue reading "Categories, Labels and Identities"