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Tag: England

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Covent Garden

The ways in which I have spent my first few days are indicative of the benefits of spending an entire year in the same city. Were I to be here for only a semester, I would feel rushed to hit up all of London's tourist traps and to make plans for weekend excursions. Because I know I will be here for nine months instead of three, I feel little pressure to fill my days with multiple museums, walks, shopping and other attractions.
So far, in the way of touristy things, I have been to the Tower of London (to which I will definitely return) and the London Eye (likewise), as well as on a few boat rides down the Thames. Over the duration of the year, I will, of course, explore as many museums, parks, and other attractions that the city has to offer. Having more time to do it just means that I will have a chance to see and appreciate each place more in-depth. I will also have a greater chance to see lesser-known attractions and find the nooks and crannies that have stood the test of time.
I am a creature of habit, and whether I am at school in DC or here in London, I will continue to be myself. One thing I always liked to do in DC was go for walks to clear my head. My friends and I call them "crisis walks." There need not be a crisis in my life to merit a crisis walk, nor has a walk ever turned into a crisis in and of itself. In fact, something good usually comes of it. Today, I went on my first crisis walk as I meandered my way from my dorm down to Covent Garden. One thing I have noticed about London in broad daylight is that it is always bustling, whether you are walking on a busy street or a side alley. It is easy to tell where it is safe to walk.

On my walk down, I found a sort of side plaza that may end up being one of my favorite places in the city. Called Neal's Yard, it is nestled between the buildings that line Neal Street, Shorts Gardens, Endell Street and Shaftesbury Avenue. Shops include a hair salon, a pizzeria, a walk-in back rub establishment, a skate shop, and a few restaurants. Most importantly, it can provide a much-needed splash of color on an otherwise dreary London day (99% of days) and a leafy green oasis in the middle of the urban jungle. Benches surround plantings of tiny trees, and locals and tourists alike continuously pass through it to get from one main street to another. It will be places like these that I hope to find over the next several months.

Neal's Yard
Neal's Yard

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By Hannah Radner

I am heading into my last few full days at home (thank gooodness). Those of us who are active members on the LSE General Course Facebook group continue to converse about how people at home think we have flunked out of university because we are still here. A common greeting is some variation of "Hello! When are you leaving?" With a sigh and a somewhat frustrated chuckle, thinking, "I was born ready, please get me out of here," I reply, "Wednesday. I leave on Wednesday night."
Having a great deal of free time between the end of my summer job and my departure has allowed me ample time to get my fill of things I may miss over the next nine months, including the best ice cream ever at the shop where I used to work, fresh bagels from the shop next to it, my dad's pancakes, Pizzeria Regina, and free public restrooms. Boston is my home, but it is not my only home, and in the future it will become one of many. I hope to make London one of the many, just as I have made DC a home. I will miss it, though, along with some other things, in no particular order:

1. My cat, Fuzz. She has been moody all her life, and she is not afraid to let us know when she does not like to be touched. I was always convinced that she didn't like me even though she lived in my bedroom (litter box and all) during the first few weeks we had her. It took me nearly 11 years to figure out how to get her to not run away from me, but I did it. Rub her ears and she dissolves into a puddle. I will miss her "I'm plotting to kill you/you're all idiots" face and her little kitty paws.

2. Eastern Standard Time. I will miss this mostly in relation to my new time zone, which is five hours ahead, and only when it involves communicating with people stuck five hours in the past, which is my entire family and 99% of my USA friends.

3. Any food I find out Britain does not have. I have asked Siri multiple times if they have x kind of food in England. So far, I have found that they do have donuts (they even have two Dunkin Donuts in London! I am saved!), bananas, peanut butter and cheddar cheese (according to Wikipedia it originated there). The jury is still out on bagels. I will keep you updated, as I am sure this is a burning question on everyone's mind.

4. My bed. I always find ways to make my dorm beds comfortable, whether it be with mattress toppers or soft blankets, I do what I need to do. My bed at home though will always be the most comfortable for some reason.

5. Baseball. I know somebody somewhere in London must care about baseball. I will find the pub that shows the World Series and I will be there. Being a Red Sox fan forever and always, my preferred postseason does not exist, but how about those Nationals, right?

There are also things I will not miss about home:

1. My hometown. There is barely anything to do during the summer when people are home from school, but when there is no one gone, you are in at 8 p.m. and you are in for the night. Cities breathe life into me and this is no city.

2. Massachusetts drivers. No one knows how to drive. The end.

3. My neighbors. They are very loud at all times of day. I don't mind noise (again, I am a city person), but I prefer not to know every detail of every argument you have.

4. Most American news networks. Bring on the BBC!

5. WINTER. Average winter temperatures in London are in the 40s, and it rarely snows due to the lack of freezing temperatures. I am okay with this as I started to get cabin fever with all the snow days we had a GW last year.

Finally, there are things I don't have to miss because the UK has them!

1. Chipotle. But do they have sofritas?

2. Starbucks. Not really for the coffee, but the free WiFi.

3. Shake Shack. Overpriced times 1.63 in London, but still worth it.

4. Wagamama. Noodles matter.

5. NANDO'S. I feel so blessed going to school in the only city outside the UK that has Nando's, so it will be like going home, really. I will never have to miss Nando's.

This has been a comprehensive list of things that matter most to me, not including my family and friends (obviously on the "Things I will miss" list), because that's pretty much a given. I look forward to sending you all myriad postcards. My next blog post will be finally be coming to you live from London, England.

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By Jess Yacovelle

I've only been in London for two weeks, and already I've encountered a slew of rather interesting cultural food decisions. Admittedly, some of the food I've tried has tasted better than others. Here are the 5 most memorable dishes I've consumed!

1) Chips. I don't mean potato chips; no, I'm talking big, thick steak fries. Chips in England are generally very large and not as salty as most Americans are used to. They are absolutely delicious, however, and way better than most fries served in the US.

2) Yorkshire pudding. Which is, by the way, not real pudding. It's essentially a sugar-less donut in both look and taste... until you realize it's served with meat and covered in gravy. Perhaps my own personal distaste for gravy stunted my ability to enjoy this good, but I most confess that the Yorkshire pudding wasn't really to my taste. Give me English chips over Yorkshire pudding any day!

3) A cheese plate. Not so unusual, right? After all, we serve this in the states as an hors d'oeurve or an appetizer. In England, however, you're far more likely to see a cheese plate listed as a dessert, and not just in the posh restaurants. They serve you three or four really strong cheeses with crackers and biscuits - aka shortbread cookies. I've never eaten cheese on a cookie before, but I must admit that it was better than expected.

4) Scones. Again, we have these in the US, but we tend to stick with simple flavors: blueberry, chocolate chip, plain... I stumbled across a mint and green pea scone with basil and cream cheese on top. Let me tell you, you have not been adventurous until you've tried something that out of the box. It was interesting (certainly better than the salmon and walnut scone, but I dislike fish), however the flavors were almost too overwhelming.

5) Rabbit. Yeah, I ate little bunny foo-foo. I was given a rabbit's leg - on the bone - and a stew with kidney beans and vegetables. The rabbit itself wasn't bad; it was a little tough in texture, and it tasted like a chewy chicken. That being said, it was a weird experience, especially since we have such a perception about rabbits in the United States to be adorable little creatures. The entire time I was eating, I couldn't get over the fact that in the US, we might have made this bunny someone's pet. The meal was delicious, but I don't think I'll be ordering it again.

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By Hannah Radner

Local schools have ended and begun again and my summer job has come and gone. It's been 84 years. I am ready to leave for London.
I chose the perfect program for myself, and I knew it would be extraordinarily difficult. That is already proving to be true even though I have not even left yet. It is challenging my acceptance of delayed gratification. Study abroad has been my ultimate goal since I knew it was something that existed, probably some time in middle school. Now, my departure is just on the horizon. London's ten-day weather forecast is suddenly relevant. I am eager not just to move to a new city and explore its treasures, but also to get back in the school groove. Except for those who are studying in the UK, pretty much all of my friends and acquaintances have already been in classes for a few weeks. Those who are abroad in other places have been abroad for nearly two months already. My classes begin on October 6.
Alumni of the program have made it clear that upon our arrival to class, professors will expect us to have done some reading already based on instructions they post on Moodle (a Blackboard-like platform for class materials) without ever explicitly telling us like many GW professors do prior to the beginning of the term. Many an angsty high-schooler would want to slap me for this, but I just want assignments. I operate best under pressure when I have lots of work to do, a condition I am sure will be easily met almost instantly upon my arrival. It has already become clear to me that my academic success (and sanity) at LSE will be even more reliant on my independence and initiative than it is at GW. There is a plethora of information spread throughout LSE's website, and sometimes it takes some snooping to find what I need. For example, LSE only recently published its course timetables and updated course guides, so I found out that two of the four classes I wanted to take are not actually being offered. This brings me to the second challenge the program is giving me: flexibility. I anticipate needing to be flexible like this throughout the year. I did not let it get in my way; all I had to do was choose two different classes. The website informed us that new undergraduates would register on Monday, September 8. It became apparent that "new undergraduates" did not include study abroad students. Thanks to this, we are all sitting ducks.
The fact that registration at LSE takes place so late is already causing me some culture shock and a tad of anxiety. The school's study abroad program is so well established that I know it's not a problem, this is how they have always done things, they do this every year, they didn't forget about us. There are around 300 of us in the program and, as I have already had the pleasure of interacting with some of them thanks to the wonders of social media, none of us have any idea when we actually register for classes online. Some of us have received the dreaded "soon!" in an email response to our frantic questions. If you listen very closely, you may be able to hear my sighs of relief from across the pond as soon as everything has finally fallen into place. I just have to remember: delayed gratification, flexibility, and patience. Good things come to those who wait.

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By Jess Yacovelle

One of the things the GW Study Abroad office will stress before you begin your journey is that you should travel light. Pack only what you need, and make sure that the items you bring with you don't exceed two suitcases. The Study Abroad office also recommends bringing a small, empty duffle bag with you to transport any purchases you may make while abroad back home. Go for a simple cloth duffle that you can roll up and stick in your suitcase.

The question is, in terms of souvenirs and remembrances, how many should you buy? Obviously you want a souvenir from every major country or city that you visit, but you don't want to clutter your small abroad room or exceed your baggage limit on a plane. How can you purchase all of the remembrances from your trip that you desire without going over the limit - and without breaking the bank?

My trick? Postcards. For awhile now, I've collected postcards from all of the places that I've visited. They're cheap, lightweight, and you can write fun anecdotes on the back about where you were and who you were with. I date each postcard I buy and write the exact location I bought it on the back so that I'll always remember the details of my trip. Are postcards not your thing? Then find something small that you love! Maybe you'll try to find a magnet or keychain from every city you visit. Who knows? But find something small and inexpensive to help you remember your trip.

Obviously there will be one or two larger souvenirs you just have to have. Maybe it will be a native scarf or dress from the country you're visiting. Maybe you'll fall in love with a hand-carved figurine. Maybe you just love the chocolate and you want to bring it home for your friends and family to try. It's okay to buy a few big-ticket items, but make sure you really want them. Don't buy things impulsively! Save the room in your suitcases for the purchases that you fell in love with, and use small items like postcards to simply remember your trip!

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In traveling to England for the first time, there are a litany of things that I'm excited to see, but there are also many things from back home that I will miss. Here's a quick list what I'll miss about living in the states.

1. Driving. This is actually my biggest pet peeve regarding both DC and London. As a native San Diegan, I have to drive everywhere: to the store, to the gym, even to my mailbox. I’ve learnt to take solace in the inevitable amount of driving that I do, and it’s come to be one of the things I love most about my daily routine. London, unfortunately, will not provide me with the opportunity to drive. Not only do they drive on the left side of the road, the dashboard and interior of English cars are completely flipped. Furthermore, London traffic is supposed to be notoriously bad, worse than traffic in DC, even.

2. No fish. In London, seafood is a quintessential part of thee cuisine. Whether it's upscale dining or a fish and chips stand, it's difficult to escape the English seafood. This is rather unfortunate for me, because all seafood makes me quite ill. Don't get me wrong; if you're visiting London, I encourage you to try it, but it's just not for me.

3. Sunshine. Perhaps it's my own personal bias, but there is no place in the world that has sunshine like my San Diego hometown. In London, it's dreary and rainy pretty much every day. One of the biggest tips I've received is to bring a raincoat and a good umbrella; apparently, I'll need them.

4. TV. Of course this was going to be on the list! I have a finite amount of time living in London; I don't want to waste it watching my favorite shows on Amazon Prime and Netflix. But how will I get through an entire 4 months without my Arrow or Parenthood fix? Of course, I won't be completely without visual entertainment. Nerd that I am, I've already familiarized myself with British television: from dramas like Doctor Who or Broadchurch, humorous "factual" programing like Top Gear, or channel 4 panel shows like 8 Out of 10 Cats or Mock the Week, I think I have my British TV bases covered.

5. Knowledge of my surroundings. Though I look forward to seeing and exploring London, the fact is it's a little frightening to enter a foreign country with little knowledge about the shops and hang-outs near my apartment. Will I accidentally stumble into a bad part of town? Successfully navigate the tube system? Be able to find Argos when I need it? I hope so; I plan to make it my personal mission to learn and explore as much about London as I can whilst I'm there.

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By anishag22

Today, my American friends and I are embarking on an undeniably English dining experience: fish and chips. The irony about this is that we have been living in England for four months now and still haven't tried the British delicacy, mostly because none of us are especially crazy about fish. But alas, we feel it is the right thing to do, because let's face it - how could we get on a plane to America without that experience?

One thing my friends and I have learned to love is tea. In fact, you could say it's our acquired obsession. Tea time in England is absolutely lovely because of the way it's served and the customs that guide it. I love being served a whole pot of tea with a side of cream. I pour my teacup about 4/5 of the way with tea and leave room for just a spot of cream at the top. What's more, I adore the relaxed atmosphere of all the tea rooms and cafes. Having tea is a sit down experience in England: tea to-go isn't really a thing here. It's all about taking a break during the day to relax, reflect and of course enjoy some English Breakfast or Darjeeling (my favorites!). It doesn't matter if you have your tea alone or with friends. If I'm alone, I like to read the Bristol student newspaper, but other times I just do nothing at all. That's the beauty of Europe: Europeans really know how to enjoy life. The English are hard workers, but they know the meaning of having a balance.

Tea time has helped me to savor the little moments in my study abroad experience. I've realized that I am happiest when I'm here in Bristol with my friends, just quietly absorbing the culture around me.

If there's one tradition I know I'll be carrying back to America with me, it's tea time.

 

Until next time -

Xx, Anisha

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By anishag22

As I prepare to finish the last assignments of my junior year this week, I keep thinking about how strange and simultaneously amusing the academic differences between England and America are. Sometimes it's just hard to believe that there is such a disparity in the workload. I touched on this in an earlier post upon my arrival in Bristol, but now having completed most of the semester I think I can speak to the costs and benefits of each academic system.

Essentially, my workload at GW is at least three times as intense as it is here in Bristol, and that's saying something because the University of Bristol is not a shabby institution: It's part of the Russell Group (the UK's equivalent to the Ivy League) and ranked in the top 30 universities worldwide. And yet, I find myself sitting here in Bristol writing one essay that counts for 100 percent of my grade in my upper division politics class. In America, I typically have at least five assignments/essays/exams that combine to constitute my final grade. In fact, I'm pretty sure "busy work" isn't even a phrase in England, because busy work doesn't exist. To be honest, "homework" doesn't either. I keep up with the readings which of course helps as you're writing the essay, but I am never quizzed on what I've read like I am at GW - it's just assumed that you know how to pace yourself and do the work required to succeed in the course.

As for which system I prefer, it's hard to say because I like elements of both. I strongly believe that both countries should actually alter the current system: American universities should relax a little and allow students more academic independence through less busy work, but UK universities could use a bit more continuous assessment. There needs to be a middle ground. At GW, I'm constantly feeling deadline pressure for something, but at Bristol that's a rare feeling. The downside about American universities is the constant stress and occasional inability to retain information because of the nonstop assessments, but the upside is that you are continuously engaged in the subject matter. The downside about UK universities is the lack of continuous engagement with the subject matter, but the upside is that with the reduced stress  I have actually found myself doing independent research just for the fun of it - I feel more engaged and excited about my courses here in Bristol. In sum, US and UK universities could learn a thing or two from each other, so here's to hoping that both countries can find that academic "sweet spot" in the near future.

 

Until next time -

Xx, Anisha

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By anishag22

A week ago today, I finally returned back to Bristol after a month of traveling. Ironically, even after seeing so many beautiful places throughout Europe, this past week in Bristol has been my favorite week yet. The reason is simple: Returning to Bristol felt like I was returning home. I've seen six countries and 10 cities in 30 days, but Bristol is still my favorite of them all. I suppose it's a cliche, because almost everyone I know who studies abroad ends up loving wherever they go. But strolling in the sun along the harborside this weekend made me realize just how livable this city really is.

I'm absolutely emotionally attached to Bristol - but mostly because of its people. My flatmates have become family to me, and I've truly met some of the kindest people in my life here. There's a communal friendliness in the air that's unlike anything I've ever experienced. Bristol also has such a distinct culture: it's Banksy's hometown, of course, but the street art is just one example of a general laid-back, cool vibe pulsing through the city's veins.

The truth is that since I've been traveling so much recently, I haven't really had the time to properly explore Bristol like I want to. We are too often caught in the trap of school to gym to dorm and back again without making it a point to see all there is to see. That's why I am so looking forward to the end of exams:  May 30th. I get two whole weeks of leisure before heading back to California on June 14th, and I intend to do a whole lot of local sightseeing before I get on that plane to America. Even thinking about leaving Bristol so soon is devastating because I know that if I had the option to stay another semester I would do it in a heartbeat, but I just have too much to attend to stateside, academically and otherwise. Before I left America, I remember people telling me about how sometimes a semester abroad is too short - how people get attached and wish they did a whole year abroad. Well, add me to the list. My advice for prospective study abroad students is this: If you can make a year abroad fit into your academic requirements, jump in with both feet and just go for it. I promise you won't regret it.

 

Until next time-

Xx, Anisha

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By anishag22

Today marks the final day of my month-long spring break adventure, and I´m wrapping it up in Vienna, Austria. Before coming to Vienna I was in Italy and then Prague, so upon arrival I was pleasantly surprised by how much less "touristy" Vienna is in comparison. Vienna has so much to offer - its history, music, culture and pristine gardens have captured my heart. Over the past month of traveling, it does get exhausting at a certain point because every city starts to look the same. Vienna has been uniquely refreshing because it is a beautiful major city that just happens to be less popular for tourists, thus allowing me to see the sights without getting overwhelmed by my fellow travelers.

I´m not quite sure why Vienna is the hidden gem of this trip. When you´re here, you would think it would be flooded with tourists because of how much it has to offer. My best friend and I have had an amazing time here going to concerts, hanging out in Viennese cafes and of course checking out the ultimate snack market - "Naschmarkt." But Vienna is not an extremely popular study abroad destination these days. In my study abroad deliberations, I was actually strongly considering Vienna as an alternative to Bristol, but in the end I decided that learning German wasn't exactly at the top of my to-do list. At the end of the day, I´m so glad I chose Bristol, but leaving Vienna is bittersweet. I already have a list of what I´d like to do on a return trip - seeing the Vienna Philharmonic is a must, and a sidetrip to Salzburg to do the Sound of Music tour is too!

I feel so lucky and fortunate to have had this amazing opportunity - I´ve traveled through Europe for 30 days straight, and I can safely say that my worldview has changed as a result. For now, it´s back to Bristol for me as I prepare to buckle down and push through the last of my exams while still savoring every moment I have left in the city that´s become my home.

 

Until next time -

Xx, Anisha

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