Jan. 10
I discovered that I can take notes on my camera today. As in, I can take a few pictures, pull up the "drawing pad" and jot down what the names of the places were, and save that. This will hopefully help improve my recall for what, exactly, I was taking pictures of, though not in the frequent case where I take a picture because I think it's pretty or artsy.
I got to get up very early and meet up with some of the BC girls who are here at Queen Mary, and then we met up with the Minters and some other BC students out front of Parliament. Since it was frigid, they paid for us all to get coffee (I decided on extra chocolatey hot cocoa plus espresso) before we got on the boat to cruise down the Thames to Greenwich.
I had the best, most alliterative burger of my life there... the Bishops Beefburger with bacon, bluecheese and chips. It was good. Wow, just thinking about it is making me hungry again. After lunch, we split into two groups, so I ended up with QM girls, Liz and a kid at UCL with her, Paul and a girl at King's with him. Norman, our tour guide, gave us the brisk walking tour (since it was frigid out) with the longest amount of time indoors we could spend. The Royal Seamen's Hospital is huge, and gorgeous. From there, we went up to the Royal Observatory, which was really cool (we got to straddle the Greenwich Mean Time Line).
Not as cool but still entertaining were the two guys who went to the top of the hill, one with a unicycle and one with one of those hardcore rugged terrain skateboards, and took turns taking the skateboard down the massive hill, wiping out, and limping after the board since it skittered well past where they'd fallen off.
I lost the QM girls halfway through the museum, so Paul, Liz and I meandered through the city to find a way to get back into London, and finally Paul and I made it to the Natural History Museum and took the most roundabout route possible to get to the mammals area to meet up with my friends. I was a super creeper and just sort've shoved in with them and followed along a couple of cases without saying anything, until finally Vanessa noticed that I was the obnoxious person who'd invaded her space. Caitlin and UF Kevin still almost missed out on it despite the laughter. We moved on to the invertebrates area, where we started choosing our "favorite of the case." I almost lost twelve more cool points for saying "Oh, that'll be so hard, I really like mollusks!" when asked to choose my favorite mollusk. Somehow I did not, though. (I still can't fully remember what I've lost cool points for thus far.)
We grabbed some very yummy dinner at Cafe something down the street from the Natural History Museum (pretty close to Harrods), walked back to the NHM to get on the tube, all of the entrances were closed, walked all the way back past Harrods again (freezing the entire way) and finally got on the stop there. Kevin, Caitlin, Vanessa and I stopped at Budgens and bought some cake on the way back once we got off, and USC Kevin and Hilary came over to help us eat it; we spent a long time drawing "bull" puns (you draw a bull in some context, and it'll be things like "able," "integrable," etc) and then watched Men in Tights.
It was a fun, cold day.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Bereavement Room
Jan. 9
It's almost 11 on a Friday night and I'm getting ready for bed. I'm exhausted.
My Grand Tours class will be pretty interesting, we're reading Pinocchio and Huck Finn and 20000 Leagues Under the Sea and some others, and watching their films. The Professor is a sweetheart, and I met a very nice girl in class named Shrina.
Differential Equations lessons of the day: Guess and check. If you have a derivative in the form of a single variable, integrate.
This is starting to feel like high school again... I'm sort've okay with that.
Actuarial Mathematics... let's just say, this one was held in the Royal London Hospital today. It was a good half hour hike from campus, and then you just go in with the patients and stretchers and meander through the hospital until you find a lecture hall. To get to said lecture hall, you pass the bereavement room and the radiology department. Again felt very intelligent when the two British students next to me started asking really obvious questions. I have a sneaking suspicion that soon, I will find things difficult and they'll think I'm being stupid. For now, I'm enjoying feeling a bit ahead of the curve. Upon leaving the lecture, three medics were rushing a stretcher with a little girl on it through the mass of students exiting the lecture hall.
After speedwalking back home, I met up with a bunch of the other girls from BC so we could all go in to our dinner with all the BC students studying in London; I was the navigator, though BC Caitlin had a very good idea of where we're going. I split from them to sit with Liz and Paul, though, and had a nice time catching up a bit with them and meeting a couple other UCL and Kings' College kids. The food was delicious (I got lentil soup and steak and creme brulee, though I liked the cheesecake better... oh well).
Then I came back to campus, couldn't get a hold of most of my friends, felt tired, considered going out with some of the BC girls, crashed, and decided to write this and then go to bed instead.
It's almost 11 on a Friday night and I'm getting ready for bed. I'm exhausted.
My Grand Tours class will be pretty interesting, we're reading Pinocchio and Huck Finn and 20000 Leagues Under the Sea and some others, and watching their films. The Professor is a sweetheart, and I met a very nice girl in class named Shrina.
Differential Equations lessons of the day: Guess and check. If you have a derivative in the form of a single variable, integrate.
This is starting to feel like high school again... I'm sort've okay with that.
Actuarial Mathematics... let's just say, this one was held in the Royal London Hospital today. It was a good half hour hike from campus, and then you just go in with the patients and stretchers and meander through the hospital until you find a lecture hall. To get to said lecture hall, you pass the bereavement room and the radiology department. Again felt very intelligent when the two British students next to me started asking really obvious questions. I have a sneaking suspicion that soon, I will find things difficult and they'll think I'm being stupid. For now, I'm enjoying feeling a bit ahead of the curve. Upon leaving the lecture, three medics were rushing a stretcher with a little girl on it through the mass of students exiting the lecture hall.
After speedwalking back home, I met up with a bunch of the other girls from BC so we could all go in to our dinner with all the BC students studying in London; I was the navigator, though BC Caitlin had a very good idea of where we're going. I split from them to sit with Liz and Paul, though, and had a nice time catching up a bit with them and meeting a couple other UCL and Kings' College kids. The food was delicious (I got lentil soup and steak and creme brulee, though I liked the cheesecake better... oh well).
Then I came back to campus, couldn't get a hold of most of my friends, felt tired, considered going out with some of the BC girls, crashed, and decided to write this and then go to bed instead.
Iron Lotus
Jan. 8
1) The Brits behind me in Actuarial Mathematics today made me feel really intelligent. Let's just say, they didn't know what "accrued" meant.
2) The Freshers' Fair was a letdown. QM does not have very many activities or groups that interest me, and their theater table was unmanned for more than half of it. Caitlin, UF Kevin and I even went to Drapers and talked for an hour and a half, and went back, and still no one was there. Bummer.
3) Fish and chips at the little shop across from the Tower of London = fantastic.
4) Rating Disney rides, and having World vs. Land arguments in the Hung, Drawn and Quartered for two hours = fantastic.
5) Ice skating at 9PM on an outdoor rink at the Tower of London with a stereotypical heavy London fog = priceless. Even if the skates were wicked low quality. It was sooo much fun! We might've spent more time taking pictures than skating, though. But I'm still okay with that. And no, we did not attempt the Iron Lotus from Blades of Glory. Little known fact: that was the preferred method of beheading during Henry VIII's reign.
6) Talking Vanessa's computer through its system restore with her was also interesting. And ultimately a fail, which is really unfortunate. She doesn't even have a phone yet, so is mildly freaking out about how to find out what people are doing and where and when to meet... we looked up the library hours for her on my computer though, so she can at least use that at those points in time.
I feel like I had more deep thoughts or anecdotes to tell, but I'm exhausted so I can't even think of them at the moment.
1) The Brits behind me in Actuarial Mathematics today made me feel really intelligent. Let's just say, they didn't know what "accrued" meant.
2) The Freshers' Fair was a letdown. QM does not have very many activities or groups that interest me, and their theater table was unmanned for more than half of it. Caitlin, UF Kevin and I even went to Drapers and talked for an hour and a half, and went back, and still no one was there. Bummer.
3) Fish and chips at the little shop across from the Tower of London = fantastic.
4) Rating Disney rides, and having World vs. Land arguments in the Hung, Drawn and Quartered for two hours = fantastic.
5) Ice skating at 9PM on an outdoor rink at the Tower of London with a stereotypical heavy London fog = priceless. Even if the skates were wicked low quality. It was sooo much fun! We might've spent more time taking pictures than skating, though. But I'm still okay with that. And no, we did not attempt the Iron Lotus from Blades of Glory. Little known fact: that was the preferred method of beheading during Henry VIII's reign.
6) Talking Vanessa's computer through its system restore with her was also interesting. And ultimately a fail, which is really unfortunate. She doesn't even have a phone yet, so is mildly freaking out about how to find out what people are doing and where and when to meet... we looked up the library hours for her on my computer though, so she can at least use that at those points in time.
I feel like I had more deep thoughts or anecdotes to tell, but I'm exhausted so I can't even think of them at the moment.
Dancing on the Thames
Jan.7
1) I have a crush on my Architecture in London professor (but not really). He's a portly, jolly type, who told us that we could go and look at the shocking number of pubs that are done in the gothic style. "Only don't actually. But actually do, just don't tell anyone I told you to." Every other week in that class is a field trip, which will be great. I sort've wish I were in that class with my friends, though, they're all in the Wednesday section. Actually Hilary is in Monday, and the Kevin from USC we met tonight might join the Monday section, which would be cool.
2) Party boats on the Thames = FANTASTIC. I had a lot of coke (as in the soda) so I was pretty wired. Vanessa is a ridiculously good party dancer. I am not. That's okay. We had a fun moment when we decided to go out on the deck to take pictures and the four of us girls out there started dancing like tools around the bench to stay warm.
3) Milano Pizza is my favorite pizza ever. We were going to go back and get some cake from there, too, but then USC Kevin's flatmates came in with their friend Lewis who lives upstairs.
4) Lewis = British Comedian? Maybe. He's got a strange mind (re: his retelling of a bedtime story he once told his friend, featuring Billy the Bear who was going to work in a sweatshop manned by bears). He also just stood in the kitchen declaiming about various things ("middle aged women are just like that, they're scary," "by the laws of you being bigger than me, I don't try to fight you," "I hate when they interview criminals on the telly and when they ask them why they did it, they respond, 'because I could.' Honestly, just have a proper response, such as, 'I felt like it.'" ...). USC Kevin, Vanessa, Caitlin and I were just sitting there laughing ourselves hoarse, I think Vanessa was crying a bit.
Yeah, that was a good night.
1) I have a crush on my Architecture in London professor (but not really). He's a portly, jolly type, who told us that we could go and look at the shocking number of pubs that are done in the gothic style. "Only don't actually. But actually do, just don't tell anyone I told you to." Every other week in that class is a field trip, which will be great. I sort've wish I were in that class with my friends, though, they're all in the Wednesday section. Actually Hilary is in Monday, and the Kevin from USC we met tonight might join the Monday section, which would be cool.
2) Party boats on the Thames = FANTASTIC. I had a lot of coke (as in the soda) so I was pretty wired. Vanessa is a ridiculously good party dancer. I am not. That's okay. We had a fun moment when we decided to go out on the deck to take pictures and the four of us girls out there started dancing like tools around the bench to stay warm.
3) Milano Pizza is my favorite pizza ever. We were going to go back and get some cake from there, too, but then USC Kevin's flatmates came in with their friend Lewis who lives upstairs.
4) Lewis = British Comedian? Maybe. He's got a strange mind (re: his retelling of a bedtime story he once told his friend, featuring Billy the Bear who was going to work in a sweatshop manned by bears). He also just stood in the kitchen declaiming about various things ("middle aged women are just like that, they're scary," "by the laws of you being bigger than me, I don't try to fight you," "I hate when they interview criminals on the telly and when they ask them why they did it, they respond, 'because I could.' Honestly, just have a proper response, such as, 'I felt like it.'" ...). USC Kevin, Vanessa, Caitlin and I were just sitting there laughing ourselves hoarse, I think Vanessa was crying a bit.
Yeah, that was a good night.
Shopping is much easier with a car.
Jan. 6
So we went to Argos last night. COOLEST PLACE EVER. You flip through catalogs and there are places to check if they have things in stock, then you write down the numbers and go pay at the counter and they bring you your stuff. If they don't have it, they'll get it from another store and you just go pick it up later. <3 I got a colorful comforter and pillowcase set, and another pillow, and also some dishes and flatware.
We stopped at Sainsburys after to do some grocery shopping. Walking home was very difficult. We were all dying, carrying way too much and freezing. But it was totally worth it, since now my room feels more like a home than a hospital, and I have food!!
Today was pretty fun, I slept way in, and met up with two other math majors from BC on the way into Diff Eq. Where our professor slowly went through the chain rule and integration by parts. Yay easy class!! Both exams are open notes/books/whatever, too, and I sent Conor the sample final that was online and he said it was essentially the same as what he did. I found a kiosk to top up my phone, so I can use that now. My friends are finally starting to get cell phones, too, so the days of waiting outside in the cold and only being able to make plans by randomly bumping into each other are drawing to a close!
Since the girls all had USC-y things to do, Kevin and I decided to go get cheap tickets for Billy Elliot. Totally worth it. So the musical is based on the movie based on the play about a boy who decides to forgo his boxing lessons and take ballet instead, which meant that I was super surprised (in a fantastic way, of course) by the fact that there was a TON of tap dancing in it. My favorite character was Billy's friend Michael. What a fantastic kid, and the little boy who played him was a total ham. Why is it adorable when little kids are hams onstage, but annoying when they're precocious off stage, and then you just downright dislike them when they grow up into cocky adults??
At any rate, we were starving after, but everything closes pretty early (especially on weekdays) so we found a nice greasy fastfood place two doors down from campus where I got a coke and way more chicken and fries than I could eat for three pounds. This will be my British version of latenite. I'll have to buy some ice cream for my freezer, too.
So we went to Argos last night. COOLEST PLACE EVER. You flip through catalogs and there are places to check if they have things in stock, then you write down the numbers and go pay at the counter and they bring you your stuff. If they don't have it, they'll get it from another store and you just go pick it up later. <3 I got a colorful comforter and pillowcase set, and another pillow, and also some dishes and flatware.
We stopped at Sainsburys after to do some grocery shopping. Walking home was very difficult. We were all dying, carrying way too much and freezing. But it was totally worth it, since now my room feels more like a home than a hospital, and I have food!!
Today was pretty fun, I slept way in, and met up with two other math majors from BC on the way into Diff Eq. Where our professor slowly went through the chain rule and integration by parts. Yay easy class!! Both exams are open notes/books/whatever, too, and I sent Conor the sample final that was online and he said it was essentially the same as what he did. I found a kiosk to top up my phone, so I can use that now. My friends are finally starting to get cell phones, too, so the days of waiting outside in the cold and only being able to make plans by randomly bumping into each other are drawing to a close!
Since the girls all had USC-y things to do, Kevin and I decided to go get cheap tickets for Billy Elliot. Totally worth it. So the musical is based on the movie based on the play about a boy who decides to forgo his boxing lessons and take ballet instead, which meant that I was super surprised (in a fantastic way, of course) by the fact that there was a TON of tap dancing in it. My favorite character was Billy's friend Michael. What a fantastic kid, and the little boy who played him was a total ham. Why is it adorable when little kids are hams onstage, but annoying when they're precocious off stage, and then you just downright dislike them when they grow up into cocky adults??
At any rate, we were starving after, but everything closes pretty early (especially on weekdays) so we found a nice greasy fastfood place two doors down from campus where I got a coke and way more chicken and fries than I could eat for three pounds. This will be my British version of latenite. I'll have to buy some ice cream for my freezer, too.
Hm, didn't think about this one...
Jan. 5
So I was thinking Actuarial Mathematics would be a cinch...
I'm going to have to be careful if I talk in class, though, because I sort've forgot how they have different money over here.
Also, seriously? I thought London was supposed to be warmer than home, right now it only has four degrees on SoPo. Not okay.
So I was thinking Actuarial Mathematics would be a cinch...
I'm going to have to be careful if I talk in class, though, because I sort've forgot how they have different money over here.
Also, seriously? I thought London was supposed to be warmer than home, right now it only has four degrees on SoPo. Not okay.
Talking About Hitting the Ground Running...
Jan. 5
Well, I am here. And my internet is working, which is a plus.
Let's back it up to the traveling thing. First off, by the time I got to Heathrow, I was starving. Most of the food places in Logan were closed, nothing was open in Rejyavik, and they didn't feed me on the airplanes. Plus I felt gross, due to the hours of voyaging and napping uncomfortably. Why uncomfortably? Because of the foot space Nazis that were seated next to me for both my flights. Just because my legs are shorter than yours does not mean that you can help yourself to my personal space, okay? We all paid the same amount. Pay extra and get bigger seating if you want.
Anyways, check in was quick and the study abroad advisor here helped me carry my bags up to my room, where I started to unpack, changed my mind, started to eat, changed my mind, started to make my bed, changed my mind, and finally decided on showering first. That was an adventure in cramped spaces, let me tell you! But I felt a lot better, and was able to unpack most of my stuff before dinner, then came back and finished organizing everything and hung up some pictures and made my bed before I completely crashed. The bedding we bought is sterile, hospital white, so I'm going to go pick up something a bit more colorful- and a less flat pillow- at Argos tonight.
Sunday was pretty decent, we had a free breakfast, then a couple hour orientation that wasn't too painful and told us how to do a lot of stuff, then a free lunch. I went on the bus tour they offered, and the four people I've been hanging out with went too, which was cool, so we all decided to get dinner and try to go grocery shopping or something after. We ended up eating at this pretty nice Chinese restaurant, and our dining was accompanied by Chinese pop music and a Chinese version of Silent Night, I think. I was kinda tired so I don't fully remember. After eating, Sainsburys, a big grocery store, was closed, and we just missed Argos by about twenty minutes (they sell sheets and couches and electronics and kitchen stuff and pretty much everything, only it's all in catalogues and they have some stuff in stock, which is cool) so we ended up at Tesco Express where I bought some food to get me through today and a little beyond. When we got back, Hilary and Kevin went off to do their own thing, but I talked to Mom a bit on the phone and then went over to Caitlin's room to use her internet, since mine was not working. I brought my laptop and Vanessa came over as well, so we watched Mamma Mia while I did a little bit of stuff online.
I think I've already adjusted to the time difference, since I was not happy with life when my alarm went off at eight. Today was ridiculous.
I had to go to the history department at nine to sign up for Architecture in London. The security guard in the building was angry with me since I didn't have an ID card yet, so when I went to the Language, Linguistics and Film department to try to get into a class and they were closed for another half hour, I had to just awkwardly sit in the hallway and read so I didn't leave and come back to get yelled at again. When they finally opened the office, the Fairy Tales course was closed, so I ended up signing up for one about nineteenth-century adventure stories and their more modern film versions, so that should be pretty interesting.
After that I booked it all the way across campus to the Maths building (I'll link you all up to a map later) to find out where my Differential Equations and Actuarial Mathematics courses would be held. What is it with college campuses and having sketchy, decrepit buildings for their math department?? This one had the weirdest layout of any building I've been in, felt a bit like a dungeon, and I had to wander around for fifteen minutes before I finally found an office with a professor in it. I decided to just ask him how I could find out where my courses would be, and he brought me to some other professor who tried to tell me to come back at three when it was her office hours, but I had to explain how I was supposed to have a class at 11. She ended up looking it up online for me (something I couldn't do since my internet isn't working), and I had the joyous surprise of finding out that Diff Eq had a time change, so I'd missed the nine am meeting this morning. Whatever.
After all that I decided to go nap during what would've been my Diff Eq time, and then I had to go enroll in the college (I forgot they were taking pictures for our ID cards, so mine's not the greatest. Again, whatever) and get my username and stuff from computing services. I asked about the internet thing, and she told me to bring my laptop back, so I did, and someone played with the settings and told me if that didn't work, it was the ethernet cord they gave me. Of course, it didn't work, so I had to go out again and trade my ethernet cord, and finally my internet works!! Though I'm sort've frustrated that that was all I needed to do, if the people in reception had been more helpful they could've told me they HAD extra ethernet cords on Saturday when I first told them about my problem. Oh well, it's fixed now! PS, all of that took place during my Architecture in London course, so I have to go to the other section on Wednesday to make up for it.
So I have three flatmates. There's one that I haven't met, but the other two seem very nice- Tian and SiSi (I'm not sure how she spells her name, to be honest). They're both fulltime students here, but from China. Sisi has already told me I talk way too fast for her. Whoops.
I'd say that I should probably go get ready for Actuarial Mathematics. I've already missed two classes today, no need to make it three!
Well, I am here. And my internet is working, which is a plus.
Let's back it up to the traveling thing. First off, by the time I got to Heathrow, I was starving. Most of the food places in Logan were closed, nothing was open in Rejyavik, and they didn't feed me on the airplanes. Plus I felt gross, due to the hours of voyaging and napping uncomfortably. Why uncomfortably? Because of the foot space Nazis that were seated next to me for both my flights. Just because my legs are shorter than yours does not mean that you can help yourself to my personal space, okay? We all paid the same amount. Pay extra and get bigger seating if you want.
Anyways, check in was quick and the study abroad advisor here helped me carry my bags up to my room, where I started to unpack, changed my mind, started to eat, changed my mind, started to make my bed, changed my mind, and finally decided on showering first. That was an adventure in cramped spaces, let me tell you! But I felt a lot better, and was able to unpack most of my stuff before dinner, then came back and finished organizing everything and hung up some pictures and made my bed before I completely crashed. The bedding we bought is sterile, hospital white, so I'm going to go pick up something a bit more colorful- and a less flat pillow- at Argos tonight.
Sunday was pretty decent, we had a free breakfast, then a couple hour orientation that wasn't too painful and told us how to do a lot of stuff, then a free lunch. I went on the bus tour they offered, and the four people I've been hanging out with went too, which was cool, so we all decided to get dinner and try to go grocery shopping or something after. We ended up eating at this pretty nice Chinese restaurant, and our dining was accompanied by Chinese pop music and a Chinese version of Silent Night, I think. I was kinda tired so I don't fully remember. After eating, Sainsburys, a big grocery store, was closed, and we just missed Argos by about twenty minutes (they sell sheets and couches and electronics and kitchen stuff and pretty much everything, only it's all in catalogues and they have some stuff in stock, which is cool) so we ended up at Tesco Express where I bought some food to get me through today and a little beyond. When we got back, Hilary and Kevin went off to do their own thing, but I talked to Mom a bit on the phone and then went over to Caitlin's room to use her internet, since mine was not working. I brought my laptop and Vanessa came over as well, so we watched Mamma Mia while I did a little bit of stuff online.
I think I've already adjusted to the time difference, since I was not happy with life when my alarm went off at eight. Today was ridiculous.
I had to go to the history department at nine to sign up for Architecture in London. The security guard in the building was angry with me since I didn't have an ID card yet, so when I went to the Language, Linguistics and Film department to try to get into a class and they were closed for another half hour, I had to just awkwardly sit in the hallway and read so I didn't leave and come back to get yelled at again. When they finally opened the office, the Fairy Tales course was closed, so I ended up signing up for one about nineteenth-century adventure stories and their more modern film versions, so that should be pretty interesting.
After that I booked it all the way across campus to the Maths building (I'll link you all up to a map later) to find out where my Differential Equations and Actuarial Mathematics courses would be held. What is it with college campuses and having sketchy, decrepit buildings for their math department?? This one had the weirdest layout of any building I've been in, felt a bit like a dungeon, and I had to wander around for fifteen minutes before I finally found an office with a professor in it. I decided to just ask him how I could find out where my courses would be, and he brought me to some other professor who tried to tell me to come back at three when it was her office hours, but I had to explain how I was supposed to have a class at 11. She ended up looking it up online for me (something I couldn't do since my internet isn't working), and I had the joyous surprise of finding out that Diff Eq had a time change, so I'd missed the nine am meeting this morning. Whatever.
After all that I decided to go nap during what would've been my Diff Eq time, and then I had to go enroll in the college (I forgot they were taking pictures for our ID cards, so mine's not the greatest. Again, whatever) and get my username and stuff from computing services. I asked about the internet thing, and she told me to bring my laptop back, so I did, and someone played with the settings and told me if that didn't work, it was the ethernet cord they gave me. Of course, it didn't work, so I had to go out again and trade my ethernet cord, and finally my internet works!! Though I'm sort've frustrated that that was all I needed to do, if the people in reception had been more helpful they could've told me they HAD extra ethernet cords on Saturday when I first told them about my problem. Oh well, it's fixed now! PS, all of that took place during my Architecture in London course, so I have to go to the other section on Wednesday to make up for it.
So I have three flatmates. There's one that I haven't met, but the other two seem very nice- Tian and SiSi (I'm not sure how she spells her name, to be honest). They're both fulltime students here, but from China. Sisi has already told me I talk way too fast for her. Whoops.
I'd say that I should probably go get ready for Actuarial Mathematics. I've already missed two classes today, no need to make it three!
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