Sikh Temple .. Indian Food .. and Shakespeare

This morning we went to the Gurdwara Sikh Temple in Southall.. about 30 minutes outside of London. The area itself has over 50% Indians living there and has almost completely taken over the area. As part of the cultural side of our class we ventured to the Temple today. It was built in 2003 (I think?) by Prince Charles for the Sikh population.



When arriving into the Temple we were instructed to take off our shoes and leave them inside the doorway, leave our purses but to take our money and camera with us. We were then led to the entrance where we had to put head wraps on as a sign of respect. Definitely not a look I would continue...



We had to go into the Temple where we had a guide.. the Temple is open to people of all religions and who use all texts although it is a Sikh Temple nonetheless. They don't discriminate to others using the space as long as they respect those their to worship. We went into the main worshipping room which was covered in cloths all over the floor where we had to sit. We were then led up to the altar to pay respects to the Temple itself although it was not to their God (unlike Hindu, the Sikh's only worship one God and don't worship idols either). Afterwards we went to another room where we were given pudding to try that essentially tasted like oatmeal and the guide allowed us to ask questions about daily rituals, history, etc. We were then led downstairs to the cafeteria where we were fed a vegetarian indian lunch complete with rice, two mixtures i had NO clue what they were, pita bread, and some sort of flavored water (atleast I think that's what it was). We had to eat atleast some of it out of respect but we weren't forced to eat all of it. You had the option to opt out of it but seeing as how I've been doing so good trying different foods I tasted everything they gave me and even finished the rice. Although it wasn't terrible.. I didn't like that I had absolutely no clue of what it was. We then got to go and take our head wraps off, put our shoes back on and boarded the bus back to campus for afternoon session.

Afternoon session consisted of us sitting in the classroom for 2 hours listening to our teacher ramble about everything that he's discussed at the other sessions. He gets pretty repetitive but when sitting around the right people class can be entertaining. I got my first paper back and got an A+ which I was thrilled about so I celebrated and went shopping before coming back and starting on my LAST paper of the semester!!!!!

In order to write the last paper I had to read the last play for Shakespeare class which unfortunately took like 3 hours. I managed to crank the paper out in a little over an hour and I even think it'll be better than my last one... which I hope considering its worth 70% of my final grade. Our last Shakespeare class is tomorrow morning THANKFULLY. Tomorrow afternoon I'm planning on going into London and finallyyyy riding the London Eye. Tomorrow night we have our big farewell dinner at a Hotel in Kingston and then everyone is planning on heading out on the town for the night. Our British Culture and Society teacher told us that our exam won't be hard on Friday so no need to stay in and study all night!

I can definitely say that I am going to miss this place. Over the last month I have met some of the most awesome people. Coming from a small town we don't necessarily get to experience a lot of diversity. Here I have met people from all walks of life, who come from so many backgrounds, and want to accomplish so many things in life. Everyone here is positive and makes the best out of everything which has made class bearable and life here amazing. I have fallen in love with city life and can honestly say I would love to live in London one day. Studying Abroad is not something I had really planned on ever doing but now I wish that I would be here longer than just a month. It has absolutely flown by and there is still so much I have not been able to go and experience due to classes and I'm just not here long enough. I have always been pretty independent but this trip has made me have to branch out so much more. Coming into a strange country and living with 140 people you've never met seemed intimidating at first but with the right mindset, it has gone better than I could have ever imagined. Not only have I learned about everyone else while I've been here but I've learned a lot about myself as well. This has definitely been the best summer of my life and I hate that my summer in England is coming to an end.

Don't get me wrong, I miss everyone at home but Europe is AMAZING. This will definitely not be my last trip over here and I can't wait to start traveling even more now. Why stay in one place all the time.. I can only travel and enjoy this for a while before real grown up life with officially set in.

Cheers!

2 Papers Down 1 to Go

Well I am actually up and ready early for class which pretty much never happens so I figured I'd write about yesterday seeing as it was pretty uneventful.

Yesterday morning we had Shakespeare class where we discussed 'The Tempest', the play we sat front row for at the Old Vic last week. Our class was very opinionated and a few arguments almost broke out so thankfully we only had a morning session. After morning session was over I came back and cranked out a paper on Bath for my British Culture and Society class then went back to campus for my individual meeting with my Shakespeare professor where he tried to give me some tips on writing my next paper (which is worth 70% of my FINAL grade). I managed to pull off a C+ on my first paper which transfers to the USA as a B thankfully. Since my main focus is biology and the sciences I have never had to really take a literature class except in high school and I definitely know nothing to do with theater which has made this class really challenging and overwhelming for me. After my meeting with my teacher I was stressed so I did was any typical girl would do and went shopping =) I came back last night and wrote another paper on the Houses of Parliament for my British Culture and Society class since both of the papers were due this morning. We're about to leave for a fieldtrip to the Southhall Gurdwara (spelling?) Temples in London and we had afternoon session on campus this afternoon unfortunately. I still have to come up with 1500 words comparing the text of 'The Tempest' to the play we went to go and see. This paper has managed to completely overwhelm me and I dread coming back to write it this afternoon.

Only a few more days left here and it's bittersweet. Although I'm excited to see everyone at home this trip has been absolutely amazing. At first I was worried I wouldn't meet a lot of people that I'd get along with which I now know was completely stupid of me to think. Everyone here (with a few small exceptions) has been amazing, super easy to hang out with, and I've felt at home the entire time. It's going to be weird waking up and not being in our tiny flat and being able to walk upstairs to hang out with people from all over the country. Guess I'm just going to have to start doing some traveling back in the States to see everyone!!! I've been blessed with a great group of friends on this trip who have made me feel at home. Even when I was sick they were like parents and fixed me food and brought me orange juice medicine and water. I couldn't have asked for more (just a little less class time and not as many papers).

Pictures will probably be uploaded very scarcely seeing as how I left my camera charger at the hotel in Paris. I'm trying to conserve the battery for crucial picture moments that I'm sure will come as my trip here in the UK winds up.

Fieldtrip Time!

the Great London vs. Paris Debate

Paris was an experience in itself. Aesthetically it is more pleasing than London... the buildings and architecture are unsurpassed. As to the people.. we encountered a lot of rude, very sketchy, and a few that harassed us a bit. Guess that's what we get for not having any guys in our group majority of the weekend.

Friday morning came early. The bus ride was a bit rough since many of us had been out the night before. Customs went quickly and we boarded the train to Paris about 8:30am. The Eurostar apparently goes 188 mph. I didn't really notice since I managed to sleep almost the entire way into Paris. When we arrived we had a bus pick us up and take us around the city to help orient us as well as show us the main tourist attractions. We all got to the hotel (which wasn't fantastic but still a step above the hostels in Scotland). Not all of the rooms were ready so I went upstairs with some friends who did manage to snag a room and hung out for a while. When we came back down the rooms were assigned and being last FINALLY paid off. I managed to get a room for the weekend to myself! After a nap and showers we all went out and went to the Louvre for a few hours and got dinner and finished the night off early.

Saturday morning we woke up, ate breakfast, and headed off to Notre Dame. We got to go inside and tour and walk around and see the gardens and the buttresses (spelling?) in the back. Once outside, we met Leon, a cute little poodle who was wearing a hat. While we were all playing with him his owner, a sight in himself, handed us a card and told us to look Leon up on youtube. I finally had the opportunity to do so today, and was entertained on what I found. Here's the link for everyone else to check out:



After Notre Dame we went to a dock on the Siene River, got some lunch, and took a boat tour seeing all the major landmarks throughout the city via river. Although for every landmark we had to listen to about 3 languages worth of explanation, it was informative and I'm glad that we went. On the way we got to see the location where Princess Diana was killed in the car wreck. Friday our tour guide had already shown us the Ritz Hotel where she had just left before she got killed. Our tour guide was awesome and made the weekend so much better than Scotland. We couldn't have asked for anyone better. We were dismissed after the boat ride where we made our way to Champs Elysee and did some shopping. We randomly went down a side street on our way to the Eiffel Tower and managed to see Cameron Diaz coming out of a Louis Vuitton store.





Our luck continued.. the entire time we were in line for the Eiffel Tower the top was closed due to overcrowding. People from our school that we had seen earlier could only go to the 2nd floor. As soon as we stepped up to buy our tickets, the top was opened and we were able to go up. The view is absolutely amazing.. a bit scary to be up that high on such an old structure.. thrilling none the less. The city from that high up is gorgeous... it was cool to see how most of it is symmetrical




Sunday morning we woke up, ate the surprisingly delicious continental breakfast and headed off through the metro onto an above ground train to take us to Versailles. Our train was a double decker which was pretty neat.



Versailles was gorgeous.. but we didn't get to enjoy it as much as we had hoped. The French have made quite a reputation from my first hand dealing with them as quite rude. We had people pushing and shoving us through every room we went into in the palace so we were happy to leave and head back into Paris. After we got back we attempted to go shopping but forgot that most stores close on Sunday. Our attempt to shop landed us in a prime location to watch the Tour de France. After about an hour wait we were able to see the first group of riders and get some pictures. It was such a once in a lifetime experience and we lucked up by having our Paris trip booked that weekend.



After the Tour de France we rushed back to the hotel to catch up with our group. Our tour guide had booked us an authentic french dinner at a local place.. 3 course meal with unlimited wine, beer, and alcohol for 30 euros so it was a bit expensive but it was nice to be with most of the group. I managed to step out of my box and try everything different. It was good.. different. but good.

I have managed to eat a lot of different foods this weekend that I otherwise would not have ate had I not been in a foreign country. For those of you who know me really well... this is a BIG deal:
- French Onion Soup
- Crepes
- Nutella
- Churros
- Poulet (chicken) sandwich with lettuce, tomatoes, and goodness knows what else was on it.
- An Apple WITH the peeling

Although none of it I absolutely loved and would want to eat regularly.

After dinner we all went to the Eiffel Tower.. some of the girls did some bargaining shopping for some last minute souvenirs and we sat and ate crepes and watch the Eiffel Tower sparkle on the hour a few times before heading back to the hotel.

This morning we woke up and I was able to do some last minute shopping. Super excited about my purchases.. the Longchamp store was finally open so I was able to get two purses =) We headed back to the hotel, checked out, and the bus to us to the train station. After a long customs line and a ham and turkey sandwich we boarded the train. I was awake for some of the ride and was amazed when we passed another Eurostar train going the opposite direction. Passing a train when each of them is going 188mph is almost scary. We had to line hop through the Underground once we got back into London and finally made it back after another train to Seething Wells. After unpacking I've started packing up to leave.. Saturday morning I'll be hopping onto a plane back over the pond! I've got alot of mixed feelings about this. It's going to be good to be home with everyone, but I have met some of the most amazing people here that I am going to hate to leave. On the brightside, now that i've met people from all over the country I'll be able to travel the US more to see them =) It's going to be boring to be back in Raleigh but I've already decided on some must-haves for my first week back: a pedicure, facial, a haircut, a turkey sandwich, and a diet mountain dew!


Overall I have decided that I LOVE London compared to Paris. I am glad that I went and have gotten the experience and I've still probably go back but not for an extended amount of time. Maybe it was summer.. or who knows why.. but the metro smelled TERRIBLE, the people didn't smell all that great either, and a lot of the city was dirty. Although I have had a few rude experiences with people in London, the general population is much nicer and friendlier. There were several times in Paris where I felt uncomfortable with my surroundings and we had to deal with a creepy man following us around for a few hours one day and some young French boys harassing a group of us one night on our way home on the Metro. I was happy to be back in London today where the Underground may have been crowded but atleast they didn't smell!

Off to write papers now! 3 due this week so I'm trying to knock atleast 1 and a 1/2 tonight so I can spend the rest of the week enjoying London with friends.

Love April!

Day 18, 19, 20, & 21 a little late

It's been such a busy week and I havent had a free chance to blog about what's been going on so here's a week's recap while I procrastinate packing for Paris:

Monday! Stonehenge & Bath

Monday morning we were up bright and early to board the coach to Stonehenge & Bath for our British Culture & Society class. We had about an hour and a half drive to Stonehenge where we got out and toured around. Stonehenge in itself is an amazing feat and definitely deserves the title of one of the wonders of the ancient world. It's insane how someone actually moved those huge rocks. Feel free to ask my dad about his alien theory regarding how the rocks got there. After getting some delicious chocolate ice cream and a postcard we boarded the bus back and headed to Bath. Since I've been traveling so much lately I have learned the art of sleeping in any conditions so I used our transport time to catch up on some much needed rest.

Once we arrived in Bath we immediately had free time to go get some lunch before our walking tour. We ate at a nice pub in the center of Bath and met up with our class to go on our tour. Our tour guide was an older lady who was a resident of Bath who did the tours for fun. We were shown around the city, and were able to see the Royal Crescent, the Assembly Rooms, the river, and ended our tour at the Roman Baths where we had an audio guide tour through. Afterwards we still had time to go and taste the water of Bath.. just as they told us it tasted like warm water with a hint of iron. Not exactly something you'd want twice. Mom, Dad, Leslie, & Mike had just arrived to Bath when I was getting ready to leave but we did get time to take a family photo infront of the Bath Abbey and tour inside of it. We made it back safely to Seething Wells where I packed up some stuff for overnight in London and did some homework before I met the family in Westminster. They all had toured Parliament but since I went there this week for my class I opted out of going. Leslie got to take some awesome night shots of London which I'm sure will be framed soon and put up in her house. We all headed back to the hotel to get a good night's rest before heading out early Tuesday.

Tuesday

We woke up early and went to Westminster Abbey as our first stop. After viewing the area we went to see 10 Downing Street (where the Prime Minister lives) and were able to see the changing of the guards at Whitehall which I enjoyed much more than the changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace. We made our way to the underground and went to the outdoor markets in Camden Town for the afternoon and did some shopping. I took the family to Surbiton (where I live) and let them see my flat in all it's glory before we headed into Kingston upon Thames where I showed them my University. We headed into Kingston where they got to see the falling phonebooth display and ate dinner before hopping a bus back to my flat so they could get some stuff to take back with them. I overpacked just a tad for the trip and with everything I've bought they had to bring some stuff back with them so I can get it all back home. The family went back to the hotel in London to pack and I had to write papers for class =(

Wednesday

Yesterday was the most gorgeous day I could have asked for. For our British Culture and Society class we went and took an early morning tour of Parliament before heading to Greenwich for the day. Greenwich is where the Prime Meridian is located and where it was originally decided on to be. We toured the city and went up to the Royal Observatory. It was absolutely gorgeous and the pictures I took almost look fake. The clouds were absolutely perfect with the blue skies and the gorgeous views of London from the park outside the Observatory. I got to stand on the Prime Meridian and be in two hemispheres of the world at the same time which was pretty cool. After we finished at the observatory we all went to a Mexican restaurant in the city before heading back to Surbiton. Last night everyone was working on papers so it was a pretty quiet night. The family had a safe flight home and Bailey and Riley were thrilled for them to be back.

Today:

This morning we had class at the University for Shakespeare where we discussed the play 'The Tempest'. Afterwards we had a few minutes break before we had to head into London to meet for an afternoon walking tour. We went to the Inns of Court and were able to see students fresh out of their law school graduation complete in their traditional capes and wigs which was pretty interesting. We had time to get some dinner before heading to see 'The Tempest' at the Old Vic tonight. We went to a great pizza place where the center of the pizza was cut out and replaced with a salad.. Delicious.. one of the best meals I've had here. At the Old Vic we were surprised to find out our teacher got us front row tickets for the play. Although I'm not a huge Shakespeare fan, nor a big fan of plays.. I surprisingly really enjoyed it, probably because we were so close. I'm back at my flat now packing for Paris before meeting up with some friends. We leave out at 5:15am in the morning to take a bus to King's Cross Station where we'll be taking the Eurostar into Paris!

It's going to be a good weekend! Pictures are updated!!

Busy Weekend!

It's been an exhaustingly busy weekend!

Friday morning I had class until 1:30. After class I came back and got my laundry together and my flatmate and I went into London and dropped it off at mom & dad's hotel. Afterwards we went to Camden Town, an outdoor market with tonssss of stuff. After we bought out the whole place, we didn't have time to go to any museums like we planned so we headed back into central London. I had left my camera in my room so I rode the train all the way back out to Surbiton, grabbed it, and headed back into London and headed to the hotel for the night.

Saturday morning we all woke up early and headed into London. It was a busy day. We went to:
- the British Museum
- the National History Museum
- the Victoria & Albert Museum
- Covent Gardens
- Old Bond Street & Oxford Street
- Regent's Park
- SOHO
- Piccadilly Circus

Needless to say by the time we finally got back to the hotel at around 11 we were exhausted and headed straight for bed after soaking our feet. A long day walking makes for a very grumpy dad and an entire family who's feet are tired and hurting.

This morning we woke up early again and headed out, feeling very much refreshed from the tiring day before. Today we went to:
-Buckingham Palace to see the changing of the Guards
-Green Park
-St. James Park
-Abbey Road
-the Tower of London to see the Crown Jewels
-the Tower Bridge
-the London Bridge
-the Millenium Bridge
-the Globe Theater
-St. Paul's Cathedral

We finished the night in Southbank just right down the street from the Globe and across from the Tate Modern at a local pub where I tried fish and chips for the first time. I wasn't that impressed but it wasn't terrible. Definitely one of the better foods that I've had while in the UK.

Tomorrow I am headed to Stonehenge & Bath with my class. Mom, Dad, Leslie, & Mike are heading to Windsor, Stonehenge, and Bath as well although I'm not sure if we'll cross paths throughout the day. Tomorrow night we are planning on going out on the London Eye after we all get back. I'm skipping class on Tuesday so I can get one last day of sightseeing in with the family although I plan to take Mom & Leslie to Camden Town to get some shopping done!

Pictures have been updated!!!!

Mom, Dad, Leslie & Mike have made it to London!

Proof that Mom has completed her first flight as well as Mom & Dad's first International Flight and are safely in London!



After a flight delay at RDU and missing their connection at JFK, Mom Dad Leslie & Mike safely arrived in London this afternoon. Once in London the underground messed up and delayed them once again but I met them and got them to their hotel! This afternoon I took them to see the London Eye, Big Ben, Parliament, and Westminster Abbey and ate dinner before I had to go and meet with my Shakespeare class to see a performance of Henry IV Part 1 at the Globe Theater.

This morning we had class and discussed Henry IV and then we went into London to get a tour from a cast member of the Globe Theater and get some background info on the theater itself and why it was important in Shakespeare's day.

Tomorrow Mom, Dad, Leslie, & Mike are going to Paris for a day trip. I'll be going to class and then I have an independent visit to London for my class so I'm going to stay in London this weekend at the hotel and tour around London for the weekend. Sunday I'm going to take them to see my University and where I am staying.


Pictures updated!

Oh What a Day in Oxford

So by far one of my favorite places that I have visited in my 2 weeks in London has been the City and University of Oxford.

Today would be the one and only day that my camera decided to die 10 minutes into us arriving. But that was no surprise seeing as how my morning went. Friends have offered to let me steal their pictures from the day so pictures will be uploaded soon!

For our field trip to Oxford we were supposed to be boarding our coach at 8:45 to leave. I woke up at 8, checked my email and accidentally fell back asleep. At 9am I get a phonecall from my flatmate, everyone is waiting on me. I literally get ready in 2 minutes and run outside to be the last one on the bus without an umbrella nor a raincoat. Today was the FIRST day is has rained since we've been here in London... just my luck. Friends took care of me though and made sure I stayed somewhat dry on our tour through the city.

Oxford in itself is a gorgeous university town as expected. What I didn't expect was how the University is set up. There are 38 individual colleges that all fall underneath the umbrella of Oxford University. Each college is self-owned and pays for their own expenses. Many own houses, flats, stores, and pubs in order to fund the expenses that they use. The different colleges, unlike those at NCSU, do not specialize in one particular subject. Some are stronger in others but they do not specifically encompass one subject. When applying to Oxford University you in fact apply to a college, not the University itself. The University is full of tradition which I absolutely love. Once in your college, you live, eat, pray, and study with your fellow peers within the college. It is fact like the different Houses in Harry Potter except on a college level. In some classes you interact with other colleges but you remain loyal to your own. I would LOVE to become apart of a school system like this. It adds so much more to a college experience. Unfortunately they do not offer physical therapy as a graduate school option (yes I've already checked) because I would love to study there. They do offer a Rhodes Scholarship program, which our tour guide recommended we apply to, but it is extremely prestigious and I do not have close to the credentials I would need to even think about applying. Apparently the school itself is not that hard to get into although it has the very tough reputation. According to our guide, 1 in 4 applicants gets in.

During our day in Oxford we got to see majority of the different colleges on our walking tour and learned some history about them. We got to go into a few and tour the Christ Church College and its Cathedral.

A lot of Harry Potter was filmed in Oxford:
The Bodleian Library on campus was the School of Hogwarts in many of the scenes, particularly those where they are actually in a library in the movie.
The Christ Church's Great Hall also was used in the movie. It is where they eat as well as where they are sorted.

During my stay in London I have also visited the Bank in which Harry Potter uses in the movie, Kings Cross Train Station (where we departed for Scotland) was the train station used in the movie, Hagrid's house (In Scotland), as well as the scenery and the train tracks used in the movie while they are traveling to Hogwarts. It is also in Scotland.

We ate lunch at a local pub called the Lamb and Flag. Writers J.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis frequented the pub as apart of the literary group "The Inklings" after they became tired of the pub across the street "The Lamb and Child." Both are very famous in the town and are highly respected as the frequent spot of both writers.

After lunch was our walking tour of the Christ Church College and Cathedral. We had about an hour left after the tour so we visited the Ashmolean Museum. It is the world's first University museum (founded in 1683). It recently has gone through extensive renovations and was pretty interesting. We didn't get to go on all the floors but instead focused on early Chinese, Arabic, and England cultures dating back to around 50 AD.

The bus ride back to Seething Wells was long. It only took us about an hour and a half to get there this morning but it took almost 3 hours to get back due to traffic. Everyone was exhausted so we went and picked up some Chinese food (which I was not impressed with) and I have been working on my paper that is due for Shakespeare in the morning.

Tomorrow we have class in the morning and then we have to meet in London at 2:30 to go on a private tour of The Globe Theatre. We will be a 'groundling' in the performance tomorrow of Henry the IV Part 1. I still have to finish reading it so I know what is going on tomorrow.

****Mom, Dad, Leslie, and Mike just landed in New York at JFK after some delays getting out of Raleigh. So far their flight to London has been delayed about an hour which works well since they would have probably missed it otherwise. Keep Mom in your prayers, she has completed her first flight and is now on her way to her first International Flight. I'm proud of her! ****

I plan to meet them tomorrow in between my classes to say hello! I'm excited to get to spend time with them in London this weekend as this is my last free weekend here. Time is flying by way to fast! I dread leaving London and everyone here to go home although I do miss everyone! I would rather ya'll be here!