ASK Musings

No matter where you go, there you are.

Monthly Archive: November 2009

Thursday

26

November 2009

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Success!

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London Thanksgiving was indeed a success. Alissa worked all day brining and cooking the turkey, which turned out great. I helped with some prep work, and was responsible for all the desserts (the pumpkin pie actually worked, which was a minor victory). There were ten of us – three Americans, two Brits, two Italians, two Canadians and one German – and everyone contributed something. We had all the dishes – mashed potatoes, stuffing, green beans, mac and cheese, cranberry sauce, gravy, candied yams, and turkey. It was a lot of fun, and everyone seemed to have a great time.

When I got home I called a few people who I thought I might be able to catch either just before dinner (like my NYC family – who I got to talk to!) or well before their holiday began. It was nice to hear some voices from home, for sure.

I have two weeks left in the term, one assignment left to do, a couple of essays to start, and loads of reading. But this weekend I’m taking off to visit Vanessa in Dublin for a weekend of relaxing and getting caught up. When I get back, I have some holiday shopping to do (I ordered my Christmas cards yesterday – woo!) a mini-cookie party with Kate and Richard, and hopefully some ice skating at one of the London rinks.

Before I head off to bed on this unusual Thanksgiving, I figured I should remind myself of a few things for which I’m thankful. They are truly in no particular order.

– The friends and family I have here in Europe and back in the states
– Unlimited text messaging
– The fact that I’m able to spend a year living in London, learning interesting things, and travelling around Europe
– Podcasts of Countdown and the Rachel Madow Show (how else will I stay indoctrinated with the left-wing agenda whilst studying Mill, Kant and Locke?)
– Universal health care in the UK
– Cocoa at the Garrick for only 95p before 10AM on Fridays
– Emails from home
– Running
– How I Met Your Mother on iTunes
– Student discount rail cards and bus passes

Happy Thanksgiving. I hope you had a good one.

Wednesday

25

November 2009

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Holidays in London – Part I

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I suppose my first real holiday here was Halloween, and it was definitely fun. I actually went to more parties here than I usually did back home, and I had a nice time. People do things a bit differently over here, but for me Halloween really does just involve pumpkin carving (check), candy (check), costumes (check) and, as I’ve gotten older, alcohol (check). So I missed certain types of candy, but overall it was a good one.

Now things are a bit more challenging. Tomorrow is Thanksgiving. For many people, it’s a day to spend with relatives. Growing up, it was the one time of year when my sister and I saw all of our aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents. We’d head down to Southern California (often missing school for a couple of days) and go to Disneyland on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. I was just reminded of that when I saw a post by a friend on Facebook, who is down there now. I grew up thinking there were no lines at Disneyland. We rarely had to wait more than five, maybe ten minutes to go on Pirates of the Caribbean, or Space Mountain. It was usually just the four of us for that day of fun at the Happiest Place on Earth.

On Thanksgiving we’d head over to the home where my dad’s parents lived. But only after we saw a movie. I vividly remember seeing My Girl at a movie theatre that I believe was attached to a mall. Man, I did not see the whole Macaulay Culkin death thing coming. Anyway, one of my aunts lives in that house now. Another of my aunts would make really yummy pumpkin bread. There were the five younger cousins (me, two guys my age, and two girls about four years younger than me) and the four older. We got along, but we didn’t (and still don’t) really know each other well. After all, we only got together once a year. One of my uncles (by marriage, and a favorite) would generally hide in the kitchen after dinner, doing dishes. My grandpa would sit in his easy chair, drinking scotch, telling me I was full of mud. Ha. It’s kind of amazing how really clear these images are.

Some time in the 90s – probably around when my sister went away to college – we stopped heading down there for the holiday. Instead, just the four of us would prepare the meal (a turkey breast, since none of us eats dark meat), but always after going to a movie first. And people wonder how I can go see a movie once or twice a week – obviously it’s in my genes.

Once I graduated college Thanksgiving became more of a holiday about second families. My first year out of college I went to Omaha to spend it with my then-boyfriend’s family. We’d been together for many years, and I knew a lot of his family, but it was still so strange to be away from my family. And the food! It was good, but I missed those dishes that were, not unique to my family, but that we always had. Our Thanksgiving was never over the top, but it was always good. Great mashed potatoes (I may have actually cried one year when we realized, the day after Thanksgiving, that we’d left the potatoes in the oven, thus eliminating the possibility of leftovers), stove top stuffing, and damn it, the cranberry sauce from the can, with the indentations on the sides. 

I think my parents spent every Thanksgiving during the past eight years with their really good friends, and a second family to all of us. But that’s the family that lost the patriarch to brain cancer this year, and my folks will be spending their time closer to home with another set of close friends tomorrow. And my sister – she has always seemed to find great places to eat, and will send me the menu every once in awhile to rub in all the amazing food she’s going to have.

After that first Thanksgiving away, the holiday became more of an adventure for me. I spent my first NYC Thanksgiving with that same former boyfriend, at an “orphan’s” Thanksgiving in Williamsburgh. My first experience making pumpkin pie! The next was with Allegra and her extended family in Pittsburgh. Then outside Baltimore with another ex’s family. There was a memorable one with Richard, my British friend who had to work Friday as well, where we went to Junior’s in Brooklyn for our surprisingly good dinner. 

For the last three years I’ve spent the holiday with my NYC family. Herman and Kathleen have hosted an amazing dinner for all of us who don’t have family nearby, or can’t travel because of working the next day. Meg brings the yams with marshmallows (and makes a vegetarian version sans marshmallows as well), Kathleen makes the corn pudding. Erin threatens to bring Brussels sprouts, I make a few desserts. Herman prepares an AMAZING turkey, often the size of a small child. Last year, after too much food and as we got ready to go, they brought out a bunch of Tupperware so everyone could take home some leftovers. That’s thoughtful. 

Tomorrow they are getting together to continue the tradition, and I won’t be with them. It definitely makes me a little sad. Well, a lot sad, actually. But tonight I got to start my own Thanksgiving adventure. I got lost but eventually found a real supermarket and managed to get a 13 pound turkey, which my friend Alissa is going to prepare tomorrow for some Americans, a Canadian, two Italians, and possibly a German. I still have to figure out a crust and tin for my pumpkin pie, and I can’t make fudge as there’s no marshmallow fluff, but it’ll be okay. It’s another adventure. And it’s definitely already a memorable one.

Sunday

22

November 2009

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The transformation is complete

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I’m wearing my glasses, not contacts

My hair is in a ponytail, not blown out or straightened

My dresses and skirts are collecting dust in the closet

My bag has six books from the library

I go for runs at 11:30 on Tuesday mornings

I see movies at 3 in the afternoon on weekdays

Five to seven hours each day is devoted to printing out / reading / taking notes on articles

I eat cereal for dinner, pasta for breakfast, and try to remember when I last ate salad

Yep, I really am a student again

Thursday

19

November 2009

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Barcelona (Part II)

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Sunday was just as beautiful as Saturday. We spent much of the day outside, although with much less walking than the previous day. After a very quick breakfast (hot chocolate again, of course), we made our way to La Catedral. Sunday services were going on, but they still let us tourists wander around (quietly) in it. After that dose of religion it was off to bow before a different idol – chocolate (or xocolata in Catalan). We went to the Museo Xocolata, where our ticket was a dark chocolate bar, and we learned about the history of chocolate production. Oddly there was also an exhibit on the solar system, but that was completely in Spanish with no images of chocolate, so I have no idea how it related.

After a quick metro ride (seriously, their system is so efficient and well marked) we made it to Park Guell. It’s smaller than I imagined, but still awesome. A friend described the City as looking a bit like Candy Land, and she’s right. It’s like a child’s imagination almost, and the buildings and fences and ceilings in the park were no different. There were loads of people up there, and we were rewarded for our hike up to the park with a stunning view of Barcelona, as well as some fun music played by local artists.

We headed back down the hill and all the way to the Mediterranean to visit the aquarium. It’s alleged to be the best in the Mediterranean. That may be true. They do have an excellent shark exhibit. However – not worth the price of admission in my opinion. After a couple of hours on the marina we headed back into La Ribera (I believe) and went in search of a few bars that Lonely Planet told us were good and open on Sundays. We unfortunately were not able to confirm their quality, as ALL were closed. No wonder it’s a Lonely Planet … (I suggest a different guide of you choose to visit Barcelona – Allegra had the brief one, I had the full length one, and while both were recently updated, both had a lot of errors).

Anyway, we managed to find some other really excellent places, including a cute cafe (where we had chocolate and churros), a great off the beaten path pottery and crafts store, and more. The street we spent the most time in was Carrer de Argentina, so if you find yourself in Barcelona, I suggest just wandering down it. It feels less tourist-y than other places in the city centre. It also has Santa Maria del Mar, another gorgeous cathedral. There was someone playing beautiful organ music, and almost none of the artificial lights were on (it was twilight by the time we visited), and it was both spooky and awesome. We popped into La Fianna, an adorable bar / restaurant for some cava before our final meal of tapas, then called it a night.

Monday we almost made it to the airport without incident; however, the rumors about pickpockets and Barcelona are, we can unfortunately confirm, quite true. But we both made it to our planes and back to our respective countries.

Although, funny story: I was almost not let back into the UK. When I came here originally back in September, I flew through Ireland. I got a stamp from them, but when I came to Heathrow I wasn’t sent through customs, as the UK/Ireland have a special relationship. So my visa was never activated, apparently. When I was speaking with the Border Agent at Gatwick, she asked to see my documents. I literally said “what documents – my visa’s in there.” She didn’t even look up, but asked for them again. I said they were at home – that I’d come here already in September, through Ireland. She was never rude, and I can’t tell if she was annoyed with me, but she asked again, and I told her I didn’t know what to say – I didn’t carry the letter from the school with me, and it was in my residence hall. She got up and looked at some laminated sheet of paper, then came back and asked what school I was at, then asked for my student ID (which I had on me, thank goodness), activated my visa and sent me on my way. Yikes. I’m sure it would have all worked out, but that’s a problem I certainly hadn’t thought I’d encounter. Note to future UK students from the US – don’t arrive via Ireland!

Tuesday

17

November 2009

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Barcelona! (Part 1)

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Allegra and I got to Barcelona late in the afternoon on Friday. Barcelona was basically at the top of my “Places to visit in Europe while living in London” list, so I was so excited. And it didn’t disappoint.

First off – it’s ridiculously easy to get around in Barcelona. The two terminals at the airport get you to the train station (just follow the signs for “Tren”, accompanied by the convenient image of a train), which has a train leaving every half hour. We bought the T-10 tickets, which give you ten rides on basically any form of transportation in the area (you need two to get to most places – the train and then the metro). The metro is easy to navigate, and trains come every 2-3 minutes. And there’s a countdown board so precise it has the seconds on it. Puts the London tube notification system to shame.

We stayed at Hotel Peninsular, which Allegra saw recommended in the NY Times. It’s a former convent, which goes nicely with my plan to only stay in places in Europe that used to be run by nuns (like where I live now). It is just of La Rambla, the major pedestrian mall, in El Rival, the slightly seedy part of town. I have to say that I’ve never been offered drugs more often in my life, and the last time I saw that many prostitutes out in the open was in Prague in the 90s. The man who was at reception most of the time was very nice, and humored me in my attempts to speak Spanish, even teaching me new phrases. Actually, I managed to get along pretty well using Spanish, and was even approached a few times with questions in Spanish from tourists – some of whom I was actually able to help. I was a little worried, given how little my Italian came in handy when I was lost with Will on our way from the airport to the villa in Tuscany (man, I’ve gone to some cool places. So lucky).

We wandered La Rambla a bit and found a chocolate place that was in our guides. Granja Viader is quite old, and serves a very potent suis. After a break back at the hotel, we went out for dinner (around 10ish, I believe – everything seems later and slower in Barcelona) and had some amazing pan con tomate. And cava, the champagne of Spain. Yum.

Saturday was a gorgeous day. Sunny, warm, perfect tank top and jeans weather. After a quick stop back at Granja Viader (one of us lost a phone at one point), we made our way to Palau Guell, a famous mansion designed by Gaudi. Unfortunately neither guidebook mentioned it’s been under renovation for five years, so only the basement was viewable. Bummer. But that’s okay – it made us even more excited for …

La Sagrada Familia. It’s ridiculous. And amazing. It’s been under construction since the early 1900s, and isn’t expected to be finished until 2020 or 2040. People are working on it non-stop. The models and plans were destroyed by anarchists in the 1930s, but they’ve restored them and have been working furiously to finish it. Coming out of the metro, turning around and seeing it was one of those moments I don’t imagine forgetting any time soon. We took the audio tour, and even went up in an elevator into one of the towers. It’s just beyond comprehension how cool it is. 

We decided to continue on with the Modernisme theme, and took a walking tour of some of the more notable buildings in Barri Gotica. We made our way to La Pedrera for a tour, and got there in the late afternoon, which made for some excellent views of the city from the roof.

After ambling back down another major pedestrian area, we stopped for sangria and tapas and witnessed and excellent yelling match between a patron and a server that we believe involved being charged 15 euro for a beer that was a large but was supposed to be a small and anyway how can you charge 15 euros for a beer? It was awesome. The night consisted of getting a little turned around on the way to dinner, but ultimately ending up at a cute Mexican restaurant that had excellent food and yummy sangria.

Tuesday

17

November 2009

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First Visitor!

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I’ve been here about seven weeks, and have now had my first visitor. Allegra arrived on Wednesday for a couple of days in town before we headed to Spain.

She arrived on the red-eye Wednesday morning and was able to nap while I went to class. We met up at campus, then went over to wander around Covent Garden. It’s a really cute market, with a mixture of chain stores, little restaurants and craft booths. After a pub lunch we walked up to the British Museum, where we saw the Rosetta Stone and the mummy of Cleopatra. It’s a gorgeous building with a lot of interesting old world “acquisitions” (my favorite British euphemism for stuff they stole during their conquests).

Although it was a bit misty we walked down to look at Buckingham Palace, then stopped at a nearby pub before heading back over to Brick Lane for some yummy curry.

Thursday I didn’t have class, so we had the whole day to explore the city. A quick trip through Spitalfields, then down to Tower Bridge and over to the south side of London. We got down into Southwark (pronounced suthuck) and cut over to Borough Market, which I’m excited to now know that it is open on Thursdays. There was a lot of excellent-looking produce (which I’ve been missing a lot here), so I plan to go back this week and do a little shopping.

Continuing along the south side we walked past a few places I’ll likely go visit for real eventually, including the Globe theater and the Clink museum (the latter is where we get the term “the clink” to describe prison). We settled on a visit to Tate Modern, which had a very cool Pop Art exhibition featuring Worhol and Koons work. I had no idea that Koons, in addition to those adorable metal balloon animals, did a lot of very blue imagery, including some quite vivid pornographic stills. Huh.

The fun wasn’t over yet! We walked back to the north end of the river, via the Millennium Bridge. Harry Potter fans will remember it from the most recent movie. We worked our way up to Lincoln Inn Fields and visited the Sir John Soane museum. It’s especially creepy at 3:30 on a cloudy day. But I recommend it.

 

Tuesday

10

November 2009

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Remember, Remember, the . . . let’s set off fireworks!

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I’ve now experienced my first Guy Fawkes day. If you saw V for Vendetta, you’re familiar with the story. He tried to blow up the Houses of Parliament, but was foiled, and the British celebrate that. Thursday was the official day (November 5), and a few of us went in search of fireworks … and failed.

Saturday night was MUCH more successful. A few of us went over to Victoria park, where they had a really amazing show put together. All songs during the fireworks had a fire theme (it’s known as bonfire night), like “Light my Fire” and “Fever.” They had flames shooting up from the set-up, and a really great finale. Better (on a different scale) than the NYC fourth of July fireworks in my estimation.

I rounded out the evening with a friend’s house party over in Covent Garden.

Oooh! And I checked out the London Transport museum. It’s very cool.

My first guest arrives tomorrow morning – Allegra is coming in for a couple of days, and then we’re heading off to Barcelona. I can’t wait to see the Gaudi church. So excited.

Thursday

5

November 2009

0

COMMENTS

An Open Letter to Pedestrians in London

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The letters continue! This week – a message to the folks who pound the pavement in Central London on a daily basis.
 
Dear London Pedestrians:
 
Hey, how's it going? Nice flats – I love that the women here seem to embrace the flat and don't all wear extremely high heels all the time. It's refreshing. And men, your smart suits are really quite lovely. I didn't work near the financial district in NYC, so I didn't see as many suits as some did, and I enjoy it.
 
You all look so sharp, so professional, that I do have to ask:
 
Where is your mind? It seems as though you are completely and totally unaware of your surroundings at basically all times of the day and night. You stand in the middle of the sidewalk talking on your mobile (or texting), you walk on the wrong side of the sidewalk, and you literally ram into people who are clearly in your path and have nowhere else to go.
 
Let's talk about these point by point.
 
First, the texting. Now, I walk down the street texting. I also walk down the street READING (I know, right?). But I've been walking and reading since my days at UW, and I've never caused an accident, tripped, or walked into someone. The key is to scan one's surroundings while reading. It's a bit like driving in that sense – you focus on the thing ahead of you (the car) but also scan around for obstacles. But you, texter man and texter woman, seem to think that once you start texting, the seas will part, traffic will stop, and no one will ever be in your path. I'm here to tell you – it's not true! I see you texting. I see that you are not paying attention. Because I am not a big fan of bruises, I will get out of your way, but sometimes I can't. Sometimes I'm walking in a crowd or on a narrow sidewalk with busy traffic to my left and there's nowhere for me to go. So please, look up. Or at least get better at multi-tasking.
 
Next, the flow of traffic. You insist on being a nation where people drive on the left. That's fine – you want to be contrary and unique, that's your right. But that should apply to all modes of transportation, including your feet. So you walk on the left, I'll walk on the left, and never the two shall meet.
 
Finally, the most obvious and obnoxious action – the intentional ramming. You see me. I see you. There's no question. I have nowhere to go – I'm surrounded by people, or I'm teetering on the edge of a narrow sidewalk. And you can't be bothered to shift your stride a bit to your left to avoid literally ramming in to me. It's not okay. I know that in many ways the British are seen as exceedingly polite. I'm here to point out that this does not hold for pedestrians. In fact, if my only experience of London consisted of walking in Central London, I would wager that 50-75 percent of the people here are utter jackasses.
 
I realize that isn't the case. I realize that people are distracted, or busy, or in a rush. But how about a little respect for your fellow pedestrian?
 
Cheers,
A S K
 
PS – I spent the last seven years in NYC, and it was never this bad. However, crossing the street there is a bit more of a challenge:
 
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