Cambridge – Page 13 – Valpo Voyager

Category: Cambridge (page 13 of 26)

All posts from students studying abroad in Cambridge, England

The Top 10 Things I Didn’t Know About British Culture

I’d like to preface this particular blog post by saying that some of the things I’m about to say come from personal experience while other things have been told to our class by our History professor. All of these things, however, were rather shocking to me. I suppose I thought that because the U.S. and England shared both a history and a language that many of the customs and day-to-day life things would be the same. I was definitely wrong in that regard. It’s just familiar enough to lull you into a sense of security, and then BAM! something weird happens and you’re so wrong-footed you don’t know how to handle it. I say ‘weird,’ of course, meaning ‘not what I’m used to.’ So, here we go.

10. Cars. Cars in general. I mean, I knew that here they drive on the left side of the road, which was strange enough to conceive of, let alone deal with. But I was kind of expecting that weirdness. What I wasn’t expecting is the fact that pedestrians do NOT have the right of way here. If you accidentally step onto the street and a car happens to be coming at you, they probably aren’t going to stop. You can’t cheat a little bit at the crosswalks and leisurely make your way across to the other sidewalk–if you think you’re not gonna make it while the little green man is telling you it’s safe to go, you gotta RUN before the cars start moving. So not only to I have to re-train myself to look for cars before crossing the street, I’ve also got to learn to not trust the drivers to stop for me if I screw it up.

9. Anti-wastefulness. There are more recycle bins in the house than there are trash bins, and double the amount of recycling bins to take to the curb on Friday mornings than there are trash bins. Apparently, all plastic, glass, paper, and cardboard is to be recycled. Which is cool, actually, but it takes some getting used to. In this same vein, the grocery stores charge you extra if you want to use their paper or plastic bags. Most people have those cloth bags that are reusable, and that is encouraged by the extra bag fee. Finally, the toilets are different in a couple different ways. I first noticed it in the house… the water level in the toilet, the part to stop the bathroom from smelling really bad, is much lower here than it is back home. Sensible, I thought, cutting down on water costs because apparently water is way more expensive here (as a side note, hour-long showers are unheard of. Our professor says most people are in and out in less than 15 minutes). But public toilets are even more anti-wastefulness. Sometimes you have to pay to go to the bathroom, like in the musical Urinetown. Even if you do get into the restroom, they tend to have pre-portioned out toilet paper, like it’s coming out of a Kleenex box. Presumably, this is to cut down on paper usage.

–small side note on this: there are very few trashcans in public places, especially in London. This has nothing to do with wastefulness, according to our professor. Trashcans were being used as bomb drops, so they stopped having so many in the city.

8. Racism. It’s not racism like we think of it, necessarily, although I suppose it could go that way. It’s not exactly negative, more of an acknowledgement of otherness. Maybe it’s because I’m specifically from America, but pretty much everyone I know is a mix of something–Irish, English, French, Norwegian, Swiss, Italian, Greek, African, Indian, Filipino, whatever. Not many Americans are pure anything. But here, people are English, or Irish, or Scottish, or French, or Black. To be frank, I’ve heard more about ‘Muslims’ and ‘how they behave’ here than I ever did back in America. I’m sure I was also fairly sheltered at home and I’m pretty good at not paying attention to things that make me angry, like racism and homophobia. I guess I just wasn’t expecting heritage to be as big of a deal to every other person here. I know culture and heritage are important to each individual person, of course, but there seems to be a different tone here.

This mall in London is the only exception I've found for the 'displaying the Union Jack' thing

7. Not patriotic. This was a big shocker for me. We’re all so gung-ho about America, even if we’re not thrilled about what America does. Most of us have an American Flag somewhere in our houses, and we dress up in red, white, and blue on Fourth of July, and we generally support our troops even if we don’t approve of what our troops are doing in a larger sense. There is a sense of camaraderie in being American that British people apparently don’t feel quite as strongly. Our professor says that British people were much more patriotic during the Victorian Era, the Age of Industrialization and Empire; that people flew the Union Jack in pride and reveled in being British. But apparently people ‘got over’ that when Great Britain was booted from it’s number one spot on the world stage. I’m sitting over here thinking that sounds a little bit like being a sore loser, but maybe that’s just cuz I still feel proud of being an American.

6. Not particularly religious. This one is similar to the patriotism thing. The British nation as a whole was extremely religious during the Victorian Era, but ‘got over’ that as well. Some credit this with the emergence of Darwinism and evolution as an alternative to the creation story, some think it’s because people just began to lose faith as Britain’s hold on their empire dwindled. Whatever the reason, not very many people here go to church on Sunday, I guess (keep in mind this is hearsay, I haven’t actually witnessed it). I suppose I was surprised by this because I naturally assumed that countries kept their level of religious-ness over time. I figured, since America was practically founded because of strong religious sentiment on both sides of the issue, that England must be really religious, or at least as religious as America is. I guess that, like many assumptions, is very incorrect.

5. Not family centered. This I actually find kind of hard to believe, what with the whole ‘nuclear family’ thing that is so prevalent in American society, even if we claim it’s not. We love our families, generally, and defend them and protect them and brag about them and tease them. We encourage each other and help each other and cheer each other up. According to our professor, British families aren’t quite like that. Instead of the typical ‘encouraging’ parent at a soccer game, for instance, saying “You did great!” and “Nice job!” a typical British parent would say something more like “You missed that open goal, what was up with that?” and “Were you daydreaming that whole time?” Now, I personally have not seen anything that extreme, but I have noticed parents treating kids more like nuisances than like children. This isn’t to say that the British don’t love their children–they absolutely do. They just don’t go for the whole ‘family values’ thing that we love. It’s no wonder they seem to grow up to be disillusioned adults, though, if this is true.

4. Don’t like ‘hard work.‘ And really, who does? Hard work is hard. But Americans seem to have the common belief that hard work will lead to a better future, a better job, a better life. Working hard now means that later you can chill out. Working hard at your job is a way to show dedication and possibly get a promotion or a raise. Working hard, for us, is a way of moving up in the world. British people seem to have given up on the idea that a hard working individual can ‘make it’ in this world. The only first -had experience I’ve had with this is the lack of customer service in stores. If the manager is doing something, or a cash register is acting up, or you need help, you can be sure that they will take their time getting to you. Customers aren’t a priority like they are back home. You just gotta wait for them to be done with whatever they were doing before you walked up. Our professor claims this is because the working classes were so oppressed by harsh capitalism in the Industrial Revolution that they gave up on the idea of working for a better life–life never got better for them.

3. Don’t like Americans. This isn’t actually quite as prevalent as I was expecting, but is real in a different way than I anticipated. It’s not really that they don’t like our politics, although that’s true. It’s not that they resent us for stealing the role as ‘number one’ in the world, although I kinda think that might be part of it. They mostly think we’re crazy. Crazy for believing in things like hard work and family and God; crazy for being so happy and optimistic all the time; crazy for rushing around everywhere in such a big hurry. The only first-had experience we’ve had is when we were at the hostel in London-a group of us met some English guys in the lobby and got to talking about the differences between Americans and Brits and how they can always tell when someone’s from America. They claim it’s because we’re always smiling and laughing. whereas Brits are more bitter about life. Not gonna lie, I think I like being American much more in this respect (in most of these, actually).

2. “Just coffee” doesn’t exist. If you walk into a coffee shop and order coffee, you’ll probably get a latte or espresso. And a weird look. Occasionally they have what they call ‘filtered coffee,’ but mostly to make coffee like we’re used to, we have to do it at home. I haven’t actually been to a Starbucks here yet, so I’m not sure if that holds true there as well, but I’m guessing it will. The girls here who wanted coffee actually had to go to a couple different stores to find filters for the ground coffee we found.

1. No frozen waffles. Okay, this is more of a personal issue than an issue with British culture in general. I just miss Eggo waffles, okay? They expect me to make full-on Belgian waffles in a waffle maker instead of just toasting some frozen ones. I really just want to pop some in the toaster and have strawberries and cream on top but I don’t think our house even has a waffle-maker, and I’d have to find a good waffle recipe somewhere. I may have found a suitable substitute today, but the jury is still out as I haven’t actually tried them yet. The crepes, however, kinda make up for it 🙂

yumm, nutella crepe

So. This is what I’ve learned about British culture that I was 100% not expecting. I’m sure I’ll learn a lot more in the months to come, but I wanted to give everybody an update on how I’m coping with the ‘familiar-yet-different’ environment of England.

With amusement, mild frustration, and much love,

Bryn

Living the Dream

August 27, 2013 / bryncooley / 7 Comments

I have boarded a train at King’s Cross Station and navigated the London Underground successfully. I have seen Buckingham Palace and witnessed the guards in tall hats marching between stations. I have heard Big Ben chime the hour and walked through Westminster Palace. I have been inside the Chambers of the Houses of Parliament and seen a show in Piccadilly Circus. I have eaten in Chinatown, London and taken a picture with a red telephone booth. I have ridden on a boat down the River Thames, under London Bridge, Millennium Bridge, and Tower Bridge. I have been inside the Tower of London, I have stood in front of the Tower Green, seen the carvings on the walls of Beauchamp Tower, visited the Line of Kings inside White Tower and hurried through the torture chamber underneath Bloody Tower. I have heard the organ play in St. Paul’s Cathedral, and I have been to the very top of the dome of that same cathedral and looked out over London. I have seen a Shakespeare play performed inside the New Globe Theater and I have been through the Museum of London. I have discovered markets and malls, riverwalks and rotundas, and many people and places in London–it was an incredible weekend.

Tower Bridge from the Thames

The Tower

I can’t even begin to describe how I felt or what I was thinking while doing all of these incredible things because honestly, I’m not sure what I was feeling or thinking, just that I honestly couldn’t believe it. These are places I’ve read about and dreamed about and wanted to see for so long that having the reality right there in front of me was inconceivable. It didn’t feel real, certainly. The vastness of the historical significance of the city I was in was enough to overwhelm me the very minute I saw Buckingham Palace. Despite the rain and the chill and the slight irritability of all of us on the trip (it involved a longish train ride and we were all rather tired after getting up and leaving the house all before 7am), the city was beautiful to me. Walking toward Big Ben may be a moment I remember for the rest of my life, simply because having that iconic structure come into view, right in front of me, in real life, was just… it was indescribable.

My Chinese chicken noodle soup. Yu

The Houses of Parliament are where we toured after seeing Buckingham and Big Ben. The tour guide took us along the route the Queen follows when she opens Parliament (about every five years or so, if I remember right). The building Parliament is housed in was originally a royal residence (Westminster Palace) and the richly decorated rooms show that. There were frescoes of Arthurian legends, portraits of the current monarchs as well as the original Tudors from the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, and carvings and engravings like you wouldn’t believe. It was so impressive that at one point, as I was entering a room, I just whispered, “Oh my god,” because I couldn’t handle how ornate and beautiful and downright incredible it was, and one of the guides walking past me laughed and said, “That’s the right reaction!” I was standing there wondering what other reactions were even possible. I mean, really. It was amazing (I’m running out of adjectives…).

The gates of Buckingham Palace

After Parliament, we walked toward Piccadilly Circus. I’m not sure what all we saw on our way there, but I took a couple of pictures anyway. At the Criterion Theater, in Piccadilly Circus, we saw a play called The 39 Steps. It was really funny and engaging, although I’m still not 100% sure what it was about besides spies and people with only half of their pinkie finger. The show ended around 6:45, and then Jin (my roommate) took us to Chinatown London, which was really cool. We at at a rather large Chinese restaurant down there, one that she deemed ‘authentic.’ She then told us which food was the best, which was most authentic, and ordered for us all in Chinese. It was pretty cool. Finally, exhausted, we headed back to the hostel to sleep.

The hostel was… interesting. I’ve never been to a hostel before, so it was eye-opening for one. I mean, I knew how hostels supposedly worked, what with a whole bunch of people sleeping in the same room and having lockers to store your stuff in and such, but I don’t think I really got it until I got there. The biggest problem for me that night (the only problem, really) was that somehow, my pillow had gone missing. The hostel had blankets and pillows on all the beds, but mine was missing the pillow part, for some reason. I thought I saw one of the other girls in the hostel futzing around with TWO pillows on her bed, though, so I think it might have been pillow-napped from my bed. Point is, I slept without a pillow that night because I was too tired to go all the way back to the reception desk and ask for a new one. I did, however, get a pillow the second night I was there, which made that sleep much much MUCH better than the previous one.

Big Ben. So gorgeous

The next morning, we had to be at Westminster Pier by 11 am.We took a riverboat from the Pier to the Tower Bridge, with the boat driver pointing out various landmarks and points of interest along the way. This was incredible to me not simply because it was cooler to be on a boat (which it was) but also because this was the river so many people had seen as a lifeline, as a trading highway, as a multitude of other things that I can’t really comprehend. The River Thames, in my mind, is something you read about or see pictures of, not somewhere you actually get to go. But I did get to go, and that was unbelievable.

The next place we went was the Tower of London. Now, I’m not sure I can describe this place in such a way that does it justice, because I was having a full-on history freak-out over it. I am a huge lover of the Tudor story, and especially of Elizabeth Tudor, so the Tower is a place I’ve read much about, heard many stories about, heard many rumors and superstitions about. A lot of the people in our group thought that the area was almost too ‘amusement park’-like for its true historical significance, but to be honest I didn’t even notice. I was too enraptured by the sight of the stones Henry VIII saw before he murdered his wives, the engravings Robert Dudley and John Seymour made before they died, of the very place where famous people were beheaded. I was locked in my little historical world as I walked through the Line of Kings, seeing the armor of Henry VIII and Prince Charles and William the Conqueror. I walked the walls where guards stood in Elizabethan times, and I saw the tower room where Richard III kept his nephews and most likely killed them as well. The sheer importance of this one structure boggled my mind, and I was unable to take in much more for a couple of hours after that.

The New Globe Theater

Of course, I only had four hours to wander London and recover from my mind being blown before it was blown yet again. We went to see Henry VI Part One performed at The New Globe Theater, designed to look as close to the original home of Shakespeare’s plays as possible. I can’t even explain how cool this was. To sit in the lower gallery and see more people standing on the yard in front of the stage, to have the players coming from all directions and interacting with the people in the yard, to hear Shakespeare’s words performed where they were meant to be performed was stunning. Those of us here who are English majors were having minor freak-outs periodically throughout the show. I also met a very nice English couple who sat next to me during the show. It’s been fun to talk to people here, to explain where I’m from and what I’m doing here and to ask them in return.

The next day, we had to check out of the hostel. Then, we went to the Museum of London, which was really cool. Their history began so long before ours did, it’s almost impossible to get through it all. We tried though, in the hour and a half we had. There was one part, called ‘A Walk Through Victorian London,’ that reminded me of the “Streets of Old Milwaukee” exhibit at the Milwaukee Public Museum, which my cousin and I love. I had fun comparing and contrasting the two exhibits in my head… and they weren’t quite as different as you might think. After the museum, we walked to St. Paul’s Cathedral. This place is absolutely amazing, but they don’t let us take pictures inside. I got a couple from the top of the dome, but that was it. Oh yeah, I climbed up to the very top of the cathedral. I’m not necessarily scared of heights, but that was a bit frightening. The view, however, was worth it. To see London spread out in front of you like that, it all felt unreal and intangible yet again.

St. Paul’s was our last stop before heading to King’s Cross to come back home. To be honest, I don’t remember the train ride because I slept the whole way. Our whirlwind weekend in London was absolutely exhausting, but it may have been the most incredible weekend of my life so far. I’ve seen things I never thought I’d get to see, not in person at least, and I’ve been places I’ve been wishing to go since I could read Harry Potter. I realize, as all this was whisking around me and happening so quickly, that I am incredibly lucky to have this opportunity, and to be making it the best it can be for myself and all those who support me. So, if you’ve helped me get here in any way, be it monetarily or spiritually or physically or emotionally or otherwise, I want to thank you. This trip, even though it’s only been a week, has already meant the world to me and more. It’s literally the trip of a lifetime, and I’m so thankful for everyone and everything that has let me live my dream.

With exhaustion, love, and happiness,

Bryn

A Day to Remember

August 21, 2013 / bryncooley / 15 Comments

Wow. Okay. Goodness. Holy crudpuppies. What.

I am in England.

It’s both incredibly unbelievable and hauntingly familiar at the same time. It’s like every dream I had about England, Cambridge, old historical towns and fashion-forward trendsetters come to life. I mean, seriously, this is what my desk (that I am typing at right now, this minute) looks like:

I mean, this is my life? Really? But I digress. There is more you want to hear about, not just me flipping out over the reality my dreams became.

SO. Today I have flown into Heathrow Airport, ridden up and down the lifts in said airport trying to find the right place to get to our bus (‘lifts’ are ‘elevators’–everything here as a slightly different, but somehow more proper-sounding name… I don’t know how that happened, exactly), took a rambling ride through the Britsh countryside in a very hot bus, somehow managed to understand the rules Matt (Professor Ringenberg, our director) told us, settled into my room, walked downtown, freaked out at how unbelievably COOL downtown looks, withdrew some money which came out in pounds (which was weird), bought stuff to shower with, took said shower, and now I’m sitting down to explain to you all why it is that I find it hard to function normally.

Funny story #1: Apparently there is no such thing as ‘just coffee.’ Well, not at the place we stopped to get coffee, anyway. This is during our small trip downtown Cambridge to retrieve necessities like shampoo, conditioner, and toothpaste. We were all exhausted, naturally, from the 7hr 45min flight, and the 6hr time difference, and so decided that a coffee break was needed to make it through the day. Rachel, one of the girls here, asked the barista for an iced coffee–pretty much the simplest coffee drink there is. Coffee, ice. Bam. However, the barista (and all the workers there) didn’t seem to get ‘just iced coffee.’ The barista suggested an iced latte or iced americano instead, which we ended up getting, but it was a bit of a shock to have a deceivingly ‘American’ looking coffee shop immediately prove itself to be not what we expected. I’m sure there’s more of that to come.

Funny Story #2: We were walking back from our mini-downtown-trip when a mother rode past on her bicycle. She had a kid in a bike-seat in front of her and another in a bike-seat behind her. As the mother coasted down the slight hill, both children were going “weeeeeeeeeeee!!” For some reason, that reminded me that no matter how different or fantastical or strange this place may seem, it is still populated by human beings who aren’t that much different from me, or my family, or my friends. It’s the little things, people.

Finally, we went to Sir Isaac Newton’s Pub for dinner. Now, we were all exhausted and such, but this pub looked pretty cool.

This is the pub we went to… but we got to sit upstairs!

So some of us got chili con carne, some of us got the traditional fish and chips, and Matt even got a lamb burger, I think. Me? I got cheesy chips (cheesy french fries) and garlic bread. I love my carbs. It was really delicious though, even if I did end up sharing my fries with pretty much everyone. But we just got back to the house, I’ve put on my pyjamas, and I plan to relax a bit and force myself to stay awake until at least 9:30 so that the jet-lag doesn’t hit me too hard.

With amazement, love, and exhaustion,

Bryn

The Beginning

August 15, 2013 / bryncooley / 5 Comments

Hi there, everybody. I know we haven’t actually left for this incredible adventure yet, but every trip begins with the planning–unless you’re the spontaneous sort. If you are, I applaud you. I, however, like to be organized and prepared to the point of…. well, I like to pack about two weeks before a big trip, in any case. I did this last summer too, right before I left for my freshman year at Valpo. I had painstakingly packed the ‘really important stuff’ in boxes and piled them up in my room, while shoving the ‘everything else’ into my closet so my brother could take over, when there were still three weeks left of summer. Safe to say I was a bit excited. Even safer to say that I am more excited right now than I can remember being in my whole life. I’ve packed and repacked my suitcases, trying to figure out how to keep my things under 50lbs for the checked bag and how to shove the rest of it into a carry-on bag that MIGHT be an inch over the regulations, but I’m hoping to get away with it anyway (*crosses fingers*). Those suitcases are standing up in the corner… so the extent of my ‘stuff’ looks like this right now:

… And it’s been like that for about a week already. Whoops, guess I’m trying to make the next few days go by faster so I can finally get to England. It’s hard to describe what England means to me…. There’s a moment in the life of a child where you realize there is one place in the world you want to go someday, more than you’ve ever wanted to go anywhere before. There’s a moment when you realize that the world is bigger than your backyard, your city, your state. There’s a moment when your eyes are opened to how big, complex, and exciting the world is, and all of a sudden you are gripped with wanderlust. You begin to ravenously devour books about the wondrous places the world has lovingly developed over the course of history, of the people who have lived before you in places you’ve never seen. And soon, soon you realize that one place has held your attention for longer than the others—one place that your heart is firmly set on seeing. For me, that place is England. I suppose, more broadly, it would be the United Kingdom, because Ireland and Scotland are part of it too. But England—England is the place for me.

I hope I get to explore more than see–I don’t want to see England the way every other person who goes there sees it. I want to experience it, authentically and truly and dirtily and scarily and all that comes with knowing where you are. I want to see the things no one else sees, the beautiful scenes that take place far off the well-worn path and the moments that happen to occur far from the normal tourist traps. Don’t get me wrong, places like the Tower of London and Buckingham Palace and the British National Museum are on my list of ‘must-sees’ too. But I want more than that (… and now I sound like a Disney movie. The Little Mermaid, anyone?). I want to see the little things. Being a tourist has always had a bit of a negative connotation for me, and I’d rather live there than just visit. That’s why I’m staying for so long, even though I know it’s going to be difficult. Nine months away from home is a long time to prepare for, so I’m just going to have to accept that there are some things I’m probably missing. But as long as I have my wanderlust and sense of adventure (along with a bit of common sense, of course), I won’t be missing anything too important.

Although I have to say, I’m gonna miss my phone.

With love, excitement, and wanderlust,

Bryn

Saying Goodbye

May 7, 2013 / Lauren Zomparelli / 0 Comments

This past weekend was our last weekend of freedom, so to speak, since next weekend we have a group excursion to the Lake District. That made this weekend our last opportunity to travel where we wanted and say our final goodbyes to London. Somewhere I really wanted to go back to, which was, coincidentally, where we spent our very first weekend while abroad, was Edinburgh, Scotland. We had had such an amazing time in Scotland the first time around, and there were still a few things I didn’t get a chance to do the first time that I wanted to go back and explore.

I do have to say, since it was the only place, with the exception of London, that we went back to, it was funny walking out of the train station and knowing exactly where we were supposed to go. We already had a hang of the city and where everything was located and we already did the walking tour and learned all about the city, so now we could just go and do whatever it was we wanted. One of the first things we did was climb to the top of Arthur’s Seat, a tall mountain/hill in Edinburgh. Accidentally, Emelie and I ended up climbing up the higher, much steeper mountain right next to Arthur’s Seat, in the wind and the rain. Whoops. It was still quite an experience. From up there we could see all of Edinburgh below us. It allowed us to actually realize how close to the North Sea Edinburgh actually was.

Something else I really wanted to do ever since that first weekend was to go on the Covenanter’s Prison Tour of Greyfriar’s Cemetery. Ever since hearing all of the stories about the prison and researching it once I returned to Cambridge, I have wanted to go back and see what all the hype was for myself. The history behind the prison, and that cemetery itself is remarkable. So many horror stories have come from authors who were inspired by the cemetery, such as Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, and Dracula. Naturally, nothing supernatural occurred while we were there, but it was still something I had to experience on my own. Our tour guy himself was enough of a show for me. He was a bit nutty and hopped around the cobblestone the entire way there refusing to step on any cracks.

Since it was Bank holiday, meaning we didn’t have any classes on Monday, Emelie and I came back from Edinburgh on Saturday and headed for our last hoorah in London for Sunday and Monday. It was nice having just a little more time to see everything in London we saw on our very first trip there, such as London Tower and Tower Bridge, Piccadilly Circus and Leister Square, and even Big Ben and Parliament. We even did the same telephone booth pose that we had from week one by Big Ben! Luckily, a women from our hostel mentioned that we should go to the market in Camden Town, somewhere no one had previously mentioned going to, and we headed there on Monday. This market, literally, just went on and on and on. It never ended. There were shops that sold anything you could think of and even a huge courtyard with different tents of food from mini pancakes served with Nutella, to paella, wraps, chicken burgers, cheesecake, pineapple smoothie in a pineapple, and even options of kangaroo. As for crafts, there was a man that sold candles in the shape of wine bottles and cheese, that would melt in the most amazing looking ways. The market itself was a sight to see and somewhere I would definitely tell people to go to. It was bursting with people, especially since most of the people had off work.

Hopping off the tube for the last time Monday was pretty hard to do. I have grown to love the city so much and especially the tube! Once you have lived and experience London, you’ll understand too. It is my favorite city in the world, one that I would love to come back and move to one day in the future. Saying goodbye to Cambridge these next nine days is not going to be easy either. It is unbelievable how fast these past four months have gone by. As much as I want to see my friends and family, I’m dreading hopping on that plane for the long nine hour journey back home, knowing that I really don’t know the next time I’ll be back again. So I’m going to make sure to live up these next few days and do everything my heart desires, going home with no regrets and nothing left undone.

Blue Skies and Ocean Eyes

April 24, 2013 / Lauren Zomparelli / 0 Comments

One of the most beautiful countries that I have ever been to (and yes I know I have said this before) has been Greece. Not only did I get a view of the city, Athens, but also was able to see one of the Greek Islands, Aegina. On day one, I did a four and a half hour walking tour that brought me to all of the main points and ruins in Athens. Not only did I see these beautiful places, but also heard a lot of history about each place.

There were so many interesting aspects to Greece that were very unique and that I never noticed anywhere else. One being, how there are so many stray animals all around the city. Not stray animals as in only cats wandering around like we have at home, but dogs as well. This bewildered me. Everywhere I looked were random, full grown dogs wandering around the streets or sleeping on the sidewalks. It was very sad at first, since at home, the only dogs you see are either pets or in a shelter. What was even more interesting was how nice and friendly all of the dogs were. They would casually walk up to you and wag their tail if you pet them. As the weekend wore on, I noticed that locals in town would put out food and water for the dogs to have. None of them looked to be starving in the least, but very well fed. I was almost floored when I saw dogs and cats hanging out in the Parthenon at the top of the Acropolis.

Something else, that is very random but definitely worth mentioning, is how amazingly sweet the strawberries were. They were sold at a lot of the little stands in the squares and markets. Now that may not seem too unusual, but they sold them by the kilo, which is 2.2lbs. Between myself and a friend of mine I traveled around Greece with, and within the three full days we were there, we ate more than 3lbs of strawberries.

It surprised me after visiting places like Paris, how much the Greeks loved Americans and loved that we were there visiting their country. Everywhere we went and spoke, someone would ask us where we were from. Once they heard “Chicago”, they would tell us how much they loved America and Chicago. More times than not, they would also tell me how beautiful my “ocean eyes” were, since no pure Greeks had blue eyes. Many restaurant workers on the streets would warn us to keep a close hold on our bags for those non-Greeks living in Athens, because, of course, no Greeks would steal from you. The restaurant workers would always give you a good deal to come and eat in their restaurant. On our first full day in Athens, we ate at a restaurant that offered us free wine as well as a free shot after dinner. The waiters were very nice and welcoming, helping us decide what to order and what was good, which, of course, was everything.

Something that I did expect, though, were the cheap prices that we found. Since Greece’s economy is not the best, prices for food or souvenirs, compared to other places, were very inexpensive. We found souvlaki for only €2, and t-shirts were as low as €5. It was great! Though, we might have went a little overboard since everything was so cheap. However, I would rather spend my money and help out the caring people of Greece than some of the other places that I visited where they hated Americans.

On Saturday, we decided to go to Aegina, one of the Greek Islands for the day. It was so excited as we got on a huge cruise ship to take the hour journey through the Mediterranean. The ship had a nice seating area and food. Once we were on the island we rented 4-wheelers. We each decided to get our own and for the entire day, both of the 4-wheelers were only €55, something unheard of back home. He allowed us to have them for the day, and we could take them anywhere. Gaining up to 40mph, we flew down the streets and rode all along the coast. It was the most beautiful sights with bright, clear blue water all the way.

Though, things couldn’t go smooth sailing all the way. After our fifth stop, we found that we could no longer kick start the ATV, the clutch kept getting stuck. As though this may seem like a huge inconvenience, which, in a way it was, it was a blessing in disguise too. We were able to meet so many new people since, anytime we wanted to stop and explore, we had to ask someone to kick start my bike for me. We met a university professor who invited us to stay with him for the summer so he could teach us Greek and who was obsessed with our blue eyes. We also met construction workers who told us not to stop the bikes again, seeing as by the end of the day it took them quite a while to even get them working again. Each person was always more than happy to help us in any way they could and give us any helpful hints about the island that would make our stay more enjoyable. Riding up through the mountains and overlooking the coast and beaches was breathtaking. If I could go somewhere next week and I didn’t have to worry about cost (since flights to Greece are a bit pricey) I would definitely hop on a plane to Greece, probably Santorini, another island that is known to be the most beautiful.

Though the people were nice, they might have been a bit too nice at times. It was clear to me the difference in the culture in Greek and the culture in America. In America, you usually don’t go up to someone randomly while they are walking down the street and start talking to them and ask them out. Well, at least not in my experience. However, I do have experience with that happening to me in Greece. Walking down a main street one night, a guy, probably around my age, came up to me and starting walking and talking to me. I assumed that he was a restaurant worker and was trying to get us to go into his restaurant to eat, but I soon realized this wasn’t the case as he asked me to go out for drinks with him. I was very thrown off by this and really didn’t know how to respond. He told me how he loved America and stared hard into my eyes. I’m really not used to that kind of attention and, since I did not know his intentions, I told him I couldn’t, but thanked him for the offer. He looked at me with a blank expression, not seeming to have understood that I was saying no, so we turned and continued walking.

This was not my only experience with very forward Greek men. On our last night, we were sitting in the square talking, when a middle aged man who was sitting next to us asked us where we were from. We told him Chicago and then had a nice conversation with him about where our ancestors were from and how the economy in Greece got so bad. It was very interested and we appreciated finally having a normal conversation with someone who didn’t end up creeping us out. We thought too soon. After about a half n hour, the man asked us to go get drinks with him and his friend. We respectfully declined saying we had an early flight the next morning. He told us we should just go out with him and he could drive us to the airport in the morning, but we said no. He then proceeded to look at me and tell me that I had “the body for sin and the mind for challenge”. Though I think that’s supposed to be a compliment, I took that as my cue to head back to the hostel and go to bed. He insisted on giving me his business card because “now that I have met you I don’t want to lose you”. The whole encounter was very weird in my American perspective. The man was probably my parents age. Walking home, we counted how many guys looked us up and down and I realized that wearing a dress in Athens was not a good life decision.

Though the men might be more forward than we’re used to, it might just be a part of their culture and what they think is appropriate, so I’m not holding it against them. They were always respectful and nice, which is still better than some of the creepy people back home. Even though some of the guys did creep us out a bit, we never felt like we weren’t safe or too uncomfortable. I absolutely loved my stay in Greece and wish it didn’t go by as fast as it did. If anyone is thinking of a beautiful get-a-way vacation, I highly recommend going to Greece, you can’t go wrong.

The Iron Lady

April 18, 2013 / Abby / 0 Comments

Yesterday, my housemates and I were fortunate enough to get the chance to go to Margaret Thatcher’s Funeral Procession in London. We were there to witness history being made. We got up at the crack of dawn to get to London at a good time so we could get front row spots along the procession route from Westminster Abbey to St. Paul’s Cathedral. I’m sure some of you are thinking “Weren’t you guys afraid of going to something so controversial right after the bombings in Boston?” We sat down as a group and decided that it would be safe enough and it was something we really wanted to do. However, just to be safe, we didn’t choose a hugely popular place to stand in case something would happen. We chose a spot along Fleet Street across from the Courts of Justice and it proved to be a very successful location for us to stand. Some of our group were interviewed by the Guardian Newspaper, the biggest newspaper in London (equal to the New York Times) and also by another public newspaper. There was a camera set up right across from us on the street and a picture of us and the casket being pulled by the carriage ended up on Yahoo! news UK and USA versions. How awesome is that? And there was a picture of us on the Guardian Newspaper’s website that went a long with one of the Iron Lady articles. We got our 15 minutes of fame from that spot we picked.

The procession itself, though. That was the best part. It was so incredible to witness such a historical event. The passing of an era, the funeral of one of the most influential Prime Ministers that England has ever had. Depending on what Brit you talk to, her influence could be the best thing or the worst thing. She was very influential, but she also divided a great nation with her decisions in while in office. Yesterday, we saw many people protesting the funeral and there were signs that said things along the lines of “Rest in Shame” and “The Iron Lady, Rest in Rust” however, we also saw signs from the polar opposite viewpoint like the one that said ” But We Loved Her” It was so interesting to see all this division in the nation again because of her death. It gave me a little insight as to what the nation was like when she was still in office. She was undoubtedly a great lady, yet one of the most hated in all of English history.

However much she was hated, she was also loved by a great many, and she received a great farewell from the people of England. People cheered and clapped and roared when she went by as a sign of respect. The procession started at Westminster Abbey with her casket in a hearse car driving down Whitehall Street toward Trafalgar Square. The hearse was surrounded by the British Army, Royal Air Force, Palace Guards, and the Navy, as well as the Metropolitan Police force. It was a huge procession. The Royal Air Force lined the streets of the procession all the way from Westminster Abbey to St. Paul’s Cathedral with their heads bowed in a sign of respect. There were also many different bands playing along the procession. From Trafalgar Square the hearse drove along the Strand and on the Strand, her casket got transferred from the hearse to a horse drawn carriage. After that it came down Fleet Street where we were, and on the St. Paul’s Cathedral. It was a grand procession and very impressive. It was an incredible experience and one I would witness again in a heartbeat.

Rest in Peace or Shame?

April 17, 2013 / Lauren Zomparelli / 0 Comments

The answer would lye with who you are asking. If you ask an American, most would probably say peace of course. However, if you ask about two thirds of the British population, they would probably say shame, much like the man below with his sign.

On Wednesday April 17, there was a procession in London for Margaret Thatcher’s funeral that started at Westminster Abbey and ended at St. Paul’s Cathedral. When she died last week, there was an uproar in the UK. What I never realized as a US citizen, was how divided the country became when Margaret Thatcher became Prime Minister. I have learned in my history class here how little people thought of her and how they believed she was the worst thing for this country. There are many reasons the British feel this way, one having to do with the high unemployment rate when she was in power. When she died, there was riots and demonstrations in London that went hand in hand with cheers and celebrations. I actually received an email sent from the government about how US Citizens should be weary going into London from April 13-17 because of all of the demonstrations that were going to be held. There was also a lot of talk about possible bombs going off, which, once the bombing in Boston happened on Tuesday, did not make me feel anymore confident about making the journey to London Wednesday morning.

Though we did make the journey and I am really glad that I went. Although, as soon as we got off the tube at Temple we were greeted by about eight police officers, one who asked us what we were doing and where we were going. They knew the controversy and were taking all of the necessary precautions. All throughout London, there were police heavily armed, especially in the train stations, tube stations and huge public squares like Covent Garden and Piccadilly Circus. Luckily, we did not see any bombs going off or riots.

It was so interesting seeing so many people lining the streets, waiting for the procession. There were press everywhere, on balconies and roofs taking pictures and interviewing people in the streets. Zach, Jess and Nola were even interviewed by different newspapers and our group as a whole are in a picture in The Guardian’s news online (the link is below).

What I would have to say was the craziest part of all was what happened as the casket went by on the street. We were standing along the second half of the procession, so the casket was being pulled by a horse drawn carriage versus in a car like it was from Westminster to Trafalgar Square. As she passed by, everyone in the crowd starting cheering and clapping. Some, not where we were but earlier on, turned their backs on the casket.

Being able to witness this piece of history was incredible. It is something that will definitely go down in history and something I will be able to tell my children about one day. So rest in peace, or maybe shame, Margaret Thatcher.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2013/apr/17/margaret-thatcher-funeral-streets-procession

Barcelona Forever

April 11, 2013 / Lauren Zomparelli / 0 Comments

I’m not sure why, but for some reason this entry has been very difficult for me to write. I think I’ve started writing about three or four times, and actually wrote a complete entry before I hit delete and decided to completely start over. I think it’s because I’m trying to write about an experience that was so meaningful and exciting to me that I want to get it just right, and so far, nothing has been up to par. Regardless, I want to write about it so at some point I guess I just have to be satisfied with what I have.

While traveling during two week break, one of the places that I had the greatest experience was in Barcelona. One of the main reasons for this was due to the hostel that I stayed at. Up to this point, I never really had the opportunity to meet people in the hostels that I have stayed at. At Hostel One Paralelo in Barcelona, however, this was not the case. Actually, the way the hostel was created made it quite impossible to not meet people.

When you walked into the hostel, you were met with an elevator and a sign on it that read that the doors on this side of the elevator were not in use because the staff wanted you to have to walk past reception so they could introduce themselves. Soon after Rachel and I read this sign and walked around to the other doors, Gonsolo, the man working at the reception desk that day, hopped out of his chair, arm extended and introduced himself as well as invited us to cook dinner with him tonight. Which is another point I haven’t mentioned. Every night, the person working reception would cook dinner, for free, for everyone staying at the hostel.

We graciously accepted Gonsolo’s invitation and joined him in the kitchen to help him cook that evenings meal. At first it was only us cooking, but within five minutes we were joined by Patrick who was from California and Alex who was from Australia. Tor, who was from Norway, stood by and watched us as we cooked. We began by making the salad, chopping the lettuce, tomatoes, onions, apples and cucumbers. To put the amount of food that we were cutting into perspective, we were making enough for about 30-40 people.

After the salads were finally chopped and ready to go, Gonsolo asked Rachel, Alex and I to make a homemade vinaigrette salad dressing. We hesitantly agreed, exchanging nervous and confused looks. We really had no idea how to make dressing by hand. After standing around awkwardly looking at each other for a few minutes, Gonsolo took out oil, white vinegar, salt, pepper and oregano out of the cabinet and set it in front of us. “Well, here goes nothing”, and we started making a mixture. It took us about ten minutes to make the first bowl of salad dressing, taste testing it ever now and then but always coming to the same conclusion, it tasted like oil.

Rushing to get dinner on the table, Alex dumps the entire bowl of salad dressing on just one of the salads, the smaller bowl. Of course this meant that we had to rush and make another bowl for the other huge salad in the pan. Hurriedly, we made another bowl, without tasting it at all, and poured it onto the salad. The entire process of making the salad dressing was hilarious. Every so often Patrick would come over with a piece of lettuce and try some and so would Frenchie, another friend we made that night. After dinner we poured out a third of a cup of the oil that was at the bottom of the first bowl. Cooking dinner was the beginning of forming some great new friendships.

While eating our risotto, that was really more like a sticky brick that just sat in your stomach, we talked about how life is in the different countries we were from. What working was like in Australia compared to Brazil, America and the UK. It was crazy how much I learned about the different cultures and societies. I met people from Portugal, Brazil, Italy, Australia, Norway, America, Ireland, and England. For the rest of the night, we all talked and played card games, such as Egyptian Ratscrew, War and Spoons.

The next night, Vallencio, the owner of the hostel, made couscous for dinner. Unfortunately, he was more prepared than Gonsolo and started cooking dinner early so we were not back in time to help him cook. However, the dinner was delicious. Once again, everyone joined together at dinner and we talked more about schooling and the cost of college tuition. After dinner, Corey from California, brought out his guitar and played songs as we all sang along. It was funny because the first few songs, only a select few people knew, but as soon as he started playing “Wonderwall” by Oasis, everyone in the room started singing. There were about 12-15 of us there, representing 7 different countries and I don’t even know how many languages, but we all knew every word to that song. Valle, sitting over at his desk smiled and sang along as well. It was such a crazy experience. After “Wonderwall”, Corey passed the guitar to Nilton who shocked us all playing “Snow” by The Red Hot Chili Peppers perfectly. If you don’t know what song I’m talking about, take a minute to look it up on YouTube and imagine our jaw dropping reaction when we heard him play this song. It was amazing, to say the least.

I feel so blessed to have had the opportunity to have met people from so many different places and cultures and to be able to talk and learn from them. I did not want to leave Barcelona Wednesday morning to say the least. The entire train ride to Madrid, I just felt a sadness rush threw my body. For a while I couldn’t figure out why it bothered me so much and finally, I think I figured it out. While traveling, I spent the entire time, basically, with the same people. Of course some people visited different cities and left for a few days and maybe we met up later, but mainly, I was with the same people the entire time, for 18 days straight. It’s quite a long time to be with people 24/7 if you really think about it. Meeting new people and being able to talk about something new, like life in Brazil or Australia, and making these connections with someone besides the eight people I have been traveling with, I think, is what I really didn’t want to leave. Then, there is also the added idea that, realistically, I probably won’t have the opportunity to ever see them again. There is a small chance, of course, in meeting up in London or maybe years and years down the road if I go visit their country or they mine, but, that’s really just a small percentage. Luckily, Nilton happened to be going to Madrid as well and staying in our same hostel, so we did have the opportunity to spend a couple more days talking to him, but whether or not we will see him again after that is unknown.

All of the conversations and interactions both nights are almost too amazing to actually be able to put into words and have it correctly represent how I feel. I do feel lucky enough to walk away and still have some great friends that I can message on Facebook and continue to talk to. As recently as yesterday I messaged Alex asking him if Australia has ever fought in a war before, because we never learned about Australia’s history in school. To my surprise, they have fought in quite a few wars. I look forward to continue to talk to Alex and Nilton about their travels and trips and continue to fill them in on mine. I hope one day to be able to visit both of their countries and be able to learn more now that I have a greater knowledge and interest for them. To anyone who is going to be studying abroad, I highly encourage you to get to know people from different cultures and countries because it is such a rewarding experience and you can learn more than you ever thought.

The Island City

April 10, 2013 / Abby / 0 Comments

While we were traveling on Easter Break, I visited 9 cities, in 4 countries, in a matter of 18 days. Looking back, I realize how crazy that is and how lucky I am. I realize that when I travel, it just seems like the normal thing to do, oh you know, just going to Rome this weekend, no big deal, but then looking back at it, I realize how surreal it was. Did I really just go to Rome? What is my life right now? I don’t think I know what a normal life is anymore! I look back on all my travels and I just smile. That’s all I can do. I smile the biggest when I think of Venice. I fell in love with Venice the moment I stepped onto the island. Everything about the island is beautiful to me. I think I may have taken a picture of every side canal on the island. Every corner you turn, there is another beautiful view, another canal that is picture perfect. I was so in love. We got to the island around 9:30 in the morning and it was a little chilly. We walked around and around, since there is always something new to see, and we took everything in. Waiting for the sun to decide to come out for our gondola ride.

The gondola ride is definitely a highlight in my book of life. It was everything I had dreamed of. It was a beautiful time to do it, we waited until the sun decided to pop out to say “hi!” and we hopped on a boat. The gondolas themselves are impressive, they are all painted black in remembrance to all those who died in a plague that swept through Venice a long long time ago. Ever since then, they have all been black. The insides, though, are all different, and they are all extravagant. I sat in the couple seat with Lauren at the end on the boat, in front of our gondola driver.
The best part though, of course, was the actual ride. It was absolutely incredible. So beautiful. The Grand Canal in and of itself is so beautiful, but then we veered off the Grand Canal and took the side canals and pretty alley canals that you would never find on your own. Our driver maneuvered us through some pretty tight canals and it was amazing. They were so pretty and it was so quiet and peaceful. Our driver informed us that now; Venice is made up of 120 smaller islands, connected by 420 bridges. 420! That is a lot of bridges. Pretty much every block of houses that is surrounded by canals is its own island. And every canal has its own street name. How cool is that? We sailed past the Palace, and the biggest fish market in Venice as well as the flower market. I was a beautiful ride. The funniest part was there were so many tourists taking pictures of our gondola because, you know, it’s a gondola and it’s awesome, so when we saw someone taking a picture of our boat, we would smile, or make a face and wave for their picture. It became a game while we were on the Grand Canal and there were people everywhere taking pictures. It was hysterical. We were on the ride for 45 minutes and I did not want to get off the boat when we were done. It was the best day of my life up to that point and I was in heaven. Venice is breathtaking and I cannot wait to go back someday!