Sometimes its nice to stay in one place

I think it is easier to put off writing blog entries when nothing interesting has happened.  This past weekend was my first weekend at home in a while, and so relatively, very few things happened that were note-worthy.  The good news then is that this will be short!

Last week I went to SHINE on Wednesday, and stayed to have lunch with my class…it was hamburger day at Thornhill Elementary, how could I not?  Afterwards, I went home to work on some homework for the following school day.  I devoted a significant portion of the past weekend to homework as well, I wrote three major essays and did lots of reading.  I am trying to get all the assignments finished for this semester before break, so that when I get back I have much less to worry about.

Large exceptions to my studious sessions however were two NYU sponsored events that I attended.  On Saturday, a group of us all traveled outside of London to see a Rugby Game, the Harlequinns versus the London Irish.  That was a lot of fun, the game was very violent and intense, but the event itself was pretty calm compared to what I was expecting.  On Sunday, in spite of the rain, I finally made it to the Tour of London to see the Crown Jewels and the history of the place itself which dates back to right around 1000.  It was a very miserable day, but we did get to see all the place had to offer, and the jewels were in fact very impressive.  One thing that was particularly interesting to me was the South-African colony connection, where the world’s largest diamond mines were at one time under British control.  It fitted in nicely with my History of South Africa class.

Monday night, the next speaker in our lecture series proved to be a huge disappointment.  His biography included many things of interest that he had achieved over his lifetime, including being the President of a major London University, being the Chairmen of no less than 5 National Councils for Britain on the arts and entertainment, and more importantly having interviewed Katherine Hepburn and Clint Eastwood. However, his lecture dealt mostly with the role of th British Museum in Popular culture.  Most of us could not understand the connection of this to anything in his biography or to the lecture series itself.  The Monday we get back from Break, there is no class so we will only have two or three more of these anyways.

The much more pressing thing to talk about is the upcoming Fall Break!  Thursday is the last day of classes for us here, and we have from Oct 31-November 9 off to travel, relax, etc.  Some people are jetting out directly after class, however I am leaving on Saturday for Berlin.  We will spend Saturday and Sunday in Berlin, and then move on to do one day in Dresden.  The following two nights we will spend in Vienna, with a day trip excursion to Matnhausen, the former Nazi concentration camp.  We will travel after that to Budapest for another two nights, on the way stopping for a few hours in Bratislava to see Slovakia.  Budapest will be the last stop, until Saturday when we will fly home to London!  Quite a week, so much to see, Dunkin Donuts in Berlin, the Sound of Music tour in Vienna, Sausages, Beer, and “the Paris of the East” in Budapest, or whatever that means.  I am sure the next blog will more than make up for the shortness of this one.

Happy Halloween to everyone back home.

Croatia: The hottest place in Europe

I guess first, it is worth mentioning that on Thursday, my Modern Society in Britain class spent the afternoon in the famous Victoria and Albert Museum, here in London.  This museum is full of Victorian-era items that tell the story of how Britain became the world’s 19th Century Superpower and cultural leader.  The building itself was funded entirely by the procedes from Britain’s “Great Exhibition” in 1851 which was designed primarily to illustrate to patrons of the event how much better Britain was compared to anywhere else on earth, and in many ways they were just blowing smoke (a pun, industrial revelution?  OK its late).  After our guied tour and short inhouse assignment, we invited out Professor, who is a young PhD persuing Briton, to join us out for dinner.  He turned the offer down, probably so he could go read or something lame like that, but we all went out as a class and had such a good time that we decided to make it a weekly tradition. 

Now, Thursday night was another one of those nights I did not sleep, because I could occupy myself until 3AM when I had to catch the train to the airport.  A large number of other kids were taking the same train to Gatwick to fly out to Barcelona, while me and my friend would be taking a flight to Split, Croatia.  Everything ran smoothly, and before I knew it, we were on the ground at a very small airport in yet another foreign destination. 

A short history of this trip…like the rest of the trips I have taken/will take this semester, I booked my plane ticket in early August.  It was impossible to conceive of many of the things I would encounter in these locations.  Barcelona, Istanbul, and Croatia were all places I really wanted to go to, to see, and get to know.  I booked them on the weekends I did because of the lowest airfares, and then put the printed tickets away in a folder, to take out one at a time over the course of the semester.  I could not even imagine, nor did I try, what it would would be like in these places.  Croatia was yet another marvel that I could talk about for many pages. 

The first thing worth mentioning is that the Croatia kuna, their local currency, is worth about 1/5 of the USD, so the exchange rate and the prices of just about everything in the country were amazing.  The bus form the airport was very straightforward, and due to the small number of flights per day, individual busses were scheduled specifically for flight departures (this made going back to the airport extremely simple!).  Travelling from the airport into town was like watching a country industrialize and modernize over the course of 150 years.  We started off in farm country, with animals wandering the streets, barns and fields of olive trees that needed tending.  Then, as we went along, larger houses, dirtier lawns covered in old appliences and rusty objects got closer together, as did the number of older cars.  Even closer to the city, high rises full of balconies covered in drying laundry appeared, along with curbs full of garbage, Rosa Parks city buses, and people walking the street carrying grocery bags.  These are just images I have in my head, but as we got just outside of the “Stari Grad” or old city, things improved extremely quickly.  We saw many modern cars, brand new buildings, and general signs of life that one would expect to see in a country like Italy, France, and sometimes even England.  This I came to realize was because in Split, life radiates from the old city and the sea that it is located on.  Tons of buses begin and end their trip just outside of the old city, while in the harbor at least a hundred ferries per week come and go to carry passengers domesically and internationally.  The entire old city is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site, as it is primarily made up of “Dioclecians Palace” which is a 32,00 square-meter Roman palace that was built nearly a 1000 years ago and is almost perfectly preserved.  The palace is walled in, and can be entered by four gates namedafter precious metals.  It is built almost right on the sea, with only a long avenue running between it.  This avenue used to be travelled by cars, but today it is entirely for pedestrians, and is lined with palm trees, benches, and multiple restaurants with outdoor seating! 

Split is the second largest city in Croatia, behind it’s capital, Zagreb.  That makes it a center of culture, tradition, and metropolitan life.  It is home to a branch of the Croatian National Theater, as well as many museums devoted not to Roman ruins, but things like modern Croatian Art or Archeology.  Croatia after the Balkan Wars of the 1990s developed a national pride that is seen throughout the country.  Croatia has its own soccer team, and everyone wears their jerseys it seemed like.  Croatia has a very defined gastronomic menu as well, that few deviate from if they open a restaurant, which included influences from central Europe (as Austria-Hungarian Empire once ruled over Croatia), Italy (Venice did too), and even Turkish (Ottomans were there too!).  The food was all delicious overall, many opportunities to try “typical Croatian” dishes and drinks. 

Rather than make this post a huge list of all that we did, I thought I would cover the biggest things, and then just talk a little bit about how remarkable travelling to not only Croatia, but to all three places so far has been. 

Friday we spent in Split, explored the large but fascinating Diocletians Palace, including its perfectly preserved Cathedral and Treasury, as well as its basement halls which are now home to a market.  Also, I walked up a large hill on the north side of town to see the panoramic view of the old town, which was definitely something impressive, as the entire city of Split is framed from behind by the giant mountains of the Balkans. 

Very VERY early Saturday morning, we took a cab to the ferry port where we embarked on an eight hour journey down the Dalmatian Coast to reach our second destination, Dubrovnik.  They call is the Dalmatian Coast because of the way the mountains and landscape look, from afar the “spots” are the green trees and bushes that grow on the ragged beige background of the mountains and hills.  Saturday we reached Dubrovnik and took a cab to our wonderful beachfront hotel!  It was in a suburb outside of the city, but was surrounded by coastline and had nearlby restaurants and other hotels.  We watched the sunset, I climbed another hill to see yet another ridiculous view, and then ate dinner at a nice place before falling asleep (which we deserved by this point). 

Sunday we spent all day in Dubrovnik’s old city, which was first established during the Roman rule over 1000 years ago.  A lot of the old city was desrtoyed in a timely earthquake in the 1600s, which allowed the citizens to rebuild in the increasingly popular Renaissance style that was radiating from Italy at the time.  Today, Dubrovnik is a walled-in city, surrounded by the modern city.  The old city is situated right on the sea with a harbor, and is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen.  The entire city is made form white marble blocks, including multiple churches, markets, towers, and of course the city walls.  Although much damage was incurred in the 1990s when the Yugoslav Army bombed the old city, which shocked the country and the world, all of it has been restored nearly perfectly.  We saw everythign in the small area that the old city covers in about 2 hours, sat to have pizza for lunch, and then I walked along the city walls for some of the best views and photo opportunities ever.  A long bus ride took up back up to Split, where we arrived back at our previous hotel around 8:45PM.  It was at this point we discovered that the Red Sox had lost game 7 of the ALC Championship, the only low point of the entire trip. 

We made it home safe, and early for some odd reason, and then of course I attended the required Monday class where this weeks speaker wound up being a writer for the BBC.  She had many interesting stories to tell us about British journalism and play writing. 

Ignoring that last part, what can I say about travelling to these three places, Barcelona, Istanbul, and Croatia.  All three were places that I researched only a little bit before deciding they were places I wanted to see while on study abroad, and bought tickets to them over the summer.  I went to two of them alone, one with a friend, but enjoyed all three regardless of those conditions.  All three are unique places as well for their own reasons: Barcelona as a rebellious but thriving city/state-within-a-state; Istanbul as a city built on two continents, a gateway to Asia and the Middle East, and indeed a Moderate Islamic run democracy with a LONG and complicated history; and Croatia, also a state that has arrived in its form today as a consequence of multiple Empire’s rule, influence from its place on the Adriatic and in Europe, and certainly an up and coming beach destination for Anglo-American tourists. 

Visiting these places allowed me to see things that werent places I had seen before.  Istanbul was nothing like anywhere I have been before, all western countries, and yet it is bidding to join the EU.  Croatia is a remote and poor country with a low employment level, and yet one could never tell that while munching on pizza in Dubrovnik or visiting the Croatian National Theater to see a ballet.  Regardless of what happens in the future for these countries, or the presidential election, or global warming, I am so happy to have the memories I do of them as they were when I saw them.  Unlike somewhere like Gloucester or Sand Key, whether I can take my kids to these places and have them appreciate them in the same way I did in 2008 is not for sure.  They are dynamic, they are evolving, towards no particular ideal, and with no certainty of success. 

I can not wait to refocus on the more traditional, fall break is coming up in two weeks and I will be travelling to Berlin, Dresden, Vienna, Bratislava, and Budapest.  These places are more typical, and full of their own ideas and traditions that I will enjoy getting to know, ever so briefly. 

We will talk soon, these next two weeks will be CRAZY full of homework and papers to make up and pre-empt travel time that has occured.  Email and IM.

The City of the World’s Delight

Before I start, I have to say I had a large internal debate about to call this post.  I had many title names come up over the course of the weekend, ones on the short list included: “No bombs went off during my holiday”, “Does this plane go right back to London, or do you re-fuel first?”, “Afternoon Turkish Delight”, and “The Grand Bazaar is Closed, why did I even bother coming?”.  All of these seemed good, however by the time I left I thought that the international repuation name was best. 

So here we go, how it all went down.  I got up on Saturday morning at 2:50AM and walked to nearby St. Pancras for what is becoming a fairly routine trip on the train to Luton Airport.  I went through security and found that the flight to Isanbul was delayed one hour, and once on the plane we were told this was due to flight attendents calling in sick.  I felt even more annoyed, but I was glad that they were able to find some at the last minute so I could still say no to them when they came around with the DutyFree cart.  As we came through the clouds in Istanbul, it immediately became clear that Turkey’s recent bid to join the EU should be validated because it was POURING RAIN and COLD just like in every other country in the Eurozone.  I was very disappointed and as we were walking into the airport and I saw the strange Turkish language written out on the signs, I did in fact think that coming was a bad idea.  As it turned out, we had to purchase a visa upon entry, which was $20.  I did not think to bring Turkish lyra before getting to Turkey of course, so it was a HUGE imposition to get some security chimp to take me through Turkey’s border illegally to use an ATM.  Now I have a great souvenier in my passport however, and a wonderful memory of first arriving in the country as well. 

Next, figuring out the bus to get into Istanbul.  As I landed at the smaller airport option in town, this was not possibly directly, so I had planned to take one long bus ride, followed by one short ferry ride right into downtown.  It was really cheap, but took a while which I didnt mind, because as I had hoped as we drove into town the weather cleared up and the sun even came out.  Some of the parts of the city we drove through made me resind my thoughts on the EU-bid, there were many modern looking buildings, but overall it was a parade of decrepid looking apartment towers all grown together.  The long highway road we went on was better, and lined with basically ever type of car dealer on the planet.  They drive all of the same cars in Istanbul as they do in London or Europe, but some Asian models are unique.  It seems that unlike Europe however, size and quantity dont phase them as much, because everyone seems to drive and not just small cars either.  I finally arrived in the Port city of Kadikoy which is on the Asian side of Istanbul, the city built on TWO continents.  A cheap and rickety ferry ride took me across the bottom of the River Bosphorous and into the old city.  It was hard to believe that not only did I pay just about $1 to take a 30 minute ferry ride, but also that thousands of people take the same ride I was every day to get to work or commute home.  It was very picturesque, on one side was the Asian side and the Bosophorous River, with its Ottoman train station, tons of apartment buildings, and more modern Bosphorous Bridge which is the 3rd largest suspension bridge in the world.  On the other side was the captivating old-city originally built by the Greeks, rebuilt by Romans, Byzantines, Arab-Ottomans, and eventually Turks.  This peninsula named the “Golden Horn” includes in it’s skyline the famous Aye Sofya, Blue Mosque, Topkapi Palace, Galata Tower and more. 

We landed, and I needed LUNCH.  Lonely Planet recommended a place called Storks Kabap House which wound up being right at the ferry port, so I went in.  It wound up being a Jewlery store, with a large restaurant on its rooftop, so I took the elevator up to the top floor which of course had an amazing panaramic view of all the essentials.  I ordered a Lamb Kabap with tomatos and yogurt which was great and ate alone, taking in all of the sights.  Too cold to eat outside, but indoors was still good.  After lunch, I booked a table at another “dinner and a view” restaurant nearby for that evening, in an attempt to insure I would be seated while getting a view.  After that, I looked around to find a Bosphorous Cruise to take me up the river towards the Black Sea.  I had wanted to do that first, because the city seemed too big of an egg to crack in the later afternoon part of the day.  Only one cruise boat was left, and it was expensive, but it took about an hour to chug up the river.  We saw all kinds of Ottoman Palaces, mostly now converted into luxury hotels, the extremely large Bosphorous Bridge, the part of Istanbul where they keep all the skyscrapers and new things away from the tourists, an old military academy from Ottoman times, and more.  One of the Palaces built right on the River was constructed as a royal getaway for the Sultans during the 16th-18th centuries, however it eventually became the place where the last Ottoman Emperor lived.  During WWI, as the Allied naval ships steamed up from the Sea of Marmara to seize Constantinople, the last Emperor watched as his Empire finally ended right from that Palace!  Hahaha, bad day. 

After the cruise, I went to find my Hotel which was not easy, since it was on the south side of the Golden Horn and away from some of the tourist parts.  It wound up being a pretty nice place, I was given a triple room since they were out of singles.  Quickly I left though, to make my dinner reservation, which turned out to be kind of lame since I was placed on floor one (of 4) on the inside tables.  I couldnt see anything out over the harbor and they sat me with two french people who didnt talk the entire time.  The food also we not that good, so whatever, afterwards I went home to the hotel and watched a few hour of the WORST American TV I have ever seen.  It was so nice however to just sit after such a long day in bed and watch something familiar, especially since I have not had the chance to watch any TV or relax since leaving in August!

Sunday was a big day, I started off with breakfast in the top-floor restaurant of the hotel.  The breakfast sucked, mostly bread and olive-related products, but the view was great over the water and the local area.  It also was a nice day out, I could tell in an hour or two I wouldnt need a jacket.  I had planned before coming to do a large walking tour that was a composition of many walking tours in the guidebook suggestions.  I walked up to start at the Aye Sofya (which was originally a HUGE Byzantine Church built by one of the Holy Roman Emperors, but was quickly retrofitted into a Mosque by the Arabs after the conquered Byzantium).  It was interesting, since it has been part of both religions, and dircetly across the lawn in between them was the Blue Mosque which is a much more ornate and traditional Mosque built by the Arabs themselves later on in their rule over the city.  It looks blander from the outside, but inside the loq hanging candle chandeliers and detailed decorations are much more laborious looking than the Aye Sofya.  Outside these two places were about 2 million tourists and about equally as many Turkish men dressed in suits, trying to peel individuals off from their groups to go back to their carpet or jewlery shops to sell them something.  I wound up being chased by one man who thought that I would actually make a good customer for his carpets….I didnt go with him, even though I was pretty sure EasyJet would be fine with me carrying on a whole carpet as long as it fit all the way under the seat in front of me.  After that, I walked along the LonelyPlanet route to reach many other local mosques which were all very nice inside, at one point or another I stopped going into them because its a custom to take off your shoes before walking on the prayer carpets and that got old after about number 4 or 5.  Seen one mosque, youve seen them all right?

Just outside of the Aye Sofya/Blue Mosque district is a bunch of monuments erected by both Byzantine Emperors and Arab Sultans over the decades.  As certain customs, cultures, and rulers went in and out of fashion, monuments were built, destroyed, or altered to match the sentiment of the time.  One monument was carved in Egypt and brought over by a Byzantine Emperor, another was a spiral shape cast in bronze and topped with an Ottoman Sultan, however now all that remains is the very bottoms part.  Just after that, were the Basillica Cisterns which were the main underground water canals built by the Byzantines to transport water to and from buildings.  I didnt go down into them, which is something I regret not doing, but the lines were too long in proportion to how interesting and memorable they actually would be.  Next time! 

After that, a long walk along a very busy road to reach the Grand Bazaar….which was CLOSED because it was Sunday.  Sunday in Turkey is also a day of rest, which is in contrast to all the other Arab countries in the world where Friday is the day of rest, because Ataturk, the first leader of the Turkish Republic was declared after WWI, tired to re-allign the population with Western-ideals and standards.  In addition to the Sunday day of rest thing, he also banned head scarves for women in the country, secularized schools and munipalities, invited foreign investments, and sided with the allies during WWII.  This allignment with Western powers is still effective today, and it is interesting to see Arab women walking alone at night or wearing short skirts and tank tops, while in many other countries in the neighbouring Middle East this would be unthinkable.  All of this however did not concern me directly, as I stood outside of the locked doors to the Grand Bazaar…missing it would be a real problem however, and I decided to return before leaving for my flight the next morning. 

Moving on from there, I saw things like Istanbul University, which in spite of several “gap years” during invasions and take-overs, claims to be the oldest University in world history, first established during Arab rule while the “middle/dark ages” were occuring in Europe.  Also, many more historic mosques, a very nice park, and the largest “local” mosque in town named Suleymaiye Camii.  Camii in Turkish means mosque, and this one in particular is very large and famous but still attended by local Istanbulus.  Unfortunately, although it still dominates the skyline of the Golden Horn, it was under massive renovations, moving on! 

From here, I went down again by the ferry terminals and the harbor to investigate other things, including the “Spice Bazaar” which is also an indoors market that closes on Sunday.  However, around this market were many small streets and alleys full of vendors open on Sunday, catering to both tourists and locals needing ingredients for Sunday dinner.  The Spice Market is just what it is, a market where Turks sell traditional and imported spices by the kilo.  Today, many more souvenier shops than spice shops surround the area though.  I bought a few things for people back home, there were so many options it was overwhelming to look through, and of course should I stop for more than a second, I was sure to aggressively hassled into looking at or buying something.  I did ok though, the exchange rate was awesome compared to UK so everything added up to a lot less than I thought it would. 

From here, I grabbed some lunch quickly and went into the Topkapi Palace and Gulhane Park, both of which used to be part of the royal compound where the Arab and Ottoman Sultans lived!  The park was really well layed out, full of trees and flowers, and a great spot to eat lunch so I was glad I decided to go.  At the end of the park, there is a great view over the harbor and Asian Istanbul.  I didnt wind up going into the extremely large and intimidating Palace, it would have taken too much time out of my short stay in town, but I will definitely explore it next time I go back…and by this point I was becoming certain there will be a next time. 

I went back to the hotel to drop off my load of bags and headed back out quickly to catch a tram to the Northern part of Istanbul, across the harbor and along the Bosphorous, sometimes called the “Galata Side” named after the predominant Galata tower which stands there.  The Galata side is the more modern part of the city overall, which is noticable immediately since this is where they park the large number of cruise ships that dock in Istanbul.  From the modern docks, there has been a recent spreading modernization movement throughout the city.  Just there is the “Istanbul Modern” Museum, a museum of modern arabic and Turkish art in the image of the Tate Modern of Britain.  I didnt go in, surprisingly. 

Galata is also home to a very large hill the plateaus further away from the water, so anything worth visiting is a steep uphill climb.  The most famous thing, the Galata Tower, was packed with tourists and by this time it was already getting late, so I decided to follow the guidebooks advice and book a table for dinner at yet another rooftop restaurant to insure a seat with a view.  After that, I went on to explore something that Lonely Planet only mentions briefly but that I thought was completely cool…the “Tunel-Taskim Square” route of town.  One square is called Tunel, another called Taskim Square, and in between is a very long road FULL of all the most modern and stylish stores.  The two squares are connected by an infrequent retro-trolley, but I would never ride it because the entire road, which must have been over a mile long and STUFFED with people (no cars allowed) with such interesting shops, food places, and venues.  I wished I had known about it all before attending it as an activity while waiting for dinner reservations!  Most of it was western designer stores, lots of food places with recognizable names from UK and America (Gloria Jeans Coffee???), but a lot of it was also just Turkish institutions too.  I made my way back for dinner, which was delicious and very Turkish/Anatolean and sat on the roof just as the sun was setting!  Lots of good photos, and this time I had a table all to myself.  Afterwards, I just walked home because it was a really nice night out.  I stopped to grab some Starbucks to satisfy a craving…it was on par with Starbucks prices at home too which was nice.  More CNBC to polish off the day, this time they played Dexter, Family Guy, and Two and a Half Men, so overall a much better line up! 

Monday, again with the crappy breakfast contrasting with the amazing view…Monday morning meant that the Sea of Marmara was full of fishing ships!  I did in fact take make it to the Grand Bazaar in the morning, what an experience!!  Originally starting off as just vendors lining narrow streets, someone got the idea to build coverings over the streets so that shoppers would still come no matter what the weather.  Today, the Grrand Bazaar has 4000 shops in it, with people selling anything from textiles, to full size carpets, from gold rings to solid gold tables, and tourist items all the way to real authentic Ottoman and Byzantine era artifacts.  It was truely overwhelming, and I literally raced through to avoid all of the salesmen.  It is very typical to be hassled, not just as a tourist, by Grand Bazaar salesmen.  They start by making small talk, offer you a chair to sit in, and give you a hot drink while the show you their merch.  This is generous and polite, but also makes for a high pressure sales moment near the end.  I wondered if I really looked like the type of person who would buy a four foot high solid gold Islamic Mosque topper…but they still shouted the entire way through!  Moving on quickly to the Spice Bazaar, I walked through there to get a sense of what this more authentic market really was like.  It was all too easy to picture people 200 or 400 years ago, coming into this exact same place to buy small amounts of paprika or oregano for their recipies.  I took lots of pictures! 

Then, I got on the same ferry back to Kadikoy across the harbor to make my bus back to the airport.  I left myself plenty of time for screwups and there werent any, so I decided to get a Kabap sandwich and some Turkish Baklava for lunch!  It was also too sunny to sit inside, so I went to sit out on the pier to eat and enjoy the weather.  While I was eating, three Turkish girls were sitting closer to the water eating lunch too.  Turkish people are too outgoing it was determined at this point, as the began to ask my where I was from, what my name was, etc etc.  They spoke horrible english, but then again I speak no Turkish so our conversation for 30 minutes or so was very disjointed but interesting and fun.  We talked about music from America, how much I liked Istanbul, why they dont like Bakalava, and I attempted to recited the days of the week and 1-10 in Turkish by failed remarkably.  Eventually I found my bus after this, and got to the aiport way early which was great for the homework situation this weekend. 

I got back into St Pancras around 8:30PM due to a long Passport check at Luton Airport, went to Tesco for dinner items and spent the night recovering in my room!  My roommate went to Dublin this weekend so he was also recovering from being Irish in Ireland and visiting the Guiness Factory (hahaha).  It is an extremely busy and short week this week, I have so many stupid little things to do it isnt even funny.  On top of that, my friend Katie from back home, who is studying with her school in Denmark this semester, is visiting London for a class this week!  So on Tuesday night and tonight actually as well, we are meeting up to hang out in the city for a while.  Last night we went to my favorite cheap pub for dinner, bangers and mashed in the mouth of COURSE! 

Today was Wednesday and thus the first day of my SHINE Tutoring Program.  My school is called Thornhill School, and I went over around 8:30 this morning to meet my teacher and begin working with the kids as they came in around 9.  I am working with the “Fifth Years” (9 year olds) under Ms. Whethering who is quite young and just started teaching after returning from four years in South Korea teaching english…crazy.  First thing we worked on was reading, my group of about 5 kids was just starting the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe which has been completly spoiled for them because they have all seen the movie (back in my day…).  Then we moved on to writing scenes based on Greek Mythology, and then it was time for…swim class!?!  We walked about ten minutes away from the school, everyone changed in the locker room, and then they all had swim class at this local community center for 30 minutes.  What a cool day for them!  They all had tons of questions for me, given that I can not hide my American accent.  They are all super hard to understand, because little kids always mumble and then given their British accents, it was hard to follow what they were saying.  I was suprised at how much they knew about America and our culture.  One kid thought Miami was a state…but lots of them knew all about American TV shows, all of the boys were very into CSI.  They all knew about the Presidential Election, had lots of questions about swear words in America, what kind of music and movies I like, it got a little crazy towards the end when I said Haley Joel Osment goes to my University.  I will be with them once a week for the rest of the semester, so good luck to me!

Tomorrow I am going to go to class for the whole day, and then come home to prepare for Croatia on Friday…my friend and I leave very early Friday morning to land in Split which is right on the water of the Adriatic Sea.  We will spend the afternoon and night there, and then very early Saturday morning take a high speed ferry down to Dubrovnik to check out the old walled city that was bombed during the Yugoslav wars.  Then back up to Split to fly out on Monday morning!  Have a good weekend!!!

A Very Busy Week

Just wanted to get some of the stuff that happened this week out of the way before the next big Monday blog about Istanbul.  This past week was full of interesting and mundane tasks that left me very little time to be doing nothing.  On Tuesday, in addition to my usual three hour class in the morning, immediately afterwards I boarded a bus to join my afternoon Shakespeare class on a trip to Strattford-Upon-Avon. 

The trip was a lot of fun, the bus ride took about 2.5 hours to get to Strattford, during which the time was filled with a viewing of Braveheart with Mel Gibson.  That was cool, I havent ever seen that instant-classic.  We reached Strattford and began a walking tour with our Professor.  Some of you may be asking why we went to a place called Strattford?  It is the birthplace of William Shakespeare, and where many of his inspirations for plays come from!  Our walking tour included a stop at the birthplace home, where William lived with his parents before leaving for London to be a writer.  The town itself was very charming, pretty much what you think of when you think about England before WWII.  Tudour houses line really tiny streets, a few small churches, and then one big cathedral with Shakespeare’s tomb in it.  This was closed, so we could only stand outside in a creapy old cemetary and reflect…on how hungry we were. 

At 530, we went and sat in the theater that we later be seeing a show in, and heard the Dircetor speak about his play, Love’s Labour’s Lost.  His insight was not particularly helpful or meaningful to those who havent seen the show yet, but later on while we watched the production some of the dialogue became relevent.  He was a really nice guy though, and funny.  It had already been two weeks since I had read the play for class, so I sort of was lost for most of what he was talking about.  Directly afterwards, me and few others from class went with our Professor to a local pub named the Windmill.  We were told to avoid “the Dirty Duck” Pub which is more expensive, but is where the actors in the Royal Shakespeare Company tend to hang out.  It used to be called the Swan Pub, but American soldiers during the War thoughtfully re-named it!  The Windmill was so COOL, it was not like the Rocket in London which is dark and skeezy, it was more like eating in someones really old home.  There was a beer garden, but we ate inside since it was cold out, and we sat by a fire place, the room had a low ceiling, just really cool.  I had Chicken, Leek, and Ham pie which was DELICIOUS. 

The show itself was pretty good, the best one we have seen so far.  It was indoors at a “temporary venue” called the Courtyard Theater.  They built it to see how accoustics and such would be, so that they could build a larger permenant version across the street.  Seems like a lot of extra work, but thats one way to get it right!  The show was really funny, and not often performed as far as Shakespeare plays go, so it was nice to see it. 

Wednesday, I woke up earlier than I would have liked to go for the first time to my Elementary school where I will be tutoring once a week.  Its called Thornhill School, and I will be working with 4th Graders primarily.  Wednesday was just orientation, so we took a tour of the school, popped into a few classrooms, and talked about what we would be doing most of the days.  I didnt get to meet my teacher, however from now on, I must go every Wednesday at 830AM to get in line with the kids to walk into the building with their teacher.  Next week is going to be a rough morning on my usual day off!  We will see how that goes. 

Right now, I am in the lab on my break between classes…but it is FRIDAY!  I know i know, these are make up classes for our fall break, which NYU students back in New York dont get.  Although I am sitting in the chairs for both MidEast Politics and Shakespeare, I am mentally already preparing for my flight early tomorrow morning to Istanbul.  Crazy crazy I cant believe it.  I will probably have LOTS to say when I get back, because that is a very different part of the world.  Possibly, look for my own CNN Special…Ill be the one with a bandana around my eyes!  See you monday…

Back in Londontown to host a friend

The week after Barcelona felt very driven towards the next weekend, and I imagine most weeks will feel this way from now on.  Classes on Tuesday and Thursday make the weeks go buy at a start-stop pace, fast on Mondays, slow on Tuesdays, fast on Wednesdays, etc.  Last week, the big push was to make it through the week to Thursday night, when my first guest arrived in London.  On Wednesday, I did get a chance to visit yet ANOTHER London museum, the Imperial War Museum.  I intended to devote about one afternoon to this Southwark located attraction, because I wasnt expecting too much from it…I may have mis-judged!  For a free museum, this one offered a whole lot to learn and see.  The first floor is mostly dominated by the atrium which goes all the way up to the fourth floor roof.  Hanging from the ceiling’s gurters, are many fighter planes from the First and Second World Wars, all repainted and restored back to their authenticity.  On the floor meanwhile, were none less than 10 examples of Soviet, American, and British tanks, used during the World Wars.  Also, an odd double-decker bus used to transport the Royal Army, and many examples of anti-aircraft guns, and amunitions.  On the second floor, you could go into some of the cockpits of the airplanes, and there was an exhibit about the Royal navy which wasnt emphasized simply because they Navy is so important in England;s history that there is a whole other museum for it down in Greenwhich.  The third and fourth floors are devoted to an award-winning Holocaust and war crimes exhibit, which were excellant.  The most interesting part was a full model of the largest Nazi death camp, Auschwitz.  I thought after that, I was done with all of the reading, listening, and interpreting, but as it turned out I was only halfway there because in the basement they had a very comprehensive maze of rooms that took you from pre-WWI all the way through to the end of WWII.  The rooms gave British history on all of the events, battles, and lifesytle of living through the wars.  It also included a really creepy room which was darkened and designed to be like walking through a section of a WWI fighting trench…complete with sound effects, smells, and manequins.  Also, another room was a tour-guide lead “London Blitz” experience, which had us all sitting in a bomb shelter, listening to sound effects which the building “shook”.  After spending the “night” fearing for our lives, we went “outside” into the next room, and were told all about what we saw and the consequences of the Blitz for common Londoners.  It was cheesy, but also really informative! 

My friend Amanda is studying with NYU this semester in Prague, and so we arranged last summer for her to come and visit.  On Thursday after classes ended, I walked over to Baker Street to meet her at the bus stop from the airport.  We had a really nice weekend, with some crazy nights trying to meet up with friends and go out.  The problem was, this weekend was the NYU-sponsored trip to Bath and Stonehenge, so many of my friends here were travelling on Saturday and Sunday.  Also, make-up classes for the pre-med students were on friday, so many had tests to study for.  We still had a great time however!!  I finally was able to see a West-End Theater production.  We decided to go see something more traditionally British rather than an American import…sometimes I go to school in New York right?  Hahaha.  We saw a show which has been running in London for 20 years, so I thought me and it would have a lot in common.  In fact, it liked saxophones a lot more than me, it was a show called Blood Brothers which was about two twins who were seperated at birth.  One brother stayed with his original family, who were poor and could barely afford to rent an apartment, while the other brother grew up with a very wealthy family and became a lawyer.  The brothers reunite in the second act, and the poor one has been layed off from work and is addicted to depression medication.  They both die in the end!  Its a social commentary about classes in England, and I suspect is was more relevant 20 years ago, however it was a cool show with catchy songs.  I dont think you should all be waiting for it to cross the ocean however, it was veryyyy British. 

We did a lot of other cool things, I think we tried to do too much on Friday with a large walking tour of all of the centrally located stuff in London.  On Saturday we went down to Spitalfield Market where Amanda was able to do some shopping for friends back home.  We has amazing Indian food on nearby Brick Lane, three courses for just 7 pounds!!  We toured the less than amazing Museum of London, where we were given a small amount of history on the fire of London that occured in 16….actually we never found out for sure, the exhibit never really said!  Oh well. 

On Sunday, we spent an hour or two walking through the “critically acclaimed” Tate Modern Museum.  I had already been with friends, it seems like a very NYU destination.  I was confortable making fun of most of what we saw, carefully avoiding the glares from the heavily pierced and tattooed walking STDs.  Also on Sunday, while she was visiting the Tour of London (I decided to hold of on seeing that until NYU sponsors and event there, because it is 14 pounds to go in), I explored nearby Butlers Wharf and St.. Katherine’s Docks.  These places used to centers of trade all through London’s history, before the Thames was closed to merchant ships in an effort to clean up the river.  Today, these areas have been re-done rather than torn down to become luxery housing and shopping districts.  I think if the weather had been nicer, I would have found them more appealing, but some of the restaurants looked really fun. 

For dinner on Sunday night, we decided that after eating mostly salads and Indian food all weekend, it was time to role up our sleeves and visit a pub….but which one?  I know of a few, but being a resourceful and educated person, I Googled “pub” and my address to see where we may be going.  Ah, how stupid of me, as a map of the immediate surrounding area appeared, so did about a MILLION little balloons littering the map, each one a “Pub” restaurant.  I scrapped this idea, and decided to just go to one I knew would be good and close by.  We ordered from the classy two-for menu, which allowed us to try more things.  I had Corned Beef Hash with a fried egg on top, she had Chicken Tikka Masala which ironically is Indian food, however it is one of those dishes which is about as traditional as Pizza Hut pizza is to Italians.  All of it was delicious!!!  Afterwards we went for a long walk, on her last night here, and wound up at a French coffee house for dessert called Denise’s before walking home and going to bed. 

Today was slightly crazy, trying to do laundry, go grocery shopping, and cooking all while thinking about an impending essay for my South African class.  The one repreive wound up being a surprise section of my required class, which I thought I did not have tonight!  The speaker tonight was Juliette Gardner, a British historian focused on the 1930s and 40s in the UK.  She was definitely the most engaging speaker so far, as she spoke about an event in British history refered to as the “Friendly Invasion”.  By this, she meant the 1.5 million US G.I.’s who arrived in the UK between 1941 and 1945 during the Second World War. 

Her lecture focused on what exactly happened to merit 1.5 million Americans entering the country, what they did while they were here, and how British people percieved this new age in Anglo-American relations that has set the tone for the two countries interaction ever since.  About halfway through the lecture, I looked around the room, and to my surprise so most of the other students acting very rude, slumping over their desks, and doing Soduko puzzles in the London Lite.  I say surprised, but I was instantly irritated at myself for expecting anything more from NYU students!  I thought to myself, as I saw one girl literally putting her head down on her sweatshirt while the speaker was talking about how important these soldiers were to the invasion of Normandy…”A very-merry NYU moment, brought to you by: Wealthy Parents; in association with, unbelievable self-entitlement!” 

I returned home to see that the Dow Industrial has just hit a four year low, losing 700 points, while the “rush for the White House” unravels into a dirty mudslinging typical election.  At least maybe the Red Sox can win tonight, and save the day from being totally bad??  Overall however, I think I should probably start learning Chinese. 

Next weekend is Istanbul, I will be travelling alone!  If anyone wants anything from “city of two continents”, please let me know!  The Turkish Lyra is only .80 on the dollar, so hopefully things will be a bit cheaper!!  Talk with you soon.