The End... Or Is It?

I don't know how exactly it happened, or why it did when it did, but at some point in the last month or so, my whole study abroad experience changed. Somehow, I stopped being "the American" and they stopped being "the crazy Brits." We got to know each other-- everyone's sense of humor, each person's distinct style, what made each person tick. I got to see through this whole veil of cultural difference and get to them, the real people behind it.

I think I really started to let my guard down with them when I got back from traveling. Maybe interacting with so many different British/Australian travelers abroad made me miss the familiarity I had with them, I don't know. But when I got back, it was different. I didn't just meet up with them for nights out at clubs or a few pints at the pub. We'd grab meals or have tea, go to the movies or sunbathe in the park. We'd make fun of each other until no end, about anything and everything, and I would laugh for entire afternoons and nights. We'd devise elaborate plans for how I could swindle my way into staying for the summer, for forever. I'm pretty sure I promised to clean their house twice a week in exchange for sleeping on their sofa. They promised to come visit, I promised to come back. We promised to keep in touch.

On my final night, they surprised me with dinner out at the 02 Arena. I think I laughed for two hours straight. They harassed me for a speech, and when I finally relented, I got the chance to tell them how incredible it was getting to know them. From surface level-- just getting to understand what they were saying-- to really getting them, and more, really really liking them. It's still unbelievable to me that I fell into this already-formed group of British friends, and slipped into place, and ended up fitting in perfectly. What are the chances that we'd all actually really like each other? But, we did. We do.

It will be weird, from here on out, knowing I have friends 3,000 miles away. But I always will. They won't become memories or figures from my past-- faces that make me smile when I look at pictures of my time abroad. They'll be the first people I call when I find myself in London, and I am absolutely sure they'll do the same in America. When we realized, sometime in the past few weeks, that we were all really real friends, something changed. I knew I didn't have to be devastated that study abroad was ending; we all knew that somehow we would see each other again soon.

Maybe I'm being delusional, or optimistic. But maybe I'm right. All I know is that when I had my final cider at the Hayfield last night, and I was the only American in the place, I was surrounded by friends. Real, genuine good friends. And I don't need a souvenir for that.

Addictive Afghani Tea and Medieval Marching Bands

Well, I'm wrapping up my month in London. I leave in just about ten days to head back home, and I'm so, so looking forward to it. Not only to the pizza, pork roll, and beach, but to everything familiar. Sometimes I forget how strained and difficult it is doing the cross-cultural thing; while it's interesting and rewarding (that's what they tell us, right?), it's exhausting. I can't wait to go home and say things that are immediately understood and hear jokes that I immediately find funny. Or even to introduce myself as "Colleen" and have people know what word I just said. It will just be nice to going back to doing things easily.

With only 10 days left here, nothing is "easy" yet. I just met another new flatmate in my United Nations of an apartment. Ackbah, from Afghanistan. I couldn't understand much of what Ackbah was saying, but he studies some kind of engineering, and was surprised I knew where Afghanistan was. I, close-minded American that I am, was surprised he didn't hate me when he heard where I was from. In a city where I get a lot of heat from a drunk Frenchman on a public bus for being American but only friendliness from an Afghani flatmate, life is never simple here.

So that's Ackbah from Afghanistan, Veronique from Mexico, "Owen" from China, Silent Asian Roommate (now gone... but to where?) and Evil Roommate from the Netherworld. Ackbah offered me some Afghan tea and promised me I would be immediately addicted; friendly offer, but unfortunately I was busy stealing Owen's pots and pans in one of my covert cooking schemes and I couldn't relax for a cup of tea. Maybe I should have just broken down and purchased the 5-pound cookware set. Probably not. Maybe I will miss life in Flat 23. But probably not.

What has been fantastically enjoyable in these final two weeks of my London life is the weather. This I did not expect. It has been and (supposedly) will be sunny and in the high 70s everyday. And so, we've done our fair share of lying out in Hyde Park, drinking midday at outside tables at our favorite pubs, going on picnics with the Brits, and organizing campus barbeques. My favorite moment, by far, was a few days ago in St. James' Park, the park practically adjacent to Buckingham Palace: I brought my laptop to finish writing a paper, and found a really hidden picnic table in the shade overlooking the lake. Discounting a lot of noisy and seemingly-mating birds, it was quiet and great. Until a drum and fief band began playing. Or, actually, the official Royal Drum and Feif Band, or whatever they call themselves, in their red uniforms and furry hats. And I sat there, as a partially-deaf grandma and I basically ignored a band practically from the 1600s as they gave us a private concert. And no joke, I sat there and wrote about what I found to be "everyday living in London." To steal from my much-missed Cindy Adams, only in London, kids, only in London.

Now off to penultimate Friday night in London; I guess it's time to make it really count. Cheers.

i can't believe i got to go to italy.

Eastern European Updates on the Fly: Vienna

Okay, so technically Vienna isn't really Eastern Europe, but who ever considers Austria when you think of European countries? Not me, that's for sure. But PRAISE GOD- Austria is as Western Europe as it gets, for the most part.

The whole city is reminiscent of other cities I've been to over the past few months-- Parisian in architecture, German in feel. And, though a much-disputed point among idiot hostelers (yours truly included), it was never hidden behind the Iron Curtain. It was, however, a major player in World War II-- which I guess you could have figured based on Sound of Music (though that was Salzburg)-- but even more so than just in that context. For example today we ate at the Central Cafe, which is reputedly the sight where Hitler wrote Mein Kampf. Besides being a major player in the Nazi takeover, it was also bombed to death during the war. A lot of buildings were wrecked. The cool thing that came out of it, though, was a burst of modern architecture that contrasts with the old architecture of the Hapsburgs and Austro-Hungarian Empire. So its actually an eclectic little city that has progressed throughout the ages. All that knowledge is courtesy of the Architecture Museum of Wien, a worthwhile 6 euro.

My other favorite thing we did in Vienna was go to the Spanish Riding School, where they train white stallions to do cool dance moves. It was 6 euro to get into morning exercises, and while it wasn't as cool as the performances, it was fun to watch. I definitely missed my calling in life by quitting horseback riding at age eight.

Tomorrow we head off to Milan, then Venice, and finally back to London. It's been the coolest trip ever, and I think my parents will be upset to hear I've acquired quite a taste for the travelling life. Anyhow, more updates to follow. Hope you all are well!

Eastern European Updates on the Fly: Prague

Our journey from Budapest to Prague started off in traditional Colleen fashion: our coach bus got a flat tire before we were even out of Hungary. Being stuck in the middle of Hungarian farm fields was something I never thought would happen to me, and as I began to imagine what the walk from Hungary to Czech Republic might be like, I think I started to grasp how much I love my Cabrio.

After a tumultuous ride through industrial Eastern European bus stops (really, not the prettiest way to see the world), we arrived at 11:30 at night in Prague. Greeted by Rob and McDonald's meal #5, life in Prague was clearly going to be better than life in Hungary.

And that it is. Prague is B-E-A-UTIFUL! It is quaint and charming and pretty and interesting. We got one day of rain and two days of sun, and saw the entire place. The buildings are stunning-- including the biggest castle in Europe. While I don't think anyone ever told Budapest the Berlin Wall came down, Prague looked around in 1990 and decided to move into the next century with the rest of the world. There are cafes, restaurants, bars, courtyards, boat rides up and down the river. It was like a charming part of Disney World, but real.

My favorite Czech-ian thing we did was go see Don Giovanni. I've never been to an opera and never really thought I would go to an opera, but Mozart lived in Prague for a bit in the 1800s, and they locked him in a room until he finished Don Giovanni. So they show it all the time here. So we went! We got standing room seats for something like $1.50-- you had to read the subtitles and stuff but it was so cool.

Also, because Sinead and I are major scammers, we not only managed to ride the public transportation around the city free all weekend, but get our hostel for FREE, too!!

Now we're off to catch a bus to Vienna, which should only be about three or four hours. I'm excited to eat Austrian food and sing things from the Sound of Music. It's weird going to all these places I never really knew anything about or thought I would go to-- apparently there's a whole other world out there! Ah, anyway, I'll keep you updated!

Eastern Europe Updates on the Fly: Budapest

So I owe a major update with pictures and stories for the whole parental vacation-- which, despite rumors of near-death experiences and "attacks," was really really great-- but I just can't post about that right now. I'm sitting in a hostel in Budapest and its sunny outside for the first time since we got here and we leave in five hours to get to Prague, so this has to got be short and to the point:

HUNGARY IS THE WEIRDEST COUNTRY IN THE ENTIRE WORLD.

First of all, I never thought I would actually be in Hungary, or Eastern Europe, so I guess I never gave much consideration to what it actually was like. Too bad about that, too, because it the flippin' strangest, creepiest, most Eastern-European like place on earth. That said, it has its...charm.... and we've actually had a blast so far.

To give you an idea of what Eastern Europe is kind of like, think about the Tower of Terror at Disney World, and then think about it being completely real, and you being the only people walking through it at any given time. It is dingy, decrepit, bleak, covered in graffiti, strangely abandoned in every single place, and with an incessant flickering of lights no matter where you are.

On the other hand, the architecture in the city is absolutely gorgeous (which makes the haunted feeling even more pronounced) and the views from Buda looking over the Danube to Pest are awesome. Its so old and so different from Western things--- just when I was bored of touring old cathedrals and palaces, Budapest swept right in and mixed things up. We had horrible weather the first two days, but I imagine today, in the sun and warmth, the decrepit-ness will be totally downplayed and the city will actually seem really beautiful.

Anyway, boring boring scenery stuff. The real cool thing is that we went out with kids from the hostel to this club in the basement of a huge, stately, gothic building, and then the next day walked by and discovered it was city hall. The sign for the club was just a piece of plastic that they put up in the middle of the night and take down by the next morning. Now THAT is some cool Budapesti clubbing. Although, Budapest is known (to student travellers) for its "speakeasies," or, gatherings of young people with music and alcohol in abandoned buildings and lots. Unfortunately (or probably really fortunately) we didn't make it to one of these famed raves, but I guess I have to save something for my return trip to Budapest (never in a million years or for a million dollars).

Anyway, now we're off to catch a seven hour bus to Prague. Friends from the hostel decided to catch it with us, so we're all heading to Czech Republic, where Sinead and I will go meet up with Villanova friend Rob who's studying there. My knowledge of world history is pretty lacking, so I'm not sure whether Prague was hit as hard by Soviet rule as Budapest, which is why Buda is in such disrepair now. So I'm hoping Prague will be a little bit closer to normalcy, aka the Western World. But if not, hey, that's what travelling Europe is all about.

Time to go czech it out! (haha, sorry, I had to).

Whoa, it's RECAP time

Boy, I have gotten lax in blogging lately. Maybe because less has been going on, or its all beginning to seem normal and un-blog-worthy now. I will, however, try to recapture some of the fun of the past month or so, and not complain about losing my wallet even once (maybe once).

As I put up a couple of posts ago, when Sinead came to visit we went to a "Glow" themed party, where we had to wear neon things. Here are some more pictures from that night, just because they're so colorful and great:

Sinead hard at work after arriving at 11pm from France. I watched.

Lookin' good!

When we walked in the door and got ushered into the bathroom so Natalie and James could do our make-up, Sinead was ready with the camera to capture James and I arguing about which shade of blues and pinks should go where.

Then Sinead jumped right in and helped Natalie and I paint Jen's pants.

Sinead also made fast friends with Rupert and Ellie- two of the coolest Brits!

But no one is cooler than Carl, winner of Best Costume, not to mention Best Accent and Best Overall Brit when Cassandra and I are in charge.

Look at those tights! Cassandra (far-right) and I with our hosts, Rhiannon and Lauren.

Okay, moving on. After Sinead's visit and St. Patrick's Day (I told you about that, right?), things settled down a bit. Well, more than a bit. The weather turned atrocious for the rest of March, and all of England seemed to hide indoors. One minute it would be sunny and 70 and you'd be venturing outside and then next second the clouds would roll in and you'd get pelted with hail. Literally, look:

Okay, well its not big hail. But it was sunny outside TWO MINTUES before I took this picture, which is why I was in shock and ran to the window with my camera.

Next up was Easter, which was mildly depressing since I was so far away from family (and... since my wallet was stolen the day before). But Cassandra and I made the best of it, and she took me out to Brunch and then we went to Mass and then I feasted on chocolate. The weirdest thing about the day was that no one in England even noticed it was Easter. Sure, we got off school for a week, but honestly, half the kids didn't go home, and just slep till 2 like normal on Easter Sunday and then went to the Hayfield at night. Brunch was almost all Americans, and Church was 1/3 full with no singing, no sign of peace, no one even saying Amen. Besides the huge Cadbury Eggs in the windows at Marks and Spencer, you would never have known it was Easter Sunday.

The week after Easter was fun though, as it brought about the annual Oxford/Cambridge Boat Race. It's been going on for something like 150 years, and the score is roughly Cambridge 79, Oxford 73. Each year the losing team has to send an invitation to the previous winner for a rematch, and so it keeps going. It's a huge event, and students, alumni, and everyone else in London comes out to watch. Even if its pouring out.

We picked the halfway point in the course to go and watch. It was like 15 people deep to get to a place where you could see the river.

The first order of business was buying the official drink of the race- Pimms- from the official bar of the race-- a boat house.

Best pub in London.

Next order was to find shelter. Under a bridge. And warmth, from the Pimms.

All of our taller friends (umm... everyone?) scooted in front of me, but I reached up and managed to take this little shot of the 2-inch part of river we could see. And we were actually in a pretty good position, relatively.

Here they come! All of the boats here are actually just part of the fanfare, but the real ones were coming fast!

And there's the tip of one now! Can't tell whether its Oxford or Cambridge, but everyone was shouting Go Oxford! So we did, too. Look across the river at the crowds there, too.

As soon as the boats pass, everyone makes a hasty retreat to the pub to watch the finish on the big screen. And to drink more Pimms.

Oxford by a mile!! At least we were rooting for the right team. The whole race takes about 18 minutes, and I was freezing just watching it that long. I have no idea how those guys do it.

Emptying out of the pub and celebrating that Oxford won!

The week after that piped up a bit, as the weather broke and it hit 75. The final week of lectures came out of nowhere, and kids wore shorts to their final classes and talked about summer plans. It really could have been June for all I knew. The week brought about some serious work for everybody though, as all of our term papers were due by Friday (we then have a three week break, and then a six-week exam period.... tough life). Since almost all of the kids we hang out with our freshmen English majors, they (and I) had major Shakespeare essays due. So it was a sunny, happy week with everyone putting off work until Thursday night and then killing themselves to get papers done-- just like at home!

Unfortunately, that wasn't all that happened. As I was rushing to finish my essays Friday morning, Cassandra called me and, laughing, told me she was in the hospital. THE HOSPITAL! After my papers and last class were done, I headed over to see her. She was just chilling with some 90 year old women in the ward near the OR, but she looked pretty sick. Turns out she had borderline appendicitis, and almost went in for surgery. She had to stay over night, and Mrs. Stabbert flew here first thing Saturday. I was glad to see the hospital and doctors seemed good, and that in case of emergency, things wouldn't be too bad. Poor Cassandra, though, she was supposed to leave for Stockholm and Oslo Saturday morning, but had to cancel the trip.

As for me, Saturday night meant a big theater night out. My friend Will got four 5-pound tickets to the Royal Shakespeare Company, so I went with him, our other friend Tom, and their other friend (girl whose name I can't remember) to get dinner and go see Henry IV Part 2. It was fantastic. I've only been to undergraduate and graduate performances of Shakespeare; I've never seen it done professionally. It was really astounding. The play was part of a cycle of the history plays, and when the cycle first debuted in Stratford (Shakespeare's hometown) Judy Dench and Ian McEllan starred. Our performance had different actors, but still cool! Then we went out for one of the British kid's birthdays. Here's a pic of Tom, Will, and me that I'm putting up so you can see who they are. They're meeting Sinead and I in two cities on our big travels, so now you can see the riff-raff I'm hanging out with.

On the left is Will, from Miami, goes to Cornell, is living in NYC this summer, and in the middle on the top photo is Tom, from LA and goes to BC.

Unfortunately, I woke up on Sunday morning and, hearing a lot of voices for early on a weekend, looked out my window and found this:

That's right. 74 and sunny on Friday, snow on Sunday. The Brits were so ridiculously excited. Snow! Snowmen! Ahhh!!

And last but not least, last week I got the super VIP treatment and got to take a tour of Parliament. I'm telling you, not just anyone can do this. They screen you to make sure you're really good looking. Yeah.... or, alternatively, you can have a friend named Henry who interned there for the semester and had his security badge for one more week. Either way, I got to take a tour of Parliament! Like, where Big Ben and the Prime Minister are! Look!

The lobby of Poritculis House, where all the Members of Parliament have their offices, and where you enter to take a secret tunnel under the street and into Parliament itself.

This picture is from inside the courtyard of Parliament looking towards the Big Ben part. Over behind that yellow car, the part of the building that is taller than the rest, that's Big Ben.

You can't take many pictures inside Parliament, but I snapped this one because it's where Winston Churchill lay in-state and that's everything from morbid to creepy to cool.

As close as you can get, pretty much!

From the very inside looking out to the rest of the world. When you regular tourists walk by Parliament from the outside, you look in and see this courtyard and walkway. I WAS IN IT.

Like I said, you can't snap many photos when you're actually inside. But we got to go into the House of Lords and the House of Commons. Every Wednesday, the Prime Minister comes to the House of Commons for Questions, and everyone stands and yells and boos and they all are completely ludicrous and inappropriate and great. You can sometimes catch this on C-SPAN at home (I'm not telling you how I know that). Anyway, I got to sit in on all of that, though the yelling and harassing was to a lesser degree because it was a Thursday and Gordy Brown wasn't around. Its also important to note that Parliament has VERY GOOD FOOD, and for a very affordable price.

So that's been my life lately! Some fun stuff, some regular stuff, some not fun stuff (hail & homework, mainly). But now the term is asbolutely finished. Most British kids are home for what they call the holidays, but really is just our break. Most Americans are already off travelling. So campus is quiet and I've been off adventuring through London and seeing the really obscure things still left on my list to do. I bought my first souvenirs the other day-- a mounted picture of the Brick Lane road sign and another one of a Banksy painting. Two things that really were my favorite discoveries and parts of London life. I got them at the Brick Lane Sunday market, which it took me this long to get to, but I absolutely love love loved. If Notting Hill Market was Disney World, Brick Lane Market was Studio 54 in its heyday. But, well, more sober, because it was daytime and all. But seriously so cool- I had Ethiopian and Brazilian food for lunch, with Japanese green tea to finish it off. And saw some realllly cool tshirts I'm going to have barter with someone to get for cheap. Okay, I'm rambling.

Anyway, I'm really just killing time until MOM AND DAD COME FRIDAY, which, clearly, I'm really excited about. I feel like I've been waiting FOREVER for them to come, and wandering around the city going "ooh I can't wait to show them THAT" and now its finally time! So then it's London and Paris with the folks, and back here for two days to say a quick hi to the British kids (they'll be back by then) and then off on world travels with Sinead. Something like five cities in two weeks, and meeting up with 5+ other friends on the way. Study abroad is pretty sweet like that. And then, finally, back here to... well... to finish up? I guess? And my expected date of departure is May 20. So, I'll either update again soon, or see you again soon! Cheerio!