Escape to Oxford

Posted on 13 May 2007 by k
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Today, we made our way to Oxford for a daytrip. We had a great time wandering about the botanical gardens, having afternoon tea and seeing a few of the school’s many campuses. While it was a bit rainy, we did have a great time and were amazed by how natural the campus is. Oxford is gorgeous and it’s a bit surreal to be in a place where so many thought leaders have thrived.AND what’s more, the famous Harry Potter dinner scenes were filmed on the schools Christ Church campus–“The Hall”.
Click here to see additional photos from Oxford…

Posted in Adventure Travel, Europe, UK | 3 Comments

Another Week in London

Posted on 11 May 2007 by k

Hi again. It’s been 10 days since I last posted. That’s almost a record for the longest time between posts…and probably an indication of recent stress levels. I began my 5th course block upon returning from Mallorca and have been buried in reading ever since. The electives that I selected for this block are interesting, but reading based! That means that I need to read 9-10 case studies per week (on average 15 pages each) and up to 7 chapters per week (20-30 pages each). AND I’m in class 9-5 Tuesday through Friday. Luckily, I came up with a scheme last weekend that has helped to reduce the load, but sharing the “wealth” amongst my group members for each individual class. we each read and summarize one chapter a week…that’s a great help.

So. As for an update. Last Friday, G’s church youth group advocate/mentor visited London and we had a great time with she and her husband in Central London (at the officer’s club in Central London). And we also met up with Rachel, Diana’s sister who’s an international flight attendant, on Tuesday for dinner and drinks. we’ve been very fortunate to have a couple visitors from home to help us get over our bit of homesickness.

Also, last weekend, G and I visited the National Gallery at Trafalgar Square to see the Renoir Landscape exhibit and also for G to see the Seurat’s and Van Gogh’s before the Manet/Picasso show ended on Sunday. Too much fun! We’re always in awe of being so close to such famous and inspirational works.

Just in case you’re curious, here’s the “agenda” for a typical weekend day in the life of G&K:

10AM: Walk by Primrose Hill on the way to Chalk Farm for a cafe breakfast

10:30-12noon: Breakfast/Brunch in Chalkfarm (adorable cafe with yummy pastries and lattes)

12:30-1PM: Idea book and card shopping at Paperchase (a favorite store here, in London)

1PM-2:30PM: National Gallery of Art–Monet, Manet, Picasso, Renoir, Van Gogh

2:30-3:00PM: Walk from Trafalgar to Covent Garden, Lunch at Pret a Manger (YUM!)

3:00-5:45: Window shopping at Longacre, Oxford St. and Regent St.

6:15-7:15: Dinner at home

8:15-? Work and studies

Another highlight…a friend and I found a Cuban place by school this week. Fresh mojitos and tapas…YUM!

We’ve decided to do a day trip this weekend (despite the 54 degree weather, ick!)…not quite sure where we’ll go yet. We’re also planning to go to friends’ house to watch Eurovision (a campy European version of American Idol) and we’re off to Florence to meet-up with Leigh-Emma and Kenny on Friday. FUN!

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Cultural Clustering

Posted on 1 May 2007 by k

When living in America, I could never quite understand why Latinos and folks from other cultures tended to cluster together and wouldn’t adopt the local food, language and customs.

Now, I UNDERSTAND (as I eat a Reese cup imported from the US and sip iced tea). While they respect, accept and observe local customs, etc., expatriates (myself included) cling to what they know. And while they accept the new culture, they don’t want to abandon their heritage or past. They seek out others like themselves so that they have a taste of home without leaving their distant borough.

So. While I still believe that Americans should be able to speak English, or aspire to do so in the future, in order to more fully integrate into the culture, I now adamantly believe that immigrants should maintain their native language and cultures, as well.

Perhaps all this is just a way of my saying that while I am soaking in all the European culture that I can while here, I still can’t bring myself to use some of the vocabulary in good conscience. To me, a biscuit is something that should be covered in gravy! And chips are yummy with dip 🙂

Posted in Life in London | 1 Comment

Perspective and Passports!

Posted on 1 May 2007 by k

Since arriving here last Fall, Londoners have referenced the low percentage of Americans with a passport in casual conversations with me numerous times. Since so many people use this line and are aware of the statistic, I sometimes wonder if they memorize it in schools or recite it on the news at 6PM daily bizarre 🙂

The numbers vary with each delivery, and it’s always used as a segue to argue an offensive political point–and almost always a good clue that this person is not good friend material. The first couple times, you get trapped in the inevitable political conversations because you think you’re headed for a casual conversation about travel, but then you find yourself in the throes of a political discussion. Not fun.
SO after going through it yet again last week, I decided to get to the bottom of the numbers and offer a bit of advice to you all since I’m seasoned, by now, in dealing with this trap. Hopefully you’ll never need it.
The closest I’ve gotten to a valid number of Americans who travel internationally is a guy’s site that uses Gov’t numbers regarding the number issued per year and the 10 year expiry date to guesstimate ~60m of the ~280m residents hold a valid Passport. By his estimation (assuming that some Passports expire earlier than 10 years after issue), this means ~20% of American citizens hold a valid Passport. Hmmm…from his analysis and passion for the calculation, I wonder if he’s an expatriate faced with the same situation as I?

Regardless, the passport line is generally used as a segue to political debates and I’m not one who appreciates this type of social discussion. Not pretty. Especially now. So, if you travel abroad and find yourself in a conversation with someone who insists on going there, here are a couple pointers to move through it without becoming too inflamed or battered.

Make the point that, if abroad at the time, you are an active traveler and value cultural differences. Speak about your most recent trips and travels. Make a mad dash to drive the conversation toward the topic of travel, in general.

Sometimes folks, for whatever reason, really just want to “take the piss out of an American” and debate. Not good when you’re looking for a light social conversation. You’ll know this is the case because they’ll drive the topic back to a political slant and refuse your attempts to steer elsewhere. A la “Americans do not understand or even appreciate what other cultures outside the US have to offer”. You may not know it yet, but they’re headed to a political debate on the War in Iraq. If you’re completely willing and able to go there, do. If not, I’ve established an angle that seems to work well:

Start with “Have you ever had a class or a meeting and been the only one to show up? [They won’t follow]. Let’s say class. You show up for your class and 20 others decide to sleep in. The professor’s upset and decides to lecture those who show up on why it’s important to be in class. [The lightbulb will click.] Sometimes I feel that way in Europe. I wish that more Americans had an interest in international travel, I really do. But, even more so, I wish that Europeans were more accepting and polite to those of us who do venture over so that we’ll have a pleasant experience and inspire an interest in others. I respect you and your culture, but let’s not debate.” Then, segue to another topic you prefer.
If all else fails, you can also reference that the size of America and the size of Europe are roughly the same and that American states are roughly the size of European countries…sometimes this will offer them a taste of perspective and get them off the hunt for a political debate.

Posted in Life in London, United States | 2 Comments

Flu Bug Takes a Bite

Posted on 28 April 2007 by k
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It’s been quite a week. When returning from Mallorca last weekend, G felt a slight tickle in his throat. This nagging tickle rapidly progressed into an overpowering wrath and by Wednesday he surrendered to seeing a doctor for diagnosis. They couldn’t confirm that’s it’s the flu, but it’s easily the worst illness G and I have had since we’ve known each other. So, we’ll call it the flu. After Wednesday, he was back on the road to recovery and he now sniffles and sneezes a bit less each day.

By late Wednesday/early Thursday, I began to feel a slight tickle in my throat. My illness progressed a bit more quickly and by Friday, I was completely overwhelmed by it. We’re taking it easy this weekend in order to [hopefully] get over this completely by Monday. Fingers crossed.

As for other news, I learned something new about the transition to living in a new culture this week. Ever since returning to London from home and the offensive European news coverage following the VT massacre, I’ve been a bit down on Brits and Europeans in general.

The constant pokes regarding US political issues, public figures, business ethics, accents and stereotypes since we arrived last year have certainly taken their toll. But, the combination of objectively seeing the many positives of Americans and life in the US during my recent visit to Virginia and the subsequent European news coverage condemning Americans and, perhaps more hurtful, Virginians hit a bit too close to home for comfort.

I chatted with a fellow American classmate on Tuesday about it. Originally from Iowa, she moved to the UK six years ago and is rather desensitized to the constant criticism by now, but did turn me on to the stages of expatriation–very similar to the stages of loss. At first everything’s new and different. You’re excited to explore. But as time moves along, your new “home” becomes an old shoe. Only then, do you begin to judge differences as good or bad rather than just new and different. This usually happens at around 6-7 months. Since G and I have been in London from 8 months now, it’s long overdue. And it may never have happened. Unfortunately, the news response to the tragic events at VT were a trigger for me. Rather than being rosy and new, London now seems a bit like a worn-out, outdated, impractical old shoe. However, I know it’s not true. Come on acceptance stage!

On a brighter note, we will be treated to seeing a couple familiar faces from home this week as friends venture over for work and travel. Both G and I are thrilled to welcome Rachel and Mrs. B to London later this week. Now, back to the vitamins and meds to ensure we’re in good form for their arrival.

Posted in Life in London | 2 Comments

What do you call #?

Posted on 24 April 2007 by g

I casually mentioned to one of my co-workers to today that he needed to use the ‘pound’ sign in some code he was writing. Of course, I didn’t think about the fact that the ‘pound’ sign to him is first and foremost the currency symbol, £.

Upon realizing the error, I corrected myself by calling it the tic-tac-toe sign. Still puzzled, I pointed it out on the keyboard, to which he replied, “Oh, you mean the hash sign.”

Come to find out that they don’t call it ‘pound’ at all over here, and I had never heard it called hash. In addition, they call the game of tic-tac-toe “naughts and crosses.” Of course when I first heard this I thought they were saying “knots and crosses” but then figured out they meant naughts like zeros.

Just goes to show that despite being here for 8 months now, there are still slight differences in language and culture catch me off guard.

Posted in Life in London | 1 Comment

Mallorcan Respite

Posted on 21 April 2007 by k
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After returning from Virginia last weekend, I caught up on laundry and we packed again. This time for a joint respite in Mallorca.You may remember that we were planning to visit Croatia and Slovenia over break. However, while in Madrid last month G and I realized that we were in need of a low-key, low-maintenance vacation rather than the scattered, fast-paced adventure we had planned. After reviewing the options, Mallorca won the race.

Some may be thinking “why?” as Mallorca has gotten a bit of a reputation over the years as Europe’s equivalent to Myrtle Beach. And while it’s true that package resorts, leathery seniors and neon reside in Palma, our homebase was quite the opposite.

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Welcome to Port de Soller on Mallorca’s Northwest coast. Since I was slowly recovering from jet lag (from the US), we took full advantage of the slower pace that the Spanish are famous for. We slept in, had a leisurely brunch, hiked, treked, or ventured to nearby towns, came back to our hotel in time for a game of cards or a siesta (and to glue ourselves to the TV for VT updates), drank our weight in fresh squeezed orange juice and enjoyed all that life in a port town should be. Beautiful views, good food and a restful attitude.

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In addition to Port de Soller, we also took a trolley/train to nearby Soller and hiked to hill towns Fornalutx and Biniaraix. We had the *BEST* orange juice during this trek at a roadside OJ stand. Unlike the ones of childhood years, this one was set-up by a retired German mother whose son owns an orange grove. This “Jugo de Naranja” stand was in a beautiful arbor decorated with flowers, overlooking the valley and resident grove. She even sent us on our way with a freshly picked (as we watched) orange and blossoms for our journey. I loved the juice so much that I almost decided to buy my own juice press. Then I remembered that I would have to carry all those oranges home from the grocery…hmmm…

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On Thursday, we took the bus to Deia 12km (~8 miles) away and hiked back along the coast to Port de Soller. The area is home to olive, orange and lemon groves and sheep are kept in order to eat the undergrowth and keep the land tidy. While we did find gorgeous views around every bend in the trail (when we could find the trail), the view that most often greeted us was that of sheep running away from us.

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While the trek was billed as “easy” or “facil” in Spanish, recent rains and erosion damaged the trail. For a mental image, imagine me scaling a cliff in a skirt (albeit knee length)…what was I thinking? [Sorry, G was too busy saving me to take a picture.] Or, better yet, 6 inches from the side of a cliff overhanging the Mediterranean 200 ft. or so below with no traction and only a pine tree to cling to…wow. Did I say respite? Every muscle we had ached on Friday morning. Thank goodness for hot tubs.

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We also traveled in to Palma for a day. While glitzy neon meccas aren’t necessarily our cup of tea, we felt that we needed to give the town its fair shake. We traveled in, found the wide, picturesque beach, lounged, visited the cathedral, wandered the streets in search of lattes and headed home. We enjoyed our day in Palma, but left satisfied that we had made the right choice by staying in Port de Soller.

Click here to see additional photos from Mallorca.

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