Blogs from Hendon, Greater London, England, United Kingdom, Europe
St. Paul's and the National Gallery
Published: July 17th 2008Europe » United Kingdom » England » Greater London » Hendon
July 17th 2008
The last couple of days have been interesting and fun. Tuesday afternoon Clara and I went to ‘afternoon tea’, which is quite the works of cakes and sandwiches, couple with tea of course. Clara doesn’t much like tea, but I sure do. It was fun, but Clara came ill whilst we were out and about, so we had to cut our tea break, and thusly our night, short. We had planned to see Wicked that night (the musical) though that has no been bumped to tonight (I have the tickets here). She is feeling much better, I might add, though yesterday she stayed in as well. On Wednesday I spent the entire morning and part of the afternoon in the National Gallery. No photography is allowed inside, of course, but I’ll include a couple of pictures ... read more
Saw the Rosetta Stone and Saved a Life?
Published: July 15th 2008Europe » United Kingdom » England » Greater London » Hendon
July 15th 2008
The title contains two unrelated events, and well, maybe a bit of an exaggeration on the latter part. Let me clarify: This morning (Tuesday 7/15/08) I woke fairly early and decided to pop into town to mail the last of my postcards (by the way, family reading this - I've gotten word a couple of you already have your postcards, to the rest of you, yours should be there any time now, I mailed them all at the same time). My preferred post office is across from a McDonalds (a very nice one with funky chairs and neat wood tables inside), and it is only 1 tube stop from campus. Really it was like any other morning when I travel by myself here. I always take my jacket if its cloudy, an umbrella if its raining, ... read more
July 14th 2008
Back again to London! What a disaster the return trip was! On the way TO Dublin, someone jumped in front of a train, so we had to wait 2 hours or so to leave. On the way back, the train moved onto a no-power line, and we had to sit in the dark for 2 and a half hours! So we missed the tubes since they stop running at midnight or 11 on Sundays I think. But Virgin paid for taxis for us, and we made it in around 3 am London time. So, after an all too short trip to Ireland, I am back and kicking in London. However, this week I will have a lot more free time, and intend to do some travel around London on my own, catching a few things here ... read more
An AMAZING 4th of July
Published: July 4th 2008Europe » United Kingdom » England » Greater London » Hendon
July 4th 2008
Today, the 4th of July, was probably the most exciting and amazing day we've had yet in London. Though, I must confess, it was also the longest and hardest. We walked probably around 10 miles today. Up and down and all around Central London (See the 'dragon statues I've included) to the Tower of London, all around the inside, to London Bridge, across London Bridge (on foot this time), to Westminster Abbey, all around the Inside, and then all over Hyde Park (350 acres). We started early, at 8. I guess I'm a slave driver, but I knew we had a lot to cover, so It was best we get a move on, even though we didn't get in till 12:30 last night, from Baker Stree (yes! 221b Baker Street, the most famous address in the ... read more
So much going on!
Published: July 3rd 2008Europe » United Kingdom » England » Greater London » Hendon
July 3rd 2008
There is so much going on I hardly know where to begin! Class is going quite well. It seems 100 times easier than classes I've had back home, but I'm not sure if that is a good thing or a bad thing. The class is based on 100% coursework so I do not know how hard they will grade. It worries me and relieves me at the same time, realizing how easy it is... Last night (Wednesday the 2nd) we had a meeting with our CEA advisor lady. She took us to dinner at a classy restaurant in Leicester Square. It was just alright. The desert was the best part. I am still battling food here. It just has no flavor and most of it is odd to eat or not pleasant. I think that plus ... read more
Cherio from Jolly London!
Published: July 1st 2008Europe » United Kingdom » England » Greater London » Hendon
July 1st 2008
Hello! It is becoming more and more apparent to me that while the English and the Southern USA cultures are similar, they are also very different. One thing we have in common that the New York students here find odd is the friendliness and generally happy disposition. I can go to the supermarket in Corpus and people will say hello, nod, and say little things like 'hows the weather' or 'this fruit looks good'. The same seems to be true here. Everyone is generally happy and says hello when you pass. I really enjoy this aspect, because its comforting, more like being at home. Though, there are vast other difference. I find that people love the outdoors here. Every day I see countless numbers of people running, walking, walking their dogs, laying around in the grass, ... read more
June 29th 2008
Well, apart from all the walking and miss-stops we had today, and the lack of my luggage for the 3rd day in a row, I'm in London and couldn't be happier. Saturday the 28th was brilliant! We had to go to an 'orientation' at around 10, which lasted an hour and was rather boring, but afterwards some of us loaded up on a bus for 'Asda', which is like wal-mart (and is in fact owned by them). This was a great opportunity for me, seeing as I have no luggage, and thusly no clothing. We went and spent around 2 hours (because that is how they told us it'd be before the bus came back), but found some neat pastry shop down the way and had some interesting English pastry. Once we were back on campus ... read more
June 27th 2008
I'm here! After a huge mess at the airpots, I'm here safe and sound, and have been now since 2:30pm london time, which is 8:30 am central time. My flight into Houston from Lubbock was supposed to leave at 1:10 pm CST on thursday. We boarded the plane, sat on the runway for 2 hours and then returned to the gate. We were at the gate until 6:10pm, at which time we re-boarded and finally took off. The weather around Houston was really bad, and therefore we couldn't take off because so many planes were trying to get in and out still. Because of the delay, both Clara and I missed the 6:25pm flight to London, which was delayed to 7:20, but we both arrived around 7:40. We were booked over to the 10:25 flight though, ... read more
June 19th 2008
First Post! Preparing to leave.. As a study abroad trip, I will be departing for London on June 26th, 2008. My stay will extend from then to July 21st, with various side trips, including Paris from July 18th - 20th. The class I am taking is The Social Psychology of Everyday Life, and I'm attending Middlesex University, in Hendon, Greater London. Attending the University with me will be a dear friend, Clara Schwendeman, though she will be taking another class (something about Marketing). Throughout the course of our stay, I will regularly update this blog with pictures and information about what we are doing and seeing, so that my friends and family back home can keep up with me. I am extremely excited, and very ready to leave. This will be a once in a lifetime ... read more
May 22nd 2008
Well Betty is shaping up. We have spent the last few days working out how to get various things working on her. It took us ages to work out the electric fridge works but we finally got it down to 1 degrees so hopefully we will have some cold milk in the camp sites!. Believe it or not Betty is so old that she didn't even have a cigarette lighter so we had one fitted which hopefully will power the GPS so we can find our way around. Today I brought a old bike to go on the back. It's a 1990'ish Specialized hardrock and fits in with the whole beaten up image we are going for!.. I'll post some pictures of the final product when we load the van up! Other than that just trying ... read more
