Things I Miss & Things I Missed

Posted on August 14, 2015 by Jenna Beresheim

This final post in regards to my London Summer Study Abroad trip will be a two-fer. The first half will be how I feel upon returning home and what I have noticed culturally that sticks out. The remaining half will be a tipsheet or guide of sorts for those interested in traveling to London in the future.

One thing that I greatly miss about the UK would be the lack of cell phones. Sure, you see them in the bustling streets as people chat on them on their way to work, etc., but they are not everywhere. People aren’t zombified and peering down into the screen as they wander about. One of the biggest differences I noticed while across the pond was that people were more invested in spending quality time together. At the pubs, men and women gathered around with their drinks and chatted and laughed – not a single phone visible. This could be recounted in cafes, university, and so forth.

I was more than happy to put my phone down and actually interact with my friends while I was over there – something I attempted to do upon being invited out to dinner by two of my friends so we could all catch up. But what happened actually aggravated me quite a bit. The two of them sat across from me. . .and instantly were on their phones. One of them would surface, ask me a question, then as soon as I spoke, go back to his phone while I talked, getting the occasional nod from either of them. Or sometimes no response at all. Are you kidding me?? Already I miss being able to just settle down for time with people and have their actual attention and interest.

There was another thing that I actually appreciated quite a bit about the UK – people do not pester you or hover around you while you are eating or shopping. While in the UK, you order your food at the bar, they bring you your food, and unless you call them over, you are left to enjoy your meal and company. Simple as that. The same goes for shopping. You are not asked if you are finding things alright, or if you are looking for anything in particular, or heckled about current sales. . .instead, they just let you shop, and there are plenty of assistants around if you need one. A beautiful concept, in my personal opinion.

Other than that, I have not noticed anything that bothers me too much. Instead, I just miss certain things – how easy traveling about was, the vast cultural and linguistic variety of people, and so forth.

Now comes to quick guide to surviving London for those interested in the future:

Always, always, always ask for tap water. Otherwise you get sparkling or bottled or magical water drawn from a unicorn horn – and none of those come cheap.
Order at the bar! If you sit down first, you will be sitting forever. Go to the bar to order your food, and they will bring the food to you once it’s ready.
Leave your table dirty & tipless. Of course I do not mean dirty, dirty – but leave all of your dishes and trays there. My friends and I would bring our coffee mugs back up once we were done at a cafe, and often times get very odd looks. Leave your dishes and such on the table to be cleaned up. Also, most places include tips in the cost of their food, so unless otherwise stated, don’t bother leaving a tip either.
Don’t be that person on the Tube. No seriously. Don’t. Everyone on the tube is generally quiet and just trying to get to work. They are reading the paper, staring at your shoes for the millionth time, or doing anything other than generating noise. Try and do the same.
Driving on the left equals everything else on the left. If you are on the sidewalk or going up or down stairs, or any other area where it may require two lanes of ‘traffic’ – mimic the laws of the road as we do in the US, but this time steer to the left.
Don’t be a lemming. As pedestrians do not typically have the right of way at crossings, wait for the light to signal that you can go. Sure, it may be tempting to do the race across the road with other Londoners, but don’t do it just because everyone else is. Better safe than sorry – there were several times I saw even natives nearly get smeared by a large automobile or sneaky motorcycle.

Last Week in London

Posted on August 13, 2015 by Jenna Beresheim

As my journey to Great Britain comes to a close, there are some things that I hope will stay with me, and other things that I miss about home. This trip has been a great way to not only form some wonderful relationships with other people, but to also understand myself in a deeper, more meaningful way. I am definitely someone who needs to be taken out of their habitat once in a while and given a break, because it is far too easy for me to get too bound up in work and school to really live my life.

One aspect that I had lost was the sense of enjoying my time. Back home everything is always as efficient as possible. Breakfast is boring and bland because it is something I do not put thought into – I merely make some oatmeal or grab some fruit and coffee before rushing to class or the office. There, I sit for hours at a time and work hard, only to get home and be too tired to put effort into a meal or do things that I enjoy. Being here, I have been able to wake up early and plan out a real breakfast, or go out to eat a real breakfast, and actually start the day off right. I find myself enjoying mealtimes more often, and actually wanting to put that effort into not only preparing my food, but sitting down and just focusing on eating it, rather than cramming more school or work in at the same time.

Another thing I need to take time for is myself. Easier said than done, as I am the person who sees free time as time I could be using to take care of things or give up to other people. Here, I was allowed to have a day to myself. To simply sit around the flat reading, cup of coffee in my hand, bundled in a blanket. Even though I was reading for class, I was allowed the time to read it at a pace I found comfortable, and to enjoy the process. I honestly miss reading above all else in my life. Being an English major, reading becomes a chore very quickly. Masses of essays, novels, poems, excerpts, and so forth, are shoved into a few weeks, deeply analyzed, and then the process is repeated over again in Sisyphean style. It has been ages since I simply picked up a book that I wanted to read for pleasure and actually finished it. This is something that I know I can make more time for, even if it takes a bit of rearranging of my schedule.

London has taught me so many things in a nonchalant, underlying way. Lacking an international phone plan, I barely touched the thing. It stayed mainly in my pocket or backpack, and was only used as a camera during excursions. It was refreshing to go out to eat and see no one on their phones – everyone actively engaged in conversations with one another. I did not have to evade people with their noses pressed to the screens on the sidewalk, too busy to pay attention to their surroundings.

I also feel that once I return home, I am going to walk anywhere and everywhere, no matter how far. What’s a car again? Now I have grown accustomed to using the public transportation when necessary, but for the most part walking to anything I need. And while Monmouth may not be the best area to play out this plan due to the lack of public transportation or anything within reasonable difference, I still feel that this can be employed on a much smaller scale in the fact that I do not have to drive to everything all the time.

These are merely a few things that I have noticed in the last week of staying here – small changes that have occurred in my daily life and my mindset towards the world around me. I can only hope that more travels await me in my future, as this would be a wonderful thing to experience every so often to ‘reset’ the old batteries.

Until next time, London.
Jenna

Missing the Little Things

Posted on August 2, 2015 by Jenna Beresheim

I never considered myself one to get homesick.

There have been plenty of times in my life where I could have been faced with the idea, but never had too much of an issue with it. Even spending a few weeks in New York on my own sans friends did not bring up such problems. But I found that three weeks in London is apparently enough to do it – not so much missing people or my life, but the little things. My cat, for starters, and the privilege of a bubble bath (I said the little things, after all!). There are also things I did not realize I would miss: the quiet nights of a small town, constant greenery and fresh air, even recycling.

However, I feel that once I leave this place I will also miss the little things. Such as the convenience of all public transportation being a way of life for the majority of the city – meaning everyone and anyone uses it, and it is good quality. Being able to get anywhere on said public transportation. The amount of exercise one gets in a day simply going about to do things. The quality of the food and the diversity of languages, cultures, and people you meet just in passing.

This post is reflective of the past few weeks that I have been here, and also a post brought on by the thought that I only have one week left here in this fabulous place. Already, my wanderlust – already a problem before this journey – is much worse. Rather than alleviating through travel, it has increased tenfold at the hoping and wishing for more expeditions in my future.

A quick update on this previous week – our class has gone to Oxford and my friends and I ended up spending the entire day there. What a magnificent place! The entire town is built up of separate colleges, and our professor was telling us of all the differences in teaching compared to our university systems. Below is a picture of a plaque found within the Eagle and Child Pub, where the infamous Inklings met frequently – our class stopped there for lunch and it was wonderful! See the above photo for a snapshot of a meal served there.

Other than that, my friends and I have been tackling nerd bucket list items, such as visiting Harry Potter sites such as Platform 9 3/4 at King’s Cross Station and the Sherlock Holmes Museum, etc.

I believe the idea of time actually running out is beginning to set in, and we are trying to get as much done as physically possible without killing ourselves in the process — definitely a tightrope walk as far as balancing that goes.

US vs. UK Round 3

Posted on July 27, 2015 by Jenna Beresheim

This update will take place as a rambling of sorts, as it is more of a focus on cultural differences noted during my three weeks in the UK thus far. For those of you who crave a little structure, the general layout will be as follows: language barriers and jargon, smoking, food quality, Edinburgh differences.

English is English, no matter where you English – this is certainly not the case. Even within the States, one catches different pronunciation of words or the dropping of some (as in AAVE, or African American Vernacular English). Having taken Linguistics classes on the matter previously, I knew that in the UK, words would be different, but they would also drop the article ‘the’. This can be found in speakers saying “You go to University?” or another example, “I have to go to Hospital”. For my own personal enjoyment, I have been keeping a list of items that have occurred in the UK, along with their US exchange. Below, I have posted a few of those items from my list:
Garbage — Rubbish
Elevator — Lift
Bathroom — Toilet
Sidewalk — Footpath
Thief — Tea Leaf (derogatory/insult)

Smoking. Smoking everywhere. On the streets, outside every door, in and out of the pub, wafting in the entrances to anywhere you go, clinging to the clothes of some chap bustling in front of you on the tube . . .smoke. This is something I had never really thought about when I pictured London. Instead, it is almost overwhelming to see how many people smoke here. Men and women equally, and of all ages, as well. One thing that I have noticed with this, however, is that most of their packs of cigarettes have ads on them showing pictures of blackened lungs or hold facts regarding secondhand smoke, etc. These are scattered about the sidewalks and filling the nearby rubbish bins, but a public message nonetheless.

At first, I was slightly apprehensive about the food in the UK – those I spoke to had mixed reviews, but it was always either love or hate. I had a 50-50 chance of either loving or hating the food I was about to have to experience for a month. On top of that, being a vegan worried me. In the states, especially those on the West Coast, we have a very ‘hippie’ way of handling what goes into our bodies. This was something I was used to having, a privilege if you will.

However, all of the food that I have eaten so far has been wonderful. The expiration dates come sooner, suggesting less preservatives, and everything I have tasted has been fresh and well-prepared. Even finding vegetarian options has been easy (most places have it clearly labeled – grocery stores and pubs alike). One thing I had noticed was that things labeled vegetarian still included egg. For some this may have been confusing, as some still partake in eggs as vegetarians, while others do not.

Another thing that I have noticed, and was noting with a friend today about, was that their sweets are delicious because they are not overwhelmingly sugary. If they are a treat, such as a cookie or even a chocolate bar, it is not terribly full of sugar – it is made with more whole ingredients to balance it out. The two of us discussed how back in the States, we were not apt to eat as many treats or were more picky about what we ate because of the content of sugary sweetness in them – yet here we had not had that trouble so far. An interesting thought, that is for sure.

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Lastly, I had the pleasure of spending this last weekend in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was definitely a place I wished I had made more time for. This would be an area that I could spend months in and never grow tired of. Just a few hours north, and what a difference! First, it was an atmosphere I was more comfortable with, since I come from the Pacific Northwest. I was happy to see greenery, and have an overcast sky over my head at most hours of the day. Second, the people were more varied in styles and expression than London. In London, one sees most people in business attire. Meaning dress shoes, blouses and suits, skirts and slacks, and so forth. In Edinburgh, there were people of all shapes, sizes, hairstyles, and the like, making our little group feel more comfortable without standing out like sore thumbs.

Speaking of the people in Edinburgh. . .they were always pleasant. They were less standoffish as those in London. They smiled warmly, greeted us with ‘good morning’ and such as we passed, and always were happy to hold up conversations during transactions. It was an interesting contrast to those we had been interacting with thus far.

For now, I believe that is all in regards to London, but surely there will be more coming in with each passing day.

First Impressions

Posted on July 16, 2015 by Jenna Beresheim

Halfway through my first week in London, and I can still hardly believe that I made it here. Today has been my first real shot at ‘down time’ upon arriving.

My trip here was long, but decent. An eight hour flight took my friends and I from Oregon to Iceland, where we soon boarded a plane from Iceland to London, which ended up being nearly three hours. Our arrival at the place we would be staying was not until late afternoon. By then, we barely had time to unpack before we opted into a walking tour of the area to see where everything was in relation to our rooms. Once that was finished, we immediately walked the few blocks to the college for a dinner and orientation with everyone involved in the program – the three of us nearly falling asleep the entire time due to our overnight travels.

To say I slept like the dead that night would be an understatement.

On Sunday, we had another morning orientation, then headed off with a group of people to see the Spitalfields Market. There, we saw crowds of vendors and sampled delicious foods. I personally had lunch from an Eritrean food stall since it is one of my favorites and hard to find around my home town. In our walking around, we experienced multiple cultures and languages just in passing — much more than an average day in Oregon. On the way out, we sampled some chocolate coconut tea that was to die for, and a friend and I purchased a few grams of it to have in our rooms and take back to the states. It tasted as if you were eating coconut chocolate. . . quite a delicious flavor for a tea, if you ask me.

Monday was my first class for Myth, Legend, and Horror. The professor is wildly intelligent and often times gets carried away with random subjects as he knows so much about everything. A welcomed resource in this foreign town. So far, I have yet to have trouble finding food that is acceptable for vegans. A lot of their foods are labeled clearly in relation to whether they are vegetarian friendly, and so forth. Of all the foods I have sampled so far, there have been no disappointments. Everything is so fresh and delicious compared to back in the states. My little group even noticed that their expiration dates come sooner, probably because they do not load it with preservatives and so forth.

Tuesday was our first field trip day for Myth, Legend, and Horror. The first stop on the map was Warwick Castle, a beautiful, well-preserved chunk of history. The castle was enormous and each room within it held various time periods to show how life changed within its walls throughout history. There were manicured rose gardens and even a working trebuchet – ultimately making the trip worth it.

From there, we hopped back on the train to head for Stratford, where Shakespeare was born and buried. The little town was so cute and almost seemed set back in time – the buildings old yet well taken care of. There were statues around erected in memory of Shakespeare, and places boasting more amazing food and random items for sale. My friends and I even entered a magic shop, complete with hilarious host and scrumptious butterbeer.

Wednesday was laid back in the sense that my friends and I planned out how we would be spending our weekends – concluding that this weekend we would do local things around the area, only to take the train to spend next weekend in Scotland. We have yet to decide whether we wish to head for Paris or Ireland, considering the cost of everything (don’t even get me started on the £ to $ conversions. . . ) Outside of that, we decided to attend one of the local pubs in the area known as The Thirsty Bear. We chatted with some locals and merely sat to eat our dinner and observe London life around us, as well as discuss what we thought of it all so far.

We have learned that people put much more effort into how they look here, and almost suspect that they can tell we are tourists by the way we dress. Women here are constantly in heels or dressy shoes, skirts or dress pants, and dressy tops. The men are almost always in suits, or at least something close to that range. Our group almost wishes we would have known this beforehand, as in our debriefing, they had said jeans and shirts would be fine – but now we feel we stick out like sore thumbs amidst the crowds. Another thing we have noticed is that despite it being an English-speaking country, we often have to slow down or repeat what we say due to our different accents; something we would have never thought about otherwise. Considering the language and cultural variety in this city, it makes sense.

Today (Thursday), I merely went to a local cafe on my own and brought my books to read. It was pleasant to settle into a chair at an outside table, sip at my coffee, and whittle away some of the reading required for class.This way I am getting in small breaks while still experiencing the area and getting a feel of it, without always having the ‘go go go’ mentality.

Overall, I am excited to see what the next few weeks bring.

The Summation of Months of Hard Work

Posted on July 10, 2015 by Jenna Beresheim

It’s official. Something that started as merely an idea in the back of my mind has now become reality. It seems like only a few weeks ago our professor for an English class was coming in, talking about studying abroad and her own experiences – both for leisure, and as a professor. It piqued my interest, sure, but instantly it was drowned out by thoughts of time, expenses, and a thousand other problems that could arise.

Still, I picked up one of the handouts as the class trickled out the door.

It has been several months since that time in my English class — months full of fundraising, stressing, worrying, panicking. . .but also months of growing excited. Of wondering what life outside of the country will be like. How I will change and develop more as a person, as an individual. Something that seemed so far away is now something that I will be diving into as of tomorrow afternoon.

I will be honest and say that I am not looking forward to the longest flight of my life. I have traveled independently many times in my life in flying situations, but never internationally, so there is a fresh sense of anxiousness awaiting me.

Everyone around me continues to ask if I am excited. . .and yes, deep down. But I know that until I am settled in my seat, actually flying there, with all of my hard work and frantic planning behind me. . .that is when I will be excited.

Until then, we’ll just have to wait and see.

WOU Students Abroad

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