Category Archives: England

Museums Galore

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South Kensington: what a beautiful little section of London that is. This is where the Victoria and Albert Museum is located. It was named after Prince Albert and Princess Victoria. The art museum was truly unique with its roman sculptures, jewels, and theatre production. I learned about the different aspects of theatre and how masks were created. As well as how some of the costumes were used for each different theatrical production. Seeing how the designs changed from time period to time period was a good way to pay attention to the different details, patterns and colors that the time period was about. Going from day dresses, to evening dresses, bonnets, top hats, blazers, bright and darks, each time period seemed unique in its own way. One of the greatest exhibits that I have ever seen was in this museum containing pieces from Marylyn Monroe with the original white dress, James Bond, Harry Potter, Black Swan with the stunning black tutu, and one of my favorites Audrey Hepburn. It didn’t feel real that I was able to see all these incredible pieces of clothing from these famous and really talented artists who I have watched growing up. A truly unique experience I feel that could have only happened here in London.

Victorian and Albert Museum

Victorian and Albert Museum

 

The V & A's architecture

The V & A’s architecture

As lunch time came along I got inspired and went out and did some more research, and well shopped a little, its incredible to see how London is so proud of their fashion stores, seeing as though they are everywhere.

Shopping Street by the V and A Museum

Shopping Street by the V and A Museum

Top Hat was just WOW, absolutely jaw dropping. This was an incredible showing. It makes me want to live in the 30’s. Dales attire was some of the finest pieces of clothing I have seen. I loved how she really used here attire to move around on stage. I found it fascinating to see how they used the stage to portray movement. Following along with all the lights to make the scene really come to life. For example in the scene where Dale is riding in the horse carriage, there is no horse, but the carriage is shown with the wheel moving. The background of the set showed streets and streetlights. I almost felt like I was right there with them, in that time period, in that place. Over all I feel like all the dances were right on cue with the music. A production put together quit extraordinarily.

Top Hat Production

Top Hat Production

 

Aldwych Theatre

Aldwych Theatre

Jenny

Meanwhile, back in Monmouth . . .

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I’ve been putting off writing this last post — not sure if that’s because it represents the end of my England experience or if I’m just lazy. Maybe it’s because I feel like I’ve thought about it to death, trying to analyze my experience and make sense of it in the long run, how it fits into my life as a whole. It’s hard to put those ideas into words because at this point they’re still kind of vague ideas floating around in my head and I can’t catch more than one at a time. Plus, I’m still too close to see how it affected me long-term. So I guess for now, I’ll just refer back to my first posts and talk about expectations and how I’m de-adjusting, or something like that.

People ask me to tell them something interesting that happened in England, or what my favorite thing was about England. There are some things that stand out a little more (bus tours around Ireland and Scotland in particular), but really just the experience of living there was the best part for me. I’m happy that I got the chance to be emerged in the culture for more than a 2-week visit. I made friends and probably now better understand the English culture than I did before.

One of the things I’m going to miss, though it sounds silly, is being automatically more interesting because of my accent. I’ve been asked if I spoke in an English accent while I was in England (because I tend to fairly often in America), but thinking back, I didn’t really. I stuck to my American accent because I became more self-conscious of how I sounded and how others sounded. Also, it was cool that I could say something in public and strangers would turn and try to listen to me. Now that I’m back in the U.S. I sound like everyone else.

I’ll miss being the stranger, but then again, it’s nice to be back in my own country and feel like I know what’s going on. In England, I always had a slight sense of confusion and being out of place. I could ask questions about food and assignments/grading, but I often felt that I wouldn’t gain a complete understanding of things that seemed foreign in three months. Being back home, I know how things work. It’s easy to slip back into routines.

Speaking of routines, I’m back in Monmouth now, and classes start tomorrow. To tell the truth, I’m mostly not really looking forward to things going back to normal. I’ve finally moved off campus with a couple friends, and it feels very grown-up to have our own apartment — paying rent and driving cars and such. But going to back to class here means I’m really back in America. England is over. (This really isn’t as depressing as I’m making it sound.) It’s weird to think that this trip that I was looking forward to for years is now a think in my past. It happened. It’s just one of my life experiences. I don’t know if I’ll go back someday, but it won’t be for a while anyway. I’m  happy to be home. I missed it.

Marissa

A Rocking Day In The UK

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Today I really enjoyed the discussion we had in class about the Museum of London; it was interesting to listen to everyone else’s thoughts on the museum as well. One of the biggest topics was about World War 2 and how London really came together giving everything they could to help with the war. It was touching to listen to people opinions, and to see how it affected them as individuals. This was some art work that was leading to the location of the Museum. Their can be art all around us, and all ray can be different.

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Graphite Art

The rest of the day consisted of hanging out with our good friend Conner that lives here in London. My roommate Meryem, Gina and Victoria like to call it “a YOILO type of day” YOUR ONLY IN LONDON ONCE! We were taken around London’s small shops, and interesting sky scrapers. Visiting the Covent Garden and my favorite of them all, China Town! I feel like I really got a good understanding on the culture, and the insides of London. I am starting to get the hang of what things are, when to use the right words and I’m more so aware of my surrounding and how to get home. I am starting to feel comfortable and can’t even imagine what it’s going to feel like going home. I really love it here, the people, the music through the streets, and the food, I tell you those fish and chips sure are delicious. At the Covent Garden there took place performances from a variety of singers, magicians, and human statues. For only a couple pence’s I was able to stand next to the silver glitter man. Take a close look, he is floating in thin air! Absolute MAGIC!

Glitter Man

Glitter Man

I had been waiting for this day to come, the day to watch The Rock of Ages Theatre perform. The bright lights, and rock and roll staged theme was incredible. Watching how the characters were able to sing and dance with such a rocker style was unreal. The dancers were flashy and hard core! They looked like they were dancing their hearts out. I could feel the energy bouncing back at me. Making me want to sing along with them and get up and put my hands in the air. I felt like the characters really knew how to work with the audience, especially when the audience would respond back to them. This was by far my favorite theatrical production I have seen yet. The rock and roll era was so powerful and really changed how people dress today. The rock is coming back into this time period, and I like it! Below you will see a picture of how colorful the stage actually looked. Lights, lights and more lights.

A walk through London

A walk through London

Jenny

North Greenwich

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North Greenwich: Symbolizing the location in London giving direction to where I was going, a system known as THE TUBE.

Today we visited the British Music Museum for the purpose of connecting the dots between the Rock of Ages in North Greenwich, which is a very beautiful town. Having the location of where the Olympics took place, it took my breath away.  I really enjoyed the museum. I liked how the information could be recorded according to specific things in the museum. I got to see how the clothing was in each time period. It was interesting to see if change, but also some similarities. Rock music seemed to be so powerful and I found to see how they’re clothing that they wore, really reflected that rocking power that was being portrayed. In comparison to other artist who weren’t rockers such as Adel, was wearing soother, down to the knee attire or fancy dresses. My favorite part of today was when my roommate and I got to dance the Macarena and it be recorded on my little card with a chip. I am glad I’ll be able to have this back in the states.

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My roomate and I about to enter the British Music Museum

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Inside of the Shopping Center where the Museum was located.

Later this afternoonwe were able to catch a bite at a pub in Greenwich. It’s interesting to see how the names of the food are different. For examples chips are actually fries. And if you want to take something to go, instead of saying “I would like a to-go box” you have to say “take away”. Also the feeling of walking into a pub without having to use my I.D was a good feeling. I also noticed that food comes in smaller portions, I must say that is something different to getting used to as well. Today, I finally felt like I was adjusting well and being familiar with the tube, finding my way back to the hotel, and knowing where I was going, gave me a good sense of pride in myself. Can’t wait for the more adventures to come.  Jenny

LONDON LONDON LONDON and MORE LONDON VIEWS

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One of the most fascinating images that my eyes were able to see was the Tower Bridge, its blue colors popped out from the craziness going on all around. Its located on the Thames River. Also called the London bridge, it is able to be raised to let boats through, one of the only bridges that can do so. Its located between the city of London and Southwark. Build by the Romans with a  mid-evil trend that seems to apply to many building around the area. It looks like a castles tower over the river. Check it out for yourself…

London Bridge

London Bridge

In the picture along-side with me is one of my first friends made in London, thus making the trip go along with much more laughs and good times. This day was very chilly, soon after this photo was taken, I was walking backwards turning to the scenery. Being the clumsy person that I am, I stepped into a big puddle of water as I was walking back. Embarrassed I was but it soon only made for more laughs, and another memory made. Located around here were many coffee shops, offices, and pubs, making the spot, a touristic attracting. Luckily, we came early in the day and were able to walk around with-out it being too crowded.

This very same day, I was taken to see a play written by William Shakespeare called Twelfth Night or What You Will. The theatre The Apollo itself was a recreation of the globe theatre which was destroyed due to a fire back in 1613. The production was sensational and yet so was the stage itself.

The Apollo Theatre in Picadilli London

The Apollo Theatre in Picadilli London Front Stage
The ceiling of the Apollo Theatre

The ceiling of the Apollo Theatre

The production being a dramatic comedy, containing many scenes lasted three in a half hours, but well worth it. As soon as I entered I felt a warm feeling inside, being able to sit in an incredible piece of art, and piece of history.

Jenny

Jaw Dropping First Impressions

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 It wasn’t easy to get here but I finally did, after going through multiple airports, bus systems, and an over night stay in Newark New Jersey, arriving in London gave me such peace. As I arrived in the airport, by accident I bumped into another CCSA student, both of us being in the baggage claiming line. Her name was Liz we were able to help each other and ended up finding a bigger group that was heading to the Washington MayFair. I felt like a very lucky girl. I had all feelings of confusion and mixed emotions having not slept whatsoever. Heading to the hotel was a good feeling, knowing that I was safe and headed in the right direction. We were told my two CCSA teachers that we would go on a tour, suddenly my eyes popped straight open and I was no longer tired, but jumping up and down in excitement. I kept saying to my self, ” I cant believe I am here.”

A Breath Taking Moment

The House of Parliament

The House of Parliament near the Royal Gallery located in Westminster was one of the first buildings that completely took my breath away. Stepping in front of this building and looking up, had my jaw wide open and my eyes in complete shock of the architecture that I was facing straight on. And the history behind this building is incredible. Having two houses of parliament the Lords and the Commons. Big debates occur here, the government formulating legislation.

The streets were covered with people,  but for a second I felt like it was only I that was looking at this incredible building. It was so surreal. It was only the first couple hours and I felt sure of my being here in this city, this small town girl had arrived!

As I kept walking around, I came upon this other beauty…

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Westminister Abbey

Westminster Abbey which is one of the oldest and most important churchs in London. Kate Middleton and princess Diana both wed in this holly church.  This image is set with my camera looking up because I wanted to show how high these towers actually are. And how the arc is centered perfectly between the two towers. This West Tower front was completed in 1745 and was design by NichlasHawksMoor. I learned that with in the walls, there are examples of mid-evil architecture, its a half church and half natural museum. This whole time I am walking around, my fear, feeling of aloneness all went away. It was surely a jaw dropping first day.

Jenny

Getting Ready to Leave

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I said a couple posts ago that I had had some trouble socializing in the hall I lived in. I think my living situation was a bit different than what I was expecting; I wasn’t sure whether I would be living alone or with someone else, but I figured it would be easy to integrate myself with the people around me. But for whatever reason, I just didn’t click with the people in my hall, maybe because I had already made friends with people in another building. I also had a room to myself; apparently this is pretty normal in English universities. I value my personal space and never thought I’d begrudge having my own room, but in a different country where I don’t know anyone, I would have appreciated a roommate.

Once I realized that most of my friends lived in Eleanor Rathbone, most days I’d pack a bag and walk two buildings down to hang out in the ER common room. I became good friends with many of the people who lived there, and by the end of the term I was deemed an honorary Rathboner. Yes, that’s the correct term.

Group picture after the ER Christmas dinner

I had expected to be meeting more English people, but when I got here, it seemed that I was mostly spending time with Americans. This frustrated me at first, and I’ve talked to other American students who felt the same way. We felt like we weren’t getting the fullest possible experience if we we were still spending time with Americans. Eventually, I think everyone (or at least most of us) realized that meeting students from other places in the U.S. was just as valuable, if not more so, than meeting students from England. I was able to learn about English culture from English students while forming close relationships with American students.

ER’s last night out, three days before I left

I’m really happy to have made so many friends, but it’ll be hard to leave. I’m not looking forward to saying goodbye. It’ll be strange to suddenly be back in America again, having a car and a house and maybe a job.

This experience has, in some ways, made the world seem very small to me. Before crossing the ocean, the world seemed impossibly enormous. There were so many places I had never seen, places that might not exist for all I knew. But now that I’ve crossed so much of that distance and landed right in the middle of the unknown, it doesn’t seem quite as unknown anymore. It’s a little sad, but I suppose the world seems more plausible now. It would be easier to travel again, but I’m not sure I want to. For now, I’d like to stay in Oregon.

Marissa

Trying to Figure Out England

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One of my biggest challenges here is trying to figure out how the English do things. There are a lot of traditions and everyday English things that I am unable to authentically experience (I’m mostly thinking of food and other holiday-related customs), and I’ve decided that I can never fully understand what I am calling the ‘English psyche’ as I’ve spent the first twenty years of my life in the U.S. I’m not saying that Britons aren’t as human as Americans or anything like that; I just think that people’s experiences affect their personalities and ways of thinking. I can learn about the differences between America and England, but for now and maybe for ever, it would be hard to get far beneath the surface.

I began realizing a week or two ago that the U.S. comes up quite a lot in my classes. I didn’t notice at first because I’m used to learning about American things, and only recently I realized this is a bit odd. I certainly don’t hear as much about England in my writing or film classes at WOU. This isn’t something I can ask an English student about (‘Excuse me, why do you know more about America than I know about England?’), so I’m just going on speculation here. It might be that America is a bigger deal in the world than I thought, though that seems a bit egotistical to me, and people care about America because we’re just that interesting. Or maybe people in other countries are just better educated; maybe America is just to focused on itself to bother learning about other places. Those are the only two ideas I’ve come up, and I guess either way, America is full of itself.

The Christmas decorations around here are fantastic. And I like bokeh.

The Christmas decorations around here are fantastic. And I like bokeh.

Furthermore, today is Wednesday, and I’ve realized today that Sunday will be here very soon, and that that will be the start of my last week here. I am in England, which is incredible, and I am about to leave. Like I said in my last post, I’m very excited to go back home; Oregon seems very magical right now. But I know that Oregon will eventually become normal again, and I’ll probably re-romanticize England and want to come back. It’s what I do with summer and winter, or (my) short hair and long hair. So I guess, the moral there is to live in the moment. Carpe diem. YOLO. Etc. etc. or something.

This isn’t my ‘returning home’ post, though. I plan to get at least one more ‘while abroad’ post in before that. So in the spirit of while-abroadness, I would like to say that I plan to keep doing stuff in my next 10 days. I’ve got a bit of homework to do at least — after Monday everything will be turned in and done — and I would like to still do a bit of traveling around England. Blackpool looks to be in the works, and probably Liverpool. Oh yes, and the pictures are also in the spirit of while-abroadness. Traveling and such.

Marissa

We visited the Christmas markets in Manchester

We visited the Christmas markets in Manchester

The one about the Media…

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This is a post I have been interested in writing for a while as someone who loves music, movies, and television. Having been living in another country I have of course been introduced to many kinds of new artists, shows, and films that I would never have otherwise come to know, and I have to say that I am in love with English media! Starting with their music.

Music here in the U.K is similar to in the states, but there seems to be less rap and hip-hop in their top charts. It seems the trend is more towards pop, dance, alternative, and folk here. Many popular artists from the U.K are known in America such as Adele, One Direction, Jessie J, and more recently Ed Sheeran, but there are plenty of amazing artists that are fairly unknown in the American music industry. One of my personal favorites would be Olly Murs, who was the runner-up on the English version of X-Factor in 2009. I am constantly listening to his new album while writing essays or cleaning my room or anytime really!

This one is always on repeat in my head:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5w4N3pKnQw&w=560&h=315]

Of course there are plenty of great artists here that are little known in the states such as Wiley, Robbie Williams, Rudimental, and Swedish House Mafia among others. I will add some video links at the end of the post with top songs from each of these artists. I think it is really interesting how American media easily penetrates through other cultures across Europe, most likely because we have a mass media culture that is a driving force in the world of music, movies, and television. Many of the big artists in America are popular in the U.K as well like Rhianna, Bruno Mars, P!NK, Pitbull, and Taylor Swift, but England holds its own in terms of having great artists who produce great music.

On to movies, or as the English say, films. This is the area where I feel like the U.K and U.S are most similar. There is huge cross over in terms of films, the most recent example I can think of being Skyfall, the new James Bond movie. Obviously an English film series that has had huge success in the states. Another example of this would be Harry Potter, a major English film series that is universally popular. At the same time though there are English films that are essentially unheard of in America. Two very popular ones that I was made to watch by my friends upon arrival were Snatch, and Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels. Both are action comedies that are hugely popular in the U.K, even though both are somewhat dated. England certainly loves it’s comedy, probably because there is so much banter and sarcasm in its culture, so films like Simon Pegg’s Shaun of the dead and Hot Fuzz are very in demand as well. All movies that are big in America are also big in the U.K  so anything you might see at a theater in the states you would definitely find here as well, in addition to the English films.

As far as television goes it seems that like their films, the English love comedy. The most watched shows from what I can gather are sitcoms and reality shows. There are a few English programs that have gained popularity in the U.S such as Doctor Who or Downton Abbey, but it surprises me how many great shows there are that have not reached the states. This may be because many times Hollywood tries to make its own versions of popular English shows like The Office, Being Human, or The Inbetweeners. The American version of the office has done pretty well for itself, but generally great shows here in the U.K tend to flop after being re-done in the states. One of my personal favorites that I have discovered is Fresh Meat- A program about a group of uni students who are thrown together as housemates and the situations they go through. It is an absolutely hilarious show and I can’t wait for it to come out again every week. One fun fact about the show is that there is a character named Oregon! How cool is that?! Here is the season 2 (or as they say here, series 2) trailer:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_xUjrpwqyA&w=560&h=315]

Well there you have it-my assessment of the differences in Media between the U.K and the states. Media is such a powerful force in today’s world, particularly for my generation and those after it, so it is interesting to see the differences in music, film, and television across cultures.

I hope you are well, and let me know in the comments what is popular in the country you are studying in!!

Summer

P.S- Here are the other top songs I said I would post from above if you are interested:

Robbie Williams- Candy
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtOV7bp-gys&w=560&h=315]

Wiley- Can You Hear Me
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbQaCCb_Gzc&w=560&h=315]

Rudimental-Feel The Love
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oABEGc8Dus0&w=560&h=315]

Swedish House Mafia-Don’t You Worry Child
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1y6smkh6c-0&w=560&h=315]

Christmas Culture!

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Well last weekend I had the chance to go home with another friend to spend the weekend in another English city! This time I went to Leeds, a city in the center of the north of England. We arrived on Friday night and almost immediately went to visit one of England’s more exciting Christmas traditions-the Christmas market! Specifically, the German market. I have found England’s whole market idea is quite different then ours in America. I can’t say I really know many markets in the states apart from the Saturday Market that many cities have like Portland and Seattle, or perhaps the occasional farmers market, but otherwise the concept doesn’t really penetrate into American culture like it does here. In every city across England the Christmas markets have sprung up, each very similar: little booths put up housing all kinds of trinkets with a main, larger shack somewhere in the center housing an impromptu pub. Personally I am a big fan of the food booths, where you can get anything from bratwurst to burritos to nutella crepes!  There is music and cheer everywhere- after about 30 seconds I realized just how much the holiday season means to England. Even before this I could tell that the holiday’s are really something else here, with everyone going on about their Christmas shopping and Christmas jumpers and so forth. Not to mention that every city, town, and village had put up its own giant Christmas tree as well as lights along every ally and road. I asked some friends but they did not seem to comprehend why I was asking them why the holidays were so revered on this side of the pond. They just kept saying “because it’s Christmas! It’s the happiest time of the year!”.

I think part of what makes it all so special is the fact that the English, especially here up north, are living in darkness a majority of the time and so all the lights and wonder of Christmas make everyone cheery. In addition, it is a time of relaxation and family, just like it is back home in the states. All I know is that I thought the holiday’s were a big deal in America, but nothing compares to the amazing Christmas culture that exists here in England.

The German market in Leeds:

The Liverpool Tree:

One of the many strings of lights along the shopping center road in Liverpool:

After going to the market on Friday Night, we went to a birthday party for a friend’s father on Saturday night and had a fun night helping set up. I even had my first hog roast! After dinner we relaxed and had the most delicious and rich chocolate cake I had ever eaten, and then I found out it was from Costco! I guess Costco cake is famous all over, and tastes amazing no matter where you are.

At the party:

It was really nice to get a weekend away from the University, I don’t think I realized how much I needed it. It felt quite a bit like going home for a weekend while at western, a time to relax and recuperate from my studies and from all the craziness that goes on living in the halls. Overall I had a great weekend, and I feel as though I learned a lot about English culture during the holiday season.
Hope you are all well!

Summer