Of Things I Will Miss About the UK

To wind down this blog (since I am going home in 1 day), I would like to address England and thank her for having me these past 6 months. And to begin my goodbyes, I would like to speak of the things I will miss about England

1) Teatime. Especially with cakes and scones filled with jam and clotted cream. My favorite memory of tea were when we visited Allison's family friend, Joan (who were good friends with Allison's mother), and she served us tea in china cups painted with English roses, as well as cakes on matching rose plates. I have never felt more proper and the tea tasted marvelous as well. Or, if it wasn't in china cups, it was just tea time with my flatmates on Sundays where we catch up on the past week or gossip, just like those British ladies on TV.

2) Wildflowers. The weather is not as kind to plants in California. Yet in England, all the rain means that everything is an intense shade of green and the flowers grow tall, large, and so lovely. I am still amazed upon coming back from Italy to find freshly grown daffodils that seem to spring up overnight. That's the magic of this place.

3) Chocolate. And by chocolate, I mean real chocolate such as Galaxy and Cadbury that has the right amount of cacao content in them to make them chocolate, different than dry, old Hershey bars. You can't get them at home for this cheap and definitely not in large bar form.

4) Small. The small size of everything, from the doorways to the streets. Everything here is built on a smaller scale which makes a short person like me feel strangely comforted. And most of the towns here are also built on a small scale with a main street. I will miss that old-fashion quality about it.

5) History. Europe has that air of regal history about her. America is the vivaciousness of youth. The buildings here are of an older, beautiful aged quality. Home is all slick skyrises and glass houses. I will miss the Elizabethan and Georgian style houses (with their corresponding names such as Lilac Cottage or Cranford House), in their small towns where everything is in walking distance, and the history of years behind them.

6) Public transport. I do complain quite a bit about the lack of punctuality in the British transport system but the plus thing about it is that it's there and it takes you everywhere in England. Living in the middle of a green field, I would be stuck if it were not for the 4 different bus lines that run through campus. So thank you Unibus, Travel Coventry, and Stagecoach buses, plus Virgin, London Midland, and other train lines for helping to transport me to strange, far off places as soon I got bored.

Most of all, I will miss the wonderful people that I have met here, English, German, Swedish, Irish, and of course, other Americans. Without them, this experience would not have been as enriching, rewarding, and oh so fun. They have, for the lack of a better term, have taught me so much (one of which was proper British English). I gained a new understanding and knowledge of other cultures through these people, laughed and drank with them, and found a connection over common bonds which I did not think would be present. I learned that in the end, we are all the same, which is oddly comforting.

So I am saying my goodbyes, so long, farewells, and I hope one day to come back. So long England, and thanks for all the biscuits!


So long sheep, I think I'll miss you most of all

Of London, Part Deux

So last weekend, a group of 4 American exchange students decided to tackle London. Some were doing it for the second time, the others, it was only their first attempt. Little did they know, that the city was mightier than they expected and they only managed to get to 6 destinations over the course of a weekend.

On Friday the 23rd, due to a certain mess-up with the train ticket, I took a train from Coventry Station to London all by myself while the rest of my party took a separate train from Leamington Spa. Yet, it wasn't too bad because the two hour ride allowed for some quiet time and admiration of the picturesque English green countryside, the site of admiration for many an English poets. Not to mention that since the rails were electric, the train was incredibly comfortable and spacious (each seat has a table for your food!). Though sadly, no trolleys a la Harry Potter.

"a fair green country under a swift sunrise" - JRR Tolkien

With sheep!

Upon arriving in London, I then braved the London Underground all by myself. Now London differs from New York in one primary respect: while New York was built on an orderly, gridlike plan (and in that case, so are many American cities), London seems to have been arranged in a haphazard manner with a myriad of large streets which divide into subsidiary streets, similar to the threads of a spider web. Suffice to say, nothing follows a grid, not even the subway. Despite that, the London Tube is incredibly easy to use, if only for the fact that each individual train lines are divided by color and the stops are clear on the map. Not only that, but the trains differ from NY subways in how clean they are. There is no bum sitting in the corner and no musky, slightly questionable smell. Instead, everything is white, clean, and the bums (if there are any) drink out of actual bottles rather than paper bags.

The way to the underground is paved by a big red target. Very handy for the visually impaired.

That Friday, after checking in at our hostel, Journey's Smoking Barrel, we proceeded to explore the central London (where we would predominately remain for the next day and a half). This included sights that I saw the very first night I came to London only this time, it was 100 times better since I was a) not jetlagged and b) well-fed. First stop was Waterloo where the London Eye awaited me yet again. And this time, I did not forget to bring my camera. According to my guidebook, it's the Eiffel Tower of London, with the best view of the city for 15 pounds. Sadly, since the sun was quickly setting (at freakin' 4!), we decided to save a journey up the Eye for another, sunnier day.

"My grandma, what big eyes you have!"

Next was a stroll along Westminster Bridge and Westminster itself, where we passed the beautiful Big Ben at dusk. Now, the building is not actually called Big Ben, but rather, it is the name for the large bell within the clock. These days, native Brits use the name to refer to the large clock.

Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament at sunset

I'm sure quite a number of people know about the delicacies of British pub culture, particularly its focus on authentic British cuisine and beer. Yet, I did not realize how prevalent pubs were in Britain until we were walking around and exploring the city and there was a pub ON EVERY BLOCK. Americans have our Starbucks on every corner, the Brits have their pubs. At one of the pubs we stopped at, they had authentic British desserts, which included spotted dick, which surprisingly, tastes pretty harmless in comparison to its name (like most British foods I think, case in point "bangers and mash" - see Britishism dictionary below).

Spotted Dick, or basically fruit cake in custard. Surprisingly tasty, if a bit bland (Brits don't eat as much sugar as Americans).

The first night in the hostel was spent with me bemused at my travel mates for not bringing their own towels. For future travelers at hostel, please be aware that hostels do not give you towels. You have to pay for them if you want to use one. So be like Douglass Adams and always bring a towel with you when you're traveling.

"A towel...is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitch hiker can have. Partly it has great practical value - you can wrap it around you for warmth ....you can lie on it on the brilliant marble-sanded beaches of Santraginus V...wet it for use in hand-to-hand combat, you can wave your towel in emergencies as a distress signal, and of course dry yourself off with it if it still seems to be clean enough." - Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
Word

For anyone wondering, a hostel is your college dorm experience where you slept in a bedroom with a multitude (in my case 5 other people, though certain rooms can hold up to 24 people) of folks and shared a (sometimes questionable) bathroom with the entire floor. Yet not bad for 15 pounds a night. It also comes with a common room and a kitchen on each floor, free continental breakfast, and clean (hopefully) sheets. And there is usually an age restriction of 25 years or towards students only (if you have a real job, stay at a real hotel).

Stay tuned in the next post for an extended account of our whole Saturday in London.

Random Britishisms:

• "Cheers" = another word for thank you. So when someone says cheers, they are not toasting you (and they say it A LOT)
• "Top up your phone" = add more money to your phone. This applies to people who have a pay as you go plan, especially when certain plans gives you 200 text messages when you "top off" 10 pounds on your phone. Text messaging is a very big thing here, even moreso than calling people.
• "pants" = underwear (aka: "knickers"). I found this out via a humorous exchange with my flatmates where they asked me what I was wearing for a night out and I replied, "dress pants" and they looked at me like I was a weirdo (or a harlot). Apparently, dress pants are "trousers" or "slacks."
• "pub crawl," it's a British student excursion which consists of getting on one of the lines on in the Underground and at every stop, go to the nearest pub, get a drink, then go back to the line towards the next stop. I'm guessing that towards the end of the night, the lines all start to blur together with humorous results, I'm sure.
• "bangers and mash" - sausage with mashed potatoes and gravy. Surprisingly tasty, if a bit salty. And the sausage is definately not as questionable as at home sausage.
  

Of the University of Warwick

University House

Since I've been getting a lot of questions in regards to London, I would like to take this post to remind everyone that (unfortunately) I am not going to school in London. This post is instead going to be dedicated to the University of Warwick.


The University was built in 1964 on a piece of farmland in the middle of Warwickshire (the county of Warwick). The nearest towns are Coventry, Leamington Spa, and Kennilworth; it is a 2 hour train ride away northwest from London and thus significantly colder. Since the university is located in the middle of nowhere, it is is a small town within itself. This town contains such amenities as a: pub, nightclub, movie theatre, play theatre, cafes, and restaurants. I haven't been able to find the police station or hospital but I'm sure it's around.

The Art's Center, apparently the largest arts center in the UK outside of London. I don't know whether to be proud or slightly perturbed.

And, last but not least, because this is England, there is also a wildlife reserve right behind campus of which I took a walk in one sunny Sunday to find:

A river

Swans

Tocil Woods

When I first imagined a university of England, I thought it was going to be something like UCLA, red brick, columns, that look of age and experience. Instead, I get...

South Campus (aka: ugly modern. That's the Humanities building btw)

But hey, at least I get green trees, rolling hillsides, clean air, and birds. That's a plus. Additionally, I also get classes that last all year with exams only being once a year (sweet!). Of course, when I go back home, it is going to suck major-wise. But I'll enjoy the sights in the meantime.

Britishisms I learned today:

• potato chips = crisps. A bag of crisps will come with 6 little bag of potato chips in it. On that note, "Lay's" potato chips is "Walkers."
• Chips only refers to largely cut french-fries. Thinly sliced french-fries (ie: fast-food fries) are still called french-fries
• there are no such things as dryer sheets. I only found one box after looking at two convenient stores and it was 4 quids. Bastards.
• Shire = county. So Warwickshire = Warwick county. Nifty huh?
  

Of Moolah

What I admire about British money is its use of color. For us boring Americans, our money comes in that boring shade of green. While for Brits (and from what I remember, Canadians as well) their pound "notes" come in delightful shades of pastels, such as pink and blue (on the same note).

See how pretty they are?

What I have not yet gotten used to here is payment by coins, especially in America, paying in coins carry a connotation of poverty (not to mention it makes for a very clunky wallet). But here, there seems to be more coins in circulation than notes (I have not seen a one or two pound note yet - I still feel compelled to call them dollar bills), which made the first couple of days fun (for me, not for the cashier or the people behind me) trying to figure out which coins were which. More often than not, I had to squint my eyes at the back of the coin to find the amount. I now finally understand why British ladies in Charles Dicken's novels always carried around coin purses; they needed a separate pouch for their loose change since people here like coins a lot more than bills ("notes"). The British denomination is broken down as followed:

pence = cents
notes = dollars

1 pence
2 pence
5 pence
10 pence
20 pence
50 pence
1 pound
2 pound

100 pences = 1 pound

See the disparity between size and value?

The penny is not the most useless coin. Instead, the 2 pence trumps it in uselessness. It's huge and yet, it's worth practically nothing!

I miss nice, skinny, monochromatic, uncomplicated American dollar bills that fits nice and snug in your wallet.

Britishisms:

• Another name for the pound: "quid"
• Price of a pint of beer: "two and a half quids"

Of Coventry Cathedral

So the University of Warwick, where I am currently attending, is not actually located in Warwick (or anywhere near London for anyone who thinks I am somehow studying in London - hah!). It is actually located between three small towns: Kennilworth, Leamington Spa, and - the biggest of the three - Coventry.

Now, having spent the past two years at UCLA, in the middle of busy, angry, vibrant Los Angeles, and having grown up in Anaheim only 5 minutes away from Disneyland, the thought of being stuck in the middle of green fields and houses (ie: nowhere) does not bode well with me (especially when I'm stuck here without a car).

But, luckily, the International Office at the University are kind enough to arrange various trips for all visiting students. One of them was a two hour tour of Coventry.

A 15 minute coach/bus ride later, we arrived at the 1000 year old city of Coventry (which was also the capital of England for two years during the War of the Roses). My flatmates warned me ahead of time that Coventry was kind of ugly. I wouldn't describe it in that way (I did live in Los Angeles after all) but I would describe it as a bit mismatched since you have hundred year old buildings right next to modern ones. And it is these hundred year old buildings that belie the history and importance of this small town within English history.

A quaint old English house right next to the walls of a shopping center

Getting off the van, we arrived at the Coventry Cathedral, which is actually composed of three cathedrals: the old St. Michael's and the new St. Michael's, and St. Mary's, Coventry's first cathedral which was torn down by Henry VIII and which only a base and few fragments remain.

The old St. Michael's Cathedral was constructed around the 14-15 century ("Still a very young Cathedral" - said our tour guide). If 500 years is young, then the question us Americans have to ask is, "What does that make us?" It also made me notice that America, especially the West Coast seems to lack really old Cathedrals, especially those built with that same hand-made attention to detail. But I guess that's the byproduce of being such a small country, especially one that was built mainly from the powers of industry. This one in particular was bombed during WWII and only a few sandstones remains are left, in which inside, there is a memorial to those who died in the bombing of Hiroshima. The thing I find most amazing about these ruins is how they are pretty much still intact, considering the rainy weather and the crumbly nature of sandstone. Though who knows how long that can last.

The ruins of St. Michael. I adore the Gothic shape of the windows.

The new St. Michael's Cathedral was built in 1962, right next to the old cathedral as a homage. Our tour guide was nice enough to show us around the Cathedral, describing the history and significance of relics within, which includes fun things as a boulder from Bethleham, a very very large tapestry of Christ (said to have a shelf life of 500 years), and the stained glass windows.

The facade of the new St. Michael's Church. The statue on the outside is entitled "Saint Michael and the Devil," in other words, "Evil getting a smack-down."

The stained glass Bapistry Window. 195 different panes of stained glass images which "represents the light of God breaking into the world" - according to the pamphlet,

One thing is for sure, you rarely see this kind of attention to allegorical detail at home, it's almost enough to make one holy. Who would think so much history lies within one town that a lot of people I know have never ever heard of before. I wonder, what other little historical facts lay in this small country that is roughly the size of California? Onward!

Coventry City Center, behind the cathedrals and complete with a naked statue of Lady Godiva, one of the more well-known residents of the city (and who rode through the city naked, it is not as dirty as it sounds, promise).

Britishisms that I learned today:

• A size 6 is the equivalent of a size 2 in the US. Imagine my chagrin when I realize that here, I have become a 6 and not only that, there are not a lot of 6's available. And the same problem that plagues me when shopping in the US plagues me here - ie. I still can't find my size. Even across the Pond, I am still the smallest person I know.
• A 500 year old building is still fairly young.
  

Of Homesickness and Disappointment

There are apparently 5 stages to culture shock when you move to a new place, they are listed as followed (this is taken from the culture shock handout the Warwick International Office gave us in our orientation packet):

1. Honeymoon or incubation stage. Everything may seem new and exciting.
2. Transition period. Communication problems occur and feelings of incompetence and frustration at not being understhood may arise.
3. Realization of some understanding, a feeling of direction and of wanting to belong.
4. Recognition that the new culture has both good and bath things to offer.
5. Re-entry shock. this occurs when you return home.

Of course, not everyone goes through the stages but during orientation, they say that after you get through Stage 2, everything gets better. Well, while I did not get the culture shock of "oh my god, I'm in England and everything is so different" when I first arrived, lo and behold, I did go through the homesickness/disappointment/"Everything sucks, what the hell am I doing here?"

It all began my first Monday at the University of Warwick, January 5th, only 3 days after I arrived. After what can only be described as a hellish first day (which started out fine enough, it was snowing), I did not get the classes I wanted (only having 5 options to choose from), had no one to talk to, nowhere to go, and thus ended up spending the end of the first day of class alone in my room wondering why am I not having that fantastic time with my hypothetical English friends. Then, to relieve boredom, I went on that evil entity known as Facebook. It was then, looking at the status of the people back home that I realized, fuck, I am on the other side of the world, everybody's lives are going on without me, I don't have any of the my closest friends or family to make me feel better, and I am utterly utterly alone. To top it off, I don't know if the classes I'm taking will transfer over to UCLA, not to mention they are classes I tried my best to avoid while at UCLA. And I was afraid that talking about it with someone would cause me collapse into a whimpering, blubbering mess, the likes of which I have not felt in quite a long time. I expected this to happen in theory but I never imagined it would be that bad or how absolutely miserable I would feel. It's amazing how, at that moment, in a house with 12 people, where you can hear the sounds of the people in the next room, how completely alone you feel.

And what to do?

Roll with it, find someone to talk to (or text with), avoid Facebook like the plague, and sleep. Tomorrow is another day. And most of all, have faith that it will get better.

The rain from my window, serene almost.

And a week later...it has. Classes are better (I finally got into a Romantic Poetry class after waiting a week for it to open), I've met some really cool people, both in my flat and outside of it, and despite the rain, everything is beautiful. As always, you have to be kiên nhẫn, be patient and have faith that despite how bad it may look sometimes, everything will look ụp

Next post, join me as I finally go into town!

Random Britishisms I learned today:

• "Where's Waldo" in England is actually called "Where's Wally." In the words of my flatmates, "Waldo's an ugly name!"
• "Pop in"/"Pop out" - to quickly go into somewhere/quickly exit
• British accents become normal and less exotic after you listen to it for a really long time (such as having to hear your flatmates speak like that for a week now)
• "Soda" refers to club soda, not soft drinks.