Things I Miss About London

- British people

- British accents

- sweet Thai chilli crisps

- Tesco

- Waitrose

- onion and garlic dip

- 6 Bedford Square

- Dr. David Urch

- Dr. Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic

- NIDO bathroom mirror

- Room 3.85

- fish and chips

- eat-in Earl Grey at Costa

- Humaira Tandoori

- naan

- samosas

- chicken tikka masala

- Muller Corners yoghurt

- the Underground

- double decker buses

- Brunswick Center

- British currency

- being overage

- Pizza Express

- hot waiter at Pizza Express, Euston Road

- the British Library

- the British Museum

- Primark

- Harrod's

- saying "Cheers"

- the Gherkin

- Greenwich

- Royal Festival Hall

- Westminster

- red telephone booths

- sunset from 12.30

- photo wall

- Burlington Arcade

- Oyster Card

- tapping in

- cooking

- potlucks

- my roommate

- Twinings collection

- Trafalgar Square

- London markets

- afternoon tea

- Victoria & Albert Museum

- Notting Hill/Portobello Road Market

- Le Mercury

- Chilango

- Tortilla

- instant oatmeal

- texting

- hair dryer

- Boots

- taramasalata

- cream crackers

- Nivea products

- Q Chicken

- SHINE kids
- electric kettle
- microwave dinners
- pita bread
- caramelized onion hoummus
- Moroccan hoummus
- driving on the wrong side of the road

- walking on the wrong side of hallways/stairs

- standing on the right of escalators

- minding the gap

- ground floors

- bold and mighty architecture

- NIDO showerhead

- NYU in London organic chemistry exams

- Georgian architecture

- Senate House
- freedom
- independence

Hello Goodbye

Well, I'm home.  It's like...waking up from a really, really, really, REALLY good dream.

It's great to see my family again and be in my own home again; to have a bathroom in which I can actually stretch my arms and not bruise myself; to have a regular-sized refrigerator and not a cold locker; to have my piano; to sleep in my own bed...

...but I miss so much about London and what my life was like there!  I miss my London family, the free museums, 6 Bedford Square, Room Awesome, Tesco/Waitrose...  I want to walk to campus again.  I want to buy £1 microwave meals and crisps at Tesco.  I want to get lost in The British Museum or National Gallery.  I want to stay out really late and lose my voice screaming the lyrics to "Don't Stop Believing" at The Rocket.  I want Indian food!

-----

It's related, I promise: yesterday, I caught up on the final episodes of Ugly Betty.

I didn't think I could be so affected by, my life so invested in, a television show.  I remember the first few episodes years back, there was all this uproar about a show with an ugly girl as the protagonist: people thought it was groundbreaking, people thought it was stereotyping.  Whatever, I watched all four seasons dutifully.  These last few episodes got me thinking how much the life of Betty Suarez mirrors the life of Sandra Moy.  

It's eerie, in fact, how similar we are.  Betty gets her braces off (check), Betty writes a blog (check), Betty loses some weight (check), Betty meets boys (well...I need to work on that), Betty goes to London (CHECK), Betty blogs about London (check and check, obviously).

I cried when Betty leaves her life and her job in New York to move to bigger, better things in London.  When she says goodbye to her family...that scene got me.  That was what I was like, leaving home earlier this year.  Honestly, when I was watching that episode, it was like looking back into my own life.  Then, I rejoiced when she was frolicking around London with her new successful career, and I still can't believe they made Trafalgar Square such an integral part of her life.  Seriously, Silvio Horta, way to jack my story!!  Just kidding, I really enjoyed every minute of it.

One day, one day.  When I am a successful cardiologist (or something), I will move to London and do a Betty Suarez.

Le Ciel Bleu

Good morning from London, from my last full day in London!!

This week flew by so fast, unfairly so.  I mean it's great to be done with finals and classes.  BUT I MISS LONDON ALREADY.  I'm dreading leaving, and I don't know what I'm going to do with myself...

Last night we had dinner at Le Mercury again.  It was a beautiful scene to behold, all my friends sitting around a table, candlelights and romantic French music, laughter, delicious food...

And afterwards, I joined the NYU Global Medical Brigades fundraiser at The Rocket, a nearby pub.  Yes, that was rather fun.  It was a good time to let loose and see all my friends (and me, most likely) act like idiots.

Oh what an amazing four months it has been.

Today is the bye-bye barbecue in Bedford Square.  I wonder what British BBQ tastes like...?

Seven. More. Days

Oh, no.  The dreaded time has come.  We're nearing the end of Spring 2010!

I've been in denial ever since we passed the half-way point of this semester.  Let's face it, I'm not ready to go home yet!  I've had a super-productive semester - lived by myself, gone all around Europe, and still managed to do well in school - but I am greedy for more.

This coming week, I have an orgo final, cognition final, and social psychology final, and then I'm done.  This past week was absolutely awful: cognition paper, architecture term project, and social psychology group project.  I think two out of those three went alright.  I spent the entire day doing orgo today and I'm quite ready to burst.  Plus, I have another entire day to look forward to carboxyl groups and amides and whatnot.  FUN!

Seven more days and I'll be home, but London will always have a special place in my heart, as will all the people I've met here and the experiences I've had.  <3

I'm just a girl / Standing in front of a boy / Asking that boy to love her

Today I went to Notting Hill!  Yes, like the movie.

I feared it would rain today, but the weather was fantastic while we were there.  It is pouring right now, though.  We took the Tube out to Notting Hill Gate and walked around the extremely crowded Portobello Road Market.  There are lots of antique/junk shops and fruits and veggies and things you'd expect of a market.  We had lunch at a greasy spoon diner and then smoothies and just meandered around the neighborhood.

Notting Hill is really beautiful.  The houses come in two flavors, Italianate or...regular row houses.  The Italianate houses are based on palazzos in Italia.  The row houses are all uniquely painted and colourful!  I adored the architecture even more than the market itself.  Here, have a taste:

And yes, I visited the Travel Bookshop, but it wasn't exactly like Hugh Grant's.  It was really nice, though, and I flipped through some nice travel books with fantastic photos.

Cheeeerio!

I Survived Volcano 2010

Yeah...the whole volcano business was funny until we got our makeup class for the last day of classes, 6:30 - 9:30 pm.  See, what had happened was...my professor got stuck in Spain, so he missed class, so now we have to sacrifice three hours that night to learn about cognitive psychology.  Oh, just the thought of it pains me.

What a busy, busy few weeks ahead!  Orgo Lab final next Tuesday; Cognition paper and Architecture paper due on the same day, next Wednesday; Social presentation next Thursday; Orgo final next next Monday; Orgo written assignment next next Tuesday; Cognition final next next Wednesday; Social final next next Thursday; NYUL FAREWELL BARBECUE NEXT NEXT FRIDAY.

An American in Paris

I'm about a week late in writing about this, but it's been a busy week back (as every week is busy).

I went to Paris last weekend!  It was stunning, and I likely would have fallen in love had I had more time there.  My friends and I took the really really really Eurostar out of St. Pancras International at about 5:25 am, to arrive in Paris by about 9 am.  The first day, we went out to Versailles.  I felt exceedingly special because we got to skip the ridiculously long line because we have student visas.  The inside of the palace was undoubtedly grand...but to be honest, I wasn't all that impressed with it.  I've seen other palaces here in the UK and in Italy, and I am a bit sick of seeing a royal bedchamber and the funny-shaped short beds that royals used to sleep in.  I did like the Hall of Mirrors, though.  I am a big fan of chandeliers and mirrored surfaces, so I was in heaven.  It was beautiful and shiny and bright and grand.  Finally, we wandered around the gardens.  The gardens were extremely impressive, as far as the eye could see!  ACRES of green and dusty paths, statues, fountains, trelises, trees....

By the time we rushed back to Paris, we JUST missed the last ticket sale at Musee d'Orsay, so we headed down the Seine to Notre Dame.  The church seems a bit smaller than what I expected, after having seen St. Peter's and Italy's Duomos, but the inside was gorgeous.  The stained glass windows and rose windows were huge and beautiful, and there was a service going on so the whole place was lit with a heavenly glow.

After Notre Dame, we had dinner in St. Michael, a neighborhood known for cheap eats and souvenirs; it kind of reminds me of little places in downtown Manhattan/Chinatown/Lower East Side.  I had a super-salty French onion soup, chicken, and delicious creme brulee.

We headed back to our hostel, St. Christopher's, which was one of the better hostel experiences we've had so far.  Our room was an 8-person bunk room, but very spacious.  Each bunk had a curtain and a little reading lamp inside, so it was good for privacy.  We even had a sink and a kitchen table in the room.  My friends and I were a group of four, and there were some other people in our room who didn't bug us...but made the room smell less than desirable. 

The next morning, after a free breakfast provided by the hostel consisting of unlimited baguettes, Nutella, jam, cereal, coffee, and orange juice, we headed to Musee du Louvre!  We got there pretty early so there were no lines.  We made a beeline towards Winged Nike of Samothrace, and behind her, the Mona Lisa.  Everyone complains when they see her, "She's so small!" but I still thought she was pretty awesome.  After that, I wandered around the museum on my own, proud to say that I saw everything I wanted to see.  After Mona Lisa, I went for the Greco-Roman statues, including Venus de Milo, another beauty.  Then, I saw the Code of Hammurabi and a bunch of huge paintings.  My favorite is David's Liberty Leading the People.  After the museum, we headed to the Jardin de Tuileries and walked all the way down towards the Arc de Triomphe.  What a long but nice walk it was!  We spotted that funny obelisk thing, and window shopped down the Champs Elysees.  We even went inside the flagship Louis Vuitton store...!  Along the way, my friends and I stopped for silhouette souvenirs.  It was so cool, just like in Ragtime, when the guy just cut out our silhouettes with just paper and a pair of scissors, freehand!

When we reached the Arc, there was a ceremony going on to honor the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.  We climbed up to see a great 360 view of Paris, and then observed the ceremony going on below.  It was so touching to see war veterans carrying flags and wearing medallions representing their devotion to France. 

After, we had dinner at a nice restaurant and then headed towards the Eiffel Tower.  Along the way, we stopped for banana chocolate crepes (to-die-for), and when we reached the Tower, it was exactly the top of the hour, so we saw it sparkle!  After lots of struggling to get night-time photos of the Eiffel Tower, and seeing it sparkle a second time, my friends rode a carousel and had some cotton candy...and then we headed back.

The next morning, we went to Sacre Coeur Basilica high on the hill of Montmartre.  The church is...interesting-looking.  I'm picky about my buildings, so I don't really like how it looks, but it is indeed very grand and majestic.  In fact, my favorite part was sitting inside and watching the sunlight filter through the stained glass.  I think in all my time visiting churches, I've never seen such beautiful light from stained glass windows.  It is probably never sunny enough when I visit churches typically.  After Sacre Coeur, we walked around the quaint Montmartre, and then to the Moulin Rouge, bypassing the red light district...that was awkward and interesting.

Finally, our last stop was Musee d'Orsay.  We first had a picnic in the Jardin de Tuileries, and the weather was so gorgeous and sunny that I got a nice tan.  Finally, we had 40 minutes to run through the museum since we had our Eurostar to catch.  The museum is a converted railway station, and the inside is enormous, bright, and beautiful.  This museum is possibly my favorite when it comes to collection, because they had loads of impressionism and Monet!!  I could easily spend hours in d'Orsay the next time I go to Paris...

Finally, it was time to bid adieu to Paris!  We departed the busy Gare du Nord and headed back to London.

What an amazing city Paris is.  It is everything I expected and wanted it to be.  People were surprisingly friendly, and everything was absolutely beautiful!  We went at a good time of year too, not toooo hot and crowded, but just warm enough and sunny.  I can't wait to go back!!

Buenos dias, buon giorno, kalimera

Twelve days, seven cities, three countries, ten friends, infinite memories.

MADRID

Madrid was beautiful, small, comfortable, and relaxing.  Our hostel was actually more like a really nice hotel.  We were within walking distance of everything.  We took our time meandering around.  We saw some of the big sites like the Palacio Real, Plaza Mayor, Puerta del Sol, Plaza Espana, and the Museo del Prado (speed-walked to all the masterpieces in 40 minutes).  We spent nearly an entire day walking through the Parque del Buen Retiro, enjoying the spring weather and sunshine.  Madrid food, unfortunately, was not remarkable.  We tried paella and churros con chocolate, but the cuisine wasn't really special or amazing.  We had heard that Madrilenos might be racist against Asians...but since we knew some Spanish, we got along with everyone and were able to communicate well.  Madrid actually seemed kind of quiet; perhaps it is not peak tourist season yet, but everything was very relaxed and mellow.

MILANO

Milan was even more beautiful!  Il Duomo exceeded my expectations, and was by far my favorite part.  While the church itself was dark and not very interesting, the rooftop was spectacular.  The day we were up there was dominated by a sunny blue sky.  I just sat up amongst the spires and mused for a good hour.  One of the tour groups up there started singing.  I sketched a couple of the Gothic spires.  Then, we visited the neighboring Galleria for some bull-testicle-spinning and window shopping.  For dinner that night, we had an all-you-can-eat buffet of antipasti, provided we buy a drink at the bar.  Let's just say, Europeans are hardcore about their alcohol, and mojitos do not taste good.  We capped off the night with gelati and a leisurely walk back to our hotels.  Milan was very beautiful for the one day we saw it.  I reckon one day is just enough, unless you want to see The Last Supper at Santa Maria della Grazie, but that requires reservations months in advance.  The bits of Milan that we saw were clean and neat.  The only thing I rue about the city is that the view from the Duomo isn't great; the Duomo's spires itself are a sight to behold, but the city is a mishmash of modern buildings that sort of mar the skyline.  One thing I adore about Florence's cityscape is its uniformity of rustic terracotta roofs.  Overall, Milan was lovely, and the next morning, we were together as a group of ten, about to travel to my favorite city in the world...

FIRENZE

Florence, Florence, Florence!  The day we arrived happened to be my birthday.  After dropping our things off, I rushed everyone off to il Duomo.  I was the designated tour guide for Florence, and I relished my role.  First, we toured the inside of the Duomo, but found the cupola was closed due to Holy Week.  Instead, we climbed the campanile.  Incidentally, it started hailing as we stood in line!  When we got to the top, we had a gorgeous view of Brunelleschi's dome and heard the campanile's bells thunder.  Then, we did a quick walk down towards the Arno, hitting il Mercato del Porcellino, Piazza della Repubblica, Piazza della Signorina, and the Uffizi courtyard.  Finally, we walked all the way up Lungarno to Trattoria Pizzaria Vecchio Carlino for my favorite tagliatelli con crema di tartufo e funghi.  I had a little surprise after dinner: the waiter shut the lights and brought out a tiramisu cake, courtesy of my friends!  I'm not gonna lie, I teared up a little.  It was the first time anyone had surprised me with anything for my birthday.  It was delicious, and everyone took turns feeding me cake.  I didn't like so much being the center of attention, but it was just so thoughtful of them to make me feel so happy on my 20th birthday in Florence.  After, we had good rollicking laughs in ...Slurp next door.  The next day, some of us waited on a ridiculously long line for the Uffizi.  It was around 2 hours long...and a preview of how long lines in Europe can be.  The Uffizi was so worth it, though!  We saw the old favorites like Botticelli's Birth of Venus and Primavera and Titian's Venus of Urbino...yeah.  We Florence alumni also took turns telling stories about pieces of art.  It was a lovely morning.  Afterwards, we had a quick lunch at Cantinetta dei Verrazzano, where I've been waiting to have foccaccia for two years (last year, I heard about the place and found it...but couldn't brave the language barrier to order a foccaccia sandwich).  Then, we had a delicious lunch-dessert at Perche no? across the street.  I had my favorite pistacchio gelato.  It was rainy by this point, so we went inside...a church!  Orsanmichele, to be specific, another place that was closed last year and I intended to return to.  After a few minutes in the church and some praying, we went back outside and discovered that the weather was beautiful!  Grey clouds had shifted and it was sunny and warm.  To Piazzale Michelangelo!  We hiked up the hill to the point across the Arno where you can see all of bella Firenze.  It was perfect: you could see the Duomo, Palazzo Vecchio, Ponte Vecchio, and all the adorable, beautiful rooftops of the old city.  When I got up to Piazzale Michelangelo, I was reminded why I love Florence.  We sat up near the church of San Miniato.  My neighbor here at Nido studied abroad in Florence last year and told us the story of San Miniato: apparently he was beheaded, picked up his head, and walked up this hill...and is now buried where the church stands.  GREAT STORY, so I had to go see it.  When we got there, it was just in time for Gregorian chants, which were very beautiful and resounding.  We sat outside the church and observed the golden hour just before sunset.  Bellisima.

ROMA

Rome was definitely a crazy experience.  We arrived on Holy Saturday and immediately went to the Vatican.  After waiting on line for a good two hours, we were herded inside the Vatican Museums.  It was very grand and filled with all sorts of art.  We made a beeline for the main exhibit: the Sistine Chapel!  It was interesting and breathtaking to be under the magnificent chapel ceiling.  It was also odd because it has turned into such a tourist attraction; people crowd inside and turn their cameras skyward, pushing and shoving one another.  Ehh.  Afterwards, I really wanted to go inside St. Peter's Basilica but it was closed early to prepare for Easter mass!  We decided to go up to Gianicolo hill to watch the sunset...but it was badly situated so the sun actually set out of sight.  We just watched the sky get darker.  But, it was great, being in the company of nine friends, just sitting at the base of a column and enjoying the atmosphere.  That night, we visited Trevi Fountain and tossed in our coins.  Hopefully one day we will return to Rome.  The next morning, Easter Sunday, poured.  We tried visiting the secular sites like Coliseum and Roman Forum because they would be open...but they also happened to be outdoors, which sucked for my sneakers.  I think they still haven't properly dried.  Anyway...the rain sort of ruined the entire day.  We saw the Coliseum, Forum, the municipal buildings, Trajan's Column, Piazza Navona, the Pantheon, Castel Sant' Angelo, and the outside of the Vatican (so...we can say we were at the Vatican on Easter!  woot).  Essentially, we walked across Rome in the rain.  Finally, the third morning, we visited Santa Maria della Vittoria to see none other than Bernini's The Ecstacy of St. Teresa.  My friends couldn't help but giggle and smirk at the innuendo once they read about the statue, but I still appreciated the amazing sculpture-work of Bernini.  I've always admired the marble drapery and golden beams of light from photos, but it was awesome to see it in person.  I wanted to touch it and feel the smooth marble under my fingers!  Then, we walked to the Spanish Steps and wandered around until it was time to depart for...

BARI

We parted ways with the large group to head to Greece.  The plan was to take a train from Rome to Bari and catch an overnight ferry to Patras, Greece.  When we settled down in the train, the ticket-punch lady told us...the train could not make the journey from Benevento to Foggia, right in the middle of the journey from Rome to Bari.  Instead, we would have to take a bus from Benevento to Foggia, which would take an hour.  Unfortunately, we only had one hour and fifteen minutes to spare to begin with.  After a lot of running and panicking, we got on a bus to Foggia, which took one hour and twenty minutes.  Then, we got back on a train that looked like the Hogwarts Express on the inside, which took us to Bari.  When we got out of the station, we got into a taxi whose driver was absolutely insane.  He took us from the station to the port in 6 minutes.  We were about to rejoice when we got to the port...but security told us we had to have tickets.  FML.  Two of my friends, brave souls, ran to the ticket office about half a mile away.  Mind you, this is about 7:40 pm and the boat is set to depart at 8:00 pm.  Departure times in Europe are no joke.  My other friend and I were left to pace around the security area, flipping out and hyperventilating.  Eventually, we see two figures running towards us in the dark, waving tickets!  YES.  We got on the ferry at 7:55 pm, five minutes to spare. 

The ferry journey itself was...uneventful.  We didn't have cabins because that would cost more, so we resorted to sleeping in chairs.  It was a painful.  Fifteen hours later, we were in Greece!

PATRAS

Patras is a small port town, but we absolutely fell in love with it because we stayed in a full-on hotel that was beautiful and comfortable and relaxing.  The view from our window/balcony was gorgeous, of the mainland (we were on the Peloponnese peninsula).  We meandered around the beach, though it was a bit cold.  Then we went into our hotel to have a delicious late lunch.  Food was cheap and amazingly good.  We had a bit of fun in the free sauna, just us four girls, and then sitting by the empty pool to watch dusk settle.  Finally, we had a delicious and affordable dinner and relaxed all night.  The next morning, we had an amazing free breakfast buffet...and then we were out the door and headed to Athens!

ATHINA

Again, we had travel difficulties.  The train from Patras to Athens couldn't make the leg from Diakonto to Kiato, so we had to take a coach bus.  I kind of don't remember these bits because I was getting so exhausted by now....  Eventually, we arrived in Athens, and had to take a bus to our hotel about 17 miles away.  When we checked in, we realized we were staying in a bungalow behind the hotel.  It was kind of cute, but seemed a little sketchy and...too nature-y for my taste, in that there were lots of bugs in close proximity (we found this out the hard way one night).  That afternoon, we wandered around the area of our hotel, Glyfada.  We had a late lunch at a cute restaurant, where they gave us free pita bread, yoghurt dip, water, and...limoncello shots!  This was totally surprising, since in Italy we were so used to begging for free tap water.  Their gyro was a bit dry, but still tasty.  The next day, we went to Athens and the Acropolis Museum.  It was fascinating to see all the history revolving around the Acropolis, but a bit disheartening to know that most of the real stuff from the Acropolis is lost or in the British Museum.  Finally, we hiked up the Acropolis, only to find that it was to close soon, so we only had about ten minutes atop it!  Not to worry, that afternoon, we wandered around Syntagma Square and the National Gardens.  Finally, we went back to Glyfada for a great dinner at a souvlaki place.  The next and last morning, we went back to the Acropolis earlier so we could enjoy the place fully (or, so I could enjoy the place fully).  Oh, it was amazing to be in the shadows of the Parthenon.  It felt great to achieve something that I've planned to do since sixth grade.  One thing finally off my bucket list!

One interesting and unrelated thing about Athens/Glyfada: we met a Cypriot family at the hotel and we just ran into them over and over during our stay.  The dad first spoke to us, and then introduced his British-born wife and two teenage sons.  They were all sweet and nice to talk to...or, rather, listen to!  The dad loved hearing the sound of his own voice, and I loved hearing the sound of the mum's voice.  The kids didn't speak perfect English, having been raised in Cypress.  Some interesting things struck me.  First, the older son is expected to join the Cypress army soon, as it is compulsory for boys.  Second, we discussed everything from America to London to Cypress to China and communism.  It was funny to have met someone so talkative in a land completely new to us, and though we laughed about it, it made me feel more comfortable too.  I kind of miss them now, and I hope that the son joining the army will be safe.

The trip back home was...also riddled with problems.  Our flight was originally 7:00 pm out of Athens, due to arrive in London Gatwick around 8:45 pm.  When we checked in, they told us the flight would be delayed about an hour.  So, we sat by the gate for a while, waiting.  In total, it took us three hours and ten minutes of waiting until we took off.  Crazy, crazy night.  We were back at NIDO at around 3 in the morning.  After a bit of unpacking and laundry, I was finally in my own bed at 5:00 am.  What a trip!

Overall, everything in my spring break trip went flawlessly.  I wish I could include every thought I had during it, but that would take thousands and thousands of more words.  See, it even took me...two weeks just to post this!

EUROTRIP TIME

Good evening!  This will be my last Internet blog post for twelve days.  I will chronicle the next twelve days in writing, hopefully, but no computer for a while.  Must learn constraint, and will not schlep a heavy laptop around Europe.

YES I AM GOING ON SPRING BREAK THROUGH EUROPE TOMORROW!!!  Our destinations are: Madrid, Milan, Florence, Rome, Bari, Patras, and Athens!

We will spend 2 days in Madrid, 1 day in Milan, my birthday in Florence, Easter Sunday in Rome, and coast the rest of the way across the Aegean Sea.

I am so excited for this, but also so anxious.  I guess I get anxious before any big change in my life.  This is a huge change, in fact; we are foreign students in London to being with, and we have to plan this enormous trip around so many people and differing schedules and itineraries.  Plus, we've had massive headaches with booking plane tickets, hotels, hostels, all with credit and debit cards online.  We are only allowed one carry on and must live out of it for twelve days.  Urgh.  I've mostly packed already, just the last few things in the dryer right now.  Speaking of which...gotta go collect laundry in 10 minutes or so....

My dream vacation would see me at a cafe somewhere with the sun high in the sky, me sipping a cappuccino (I've given up coffee for all of London, but...London is not Europe!) and writing in my journal or sketching in my sketchbook.  I could even go without seeing all the museums.  We're sacrificing Santa Maria della Grazie (The Last Supper) in Milan, the Uffizi and the Accademia in Florence, and probably we will miss a lot in Rome due to the hectic Holy Week.  But I'm willing to absorb Europe in other ways, like living la dolce vita rather than la vida loca (don't know how to speak Greek just yet).  I mean, when else can I spend Easter in the biggest Roman Catholic site in the world, spend my birthday in one of my favorite cities in the world, see the Acropolis ruins that I've longed to see since I was in 6th grade...!!!

Hopefully when I come back and recover from jetlag and heartache, I will transcribe my doodles in my journal and sketchbook for you guys.  But for now, ciao ciao, Europe awaits.

Kangaroos and Rhinos and Europeans, oh my!

Wow, what a weird, eventful couple of days it's been!

First, sad news to report: yesterday, a man was found "expired" in Bedford Square Gardens, which is literally across the street for 6 Bedford Square (hence the name).  It is a key garden, so you'd think only the residents have a key to the gates.  It's all quite mysterious and spooky...I hope they resolve it soon, but meanwhile, it feels quite safe because there are constables at every corner of the park.  We saw them there even patrolling last night around 10:30pm.  Mom, if you're reading this, don't worry, I'm safe and everything!  People have died in worse ways back in New York...

Then, way better news: I went to see my first West End show last night!  LOVE NEVER DIES, and oh gosh, my love for Phantom-related stuff will never die.  I have a feeling that only fans of Phantom of the Opera will actually understand and enjoy this play, but boy am I a PHAN!  The music is beaaaaaautiful, as are the props and effects.  I won't give anything away; you'll have to see it in November on Broadway!  The only thing: I was still a bit sick and I was sniffling the whole time through my stuffy nose, but the end does have something to sniffle/cry about.  !!!  Overall, it was an amazing experience and I am listening to my newly-bought soundtrack.  Over and over again.

Today, we did some London sightseeing before leaving for holiday.  Our first destination was St. Paul's Cathedral, just to peek around the front for a photo opportunity.  Then, we walked across the Millennium Bridge towards the Tate Modern.  The Tate Modern is honestly not so impressive.  The only things that were cool, I suppose, were the building itself and the one Monet Water Lilies painting, Roudin sculpture, and Andy Warhol prints.  Otherwise, meh.  Then, we walked to the nearby Borough Market.  It's basically like the Union Square farmers' market, but bigger and badder.  London has several famous markets, and I still have to visit Portobello and Camden Markets.  Borough is really cool.  I actually had a mindblowing experience here: I ATE A KANGAROO BURGER.  YOU READ RIGHT.  There was a stall that sold exotic meats like ostrich, kangaroo, zebra, antelope...!?  I think it's quite unethical to kill these sorts of animals for their meat, but my friend bought a burger and offered me a bite.  It didn't taste like anything in particular, just meaty and gamey.  I couldn't get over the fact that I was eating kangaroo, and the thought still makes me kind of queasy...

Then, we made a long trek up the Strand to Chinatown.  Meanwhile, we stopped at Twinings (love) and Covent Garden.  I busted my foot a little and lost a shoe on the street, but it's all good.  At Chinatown, my friends ate at a strange Malaysian place while I planned the next leg of my journey.

I have been planning to meet one of my mom's colleagues who lives here in London and goes to New York City every so often.  She was a consultant at the place my mom used to work, and she offered to be a contact for me here in London.  I figure it's about time to meet up with her, so we decided 7pm tonight.  Incidentally, my roommie and I got to South Kensington by 6:50pm, but my mom's friend arrived at 7:40pm.  In her defense, there was traffic, and her husband drove.  We piled into their car (my first time in a UK car!  BACKWARDS STEERING WHEEL, SO ODD) and they took us to Fulham for dinner.  We ate at a nice burger place with several of their other adult friends.  It was a great dinner overall, a fantastic new experience for my roommate and me.

First of all, my mom's friend is an amazing and admirable woman.  She was born in France/near Germany; she is Arabic/Moroccan by ethnicity; she was raised in Paris; she lives in London now.  Her husband is Iraqi.  Her friends who dined with us were: a German, an Iraqi woman who looked absolutely German but spoke fluent French, a British-Italian, a Frenchwoman, and a British-Lebanese.  What an absolutely diverse dinner table (plus these two Oriental Yankees - not the baseball team, as we learned the hard way)!  My mom's friend warned us beforehand that her friends were definitely very rowdy, but I found them hilarious and fun.  I mean, undoubtedly, it was a bit awkward because we were the two outliers eating dinner with them.  Still, they were totally nice when we met, giving us both multiple European-double-cheek kisses.  They even (jokingly) invited us to Spearmint Rhino with them for the afterparty.  I think Spearmint Rhino is a gentleman's club/strip club.  It was fun for me to just watch their conversation, and hope that in 20 years or so, I'd have such great friends with whom to share such a dinner.  Finally, dinner wrapped up around 11:40pm, and they drove us back to the Tube.  We were a bit frightened since the Tube closes down at 12:30am (no 24-hour trains, can you believe?!) but we got home really quickly and safely.

What a night!

Hell Week, Pt. II

Good morning, kiddies.  I have some bad news to report.  I think I'm getting sick.

I mean, it's kind of inevitable.  Everyone catches a cold sometime.  It just sucks that this week is going to be really, really, really busy.  First off, we have our orgo exam tomorrow.  Then, we have to work on a social psych research survey: basically we have to compile an online survey and send it out to Facebook groups and we want Brits to fill it out and we have to analyze the data.  Finally, we have a paper for the same class due on Thursday.  I'm not doing too hotly on written papers this semester, probably because I'm a bit rusty at paper-writing, but I really need to do well on this one...!

Then, on Thursday night at 5:00 pm, SPRING BREAK OFFICIALLY BEGINS!!  At 7:30 pm, I am going to see Love Never Dies at the Adelphi Theater.  It is the sequel to Phantom of the Opera.  So excited!  Then, Friday I am planning to visit the Tate Modern, Borough Market, and meet up with my mom's former colleague in South Kensington for a quick tea/coffee break.  On Saturday, I want to see the changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace, the [free] chocolate fair at the Royal Festival Hall, and then do some shopping at Primark before spring break.  Then, we have to pack pack pack that weekend and get ready to jet!

Suppose I should get back to orgo studying now...

You are college-bound!

I'm in the computer lab in 6 Bedford Square, with 15 minutes to go before my class...organic chemistry recitation and lab, fantastic.

It's about time for college acceptance letters back home for my sister and her classmates.  The class of 2010 has not had an easy year, especially at Stuyvesant.  I really wish I could be home to cheer her on, or lend a shoulder to cry on, or give out hugs in general.  Although, I highly doubt my sister will need a shoulder on which to cry, since she is massively smart and bright and will probably get accepted to all the schools to which she applied.  Still, I wish I could be home to share in this milestone in her life.  I remember the time of my college acceptance and rejection letters was one of the worst times, since it came the day before my birthday.  Yes, I was rejected from a lot of colleges just before my 18th birthday.  It's a big time in a high school student's life, and I really really really wish I were with my sister right now!  K, I know you're like the only person who reads this blog anyway, so: SHOUT OUT.  I miss you, and it's probably too late to wish you luck, so now I offer you congratulations.  <3<3<3

God save the Queen

UPDATE: QUEEN ELIZABETH II WAS IN RESIDENCE AT WINDSOR CASTLE YESTERDAY.  I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT THE ROYAL STANDARD LOOKS LIKE (WELL, NOW I DO) BUT IT WAS FLYING.  IF SHE'S NOT HOME, IT'S THE UNION JACK.  THE ROYAL STANDARD WAS DEFINITELY FLYING YESTERDAY, I HAVE PHOTO PROOF.

 

Yesterday, I went to Windsor Castle as one of the NYUL programming events!  (FOR FREE...nearly)

My confederate and I got to Waterloo Station at around 10:30am to organize ourselves and meet the students who were supposed to arrive by 11:00am.  The train was leaving at 11:28am, and these trains do not joke around.  While we were waiting, a woman with long, straight blond hair was dragging a rolling luggage and running to Platform 1.  She had on suede aqua-coloured boots and was running as fast as she could in them...but those boots ain't made for runnin'.  Eventually she slid, fell on her bum, and watched miserably as the train pulled out of the station.  We were musing that it looked like a scene from a drama/romance movie; her boyfriend was probably on that train and she had to profess her love to him before he went off to marry another girl...or something like that.

We had one too many people show up, so I had to use NYUL's money to buy a ticket for the rail.  We got to Windsor in about an hour, and then had a little mix up with the tickets there, so we ended up having to buy two extra tickets, thanks to some people who are dishonest and ran away with tickets that did not belong to them....

Anyway, my confederate and I were now free to wander around the castle!  We went to St. George's Chapel, which is absolutely beautiful.  I just rue the fact that in London, you can't take photographs in some of the best places.  The ceiling of St. George's is composed of awesome fan vaults, though I must say, Bath Abbey's fan vaults are THE most beautiful ever.  The fan vaults at St. George's are interesting, though: they look like they're growing from the ground up!  In the chapel, we saw the burial place of King Henry VIII, next to his favorite wife, Jane Seymour, and the burial place of the present Queen's family: King George VI, the Queen Mother, and Princess Margaret.

Then, we went to the Queen's Dollhouse, which was a gorgeous replica of a palace presented to one of the Queens (too many to keep track of...).  Next was a gallery of drawings and sketches by famous artists.  I actually spotted a famous drawing by da Vinci that is supposed to be on display at the British Museum in late April, and that exhibit costs like £12, so haha, I got to see it at Windsor Castle.  Also, I saw famous sketches by Hans Holbein the Younger of Henry VIII and Sir Thomas More.

Finally, and the best best best part of the whole trip, were the State Apartments.  First, we went up a 'grand staircase' which was not so grand, but you could kind of fell the grandness of what was to come.  There was a room decorated with swords and rifles and, behind glass cases, gifts from world leaders to Queen Victoria, including royal headdresses, weaponry, and a solid gold tiger head...?  Then, upon more wandering, we saw the king's and queen's drawing rooms, some bedrooms, waiting rooms, dining rooms...oh God, what it must be like to be a royal!  The whole building reminded me a bit of Palazzo Pitti in Florence, but more English.  The rooms had sumptuous (is it just me or is sumptuous a really strange word?) velvet wallpaper, gold-leafed this and silver-plated that, lavish furniture, famous/expensive paintings, dazzling chandeliers...I have run out of adjectives.  I was most impressed by the dining areas, which were ginormous rooms fitted with long tables and neat chairs.  You can just imagine heads of state coming to meet with HRH at big parties.  AHH I WANT TO BE A ROYAL/HEAD OF STATE.  HRH also holds sleep overs, apparently.

To think, yesterday I was treading the same ground that THE QUEEN has walked on.  I felt her presence at the castle, though I don't think she was officially home.  Windsor Castle is her preferred weekend getaway.  I have long admired Queen Elizabeth II.  I hate when people say she's only a figurehead.  I mean, I guess it's kind of true, but c'mon, she's the freaking Queen.  She looks like an old granny, but I think she's epicness embodied in one person.  God save the Queen indeed!

After Windsor Castle, I stopped at McDonald's for a quick lunch and realized their fries are not very tasty.

Then, I wandered across a short span of the Thames over to Eton College, alma mater of Princes William and Harry (!) and Hugh Laurie (!!).  On the way, I saw some Etonian schoolboys in their tailcoats and white bowties.  Teehee.

Walking around Windsor was a great experience.  The weather had been cloudy and chilly for much of the day, but by this time, it was sunny (nearly sunset) and peaceful and mild.  I was walking by myself as my fellow group leader went home.  It was a great introspective moment, nice quiet time for myself, always welcome.  Love, love, love.

You can stand under my umbrella-ella-ella-eh-eh...eh wait it stopped raining!

What a crazy, great day!!

This morning, I woke up veeery early to go to the American Church in London on Tottenham Court Road to use the piano practice room.  NYUL arranged for me to use the practice room.  When I got there, it turns out the "practice room" is actually the entire church sanctuary, and there is a piano in the middle.  At first, I thought it might be odd, playing in a silent church.  But, it was so soothing once I pressed the first key.  I practiced Fantasie Impromptu, Bells of Moscow, and Liebestraum for about 30 minutes before work.  Oh, God, it was so calming.  I wish I had a piano in NIDO.

Then, I headed to work but my supervisor was out sick.  I begged the other people at the NYUL office to give me work, but two hours later they gave up and I went to Hummus Bros for lunch, walked through the British Museum really fast, and headed home.

Of course, on my way home, it started drizzling...then pouring.  It was the first time it rained in more than a week and a half!  Yet...now here as I'm sitting at my desk, it is ABSOLUTELY SUNNY outside.  Oh, God I am so deliriously happy right now, looking out at this beautiful bright LONDON.  I just wish I had an excuse to go outside and walk around.

Tomorrow, I volunteered to be a program leader for a trip to Windsor Castle.  Basically, I have to meet 25 people at Waterloo Station and give out tickets, take them to Windsor, and give them tickets to the castle.  It's quite a lot of responsibility, but I think I can handle it, and I am very excited that I can get into the castle for free!  I ALSO GOT ONE OF THOSE YELLOW NYUL ORIENTATION T-SHIRTS, BALLIN'.

Gonna stare out my window and enjoy the weather from inside now.  Ta!!

Look, a rice-berg!

Today was the first time here that I felt profoundly unhappy.

For lunch, I had free Hare Krishna food on campus.  It's a free/non-profit thing where this guy doles out nearly-expired vegetarian food like rice and beans and cakes.  Often, it's a gigantic dollop of each (today the guy gave me a huge chunk of rice and said, "Look, a rice-berg!"  That kind of made my day) that you cannot possibly finish.  Anyway, today was some vegetables and beans and potatoes and mystery stuff on rice.  An hour after I ate it, I had the worst combination of cramps/stomach ache/food poisoning (?).  I had to drag my ass 30 minutes back home to NIDO, where I downed two Tylenol and tried to nap.  Thank GOD my class this afternoon was canceled, otherwise I would have thrown up while seeing London's architecture.  It was hard falling asleep because I was curled up in a fetal position and sweating profusely.

And then I woke up from my nap 3 hours later feeling absolutely fine!  Oh the magic of modern medicine.  And sleep.

p.s. As nice the prospect of free lunch is, I AM NEVER HAVING HARE KRISHNA FOOD FOR LUNCH AGAIN.  I would rather violate my rule of life: free = good.

It's a brand new day, and the sun is high

Today was absolutely the best day so far in London, I reckon.  The weather was beautiful, blue skies, sunny, and warm-ish!!  I walked all the way to the Strand, like a 1-hour walk.  First, I bought tickets to see Love Never Dies, then we went to Trafalgar Square, whereupon I attempted something I thought I could never achieve:

I climbed the lions around Nelson's Column!  It's a big tourist thing where you climb up onto the pedestal of Admiral Horatio Nelson's Column, where there are four bronze lion sculptures.  I thought I could never do it because it is quite high up, but with the help of friends hoisting each other up, we managed to get to the lions.  One of my friends even rode the lion like a lion/cowgirl!  It was most excellent.  We then wandered in the National Gallery and National Portrait Gallery a bit.  The strangest sight of the day was seeing a guy's...self portrait at the NPG.  It was a sculpture of his head, made entirely of his own frozen blood.  It was kept in a plexiglas container kept at -1.5 C.  What.  The.  Eff?

Then, after a really filling lunch of Chinese food and a delicious Costa Earl Grey tea, I walked all the way back.  In 30 minutes, my friends and I are having our Pasta Night, in which we do a potluck of pasta and sauces.  We're doing tagliatelle with pesto!  I'm very excited and hungry!

I only had eyes for the pianist

Good morning kiddies!

I'm sipping a chai tea from Twinings in my room, looking out at the CLOUDLESS BLUE SKY from my window.  Okay, I'm not gonna lie, there is a layer of smog over the buildings, and a skywriter, haha.  Otherwise, it is seriously a gorgeous day.

Last night, I went to the London Philharmonia Orchestra at the Royal Festival Hall!  It was free, though it counted for £5 of our NYUL programming money.  I was really ashamed because, just before leaving, I forgot my ticket in my planner so I delayed our traveling by having to go upstairs and collect my ticket.  In my defense, I never go to big shows, so I nearly forgot that the ticket is, obviously, a crucial part.  Ergh, face palm.

Anyway, we arrived just in time, 7:18 pm, for seating at 7:20 pm.  The Royal Festival Hall is a great modern feat of architecture (yes, Seeing London's Architecture is getting to me).  It is just across the Hungerford/Golden Jubilee Bridge on the South Bank.  It has giant modern strip windows overlooking the Thames and the North Bank, which is beautiful at night.

We were in the balcony overlooking the stage.  The seats were not fantastic, but considering they were free, yay!  The program was:

Stravinsky

Rachmaninov

Wagner

Shostakovich

The pianist for the Rachmaninov concerto was absolutely insane and inspiring, a virtuoso.  To be perfectly honest, when he played the first few notes on that huge and shiny grand piano, I swooned into my roommate's shoulder.  I said, "Ohhh, my God, it's so beautiful!", with a hand over my heart.  I am not melodramatic.

I can't believe I've played piano for 14 years but have never seen a real orchestral performance.  I guess I always assumed it'd be too expensive, but that is not the case!  Balcony seats are only £8 here, without the group discounts.  I am sorely tempted to see Yundi Li (my Fantasie Impromptu hero and idol) perform at the Royal Festival Hall on 16th March, but the only seats that are available are £13 or more...£8 would be okay, but I have to draw the line somewhere I guess.

About to walk all the way down to the Strand to buy theater tickets for Love Never Dies, the Phantom of the Opera sequel.  Cheers, you lot!

"...beware that we had to remove the toaster due to safety reason..."

Housing has not been so happy the past week.  Just last weekend, the internet was down so we couldn't get any work/procrastinating done for an entire day.  Then, my room has been experiencing a phantom exhaust fan: we have 2 exhaust fans in our room/bathroom that are supposed to draw out smoky/bathroomy smells...but there are no switches to operate these fans.  This week, we started hearing loud whirring noises coming from the ceiling, and it sounded like a vacuum/lawn mower/truck engine, and would turn on and off spontaneously and annoyingly throughout the night.  We also had a long fire drill on Thursday that nearly made us late for class.  Also they shut off the elevators upon us reentering the building, so someone had to climb twelve flights of stairs.  Then, today, we went to have brunch in our communal kitchen and found that, not only do none of the outlets work (I discovered this yesterday, in fact), but also the fridges and freezers were off.  DEEP SIGH.

I guess I never blogged about our second home that is Nido.  Nido is located on Pentonville Road, which is the same as Euston Road, except streets like to change names to confuse people.  We are 7 minutes away from King's Cross/St. Pancras Station, so I can theoretically visit Platform 9 3/4 every day on my way to and from school if I wanted.  There are also plenty of stores (Tesco, Waitrose, Boots) and restaurants (Nando's, Humaira Tandoori) and things all around, and we are a good 30 minutes from the University of London/NYU in London campus.

Nido is a very modern-looking building, kind of out of place in this northernish part of London.  It has blue-green strip windows.  There are 16 floors and we're on 12, with a beautiful view of southwest London.  The rooms and bathrooms are tiny (according to one of my friends, if you really wanted to, you could sit on the toilet, wash your feet in the shower, wash your hands in the sink, all at the same time.  If you wanted to) but it's cozy and quite neat.  They have cleaning services for us once a week, so I always look forward to Thursdays when someone comes to sweep and mop and scrub-a-dub-dub.

For my first time dorming, I am really pleased with the experience (save for this week's break-downs of everything).  Nido feels safe; there are security guards and gates so you know only residents are getting in.  It's also pretty, for the most part.  The lobby is very spacious and bright and modern.  The communal kitchens have fiery red walls and paintings.  The rooms have wood floors and floor-to-ceiling windows and minimalist furniture.  All in all, I really like it.  I wonder what it will feel like to go back home, to my carpeted bedroom that is actually big, to my funny pink bathroom, to my dingy but always-filled-with-food kitchen, to my two living rooms, to my piano!  To my house, my home, my family!

p.s. Maintenance actually posted a sign that said "beware that we had to remove the toaster due to safety reason".  Just one reason?

49...50...51...huff puff...what, I lost count!

Today, my fellow architectural buff and I climbed all 528 steps of St. Paul's Cathedral!  And then I proceeded to come home and eat a lot of food to make up for the calories lost.

We heard about a special exhibit in the Geometric Staircase of St. Paul's Cathedral, but the odd thing is that the exhibit is only open from 8:35 am - 10:30 am.  So, yes, on a Saturday morning, we left NIDO at 9:15 am to go to a church.  St. Paul's costs £9.50 for students, perhaps the most expensive sightseeing I've done in a while, but it was definitely worth it.  Photos are not really allowed in St. Paul's...but I managed a couple.  

The cathedral is absolutely beautiful.  We first made a beeline for the Geometric Staircase to see Antony Gormley's Flare II exhibit.  The Geometric Staircase is where they filmed some bits of Harry Potter and Sherlock Holmes (I think in HP, it's the divination tower?  But I'm not too clear, must go home and rewatch all the movies...).  The Flare II thing is basically a giant metal wire mobile.  I dunno, it looks cool.

Then, we wandered the entire cathedral, from the effigies on the sides and the famous floor under the dome (LECTOR, SI MONUMENTUM REQUIRIS, CIRCUMSPICE.  CHRISTOPHER WREN WAS A BEAST.) and the chapels around.  My favorite was beyond the alter, the American Chapel.  It is very touching: the Brits dedicated a chapel to the American soldiers who had died in World War II fighting alongside the Allies.  It has lovely hanging chandeliers and stained glass windows.  There is a large tome with the names of all the American soldiers that died, and the inscription said that Queen Elizabeth II presented this book to Vice President Richard M. Nixon in 1958.  Um, President Dwight D. Eisenhower was unavailable to meet the queen?

Next, we accepted the challenge of climbing 528 steps to the top of Christopher Wren's dome.  The steps to the Whispering Gallery were kind and shallow.  When we got to the Whispering Gallery, there were a lot of people interfering with our whispering, but when we sat at either side of a stretch of the dome, we could whisper into the wall and hear each other!  Then, we climbed some steeper stone steps to the Stone Gallery, the first outdoor bit.  Finally, we climbed the hole-y metal winding stairs up to the Golden Gallery!  It was beautiful - albeit drizzly - when we got to the top.  We had a lovely panoramic view of London.

What I noticed about London, the city that is now my second home ♥, is that there is a ton of construction going on.  The skyline was littered with a smattering of cranes.  It was a bit annoying that they blocked our view, but intriguing.  It means London is aiming to become newer and better.  I just hope they preserve the old stuff too.  And, no more gherkins.  God, I'm starting to sound like my architecture professor.

After St. Paul's, with aching legs, we had Pizza Express and journeyed down Ludgate Hill, Fleet Street, and the Strand to one of the best shops in the world: TWININGS!  It is a teeny shop, almost like the Leaky Cauldron in that you (Muggles) will miss it if you don't look closely, but it's very long inside.  The walls are absolutely lined with the most fragrant teas ever.  Some of the stuff you can buy at Tesco or Waitrose (and cheaper), but some of the stuff is unique: vanilla tea, blackberry/ginseng/vanilla tea, honey tea, orange/mango/cinnamon tea...oh gosh I wish I had more money on me, because then I would have boxes and boxes of tea to bring home.  No worries, I will visit Twinings before leaving London and bring lots of yummy tea home to New York!

Hogwarts, Of Sorts

Today was our trip to Oxford University!  So yes, I've been to Hogwarts.  Or, at least the bits of Hogwarts that were filmed on the "campus".  I air-quote "campus" because Oxford is actually composed of 400-plus colleges that are independent microcosms of the university.  They don't really have a campus (like NYU...duh), but there are some more surprising things about the English university system.  For example, at Oxford, they follow the tutorial way of teaching, which means each student is taught by essentially his or her own professor.  Imagine being in a room, alone, with John Halpin learning General Chemistry, instead of sitting in a room of 600!  Then, the tour guide (a retired lecturer herself) told us about the dormitory situation.  (Sounds just like Harry Potter!!)  Undergrads live in a quad and in a staircase (I guess equivalent to Gryffindor Tower, perhaps?) with their tutors (heads of houses?) and scouts/servants (house elves!  The parallels go on and on).  Then, there's the thing about Oxford students.  Apparently, they are genii, but also a bit mad; Oxford has a really high suicide rate, and apparently they have stupid accidents too where students decide to fling themselves in catapults or climb up domes with grappling hooks....  

Some days, I wonder what my life would be like if I went to a university with an actual quad, minus the suicides and idiotic stunts, of course.  Likely, my sister (if you're reading this, SHOUT OUT!  I miss you!  Thinking of you always.) will attend some small liberal arts college with quads and such.  I will have to live vicariously through her, but pray that she won't climb in a catapult.

Good evening from London ♥

At a Loss for Snazzy Titles

Phew, it's been a long week.  We had our first organic chemistry exam on Tuesday.  It consisted of 7 problems (each with parts a, b, c, etc.) in one hour.  Other than that, it was really straightforward and kind.  It was nothing like Maitland Jones' tests, which were completely abstract and torturous.  Fingers crossed for a good grade.

We also had a social psychology paper due today, actually.  I'm a bit ashamed to say that I finished it (1,500 words) at 2:00 am this morning...but since class didn't start until 2:00 pm, I woke up at 10:30 am, still able to squeeze in some beauty sleep.  Lovely.  I think it went well.  My title was "What does the Muslim headscarf represent: perpetuating prejudice or self-sufficiency?"  How's that for a snazzy title?  I was really interested in the topic, so I ended up reading tons of articles more than I needed to, but it's all good.

Today, the most exciting thing to happen was that I got a haircut, for free, in the comfort of my own room, done by my lovely and amazing roommate!  My hair was getting a bit unruly and tangled up and clogging the shower drain...so now it's a nice shoulder length.  I love it!

恭喜發財

Happy Lunar New Year and St. Valentine's Day!

As much as I love being here in London, I can't believe I'm missing Chinese New Year at home (in the sense of not being home), and I can't believe I am missing it too (in the sense that I didn't think I would pine for it, but I do)!  Chinese New Year was never a huge celebration in my house.  At the most, I'd collect red envelopes from relatives awkwardly, try to thank them incessantly, or refuse, or a combination: "Oh, you didn't have to, but thank you so much".  Then, the red envelopes would keep coming, and it'd be a bit annoying collecting odd amounts of money ($2, $5) for the entire week and having to empty all the envelopes and do accounting....  Then, we'd have a biggish dinner at home and that would be the end of it.  I haven't gone to a parade in Chinatown for years, namely because the lion dances kind of creep me out (namely, those guys in masks who taunt the lions).  We never really made house calls to any other families; people always came to visit us.

But today, I really miss home!  I really miss my family!  What pains me the most is talking to them on Skype and hearing that they miss me.  I talk to them on Skype often, and I've seen everyone in my household, which is really nice!  So, I kind of have no reason to miss them this much, but when they say they worry about me and my wellbeing, I honestly do get all misty-eyed.  Ahh, home.  Well, they'll get enough of me in 3 more months...

We Londoners have tried to recreate the feeling of home for Chinese New Year and whatnot, so we're having a "St. Valentine's Day/Lunar New Year potluck secret Valentine thing" tonight.  I am excited!!  And then...hell week arrives: Organic Chemistry exam on Tuesday, and Social Psychology paper on Thursday (which I haven't started, and have no intention of starting until Tuesday evening...!@#$)

Cheers, all, and enjoy ♥

No hong bao this year...

The notion slipped from my working memory that I actually had a blog...so that's why I forgot to update in the past five days.  My bad!!

On Tuesday night, I went to my first (and probably last) book launch!  My Social Psychology professor, Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, has just written a textbook called The Psychology of Personnel Selection, basically a bunch of stuff about making choices for hiring and firing.  The launch was held at 6 Bedford Square - there was finger food and wine, beer, and soda...!  I'm about to announce to the world: I had my first glass of wine that night!  Albeit, I mixed it with 7Up.  And it was only about one-third wine anyway.  But, whatever, I'm classy.  I also learned that I have very very very low tolerance for alcohol.  I'm also very Asian...yeah.

The party itself was quite interesting.  First, David Rubin (director of NYU in London) spoke a bit, then my professor's PhD professor spoke a bit (about how unfair God was being when he distributed qualities in Tomas: smart, handsome, charming...yeah, God was definitely being unfair), and then my professor thanked the crowd and plugged his book.

Unrelated: Yesterday was our Architecture trip to Westminster Abbey!  That was always on my Places To See In London list, so I was glad I got to go (for free, because NYU footed the bill...YES).  There's something about the exterior that is very pleasing to my eye.  Usually I don't like too much clutter on the outside of a building.  For example, no matter how much I love Il Duomo in Firenze, I think the facade is way too busy, what with all those white and green stripes.  The facade of the Abbey is completely verticals, verticals, verticals in the Gothic style of course.  It is also busy-looking, but I really like it.  I also love cathedrals' cross floor plans; I think that is the most ingenious thing, to build your building in the shape of your representative symbol.

The inside of the Abbey is...slightly anticlimactic?  It's dark inside.  There aren't many soaring windows, or maybe it was cloudy when we went inside.  The Lady Chapel, where Henry VII is buried, is very nice.  It's got the same fan vault pattern as in Bath Abbey (but I think Bath Abbey is, on the whole, so much more beautiful!).  We also saw where Queen Mary I and Queen Elizabeth I are buried!  That's actually a motif to the Abbey, there are bodies underfoot everywhere.  Westminster Abbey is known for its coronations and its dearly departed.  I wish we had been able to wander around more, but my professor had us sit down and sketch the north gate.  I was quite proud of my sketch, but he came over and told me I was being too neat (to me, there's no such thing as too neat...), grabbed my pencil, and started drawing on my sketch, flowing lines and then dark hatch marks.  Why didn't he just stab me in the eye?

Another unrelated: Sunday is Lunar New Year/St. Valentine's Day!  I've been to Chinatown here twice.  It's TINY, but kind of cute and kitschy.  It's so small that they can afford to string up those round red lanterns across the whole of Chinatown.  It's mostly restaurants that compete for the same business (they have the same menus, there's no debating that).  I haven't brought my camera there yet, but I'm itching to do it in the coming week!

Also, my friends and I are doing Secret Valentine on Sunday, and then a potluck dinner of hopefully mainly Asian foods.  Mom told me that they are having a big dinner on Sunday night, and I became unexpectedly jealous.  You don't know what you have until it's gone, or until you study abroad and don't have people to cook dinner for you...I miss Chinese food a little!  I miss crispy pork and cha siew and oyster sauce and bao and lobster sauce and the garlic shrimp my aunt makes and the list goes on.

Anyway, gong hay fat choy!

Harrods

Today we went to...HARRODS!  I have been dying to see this, and I am still thrilled by it and can't wait to go back.

The morning started off kind of iffy-ish.  We missed the stop on the route 73 bus, so we went all the way to the terminal at Victoria Station and had to walk around 30 minutes backwards to Knightsbridge.  That's the one thing I don't appreciate about buses: I don't care how cool you think you are with your double decks (or double backs like the one we rode) but bus routes are confusing and they don't announce stops so you really have to know when to get off.  Luckily, the weather was decent (and later, it got super sunny and warm-ish!) so the walk was not dreadful.

When we first got to Harrods, there were people outside protesting because apparently Harrods is one of the only remaining major department stores to sell real fur.  That was a bit heartbreaking; I accepted a pamphlet from a kindly-looking elderly lady protester, just before I pulled open the doors to the store.

Once inside, it looked pretty much like Macy's.  There was the typical department store fare: jewelry, handbags, other stuff that I didn't even care to notice.  We saw the Egyptian Hall that the owner, Dodi Fayed's father, stuck in Harrods just for the hell of it (because he's Egyptian, I suppose...).  Finally, we wandered into the foooooooooooooooooooooooood sections.  Chocolate, dried fruits, fresh vegetables, apples with hearts printed on them, preserves, cheese, salad bar, meats, sushi, dim sum, gelato, pizza, bakery...oh my GOD.  A lady came around with a platter of cheese samples and Comte St. Antoine is officially my favorite cheese.  Ever.  I ended up buying a jar of strawberry jam that was "on sale" (not bad actually, 3 for the price of 2 at £2.95 each, so I split with some other people) and a roll of cheese foccaccia that was a bit greasy but delicious.

I'm hungry just thinking of the damn place.  !!

On Earth as it is in Heaven

Oops, I'm bad; I haven't updated in several days....

Today was our trip to Bath and Stonehenge!  We had to, unfortunately, wake up really early to load onto coach buses and drive up to Salisbury to see massive mysterious stones.  Honestly, it was a bit anticlimactic to drive up to the hill and see...a bunch of rocks.  People on our bus were literally more excited to see sheep on the neighboring meadow, baa-ing and ooh-ing and ahh-ing at the poufy white things.

The weather was forecast for pouring rain today, but when we got to Stonehenge, obviously someone was playing a trick on us.  It was brilliantly sunny and quite warm.  The stones of the henge are just as you'd expect, and just as you've seen in frillions of photographs before.  Personally, I really enjoyed being in the presence of the stones, but I could see how others might find it boring.  I like being amidst all the mystery of how the stones got there, what was the purpose, etc.  It made me feel like I was witnessing history, standing in a field and looking at a structure 5,000 years old.  Yay!

Then, we drove over to the Roman city of Bath (Bahh-th, with the accent).  We had a guided tour to the famous bits, like the Royal Crescent (LOVE - want to live there), and the Circus (not a real circus, obviously).  We had lunch at a pub for a good price, £3.95 for my bangers and eggs and chips.  Then, we toured the Bath Abbey on our own.  I was very impressed by the abbey and I felt...je ne sais quoi...standing in there.  The ceilings are lofty and covered with spindly webs of fan vaults.  The stained glass windows are very intricate and colorful.  I was very impressed at the architecture of it all.  Plus, it made me feel the passion that has driven religion, particularly mine, for 2,000 years.  It makes me want to go home and go to church every Sunday.  Almost.  I wanted to support the church somehow, so I bought a little stone with The Lord's Prayer printed on it for my grandpa:

Our Father who art in heaven

Hallowed be thy name

Thy kingdom come

Thy will be done

On earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread

and forgive us our trespasses,

As we forgive those who trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation

But deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom,

the power and the glory, 

For ever and ever, Amen.

I learned it ages ago when I was a good little granddaughter and followed my grandparents to church on Sundays, so I thought it was very touching and lovely.

Finally, we toured the Roman Baths.  I remember back in sixth grade (apparently, the year when I learned all the important things about the world and architecture; see: Parthenon marbles), we learned about the structure of a Roman bath: the tepidarium, the slaves who would slick you up with oil and then scrape off the dirty crap that seeped from your pores, etc.  Oddly, the Bath baths did not emphasize this stuff.  It featured lots of things by Minerva (my favorite goddess).  It was, again, very interesting to be in the midst of something so ancient and important and real.  At the end of the walking bits, we tasted real spring water from the baths.  DISGUSTING.  It smelled and tasted like metal, probably from the ancient pipes from which the water flows, and it left an aftertaste that kind of resembled...blood?  It was as though you bit your lip really hard and then tasted the blood in your mouth.  Ick, ick, ick.  BUT, the water has supposed healing properties, and I figured I couldn't go to Bath without partaking in the tourist tradition...so yes I gulped a glass of Roman bathwater.  Hooooray for history!

A Room with a View

Today is Sunday.  Today is laundry day and finish-reading-and-studying-orgo/psychology day.  So naturally, I'm blogging instead.

We have been in London for 2 1/2 weeks already.  People have finally caught on that I am not in New York anymore by virtue of my foreign Facebook status updates and influx of pictures from non-New-York-y places.  They're all inquiring as to how I am doing in London, and I find myself answering that I AM GREAT!  (blogger's note: this is a touchy-feely entry; read at your own peril)

This might be the first time in my life that I have been so happy for such a prolonged period of time.  I'm not emo, I'm not depressed, but usually if I were at home, I would feel...neutral, nonchalant, "meh".  Here, when people ask me how I am, I can always and honestly reply that I am content with my life, happy, comfortable, safe.  It helps that the expected seasonal affective disorder due to London's supposed ubiquitous rain and clouds has not affected me - on the contrary, we have had many days of blue skies and sun!  I heard New York is actually colder and rainier now!

One of my favorite things to do here is look out the window of my dorm room.  The view is not spectacular, but it is very interesting and dense nonetheless.  I'm doing it right now, actually, which is why I am writing about it.  From my room, you can see the steeples and spires that make up, not a church or cathedral, but rather King's Cross/St. Pancras Station.  It is a bit Hogwartsian, if you ask me, and Undergrond scenes from the Harry Potter movies were filmed in St. Pancras.  Also you can see a massive hangar building, which is the rear platforms of the station.  Nearby is Tesco's on Caldonian Road.  I can see when it is open (12pm on Sundays) and when it is closed, and when people file in and out with their groceries.  Finally, there is a large apartment building directly in front of us that is a weird, indescribable shape, but is pleasant to look at.  There are lots and lots and lots of smaller/shorter buildings all around, and it looks like a bit of a mishmash from up here, but it is quirky enough to be interesting.  Yesterday morning, we looked out the window and noticed that it had snowed overnight and there was a light layer of frost covering all the rooftops.  The best thing is that we face southwest, so we can sometimes catch the sunset on a cloudless day. 

I love London, I love my life at this very moment ♥

Beefeaters, Fish, and Chips

29 JANUARY

Today, we had our first Food Processors potluck brunch! Several of my friends met on the 7th floor communal kitchen of Nido, each with food in hand and ready to eat. We had stuff like: quesadillas, home fries, chocolate chip pancakes, pies (my roommate and mine), crepes, French toast, bacon, bangers, coffee cake, baked brie, cheese and crackers, and cocktail shrimp (don't ask - all I know is it was good). Unfortunately, we had to wait for the people who were contributing plates for over 45 minutes...but we ate and it was gooooooooood. We were all hit with the itis, bent over and trying to breathe deeply. That part was less good, but at least I was good and full for the rest of the day.

Then, a few friends and I went on the Tube down to Piccadilly Circus. First, we went to Fortnum & Mason's, a huge and gorgeous department store that sells foodstuffs. When you walk in, you are met with towers of chocolate and coffee and tea products. Apparently, the Queen drinks her tea from here!! A smallish box of tea cost £22/$35. A bar of chocolate about the size of a Hershey's bar is £5/$8. EIGHT DOLLARS FOR A CHOCOLATE BAR. Nonetheless, gorgeous and drool-worthy.

Next, we wandered along London's version of Times Square (Piccadilly Circus) to Trafalgar Square and the National Gallery. After wandering around the square and admiring Nelson's Column and his guard lions, we ventured into the lavish National Gallery. I had two main objectives in today's museum-going, and I was happily satisfied. First, we found Hans Holbein's Ambassadors. I first learned about this in ConWest last last year, and there is a fascinating bit about this painting that I encourage you to look up online. Let's just say, it's a great optical illusion. Next, we found Jan van Eyck's Arnolfini Wedding Portrait, which I first saw in Art Appreciation back at Stuy. In art class, we analyzed the painting to bits, including the calligraphy script on the wall that says "Jan van Eyck has been here" and the biblical stories in the mirror hanging in the back. Then, we wandered to see some Monet, van Gogh, Renoir, Seraut, Botticelli, and a lone da Vinci sketch. All in all, the National Gallery is a beautiful museum!

Finally, we walked to the banks of the Thames to again catch night-time shots of the London Eye and Parliament. It was chilly, but beautiful and non-rainy and fun!!

30 JANUARY

This morning, we went to the Tower of London as one of our NYU excursions. The weather was beautiful, blue skies and sunny, and cold. BUT I heard it's below freezing at home, and we were a bit warmer than freezing, so it's all good. We walked across the Tower Bridge, which brought back memories of walking across the Brooklyn Bridge back home. When we arrived at Tower Hill, a procession had started, and a long line of soldiers marched into the promenade area. Apparently they had just returned from overseas and were being welcomed back to London and to HRH the Queen's fortress. I stood watching with family members, and heard people around me saying, "That's my lad!" It was very touching, and certainly not something you see every day.

Then, we went on a tour guided by a Yeoman Warder. They are more widely known as Beefeaters, but this is not a nice thing to call them. The guards of the Tower of London are former soldiers in the British Army, Navy, or Royal Air Force. After 22 years of service, they can retire and take on the job as tour guide/guard to the Tower. Someone told us that they became known as beefeaters because they used to taste the first cuts of meat before the king ate, to check if there was poison, and then there was some French corruption of the word beouf into beefeater. Our guide had a great sense of humor and was so entertaining! We saw the chapel where Anne Boleyn is buried. Then, we saw the gorgeous, amazing, beautiful, glistening, sparkly CROWN JEWELS. Oh, how I wish I were a royal so I could wear a poufy purple velvet thing on my head, bejeweled with massive amounts of precious gems.

Anyway, we wandered around the premises for a couple of hours, until we were starving and ran to the nearest/cheapest fish-and-chips place. We managed a place with orders for £4, which is a great deal cheaper than everywhere else. And now, here I am back at Nido, about to embark on a great rest-of-the-weekend of reading, reading, studying, reading...

What a great weekend!