An excursion outside of London

[Rewind a couple of weeks, to the distant time of March 5th]

I went on an overnight, small group tour to a bunch of places outside of London. We first went to Oxford, where we toured the campus and witnessed Oxford students in their traditional graduation garb.

 These creepy heads were all over the place.

 Bikes are truly the most widely-used form of transportation in Oxford.

My friends and I then wandered around the town for a little while and mid-exploration, were captivated by a fudge shop in front of which a woman was shouting “free fudge!” We couldn’t resist going inside to investigate, even if this was just another phony business strategy that required the customer to buy 5 pieces of fudge and a drink before receiving the free fudge. We did get free fudge inside in the form of small butterscotch fudge samples, and as we savored the taste of free fudge (which I can attest is more savory than fudge with a monetary value), we watched as a boy inside the shop prepared a new batch of chocolate fudge. Using a broom-like device, he spread a very undesirable-looking, goey brown substance (that resembled a certain bodily creation) around a table-top, re-shaping it and thinning it out several times. Regardless of this unfortunate eye-opening demonstration of the fudge-making process, we bought a wedge of chocolate fudge anyway (one that appeared much more appetizing). It was a wise purchase, needless to say. 

We hopped back in the van and drove towards the Cotswolds, an area of pleasant countryside villages in western England. We stopped at a small market town called Stow-on-the-Wold where we looked inside a historic-looking church, went in a few shops, and got some tea.

Along the bus ride, we came across another small village where we saw small British children taking part in their typical leisurely weekend routine - catching rubber ducks in a stream.

I also encountered a phone booth. I decided it was the “one,” and took my first phone-booth picture with it.

We then stopped at another small town called Bibury. I have no idea why this place was on the itinerary or why we spent nearly an hour there. There was really nothing there other than a trout farm, so we spent most of the time exploring the inside of the one and only building on the premises - a hotel - so we could avoid the swarms of mosquitoes outside. But to avoid sounding cynical, it was a pretty renowned trout farm that supplies most of the UK and some other countries with trout - so definitely check it out if you are fascinated by fish exports.

 The trout farm was actually really pretty, and a popular site for weddings (but choosing to set your wedding on a trout farm is a little unusual).

After the long eventful day, we drove to the hotel in Bristol. My friends and I played a few rounds of charades - some notable performances including “fish and chips” and “a mosquito” (inspired by those encountered in Bibury).

The next day, we got up early and drove to Bath. We spent hours walking around the Roman Baths, which is expansive and very cool to see. In fact, it is so cool that it has been titled a World Heritage Site, along with the rest of the city. 

 The royal crescent.

 A model of Romans in their natural habitat.

 The bathing sequence.

 A live portrayal of a Roman.

We stopped at Lacock next, a small medieval village. Apparently scenes of Harry Potter were filmed there. However, this meant nothing to me as I am lame and have not read the books nor seen the majority of the movies. 

Finally, we saw Stonehenge, and while a google-image search of these large stone structures probably would have sufficed and had the same impressionable effect, it’s one of those places you have to see for yourself anyways. However, I did find it absurd that there was an audio guided tour, with numbers to press at certain points along the trail around the structure (as if it really makes a difference where you stand). 

Supporting Stonehenge with the palm of my hand.

More recent events to follow.

I'm still here.

Wow, where did February go? This study abroad experience has been passing way too fast.

So I have returned to this blog after receiving multiple aggressive e-mails from my mother demanding another blog entry. Lately, I haven’t even had the time to remember that I am in London. I have been so busy with reading/papers/presentations because (surprise) I’m actually going to school here. I wish I could hire someone to follow me daily and write about my life - it could be creepy and slightly invasive, but it would save me some much-needed time and please my mother.

This past weekend, I went on a trip to Cambridge where I toured a couple of the college campuses and walked around the town. The highlight of the trip was seeing the pub where Watson and Crick regularly hung out, and where (or so it is claimed) Crick announced that he discovered the secret to life. I also saw the Cavendish laboratory where JJ Thomson discovered the electron, Ernest Rutherford performed the gold foil experiment and devised his model of the atom, Watson and Crick constructed the model of DNA, and where I decided that I was a nerd for being star-struck by these names.

 Watson and Crick were sitting behind that window when Crick made his significant declaration.

 The Eagle pub - where Watson and Crick grabbed a pint and had a chat after work. These details may or may not be historically accurate, but I imagine they made conversation over drinks.

 The Cavendish Laboratory - home to some of the greatest and most revolutionary scientific discoveries.

 The doorway where Watson and Crick, and other great names, passed through on a daily basis.

My high school friend, Carol (a.k.a. carebear or c-money) came to visit me this weekend as well. She’s studying abroad just a hop, skip, and a jump away in Dublin. We enjoyed thinking about how unfathomable the concept of ‘casually meeting up in Europe like its no big deal’ would have been to us as high school freshmen. I showed her some of the most important cultural sites (i.e. Big Ben, red telephone booths, a British McDonald's for comparative purposes) and we had a good time catching up on our study abroad stories. On Saturday night, we hung out around Camden Town and ended up at Koko, where we discovered an absolute treasure. Apparently, on the last weekend of every month, Koko hosts an event called “guilty pleasures” where they play all those bad, but undoubtedly catchy pop songs/one-hit-wonders that people hate to admit they enjoy and the majority dresses up in ridiculous costumes just for the hell of it. It was very unexpected, and we had so much fun.

 Here is an example of how random this event was.

Alright, time to get back to my paper on the mechanisms that regulate synapse formation at the neuromusclular junction. It’s thrilling, really. There is nothing I would rather be doing here in London than sitting in my room, staring at a blank Word document, and pretending that I am actually going to start this paper today and not three days from now.

And I promise that I will do my best to keep updating this blog (this statement is mostly directed at my mother).

More London explorations and even some countryside

On Wednesday I went to a Wire concert with my friend Eric (Wire is a post-punk British band that formed in the 70’s). We went to a pub before the concert, where I ordered my usual cider (because I generally think beer tastes like rusty water). While pouring my drink from the tap, the bartender asked us where we were from (our accents probably gave it away). After telling him we were from the states, he nodded with approval and proceeded to ask me if I would like ice in my cider. I initially thought this was a stab at the “unsophisticated American” stereotype, and responded “hah…no thanks.” But he was serious and assured me that “ice is nice.” I took his word for it, mostly because I liked the way he used rhyme to sway my opinion, and asked for precisely two cubes to avoid a potentially watery cider. And indeed, the ice was nice. As we sat in the pub, I suggested that we initiate a game of “count the number of bald people” upon noticing an unusual abundance of bald men around us (I already had a head start with 6). This task soon became overwhelming however, when we entered the venue for the Wire concert. While there was a portion of people who were our age, the grand majority appeared to be Wire’s fan-base from 'back in the day' but were clearly pushing their mid-50’s in present day - and therefore, balding. Even half of the band was bald. So, we never reached a final count.

I visited Greenwich with a few friends on Friday. There, we walked around the royal naval academy.

....which looks remarkably similar to Skidmore’s campus.

Royal Naval Academy

Skidmore

We then walked around the town and market area, before getting lunch at a small seafood place in town. The restaurant was keen on playing R&B slow-jams for the entire duration of our stay, which made for a strange ambiance while I was gnawing on my fish and chips. Later that evening, we took a ride on the London Eye (a very large ferris wheel), which has an amazing view overlooking London. 

 The London Eye

One of the views from the London Eye - there's Big Ben.

I also FINALLY saw Big Ben (It’s really absurd and embarrassing that I have been here for a month without seeing this landmark). Afterwards, we checked out a comedy club in Leicester square. The “comedy club” was really just the basement of a hotel. There were a couple of good comedians, but most of the comedy was the type that receives pity-laughs from the audience in between long periods of silence. But actually, I found humor in how bad some of the jokes were - so it was a good time.
Oh and we also happened to run into a group of Teletubbies at one point in the night.

On Saturday, I went on a hike with the UCL hiking club in Arundel, a small town south of London. I’m glad I went, though I spent 15 minutes lying in bed that morning debating whether the trip would be worth getting up at 8 AM on a Saturday. The hike was a mere 11 miles (no big deal…) but my once-grey sneakers were in no way suitable for the rain, consequent mud, and liquefied horse poop that they encountered throughout the day. I also forgot to pack a rain jacket, so that was a pleasant experience (I am rarely coherent at 8 AM in the morning, so I didn't pack or dress appropriately). But I really did have a good time. We walked through the village and the wide-open fields, where chickens frolicked and herds of sheep roamed. We also saw a lot of swans in the fields, which was a little unexpected.

It was the very essence of what I imagined the English countryside to be like. 

There was a solitary phone booth along the barren road. I was inclined to take a picture of it.

Along the hike, we found a small church, where we stopped for a while to get warm, and a castle atop a hill. 

It was also nice to hang out with more non-American students (my mission since day 1). We all went out for tea and lunch at a cozy little restaurant in the town. We were all cold and drenched, so the hot tea was perfect. I also got butternut squash soup (it was the last one!) and it was delicious. I didn't want it to end.

On Sunday, I went to the Chinese New Year parade/celebration. It was so crowded that I could barely move (I just googled the estimated number of people who attended - 250,000). We all went for dim sum afterwards (sooo good...and it was my second dim sum that week).

The roads were lined with colorful lanterns.

What do Ultimate Frisbee, Morgan Freeman, and the Canterbury Cathedral all have in common?

Nothing. I'm just horrible at thinking of titles for these posts.

I recently joined the ultimate frisbee team here at UCL, in an effort to meet more British people and also to perfect the art of throwing a frisbee. I attended a couple of practices last week, and exhibited my tremendous lack of skill at the sport. Unbeknownst to me, I can’t even throw a frisbee (catching it with grace is whole other ordeal). Instead, I resort to chucking it as far as I can, without aim, and hope that someone will catch it. However, this method has failed me numerous times, since the frisbee usually ends up in an open field where nobody is standing within several meters. Luckily, the people on the team are very chill (as the stereotype of an ultimate frisbee player seems to demand) and are supportive of my effort, however pathetic the outcome of this effort may be.

Another perk of being on the team is that they have a pub social every Wednesday. Last week’s theme was “pirate night” - so everyone on the team came to the bar dressed as a pirate (for me, having limited resources, this meant tying a scarf around my head). As we made our entrance into the bar, the people inside stopped sipping their drinks and stared, probably questioning our motives and level of sobriety. At least there were several of us in pirate garb, so our dignity did not need to be questioned. The sound “Arrrr” resonated around the vicinity of our table throughout the night as we played several pirate-themed drinking games. Then, it was time for the Three Pint Challenge (*ahem* drinking an alcoholic beverage out of a Frisbee with a straw). Unfortunately, this is a “right of passage” that all Frisbee players must endure. I think that’s all I’ll say about that.

On Friday, I saw the likes of Morgan Freeman, President Obama, Isaac Newton, and Bob Marley…at the Madame Tussauds wax museum. Sadly, these personalities were unresponsive to my attempts to chat, but it was still pretty amazing to observe how realistic they looked. I am probably just a dunce, but it was surprisingly easy to mistake an actual person for a wax figure, or vice versa - especially since I didn't immediately recognize some of the figures. So, at one point I wondered why some creep in the corner of my eye was staring at me for such a long period of time. I glanced back at him and realized that I had been getting annoyed with a wax figure of Steven Spielberg. In another embarrassing instance, I was walking with my friend and asked him who one of the figures was supposed to be (in reference to a rather ordinary looking man with shades on). This “figure” then looked at me, laughed, and started walking. He was apparently having a picture taken of him.

           

                       Here we are crashing the oval office.

                Here I am thinking about complex theorems alongside my buddy Albert.

            On Saturday, I went on a trip to visit the town of Canterbury, which is East of London and home of the Canterbury Cathedral and the Canterbury Tales. We went to lunch in the town, and I got this very nutritious meal consisting of pancakes, whipped cream, bananas, and sprinkles.

                                                    

         The Cathedral was beautiful and I loved looking at the stained glass inside. Meanwhile, we could hear singing from the choir practice taking place in the center of the church. It was also enjoyable to peruse the gift shop afterwards to see the various things you could buy to commemorate your visit to the Cathedral. Among these items were rosaries, crosses, postcards, neckties with crosses on them, milky pens, and large erasers. I don't know who looks at these latter two items and thinks "great times at Canterbury Cathedral." But I guess I would have purchased a milky pen had I felt that my inventory of milky pens leftover from fifth grade was inadequate.

This is a picture of the entire Skidmore group that went.

                                          
I was actually laughing hysterically when this picture was taken because a giant subway sandwich was waddling by us while we were standing there. 

Some more pictures of the cathedral:

 
So that's about it. Look out for my next post!