Dover, pt. II

After a pub dinner, we all headed out to a pub where we had earlier spotted a sign advertising karaoke that night. Never before have I witnessed such madness. The Brits take their karaoke VERY seriously. Here's a shot of most of the group. We were definitely the obnoxious Americans in the corner. But they loved us.

This guys thought he was Elvis. Really.

That night in the hostel, I barely slept, but it didn't matter. Seven of us, all girls, were sleeping in the same room on rickety bunk beds. I was having flashbacks to sleep away camp in 5th grade, and this was much more fun. The next morning, groggy from lack of sleep, we trekked up a huge mountain to get to Dover castle. Remember the one on the hill? Well, we missed the bus up said hill and had to walk. It was pretty much a vertical climb the entire time. This is just one view from the top, of the English Channel. It was absolutely spectacular.

We took a tour of the castle which housed a war hospital beneath it in the sides of the Dover cliffs. It was really unbelievable. There are some things that even after seeing them, they remain unfathomable. Afterwards we continued to walk upward (I was fading fast at this point) to see some more of the castle and it's great views. This is me on top of the castle:

I'm making that funny face because I really thought I was going to fall over. The wind is surprisingly strong at that altitude.

Dover Castle.
Heather Sagaities, Caroline, and me, blowing in the wind.

This was a funny sign we saw nailed to the wall overlooking a steep cliff. Too good. The Brits really don't leave much to the imagination. Even the exit signs (called "Way Out") show a man running through a door.

There is so much more to show and tell! Unfortunately (ha) I'm leaving for Italy in 30 minutes and must get ready! I'm sure I'll have plenty of pictures to share when I return in a week, if my camera batteries don't fail me too soon. I also have yet to post pictures of Kelly and Heather's Adventures in London! So stay tuned.

Take care, everyone. I love and miss you all.

Heather

Dover, pt. I

It's been so long since I updated; I apologize for the delay. This entry is in honor of my Dad, because, beside the fact that he's so wonderful, I'm sure people at work are getting sick of seeing the same pictures over and over again.

Last Thursday we took a field trip to Dover. Here are a few of the highlights:

Dover Castle sits atop a huge hill that looks out over Dover. The view of the castle from the center of town is breathtaking.

I made friends in the museum. We're like two peas in a pod.

We had nothing planned after our museum visit, and our attempt at taking a boat tour failed miserably (we would finally get that boat tour the next day), so we walked to one of the rocky beaches that overlooked the English Channel. If it had been a clear day, we might have seen France. I collected a few rocks as souvenirs.

This is Janet! She was the incredibly sweet manager of a cafe called Cooks. This is a funny story, and it goes to show just how friendly the Brits can be. A bunch of us decided to get some coffee after we left the beach, which turned out to be more difficult than expected--apparently no cafes outside of London carry soy milk, and Janet told me so when I asked after we'd tried several different shops. So, I gave up my search for a lactose-free latte and told the rest of the group that they could enjoy their drinks without me, no problem. I'd survive. Well, Janet felt sorry for me, so she suggested I go to the market across the street and by myself some soy milk so she could make me a delicious frappe. The frappe sounded tempting, but I couldn't afford to spend money on a carton of soy that would mostly go to waste, so I thanked her for the idea but said I'd be just fine with my water. But Janet wouldn't have this. Now she felt REALLY sorry for me. So, up she went, out the door to buy me soy milk with her own money so that I could enjoy her famous sticky toffee frappe. She came back a few minutes later with a cold carton of soy milk, just for me, and made me one of the most delicious iced coffees I have ever had. It was made with such love. I forced Janet to take a picture with me after that. I never wanted to forget the kindness she showed me that day. The next morning Anna and I walked back to the cafe just as it was opening and got two large drinks to use up the rest of that soy milk. I am eternally grateful to Janet in Dover.

**Continued...

The thing about hair is--it always grows back!

The new me! Today Devon, Anna, Caroline, our professor and her daughter Megan and I put the fate of our locks in the hands of Vidal Sassoon Advanced Academy students. We had been talking about making appointments at the academy for a few days. Because students do the cutting, the price is super cheap. The only catch is that the advanced academy reqiures that you get a "drastic" style change--no trims here. Also, it's very time consuming. Each step done by a student is monitored by a teacher, and there could be many students working under one teacher at a time. Anyway, I called the salon at 9:30 this morning before class and was finally able to speak to a receptionist, who cheerfully made an appt. for six for tomorrow at 1:30. Well, it turned out that our professor couldn't make it at that time, so I quickly called back and rescheduled for today at 1:30. Class ended at 12, and we were waiting for the bus to Grosvenor St. by 1pm.
The bus took forever and we had to make a connection on a highly congested tube, so we were about 10 minutes late when we finally arrived. The place was nice, and the receptionists were very friendly. Our group of six was led to a waiting area with tea and coffee and fruit and biscuits where we nervously paced until called downstairs to the cutting room. The cutting room was basically a small salon--white mirrored walls, cutting stations everywhere. It was packed. Everyone was incredibly nervous. The girls getting the finishing touches on their cuts had bright red streaks and teased ends and extreme layers. It was intimidating.
After a little while, we all got seated at cutting stations and were introduced to the teacher, a short Italian man named Luca with a bald head, thick black glasses and a fabulous accent. He was wearing all black--black shoes, black pants, black t-shirt, black button-up vest, and one white scarf around his neck with black skulls and cross bones. He was loud and outgoing and said things like, "Hell-OH, lovely!" He knew what he was doing with hair. He was absolutely meticulous.
The student cutting my hair was a woman named Synne Jensen from Denmark. She was very nice and constantly assured me that the cut was going to be "very nice." Luca watched every cut she made, corrected every tiny error, and showed her all of the tricks of the trade. Throughout the process, other students would come over to watch and occasionally fondle my head or take notes. After two hours, Synne had only finished the bottom layers of my hair. I was getting nervous. The pieces in the front looked oddly longer than the ones in the back, but I trusted that it would all come together in the end. Besides, it's only hair. This is what they make bobby pins and hair ties for.
The whole process took about 4 hours. Yes... it was quite a long time. But what an interesting experience! Everyone was really happy with their hair cuts. They took individual pictures of us at the end to put in their books. We ended up getting the haircuts for free as well. We tried to pay, but they turned us away! I really can't imagine a better deal.

So, besides the new haircut, I haven't done much else today but eat and ride the tube. Last night we went to the Globe Theater to see Shakespeare's play "A Comedy of Errors." It was really fantastic. The Globe is an open air theater, and it was a truly beautiful night in the Thames. The actors were hilarious and their physical comedy was excellent. Tomorrow we're seeing the play "Wicked." I can't wait.
It may seem as if all I do here is have fun and see plays and get free haircuts, and it's true. That's really all I do. But I also have to write a 12-15 page research paper by the end of October, and I need to present my topic by the end of next week, so I've begun doing research during the day. It's going to be hard adjusting to school mode, but I'm ready. Plus, my topic is interesting. I'm researching the transformation that the British Press underwent during WWI when the government began to censor newspapers and eventually took over complete control. I think my thesis is going to discuss whether or not this action taken by the government was a threat to Democracy. It certainly changed the public's most vital source of news forever. The problem is that I haven't found many sources just yet. Seems like censorship is still being practiced widely today...
Oh, and I forgot to mention one thing--our cuts were totally FREE!

Bath, pt. II

Before the organ concert, Caroline and I ate lunch in a botanical garden called Parade Park. I can't think of a more beautiful park in all of the world. Many people were out, lounging in the chairs on the lawn or eating their lunches or admiring the river that flowed past or the gorgeous flowers. It was perfect.

After lunch we walked up the hill to "the Crescent," a row of 30 homes surrounding an enormous green park. It was lovely. Then we visited the Costume Museum where we walked through Assembly rooms where social events were held and saw ancient costume dating back hundreds of years. We even tried on corsets!

And now, for what you've all been waiting for: the Roman Baths!

So, we reluctantly paid about 8 pounds to get in, but I suppose it was worth it. I would have regretted not seeing the baths if we hadn't sucked it up and paid. It's amazing that something built so long ago could still stand today. The bubbling bath was really neat, though it was hard to imagine the baths as the Romans experienced them with so many tourists around, including an entire school of rowdy Italians. Most of the exhibit was spent inside a building, listening to a recordings about the baths and viewing artifacts they've recovered. It got tiring. Nevertheless, I'm glad we went. Though I did hear that the bath water tastes terrible. Like warm pool water. I didn't pay the 50p to have a sip.

So, the website is suddenly acting up. I really want to post more pictures of Parade Park (where we ate lunch), but it won't let me at the moment. I will try later.

Miss you and love you all!

Bath, England

This Wednesday we took a day trip to Bath, England, located about an hour and thirty minutes west of London. I didn't know what to expect in Bath, and I was slightly nervous about the trip because we were completely on our own in the city between 10am and 7pm. What was I going to do all day? My worries were unfounded--Bath was amazing.
I ended up pairing off with Caroline. She didn't want to travel Bath in a huge group of people, and I didn't want her to go alone, so we embarked across town on our own.
Here are the pictures I promised you!

That's my professor, Caroline Hartzell, standing behind and to the right of me. We're lucky to have a professor here like her. She is sweet, laid back and extremely intelligent. She's here with her husband, who is also a professor, and her 9-year-old daughter Megan.

Caroline and I came back later that afternoon for an organ concert. Just look at this organ!

I've reached my photo limit! I'll post Bath pt. II shortly!

The British Press makes me laugh

On Monday night a few girls and I decided to explore the Southbank area of London. Originally we were planning on visiting the Tate Modern Art Museum, but it turned out that it was only open past 6pm on Fridays and Satrudays, and we just didn't make it on time. No matter, though, because we had a blast walking down the Thames on a beautiful evening. Big Ben and the houses of Parliament looked absolutely amazing at night.

All of us were craving dessert (we've been living off of canned soup and peanut butter sandwiches, with no extra money for delicacies like sweets), so we embarked on a mission to find some and came upon a crazy underground arcade in the process. But that's for another day. Finally I spotted a man carrying a cup of gelato, and we traced his steps to a little shop along the Thames. Everyone got gelato, and I got a delicious blueberry sorbet. The flavors here are so intense. The mint tastes like real mint, the caramel like real caramel, and the hazelnut like real hazlenut. I know all of this because I tried a bite of everyone else's dessert. I suffered for it later that night when my stomachache woke me from sleep. I won't do that again, but it was worth it at the time. Oh, and my sorbet was pure bliss. A big pile of the finest blueberries atop a warm waffle cone.



We asked a Japanese tourist to take our picture, and he did so several times in order to get the lighting just right and Big Ben in the background. Then he asked to have his picture taken with all of us. It was pretty silly.

After that we spontaneously decided to take a flight on the London Eye, the giant ferris wheel that gives a spectacular view of London, 25 miles in every direction.

Geez, I have so many more pictures, but this blog is being difficult and won't let me post them. I suppose you'll just have to take my word for it when I say that the skyline was gorgeous; I'm so glad we went at night. After that we took a liesurely stroll back over the bridge above the Thames and from there we broke off. The rest of the girls went to see the Tower of London lit up at night, but Caroline and I decided to stay around Parliament. The night was too beautiful to be rushing around. We sat in a park just outside of Big Ben and listened to the clock strike 10pm. It was really lovely. We both commented on how unreal it feels to be in London, in the UK. It's one thing to know you're going, it's quite another to actually be there. I never want to take this opportunity for granted.

On Tuesday we took a walking tour around the Financial District of London called the "Blitz Walk." Our tour guide was absolutely brilliant, and she taught us a lot about the terrible bombings that Londoners endured during the first and second World Wars. The destruction is still visible on some of the buildings. By that night I had had more than my fill of tours though, and decided to stay in with my roommate Anna. Our backs were aching and our legs were so sore from all of the walking we've been doing, so we needed to take it easy. We walked around town, I bought a cell phone, and we got a baguette and some nutella for a snack. I can't tell you how delicious that was. I can still taste the fresh bread... We also went to the Imperial War Museum and learned all about WWI and II. That was impressive, but tiring after 8 hours. Yes, 8 hours. I'll be heading back there soon, hopefully.

Yesterday (Wednesday) we took a field trip to Bath. Bath is beautiful! It was so quaint, so ancient, really breathtaking. I'll post some pictures from Bath on my next entry. I ate lunch in a botanical garden that I can only describe as being fit for a painting. I saw the Bath Abbey (INCREDIBLE) and heard an organ concert. I also visited the Roman Baths, the Costume Museum, where I tried on a corset, and The Crescent, which is one of the most majestic streets in Bath. I spent a lot of time sitting in the main street of town. There were so many people, so many things to see. By 5:30pm every shop in town closed besides the restaurants. The men singing packed up their guitars and the pastel artist rolled up his rendition of the Madonna. We ate dinner at a thai restaurant then caught the train back to London by 10pm.

Today we had our first quiz in class, and I think I did well. I'm about to leave for the Tate Modern in a minute. It's a beautiful day. We've been so lucky with weather.

I miss my family and friends. I kept thinking yesterday in Bath, sitting in my striped chair, eating my turkey ham sandwich, that I wished everyone I loved could experience this moment as well.

Intermission!

Here are some photos of my tiny compartment of a room. Anna is my roommate. She's great--we get along really well. Mine is the bed on the right!



Do these beds look comfortable? Because they're not. They're pretty much prison issue beds without sheets. However, they do come with pillows as flat as a pancake. They're not that bad, though--I haven't had any trouble sleeping. Nevertheless, coming home to a big, warm bed will never have felt better.

The bathroom is particularly tiny. Especially the shower which I couldn't even manage to get a decent picture of, but it's functional. Everything in Europe is much smaller, which I really like.

Notice anything unusual? Yes, the handle is on the wall above the toilet.