Rainy Days

There's something about London that can make me appreciate it even when I'm walking home in the rain with a heavy backpack and two bags of groceries. I've never had this same type of appreciation while walking back to Georgetown's campus from Safeway, and I can't quite pinpoint why. Maybe there's nothing along the way to see? I don't know.

It's a rainy, cold day and I'm still in a good mood. I went climbing at the Castle today and met up with a friend from work. His name is Gabor and he's Hungarian and we both get a kick out of losing things in translation. When he was finished in the changing room, he said, "I'm worse than a bride." Number one. I couldn't figure out he said the word "worse" for a while and number two, I had to have him explain the saying. I'm slowly getting better at climbing, but I'm also noticing that the heights make my palms sweat more than when I first started. I wonder why.

I can't find normal "American" cheese at the grocery store. I went to the cheese aisle and they had blocks. This was my third attempt. Also, in fun news, I've discovered an American-ish bar is only 10 minutes from my dorm. I went to the bar (at another location) after work on Saturday night only to see the Michigan vs. Ohio State NCAA game. Pretty unexpected. Then I had to endure taunts of "Rugby is a real man's sport" by an annoying co-worker. This rugby versus American football debate doesn't actually exist. Most Americans abroad agree that rugby is cool, but to concede that it is cooler than American football is rare. They are simply different and I will leave it at that. My American pride is strong in London and I'm not about to let some arse tell me repeatedly that football players look gay in tights.

One last thing. Hold two fingers up as to signal "two beers, please." No, you just said "Piss off" or something. I forget. I hold two fingers up a lot and it's kind of a problem. Alright. That's all for now. A full week ahead and Thanksgiving! We will probably go to this pub called The Monument and order the turkey with stuffing and cranberry sandwich, since the bird flu has pushed turkey prices OUT OF CONTROL.

Also, I'm working on getting more postcards out. If your name is Grandma or Grandpa, one is coming as soon as I think of something unique and interesting to write. I've gotten no mail from overseas (ahem, parents). When my aunt gave me a some stuff from home, I half expected to see something special in there. Alas. It's not actually making me sad. That said, I miss everybody and hope Thanksgiving is a much deserved break for everyone working so hard. Talk to you soon.

Thursday Night Wrap-Up

I mentioned a few posts ago that my favorite view of London was West from the Waterloo Bridge. Well, this is it. You can kind of see everything all at once and as the bus moves across the bridge, everything is framed a little differently. Here, you can see the Golden Jubilee Bridge, Big Ben and Parliament, and a bit of the London Eye. And the clouds look pretty good as well. Eugenio took this picture, but it's what I look at every day on the bus. Jealous?


It's a bit chilly and I find myself pressing the Boost button on my heater constantly. It turns on automatically if it falls below 16 degrees Celsius (60.8 degrees Fahrenheit!), otherwise, you have to press a button every hour. That's no good for me. I am intolerant of indoor temperatures below 65, but I suppose it'll toughen me up a little. The weather is starting to cool down meaning that under no circumstances will I be dressing up and wearing skirts unless absolutely necessary. A friend of mine is in town from Oxford and he called me from a bar to ask me to meet up. I knew the bar was more bar and less pub (read: more classy, less casual), and pretty immediately turned him down. I'm willing to bear the cold for short walks to and from places. But for a half hour or more of transit? No. I'll see him this weekend anyway; I'm not that mean or lazy.

Today, I have sustained myself on two TV dinners, a bowl of cereal, and the rest of a bag of crisps (chips). I chewed two pieces of gum as well. I love gum, but when I choose to chew it here, it's a very conscious choice. "Will I eat soon and will I have to spit it out before it loses flavor? Do I need fresher breath? Do I really need to chew a piece now?" So... chewing two pieces today, in my opinion, was extremely extravagant. I'm living it uppppp. I finally did some work , probably the most consecutive hours of reading I've done in 5 months. Insane right? It's still not the workload of Georgetown at all, but some of the material is more challenging. I think they might be on to something here. I'm getting smarter, presumably, by doing less work. Amazing. I can go rock climbing 2-3 times during the school week! Speaking of rock climbing, I broke in my new pair of shoes on Wednesday. I was a little timid wearing my own pair of shoes and even more timid about having my own chalk bag... so timid that I kept my chalk bag in my locker. It was a good day though and as usual, I have big, colorful bruises that indicate I'm more hardcore than I am in reality. Oh well.

I have an interview tomorrow for a job to make some extra cash. So if I don't write about being employed within the next two weeks, it means I've not been hired. I'm excited for money, because then I can more guiltlessly do things that are fun. I want to go to concerts or something. The prices for shows are similar to U.S. prices, but then you multiply by the exchange rate of two and are instantly depressed. Alright. I need to work on an earlier bedtime. Good night.

Rugby World Cup debauchery

It's a beautiful Sunday in London. The weather has begun to cool off, but the sky is clear and the sun is out. I woke up at almost 1PM today after a night at the pub watching the final game of the Rugby World Cup between England and South Africa. I planned on spending last night in reading and relaxing, but figured that I should make the most out of living in London and watch the game. We ended up at pub called Mortimer's up by Goodge St and UCL. It was a low-key pub and we got a cheap dinner with a pitcher of cheap pints.

We sat at a table of UCL old-timer's with PhDs: two guys in their late 50s or early 60s and two guys in their 30s. We schmoozed and laughed at jokes we pretended to understand. By the end of the game, I was somewhere in the midst of a 4th pint which JP and Jared generously offered to finish for me since I was dying. But then enters Paul, a chatty 30-something who buys us all another pint. As polite people, of course we are obliged to drink this free pint. But as they say in economics, there's no such thing as a free pint... er, lunch.

I ran into a flatmate and his friend on my way back from a coffee and was coerced into taking a walk on "this a'beautiful day!" (said with Italian accent). So we walked to Tower Bridge and across and got a sandwich at Subway and ate in a park. It was a nice way to spend a Sunday. I know I said my life is a sausage fest and it still is one, but the guys I know and have met are pretty cool. I like them a lot and it could be worse if I didn't know anyone at all.

I'm excited for the start of a new week. Hopefully, I'll be getting more sleep this time around. I am now the proud owner of my very own pair of rock climbing shoes and chalk bag. Now I look legit and the only thing I have to do is BE legit. Climbing as a registered member for the first time on Friday was a little weird. Without some LSE girl or guy pointing to routes and coaching me, I felt a little intimidated. But I just need to dive right in and continue on, lest I waste the 6-month membership I purchased. Ok, to the grindstone...

Rock Climbing!

Yesterday was a bit of a whirlwind. I decided against meeting with my mentor at 9:30AM and opted to sleep in, a glorious choice. Somehow, I accomplished almost nothing besides eating and setting up my room land line (you can now call me without Skype; you pay, I don't) before I had to start my day. But I did manage to set off the fire alarm while trying speed up the drying of my sweat pants. I'm not positive it was me, but just in case, I quickly unplugged my hairdryer and put it away to conceal all evidence. Then I stared the fire alarm down as it blinked and beeped until it shut off. Whew. Sigh of relief.

So I headed to LSE to meet the rock climbing crew and waited in front of the building where we were supposed to meet. I panicked at first when I realized I had no idea how to identify the rock climbing people. That's a problem I have here... I never expect to actually become friends with anyone I meet, so names and faces disappear from memory as soon as the introduction is over. And then I have no idea who to look for. I found them and we headed to The Castle indoor rock climbing facility in North London. Somehow when I walked in... I didn't realize that the building looked like this:

This is what happens when I'm preoccupied with new things; I don't realize I'm climbing in a former Victorian pumping house.

Anyways. The facilities were amazing. I was shocked to see how much there was inside. There's even a little cafe where people can buy "a spot of tea," a phrase I actually heard used for the first time, inside. They paired us two beginner climbers to one experienced climber. I was paired with Shane, another General Course student from USC. Our experienced climber was Kjerste (pronounced Shesh-teh, or something), a third year LSE student from Norway. Apparently everyone who rock climbs is Norwegian, which somehow makes the fact that I worked at Helly Hansen, a Norwegian company, hilariously useful for chit chat.

We had to rent shoes, tight ones that I think are supposed to let you use your feet and toes to the best of your ability. Then we were allowed to try bouldering, a type of climbing where you don't need a harness or rope. I think I might go for that more when I finally get to go by myself, because I can do it solo. We also did some lead climbing where we learned how to tie this special knot and strap everything to ourself. In order to be able to climb alone without an experienced climber to sign you in, you have to know how to do all this stuff yourself. We ended up climbing for 4 hours and my arms felt a little rubbery by the end. They're sore today, along with my forearms and parts of back, butt, and legs. Mission: accomplished. The picture to the right is of the area where we lead climbed and learned to belay others and tie the special knots. Climbing is both easier and harder than it looks. I can't explain. But I liked it a lot. I like the independent nature of the sport, at least for bouldering.

After I realized it was 6PM and I was still at The Castle, I panicked that I was still wearing sweats still yet scheduled to attend a Jack the Ripper walking tour with dinner at Brick Lane at 7PM. I raced back home and back up to the meeting place and miraculously made it in time. The tour was entertaining, as always, and surprisingly not creepy. I should've be more creeped out by hearing details of the brutal murders and mutilation of women in 1888, but I wasn't. I can see why people become obsessed about theories about Jack the Ripper though.

Alright. I've run on for far too long, but I was excited about rock climbing. Today, I purchased two texts for classes and found that it was either equally priced or cheaper than buying in the states. So refreshing. I also bought two used fiction books for fun to reward myself for surviving in London so far. It looks like books, or at least used ones, are the only products that don't rape you with exchange rates. Ahh, and here I am, back at Sidney Webb, enjoying a sandwich and comfort. I only got 5 hours of sleep thanks to late night necessary laundry, so a midday nap is in order.

Shoot me an email or anything to keep in touch more personally. Do I update this too much? Does it seem like I don't have a life? I feel compelled to reassure you that I do. Never fear.