Today is obviously Monday; we have started reading Children of the Ghetto. It's a decent book, just long and we need to read the 500 pages or so in about three days. In addition to this, by the time we leave, I need to have eight- two page posts written on places I've visited that tie in with our literature and posts actually about what we've read in this class. But that's not all!! Bob, tell them what they've won!! A research paper!!! Yeah...that involves trekking it back to the British Library and ordering books. Oh, plus we have to read one more book and some more poetry. All in eight days...stressed? A tad.

Tomorrow we are going to a Jewish Museum, plus class; Wednesday, I am going with my professor to the SPAB headquarters to research my paper (Society for the Preservation of Ancient Buildings) and then class; Thursday, we have class, then I believe Tracey and I are going to the Museum of London; Friday we are spending all day at Cambridge; Saturday and Sunday are reserved for the library and reading and writing; Monday, class, plus all of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and discuss our papers; Tuesday, probably nothing, but supper with Florence that night; Wednesday we go home. Boo. I don't want to!!!!!!! *Throws temper tantrum*

What I wanted to write the other night but was far too tired to do:

On the tour of Dover Castle's Secret Wartime Tunnels, they did a skit type thing. During that we saw an injured Airman and he needed to get surgery, which they called 'going to the theatre.' Before they could take him there, they talked a little bit about the medicinal aspects while in the tunnels. They said that they really needed penicillin but had a hard time getting it because the American company, Pfizer, took over patent and production rights saying they could produce it more efficiently and effectively. Because of that, the people in England had a hard time getting a hold of it. We also learned that if someone needed stitches and there wasn't anything to stitch them up with, women were asked for their silk stockings. Obviously they didn't use the whole stocking...they just used a strand of silk..duh...Also, if no one had silk stockings, they could also use red hair because it's strong and thing. Interesting, huh?

More about the rest of the day...we got to the castle about 1330 and walked around until 1600, went on the tunnels tour, left about 1650, headed towards the exit of the castle, walked down the mountain, got to McD's about 1745...back at the bus stop at 1805. The bus was supposed to come at 1815, but didn't show up until 1835...as we were getting on the bus Jordan realized that Tracey and I lied to him. HAHAHAHA. We told him that we would be leaving Dover about 1600 and be home by 1800. Yeah, we flat out lied to him because we knew he wanted to come but was far too concerned about getting other work done...=) It was actually really funny that it took him the whole day to figure out we didn't tell him the truth. In our defence though, we both said that 'we thought' we'd be home by 1800...he didn't actually ask us to look for sure. Oh, details and details.

Anyway...the bus driver was really polite and respectful. He just had this really nice look in his eyes that has been somewhat hard to come by in England...When we were on the bus going to Dover, there was this couple sitting behind Tracey and I that were giggling and kissing and I'm pretty sure other things...They were lying all over each other and it was downright disgusting. I put on my headphones and blasted them because this couple (especially the girl's voice) were the last thing I wanted to hear. Her voice sounded something like a high-pitched, frog-in-her-throat, mauled by a British accent. UGH. She kept kicking Tracey's seat and Jordan didn't have headphones to block it all out. Poor thing. I thought if it was any other day that I would turn around and tell them to get a room, but I was too excited to get to Dover to let them bother me.

Once we actually got into Dover, some guy in an SUV screamed at the driver. In England, it's my opinion that everyone cuts everyone off and no one really cares because if you don't push your car into traffic, no one will let you in. It’s sad that everyone is so wrapped up in their own lives and so selfish that they won't let you in the flow of traffic, or smile at you. Mind you, Dover was a complete 180- except for the guy in the SUV. So anyway, this guy thought that it was wrong for this bus to cut him off and started honking and got right up beside the bus and screamed obscenities, which included dropping the F bomb (or some variant) every other word. After the light turned green, we got to the next traffic light and got stuck next to him again. This time, he started throwing things at the bus, still yelling...when the light turned green he just sat there continuing his rage, and then bus drove off. The bus driver just smiled and shook his head yes and kept the door shut. It was quite amusing. I suppose though, that this disproves my theory that Brits don't have road rage! Damn.

When we got off the bus and looked at a map, we originally thought that we wouldn't get to see the White Cliffs of Dover because the map showed them a mile or so away from the actual castle. This was a little disheartening because I was really excited about them! Even when we got to the castle and could see the English Channel we figured it would take us a long time to get there and we probably wouldn't have enough time. But, once we got to the other side of the castle, we noticed that we were only like a fourth of a mile off!! In the Secret Wartime Tunnels, one of them ended with a window facing out towards the English Channel. This was where Ramsey's lookout was during the Dunkirk rescue. They have since close the window off, but that's how close we were...It was so great...

The whole WWII aspect made me think of hanging out with the WWII vets at work. I couldn't help but think of a story that Charles Dixon told me. He said that his unit was preparing to invade Malay, and during preparations, they were told to prepare for 9:1 casualties: nine dead to every one person living. That was just on the American side. They obviously didn't make it that far to invade Malay, but my God, could you imagine? Could you imagine even living in those tunnels for months upon end? Could you imagine looking at nine other people around you and know that only one of you would survive? That would scare me white. Yet, here I am, waiting to join the military- ready to volunteer to fight or die for my country at the drop of a hat. I'm so interested in history and the soldiers and the military that I feel I have a good grasp on their trials and tribulations, so wouldn’t a normal person be scared and not want to join the military? Seemingly so…but of course I'm scared...I don't want to die...However, if I did...my parents would never have to worry about money again, my student loans would be long paid off, I would die with honour and maybe post mortem, someone would publish everything I'd ever written. Lord knows I have enough of it...Maybe I want to join to commemorate those who have fought in the past, because I'm thankful for what they've done, for the rights, country, people they've defended, because they are my heroes, because I'm just too curious and want to be there too, because I feel I owe something to my country. Whatever the reasoning behind it is, I'm sure it wouldn't make sense to anybody, I’m not even sure it makes sense to me.

I feel like I've been a part of a lot of first time things this year. I was part of a group of the first people to do the internship in Des Moines, the first people to take that class, the first people to go on this trip to London, etc. This was also the first time I'd lived alone in my own apartment, the first time I auditioned to sing the National Anthem at a baseball game, the first time I started to care about school and put effort into it, the first time I've been so determined, the first time I've been with somebody I would consider my equal- the first time for so many things and not just new experiences. The first day that we arrived, our taxi driver told us that we would learn a lot about ourselves on this trip. I think I’ve learned a few things, but more or less realized a lot of others: I can actually get along with other people, I was entrusted to lead others and didn’t fail, I do actually have strong morals, my expectations aren't too high, I am outspoken, I stick to my guns and I do catch on to things a lot quicker than previously thought. I thought I knew a lot about myself, but perhaps I underestimated myself to such a degree that I had gotten lost. I've always been the aforementioned things, but with all the other problems and blah blah of this game of life, they had been forgotten. It’s a game of pure chance, but I should always remember the final goal: to get to the end knowing I tried my best.

So, I suppose this is where I blow and roll the dice and prepare myself for next move.

Good night world, pleasant dreams..til morrow

Kelsi

Some kill their love when they are young,
And some when they are old;
Some strangle with the hands of Lust,
Some with the hands of Gold:
The kindest use a knife, because
The dead so soon grow cold.

Some love too little, some too long,
Some sell, and others buy;
Some do the deed with many tears,
And some without a sigh:
For each man kills the thing he loves,
Yet each man does not die.

- Oscar Wilde, The Ballad of Reading Gaol
]]> Mon, 11 Jun 2007 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=938 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=7663 0 51.1333333 1.3 Tracey, Jordan and I left for the Tube and bus station about 0830 and boarded the bus at 0925. Before I even got off the bus, I was in love. We drove by the White Cliffs of Dover and by the English Channel.

White Cliffs of Dover

Chalk Cliffs

Dover Castle

This is so frustrating that I can't tell you how I feel...Well anyway, we got off the bus about noon and could see the castle from where we were standing, but I think it was about a mile away. We headed north (away from the castle) and walked by a park, then found some food and ate in the park. At the park there was a Boy Scout gathering going on and there were families and pets and beautiful trees and water...It was nice to actually see a bunch of actual British people and not just a bunch of tourists...It was just a really nice scene.

Pond- Notice it has clear water in it!!

Fish

Seagull- THEY ARE EVERYWHERE!!!

We were trying to decide which bus we should take to get to the top of the mountain that the Castle is on, and this really nice old man and his wife helped us figure it out. Turns out they were getting on the same bus, and when we actually boarded he told the driver to make sure he stopped at a certain stop for us and he told us he would ring the bell to remind her. We weren't sure which stop to get off at, but a bell was rung when we were near the castle and I asked Tracey if she thought we should get off there, and a woman across the isle asked if we were going to the Castle and since we were she said we should get off in two stops because yadda yadda yadda. VERY NICE!! When we got off, we thanked him a million times over and waved and thanked the bus driver and everyone was just so amazingly polite...I couldn't have asked for a better day...

We got off the bus and walked probably a quarter mile to the ticket office...but along the way, we had to stop and take pictures because the view was breathtaking...

Drawbridge over the now extinct moat

Castle

This castle is so old… it was built in the first century

Yes, I was sad that no ghosts talked to me. I had heard quite a few ghost stories about the Castle and we even talked to one of the guides about the ghosts. He said that he'd seen the woman in the red dress by the bedrooms and talked about the bottom of a person in the King's bedroom, servants and soldiers. He'd seen some of the queer movement about the Castle and he told us about a headless drummer boy running around. The story of the drummer boy goes something along the lines of he was sent on an errand and took his drum to keep him company. A couple of soldiers heard he was going alone and with a lot of money, so they tracked him down and cut his head clean off with a sword. They found the body, but never the head…even centuries later. A lot of people have accounts of these ghost stories...drumming, and sudden smells of sweat and dirty socks where the soldiers used to be, etc. They've had numerous paranormal investigators at the Castle, and one of them revealed the name of the Drummer Boy: Sean O'Flynn, Irish, 14 when he died.

On the walls leading down to the basement and up to the roof there are names/dates from men/soldiers/prisoners/carpenters long since passed away etched into the stone.

Stairs to the roof and the basement

John Gram ( I think), Drummer Boy, and I think he was part of the 73rd Foot Regiment. I can't remember what the guide said and the picture is a little too unclear to see it. But I do remember that the letters were a mix of capital and lowercase.

April 12, 27th Foot Regiment, known as the Bellinghams.

Names of prisoners who measured how tall they were and marked it.

There are two things that give me the good types of goose bumps: music/lyrics and history. I know believe that Dover Castle deserves it's own category in the "things that give me good goose bumps."

We went into the Secret Wartime Tunnels, but unfortunately were not allowed to take pictures. So the pictures inside are actually ones I found on the Internet. We started the tour with talking about the Dunkirk rescue and WWII, because that's when most of the construction was done. However, the tunnels were started in the early 1800s during the Napoleonic Wars.

Anti-Aircraft, circa WWII era

Secret Wartime Tunnels

Secret Wartime Tunnels

A picture of Jordan taking a picture of himself- it was just funny...

Tracey in the bread oven

The Trebuchet- It launched things at France...hahaha

Me hugging a cannon in the medieval tunnels

Roman Lighthouse (Pharos) - from first century AD and the Church of St. Mary in Castro- 1000 AD

Inside the Lighthouse

Inside the church- It was in ruins by 1720, roofless and used as a coal storage facility. It was restored in 1862 by Sir Gilbert Scott

Stained glass inside the church

Back of the church and the Lighthouse

Roman Lighthouse

Avranches Tower- built late 12th century

I'm wearing black shirts for the rest of my life. One time, I wore my IOWA sweatshirt and some adult walked by us on the street and made some comment about being from Iowa and an American...I bought a football jersey and wore it one day...two different people asked me where I got it, and on our tour the tour guide made some reference to the jersey I was wearing and asked me about it...I answered that I didn't even know who it was =) The first people to ask me where I got it were American, the second were Deutschers!! So I sorta got to use my German because Tracey and I were talking way too fast in English...Oops. I seem to translate things here a lot...btw, I love German. Anyway, today at the castle we were touring the Secret Wartime Tunnels and the when we walked by the actors, one said something about being from Chicago and I told him I was actually from Iowa, and I think he knew where it was! Then I was walking back towards the church at the Castle and there was a man taking a picture of his three family members and so I asked him if he wanted to get in the picture and I would take it...and so he did and when the picture was taken they all started complimenting me on the fact that I was wearing a Cubbies t-shirt...it was cute...but anyway...since my mommy and daddy always taught me not to talk to strangers, I figured I should wear solid colored t-shirts so no strangers will speak to me.

That took an awful long time and I still have way more to say. But it's after 2300 here and I need sleep. Another big day tomorrow. I have about 150 more pictures than what I actually posted on here...but I hope you liked the ones I did put up, keep those emails coming, love you and miss you all!

<3 Kelsi
]]> Sat, 09 Jun 2007 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=938 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=7563 0 51.1333333 1.3 This palace is unbelievable large...Every door, window, bed, room, etc, etc, were so oversized that we figured Henry the VIII was making up for something he lacked elsewhere...catch my drift?? I wish I could have taken pictures of the inside of the palace, but I suppose the outdoor pictures will have to suffice...(if you want to see a scandalous picture, and I don't mean a perverted one, email me and I'll send it to you).

As for the Tudor Kitchens, there were originally about 50 of them, with 800 workers preparing the required two meals a day. Can you imagine?? They only have a few of the kitchens open for public viewing, but they had pretty sweet fake food and whatnot lying around...but the weirdest part...was that they actually had something producing the smells that would have risen from the kitchen. It made me gag- and it could have been because it smelled like cat food mixed with malodorous raw beef, some anchovies and topped off with rotten eggs- but I could be wrong. Good idea in theory, not so good for people with weak stomachs. When we first started walking through the Tudor Kitchens there was a little area to the right of us where they implied a butcher would have worked...they had a fake bloody, skinless animal hanging on the wall, blood all over the walls, hunks of meat lying on the counter and best of all...sound effects...of heads being chopped off...Delightful!! Once again, good idea in theory, not so good for people with weak stomachs...truth be told, I was a little disturbed and horrified...and by a little, I mean a lot…I can only imagine the disgusted look on my face...and if you know me, you know exactly which "disgusted looked" I'm referring to...

The garden tour was not so exciting...probably because my back was acting up a little and by this point we had been there quite a while and were starting to get tired...I was disappointed to hear that the gardens were redone in 1974...because that makes them so new compared to the palace, and in turn, that makes them so uncool. They're just not old enough for me to be interested in them. Plus, I have a black thumb- keeping plants/flowers alive just isn’t my cup of tea…

Ever wondered where the term "mind your Ps and Qs" came from? When printing presses became available, they had to set the type backwards so that when they rolled the ink on and pressed the paper against the letters, it would come out correctly. Since this was done backwards, oftentimes people confused their Ps with their Qs. And as you all know, the British are infamous for saying "Mind (insert anything here)." Mind your step. Mind the Gap. MIND THE GAP. Mind that Child. (and so on and so forth) So, there's your adagial history of the day.

I was thinking today...people destroy things all the time, as did people “way back when.” The people “way back when” probably never thought that anyone would be interested in these items, but we are…Nowadays, we collect artefacts and antiques and this and that, but we still get rid of everything. Will the people in the future be like us? Will people in the future have the things from now studied and classified and critiqued? I would like to say yes, but what do we produce now that would even be worth something in the future? We mass produce so much crap, and it is all usually very cheaply made, that it probably won't last for 600 years and if it does, there will be so much of it still around that there will be no uniqueness left to anything. What will that say about us? Will the people of the future be even worse?

If we compare even two decades from the early and late 20th century, look how different the people are...the "corset-wearing, ride-in-a-horse-drawn-carriage, marry-a-man-five-times-my-age-and-pay-him-to-do-so" days are long gone. We've traded in our bonnets for pink hair dye, celibacy for children at age 13 and horse-drawn carriages for cars that have 1000 Horsies (Horsepower). Isn't it strange?

Some say we've proudly become more advanced and are becoming technological masterminds...but what is that going to get us? It always has to be bigger and better and somebody has to outdo someone else and get more money. Isn't anyone else scared of these sorts of events? I'm of the opinion that by mass production (thank you Renaissance) and new and ever-changing technology we are going to destroy ourselves. What happened to modesty and just happy to live another day because you managed to avoid the Plague? Most people look at historical figures and their time periods (or even the 80s) and gasp in shock and awe about how these poor, pathetic people even lived without a (portable) phone or computer or the Internet- it just baffles them! While I thoroughly appreciate my cell phone, Internet and computer, I am able to look back at historical time periods and wonder what happened...what went wrong...and then I'm back to the hope of simplicity.

I do like having modern things, but there comes a point when it becomes a vicious cycle of outsmarting the next guy and doing whatever it takes. I am aware that it has seemingly always been like that, but once again I pose this question, when does it stop?? A lot of the things that we invent and create today are completely unnecessary. What good would it be to transport a molecule across the room do? What good would a vacuum without a cord do? etc. etc. If we can't reach our Coke and hamburger, we could teleport ourselves across the room to get it...right?? And seriously, a vacuum without a cord...was it really that big of a hassle in the first place?

I'm not entirely sure where that came from, (ab intra obviously) but it makes me really angry that a lot of stuff from our lifetime will be thrown away and no one will care what we did, except to learn from our mistakes...it's my hope that future generations are able to put that "special touch" back into things and perhaps create a product of quality (instead of focusing on quantity). Who am I to say these things? I'm just some over-opinionated, naive, confused, cranky, 22-year-old female college student. But I know I'm right...

On that note, though, I'm afraid I must retire for the night. My eyes are drooping, my head nodding and my stomach growling -a lethal combination...So, I will bid you adieu, hope I offended at least someone, and I wish you all a great day...

Hampton Court- building began with the quadrangle in 1427 under the ownership of Sir Rowland Lenthall

Clock Court

Clock tower

Astronomical clock- built probably in 1528 when King Henry VIII siezed the palace from Thomas Wolsey (Bishop of London)

Taurus of course

Ceiling that I didn't know I wasn't supposed to take a picture of...

Tudor Kitchen

Tudor Kitchen

Tudor Kitchen- around 800 people worked in the kitchen to make the feasts twice a day

Pond in the 20th Century Garden- originally a horse paddock, but was transformed in the 70s for training gardening apprentices

Pond

White miniature flamingo? Nah, herron.

Mushroom trees in the garden...if you eat one of them, you get an extra life.

Privy Gardens as seen from the King's apartments- King William III's apartments are furnished with tapestries and works of art from the 1700s

]]> Fri, 08 Jun 2007 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=938 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=7487 0 51.5 -0.1166667
Pictures are as follows:

Bobbies controlling the protesters.
Anti-war "art" at Tate.
Parliament area.
Random pictures.
Hammersmith.

Rabble rabble rabble....damn protesters..heathens! All of them!!

Anti-war "art" at the Tate Museum (not the modern art gallery...I would never go back..)

Anti-war "art" at the Tate Museum

The Burgers of Calais. These six people offered themselves as hostages to Edward III after he besieged London in 1817...Rumor has it he spared the rest of the town

Parliament

Tracey

Garden area at William Morris' house in Hammersmith

Just a random sign that I think is hilarious

Jordan being sentimental...and Tracey about to kick him off. We Tauri are ruthless...

Secret Tauri hand signs...That's right...there are three Tauruses on this trip...Tracey, Jordan and myself

Quick! I wanna be the foot!! -Kevin

Tracey and me

flower

Plum tree??

picture...in case you're wondering, YES I stopped caring about my hair since I am sans straightener...and YES I gave up on make-up after the first week of being here.

Sussex (not suffix) chairs

stairs

River Thames

Gooses!! (yes, I know it's geese)

Bridge to Terabithia..or the other side of the river..whatevski

There are girls and boys here from Florida State...and wow...Let me write down a few of the things that I've heard come out of their mouths, and as you read them, make sure to use a valley-girl accent or condescending tone:

Broad #1: Uh, like, oh my god, it like, totally smells like dog poop in the like hallway...and I don't mean it's like a good smell...

(Not sure any dog poop has a good smell...but alright)

Tracey: blah blah Ireland blah random places blah Scotland blah England blah, we should go to Stonehenge!
Kelsi: OMG! Yeah!! Great idea!!
Broad #2: Uh, Stonehenge is in England, not Scotland.
Tracey: We know, we are listing places around here we'd like to visit...

(DUH. And who invited you to our conversation anyway??)

Jerk face #1: B*%$£ get me some food! (yes he was talking to his girlfriend in all seriousness)
Broad #3: Ok, hunny, what do you want?

(I dare my boyfriend to talk to me like that...find out what happens...)

Broad #4: OMG I like totally know...I like had anthropology like last semester and like I went to class to like just sleep...

As I rememember others, I'll write them down...watch for updates! They're doozies! But in all honesty I'm not sure I will have others...we heard them say they'll be home in 52 hours...darn...I'm all torn up about that...I guess we'll just have to pick on the UCONN kids next! *evil laugh*

Another funny commercial: A man and a woman are at a restaurant getting ready to eat and the man orders lobster and the waiter brings a live lobster out and it looks at the guy and he doesn't eat it...They take the lobster home with them alive...He comes home later to find random things that belong to the lobster around the house...enter bedroom...finds the rubber bands to keep the lobster's claws together on the bed...enter bathroom...finds woman and lobster in the bathtub together and the lobster is flirting and doing things that could probably be technically classified as beastiality...Next scene: Man and woman at restaurant, man eating lobster. **DISTURBING**

That's all for today, I've got some reading to do! HA!

<3 k

P.S. Ryan found me this website...it's got ALF on it... Ryan is officially my hero for today =)

http://www.tv-links.co.uk/show.do/1/2534]]> Thu, 07 Jun 2007 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=938 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=7465 0 51.5 -0.1166667 1,2,3,4 we don't want your bloody war! 5,6,7,8 stop the killing, stop the hate!

What do we want? Troops out! When do we want it? Now!

They say warfare, we say welfare

I scowled at them when I walked by...they need to go join the other protesters in front of Parliament so I can have some peace and quiet...goodness. I don't know what good they think they're doing...I understand the free speech concept and right to assemble and protest, but they're not accomplishing anything except sore throats in the morning. Maybe it makes them feel better or empowered? I guess so. The computer lab is across from the Trade Union Congress http://www.tuc.org.uk/ and I imagine they are affiliated somehow...I don't know..I don't understand the politics here...

It makes me think of the protesters in the States and how much I don't like them either. I really don't like protesters...I think I'll go watch them...maybe take some pictures or videos...OH!!! WHISTLES!! BOBBIES!!!!! I'll check in later...]]> Wed, 06 Jun 2007 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=938 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=7402 0 51.5 -0.1166667 Yesterday we went to the National Portrait Gallery and the National Gallery...good lord I've never seen so many portraits in my life! Pretty cool though, much better than modern art! I was finally amongst some talent!!

I forgot what we are doing tomorrow, but I'm sure it will be a fun time!! Have a good one, ya'll!

pigeon..they're everywhere...they walk next to you and it's normal...

fountain in Trafalgar Square

Tracey and me

me with the lion at Trafalgar Square...I looked really stupid climbing up there...where I'm sitting is about five feet off the ground and there's nothing really to grab on to for any help...I hope no one took a picture...

National Gallery

Sunglasses at midnight...all the cool kids are doing it!

k]]> Tue, 05 Jun 2007 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=938 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=7271 0 51.5 -0.1166667
Alf- Just calling to say 'ello!

Anyone else miss Alf? I heart him...

And just another day where we walked about five miles...no complaints though, it was through Hampstead Heath...Beautiful!! I wish I would have known that we were going hiking though..I wouldn't have worn flip-flops!!! Duh, right?

On a more positive note...On Saturday I think I will be doing the coolest thing in the world...I'm going to Dover CASTLE!!! Prepare for at least 100 more pictures...In case some of you don't know, Dover Castle was built in the first century anno domini by the Romans...and yadda yadda yadda...but the coolest thing of course (because we all know how much I LOVE WWII) are the secret wartime tunnels!!!! Apparently they are still haunted...I hope the ghost talks to me!! Dover Castle is also right next to the White Cliffs of Dover...I just can't explain to you in words how excited I am to see these things...It goes something like..I want to run around the room screaming wildly at the top of my lungs telling everyone where I'm going and throw confetti. Yes...that could possibly explain it...

The other day we were watching trashy English soap operas...and then at the Tube station the next day, we saw some of the same people filming a scene on our way to the train! NEATO!!

Last night we sat on our front stoop and kicked back a few...and about 0100 this guy and his girlfriend or wife get out of a cab and go into their flat...but promptly walk back out and across the street to our stoop...nothing out of the ordinary...except for with him, the guy brought a container of salmon. He asked Jordan if he'd like to buy this salmon for £2,50...of course Jordan stood up and tried to speak with a British accent that sounded something like a bovine. They had this conversation and Jordan continues his awful impression of a Brit, when in the middle of his sentence Jordan says "QUOI???" that actually came out something like a sound a crow would make...(quoi means what in French)...and the Brit asked Jordan if he was a pigeon...(pidgin english...if you don't know what it is, look it up) to which we all just couldn't take it anymore and died laughing...so anyway...salmon guy leaves and we all just keep making fun of Jordan...and then the truth comes out...Jordan thought the guy was French. You mighta had to be there...Jordan spent the rest of the night wishing he had bought the salmon...poor thing...

Some other funny things:

Kevin: South Virginia...that is a state, isn't it?

Kevin: Please...you wouldn't be able to read my diary because it's written in a language like the movie Codetalkers
Kelsi: You mean Windtalkers?

COMMERCIAL: Little Asian kid sitting on the toilet says, "EWW! It stinks in here!!" Camera pans out to the hallway, his mother is standing outside of the door and the kid slips a drawing on a piece of paper that shows the air freshener needs to be replaced...the mom goes in and happily changes it and converses in happiness and giggles with her son..who is still sitting on the toilet. Strange...

Anyway, I'm putting up some pictures of us crazy kids because I've got nothing better to do (that's a lie, I should be reading Oliver Twist-I'm sure it's the same as the movie/play, right? *snickers*) Right...so...I'll write some more tomorrow...I think we're doing something...maybe going to another museum...

I don't know...some water and a flat I saw on our hike today

a swan in the middle of the water...vicious beasts...

View from the top of Parliament Hill

Some stuff from the top of Parliament Hill in Hampstead Heath

I want to name my French dog "Alf"

QUOI????

Pimp?

We are badazz...

Pontificating about coffee...

"I'd rather have clumpy salt than rice in there" -Tracey

Kevin's signature face/hand gesture

k

p.s. I'm still taking donations because I like to spend money and don't have enough of it...

Don't ever forget Alf...he's just so precious!!!

Alf- Just calling to say 'ello!

The inside of that forsaken Tate Modern Art Gallery

I have officially been to the worst place in London...The Tate Modern Art Gallery. From the outside one could easily mistake this shoddy brick building for just another dingy hole in the wall on this side of town. Nothing about it stuck out or could catch somebody's eye- except for the fact that there was an ice cream truck...and that's bound to catch everybody's eye..ICE CREAM!!! To put it blatantly, the outside was a foreshadow of what I was actually about to see...Walking in the door there is a decline that you walk down to get to the gallery...Upon first glance I thought I was at the YMCA in downtown Chicago; cement floors, construction workers and their noises, scaffolds, exposed supports. I thought to myself: This IS the museum, right? Everything was in plain black and beige with outlines of sea foam green. If there is one colour I hate...it is undoubtedly sea foam green. From my critique thus far you are probably wondering why I even went...Because if I wouldn't have, I wouldn't have been able to write this =) I really did think it was going to be decent, and I'm trying to see everything I can while I'm here- regardless of whether I want to go or not. Don't get me wrong, not all of the artwork in the building was terrible...but a majority of it was.

Are we so desperate to create and inspire that we can believe an epiphany will arise from two different coloured squares on the wall? or that we are expressing our souls and changing social order from a slash mark in a canvas? What ever happened to talent? You know...the kind where it took someone YEARS to create a masterpiece and when it was completed, every little detail was perfectly in place and perfectly significant of an important issue or feeling. Nowadays, these "artists" paint a canvas the same colour and call it a day. What? My four-year-old niece can do that and no one is putting her "artwork" in a prestigious gallery. Maybe I should find her an agent or something if this is how it's going to be. Matter-of-fact, I'm pretty sure half of the stuff in the gallery is somewhere in my basement in a Memory Box...stuff that I drew in art class in elementary school. I think the term for modern "artists" should now be: No talent ass-clowns. (Thank you Office Space)

These "artists" come with explanations of their art. I wonder, why? Let me answer my own question...because no one can understand it!!!! There is no longer any reason to try and interpret artwork, simply because it can't be interpreted. Modern art is the artists' way of making up a new language or way of thinking that no one understands but yet everyone does and begs to be part of. Loaded statement? You bet! It's some sort of status of your intellectual ability..."If you can't understand Lucio Fontana, then you must be dense. We studied in France and speak French and drink coffee while discussing the newest artists that no one has ever heard of. We make big deals about nothing because we honestly have nothing better to do and are so pompous that we simply MUST come up with someone that can make a squiggly line. Our often-exaggerated respect for artists makes us look like we know what we are talking about and then we can fit in with the art community. We intellectuals feel the shapes in our souls and the colours ricochet throughout our inner core..." and the bullshit continues.

To further my point, I will now show you examples, some of them with what was written in the gallery next to them, and some with my own commentary (which I'm sure you are all dying to hear)

Lucio Fontana- Waiting

In 1959, Fontana began to cut the canvas, with dramatic perfection. These cuts (or tagli) were carefully pre-meditated but executed in an instant. Like the holes, they have the effect of drawing the viewer into space. In some, however, the punctures erupt from the surface carrying the force of the gesture towards the viewer in a way that is at once energetic and threatening. Although these actions have often been seen as violent, Fontana claimed ‘I have constructed, not destroyed.’

You're kidding me...un-freaking-believable

Henri Matisse- The Snail

The Snail is one of the last and largest pieces in Matisse’s final series of works, known as cutouts. Confined to bed through illness, he had assistants paint sheets of paper in gouache which he then cut. The shell of a snail inspired the spiralling arrangement of roughly cut pieces of paper. Compared to his earlier paintings, Matisse believed that he had gained ‘greater completeness and abstraction’ in the cutouts. ‘I have attained a form filtered to its essentials’, he remarked.

"Form filtered to its essentials" what??? You cut out pieces of paper and glued them on a bigger piece of paper..there is nothing extravagent or amazing about what you did!

Robert Mangold- Redwall

Red Wall was one of a series of works inspired by the industrial loft architecture of New York City. Combining painting and sculpture, they were constructed using standard-sized sheets of plywood-backed masonite, fitted together to suggest portions of walls, doorways and windows. They were then painted using a spray gun to create a neutral, uninflected monochrome surface. According to the artist, the choice of colours was intended to evoke ordinary objects, in this case ’brick-red’.

I will evoke an ordinary object, and I guarantee you're not going to like it...I feel so 'brick-red' right now with englightenment...I'm glad I saw this...

Barnett Newman- Adam

From the mid-1940s Newman had been preoccupied with the Jewish myths of Creation. The vertical strips in his paintings may relate to certain traditions that present God and man as a single beam of light. The name Adam, which in the Old Testament was given to the first man, derives from the Hebrew word adamah (earth), but is also close to adom, (red) and dam (blood). The relationship between brown and red in this painting may therefore symbolise man's intimacy with the earth.

Normally in paintings that symbolize or represent traditions dealing with god, there are more than two lines in it...I could be wrong, (which I highly doubt), but this required no talent.

Ellsworth Kelly- Black Square with Blue

Once again, two squares put together...What does this even mean????

Gerhard Richter- Grey

Grey is the epitome of non-statement’, he has observed, ‘it does not trigger off feelings or associations, it is actually neither visible nor invisible... Like no other colour it is suitable for illustrating ‘nothing’.’ Such observations go hand-in-hand with the artist’s frequently expressed resistance to ideologies of any kind.

I like to talk for no reason and put words together that sound good, too.

Dan Flavin- the diagonal of May 25, 1965

This is the worst of them all. A light, that he did not make, screwed at an angle to a wall and called art. I couldn't find the blurb next to his "art" that was in the gallery, but I do know it said that Dan Flavin thought first using a flourescent light was a 'personal breakthrough.' Uh...of what? How could that possibly even be seen as a personal breakthrough??

I hope the next genre of art requires a little bit more talent and little less gullibility.

On a good note though...I saw some Monet and Warhol and some Pablo..and that was neat.

Millenium Bridge

Ciao

k
]]> Sat, 02 Jun 2007 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=938 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=7191 0 51.5 -0.1166667 Well, I've got more pictures for you...Sometimes I leave out explanations on the blog that are written with the pictures in my photo album on here...so if you have a question, check out the album or ask me...

Kelmscott Manor- Home of William Morris- built in 1570

A church up the street

A Random sign...pretty funny..it's just like the British to explain things too much

Moo.

Building in Oxford

Some more buildings...to the right you can see the oldest building in Oxford

Who else thinks this building is going to fall over soon?

Welcome to the Ashmolean- Please mock our statues. Thanks and have a great day.

Toll-receipt from ancient Greece

The Egyptian way of mathematics

Hieroglyphic inscriptions of King Inyotef- From 17th Dynasty (1570-1540 BC)

Piano from the 17th century..I think..

Italian Citterns from the 17th century

Assorted marbles and rare stones made into a table...1855

View of a Mill at Zaandam- Claude Monet

Landscape with Trees- Pierre-Auguste Renoir

Powhaten's Mantle- 17th century- Powhaten was Pocahontas' father

The Restaurant de la Sirene, at Asnieres- Vincent Van Gogh

The Mummy and Coffin of Djeddjehutyiuefankh (and no I didn't just bang my hands on the keyboard) This is from 770-712 BC

Christ's College- University of Cambridge- building began in 1439

List of people from the College that died in the First World War...It wasn't uncommon to find these in every single church for many different wars

Memorials for those who parished in a war

This is what they do for fun in England...Play croquet in suits...

Keble College

Exeter College- Oxford University

]]> Fri, 01 Jun 2007 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=938 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=7077 0 51.5 -0.1166667 Here's my favorite quote from the time we were gone though....

Kelsi: Nosebag is kind of like hell, they're just very versatile words.
Alex: That was a very haughty statement.
Austin: I can't wait to not be around English majors all the time.
Kelsi: We're better than philosophy majors.
Tracey: Yeah, they just sit around and pontificate all day.

Ha.

Since I don't have any pictures to fill up all this white space...I'll talk about feelings. I've decided that this trip is somewhat preparing me for my future. What? Yeah, I know, it sounds a little silly...but it really is. Do you really think I want to walk four more hours? No. Do you really think I want to go to one more museum? No. Do you really think I want to be lost all day or soaking wet from the rain? No. But, I do it anyway. Why? Because I have to. And I'm usually really glad I did it. It does no good to be grouchy or complain because it's not going to change anything...I still have to complete the course, I still have to walk to get home, I'm still gonna have blisters and my shoes/socks/pants are still going to be wet...I guess what I'm saying here is that I actually have to work with a group, shut up about whatever I feel (even though everyone feels the same way) and I have to keep on going-endurance. I can't do what I want, when I want..patience...always...I realize this is very small on a scale compared to what I'll endure during the military, but I guess it's a start, right? It's kind of like a game now...a test of perserverance...see how much I can really take...because once I am bothered by about 20 different things...I'm still not to my breaking point...I'm pushing the limits, not giving in and being more hard-headed than you all ever thought possible...So, when I get home, prepare for a no-nonsense Kelsi...and I suppose this is a caveat to all you slacker/destructive types: Out of my way.

And on that note, my "soaking wet-can't feel my eyes-really have to go potty-have blisters on the backs of my feet" self is going home...have a great day everyone!

k

]]> Thu, 31 May 2007 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=938 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=7060 0 51.5 -0.1166667
HA! Because I'm a tourist...
Hello all...it's been a few days! Just a re-cap...school, reading, walking, writing, learning, walking, walking, tube, walking, museums, the Dickens House Museum, school, and last but not least, computer time. We went to the Dickens House Museum which is right across the street from our flat. This is where Charles Dickens and his family lived from 1837-1839, and the museum opened in 1925.

The past few days in class we have read some interesting things...first, we read Alice In Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass...both quite strange, but once down to the nitty gritty of them, they made a whole lot more sense. They are mostly critiques of the Victorian Era educational system and parenting ways. We also read the Defence of Guenevere by William Morris, Culture and Anarchy: Sweetness and Light by Matthew Arnold, and some other poems not really worth mentioning.

Tomorrow and Thursday we are going to be in Oxford. We'll be checking out the Ashmolean, Kelmscott Manor/Press, Christ Church Cathedral and some other stuff...It's about a two hour drive from London to Oxford...then to get to Kelmscott, we have to travel another hour and a half. I'm going to get to listen to a lot of music...

We are thinking about taking a trip to Ireland for a couple days. We have one thing at 0930 on Friday, 8June, a free weekend, and we are going to try and convince our professor that we've had so much overtime in class that our 'free' class should be that Monday. So, in essence, we would be flying to Dublin on Friday afternoon/evening, staying in a hostel Friday and Saturday and possibly Sunday night, and heading back to London. Plane tickets are about $100, which isn't too shabby...and if we can find a hostel...even better. If not, I'm sure we can all cram in a room! We can trade nights for who gets the bed...

I'm still trying to find a way back to Prague. I proposed to my friend Brendan that he meet me there because he will be finishing up with his training for the National Guard in Utah about the same time- I don't know what he'll say, but it would be really awesome to be there with him. I could show him the ropes of the Czechs =)

Also, I'm taking up a fund....it's called "we want to see Kelsi travel to lots of places while in Europe and deter the cost of food because it's double to triple what it costs in Iowa" fund. So, I'm currently taking donations =)

On another note, expect my grammar to be 'good' (I did that on purpose) within the next few weeks because I've worked it out with my professor that she's going to help me with it. Awesomeness.

Other than that, nothing too new here, I'll post some pictures below from the Dickens House Museum, Victoria and Albert Museum (because those were some of the pictures I accidentally deleted) and then from the Churchill Museum and Cabinet War Rooms! The Museum was nothing short of amazing...well worth £9...Have I ever told you guys how much I LOVE history??

Have a good one.

<3 kelsi

Dickenses' bathroom

Dickenses' bathroom

my flat from the Dickens House Museum

VICTORIA AND ALBERT MUSEUM

Triton and Neptune

Tipoo's Tiger

The Book of Martyrs, by John Foxe, 1563

A Gentlemen's Guide to the Restraint of Negroes

3 Reliquary

Close up of the Relics

Me in a crinoline...hot, huh?

Hammersmith Rug by Morris & Co.- 1889

Paintings by Raphael

CHURCHILL MUSEUM

British War Cabinet Room

From a diary of a little British girl

Winston Churchill with his troops

Winston Churchill's hat

September 11, 1940

Some of the many medals Churchill was awarded

Churchill's Nobel Peace Prize

Churchill's Christening Robe- 1874

Churchill's revolver, flask, pocketwatch

it's been raining here all day...first time i got to use my umbrella...

but anyway, i need to do some stuff for class...have a good one!

k]]> Sun, 27 May 2007 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=938 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=6910 0 51.5 -0.1166667
written by Jean Jenkinson on May 26, 2007

This was a comment written to me on my last post. My response is this: who are you? The manuscript police? That's what I thought...find something better to do you bitter old hag.

But, on a more positive note...we went to the Leighton House today and then to the Victoria and Albert Museum. Spent five hours wandering around...we must have found something interesting...I'll put pictures up later this weekend.

I'm heading home to take a nap!

k]]> Sat, 26 May 2007 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=938 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=6876 0 51.5 -0.1166667

But anyway...the trip to the British Museum was pretty cool yesterday...I've got pictures and descriptions below!

me and Assyrian Bull

Close-up of the Assyrian Bull

Elgin Marbles. These sculptures are in the middle of a bitter custody battle between England and Greece. The Parthenon in Athens was built about 2500 years ago as a temple dedicated to the Greek goddess, Athena. After that it was the church or the Virgin Mary of the Athenians for a thousand years, a mosque, a gunpowder store and then an archaeological ruin. In 1687 when the Parthenon was used as a gunpowder store, there was a huge explosion and it blew the roof off and destroyed a large portion of the remaining sculptures and had been an archaeological ruin ever since. A lot of archaeologists agreed that the sculptures could never be attached, and by 1800 only 50% of the original sculptural decoration remained. Between 1801 and 1805, Lord Elgin (British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, which Athens had belonged to for some 350 years) removed about half of the remaining sculptures from the fallen ruins and from the building itself and took them back to Britain to preserve them from future weathering. The Ottoman authorities had full knowledge and gave him full permission to do so. In 1816, the British Museum acquired the sculptures. Greece believes they should have them back, England says they shouldn’t. You can learn more about the debate at: www.thebritishmuseum.ac.uk/gr/grparth.html

There are pieces of the Parthenon in the Louvre, Vatican, Copenhagen, Vienna, Wuerzburg, Palermo, Heidelberg and Munich.

Forepart of a horse from the chariot group surmounting the mausoleum…made in 350 BC. As you can see, not in the best of shape…

The Rosetta Stone, 196 BC. The Rosetta Stone basically helped other people translate Hieroglyphics...the top language is Hieroglyphic, the second is Demotic and the third is classical Greek.

This was made in 2500 BC and it was found at the temple-tower of Ninhursag at Tell al-‘Ubaid. I don’t know how well you can see the picture, but the lion-headed eagle, Imdugud, is holding two deer.

Mummies from 1st century BC/1st century AD

Typical Egyptian grave with grave-items. Yes, the body is real…it was preserved so well because the sand caused rapid natural drying. This is from 3400 BC from around the Nile Valley.

Look at his mouth…I don’t think he died a painless death…

This is from 3000 BC when they started using coffins…you can see that the body wasn’t preserved as well by using coffins. Their early coffins were made from baskets, wood or pottery.

Mummy

Limestone stele, from the grave of Amathus, Cyprus, 5th century BC. It says: Here having met his doom Idagygos of Halicarnassus lies, son of Aristokles servant of Ares. That’s right, I speak Greek now!

Made in Cyprus, 4th century BC. It says: Theudaisios of Euesperides. (Euesperides is a settlement in modern day Libya)

Gravestone of Aurelius Hermia and his wife Aurelia Philematium in Rome.

Crocodile skin suit of Roman parade armour from 3rd or 4th century

American cash register from 1901

Items found in the Sutton Hoo. The Sutton Hoo is a group of burial mounds from the 6th and 7th centuries. Included in these mounds was a ship burial, which means a ship was used as a coffin type holder for the bodies and grave goods.

]]> Fri, 25 May 2007 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=938 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=6801 0 51.5 -0.1166667 k]]> Thu, 24 May 2007 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=938 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=6759 0 51.5 -0.1166667 As for the title of this blog, I wrote it because it's funny and sadly enough, it's sorta true. Yesterday when we were waiting for our professor and her husband to meet us for supper we were standing outside of the ACCENT centre, which is where we have class and play on computers, etc. But anyway, we saw two blonde girls in sorority shirts or something playing Frisbee...not a big deal, unless you're dumb enough to do it in the street. First thought that came to my mind: Did I really leave Iowa City? Traffic in London is horrendous and there's no other way to describe it! The cars are coming from the opposite direction and they seriously don't stop for anything...Well as we were watching these broads I said my comment about leaving Iowa City aloud and my friend Alex responded with, "they must be Americans, no one else is that stupid." So, kiddies...go forth and play Frisbee in the street and support all stereotypes that Americans are stupid!

But anyway...we went to dinner last night at an Indian restaurant, it was pretty good...After that we all went home and were asleep by 930...sleep never felt so good. However, minor problem with the sleeping arrangements: I haven't slept on a bed in 6 months. How does this feel in the morning? It took me about five minutes to scoot off the bed to get up. AWESOME.

We went on a walking tour today of London...starting at 9am and not getting over until 315. My feet hurt!!! We saw briefly Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, Parliament, the East End of London, and some other places. I forgot my cable for my camera otherwise I'd post what I saw and correspond them with my writings appropriately...but I'll do that tomorrow. Anyway...when we were outside Parliament, there were protesters across the street and we asked our guide what they were doing and who they were and she told us that it was Brian Haw. Brian has been sitting outside of Parliament since June 2nd, 2001- never missed a day. He originally started sitting out there because has against the economic sanctions on Iraq and the bombing from the UK and USA. After September 11, 2001, he widened his focus of being against the war and insists the USA and UK created acts of terror on Afghanistan and Iraq. Now, Brian being out there irritated Tony Blair to no end and various authority figures have tried to remove him...he took them to court saying he was exercising his right to free speech. A judge in the High Court agreed with him, and let him stay. In 2005, Parliament passed a law saying that because of terror, no one could protest within a mile of their building. They figured this would get rid of Brian. It hasn't because there has been constant battle between SOCPA and the courts. Some say the law should apply to him because it's a law, but others say it shouldn't because it was passed after he started.

The fact that Brian was going to be thrown out of the square made a lot of people angry and therefore, they have started to gather on Wednesdays to protest their right of free speech. Every person who wants to protest has to have a license...one man deals with these. A couple days before the demonstration, people come down to the police station and apply for a license and state what they will be protesting, where they will be, their name, etc, and then this one man has to do all of the paperwork associated with the licenses. He told people at one point that they could only protest for six hours and they asked how they could protest for longer...he said, if they moved the could...so now when people come in to get their licenses to protest, they get two or three and this poor guy is stuck kicking himself in the pants for ever saying anything...When they protest, they write silly things on their signs. Such as, Bananas are good, Dirty socks smell, There is too much paperwork for (insert name of one man who does all of it for licenses)! Amusing.

There is also a statue of Abraham Lincoln in the square across from Parliament. Why? They liked that he was opposed to the idea of statehood.

We also went to a place called the East End. A lot of immigrants used to (and still do, mostly Bangladeshi) live there. The Huguenots from the Reformation sought solace here, along with other outcasts of society like Jews, Italians, poor city folk. This was also Jack the Ripper's stomping ground. Much of that has been destroyed, though because of the memories. Speaking of which, there is a law that prohibits the demolishment of "listed buildings." That means they are old and to be preserved, and if anything is changed on them (even a window), Parliament should know about it. It's very interesting because one of the most recent places that was about to be demolished was saved by this law is in the East End. It was an old market with numerous identical buildings, and whatever was behind it was taken out...and a new modern building was constructed. So, you have this modern, mega-building with shiny silver and black everything right behind and almost connected to a beige-ish building from the early 19th century. It looks really stupid.

This somewhat deals with my topic for my final paper. In 1877, William Morris founded the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings. I think I am going to write something about how that has affected the laws today, how much was destroyed, his influence, mention of it in his books, modern demolition of buildings, etc. I haven't figured out a focus point or a thesis, but I'll let you know when I find one. Apparently I can go somewhere in London to their office and read all their written materials- new and old. I'm pretty excited about researching this because it's something that I'm really interested in. Since I'm anti-tearing down really pretty pieces of history, I figure this topic suits me well.

As far as poetry goes, who ruined it with meter?

My favourite sign: Humps next 650 meters.

OBSERVATIONS OF THE DAY:
Even though the Brits drive on the wrong side of the street, they still walk on the right hand side of the sidewalk.

Only Mercedes have hood ornaments.

Have a good one guys!

k

]]> Wed, 23 May 2007 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=938 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=6737 0 51.5 -0.1166667 Where to start...well, from an airplane, Long Island looks like a lego city..the Statue of Liberty didn't look so large and the suburbs all look the same- go figure...

Once I got off my plane at LaGuardia, I had to pay $13 bucks to get a ride on a bus to JFK. Ten minutes into the ride I was looking around to figure out where we were- we were still in Laguardia...but it took us twice as long in JFK than LaGuardia, not to mention the insanely roundabout way we took to get there! I've actually added JFK to my list of airports I hope I never see again (the first being O'Hare)

I checked my luggage, hung out listening to people's conversations, road the AirTrain and bought a keychain-that was the extent of my trip to New York. Oh, and I've never seen so many Hasidic Jews in my life.

The flights overseas have become increasingly more comfortable than my first trip some seven odd years ago...A personal TV that you can choose what you want to watch, compfier chairs, moderinzed storage bins up top, and actually the flight attendants were incredibly nice people!...A baby cried the whole way...

Once we got to London, we waited for probably about three hours for everyone to arrive, then hopped in our two taxi vans and drove for an hour or so our rooms- which consequently looks like a dungeon..and comes complete with ants!!! But our taxi driver was cool as all get out...

The next couple days are just orientation and beginning classes...i posted some pictures to simulate what I've seen...so, no, I didn't take them

Long Island, NY

Hasidic Jews

Map of London

Gherkin

Double Decker bus!