One month has gone by...2.5 more will go just as fast!

I give you my apologies as it has been over a week since my last post! I am sure you are all wondering what I have been up to! Well, I will try to get you up-to-date in my life in London.

Can you believe I have been in London for a whole month now? I'm not sure how to feel about it; it doesn't feel like we have been here long yet at the same time it seems like those first few days in the new city were so long ago. We are about a third of the way through the program and I haven't gotten to do any traveling outside of England yet! But don't worry, I have many plans, mostly for weekend trips in November, such as Paris, Germany, and Wales, and of course, lots of traveling during fall break: Ireland, Italy, and Greece.

I will start with last week after my last post.

On Thursday we had class in the morning, which many of us were late to thanks to crowded tubes. Mark was not pleased with us. We were learning about different types of media in Britain. Religion class in the afternoon was quite interesting; we discussed how religion is defined and then took an online quiz to find out what religion our beliefs follow. On both Friday and Saturday, I went to Portobello Market. I LOVE this place. There are some great antiques, gifts, clothes, and food. We didn't make it all the way to the end of the market as it seems to just go on and on forever. I bought a tube map tea towel and some photos. I also found the best gift ever for my boyfriend: the first pressing of the first Beatles album, "Please, Please Me" as well as their "Rubber Soul" album. I wanted to keep it a secret, but of course, I couldn't contain myself with a gift like that, so he got it out of me. He is really excited about them though! I had Gelato (Italian style ice cream) for the first time on Friday at the market. It was so delicious. Saturday night, a group of us went out to a pub for Alex and Cameron's birthdays. It was a fun night that included karaoke which Alex got up and sang Elton John to Anna (too cute!).

On Sunday, I spent my afternoon at Hampstead Heath park up north. It is a very large park with a lot of ponds and trees that makes you forget you are in a city. I found myself a large tree that had fallen to sit and read on. I was a bit lost wondering around that place but it was quite enjoyable to hike around there on such a beautiful day. I went to Westminster Chapel's evening service again on my own and there were 3 men who got baptized during the service. It was something I had never seen before: a tiny pool under the floorboards where the person was fully submerged in. I was glad I attended that night as the stories these three men shared where quite moving. Later Sunday night, a group of us went to get poffertjes from a place called My Old Dutch restaurant as a surprise for Cameron on his birthday. It was almost like Tulip Time! ;)

Monday I went over to City Lit for my first yoga class. I really enjoyed the class; it consists of just 8 women of various ages and a male instructor who was really helpful. We went through some basic breathing and stretching exercises and a few poses. I am supposed to practice "The Cat" pose this week. However, one thing that makes me not look forward to going back there: a very awkward guy who kept following me around and asking me all sorts of questions. He told me he would see me next Monday...yikes! That afternoon, I went to see "Crazy Stupid Love" with Shannon at a cinema that was much larger and nicer than the one Margaret and I went to a couple weeks ago!

Tuesday and Wednesday I had my internship. I really didn't do much at all this week. I would go around and ask everyone if they wanted me to do something for them, but they all responded with, "No, I don't have anything you can do at the moment." They were all busy, but with things I apparently cannot help with. It was very frustrating just sitting around with nothing to do. I came here for an internship where I could get some real experience working in the psychology/sociology field, but so far haven't done much yet. I do like the organisation and what it does, and the people are all very nice and good at what they do. I have learned a bit from just listening to conversations and doing some reading whilst I am there. However, next Tuesday, I will have things to do: I am first going to another branch to help out with some things there and then in the afternoon I am going to a school with the Domestic Violence in Schools Coordinator to do those activities I discussed in my last post. I hope it all goes well and that I will have things to do all the time from now on...

Yesterday, we had class in the morning where we discussed the recent London riots and then for Religions in London, we met at Holy Cross Church of England to tour and talk to the priest about the church. It was very pretty inside, a very Catholic-like church that is 123 years old with large arches going up along the sides.

Today, we left in the morning for Stonehenge and Bath. We spent around a half hour at Stonehenge walking around on the path, and then moved on to Bath, where we toured the Roman Baths and had a little time to walk around the town. Bath is such a lovely town with a gorgeous hilly countryside (apparently several celebrities have homes there). The weather was so beautiful for the trip, and I got some really great photos of both places. The weather here has actually been very nice for about a week and a half now; sunny and warm, little rain. This weekend though, it is in the 80s!! Very nice, especially for the arrival of my mom and uncle Scott tomorrow morning! They are coming to visit me for a week with a very full itinerary! ;)

I have been very tired this week, having trouble staying awake in class and at my internship when I am doing boring tasks or sitting waiting to do something. It is the worst in the mornings, and it makes me wonder if something is up with my thyroid or if I just have not been getting enough sleep. I haven't been going to sleep as early as I would like, usually due to the noise outside or talking to my boyfriend on Skype. But, it still should be enough that I can keep my eyes open during the day! This week has also included a lot of planning for fall break trips, which can get stressful. Something I have noticed about myself lately is how irritated I get by the crowds, particularly on the tube, who get in my way as I try to get to class or my internship or other places. I guess that means I am becoming an official Londoner!

Well that's about it; you are now caught up in my London adventure. I will try to write more often this coming week as I see and do all sorts of things with my mom and uncle. Hopefully I will have more energy this week!!

Cheers!

Internship: Week 1

This is how my first week of interning at Bayswater Family Centre went:

Tuesday, 20th September

I was supposed to arrive at 9:30am, but tube ride took about 5 minutes longer than it had on Monday, so I arrived a few minutes late. This did not make a difference as the only person who knew what time I was supposed to arrive, my supervisor, does not come in until around 10. I spent the morning browsing the website for Action for Children, the corporation which the centre does services for, reading about its policies and services, particularly about child protection. I was so tired this morning that I was afraid of falling asleep at the computer; luckily I was in the corner so no one could notice. The information covered topics I was familiar with from previous work and volunteer experience, such as dealing with children who may be dealing with abuse as well as confidentiality guidelines. I made a few copies, was introduced to most of the staff, and had a tour. I was given an hour lunch break and was allowed to leave fairly early--around 2:45pm--since they didn't have much work for me to do.

Wednesday, 21st September

I started at my internship around 9:30am again, and was given the task of laminating and cutting a stack of pages for a domestic violence advice team member for the morning. I quickly became interested in the activities she was using these pages for as some had photos of people with t-shirts saying, "This is what a feminist looks like," one of them being President Obama, and others lists of statements of which one was to determine whether or not it was an abuse situation. Other pages had lists of various occupations, types of toys, and colors. I was told these had to do with gender stereotypes, which if you know me and my psychology/sociology interests, you know this caught my attention! I found out later that this temporary coworker of mine co-ordinates with local schools to conduct sessions with students as well as with groups of teachers on domestic violence related topics. She was using these materials I was preparing for some drama-like activities for primary students that are supposed to be an effort to prevent domestic violence in the kids' future intimate relationships. The gender-related activities get at how they have already formed these ideas of how boys and girls/men and women are supposed to behave in society. This activity is important since domestic violence stems from the use of power to control others, and men are often seen as the one in a relationship as having the power. She told me how she has had long discussions, debates almost, with groups of students over the statement, "Real men never cry." She said that I would likely be able to come along with her on her school visits and help with these activities, and so at the end of the day I talked about it with my supervisor, who said she was actually going to bring it up with me since many of the visits are on Tuesdays. So, I am now quite excited for my future Tuesdays! :)

The rest of the day, I made packets which are filled out by new clients that come in, as well as composed an email from an administration worker's notes on getting some money for some money management training sessions. It was a full day compared to yesterday. I have definitely noticed the slower pace of work compared to the U.S. work environment. The staff spend a lot of time chatting and making tea throughout the day, and a workday here has much fewer hours than in the States. It's a wonder much work gets done! I had been told in the morning by a office manager that she would have a task for me within a half hour, she just had to finish another task first; she never finished it while I was there! Nevertheless, it is an enjoyable place and I can see myself learning a lot here. I find out a lot about the work they do just by listening to the conversations around me.

I can't wait to tell you how next week goes! :)

Third week in the big city!

That's right family and friends back home, I am on my third week here in London! Here's what I've been up to:

Thursday: Today we had our British Experience and Contemporary British Society and Culture classes. It was three hours straight, all in the same room: first British Experience Seminar, Contemporary Britain, then Contemporary Britain small-group seminar. The classes weren't too exciting yet; just the usual first day of class routine. We said good-bye to our assistant director, Beth, as she is leaving to go on a year-long holiday traveling all over the world with her boyfriend. Our new assistant director, Jen, is originally from Kansas and now lives here with her husband. In the afternoon on Thursdays, I have my Religions of London class from 2 to about 5pm. I really enjoyed the first day of this class and already learned about the origins of the Church of England. We get to go to a few different services as well as a visit Jewish temple and a Mosque. I am quite excited to learn about and experience these different religions and cultures.

Friday: A group of 8 of us went over to Abbey Road this afternoon. We of course, took turns getting our photos taken walking across the street like the Beatles. We also checked out the Abbey Road Studios where the Beatles did most of their recording. We then ventured to the Beatles Coffee Shop where I got the best souvenir ever: an Abbey Road street sign with the Beatles faces on it. A short walk from there was Regent's Park, where we climbed Primrose Hill to get a look at the best view of the city. It was a lovely day and a lovely view. We just sat up there for quite a while, some taking a short nap in the warm sun. The weather had been so beautiful these days. This was probably my favorite afternoon in London so far. I will definitely be going back to that hill to relax on nice days.

Saturday & Sunday: These were relaxing days filled with sleeping in, buying groceries, reading, and watching movies with my new friends. Saturday night, nearly everyone in the program went out to a club called Roxy to celebrate Caroline's 21st birthday. It was a fun night apart from trying to figure out the night bus system on the way back (tubes close early). I actually ended up injuring myself a little as I tried walking up the stairs of a double-decker bus when it started moving (and no, I was not intoxicated, just clumsy and tired). Sunday morning a small group of us did go to Westminster Chapel (not Westminster Abbey) for church again. William Graham (grandson of the evangelist Billy Graham from North Carolina) was the guest preacher. I enjoyed the service quite a bit, and the church is beautiful. I am finding however, that the church's beliefs are a bit more conservative than my own. I like the church, but still am interested in other worship services in London.

Today (Monday): Today I went to my internship site for the first time! I met with the Shelagh, the manager of Bayswater Family Centre, for about 20 minutes as she described all that the organisation does. The centre is mainly a place that supports homeless families, but it provides quite an array of services. I was told I would be helping out in all areas of the complex organisation: general administration, sitting in on meetings with clients, helping in the children's centre, traveling to the outreach schools, etc. I was overdressed; Shelagh was wearing jeans and a sweater and said that dress was casual, although she dresses according to what she will be doing (dressing up more for meetings). Hopefully I know what I will be doing ahead of time so I know what to wear! Oh well, better overdressed than underdressed. I will be working at the Centre on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, starting tomorrow at 9:30am! This means I have Mondays off, so I have decided to sign up for a yoga class at City Lit college from noon to 1pm. I like this as I will have a day to recover from any weekend trips I may take before I go to work at the Centre.

I am starting to make some travel plans. Hopefully some will get booked soon! For fall break, I am hoping to spend the first weekend in Ireland/Scotland then head down to Italy for the rest of the trip. I am also wanting to go to Wales and Liverpool over a weekend soon, probably with Shannon. A day trip down to Brighton also seems to be in the near future. I sent an email out to Anna, a foreign exchange student Sarah and I were good friends with in high school, with a list of weekends for us to possibly come stay with her in Germany. I just hope she gets back to me soon! And, I have to throw a weekend to Paris in there sometime as well! :)

Overall, things have been good. Getting better at cooking--adding lots more fruit and veggies to my meals! However I have been making the same 3 meals over and over, with some canned soup or ravioli thrown in to change it up. I just don't really enjoy taking the time to cook; I'd rather have it ready to eat when I'm hungry! ;) At least we have breakfast made for us every morning. I am excited for Mom and Uncle Scott to come in less than 2 weeks! Can't believe it's almost October!

Sending love across the pond,

Alyssa

China Town, small movie screens, & an internship!

While not yet having classes or an internship, here is how I have kept myself busy the last few days (like there's nothing to do in this city!):

Monday: Michelle, Shannon, Jacque, and I went over to Buckingham Palace to try and see the changing of the guards ceremony. We soon realized that despite the fact that it occurs every other day, you need to arrive about 2 hours early in order to get a good viewing spot! We saw the band march up but nothing else. Since we have plenty times to try and watch again, we left to go get lunch. Michelle, Shannon, and I went over to China Town and found a really delicious Chinese restaurant that was still reasonably priced. We had fun trying to use the chopsticks. Later that night, Margaret and I decided to go see the movie Friends With Benefits since the majority of the other students were at a play for the Shakespeare class. In an effort to go to the cheapest place, we ended up way on the East side, at a theater with five screens, but we had to have been in the smallest...the screen was about one-fourth the size of a regular movie theater screen!! The room was also very small and kind of old and dirty. We then knew why it was so cheap! It was fun nonetheless, and we laughed about it all night.

Tuesday: Sarah, Margaret, and I went over to the other Primark that isn't as crazy as the one we went to on Oxford Street. We spent the afternoon shopping around the area. That night a small group of us girls went out for a girls' night, which was so much fun!

Today: I finally heard about my internship this morning! I go on Monday to the Bayswater Families Centre to meet my coworkers and figure out my schedule. This afternoon, I went up there to make sure I knew how to get there and to explore the area. I am so relieved to finally know for sure that I have an internship placement!

Tomorrow: I have my three classes: British Experience Seminar, Contemporary British Society, and Religions of London. It will be a full day!

The weather today was so beautiful!! Sunny and mid-60's. Tomorrow looks even better! I may go read in the park tomorrow after the religion class :)

Cheers!

Stratford-Upon-Avon Weekend

Okay all, bear with me on this post as this was a busy weekend! First though, let me begin with Thursday. I had the day free so I went and explored on my own since Dan and Sarah had to go to Morley College to register for classes (I'm only taking Central classes and having my internship). I spent my afternoon strolling through the nearby parks--Green Park, Hyde Park, and St. James' Park. They were larger than I was expecting; 4 miles total! I walked for 2 miles then when I turned around to come back, I rented one of the Barclay's bikes for a pound and rode that back to the Vandon House area. I thoroughly enjoyed the parks; Hyde Park has a lake with many ducks and paddle boats. I will definitely go back when the trees are all in their autumn colours. :)

Friday morning our program left for Stratford-upon-Avon for the weekend. On the way, we stopped at Blenheim Palace, which was amazing! It was a huge castle that is home to the 11th Duke and Duchess of Marlborough and is also the birthplace of Winston Churchill. We took a tour inside and then had lunch and explored the grounds. It was huge! We arrived in Stratford-upon-Avon later on in the day and had a walking tour of the town, which is the birthplace of Shakespeare. We saw the house in which the writer was born, his other homes as well as those of his children, the church he was baptized, married, and buried in, as well as the three theatres in the town. We stayed in Bed & Breakfasts for the two nights. We then had the night free, so many of us got fish & chips for supper and then a drink at a nearby pub.

Saturday, after a full English breakfast, we took our bus and went to a town called Bourton-on-the-Water in the Cotswolds area. It was a pretty small town with lots of shops. I found a few gifts for people back home there. We went back to Stratford in the afternoon and many of us spent the time exploring the many shops there as well as walked along the river. I have found that the countryside in England is fairly similar to Iowa's; what's unique here is the architecture, which is all stone and brick and historic-looking. We attended MacBeth that was put on by the Royal Shakespeare Company. Since I had never read the play before, it was very hard for me to follow. But, it was still enjoyable. Afterwards, many of us went to the pub across the street for drinks. Such a good time hanging out with everyone!

Today, we got up and departed Stratford-upon-Avon and landed in Oxford, the university town, for exploring on our own. We did a little touring of a university and were shown the church that was used for the dining hall of Hogwart's in the Harry Potter movies. We were unable to go in and see however, as they didn't open until about the time we were to leave. A small group of us did some shopping at the many bookstores and then had cream tea and coffee at a cafe. Again, lots of good time spent with the other students! I did buy a cool book I thought would be nice to have on hand: "50 Ideas of Psychology You Really Need to Know." We arrived back in London around 4:30 this afternoon, and 10 of us decided to attend the Westminster Chapel across the street for their evening service. I really enjoyed it as it was a small congregation with an informal, contemporary feel like I am used to and the people there were so friendly and welcoming. I will likely go back again.

I am still waiting to hear about my internship; hopefully I will hear something this week. Otherwise, all I have is 3 classes on Thursday! I will have to find things to do/see on my own again. I did get placed for a Host weekend. I get to stay with a retired couple living on the edge of Leeds, a town in northern England, on the weekend after Thanksgiving. Another girl from our program will also be there with me that weekend. I think it will be a great weekend on the English countryside. They said they will invite their family and friends over and cook us a Thanksgiving meal!

Well, I think that is all I have been up to over here on this side of the pond. Tuesday we get to take an evening ride on the London Eye! Have a great week!

Decisions, Decisions...Oh! And poffertjies! :)

So, yesterday I had my advising appointment to figure out my schedule for classes and my internship. Beth has so far been unable to get a hold of the woman at the Bayswater Families Centre to set up a time for an interview (mainly just a meet & greet) so I still am in the dark about when I will be starting or if this is even a sure thing. She says it should be fine however, since Central has had students interning there every semester; the people at the Centre at just very busy. For my other classes, I am taking the Religions of London class on Thursday afternoons (along with British Experience Seminar and Contemporary British Society). Wanting to try something new, thinking about taking either yoga or tai chi. However, I can't decide whether or not to pay to take the classes at the University of London Union on a Wednesday night, and then have my internship Tuesdays and Wednesdays with my Mondays off, or take the classes at City Lit during the day on Wednesday for free (I think since it is an actual class and not part of a fitness centre) and do my internship on Mondays and Tuesdays (you have to do internships on Tuesdays, and then either Monday or Wednesday for your second day). I like the idea of having Mondays off for an extra long weekend (we already have Fridays off), especially for travel; however, there probably isn't anyone else with Mondays off and wouldn't be able to travel through Mondays with me anyway...I would have to travel alone. What shall I do? I will probably just talk to Mark about it tomorrow or something.

Today, I went and explored on my own. I walked down to Westminster Abbey and Parliament Square. I enjoyed taking photos of these historic buildings. This is probably my favorite part about being here so far; how everything I see has such great history behind it. I then wondered a bit and found a small market on Warwick Way and found an abundance of fruits and veggies. But the real gem of this market was a little Dutch stand with Poffertjies!!! I was so excited. I bought a plate with 10 for three pounds. They were so delicious; it made my day. I then went and looked around at the Victoria Shopping Centre at the Victoria Station and found a cute store of womens' clothes and bought some jeans for only 9 pounds. I then walked back to Vandon Hosue to make some supper and get ready for Wicked!! I really enjoyed the show. I had never seen it and I quite liked the message to the story.

Tomorrow, I hope to make it to the changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace. That is, if it doesn't rain...again. I may also go and find the Bayswater Families Centre to see how long it takes to travel there as well as the best way to go (bus or the tube). Maybe I will explore some parks as well. Then we are headed to Stratford-upon-Avon Friday morning until Sunday. I will be sure to report when I return.

Check my Facebook for many photos (if you can!)

Cheers!

More orientation...

I thought I would update again since I have been so busy the last couple days. Friday, my roommate Sarah and I slept in which was wonderful--except of course when the construction outside our window started working quite loudly. We had a scavenger hunt where we got put into groups of three and had to go about the city collecting, taking pictures, and doing other random things at many different places in 2 and a half hours, with whoever finished first with the most things done got a prize. The other girl in our group didn't feel well and ended up going back to Vandon House early on so I was left with one of the boys that I do not know very well and he would not talk to me. That, along with the heat, crowds, and getting lost made for a very tiring and frustrating afternoon. We did not get many things on the list accomplished.

After some rest, Sarah, Dan, and I went out to a pub and then took some buses out to find a club but the cover charge ended up being pretty high so we decided to wait till another time. We did however find ICCO's pizza--5 pounds for a medium size and quite amazing! We came back quite late which made getting up on Saturday for a walking tour somewhat difficult. It was a good tour though--walked along the River Thames, seeing St. Paul's Cathedral (gorgeous!) and walked across the Millennium Bridge, saw the Globe Theatre, and one of the many markets in London. It was a long tour, so a long afternoon nap back at Vandon House was quite needed. That night we saw Dr. Faustus at the Globe which was quite amazing. We had to stand the entire time (3 hours), which was kind of a pain but it was still a good experience. Afterwards, some of us went to a nearby pub for a bit and talked. We got back in late again and so I slept in on Sunday, our free day. Sunday afternoon, a group of about 10 of us went down to Camden Market for some shopping which was quite great. I got 2 dresses, an umbrella (which was needed since it was raining for the first time here), and a beautiful painting of Big Ben and a double-decker bus.

Today was the start of advising and internship interviews which go on throughout the week; I didn't have either, but we did have a 3 hour cultural awareness seminar in the afternoon. This was basically all information we should have all already known: "What is culture?" "We all have a culture and think and see things differently." I thought the information and activities were all pretty surface level and we never discussed really how to interact with people of different cultures, which would be pretty beneficial information. Don't get me wrong--I do think such a seminar is necessary, just a more in depth one with practical information. Anyways, afterwards Sarah, Dan, and I went to Primark--a department store with a large selection of cheap cute clothes. I got some shoes and hangers, but it was so crowded! It was like Black Friday times ten! Probably won't go there often.

The weather is starting too cool down, however I am still warm in Vandon House and on the tube all the time. We have also started cooking our own food which has been interesting since I do not particularly like to cook much. Most of my meals so far have been instant, out-of-the box meals that were cheap at Sainsbury's. I will learn to cook eventually; there are some pretty good cooks here. Tomorrow I have my advising appointment in the afternoon so I should find out more about my classes and internship. I will update you on that when I know more!

So things have been going well so far--just trying to get used to living in a city and trying to hang out with more people besides Sarah and Dan (although they are great!). I have met a few really nice people from other colleges that I hope to hang out with more as well as some from Central I already knew but never hang out with much. Otherwise, there is one large group of students that kind of keep to themselves. I am curious as to how everything will turn out as the semester goes on.

Hope everything is well back in the States! Miss you all!

Cheers!

Photo of me in front of tower bridge

"Mind the Gap"

Hello from London! Yesterday I arrived safely at Heathrow Airport around 9:30am, but did not make it to Vandon until about noon because the driver for my shuttle was not there on time and I had to wait about an hour after I had picked up my luggage and gone through customs. Londoners are crazy drivers! On such narrow streets and so many other vehicles, bikers, and pedestrians, I would have driven at a speed at least half of what my driver was doing! Anyways, when I arrived at Vandon House I had quite an array of emotions, but mostly I was tired! I did not sleep much on the plane from Newark to London like I had planned and was all messed up. However, after taking a shower (which took some figuring out with the different nobs), I regained enough energy to unpack a little and then go out with the rest of the students for a short walking tour and to the Feathers Pub for a drink and some food (on Central!). Later, my roommate Sarah and her friend Dan and I went out to another pub for some pints of Strongbow :). At around 10pm, we crashed! We had orientation at 9 this morning, which was hard to wake up for, but of course was quite informational as well as entertaining (we had a police officer come to talk about security and he was quite funny). Then, after lunch in Vandon House, we went for a long walking tour with a tour guide and saw the Tower of London, Tower Bridge, London Bridge, St. Magnus the Martyr Chapel, Covent Market, People's Square, and went through St. James' Park. I have lots of pictures, and plans to go do further tours of some of those places. We then had a house meeting with Victoria. So far, the things that I have founding interesting or just different are: their driving and looking to the left to cross the street; the pub scene; how reserved they are (it's so hard for me to not smile and say hello to others and have them do the same!); how little food you get at restaurants for a lot of money; how it's normal for couples to display a LOT of affection in public; the tube (how many times can the say, "Mind the gap"???). I'm sure there will be more when I start classes, my internship, and do more exploring. There's so much to see and learn about London that I have forgotten all the other places I want to travel to whilst I'm here. I hope I have enough time (and money!) to do it all!! Tomorrow we get to sleep in (yay!) and then we have the scavenger hunt in the afternoon which should be fun. Hopefully I will be totally on London time soon and will be able to wake up better in the morning...

Hope this post wasn't too long for ya'll--I was told by someone to leave nothing out! ;)

Goodnight!