Tools of the Trade

The transportation system in London is terrific. Do not put off mastering it, because it opens up soooooo many possibilities. At orientation, we received our Oyster Cards and learned about the London Pass. These are pre-paid passes for the underground tube and bus system and a variety of historic places, critical to any visitor to the area. EUSA and Villanova provided us with these, but you will want to explore the available options for anyone planning to visit while you are in London. They are real money savers!

We're in week three here, and while I have pretty much mastered reading the large maps available in every tube station, I still need a little help with changing lines and getting off at just the right stop. An internet site called London Town has turned out to be very useful. If it lists the site or business you need, it almost always includes the "nearest" tube stop and other tips.

We've learned the hard way that a lot of construction takes place in the city on the weekends. Already our favorite tube stops have been closed and whole tube lines have been shut down. Since there is lots of duplication in the system, you can almost always get where you need to go with just a little extra thought. We will not be deterred!

Beyond London, the national train system is excellent, so is Gatwick airport. Though I have yet to use it, several classmates have. It's a little farther away than Heathrow, but a train called the Gatwick Express makes getting to our neighborhood pretty easy.

A word to the wise - The tube is not very handicapped accessible. There are LOTS of steps, and only some tube stops have ramps and elevators. Some have escalators, but many are steep and really long. More words of wisdom - travel light and wear comfortable shoes.

A Few Notes on Classes

The Academic Routine

We've started to settle into a routine as far as classes are concerned. Our classroom, which is in the EUSA administration building is a little small, but reasonably comfortable. It's a short walk, so even bad weather is pretty easy to handle. Homework has been lighter than I expected - some reading and review of notes, but nothing burdensome.

By far, I'm liking British Life and Culture the best. Dr. Weight is very knowledgeable and discussion comes easy in class. We are to keep a weekly journal in preparation for a lengthy paper. Actually, my interest in British literature and writing this blog will both be very helpful with the task. Others are already planning to write their whole journal at the end - an interesting approach?

Business Dynamics started out nicely, but because Dr. Tudway is a financial specialist, the course has taken a decided turn in this direction. He's not real keen on the textbook we brought over from the States, so he is providing class notes and readings that are essential for discussion each week.

Macro Economics so far, is all lecture. I'm liking it more than Micro, this past fall. The courses are similar to the extent that graphing is essential to understanding economic concepts. The text that we are expected to read is not available from the EUSA library, so we are all a little concerned about test prep. Nigel Knight, the professor, is sooooooooooooo British.

Britons at Work has met less frequently, since it will continue through the semester, and will help put the internship in context as we actually experience the British work setting.

Other than positive reinforcement during class discussion, there won't be much feedback on how we're doing until finals. Two professors are asking to see a proposal or an outline for our papers, and there will be two presentations. Soooo, the in-class experience is about the same as VU. The big change is fewer opportunities to earn grades, to make up for a poor first impression or a misunderstanding on the assignment.

The Third Week

Day 20 (Saturday) Electonic Meltdown Avoided

Actually, since before departure for London, I had been experiecing some strange problems with popups and freezes on my laptop. The beginning of the week brought about the complete failure of my Villanova Dell, also known as Lappy - yes, I name my laptops. While hanging with the guys in flat 13, the screen went blank and things started blinking. Not a good sign at all.

Thank goodness for UNIT and Villanova’s TechZone. They answered my e-mail plea for help almost instantly (considering the time delay) and deduced that the problem was my battery and A/C adapter. I sent them my address and help was on the way! They told me that everything I would need to fix my “baby” should arrive in London in 2-3 days. Problem #1 was solved.

Little did I know that problem #2 was just beyond the horizon. Before my battery and adapter could arrive, my beloved ipod, Metatron - yes, I also name my ipods - broke down. After a hard reset of the device also failed, I looked up the nearest Apple Store, not so conveniently located we determined, on Regent Street. I made an appointment with the Apple Genius Bar, hoping that they could resurrect the now lifeless, pink treasure chest of musicality.


In pursit of the actual location, we accidentally found another Muji. For those of you new to this blog, Muji is a store similar to Ikea that is frequented one of my favorite people, Alan Rickman. Unlike the one I found on my second day here in London, this store was open and I took the opportunity to take a look inside. I knew that I would buy something there, even if it was just a way to get the bag, but I had no idea I would find so many cool things in the store. After a good twenty minutes of browsing, I left with a Vanilla Spice candle and the promise of returning to check out the store more later.

Later that night, Andrew and Tuche accompanied me on our return trip to the Apple Store for moral support should my ipod be beyond saving. Unfortunately, that was the news we received. Thankfully, the Apple rep ignored the fact that my warranty had just lapsed. He replaced Metatron with a new pink model and even threw in a 90 day warranty. Needless to say I was thrilled. Tuche has loaned me his music library, and when I get back to the States, I'll be able to recover most all of my favorite tunes. Welcome my new ipod, Jamie, into the world! Thank you tech support! Thank you Regent Street Apple! Thank you Andrew and Tuche.

Day 19 (Friday) The Magnificence of St. Paul's

After a wonderful morning sleeping in, and no classes, a group of us headed out to tour Saint Paul’s Cathedral, one of the sights that I had been looking forward to the most. We had already been given time to look at the magnificent exterior during our walking tour of London two weeks ago, so I couldn’t wait to explore the interior of the space.

The moment we walked into the church, I was amazed by its beauty, especially the mosaics that decorated the ceilings. While my fellow group mates made a mad dash for the stairs that led to the upper levels of the dome, I took my time at ground level, savoring the unique styles of the paintings and sculptures around the main altar. After walking around the church for about half an hour, putting my art history knowledge to good use and feeling as though my neck were about to fall off from the constant gaze skyward, I embarked on the steep climb to the whispering gallery of the dome.

The trek up the spiral staircase was somewhere around 375 steps and incredibly disorienting, but the view from the top was absolutely worthwhile. Not only could I get a closer look at the large statues that seemed rather miniscule from the ground, but I was able to view the church from a whole new perspective. I’d never had an opportunity like that, and I found it incredibly peaceful. I’ve always learned that churches of this time period were built with such impressive domes as to force a person’s eyes towards heaven and be reminded of God’s glory, but actually being there was something entirely new.

Although there were people up there around me, the quietness and solitude of just being that high up in the building really heightened my senses and enriched the experience. I could have stayed in that church forever, exploring every nook and cranny it had to offer, but we had plans to go dancing that night, and I had to get ready.

After having a blast getting ready with Krista while belting one of our favorite Katy Perry songs, Waking Up in Vegas, the group headed out to Imperial College to take advantage of their dance hall. It was just like the high school dances I had loved back at Notre Dame, but this time with strobe lights and bouts of European techno. Of course pop classics such as Britney Spears and The Spice Girls were played, which only boosted our already skyrocketing energy levels. After dancing non-stop for what must have been at least three hours, we made our way back to the flats, completely exhausted but having possibly the most fun we’ve had as a group since arriving in London. What a great way to start the weekend! To say more wouldn't be right.

Day 18: (Thursday) Sharing a Feast

Well, tonight night was our big collaborative dinner for the guys in flat 13. Between Amanda’s chicken parmesan, my mac and cheese, a fruit course from Jen, Dennis’ garlic bread, and Abby’s Oreo truffles, we had a huge feast for twelve, which we all devoured in what seemed to be a matter of mere seconds. After playing several hours worth of catch phrase we got to sleep late, feeling quite overfed, but tomorrow would take of this soon enough.


Unbeknownst to us we had planned a "fun filled" but strenuous day of exercise, so to speak, to take of the extra calories we had consumed.

Day 16: (Tuesday) Obama In Wax and at the Whitehouse

Today is Inauguration Day back in the old U-S of A, and even England is making a huge deal out of it. To celebrate the day and its newest wax figure, President Obama, Madame Tussaud’s was offering free admission to all Americans. Needless to say, it seemed as though every American in London was there! Fortunately I didn’t have to wait too long in line with Krista and Tuche, and before we knew it we were face to face with stars like Orlando Bloom and Johnny Depp, two of my personal favorites. We were struck by how realistic the wax figures were, and were occasionally even creeped out by them.

As we got more comfortable with the figures we took more and more pictures, making our way through rooms of movie stars (Sean Connery to Alfred Hitchcock), sports legends (Tiger Woods to Lance Armstrong), the royal family, historical figures (Charles Dickens to Pope John Paul II), musicians (Christina Aguilera to Jimi Hendrix), and contemporary world leaders (Bush to Kennedy).

After reaching the “oval office” with the new Obama figure, we opted to snap some pictures ourselves instead of waiting in the incredibly long line to actually get in a picture with him. The line to take pictures "with" the Royal Family was surprisingly short, and many in our group took advantage.

We continued through the exhibit and became slightly anxious when we found ourselves going down a very dungeon-esque staircase with the sounds of heart beats coming from behind the walls. We ended up in a very dark chamber with wax models representing various methods of torture and execution. Very spooky. When we were all thoroughly freaked out, we were told that we had to make a choice between the scary or normal way to enter the next part of the tour.

Being teenagers with under developed frontal lobes, we chose the scarier option of the two. As we waiting to be shown through, and actor who was clearly from the realm of the undead set some ground rules for our “journey”. First, it was going to be completely dark except for some strobe lights. Creepy setting? Check. Second, the people in the exhibit were real actors and we were not to touch them. In return we were told they would not touch us, no matter how close to us they got. Absolutely petrifying and vague promise of a terrifying experience? Check.

With those parting words and a final menacing cackle, we were pushed into darkness, where Krista immediately took hold of my hand. I certainly am fortunate to have built up a better tolerance for horror since my childhood when I was scared of almost anything even related to Halloween! As we walked through the darkened corridors, undead actors came out from nowhere and got right next to our faces growling at and talking to us. Krista made the unfortunate mistake of saying “hi” to the first actor that appeared, who proceeded to follow her for the next minute. Good thing I was standing behind her! Soon enough an actor came up to me, clearly noticing that I wasn’t freaking out.

After asking me the now famous question “why so serious?”, he growled and went on to terrorize his next victim. As we neared the exit, I noticed what appeared to be a wax figure standing nearby the door, although I had the sneaking suspicion the “figure” was about to come to life at any moment. Sure enough, he lunged forward snarling at us as we exited into the next part of the “hall of horrors”, which featured a life size guillotine.

We went through the final room, demonstrating how the wax figures were created before heading out of the museum and back to our flat to watch the Obama inauguration. We were thrilled to share in this momentous occasion in American history even from our new London home. All in all, it was a great inauguration day. Congratulations President Obama.

The Second Week

Day 13 (Saturday): Let’s celebrate at a Castle!

Another week has passed in London, and we’ve finally gotten into the routine of our classes. I’m enjoying them very much, and really like the two new teachers we met this week. It’s still hard to remember that we only have classes until the end of February. It feels like we have so much longer to complete our assignments. I’m sure I’ll be constantly reminding myself to work ahead so I don’t get bogged down with all my papers at the end of the term!

To celebrate our hard week of work, a group of us decided to do some sight-seeing at Windsor Castle, the castle the Queen truly calls home. We boarded a green line bus to make the hour long trip to the castle, and were astounded at what we saw when we got off. It was enormous, and everything you would expect of a traditional castle. Being an AP Art History student, I was immediately impressed by the architecture and stone work, especially of the chapel on the grounds dedicated to Saint George.

As with all my trips to Europe, I continue to be amazed by the appreciation for history that countries like England have. It's something that the United States just can't match. In England, kids get to go on field trips to castles and ancient cathedrals, while Americans go on repeated trips to the Franklin Institute or the Constitution Center. Of course, America does have a rich history and national identity. Even so, the sense of aesthetic preservation of history here is overwhelming.

Being at Windsor Castle was an amazing experience. We couldn’t have asked for better weather considering that it had been pouring down rain the night before, and we were able to take some really nice group shots!

When we returned to Manson Place, Krista and I got down to work cleaning the flat, doing our laundry, and finishing up some of our school work. A very productive and enjoyable day indeed!

Day 12 (Friday): Shopping of the Most Epic Proportions

Seeing as today is the only Friday we will ever have classes while we’re here, the group decided on having some “local” fun. Just two tube stops away from our flat is the most incredible mall in the world: Harrods. Considering its prices however, it seems much more like a museum than a mall!

The girls had a fabulous time looking at all the designer clothes, gowns, shoes, and even wedding dresses, while the guys found such steals as a pool table for only a 10,000 pounds. If that was the sale price, I’d hate to see what it had originally cost!

After getting in a good workout walking all over the mall, Krista and I decided it was time to get something to eat. The Harrods “food court” was practically a whole town of restaurants indoors, offering selections from sushi and fresh grilled fish, to various deli’s and gourmet pizzas.

Immediately, we were attracted to the gelato bar in the center of the room. The number of selections was dizzying, but we finally decided on the Baileys creation, a huge dessert made from vanilla and hazelnut gelato, chocolate sauce, whipped cream, and a generous drizzle of Baileys liquor. To say that it was delicious would be a severe understatement. If Harrods gelato is the only thing there that I can afford, so be it. When Krista and I finally felt as if we could walk again, we went to the upstairs ‘pet kingdom’ to look at the adorable puppies before heading back home for the night.

Day 11 (Thursday): Comfort Food

After finally getting our nonworking refrigerator replaced, Krista and I were eager to cook dinner for the group. But what to make? We settled on something “universal”, a favorite that could please all tastes: my mom’s mac and cheese. However, before we risked exposing our entire friendship circle to what could be a disastrous experiment, we decided to take the recipe for a “test-run” with a couple of our guy friends from the flat.

We made a quick trip to Waitrose, our favorite supermarket, to pick up more cheese than I would otherwise know what to do with, bake at home garlic bread, and a chocolate mousse cake for dessert. For a test-run, we certainly did go all out! Two pots of boiling pasta, eight cups of cheese, and a third of a quart of milk later, our mac and cheese was in the oven. It smelled delicious as it baked and attracted the attention of our friends across the hall. Naturally we invited them to dinner too. An hour later, our dish was bubbling and browned to perfection.

The guys came back from doing their laundry and we were ready to serve! It tasted just as good as it looked! Fortunately, everyone was impressed with our skill, and Krista and I were thrilled at our success. We’ve already scheduled our dinner night for next week, and are looking forward to another taste of home!

Day 8 (Monday): A Morning Trip to Paddington

This morning before class, Krista and I decided to make our first of what I’m sure will be many trips to Paddington, home of (as you all know) my favorite actor Alan Rickman. We weren’t anticipating much, we still have to “re-find” his favorite café, but we figured it would still be fun to scope out the area and grab some lunch before our afternoon class. As Krista and I walked down the street, we realized that the number of restaurants was slowly thinning out the farther we got from the tube station.

Just as we were about to turn around, Krista mentioned the “gorgeous” houses that were on the street we were approaching. As I began to agree with her, a street sign caught my eye: Westbourne Terrace. We were standing at the corner of Alan Rickman’s street. After what can only be described as a mini-heart attack or seizure, we took some pictures before heading back to the station for lunch. Basking in the glow of my Rickmania, we travelled back to Kensington for class and a night of Harry Potter. What a perfect day!

Day 7 (Sunday): A Surprise to Begin the Week

This morning we found our local church here in Kensington and attended Mass. A surprisingly large group of us went. Imagine our surprise when we realized that the 11 AM Mass at St. Philip Neri Church is entirely sung and in Latin! I couldn’t have been happier. There’s something fascinating about going to Mass as it traditionally was in the past.

I couldn’t understand all of it, but I didn’t need to. That’s one of the great things about the Catholic Mass; no matter what language it’s being said in, you always know what’s going on. The choir was incredible. Their tones and harmonies were beautifully haunting. Combined with the awe inspiring architecture and design of the church itself, the Mass was one of the most peaceful I had ever attended, and was a perfect break after our hectic week of touring and settling down in London!

After Mass, we headed back to our flats for a relaxing afternoon of reading and movie watching! Our first full week in London .... all gone!

Choices to Be Made

Not that I have a lot of experience or anything, but ..... it seems to me that pubs in Europe are different places than bars in the United States. Still in other ways, these places are very much the same, and I am sure we'll see plenty of bars here too.

Be that as it may, the drinking age in England is indeed 18, so even our host agency plans social events at the local pub for us "global citizens," and if you think there are lots to choose from on the Main Line ..... well just imagine.

The beer is dark, served at almost room temperature, and it's not cheap. Some of us have been out every night since we arrived. Others, less frequently. How you spend your evenings and on what you plan to spend your money are things to think about.... And that's just for starters.

There are lots of choices that anyone planning to study abroad has to make. While it helps that Villanova GCPers have already been in class with each other for a semester, we only have impressions of each other. Assumptions are easily made, and "going along, just to get along" is an easy decision - but maybe not the right decision for everyone.