It's about time I wrote one like this...

           I find it hard to believe that I am already almost half way through my time here in London.  My stay has gone by so quickly, so it’s hard to believe that come May I will be back home in a place where hot tea is just a Lipton in luke warm water.  I only bring the tea thing up now because currently I am addressing you from a lovely little teahouse in Camden, called Yumchaa (Fun name, right?).  This cozy little establishment is truly my find of the week, maybe even the month.  It truly saddens me that come May, stumbling across little gems like this on a weekly basis will no longer be a reoccurring part of my life.

            As much as this is the reality of the situation, it is something I try not to dwell on.  The close approach of the midterm break; however, has made me unable to think about anything else.  There are so many things to do. I have not even begun to plan everything I still want to accomplish in the coming months: Brighton, Cambridge, Lakenheath, the Harry Potter Tour, a visit to the Lake District, etc.  The list never ends.  Thankfully, I will get to see Paris, Nice, and Barcelona over break.  Also, tonight I am finally scheduling my trip to see some old family friends up in Saxmundham, Ray and Edith.  To be quite honest, I think I am more excited to visit them then I am to party it up in Barcelona.  But, even with these trips planned there is still so much to do. 

            But then I come to a sad realization: You can’t do everything.  For some odd reason, I have it in my mind that this is the only time I will ever have the opportunity to travel Europe.  This is simply not the case.  Once I graduate, the only thing keeping me away is the simple issue of getting a VISA.  Okay, that’s not really a small obstacle, but one I can definitely work my way around.  The point is that I will be back.  The longer I live here, the more in love with the city I become.  I never saw myself living in a big city, but I see myself living here.  I may not get to everything I want during this short time. Hell, I probably won’t get to cross off 25% of my list.  But, honestly, that’s still a LOT of things I’ve accomplished while here.  I mean how many other study abroad students can say they got to sing with a Welsh choir and compete on national television in Wales?! I guarantee, not many, if any at all.  Now, that could not have possibly been on any list of mine, but it will probably be the best memory from my stay here. 

            I guess what I am trying to accomplish with this post is just a reflection about how my experience has gone so far.  I’m almost half way through, so it’s probably good to see where I stand at this point.  I’m a little indifferent to be quite honest, maybe even a little melancholy.  You can probably tell that from my writings above.  I think that is because I have come to the point where I am no longer part of a study abroad program, but I am just another London resident, going to work and attending classes.  The novelty has worn off a bit so now I am simply just living life as usual.  I guess this all sort of leads me into my next rule:

NO. 6: ENJOY THE LITTLE THINGS

            Okay, I know everyone is going to think I stole this from Zombieland, but come on! I’m not allowed to enjoy the little things unless I’m involved in a zombie apocalypse? Ludicrous! But anyhow, back to the rule. There is no possible way that when traveling or studying abroad you will ever accomplish everything on your list.  If you have, you must have not had a long enough list.  Instead of dwelling on trying to accomplish everything and stressing yourself out, just sit. Just sit down, and look around you.  Embrace where you are and who surrounds you.  I am currently at an endearing teahouse surrounded by my fellow Londoners.  In fact, I live in London.  I can call myself a Londoner… for now.  That in itself is pretty awesome.  I took a walk around Camden to soak up the atmosphere and even for a Tuesday night, everything is bustling.  I am here for such a short period of time, and if I don’t stop and realize just the caliber of how incredible this place is, the entire experience will go to waste.  Yes, see the sites, go to museums, and find castles, but don’t dwell on doing that all the time.  You will go mad.  Also, don’t get depressed when you look at all the things you didn’t do.  Dwell on the things you did accomplish.  You’ll be better off in the end. 

           

When I first sat down to write this entry, I planned on informing my readers about my internship and how it was going.  I also wanted to touch on our brief tour at Condé Nast today, but I see my own writing has taken me elsewhere.  Fear not, eventually I will talk about my internship, but I will have to save that for another time.  After my novel about Wales, I should probably keep this one brief.  I hope all is well with my readers and I do hope that wherever you are, whether it be on holiday, school, or home with the family, you still do take this rule to heart.  Enjoy those little moments, and don’t try to make everyday legendary.  There’s too much stress and anxiety in the world as it is. 

Cheers,

Janelle

So this one time, when I was on Welsh TV...

            That’s right everyone, this weekend I was on Welsh National television along with the other members of the Welsh Women’s Choir. 

            Again, I should explain the situation.  Nicole and I decided to join a choir while in London.  She ended up finding a Welsh choir and dragged me along for rehearsals a few weeks ago.  Luckily, we didn’t have to be Welsh and only about half the choir is actually Welsh.  Immediately, we were thrown into “go mode” because they were preparing for this competition in Wales.  We had to learn and memorize four songs for the contest, one of which was in Welsh.  Learning this song was particularly hard, despite the melody being so easy.  The language does not look like any language I have ever sung before.  Still, it is an absolutely exquisite sounding language.  Enchanting really.  I would know because it was almost the only language that we heard on Saturday.  The entire show itself was in Welsh

            Anyways, we went to this competition in Wales along with the boys’ Welsh choir from London, Eschoir, and this thing was actually really legitimate.  We felt like we were on the X-Factor for choirs.  Our London choir was the only choir that was not made up of all Welsh people.  Between the photo shoot session, filming the promo with the emcees, and getting filmed almost the entire time, we felt like little Welsh superstars.  We also felt incredibly lame because anytime anything was said we had to rush to our Welsh speaking friends and figure out what was going on.  

           

            The show will be aired sometime in March and I will be hunting online to find it.  Apparently the channel it’s aired on is a BBC affiliate in Wales, so there is good chance I will be able to find it.

            That was the competition aspect of the trip, but the trip as a whole was so much more than that.  As I mentioned earlier, we traveled with a boys’ Welsh choir that is under our same director, called Eschoir.  From the beginning, Nicole and I have been a little apprehensive about this trip.  As the two of three Americans in the choir, we were worried about not being accepted among the group, especially since we are only here for a short period of time.  As soon as we boarded the bus, we realized we no longer needed to have that fear.  After the guys sitting behind us requested I move my coat, I apologized.  Immediately, one of them popped up and said, “Oh! You are not from England!” We explained our situation and from then on out we were accepted into the group.  A good majority of both choirs are in the same age range as us, although we are still the youngest, so getting along with people is easy.  Sure we had to put up with a few American jokes here and there, but it was all in good fun. 

           

            After the seven-hour trip, we finally arrived at the Bed & Breakfast in Aberystwyth.  Being the responsible adults we are, a good chunk of us stayed up talking until 2 in the morning the day before the competition.  This is the first time I have really had the opportunity to get to know any locals outside of work, so I thought the late night was totally worth it.  Now, after the competition on Saturday night, both choirs went NUTS.  We all stayed up really late just drinking and being merry.  I attempted to beat a few of the guys in ping pong but after a few close calls and only one victory, I realized that I am not as good at the game as I lead on to be.  This is a sad realization for me coming from a long line of Pfeifer ping-pong legends, but again, it was nice to be seen as a worthy opponent. 

            I really cannot describe how wonderful the social aspect of this trip was.  I have a feeling that I will stay in touch with these people for a very long time, and I am excited to start choir rehearsals again so I can be around all the wonderful women. 

            The one aspect of this trip I am delaying in describing is the sheer beauty of Wales.  It is something that I feel I can only describe through photos.  I should; however, produce a little context to the photos you are about to see.  Everyone knows that it rains in the UK, Wales included.  Due to the constant rain, when the sun does shine, the grass is so deliciously green.  Between to the blue sky, the bright green grass, and the backlit trees, I felt like I was in a Tim Burton film.  The landscape simply resembled something from a dark fairy tale.

            

         
     
            After the girls competed, we had some time to kill before watching the guys perform, so Nicole, a few other girls and I decided to take a little walk toward the sea and find some food.  We ended up stumbling upon a run down castle on the edge of the sea right as the sun was setting.  The view literally took my breath away.  Now can you think of a more perfect experience? Oh, wait, yes, I can.  After taking sunset photos, we wandered down to the pier and found fish and chips take away.  We grabbed our boxes and found benches facing the ocean to eat our meals.  At this point it was pretty dark so all we could do is look out into the black abyss and hear the waves.  Spooky? Yes. Incredibly Awesome? YES.

          
              As much as I love the city of London, getting out into the country was such a wonderful experience.  Waking up and getting to feed the goats in the back of the B&B, was an absolute delight.  Some may detest the smell of farms, but I rather enjoy it.  It’s just refreshing and reminds me of my long forgotten equestrian days.  Not only is the smell a relief but, the noise level changes so much as well.  You never realize how loud the city is until you escape it.  Electricity itself is a very loud ordeal, so once you get away from it, you really start to appreciate the quiet.  There is something so wonderful about the country that makes me just want to buy a farm, convert it into a B&B and live the rest of my life as an innkeeper/farmer.  That does sound like a lot of work but totally worth it in the end.  I’m not an overly romantic individual and sometimes the idea of farm life is too utopian for my liking, but I would make an exception for this because the countryside is simply enchanting. 

            This weekend has been so much more than a choir trip to me.  It’s the kind of trip I know I will carry with me for my entire life.  The beauty I embraced and people I encountered have changed me in one or another, even if I don’t realize it yet.  That may seem overly sentimental for someone like me, but that doesn’t make it any less true.  I will never forget my trip to Aberystwyth, Wales for the Cor Cyrmu Choir Competition.

Cheers,

Janelle

Staying Positive

As all of you may know, it rains in London…a lot.  It’s no mystery that the sun is barely ever out too.  This is the way the UK is.  Honestly, I love it.  Cloudy weather, in my opinion, is the best.  The weather is bleak, but the tea is warm.  And that’s the way I like it.  Nothing else brings warmth and cheer to the constant gloomy days. 

            The weather for this past weekend was again, predicted to be bleak.  Snow and rain mix was predicted all day for both Saturday and Sunday.  Still, my flatmate and I decided to brave this weather and try to celebrate the Chinese New Year in London.  According to many sources, London is supposed to be the largest Chinese New Year celebration outside of the Asian continent.  Whether this is actually true is a mystery, but while I’m here I’d like to believe it is. 

            As forecasted, the weather was absolutely miserable the entire day, Sunday.  It rained, but harder than the average London drizzle.  By the time we caught the parade and made our way to Trafulgar Square for the “Dotting of the Eye” Ceremony, we were both pretty soaked.  We stopped at a Café Nero on the square in order to plan out how the rest of the day would go.  Due to the weather, the café was crammed with people. The entire stay there was pretty overwhelming due to the sheer amount of noise.  Finally, we pressed on to carry out our plan of he day. 

            We walked back to China Town for one reason, and one reason only: Food.  Street food to be exact.   Between the steamed buns and the lo mein (and a small pineapple ‘lucky’ cake) we were full, and ready to be home.

            I’m really dwelling on the weather in this blog post because I need it in order to lead into my next rule.  The weather was so terrible and the streets were so crowded and overwhelming that we could have easily had one of the worst days in London thus far.  But because we kept looking at how wonderful of celebration we were in the midst of, the day ended up being a memorable one.

NO. 5 ALWAYS HAVE A POSITIVE DISPOSITION

            The weather may be awful and plans may not turn out the way you want, but you have to always look past those unfortunate circumstances.  Here we are in a new city in a foreign country.  If we dwell on all the things that go wrong, our travels will go to waste.  I will now forever remember ringing in the Year of the Snake.  I was with Nicole, my flatmate and friend from Mizzou.  It was raining.  We were cold and wet, but we were surrounded by so many people in our same situation that we could not see the negative of such an experience.

            I hate including more than one major story per blog entry, but since I was a little late on the Chinese New Year post, and we visited the BBC Television Studio today, I’ll have to make an exception.  It’s a pretty short one anyways.

I really just wanted to talk about Blue Peter.  Yes, the BBC is home to many television shows that I have watched over the years including but not limited to: Sherlock, Doctor Who, and Keeping Up Appearances.  Now, when I was living in England as a child, I used to watch a children’s program called Blue Peter.  The best way to describe this show would be like The Today Show but for children.  This is how I remember is at least.  It is no longer filmed at the London BBC location, BUT we were wandering backstage where they build the sets for the different shows during our tour and there was an entire Blue Peter set.  I recognized it before even seeing that iconic blue ship plastered everywhere. I can still remember watching this show with my mother in the mornings.  The memory is vague, but it’s still there.  I guess this is another situation like the “smell”.  It was a site that transported me back to a time that is very fond to me. A time when my mother would have tea and biscuits ready for me every day when I came home from school.  Maybe I am just overly nostalgic. But how can I not be when I am in the place where many of my fondest childhood memories were made? 

            Well, if I get this emotional over smells and Blue Peter sets, I expect disaster when I finally make it back to my old school in Lakenheath. 

Cheers,

Janelle  

That smell...

              Everyone should know what I am talking about when I mention that smell.  It’s the scent of memories.  We all have a smell from our childhood or from a wonderful part of our past, that when it comes back we are transported back to that time.  WELL, today, I was reunited with that smell and it was wonderful.

The source of the smell: Oxford Castle

            For those of you who do not know, I lived in England from ages to 3 to 7.  My dad was stationed at Lakenheath and Mildenhall Air Forces bases for four years, and during this time, my family and I did a LOT of site seeing.  We ended up going to many castles around England, Wales, Scotland, and France, and they all have the same distinct smell.  It’s a musky kind of smell that is really hard to explain.  It smells like a mixture of antiques, water, and age.  From that description, it sounds like one of worst stenches in the world, but after traipsing around Europe with my family for four years, the smell of old castle has become a very fond smell of mine.

            Fast forward to today.  My friends and I took our first self-initiated day trip to Oxford.  While there, we decided to take a tour of Oxford Castle, which up until 1996 was actually a prison.  It was also an actual castle for living in, but turned into a full prison around the 14^th century…I think.  That may be the wrong century but you catch my drift.  It was a prison for a long time.  Anyways, as we were wandering Oxford Castle, I could smell that smell.  Instantly, I was transported back in time to my childhood.  Back to a time with school field trips to old wooden castles and villages.  Back to a time when we had rules that at 4 o’clock we had to get ice cream when site seeing.  Back to a time when my brother would make fun of my lisp, while I sang along to Spice Girls during long car rides.  This smell is my childhood and as terrible as it may seem, it holds a near and dear place in my heart. 

            This may seem a little too emotional for a travel blog that is supposed to be about my adventures, but this kind of instance is really worth mentioning.  I’ve come by imitations of this scent from traveling through old buildings in the U.S. but it hasn’t been quite the same.  The smell today was SPOT ON. 

View from the top of Oxford Castle

            And that was 400 words about a smell.  I hope you all enjoyed.

            As for the rest of Oxford, it was nice to get out of the city and see a college town.  The whole atmosphere of the town was very collegiate and it was nice to walk down the street and have 95% of the people you passed be the same age as you.  Although Oxford is more like a Harvard than a Mizzou, it did remind me of being back at school and being surrounded by so many people my same age, with more or less the same purpose for being in that town. 

            The entire trip reminded me just how exhausting traveling is, but it was totally worth it.  For lunch, we ate at literally the smallest pub I’ve ever seen.  I had to crouch down just to get through the door and we had to climb over people just to get to a table.  The food was amazing, and we all tried winter beverages.  My friends had mulled cider, and I had a Winter Pimms.  There is something that is just magical about Pimms with spices, heated.  Seriously…magic.

            That was pretty much our time in Oxford.  Unfortunately we weren’t able to get into Christ Church where a few Harry Potter scenes where filmed, but the trip was still amazing.

           

            I do hope you stay tuned for another post tomorrow or Monday because tomorrow we will be helping the rest of London ring in the Chinese New Year.  We plan on joining the celebrations in Trafulgar Square tomorrow!

Cheers,

Janelle 

Weekend at the theatre

            I had the most wonderful weekend at the theatre.  My parents had told me about how on Leicester Square, you can go and find theatre tickets for half price.  On Saturday night, I set out to get cheaper tickets to see The Lion King.  First off, Leicester Square on a Saturday night is INSANE.  The atmosphere is so busy and amazing.  Everyone is headed off to the cinemas or the theaters, and people are just EVERYWHERE.  It was really an amazing feeling coming up from the underground station and being met with this glorious, bustling atmosphere.   

            Now, after going to almost every single booth, I gave up because most tickets were in the £80 range or they were sold out completely.  There were a few other shows I was looking for too but they all had the same scenario.  I decided to take a walk around Leicester Square and then onto Piccadilly Circus.  Once at Piccadilly Circus, I found the theater where The 39 Steps was playing, The Criterion. I had heard this show was hilarious, so I decided to see if they had any cheap tickets left.  Sure enough, they did. 

My view for The 39 Steps

            Let me tell you, The 39 Steps was absolutely HYSTERICAL.  I was crying from laughing so hard at parts.  The same four people play all 130 parts in the show.  It was a riot.  The cast was incredible, especially the guy who played Richard Haney.  I may have just been biased because he had the same voice as the guy who played Robin Hood in Men in Tights, and I am absolutely in love with that actor. 

            Anyways, the tube ride home, I kept giggling to myself thinking about certain moments in the show.  If you have the chance to see this show, please take the opportunity.  You won’t regret it. 

           After seeing The 39 Steps, I was on such a theatre high.  So today, I tried again for The Lion King. I was lucky in getting a £35 ticket to see the matinee performance. I then spent four hours wandering around London before the show.  I found a little French bakery that was so precious.  I had a quiche and a pot of tea while I sat, read The Hobbit, and wrote in my journal.  Anyways, finally the time came to head to the theater, The Lyceum. 

I should probably give a little description to why I wanted to see The Lion King of all shows, in London.  My family and I moved from the U.K. in August of 1999.  On our last trip to London before leaving, we saw all the costumes and puppets for The Lion King in the display windows across the city, but the show wasn’t actually coming until after we left.  Although I saw The Lion King back in 2003 at the Fox Theater in St. Louis, I also wanted to see it in London, since we never got the chance back in 1999.  That is what brought me to The Lyceum today.

It was really embarrassing because as soon as the show started, I was bawling.  Seriously, tears were streaming down my face almost the entire time.  It was such a beautiful show with incredible harmonies and amazing actors.  I am getting chills just thinking about it.  My favourite part was definitely “He Lives in You” during the second act.  It was such a powerful musical moment that there was no way I could not hold back my tears. 

            Although both shows were thoroughly entertaining, and obviously The Lion King was incredibly emotional, I was able to separate myself from my general emotions and recognize the flaws of each show.  It is this, which makes think I would make a decent theatre and film critic.  Sophomore year, I took a theatre class for journalism majors, where we learned how to write theatre reviews.  I think becoming a critic would be one of the coolest jobs.  I know it was only in high school, but I have been on both sides when it comes to theatre.  I have been on stage and I have been going to live shows since I was 4 years old.  I think with some more studying, I would make a pretty damn good critic. 

            It’s something to think about. 

My view for The Lion King

            I’m excited because after my weekend experience with the theatre, my roommates seem really eager to see a show.  James McAvoy is going to be in Macbeth starting in March, so we kind of want to go see that, and really just go see him.  My list of shows to see just keeps getting longer.  Luckily, they aren’t in theaters yet so I don’t have to spend all my money right way. 

Cheers,

Janelle

Video Killed the Radio Star

You know how radio stations are really annoying in the U.S?  They tend to play the same top 40 crap on repeat, or they play all the same oldies over and over again, or just terrible soft rock.  No matter what radio station you find, they tend to repeat songs and not venture into other genres than what they advertise.  Well for the past three weeks, my work has been listening to the same radio station, Absolute Radio.  I think I have only heard about three songs repeated.  Also, it is a really awesome miracle station of the greatest music from both past and present.  In one hour I heard Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here”, Arcade Fire’s “The Suburbs”, The Beatle’s “Revolution”, and Mumford and Sons’ “Ghosts That We Knew”.  They also play covers of songs that you would NEVER hear on the radio in the U.S.  The played covers of both “Layla” and “Mrs. Robinson”.  I’m not always a fan of covers but these were particularly good.  They play the originals as well, so that’s a bonus. 

            I’m really only mentioning this because I get so frustrated with the radio back home spitting out garbage.  I only ever listen to the radio at home when I run out of CDs.  Here, I could listen to the radio all day long and be perfectly content with life. 

            This post has actually been a long time coming because I’ve been taking notes around the work place for the past three weeks.  The radio was the big thing I wanted to touch on, because I’m still in absolute awe of its awesome properties.  The other thing I’ve noticed around the work place is how, although everyone is nice and likes to chat on breaks, no one gives out any personal information.  When I first started working, my coworkers asked me about my program and such.  I was so ready to lie out my entire life story of living in England and being an Air Force brat, but if you could feel the vibe in the room, you would know that it would have been terribly inappropriate.  I kept my answers to one sentence at most.  Now, my supervisor is Canadian, so naturally I want to know when she came to London, and all this information about her life, but people just ask those kinds of life story questions here. 

I feel I may be the only one in my London program that has NOT gone out with coworkers for after work drinks yet.  If that ever happened , perhaps, I would be a part of some more relaxed dialogue.  But for now, we stick to complaining about the tube and London real estate. 

            Also, the English love their dogs.  Americans only pretend to love their canine companions as much as the English do.  In the states, we have designated “dog” parks.  If you know the states, besides Central Park, these parks are pretty difficult to come by.  I know at least in my University’s town of Columbia, and my hometown of O’Fallon, dog parks are a rare entity.  If you have a dog in a non-dog park, someone will most likely yell at you, as my mother has discovered on many occasions.  In London, this is not the case.  All parks are considered “dog” parks.  Since people are more mindful and self-aware, there is really no reason to be concerned about dogs leaving behind unwanted “presents”.  In the states, people are not so responsible, so THIS IS WHY WE CAN’T HAVE NICE THINGS.

            Anyways, I went for a run today and it amazed me how many dogs were in Regents Park today.  It was quite an excellent site.  The love of dogs does not just apply to the parks.  People take their animals everywhere.  I’ve seen dogs on the tube, in restaurants, and in other working locations.  The owner of Quintana Couture brings his little Boston terrier, Bette, into work all the time.  It’s just not a big deal.  Dog’s in restaurants in the states, would get the place shut down. 

            The last thing I wanted to mention was travel.  Since we are so close to the European continent, we plan on going to France and Spain.  (Others are eager to go other places, but that is where I’m going for my Spring Break).  As we plan our trips to France, Spain, Scotland, and Ireland, we all wondered why we never traveled this much when we are back home.  We are planning a four-day weekend trip to Scotland, well why do we never take a weekend trip to Canada? Or even to another state?  There are a lot of cool things to see, right in our own back yard, but we never take advantage of them.  The funny part of this is that the English have the same sort of issue.  They have access to all these cheap tickets to different countries, yet the girls I work with said they have only been to Scotland once.  They also barely venture around England at all.  I guess we are all really bad at being tourists in our own country.  Sooooooo……

No. 4 BE A TOURIST IN YOUR NATIVE LAND 

            Take advantage of all the things in your own backyard.  Go on trips to different states.  The U.S. is made up of so many diverse areas and cultures, so it seems a shame if we only keep ourselves to the Midwest.  Road trips can be really inexpensive so pick a place and just GO.  Sadly, not everyone has the opportunity to travel to other countries, but that doesn’t mean that you have to miss out on adventures.  Be a tourist in your own country.  I know I plan to when I get back.

            But as for tonight, I think I am going to take myself on a date.  There is a place where you can get inexpensive theatre tickets on Leicester Square.  I’m going to try and find something for The Lion King, but since it’s Saturday night this may be difficult.  If that’s the case, I plan on seeing 39 Steps.  I hear it’s supposed to be really funny.  I’m really excited to see some professional theatre.  It’s been too long. 

            Well this post has been really long and is probably riddled with grammatical mistakes so I need to fix that promptly.

Cheers,

Janelle