I'm thrilled to report that over the past few days I've finally been able to start thinking of London as home. While I had enjoyed the museums, clubs, restaurants, pubs, sightseeing, and people I experienced over the first week and a half of my visit, this last weekend really allowed me the opportunity to start getting to know the city on my own terms. I spent Saturday with a friend from Georgetown who's currently working towards her Master's degree in English at UCL... we ended up eating Italian in Bloomsbury and window shopping along Oxford Street where we decided to see what all the fuss about waffles was about (wherever you go there are either restaurants that serve exclusively waffles or vendors selling them from little carts on the street). We were somewhat underwhelmed by our $7 waffles but it was still great people watching and fun to soak up the vibe of a new corner of the city.
No matter how much time I spend on Oxford Street I always manage to see something new, and this weekend's crowds brought out students protesting Parliament's recent decision to raise the cap on college tuition from 3,000 to 9,000 pounds a year. There were students out en masse with signs and bullhorns and while I admired their fervor, I wished they had a little more appreciation for the fact that their system was capped in the first place. When I consider the fact that the vast majority of them assume little to no student loans and they always know that they'll never need to pay more than a certain amount (as opposed to American universities at which arbitrary fee hikes are the norm), I'm somewhat less sympathetic to their situation. That being said, it was invigorating to see students my age participating so actively in the political process.
The afternoon was cold and windy which made for a somewhat miserable walk through Hyde Park. The sun sets mid-afternoon in London this time of year so Shanley and I were treated to a seriously creepy (think the moors of Misselthwaite Manor) two hours of getting lost in/locked into the park. Our objective (seeing Kensington Palace) was somewhat thwarted by the fact that it was locked up and completely dark when we finally got there, leaving us with no other option than going to a local pub to warm up :)
Shanley clutching my Starbucks for warmth and trying not to get blitzed by swarming flocks of geese, seagulls, and crows... such is Hyde Park
Pitstop for some Guinness therapy post-Hyde Park
My new favorite meal
The following day, I got the change to explore London Carly-style... that is, intentionally losing myself (this time, in Chelsea) and finding hidden corners of the city en route back to UCL. I walked from Chelsea to the West End which helped me connect a lot of different neighborhoods in my 'mental map'. The King's Speech was premiering at one of the local theaters so I bought tickets a few hours in advance then killed time by browsing through the neighborhood's many used/vintage book stores and grabbing espresso and a tart at a local patisserie! The movie was phenomenal... the theater tickets cost twice what they do in the states but the theater was very formal (velvet curtains, assigned seats) and the audience clapped before and after the film! As for the movie itself, apart from being fantastic, it gave me a good sense of why the English are so connected and loyal to their monarchy. The monarch represents the spirit of the British people, their sense of honor, bravery, and fortitude, in a way that a President or Prime Minister can't because they're so intwined with the politics of running a state. It promotes a sense of national identity that we lack in the U.S., and I'm more than happy to adopt the Royal Family (minus Charles) as my own!
In addition to finding new niches for myself through all this exploring, I've also gotten a better sense of the general attitudes, quirks, and culture of the British people. To my chagrin I've found them to be horrid pedestrians which requires me to be somewhat aggressive as I navigate London's busy streets. It's also been really interesting to note the behavior of people in the service industry in light of the fact that their tips are automatically included in the bill. In my opinion, it really hurts the quality of service you get in most restaurants so score one for America on that point. This week I really have to start buckling down with reading and papers for my classes... more on that to come!
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