Last Days

The last two weeks have been filled with lasts. I hate lasts, and I usually try not to think of them. But I can't help myself when I feel I'm being kicked out of a city that I've come to love and adore.

My last day of work was surreal. Just like we expected, we seemed to just get our feet on the ground when we were forced to leave. I could never thank every single person I met while at work enough for every opportunity they have given me. The internship has meant more than just work experience and I will never forget it.

Lasts are inherent in the semester system. Finals are the ultimate embodiment of that. Classes here have been sometimes confusing, definitely different but a learning experience nonetheless. This is mostly due to some of the incredible students I've met, both at the British university I took a class at and at the Arcadia courses. Their new perspectives are priceless.

But London has always meant more than this work and academic experience. London's history echoes everywhere, while the crowds of people and the distinct city feel modernize it. I have always known London to be nothing if not dynamic, which is exactly why I have loved it for years. Living here has given me the opportunity to experience that, and become a part of it.

There were a series of posts I wanted to make before I left. Royal Wedding preparations, of which there are many. The abundance of change rather than bills (or notes, as they are known here). Even the meaning of the Portcullis signs, which appear nearly everywhere you see something Parliamentary.

Yet none of those posts would really capture how much living in this city and meeting everyone surrounding this program has meant to me.

So I'd like to end this by just saying thank you and I'll miss you. I'll be back someday. Until then, cheers!

Why I Haven't Been Updating

I feel like an explanation of what's been keeping me away from blogging is in order.

One number, two words: 7,500. Word. Dissertation.

In case you're wondering what that looks like, my final page count is 32. This number includes, a title page an index page and a two page Bibliography.

Yes, I made this in Paint using Copy and Paste.
I'm talented.

Mine was simply called "Parliamentary Communication in the 21st Century." I would post it online for any of you at all interested in reading any of this, if I wasn't scared someone would steal it and I would get in a lot of academic trouble. Being a Journalism and Political Science major though, it should be fairly obvious what my paper discussed.

Combine this with a Presentation on this paper, another 3,000 word paper, one British Politics written Final, one Diversity in the British Workplace Final, another presentation and one American Foreign Policy Final, I've been more than stressed for the past few weeks. Especially because most of those were intermixed with my last two weeks of work.

Anywho, now my classes are done and I am left with four completely free days in London to do whatever my heart desires.

But no, I will not be only blogging. Just blogging more often.

Because I Had to Attend Some Protests

There were two moments this semester where I wanted to be back in the United States. The first was when Gabrielle Giffords was shot, and I suddenly longed for fast-paced American television coverage again. The second was when protesters surrounded the Wisconsin Capitol building for weeks to argue against Governor Scott Walker's Budget Bill which ended collective bargaining rights.

So partly just for missing out on those protests, I had to attend the protests going on here in London at the end of March. Depending on which estimates you followed, turnout throughout the day ranged from 500,000 to 800,000 people. Either way, they were the biggest protests in London since the one in 2003 against the Iraq War which drew about 500,000 people.

Similar to the movements back in Wisconsin, the protests were predominantly organized by a union: the Trades Union Congress. However, the protest drew crowds of people protesting any and all of the Government's multitude of cuts to public services, particularly the NHS, education and disability allowances.

The protests also became the biggest example to me of just how more biased the media in Britain is than in the States. Tweets throughout the day either called the protesters "violent anarchists" or simply focused on the high turnout and Labour Party Leader Ed Miliband's speech in Hyde Park.

The Guardian wrote, "Vast majority were ordinary people wanting to make voice heard, but small group of rioters seemed bent on trouble."

Covering the same protests, The Telegraph used the headline "the militants behind the violence" and wrote, "a ragtag army of anarchists, squatters, student militants, environmental activists and radical academics planned the spin-off protests that led to violence during Saturday's march against cuts."

Twitter was fun that Saturday.

Given, there was some violence. A group of protesters broke into a building and pretty much held it hostage for a few hours. Others broke the window of a Topshop and splattered paint on some police officers. This is ridiculously unfortunate, mostly because police officers are also facing job losses and changes to their retirement benefits. Other than that, they blocked traffic. Which is what happens when about 500,000 people protest...




I learned afterward that there was also some damage to the Ritz hotel. I didn't go past this side of the building unfortunately though.

Looks fine, doesn't it?




Police officers keeping a watch over the crowd.

The march ended in Hyde Park,
and a bunch of people crowded
this statue of Achilles.

And now for some of the best signs:

I think this is proof that Britons and Europeans have different views towards socialism than Americans.

I think it's also noteworthy to say that protests attract a variety of more "extreme" views. Did I see a sign supporting communism? Yes. Do I think the majority of protesters were arguing for communism? No.



In case this one is difficult to read, it says: "No American style Health Care here."

...Oops. Sorry GB.





Here's a short video I was able to grab of the protests. Sorry for any poor quality... I tried.


Below: That's a picture of Samantha Cameron. Humour prevails.

St. Patrick's Day

Just a late note on St. Patrick’s Day. Because St. Patrick’s Day is now celebrated everywhere, becoming more of an occasion for those with Irish blood now living outside Ireland. Before coming to London, I assumed that the English would probably avoid this holiday, and most things Irish in general, simply because of the fraught history between the two countries.

This is an absolutely untrue and pretty unfair assessment. Turns out there are a lot of people in England with Celtic ancestry, who want to do justice to the small holiday.

To celebrate St. Patrick’s Day a little closer to its homeland, a pub chain in London (we can ignore for now the fact that there are actually a few of these bars in the States as well) called O’Neills (fittingly) was pulling out all the stops to go Irish. Bartenders were wearing full out green, white and orange. Pints of Guinness were buy one, get one free. And they were even giving out these cool top-hats to anyone who asked for them. (Side note: these can cause a surprising amount of controversy. Who wants what hat? Where did my hat go? Stop stealing hats!)

Needless to say, St. Patrick’s Day is just as big here as it is in the States. Unfortunately, I don’t think they dye the Thames River green like they do in Chicago, but the feeling is still here.

Besides that, who wouldn’t want to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day? An excuse to have some fun in the middle of otherwise boring March? Yes, please.

Olympics 2012

Tickets for the London 2012 Summer Olympic games officially went on sale yesterday, March 15th. Since then, I think I've noticed a lot of energy buzzing around the London Olympics.

First, I tweeted about the official Countdown Clock being set up in Trafalgar Square yesterday, marking 500 days until July 27, 2012. (This date also happens to represent my 22nd birthday!) The BT Tower also had a nice little fireworks display to celebrate the 500 day mark.

This morning, I read on the BBC that the Countdown Clock had also broken down yesterday. Which is just depressing. Honestly, it seems like a bad omen, doesn't it?

Then I read how Iran dislikes the London 2012 Olympics symbol, because it apparently spells "Zion."

Uh, ok?

They are also having problems in the ticket sales, as only Visa cardholders are able to buy them online at the moment.

Ok, minor glitches. Still, what is going on with the Olympics? Or is it the '2012' part? Eek.

Either way, these are all problems that I hope London gets sorted out before the Opening Ceremony begins. Not only because I think they're going to be fantastic in London, but because I will probably be going crazy with happiness watching them on my birthday.

In other news, there was a Chelsea football fan march down my block in London just before 6 p.m. tonight. I was just hanging out in my room, when I suddenly hear people chanting down the street. And when I open my window, there are hundred of men, dressed in Chelsea blue and white, walking down the street on their way to the Chelsea match.

Uh, awesome?

There were also some policemen on horses to the left of this shot, and police cars followed behind them. All the fans were singing (what I'm guessing are) Chelsea songs and I was reminded of the whole college football pre-party. (Badgers!)

So I hope Chelsea wins tonight.

That's all for now! Cheers!

Of Sun and Disasters

For the past few days, it has been obvious around London-town that Spring is on the way. In a city that spends the majority of the year overcast, people definitely celebrate when the sun is shining. Everyone you meet seems more cheerful and even tourists bouncing around the Tube seem more excited by historic London.

Which is why, when the sun came out (finally) for a Saturday afternoon, I decided not to waste the opportunity and visit Hyde Park. It's a short journey from my house and the views of the park are absolutely amazing. People were going out on the lake on paddle-boats, roller blading, walking with their dogs, biking and just out enjoying the sunshine. I even saw two people on horses.

It's absolutely beautiful, and some flowers were already in bloom. It's been a balmy 50 degrees Fahrenheit in London lately, which I think many Londoners may consider still fairly cold but I consider spring. (One London lesson I've realized, though, is that the English seem to have a huge appreciation for the green space in their country and cities. I suspect this is because the English people haven't always had open space to enjoy, whereas Americans have had thousands of acres of land to do where they can do whatever the want.)

I would love to see this in the summer, although it may also be completely swamped with people through June, July and August.

Still. Beautiful.


So that was my outing for the weekend. Schoolwork has been taking over my life as of late, but I will try to share as much as I can when I can.

In other news, there was obviously a huge earthquake in Japan on Friday. And there's nothing like this headline at the end of the day to put your life in perspective:

This has shocked me. At first because of the best friend I have studying in Japan and the family of another best friend who lives in Japan. Luckily, they were both fine. Then, I was shocked because of the extent of the damage Japan has seen over the last few days. So best of luck to everyone still in Japan! Stay safe and best wishes!

Edinburgh, Scotland

I traveled to Edinburgh, Scotland this weekend! It was my first weekend excursion outside of London, and it was an amazing city to have my first solo travel experience. Outside coming to London, of course.

So here are some of the highlights of Scotland's capital city, all of which I visited!

Edinburgh Castle
This castle is breathtaking. It sits above Princes Street Gardens, giving you amazing views of the city once you reach the top of the hill.

The castle reminded me slightly of Tower of London, except with a reputation more associated with Mary Queen of Scots and less associated with the beheading of Henry VIII's wives [correction because I haven't memorized all of the Kings and Queens of England. Apologies.]

Inside the castle, we saw the Scottish Crown Jewels, also known as the Honours of Scotland. This includes the Stone of Destiny, on which apparently the monarchs of Scotland were crowned and every monarch of the United Kingdom continues to be crowned. The Honours were put in a chest and locked up for slightly more than 100 years after the Acts of Union (unifying the Parliament of Scotland and the Parliament of England into the Parliament of Great Britain). These were also hidden during World War II, and only four people in the world knew where they were.

And now they're on display for tourists.

The Castle also includes an interesting Prisoners of War exhibit, where they even kept a few American revolutionaries. They even pointed out an American flag carved into the original prison doors and an etching denouncing King George III.

We learned a lot about the history of Scotland throughout the castle, so I would definitely recommend it. However much of a Tourist Trap it may be.


Whisky Experience
So the Scottish have a thing about their whisky, which is why we decided to invest in a trip to the Scotch Whisky Experience. We learned all about how whisky is made and then stored and how some of it is "lost to the angels." Aka: evaporates.

Most importantly, we were able to try each of the four main Scottish whiskys, each from a different region of Scotland: Highlands, Lowlands, Speyside and Isla.

The organization also had the largest collection of unopened bottles of Scotch Whisky. The oldest of these was a bottle from the 1890s.

The Whisky experience was also totally worth it. If not just to learn that Scotch whisky is indeed spelled without an 'e.'


Holyrood Park
Another one of the amazingly beautiful parks in Edinburgh was Holyrood Park.

It's also amazingly tall.

Nonetheless, we decided to climb this hill for the infamous panoramic views of the city.

We were told the climb itself would take a half hour at the longest. However, since it was cold, we decided to stop along the way and we weren't the most athletic people on the planet, it took us about 45 minutes.

Still, the views were completely worth it:



In short, I would love to see this city in the summer.

Also, I feel decidedly more in shape than I did before I left London. Pretty sure it was the combination of climbing this hill and the sudden fresh air.





I must also add that the hostel experience was not bad at all. It's a lot like a college dormitory, except not everyone speaks English and it's ridiculously temporary. The staff there also recommended some great restaurants and sights for us to check out, 90% of which were worth the mapping out it took to find them.

Edinburgh also has a rich history associated with Harry Potter. We stopped to have lunch at Spoon, a cafe and the site where J.K. Rowling originally penned the series. The Balmoral Hotel also happens to be where she finished the series. I couldn't help but love the city.

Overall, Edinburgh easily became one of my favorite places I've ever visited. The people were nice and welcoming, the food was delicious (although I got scared and didn't try haggis), and the city itself - even in the cold - was beautiful.

Busy Days and Fun Times

I haven't updated this blog in awhile, and that's ridiculous and I'm sorry. I promised to keep everyone updated, but this lack of posting recently is mostly due to how routine some of my days are becoming and how much work has been piling on my desk. The spring semester is always busier than the fall, and this is definitely no exception.

So what has been keeping me busy? Answer: The sudden school work. I'm halfway done with my semester abroad (eek!), which means midterm season galore. I wrote one paper on working and living conditions during the Industrial Revolution, and have a midterm and a paper due in my Political Change in 20th and 21st Century Britain class.

And remember when I said that classes in the UK make students be more self-sufficient? This is definitely true. From the British students and graduates I've talked to, they spend much less time in formal class and much more time in the library doing their own reading and researching on the subject. So basically, the last few weeks have been spent sorting through the piles of books on my desk, taking notes and writing furiously to stay on schedule.

No worries though. I, of course, have found ways to keep life in London exciting, as if every day here isn't already filled with some kind of excitement.

This week was half-term recess in Parliament, meaning no bills or session was to be had. Some MPs worked in their constituencies for the week, while some went on vacation. For me, this basically meant that I went on one more tour of Parliament with my Political Change class and then gave a quasi-tour to one of my friends.

On the forever-loved Saturday afternoon, we traveled to Camden Town Market in North London. A lot of it was like the other Markets we've been to, but it was a little more punk-ish in a way. Probably because it was in North London. And rain aside, it was a pretty fun time.

Lesson learned: When in doubt about a market, buy some food. You can't go wrong.

I also spent Saturday night watching "The King's Speech." After hearing countless glowing reviews of the movie and saying "I'll just wait until I'm home to see it," I just decided to fork over the 7 pounds and go to the theater.

It was so worth it. The movie itself is pretty amazing, and I would definitely recommend it. I don't know if I have ever cheered as much for a character to succeed as a did for Albert throughout that movie. Despite being a movie centered around therapy sessions, the plot development and the writing kept the story moving and I was never bored. And I was on the edge of my seat throughout the King's speech announcing the beginning of World War Two.

Besides that, it was also worth it just to see some of the reactions of the British moviegoers. They sometimes laughed at parts that I wouldn't have, which just shows how much I don't really understand about different British dialects. It was also slightly odd to see the old footage of Hitler knowing that it actually played in London theaters. The shots of planes over London, bomb sirens blaring, and Buckingham Palace probably also struck me more in a London theater than they would have in a stateside theater.

Either way though, the movie is definitely worth seeing. I would recommend it to everyone.

And now it's back to Midterm studying. Sorry again for the lack of pictures. Don't worry though, because I will definitely invest in batteries for my camera before going to Edinburgh, Scotland this weekend! Expect a ton of photos of beautiful architecture and landscapes next weekend, though hopefully I'll have a chance to update before then.

Cheers!

Why The World Needs Apparition

There are too many different and important things going on in two of my favorite cities. All I want is to be able to go to work, and then apparate back to Madison to watch the rallies at Capitol Square.

Seriously, there are no words for how much this story makes me want to be back in Madison. Governor Walker dictatorially deciding to scrap collective bargaining rights for state and local employees? A) Ridiculous. B) Please. I should be there. Either to cover it or to participate. (Are any of you lovely people participating? What do you think of the protests?)

I was surprised by the video on that article and excited. When was the last time students protested at the Capitol against something?

I'm not sure how I feel about all the Facebook events though. It's great to see word spread about these kind of 'movements' on Facebook and to see people enthusiastic about them online. But are people actually doing it?

Anyway, I would love to see how all this stuff is going down in Madison. Which is Reason #1 why we need apparition.

Reason #2 is because the sun was shining and the birds were singing in London today, and you all should have been there. I also saw the inside of a BBC studio and the Thames through the window of a Parliamentary Committee room. So that was exciting.

Now back to real homework. Oh yeah, it's still studying abroad, isn't it? Fantastic.

Valentine's Day

Happy V-Day everyone! I obviously spent my Valentine's Day away from all my great loves, who are back on my native side of the pond.

Instead, I visited my new love: Big Ben.

That basically means all of London, my friends.

This picture illustrates all of my favorite things about this city: the traditional and iconic Big Ben and Houses of Parliament, my workplace of Portcullis House and the modern ever-present London Eye.

So that's worth being happy about this Valentine's Day I suppose.

Either way, I miss everyone back home terribly! Shout-out to my truly amazing friends and family who continue to read this blog!

Cheers loves!

Old Fashioned Marketing

On Saturday, we decided to take advantage of a rare sunny day and check out some of London's biggest markets.

First Stop: Borough Market
Borough Market is a food market in South London by London Bridge Tube station. This market features some food stands that are set up for the weekend, and some that have their own regular shop.

It was also filled with all kinds of good and interesting food. All of the bread booths were amazing, with different types of baguettes and loafs. They also had probably five different cheese stands. All of the cakes and fudge and brownies looked amazing too. While I didn't buy this huge brownie because it was 2 pounds, I heard it was absolutely godly. So I may have to revisit this Market just for the brownies.

They also sold ostrich and reindeer burgers. My jaw dropped at how bright red the meat was, but the line for these burgers stretched around the corner. I was in shock. Among other unexpected items, there was a 75 pound bottle of olive oil, a fair amount of duck meat and some funky drinks. There was also a barber shop tucked away in the Market, where appointments weren't necessary.

The place was packed with people having lunch, stocking up on fresh food for the week and us touristy folk exploring. It was also by this beautiful cathedral.

We obviously picked the right day to explore the markets. Look! The sky is blue!



Seeing all of these cheeses made me so excited. There's amazing food in London after all!







And different foods!









And spring is coming!

At least in London it feels like it is...








At this point, my camera died. So while we did venture out on to London Bridge and I caught my first glimpse of the iconic Tower Bridge since my arrival, I could not capture photos of it. No worries though, because I will definitely be visiting this market and seeing Tower Bridge again.

Also to visit again is the next market: Portobello Road Market

This one was amazing because it featured tons of antique booths. These sold everything from old teapots, maps, books, cameras and jewelry. A lot of it was a great deal and would make great trinkets for my London flat. Other booths featured more expensive but priceless antiques.

This market went for blocks down the street in Notting Hill, which is an amazing area in and of itself. After some of the antique booths, there were clothing racks set up on the streets with some great deals.

There was also at least two blocks worth of food stands. Like Market Borough, some of these sold nice lunch meals, while others sold fresh fruit and veggies for the week. Some others sold common grocery type items, like cookies (that's biscuits, here), chocolates and cheese.

And that comprised most of our weekend. But it also feels weird blogging without pictures of any of this exciting stuff. Expect those to follow at another point. But ahead this week: work as usual, homework to catch up on and a midterm essay to write. I'll be busy, but I'll update when I can.

Cheers! (I fit my first cheers into 'regular' conversation this week. It was a little strange. Why is there no American equivalent? Work on this States, please.)

A Not So Touristy Weekend

This weekend, we decided to do some more creative things with our time. We've lived in London for a month now, so the tourist traps start to look like traps. And we start to get annoyed when "new" people crowd the Tube and don't know where they're going.

So we started Saturday afternoon off by exploring a Vintage store. Apparently this is a traveling Vintage event too, which we thought was worth checking out.

Surprisingly, some of the stuff was fairly expensive. Half of the clothes were real vintage - 60s, 70s, or 80s style - which I would need to be more creative to find a way to wear it. Or it was really cute clothes that were the same price as the nearest Primark or Topshop, two of the cheaper and decent stores in London.

The area also came complete with a bowling alley, a pub, and a small cafe, with racks of clothes stacked on the floor above and around these extra downstairs pit stops.

A signature purchase: I invested in a nice change purse. The frequent use of British coins, rather than 'notes', was literally making my clutch burst at the seams. The change purse is way more functional for Europe.

On Sunday, we celebrated the Chinese New Year in Trafalgar Square and Chinatown, where streets were closed off and decorated.

It was pretty cool. Trafalgar Square was packed. So then the lesson of the day became that the distance from one historic place to another is not as far as it seems on the Tube. I walked from Trafalgar Square to Piccadilly Circus to Chinatown in about 15 minutes.

When you're on the Tube, the distance you travel between those points feels a lot longer.

Anyway, Chinese New Year turned out to be pretty cool, despite the lack of free food that some people thought would be there. Really, there were a ton of booths set up selling Chinese New Year trinkets and noisemakers, the streets were decorated, and there were some stages set up with entertainment. The only entertainment I actually saw was Kung Fu Panda.

That was exciting.

Then... we once again digressed in to more tourist stuff.

Introducing: The Natural History Museum.

This museum is part of a series of museums in South Kensington, about a 20 minute journey from my flat in Earl's Court. The building is absolutely breathtaking.

The best part of the actual museum was probably the dinosaur fossils on the first floor. The one on the left was pretty cool. There's also some galleries on the floor above, so you could look down over this dinosaur almost anywhere you go in the museum. After about an hour though, we felt like we had seen the best parts of the museum and decided to head out.

Except we ended up going the wrong way on a bus and ended up in Harrod's.

I've never walked through Harrod's before.

Looking at the building in and of itself is kind of stunning.

Going inside and glancing at some of the price tags is literally jaw-dropping.

Totally worth a step inside though, even if you're only walking through it to take advantage of the heat before reaching the Tube station, like we did.



In other news this past Sunday, my neighborhood was fairly excited about the Chelsea v. Liverpool match. [That's an understatement, folks.] It was a big deal because Chelsea had just signed a previous Liverpool player, Fernando Tores, in a record-breaking 50 million pound deal.

And Chelsea still lost 0-1 against Liverpool.

There were some pretty depressed people in blue and white walking around Earl's Court that night. So that topped any thoughts I had about the Super Bowl for awhile.

Phew. It was a busy, but incredible weekend. Note to self: busy weekends are better on so many levels.

Of Crumpets

[This post is dedicated to my roommate, Liz Schultz, without whom I would have persisted in my ignorant belief that crumpets are basically English muffins.]

Crumpets are so much better than English muffins.

They're more like miniature waffles. I think English muffins are a little flatter, but a crumpet is thicker, so the butter seeps through it.

It's just really good bread. Try it if you get the chance.

I think food overall here is pretty good. Most of the restaurants or cafes I've tried have been amazing. (Obviously, we're living in a city, so there has to be good food somewhere.)

I might not be the best person to write about cooking, seeing as I don't do much of it anywhere. However, I have succeeded in not burning any pots or pans, or forgetting about food stored in some corner of my cabinet, which is a success in my eyes. I can stock up on food fairly cheaply at the Tesco or Tesco Express. And most stores will randomly put food on sale if it's about to expire, leading me to buy a pack of muffins, crumpets or baguettes whenever it's marked down to 99p or less.

So there. Food in Britain: not bad. Am I excited to try food in other countries though? Absolutely. I would pretty much give anything to have a crepe cart in this city. [And there's a shout out to you Bre.]

..And the fish is pretty big here too obviously. [Sonya? Ah, sorry. I'm just going to start tagging you guys in posts I think you should look at.]

In the News

The Super Bowl was yesterday! Usually I just watch the Super Bowl every year to see the awesome advertisements. I seriously mute the TV during the game, and watch the commercials. It's fun. Unfortunately I've had to check out all the $3 million dollar ads on YouTube this year. Still, seeing this was one of the best parts of the morning after coverage:


I've watched this three times today. Once at work without the sound on.

I did stay up to watch the game a little bit. Mostly because, instead of ads, BBC had some random commentators talking about the game. We're pretty sure one of them didn't even know what a receiver was.

Quality.

I can't disclose who I rooted for though, because my Dad will disown me if I rooted for the Packers, and I'm pretty sure I'd lose half my friends if I rooted for the Steelers.

Anyway, you Wisconsin folks will be glad to know you got a full page in the London Evening Standard. Except it was mostly about Christina Aguilera messing up the national anthem, the Black Eyed Peas, and a shot of George Bush. Instead, the game was reduced, not to a sentence, but a clause:

Former president George Bush, and film stars Jennifer Aniston, Michael Douglas and wife Catherine Zeta-Jones were in the crowd in Texas to watch the Green bay Packers beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 31-25.

That's it. Well, and this bit about Aaron Rodgers at the bottom of the Sport section.

So what's happening in British news?

-Chelsea lost against Liverpool in their first game after the 50 million pound deal to sign Tores, who played for Liverpool previously. That was kind of a big deal. I was slightly and irrationally a little worried about walking outside after the game... I also still want a Chelsea scarf.

-Assange's trial. In the standard, there's a big headline that his extradition "will risk him being sent to Guantanamo" and his lawyer said, "there is a real risk that he could be subject to the death penalty." There's a more in-depth article on BBC.

And since it's only Monday, I'll leave any more news for later.

Snowpocalypse v. Westminster

So, there was a blizzard in the Midwest or something?

Oh. Right. That little thing.

I understand this storm is one of those crazy stories that only happens every ten years or whatever, but seriously, can everyone calm down? All I see is a tremendous storm and a wonderful opportunity for a snow day.


Photo Courtesy Mom and Dad Allen


Okay, maybe I'm just jealous of your snow day... good old, perfect, MY University of Wisconsin... And maybe I miss the snow a little.

But when all anyone can talk about is the blizzard, I seriously start to wonder whether all of this transatlantic communication technology is really worth it.

My Typical Skype Conversation This Week:
Me: Hello?
Somebody: Hello?
Me: Oh good! The internet is finally working, [which it never does over here because high-speed connections are non-existent.] It's so great to talk to you! How are you? How's everything going?
Somebody: Well, we have this blizzard coming, did you hear?
Me: Yeah I saw on Facebook and everything. You even got a little shout out on BBC-
Somebody: Oh it's going to be a big one! Everyone was grocery shopping like there was going to be no tomorrow. On the Weather Channel it's stretching over the Midwest to the East Coast! It's all ice on the ground now, but then there's going to be some major snowfall!
Me: Right, I saw it on weather.com-
Somebody: It's going to be a big one!
Me: Yeah, well at work today-
Somebody: All the school's have a snow day!
Me: Aw, I missed it! And I had to work today-
Somebody: Yeah, everyone had a snow day! Classes kept getting canceled or delayed, and then they just called a snow day! Everyone was so excited... yada yada yada for the next 10 minutes.

New Rule: If I suddenly lose all communication with you because of a blizzard, or if all you can talk about is a blizzard, I will stop going on Skype, Facebook and updating Twitter and Blogspot.

...Ok not really, obviously. But I really wanted to.

So what did I really do this week besides feel grumpy about this ridiculous blizzard that I don't even get to enjoy? You know, walking through Westminster, listening to debates, writing writing writing, website work, class. Keeping busy.

Proof:

Why are these buildings always under some sort of construction? [Because they're really old and need preserving?] Anyway, you get the idea, I hope. I finally snapped this picture when I didn't feel ridiculously self-conscious about pulling my camera out in the middle of Westminster Hall.

Ok, more updates that are more exciting than the snowpocalypse to come soon!

British Humour

Yes, the British spell it with a 'u', so I'm going to spell humour with a 'u' for the time being.

Dealing with the British sense of humour is probably one of the hardest things about living in London. And I did not expect it to be. I like the Monty Python series. I like Hugh Laurie. I've watched my fair share of British television shows and movies. So I know I like British comedy and figured I'd at least be able to recognize it when I hear it.

Case in point

Turns out this is referred to comedy, folks. The British interject humour into their everyday life like Americans ask each other "how are you?" The problem with this for outsiders (like me) is that it's often hard to tell when they're being serious and when they're joking, especially because a lot of British humour isn't even meant to get a laugh.

Rather, according to an article I had to read for class, British humour is made up of ironies, understatements and wittiness. Humour is well-timed and well-turned.

The article adds the British have a thing about being earnest. "Seriousness is acceptable, solemnity is prohibited. Sincerity is allowed, earnestness is strictly forbidden." This ban on taking oneself too seriously leads to the phrase "Oh, come off it!" It also leads to self-deprecation, because they place a high value on modesty.

Anyway, the English are always ready to throw some humour into anything. The author gave the example that when her father went out to dinner with some Italian friends, and they complained about the restaurant, her father simply said, "Oh, so you wouldn't recommend it, then?"

Dealing with that can get difficult. Especially if I think something is a joke and start to laugh, but the English barely smirk. The humour is subtle and interjected everywhere you go. You have to be quick to recognize it and quick to respond to it.



Are they serious? Are they joking? What the-?

So, just another part of British culture to get used to. Some study abroad to learn a new language, and I feel like I'm studying abroad to relearn a language.

In the News

Sometimes I feel like half of my job is essentially keeping up with the news. Which is fantastic, because that's what I do in the good ol' States anyway. Now, I just need to keep up with British news, start to recognize names and Committees I've never heard of before and be able to write about all of it.

So here are some of the news items that seem to be continually popping up on my computer at work. And yes, most of them have the word "cuts" in the headline...

EMA Cuts
I mentioned this topic a bit in my post about student protests, but it deserves a little more recognition. The Coalition government basically decided to cut the Educational Maintenance Allowances, which help certain students pay for their educational expenses.

Scrapping this plan set off more student protests, and basically every Labour MP endlessly criticized the government for changing the British institution of accessible higher education.

Go England, Go.




Forestry Commission Woodlands Sell-Off
Yes, this seems random. Yes, I have spent a good deal of time researching it. It turns out that while the United States is full of random forests and field, Great Britain is the size of the state of New York. So when the government plans to take 15% of public forests and woodlands and sell them to private owners, people get slightly upset. Especially when millions of people go to the English countryside for recreation and whatnot...

But having the ability to to make 100 million pounds by selling publicly owned forests: priceless to a coalition government pledging to stimulate the economy by cutting the deficit.


NHS "Reforms"
To the average American citizen, the UK's National Health Service probably seems like one of those outrageous European health care systems. The UK has actually had the NHS since after World War Two, when the overwhelming majority Labour government adopted the system in 1948 as a wartime and emergency health service. NHS is now a publicly funded health care system, a valued institution in the UK and the only still-standing achievement of the Labour government majority following World War Two. It never actually was supposed to grow as large as it is today, but from what I have heard the British still view it as one of their idyllic institutions.

The NHS came under scrutiny two weeks ago, however, when Prime Minister David Cameron announced plans to drastically cut the NHS budget in favor of reducing the deficit. Scrapping the NHS would be one of the biggest cuts in the UK government since the infamous Margaret Thatcher.

Deja vu, right?


In other news circulating Portcullis House... which I unfortunately don't have the time or space to discuss thoroughly enough... ahem...

-The protests in Egypt. Cameron and Obama discussed the Egyptian protests. The House of Commons also held a debate today on them. This is going to be a huge international issue.

-AV filibustering was still occurring as of yesterday... Today the Labour peers finally reached a deal in the vote though.

-And Ed Miliband, the Labour Party leader, is a square.
To fully understand how the British public perceives Ed Milliband, check out Awkward Ed Miliband Moments.
And now you know everything.

A Lesson in Navigation

On Thursday, I was given the task of navigating the tube and the streets of North London up by King's Cross to drop off some forms for my MP. As the girl who gets lost in every town I've ever lived in, even the hometown I've called my permanent address for 20 years, this was a daunting assignment. So I folded the Google map in my pocket, held on tightly to my Oyster Card and my phone and prepared to embarrass myself.

Instead, besides turning the wrong way out of the tube at first, I made my way to an Office in North London, calmly dropped off the forms and made my way back without even losing anything.

I was quite proud of myself if I can say so.

Along the way, I found some cool little "landmarks."


Like the Guardian offices. Clearly the newspaper I would love to work at if I was ever lucky enough to land a job in London. Also, it was the first real newspaper office I've seen in London, so I couldn't resist snapping a picture.

Also, King's Cross Station is just kind of awesome. If you've watched Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, (I think) this is the clock that Harry and Ron almost crash into in the Ford Anglia.

Honestly, this is one of the best parts about living in London. I'll be walking around, then just randomly run into something that I've always wanted to see. We got off a Tube stop last week, and realized we were in Trafalgar Square. (I should have realized the stop was for Trafalgar Square anyway, but that's ok.) Some people were walking around the neighborhood yesterday, walked through a cemetery, then realized it was the same cemetery where they shot some scenes for the new "Sherlock Holmes."

So hopefully I won't keep being scared about looking like a tourist, and I'll keep taking pictures of these landmarks for you amazing people.

Security Cleared

I finally got my Parliament Security Clearance Pass today! It made my day, despite the following rain and super power lectures.

Now I don't have to go through security every time I go to work in the morning, and I can walk around without being escorted by either my MP or the researcher.

Oh, and if you want a tour of Parliament just let me know.

The Imperial War Museum

This post is otherwise known as: London Tourist Weekend, Part Two.

We decided to check out the Imperial War Museum, which is known as one of the biggest and best museums in the country, if not the world. Since for Britain this museum could basically include everything from 1,000 years ago onwards, it basically divides the last 100 years ago into three parts: World War 1, World War 2 and Post-1945 conflicts.



Confession: I didn't really take that many pictures of this one... Sorry.

This is partly because I had already seen most of it before when I came to London the last time. Which is fine, because it's well worth seeing again and I felt like I could take in more of the museum.

(Wait, we have some time to read the signs and not just take pictures?)

This is also partly because "taking in" the museum is a little overwhelming. It hits you just how differently Europe was affected by the World Wars than the United States.

Anyway, since I'm not going to lecture anyone, I'm just going to leave some pictures and tell you to visit it if you ever go to London.

Giant statue of the iconic Nazi images. This was actually a photo that was spread over the wall.





A car that was blown up in the Middle East.

The Nod

The biggest small story of Thursday, January 20, 2011 occurred when I practically jogged through Parliament behind my MP in order to sit in the visitors of the actual House of Commons chamber. The Culture, Media and Sport Committee was having a smaller debate, mostly centered around the London Olympics in 2012.

So we were going through this pretty little corridor off the Central Lobby which leads to the Commons chamber. All of a sudden this procession comes through and my MP motions quickly for me to sit down on the green benches lining the hallway while he remains standing.

Anyway, included in this little procession is this guy, the Speaker of the House of Commons. He smiled at my MP, and then probably partly because he didn't recognize me or because I was one of the only people there, he continues to give me a nod and a smile too.

Yeah, I got the nod from the Speaker of the House of Commons.

My MP joked that it made my day, but it kind of actually did.

Wednesday, January 19th, 2010

I'm naming this post "Wednesday" because it's the post that I meant to make yesterday.

Did it fool you?

So "today" I sat in the visitor's area on a debate about the Education Maintenance Allowance program. (Programme?) They basically give students up to 30 pounds per week which they can use for educational expenses like books, food or transportation.

Except not anymore, because the Government decided to scrap the plan in an effort to reduce the deficit.

The EMA-cutting, plus the increase in tuition fees lead to these lovely things called student protests. I happened to catch one as I left work yesterday.

Nothing like getting out of work to a student protest.

Sorry it's a little blurry. But all those people in yellow jackets in the front are police officers. And the protesters weren't actually right in front of Parliament, they were closer to Westminster Abbey.

They weren't violent at all either, so don't start worrying about my safety. There were more police officers than usual outside Portcullis House, but no one was even there.

Also, there's nothing like this view when you get out of work.

British Filibustering

There's an electoral reform referendum circling through Parliament at the moment, with the final vote currently set to occur on May 2nd. The referendum would change the current first-past-the-post electoral system, where simply the candidate with the most votes is elected. The problem with this system in the UK is that many of the MPs didn't receive more than 50% of the votes.




Instead, the AV system the referendum would put in place would allow voters to rank the candidates based on preference. If there still isn't a clear winner, they would take the voters' second preferences into account until a candidate receives more than 50% of the votes.





But today, the House of Lords members (aka, peers) are basically filibustering the bill, except the press doesn't call it that. So as I read the London Evening Standard, the paper they distribute at the Underground, I stumbled upon the article about their "tactics."

It's the best thing ever.

The lead reads: "Labour peers were accused of 'behaving like dinosaurs' today by forcing the House of Lords to debate plans to reform the voting system through the night."

Priceless.

The article goes on to say MPs were sleeping in their offices or staying up all night trying to delay the bill.

"Labour lords were unrepentant, joking over bacon and eggs this morning about winning medals for endurance and warning of more of the same.
Debate on the ninth day of committee stage was still going strong as the Standard went to press, having begun at 3.48pm yesterday.
It was fractious and bizarre in equal measure, with accusations of abuses of parliamentary procedure combined with time-consuming discussion on arcane subjects such as the UK's last living cannibal."

...What?

The article says Labour is trying to delay the bill because it also reduces the number of MPs and redraws constituency boundaries (...gerrymandering?)

"Camp beds and sheets were laid on by Lords authorities, and tea and coffee provided through the night "so peers don't expire" as one source put it.
...
But Baroness Warsi said the filibustering would turn people off politics. "You can laugh at the scenario and spirits are high but the serious part of it is this is a weird way to pass legislation. It is an abuse of the process."

Swansea, Wales

One part of our study abroad program requirements is to spend a weekend with a family in a more rural setting of the United Kingdom. Some people went to Mambles, some went to Petersborough, but I went on the real extravaganza to Swansea, Wales.

When a fellow parliamentary intern told his MP he would be going to Swansea for the weekend, apparently the MP responded, "Why?" As it turns out, Swansea seems to be the Newark, New Jersey of the UK. (I was told expressly several times that 'Newark' had to be included in this analogy by a few New Jersey residents.)

It took seven hours by coach bus to get to Swansea, including the nearly two hours we spent getting through London because our bus driver got lost and had to stop to ask for directions. When we finally got to Swansea, a cab driver took us from the bus stop to our host family's houses.

And I can't complain at all about the host family. They were so nice and welcoming to us three Americans invading their home for a weekend. The parents were probably in their thirties. He was a musician and she was a french teacher. And they had one four-year-old boy and a two-year-old girl who were equally sweet to us.

Except when we got to their house it was nearly 1 a.m. and we basically went straight to sleep. Plus we had to be out pretty early in the morning to catch the bus to a town called Rhossili.

So after another half an hour in the coach bus, we arrived in this coastal town in Wales.

Normally, trekking through mud and sheep excrement on hills that I would totally slip down in the cold and wind without the proper boots would not be my thing. But screw it. I'm only here once. So I did trek all the way out from that town through the grass to explore the cliffs and take some amazing photos with some people despite the crazy wind. So worth it too.

So despite how ridiculous the weather was, I think we could still appreciate how pretty the coastline is. I would love to see it in the summer. Or, you know, just when the sky is blue.

I don't think they have cliffs like that in the states. If they do, someone needs to inform me, because I will move there.

Also, the Welsh language is crazy cool. It really does look like someone slammed their hand on a keyboard and called it a word, doesn't it?

But really they just consider y, w and x as vowels. Weird.



After wandering the coastline for about an hour or two, we still had an hour before we could catch the bus back to Swansea. So we all crashed in a bistro overlooking the Channel for an hour before making our way back to the bus.

When we were back in Swansea, we were basically kicked off the bus and told to explore "downtown" Swansea for two hours before our host families picked us up.



Ok?

Can you say maddeningly unhelpful?




So we all ducked into the closest pub we could find to chill for awhile without being asked to buy anything.

Then we spent some lovely time with our host family for the night. It was amazing to have a home-cooked meal. It was nice to be able to actually watch TV, although we did just watch Friends. And it was nice to sleep in without being woken up by traffic.

We also watched Peter Pan in french, The Land Before Time and played with Legos with their kids.

So overall, it was a productive weekend.