Kung Hei Fat Choi!

Although last week was officially the Chinese New Year, London Chinatown celebrated just this past weekend with an event that reportedly drew in tens, if not hundreds of thousands of spectators. Living only a miles from Chinatown and Trafalgar Square, it was too good of an opportunity to pass up.

We arrived around 11:45am just as the firecrackers were dying down and the opening ceremonies began. Trafalgar Square had been transformed into an overflowing, jam-packed sea of people that put the Buckingham Palace crowd to shame. The only thing I can think to compare it to would be a more condensed version of Times Square in NY on New Years.

Tagging along with my usual travel buddies, we dove headlong into the masses (not my choice course of action, but seeing as there was no other way to get out, it seemed there was little to lose).

It was rather terrifying to be crushed in between hundreds of bodies for a few minutes, but it paid off when we found our way down into the lower square where the crowds were considerably thinner on the sidelines. The view wasn't great, as there was a large fountain spewing cold spray standing between us and the amphitheatre, but it was far better than being squashed in the crowd.

After about 45 minutes of long speeches, failed attempts at rallying the cold, wet audience, and more speeches and rituals, a lion dance commenced. And it was definitely worth the wait.

Leaping to and fro on top of 6-10 foot tall poles, I can honestly say it was the most impressive lion dance I have ever seen. I'll be posting a video of it later, from what I could shoot between the heads of a couple very tall tourists standing in front of me.

After watching a couple more performances on stage, we decided to check out Chinatown and see what festivities were taking place there. After squeezing our way through the crowds once more (this time we had mastered the art of holding on to each other so as not to get separated) we found ourselves in -- if possible -- an even worse crush crowd as thousands of people attempted to squish their way through the narrow cobbled streets.

I think this gave all of us a little fright, because we quickly turned around and "swam" back to the main road intent on finding the nearest tube station and getting the heck out of there. Every shop was bulging with consumers, every street vender swarmed by shoppers looking for a little memento by which to remember the occasion. (I think it was memorable enough without a little plastic trinket, thank you very much!)

We went home for a couple hours and then came back to watch the fireworks show in Leicester Square. The crowd wasn't bad when we got there a half hour early, but by the time it started, the square was packed again and my little group of three was stuck on the edge with a couple telephone booths blocking the view.

But, fireworks are fireworks. They make loud noises, bright colors, shoot around in the sky and go boom. In other words, it worked out fine and the show was spectacular (video to come!).

We tried to get out fast this time, but the masses were faster (how is that even possible?) so we found ourselves yet again crammed like sardines in the slowly moving mob making its way towards the tube station. Thinking ahead this time, we went for Chinese food back on our own end of town. Although it was way overpriced for a couple of poor college students, it was a wise choice in terms of getting out of the bustle of the Chinese New Year madness.

All in all, it was a day I'll remember for a long time. It's one of those things you have to do once just to see it and be a part of it. And then you can look back and know exactly why you will never feel the need to do something like that ever again. Certainly a once in a lifetime experience though!

A plunge into history and culture

Today was the start of British Seminar, our comprehensive everything-you-ever-wanted-to-know-about-Britain-and-then-some class, by taking a field trip to the Museum of London. Although it's not nearly as large and lavish as the British Museum that I visited yesterday, the Museum of London is a little gem nestled in yet another corner of this fascinating city.

Since we're currently learning about the history of London, it provided a really cool look at actual artifacts that were excavated in the area, starting from prehistoric times and going up through the medieval period.

The great thing about going to museums over here is that there are SO many artifacts and specimens! I never really thought about it before, but because of the climate, the types of materials that were used, and I suppose just the sheer age of this place, everything was preserved really well.

The two pictures above are of the Shepperton Woman, dating back somewhere between 3640-3100BC. The first picture is the actual bones that were found, and the second is the facial reconstruction made from the pieces that were found. I thought it was pretty interesting, especially from an anthropological perspective.

There were also tons of spearheads, swords, skulls and tools on display.

Beyond the prehistory gallery were the Roman artifacts. The 2 black fabric-type things on the sides of the display are actully ancient Roman bikinis, in case you were curious (which you probably weren't before, but you are now).

Believe it or not, this wall outside the museum is actually an original Roman wall from the 1st century AD. It's been rebuilt a lot, but the pieces at the bottom are mostly original. I am just astounded to be surrounded by all this history.

I thought these were really funny. The ancient peoples seemed to like putting funny faces on their water jars...

This is a hundred year old model of the original St. Paul's Cathedral. I hadn't realized it looked so different at one time!

This is some chainmail armor from the medieval period.

Another medieval artifact - and old fish trap!

And yet another old piece -- this is a carving from a wooden chest depicting a scene from Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. I'm still amazed by the great condition these are in.

After finishing up at the museum, we decided to go have lunch in Chinatown, just a short Tube ride away. I guess it was lot like Chinatown in San Francisco, but less hilly of course. There were tons of Chinese restaurants, markets, and random little shops crammed along the wet street decorated with lanterns.

I'm definitely coming back here more often -- and especially for the Chinese New Year next week.

Well, this post has become waaaay longer than I wanted it to be, so I guess I'll have to write more about classes and daily life next time.

Until then,

Cheers!