Catch-up

I have quite a bit of catch-up to write about so bear with me. On Friday we took a class field trip to the Roman-London exhibit in the British Museum after our exam. As always, the museum was stunning and the exhibit offered a plethora of artifacts and specimens from about 5,000 BC - around 500 AD or thereabouts. Below are some of the pictures I took of the displays. 

This was the Lindow Man, a mummified dude who had been preserved in a peat bog. I had learned about bodies preserved this way in Intro to Anthropology freshman year, so I was really excited to see one in real life.

More funny faces on jugs!

The museum was fun, but it was, well, a museum, and there's not really much to say about it at the moment (you really have to be there and see it).

On Friday my British Media class took a field trip to BBC, about a 40-minute tube ride away but completely worth it. After passing through a mandatory security check, we were taken to the front of the main facility which housed none other than the Tardis from the infamous Dr. Who TV show.

I've only recently discovered Dr. Who, but I was nonetheless tickled to see the movie prop in real life.

This is just part of the building -- We were only allowed to take pictures in certain areas for "security and copyright reasons." They took us into a conference room that overlooked an extensive room of monitors where television shows were written, edited, and aired.

Our 2 tour guides were extremely enthusiastic, with shiny, happy TV personalities, but it was clear the *really* enjoyed their jobs. They showed us the celebrity entrance to the building that had hosted such stars as Jennifer Lopez, Paul McCartney, and Mariah Carey.

Just outside this entrance was a huge statue of Helios the sun god. Further into the bowels of the 13-acre facility we were shown various studios (all of which are extremely small, contrary to what I expected), the Green Room, the BBC Weather studio, etc.

In one of the studios, we got to watch them filming an episode of Dancing with the Stars. In the Green Room, they told us stories about some of the crazy celebrity's requests (such as J.Lo insisting the room be completely done over in white for her 40 minute stay, and Mariah Carey wanting puppies to play with before her show). In the weather area, we got to play with a blue screen, and finally we were taken into a mock-up studio where they had a demonstration of a TV show production.

A lot of it seemed very staged (after all, it was a tour, and it was a production company) but it was still a unique experience nonetheless and I had a lot of fun.

Today was spent trying to plan my excursion week trip, which is currently not going well. I'm trying to coordinate with 3 other people to go to Ireland, but with each person working on a separate research project it is turning out to be quite the challenge.

My original plan was to go visit Giant's Causeway, an impressive geological phenomenon in Northern Ireland with one of my roommates, while my other roommate did a project on photography, and our friend studied local fairytales and folklore. Sounds easy enough, right? Well, now it turns out we have a dozen places we need to hit in about 8 days which quickly becomes very expensive and time consuming.

So, we're all pretty frustrated and kind of back to square one again. In case you've never tried it before, take my word that it's *really* hard to make travel plans with 3 people you've only known for a couple weeks and all have varying needs.

I guess we'll see what happens. In the meantime, I still have lots of reading, homework and exploring of London to do.

So, cheers to that!

London in a Fortnight

This morning I was struck by the realization that in exactly 14 days I will be leaving the States for my adventure abroad. I've wanted this for so long, but at times it just feels so overwhelming. I have chosen to embark on this journey, to begin a new chapter of my life and yet… This chapter seems to be one I am afraid to write.

But why?

I suppose it's for many reasons. It's always a little scary delving into the unknown. I'm afraid of all the things that could go wrong, but probably won't. Little stuff and big stuff. Just the whole idea of being so far away and isolated from the resources I know how to utilize at home is kind of an unsettling thought.

But at the same time, traveling to London is an exceedingly tame endeavor. Unlike many of my friends who have traveled all over the world to volunteer at orphanages in Africa, practice languages in Japan and South America, study marine science in the Honduras, and so on, visiting the UK for a few months seems like a walk in the park.

Yet in the story of my life, it is the biggest thing I have ever done. All conflicting thoughts and feelings aside, I know that in the end this will be an incredible character building experience, and hopefully one that will prepare me for the things I'd like to do in the future. On that drift, I am completely ecstatic about the trip.

I can't wait to see all the new sights, taste new foods, hear new sounds, experience life in a new way. I can't even fathom the reality of this opportunity. Fourteen days. How do I even prepare for this? What an adventure it will be!

London Fundin' and other Wonders

Sometimes I think that life is an unwritten story. Perhaps this is due to being born into a family of talented writers, but I like to think that everything you do and everything that happens is a new part of that story, and certain life events make up new chapters.

Childhood was one chapter for me, then the teen years, and then college. And now I'm starting another part within college, this one called "London" (for lack of a more creative title).

Life is indeed full of wonders of all shapes and sizes, many disguised behind masks of uncertainty and obstacles waiting to be conquered. This little wonder, known as "study abroad" in academia, is shaping up to be one such experience.

It started as a dream years ago, and has since come to fruition faster than I ever expected. I am fortunate enough to attend a college with an exceptional study abroad program, which includes a study centre in the heart of London. For little more than the cost of tuition (which is mostly covered by my financial aid), I will be spending an entire semester (Feb.-May) overseas in the UK.

It’s still a lot of money, but I've been saving up from my work-study job for the past year, plus the other day I found out I won a study abroad scholarship from the school. I am a little surprised by how smoothly everything is going so far, but I can't complain. I know it will be much harder once I get there.

Why? Mainly because, a) I have never traveled outside the US before, and b) I have never really traveled extensively on my own.

Yet somehow, this still seems like a fantastic idea. Call it youthful idealism, but somehow the thought of throwing myself at the mercy of world travel has been a tantalizing aspiration of mine for some time now.

Now that I’m actually starting to realize this dream it seems a little scary, but I am undeterred. I worked hard to get to this point and once I get past some of the more difficult parts, I know it will be a wonderful growing experience and very perspective-setting.

Next post I'll tell you how I got to this point – the application, the interviews, and the start of my planning process. Right now I have finals to study for, though, so sit tight and check back in a few days.