Spreading Christmas...Germs

Christmas Eve morning breaks...I wake up and trapse downstairs to snuggle up on the couch with my Phi Sig blanket to watch some quality Christmas cartoons.  But then, I sniff, and I swallow and I realize...I have a rather annoying cold, stuffy nose, sore throat, and all.  As the day progressed, so did my cold, eventually adding a headache and a fever to the mix.  I wrapped only a few gifts and didn't go to church.  But I at least was able to have dinner with my aunt and uncle that night, which was nice.

Christmas morning arrives, and I'm feeling still stuffy but better.  And after a good hot shower and some ibuprofen, I was read to go!  Dinner at my aunt's house was really fun.  I was able to see everyone that I couldn't see at Thanksgiving. 

The day after Christmas, which is always a sad day anyways because Christmas is over, was a Sunday.  And on Sunday, my lovely cold decided to upgrade a massive ear infection.  From the mid-afternoon to evening, my right ear went from being merely blocked to having shooting pains every few minutes.  Though calling the on-call doctor, an eventual trip to the ER, and a follow-up with an ENT the next day, I was given antibiotic for the infection, ear drops to heal the ear drum, and vicodin and motrin 600 for the pain. 

Today, I am feeling much much better.  The antibiotics have taken started to kick in, the ear drops seem to be working as well.  The vicodin seemed a bit extreme to me--so I've only taken that once on the first day.  And the motrin 600 keeps the pain down to a dull pressure. 

Silly sickness.  Doesn't it know that it was a holiday?

My Michigan

Now back in Michigan, I realize just how lucky I am to be here.  My flight out of Heathrow Airport was litereally the very last one that was able to take off to Detroit.  As soon as we left, terminal 4 cancelled or delayed all their subsequent flights due to the mass amount of snow that apparently hit London.  So I am quite thankful that I was able to get home on time.

This past week has been quite busy!  I was able to visit a few of my high school friends--some I haven't seen since the summer, and a few since even before then!  I've been baking Christmas cookies, talking, and visiting the Henry Ford Museum while it was all decorated--all was a lot of fun and I like doing all these Christmas-y things. 

And tomorrow is Christmas Eve!  My family will be wrapping gifts and watching Christmas movies all day, as per tradition. Then my aunt and uncle will come over in the evening and we'll all go to church together and eat a light dinner afterwards.  And we'll exchange gifts just between us then as well.  And on Christmas morning, we'll have eggs benedict for breakfast, open gifts, and later go to my aunt's house for dinner.  Yup, Christmas is definitely my favorite holiday. :)

I'll Be Home for Christmas

First semester is officiaIlly over.  I'm sitting in my room--it's my last night in London before Christmas.  And I'm thinking how surreal it is that I am leaving half my life in London and taking the other half to Michigan. Michigan is my home, but I've found that I use the word "home" to describe a lot of places in this world.  Of course, my family home in Sylvan Lake I call home.  I call Alma home.  I consider a few of my high school friends' houses home.  And now, I find myself calling my flat in London home as well.  I like that I have so many places that I can call home.

This past week was very nice.  I went to St. Paul's Cathedral with Callum on Wednesday--the last place I wanted to visit on my list of places to go for first semester.  I went Christmas shopping with Reena on Thursday and out to dinner with her and two of her friends from her course to celebrate the end of first semester.  Today I slept in quite late, did some last minute errands, cleaned my room, did some laundrey, and packed.  This fluffy stuff, preparing to go home and see family and friends I haven't seen in a long time, always gets me into that Christmas-y spririt.  It even snowed last night and actually stuck to the ground this time.  I love Christmas time--I'm a bit of a sucker for all the warm-fuzziness and cliches that go with it.  Call me an idealist, but I think it is important to keep up traditions to make the holidays special.  I'm looking forward to going to church Christmas Eve, eating eggs benedict on Christmas morning, visiting friends as much as possible, making every minute of Christmas break count.  Perhaps it is because I watch too many holiday movies, but I still think this time of year is when we can catch our breath in the midst of our crazy schedules and appreciate what and who we have in our lives.

Studying for my classes, adjusting to city life, meeting and making friends with some really great people, and exploring as much as I can--I have learned so much this first semester.  And while I am  going to love being back in Michigan for the next month, and am very much looking forward to all that second semester will bring!
         

Places and Pictures

This past week was filled with mostly writing and work for end of the semester deadlines (which are now completely finished and turned it!).  But I still was able to find some time for picture-taking.

Destination: Royal Opera House
Last Wednesday, I went on the Royal Opera House's Backstage Tour.  I used the tour as part of my research for my theatre performance paper, but that was just a convenient perk.  The tour was actually extremely interesting and fun.  The theatre has actually experienced two devasting fires in its past and had been rebuilt from the ground up both times.  The building that exists now is actually the completely updated and refurbished theatre.  Before, the work spaces needed were not all on site.  Set construction, rehearsing, and storage were all located in completely different parts of England.  Part of the latest modernization of the ROH was to make everything consolidated and under one roof.  Now they have a bigger stage, a complete stage-sized storage area underneath the stage that can be raised up and down as needed, a stage-sized practice room, complete with floors that have springs in them just like the actualy stage.  (Apparently the springs in the floor help absorb some of the shock and weight placed on dancers' feet when they dance and jump and whatnot.).  They have a storage unit in Wales still--only for practicality purposes, as they do 300 performances a year and have a lot of props and things like that to archive.  When I went, I was able to watch the lead dancer playing Cinderella run through her rehearsal of that song when Cinderella is dancing through her house with the broom and thinking.  She was in full costume and incredible to watch up close.  She was shorter than I had imagined a ballerina to be, but her posture and stance made her seem a million miles tall.  And I still marvel at the concept of point shoes--beautiful, but how does she do it!?  Especially when she flickers her feets, shifting her weight back and forth quickly to keep the movement going.  Her instructor was there as well, pointing out what to improve--hand gestures, facial expressions, head tilts, etc.  It was gorgeous.

Destination: Covent Garden
After the tour, I decided to hang out and wander through the area there--called Covent Garden.  The property used to be owned by Westmisnter Abbey and was eventually sold to an Earl (I don't remember which...) and built up into the marketplace it is today by the crown's favorite artist and designer of the time.  So it definitely has a more sophisticated atmosphere about it.  But more importantly, the second I stepped into the market area, I was transported into all that is Christmas-y!  There was music and gift wrapping and decorations and christmas trees, and even a hedge in the shape of Rudolph!!  haha.  I wandered around, taking pictures and browsing through everything.  It definitely got me in the Christmas-y spirit!

Destination: Camden
On Saturday, Callum and I went to Camden.  We had gone before, but at night.  And my camera doesn't like the dark very much.  So this time we went during the day so I could take pictures of Camden Lock.  The bridge there is amazing.  It seemed like it was older than the whole of the U.S.--and it very well might be.  It was made of light and dark grey bricks and had a slight curve as it rounded over the top of the water.  I think I stood and looked at the bricks, periodically jumping up an down just to feel them beneath my feet, for a good ten minutes--that how much I loved those bricks.  :)

Destination: Library
Though I have no pictures that correspond with this place, it was where I could be found for most of this past week.  I liked to stake out one of the few long tables next to a plug in the basement of the Regent's campus library usually...so I could plug in my computer and spread out my stacks of books and papers and drafts  and whatnot.  I like my space. :)  And I was actually quite productive there, moreso than when I work in my room.  I've found that that is something opposite of at Alma.  My study habits here are different.  I find I can't really work well in my own room and need to go to the library to get any real writing done.  I get far too distracted in my flat.  But in the basement of the library, my cell phone gets no reception. It takes a good 15 or 20 minutes walk to get there, so once I'm there I need to stay there to make my walk worthwhile.  And there is less noise (usually) so I can concentrate better.  All nice to know for second semester.

Destination: Michigan
My flight leaves this coming Saturday morning.  Only 4 more days.  And as I have no other work responsibilities, I intend to make my last 4 days fun.  This is a good way end the semester. :)

Destination: Facebook
All the pictures I mentioned are posted on facebook.  
     

First London Snow

I am not a morning person.  I hate alarm clocks.  I am not happy or perky even if I am well rested, and that sentiment rapidly turns worse and worse with the less sleep I get.  Therefore, my morning routine does not include opening my curtains, because that would mean I'd let the happy, bright, "let's get going" attitude known as the sun beat unwantedly into my room.  So I usually don't really know what to expect of the weather when I leave my flat, but since this is London I've become accustomed to rain.  But, this morning, when I walked through the 3 sets of double doors to get outside, instead of the flat wet drops of foggy precipitation plopping on my head, dampened white flakes were gently falling.  It was snowing! 

Now, because I live on what seems to be one of the busiest streets in central London, the city doesn't allow snow to stay on the ground.  Grit has been scattered across the sidewalks for weeks now in anticipation for any kind of icy liability.  But, I could still see it falling, polka-dotting my blue peacoat.  After a while, I didn't really care that it wasn't sticking to the ground. The air has that universal crisp snowy taste in it--that means Christmas is coming!  There are only three weeks left in the semester--I will be on my way home the morning of December 18th.  And I am exciting!  Knowing that I still have another full semester, I don't really feel any sense of sadness about leaving London yet.  I know I'll be back.  And I get to be home for Christmas.  I can't really ask for much more.

But in order to get home, I need to finish up this semester and only three papers stand in my way.  Slowly but surely I plod along.  The expected writing style here is slightly different.  Alma English papers tend to emphasize original, independent thought--not relying on others critiques to form your own opinion.  But here, being aware and able to reference others' work is important--the notion of being well-read must be present in addition to your opinion to support it.  We view these as two separate entities, the first being a critical textual anaylsis paper, the second a critical research analysis paper.  But here, research is a given, the first form doesn't exist as much.  I think both skills are valuable.  Though there is, of course, always room for improvement, I feel like I have at some level mastered the first way.  I can form an opinion and use a literary text to back it up.  I can take text and dissect it.  I can look at form and function, symbolism and poetic asthetics, and comment on their use, effectiveness, and meaning.  My writing skills definitely have been challenged while working on the second way of writing.  And though at first, I was overwhelmed with the concept of doing research in addition of such an in-depth analysis, I am finding that the extra reading, the extra hunting is often rewarding because it tends to help me clarify my own thoughts in different ways.  It also sometimes ignites different ideas that aren't readily apparent in just the literary text alone.  And I'm discovering that reading others' opinions doesn't really shape or influence mine as much as I thought it would.  Instead, it adds more layers and prompts more discussion.  My goal isn't to read and absorb--it is to read and digest.  It is very rare that I am aware of a time when I am learning and compounding skills, but this is one of those times where I can actually feel myself making new connections that I know will impact what I do in the future.  It is kind of rewarding to be able to know the end benefits while going through the struggling part--makes it more manageable. 

Speaking of this learning process, I have taken enough of a break from my American Lit. paper.  So for now I'll stop writing here, and start writing in a Word document again.  :)        

Updates and Observations

First things first:  I did get the internship at A and B Publishers!  About 4 hours after the interview, I got a call from Andrea in Westminster's internship office saying that A and B has offered me a position.  Of course I accepted!  So starting in January, I'll working working roughly 2 days a week there--depending on how my course schedule hashes out.  I need at minimum 15 hours a week.  So it should be great!

It is getting towards the end of the semester.  I have three more papers to write before December 15th and 16th.  My theatre paper and American Lit. paper should be decent--I think I have a firm grasp on those subjects and my topics for both are solid.  My Critical Perspectives essay however tend to shoot me into immediate frustration and anxiety--I don't really know where to begin and that worries me.  But, I am good at asking questions and getting the information I need, so it's just a matter of time I guess. 

Last week I took a detour on my walk home from Regent Campus to Marlebone High Street's Tesco to pick up a food supplies for the next few days.  Since I had some time, I did a little roaming just to check out the street a bit more.  It has become one of my favorite streets I think.  It is close, has lots of little shops, cafes, and pubs.  There are two great bookstores--one is a discount secondhand store and the other is an adorable cozy shop.  The Tesco carries more things than the one of Baker Street.  It is usually pleasantly populated but not overly crowded.  It isn't really a destination like Oxford Street is so it feels very local and home-y.  I like it quite a lot.

For my Modernism class, we are reading Virginia Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway, which I actually haven't read before.  I have come across it many times, it was often an option for reading assignments in high school, but for some reason I've never actually read it even thought I know a decent amount about the story and the author.  Anyways, I am glad that I am reading it for the first time here because the locations mentioned in the book really are as much of a character as Clarissa is and I am basically living in the exatct spot where the book takes place.  Regent's Park, Baker Street, Bond Street, St. James Park, Harley Street--I have been to these places, I living in these places, I walk by, through, around, in these places often.  It definitely has given the story and the book more meaning to me because I have a very clear picture of what is going on in the story since I have such a clear vision of the setting.  While I've always been one to imagine the plot going along in my head when I read books, it is a different experience to have more factual components in my imagined vision.  It is a little surreal.  Reading any specifically English writer, like Dickens, is like this now--I can see how if you grew up here, how these stories really would have a deep meaning, a big place in heart and mind and soul of a literary person.  American books sometimes do the same thing--if you read something about where you are from.  But because America has so many different kinds of places in it--the South, West coast, East coast, etc., we don't always have the same connection to it unless it takes place in our specific region.  The only thing I can kind of equate this to is the T.V. show Home Improvement.  That took place in the suburbs of Detroit.  And I love that show not only because it is funny and the acting is great and the stories are true and relatable, but I've always thought it was really neat how I understood ALL the cultural references--which not everyone else in the rest of the U.S. would necessarily get unless they had lived in or been to Detroit itself.  Supporting the Lions even though they're a terrible team, the inncessent talk about cars, references to Joe Louis Arena, "up-north", etc., these things are more specific to our area and not as many people understand the references.  It is the same with this book.  Because I'm here, I feel like I know more about it just because I've physically been to the setting.  It is quite a cool feeling.

I only have one more play to go to, Joseph K, and it is a musical.  I recently saw Hungry Ghosts, which centered on British motorcar racing in China.  Strange combo, I realize.  But it was actually REALLY good.  The plot had a lot of political sub-storylines running through it, along with commentary on the effects of capitalism in China and the rise of China as a dominating world power.  I've always had an interest in Chinese culture--I think it stems from my love of Amy Tan novels.  So this play I found just plain fascinating.  It took place in the Orange Tree Theatre, which is basically Fringe theatre (like off-broadway).  So the space was set up in the round and was very small.  I liked it a lot because I could watch other audience member's reactions to the play as well as the play itself.  One woman in particular who sat across from me was my favorite to watch.  From eavedropping a bit during the intermission, I gathered she was Chinese herself, attempting to make it as a West End theatre actress in England but wanted to start off in Fringe theatre as a stepping stone into her career to gain experience.  She spoke English very well, even with a bit of an English accent--she must have been living here for a while.  During the play, when the brother and sister in the story recall the terrible things they were forced to do as kids to betray their family during the cultural revolution, I found myself tearing up a bit, but she was so moved, her whole face crumpled into this intense emotion of sadness mixed with understanding and empathy.  I don't think I've ever seen an audience member react so openly to a scene like that before.  Her face was very open to her emotions.  It was just as moving to watch her as it was to watch the play sometimes. 

I decided to do my Theatre class presentation on the Handspring Puppet Company.   I finished it this past Thursday.  I have such an appreciation for the sincere thought that goes into the philosophy of puppeteering after doing all my research.  The company is based and founded in Cape Town, South Africa.  It started out as an educational tour group for primary schools to help teach kids basic lessons.  But after about 5 years, the company wanted to branch out into adult puppetry, so they started writing their own plays and making their own puppets for that.  It turned out to be a very successful decision, as they've been touring the world ever since.  I found myself actually enjoying working on this project--I tend to not like presentionations just because they take so long to put together since it has to look nice and include audience participation.  But I've come up with the idea of putting on a mock press conference, so each student in my class will have a question to ask, which I will pass out at the beginning of my presentation.  And those questions link up to my different power point slides and those will give the information about the company.  Hopefully it goes well.  I present it in a couple weeks.

I also recently went to the National Gallery and Portobello Road with Callum.  Both places were quite nice.  The National Gallery is very much on par with the DIA--it made me proud that Detroit has just as good an art museum as London. haha.  The museums here are free--which is quite nice.  I really like that I can do something like that for no money, it is good on a university student's wallet.  Portobello Road had a very nice street market. Fruit is a big thing--there were literally stands of fruit for about a block or two all in a row.  So if I ever need cheap fruit, that's the place to go.  They also had other vendors, some selling jewlelry, others hot food, still other clothing.  It was a good mix. 

I have put up pictures of my walk to Regent Campus and some sight seeing pictures that I took on the day I spent with Anne in Westminster.  Check them out if you wish. :)

The Interview

13 Charlotte Mews, Camden Town.  Such a small street that it isn't even on the map.  But on this little alleyway of an road is Allison and Busbsy Publishers.  In my opinion, because the company includes my name, I believe it's fate that I should work for them.  So at 9:30 a.m. this morning, I set out to Goodge Street Station.  Though it isn't far from Baker Street Station (which is the one by my flat), there is no direct line to it, so I had to take three--Bakerloo to Picadilly to Northern.  Thankfully none of these were of the 5 or so lines that were experiencing delays this morning.  Sitting on the train, I felt all business-y, blending in with the rest of those toting briefcases and newspapers quite nicely.  Upon arriving at Goodge, I saw that this station was underground moreso than the average tube station--there was a sign on the staircase saying that there were 136 steps and those who may have trouble with such exertion should take the lift instead.  I don't have trouble climbing stairs, but I took the lift anyway.  It spat you out on Tottenham Court in the middle of Camden.  Camden is known for its markets.  So the whole street smelled delicious--fresh fruit and vegitable venders lining the sidewalks and drifts traditional English breakfast wafting from little cafes.  I immediately turn left onto Tottenham  Street (naming two streets similarly--a bit confusing, but I guess it's no different from Commerce Rd. and Commerce Rd. in Commerce in MI)  About a block down, there's a little archway between a nail salon and a dry cleaners inconspicuously marking Charlotte Mews.  It looks like a a back-alley, but is actually lined with offices for a design studio, a PR firm, and other such businesses.  I walk up to number 13--a gold-plated sign with the words A and B Publishers swirled on it was posted next to its blue door.  I pressed the intercom button and was greet by a very friendly voice and was let in. 

Swinging the door open a bit too hard, as it was lighter than I expected, I found myself standing on the base platform of an extremely long staircase, down which Leslie was coming.  Leslie is in charge of the marketing aspects of A and B.  Extending her hand, she introduced herself and opened a door precariously positions off the middle of the staircase.  Inside I met Georgina, who oversees the editorial end of things--I would be working primarily under her.  The three of us sat down at a conference table next to a bookshelf that took up the entire wall, displaying most of the books that they have published within the last few years. 

Conversation was very informal and relaxed, which I liked a lot.  They did have questions for me, but they were posed in such as way that I wasn't nervous.  I also asked them questions about A and B too.  And every once and while we got off topic and talked about other things we do in our lives--which to me is a rather good sign.  I think that shows that our personalities are compatable to work together. 

Half an hour later, all questions were answered.  Leslie took note of my schedule for next semester and told me that she'll be in touch.  Though I didn't get a definite "yes, you have this internship," I feel pretty good about my chances.  Considering my schedule and saying they'll contact me soon are pretty good signs I think.  I know they are interviewing a few more candidates today and early next week, so I should know relatively soon.

Overall, I think the interview went really well and I can't wait to find out officially if I have the internship.  I can definitely picture myself working there--it is exactly what I'd want to do for gaining work experienc.

In other news, I finally explored all the quintessential London sites with my friend Anne from my theatre class--and I did so unintentionally! 

On Thursdays I have my theatre class.  Typically we just meet at Regent Campus, but some weeks we meet at different theatres for tours.  This week we saw a play at the National Theatre and we have a corresponding tour to go with it.  So yesterday I woke up earlier to get to the theatre on time for class.  But when I got there, no one else was there, not even my professor.  So I texted Anne to see if I was in the wrong part of the theatre and got the meeting place wrong.  She was running late but said that it sounded like I was in the right spot.  When she eventually got to the theatre, we walked all around the building, walked through every entrance, but still could not find our class.  Then Anne pulled out her planner.  It was then we realized that the National Theatre tour was NEXT week, not this week.  Usually if we see a play in a particular theatre, the tour is in that same week.  But this was the one exception. 

Now, by this time, we had already missed about a half hour of our 3 hour class.  And it would take another half hour to get back to Regent Campus.  We reasoned that since we had already missed a third of the lecture, we might as well just skip the rest of it.  So instead, we did some site seeing and did the proper tourist-y thing of going on our own walking tour and taking pictures of everything.  Anne is from Canada, and one of my closest friend who is also in the study abroad program.  Though I love doing things with my flatemates--they are all from the U.K. so they don't necessarily want to see the obvious London sites.  So it was nice to have someone who was coming from the same place as me and do the tourist thing.  We saw Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey, St. James Park and Green Park, and  Buckingham Palace.  We also walked  through the other end of the city of Westminster (which is where my flat is, I didn't realize Westminster extended so far--it's one of the biggest cities in London).  We found a great Italian restaurant for lunch--Anne had a craving for pizza and me for pasta.  It was a little on the expensive side, but it was delicious!  I'll just eat a bagel for lunch every day this week to balance out the expense, haha.  It was worth it.

I have gotten a little behind on posting pictures because it takes some time.  But I will try to put them up this weekend.