The other day I read an article about UK women being overworked. Their dramatic statistic?
1 in 10 women work 45 hours a week.
1 in 10 women work 45 hours a week.
Help me win CAPA's October picture contest. The winner is the person whose picture has the most likes. Voting ends on October 20th, so please don't delay.
The facebook link: https://www.facebook.com/CAPAStudyAbroad?sk=wall
The theme is "Exploration" and I've put up my picture from the Royal Observatory in Greenwich.
Thank you in advance for your help!
Most of you are probably familiar with my mom's own Mexican bean recipe (I've made it at school quite a few times.) The beans are similar to refried beans, but completely healthy (not fried, but steamed) with vegetables and literally no added fat. Did you know kidney beans are an EXCELLENT source of protein?
The first time I made beans at school [sophomore year]
Anyway, I love Mexican food but it seems like the craze is American. So today I attempted to make the beans with canned kidney beans since I didn't bring my wonderful pressure cooker across the pond.
Mushing them was difficult and the beans turned out quite dry. However, I found some excellent Mexican cheese at Sainsbury's and REAL salsa as well.
The point of this blog entry is that I have new found appreciation for the difference between "from scratch" and "not from scratch." Can't wait to make more beans when I return to school. :)
Today Kamna and I went to Southall. Kamna and I met by chance on a CAPA-led walking tour and are now sharing in our brown-ness!
The train out west of Central London was an easy ride and we got there in less than 20 minutes. Once there, we visited the largest Gurdwara outside of India. It was very large and beautiful. There was a wedding going on, so we couldn't stay long. However, we did not leave without taking prasad, which was absolutely delicious. Mom says there is nothing like Gurdwara prasad, and I would have to agree. Afterwards, we walked along the main street which was lined with all Indian stores. The street looked just like some of the streets in India. I had really wanted mendhi and to my luck, it was Karva Chauth so lots of vendors were doing it. Kamna and I got it done and we kept walking. People were looking at our hands, and I wonder if they thought we were married since it was Karva Chauth.
We wanted to hit up the pub "Glassy Junction" and the "Himalaya Cinema," but Glassy was closed for renovation and the cinema as well. Just a tidbit, Glassy Junction apparently accepts rupees as payment!
We passed a mandhir and went in for darshan, which always leaves me with a good feeling. We also stopped at an enormous Indian grocery store where I finally found my Khatta Meetha. I also got some Frooti juice boxes. On the way out, it just so happened that they were giving out free 1 kg samples of basmati rice! (It was a good thing I didn't buy any.) As we continued to walk along, we passed legit bazaars. One was Palika Bazaar where Kamna found a nice sweater and I was able to get my eyebrows done. The area was amazingly Indian. With a variety of stalls selling things from CDs and DVDs to formal jewelry to churiyan. Pictures taken there could easily be mistaken for India.
From there, we got suggestions for places to eat and headed to "Chandni Chowk." Both of us were feeling like having Chaat. I got Bhel Puri, Aloo Tikki with Chana and Mango Lassi, and Kamna got Bhel Puri, Gol Gappa and Masala Chai. The Bhel had potato and chana which I'm not used to, but I liked the additions. I couldn't eat it all, so I ate the rest of the Aloo Tikki for dinner.
I managed to keep my mendhi drying until around 5 pm and then put balm on my hand. It came out quite dark and hopefully will be even more so tomorrow morning. The trip was great because it allowed me to be culturally engaged for the first time in a while. It felt great to be around so much culture and the people there were very connected and nice, unlike the notions I get in Central London. We hope to come back again :).
This list shall extend in the future, I reckon:
1) Shortbread biscuits (cookies)
2) The existance of boiling water faucets
3) Ribena black currant juice
4) Many museums have free entry
1) Shortbread biscuits (cookies)
2) The existance of boiling water faucets
3) Ribena black currant juice
4) Many museums have free entry
All the CAPA kids from our apartment building (not an exageration) plus a few others went to Amsterdam this weekend and had a blast.
Before going on the trip I was really nervous for the usual reasons (forgetting things, losing things, being in a new place), but after I was packed I started to feel a bit better. We took a coach from London Victoria overnight to Amsterdam, Netherlands. Along the way we made a few stops, including an approximately 2 hour ferry ride across the English Channel! Upon hearing that we were to take a ferry, I imagined a grungy cargo ship, but to my delight it was more like a cruise ship. There were lounges, and cafeterias as well as some music videos playing. On the way there, there were lots of large groups of youngsters (mostly German I believe) who did not speak much English, blocked stairways and walkways and laughed and sneered at us. It was interesting. I didn't see any adults with these kids either, so that was slightly unsettling. I slept a decent amount on the 11 hour drive over to Amsterdam and when we reached there the area was deserted. We managed to find our way to our hostel using their subway and started enjoying the sites - especially the canals. We dropped off our luggage and went to find some breakfast. At breakfast I remembered I forgot to ask for tap water and instead got a very expensive bottle of H2O. I had learned my lesson, from then on nobody would even serve you tap water. What a waste of money. Hmph.
Natalie and me at a cafe eating breakfast
After some refueling, we split up. The group of us were set on seeing the sights. We went to the Anne Frank House, the Van Gogh museum and the Heinekein Experience. While they do have a seemingly useful bus system, the area is still considered very walkable, so we walked since we weren't exactly sure where we were going and so that we could take in the city better. The line at the Anne Frank House was quite long, but well worth it. There was a group of guys in front of us that were actually US students studying abroad in Barcelona who were also visiting. One guy was even from Pitt and one of my friends knew him!
The Anne Frank House was very good. I have read Anne's diary and am familiar with her story. The museum did a great job of engaging visitors through a variety of methods. Most moving were the videos interviewing people who knew Anne personally - like her father and good friend.
After Anne Frank, we visited the Van Gogh museum. He is from Amsterdam, as I had coincidentally learned the week before in my art history class. We happened to be learning about Impresisonism and Post-Impressionism that week. I had seen one of Van Gogh's Sunflowers in the National Gallery in London on Friday, then proceeded to see more of his Sunflowers and other works in Amsterdam on Saturday!
After the Van Gogh museum, we went to the Heineken Experience. I don't like the taste of beer at all, but they did a good job of entertaining their visitors with different videos, simulations and demonstrations. On the way back towards the hostel, we stopped by The Letters, which is a very popular tourist photo op. Essentially, they are humongous letters that say I amsterdam, with the "I" and "am" in red, so as to say "I am amsterdam."
Later that night we roamed around some more and did a quick walk through the Red Light District (which is world famous). It was much less scandalous than I had imagined.
On Sunday, we walked in the same direction because some of the others wanted to see the letters. The day before I had had a "young dutch cheese" baguette. Today I had "old dutch cheese," it was a bit more flavorful than its immature counterpart. I also had the best icecream cone that I have ever had in my life! It was plain vanilla, but deliciously creamy and the waffle cone was divine. Mmmm I had wanted another, but I resisted. After lunch, some went on to see the museums again while the rest of us returned in the direction of the hostel. I had had a mishap with the ticket machine upon arrival, whereby I put in a 10 Euro bill for a 2.60 ticket and instead of being given change, I was given a receipt directing me to Centraal Station to collect my approximately $15. So a group of us went in that direction and I got my money back. After that, more roaming, some dinner and then we were back on the bus on our way to London.
My young dutch cheese baguette and the ice cream cone that changed my life (background)
The bus ride was generally comfortable, and upon arrival in London I recovered until the late afternoon. The trip was great and I am so glad I got to go!
Today we went to see Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing at The Globe Theatre in Southwark. Last night, CAPA had a lecture with the professor who teaches the Shakespeare class. He gave us information about Shakespeare, The Globe and the play itself. We also saw a clip of a film version of the play. I was pleasantly surprised to see the same actor who played Hamlet in one film version, Wilson from House and Jeffrey from The Fresh Prince of Belair (which I should mention airs here on TV multiple times daily). There was also mention of the similarities between the play and other pieces of great literature like Pride And Prejudice [:)]. I did indeed fondly see the similarities.
I've read plenty of Shakespeare in school. However, I seemed to have forgotten that The Globe is an open-air theatre. It is essentially a semicircle with covered seating around the perimeter and a large area for people with "Standing Tickets" to stand and watch in the middle. Those who stand are literally at the mercy of the elements. In fact, you are not allowed to bring umbrellas and use them in the theatre. I had the great fortune of having a standing ticket, so I got to watch the 3+ hour play while standing. I was really tired afterwards, but I suppose I got to experience Shakespeare as the common folk no-doubtedly did back in the day.
The play itself was very impressive and witty. I love wit! The characters were believable and genuine. The clothing divine and the scenery so very natural. I do believe the actors did not use mics, but rather had to project their voices for the entire theatre to hear for minutes on end. It was my good fortune that they were performing Much Ado About Nothing as I love witty romantic comedies. The similarities to Pride and Prejudice added greatly to my enjoyment. It was also nice to know that I have retained much of my knowledge about Shakespeare and how to interpret his artistry. I got the jokes unlike some of my companions, so I could enjoy it more.
Now I am completely exhausted and am looking forward to chilling tonight in recuperation.
Today I went on a Harry Potter walking tour, starting at King's Cross Station. We saw a lot of the places where they filmed scenes in the Harry Potter movies, including the Leaky Cauldron, the Ministry of Magic and Diagon Alley.
They used to have a Harry Potter montage with a trolley half in the wall on one of the actual platforms, but they have moved in due to construction and all the congestion it was causing (hehe).
On my way to Hogwarts via the Hogwarts Express
On Friday after Greenwich I took the train to visit my Uncle's cousin and her family. They live in Crawley which is very close to Gatwick airport. I got to meet their cute children, go shopping and watch B4U. We even watched Thank You with one of my favorites, Akshay Kumar. It was great to get some real Indian exposure for once and some family time.
Didi, Bhaiyya, Rohit and Himani
On Saturday after doing some shopping and visiting the Gurdwara, we went to Brighton, a beach town on the English Channel. The town was nice and the area close to the actual beach wasn't stereotypical beach-y as it tends to be in Florida. It is a sandless beach, that instead has medium sized pebbles lining the shore. It was quite cold and windy when we went, but I've heard Brighton is a very popular place for Britons and tourists alike.
Me on the pebbles and the impressive Brighton Pier
The trip was certainly a great change to my daily routine!
After class today, CAPA took a group of us to Greenwich. We went there in great style - by taking a cruise down the River Thames. It was lovely! Seeing as there is generally dreary weather in London and I live in a basement, getting some sun was unbelievably great. It was also nice to get away from all the congestion (both internal and external) and noise. We had a great impromptu tour guide on the cruise that pointed out various landmarks while we were cruising down the river. Although I had seen many of the sights our guide pointed out before, there was something different about seeing them from the river's perspective: everything was more impressive. He had a great sense of humor that I guess would be considered dry, but I had a jolly good time listening to his jokes and other antics. The peace and quiet along with bathing in the sunlight even lullaby-ed me to sleep for a few minutes!
On the cruise by the Tower Bridge
Upon reaching Greenwich, we met one of our experiential learning professors and he led us around to a few places of interest. Greenwich has seen its main residents be royalty and the Navy. There is a beautiful Painted Hall, which was originally constructed to be a dining hall for the Navy. I was shocked to hear this because the hall is extremely luxurious.
The Painted Hall
There were a few other places of interest like the National Maritime Museum and Royal Observatory. We hiked up a steep hill to get to the Royal Observatory. There was an awe-inspiring view of the city from across the River Thames. Here is also the "start of time" or the prime meridian line. I thought it was very cool to be able to see the physical line. They have now even installed a laser than shoots across the line, that is visible at night. It is obviously very important.
The great view of the city from the Royal Observatory
The Prime Meridian Line
After this we were let loose to wander around on our own. My friend bought some postcards and then we found the Greenwich Market.
Tonight we went to London Fashion's Night Out around Oxford Circus and Bond Street. The girls and I got all dressed up and made our way over. There were lots of stores that were open late with things like DJs, drinks and prizes.
Girlies outside of Louis Vuitton
Gwyneth Paltrow, the current face of Coach, was even there. There was a huge crowd standing outside of Coach waiting for celebrity sightings. Most of the other stores you could walk into, or there was a queue outside to enter. But at Coach, none of the common folk were allowed in. There was security at the entrance and lots and lots of paparazzi. When Paltrow arrived it was obvious with the sudden frenzy. I was almost trampled, so I tried to get away from the madness ASAP. I had always heard that paparazzi was horrible, but I didn't realize just how bad it was. I can't imagine being bombarded to that degree every time I walked outside.
Overall, the night was quite luxurious and a great experience.
Okay, well the title is a bit misleading - it's the second one in the city. But still, how convenient that the second Chipotle in London opens a block down from a building with a bunch of Pitt kids?
Some of my roomies were fortunate enough to get some FREE grub from there prior to their opening, which was awesome. I went there a week after...
The layout was similar to those in the US, but there is no fountain to dispense drinks. Instead they had lots of fancy bottled drinks.
On to their food: Their tortillas were smaller(-), they had an option of brown rice available(+), their corn was white not yellow (?). Oh, and THEY DIDN'T USE GLOVES(----). And their burritos were smaller, yet more expensive($_$)
The burrito was good, but different. I told Purvi Didi I'd bring them all Chipotle burritos next time I visit so they can try it too!
Today we visited Stonehenge and Bath. Both locations were beautiful; but more to come on that later. In Bath, we went to a small pub to get some lunch. I ordered quesadillas, with "no chicken." When I got my order, there was no cheese. What kind of quesadilla doesn't have cheese? I told the waiter and he came back saying I had asked for no cheese. He was mistaken, for I had asked for no chicken. Then the lady who took my order came five minutes later to ask again. I said again, I asked for no chicken, not no cheese. She says she thought the later, but after a few minutes of soft arguing, agrees to remake it. After all that commotion, she comes back to tell me there is an hour wait in the kitchen. WHAT? We had to leave in 30 minutes to catch our tour. I told her so, and she said she could give me my money back - I'd just have to come to the bar. I went and waited for a few minutes, then she finally said the lady with the money would be a few minutes. Now I was getting irritated, did she expect me to wait there? I think she could tell, so she offered to bring it to the table.
A couple things I'm not used to:
1) Why did they have to ask me a bajillion times about my order? I said no chicken, yet they came and questioned it multiple times.
2) It was their fault they messed up the order, so why was I put at the back of the line?
So, I was left lunchless until the evening when we finally got back... good thing I had some munchies in my bag.
This really made me appreciate American customer service - where the motto is, "the customer is always right." Here everything is about pride. Somehow I think this has something to do with the rigid class structure here, but I will do more research and observation before making more comments on that.
I went to visit my Uncle, Aunt and cousin in the countryside of London. It was very different from central London - quiet, very green and uncongested. I managed to find my way out there with little trouble.
It was wonderful to meet Uncle, Aunty and Purvi Didi and spend time with them. Hopefully, they will come and we can roam around the city sometime!
Aunty, Purvi Didi, and Uncle
Today we went on a bus tour of London. We saw various places including Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square, and London Square. The tour was nice because it let us know the main places in London that we should go back and explore more thoroughly. We had a very good tour guide who told us a lot of background information and history.
I most certainly want to go to Westminister Abbey and the Tower of London, to do proper tours. I'd also like to explore Trafalgar and Leicester Square better. Also,
I most certainly want to go to Westminister Abbey and the Tower of London, to do proper tours. I'd also like to explore Trafalgar and Leicester Square better. Also,
I've gotta go to Harrod's. It's probably a good idea if I start a list, so I don't forget anything!
Buckingham Palace
Big Ben
The earlier part of Friday was spent attending various meetings at the CAPA center. Afterwards, I took the tube back home to get ready for our Arrival Reception, which was to be a traditional British High Tea at a hotel near CAPA.
The room was beautiful and the table settings simple, but elegant. Staff came by and offered cups of hot tea and coffee. We added milk and sugar to our own taste. After introductions by CAPA staff, some kind words and a great story about memories and the passage of time, we were invited to get what we liked from a great variety of sandwiches, small cakes, biscuits, and scones.
It was especially interesting for me to attend the tea since one of the hospitals I volunteered at had their own weekly high tea that was served to patients going through chemotherapy. Our high tea was very special and the patients really looked forward to it. We had home-made clotted cream that we made and gave out. I was surprised to see that the British clotted cream tastes quite different. Ours was sweeter and more like whipped cream, while the one here is saltier and more like butter. Both are tasty in their own way.
Having a traditional British High Tea was on my list of things to do, so it was great to do it through CAPA!
Lauren and I
The flight over to London was much better than I had expected. The last trans-Atlantic flight I took was horrible and I was expecting a similar experience. Mom had packed me lots of food just in case the in-flight fare was inedible, but luckily it was actually quite good! I slept for probably 3-4 hours on the flight into Dublin. During my four hour lay-over I dozed a bit and people-watched. Interestingly, there is no free Wi-Fi in European airports; instead most people were seen to be reading. YES READING! books and newspapers. It was nice.
After my connection to Heathrow, my roommate Lauren and I were miracously able to find eachother in the large airport and we took the Heathrow Express train and then a short cab ride to our flat. We were the last ones to arrive, but were still able to attend a short neighborhood walking tour and visit from our flat supervisor.
Later, a group of us went to a pub called The Globe to get dinner. I opted for a safer dish, Lasagne, since I was way too tired and hungry to risk being disappointed, though I will not leave London without having fish n' chips at a pub. Some of the other girls got burgers and one got fish n' chips. We all felt our meals were a bit different...
Afterwards, I unpacked unwillingly and we all fell asleep, planning to wake up by 10 AM. However, once we all finally awoke, in reality it was past noon!
After my connection to Heathrow, my roommate Lauren and I were miracously able to find eachother in the large airport and we took the Heathrow Express train and then a short cab ride to our flat. We were the last ones to arrive, but were still able to attend a short neighborhood walking tour and visit from our flat supervisor.
Later, a group of us went to a pub called The Globe to get dinner. I opted for a safer dish, Lasagne, since I was way too tired and hungry to risk being disappointed, though I will not leave London without having fish n' chips at a pub. Some of the other girls got burgers and one got fish n' chips. We all felt our meals were a bit different...
Afterwards, I unpacked unwillingly and we all fell asleep, planning to wake up by 10 AM. However, once we all finally awoke, in reality it was past noon!
