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!
