There has been many issues between myself and the landlord I have been staying with. The main issue that is created that stems to all others is the view of her to be a mother and watch over, advise, and teach me. Given, there a lot of students out in the world that are still watched over and cared for my their parents for every step they take, however, this is not the case for me. I have always been independent and striving to have my own experiences, my own views on life, and my own morals. Every day I am eternally grateful to my wonderful parents for teaching me the values and morals that have made me the person that I am today. There is a big difference however from teaching someone the values needed to live a good life, and enforcing those values to exactly one's own viewpoint.
With Jennifer, my landlord, she felt it necessary to critique me on staying out late at night, how to setup my room, setting restrictions for when I can leave my room, and multiple other things that stem from her trying to be a mother to me. Needless to say, having such an independent lifestyle and then have it be so constrained caused me a great deal of stress and it was apparent in every conversation with her. There was a lot of resentment for how she was treating me, but I needed to a place to stay so my arguments or discussions with her were limited.
This all came to an end the day after St. Patrick's Day. Apparently she did not enjoy the fact that I had 3 days of celebration and failed to meet her regulations for when to leave and enter the house. It was when I returned from the next day from school that she bluntly informed me that I had a week to move out of her house and find a different residence. Now, we had our differences but I did not see this coming.
I agreed and contacted the college's accommodation department to arrange a different host family to live with. Then I was surprised again because Jennifer had already contacted them and said I was "unfit" to live with anyone else. The idea that someone would kick a foreign exchange student out, and willingly make their chances of getting a new residence slim is beyond me. Due to her opinion the accommodation office provided no help to me finding another residence, and merely told me to look for a new place on my own using their directory. After making multiple calls and looking up different places I was getting no where...
A week had almost gone by and my already planned out spring break trip was approaching in two days. So as a last ditch resort I went to the head of the accommodation office and explained the situation with the point that putting me on the street would not be a good thing for university relations. After an hour of me talking with her, she said that she would call the dormitories and see if they could make an exception and take me in as a temporary resident.
The next day she contacted me and said that there was a spot available in the dorms, but I had to pay the entire rent of 101 pounds per week, and must have a contract until June 27th. With one day left before spring break, I calculated the costs and found I would be losing a substantial amount of money, but my choices were limited. Therefore I accepted and moved in the same day.
I'm now living in the dormitories and found that the luxuries of bed linens, toiletries, and laundry were no longer being provided to me. More money wasted, because of my previous landlord. However, the benefits of not being in a restricting household is enormous. I now feel that I am living on my own again, can make my own rules for my "household", and may leave and enter as a wish. Therefore it is debatable if my comfort is worth the amount of money I have spent.
Either way it was an experience worth having. :)
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
St. Patrick's Day
St. Patrick's Day has always been a big holiday for me since majority of my ancestral roots come from Ireland. Therefore, this holiday was especially celebrated while I was over here.
My original plans were to go to Dublin, figuring that the best place to celebrate the holiday would actually be in Ireland. I found a tour and invited all of my friends, but at the end I decided to back out due to multiple suggestions to not go. It was interesting for me to hear all of these people say "Don't go to Ireland for St. Patrick's Day... it's not celebrated." Their logic and views come from people have originally gone over and found that the holiday is celebrated more as a religious holiday instead of the green rivers of drinking as it is in America.
So instead of going to Dublin, I decided to go to the celebrations here in London, which was an amazing event. This celebration took place on the Sunday before St. Patrick's Day and a group of my friends and I traveled to central London to watch the parade and the concert going on. We were a little slow getting started and missed the parade but stayed at the concert and festival for the better part of the day. I had the wonderful experience of meeting my friend Emma who is from Belfast and so far is the most Irish person I have ever met.
As mentioned before I love my Irish heritage so I went to London supporting the green, white, and orange flag. We all bought face paint and everyone had flags on their face, but I decided to take it another step and make my entire face the flag of Ireland. =) The result was terrific, and after I dyed my hair green, I received looks from every person I walked past.
Then after the festival and celebrations we went around central London for a pub crawl. After going to a few different pubs we took the party back to our local residence in London and went to one of our favorite pubs Coronation Hall. This is due to a number of facts, one being it is the cheapest pub in our area, another because it is well designed so our group of friends may have our own almost private party. Needless to say it was a very long night and a longer morning...
However, the celebrations were not over and my friends and went out the next night to have ourselves a Guinness at the stroke of midnight on St. Patrick's Day. One Guinness turned into a few more and the celebrations continued from the night, to the morning, to the afternoon, to the night of St. Patrick's Day. It was some of the most fun I've had and I made a lot of friends in the process of the three days.
Little did I know, my celebrations were going to come to an abrupt end the next day...
My original plans were to go to Dublin, figuring that the best place to celebrate the holiday would actually be in Ireland. I found a tour and invited all of my friends, but at the end I decided to back out due to multiple suggestions to not go. It was interesting for me to hear all of these people say "Don't go to Ireland for St. Patrick's Day... it's not celebrated." Their logic and views come from people have originally gone over and found that the holiday is celebrated more as a religious holiday instead of the green rivers of drinking as it is in America.
So instead of going to Dublin, I decided to go to the celebrations here in London, which was an amazing event. This celebration took place on the Sunday before St. Patrick's Day and a group of my friends and I traveled to central London to watch the parade and the concert going on. We were a little slow getting started and missed the parade but stayed at the concert and festival for the better part of the day. I had the wonderful experience of meeting my friend Emma who is from Belfast and so far is the most Irish person I have ever met.
As mentioned before I love my Irish heritage so I went to London supporting the green, white, and orange flag. We all bought face paint and everyone had flags on their face, but I decided to take it another step and make my entire face the flag of Ireland. =) The result was terrific, and after I dyed my hair green, I received looks from every person I walked past.
Then after the festival and celebrations we went around central London for a pub crawl. After going to a few different pubs we took the party back to our local residence in London and went to one of our favorite pubs Coronation Hall. This is due to a number of facts, one being it is the cheapest pub in our area, another because it is well designed so our group of friends may have our own almost private party. Needless to say it was a very long night and a longer morning...
However, the celebrations were not over and my friends and went out the next night to have ourselves a Guinness at the stroke of midnight on St. Patrick's Day. One Guinness turned into a few more and the celebrations continued from the night, to the morning, to the afternoon, to the night of St. Patrick's Day. It was some of the most fun I've had and I made a lot of friends in the process of the three days.
Little did I know, my celebrations were going to come to an abrupt end the next day...
Procastination
Hello everyone!
Wow it has certainly been a long time since I have updated this and I have to again apologize for my tardiness. With Amsterdam alone I wanted to give as much description as I could so that everyone could get some idea of my experiences as well as a point of reference for me to go back and review later on in life. I'm finding this harder to achieve due to the massive amounts of explaining and detail that is required for each adventure.
However, I do plan on writing about all of my experiences in the next few weeks so that I don't lose the little experiences that made everything so special to me. Here is my plan for the next few blogs:
By the time all of these of done, I will have already had the following experiences that I will write about:
- Thorpe Amusement Park
- Teracia's Visit
- - Athens, Greece
- - Rome, Italy
- - Florence, Italy
- - Pisa, Italy
- - Paris, France
So like I said I have a lot of writing and detail o go into, so thank you for reading and I hope to have this completed in a reasonable time.
Wow it has certainly been a long time since I have updated this and I have to again apologize for my tardiness. With Amsterdam alone I wanted to give as much description as I could so that everyone could get some idea of my experiences as well as a point of reference for me to go back and review later on in life. I'm finding this harder to achieve due to the massive amounts of explaining and detail that is required for each adventure.
However, I do plan on writing about all of my experiences in the next few weeks so that I don't lose the little experiences that made everything so special to me. Here is my plan for the next few blogs:
- St. Patrick's Day
- Moving from my residence
- Spring break
- Athens, Greece
- The island of Mykonos off of Greece
- Prague, Czech Republic
- Vienna, Austria
- Krakow, Poland
- Berlin, Germany
- Kingston University course work
By the time all of these of done, I will have already had the following experiences that I will write about:
- Thorpe Amusement Park
- Teracia's Visit
- - Athens, Greece
- - Rome, Italy
- - Florence, Italy
- - Pisa, Italy
- - Paris, France
So like I said I have a lot of writing and detail o go into, so thank you for reading and I hope to have this completed in a reasonable time.
Amsterdam Part 2
Hello again, and welcome to the second part of my Amsterdam trip!
So I promised to mention three more things in my trip that I utterly enjoyed and those were the street performers, two Dutch chess players, the wonderful Heineken beer, and the method of transport in Amsterdam.
I'll start off with the street performers because I spent a bit of my time in Amsterdam watching them. There were a number of different types of street performers, some who just dressed up in costumes for the tourists to have pictures made with them for a donation. While others were "professional" performers doing dangerous tricks, but they still only accepted donations.
Those who dressed in costumes included Batman, Darth Vader, Aquaman, and some sea type creature. They merely stood on a booth and waited for people to come up and give them a donation. On the days I was there, the same people were in the same places every day and I believe that those donations make for a full time job.
A definite sight to see was the professionals who started their performance by just yelling really loud "Okay let's get started!" and walking around drawing peoples' attention. I watched as one street performer had to do this three times in order to get enough people to look at him and stop what they were doing, after this he lit a torch and raised it high in the air to draw even more attention. After talking for a bit explaining what he was doing and such he started the performance. Now I have seen jugglers on TV, but seeing one in person is something completely different. You are there and watching them risk their life for entertainment, and you feel a sort of responsibility if anything was to happen.
This particular act involved a sharp machete, which he used to cut an apple, a torch that was on fire, and finally an apple. He placed his briefcase vertically on the cobblestones and stood on it, which was a feet of itself. Then he had members of the audience hand him the torch, machete, and apple. The amazing thing about the juggling performance was not only did he juggle but he ate the apple when he had it in his hand!
Even though was a life risking act the performer only accepted donations for it - though they were highly encouraged. What was even more interesting was the method of donation, most donations in the States have people place money in a bin or something that leaves them anonymous; this was not the case here. The performer proudly stood and held out his hat for donations. There was a certain connection with the person then after him seeing you giving when you could walk away. I proudly gave both times I watched performances and I was surprised to see people not pay a cent.
After staying around for a while I saw the act start up again and I realized that this is their complete living, they don't do this on the side, they depend on donations. That is a very unique way to live life, purely on the hope that someone will choose to give money. I find it very admirable.
There was also a constant sound of music on the streets of Amsterdam. With many people singing, playing guitar, playing steel drums, playing anything; it conveyed a very high level of love for music. Music, for those who don't know is one of my other passions. I love playing the drums, the rhythm and beat, the whole essence of music is uplifting.
One amazing guitarist was the typical dreadlocks, baggy clothes, and laying by the street just playing music. I could tell he wasn't looking for money, or anything, just being with the people and sharing the love of music. After listening to a few songs I thanked him and gave him a couple of Euros.
These types of experiences I find are far worth more than the average donations. Most museums and shows perform for tourists, but in reality most of the actual culture never goes to the events. Therefore, by paying more for them you lose out by not paying a few Euros to listen to music, or see a street performer that people are exposed to every day.
Truly an amazing experience in such a short time.
So I promised to mention three more things in my trip that I utterly enjoyed and those were the street performers, two Dutch chess players, the wonderful Heineken beer, and the method of transport in Amsterdam.
I'll start off with the street performers because I spent a bit of my time in Amsterdam watching them. There were a number of different types of street performers, some who just dressed up in costumes for the tourists to have pictures made with them for a donation. While others were "professional" performers doing dangerous tricks, but they still only accepted donations.
Those who dressed in costumes included Batman, Darth Vader, Aquaman, and some sea type creature. They merely stood on a booth and waited for people to come up and give them a donation. On the days I was there, the same people were in the same places every day and I believe that those donations make for a full time job.
A definite sight to see was the professionals who started their performance by just yelling really loud "Okay let's get started!" and walking around drawing peoples' attention. I watched as one street performer had to do this three times in order to get enough people to look at him and stop what they were doing, after this he lit a torch and raised it high in the air to draw even more attention. After talking for a bit explaining what he was doing and such he started the performance. Now I have seen jugglers on TV, but seeing one in person is something completely different. You are there and watching them risk their life for entertainment, and you feel a sort of responsibility if anything was to happen.
This particular act involved a sharp machete, which he used to cut an apple, a torch that was on fire, and finally an apple. He placed his briefcase vertically on the cobblestones and stood on it, which was a feet of itself. Then he had members of the audience hand him the torch, machete, and apple. The amazing thing about the juggling performance was not only did he juggle but he ate the apple when he had it in his hand!
Even though was a life risking act the performer only accepted donations for it - though they were highly encouraged. What was even more interesting was the method of donation, most donations in the States have people place money in a bin or something that leaves them anonymous; this was not the case here. The performer proudly stood and held out his hat for donations. There was a certain connection with the person then after him seeing you giving when you could walk away. I proudly gave both times I watched performances and I was surprised to see people not pay a cent.
After staying around for a while I saw the act start up again and I realized that this is their complete living, they don't do this on the side, they depend on donations. That is a very unique way to live life, purely on the hope that someone will choose to give money. I find it very admirable.
There was also a constant sound of music on the streets of Amsterdam. With many people singing, playing guitar, playing steel drums, playing anything; it conveyed a very high level of love for music. Music, for those who don't know is one of my other passions. I love playing the drums, the rhythm and beat, the whole essence of music is uplifting.
One amazing guitarist was the typical dreadlocks, baggy clothes, and laying by the street just playing music. I could tell he wasn't looking for money, or anything, just being with the people and sharing the love of music. After listening to a few songs I thanked him and gave him a couple of Euros.
These types of experiences I find are far worth more than the average donations. Most museums and shows perform for tourists, but in reality most of the actual culture never goes to the events. Therefore, by paying more for them you lose out by not paying a few Euros to listen to music, or see a street performer that people are exposed to every day.
Truly an amazing experience in such a short time.
Amsterdam
Hello everyone! I hope all is going well with your lives and activities; they certainly are going well for mine. This is another long and hopefully interesting blog about my travels and activities while spending five days and four nights in the amazing city of Amsterdam.
As most of you know, the very mention of Amsterdam to any college age kid fills them with excitement, wonderment, and above all curiosity. Thus with these fillings that I certainly had I took it upon myself that while studying in London I should visit this mysterious city that some have referred to as "the city of sin".
One important note to my story is that I made this adventure alone. I originally planned out a trip with roughly eight of my friends but when push came to shove it was hard to have everyone organized and pay for the trip in time before prices shot up. So therefore the week before my intended departure, I bought my ticket through Expedia so that I would have a flight plus hotel package, and sent out a message saying that I was going, and if anyone wanted to join they were more than welcome.
The notion of experiencing another country with a different culture and language by myself was my original intention for all of my trips abroad As some of you may know from me personally, I have always been a very independent person striving to excel on my own. Sometimes this gets the better of me by not accepting help when I need it, but I would have to say in my twenty-one years of life the hardships have definitely benefited me more than hurt me.
However, the notion of going by myself was bizarre to a few of my friends here who sarcastically called me crazy for even considering it. I just smiled and said "yep". It turned out that there were a few people excited enough to pay the extra price and come for a few days, however due to circumstances I'll explain later, I was only able to be with them a few hours on Saturday.
So my journey begins in the cold, dark, and painfully early morning of Thursday, February 26th. Upon waking at 4am, I went about my normal morning routine and grabbed my pre-packed bags and headed to the bus stop.
Since I do not have a car here in London, all traveling must use public transportation. There are enormous details in the different kinds of public transportation that London has to offer, and I may touch upon them at a later date, but for now know that I buses are cheaper for me so that causes longer traveling times.
My flight to Amsterdam was at 9am at an airport that is a bit of hike from central London (thus why leaving 5 hours earlier). The traveling process involved waiting at one bus stop for about ten minutes, hoping on the bus and traveling to Tooting Train Station, which I hopped on another bus which took me to central London's Victoria Station. This took roughly two hours with wait times at the stops, and of course the driving time. Once arriving in Victoria station, I hopped on a train to the airport, which took another hour.
This is one of the big disadvantages of public transportation. For me to arrive at a destination 30 miles south, I must first take a bus 30 miles east, then another bus 30 miles north, then a train 60 miles south. Phew.
After arriving at the airport I only had carry-on luggage with clothes in one bag, and then my backpack with the essential camera and laptop. Thanks to my wonderful girlfriend Teracia, I was able to pack very lightly. She gave me a all-in-one custom made traveling pack which has pretty much every kind of emergency, hygienic, and useful tool that may be needed. So in guy terms, I just have to pack the tiny bag that she gave me, plus clothes, and then I’m all set.
Security at the airport was pretty tough since I always seem to be "randomly selected" (I have not once gone through an airport without being frisked and randomly "selected" no joke). They reviewed my lovely all-in-one bag with much worry since I just packed the bag and forgot to do the proper packing methods for liquids and such, but they saw that nothing was opened or used and let my by. It did give me a bit of a time crunch, though because normally they advertise to get there two hours before your flight in case there is a problem with security. Well since I always have a problem with security and I always get through in an hour, I usually just show up an hour before the flight.
However now after through security, I had 20 minutes to get to my flight. Not a big deal usually since all it requires is going to the gate; however I found out that my flight was in another terminal that I had to take another train to, and then also my flight was at the end of that terminal. So roughly I had to get to the train (roughly 2 blocks away), hope that it was there when I got there, take the train to the other terminal, and get to my gate (roughly 6 blocks away)... in 20 minutes.
Well I started running, and I see that my train was arriving so I slide in with all my luggage and momentum into a poor couple smiling happily and talking to each other. Of course I apologized and stood next to them awkwardly for the next 7 minutes of the train ride. Though I briefly interrupted their nice lovely conversation (which seemed to involve who loves each other more), they resumed their "argument" without hesitation.
As my train stopped, I took off running again with my backpack weighing me down and my luggage rolling along the industrial carpet. As approaching the gate the voice overtakes the mundane elevator-type music with an announcement that flight 1108 towards Amsterdam is calling any remaining members. Picking up the pace, I checked in and got on board my flight with a bright red face and huffing and puffing like I was the wolf about to blow some piglets' houses down.
British Airways has a very nice flight setup the normal "snack" served is actually a nice breakfast. Contrary to normal American flights, pretzels are not served; instead it is an all-in-one breakfast with egg and bacon in a nice French baguette, with a napkin, stirring spoon, and tiny trash bag for everything. It is usually custom to have tea in the morning and it is served similar to coffee with milk and sugar as an option. I highly recommend it.
After the short flight I finally arrived in the Netherlands. Upon leaving the gate it was an immediate change in culture because not one person in public or the voices on the speaker were speaking English. I smiled and continued out of the airport and hopped on a train to "Amsterdam Centraal Station." Which is the most northern part of downtown Amsterdam and the main transit in and out of the city.
I have a tendency to plan and try to have an understanding of what I am getting myself into, so I did a bit of research on Amsterdam and the methods of transportation. Similar to the great bus system that London has, Amsterdam apparently has an amazing tram system. I however could not find any information of how to either buy tram tickets or if I could just hop on a tram, so I stuck to walking.
For those planning on traveling to Amsterdam at some point, there is an "I Amsterdam" card which can be bought for 24, 48, or 72 hours that gives you full access to all museums as well as unlimited public transportation. I looked into getting one of the cards but since I was going to be in Amsterdam for five days I figured it would be better to start on foot and get to know the city.
So I left Centraal Station and headed for my hotel on foot, which was roughly three miles away. Unfortunately I planned out a walking route on Google Maps the night before but forgot to print it out. Unfortunately, that meant that I only knew that the hotel called "Inner Amsterdam", located at 1 Wanning, which is supposed to be near Vondelpark. Turns out that since all of the street signs are in Dutch, it is very hard to get directions let alone say the street the hotel is located on.
For example Wanning, is not pronounced "Wha-knee-ing" which I originally thought, it is pronounced "Vahk-ing".
I originally started asking people once I was near Vondelpark, however none of them had heard of the street or the hotel. So I took a very brute force approach to finding the hotel, by walking around the area of Vondelpark in a large circle, then smaller, then smaller. Eventually I found a tiny alley, which linked to another alley, which was called Wanning.
Needless to say this was an exhausting experience and it was only my first day. I put my chin up and walked in the hotel, which I found would better be named a hostel. After getting my room I was told I would be in room 108 in bed E. I thought it was strange that I had a bed name but I carried on into my room and found that I was actually staying in a room with seven other people; five other guys and two girls.
Little did I know that the experience of being in a hostel and constantly being around people that I did not know was the most rewarding experience of my trip.
Two of the guys were from Chile and I talked with them for roughly an hour about how they are studying in Germany for a semester and are just in Amsterdam for the weekend. They spoke fluent English, Spanish, and German. It was fascinating hearing them switching between languages, because if they couldn't figure out how to express what they were thinking in one language, they would switch to another language.
Unfortunately I did not get the chance to hang out with these two guys, but I did make one good friend named Lance. He was sleeping on the bunk above me and as soon as I started talking he was like “You from the states? (Apparently the accent is definitely noticeable).
Upon talking about where I was from, I was very intrigued to see the shock in his face. Normally when people ask I say, "Yes, from Michigan near Chicago". This is because most people know major cities rather than the location of the states. However Lance proceeded to ask "Where in Michigan?".
It turns out that Lance, is from Grand Rapids, Michigan and goes to GRCC for culinary arts. Also, that he works at the 1913 room where Teracia's best friend Michelle works.
...
I am utterly amazed how small a world this is.
Lance and I struck up a friendship while abroad and went on many adventures through Amsterdam. It was a great experience to meet someone completely new and just have a great time in an unknown city.
After resting for about an hour, I decided that I did not want to spend my first day in Amsterdam just relaxing in my hostel. So I asked Lance if he felt like getting something to eat and we went to a place just down the street from the hostel that he highly recommended. Now usually when I venture into a new land and culture I try to experience their everyday food as well. With London I had the normal fish and chips with a beer, but in the Netherlands it was hard to find a solid food that was commonly linked. Therefore we went to a nice Italian restaurant where I had magnificent pasta.
The service in the Netherlands is very much similar to Britain where you must go up to pay your bill, and free refills are unheard of. I assume it will be like this through most of Europe. I found out that it was actually the French who changed this concept with the idea that all a person should have to do to receive food is to sit down and everything would be provided for them. It is now expected amongst American restaurants to treat customer's this way; especially with the slogan "The customer is always right."
After the lovely dinner, we both headed off to central Amsterdam to take in some of the culture and places of interest. The culture itself has been something that I will never forget. Amsterdam of course is known for the legality of marijuana, prostitution, and pretty much anything you can think of. Often it is subject to a number of discrimination about ruining perfectly good people but I have to say I strongly disagree with that.
There is a type of acceptance in Amsterdam that is unlike anything in the world. I remember hearing one local call America as a cage that keeps people from doing what they would like to do, and as a result when the cage is unlocked people get in serious trouble. The metaphor has some actual basis to it because the locals in Amsterdam though that have the ability to get high, drunk, and do hard drugs every single day... they don't. Since it is legal, available, and accepted those who wish to have the occasional joint do, and just live about their daily lives. While on the other hand tourists and others who come into Amsterdam find it necessary to binge on everything that they could imagine.
I had this in mind when I explored Amsterdam for the following days seeing the dozens of coffee shops, sex shops, prostitutes, and drug dealers. It was an eye opening experience and certainly something I think people should see for themselves.
Since Amsterdam is not that large of a city, I have pretty much walked every street in the city's centre. This was due to me walking roughly ten hours a day. So to answer those who of course are going to ask, "Yes, I have been to the red light district." The red light district is actually a good portion of the city and stretches for a few miles.
It is important to know that the red light district may not be the safest place in the world but it is no different than any downtown street in a major city at night. One must be ready to be offered drugs constantly however, since I was offered crack, cocaine, heroin, ecstasy, and speed more than hundred times in five days.
Drug offers happen in three different ways in Amsterdam that I have noticed. You have the most popular method of people walking by and saying, "Crack? Cocaine? Heroin?" in a fast paced and silent tone. Be aware that it is important to continue walking because if you stop and look at them, they view that as a form of acceptance. The next popular method is people acting sick, noticeably. Often when you walk by someone who is standing on the side of the street that will look at you, and cough or sneeze. I made the mistake of sneezing while I was walking down an alleyway and I had someone approach me and ask, "You a Tom?" - which brings me to the third and final method in drug deals: Tom's and Charlie's. When asked if you are a Charlie that is code for asking if you are a drug user, if you are asked if you are a Tom, that is code for a drug dealer. Keep that in mind.
Now it should be obvious to those who know me I did not do any hard drugs in Amsterdam, and I don't recommend that anyone should ever do them. Besides the harmful effects of the drugs on your body as well as the long term repercussions, you should know that half of the drug offers in Amsterdam are by undercover police. Therefore, if you get offered drugs, take comfort in knowing that half the people there are there to protect you. :)
This blog entry is getting quite daunting and I've been working on it for some time, so I believe I will have to make a new blog about the other aspects of Amsterdam here in the future. So stay tuned for a blog about the Amsterdam street performers, two Dutch chess players, the wonderful Heineken beer, and the method of transport in Amsterdam.
As most of you know, the very mention of Amsterdam to any college age kid fills them with excitement, wonderment, and above all curiosity. Thus with these fillings that I certainly had I took it upon myself that while studying in London I should visit this mysterious city that some have referred to as "the city of sin".
One important note to my story is that I made this adventure alone. I originally planned out a trip with roughly eight of my friends but when push came to shove it was hard to have everyone organized and pay for the trip in time before prices shot up. So therefore the week before my intended departure, I bought my ticket through Expedia so that I would have a flight plus hotel package, and sent out a message saying that I was going, and if anyone wanted to join they were more than welcome.
The notion of experiencing another country with a different culture and language by myself was my original intention for all of my trips abroad As some of you may know from me personally, I have always been a very independent person striving to excel on my own. Sometimes this gets the better of me by not accepting help when I need it, but I would have to say in my twenty-one years of life the hardships have definitely benefited me more than hurt me.
However, the notion of going by myself was bizarre to a few of my friends here who sarcastically called me crazy for even considering it. I just smiled and said "yep". It turned out that there were a few people excited enough to pay the extra price and come for a few days, however due to circumstances I'll explain later, I was only able to be with them a few hours on Saturday.
So my journey begins in the cold, dark, and painfully early morning of Thursday, February 26th. Upon waking at 4am, I went about my normal morning routine and grabbed my pre-packed bags and headed to the bus stop.
Since I do not have a car here in London, all traveling must use public transportation. There are enormous details in the different kinds of public transportation that London has to offer, and I may touch upon them at a later date, but for now know that I buses are cheaper for me so that causes longer traveling times.
My flight to Amsterdam was at 9am at an airport that is a bit of hike from central London (thus why leaving 5 hours earlier). The traveling process involved waiting at one bus stop for about ten minutes, hoping on the bus and traveling to Tooting Train Station, which I hopped on another bus which took me to central London's Victoria Station. This took roughly two hours with wait times at the stops, and of course the driving time. Once arriving in Victoria station, I hopped on a train to the airport, which took another hour.
This is one of the big disadvantages of public transportation. For me to arrive at a destination 30 miles south, I must first take a bus 30 miles east, then another bus 30 miles north, then a train 60 miles south. Phew.
After arriving at the airport I only had carry-on luggage with clothes in one bag, and then my backpack with the essential camera and laptop. Thanks to my wonderful girlfriend Teracia, I was able to pack very lightly. She gave me a all-in-one custom made traveling pack which has pretty much every kind of emergency, hygienic, and useful tool that may be needed. So in guy terms, I just have to pack the tiny bag that she gave me, plus clothes, and then I’m all set.
Security at the airport was pretty tough since I always seem to be "randomly selected" (I have not once gone through an airport without being frisked and randomly "selected" no joke). They reviewed my lovely all-in-one bag with much worry since I just packed the bag and forgot to do the proper packing methods for liquids and such, but they saw that nothing was opened or used and let my by. It did give me a bit of a time crunch, though because normally they advertise to get there two hours before your flight in case there is a problem with security. Well since I always have a problem with security and I always get through in an hour, I usually just show up an hour before the flight.
However now after through security, I had 20 minutes to get to my flight. Not a big deal usually since all it requires is going to the gate; however I found out that my flight was in another terminal that I had to take another train to, and then also my flight was at the end of that terminal. So roughly I had to get to the train (roughly 2 blocks away), hope that it was there when I got there, take the train to the other terminal, and get to my gate (roughly 6 blocks away)... in 20 minutes.
Well I started running, and I see that my train was arriving so I slide in with all my luggage and momentum into a poor couple smiling happily and talking to each other. Of course I apologized and stood next to them awkwardly for the next 7 minutes of the train ride. Though I briefly interrupted their nice lovely conversation (which seemed to involve who loves each other more), they resumed their "argument" without hesitation.
As my train stopped, I took off running again with my backpack weighing me down and my luggage rolling along the industrial carpet. As approaching the gate the voice overtakes the mundane elevator-type music with an announcement that flight 1108 towards Amsterdam is calling any remaining members. Picking up the pace, I checked in and got on board my flight with a bright red face and huffing and puffing like I was the wolf about to blow some piglets' houses down.
British Airways has a very nice flight setup the normal "snack" served is actually a nice breakfast. Contrary to normal American flights, pretzels are not served; instead it is an all-in-one breakfast with egg and bacon in a nice French baguette, with a napkin, stirring spoon, and tiny trash bag for everything. It is usually custom to have tea in the morning and it is served similar to coffee with milk and sugar as an option. I highly recommend it.
After the short flight I finally arrived in the Netherlands. Upon leaving the gate it was an immediate change in culture because not one person in public or the voices on the speaker were speaking English. I smiled and continued out of the airport and hopped on a train to "Amsterdam Centraal Station." Which is the most northern part of downtown Amsterdam and the main transit in and out of the city.
I have a tendency to plan and try to have an understanding of what I am getting myself into, so I did a bit of research on Amsterdam and the methods of transportation. Similar to the great bus system that London has, Amsterdam apparently has an amazing tram system. I however could not find any information of how to either buy tram tickets or if I could just hop on a tram, so I stuck to walking.
For those planning on traveling to Amsterdam at some point, there is an "I Amsterdam" card which can be bought for 24, 48, or 72 hours that gives you full access to all museums as well as unlimited public transportation. I looked into getting one of the cards but since I was going to be in Amsterdam for five days I figured it would be better to start on foot and get to know the city.
So I left Centraal Station and headed for my hotel on foot, which was roughly three miles away. Unfortunately I planned out a walking route on Google Maps the night before but forgot to print it out. Unfortunately, that meant that I only knew that the hotel called "Inner Amsterdam", located at 1 Wanning, which is supposed to be near Vondelpark. Turns out that since all of the street signs are in Dutch, it is very hard to get directions let alone say the street the hotel is located on.
For example Wanning, is not pronounced "Wha-knee-ing" which I originally thought, it is pronounced "Vahk-ing".
I originally started asking people once I was near Vondelpark, however none of them had heard of the street or the hotel. So I took a very brute force approach to finding the hotel, by walking around the area of Vondelpark in a large circle, then smaller, then smaller. Eventually I found a tiny alley, which linked to another alley, which was called Wanning.
Needless to say this was an exhausting experience and it was only my first day. I put my chin up and walked in the hotel, which I found would better be named a hostel. After getting my room I was told I would be in room 108 in bed E. I thought it was strange that I had a bed name but I carried on into my room and found that I was actually staying in a room with seven other people; five other guys and two girls.
Little did I know that the experience of being in a hostel and constantly being around people that I did not know was the most rewarding experience of my trip.
Two of the guys were from Chile and I talked with them for roughly an hour about how they are studying in Germany for a semester and are just in Amsterdam for the weekend. They spoke fluent English, Spanish, and German. It was fascinating hearing them switching between languages, because if they couldn't figure out how to express what they were thinking in one language, they would switch to another language.
Unfortunately I did not get the chance to hang out with these two guys, but I did make one good friend named Lance. He was sleeping on the bunk above me and as soon as I started talking he was like “You from the states? (Apparently the accent is definitely noticeable).
Upon talking about where I was from, I was very intrigued to see the shock in his face. Normally when people ask I say, "Yes, from Michigan near Chicago". This is because most people know major cities rather than the location of the states. However Lance proceeded to ask "Where in Michigan?".
It turns out that Lance, is from Grand Rapids, Michigan and goes to GRCC for culinary arts. Also, that he works at the 1913 room where Teracia's best friend Michelle works.
...
I am utterly amazed how small a world this is.
Lance and I struck up a friendship while abroad and went on many adventures through Amsterdam. It was a great experience to meet someone completely new and just have a great time in an unknown city.
After resting for about an hour, I decided that I did not want to spend my first day in Amsterdam just relaxing in my hostel. So I asked Lance if he felt like getting something to eat and we went to a place just down the street from the hostel that he highly recommended. Now usually when I venture into a new land and culture I try to experience their everyday food as well. With London I had the normal fish and chips with a beer, but in the Netherlands it was hard to find a solid food that was commonly linked. Therefore we went to a nice Italian restaurant where I had magnificent pasta.
The service in the Netherlands is very much similar to Britain where you must go up to pay your bill, and free refills are unheard of. I assume it will be like this through most of Europe. I found out that it was actually the French who changed this concept with the idea that all a person should have to do to receive food is to sit down and everything would be provided for them. It is now expected amongst American restaurants to treat customer's this way; especially with the slogan "The customer is always right."
After the lovely dinner, we both headed off to central Amsterdam to take in some of the culture and places of interest. The culture itself has been something that I will never forget. Amsterdam of course is known for the legality of marijuana, prostitution, and pretty much anything you can think of. Often it is subject to a number of discrimination about ruining perfectly good people but I have to say I strongly disagree with that.
There is a type of acceptance in Amsterdam that is unlike anything in the world. I remember hearing one local call America as a cage that keeps people from doing what they would like to do, and as a result when the cage is unlocked people get in serious trouble. The metaphor has some actual basis to it because the locals in Amsterdam though that have the ability to get high, drunk, and do hard drugs every single day... they don't. Since it is legal, available, and accepted those who wish to have the occasional joint do, and just live about their daily lives. While on the other hand tourists and others who come into Amsterdam find it necessary to binge on everything that they could imagine.
I had this in mind when I explored Amsterdam for the following days seeing the dozens of coffee shops, sex shops, prostitutes, and drug dealers. It was an eye opening experience and certainly something I think people should see for themselves.
Since Amsterdam is not that large of a city, I have pretty much walked every street in the city's centre. This was due to me walking roughly ten hours a day. So to answer those who of course are going to ask, "Yes, I have been to the red light district." The red light district is actually a good portion of the city and stretches for a few miles.
It is important to know that the red light district may not be the safest place in the world but it is no different than any downtown street in a major city at night. One must be ready to be offered drugs constantly however, since I was offered crack, cocaine, heroin, ecstasy, and speed more than hundred times in five days.
Drug offers happen in three different ways in Amsterdam that I have noticed. You have the most popular method of people walking by and saying, "Crack? Cocaine? Heroin?" in a fast paced and silent tone. Be aware that it is important to continue walking because if you stop and look at them, they view that as a form of acceptance. The next popular method is people acting sick, noticeably. Often when you walk by someone who is standing on the side of the street that will look at you, and cough or sneeze. I made the mistake of sneezing while I was walking down an alleyway and I had someone approach me and ask, "You a Tom?" - which brings me to the third and final method in drug deals: Tom's and Charlie's. When asked if you are a Charlie that is code for asking if you are a drug user, if you are asked if you are a Tom, that is code for a drug dealer. Keep that in mind.
Now it should be obvious to those who know me I did not do any hard drugs in Amsterdam, and I don't recommend that anyone should ever do them. Besides the harmful effects of the drugs on your body as well as the long term repercussions, you should know that half of the drug offers in Amsterdam are by undercover police. Therefore, if you get offered drugs, take comfort in knowing that half the people there are there to protect you. :)
This blog entry is getting quite daunting and I've been working on it for some time, so I believe I will have to make a new blog about the other aspects of Amsterdam here in the future. So stay tuned for a blog about the Amsterdam street performers, two Dutch chess players, the wonderful Heineken beer, and the method of transport in Amsterdam.
Recent Events
Well this past week has certainly been a blast for me in London!
One of my classes is British Life and Culture in which we learn about different aspects of the average British life and why certain philosophies and processes in society and government go on till this day. The course is split into a weekly lecture as well as trips to key points of England.
Our first trip was on the first week of school and we went to Brighton, as detailed in my first blog, and I have to say the class started with high hopes. Well this past week I was not disappointed when we took a trip and toured the Houses of Parliament as well as the reconstruction of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre.
Parliament had a strict "No Pictures!" warning everywhere, and I'm not for sure why. My latest theory, since the Royal Pavilion did not allow pictures, is that it keeps the tourists coming into town. If everyone knows what Parliament looks like, then less would be willing to travel to England to see it.
Well I have to admit, I did sneak a few pictures and I may be deported because of it but oh well. It was amazing to see all of the art work, sculptures, and architecture inside the Parliament walls. For those who don't know, Parliament is split into two different houses, The House of Commons and The House of Lords. The House of Commons is where elected parliamentary members meet and discuss the processes of the state, they are the governing body of the United Kingdom (well not technically).
The relationship between the Monarchy and the Parliamentary Members is a very interesting one that I have never heard of. Pretty much the setup is, the Queen has all of the power, however, she only does what Parliament tells her to do. If she does anything on her own or passes her own laws, or refuses to sign on of the laws passed by Parliament, then there will be a guaranteed civil war.
The Monarchy in England has faced a lot of troubles in the past hundred years, but it is the British preservation of culture, identity, and history that allows them to coexist and run a stable government with a Monarchy.
The House of Lords in Parliament is currently only occupied by appointed members of staff (from previous Lords) as well as hereditary members. In recent years this house has been under a lot of criticism since the members are not elected by the general public, and for Britain to be a complete Democracy they would have to be.
So as our tour guide said there will be some changes to the House of Lords to come. Which will certainly change some of the customs that they have today. Right now the Queen gives the address to the state of the aspects of the future year. Like before, the Queen doesn't actually write the speech, it is made from the Prime Minister and she merely reads it.
However, there is a tradition that has been passed down year after year, and that is the Monarchy are not allowed into the House of Commons so that there is a separation of the Monarchy and the elected officials. When the Queen is ready to give the speech an official goes over to the House of Commons and knocks three times and the door is slammed in his face, symbolizing the right of the Lower House to debate without interference.
So there are a lot of British Traditions that have been passed down every year so that their culture is still preserved.
Another amazing place that we ventured to is the Globe Theatre. It is an almost exact replica of the Globe Theatre that Shakespeare wrote his plays and performed in. Unfortunately the original Globe was burnt down due to the thatched roof being caught on fire from a cannon firing as one of the props. This event was to for cast the later Great London Fire of 1666 where the majority of the city was burned down due to thatched roofs catching on fire and spreading to near by houses.
One interesting fact is that after the fire of 1666, Parliament made a new law that no building may have a thatched roof. However, the reconstructed Globe Theatre does have one. The tour guide explained that the builders and project managers of the reconstruction worked with Members of Parliament in order to change the law to allow this building.
The seats, to the stage, to the thatched roof, to even the pegs that hold the wood together are all exactly the same. It was truly remarkable to stand in almost the exact same structure as Shakespeare would of seen.
My final visit in Central London was the Westminster Abbey. This is where important events like the burial of Princess Diana and many other important figures. This church was by far the most impressive I have ever been in. The Anglo Catholic mass was terrific and the choir had seven part harmonies.
Despite one's own religious and moral beliefs, when you are in a place where the service has been done for the past 1000 years exactly as it is done now, you feel a strong connection to something. It is truly indescribable.
Well besides my Central London trips, I also have some other news. I applied for a bartending position here at a one of the largest night clubs, and I start this week!
The night club is Oceana and it has roughly 10 bars, 9 dance floors, and is 3 stories tall. I'm really looking forward to working there and experiencing what it is like to be a bartender. Should be a blast.
Well thanks for reading, and I hope everyone is doing great! I am still working on the site and I do apologize for not being faster ;)
Take care!
One of my classes is British Life and Culture in which we learn about different aspects of the average British life and why certain philosophies and processes in society and government go on till this day. The course is split into a weekly lecture as well as trips to key points of England.
Our first trip was on the first week of school and we went to Brighton, as detailed in my first blog, and I have to say the class started with high hopes. Well this past week I was not disappointed when we took a trip and toured the Houses of Parliament as well as the reconstruction of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre.
Parliament had a strict "No Pictures!" warning everywhere, and I'm not for sure why. My latest theory, since the Royal Pavilion did not allow pictures, is that it keeps the tourists coming into town. If everyone knows what Parliament looks like, then less would be willing to travel to England to see it.
Well I have to admit, I did sneak a few pictures and I may be deported because of it but oh well. It was amazing to see all of the art work, sculptures, and architecture inside the Parliament walls. For those who don't know, Parliament is split into two different houses, The House of Commons and The House of Lords. The House of Commons is where elected parliamentary members meet and discuss the processes of the state, they are the governing body of the United Kingdom (well not technically).
The relationship between the Monarchy and the Parliamentary Members is a very interesting one that I have never heard of. Pretty much the setup is, the Queen has all of the power, however, she only does what Parliament tells her to do. If she does anything on her own or passes her own laws, or refuses to sign on of the laws passed by Parliament, then there will be a guaranteed civil war.
The Monarchy in England has faced a lot of troubles in the past hundred years, but it is the British preservation of culture, identity, and history that allows them to coexist and run a stable government with a Monarchy.
The House of Lords in Parliament is currently only occupied by appointed members of staff (from previous Lords) as well as hereditary members. In recent years this house has been under a lot of criticism since the members are not elected by the general public, and for Britain to be a complete Democracy they would have to be.
So as our tour guide said there will be some changes to the House of Lords to come. Which will certainly change some of the customs that they have today. Right now the Queen gives the address to the state of the aspects of the future year. Like before, the Queen doesn't actually write the speech, it is made from the Prime Minister and she merely reads it.
However, there is a tradition that has been passed down year after year, and that is the Monarchy are not allowed into the House of Commons so that there is a separation of the Monarchy and the elected officials. When the Queen is ready to give the speech an official goes over to the House of Commons and knocks three times and the door is slammed in his face, symbolizing the right of the Lower House to debate without interference.
So there are a lot of British Traditions that have been passed down every year so that their culture is still preserved.
Another amazing place that we ventured to is the Globe Theatre. It is an almost exact replica of the Globe Theatre that Shakespeare wrote his plays and performed in. Unfortunately the original Globe was burnt down due to the thatched roof being caught on fire from a cannon firing as one of the props. This event was to for cast the later Great London Fire of 1666 where the majority of the city was burned down due to thatched roofs catching on fire and spreading to near by houses.
One interesting fact is that after the fire of 1666, Parliament made a new law that no building may have a thatched roof. However, the reconstructed Globe Theatre does have one. The tour guide explained that the builders and project managers of the reconstruction worked with Members of Parliament in order to change the law to allow this building.
The seats, to the stage, to the thatched roof, to even the pegs that hold the wood together are all exactly the same. It was truly remarkable to stand in almost the exact same structure as Shakespeare would of seen.
My final visit in Central London was the Westminster Abbey. This is where important events like the burial of Princess Diana and many other important figures. This church was by far the most impressive I have ever been in. The Anglo Catholic mass was terrific and the choir had seven part harmonies.
Despite one's own religious and moral beliefs, when you are in a place where the service has been done for the past 1000 years exactly as it is done now, you feel a strong connection to something. It is truly indescribable.
Well besides my Central London trips, I also have some other news. I applied for a bartending position here at a one of the largest night clubs, and I start this week!
The night club is Oceana and it has roughly 10 bars, 9 dance floors, and is 3 stories tall. I'm really looking forward to working there and experiencing what it is like to be a bartender. Should be a blast.
Well thanks for reading, and I hope everyone is doing great! I am still working on the site and I do apologize for not being faster ;)
Take care!
New Favorite Place
Another interesting change in American to British way of life is the numbering of floors. More measurements here are recorded under the metric system, so it would also make sense that number their floors starting with 0.
That's right, a zero-based numbering system in common life. So therefore the first floor here would be known as the second floor in the states.
Upon discovering this fact, I also discovered my new favorite place at Kingston University. It is the second floor of the library.
Why the library?
Because the second floor is the Science and Technology portion of the library. It literally has the largest section of Computer Science books over web design, artificial intelligence, parallel algorithms, data structures, computational mathematics, and more.
If I had to guess the number of books that relate to the realm of computation it would have to be in the thousands. With the majority of the books available to check out for an entire month and the newest editions able to check out for a week.
As a result of the wealth of knowledge, I now have checked out "AI for Game Developers", "Linear Algebra and its Applications", "Algorithms in Java, Graph Algorithms", "Discovering Wavelets", "Object-Oriented PHP", and "The Big Bang". All free, and I have them for a month...
I've always been interested in game development and AI. Not really as a career purpose but more of to understand the mathematical basis behind everyday games. That is why I chose to get AI for Game Developers, so it may give me an introduction to the topic.
Another intriguing book is Discovering Wavelets. Wavelets are very advanced mathematics which combines calculus, linear algebra, and discrete mathematics. Its main purpose is to analyze fingerprints and other image related material. For example, using wavelets it would be possible to pass an image of an airport and have the computer program highlight all of the airplanes automatically. Alternatively, image recognition would also give the ability to break CAPTCHAs. For those who don't know a CAPTCHA is an image on a website that has text which prompts the user to input so that a computer may not fill out the form, it requires an actual human. Since I don't know linear algebra, that is why I picked up the Linear Algebra and its Applications book.
The Object-Oriented PHP is to give me some ideas to better create the site into an expandable basis. Right now the coding for this isn't my best, and it was mainly just put together so I was able to post a blog. I'm hoping to change that soon :).
And finally, the Big Bang book is, obviously, over the theory of The Big Bang. Since my evolution class last semester I have often scoffed at the notion that matter just combined and then "created" the universe. Often times denying something is true is accompanied by ignorance. So for me to have a solid faith and understanding, I figured I'd do some research on the subject.
Thank you for the knowledge Kingston!
That's right, a zero-based numbering system in common life. So therefore the first floor here would be known as the second floor in the states.
Upon discovering this fact, I also discovered my new favorite place at Kingston University. It is the second floor of the library.
Why the library?
Because the second floor is the Science and Technology portion of the library. It literally has the largest section of Computer Science books over web design, artificial intelligence, parallel algorithms, data structures, computational mathematics, and more.
If I had to guess the number of books that relate to the realm of computation it would have to be in the thousands. With the majority of the books available to check out for an entire month and the newest editions able to check out for a week.
As a result of the wealth of knowledge, I now have checked out "AI for Game Developers", "Linear Algebra and its Applications", "Algorithms in Java, Graph Algorithms", "Discovering Wavelets", "Object-Oriented PHP", and "The Big Bang". All free, and I have them for a month...
I've always been interested in game development and AI. Not really as a career purpose but more of to understand the mathematical basis behind everyday games. That is why I chose to get AI for Game Developers, so it may give me an introduction to the topic.
Another intriguing book is Discovering Wavelets. Wavelets are very advanced mathematics which combines calculus, linear algebra, and discrete mathematics. Its main purpose is to analyze fingerprints and other image related material. For example, using wavelets it would be possible to pass an image of an airport and have the computer program highlight all of the airplanes automatically. Alternatively, image recognition would also give the ability to break CAPTCHAs. For those who don't know a CAPTCHA is an image on a website that has text which prompts the user to input so that a computer may not fill out the form, it requires an actual human. Since I don't know linear algebra, that is why I picked up the Linear Algebra and its Applications book.
The Object-Oriented PHP is to give me some ideas to better create the site into an expandable basis. Right now the coding for this isn't my best, and it was mainly just put together so I was able to post a blog. I'm hoping to change that soon :).
And finally, the Big Bang book is, obviously, over the theory of The Big Bang. Since my evolution class last semester I have often scoffed at the notion that matter just combined and then "created" the universe. Often times denying something is true is accompanied by ignorance. So for me to have a solid faith and understanding, I figured I'd do some research on the subject.
Thank you for the knowledge Kingston!
British Service vs. American Service
There has been some interesting things that I have noticed now that I have been in the U.K. for some time, the most prevalent is restaurant service.
For example, if you go to a restaurant you would assume that when you sit down someone would come to take your order. This is not the case here, you go to the bartender and place your order.
Also, no matter how large your party, or how much you persist bills will never be split by person. A total bill will be calculated and it is up to you to divide the money yourself.
It has been very interesting getting use to this, mainly because I know it isn't "bad service" rather it is just what people are use to.
The final thing that I have to warn everyone about, and even though tour books and everything state that tipping is normal. It isn't.
I have never seen so many weird looks as I have when I started tipping bartenders. Drinks include the tip. Luckily at one of the events at the university a professor was there and was like "Stop tipping the bartenders!!!"
Well I made some people get around £10 an hour... Their lucky day. :)
For example, if you go to a restaurant you would assume that when you sit down someone would come to take your order. This is not the case here, you go to the bartender and place your order.
Also, no matter how large your party, or how much you persist bills will never be split by person. A total bill will be calculated and it is up to you to divide the money yourself.
It has been very interesting getting use to this, mainly because I know it isn't "bad service" rather it is just what people are use to.
The final thing that I have to warn everyone about, and even though tour books and everything state that tipping is normal. It isn't.
I have never seen so many weird looks as I have when I started tipping bartenders. Drinks include the tip. Luckily at one of the events at the university a professor was there and was like "Stop tipping the bartenders!!!"
Well I made some people get around £10 an hour... Their lucky day. :)
Hello and Welcome!
Hello family, friends, and co-workers! Welcome to my blog!
The site is still not complete but I felt that since I have been here for a full week I should impart some knowledge I've gained already here in London, some interesting cultural differences, and a description of what all has happened. Readers, be warned, this initial blog is quite long and I will try to start posting more often so that you don't have a book to read :).
The journey abroad was rough and challenging but alas I made it. Travel usually isn't difficult for me, however, since I was moving out of my old place before I left, it had lasting effects. The day of my travels started early at 5am when I started the final move of everything. Now at this point I was moving everything fine and I could see the light at the end of the tunnel.
This took an abrupt turn of events when after rushing and moving everything that my back gave out. I didn't think a 21 year old healthy back could give out but if you push it hard enough, it will. Luckily before this event happened I picked my girlfriend Teracia up and she was helping with the move. I have to say collapsing and not being able to move isn't so good on the ego. However, my darling showed excellent prioritizing skills, moving skills, and just great strength.
At this point walking was very hard for me, I had seriously injured my back and despite my dad's warnings and advice I decided to move on with the trip instead of see a doctor. So I climbed into my car and began my journey to Lansing to see my grandmother.
My grandmother has not been doing very well, so please keep her in your prayers. It was my wish to visit her before I started my great journey, and I made sure that no matter what it would happen.
After visiting my grandmother in the hospital and saying goodbye to my grandfather and Aunt Marge who were there, my dad and I took off to Jackson. The current plan was for me to drive my car down to Jackson with Teracia, and have her brother Trevor follow us in her car. Once we arrived in Jackson I stored my car and we all piled into Teracia's car and headed to the airport.
Trevor is such a kind soul and I am very glad to know him. Teracia and I have been trying to cope with being apart for five months and it was wisely advised by her parents that she shouldn't be alone after seeing me off at the airport. So my thanks go out to him for spending the day with us, and helping her.
At the airport we spent some time eating and getting checked in and then the heartfelt goodbye. Despite the pain of my back, despite the notion of knowing no one in another country... this was the hardest part of the day.
I walked forward through the security gate and began my travels alone.
My flight plans were to travel from the Detroit airport to Newark, have a bit of a delay, and then take a night flight to London. The wait and travel to Newark were not that bad, and I actually slept for an hour on this flight. Once I arrived in Newark, I exited and grabbed a coke for the now two hour delay.
Unfortunately for international flights you have to check back in and go through security again. I found this out and went to security but found that by trusty, and tasty, beverage could not come with me. Well I was planning on drinking this over the course of an hour or so and enjoy the extremely pricey coke.
So what should I do? Well what I did do was not chug the rest of the coke down, nor did I throw it away. I sat down near the security staff for the next forty minutes, and drank my coke while chatting with them. I found it quite refreshing and I think they did as well that someone could carry on a conversation.
Most of our conversation dealt with how they cope with people always complaining about their inconvenience when they don't realize it is for their own safety. Then once my coke was finished and I was very satisfied I stepped through the checkpoint with smiles and set forth to the airplane.
After waiting another hour, having a couple beers, and admiring the biggest plane I've ever seen. I entered the plane which had luxurious first class seats, amazing business class seats, and pretty decent economy class seats. On the back of every seat there was a television which had a program called v:cast. It allowed people to select multiple movies, TV shows, CDs, and even tourist information.
The flight was very long and I watched a couple movies, one being Speed Racer (mainly because I love the Matrix and I had to at least watch the movie). I have to say despite all the criticism it gets for being a terrible movie, I was highly entertained. The only thing that I was not able to do on this flight was sleep. I tired multiple times but only managed to achieve about 20 minutes of actual sleep.
I did find one interesting thing out, and that is on international flights with Virgin Atlantic, drinks are free. So I had me a few beers while I waited for the sun to come up, and when it did I was utterly amazed.
Writers and poets, much greater then I, have tried throughout time to describe beauty in words. However, no matter how eloquent the word, or how clever the phrase, nothing does justice to great site of the sun rising over the ocean and Great Britain.
I took a number of pictures with my camera and I have to say I now have a great admiration to the art of photography. Before I foolishly thought that doing adjusting the lenses and managing the lighting could be learned and mastered relatively easily. However taking pictures of a sunset with low light, from inside an airplane, is very hard thing to do. I need to go into the Manual Exposure settings and set the aperture, shutter speed, and ISO manually. The results were decent but I know that a master photographer could do a lot better.
Once landed, I set off to the airport and listened to the multiple languages around me. It is amazing how many ways there is to communicate to one another in different accents, tones, and languages.
I met with the Kingston official and set off to my accommodation where my land lady, Jennifer, greeted me and showed me where my room is. The house that I am staying at is unlike any British home that I have every imagined. It is massive, has large bathrooms, bedrooms, and astonishing carpets. Given I am lucky enough to be in a richer place in Kingston. One interesting thing is all of the high class cars that I see every single day. They include Bentleys, Porsches, Aston Martins, and mainly BMWs.
Once I settled into my new place I met my house-mate Nicole who is an exchange student from New Jersey. We hang out a bit with a lot of the study abroad students and are getting along just fine.
Among those study abroad students are a number of students from my school Grand Valley. I feel after this experience I will have a number of friends that carry over to the states and a lot that I keep in touch with.
In the week we have gone on two main trips, one to Brighton which is on the coast of England and one to central London. Central London was utterly amazing and we saw so much beauty in architecture. It amazes me how you don't appreciate something as much if you have lived with your entire life. Most people past by Big Ben and other items without giving them another look.
Central London was absolutely amazing, there was a tour and a person talking and giving a bit of a history lesson with all of the objects, but I didn't like the system of "look at this now... okay now this..." etc. So I mainly just went with the tour and did my own sightseeing along the way.
Brighton was gorgeous. The winds there are similar to Grand Rapids since it is right on the sea, however the cold is a bit different. It is much colder in the states but here it just cuts through whatever warmth you have. We took a tour of the Royal Pavilion and cameras were not allowed.
The Royal Pavilion was breathtaking. So far it is the most amazing thing I have ever seen in my life. I have not done much traveling yet so it will have to hold against some competition but I wish I could describe it. It was a mixture of Indian, Chinese, and Neo-classical architecture with a Victorian twist. Well that is what the tour guide said at least, I'm not that much into architecture, I don't know the different styles and aspects but one thing is for certain... I don't think there is anywhere in the world like the Royal Pavilion.
It was built by George IV, who was a slightly heavier man and enjoyed his dinner parties. Apparently he was one of the worst kings of England and did hardly any work. The Royal Pavilion is a testament to this because he built it so that he could get away from his duties as the king.
Back in its time, it would host large dinner parties that would last for hours with roughly a 120 menu items to choose from. The dining room for this place was... unforgettable. Every person took a breath when walking in to see the astonishing chandler as the centre piece. The wallpaper and carpet were beautiful and I could not begin to describe how much I wanted to take a picture. Some museums and places around the world do not let pictures be taken. Some say it is to preserve the paintings and atmosphere, but I think it is because there is no way for you to see what I have seen unless you go there.
Now throughout this week there were a lot of fun things like going to the different pubs with the study abroad students and staff; experiencing the differences between American service and British service and just exploring British culture. However, this week was also extremely hard on me to keep an optimistic outlook on my future journeys.
While coming back from the tour of central London a few friends of mine were on the train joking around and such when we realized a stop had come. The trains here in England are pretty quick and if you aren't ready to step off you better start running towards the door. I did so and being one of the last ones off I barely made it through the doors. They actually clipped my shoulder and it was a near miss. However the result of this unforeseen event was that my bag was left in the train.
London does have a reputation for being high on theft. So I was particularly worried since my passport and my new camera were in "rucksack." I found this is the word that British use to describe a backpack, because after saying "backpack" about ten times and explaining it, they finally said "Do you mean a rucksack?"
Well I bid my friends a goodbye and I began the frantic calls to the transportation authority trying to get some idea of how to get by bag back. Unfortunately this was a Friday night and all of the places close around 5pm. So without any hope I began to search the next train that pulled up thinking that it had come back. Unfortunately the bag was not on there so I took the train to the next station and got off to check another train. My foolish self thought the next train would be in fifteen minutes; however it was another hour before the train came. Searched that train and still no luck, but I decided to take it all the way to the Waterloo station is which the main station here in London.
After talking with about ten people about the situation, going to the different offices and departments that are in the train station, and finding them all closed, I finally gave up and headed back home. It is amazing how much fast food is a comfort food for when you are abroad and things are messing up because there was a Burger King at the station and I had one of the best burgers ever. At least it seemed that way to my stressed out self.
The blistering wind and cold air for roughly 3 hours outside made me have one of the worst colds in my life. I spent three sleepless nights battling it until just now.
However my luck tends to swing from worse to great because during the Brighton trip I won around $70 at a casino by just inserting about $1. So things were looking quite splendid until the following night came and my luck again took a turn for the worse.
To captivate how I was feeling, just understand that at this point I am without a passport and the camera (which I bought specifically for this trip). Things aren't looking very good but I'm being optimistic.
I was coming home from the bus after the Brighton trip and not feeling very well. I was looking down and just trying to make it home when I thought I had accidentally bumped into someone. I had apologized and kept on walking. When I got home I went to sleep and woke up the next morning ready to go to the next activity of a Sunday brunch. However when I put on my coat and put my hand in my pocket I did not find my wallet there where I had left it... I searched everywhere, through all my pants, my room and everything. It was then that I remembered bumping into that stranger and then I realized what happened.
I was pick-pocketed and I no longer have any form of identification, or my main credit card. I was lucky enough to think ahead and take out all of my cards that I had in my wallet except for what was needed. So I only had to cancel one card and go through the process of getting more identification.
So now I was on the low end of my luck expecting some good luck. I was trying to keep my hopes up because I couldn't find out if someone returned my bag until Monday. So Monday morning roles around and I call the office as soon as it opens at 7:30am, they say that they haven't done a collection from upstairs and to call back a little bit after noon.
The next few hours I spent waiting and waiting... and then when I called a bit after noon they said. "Mr. Shaver? We have some great news for you!" It turns out that some lovely soul returned my bag with everything in it. Wow, what an amazing thing. I am truly blessed.
So now I am with a passport, camera, and everything, ready to set forth and start more adventures!
More is to come, and I apologize for the long read but I hope you enjoyed it!
The site is still not complete but I felt that since I have been here for a full week I should impart some knowledge I've gained already here in London, some interesting cultural differences, and a description of what all has happened. Readers, be warned, this initial blog is quite long and I will try to start posting more often so that you don't have a book to read :).
The journey abroad was rough and challenging but alas I made it. Travel usually isn't difficult for me, however, since I was moving out of my old place before I left, it had lasting effects. The day of my travels started early at 5am when I started the final move of everything. Now at this point I was moving everything fine and I could see the light at the end of the tunnel.
This took an abrupt turn of events when after rushing and moving everything that my back gave out. I didn't think a 21 year old healthy back could give out but if you push it hard enough, it will. Luckily before this event happened I picked my girlfriend Teracia up and she was helping with the move. I have to say collapsing and not being able to move isn't so good on the ego. However, my darling showed excellent prioritizing skills, moving skills, and just great strength.
At this point walking was very hard for me, I had seriously injured my back and despite my dad's warnings and advice I decided to move on with the trip instead of see a doctor. So I climbed into my car and began my journey to Lansing to see my grandmother.
My grandmother has not been doing very well, so please keep her in your prayers. It was my wish to visit her before I started my great journey, and I made sure that no matter what it would happen.
After visiting my grandmother in the hospital and saying goodbye to my grandfather and Aunt Marge who were there, my dad and I took off to Jackson. The current plan was for me to drive my car down to Jackson with Teracia, and have her brother Trevor follow us in her car. Once we arrived in Jackson I stored my car and we all piled into Teracia's car and headed to the airport.
Trevor is such a kind soul and I am very glad to know him. Teracia and I have been trying to cope with being apart for five months and it was wisely advised by her parents that she shouldn't be alone after seeing me off at the airport. So my thanks go out to him for spending the day with us, and helping her.
At the airport we spent some time eating and getting checked in and then the heartfelt goodbye. Despite the pain of my back, despite the notion of knowing no one in another country... this was the hardest part of the day.
I walked forward through the security gate and began my travels alone.
My flight plans were to travel from the Detroit airport to Newark, have a bit of a delay, and then take a night flight to London. The wait and travel to Newark were not that bad, and I actually slept for an hour on this flight. Once I arrived in Newark, I exited and grabbed a coke for the now two hour delay.
Unfortunately for international flights you have to check back in and go through security again. I found this out and went to security but found that by trusty, and tasty, beverage could not come with me. Well I was planning on drinking this over the course of an hour or so and enjoy the extremely pricey coke.
So what should I do? Well what I did do was not chug the rest of the coke down, nor did I throw it away. I sat down near the security staff for the next forty minutes, and drank my coke while chatting with them. I found it quite refreshing and I think they did as well that someone could carry on a conversation.
Most of our conversation dealt with how they cope with people always complaining about their inconvenience when they don't realize it is for their own safety. Then once my coke was finished and I was very satisfied I stepped through the checkpoint with smiles and set forth to the airplane.
After waiting another hour, having a couple beers, and admiring the biggest plane I've ever seen. I entered the plane which had luxurious first class seats, amazing business class seats, and pretty decent economy class seats. On the back of every seat there was a television which had a program called v:cast. It allowed people to select multiple movies, TV shows, CDs, and even tourist information.
The flight was very long and I watched a couple movies, one being Speed Racer (mainly because I love the Matrix and I had to at least watch the movie). I have to say despite all the criticism it gets for being a terrible movie, I was highly entertained. The only thing that I was not able to do on this flight was sleep. I tired multiple times but only managed to achieve about 20 minutes of actual sleep.
I did find one interesting thing out, and that is on international flights with Virgin Atlantic, drinks are free. So I had me a few beers while I waited for the sun to come up, and when it did I was utterly amazed.
Writers and poets, much greater then I, have tried throughout time to describe beauty in words. However, no matter how eloquent the word, or how clever the phrase, nothing does justice to great site of the sun rising over the ocean and Great Britain.
I took a number of pictures with my camera and I have to say I now have a great admiration to the art of photography. Before I foolishly thought that doing adjusting the lenses and managing the lighting could be learned and mastered relatively easily. However taking pictures of a sunset with low light, from inside an airplane, is very hard thing to do. I need to go into the Manual Exposure settings and set the aperture, shutter speed, and ISO manually. The results were decent but I know that a master photographer could do a lot better.
Once landed, I set off to the airport and listened to the multiple languages around me. It is amazing how many ways there is to communicate to one another in different accents, tones, and languages.
I met with the Kingston official and set off to my accommodation where my land lady, Jennifer, greeted me and showed me where my room is. The house that I am staying at is unlike any British home that I have every imagined. It is massive, has large bathrooms, bedrooms, and astonishing carpets. Given I am lucky enough to be in a richer place in Kingston. One interesting thing is all of the high class cars that I see every single day. They include Bentleys, Porsches, Aston Martins, and mainly BMWs.
Once I settled into my new place I met my house-mate Nicole who is an exchange student from New Jersey. We hang out a bit with a lot of the study abroad students and are getting along just fine.
Among those study abroad students are a number of students from my school Grand Valley. I feel after this experience I will have a number of friends that carry over to the states and a lot that I keep in touch with.
In the week we have gone on two main trips, one to Brighton which is on the coast of England and one to central London. Central London was utterly amazing and we saw so much beauty in architecture. It amazes me how you don't appreciate something as much if you have lived with your entire life. Most people past by Big Ben and other items without giving them another look.
Central London was absolutely amazing, there was a tour and a person talking and giving a bit of a history lesson with all of the objects, but I didn't like the system of "look at this now... okay now this..." etc. So I mainly just went with the tour and did my own sightseeing along the way.
Brighton was gorgeous. The winds there are similar to Grand Rapids since it is right on the sea, however the cold is a bit different. It is much colder in the states but here it just cuts through whatever warmth you have. We took a tour of the Royal Pavilion and cameras were not allowed.
The Royal Pavilion was breathtaking. So far it is the most amazing thing I have ever seen in my life. I have not done much traveling yet so it will have to hold against some competition but I wish I could describe it. It was a mixture of Indian, Chinese, and Neo-classical architecture with a Victorian twist. Well that is what the tour guide said at least, I'm not that much into architecture, I don't know the different styles and aspects but one thing is for certain... I don't think there is anywhere in the world like the Royal Pavilion.
It was built by George IV, who was a slightly heavier man and enjoyed his dinner parties. Apparently he was one of the worst kings of England and did hardly any work. The Royal Pavilion is a testament to this because he built it so that he could get away from his duties as the king.
Back in its time, it would host large dinner parties that would last for hours with roughly a 120 menu items to choose from. The dining room for this place was... unforgettable. Every person took a breath when walking in to see the astonishing chandler as the centre piece. The wallpaper and carpet were beautiful and I could not begin to describe how much I wanted to take a picture. Some museums and places around the world do not let pictures be taken. Some say it is to preserve the paintings and atmosphere, but I think it is because there is no way for you to see what I have seen unless you go there.
Now throughout this week there were a lot of fun things like going to the different pubs with the study abroad students and staff; experiencing the differences between American service and British service and just exploring British culture. However, this week was also extremely hard on me to keep an optimistic outlook on my future journeys.
While coming back from the tour of central London a few friends of mine were on the train joking around and such when we realized a stop had come. The trains here in England are pretty quick and if you aren't ready to step off you better start running towards the door. I did so and being one of the last ones off I barely made it through the doors. They actually clipped my shoulder and it was a near miss. However the result of this unforeseen event was that my bag was left in the train.
London does have a reputation for being high on theft. So I was particularly worried since my passport and my new camera were in "rucksack." I found this is the word that British use to describe a backpack, because after saying "backpack" about ten times and explaining it, they finally said "Do you mean a rucksack?"
Well I bid my friends a goodbye and I began the frantic calls to the transportation authority trying to get some idea of how to get by bag back. Unfortunately this was a Friday night and all of the places close around 5pm. So without any hope I began to search the next train that pulled up thinking that it had come back. Unfortunately the bag was not on there so I took the train to the next station and got off to check another train. My foolish self thought the next train would be in fifteen minutes; however it was another hour before the train came. Searched that train and still no luck, but I decided to take it all the way to the Waterloo station is which the main station here in London.
After talking with about ten people about the situation, going to the different offices and departments that are in the train station, and finding them all closed, I finally gave up and headed back home. It is amazing how much fast food is a comfort food for when you are abroad and things are messing up because there was a Burger King at the station and I had one of the best burgers ever. At least it seemed that way to my stressed out self.
The blistering wind and cold air for roughly 3 hours outside made me have one of the worst colds in my life. I spent three sleepless nights battling it until just now.
However my luck tends to swing from worse to great because during the Brighton trip I won around $70 at a casino by just inserting about $1. So things were looking quite splendid until the following night came and my luck again took a turn for the worse.
To captivate how I was feeling, just understand that at this point I am without a passport and the camera (which I bought specifically for this trip). Things aren't looking very good but I'm being optimistic.
I was coming home from the bus after the Brighton trip and not feeling very well. I was looking down and just trying to make it home when I thought I had accidentally bumped into someone. I had apologized and kept on walking. When I got home I went to sleep and woke up the next morning ready to go to the next activity of a Sunday brunch. However when I put on my coat and put my hand in my pocket I did not find my wallet there where I had left it... I searched everywhere, through all my pants, my room and everything. It was then that I remembered bumping into that stranger and then I realized what happened.
I was pick-pocketed and I no longer have any form of identification, or my main credit card. I was lucky enough to think ahead and take out all of my cards that I had in my wallet except for what was needed. So I only had to cancel one card and go through the process of getting more identification.
So now I was on the low end of my luck expecting some good luck. I was trying to keep my hopes up because I couldn't find out if someone returned my bag until Monday. So Monday morning roles around and I call the office as soon as it opens at 7:30am, they say that they haven't done a collection from upstairs and to call back a little bit after noon.
The next few hours I spent waiting and waiting... and then when I called a bit after noon they said. "Mr. Shaver? We have some great news for you!" It turns out that some lovely soul returned my bag with everything in it. Wow, what an amazing thing. I am truly blessed.
So now I am with a passport, camera, and everything, ready to set forth and start more adventures!
More is to come, and I apologize for the long read but I hope you enjoyed it!
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