First British Snow!!

So as I speak, I am experiencing my first British snow!  While the snow here may drink tea and eat fish and chips, while the snow in America is fat and eats Twinkies, there is one thing that transcends the Atlantic, and that is the amazement and beauty that comes with the first snowfall every year.
As far as I can tell, the taste of British snow is quite similar to its American counterpart.
It has also been interesting watching everyone start to worry about driving conditions and delays in everything else.  Because is Minnesota, I don't think anyone would miss a beat.

More to follow if snow keeps falling.




On a different note, I've decided to add some more Cultural Observations.

Shopping Carts and Shopping Trolleys.
When one goes to a grocery store here in the UK, one uses a shopping trolley, when one is in America, one uses a shopping cart.  The name is not the only difference between here and there.

British Trolley courtesy ausmartinternational.com

American Shopping Cart courtesy versacart.com

Firstly, British trolleys have 4 independently rotating wheels, giving them the ability to shift from side to side easily (like a rolling office chair).
In America, carts have 2 fixed rear wheels, and two rotating wheels in the front (like a conventional car).  I'm not sure why this has happened.

Deposit mechanism on trolleys

Also, you must pay in order to use a trolley in Britain.  Well, you actually just put down a pound deposit, and you get it back when you return the trolley.  This is a measure that is meant to prevent trolley theft, which is huge in this country.  It isn't because every British person is a hooligan, it has more to do with the matter in which they get to the store.
For instance, in America, everyone drives to their local store, parks their car, and grabs a cart from the corral.  They proceed to do their shopping, bag everything up, put it into the cart, walk out to the car, pop the trunk, and load all their shopping in.  The cart then goes back into the corral to be collected by an employee.
In Britain, most people walk to their local store, deposit a pound, take a trolley, do their shopping, and if they end up getting more than they can carry home, they simply take the trolley and push it back to their residence, and then leave the trolley somewhere else.  Many people don't use their cars because driving in England is a hassle, and parking is never free unless you park miles away from where you want to go.  Those that don't have cars use public transport or walk.

Abandoned Trolleys courtesy flickr.com

Because of this phenomenon, one can find abandoned trolleys all over the place. In fact, outside one of the residence halls, there is a massive stack of about 20 discarded trolleys.
Another difference in shopping carts and trolleys is their size.  British shopping trolleys tend not to be as deep as ours. There is also the absence of the bottom rack that American shopping carts have.  This rack serves as a place to put heavy objects such as cases of beverages or bags of dog food.








Street Signs and Road Signs
In Britain, there are two locations for street signs: about 3 feet off of the ground or 20 feet off of the ground on the side of a building.

I cannot begin to tell you how this confused me when I first came here.

homepage.mac.com

tampabay.com

You see, in America--no matter if you are in a major city or in  the middle of nowhere--street signs are always located in one spot.  That is on the corner of the street on a pole with the street names about 7 or 8 feet high.
The exception to this is some larger intersections, where the street names will be in more or less the same location, but in bigger letters hanging on a stoplight.  It is universal, and imperative for driving, as you can easily see which street is coming up next, and which street you are on.

commons.wikimedia.org

Now, in London, the street names are put on the side of buildings if there at all.  They can be anywhere from 8-20 feet off of the ground, and anywhere from directly on the corner of the building to about 20 away from the corner.  This makes navigation difficult.

langleyvillage.co.uk

In addition, roadsigns that aren't on buildings are put on signs that stand about 3 feet off of the ground, meaning that it is quite easy for something to block the sign, such as a person or car or telephone pole.

This has been interesting to learn, and I am starting to finally get the hang of knowing where to look for directions.

Thanksgiving in England and Misadventures in London

You may have noticed that the title of this post says, "Misadventures in London."
This is because I was, in fact, meant to go to Winchester and Stonehenge today with IFSA Butler-the company who sent me abroad.  However, due to a combined effort from Royal Holloway and the IFSA Butler buses, I was left behind.

First, Royal Holloway has this absolutely obnoxious tendency to close every entrance to the university campus except one after 11:30 at night, and doesn't reopen them again until 8 or so.  As a result, I had to reroute myself two times on the way to the train station. This undoubtedly set me back some time. 

British Fighter Plane circa WWII

Then, once I had taken the train into London and taken two different underground lines, as I was hastily making my way towards the pick-up destination Butler gave me, I saw the Stonehenge Buses driving away.

I was none too pleased.  It was about 8:55 in the morning and I was in London. 

St. Mary's Abbey

Well, I decided I'd at least get my money's worth and stay in London a while.  Walk around and whatnot.  So I sauntered on my way, not really going anywhere in particular.  Eventually I came upon the British Science Museum. 

German V-2 Rocket circa WWII

Now, one of the brilliant things about London (especially for me today), is that all museums are free admittance. I've been to the Minnesota Science Museum, and I took it upon myself to look into the Science Museum here. 

This is an early Indian rocket with a sword attatched to it.

Model of British Warship

There was loads to see.  The first thing I learned about was the history of the Steam Engine, followed by a healthy dose of knowledge regarding the development of missiles and space technology.

BMW 3-wheel car similar to one my father and I saw years ago.

Next was a look at British culture through a few hundred years. 
There were boats and planes and plastics and plenty of places to eat.
They also had a section dedicated to children--much like the Minnesota Science Museum--where children could experiment with wind, magnets, light, etc.

After my escapade at the Museum, I wandered around some more, and found myself in front of this store called Harrods.
Someone had told me of this store earlier in the year. They told me that you could buy anything there, especially "back in the day."  Apparently you used to be able to buy lions and such from there.  It is over 150 years old and the 3rd most visited tourist destination in London.
Anyway, I decided to take a gander, and I must say I was not disappointed.

No photos allowed in the shop itself

• This place had 7 floors, and covered the entirety of a city block (a total of 1 million square feet.  One football field is 57,600 square feet.  Do the math, we're looking at a little more than 17 fields of shopping). 
• When I first walked in, I was greeted by Egyptian architecture and decor. This was the famous "Egyptian Room." I was also greeted by doormen in very fancy green uniforms.
• Harrods sells over 350 different types of cheeses, and they have a year-round Christmas section.
• There are 25 different restaurants in the department store.
• Harrods accepts pounds, dollars, and euros.
• The ground floor had a bank where you could buy solid gold bars, flights, £2500 pens, full-size roulette tables, and a 7-foot tall stuffed bear for £2,999. Among the other vast selections.
• The first floor was chock-full of purses, handbags, fragrances, cosmetics, and jewelery.
• Second floor was entirely devoted to ladies clothing.
• Third Floor had an antiques section complete with fossils and mattress-sized crystals. You could also buy pets directly from this floor.
• Fourth floor contained Best Buy, essentially. You could also buy a zebra or cheetah skin.
• Fifth floor was all children's toys and apparel.  Absolutely everything you could want as a child.
• Sixth floor was sports.  There was a full bicycle shop, a place to buy skis, winter garments, golf and horse equipment, and everything else under the sun.

There was so much more that I can't recall simply because my mind was overwhelmed with all I was seeing.

Thanksgiving

Last week one of my friends asked me if I was going to celebrate Thanksgiving this year.  I told him that it wasn't likely.  Somehow, people started asking if we could celebrate Thanksgiving and make an event out of it.  I figured it couldn't hurt, and that it would be fun to show how Americans do Thanksgiving and such. So I sent an email asking for instructions since she is the mastermind behind our massive extended family Thanksgiving back home.

Unfortunately, I must not have made it clear enough regarding my impotence regarding Thanksgiving preparations.  When I say this, it is because neither myself or my co-chef--Chris--realized that one must thaw a turkey for 24-48 hours. 
We made this discovery as we were at the supermarket on Thanksgiving morning. 

Fatal Mistake.

The Thanksgiving table and guests.

Achilles Heel.

Chris came up with a plan to save us.  We would buy a frozen turkey crown, which is just turkey meat but can be cooked from frozen. We would also buy a refrigerated chicken, so as to have something fresh and to maintain the classic aesthetic of a Thanksgiving dinner.  He then helped me find the other necessities, such as cranberries, which are only available in a jar. We had to skip the sweet potatoes because there wasn't any, and there also wasn't any pumpkin pie.  We did manage to get meat, gravy, stuffing, veggies, and potatoes.
Once all way purchased, we headed back to my flat to start the prepping.
It was here that we encountered another obstacle: the kitchen that had been formerly abandoned as long as I had been here suddenly became Hell's Kitchen.  Everyone was making something, but not for Thanksgiving.

Turkey, peas, potatoes, cranberries, Kool-Aid

If I didn't know any better I would have thought that they had planned it.  Luckily, since we had been there first, and asked them politely if they'd be finished by 8:00, they were out of there by the time the guests arrived.
We also realized that we had nowhere near the amount of cooking wares we needed.  But we were resourceful, and made do.

Carrots, gravy, stuffing, and mashed potatoes

We more or less "winged" all of the cooking.  Chris and I were joined by Joe and James, who are also in the geology department.  Together, we had about half of the cooking know-how that any of our respective mothers have.  But soon we had a turkey, a chicken, mashed potatoes, peas, carrots, stuffing, cupcakes, and cranberries set and ready on the small table.  Then, to make it more American, I made some Grape Kool-Aid, which none of the 10 guests had ever tried.
Once all was set, I made a bit of a speech/explanation of Thanksgiving, and then said it was tradition to go around and say what one is thankful for.  I mentioned the support of my family, and meeting new friends good enough to share such a time with me.

The largest chicken we could find at Tesco

Then we ate.  And it was good.  Chris and I were afraid the cosmos were out of line.  Somehow everything had come together.  We had nothing but good reviews on everything. Chicken and turkey was succulent, gravy was savory, mashed potatoes soft and fluffy, veggies well cooked, and stuffing full of flavor. 
After all was done, I brought out my secret weapon:


Ice Cream Cake.
From what I understand, ice cream cake isn't present in the UK.  At least not in the way we have it in the States, where you can buy them from Dairy Queen or the grocery store. 
So I took it upon myself to make them one, and I did, out of Oreos, fudge, chocolate, and mint ice cream.  As far as I can tell it was a smashing hit.

Mikey's Minnesotan Mint Murder Ice Cream Cake

It was without a doubt a resounding success.  In my top 20 favorite Thanksgivings.

The Remains

Alice in Wonderland

My apologies for such a long time between this post and my last post.  It has been a very busy couple of weeks on account of the production of Alice in Wonderland of which I was a part.

Alice and the Arrows (held by kurogos)

This was my first theatrical production here in England, and I must say it did not disappoint! The directors of the show decided to take a new spin on this classic tale.  This show was to be performed entirely in Ultraviolet (UV) Light. This is also called black light to some folks.

The Blue Caterpillar. Hands courtesy of the kurogos.

I was cast as the Dodo, who runs the Caucus Race in the show. 
Because of the UV lighting, we were able to make use of kurogos, who dress in all black and look similar to ninjas.  These guys would do not only set changes, but would also play the part of inanimate objects that needed to move.  Because the room was completely blacked-out, the audience would see the UV object, but the kurogos became virtually invisible in the background.  It is my belief that the kurogos had the toughest job along with Brigitta, who placed Alice.  This is because they were in every scene, attended just about every rehearsal, and had to learn special choreography and movements.  All so they could, essentially, not be seen.  All guts and no glory.

Mad Hatter's Tea Party

Speaking of Alice, she gave a phenomenal performance as Alice. I don't know how she was able to do it, but when she got into character, it was if she had been sent back in time 8 years.  It was actually like seeing a young girl on stage.  Not only that, but the accent and pitch of the voice was simply wonderful.

The Cheshire Cat

Now, we were still getting the set and costumes put into place by the time we had our dress rehearsals.  I took photographs at this time, and though they look absolutely stunning, one must imagine how wonderful it looked when all was in place.  For instance, by the first performance there was a completely black floor and backdrop, and Alice sported a UV sensitive blond wig (she does have perfect Alice hair, but it simply didn't glow).

The White Rabbit with a flamingo (kurogo)

Mock Turtle, Griffin, and Lobsters.

Obviously I couldn't take photos of myself while onstage, but if any come up I'll post them. We had 5 shows, and all of them filled up 90% of the house. 

All in all, it was a stellar start to my theatre adventure here in the UK.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows WORLD PREMIERE!!!

So.

Seeing that I am from Minnesota, which is in the middle of America, and nowhere near LA or New York, when I heard that the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows premiere was going to take place in London, I decided that this was a once in a lifetime opportunity.  Adding to this was the fact that I am an avid fan of the Harry Potter series.
Now, people that know me know that I have a "go big or go home" attitude.  If I was going to the World Premiere, I was going to do it right!  The premiere took place on Thursday, November 11.  I knew that this was a massive event, and decided that I would camp out in Leicester Square.  So, in preparation, I bought a £3 sleeping bag from a charity shop and got some granola bars knowing that I would be cold and hungry throughout the night. Being Minnesotan does have its advantages in our abilities to handle the cold. 
So, after classes on Wednesday, I went home and started packing.  I packed the sleeping bag, my camera, some sharpie pens, plenty of granola bars, a scarf, and a raincoat.  I myself wore my Geology boots, which are steel-toed, insulated, and waterproof. Then I had on my wool German trousers, thick wool socks, a t-shirt, and flannel, my winter coat, a pair of gloves and a winter hat.
I was well prepared. 

Tent City outside Leicester Square

Once I got into London and Leicester Square, I didn't really know what to do next, having never been to an event like this before.  I saw a few pop-up tents, and decided to ask for a bit of guidance.  When I asked a 50 year old woman dressed as a witch how it all worked, all she said was, "Back of the Que is over there!!!"  She was serious.  So I went in that general direction until I found the end of the line. This was at about 5:00 PM. I plopped down my stuff, and asked the two people in head of me if they had ever done something like this before.  They informed me that they had, and explained that people line up and camp overnight so that they can get into the actual square, which is where the red carpet is and where the press stay.  The man, whose name was Peter, told me that the celebrities arrive early to do interviews, get their photos taken, and interact with the fans.  So I quickly went to the nearest bookstore and got a copy of The Deathly Hallows just in case.

Slowly but surely, I was beginning to understand how everything worked. 
We talked for a while, and Peter told me that it was supposed to rain overnight.  I was really hoping that wouldn't be the case.
While this was going on, construction workers inside the Square were building the set for the premiere. There was 2 massive TVs being put up, as well as barricades and stages.  At one point, the security came out and moved half of the line to the other side of the square because the construction crews needed the room.  They told us that we would be moved back to where we were at midnight. 
Now, you need to understand that there were some die-hard fans there.  Most of the people camping there were girls.  Two of the girls behind me actually had Harry Potter related tattoos. These people were extremely ornery about the line.  The would lash out at people for Que-jumping and when we were moved, they all worried about people taking their spots.

So we were sitting and talking, passing the time away into the night.  At one point I decided it might be wise to invest in an umbrella, so I bought a cheap 5 pound one from a souvenir shop, just in case it rained. At midnight, we were escorted back to the first point, where I took out my sleeping bag and started to rest.  The temperature at this point was 3 degrees C or 37 degrees F. That was the coldest it got.  I must admit I was chilly at some points.  The next thing we had to worry about was the people coming out of the pubs and bars.  I was sleeping in and out at this point, but I remember people coming and either really respecting our dedication, or abusing us for being "nerds and losers." One girl kept shouting that we needed to learn that Harry Potter wasn't real.  Of course he isn't real. I think everyone knows that.  We were there to celebrate a book and a film. 
Also at some point a drunk guy laid himself down on me.  Security upped their presence and would make sure there wasn't any unwanted visitors, which was nice of them.  Soon I had my ipod on, and fell asleep to the music.
I didn't wake up until about 7:30, and at this point there was a drizzle coming down that I hadn't felt.  So I took out my umbrella and made a little shelter.  This went on for a bit, until 9, when the took us and let us into the Garden.  I was able to get a spot right in the front of the barricade, so I could see everything that was going on.  I more people crowded in, and before I knew it, the gates were closed. 

Inside the Premiere

I was in!!
Now it was time to wait.  We watched as the construction builders put up posters and signs and the red carpet.  There was a general feeling of excitement!  Soon, TV crews started to arrive, and I must have screamed in front of 18 cameras.  I'm sure I was on the news somewhere in the world.  It turns out that a photo of me made it into The Daily Mail. dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1328820/Harry-Potter-Deathly-Hallows-Emma-Watsons-sticky-situation-premiere.html
This whole time, since I was at the front, I did have to stand.  My legs got tired, but I was hoping the end result would be worth it.

Death Eaters Kicked off the evening.

Of course, out of nowhere, it started to rain.  I wasn't so worried about myself, but was more worried about my bag, which housed my camera.  Luckily it is a good quality bag, and is water resistant, but I didn't want to take any chances.  So up went the umbrella to protect it.  Unfortunately, the wind had other ideas, and my umbrella popped about 15 times before it was salvageable.  The time was now 5:00. Things were starting to happen:  torches were being lit, the giant TV screens were playing the Harry Potter trailer, and the hosts had arrived.  Soon, a massive scream came from across the garden, and it was announced that Emma Watson and Rupert Grint had arrived.  From there, everything became a blur.
More and more stars kept arriving, and were being interviewed all over.  Soon they started trickling our way, and that is when I started meeting people.  Everything is so hectic, and one only has 2 hands. I wish I had been able to take good photos of or with all the people I met, but It was all I could do just to get an autograph.  Sometimes I didn't even get that, I just had to be satisfied knowing that I shook their hand and told them how superb they were.

Emma Watson

Here is who I saw:
Emma Watson "Hermoine Granger"
Daniel Radcliffe "Harry Potter"
Mark Williams "Arthur Weasley"
Bonnie Wright "Ginny Weasley"
John Hurt "Ollivander"
Ralph Fiennes "Lord Voldemort"
James Phelps "Fred Weasley"
Oliver Phelps "George Weasley" 
 And heaps more of the cast.

Daniel Radcliffe

Here is who I met:
Rupert Grint "Ron Weasley"
Jason Isaacs "Lucius Malfoy"

Here is who I met and got signatures from:
Alfred Enoch "Dean Thomas" 
Imelda Staunton "Dolores Umbridge"
Tom Felton "Draco Malfoy"
J.K. Rowling Author of Harry Potter series

Here is who I met, got a signature from, and a photo with:
Evanna Lynch "Luna Lovegood"

J.K. Rowling

Imelda Staunton "Dolores Umbridge"

Tom Felton "Draco Malfoy"

Tom Felton "Draco Malfoy"

Evanna Lynch "Luna Lovegood" and I

The signatures I now have

The poster I got off of the barricades.

The next thing you know, they are all heading inside and the crowd disperses. They tell us that we can take the posters they had tied to the barricades, so naturally I got one to take home with me.

It was a crazy experience, but I feel the need to do it again someday.  It was that good.

This is my University

These are some photos of Founder's Building.  It was built by Thomas and Jane Holloway.

Inside South Courtyard

Thomas and Jane Holloway

The North Courtyard

Queen Victoria

Founder's at night

Stairwell