I think that is best way I can describe the excellent adventure that is eating here. Tonight I am trying my first ambitious meal – brown rice and vegetable tikka masala. I have never cooked any kind of rice without a rice cooker before (p.s. The rice turned out wonderfully!). But I cannot take all the credit for the masala: they sell the sauce bottled in all major grocery stores.
Yet there are other adventures to be had in the kitchen. I am currently battling for space in the shared fridge. Apparently diet coke is more important to the 4 other American girl students (whom I have yet to all meet) than allowing me to store any amount of food. Also the constant tirade against people stealing my food. It’s an army of two in kitchen 407 – Ray Gergen and a blue permanent marker.
Enough about food. Why haven’t I written recently? I have been up to my eyeballs in sleep deprivation and orientation, so SORRY. The first day (6.2) was not much to write home about – paperwork, paperwork, paperwork! We oriented at the center, which is in the backyard of the British Museum (AH!). Anu, Steve (from Oberlin), Donna and the librarian all seem like incredibly knowledgeable and quirky people. So I am very satisfied to have them in my hair for the next few months. Donna, the in-house head staffmember (I cannot say “administrator” because they are very proud to be managed solely by the teachers themselves), is friends with a hilarious police officer who came in to tell us about safety in London. Apparently there is a lot. But obvious problems did arise during the talk, namely that the sergeant would not admit to there being any bad parts of London because that would be saying is brothers/sisters in arms were not doing their jobs. Also I can play anywhere on the street as long as I’m not so bad that the neighbors call in a noise complaint. (Did you know that they made fake cans you can store valuables in?) Later on they gave us money to eat out and make friends. I think the friends groups may already be set, but at least the food was good. (Did I mention there’s an Asian place near me called New Culture Revolution. They make their own noodles!)
Day 2 (7.2) : Visit to St Paul’s Cathedral. What a beautiful place. It was very interesting visiting there after seeing so many cathedrals in Mexico. Wow catholic cathedrals whether it be through flashing Christmas lights or a person’s weight in gold leaf are quite overdecorated! England, being a protestant country when the cathedral was in its final rebuilt (4th), unfortunately there was a Catholic sympathist phase. Aka the cathedral (like most) is very psychizophrenic in design. Plain white limestone to gold leaf and huge, glittering mosaics. I climbed to the whispering room. Too many people to hear a whisper on the other side of the dome. Climbed to the top to see the views. I love looking at the Thames and seeing the reconstruction of the Globe next to so many office buildings. London is a mixed up place indeed.
When I got back to my tube stop there were all these people in costumes ranging from sheep to gangsters to people in New Zealand flags and flip flops (in the 40 degree Fahrenheit weather) screaming KIWI KIWI KIWI and drinking. The signing of the Treaty of Waitangi is on 7 February. It’s not an official independence day and it’s only celebrated in England by Kiwi’s (not really in NZ) but it was sooooo awesome!
Day 3 (8.2/Today): Market day! We visited the East End/Tower Hamlets where we went to Petticoat Lane Market, Old Spitalfields Market, Brick Lane Market and Columbia Road Flower Market. Bought cheap vegetables and ogled at the various food stands (ethnic and raw vegetable ones). Wow. Did you know that Brick Lane (I just finished a book by the same name set there.) has a CURRY FESTIVAL??? It’s also known as the Benglatown of London. We saw this amazing street artist who played guitar, sang, played a harmonica, and a little tiny drum set. AND he was good. Wow.
To close…. I’m doing much and yet I’ve only gotten here. The socialization aspect is pretty okay with the Oberlin kids (there are some really solid people on this trip) but the socialization aspect at the dorm frankly sucks. I’m stuck on a floor with only kids from one program and they all go to Bucknell and have been here for a month. So I don’t really have a chance. Sigh. I bombard them as they walk to their doors. I don’t think it will lead to meaningful relationships but I guess I now have someone to talk to over the roar of the microwave.
p.s. So far I've had okay luck with my public transportation. I have a monthly pass for all underground, overground and buses in zones 1-2. Yet the first day I rode the tube, it would not read my pound coins and the train stopped between the first and second stop for 15 minutes because of signal failure. (Donna believes "signal failure" is really a blown out light bulb that is only allowed to be replaced by a specific worker. It is the most common explanation for late trains.) I am supposed to expect much more blown light bulbs, along with the "wrong kind" of wind, rain, snow and sunshine to delay the trains (wrong kind coming off of a news paper article claiming "if only the snow were the right kind...there would be no delay").
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