we just wanted starbucks...

although i am indeed in the land of tea drinkers, i still enjoy my coffee. 

it was cold, and rainy... as usual. marianne, selina and i though that a trip to starbucks was definitely a good idea. after all, most of the ideas that we come up with are good. 

it was one of those conversations that starts out with a small plan and suddenly explodes into a combination of ideas that make up an all day event. selina needed wool for her creative projects and a new pair of jeans from topshop, marianne needed a corset for the upcoming burlesque night from primark, and i am up for coffee and shopping anytime. 

despite looking a mess, we headed into central. greasy hair and all. it took us quite some time to get to oxford street, but the walk was quite enjoyable. 

i was able to contain myself once again from purchasing bags full of clothes from topshop. selina, however, found an amazing pair of skinny jeans that fit her perfectly. we had starbucks-- coffee for me and hot chocolate for the two non-coffee drinkers and finished the shopping experience with a trip to primark. 

let me explain the glory of this particular retail location.

i bought: 

2 pairs of shoes

1 purse

3 pairs of tights

7 pairs of socks

1 pair of high-waisted shorts

5 hair bows

1 necklace

....for 29 pounds!!!!!

enough said.

after we returned i headed into camden with claire, dave and linda to watch guy's gig. 

the night ended with dancing and music. the air filled with the sound vibrations of the guitar and drums. as i watched the bands play, i observed the sincerity in which the group of friends supported each other in their passions and pursuits. clapping and cheering with enthusiasm. what lovely people, what a wonderful day. 

dinner with the ladies.

after the fiesta, there was a consensus in favor of a health and financial recovery.

we sleepily wandered the halls most of the afternoon until a plan to go out to dinner was confirmed--just the girls. we convinced becky to come along as well, despite her strict budget in preparation for her trip to vienna. claire, selina, marianne, linda and myself took the golden boy to the bus stop and headed into enfield. we found ourselves at pizza express. don't be fooled by the mention of pizza, it was a pretty fancy place. try to erase you pre-conceived notions of party food; it was more like italian cuisine at its finest. i had the american pizza, apparently peperoni pizza is an american thing. i found it appropriate seeing as i was the only girl from the states at the table. all of us were relieved to have a proper sit-down meal after our continuous consumption of snack foods. 

one of the many difficulties of being a college student is that money tends to disappear without much warning. perhaps the warning signs are all the great memories--we just do not like to think of them as money-sucking events. because evidence of dwindling money was clearly on everyone's mind, i had a little surprise up my sleeve... "check please!" 

...it was only because i am so appreciative of my new friendships. i love these girls.

fiesta fiesta

for weeks upon weeks, there was a heightened anticipation for the event that had come to be called "the mexican fiesta". for those who didn't know the proper terminology- "the mexican party". i didn't even bother correcting the name that clearly lacked an authentic flare. after all, it isn't their fault they never had the pleasure of being neighbors with mexico. 

i am proud to announce that we did not burn any tortillas beyond salvage in our chaotic quesadilla making frenzy. by the 16th quesadilla we had a definite system that worked quite well. when the guacamole was made, the chips were put on their trays, and the salsa jars were open, we headed to marianne's room. pablo the mini-mexican man welcomed us into the room decorated in bright balloons, sombreros casually lying around, with vibrant colors of red, green and yellow everywhere. we took the time in which the room was scarcely occupied to take a few pictures and get a head start in our tequila drinking. it wasn't before long that our amigos started to wander into our mexican fiesta world. in fact, so many people wandered through the room that the capacity of the room was filled to its maximum. people spilled out of the door and through the halls. 

needless to say, the rest of the night was a bit of a blur. i believe i cut my friend's hair. i'm not sure why he trusted me to do that with the alcohol that was in my system, but i did quite well nonetheless. hours filled with laughter and music. cameras were flashing everywhere. it is difficult to sort specific events of the evening. the atmosphere was overwhelming with the amount of people and conversations. in the end, the fiesta was a definite success. as people wandered back to their rooms to wipe off their fake black mustaches and go to bed, i noticed the clock that read "4:07 am". it was time to call it a night. 

asda

while our sombreros were an essential part of our fiesta preparations, there was still much to be done. i went along to southgate with selina, claire and marianne. it was time for some more shopping. we were in desperate need of comida mexicana. for all of those who don't know, there is a place that exists here that is referred to as asda. our american equivalent would be known as wal-mart. needless to say, cheap food was deemed our new mission. 

we were pretty efficient with our list of things to get. we started with the avocados and ended with a couple bottles of tequila. we picked up don taquito the donkey pinata on the way. a couple of observations: 1) the english like their "crisps" (potato chips). there were five bags of tortilla chips in a entire isle full of "crisps". 2) no wonder americans over-eat . their portion sizes are 20 times the size of the brits'. no "party size", no "family size" here. 

the only thing to do now was to send out our facebook invitations and coordinate a game plan for  making our feast. we had a lot of quesadilla making ahead of us. 

it's birthday time in cockfosters

here in jolly ol' england, your twenty-first birthday isn't nearly as important as your eighteenth birthday. the big "one-eight" is apparently quite a big deal. 

our dear friend ollie invited everyone to celebrate his girlfriend's birthday. 

having only met katy once before, i only knew that she was a lovely girl deserving of a proper party. the night before, marianne and selina picked out a few lovely gifts to bring her. 

as we prepared for departure, we ventured off to tesco express- a small supermarket nearby the station. there was a huge debate concerning our mode of transportation. unlike california, gas guzzling, air-polluting SUVs are not the problem. the dilemma was choosing between tube, taxi or feet. our laziness cancelled out walking straight away. we finally opted for the taxi. two in fact, seeing as we brought a herd of people. we arrived and stepped forward to the doorway. the rest of the group spurted out their memories of ollie's house--past parties and get-togethers recalled with blurred distinction.  in exchange for our welcome into the house, we handed katy her gifts and card. she accepted them with humility and gratitude. 

we immediately pulled out the camera for our photo shoot session. we had been anticipating this. after all, new friendships should be accompanied with new pictures of new memories. 

as part of the group headed of to central, some of us returned back to the halls. i was in need of sleep for my lecture and seminar the next day. 

camden town. our sombrero mission.

friday night, in the midst of all the fun, a plan was underway for a mexican fiesta.

for all of you who said that i would crave mexican food, you were wrong.

when there's a will, there's a way.

one of the definite decisions we made was to purchase sombreros.

the fiesta would not be complete without them.

so the next morning...or should i say the afternoon (seeing as we all woke up at 2:30), 

marianne, selina and i headed into camden in search for sombreros. 

it was very difficult for me to concentrate on our mission. 

the streets were lined with fabulous vintage shops. 

i was in heaven.

thank goodness for marianne who kept us on track with our shopping.

after walking around for quite some time, we resorted to asking various workers where we might find the prized items we've been looking for.

the incense/candle shop owner knew just where to find them.

we found ourselves at the door of a costume shop.

mission accomplished.

we are nearly ready for a fiesta.

we rewarded our job well done with falafel king. 

a small little hole in the wall place that sold us falafel wraps for 3 pounds.

it was quite delicious.

claire, dave, guy and giles met us near the station.

all of us decided to attend a show (or "gig" as they called it).

the jazz boys had a friend who's band was playing.

we ventured through these old cobblestone sort of roads until we reached the venue.

it was a trendy little place, dimly lit with these dangled florescent lights. 

back past the stage were separate rooms that were structured like large horse stables. each named and decorated differently. 

the bands were quite good. i only wish that i had more energy. all the excitement from the last couple of days wore on me. coffee can only help so much.

i headed home on the tube a bit early and went to bed. 

t.g.i.f.

it's friday. i have no classes to go to and i had decide to do some exploring of my own.

my original plan was to visit the tate modern museum.

i mapped out where i needed to go like a good responsible tourist. 

but there was a change of plans when the tube was having signaling difficulties and was delayed for indefinite amount of time. 

no worries. i'll improvise.

selina told me that if i took the bus across from the station that i would reach a shopping area in enfield. seeing as i needed a warmer coat for the nice sunny days we have here, i decided that that would be my new plan for the day. 

getting there was just fine. i felt so accomplished. 

i bought a coat at top shop for half price. 

it is so incredibly lovely.

when it was time to return, i was certain that i had found the right bus stop to get back to campus. i suppose that's what i get for thinking i was right. not only did i get on one wrong bus, i then got on another bus that took me to who knows where. at its last stop, the driver could see i was a bit panicked. i was in the middle of nowhere. 

"where are you trying to get to dear?"

my reply: "ummmm oakwood."

kindly he says, "oh sit down darling."

i was clearly far away from where i needed to be.

he changed his route and took me back.

i was pretty lucky. what a nice man, helping out a stupid tourist like me.

i was relieved to be home. i suppose i just took a detour :)

i met marianne, linda, selina and guy for dinner. 

afterwards, we headed back to campus.

***

so i know this may be difficult for most to believe, but there is a bar directly on campus. it is fondly referred to as SU. (the student union bar). their radio DJs play music and they turn their cafeteria into a dance floor. this is where we hung out the rest of the night. there were so many students there. we danced and had a proper good time. when the DJ stopped playing, we all headed back to marianne's room where her computer became our new DJ. slowly but surely, we all headed back to our rooms and fell asleep. 

my introduction to london night life. cheapskates.

in the afternoon i attended my "shakespeare and sexuality" class.

disappointingly enough, we don't talk about the sex that is in shakespeare's plays.

the first 6 weeks deal with the machoism we call masculinity. 

and the second six weeks deal with the daintiness we call femininity. 

bummer.

they split our class time up into lectures and seminars.

the lecture consists of being talked at for and hour and a half.

fun stuff.

they don't require much thinking on the part of the student.

the lecture notes were handed to us. 

the only expectation- to sit quietly and listen.

the seminar was similar to our classes in america.

a lot of discussion.

although i didn't finish henry v, my contribution to the conversation was more than efficient.

those are the times i am thankful that the american education system teaches you to conjure up BS answers that sound quite informed. 

***

as promised, the girls that live in my hall knocked on my door to solidify the plans we had to go out that night. i quickly fixed my makeup and walked down to marianne's room which seems to be home base for all the going out plans. i cannot even begin to describe how genuine and nice this group is. my writing cannot even do it justice. the girls gave me a sort of profile on everyone as quickly as they could. who's dating who, what people study, where people are from. i was so thankful to be caught up to speed. 

when the entire group was rallied up we headed to soho to go to a club. cheapskates holds true to its name. everyone enjoys inexpensive drinks and admission. it was so refreshing to go to a club where the girls didn't look like they popped out of a 50cent music video. instead everyone looked like they came out of nylon magazine. there were no do-rags in sight. no ed hardy gear. this place contrasted everything i abhor in california clubs. the music was phenomenal: mgmt, santogold, justice etc. i couldn't have had a better first impression. everyone danced the night away. we left at 3am or so and took the night bus back to oakwood. the jazz boys sang some familiar tunes most of the way home. we laughed at the differences between our accents. apparently i say "process" incorrectly :) 

i visited selina's room when we got back to the halls. i just had to thank her for my adoption into their group. what lovely people. 

 

  

oh henry V where art thou?

i don't regularly have class on tuesdays.

but on the first tuesday i spent here i went to meet with my shakespeare professor. a jolly ol' bloke who informed us of our upcoming reading of henry v. 

naturally, i used this as an excuse to visit central london once again in hunt for a book store.

i also wanted to assure myself of my ability to reach central and get back safely without any difficulty of public transportation. 

i started off simple.

the piccadilly line takes you straight from oakwood into central. one straight shot. easy enough.

two girls from chapman: leslie and kari, decided to come along. lovely companionship for the night's outing. besides, they also needed to purchase a copy of the play.

***

there is simply an indescribable energy in the air.

we approached piccadilly circus, which is similar to what i imagine new york city to be like.

big lighted advertisements. tons of tourists incessantly taking pictures. it was amazing.

we walked as far as oxford street. it was there that i had my first encounter with the glorious five stories of clothing they call top shop. certainly, that would not be my last visit.

that store kicks urban outfitter's ass :) surprisingly i restrained from purchasing bags upon bags of unnecessary additions to my wardrobe. i'll save that for later. 

we found a borders book store and finally found a shakespeare section. can you believe they didn't include him in the "classics" section? 

after our mission was accomplished. we safely headed home. we had some reading to do.

oh. wait. i have class?

after a lovely weekend, monday always rolls around.

that's right, first day of class.

unlike classes in california, the english loosen the reins a little bit. we meet for class once a week for 2 to 3 hours. i have class three days a week, 3 hours a day. i'd say it is a definite upgrade from the 12 hour days i did at chapman. 

my first class was communication in writing with professor billy clark. i don't think that it will require much effort in comparison to what i'm used to. he was so impressed with my notes that he wanted to take a picture of them on his phone. A...in the bag. 

i spent the rest of my time checking things off a massive to-do list.

for anyone that knows me at all, you'll know i tend to make those a lot. i'm quite a list person.

i went through 11 things on the list. i.d. card-check. module changes-check. library orientation-check.....

mission accomplished.

bus tour and meet the floor

once again we found ourselves in central london.

we took a proper tour with our bus tour guide.

although, i don't suppose we needed one seeing as there is no history or culture to learn about :)

i feel as though we were given such a small sample of all that london has to offer.

i'm sure i will be re-visiting all the places that they brought us to, so that i can soak everything in.

we went to buckingham palace, although queeny liz wasn't there. we drove around hyde park, a place in which i am planning a picnic outing to. london tower, tower bridge...there is so much that we saw i'm not sure i could list them all. 

after the tour, we were dropped off in covent garden. there were street performers, tons of little shops and so on. i ate a classic meal of fish and chips. chips meaning french fries. i figured i had to have them at least once for the duration of my stay here. 

***

just as i was beginning my bedtime routine, brushing my teeth, washing my face...i heard a loud commotion  coming from the hall. while my experience of the halls was a sort of introduction, the other students were celebrating a reunion after christmas holiday.  just moments later i had a knock on my door. a quick recitation of names and a friendly hello. i could not believe how friendly and welcoming all the students were from the get-go. they were excited about our similar music taste and interest and invited me to go out with them on wednesday. 

already something to look forward to. 

the hunt for treasure

there are certain things that america needs to adopt from england.

for instance, college students love free food, exploration, free money, fun and games and drinking. 

why mention such things?

oh, just because this is what our "orientation" consisted of.

shocked? i know. let me explain.

all study abroad students were given a free breakfast and lunch at the hendon campus. 

we were given a few speeches about the activities available for us on campus and the support we are offered.

we were then directed to the nearest tube station where we headed into central london.

all of the students were split into teams, given a "to do list" and a map.

our time limit was two hours.

the team who completed the most tasks on their paper with in the time limit won a wonderful prize.

what was it that motivated us so?

a 50 pound tab and the pub. this is where the treasure hunt ended.

our team didn't win.

but the entire experience was amazing.

big ben. the national gallery. the river thames. the eye. 

so  much to see, so little time.

first impressions.

i have two words for you: jet. lag.

the time difference was apparent immediately. 

as i came around the corner out of baggage claim, i was greeted my two student helpers in rather bright red shirts and red middlesex university lollipops. not like the the candy. a round sign on a long pole. i was surprised at how much concentration it took to understand their english accents. it might have been the speed at which they were spewing out questions at me. i did not exactly want to talk about obama after a 9 hour flight. but i smiled and nodded politely. 

you couldn't deny their friendliness and sincere curiosity. 

as the students took me to the "meeting spot" i was greeted by study abroad coordinators and the like. sam, a rather good-looking australian man... that is married, explained some of the wonderful things that were planned for us this weekend and throughout the semester. 

***

we arrive at our campus after driving through a forest of trees and fields of grass. as i looked to the left there stood "the mansion", a beautiful brick building. what a focal point of the campus. to the right were gabbay halls. while they are a bit less glamorous than the mansion, a room with a bed was just fine for my sleep-deprived body. the day was a bit of a blur with my nearly sleep-walking state. we ventured off to asda (our wal-mart equivalent) to buy some last minute items. i unpacked my suitcase into my temporary home. and went to sleep quickly. 

almost there...

i cannot say with honesty that my trip began with a smooth start. 

as we nearly reached orange county i realized that my wallet was sitting comfortably in a pile of clothes in my room at home. naturally, the retrieval of this item created a time crunch for our arrival to the airport. well done rachel. of all things to forget. 

despite my mistake, i made my flight in time thanks to my oma who stood in the baggage check-in line for me. i felt like those annoying kids at disneyland who cut you off in line. luckily nobody complained of my cutting in. my frazzled state must have been more than apparent in my demeanor. 

saying goodbye was a bit difficult for me. the thought of having four months without them...

as i sat waiting to board the plane, i shed just a few tears. i was more than excited to get to england. it was just an overwhelming feeling- going to an unfamiliar place without familiar faces for such a long period of time. it seemed unfair that all the work my family did in supporting me was only re-paid by my goal being accomplished, my experience shared only through word of mouth. 

***

just to the left of me sat an innocent looking asian girl. to my surprise she was very eager to get some whisky from the flight attendant. the girl knew how to drink. i did not speak much to her, however, i was focused on knocking out 2 hour blocks with cinematic adventures provided by united. i was only interrupted by the woman in front of me who was complaining incessantly. she was hungry (even after the meal service). i handed her a granola bar. my act of kindness for the duration of the flight. she seemed quite thankful. the rest of the flight was quite dull in comparison. sleep.movie.sleep.eat.movie ect.

"its 6:30 AM in london. the temperature is 31 degrees farenheit. thank you for choosing united"

i'm finally here.