Stonehenge and the city of Bath

Day trip!

Today we spent the entire day at two World Heritage sites. We left early in the morning because we had to be at the CAPA center by 8:20am to catch the buses. Unfortunately, the trains were running a little slow because it is Saturday. When it was 8:20, we were still stuck on the tube and we thought about going out and getting a taxi. I started to get slightly upset because I thought we were going to miss the bus and I really wanted to go! We finally arrived at our exit five minutes later. From there we ran. We ran across the street and two blocks down to the center and we were relieved that the bus had not left us. We jumped on and the bus took off shortly afterwards.

Our first stop, Stonehenge, was about 1hr 45 minutes away. On the bus, I read some information about Stonehenge that our tour guide had given us. It is a really fascinating place! It is full of mystery, because no one knows what the monument was or what it was used for. There are many theories about it, ranging from being a temple, to a place of healing, to an astrological clock. Apparently, it sits exactly at a spot where various magnetic rays from the earth meet. It is a center of magnetic energy. How did prehistoric men know this? How did they transport these giant stones from a quarry 160 miles away? There are so many unanswered questions and theories. I thought it was a fascinating sight. When you think about it, it really is just a circle of ancient rocks. But I really enjoyed getting to be at a place that I had only seen before on the Discovery Channel. The area is quite pretty. The only think I really disliked was the weather. It was freezing! And apart from freezing, there were huge gusts of freezing wind. I was wrapped up in layers and I was still cold. But in the end...the photo opportunities were worth it.

I look like such a tourist

After freezing at Stonehenge, we got back on the bus and headed to the city of Bath about an hour away. I had not heard about Bath before this excursion, so I didn't really know what to expect. I read the information from our packet and realized that Bath was a place full of history and beauty. Founded by the Romans, it was called Bath because of the glorious baths that the Romans built upon some natural hot springs.
You can still see the remains of those baths, but there is also a more modern bathhouse. Other very interesting things in Bath include the Bath Abbey, which is an amazing gothic style cathedral. We also had lunch at a chocolate shop. I packed my sandwich! But I bought a cup of dark hot chocolate. It was the most amazingly delicious hot chocolate that I have ever tasted. I can't even describe it. It had just the right amount of richness without being overwhelmingly chocolatey. I think Alex would have loved it because he loooves hot chocolate :)

After lunch we walked around and went into some of the shops. Finally, our group went into the Roman baths. They were so beautiful! We only had an hour to tour them but I wish we had hand more time. There was so much to read and so much history to learn. 

Here is some information about the Roman Baths:

The Roman Baths complex is a site of historical interest in the city of Bath The house is a well-preserved Roman site for public bathing.

The Roman Baths themselves are below the modern street level. There are four main features: the Sacred Spring, the Roman Temple, the Roman Bath House and the Museum holding finds from Roman Bath. The buildings above street level date from the 19th century.

The Baths are a major tourist attraction and, together with the Grand Pump Room, receive more than one million visitors a year, with 1,037,518 people during 2009. It was featured on the 2005 TV program Seven Natural Wonders as one of the wonders of the West Country. Visitors can see the Baths and Museum but cannot enter the water. 

Bath Abbey

Art and Markets

Today we really wanted to go to the National Gallery. It is a giant museum of art. But we especially wanted to go because they have a temporary exhibit on Leonardo Da Vinci. All the reviews say this exhibit is incredible because it has numerous rare and beautiful paintings. It has been super popular and it has been at the National Gallery for a while...but it will only be there until February 4th. So we really wanted to go today! The problem is that all of the online tickets have been sold months ago. But the gallery still has between 500-600 tickets daily to sell on a first come first serve basis. Since the gallery does not open until 10am, we decided to get there an hour and a half early in order to wait in line and get a ticket. We arrived at 8:30 am but realized that the line was already huge! Then we asked a guard, who told us that all of the tickets were sold by 7:00am. In fact he said, a lot of people arrive as early as 6am to get a ticket. We were very disappointed because we really wanted to see it. But we decided to stay anyway to see the rest of the galleries, which has a free admission.

The National Gallery

Since we had some time before they opened, we walked around the area called Trafalgar Square. It is very pretty and has some other interesting monuments. Afterwards, we headed up the square to Leicester Square. Besides nightlife and bars, this square is home to many cinemas, theaters, and a giant M&M store :) It is an interesting place to walk around. I definitely want to go back to see a play. My first choice would be Les Miserables because I have yet to see it. So that is now on my list of things to do.

We also walked to an area close of Leicester Square that is basically chinatown. Many of the stores and businesses were Chinese (I saw some Korean and Japanese places too). It was all decorated because next weekend, there will be a New Year's celebration. I also thought this place was very interesting. It is basically a microcosm within London. Angie was super excited because she loves sushi and there were many good places to eat there. But after walking around we headed back to the National Gallery to see some paintings.

Getting ready for Chinese New Year

I absolutely loved the National Gallery! It was so many incredible pieces of art! Just to name a few artists whose work is displayed: Monet, Picasso, Van Gogh, Van Eyk, Manet, Murillo, and Rousseau. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take pictures, but I bought some postcards of my favorite paintings from the gift store.
[all of the pictures below are pictures of the postcards, not of the actual paintings]

"The Virgin in Prayer" 1640-50, Sassoferrato

"The Toilet of Venus" 1647-51, Diego Velazquez

"The Themes Below Westminster" 1871, Claud-Oscar Monet

"Sunflowers" 1888, Vincent Van Gogh

"The Lady with an Ermine" 1489-90, Leonardo da Vinci

Afterwards, we headed back to chinatown to find a sushi place for lunch. Since I don't like sushi, I stopped at a deli to get a roastbeef sandwich and a coke :) The sushi place we found was really cool...very modern...but with very legitimate sushi according to Angie. I did not try it. Maybe one day I will get over my fear and dislike of raw fish and seaweed.

So after lunch, we took the tube to CAPA because we wanted to go on a guided tour of Imperial College. (That's the college next door to the museums...the MIT of England supposedly) The tour was led by a graduate who now works at CAPA. I thought the college was nice and had modern architecture. We had already been there for lunch a few times, so we were more familiar with it than the rest of our companions. Also, I didn't like the tour very much. Unfortunately the guy was a horrible tour guide and he didn't really give us any good information about Imperial College. Or maybe I just criticized him a lot because as tour guide chair of Rice...I felt that I could have given him a few pointers. Haha.

SO...our day was not over yet!
After the tour of Imperial College, we decided to go to Camden Market. We had missed the tour with the CAPA people (we slept in) and we still wanted to see it. So we headed off on the tube again.
As it turns out, Camden Market is actually like a "mercado." It reminded me of the mercado de dulces in Morelia, Michoacan. There was so much to see! There were lines and lines of clothing stalls, lines and lines of jewelry, purses, scarves, and food of all different sorts. There was Indian food, Thai food, Japanese food, and even gross looking Mexican food. It was quite overwhelming. There was even a store called CyberDog...which sold neon, techno, kind of 80's stuff. It was pretty cool. It was definitely an interesting place to visit and to see the types of different people and communities that one can find in London.

Food from al over the world

So many things to buy!

Needless to say, we had a busy day :) It was exciting and I got to see so many different neighborhoods of London. London is definitely more diverse than I imagined.

The Liberal Democrats

Today I finally had my interview for my internship! It was originally scheduled for yesterday, but I was moved to today at noon. I had been waiting anxiously for this interview, but this morning I was nervous. I got up extra early to have a good breakfast and to get ready. Even though my interview was at noon, I decided to leave my flat at 10:15am in case the trains were delayed. I also didn't know how long it would take to get there. Well...I'm glad I left early because there was in fact a train delay. By the time I arrived at Westminster it was 11:30am. Since the Liberal Democrat headquarters are not too far away from the tube entrance, I stopped by a bookstore for a few minutes so as not to arrive 30 minutes early for my interview. The Liberal Democrats headquarters are located just two blocks away from Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament, and right across the Themes and the London Eye! That means I will get to walk past all these beautiful places as I go to work.

Wearing my snazzy suit to my interview :)

Once I arrived, I was directed to the elevator and then to a meeting room. The building is very grand, older, and fancy, but on the inside it is modern and brightly lit. Finally, my site supervisor arrived. Her name is Molly Pite. The interview really ended up being not much of an interview! It was rather informal...she just asked me about myself and then told me what the Candidate's Office does and what work I would be doing. They told me my work would be varied. Some would be administrative but I will also have a lot of flexibility to pick up different projects. I was extra excited when they told me I could attend the Liberal Democrat conference in Newcastle (over a whole weekend in March) with all expenses paid. Yay! They said that is a very important conference where I will get to meet party members, Members of Parliament, and most importantly....attend meetings where they talk about policy and decide the party manifesto. I'm looking forward to it! It will be the weekend after I come back from Spring Break.
Finally, we talked about the hours I will be working. I will be working on Tuesdays from 2-6pm and Wednesdays and Thursdays from 10am to 6pm.

Well, that was it for the interview! :) I'm looking forward to starting work next Tuesday. First....there is a fun weekend planned and I'll keep you guys updated.

Film Night at CAPA
Oh so after my interview I went back to my flat in Ealing to have lunch. I then took care of a few things (emails and stuff) and then I went to the CAPA center because there was a film showing that I wanted to go to. The movie we watched was called "A Separation," and it is an acclaimed international film with many awards. It is an Iranian movie about a couple that is getting a divorce but then runs into all sorts of different problems. More than anything, it is a glimpse of family and society in Iran. I really liked it! It also counts as a My Education event (extracurricular) for my class on Islam and Politics.

School! Finally Classes

This past Monday we finally started classes! I was really excited because I definitely missed having schoolwork and readings. (Yea...I'm a nerd) Here is a description of what my classes are and when they will be:

Mondays 9:30am-12:50pm:  My first class is "European Politics and Government."
I love European history and politics so I was greatly looking forward to that class. At first, however, the professor did not leave me with a very good impression. He seemed nice but very informal. He would laugh loudly and seemed a little bit too easygoing. Not that I wanted a super strict professor or anything, but I think professors should be serious about their class. However, I liked him much more once he started the class lecture. He lectured well and kept the class engaged. We covered basic information about European nations like France, Germany, Spain, Italy, and of course the UK. For the rest of the semester, we will learn about the European identity, the EU and European integration, and Europe's nature and development. We will have to write a couple of papers but other than that, the class doesn't seem too difficult.


After my class ended and I ate my lunch that I packed, it was almost 2pm. I decided to stay at the CAPA center and just read and study and wait for my next class at 5:45pm. It takes a very long time to go back to my apartment (or "flat" as the British call them), so it was better for me to just wait.


Mondays 5:45pm-7:   The second class I'm taking is "Learning through Internships."
This class goes hand in hand with our internship. Through this class, we will make a portfolio of our work experience. We will also receive help with our resumes, cover letters, and interviews. In addition, we will cover topics like British employment law, gender and work, and social justice.
This class will be great and I hope to develop my professionalism as well as learn more about the British work place.

Tuesdays 9:30am-12:50pm  My third class is "Islam and Democracy."
This class seems super interesting! I am most excited for this class to start. We will talk about Islam in politics, how it relates to the Middle East, and how the Muslim immigrants affect England. We will also learn about Muslim communities in London and we will have field trips to a Muslim neighborhood and to a mosque. I can't wait! I hope I remember enough from my Modern Middle East class in high school. I have not taken a class on Middle Eastern politics yet. What I loved most about this class, however, was the professor. He is an intellectual and he is amazing at keeping the class engaged. I also likes how he forces people to participate by prodding until he gets an answer to his question.

Varying times/dates: "Global Urban Lab"
This is the class we are taking through Rice, only for Rice students. This is where each student will do a research project on a policy topic related to the Olympics. We will create an interactive blog to present our project. We will also work with other students at Rice who are taking Dr. Marschall's urban politics class. I am really looking forward to this class because I want to follow the Olympics and learn more about the politics and sociology surrounding them. It is also super exciting because through this class, we get to spend our Spring Break in Istanbul, Turkey!! We get to meet our Rice classmates there and  present our research projects at a university.

A Little More Info

I realized that I had not given much information about the program I am on, what I am studying, and what else I will be up to while in London. So here is more information about what I will be doing this semester:

My semester abroad consists of several parts.
1) Classes
     -I will take three classes from CAPA International Education. My classes are European Government     and Politics, Islam and Democracy, and Learning through Internships

2) Research Policy
     -I am on a program from Rice called the Global Urban Lab. In this class/lab, we will focus on researching a specific policy that relates to the Olympics. If possible, our research will include comparative policy between London, Houston, and Istanbul. We will be going to Istanbul for Spring Break.

3) Spring Break in Istanbul, Turkey
     -Here we will learn more about our policy research topics. Besides touring the city, we will visit schools, hospitals, and transportation centers. We will also present our research at Koç University. Before we go, however, there is much reading and researching to do so we can learn a lot about Turkey. If possible, we will use Skype to attend speaker sessions and discussions being held at Rice.

4) Internship
    -Each student received a different internship placement according to his or her interests. We have to intern for 20 hours a week. My internship placement will be at....
   -the Liberal Democrat headquarters at Westminster! I will be working at the Candidate's Office. I don't know what my specific duties will be....but I hope they are politics or law related.

WOW! That seems like a lot. However, classes shouldn't be too difficult so I think we will still have plenty of free time to do other things. In addition, the CAPA center has a lot of activities for us to do. They have movie nights, dinner outings, visits, and tours. We also received a calendar of activities called "My Education." These activities compliment our classes and our internship. Of course, I am planning to participate in almost every single one!

Orientation and Being a Tourist

I'm already behind on my blog! :(

Day 3: More Orientation

Today was the second wonderful day of orientation. We had three different sessions which were about Police and Safety, Internships, and Academics. These were not too helpful because all of the same information was in our packets. Also, the Internship session was really long and boring since they covered common sense things....like being on time, being polite, being respectful and professional, not starting an email with "hey" and how to have a positive attitude. That session lasted forever! But they did give us a long lunch break, during which my friends and I went to Imperial College again to eat at the student cafeteria. They have some very good food there!

After the long round of orientation sessions, there was a reception for all of us students at the Reagent Hotel. It was an interesting reception because it involved going to an "afternoon tea." Here in England, afternoon tea is a long tradition. It is usually between lunch and dinner, around 4 p.m I believe, when people usually go out for tea. One can go have a fancier afternoon tea at a hotel or at a nicer café or teahouse, or they take their own break at work and make their own tea. It was a really nice reception. Besides the delicious tea, they also have us some pastries and little sandwiches made with salmon, cucumber, or ham. I really enjoyed it! I usually give myself a coffee break every morning, but I think I may add an afternoon tea to my daily routine :) Maybe by the time I go back to the US, I will have converted from coffee to tea....

Afternoon Tea 

mmmm...

After tea we just had a relaxing afternoon. Before going home I did some more grocery shopping. Then I spent the rest of the day taking care of some emails and looking through the program information. I received more information about my internship! I'm really excited for the opportunity but I'm also a little nervous for the interview. What if they reject me? :( I plan on doing more research so I will be extra prepared but I don't have very much time left.


Day 4: Being a Tourist and Sightseeing

Tower Bridge......my favorite picture

Today, Saturday January 14th, the CAPA program gave us tickets for a bus tour of central London. So far we have only seen the very western suburbs were we live (Ealing) and the western edge of the city were the CAPA center is (Kensington). We hadn't actually been to central or downtown London yet. 

Finally today we took a three hour bus tour and I was able to take some really great pictures. Please see Facebook for my picture album ;)

We saw everything from Big Ben to Tower Bridge, Buckingham Palace, Westminster, and more. Big Ben was actually smaller than I imagined it! I really enjoyed the tour. The bus did go very fast though, but it gave us the option of dropping us off at a plaza to eat after the tour, or taking us back to CAPA. My friend Angie and I decided to stay and do more exploring on our own. 

First we had lunch at a Thai restaurant. I love Thai! I had stir fry chicken on rice and spring rolls. It reminded me of my favorite Thai places in Houston and Atlanta so I really liked it. Afterwards we walked around and we headed over to London Bridge and then to Tower Bridge. The views there are really beautiful. It was easy to pick out the tourists though. We're the only ones that take pictures. 

We also explored St. Paul's Catherdral, where the Queen will soon have here Jubilee celebration. She is celebrating 60 years as Queen of England. The tour guide pointed out that it was interesting that she decided to have her celebration there at St. Paul's. It is considered the people's church, while Westminster Abbey is considered the Royal Church. 

We saw a lot of great things, and we also did a lot of exploring via the underground. It's not to difficult to navigate your way around once you get to know it a little bit. I was so excited the whole day because I finally got to see all these really amazing places that I have only seen in pictures, or read about, before. It made me so happy and grateful to be here and to have this opportunity to visit such a great city. I love London's history and culture and I plan on learning about it as much as I can. It is a really beautiful city and I have greatly enjoyed my time here so far.

Hello London! Mind the Gap!

Finally in London!
So this is my second day in London and it has already been very exciting and very different.

My journey began with a three hour delay in Atlanta, because our plane had "maintenance issues." Apparently the generator was not working, which according to the pilot, we really needed to cross the Atlantic. So we had to wait! By the time we took off I was super sleepy. However, I have a very difficult time falling asleep on airplanes because it gets really uncomfortable. Eventually I was able to doze awkwardly for a few hours and I was awakened when breakfast was served.

DAY 1

From there I went through the uneventful landing, going through customs, and getting a ride to my housing. I will be living in a flat (an apartment) with five other girls. Our apartment complex is called Newman Court and it is entirely for students from the CAPA program. It's nice because at least all of us Rice students get to live together, but at the same time it makes it difficult to meet local British students.

Our flat is cozy, a little small, but has all the essentials. I will be sharing a room with an old friend from Rice and a new friend from University of Minnesota. We live in a neighborhood of London called Ealing...and I really like it so far. It is slightly distanced from the center of London, but it is nice to also experience London life in a quiet neighborhood. There are many businesses, shops, and restaurants, nearby. Everything is about a 10 minute walk from our flat, including the nearest underground stop. The underground trains are called the "tube."

After resting and unpacking, visiting my Rice friends, and going out to dinner at a local pub, I finally went to sleep. Because of the time difference, I woke up at 3 am thinking it was morning and and I was ready to get up! But then I realized I still had a few hours :)

DAY 2

Today I got up at 7 am because we needed to be at the CAPA center at 9:30 am. We wanted to leave early in case we got lost or in case the tube was slow. I left with two friends around 8:15 am and it ended up taking a while to get to the center. We got there almost an hour later! Riding the tube was interesting though. There were so many people! But unlike other metros or underground trains I've ridden, people seemed to be very courteous, friendly, and polite. It was a good experience and I look forward to learning the ins and outs of the underground. I think it helped that I was no stranger to public transportation. For me it seemed just a regular commute in a different city's public transportation.

We made it to the CAPA though, and we were ready for our orientation part 1. First they showed us what was available at the center. There is a small library, a computer lab, and a lounge called CAPAccino where we can get free coffee. (YAY!) It is pretty small but somehow, through a delicate scheduling process, it can accommodate 200 international students.

Our orientation sessions were not too thrilling. They went over basics and topics on transportation, health and safety, and rules. Tomorrow should be more exciting because we're going over our internship placements and academics! I can't wait for classes to start. I feel like my brain has been on idle mode for too long :)

During our lunch break we got to walk around the Kensington neighborhood, where CAPA is located. We visited the Natural History Museum, which is amazing. It is huge! So we are definitely going back since we only had time to go through the Dinosaur exhibit. It was a really good exhibit. I'm sure Christian would have loved it!

At the Natural History Museum

We also visited Imperial College, which we were told is like London's MIT. It is a really nice campus and we had lunch at a student cafeteria. Through our program, we also got a membership to their student union so we can join their clubs and sports teams while we're here. I look forward to meeting some students!

Overall, today was a day full of new adventures, new places, and new people. There is still much to explore though, but I'm glad that I've liked it so far and I'm glad I haven't faced too much of a culture shock. In fact, I couldn't help felling like I fit in somehow. Yes I have a different accent :) But I still felt like I could blend in with other people. I'm glad the program is off to a good start and I can't wait until classes begin!