I guess it's official now....

On a miserably wet and dreary evening I decided that it was time to finally cement my status as a Londoner. I have heard some alarming reports about British cuisine, but I felt that there was only one way for me to truly belong here. So, on my way home from classes after one month of living in London, I decided that the moment of truth had finally come…. I decided to try fish and chips. I ordered a small, which it turns out would have been enough to feed a small family. The chips were quite tasty, but I was a little unsure of trying the fish…. While I’m sure it’s good for me to get the omega-3 fatty acids or whatever it is fish have, I’m pretty sure the massive amount of fried batter negates the healthy fish (not that I’m particularly concerned with food being uber healthy- I mean I do come from the land of deep fried oreos). So I got up the courage to try fish and chips; it was not too bad, something  I could see having once again while in London, but as Mark would say “that was nice… but let’s not have it again too soon…”

My Life as a Starving (not literally, don't worry mum) Volunteer

So much of the field that I want to go into is experience-based; while the material that I am learning in my classes is important, it is also essential that I start volunteering with community arts organizations and museum education departments. I have spent the first month of my time in London e-mailing galleries and museums my CV and inquiring about volunteering/internship opportunities. Unfortunately, at the level of experience and training that I am at right now the majority of opportunities are unpaid, but I have learned a lot more about paid positions that I will hopefully be able to start applying for after my masters and volunteering experiences. Currently I am volunteering at the South London Gallery on Sunday afternoons for their “Sunday Spot” family workshops based on the gallery exhibition. I was really unsure of how this volunteering would go, but I learned so much from my first session volunteering. The workshop leaders are also young and are very interested in getting my feedback and having me involved in the ongoing development of the project. The Sunday Spot works as a drop-in workshop in which activities are set up for families to interact in to create art and develop imaginative play. In comparison to other workshops that I have worked on in the past, this was more about creating an experience for the community rather than a physical piece of art to walk away with. I am keeping notes reflecting on my different community arts volunteering experiences to incorporate into my coursework for my MA.

On Monday I had the opportunity to volunteer at Gasworks Gallery, also in South London, with their community outreach programming for families. It’s interesting to study the dynamic of family workshops since my past experiences have been solely working with children. On paper this workshop seemed much more structured and had an end goal of creating a film. There was a very clear “narrative,” as we discuss in our course for the workshop, but we ran into a lot of issues throughout the day with the children. After an exhausting day we had a debriefing and reflecting session in which we talked about how we could adapt the workshop to take into account some of the problems and contingencies that came up based on today’s workshop. It was a really positive learning experience for me, and I’m looking forward to volunteering at the gallery again in November. I have sent a few more inquiries about volunteering positions and have also been researching paid jobs (this volunteering thing isn’t exactly paying the bills), so we’ll see what develops within the next few weeks. There is one volunteering gig that I’m particularly hoping to get involved with that focuses on children’s literacy programming through creative practices.

Apologies for the Long Post

Well it has been about a week since my last post, so I felt like it was the perfect day to spend a lovely fall afternoon in London in my neighborhood coffee shop updating the blog with my dear British friend Mister Earl Grey. It has been another grand week of explorations, discoveries, and lots to reflect on. After my two days of classes (I know… it’s a rough life) last week, I decided to spend Friday embarking on another exploration of the city. Setting out around lunchtime, I decided to explore the Notting Hill area, admittedly mainly because of the number of times I have watched the Hugh Grant (sigh) and Julia Roberts classic. I know, I am in London, one of the greatest cultural hubs in the world, and my sight-seeing expeditions are being motivated by a piece of Hollywood glitz, but such is life. I walked up and down the stretch of the famous Portobello Road Market, loving the charming rainbow of English houses and shops. I wandered into a variety of cute clothes and jewelry shops (slightly more dangerous than my expensive window shopping trip of the previous week- though I still managed to walk away without opening the wallet, so that was good),  antique stores, stands with old maps and prints, and a flea market of grand proportion.

Sidenote: I am now noticing that this must be a Wednesday afternoon mum gathering hot spot given the number of mums, kids, and prams (strollers for the Americans out there…) .. and there is a Toby dog here!

Ok back to reflecting, after walking up and down the market and getting slightly lost, I decided to continue my explorations by wandering to Kensington Park. I walked along the Kensington Garden Street, which is full of absolutely amazing mansions which are the residencies for a variety of ambassadors for different countries. Given the political/security nature of the residents on this road, photography was not allowed, so you will have to come and visit for yourself to see. I then went walked around Kensington Palace (did not enter this time- a bit pricey) and marveled at the prices at the Orangery restaurant on the grounds. It was a lovely day for wandering around Kensington Park, and I saw the Albert Memorial, the Princess Diana Memorial Fountain, and a variety of people out in row boats on the river. I went into the Serpentine Gallery, and then saw the Peter Pan statue in the park donated by the author JM Barrie. (Mark’s mum gave me a copy of Peter Pan, so I am now reading it and wishing I could go back to Neverland and be a little kid again to spend my days playing in Kensington Park). I then walked through Hyde Park; it’s interesting that after this meditative, contemplative walking through the park in which you forget you are in an urban space you suddenly emerge at Oxford Circus, which is indeed a circus of people shopping and filling the streets until it is difficult to move. It is hard to believe it is possible for there to be an economic recession after just a few minutes spent amongst the hordes of people on Oxford Street. Another interesting observation is that the shops on the street repeat themselves over and over again; you would visit one store and go one block down and see the same store equally packed with eager shoppers. Determined not to get on a terribly crowded Oxford Circus tube, I decided to see how much of London I could feasibly squeeze into my walk. I continued down Charring Cross to Trafalgar Square then across the bridge to take in some great views of the city. I ended my day of walking at the Waterloo station only to discover after retracing my steps online that evening that I had managed to walk 15 kilometers throughout the course of the day!

Notting Hill

Notting Hill- the London version of Rainbow Row

Hummingbird Bakery- will have to get cupcakes at some pt...

Kensington Palace

Lovely day in Kensington Park

Anish Kapoor Sculpture in Kensington Park

Fun public sculpture by Anish Kapoor

Albert Memorial

Bridge in Kensington Park

Princess Diana Memorial Fountain

Another Anish Kapoor reflective piece

Peter Pan Statue donated by JM Barrie

Italian Fountains

Marble Arch

London Night View

View from Waterloo Bridge

On Saturday I went out for a lovely lunch with Mark’s mum and aunt who were in town this weekend visiting London. My status as a Londoner is even more solidified as I have now had lunch in Harrods and marveled at the “Pet Kingdom” section where you can buy any variety of fancy dog treats, Halloween costumes, and jumpers for your dog. While we were marveling (and by marveling I mean laughing…) at some of the incredibly expensive jumpers (sweaters) for dogs, the kind sales assistant directed us to the even higher quality cashmere ones nearby- unbelievable! The toy section was also highly amusing as you could buy a car for children to pedal around in for 3500 pounds (around 5500 dollars.. no big deal). I thoroughly enjoyed the lunch and time spent marveling at the one-of-a-kind experience that is Harrods.

Saturday evening I went out to Shoreditch, a new area to explore, with a couple of people from my course. It’s great to be forming friendships with the people in my classes, and it makes classes so much better having a bond with my classmates, especially since our classes are participatory in nature. It’s so nice to have people here to talk to and meet up with; though, on a side note, after two girls from my program and I tried out a yoga course I learned that I am not quite cut out for yoga…so yes to the new friends, but no to the yoga.

After an exhausting afternoon volunteering on Sunday, I headed to the London Bridge area for one of my best nights in London so far. I met up with Mark’s mum and aunt for dinner and we strolled along the beautiful cobblestone streets and looked out over the river. I am already planning my trip to explore this area during the day time as it’s not too far from where I live. We had a lovely dinner at Pizza Express consisting of pasta, wine, and a massive (delicious!) tiramisu. I loved just having a relaxing evening and hearing so many wonderful stories about Mark and his family. My first month in London has been a bit overwhelming and I have a million thoughts going around in my head about the future and trying to set up volunteering jobs and work etc, and it was so nice to just have a relaxing dinner that had such a family feel to it.

Home Sweet Scotland

After being here for a few weeks and getting more or less adjusted to my new life here, I was so very thankful for a weekend getaway up to Scotland to see Mark. After everything and everyone being so new here, it was so nice to just get away to a place that I already know and be with someone who already loves me. With so much of my moving-in checklist checked off, I was able to relax and enjoy a wonderful weekend. It’s amazing how even though I’ve only been to St. Andrews a few times, it feels so much more comfortable and home-like than London just because Mark is here (being greeted with flowers doesn't hurt either :) ). I even did my laundry in Mark’s apartment (rather than paying for it in my dorm), making it feel like a weekend trip home from Furman or something. Even though our relationship seems so glamorous- you know, jet-setting (or train-setting in this case) between countries etc- I am so ready for us just to be in the same place going about our day to day lives already. I thought me being in London would make it so much easier, and it does mean we are able to see each other a lot more, but I still want to just fast forward to being in the same place, without the 6 hr train ride. Despite my brilliant proposals of how great our life could be as travelling circus members, Mark turned me down and I was forced to return to life as a post grad student.  (Mark did not, however, refute my suggestion that I could be the circus midget…hmmm). I feel so fortunate to have someone that I love so much here supporting me through my new life abroad, especially when I am missing all of my wonderful loved ones back home!! xxx

A Month Later and I've Only Cracked the Surface of My Life as a Tourist

Thursday afternoon on a particularly gloomy day in London, I decided that it was the perfect afternoon to tackle the National Gallery. It was a wonderful afternoon spent absorbing so many of the masterpieces that I have spent many years studying in Art History classes. I especially loved the van Gogh collection, as I’ve done significant studying of his life and work, and I love the ability of his art to show his extreme manic and depressive states. He has such a unique ability to transport people with his work. Spending several hours in the gallery was exactly the kind of artistic nourishment I needed. So much about contemporary art and especially art theory convolutes art for me, and it becomes more about people enjoying the sound of their own voices rather than allowing the art to have its own power on people. During those hours I was transported to so many different places, times and emotions, and I ended up both physically and mentally exhausted. It was such a wonderful reminder to me about what I love about art and the ability of art to open up new avenues of creative thinking. I wandered into the gallery’s education centre and there was an exhibit by local school children relating art programming to literacy as the children created narratives based on images they saw in the gallery. Art is such a powerful tool in learning, yet it’s sad that in educational institutions it’s often the first subject area cut in today’s economic crisis.  Following the day in the gallery, I very much wanted to grab a quick bite to eat, but unfortunately this was during my period of poverty with a blocked home bank card and no UK account yet… Luckily, in my wanderings I came across the Covent Garden Market. Apparently, on Thursdays (just my luck!) there is a food market with local restaurants having booths of food (and a couple of free samples) aaand a cooking demo from a fancy restaurant. I watched the cooking demo and made sure to stand right where the waiter with free samples was going out into the crowds. I dined on a delicious scallop with bacon and shrimp salad, all for free J I also had dinner-time entertainment in the form of a street performer juggling knives on a unicycle in his pink boxers; I mean what else could you ask for in a night out in London?

Cooking Demonstration at Covent Garden

The Covent Garden Market

Where I Stood to Get Free Samples

You can't make this up...

Restaurant Booths

A nice night in London

Life in the City

It makes me feel a bit more settled looking at my mostly checked-off to-do list of tasks I had to take care of these past few weeks. I’m still not feeling compleeetely like a Londoner, but progress has been made nonetheless. This past week I’ve had a lot of fun dealings with the bank in trying to set up my UK bank account, and luckily, am almost done with that process; at least I have money in my account now so I will not have to see how many days I can stretch my groceries before completely running out of funds. On that note- meat is so expensive! I am definitely much more of an herbivore these days, though I do miss the little Italian markets with fresh fruits and veggies- Costcutters supermarket isn’t quite the same, but it will have to do.

This week I began doing some reading on creative learning and arts programming, and learned a lot in one of my classes about project management. Unfortunately, our main professor is off at a conference so we’ve had guest lecturers and some of the classes haven’t been the best, but I am still learning a lot and I enjoy the people in my classes. It’s an interesting mix of young people who know what they want to do and are just looking to get all the tools under their belts before they head out to more real-world experience and older people who have been working in related jobs or just as practicing artists and are looking to take their art towards more community arts initiatives. We went out last Tuesday after a long day of class, and if feels good to be building friendships here both with my classmates and with my hallmates. 

Last Sunday I also was able to meet up with my friend Liz from home and we had a lovely lunch in the city and then did a quick perusal of the Charles Dickens Museum (a house where he used to live- the most random museum EVER) and had tea (Blackcurrant and Hibiscus tea- very good!) and scones with jam and clotted cream (mmmmm J ). Then on Monday I went out to the Greenwich Picture House with two of my new classmates, Pauline and JQ, which was another lovely evening.

A Pirate's Life for Me

After going out to eat in Greenwich (pronounced Grennich.. so weird) the night before with two of my new friends from my program, I decided to head to the maritime "village" during a nice sunny afternoon. Turns out it's only about a 25-30 minute walk from my dorm, so it's nice to have somewhere to explore that's relatively close!! I also heard that Johnny Depp has been in Greenwich filming for the next (another one, really???) installment of Pirates of the Carribean, but alas, no sign of the legendary Cptn. Jack Sparrow. The area of Greenwich is really beautiful, with the Old Royal Naval Academy, the Maritime Museum (some fun ships!), and the Royal Observatory as some of the highlights.. not to mention the good ol' Prime Meridian... ever heard of Greenwich Mean Time?.. yeah, that's here. The only down side to Greenwich was the massive amounts of construction going on, including the conservation/restoration of the famous Cutty Sark ship, leaving much of the river area covered in construction to be completed in 2012 ( a real bummer because I can imagine how amazing it would look with the ship on display and all of the construction gone), but nothing can detract from the beauty of Greenwich park. It definitely ranks up there as one of my favorite parks ever. Looking forward to spending lots of sunny days here (Oh wait...)  

cute shop with reeeeally tasty looking treats... I resisted for now

I LOVED the Greenwich Market- fun aprons!

This market has all sorts of great finds!

Greenwich tourist centre



The Old Royal Naval Academy



Maritime Museum

View of the Royal Observatory and surrounding Greenwich Park

Old Royal Navy- with view of the city from the Thames

Greenwich park- love it.

The Royal Observatory

View of London from the Royal Observatory

Long line of people wanting to take their pics at the Prime Meridian

How the Other Half Lives

... and by other half I mean the other 1%.

Noticing that it was a particularly sunny day this past wednesday I decided to go out after my morning class and explore a new area of London. Following one of my guide books, I went for a self-guided tour of Chelsea, one of the wealthiest districts in London. It was really beautiful and I found a nice park that offered a wonderful escape on a weekday afternoon. After wandering around the picturesque streets, visiting the grounds of the Royal Hospital, strolling along the Chelsea embankment along the Thames, and visiting the Saattchi gallery (most of which I was not a big fan of), I decided to treat myself to a fancy pastry. Unfortunately when I asked for it to-go they wrapped it in a fancy box, so I had to go out of sight to a nearby bench to unwrap and devour it. I then strolled along the shopping district, where all of the shops seem more like art galleries than actually stores. I've discovered it's so much nicer window shopping in places I could never afford, because there is absolutely no chance I would be tempted to buy anything. I felt a bit like a scene out of the Devil Wears Prada wandering down the streets lined with Tiffany's, Gucci, Prada, Loius Vuitton etc.. though I would be the frumpy "before" image from the movie. I finished off the day with a trip to Harrod's: the huge ( and waaay overpriced) department store. It was a fabulous day of wandering and observing the lives of the rich and famous, making me conclude that I would be quite content as a live-in nanny in one of these houses.. Liz and Nick, want to move here with Hampton??... it's not THAAATT expensive or anything :)

Views from a beautiful park in Chelsea

Oscar Wilde lived here

Am I in London?



Not too shabby




Nice houses along embankment



View from the Embankment- you can see the London eye!

Old Chelsea Church

I just wanted a pastry!! Who am I supposed to gift this to??

Pretty church on Sloane St.

This is what I mean when I say they look like museum galleries

Harrod's