Friday, June 5, 2009

Victoria & Albert.

Disclaimer for this post: My pictures aren't the best quality like some of my previous posts. It was hard to get good pictures in the museum. I hope you all enjoy anyway.
My car for two months, the underground train, aka the Tube. There is going to be a Tube strike next week, so it will be interesting trying to find another means of transportation that it is as quick and efficient as the tube. I will also miss the polite British voice that informs everyone of each stop and to "mind the gap between the train and the platform, please".

The Victoria and Albert museum. There was everything from photography to jewelry dating back to the 1700's in here. They had various sculptures, fashion and clothing, and historic items from all over the world. It was astonishingly huge.

A blurry picture of a Raphael work of art depicting different stories from The Bible. There were other large pieces of tapestry in the Raphael room that are called "cartoons"...meaning large piece of paper. They were brought out and hung up for special occasions during the time of Pope X if my memory serves me right.

Some men's, yes, men's, clothing.

A wedding dress in the fashion section.

A dress made of bras.

This outfit reminded me of a Jane Austen novel...happiness ensued.

Yes, this is a Juicy Couture track suit in the Victoria and Albert museum.

A really neat piece of art in the entry way of the museum.


The Victoria and Albert museum.


Kelsey, me, Nikki, and Jason at "Lost Society" for Maggie's birthday.
The birthday boy, Andy (in the light blue, and also the first Brit to greet me with a kiss on each cheek like in the movies! This was possibly to do with the mass quantities of alcohol he had consumed that night. I also made a pinkie promise with him that night to check out some comedian? Haha, such is life in London) and the birthday girl, Maggie aka "Angel Face"as one guy kept calling her...and a random British boy (in the grey) who asked me if I was from Canada all night.
Maggie, Carly, Kylie, Kelsey, Jordan, yours truly, and Nikki- all of the girls out for Maggie's 21st. Note the crazy Brits behind us, they wanted to be in our picture.

Ello darling readers-
First and foremost...PLEASE go watch this video. It is guaranteed to brighten your day.
My apologies for the tardy blog post. This promises to make up for it in length though, I assure you.
The first order of business is to address some questions that have been raised about my personal experience in London with the culture, music,etc. (events/plays/tours aside). I have found the British culture, especially in the nice area of Kensington where I live, to be extremely well-educated and well-spoken. I cannot express to you how nice it's been (as an English major) to have not heard "ain't" or any double negatives used in a sentence since I've been here. That being said, they aren't openly friendly and outgoing like Americans are. We were told at orientation for Richmond that English people are brought up to keep to themselves. They aren't rude, but they just aren't overly friend like we are in the States. The overall atmosphere is a sort of calm, peaceful sleepiness. The pubs are always full to the point of spilling into the streets though. This is really the case at lunch and immediately after work. It's not uncommon to see a business man in a nice suit outside of a pub with a beer and cigarette on their iPhone. I really enjoy the British lingo though. I will probably carry it home with me. Haha. The magazines from London are much like our own, but use the lingo I was previously talking about. The music in London is pretty much the same stuff that plays back in the States. London has a ton of great music venues where small bands from every genre play, but the mainstream music playing in stores and clubs are that of the same main street music playing on the radio in the States. However, our cafeteria is always playing 80s rock ballads; it is really funny to eat breakfast to it in the morning. If anyone else has questions about London life itself, feel free to ask! Once again, my e-mail is m_and_m26@hotmail.com. I want to provide each of you with the part of London you want to know about. I really want this blog to be an opening to a different country and culture for each of you to live vicariously through. If there are any specific things you want pictures of or brochures from, don't hesitate to ask and I will try my hardest to fulfill your request. I wish each of you could be here experiencing these things in full with me, but since that is not the case, I want to provide each of you with as much of an experience as I can via blog, pictures, journal entries.
The next item is a little (which may end up not being little at all) recap on what I have been doing the past couple of days. I believe I left you all with me going to the Taste of Spain on Regent Street.
  • I got to go watch "Romeo and Juliet" in Shakespeare's Globe Theater. I can now cross that off the list of things to do before I die. I am a huge fan of Shakespeare, and being a hopeless romantic, "Romeo and Juliet" was right down my alley. The play really brought Shakespeare's play to life, and added somewhat of a comical twist as well. I was thoroughly impressed with the actors/actresses memorizing all of those lines. Characters would get up and speak in Shakespearean tongue for five or six minutes at a time. The theater was really cool as well. The whole thing was open sans roof. There was a large, basic stage with a large ground surface surrounding it and three rows of bleachers all the way around. We stood up in front of the stage the whole time, like groundlings and peasants did in the time of Shakespeare and his original plays. There were actually a couple of people who passed out from standing for so long. I was happy not to be in the top balcony, however, because this one was getting dive bombed by rogue pigeons throughout the play! Anyone who knows me, knows I have a paralyzing fear of birds. And if you didn't know, well now you do (birds, needles, anteaters, the dark, and werewolves are my top fears). The actors would often rush off the stage to make their exit or walk through the standing crowd to incorporate them in the play. I actually brushed shoulders with "Romeo" and "Mercutio" a couple of times. All in all, it was a great thing to be a part of. I also got to see a London sunset over the Thames River and behind the St. Paul's Cathedral which was so much more amazing and breath taking then I can put into words. All of the pictures from this can be found in my previous blog post though, so hopefully you can get an idea from that.
  • The following day I took a self discovery day and a quest to find an allusive statue of Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens. I couldn't have asked for a better day to do so, weather wise and emotional wise. I began my walk through the park; iPod in my ears. There was a path shadowed in a green tint by large trees (see pictures below). It was such a spiritual experience to even be walking down the path. I came to the "Physical Energy" statue and sat in awe for a few moments. It was huge and truly embodied physical energy. This could have been so astounding to me because my mind seemed particularly wide open on this day. I continued my journey enjoying the aesthetic of being lost (as Bradbury once suggested) and came across a courtyard containing very large fountains. There were about four or five of them. They came complete with the soothing soft splashing water sound and lily pads. The end of the courtyard held a statue and a look out over the Serpentine River that separates Kensington Gardens from Hyde Park. I soaked up the view, the breeze, and natures noises for quite a while before continuing my journey toward Pete Pan. I found him in a little fenced in area directly across from a sitting area right on the Serpentine river. You're supposed to look at the statue for a child's perspective to really soak up it's magic. I sat down and studied and admired it from the ground. Yes, it really is magical. I sat there for about fifteen minutes taking in the child-like happiness it veiled over me and my emotions. I grasped onto that innocent happiness for the remainder of the day. I admired the statue in detail for a few more minutes, asked some American girls to take my picture with it, and went to sit on a bench by the water to look out over the various birds who made the Serpentine their home. The sun seemed as warm as my emotions and I soaked every ounce of it in before restarting my journey down the path. After my moment with the Peter Pan statue everything took on a life of its own. There was almost an audible humming made by all of the life and electricity everything around me had suddenly taken on. I cannot begin to explain how puzzlingly happy I was in that moment, and I won't try to explain it, but I just felt awake for the first time in a really long time. It was refreshing. I kept the Serpentine as my companion as I headed toward Princess Diana's Memorial Fountain. It was a circular, almost water-park like fountain. It just ran in a constant stream in a cement enclosure around part of the park. There were little kids splashing and drenching each other in the fountains and groups of people reading and taking naps in the afternoon warmth. I snapped a few pictures and stopped to admire the gorgeous orange, yellow, red, pink, and mixed colors of the roses across from the fountain. I strongly recommend looking at my previous post for pictures of these roses. I eventually made my way home, still holding onto the weightless happiness with every fiber of my being. God is good.
  • I took a short nap and got prepared for the events of the evening. A group of us girls and Jason went out for one of our friend's (Maggie) birthday. We went to this swanky little night club on the opposite side of town called "Lost Society". The detail of every room, the drinks, and live music were amazing! I recommend checking out their website and browsing through their venue pictures and galleries. The room with the large peacock painted on the ceiling is where we sat and watched live music and drank strangely named, original recipe cocktails called things like "The Licked Sailor", "Fruit of 43 Virgins" and "Mo's Art". Some of the cocktails had a dash of real jam in them! We sat next to a rowdy group of locals who we befriended by the end of the night. The first Brit I've talked to was named Dan. I introduced myself as Matlin and he thought I said "melon". Yes, he thought my name was melon for the longest time. I eventually spelled it out and he still thought it was pronounced "Matalin", but that was close enough for me. He had a very thick English accent and there was a bit of conversation lost in translation between us. He was really funny and kept talking about how if we live in Texas (he would make a "T" with his hands every time he said this) then we must wake up in the morning and "kill something, and then go lasoo (pronounced las-eww...meant to be "laso") stuff" all day. I can imitate his accent with perfection, so ask me to demonstrate my "Daniel voice" sometime and I will do it willingly for you. It is so strange to see how different countries see us. He was really entertaining. My friend Jordan was taking pictures of the room as we were leaving and this Brit jumped in her picture and then every time he saw here throughout the night he would say "picture laaaaady!" (in a strong Brit accent) and then proceed to have her take his picture with his strange picture face. Haha, it was interesting, and ultimately a really fun night. We drank, we sang, we danced, we took a lot of pictures, and made it home in one piece. It was a success.
  • This brings us back to today. I took my final for my Writing of Short Stories class today, thus already wrapping up my first session of studying abroad!! The final consisted of two essays. I wrote about eight pages total; I had a lot to say and feel I did really well. It was a relief and a sadness to already be finished with one class. I gained more out of that class in three weeks then I ever have out of any other class I've ever taken. The professor was amazing. He pushed us to think outside of the box and question things in our every day lives tat usually never get a second thought, pushing us toward original thought and motivation for writing. I wish he could teach every class I will ever have. I was extremely lucky to have had a class with him. I start my Shakespeare class on Monday! After the final, Jordan, Kelsey, and I went to the Victoria and Albert museum. We got to see a lot of cool things. The exhibts and overall building are huge. We went through the fashion, jewlery, statues, and paintings exhibits. It was really neat. I didn't get many pictures because I just wanted to appreciate the art for what it was, not from behind my camera lens. That about catches us all up on things. My weekend looks to be full of walking tours; A Beatles walk, a Harry Potter walk, and a celebrity walk around Notting Hill. I will be sure to take and post plenty of pictures and stories from it.

Thank you all for bearing with me and this extraordinarily lengthy post. I love and miss each of you so much. Take care, have a great weekend. Cheers.

Always,
Mattie.


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