Common Courtesies

i have come to the startling conclusion, after days of wondering just what was going on, that British people simply just do not say "bless you" or any variation thereof after someone sneezes. this hypothesis started after i sneezed twice consecutively on monday and neither of the two people in the office said anything. i was slightly weirded out, because doesn't everyone automatically and unthinkingly just say "bless you"? that's the impression i was under. however, on tuesday, one of my coworkers sneezed maybe four times throughout the day. i, of course, gave a cursory "bless you" after each one. after twenty and a half years of living, the impulse to say "bless you" is almost impossible to resist. it's just something you do! it's like flushing the toilet after use or wearing underwear; you just do it! so thursday and friday i continued my observations, and i received no "bless you" for any of my three sneezes, nor did i even receive any "thank you" for any of the six "bless yous" i bestowed! frankly, i'm slightly disgruntled by this loss in translation.

other than this cultural barrier, things are going swimmingly. life at the museum is interesting of course, and my classes are mainly field trips to various London hot spots. my art history class and i went to st. pauls this week, and the inside was absolutely gorgeous. the choir was singing as we were in there as well, thus adding to the ambiance. we also had to trudge up the 200something steps to the top of the dome, reminiscent of every family trip i have ever taken because mom always finds something to climb to the top of. i also visited the rothko exhibit at the tate modern, which was very cool. fun fact - when rothko and his family immigrated from latvia, they came to portland, and rothko actually graduated from lincoln.

tomorrow there is to be a proper chinese new year celebration in trafalgar square and then in actual chinatown, so i'm looking forward to those festivities!

cambridge

we spent today in lovely, rainy Cambridge - it was filled to the brim with old, important looking buildings that I took way too many pictures of. even though it was rainy the entire day, it did not deter us from a "punting" (boating) ride on the River Cam. we bundled up in musty smelling blankets, held our umbrellas high, and took a leisurely ride along the river, trying our best to avoid the multiple duck families floating about.







oh and...surprise! i got a new tattoo. it says grace on the left side, if you can't tell, and it's not as blurry in real life as it seems.

AN EXTRAORDINARILY EPIC EVENT

An amazing and unexpected event took place in my life mere hours ago. Tonight was the London premiere of the Leonardo DiCaprio/Kate Winslet reunion film, "Revolutionary Road". The fancy London premieres often take place at a theater in Leicester (pronounced Lester for those of you who are still baffled by the pronunciation of Worcester) Square, which happens to be a simple seven minute walk from the front door of my flat. Thinking it would be fun to join the throngs of screaming fans and enjoy the ambience of a paparazzi-infested event, a few of us headed towards the Square. When we arrive, it is clear that all the stops have been pulled out - vast amounts of security, huge spotlights dancing about in the sky, it's all very posh. I lead in pushing through the crowd, making my mother proud, and we finally reach the gate where we can go no further. At the very moment we reach the barrier, Leo's car pulls in and drops him off probably 100 feet from us. He signs a few autographs for the people much closer to him than we, and I try my best to take pictures. A few minutes later, Kate's car follows suit, and I do manage to successfully take some pictures of the newly crowned Golden Globe winner. They then disappear from sight, and we are pretty pleased with ourselves for arriving in time for some big action. As we are congratulating ourselves, screams erupt from down the line. Leo is coming back out! He steadily moves towards where we are, and suddenly he is right across the way! We're sure this is it, so cameras are flashing and people are pressing me into the gate and I'm about to topple onto the pavement and die in front of Leo when HIS MANAGER SPOTS US FOR THE SCREAMING CROWD OF FANS WE ARE AND DIRECTS LEO TO US. LEO THEN SIGNS ANNA'S COPY OF THE "REVOLUTIONARY ROAD" BOOK. I, TOO PREOCCUPIED WITH TAKING HIS PICTURE, DID NOT GET AN AUTOGRAPH, BUT MY FRIEND RALITSA DID. AND AFTER HE SIGNED, I LOOKED HIM DEAD IN HIS DREAMY EYES AND SAID A VERY BREATHLESS AND GRATEFUL "THANK YOU!" AND HE SMILED AND GAVE ME A HEAD NOD.


suffice it to say, this was one of the best nights of my life.

a far-away but nonetheless very real picture of KATE WINSLET:




and a very-up close and amazing picture of LEONARDO DICAPRIO:

It's All Work, Work, Work

it has been a very busy week of work and class and london!

it seems as though my internship is going to be a really chaotic but wonderful experience. the office i work for tends to run full steam towards disorganization, and what usually happens is that there is some sort of "oh shit!" moment where one of my bosses realizes that there is something (exhibit evaluations, providing an aide, picking up a bajillion boxes of event fliers from the basement labyrinth) that needs to be done that has somehow been forgotten about, and that makes up the crux of my job. for the past two days, i have stood in the corner of this tiny exhibit trying to be discreet, and tracked the way people looked at and interacted with the Sami culture (indigenous peoples of upper Scandinavia, for those of you not in the know) as incredibly loud tribal drum music beats down upon me from the speakers directly overhead. i then must try to coerce people into answering questions about their experience in the exhibit. what really happens, however, is that people start to ask me questions about the Sami and their culture, or whether or not we have dinosaurs in the museum (no), or where the nearest tube stop is. but it's all very interesting and i like the vibe of working for a museum. my favorite part, however, might be that in getting into the museum i have to flash my pass, swipe my pass, and then enter a code, so that makes me feel very important and a little like a spy.

Busy Life

I've gotten through my first two days of work relatively uninjured; today was a great deal busier than yesterday, though the first hour and half dragged by since my boss was not yet in, and did not think to leave me a list of tasks. I didn't think that going onto Facebook would be respectable, so instead I cleaned out my e-mail inbox and gazed glassy-eyed out the window. But then, of course, I became very busy. I ran errands, only getting lost in the maze of the museum a handful of times (quite a victory for someone as directionally-challenged as i am). i took an early lunch, went to a gallery talk, was an aide to a little autistic girl, then went to a meeting, sent out emails, and was sent home. Exhausting, but all in all it was a really exciting day.

We went out on some tours this weekend, and here are a small sampling of pictures. It's finally gotten warm here (well, London winter warm), and that is wonderful.

Gloria, Ralitsa & Joelle in front of the Lamb & Flag pub


telephone booth


st pauls cathedral


the tower bridge


bank


westminster abbey



buckingham palace

The British Museum

I spent much of today at the Museum - getting a feel and learning my way around before my first day of work on Monday. I also had an unfortunate run-in with the inability of the British to perfect their own invention; at the Museum snack bar I picked up a tuna baguette, and imagine my surprise when with my tuna I received not pickles, celery, lettuce or any other greenery usually seen but rather green beans. Quite a combination.

Eye For London

today I managed to overcome my fear of ferris wheel type attractions that began with a disastrous ride on the Sun Wheel at California Adventure in which I was sure an untimely death would be met, and I went on the London Eye. Finally, here are some pictures!

Cheerio From London!

Hi Friends,

As you may have gathered from the title, I have in fact made it to London! After two flights totaling a measly 12 hours, I arrived in the Old Country and breezed through customs, thought I lost one of my bags, met with my group and made it, severely jetlagged, to my flat. The flat is really roomy and quite nice, but my internet isn't connected yet (incredibly lame), so I cannot upload pictures for a bit.

It seems as though I have brought the unusually cold weather with me from Portland to London - there were a few flurries today as I was out and about, and that was quite unpleasant because this is London, not Worcester (thank God).

Today I also had my meeting with my internship supervisor at the museum, and it went very well. She explained to me what I would be doing - acting as a guide to disabled children in the museum, as well as helping to craft and implement exhibits that were made to be disabled-friendly. It sounds very interesting and I cannot wait to start! With working at the British Museum, I get an employee's pass that lets me into all museums/attractions in London for absolutely free, which is an absolute Godsend!

There was a reception today for all the students at Birkbeck who were from the States, and all the professors were there as well, and these women were going around with wine giving it to all, topping us all off - it was such a difference from home, and it was particularly nice to be able to drink in public without arousing suspicion!

That's all for now, but I'm sure I'll be updating soon, and with pictures hopefully!

Pre-Departure

Family, Friends, Cyber-Stalkers,

So this is/will be my blog from the Old Country. I will try my very best to update with pictures and regale you all with hilarious British anecdotes as often as possible! There might be some times where blogging isn't quite as frequent as you might like, but please don't pester me via other mediums (mom). Aside from interning and being scholarly, I will also be spending copious amounts of time enacting my plan to find, ensnare, and ultimately wed Prince Harry, as well as slamming my body into the barrier at Platform 9 and 3/4 in knowingly futile but nonetheless dire attempts to board the Hogwarts Express and finally begin my delayed magical education. But I promise I will do my best to find my inner Carrie Bradshaw and keep this blog non-neglected and also hopefully somewhat entertaining. But if you just want to scroll through and look at the pictures, that's cool too.

I leave tomorrow at 1pm ish and arrive in London (via my favorite German city Frankfurt, where the airport Weiner Kafes are all too plentiful) around 10:45am local time on Sunday. So long, farewell, auf Wiedersehen, good bye.