Wandering Waiguoren

Other miscellaneous happenings

2012-02-17T19:21:00.000Z

Alright, I think after this post I shall be all caught up to the present. It is hard to believe that 6 months has flown by...meaning that I am more than halfway through my Master's course and time in London. When this term ends in 5 weeks' time, I will be completely done with taught coursework as a postgrad; term three for UK students is about 'revising' (= studying/reviewing) for cumulative exams to take place in April and May. I am wrapping up reading week and have really enjoyed the quiet and time to research, write, and read for all of my courses. Oh and catching up on blog posts to keep everyone here and at home in the loop is always important too.

So what has been keeping me so busy, you may wonder. I flip back through my diary and the days just become collective blurs. I have been trying to jot quick notes to myself when something important/interesting happens - but, alas, there are only so many hours in the day. If anything, I feel as though I have been doing a better job of blending 'work' with 'play' this term. That's not to say that I am overlooking 'work' to go out and 'play' - as previous blog posts may (or may not?) lead you to think - but rather that I am just getting even better at managing the 18 or so waking hours I have each day. This term I have been particularly on my toes and jumping around to various London boroughs for presentations at Rotary clubs. I have given six presentations to date and have at least another eight scheduled between now and late April. Some weeks I have two presentations, other weeks none and obviously Easter break factors into my schedule as well. One way or another it has been quite insightful to travel to the ends of public transportation lines (in some cases) to meet with Rotarians and experience the dynamics of different clubs.

I also had a particularly noteworthy Groundhog's Day here in London with a family friend based in South Kensington. Apparently he has this tradition of baking 9 sorts of desserts each year on 2 February to share with family and friends; 4 desserts are always the same and 5 are new each year. There is an official log of desserts as well as prizes to those with the best attendance at his annual event, as Groundhog's Day desserts has been happening for 31 years! Dessert substituted dinner that night and I left having inherited the honor of carrying on our family friend's tradition once it hits its 40th anniversary. That gives me 9 years to start working on my dessert-baking skills -- feel free to submit your recipes to my inbox!

My love for the local theater scene continues as the BAFTAs were held just a few tube stops away recently...and the music awards are coming up on Tuesday. I try and limit myself to more low-key events, but ones that are equally impressive. With the aforementioned family friend I went to the opening night of "Tales of Hoffmann" by the English National Opera. It is a neat story of an artist/poet who, when his muse comes to him late one drunken evening, he embarks upon re-telling stories of the three loves of his life. Each act of the opera focused on a different lover - so you had a lifesize doll, a singer, and a call girl as key female protagonists. What made the ENO version of "Hoffmann" so unique was that each protagonist was played by one and the same soprano rather than by three as is typically done. It was a really long opera (3h30min) and I was really grateful for the coffee that was offered at 10pm with two acts remaining! I got to tag along to a meet-and-greet in the Coliseum's American Bar afterwards - turns out the lead soprano is also American and this was her first debut on any London stage. Definitely a gem that the casting staff discovered in their search to find someone for the lead lady! This week, being reading week and all, I also upheld last term's tradition of seeing another musical on Wednesday night. I chose to go see "Singin' in the Rain" on Press Night and was definitely not disappointed. The musical did a great job of adapting the original MGM film - many members of the audience were tapping/dancing away in their seats through the familiar 'Good Morning' and 'Singin' in the Rain' pieces. The stage was set up such that it actually did rain and the water accumulated -- those in about the first 5 rows looked to be getting splashed from where I sat. As my ticket warned about steep heights (on the 2nd of 4 balconies), hopefully those that could afford seats up front and center were warned about possible water damage to their theater attire.

Courses have all been going quite smoothly and I have been trying to keep the positive momentum going with Reading Week (no lectures) this week. Papers will start to be due and research will continue to happen as I head into the final weeks - the sprint to the finish - of the term. We have already had a full weekend of mediation training and in coming weeks I will be sacrificing two more weekends to learn negotiation skills and participate in a "crisis game." I haven't really a clue what to expect from either -- so do stay tuned for updates as things happen. My coursemates were in Geneva this week for one of two CISD-led trips to the city; I will be going in June and really did appreciate having this week to study and relax without all of them around.

This week we had a dinner for Ambassadorial/Global Scholars hosted by the Rotary Club of Radlett. I will be speaking at their club sometime in the near future... but a picture from our event should suffice for the time being.

The Group -- with District Governor and Radlett RC President, too

I trust everyone is well and weather is beginning to warm up wherever you may be! Sorry to flood everyone with updates, but I do think this brings my blog relatively up to speed.

Chinese New Year - London Style

2012-02-17T17:39:00.002Z

This year marked something a bit different for me in the fact that I was not in Taiwan to ring in the year of the dragon with my host families and other friends. That being said, however, I would have to say that amidst all the studies and ins and outs of daily life, I still seized every opportunity to celebrate the new year with coursemates, host families (via Skype), and my parents (still in China!). The only thing I missed doing - particularly since I was born in the year of the dragon - was going to the temple and throwing an obnoxious amount of paper money into firey pits for the gods. I think it will be a good year without having practiced this tradition. ;)

Sunday (22 January) afternoon was New Year's Eve for everyone in greater China. I spent my day studying (nothing out of the ordinary) but did tune in to CCTV's annual Spring Festival celebration in the background. Nothing really particularly special went down on the television special besides the usual types of skits, patriotic songs, and cheese-y performances. In the evening, I returned home to wrap and cook dumplings with around a dozen of my coursemates and friends. It was our own "family reunion" meal of sorts (tradition on New Year's eve) and we ate 120 dumplings amongst the group. It was all delicious until someone decided to slip me a dumpling filled 100% with garlic. Nearly one month later and I have yet to consume anything with garlic in it...

Part of the group --- before the feasting began

A week later (Sunday 29 January), just as official CNY celebrations were beginning to draw to a close in Greater China, I ventured out on a Sunday afternoon towards Chinatown to see what celebrations awaited. It was a bit like China in the sense that I felt as though I was entering a parallel universe of 1.3 billion people squeezing into the narrow streets and alleys of Chinatown. There were large amounts of food up for sale, dragons dancing in the street from one shop to the next, and closing ceremonies in Trafalgar Square. Because I had been studying (a reoccurring theme...) I missed the earlier performances in the Square and speeches by both Mayor Boris (and his Trump-style hairdo) and the Chinese Ambassador to London. C'est la vie; I was still able to cram into Trafalgar for the closing ceremonies and brief fireworks display. Leaving at the end was the worst as everyone was trying to push towards Leicester Square tube station, making the mass exodus borderline human stampede. My 'out' was to walk home, only about 30 minutes in the cold wasn't so bad knowing that hot food would warm me right back up again.

Streets of Chinatown amidst celebrations

Just a few people in Trafalgar...

All things considered, it was a good Chinese New Year for me. I had lots of good food (half of what the holiday is about) and got to Skype all those family and friends to spread the good holiday cheer. Maybe next year I'll be back in Taiwan to continue the tradition of celebrating in country?! It is still far too early to say!

新年快乐/Xin Nian Kuai Le/Happy New Year! :)

UN Celebrations and War Rooms

2012-02-17T17:07:00.003Z

Looking back at the week of 16 January, it was actually quite fitting that I attended a seminar honoring the 70th anniversary of the signing of the UN Charter and went to Churchill's War Rooms in the same week. It was essentially mixing bits of war and peace amidst studies, workshops, seminars, and continued Rotary presentations.

My course department (CISD) has been planning this event for the 70th anniversary of the UN Charter for a year or two now; I arrived at SOAS/CISD in time just to be involved in the final preparation steps. It was a really interesting event, and it definitely did parallel a lot of my coursework, however I can't say that I agree with the ideas of the speakers. The panelists took a very paternalistic view of the UN, arguing that there is a need to return to the pre-World War model and reinvigorate the UN with a lot of the global liberal norms that it has since lost. I personally think that the UN has evolved to meet the needs and challenges of the world as we know it...but that is just my opinion on that! As for the event itself, it was held at the Lancaster House and co-sponsored by the Foreign Commonwealth Office - names and places that gave the event a degree of prestige! Lancaster House was the most lovely venue; for those of you that watch BBC's "Sherlock" or saw the King's Speech (or many other big Hollywood-type films), you would instantly recognize some of the rooms at Lancaster from the big screen.

Entry foyer at Lancaster House

At the end of another week, amidst all the studying that always continues to happen, I took time off on Saturday afternoon to visit the Churchill War Rooms with several of my classmates. In 1940, right after Churchill became PM he stood in these rooms and declared 'This is the room from which I will direct the war.' So it is definitely an important (and frequently overlooked) London attraction. We took a bit of a scenic detour in finding the War Rooms, initially walking across the Thames to the Imperial War Museum (also a definite must-see!) and then back in a very nice (and long) loop. Unlike other museums in London, the War Rooms do have a nice 12GBP price tag attached to them...and that is with the concessions for students, too. I will admit that it was not only completely worth the money but also something I would willingly pay to see again! At the end of the War, the rooms were closed up and essentially left until the museum started operating.


Where it all began -- and all the meetings happened.

In addition to touring the various rooms where Churchill and others strategized and communicated with allies, exhibits were scattered with stories of those that not only worked but also lived in the War Rooms. They slept in these underground tunnels not more than 4ft tall -- and rats and the like would be crawling through at night time, so it was fortunate for those in the War Rooms that the bunks were elevated! There was also a great museum in the facility tracing the life of Churchill both in and out of office.Quite the stubborn and determined politician, to say the very least, with an accent that many (myself included) struggle to stomach.

My absolute favorite room of the whole venue was the Map Room. As the informational hub of the entire facility, everything has remained exactly as it was when the lights were switched off at the end of war in 1945. From color-coded telephone lines to books/documents and even rationed sugar cubes hidden away in desk drawers, it is just an amazing room. And then you throw in the fact that all four walls are covered with wartime maps, dotted with pinholes marking progress of the Allies across land and water and it really just brings history to life.

Map Room

I am feeling extremely productive and like I stand a chance at catching up on blog updates. More to come by the end of Friday (GMT time)!

Docklands

2012-02-04T22:30:00.002Z

Alongside a cup of tea, a few oat biscuits and onlinere-reruns of the “Skating with Stars” reality show, I am briefly updating aftera full day of mediation training for my course. The fun continues tomorrow withanother 9-5 day of training and role-playing. It is lots of fun – and obviouslywe are learning a lot too – so no complaints from me.

Now to picking up where I left off! After a full first weekback in London and at SOAS, I needed something to clear my head a bit comeSaturday (14 January). Something that I have always turned to – my outlet andcomfort zone of sorts – has been the ice rink. I googled a bit and looked tosee what outdoor rinks were still open and planned my Saturday morning aroundice time. I ultimately picked the ice rink in Canary Wharf. The West IndiaDocks, where CW is located once formed part of the busiest port in the world…until the docks were closed in 1980 and the British government adopted policiesto redevelop the area. Today, as one of London’s two main financial centers,Canary Wharf is home to many big-name banks, professional service firms andmedia organizations. The ice rink was located in a square, nestled up alongsideBank of America, KPMG, Barclays and Thomson Reuters. I opted to go for theearliest session possible (to avoid some of the people!) and was on the icejust after 9am. My strategy was probably the best option; as there were onlyfamilies on the ice it was easy to speed up and do my own thing. Or as much ofmy ‘own thing’ as could be done in cheap blue plastic rental skates. Definitelynot my custom-fit skates and blades from home!

A zamboni sweep of the ice would have been good...

At home I don’t have the chance to skate outside much and Iactually really enjoyed it. Temperatures dipped enough that it was quitesuitable to be skating outside. It also meant that the nearby ice sculpturefestival wasn’t suffering from melting problems. I left the ice an hour laterhappy and refreshed but cold enough that coffee and a second breakfast becomemy next objective. Without much to do besides read, I opted to wander aroundthe Docklands/Canary Wharf area a bit. It was actually quite a nice area toexplore – definitely some place that would be quite comfortable to live in aswell. There is quick access to central London via the Docklands Light Rail (un-mannedtrains) and it is both quiet and ideally located on the Thames. A trail runsalongside the Thames essentially into town, too, so there were lots of runnersand cyclists…and even groups rowing in the river!

Pairs skaters in ice!

By the time I got back to my flat, I arrived just in time tocatch the winning remarks from the Taiwanese election. Since my year as anexchange student on the island, I have very much continued to hold the island(and its happenings) close to my heart. The rest of the weekend, with theexception of an Indian dinner out with coursemates, was spent reading andtrying to start the term ahead in courses rather than merely just ‘on top’ ofthe readings.

View from the Thames River Path looking back towards central London

Snow has hit London tonight and it is quite clear howunprepared they are for this kind of weather. Sidewalks (“pavement” in BritishEnglish) are definitely not plowed, most don’t even have sand or gravel oranything to create a bit of traction underneath the feet of passerby. As Iwrite (just after 10pm) everything outside is nicely covered in a layer ofwhite and the snow continues to fall. I really enjoyed frolicking in the snowen route home from the tube/grocery but I definitely don’t expect it to lastfor long. Now that there was/is snow, however, it finally feels like winter!

Touring Parliament

2012-01-31T10:48:00.001Z

The game of catching up continues! Way back on 10 January, I headed down to Westminster for a tour of the Palace of Westminster. Arranged through my host Rotary club and one of their honorary members (who just so happens to be a Member of Parliament!), foreign visitors are not usually allowed into the Houses of Parliament for tours until the summer time. Non-UK visitors can, however, at any time of the year attend committee sessions and debates in the House of Lords or House of Commons. Perhaps when I get a bit more down time I will go back and listen in to the discussions.

I happened to be touring on the first day of session for both Houses after the Christmas holiday - so both buildings were brimming with people and the media. We began our tour in the Westminster Hall, dating to 1087 and essentially the only part of the whole complex that has survived fires and war alike. It is definitely really neat architecturally, but it sure doesn't offer the insulation and warmth of other parts of the palace. I would characterize Westminster Hall as a multi-purpose room. It was primarily used for judicial purposes, once housing the Court of King's Bench, the Court of Common Please and the Court of Chancery. Several important trials have also been held in Westminster Hall - state trials of King Charles I, Thomas More and Guy Fawkes among others. Perhaps more recently, the Hall has hosted ceremonial events be it state funerals or addresses from foreign dignitaries. If foreign leaders are allowed to present an address in the Hall, it is considered to be quite the privilege...and puts you alongside Nelson Mandela, Pope Benedict XVI, Obama and the like!

From Westminster Hall, we walked through all the Houses and side-rooms, essentially beginning our tour at the back of the complex and moving forward. We stopped at the Norman Porch - gated for us normal folk, but unlocked and adorned with plush carpets for when the sovereign (Queen) opens Parliament each year. Our tour route, then, followed the tracks of the Queen herself...with a few exceptions as you will soon see! At the southern end of the complex, we then moved into the Queen's Robing Room. As the name suggests, this is the room set aside specifically for the queen to use in putting on her robe and crown before moving in to open (and address) Parliament. She apparently does the whole process herself, since she is obviously quite used to placing a crown on her head after all these years; the mirror in one corner has been adjusted just to her height, too.

Queen's Robing Room

En route to both of the Houses, we had to first pass through the Royal Gallery, one of the largest rooms in the complex. The paintings lining the room are these huge images of important moments in British history - so things like the death of Nelson at the Battle of Trafalgar and the Duke of Wellington at the Battle of Waterloo. There are a few tables lining the room, on top lies stationary with the Palace's seal (and return address, of course!). Apparently MPs can use the room to write letters to constituents; I personally would feel just a bit too intimidated by the historical paintings in the room to stay in there for too long!

Continuing on to the heart of all the happenings - the House of Lords and House of Commons. Both, I must admit, were just as cozy as they appear in The Economist or on BBC. The House of Lords is much more lavishly decorated than the Commons. At one end is the gold canopy and throne for the Sovereign to sit in during the opening of the Houses of Parliament. Each year she will deliver her speech, essentially outlining the government's program for the year and a legislative agenda for the forthcoming parliamentary session. What happens in the House of Lords in some sense stays in the room, as the Queen not only does not enter the Commons, but those in the Commons are also not allowed into the Lords' debating floor during her address.

A very empty House of Lords

En route to the House of Commons, we passed through three lobbies. My personal favorite was the more ornate central lobby (or the aptly-named Octagon Hall). Once described as the 'political center of the British Empire' by an English constitutional theorist, the central lobby forms the cross road between the two houses, the library, and visitors' entrance. On the first day back after holiday it was definitely a hopping place! Often when there are camera crews from inside the Palace of Westminster, they will film from one particular apex of the Octagon Hall...just an fyi :) One other lobby before the House of Commons, the Members' Lobby, had a doorway flanked by statues of Winston Churchill and David Lloyd George. The archway just beyond the statues was the only part of the room remaining after heavy bombing in the 1940s; it was left untouched and the rest of the room was obviously rebuilt, albeit in a much simpler style than other rooms in the Palace.

Our last stop, then, was the House of Commons. With a much livelier reputation when it comes to debates and discussions, the House of Commons seemed no bigger than its counterpart on the other side of the central lobby. Seating is in high demand as only 427 of ~650 MPs can squeeze into the Commons; so during the Prime Minister's Questions or important debates etc., the latecomers will line the walls and doorways, standing just to be sure they are included! Decorum is very much a part of the happenings in the Commons, and while I have yet to attend an actual debate, there are lines on the carpet that MPs are not allowed to overstep when standing to address the group.

I hope you have enjoyed going on a whirlwind tour of Parliament with me. Courses remain quite busy, paper topics are in great abundance, and I continue to jump around to various London boroughs for Rotary presentations. Oh and it is finally starting to feel like winter with temperatures dipping below freezing for an entire week!

Rotary -- and some reflecting

2012-01-25T23:06:00.003Z

The fact that my last update was 12+ days ago is a bit...shameful at best. Much remains to say about touring the Houses of Parliament, exploring Canary Wharf area, ice skating, a conference with the Foreign Commonwealth Office, seeing the Cabinet War Rooms, and ringing in the Chinese New Year amongst coursemates. It would appear that I have my work cut out for me in blog updates on Friday or over the weekend as study breaks!

Most recently I have begun a circuit of presentations to local Rotary clubs. While such presentations are a component of the whole Ambassadorial Scholar package, I absolutely love going from club to club and seeing the different groups. They all function differently - some quite informal, others very structured and operating within a strict frame of decorum. My experience at the Edgware/Stanmore RC today was inspiring such that I am post-poning much-needed sleep and readings on guerrilla warfare to share the day with all of you readers.

My presentation is essentially the same for each Rotary club. There are tweaks depending on the audience, and sometimes my stories or comments change along the way. Like today I made an unintentional comment relating to a past US president in using the phrase "beat around the bush" -- I didn't even notice until everyone started to chuckle! Its also funny how I have been here long enough that words like 'process' and 'route' roll off my tongue in a very un-American way. We definitely don't say "prooooocess" or "rooooute" like the English do ;) Its all part of the experience! But it is late and I digress. My presentation is divided up between sharing my own background and talking about Chinese culture. The latter is a bit of an intimidating topic, as there is so much of it, so I chose to hone in upon three aspects of the culture that really shape how Chinese interact with one another and with the rest of the world. The motive behind such a focus is really to shed some light upon cross-cultural communication and understanding; the concepts that shape how Chinese communicate are not necessarily Chinese-specific and do appear in other cultures/contexts, but we often just aren't aware of the existence of the differences is all.

Presentation after presentation, the Rotarians thank me for sharing something tangible and use-able with them. Something that they will remember because it was presented clearly and thoroughly, something that will strengthen their interactions with Chinese. Today compliments went to all new levels (and I definitely turned bright red) after the President commented that I gave the best presentation of any ambassadorial scholar ever to visit Edwgare/Stanmore in the past 15 years. But all of this is more than just how well my presentation went off, or the extent to which Rotarians 'got something' from my discussion. Arguably, what inspired me most today was not the kind of compliments from Rotarians on my presentation and choice of topics, but rather the degree of engagement and desire for learning that most clearly permeated the room. Yes, its something I probably see on a day in, day out basis at SOAS; but for a group of professionals and retirees alike to be so interested in continuing to learn through the eyes of a different generation was a good reminder about the importance of perspective. It wasn't so much a presentation today as it was a dialogue. As soon as I opened up and shared a bit of my own story, the Rotarians at Edgware/Stanmore RC opened up and shared their insights and perspectives with me. And best of all, it was fun.

The moral of the story, as the club president in her Northern Irish accent reminded me: you learn something new every day. (Which just so happens to be something my dad says a lot, too!)

I am always reminded just how grateful I am for Rotary after days like today. Things would be completely different if I hadn't taken a gap year in Taiwan as a Rotary Youth Exchange student. Perhaps even more so had the scholarship not re-routed my postgraduate plans and brought me to London.

Lots of long days here - so, for now, as my favorite childhood story puts it, goodnight moon!
(More to come. I promise!)

Bath daytrip

2012-01-18T21:57:00.001Z

Hieveryone,

So it wouldappear that the whole new year's resolution I mentally made of being more on top of blogupdates has long since gone out the window. They do say that 90% of our resolutions end up becoming rubbish anyways...so I guess I'm just a part of the statistic on this one! Kindly bear with me as I play catch-upover the course of the next few posts. A lot has been happening that I do wantto keep everyone up to speed with.

Bath Abbey (opposite the Roman Baths)

Rewind to afew weeks back when I get back to London and first update everyone on mytravels and adventures in China over the holidays. What I did not write on wasmy first full Saturday back. Freshly jet-lagged and all, a weekend withoutpiles of readings meant an opportunity for a day trip out of London. I optedfor the town of Bath in the southwest county of Somerset. Bath provides an easyaccess point to Stonehenge (which I did not make it to this time around) but Idid explore the city quite thoroughly during my day and left feeling quitesatisfied with all that I saw. As one of the oldest tourist destinations in thecountry, Bath is home to three mineral springs that the Romans deemed sacredand linked them to their goddess, Minerva. In the heart and centre of town,nestled right up by the Bath Abbey, are what remains of a 2,000+ year old Romanbathhouse built around one of the mineral springs. The Roman Baths are both anarchitectural and archaeological feat – for the buildings to still exist atpresent is remarkable in and of itself. The mineral springs are still flowing,but the water is a greener hue from algae as there is no longer a roof over thebath as in Roman times. The museum section of the bathhouse is also quiteinteresting as the excavation revealed many artifacts from the Roman times. Therewere cutaways of the floors and walls, so one really could see how the Romansboth built and used the bathhouse. It was definitely like one of those Usbornebooks from my childhood – but in real life!

The Roman Baths in all their glory and splendor

From theRoman Baths, I walked through the main shopping street – all UK cities seem to have them –and to the Fashion Museum. I initially thought that the Fashion Museum wasgoing to be a bit of a gimmick, since it only cost 1GBP extra on top of myadmission to the Roman Baths. It turns out that it was actually quite a niftylittle look at the evolution of fashion. Their feature exhibit was on the evolution of thewedding dress; obviously inspired by last year’s Royal Wedding but includingdresses from the 1800s to present. Perhaps with a few exceptions, contemporarydesigners are truly returning to wedding dresses of the past in some of theirstyles. There were also exhibits of embroidered gloves (for royalty) and shoesand other accessories. It was everything from “Pride and Prejudice” eraclothing to the neon colours of last spring/summer in one very cozy museum building.

Talk about wide hips...

From thefashion museum, I walked up to the Royal Crescent. Any Jamie Cullum fans wouldrecognize the Royal Crescent as the backdrop on one of his more recent albumcovers...but I didn’t make that connection until I turned on my ipod a week orso later! The Royal Crescent is a semi-eliptical crescent of homes dating tothe late 18^th century. There are something like eight crescents inBath – they do exist elsewhere in England I was told, but Bath has the most inthe country. From the lawn in front of the crescent, I had a very nice view ofthe city. All the sunshine and blue skies that particular Saturday weredefinitely welcomed after the grey/hazy/smoggy combination of China!

Royal Crescent in Bath

Jet lagkicked in at one point in the early afternoon and my pace of exploration slowedsignificantly. I attempted to shop (winter sales of 70% off!) but that didn’twork well as I quickly tired of the crowds. The next best alternative was tofind a local coffee shop and curl up with my Kindle and magazines for a bit. Ifound this coffee shop that made each and every cup of coffee in its ownfilter; and the beans came from somewhere equally exotic. A piece of orangesomething-or-another cake and I was good to go for a few hours...until thecoffee shop closed. The problem then became that since I was no longer inLondon, everything (restaurants included) started to close down at 5pm on aSaturday and my train back was at 7pm. So....I moved coffee shops. The baristaat the second coffee shop du jour was very much thrilled to talk to an Americanwhile he wrapped up his day and closed up shop; I learned more about life in atop tourist city and the [complex] rules of rugby while the barista inquired about USpolitics and the upcoming elections. Those kind of conversations are always themost unexpected, but often the most interesting as I think both parties walkedaway with a different perspective.

One final Bath picture...

That does it for my Bath outing, albeit a very condensed look at the day I spent there. More soonto come on other happenings – hope everyone is doing well in the meantime.

Christmas happenings (pt. 2)

2012-01-09T18:38:00.000Z

Water town scenery...

In picking up where the last post left off, I still have the time between Christmas and my return to London to cover. My narrative is based essentially upon the photos I took and have since transferred to my computer - thus any jumping from one day or event to the next.

After our Christmas Day in Shanghai, we returned to Suzhou for essentially what remained of our holiday. We did squeeze in a few more day trips and outings around town. There are a lot of water towns in the Yangtze River area (think Venice-type canal systems that make up entire towns/villages) and we took an afternoon to visit the water town of Mudu. Lots of gardens, few foreigners, and canals...the typical stuff. My brother hadn't previously spent much time in Shanghai, so we also took a trip back into the city to see the Yu Gardens and explore the French Concession area. I am not the biggest fan of Shanghai - except for the fact that it is extremely easy to get anything Western in the city - but it was still fun to explore and see some new things around town with my family. The Yu Gardens have lots of dragons in them; very apropos for the upcoming year of the dragon! One final day trip took me and my brother via train to Nanjing where I studied abroad in 2009. Friends from Oregon were wrapping up their semester of study and it was a good time to pop in and say 'hello' over a hot pot dinner before everyone scattered for the new year holidays and/or moved elsewhere to begin their internships.

Post-Hot Pot ice cream with Oregon classmates in Nanjing

Amidst miscellaneous errands - stocking up on Chinese groceries and trips to the tailor/fabric market - the very tail end of my break in China was spent with a good friend (and roommate) from high school and her fiance. After seeing Beijing, they returned to Suzhou via Shanghai and we showed them around for the better part of their three day stay. Having hosted so many people and acquaintances in Suzhou, my mom has developed a tourist circuit so to speak. She should definitely write it up and sell it for money! The usual circuit changed a bit with the weather getting a bit cold all of a sudden, but we did manage to visit another water town and a few of the must-see landmarks within the old part of Suzhou.

Suzhou reunion with Allison and her fiance

Christmas break came and went all too quickly - but I am so very grateful to have shared three wonderful weeks alongside family. It was difficult to leave, but seeing friends back in London has made the return a bit easier. Classes resumed today, however I don't officially begin until tomorrow. It goes without saying that with or without formal lectures...there are still plenty of readings to keep me occupied!

Christmas happenings

2012-01-08T17:34:00.000Z

Hello everyone! I returned to London on Thursday afternoon and have since been switching back to the right time zone and my previous routine. Courses resume tomorrow (well, technically Tuesday for me) and I am actually really excited for another term. I feel refreshed and mostly over jet lag -- so add in a healthy dose of enthusiasim and I have got all the makings for a strong return to SOAS.
Before I dive back into blog posts about life in the UK, it is worth taking the time to update on my holiday adventures with the family in China. From start to finish, it was a wonderful break for me... perhaps not so much because it was a change of pace and there was no required reading list but rather because I got to spend three lovely weeks with my parents and my brother.

Shortly after arrival, we unpacked and repacked for a family vacation/trip to Hainan Island. Located off the southern coast and deemed the Hawaii of China by some (not sure who!), the warmer temperatures (25C most days) and increased amount of sunshine were quite a nice way to spend the days leading up to Christmas. We stayed in a Holiday Inn Resort about 45 minutes from the southern most city of Sanya, but ventured frequently to other areas nearby to see the local sights. Interesting fact about Hainan/Sanya: the Russians love the place! Our family was mistaken multiple times for being Russian, as Chinese trying to lure us into their shop/restaurant greeted us with Russian. Other times, the menu came in only Chinese and Russian. For the most part, however, we only really saw the Russian in the resort strip and hardly had any interaction with them throughout the duration of our travels elsewhere in the region.

Sanya city

Our first full day on Hainan, we went into Sanya city to explore. Like other Chinese cities, Sanya stlil has a lot of growing pains. There is a desire and push for rapid development, which can be uneven at times and generate side-effects throughout society. Moreover, the government has focused heavily upon building Hainan/Sanya as a tourist destination. Perhaps that is where the Hawaii comparison emerged. Resorts - including the Sheraton, Intercontinental, MGM Grand and the like - have popped up in Yalong Bay area (where we were at); Sanya is also quickly becoming a shopping destination with an abundance of options in Yalong Bay as well as a Duty Free Mall in the city of Sanya itself. I personally wasn't super impressed with the city of Sanya, but it was fun to walk along the beaches and explore the city a bit.

(In)famous rope bridge


Tropical views in one of the rainforests

During our time in Hainan, we tended to do more outdoorsy type activities. While it was too cold for swimming, that did not prevent us from lounging on the beach one afternoon and exploring two nearby rainforests on other days. The first rainforest was the sight of a very popular Chinese movie (非诚勿扰 pt2) - we walked one and the same rope bridge that some famous people walked across in the very cheese-y chick flick. The Chinese take an interesting approach to rainforests with golf carts shuttling people from one trail-head or attraction to the next, but perhaps that is more for safety reasons than anything else. My brother and I quickly discovered just how much fun riding in the back of a golf cart could be, even if seat belts were required! The second rainforest we went to a few days into our stay was located a bit farther from the resort strip. Yanuoda Rainforest was still under construction, believe it or not. The rainforest part that was there was totally natural (minus the paved trails through it) but the visitor's center and other planned attractions (rock climbing? rafting? who knows!) or resorts were still being constructed on one of the hillsides. It was definitely one of those "only in China" moments for me as earth-moving equipment seemed to be superimposed upon a beautiful tropical rainforest.

Traditional Li homes - in the hills, amongst the betel nut trees!


Li grandmother weaving

Another half-day trip we took was to see and learn about the Li ethnic minority group at the Betel Nut Village. For those of you unfamiliar with the betel nut, it grows on trees kind of like a coconut and is harvested and resold for chewing...kind of like tobacco. It is really popular in Taiwan, where pretty girls wear very little clothing and sell betel nuts along highways and on street corners to truck drivers and the like. I would suggest that the betel nut somehow gets spiked between harvesting and retail because they are addictive substances and people in Asia have betel nut problems just like people in the West have smoking issues. However, our tour guide at Betel Nut Village swore that chewing the betel nut is "good for your teeth" and was not fazed when I inquired as to how a substance that stains one's teeth/mouth/throat blood red is good for your teeth. Go figure. The exhibits at the village were quite insightful as they focused upon the lifestyle of the Li ethnic group, who knew that it was the Li group that invented the miniskirt! But I did finish that day feeling a bit like the government had once again succeeded in exploiting another one of the minorities. Because of the need for developing tourist attractions that comes with more of the 1.3bil people having disposable income and a desire to travel, the government likely saw the Li people's land as an opportunity for development. Compliance with the central government's desire to turn the Li area into a tourist attraction meant preserving their land; whereas had the Li said no, they would have still been kicked off their own property. Again, this kind of thing is pretty typical as far as things go in China.

Monkeys can be cute...

Tram ride to Monkey Island

Our last big day trip - and the one farthest from Sanya's resort bubble - took us to Monkey Island. The 90+ minute drive to Monkey Island was an experience in and of itself as we wove through many a small town/village that had clearly yet to feel the impact of the provincial push to become a tourist destination. Not really knowing what we were getting ourselves into, we got tickets and quickly clambered on open-air trams across a bay to the island itself. Alarm bells should have gone off when we saw the infirmary for those injured by monkeys near to the tram exit. Turns out there were 1800+ endangered Macaque roaming the property and we were fortunate enough to be able to walk through their habitat. Some monkeys were cute, but I quickly learned that I have a fear of monkeys after watching one attack a Chinese lady with a tote bag. If they weren't so smart, no one would have anything to fear! It goes without saying that such high-liability attractions would hardly work in the US... and that the best part of a trip to Monkey Island is the tram ride there and back!

We returned to Shanghai on Christmas Eve and stayed in a very posh hotel literally on the Bund. For the sake of brevity, I am going to pause here and save other China stories/pictures for my next update. This post has already ended up longer than anticipated! Look for more soon - hope 2012 is off to a fantastic start for everyone!

Christmas Day with the family :)

End of Term!

2011-12-16T04:07:00.001Z

It is with great joy that I am happy to announce the end of Term #1 at SOAS! This means I survived my first term as a grad student, aka as a human sponge. I've had a bit of time to look back and reflect on how things have gone so far in quieter moments on the tube or on my walks to and from various places...and gosh is there a lot to reflect upon! What follows are just a few key highlights of my grad school experience in London so far:

(1) Grad school is what you make it. They really do want us to read beyond the reading list. Running around town trying to find books in one library or another has become a part of the experience rather than an additional or bothersome process. I am really finding the more that I move away from the basic reading list and into more narrow tangents (or into topics that are more China related!), the more interesting things become.
(2) Social life can be academic. UK schools have bars in them...it is the weirdest phenomenon I have seen in any country. Give students a place with cheap alcohol and they will flock there. While there are plenty of coursemates that spend their free moments at our SOAS bar, cameraderie also comes in the forms of late night and early morning paper-writing sessions in the centre for my course. We find resources and help one another out; and everyone brings such a unique perspective to the program that I continue to learn heaps just in talking to my peers.
(3) I am being 'globalized' just by being here. The power of my experience in London continues to amaze me. A visiting US professor talked about coercive diplomacy on Tuesday night at SOAS, in one of his tangent comments he said: "For those Americans in the audience, you guys are lucky. We were/are the ones to push globalization out and abroad, but just in being here in London and alongside peers from around the world, now you are getting globalized. Don't lose that when you come back home." I think the professor made an important point; there is a tendency to get so caught up within one's own country that it becomes harder to be receptive to other cultures and perspectives. I could go on about how I feel more "globalized" just in all that I am being exposed to here...but hopefully you as readers get the point. :)

For as full of a week as this one has been, it has been extremely smooth and I have squeezed quite a lot into my days (and nights). On Monday, I went out with a coursemate to see a Christmas pops concert at the Royal Albert Hall. The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra played and some Royal choir accompanied; as did the audience for more traditional carols. We had seats that were originally pretty high up, however, upon arrival we were moved down to the ground floor. Not a bad deal, all things considered.

This week also included a Christmas party in our flat. Since I spearheaded Thanksgiving, my other flatmates planned the Christmas festivities, I just bought a pudding for dessert! We did a secret santa gift exchange and stayed up way too late talking. Good thing my essays and readings were all done!

To wrap everything up this week, I went out to Oakwood to join some of my host Rotarians for a night at the Chickenshed Theatre for a performance of "Cinderella." What makes the Chickenshed special is that it is inclusive theater, so people of all abilities are on stage. Princess Diana was once a patron of Chickenshed, and it is quite clear why after seeing such a stellar performance this evening! The script, music, costumes etc. are developed and designed by many of the individuals acting in the play; so there is local flair thrown in amidst all the creativity. It was an adorable rendition of a well-known story and I am grateful I had the chance to go!

Hopefully this blog update has not been too discombobulated. It is 4:03am on my departure day, packing is complete (mostly) and I am just trying to keep time moving forward so I can go out and enjoy an English breakfast before I take off for China. 800,000 people are said to be traveling this weekend, check-in/customs are said to need 3-4 hours (rather than 2) and it would appear that the early morning hours have brought a bit of sleet and wintry mix to the streets of London. I am expecting smooth travels, nonetheless!

It is unlikely that I will update much (if any) from China as google's blog host is inaccessible within the great firewall. That being said, I sincerely hope each and every single one of you will have a most wonderful Christmas holiday with loved ones. I have said it many times, but will say it again, thank you for your support of studies and adventures in London!
Again, happy Christmas and all the best to each of you for 2012! :)

Portobello

2011-12-11T14:33:00.001Z

It is a bit hard to wrap my head around the fact that I am ending my last weekend in London for the year. Time has flown by unbelievably fast -- it goes without saying that I have learned immense amounts in my time here thus far, both at SOAS and in life.

My weekend has been pretty low-key as I have been resting up, finishing up one final term paper, getting prepared for one final week of lectures/seminars and catching up on episodes of CBS's Hawaii Five-0. The weekend began with a departmental seminar on our dissertations, given by our program head. There is definitely a lot to begin considering as far as dissertations go -- deadlines for that will start popping up in February and I will be reading for my dissertation some over the holidays! I will have the summer months to really focus on my research/writing and everything will be due in mid-September. Whether or not I travel elsewhere to do research it is yet still to early to say; however, I did ultimately opt to give up the Olympics hospitality/PR job because I felt its hefty time commitment would take away from my academic pursuits. Other good things are in store for me, I have no doubts about that. :)

My one outing for the weekend was over to Notting Hill area with a coursemate. Notting Hill has to be one of my favorite parts of town, its just so cute....albeit very un-liveable on a graduate student budget! But I do like going to the area to wander around because there is always something interesting to be seen. On Saturday I accompanied my coursemate through Portobello Market on her search for Christmas presents. Portobello is supposedly the world's largest antique market. It is a stretch of street (Portobello Road) lined with antiques shops; on Saturday vendors take over the road as well. The end of the antiques section opens up into your typical market - random stuff, fruit/veggies, flowers, baked goods, and Christmas trees/wreaths at this time of year.

1GBP for an absolutely enormous slice of apple strudel from this vendor!

En route back to the King's Cross area, my coursemate and I decided we'd do a few other Christmas-y things and swung by Harrods to see their Christmas displays. Everything was Swavorski themed in the window displays, e.g. way way way beyond the normal person's budget. But that is essentially Harrods' niche market to begin with - the "normal" person can most easily afford things in the food halls or in the Harrods souvenir shop. We walked from Harrods along Picadilly past Green Park (the backside of Buckingham Palace) and perused Fortnum & Mason and all of their Christmas displays (the edible kind!) before finally jumping a tube back to our humble abodes.

Swavorski crystal-studded dress @ Harrods

Transportation this weekend was made a bit more difficult not because of various Tube lines being closed but rather because a huge chunk of Oxford Street was blocked off and made pedestrian-access only (related BBC report here). Last year when I was in England for Christmas, I remember the BBC showing scenes of a snow-covered and near-empty Oxford Street. Not this year! Guess the Eurozone crisis nor the global recession is as bad as what the media says it is?! Or at least it doesn't seem to affect all of those people that made the pilgrimage to shop Oxford street this past weekend (and practically every other weekend leading up to 12/25). I had honestly forgotten about the street closures until I hopped on a bus today (Sunday) only to hear the familiar voice: "This bus is on diversion. Please listen for further details." What should have been a ~35min route via Oxford Street became a ~15min route that took me parallel to Oxford Street and rejoined the original route at Marble Arch. Not too bad of a deal, all things considered, as it definitely saved me some time!

Look for another update before I head off to China on Friday; there are a few exciting things down in my diary for the coming week that are definitely worth sharing with all of you readers.

Christmas Markets

2011-12-06T07:19:00.001Z

London at Christmas is absolutely electric. It is also cold enough that it really should just hurry up and snow already! There is an abundance of holiday-themed things to do around town, and trees/decorations are up seemingly everywhere. A part of Oxford Street has also been blocked off to traffic since there are concerns with people either (a) smushing one another or (b) being smushed by oncoming traffic.

This past Saturday, I went with my flatmates to the Christmas Market on South Bank. My German flatmate was particularly keen on going since the market had been branded "German" and she was determined to prove how German it was not.

Here are my top reasons for why one should go to (and consequently love going to) Christmas markets:

(1) Hot chocolate, cider, and mulled wine

(2) Vendors with their random selection of 'stuff' -- see pictures below

(3) Christmas tunes filling the air...and passerby singing right along

(4) Prime people-watching territory; how many times do you see people climb into a lifesize snowglobe to have their picture taken as fake snow blows up into their faces?!

(5) Its just downright Christmas-y. :)

Food/drink market before the actual market

Voila! South Bank Christmas market

And a sample of some merchandise...

London by night -- my favorite :)


Norway donates a tree every year to the UK; they put it in Trafalgar with lights and a star!

East end of Oxford Street

Mr. O2 and Mr. Stroll-in-the-Park

2011-12-05T16:05:00.001Z

I hadn't intended to write anything about two particular British male individuals I have encountered recently, but today with Mr. Stroll in the Park I hit a tipping point of sorts. Perhaps getting this down on record will help me put things back into perspective and crack on with my last paper and readings for tomorrow.

I really admire when guys are gutsy and "man up" so to speak in asking a girl out or for her number or what have you. Its cute, its traditional, and I am all for it. But there is a line of demarcation in there between "cute" and "creepy." Take Mr. O2 for instance. For those of you outside of the UK, O2 is a cell phone provider. They pride themselves on their good customer service (boy are they high energy sales people!) and competitive monthly plans. In signing up for my contract with O2 early in October, my new mobile phone number was entered into their system at least six or seven times for various steps of the process. Guess who memorized it? Yupppp - Mr. O2. I am certain he is probably breaching some domestic law about privacy but I haven't really deemed it worth my time to find out what such a law is and let him know that I would be willing to use it against him. In the midst of the hustle and bustle of academics and everyday London life, it is much easier option to just ignore calls and block text messages.

Today, on my way home from uni and after a quick workout at the gym, I was walking through my favorite little garden when Mr. Stroll in the Park approaches from my left side. Our dialogue went something like this:

Mr. S-in-P: May I ask you what time it is?
Me: Sure (looks at phone), its 3:25.
Mr. S-in-P: OH YOU'RE AMERICAN! (he was really excited)
Me: That's correct, yes.
Mr. S-in-P: Whereabouts are you from?
Me: Chicago (since most English struggle to say "Peoria" and will have no idea where it is anyways...)
Mr. S-in-P: Chicago! Really? I absolutely love the musical. Some great songs it has. You know I did some musical work once... actually wrote some songs for that musical.
Me: Uh-huh, neat. So what do you do now?
Mr. S-in-P: Well I do catering work, but my training was in graphic design at [some uni in London] and I'm really just earning money until I can start my own business.
[pause]
Mr. S-in-P: So I don't mean to catch you off guard or anything, but you seem really nice and you're quite a pretty young woman... care to go for drinks sometime?
Me: Uhhhh... (I probably looked like a deer in headlights as I stammered around for words) yeah, that's nice of you and all - especially seeing as how I just left the gym - but....uhhhhh....yeah, not really my thing. Sorry.
Mr. S-in-P: Oh I see, but you know that's ok. [insert comment about my legs here - he had guts + nerve!] You don't mind if I talk to you do you? Or if I see you in the area that we talk some more? I live nearby in Bloomsbury. You go to uni here?
Me: Uhhh, sort of. (Mental red flags and walls abound at this point!)
Mr. S-in-P: Ok, well, my name is Nick. And you are?
Me: I'm Lauren.
[really awkward handshake at this point -- he says his right hand is cold so he extends his left hand and I see a ring; but couldn't place it as on the middle finger or on the ring finger before it went back into his pocket]
Me: Ok, well I need to get going.
Mr. S-in-P: It was nice to meet you, see you soon! Have a lovely afternoon.

Seriously, do I have some weirdo magnet attached to me? Is it that hard to just want a peaceful walk home to a cup of tea and a scone? The lesson du jour remains: exercise greater caution in giving strangers the time from here on out.

Its not to say that all English men have been this way -- no broad sweeping assumptions like that for me! My male coursemates are all quite fantastic. And if I time my morning walk to SOAS correctly, my path almost always crosses with some local guy on a Barclay's bike that shouts "Good morning, beautiful!" to every single female pedestrian he passes haha. There is redemption; not all of them are so...direct, to say the least.

Big deadlines this week for me, and steady progress. Christmas break is within reach! Hope everyone here in the UK or at home in the states is getting all geared up for the holidays.

Public Sector Strike

2011-11-30T22:44:00.001Z

11/30/2011 was deemed a "Day of Action" as public sector workers across the country took united strike action to defend their pensions. It was a bit chaotic here in London, but by staying clear of campus, I think I avoided most of the hubbub. All lectures and tutorials for the day were cancelled -- resulting in 7 hours of classes on Thursday instead (yipee?!) -- and students even had the option of participating in the strikes alongside our teachers. SOAS being, well SOAS (e.g. as liberal as Oregon!), also decided the time was right to start an Occupy Movement. The small lawn we have between buildings now features several tents and a yurt. Hopefully the protesters will shower and keep the area a bit tidier than their counterparts outside St Pauls!

I personally didn't really feel comfortable going to the picket lines, just because I feel like a bit of an outsider in this situation. In my opinion there are more effective ways than striking to make change happen. The professors at SOAS and across the country deserve every bit of the pension that was promised to them a few years ago and I do support why they are on strike. However, as it really did interrupt my schedule...yeah, not such a big fan. Not only was school essentially off limits (we were told that we could cross the picket line if need be) but every other library in town was running on restricted hours. Good timing, too, since everyone is nearing the end of the term and papers/research project are in great abundance. I spent a better part of my day reading from home, only to take a study break with a Londoner friend and explore South London (mainly Brixton and Peckham areas... the key being that we explored before dusk since the area can be a bit dodgy).

The Guardian has some pretty detailed coverage of how things played out on the ground today; if you are interested, do point your cursor here for stories and photos.

In other news -- and before I get back to more reading at 11pm (already?!) -- I was offered a job during the London Olympics doing hospitality-type work with VIP Chinese clients of the sponsor companies (HSBC, China Air etc.) that come over. It is definitely one of those 'once in a lifetime' kind of opportunities, so I do imagine I will be accepting the offer in the next week or so once these papers get done...........!

Thanksgiving

2011-11-28T06:44:00.001Z

Happy belated Thanksgiving to everyone! Hopefully the past weekend was a much needed break in routine for all of you and you were able to spend it with family/friends/loved ones.

While the better part of my weekend was spent writing papers and doing coursework (surprise, surprise -- it is almost the end of the term!), I was fortunate enough to get a bit of time to properly celebrate Thanksgiving. On Thursday morning, I attended a Thanksgiving service in St Paul's Cathedral hosted by the US Embassy of London. It was quite a nice ceremony: there was a choir, we sang some hymns, listened to a sermon and the Presidential proclamation, and ended with singing "America the Beautiful." Try singing a patriotic song in a cathedral with 2000 others...it is quite the experience! The rest of my Thursday was oh-so-exciting with a lecture and seminar for my Chinese & International Politics module. I did also get to watch NFL games on Thanksgiving Day, however, as I was invited to join a coursemate and her family at a sports cafe in Picadilly Circus area. My Thanksgiving dinner thus became a very well-done Texas Burger and two onion rings. Sitting behind us at the sports by was apparently London's top American Football team, the London Blitz. During the halftime show - when Nickleback got axed in the US - they were showing clips of the London Blitz games on what looked to be a high school/secondary school field. We were commenting on how the players looked to be quite scrawny (which they did!) and had twiggy legs and such....right about then, the coach popped his head into our table and pointed to one of the players we were talking about. Ooops! We tried really hard to make up for our faux pas in discussing our separate national sports (football vs. soccer), but who knows how well we succeeded. Lesson learned: keep opinions about others playing the US national sport to oneself!

I had a lot of questions from home about whether or not I was getting turkey this Thanksgiving, especially when I skyped family members on Thursday night my time. The good news: I had not one, but two turkey meals this weekend. I hosted a Thanksgiving lunch in my flate for coursemates and flatmates -- cooking two birds (the oven is small...) and recruiting flatmates to help with stuffing, mashed potatoes, veggies and dessert. It went off really well and we had a lot of fun (see pictures)! On Saturday, I had another Thanksgiving lunch with fellow Ambassadorial Scholars at a Rotarian's home. Our host only had to prepare one turkey however, because it was absolutely massive at around 25lbs.

Thanksgiving is quite possibly one of my favorite holidays as it is a good reminder to step back and be grateful. I have so very much to be grateful for this year - any list of gratitude would be miles long! Thanks to those of you that continue to support my studies and endeavors abroad. I am so lucky to have such amazing family and friends that continue to inspire me. :)

More updates soon -- I'm wrapping up paper #2 out of 3!

London by foot

2011-11-20T20:55:00.001Z

Since I did very little this weekend besides read and write term papers, I'm actually going to continue where I left off in the last post with an update about my adventures as a tour guide in London. My friend came up from France early on Saturday morning -- so early that as I was leaving to walk to St Pancras International (where the Eurostar arrives, about 10min from home on foot!) the Friday night party animals were just returning home. Only in London. Susan was really excited to be in London and we were finally re-united after about two years of intermittent facebook communications and skype chats. I asked her how she preferred to get around for the weekend, her answer was on foot. So on foot it was!

Saturday was the equivalent of Mao's long march gone London. Let's just call it Lauren's long march. My dad took me and my family on a long march in Hong Kong once where we traversed the island...I think this surpassed the scope of the HK march just because London is not an island. We walked down to the Thames from where I'm living, popping out slightly upstream of St Paul's (OccupyLondon is still happening...), and along the Embankment/North Bank all the way to Westminster. I hadn't yet been inside Westminster -- good gosh is it amazing! I have been in a lot of cathedrals in Europe before, but Westminster is all new levels of wonder. I spent both the beginning and end of our 2+ hour tour just sitting still, enjoying the quiet, and really marveling at the sheer beauty of the inside of the church. I talked with one of the workers and fished a bit for details about the Royal Wedding (who wouldn't?!). He said that he was standing by the front door (where tourists exit) and saw the whole shebang. William and Kate gave the cathedral staff programs from the wedding and a few days later, they sent pieces of wedding cake and signed wedding portraits to all those that helped. Talk about a personal touch on the thank yous! I have resolved to go back to Westminster for one of the 7:30am services at some point, too, mainly because I would like to hear the boys' choir sing at mass.

From Westminster, we walked up to Buckingham Palace (just barely missing the changing of the guard...oops?!) and took another bazillion photos. It was a good excuse for me to be touristy, because I usually don't like taking 50 photos of the same place. But Susan had a nice Nikon DLR and she took hundreds upon hundreds of photos of everything, including multiple close-ups of her English Breakfast and other meals. By the end of the weekend, I was ready for a break from all the camera action! Anyways... from Buckingham, we walked through St James' Park and along the Mall up to Trafalgar Square, on towards Piccadilly Circus and then back down to the Thames for the Lord Mayor of London fireworks show. There are essentially two mayors, you've got good ol' Boris (and his horrible Trump-esque hairdo) that runs the whole show, and then the Lord Mayor that is just responsible for the City of London. The City of London obviously falls within the center of London, including important landmarks like St Paul's and the like.

On Sunday morning, we headed down to the Thames again - South Bank this time - to go up in the London Eye. I was really excited to go up on the Eye, especially since it was a perfectly clear and crisp autumn morning. But, gosh, was it expensive! We left the Eye and walked across Westminster Bridge towards Big Ben etc at just about 11am. Turns out that it was Remembrance Sunday and all of the roads in the area (particularly the government offices in Whitehall) were all blocked off for a Church service that was happening in the streets. Oh and the Queen was there, to lay a wreath on a memorial at precisely 11am. We couldn't see much of anything, so Susan and I hopped on the tube for the British Museum.

I will save details of the British Museum for later -- SOAS is 7min on foot from the Museum and I go there quite frequently whenever I'm in need of a study break. Enjoy the pictures below as they quite literally retrace my steps with Susan through London.

Happy early Thanksgiving! :)

Mamma Mia

2011-11-14T13:09:00.001Z

Mamma Mia... this could be a title for a blog post about how I walked my legs off this past weekend with a friend visiting from France and didn't study but for a few hours in total. Or it could be the title for a quick pre-lunch update about the musical I went to see last week. Fortunately for all of you reading this, it is the latter! (The former will be my next study break blog post!)

Last week was our Reading Week, a week set aside most certainly for the graduate students. The little undergrads - bless them - went off to the European continent to party it up for a week or back to their hometowns to be with family/friends/significant others. But all of us super cool and wonderfully hard-working grad students got to spend Reading Week reading! I finally have begun to utilize my British Library membership and opt for the peace and quiet of the reading rooms here rather than the over-crowded SOAS or LSE libraries. The British Library has been absolutely great, too, since they own every book that has ever been published. One complaint, however, would be the lack of a pre-Queen arrival announcement last week when Her Majesty came to open an art exhibit downstairs. I was promptly hurried out of the building that day - such as life.

Anyways -- Mamma Mia was a really good show. For those of you that have already seen the musical or the movie, you are probably quite aware of how silly (stupid) the plot is. But the ABBA music is so good that it completely supersedes the cheesy storyline. Fortunately the cast here in London was a lot better than Meryl Streep and Pierce Brosnan and the like in the film. We had pretty good seats on the ground floor about 10 rows back for a discounted last minute price and left the theater dancing our way home. My coursemate and I may have been the youngest people in the theater that actually knew the ABBA songs, there was quite a generation gap for some reason. All in all, it was definitely the mid-Reading Week pick-me-up that my coursemate and I both needed! With so many shows in this town, I am definitely looking forward to the next theater-going experience I can get to...which may actually be a night of Christmas carols at the Royal Albert Hall before I take off for the winter holiday break.

Happy Monday to all of you! Look for more soon. And photos...I promise!

Guy Fawkes and Bonfire Night

2011-11-08T15:14:00.001Z

A quick blog update serves as a study break for me today -- it is reading week (i.e. - no lectures or tutorials, thank goodness!) but I have more than enough reading for my courses as well as extra reading for papers...deadlines are coming up in the first two weeks of December. All of the postgrads have stayed here in London, mostly working hard, and the undergrads at SOAS have all gone home or to the continent to travel for the week. Lucky little undergrads. I do have some plans for a few outings around town and a good friend from my year in Taiwan will be visiting this weekend from France, so updates of 'fun' and other non-academic 'adventures' will soon follow.

In the States, or perhaps just in Oregon, the 5th of November hits and some people walk around eerily mumbling things like "Remember, remember the 5th of November." I knew why the holiday existed (yes, for its London roots) but had never had the chance to partake in Guy Fawkes Day/Bonfire Night until this past weekend. I volunteered with a local Rotary Club to count visitors at a gate to a park in the North part of London, one of the boroughs where the riots happened over the summer to be exact. I was given one of those handheld clicker things and went at it; among three people counting entrants, we reached just over 4000 people in a little over 90 minutes. Each person was paying around 5GBP to the Boy Scouts who had set up the events for the night. Celebrations resembled something like a summer fair/4th of July celebration in the US -- there were carnival rides, food stands (cotton candy, hot dogs, fish and chips etc), and then the fireworks display to cap off the evening. Some Bonfire Night celebrations also had bonfires, with or without effigies of Guy Fawkes.

So who exactly was Guy Fawkes and why is the 5th of November so important to remember? Guido Fawkes, as he was officially called, became involved with a small group of English Catholics at the start of the 17th century that had planned to assassinate the Protestant King James and replace him with his daughter. They got access to the storage rooms under Parliament and successfully built up a nice stash of gunpowder...until they were apprehended in action. Everyone involved was tortured and sentenced to death, but before Fawkes was hung he jumped from the gallows and broke his neck instead. He still ended up quartered -- the parts were displayed in the "four corners of the kingdom" as a warning to other treason-wannabes. I personally find it a bit odd to be celebrating what modern society would label 'an act of terrorism,' but whatever, it is all intended to be fun. To say the least, it is definitely a very British tradition.

Back to the books for me -- I've been bouncing between the British Library and SOAS today, and will continue to enjoy a cup of Costa Coffee as I read about China. :)

Parking, police, and credit fraud

2011-11-02T23:49:00.000Z

Some days are just full of unexpected ups (or downs) and today was definitely one of them. About halfway through the day, as I was progressing steadily through readings for my China and International Politics module, an email pops up alerting me that a withdrawal from my US bank account was made exceeding a given amount. I log in and whatnot only to find that the hefty charge was from a parking lot in Westminster on November 1st. As luck has it, not only do I not own a car (and if I did...would London really want me on their roads??!!), but I was no where near Westminster yesterday and in full possession of my various cards that have remained stashed in my wallet as I am obviously using a local UK bank now instead. Whoever decided to pay for their parking with my card must have been parked in the lot for literally weeks -- it was no small sum! One of my coursemates joked that it was probably some posh local that drives a Maserati (possibly a stolen one) and will now be exposed for corruption and credit fraud....highly doubtful, but funny.

Thus began my first encounter with both the UK police and the US anti-fraud bureaucracies. The UK police were extremely helpful on the phone, throwing lots of 'darlings' and 'loves' into the conversation as the officer gathered all the basic information from me. And apparently my "accent is just adorable," thanks Metropolitan police for that one. On the bright side, the UK has the most CCTV/traffic cameras of (arguably) any other country in the world, and the officer mentioned that they will work to try and figure out not only when someone used my card number to pay for parking, but more importantly, who so kindly decided to use my card number without my permission. So while the UK police don't carry guns, they sure are helpful in smoothing out these other bumps in life!

The mystery then remains as to how my card number was obtained when it has just been stashed away in the confines of my wallet. On this side of the pond, the theory is that my card was copied somehow by someone somewhere at some point in time. So clear, I know. The US-based jury is still out as to how exactly this happened, but that's ok with me. I'm just grateful I have 3G on my phone and was able to Skype back to the US quite quickly and get things sorted out properly before my friend in Westminster had time to wrack up shopping bills to go with his/her parking charges.

Today has been an incredibly long day for me, and having to spend the time dealing with this whole banking imbroglio has not helped so much. But it is done, you have read about it, I have once again realized that all clouds have silver linings and can go to sleep content and ready for a new day. More China readings await me in the morning!

PS -- I absolutely love watching London wake up. Morning runs (or walks) have become a refreshing part of my schedule...and something I look forward to at the end of days like today! Not only are the mornings quiet, but I get some really cool views of the city (see below).

Brighton and back

2011-10-31T21:56:00.000Z

Hello everyone! I feel quite on top of things tonight -- with readings for tomorrow's class done before 10pm, I am allowing myself a few extra minutes to write another blog post.

This past weekend I took an excursion down to Brighton with two of my flatmates, a German and a Canadian. From all that I had heard of Brighton, I had been expecting it to be something of a British version of Eugene, Oregon where my alma mater is located. For those of you that don't know of Eugene, it is quite the liberal hippie town. Lots of tree huggers, outdoor-enthusiasts and a pretty well-developed LGBTQ community as well. From all that I had been hearing of Brighton as Britain's gay capital, I was operating on the assumption that the dominance of the LGBTQ community would make it feel a bit like Eugene. In some ways, I was right...but overall it was definitely a different kind of city.

We arrived in Brighton and it was misting, a la coastal city style. The same kind of mist Eugene gets on a fall morning. If all else is new and different, at least I am used to the weather in this country! Brighton is surprisingly compact, and after being in London, it is a bit refreshing to go to a city that can literally be traversed on foot within 20 minutes. We walked down the hill, straight towards the ocean, and arrived at our hostel within 15 minutes. Our late afternoon hours were spent wandering the pier and oceanside promenade. The plan was to get dinner around 8pm, but we learned the hard way that - unlike London - pubs and restaurants arbitrarily decide to close their kitchens at 8pm in Brighton. All that remained were countless 'greasy spoon' options of fish and chips. Fish and chips aren't really my cup of tea because the portions are just outrageously huge...so I should be good to go for another three months on that one serving of ~~fat~~ er...fish!

Saturday was our big 'touristy' day in Brighton. We were out of our hostel by 9:15am and walked the oceanside promenade a bit more until the Royal Pavilion opened at 10am. The Royal Pavilion (aka the 'pleasure palace' -- see top left photo) was built for the Prince Regent (who became King George IV) in stages between the years of 1787 and 1823. It looks a bit like the Taj Mahal from the outside; but the inside is completely decked out in the most gaudy, ostentatious orientalist decor one could imagine. The banquet room, for instance, features a 1+ ton chandelier suspended from the ceiling by an iron dragon and surrounded by iron phoenixes. The room was so intimidating, I doubt any of King George IV's guests were able to stomach their food! Photos were not allowed on the interior, but are widely available on the internet if you are interested.

The remainder of Saturday was spent wandering through Brighton's shopping streets and markets. We found a really good cafe with what they called 'kick-arse coffee' and some crazy cake combinations (chilli and plum cake, anyone?); met a really fun gay couple and played a round of team checkers; and laid low as the weirdos started to arrive in hordes for Brighton's annual White Night. The whole city dresses in white (in theory) and there are performances and the like around town that one can wander in and out of. This year being the same time as Halloween, a lot of people took the chance to make 'white' more 'weird' and amped up the blood and guts factor. To each his own, I guess, but I was happy to leave the White Night scene and return to London and the comfort of my own bed :)

Happy Halloween to all -- be safe if you are going out to celebrate and kindly indulge in a few extra Reese's peanut butter cups or boxes of Junior Mints on my behalf :)

Conferences, seminars, and more conferences

2011-10-30T08:55:00.003Z

So much ofthis whole graduate school experience is about reading what I want to read andlearning about what most interests me. While it is definitely a “good deal” soto speak, it can (and already has proven to be) a bit overwhelming at times.Take the library at SOAS, for instance. Our library is the UK libraryfor Asian researchers; having spent time perusing the shelves, I would arguethat it is quite possibly the best Asia-related library I have yet to set footinto anywhere in the world. And if we don’t have it at SOAS, the BritishLibrary and its infinite book reserves are within ten minutes on foot.

Anotherperk of being a grad student at SOAS is all the conferences and seminarsscattered throughout the days and evenings. This past Monday, the Centre for InternationalStudies & Diplomacy hosted the 6^th Annual Conference on a MiddleEast WMD Free Zone. It is quite the hefty topic, and definitely not one that Ihave any prior familiarity with, but something that I have quickly jumped rightinto within the centre. Our conference this year happened at a particularlycrucial time as countries are preparing to gather in Finland in mid-2012 totalk about one and the same issue: nuclear disarmament in the Middle East. Atthe conference, we were thus very fortunate to have the Finish ambassador tothe UK in attendance as well as representatives from the US State Department,Russian Federation and UK Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The latter threerepresentatives sat at the same table for a panel discussion – and seemed toreach the beginnings of a consensus in their discussion of why a WMD free zoneshould be created in the region to ensure regional stability and preservenational interests. My week wrapped up with another seminar on China inSoutheast Asia and plans to attend a thinktank forum this coming Monday onChina and America in Asia. So many amazing academic opportunities! :)

Theprecursor to all of these academic conferences was last weekend’s RotaryDistrict Conference. It was labelled a “weekend away” by the organizers andshould thus – to some extent – be considered as such! The Rotary AmbassadorialScholars in my district were presented to the District Governor and attendeeson Saturday morning; otherwise, it was a pretty wide assortment of seminars andpresentations. I left most inspired by the story of one particular presenter.The first, a Welsh woman, ran around the world in four years after her husbandpassed away from prostrate cancer. Central to her journey was her genuine lovefor life’s adventures – while many would have viewed the loss of their spouseas the end of their own life, she took an extremely proactive approach to thischallenge. She left her house in Wales and ran down to the European continentand across Russia, into Siberia, through Alaska, across Canada, up intoGreenland and then island-hopped her way back to Wales. Living in a tent andoff of minimal food supplies, I was most impressed by how the smallest acts ofkindness really captured her attention and fuelled her journey around theglobe. If you are interested in hearing more about the speaker, Rosie, and herstory click here.

The Rotaryweekend was not entirely filled with seminars and presentations and there wasindeed some time to explore the costal town of Eastbourne and talk to Rotariansand my fellow Ambassadorial Scholars. On our Saturday afternoon off, I walkedwith two others towards Beachy Head and the infamous chalk cliffs. While verybeautiful – and quite certainly used in several Hollywood films – the chalkcliffs are also a popular spot for jumpers. On the drive back from Eastbourne,the Southgate club President suggested stopping in the city of Battle to see anAbbey and the battlefield from the Battle of Hastings. For those of you thataren’t too familiar with British history, the Battle of Hastings between theNormans and the English occurred in mid-October 1066 during the Norman conquestof England. The then-king, Harold II, died during the battle and it was adecisive Norman victory at the end of the day. The abbey was built under KingWilliam (‘The Conquerer’) as a memorial for all those who lost their lives atHastings. We had a special themed tour of the grounds and got to hear all the ‘spooky’stories related to the battle and the abbey. Apparently there were so manydeaths in the one battle that when torrential rain hits the area, the groundoozes a red-ish hue. While the guide tried hard to convince us that it is theblood of those buried underneath, I would like to think it is just high ironlevels in the soil!

Needless tosay, weekends continue to fill up and disappear before I have a chance toreally slow down and acknowledge that it is the weekend. Perhaps the moral ofthe story is that this year is really going to be a good test of my timemanagement skills. Between courses, reading, seminars, conferences, a sociallife and the desire to travel/see London....there are only 24 hours in a dayand I am milking each and every hour for all that it is worth!

Ascot -- and other updates

2011-10-19T06:57:00.001+01:00

Good morning, everyone! I have gotten swept up in the flurry of school and other activities, unfairly putting blog updates onto the back burner. Will try to do better in the coming weeks...

It is quite hard to believe that I've been here for just a few days over one month now. The first chunk of time has absolutely flown by. If the rest of the year moves this quickly, then I will be looking at a return to the US and life's next steps before we know it. But the passing of time at such a fast clip is in fact a good thing -- I have really been enjoying everything that I'm doing. I know this is a bit of a continuation from the last post, but I really can't tell everyone how rewarding and intellectually challenging my courses are. Guest lectures for the General Diplomatic Studies & Practice module have been particularly exceptional, as our classroom has recently hosted an American involved in the Six-Party Talks and a top-Hamas/Palestine expert. And then there was the entire day spent on Monday in Media Training with two BBC staff members; one, a radio and news personality, instructed us in voice and projection and the like...the other taught us about speech-writing and presenting political stories/viewpoints/arguments in different media outlets. There were lots of different activities and simulations for our small group of six that day -- ultimately, all of our presentation skills have been polished and refined, preparing us for demands within our course modules as well as what likely awaits us in the "real world." I really do wish there was more time in the day, as I have found that there is a lot I want to read (especially in SOAS's Asia-oriented library) but not quite enough time to read it all. It probably doesn't help that one lecturer likes to throw additional readings out via email after the lecture and on top of the ~500 pages she's already assigned for the week. Such is the life of a CISD/SOAS student, and I'm always up for a good challenge.

In more exciting news - and to prove that I am not only studying - I was invited along to Ascot last weekend for the horse races. It was Champions Day, and there was something like 3 million GBP in prizes being given away. We took the train to Ascot in the morning, all classy with our formal attire and fascinators (think hats, American friends!) arriving with plenty of time to wander the facility and enjoy a picnic lunch. On our tour of the Ascot race grounds, we happened to hear where the Queen would be arriving at; and of course, as nearly any human being would, we wanted to hang around until the Queen arrived. It be came a bit of a lengthy waiting process and we totally sacrificed our picnic lunch (turns out there wasn't enough food to begin with) but I am pleased to report that I did in fact see the Queen...albeit from a small distance! As we waited, we were taking small bets about what color the Queen would be wearing. Yours truly won with a guess of pastel yellow.

The horse races themselves - as there were only 5 during the day - were exciting, but happened so quickly that it was a bit...well, anti-climatic. We had seats and a clear view of the course (both the start and finish lines), but I did move down onto the grass to be close to the fence for one of the races as the horses charged by. Out of pure happenstance, I read the paper the evening before and paid attention to which horses were expected to win and did bet some money. We had free 2GBP bets with our entry card, not like I was a big gambler or anything, but I made a nice 3.75 off of 2 horses. Were it not for the news, any form of betting on the horses would have been like trying to find a needle in a haystack for me. Another interesting side point, as leading up to Ascot, the BBC was reporting of a new rule allowing jockeys to whip their horses seven times (and no more) during a race. While many are upset by this new rule, I think it probably adds an additional element of strategy to the sport, all the while pleasing those animal rights activists.

Autumn is setting in here in London, with crisp days and cooler temperatures, lots of wind and leaves starting to change colors and fall. Now if only the building management could turn on the central power switch for our heating!
Hope everyone is doing well and I promise to write another update sooner rather than later :)

Surviving the first week

2011-10-08T13:13:00.002+01:00

The best news for this post -- I survived my first week of grad school! It occurred to me on my Saturday morning walk to campus that I have a decision to be making every day. Am I choosing to be so caught up in the sheer mass of three 50+ page syllabuses and outside research OR am I choosing to be happy that I am doing what I most love every day of the week? The latter is definitely a safer bet, because I really am enjoying my courses/readings so far and have returned home each night tired but content.

Something that I've noticed about the UK system - minus the fact that final exams are next June and my grade is based upon 1-2 essays per term - is the question "what are you reading?" pops up a lot. Because over here, that is exactly what it is about: reading, and arguably more so for postgrads. My courses are structured such that each has a 2 hour lecture and 1 hour tutorial (discussion section) each week. And now that I have a finalized schedule, I am happy to report that I don't have classes on Monday or Friday. But if this past week is any sign of the times to come, then Mondays will be busy running around town (from home to Rotary to school) and Fridays will likely be spent nestled in the library or the Centre's offices with other International Studies & Diplomacy students.

I have already been trying to make time for other things, though, as it is important to me that I find a balance between work and "play." So Friday night I walked from home down along the Strand towards Trafalgar and the National Portrait Gallery. There are guided tours on Friday night and live music throughout the museum, so it was actually quite a nice atmosphere (an escape of sorts, the curator called it). Today, Saturday, I am going hat shopping (!) with another Ambassadorial Scholar to prepare for a trip to the Ascot horse races next Saturday. There is a pretty intense dress code for the horses races (not to mention a vocabulary I am completely new to) and the Queen will be there to award prizes to the champions. The weather has gotten quite cold all of a sudden, so I am hopeful that in a week's time the temperature will jump back up (16C would be nice...) just for the horse races. English weather remains as unpredictable as in Oregon!

I'm off for a Costa coffee and more time with "Nuclear North Korea" before the shopping excursion. A very happy weekend to everyone at home :)

Link Weekend

2011-10-04T20:18:00.002+01:00

Hello again, everyone!
This past week has been quite busy and I have finally found a quieter moment to write a quick update on life. On 26 September, Freshers Week (ie the British version of Orientation/Week of Welcome) officially began. My days were then quickly consumed by various seminars for international students and my two departments. As I have probably previously mentioned, I am doing an MA in International Studies and Diplomacy. This degree program belongs to the Centre for International Studies and Diplomacy (CISD), which in turn falls into the Department of Law and Social Sciences here at SOAS. CISD is what I would like to view as a bubble within a larger organization: any problems/inquiries can be taken straight to CISD staff (rather than the larger bureaucracy) and there are some nice perks...namely, free printing and a trip to Geneva next year to see the UN and other international organizations. So after numerous induction ceremonies and orientation seminars last week, I was finally feeling prepared for classes to begin. This week marks my first official week of classes, but more on that in a bit.

To celebrate my two week anniversary in the UK (woohoo!), I left the hustle and bustle of London this past weekend for the Midlands, the small city of Stafford to be exact. A Londoner told me that this isn't exactly the place one would expect an American to go, and to be honest, he was probably right. I traveled to Stafford on Friday to join other Rotary Ambassadorial Scholars at the 2011 Link Weekend, an orientation weekend for all the Ambassadorial Scholars in the UK and Ireland. We were hosted by local Rotarian families for the weekend and given the opportunity to meet other Scholars as well as see some of the local sights. Perhaps more importantly, we were given a quick (but comprehensive) introduction to being an Ambassadorial Scholar in the UK and what our responsibilities for the year ahead entail. On Saturday, as of group of ~80 scholars, we traveled to Blists Hill Victorian Town in the Ironbridge Gorge area. Now for those of you that have kept tabs on my past travels, I was actually in this very same part of England last Christmas with my family...and we happened to visit Blists Hill, albeit in a large amount of snow. It was quite a change to see the Victorian Town when it was so warm (nearly 80F) and lively! Blists Hill is comparable to Williamsburg in the US, such that it recreates what Victorian era England would have looked like, how people would have lived/worked etc. The towns surrounding Blists Hill are of particular importance because the area was the beginning of the Industrial Revolution as the world knows it. Without the workers in neighboring Telford that opted to use iron and build a bridge over a gorge, countries around the world (including the US) may not have developed at the time we did. To top off our 'blast from the past' day trip, the Rotarians organized a barn dance in the evening for all the Ambassadorial Scholars. Despite initial reluctance from many, we were taught traditional British and Irish barn dancing. By the end of the evening, it was surprisingly fun...just don't ask me to demonstrate when I get back to the US. Our second day in Stafford was mostly meetings convened by various local government officials and Rotarians intended to better acquaint us with expectations for the year ahead. While not nearly as exciting as our adventures in Blists Hill or learning barn dancing, it was equally important. Perhaps the best part of the Link Weekend, however, was meeting and talking to 80 of my peers that are scattered across the UK and Ireland. Now I have an even broader network that will surely be utilized as I travel throughout the year! :)

Back in London, I noticed just how fast the pace of life is in comparison to the countryside. It sure is a good thing that I walk quickly! Things are starting to feel more 'normal' as I figure out where to get groceries, how to get around, and I have [fortunately] begun sleeping through the Metropolitan Police sirens that tend to pierce the late hours of the night. This week is another important marker in my experience as I am finally going to classes, doing readings, and developing my own routine/schedule. With two of my courses running from 6-8pm on two nights each week and another in the early afternoon, there really is a lot of flexibility for completing my homework and fitting in other adventures. While the sheer amount of readings is definitely no laughing matter, I am really as happy as a clam to be doing so much of what I love in such an exciting city.

Dinner time for me here, at almost 9pm, but look for another update (and hopefully pictures) as soon as my laptop returns later this week.

Orientation

2011-09-27T10:55:00.001+01:00

Greetings from a Bloomsbury internet cafe! My laptop is currently en route to Germany for repairs - such is the infant mortality rate of network cards - so my communications have been altered to compensate for this recent change. Its actually quite pleasant to take a break from computers; albeit, I still have an iTouch and Smartphone that are keeping me in the loop of things.

This week is the official Welcome Week/Orientation at SOAS. Its turned out to be incredibly exciting and really busy (but in spurts). I've been attending welcome talks for my department (Law & Social Sciences) and course (International Studies & Diplomacy) as well as various seminars about living in London, study tips in the UK education system etc. Wednesday and Thursday promise to be most exciting days as I will be with my fellow MA IS&D students for the better part of both days. And by the end of Thursday, I will finally have access to the library at SOAS...and an entire floor of China stuff. :) :)

Aside from this weeks activities, I have continued exploring the vicinity and Central London. Everything is surprisingly close -- like a little big city! I walked down to the Thames last Saturday and across it to meet some fellow Rotary scholars at the Tate Modern, walked back along the South Bank and up through Trafalgar etc before walking back to campus. There is a most amazing Saturday Market and Book Market along the South Bank...as well as in other places scattered throughout the city. My walk that day came in at only 6 miles, according to google maps, so really not all that bad.

I am really loving the incredible diversity of both SOAS and London. In some of the meet-and-greet sessions on campus, I have met people from small south Pacific islands, neighboring EU countries, and all over Asia and Africa. Our flat, and the 6 people therein, represent a pretty diverse spread of the world as it is - from Lebanon, India, Canada, US and Taiwan.

With this week quickly coming to a close, I will be heading to Stafford for the Rotary scholars Link Weekend -- a two-day event of meeting other Ambassadorial Scholars in Great Britain and Ireland. There will be more updates from my end soon, stay tuned!