I was introduced to the National Theatre through their NT Live series. They record their productions and then air them in cities around the world. I only got to see two productions through NT Live but they were two of the most exciting and interesting pieces of theatre I have seen recently. Ever since then I have been incredibly excited to come to London and get the chance to see shows at the National actually live. This morning I got the chance, not only to step through those doors into the National, but to step behind the scenes.
My roommate and I took one of the guided tours of the National earlier today. It was kind of amazing. Along with seeing two of their three performance spaces we got to step into their carpentry shop, rehearsal room, hear about their amazing turntable lift and handle some props, all things that you might generally find on a tour of a big theatre. However the most incredible part of this tour was completely unexpected. Right now they are in tech for their new production The Veil. We actually got to sneak in the back of the theatre and watch a bit of their tech rehearsal. Now tech rehearsals contain hours of standing around while they correct light and sound cues and can often be quite tedious. We got lucky though and got to watch them actually working a scene. I could have stayed there all afternoon. It was really incredible.
Seeing that rehearsal, at walking through those spaces reinforced everything I love about theatre. It also reminded be about all the things I loved about working at ACT. Getting to be part of the process of new and exciting shows. Things that people hadnt seen before, or shows that get people talking, make you think. I love musicals and always will, but there is something incredible about the work that comes out of theatres like those.
The tour inspired me to start looking for a front of house staff job. Sadly the National just hired several people so they are no longer looking. And it seems that many theatres may be in the same position. I am going to spend some time polishing up my resume this week and spend next weekend pounding the pavement and hopefully end up with a job.
The job is something that needs to happen soon. I have been so wrapped up with keeping on top of course work and getting settled that it has taken a back seat so far. Also the idea of having to go back to a retail job is not one that I am enjoying. So hopefully something will turn up at a theatre. Plus I really miss being in a producing theatre day in and day out. It is amazing that I am getting to do so much work on my own craft, and really that is why I am here, but I miss the other side of things to.
It is a little intimidating to try and work my way into the theatre scene here. I was quite lucky to be where I was in Seattle, and it is hard to start over here without those connections. Well everyone has to start somewhere, so here I go.
Margaret, thanks for the tip about the tour, and for introducing me to The National in the first place. Our theatre outings were something that I always looked forward to in Seattle. Thank you for everything. Now we just have to coordinate seeing shows from across the pond. I believe One Man, Two Guvnors is the next NT Live show. I've missed it at the National but it moves to the West End in Nov, I can try and catch it there. What do you think?
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Learning our Strength
Well, its only Tuesday and I am already shattered. Goodness this course is going to run us all into the ground. Either that or I'll be as fit as superwoman by the time Christmas rolls around. I got home last night and my roommates sent me to bed because they thought I was going to fall asleep at the dinner table.
Mondays consist of choir first thing in the morning, followed by performance practice and then fitness in the afternoon. And our fitness teacher is hard core! She currently is involved with the west end production of the Lion King, I think basically beating the cast into shape. And this is what she is doing for us too. Dont get me wrong it is amazing, and I feel great when I leave class. Its when we get to the morning after when all of the muscles in my legs are sore.... Actually I am less sore this week than last which is a good sign. I just need to get better at doing all of this outside of class. I think there is a gym near the school, it might be a good investment to join, especially as I am a student now. Gotta love those student discounts.
Tuesday on the surface seem less rigorous. Voice in the morning, singing lesson and then acting. Ah but that would be deceiving. We spent a large part of voice today running and hopping around the room while humming. Much harder than you would thing. Try it. Oh wait I forgot to tell you you can only breathe when you get back to your home base. Very difficult. My singing teacher also inflicted similar exercises on me. They are really hammering home just how much you use your whole body for all of this stuff.
Now the real exertion today came in my acting class. Right now we are working a Helena/Demetrius scene from A Midsummer Nights Dream. You know the one 'get you gone and follow me no more', 'I am your spaniel' etc etc. Its a fun scene. My partner is this amazing Greek guy. If you look back at the class picture he is the one with the umbrella. (Notice the highly muscled arms, they come into play later). He is a really sweet guy, great at working on impulse. We had gotten together on Monday to work the scene, lots of running around, me grabbing onto his feet to prevent him from going etc. We had a lot of fun stuff to work with today in class. Now when we get to class our teacher is having us focus on action and need. For example Helena's need is to get Demetrius. To achieve this she can try several actions: Coerce, seduce and so on. And Demetrius's need could be to escape from Helena, or to try and get her to leave. Now my partner is a very strong guy. And when he tried to get me to leave, well things got a little out of control. Its a little frightening when a very strong guy grabs you by the shoulders and shakes you. I was a little rattled. However we stopped, and got things back on track. And actually after that moment I thin I sort of came into my own a bit. Our teacher actually said one of my choices was brilliant! (his word not mine) The rest of the scene went well, but looking back I spent a lot of that class falling to the floor. I think I will try and make sure that doesn't happen quite so much in the future. Well at least they cant say that I'm not giving the class my all.
Tomorrow should be a little bit of a break physically. Our afternoon class is basically a lecture class prepping us for writing our dissertation, which doesn't require any running around or full contact improv. I think now though what I need is a cup of tea and a bath!
Mondays consist of choir first thing in the morning, followed by performance practice and then fitness in the afternoon. And our fitness teacher is hard core! She currently is involved with the west end production of the Lion King, I think basically beating the cast into shape. And this is what she is doing for us too. Dont get me wrong it is amazing, and I feel great when I leave class. Its when we get to the morning after when all of the muscles in my legs are sore.... Actually I am less sore this week than last which is a good sign. I just need to get better at doing all of this outside of class. I think there is a gym near the school, it might be a good investment to join, especially as I am a student now. Gotta love those student discounts.
Tuesday on the surface seem less rigorous. Voice in the morning, singing lesson and then acting. Ah but that would be deceiving. We spent a large part of voice today running and hopping around the room while humming. Much harder than you would thing. Try it. Oh wait I forgot to tell you you can only breathe when you get back to your home base. Very difficult. My singing teacher also inflicted similar exercises on me. They are really hammering home just how much you use your whole body for all of this stuff.
Now the real exertion today came in my acting class. Right now we are working a Helena/Demetrius scene from A Midsummer Nights Dream. You know the one 'get you gone and follow me no more', 'I am your spaniel' etc etc. Its a fun scene. My partner is this amazing Greek guy. If you look back at the class picture he is the one with the umbrella. (Notice the highly muscled arms, they come into play later). He is a really sweet guy, great at working on impulse. We had gotten together on Monday to work the scene, lots of running around, me grabbing onto his feet to prevent him from going etc. We had a lot of fun stuff to work with today in class. Now when we get to class our teacher is having us focus on action and need. For example Helena's need is to get Demetrius. To achieve this she can try several actions: Coerce, seduce and so on. And Demetrius's need could be to escape from Helena, or to try and get her to leave. Now my partner is a very strong guy. And when he tried to get me to leave, well things got a little out of control. Its a little frightening when a very strong guy grabs you by the shoulders and shakes you. I was a little rattled. However we stopped, and got things back on track. And actually after that moment I thin I sort of came into my own a bit. Our teacher actually said one of my choices was brilliant! (his word not mine) The rest of the scene went well, but looking back I spent a lot of that class falling to the floor. I think I will try and make sure that doesn't happen quite so much in the future. Well at least they cant say that I'm not giving the class my all.
Tomorrow should be a little bit of a break physically. Our afternoon class is basically a lecture class prepping us for writing our dissertation, which doesn't require any running around or full contact improv. I think now though what I need is a cup of tea and a bath!
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Back in Business
Well after my little physical setback I was able to get back in the game. Week two, and really our first full week of classes. It went quite well. I was worried at the beginning of the week that my back injury would either make it impossible for me to participate, or that I would push myself too far to fast and hurt myself even more. Neither of those things happened, thank goodness.
Monday did start off with a big dose of adrenalin though. This was the first week of Performance Practices, a class we have twice a week, with our two course leaders. In this class we will be mostly working on repertoire. This meant that half of us had to get up to work songs in front of the class on Monday morning. You would think that after all of us performing for each other the week before this would not be so scary. Well, you would be wrong. I think it may have been harder to get up and sing this week than it was last. But sing I did, nerves or not. It went rather well I think, got some good feedback and I did some good work. Now I need to find another piece to sing next week. Still working on that one, but I'll be ok.
The week continued with the rest of our classes. Had my first voice lesson here, which was great. I think a lot of this term will be spent working on vocal range. Also I am getting the feeling that this term is going to be incredibly physical. We have fitness, and physical theatre, and our acting class is quite physical (more on that later), student led yoga and dance, and I have a rather long walk too and from school. I was rather exhausted when I got to this morning. And when I am done here I am going to go do my homework for fitness, which involves more dance. Phew! It is great. For all that I am absolutely exhausted, I am feeling really good. I do want to go in search of more structured dance classes, but at the moment I am struggling get all my course work done, and acclimate myself to a new city. There are other important things on my to do list that come first.
One of the most important things on my to do list right now is my social life. Let me tell you how to make friends in grad school. After class sit in the hallways at school and curse at each other. No, I'm not kidding. Ok, so we were working on memorizing a scene for class, but still. Quite fun. Since then, as a group we have also beaten each other into a bloody pulp (yep that same scene). That was an interesting class. The teacher shouting directions at us like 'gouge his eyes out,' 'kill him' and other endearing sentiments like that. It was fun. I am pretty sure that because of that scene we have all very quickly gotten quite comfortable around each other. We have a really good group of people in our class. I am looking forward to getting to know all of them better. This evening the student union is hosting a mixer for the few courses that have already started, so we will get to know some of the other MAs at the school. Hopefully it will be a fun evening.
Monday did start off with a big dose of adrenalin though. This was the first week of Performance Practices, a class we have twice a week, with our two course leaders. In this class we will be mostly working on repertoire. This meant that half of us had to get up to work songs in front of the class on Monday morning. You would think that after all of us performing for each other the week before this would not be so scary. Well, you would be wrong. I think it may have been harder to get up and sing this week than it was last. But sing I did, nerves or not. It went rather well I think, got some good feedback and I did some good work. Now I need to find another piece to sing next week. Still working on that one, but I'll be ok.
The week continued with the rest of our classes. Had my first voice lesson here, which was great. I think a lot of this term will be spent working on vocal range. Also I am getting the feeling that this term is going to be incredibly physical. We have fitness, and physical theatre, and our acting class is quite physical (more on that later), student led yoga and dance, and I have a rather long walk too and from school. I was rather exhausted when I got to this morning. And when I am done here I am going to go do my homework for fitness, which involves more dance. Phew! It is great. For all that I am absolutely exhausted, I am feeling really good. I do want to go in search of more structured dance classes, but at the moment I am struggling get all my course work done, and acclimate myself to a new city. There are other important things on my to do list that come first.
One of the most important things on my to do list right now is my social life. Let me tell you how to make friends in grad school. After class sit in the hallways at school and curse at each other. No, I'm not kidding. Ok, so we were working on memorizing a scene for class, but still. Quite fun. Since then, as a group we have also beaten each other into a bloody pulp (yep that same scene). That was an interesting class. The teacher shouting directions at us like 'gouge his eyes out,' 'kill him' and other endearing sentiments like that. It was fun. I am pretty sure that because of that scene we have all very quickly gotten quite comfortable around each other. We have a really good group of people in our class. I am looking forward to getting to know all of them better. This evening the student union is hosting a mixer for the few courses that have already started, so we will get to know some of the other MAs at the school. Hopefully it will be a fun evening.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Frightening Adulthood
Like everyone, I have my good days and my bad days. Yesterday was a bad day. It really drove home the fact that I am on my own in a foreign country. Yesterday morning as I was preparing to force myself to go running I did something to my back. I don't know what. One moment I thought 2oh, there's a twinge in my back, I'll have to be careful of that" and the next I was on the floor in agony. Needless to say the day ended up not being as productive as I would have liked.
I had a few terrifying moments where I realized that I had no idea what to do in a crisis. I don't have the kind of support system here that I have had in the past. My roommates are both out of town, and my boyfriend is in another country. So there was no one around to help me get myself around or fetch and carry things. I was able to deposit myself on the couch with an ice pack, some ibuprofen and episodes of Greys Anatomy for the rest of the day, and am feeling considerably better (although not fully recovered) today. Now I need to get cracking on finding a doctor, just so when this sort of thing happens in the future I don't feel helpless.
It was a very clear signal from my body that I need to pace myself. Not a message that I like hearing, but a necessary one. This year is going to throw a lot of things my way and I need to be careful. Tomorrow I have one of my most physically intensive classes, which is both a good and a bad thing. Bad because I probably wont be able to participate fully. But good because this teacher knows a lot about injuries and how to deal with them. So hopefully she can help me out.
There are a lot of things right now that are really scary. Most of the time I can keep myself busy so I dont dwell on them. But I have to remember that they are there. I know that the longer I am here the less scary it will be. I will make friends, and learn where the hospitals are. I will get used to the area and how the banks work. It will take time, but in the long run I'll be ok. Deep breaths, here I go.
I had a few terrifying moments where I realized that I had no idea what to do in a crisis. I don't have the kind of support system here that I have had in the past. My roommates are both out of town, and my boyfriend is in another country. So there was no one around to help me get myself around or fetch and carry things. I was able to deposit myself on the couch with an ice pack, some ibuprofen and episodes of Greys Anatomy for the rest of the day, and am feeling considerably better (although not fully recovered) today. Now I need to get cracking on finding a doctor, just so when this sort of thing happens in the future I don't feel helpless.
It was a very clear signal from my body that I need to pace myself. Not a message that I like hearing, but a necessary one. This year is going to throw a lot of things my way and I need to be careful. Tomorrow I have one of my most physically intensive classes, which is both a good and a bad thing. Bad because I probably wont be able to participate fully. But good because this teacher knows a lot about injuries and how to deal with them. So hopefully she can help me out.
There are a lot of things right now that are really scary. Most of the time I can keep myself busy so I dont dwell on them. But I have to remember that they are there. I know that the longer I am here the less scary it will be. I will make friends, and learn where the hospitals are. I will get used to the area and how the banks work. It will take time, but in the long run I'll be ok. Deep breaths, here I go.
Friday, September 9, 2011
Running Start
Day: 17
Location: Swiss Cottage
Well, it has begun. This year of
change, of growth, and of a whole lot of hard work. Monday marked the
first day of grad school. Walking into that building Monday I was
overwhelmed with a number of conflicting feelings. The excitement of
beginning something new, but the fears as well. Joining me in the
lobby that morning were 20 odd other students, all with different
experiences and backgrounds, all going through the same thing.
However, all of us being theatre students, instead of a room of
silent nervous students we had a talkative group of potential
friends. All of us trying to find our balance, make sure that we
belong.
After all of the paperwork and
technicalities were finished they put us right to work. None of this
easing us into classes, we started right away. Every teacher this
week has made it clear that this is going to be an intensive course.
We are no longer undergrads, we are all here to work. And work we
shall. We had running and yoga in fitness, high stakes dodgeball in
acting, and detail work in physical theater. We of course had the
obligatory name games, the talks about expectations, about projects
and curricula. But beyond that we worked. This week we were
stretched, prodded and pushed. And this is exactly why I am here.
I may be sore and tired right now, but
I am also very excited. I am nervous about the coming year. There are
worries about the workload to come, about living up to expectations
both external and internal. Fears of not changing, not improving, or
of not improving fast enough. Fears of not being good enough, or of
not being able to get what I need out of the course. But, there is
also the certainty that this is what I want to be doing, what I have
to do. The thrill of embarking on a life changing journey. The
excitement of gaining knowledge from both my teachers and my peers.
The amazing fact that I will be collaborating with this group of
talented individuals, each of whom brings something different to the
table.
Yesterday morning we watched each other
perform for the first time. Ultimately this was for all of our
professors to remind themselves who we are, and begin to assess our
skills for the work ahead. However, this was also for us. Although we
had begun to get to know each other none of us really had any idea
what the others could do. And WOW, its amazing what they can do.
There are I believe 21 of us in our course, and every single person
was different. Ok, of course we are all different that is a given,
but even so. It was incredible to see the range of style and talent,
voice and physicality. The students for whom English is their second
language were encouraged to sing something in their mother tongue.
That was amazing. We heard a South Korean folk song, Greek Orthodox
chant, The Little Mermaid in Greek and a Chinese pop song. We have
students from all over the UK, with an amazing range of dialects to
match. We have songwriters who can write hilarious songs about
facebook stalking, and beautiful ballads on bass ukelele and piano.
We heard pieces from shows spanning the whole of musical theatre.
From Iolanthe to Spring Awakening, from the King and I to Les Mis,
from Cabaret to the Last 5 Years and more. Every person who
stood up to sing reminded me just how much I love this. I cant wait
to work with all of them.
This year is going to be incredible.
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Black and White and Red all over
Just a quick note tonight, I promise a full post in the next couple of days. I made it through the first week of classes. Woohoo!
And here is a photo to introduce you all to the rest of the students in my course. They seem an awesome group and I am very excited to get to know them all better.
And, yes, we are always this serious. No laughing at all. None.
And here is a photo to introduce you all to the rest of the students in my course. They seem an awesome group and I am very excited to get to know them all better.
And, yes, we are always this serious. No laughing at all. None.
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Stepping into the Abyss
Day 13
Location: Kilburn Park
So far domestic life has been neither simple nor easy. After a full day of waiting around the letting agents finally decided to hand over our keys. My goodness that was far more difficult than it needed to be. After that I hauled my over stuffed suitcases across town on the tube, on the only hot day of the summer, during rush hour. Not my finest moment. Luckily there was a nice gentleman who helped me with the stairs as I was transferring trains or else I am not sure I would have made it. I arrived home for the very first time around 8 in the evening to a completely empty house. Panayotis is back in Greece until his term starts, and Lucile was staying with her brother. The apartment is furnished, so it wasnt barren, but it was by no means plush.
Saturday I contained a rather arduous trip to Ikea (suggestion: Dont EVER go to Ikea on a Saturday afternoon). It took a lot of effort, but I did finally make it home with sheets and dishes. Now it no longer feels like I am sleeping rough in an abandoned dorm. Also Lucile is joining me tonight! Its starting to feel like a real home. Slowly we are building up all the necessities. It seems like every time I return to the house I realize that I have forgotten something integral to every day life. However we now have household cleaners, hand soap, sponges, hangers and light bulbs. So we're getting there.
Yesterday I also got to take part in a stage combat workshop. A friend of a friend of a friend (its too complicated to explain) was taking her tests to become certified to teach stage combat, and needed some students to be part of the test. So I volunteered. It was a lot of fun. And it was good to ease myself back into taking classes and workshops. Also, a few of the other students were Central alums. One of whom just turned in her dissertation, and is also a transplant from the US. We exchanged contact info, it will be nice to have someone to go to with questions.
Tomorrow is the big day. 9:30 tomorrow morning will begin my official time at Central. We have registration first thing, followed by tours of the spaces, and then some sort of movement class. I am a little nervous for registration as they have not provided any of us with course catalogues. I even went to the school and asked just to make sure I hadnt missed that e-mail. So I have no idea what classes I'll be taking. In a way its rather exciting, but its also a little nerve wracking. At this point though I am ready to go. Its been a long wait and I'm chomping at the bit.
Wish me luck!
Location: Kilburn Park
So far domestic life has been neither simple nor easy. After a full day of waiting around the letting agents finally decided to hand over our keys. My goodness that was far more difficult than it needed to be. After that I hauled my over stuffed suitcases across town on the tube, on the only hot day of the summer, during rush hour. Not my finest moment. Luckily there was a nice gentleman who helped me with the stairs as I was transferring trains or else I am not sure I would have made it. I arrived home for the very first time around 8 in the evening to a completely empty house. Panayotis is back in Greece until his term starts, and Lucile was staying with her brother. The apartment is furnished, so it wasnt barren, but it was by no means plush.
Saturday I contained a rather arduous trip to Ikea (suggestion: Dont EVER go to Ikea on a Saturday afternoon). It took a lot of effort, but I did finally make it home with sheets and dishes. Now it no longer feels like I am sleeping rough in an abandoned dorm. Also Lucile is joining me tonight! Its starting to feel like a real home. Slowly we are building up all the necessities. It seems like every time I return to the house I realize that I have forgotten something integral to every day life. However we now have household cleaners, hand soap, sponges, hangers and light bulbs. So we're getting there.
Yesterday I also got to take part in a stage combat workshop. A friend of a friend of a friend (its too complicated to explain) was taking her tests to become certified to teach stage combat, and needed some students to be part of the test. So I volunteered. It was a lot of fun. And it was good to ease myself back into taking classes and workshops. Also, a few of the other students were Central alums. One of whom just turned in her dissertation, and is also a transplant from the US. We exchanged contact info, it will be nice to have someone to go to with questions.
Tomorrow is the big day. 9:30 tomorrow morning will begin my official time at Central. We have registration first thing, followed by tours of the spaces, and then some sort of movement class. I am a little nervous for registration as they have not provided any of us with course catalogues. I even went to the school and asked just to make sure I hadnt missed that e-mail. So I have no idea what classes I'll be taking. In a way its rather exciting, but its also a little nerve wracking. At this point though I am ready to go. Its been a long wait and I'm chomping at the bit.
Wish me luck!
Thursday, September 1, 2011
The Frustrations of the Newly Transplanted
So, we were supposed to get our apartment keys today. That hasn't happened. I am hoping we'll get them tomorrow, although it is sounding unlikely. This is all due to the fact that there are three of us living in this apartment, all of us foreign transplants, and we all have to provide quite a bit of paperwork. Apparently we are missing some paperwork or something. They wont release the keys to us tomorrow unless this gets rectified. Add to this mess the fact that one of my roommates is currently in Greece, not all of us have internet access and the letting agent will only contact one of us with information and just trust us to make sure everyone knows and you'll understand my frustration. I am going to be optimistic though. Tomorrow morning Lucile and I are meeting with the inspection agency to do our preliminary walk through and are then going to meet with the letting agent. I am crossing my fingers that sometime this afternoon everything got sorted out so we can all move in tomorrow.
Other than that frustration it has been a lovely week. Lots of sight seeing and museums and some general exploring. The Tate Modern, city bus and ferry tours, the Tower of London, Trafalgar Square, Spitalfields, Oxford Street, the South Bank and more. Bus, tube and lots and lots of walking. I have gotten quite a lot of culture in a very short amount of time, hopefully it wont all go to my head. I feel like I may be reaching the point of saturation, but I know I wont have free time like this for quite a while, so I want to see as much as possible. Some things I am waiting on, like theatre tickets, until I get my student number, and subsequent discounts. I did walk by the national today to see what was coming up soon. So excited to be by such great theatre. Poked my nose into their book store. Oh I could have stayed there for hours!
There are many things that are going to take some getting used to. The traffic going the wrong way is the cliche example. Before I got here I figured I was smarter than that, you can't throw me by driving on the wrong side of the road. I'm here to tell you now, its weirder than you might think. You start to second guess yourself whenever you cross the street. Nothing major, just enough to ruffle your feathers a bit.
The light switches go the wrong way. You push them down to turn them on, instead of flicking them up. This may be only for the house I am staying in, I'm not sure. You have to turn on electrical plugs. This is actually kind of ingenious, but also weird for someone who isnt used to it. Instead of having a phone plan I bought a pay as you go one, which is not unusual to the US, just to me. The metro system is expensive, but great. I love riding double-decker buses. They announce every stop! None of this trying to peer through the window to see the non-existent street signs. (I do miss my trip-plotting phone though because I have no idea where the buses go). Getting used to the currency is difficult too. When fishing for change I have to read the back of each coin to see what I am pulling out, because I can find no logical thinking behind which coin is what denomination. That will come with time I know, just like all the rest. However for now all of these are reminders that I'm not in Kansas any more.
Other than that frustration it has been a lovely week. Lots of sight seeing and museums and some general exploring. The Tate Modern, city bus and ferry tours, the Tower of London, Trafalgar Square, Spitalfields, Oxford Street, the South Bank and more. Bus, tube and lots and lots of walking. I have gotten quite a lot of culture in a very short amount of time, hopefully it wont all go to my head. I feel like I may be reaching the point of saturation, but I know I wont have free time like this for quite a while, so I want to see as much as possible. Some things I am waiting on, like theatre tickets, until I get my student number, and subsequent discounts. I did walk by the national today to see what was coming up soon. So excited to be by such great theatre. Poked my nose into their book store. Oh I could have stayed there for hours!
There are many things that are going to take some getting used to. The traffic going the wrong way is the cliche example. Before I got here I figured I was smarter than that, you can't throw me by driving on the wrong side of the road. I'm here to tell you now, its weirder than you might think. You start to second guess yourself whenever you cross the street. Nothing major, just enough to ruffle your feathers a bit.
The light switches go the wrong way. You push them down to turn them on, instead of flicking them up. This may be only for the house I am staying in, I'm not sure. You have to turn on electrical plugs. This is actually kind of ingenious, but also weird for someone who isnt used to it. Instead of having a phone plan I bought a pay as you go one, which is not unusual to the US, just to me. The metro system is expensive, but great. I love riding double-decker buses. They announce every stop! None of this trying to peer through the window to see the non-existent street signs. (I do miss my trip-plotting phone though because I have no idea where the buses go). Getting used to the currency is difficult too. When fishing for change I have to read the back of each coin to see what I am pulling out, because I can find no logical thinking behind which coin is what denomination. That will come with time I know, just like all the rest. However for now all of these are reminders that I'm not in Kansas any more.
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