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.
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.
Monday, August 29, 2011
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Exploration
Day 6
Location: Trafalgar Square and beyond
Ooooh my feet are tired. I dont consider myself a particularly lazy person, and I used to walk quite a bit around Seattle. However there seems to be something about exploring a new city that makes your feet especially tender. That and the fact that I always seem to be breaking in new shoes while I am exploring. I guess thats my own fault.
Well, in my walking I have seen some fun things. Yesterday my cousin Sarah and I spent a day walking around and getting to know each other. She and I met for the first time about 8 years ago when her mom and my uncle got married, and have not seen each other since. So it was really cool to connect again. She, like me, is a transplant from the US. She has also been amazingly helpful in my transition here. A few nights ago she let me tag along with some friends of hers to celebrate turning in her dissertation. We visited a couple of very interesting and very different bars. One was themed around the Breakfast club and other 80s cult hits. We were escorted downstairs to the bar, through a refrigerator. After that we went to the 10 Bells. Apparently this pub is notorious for being near where two of Jack the Rippers victims met their ends.
Yesterday we strolled through the Saturday street market, passing some amazing looking cheese, pastries and assorted goods. We walked along Regents Canal and ended up in an area called Angel. While there we browsed through an amazing alley full of antique and boutique stores. I also finally got my hands on an A to Z (pronounced zed).
I think this book, the A to Z is going to be a lifesaver. I am at the moment going through severe phone withdrawal. Back home I have a phone that, to be honest, does everything for me. But most importantly it has gps and maps built in. This means that I could always find where I was going. Here I bought the cheapest phone I could find. It has nothing, I cant even make the buttons stop beeping without turning off the sound completely. So no help finding my way around. And boy have I spent a lot of the last few days wandering around rather lost. It has never been to the point of panic, but I am definitely feeling quite a bit vulnerable without my phone. I am sure it is good for me, builds character or something, but at the moment I just wish that I would remember to write down better directions before I leave the house.
Today has been a day of touristy sights. I visited Trafalgar square, and the National gallery, passing by Big Ben and the houses of Parliament in the process, ending my day at Shakespeare's Globe.
Along my walk I passed some interesting artwork. I particularly liked this monument to the women of WWII, both for the intent behind it and as a piece of art. The piece below I just thought was a lot of fun. I didnt really understand why it was sitting in out front of the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square, but who am I to question these things.
After a while I did realize that it may come across as if my camera went to London but I stayed behind. So I made my roommates take some pictures with me in them too. I think they were amused by this idea. So below are some touristy photos. I was able to capture one of my roommates on film, but not the other. So, everyone this is Panayotis. He is Greek and will be studying Advanced Theatre Practices, more specifically directing at Central this fall. You will all meet Lucile at a later date!
...Ok having some trouble with this picture thing. Cant get them to do what I want them to, or upload for that matter. So pictures of me are going to have to wait. You'll just have to take it on faith that I actually am here, and I didnt just download these photos off the internet!
Location: Trafalgar Square and beyond
Ooooh my feet are tired. I dont consider myself a particularly lazy person, and I used to walk quite a bit around Seattle. However there seems to be something about exploring a new city that makes your feet especially tender. That and the fact that I always seem to be breaking in new shoes while I am exploring. I guess thats my own fault.
Well, in my walking I have seen some fun things. Yesterday my cousin Sarah and I spent a day walking around and getting to know each other. She and I met for the first time about 8 years ago when her mom and my uncle got married, and have not seen each other since. So it was really cool to connect again. She, like me, is a transplant from the US. She has also been amazingly helpful in my transition here. A few nights ago she let me tag along with some friends of hers to celebrate turning in her dissertation. We visited a couple of very interesting and very different bars. One was themed around the Breakfast club and other 80s cult hits. We were escorted downstairs to the bar, through a refrigerator. After that we went to the 10 Bells. Apparently this pub is notorious for being near where two of Jack the Rippers victims met their ends.
Yesterday we strolled through the Saturday street market, passing some amazing looking cheese, pastries and assorted goods. We walked along Regents Canal and ended up in an area called Angel. While there we browsed through an amazing alley full of antique and boutique stores. I also finally got my hands on an A to Z (pronounced zed).
I think this book, the A to Z is going to be a lifesaver. I am at the moment going through severe phone withdrawal. Back home I have a phone that, to be honest, does everything for me. But most importantly it has gps and maps built in. This means that I could always find where I was going. Here I bought the cheapest phone I could find. It has nothing, I cant even make the buttons stop beeping without turning off the sound completely. So no help finding my way around. And boy have I spent a lot of the last few days wandering around rather lost. It has never been to the point of panic, but I am definitely feeling quite a bit vulnerable without my phone. I am sure it is good for me, builds character or something, but at the moment I just wish that I would remember to write down better directions before I leave the house.
Today has been a day of touristy sights. I visited Trafalgar square, and the National gallery, passing by Big Ben and the houses of Parliament in the process, ending my day at Shakespeare's Globe.
After a while I did realize that it may come across as if my camera went to London but I stayed behind. So I made my roommates take some pictures with me in them too. I think they were amused by this idea. So below are some touristy photos. I was able to capture one of my roommates on film, but not the other. So, everyone this is Panayotis. He is Greek and will be studying Advanced Theatre Practices, more specifically directing at Central this fall. You will all meet Lucile at a later date!
...Ok having some trouble with this picture thing. Cant get them to do what I want them to, or upload for that matter. So pictures of me are going to have to wait. You'll just have to take it on faith that I actually am here, and I didnt just download these photos off the internet!
Friday, August 26, 2011
The Hunt is On
Day 4
Location: Hackney, London UK
Well to say that I hit the ground running might be an understatement. I arrived first thing Wednesday morning, spent quite a while waiting in the line to get through customs. I then took an epic journey involving me, my incredibly heavy luggage, two trains, the Central line tube, the overground rail, several unhelpful help desk agents and 3 flights of stairs. However despite all of that I eventually made it my destination.
Right now I am staying with relatives of relatives. A lovely theatre couple, the aunt and uncle of my cousin Sarah, who live in Hackney. I got to know all of them, including Sarah who I had only met once previously and that years ago, over dinner that evening. By the end of the day, after all of my walking around and exploring, I was ready to fall asleep as soon as I crawled into my sleeping nook. However, after making it through the whole day I believe I have mostly beaten jet lag.
Yesterday was another eventful day. I visited the school for the first time, met my roommates for the first time in person and we began our apartment hunt. Now, apartment hunting is a bit of a task at normal times. Add to that moving to a new country, not knowing the area, not knowing your roommates very well, and the fact that this is one of the busiest times of year for the housing market, what with all of the students moving back for school and you'll begin to understand the task laid out for us. In several cases as soon as we walked in to a housing agency they would tell us we were far too late in the game and there was nothing left. The properties that were available to rent were usually rather expensive, quite far from the campus, in high demand, or in reality too small for 3 adults to live in. A couple of times we were not the only group of students looking at a property at the same time.
However, even against all of the odds, we struck gold at the end of the day. We found a beautiful apartment, big enough for the 3 of us, with a decent sized kitchen and living room, and a yard. We couldn't believe our luck. All of that and it was within walking distance of the school, and within our budget. Incredible. All three of us have done enough apartment hunting in our lives, and had seen enough properties in London, to know that we really were not going to get anything better. So, needless to say, we pounced on the opportunity. That's right. Less than 48 hours in and we found a place. I'm kind of in shock.
At to top it all off I got to spend the evening at the theatre. Thanks to some amazing amazing amazing friends back in Seattle I had tickets to go see Kevin Spacey as Richard III at the Old Vic on my second night in London. And the production was pretty darn incredible.
I am not sure I could have had a better first day here. Now instead of spending the next 10 days worrying about where I'm going to live once the term starts I get to relax and explore London. I cant wait. Museums are free here, which is incredible, so I plan on going everywhere! I met a few other students yesterday, including at least one other student in my course, as well as my roommates. Hopefully we'll all get a chance to hang out and get to know each other better. I still have a lot to figure out with school, and learning how to live here. There is quite a lot that is different from the US that will take some getting used to. I need to get a phone and a bank account, figure out finances and get to know the metro system. I'm still a bit overwhelmed by everything, but I think its going to be an awesome year. I cant wait to get started with everything!
Location: Hackney, London UK
Well to say that I hit the ground running might be an understatement. I arrived first thing Wednesday morning, spent quite a while waiting in the line to get through customs. I then took an epic journey involving me, my incredibly heavy luggage, two trains, the Central line tube, the overground rail, several unhelpful help desk agents and 3 flights of stairs. However despite all of that I eventually made it my destination.
Right now I am staying with relatives of relatives. A lovely theatre couple, the aunt and uncle of my cousin Sarah, who live in Hackney. I got to know all of them, including Sarah who I had only met once previously and that years ago, over dinner that evening. By the end of the day, after all of my walking around and exploring, I was ready to fall asleep as soon as I crawled into my sleeping nook. However, after making it through the whole day I believe I have mostly beaten jet lag.
Yesterday was another eventful day. I visited the school for the first time, met my roommates for the first time in person and we began our apartment hunt. Now, apartment hunting is a bit of a task at normal times. Add to that moving to a new country, not knowing the area, not knowing your roommates very well, and the fact that this is one of the busiest times of year for the housing market, what with all of the students moving back for school and you'll begin to understand the task laid out for us. In several cases as soon as we walked in to a housing agency they would tell us we were far too late in the game and there was nothing left. The properties that were available to rent were usually rather expensive, quite far from the campus, in high demand, or in reality too small for 3 adults to live in. A couple of times we were not the only group of students looking at a property at the same time.
However, even against all of the odds, we struck gold at the end of the day. We found a beautiful apartment, big enough for the 3 of us, with a decent sized kitchen and living room, and a yard. We couldn't believe our luck. All of that and it was within walking distance of the school, and within our budget. Incredible. All three of us have done enough apartment hunting in our lives, and had seen enough properties in London, to know that we really were not going to get anything better. So, needless to say, we pounced on the opportunity. That's right. Less than 48 hours in and we found a place. I'm kind of in shock.
At to top it all off I got to spend the evening at the theatre. Thanks to some amazing amazing amazing friends back in Seattle I had tickets to go see Kevin Spacey as Richard III at the Old Vic on my second night in London. And the production was pretty darn incredible.
I am not sure I could have had a better first day here. Now instead of spending the next 10 days worrying about where I'm going to live once the term starts I get to relax and explore London. I cant wait. Museums are free here, which is incredible, so I plan on going everywhere! I met a few other students yesterday, including at least one other student in my course, as well as my roommates. Hopefully we'll all get a chance to hang out and get to know each other better. I still have a lot to figure out with school, and learning how to live here. There is quite a lot that is different from the US that will take some getting used to. I need to get a phone and a bank account, figure out finances and get to know the metro system. I'm still a bit overwhelmed by everything, but I think its going to be an awesome year. I cant wait to get started with everything!
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
The Adventure Begins
Day 1
Location: South Bend, IN
Well, here I am. Staring out the windows of the South Bend airport while the minutes tick by. 30 minutes from now I will step on to Delta Flight 6592 to Detroit and begin my travels. From Detroit I will hop across the ocean, and into the unknown. I land at Heathrow airport in London tomorrow morning, then I'll head out into the city. Thats really when the adventure begins.
Things are going to be quite different this year. On September 5th I will be starting classes at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London after having spent the last three years living and working in Seattle WA. Some things I expect will be comfortingly familiar. Mostly I'm thinking of the weather. I checked the weather report for London and it looks like I'll be arriving to rain and gloom. Ah, the weather of home. Other than that I expect there will be much that is unfamiliar.
I cant wait to get started. I've been anticipating this move for quite some time, and to be honest the suspense is killing me. Right now I'm living in a state of uncertainty and anxiety. I am more than ready to stop worrying about this year and start living it.
So here I go, boldly stepping into the unknown. Ready to begin my adventure.
Wish me luck!
Location: South Bend, IN
Well, here I am. Staring out the windows of the South Bend airport while the minutes tick by. 30 minutes from now I will step on to Delta Flight 6592 to Detroit and begin my travels. From Detroit I will hop across the ocean, and into the unknown. I land at Heathrow airport in London tomorrow morning, then I'll head out into the city. Thats really when the adventure begins.
Things are going to be quite different this year. On September 5th I will be starting classes at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London after having spent the last three years living and working in Seattle WA. Some things I expect will be comfortingly familiar. Mostly I'm thinking of the weather. I checked the weather report for London and it looks like I'll be arriving to rain and gloom. Ah, the weather of home. Other than that I expect there will be much that is unfamiliar.
I cant wait to get started. I've been anticipating this move for quite some time, and to be honest the suspense is killing me. Right now I'm living in a state of uncertainty and anxiety. I am more than ready to stop worrying about this year and start living it.
So here I go, boldly stepping into the unknown. Ready to begin my adventure.
Wish me luck!
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