You Know that Road you Chose, What do you Think of it?

You know how Robert Frost took the road less traveled by?  He had two options in front of him, and he went for the one most other people hadn't.  Most roads people have to choose between aren't usually just two-pronged forks.  As soon as you pick one road another fork shows itself and so on, until rather than a fork your road looks like those old-timey rakes you sometimes see in movies that are made of craggly sticks branching out into tons of fingers.

In a recent conversation with Sarah, she showed me a website of IES students blogging about their study abroad experiences from the perspective of a year later.  A lot of these were touching remembrances of how studying abroad changed their lives and their worlds.  So it got us wondering if we could do something similar with the London Center.  We celebrated our 40th anniversary this year (not sure if we'd mentioned that here before!) and had a lot of positive feedback from students spanning 4 decades, as well as feedback from our current students about what they were learning from London. 

This project of asking students to write from the perspective of a year onward is fascinating because that's possibly one of the hardest times.  One year later the muscle memory of packing luggage and sweating over visa applications is still there.  Perhaps it's something about the weather or a specific smell in the air that makes causes a flash of panic that you don't have the right converter plug, or maybe the smell of something burning is still a fresh reminder of the first few nights you cooked in your flat.  For me, even a decade on, the things that take me back to studying abroad are the smells of particular teas and this one Kylie Minogue song that was really big.  They may not be the classiest memories, and may not be life-changing in themselves, but a theme that I noticed in the IES blogs was that people were talking about the subtle changes in day to day life.  I think those are the differences that we notice most.  When something is taken for granted, the first time it's different sticks with you.  Like the girl who studied in Paris and recalled that she had traded her stale cereal for croissants and pastries in the morning. 

Getting ready to fly out of Newark Airport, August 2002

On the London Center's website we have a section of testimonials that students wrote at the end of their semester in London.  Hoping to expand this, we would love it if our dear readers would contribute their own version of a blog post that we could publish there.  We want to hear how studying abroad has affected your life.  Did it help you to choose a fork in the road that you hadn't known was there?  ICLC students, parents of students and visiting faculty alike, we would love to hear from you all.  The only parameters are that we would like you to try and remember your reflections from one year on.  You're welcome to include your current reflections on studying abroad as well, as long as you're willing to say how long ago it was.  Please email your posts to iclondoncenter@ithaca.edu.  We aren't able to publish everything that is sent to us, but we thank you in advance for all submissions.

-Claire

Book Report

Around the London Center I think it's fair to say that the staff are reticent to give recommendations on life decisions.  Ask as much as you want, the staff genuinely have no way of telling students where a good place for you to live in London is, if this is the right work placement for you, if you should take that class. 

But if we're anything, we're all avid readers.  As a non-mandatory assignment, we usually choose a book of the term which has some relevance to the semester abroad, whether it be about London life, Shakespeare, or the nature of being abroad.  So this is where we take the opportunity to make recommendations. 

I was intrigued by a previous book of the term as students have come back with strong feelings about the controversial nature of the narrative.  The book The Reluctant Fundamentalist, by Mohsin Hamid, is the story of a Pakistani man, Changez, who graduated from Princeton in the spring of 2001 and proceeded to work for the next year or so in New York City.  He experienced what it was to be a New Yorker and a foreigner at the same time, and as tensions mounted back home between Pakistan and India and nuclear war became a growing threat he gave a detailed description of the range of emotions he experienced.

I think this was a good choice for the book of the term because one of the things the author does best is describe what being a foreigner feels like.  "In a subway car, my skin would typically fall in the middle of the color spectrum.  On street corners, tourists would ask me for directions.  I was, in four and a half years, never an American; I was immediately a New Yorker."  Most of our students are unlikely to become British, but as soon as you have a place to live, you're Londoners.  Take a step back and imagine yourself feeling like a Londoner.

Some people have described this book as anti-American.  I disagree with that opinion, without saying that it's wrong.  It depicts the emotional range of a person on September 11, 2001 who is not American.  It depicts the wider repercussions around the world after 9/11 and Changez's response that came with feeling more and more foreign in New York in the year that followed the attacks.  Reading this book I saw through my American eyes the perspective of a non-American.  During and after 9/11 I remember the fear of war and a complete shift in the world I had grown up thinking I knew.  After 9/11 Changez went through a similar series of emotions, though his were tied into his own struggling love story.  Much of what happens in the romantic plot influences his actions thereafter, so we diverge from there, but the surprisingly shared perspective remains a common thread.

I went on to study abroad the following year, and I became aware of what it meant for me to be the foreigner.  I felt so very at home in London that semester, but I knew that as soon as I opened my mouth and spoke I was labeling myself as foreign.  The question is, what do you do with that information?  Do you thicken your accent?  Do you have a Big Mac when you feel homesick?  Do you immerse yourself in the local culture and ride the tube silently?

Many of you may have completed your time abroad, others may be about to come abroad and still more may have returned abroad.  For me, nationality was never something I thought much about until I knew I was a foreigner.  I live happily in my foreignness, and I hope I have successfully embraced it. 

-Claire
*These are my opinions, not those of the ICLC.

Bill's Top 10 Memories of Spring '12

In reverse order, here are Bill's top 10 memories of spring '12, with added commentary by Sarah and Claire (these really are Bill’s top 10, just like those were really his texts)

Devon looking up Putney on her first day in London

10.  Arrival day, January 10th, 2012, we meet you: hectic for everyone, but sure gets the adrenalin running. It’s our ‘putting faces to names’ day…and the first day we heard that cheery laugh. Claire and Sarah mostly remember how open some of our students were about taking strangers into their hotel room on the first night.  That was a very kind thing to do. (Just to clarify, the strangers were both our students, one of whom hadn’t been allocated a hotel room)

9. Welcoming our Provost, Dr Kelly, and VP Carl Sgrecci, and hosting the 40th anniversary reception.  40 not out!

8. Rounders’ day in Hyde Park, our first time playing the game which eventually turned into baseball; Sarah’s team sneaked a narrow victory over ‘southpaw’ Claire’s, partly through a rather liberal and some would say, dubious [or Welsh], interpretation of the rules.  Sarah’s number 1 highlight of the year: beating Bill to the post and getting him out!  The Welsh don’t just sing.

7. Discussing with my solicitors the 6 figure damages I might eventually receive from this blog post for interviewing me in absentia and putting words into my Listerine clean mouth that ‘might’ be there or might not.  OK, OK, they probably are there somewhere, but don’t tell the ‘blog-meister’.  Not as much as the damages Paul McCartney is seeking from Bill for libel.

The prize for making it to the top of the Tor?  Getting to be in this photo!

6. Our first trip - the devil’s chair, the pilgrimage up the Tor, the medieval clock, scissors arch and ‘memento mori’ in Wells cathedral, overnighting in Bath, checking for curfew violators, having a staff meeting at 2am… For the record, no that wasn’t Sarah trying Bill’s door at 2am.

5.Our three ‘shows’ – voice concert, acting scenes and fights – give me back my crisps! Tons of talent.  Claire’s happy that her ceiling hasn’t collapsed from stage combat yet.

4. Being lured away all too often from the grindstone by Professors Hrkach and Swafford in their bold attempt to find the hostelry that serves the ‘perfect pint’.  Where were Sarah and Claire?

3. The ‘gap year’ ceilidh in the Leith church hall during the Edinburgh trip. I like raffles. Bill won 5 times in a row.  This prompted Alex Holt to email Claire to ask if it was worth turning in the program evaluation as Bill seems to rig raffles.

2. Devon’s bagpipe ‘happy birthday’, preceded by the two candle bearing ‘altar girls’ [however charming, I regret to inform them that it’s probably too late to pursue a vocation in the church!]  We disagree.  We’re still planning on starting up our own order of nuns.  It’s our third backup life-plan.

The wind came first, then the hail.

1. Teaching [oops..scratch that… that’s from another list]; numero uno has to be the hail storm & hurricane descending from  Arthur’s seat; we almost needed to be helicoptered off! Don’t tell the home campus!  Sarah will never forget the moment she turned around to see 4 students hugging the ground for dear life.  She then turned to Bill and asked, “Seriously, what do we do if we lose students to the storm?”  He didn’t answer.

Next, Bill’s top 10 spring ‘12 regrets…

Cross Cultural Education: Travel

Many of you are traveling for break this week!  The London Center has come up with some phrases that may help you in the countries you're visiting:

I'm staying in a hostel, but my friend booked it and can't remember what it's called.  Is there an internet cafe nearby?
Italian: Io rimango in un ostello, ma il mio amico prenotato e non ricordo come si chiama. C'è un internet cafè nelle vicinanze?

Oh no!  I think I left my passport on the train!  Where's the nearest US embassy?
Greek:  Ω, όχι! Νομίζω ότι άφησε το διαβατήριό μου στο τρένο! Πού είναι η κοντινότερη πρεσβεία των ΗΠΑ;

 I'd like to buy this bag, but 1,000 Moroccan dirham is too expensive!
Arabic:                          وأود أن شراء هذه الحقيبة، ولكن 1000 الدرهم المغربي مكلفة للغاية!

What's the local delicacy at this restaurant?  I've heard the squid is very good!
Spanish:  ¿Cuál es el plato típico de este restaurante?  He oído que el calamar es muy bueno!
(all translations are from Google Translate, so I'm not sure if they're any good)

 ***

We also have some culinary tips:

• Spain: try the paella, the chorizo and manchego
• Holland: hema rookworst, bitterballen, and patat met
• Italy: pasta (though it may indicate that you're a tourist), gelato, and thin crust pizza
• Greece: baklava, as many olives as you can carry and moussaka
• Ireland: mashed potatoes, roast potatoes and Taytos
• Germany: wurst, schwarzewald gateau and Berliners
• Switzerland: fondue, roesti and bretzeln

***

And some common sense:

• If you're in Venice and the directions to your hostel involve getting on the bus, your hostel isn't in Venice.
• Even if you sound silly trying the local language, they'll respect that at least you're trying.
• If it's your hen do, have it in Orkney at your own risk.
• Losing your passport may extend your break, but not in the good way.  It will also extend your wallet in ways you hadn't thought it able.
• The weather in London will probably be better than it has been previously this semester.
• For the post card and souvenir competitions: more pornographic/erotic doesn't always equal more tacky.
• Those crazy Europeans drive on the other side of the road.  Who does that?!?!

You'll Have to Sit Down for This One...

What do I do when I'm low on blog post ideas?  Embrace the random factor.

I may or may not have previously mentioned that the London Center is 40 this year.  As a result, you may imagine that we have been through our fair share of chairs in this building, but what you may not know about are the real classics to which we have clung.  Yes, your worst fears are true.  Today I will be reviewing the chairs of the London Center. 

My first chair is not just a chair, but the set found in Bill's office.  I would like to be able to put a date on them, but their classic design and unending series of tears in the leather just say to me that they have been around the block a few times.  These chairs welcome coffee talkers, visiting alums, faculty and the surveyors who will be giving Elsie a once over.  The set of four (2 taller armchairs, a lower armchair and a loveseat) are centered around a table that has hobnobs on it on a good day, and a semester's worth of Bill's Sport in the UK marking on a bad day.  On a scale of 1-10, 10 being the best, Emily and Michael gave them a 9.85 overall for comfort, ease of use and closeness to biscuits.

Emily stealthily checks the arms of the chair

Michael is loving the loveseat

The next chair is also part of a set and also green.  Under the stairs in the front hall there is another loveseat and an ottoman that is most frequently used as a seat.  It seems that the comfort of these items of furniture balances out the danger involved in getting into and out of them.  They are truly seats for experienced sitters.  They sink and suck you in when you sit on them and have a table, a wall socket and a radiator nearby, as well as a small window.  What would only make the situation better would be if so many people didn't bump their heads on the stairs standing up to leave the sofa.  Also, if you listen closely, you can hear Harry Potter quietly doing magic in the cupboard under the stairs and plotting his escape.  Points out of 10? 9.2, say Brittany, Carolyn and Cristin.

Neither Brittany or Carolyn bumped their heads standing up!

Cristin didn't mind that there's no back to the ottoman

Next we moved up to the Common Room.  Here is a similar style to the set in Bill's office.  These chairs are old, broken in and wear their age well.  If I were to compare them to zoo animals I would say they are most comparable to wise elephants.  The leather sags in places, but these chairs don't seem to be forgetting the last 40 years.  Literature lecturer Lee White gave them a 6 out of 10.  He wasn't impressed by the chair's lack of support and was disappointed by how far away it was from any biscuits.

Lee wears his disappointment about the lack of biscuits

Fourth is our freshest set of chairs.  Within the last year the faculty room received leather armchairs which are still so new, they smell a bit like the shop.  These chairs don't leave the sitter too high or too low, but rather just at the right height.  Ian Green, film lecturer, felt they were some of the best in the London Center, giving them a 10 out of 10.

Ian's comfy in the new faculty room chair

The final set of chairs is easily my favorite.  If I was told they came with the building, I would believe it.  These old, green friends have been repaired innumerable times, but being too good to let go of, they are currently haunting room 8.  They're lumpy but loveable, socially awkward but trend setting.  They're representatives of life- they dictate where you're allowed to sit on them (bumps vs. holes), but welcome you with aged velour upholstery.  They take and they give- they're not just a place to sit, they're a way of life.  11 out of 10!

For Rosie, the party starts in these chairs

If you're really well behaved I'll let you know next week which classroom chairs we're still using since the 1980's!

-Claire

How Are We Settling In?

Today marks the first day of the second quarter of the semester in London.  How does the time fly!  I'm getting the sense that everyone is settling into their classes, their work placements, their flats.  Students are finding budget airlines and hostels, learning to use the bus, finding places to go on the weekend in London.

With any luck you're also starting to feel like Londoners.  Has anyone stopped you on the street to ask you for directions?  Were you pleased with yourself when you knew which way to send them?  Did you fake an accent so they wouldn't know they were asking someone who has only lived here a month?

Here are some things going on around here that all good locals should know about:

• The Six Nations is a rugby tournament between England, Ireland, Wales, Scotland, France and Italy.  It's shown on tv in many pubs around town.  Even non-rugby fans come out for this one.  It started last weekend (4 Feb.) and will run until 17 March. 
• The Queen's Diamond Jubilee is this year.  She found out 60 years ago (yesterday) that her father, the king, had died and that she was now queen.  The big party is the first weekend in June, so if anyone asks what you're doing for it, you can casually reply that you'll be out of town that weekend.  (It'll be similar to Elsie's Ruby Jubilee)
• The 2012 Olympics are in London this summer.  Again, if anyone asks if you're going to any events, you can casually reply that you're getting out of town and renting out your flat.
• The honours list went out earlier this year and now Helena Bonham-Carter can join Elton John and Mick Jagger leading the British army into war.  Well, it doesn't quite work like that, but you know what I mean.  Also, an honour that had been awarded a few years ago has recently been rescinded.  Ex-Sir Fred Goodwin, head of Royal Bank of Scotland leading up to the credit crunch has received a lot of flack for being a dilettante as the country sunk into financial disrepute and he retired, claiming a massive pension.  He's now on the same list as Robert Mugabe for having his honour taken away.
• Karen Gillen has announced that she is leaving Doctor Who.  How will the Doctor find a replacement for Amy Pond?

 There are loads more ways to get into the local mindset and immerse yourself in the culture of living in London.  Even grocery shopping is a cultural experience.  You can wait until the end of the semester to do all the touristy things you were too settled-in to get to.

-Claire

An Interview of Bill Sheasgreen (at which he wasn't present)

Bill Sheasgreen- director of Ithaca College's London Center, Egyptologist by trade, cricketer on the weekends and all around popular guy at the ICLC.

Claire Mokrauer-Madden: Bill, thanks for taking time out of your busy day for me to interview you.
Bill Sheasgreen: No problem, I'm glad to do it.
CMM: I understand that you moved to London in the 1970's.  What prompted the move?
BS: I was going to Cambridge to write my PhD.  I arrived into Heathrow with all my luggage, and I planned that day to go directly to King's Cross train station to catch a train up there.  But as soon as I came out of the underground station at King's Cross I came face to face with why the area around King's Cross had such a poor reputation.  The area has since been rejuvenated, but back then I was shocked by what was in front of me.  I turned right around and headed back into the London Underground, heading for the Piccadilly Line to go back to Heathrow and fly back to Canada.  But part way along the journey I had a revelation.  They called out that the next stop was Gloucester Road and I remembered that famed early 20th century Egyplologist, Howard Carter, the man who found King Tut's tomb, had lived in that area.  I decided to alight there and pay homage to his home.
CMM: Didn't you have a lot of luggage with you?
BS: No, I'm a very practical packer.  I brought enough clothing so that I could get by without doing laundry for about 2 weeks.  I had also ordered my Cambridge University uniform and had a few sets waiting for me at my halls of residence.
CMM: That sounds reasonable.  Is that why you have been toying with the idea of uniforms for Ithaca College London Center students?
BS: Partly.  The rest of the reason is that American students, whether they are 2, 12 or 21 go to school.  In Britain only children go to school. As more mature students they attend college and university.  But when our American students arrive here they say that they are going to school.  As you have noticed about the school children passing down Harrington Gardens on their way to school, they all wear uniforms.  As our students believe that they are also attending school, and we want them to have as much exposure to cultural immersion while studying abroad as possible, I believe the ICLC should begin having uniforms for students.
CMM: I see your reasoning, but I can't imagine that will go down well with the students or with our colleagues back in Ithaca, NY.

One possible version of the uniform for faculty

BS: No, you're right, I have received no support for this idea.  Nonetheless, I continue to keep the innovative ideas coming.  And Professor Hrkach has agreed to trial my Uniforms for Faculty idea.
CMM: Anyway, getting back to your move to London, what happened once you found Howard Carter's house?
BS: Well, after a short wander I found it at the end of Harrington Gardens.  I had passed up and down both sides of the street and knocked on a few doors, so by the time I found the house I was feeling pretty well acquainted with the area.  I decided that if South Kensington had been good enough for Howard Carter, it was good enough for me.  So I moved there.  I worked on my PhD remotely so that I had as little contact as possible with King's Cross station and eventually began teaching at the Ithaca College London Center down the road on Harrington Gardens.
CMM: Thanks for taking a few moments to answer my questions.  I hope that in time you get over your fear of King's Cross!  Do you think that one day there will be a blue plaque at 35 Harrington Gardens marking your career, just like Howard Carter's?
BS: No worries there!  I put in the application in 1983!

-Claire

This is not a reading list (Part 2)

And so for Colin Firth to make his second appearance in our blog is two days, I present the thoughts of Heather and Sarah for what to read to get ready for life in London.

Heather:
Claire, Bill and Sarah have their own opinions of what to read and watch, but as a mother of a very rambunctious 14 month old, I am rather short on time and therefore short on the time I can sit reading.  Although I too love reading as a way to pass my time, sometimes I have to get my knowledge of the UK and world events in different ways.

The royal wedding is going to be huge.  Sure, the Windsors and their people are saying they are aware of the current economic climate and will be taking that into account when planning the big day, but seriously, all you have to do is look at the million pound smiles on the two of them and you know that it’s going to be a million pound wedding.  And who doesn’t want to learn all about it?  Whether you are interested in it because you are a wedding junkie, because you like the fashion or because it’s good car crash entertainment, you will get your information from any good tabloid.  And I put forth the tabloid, Hello! or any other tabloid for your reading pleasure.  Sure it’s not Pulitzer Prize winning, and it’s not really that intellectually challenging, but I can guarantee you that you will learn all about the people that are in popular culture in the UK at the moment.  You’ll get the lowdown on what they’re up to, what they are doing that’s scandalous and who has sold the rights to their wedding photos for a disgusting price.   One thing to note is that tabloids in the UK are very different to tabloids in the USA.  You won’t find stories about how someone is having an alien’s baby in them here. You’ll more than likely find a different spin on stories that are covered by the BBC.  There may be an element of truth behind them or not, but more than one government expose has come of a story run by The Sun a ‘red top’ newspaper here that has a larger audience than The Guardian or The Times.  Something to think about.

If reading really isn’t your bag, may I recommend the BBC website?  You can read their news and entertainment but instead do as I did nearly 10 years ago and listen online to their radio stations.  About a year or two before I moved back to the UK, I started listening to BBC Radio 1 online.  Mostly because I just missed the place too much and partly because I was sick of all the commercials on US radio stations (The BBC is funded by listener licenses and therefore doesn’t have any commercials). When I finally got back to the UK, I felt as though I really had some clue as to what was going on here.  By listening to the radio, I heard the news which told me the big stories of the day, I heard the music which was very different to the US and I just generally got a good feel for what was going on.  Not to mention a better feel for regional accents as a good portion of the DJs are NOT from London.  It was one of the best things I did to get adjusted to living in the UK.

And so above I offer two alternatives to the traditional reading list for those of you feeling short on time.  You can delve into them feet first or just dip in and out while you are scouring the bookshelves looking for the other recommendations, but think about them.  They are the up to date commentaries on what is happening and a great way to get inside the heads of the Brits.  But know that there will always be time in my life for Pride and Prejudice and that Colin Firth will always win the wet tee shirt competition for me.


Sarah:
Recommending books is actually quite hard for me as quite often as soon as I finish a book, I can’t guarantee that I could tell you what it was about and if you asked me for the title of the book that I am currently reading I might not be able to tell you either. This is not because I don’t want to share these great books that I have read. It is just that I love to read and go through a lot of books. I am a classic London commuter, so get lots of reading time! It is on this note that I want to share my suggestions…

Last May a lovely woman called Katie recommended a book called Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman and even left a copy behind for Claire and me to read. As soon as I got my hands on it, I read it and passed it on to Claire. To give you an idea of the type of genre, if any of you have ever seen the movie ‘Stardust’ it was based on one of Neil Gaiman’s books. If not, then he is considered to be a post-modern science fiction/fantasy author.  This is not usually my first choice of genre, especially when it comes to fiction, but I enjoyed it. The story was originally made as a mini-series for the BBC back in the 90’s, but Neil Gaiman
decided to convert it to a book. This worked out well for me as I, along with pretty much most of you, missed the mini-series! ‘Neverwhere’ is mostly set in an imaginary London referred to as ‘London Below’ that matches up with real London places. It is a good and quick read and you will recognize a lot of the places mentioned in the book when you come over. I recently lent Neverwhere to one of our current students who devoured this book and asked me if there was a sequel, so surely that is a good sign?

If you want to score some points with our London Centre Director then I would recommend some background reading into British sports, particularly cricket! The more you understand it, the more you will enjoy it and will probably make you a front runner for any quizzes Bill makes. It is also particularly important to stay on top of current affairs. Not just of the UK, but of the whole world. We are small and our news is not just focussed on the UK. This will enable you to strike up conversations with strangers, and you will stand a stronger chance of winning one of Bill’s quizzes and it can be beneficial for your classes. Lately it seems like
the news has mostly been about royalty, snow and FIFA! In fact this morning I had to wait for them to stop talking about FIFA before they would cover whether or not the trains are running because of the snow.

By the way if any of you find any books telling you how to snag the royal before he officially ties the knot, do let me know!

Reading lists? I don't think so! (Part 1)

Even now, though I'm no longer a student, seeing a reading list makes my pupils dilate.  Just a little.  I should grow out of that feeling soon.  I love reading, and I do it for fun all the time.  It's why I wish my train journey were longer between work and home, and it's why I manage not to fall asleep early on nights when I'm way too tired think think about doing laundry and washing the dishes and even holding my eyes open.  Somehow I find the strength to stay awake to find out why the doctor was willing to sneak a computer into his patient who is being guarded in her hospital room because she is under arrest for grievous bodily harm to a couple of gangsters.

In recent semesters the ICLC has recommended reading particular books to students before they arrive.  The books tend not to be too taxing, as we realize that you have classes and exams and jobs.  We just aim to point you in the direction of something that will start setting the London scene for you.  For the spring 2011 semester we have been having difficulty picking one book that we all agree on, and the thought of sending out a reading list so that we can all have our input seems a little more intense than what we are striving for when we recommend something to read.  Instead we are each having our own separate say for this coming term.  Take from it what you want.

Claire:
Recently I have been into murder mysteries.  I discovered the author Ian Rankin when my mother gave me two of his novels a few years ago.  He writes gritty crime novels set in Edinburgh.  This is particularly pertinent as Edinburgh is a destination that we try to organize a trip to each semester.  The main character of these books is Inspector Rebus who drinks at the Oxford Bar in New Town in Edinburgh.  Last weekend, when we had our group trip to Edinburgh, Bill and I found the Oxford Bar and went there for a drink.  I would like to say that we then proceeded to solve mysteries and enforce the law, but, if I'm honest, my feet were cold and wet and I was happy to get back to the hostel and warm up.  If crimes were stopped that Saturday night they weren't stopped by Bill and me.  It's possible that Bill may have done some crime fighting on his own once we parted ways, though.

Nope, no crimes being committed here.

On a related note, when I was getting ready to move here six years ago I had a regimen of films that I watched on repeat.  If I remember correctly they were Pride and Prejudice (the BBC miniseries where Colin Firth wins the wet t-shirt contest), Love Actually, Bend it Like Beckham and Four Weddings and a Funeral.  After arriving I also discovered the TV shows The Vicar of Dibley, Little Britain and Doctor Who.  Everything listed here remains a favorite in my library.  Have a look at them if you have a chance.

Bill:

Sir Bill of Harrington Gardens confers the honour of £10 on Dame Alyssa of Figueroa

The BIG EVENT - other than Arsenal winning the Premiership - next term, is the Royal Wedding on 29/4/11. The USA went 'republican' in1776. Britain remains a constitutional monarchy. There are upcoming films about Edward VIII and his twice divorced US wife and George VI and his stammer. Look at our language: the ICLC is located in a 'Victorian' part of London; our underground and sewers are 'Victorian', we talk of Elizabethan literature, the Jacobean period, Georgian architecture, the calm before the storm in the Edwardian period. We have a Jubilee tube line [silver jubilee] and two jubilee [golden jubilee] bridges across the Thames. Don't forget our subsidised national theatre companies, the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal National Theatre. Our biggest industry, after finance, is tourism. Monarchy is the core institution of tourism. Why do so many people want to see the 'changing of the guard'? Why will the world be watching two 28 year old former college flatmates get married? Why is their wedding day a national holiday? We celebrate three big events in 2012 - the Olympics in the east end, the 40th anniversary of the London Centre and the monarch's 'Diamond Jubilee'. Long may she reign over us because after her comes Charles III and his Duchess Camilla, a prospect very few are looking forward to. We have a great deal of continuity. When Eliabeth II ascended the throne and became head of State, Harry S Truman was US President. In the period since then, the USA has had 12 Heads of State while the UK has had just one. The DNA of the great 9th century Anglo-Saxon king, Alfred the Great, can apparently be traced in Elizabeth II.

The USA doesn't have this system of nomenclature & cultural identification. Nor do they confer knighthoods, peerages, damehoods. We have actors - Sir Derek Jacobi, Dame Diana Rigg, Lord Olivier, Dame Judy Dench -  sports people - Lord Coe, Sir Steve Redgrave [soon it will be Sir David Beckham] - musicians - Sir Mick Jagger, Sir Elton John, Sir Paul McCartney [unfortunately, Ringo hasn't been knighted yet] - academics, businessmen, politicians, even foreign nationals, receive royal honours.  Imagine if Brett Favre was Lord Favre of Baton Rouge, the Yankee short stop was Sir Derek Jeter, all past presidents were 'lords', etc. And opening comedy week at Madison Square Gardens next month is The Honourable Christopher Julius Rock, CBE. Even humble people who work as lunch staff at schools or 'lollipop' persons (crossing guards) in schools get honoured.

My 2nd choice would be the American Anglophile Bill Bryson's short biography of Shakespeare; 3rd would be Mohsin Hamid's terrfic little novel, The Reluctant Fundamentalist, for anyone interested in the post 9/11 world in which we live.

Your trivia question for today.Where in the UK is Elizabeth II technically not Elizabeth II?

-Claire and Bill

F '10 Scavenger Hunt #4: Mind the gap created by stations that aren't used anymore

As you well know, each semester we choose a Book of the Term.  This term the book is Mortal Causes by Ian Rankin.  It is set is Edinburgh in the early 1990’s and deals with violence and the IRA, as the books we choose are meant to introduce the students to different aspects of British culture.  Now we are thinking of the book of the next term, and Sarah and I are leaning toward Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere.   Whereas we live in London Above, much of this book is set in London Below.  What is London Below, you ask?  I’m about halfway through the book and I don’t really know myself.

Speaking of the things that happen below London, the London Underground is one of the oldest continuously running subway systems in the world.  It has a fascinating history from acting as a shelter for Londoners during the Blitz to surprising pedestrians as they pass by disused stations on the street that have been closed for decades.  Because they are often not lit up at all, they can be easy to miss.  Who has seen Aldwych Station on the Strand right in the middle of London?  It’s staring you in the face just after you pass Somerset House.  Keep an eye out for this one.  Your first mission this week is to find a disused Tube Station, but not Aldwych, since I have just pointed that one out.  Here is a link to a great website that has images of out of date Tube maps to help you along with this one: http://homepage.ntlworld.com/clivebillson/tube/tube.html.  Don’t be deceived by stations that are still there but have changed names.  Have a look at the outside of Gloucester Road Tube station the next time you pass by and notice that the top of the building says that the Metropolitan and District Railways go to this station.  A lot has changed since this station appeared on one of the earliest Tube maps (1889) as Brompton Gloucester Road Station.  Also, excitingly, there were plans on the 1949 version of the map to extend the Bakerloo line down as far as Camberwell!  Alas, this would only have added to the paradise that Camberwell is!

Also, if you go to the northbound Piccadilly line platform, you can see the tiled sign on the wall saying that these trains go to Finsbury Park, as that is where the Piccadilly line once terminated

You may have also gathered by now, if you have been checking out the TfL website to plan your journeys or to figure out alternative routes during the Tube strike, that as well as the Tube there are also buses, trams, boats and bicycles on offer as public transportation options.  During the last Tube strike there were photos in the paper of the queues of people lined up to take the boats across the Thames.  So, speaking of photos and boats, your second mission is to capture the underside of a bridge.  Obviously you don’t need to be on a boat to see underneath a bridge, but taking a boat across London offers a new perspective to modern eyes and a view of London from what has traditionally been one of its busiest thoroughfares.

Good luck!

-Elsie (who loves Camberwell!)

F '10 Scavenger Hunt #3: A Day in the Life

In my research of what a blog is, the trend seems to be for anecdotal stories about the events of the day or the week or the month.  Here is what happens around the ICLC:
Sarah: makes a cup of tea, fixes the internet, makes more tea
Claire: makes a cup of tea, kicks the photocopier, makes more tea
Bill: makes a cup of tea, plays some cricket, teaches some classes, makes more tea
Chris: drops off the post, makes a cup of tea, fixes the building, makes more tea

Claire's teacup

Perhaps Bill doesn't play cricket everyday, but otherwise this is pretty accurate.  Obviously we do other things, too, and Elsie would like you to guess what those things are.  The first installment of scavenged items for you to find this week is going to require a lot of stretching of your abstract creativity muscles.  If you were living a day in the life of Bill, what would your ideal supper be?  Remember that Bill is a sports fanatical, World War II and east London loving Egyptologist.  Please compose a photograph showing this meal.

Sarah's tea and strainer

Also, tea is very important to our lives everyday.  It is a reason for breaks in the day, it is a required drink at breakfast and it is part of a posh afternoon involving sandwiches and cakes.  Thing 2: Please find the most interesting tea paraphernalia that you can, whether it's a teapot, tea strainer, tea flavour or anything else related to tea.

Bill's teacup

-Elsie

F '10 Scavenger Hunt #2: One hump or two?

Many ICLC students celebrate their 21 birthdays during their semester in London.  While it's a momentous occasion in the States to go into a bar and buy your first legal drink, you may have noticed that there is much less fuss about 21 year olds buying a drink here in the UK.  In many ways drinking culture is a horse of a different color.  The legal age is lower in the UK and pubs close much earlier than Americans are used to.  You can go to a pub for a classic Sunday roast or for a pub quiz to find out how good your knowledge of trivia really is.  There are also similarities, though.  They are major social meeting points and binge drinking is problematic in both countries.  But one thing that definitely separates British and American drinking establishments is what they are called.  Often sites have had pubs on them for hundreds of year and have names that don't necessarily make sense to a modern audience.  There are more pubs than it's worth counting called the Queen's Head, the King's Head and the King's Arms.  There's a chain called the Slug and Lettuce.  There's a pub in Notting Hill called The Windsor Castle.  My local when I was a student was called The Elusive Camel.  What do these names mean?  For some the answers can probably be found on Wikipedia (a reputable source), but other meanings may be completely lost or even made up, not ever really having had any particular meaning.  Pub names can also be influential.  The areas of Swiss Cottage and Elephant and Castle are named after local pubs (actually I think there is some debate about where the name Elephant and Castle comes from, but it sounds like the name of a pub.  The area's more official name is Newington, not to be confused with Stoke Newington which is not nearby).

Your two missions this week, should you choose to accept, are to find the most interesting pub name that you can and, in honor of my old local, to find a camel.  Dromedaries need not apply.  Only Bactrian camels.  Elsie will be counting the humps.  I have high hopes that both of these will prove difficult and time consuming, but lead to admirable creativity.  As a Londoner herself, Elsie probably feels that she has seen it all.  Show her how wrong she can be!

-Elsie

F '10 Scavenger Hunt #1- Like the pink dogs, these things probably exist, you just haven't found any yet

Part of the appeal of studying abroad is the possibility of immersing yourself in another culture and meeting new people from around the world.  However, it can be all too easy to find yourself immersed in an American bubble once you get to London, living and studying with your fellow students from Ithaca.  In an effort to try and pop this bubble and open up more opportunities for immersion, Elsie is creating a scavenger hunt spanning the Fall 2010 semester.  When the final judging is done it will be based on the sense of immersion that the entries show (Elsie won't mind you playing to her vanity, either), so be creative.  Everything is open to interpretation.

The creation of this hunt is the product of evaluations from past students who said that they wished they had been more immersed in London life.  While here you will have opportunities to join clubs with students from British universities, and we hope that you take advantage of this chance.  Many of the classes running this term involve getting out in London for walks and tours.  This is a great way to see London, and can be used as a great spring board for immersion, but the leg-work is up to you.  Housing yourselves was one of your first initial experiences in getting to grips with life in London.  You met landlords, saw what people's homes in London look like and possibly even met your new neighbors. This scavenger hunt will be easy in comparison.

We are working with a loose interpretation of the word 'immersion'.  We can't force you to walk up to a stranger, introduce yourself and share the stories of your lives with each other each weekend at a different pub in a different area of London.  In envisioning this scavenger hunt with an eye towards immersion, the onus of getting out, seeing new things, meeting new people and experiencing how life is lived in another country is on you.  So when you are sent out to scavenge it is in the hope that you will treat this as a suggestion for an opportunity to immerse yourself.  The things themselves that you are being asked to find are more likely to be on the periphery of immersion.  We want you to go to concerts, festivals, sporting events, exhibitions and plays, we want you to meet new people and we want you to explore beyond the traditional American hangouts.

Throughout the term Elsie will post things for you to find.  As the deadline for entries will not be until the end of the semester, take your time and keep your eyes peeled.  In no particular order, here are some guidelines for the hunt:

• All entries must be submitted in photo form.
• The back of the photo must have the location it was taken and the entrant's ID# (don't put your name on them).
• All entries from an entrant must be submitted at the same time.
• All entries are subjective and will be judged by Elsie on the degree of immersion that they represent.
• Unless stated otherwise, all entries must be photographed within the UK.
• Please make sure you have permission to photograph your entries.
• You don't necessarily need to submit entries for every object in the hunt.  It's quality that's important.
• Teaming up with a partner (no more than 2 working together) is allowed, or you can go it alone.
• The entrant must appear in at least 5 photos, showing them interacting with the objects that they have found.

Good Luck!
-The Three Dogs (none of whom are pink)

*    *    *

London, originally created as a Roman outpost, is a reflection of nearly two millenia of inhabitants.  It has been a magnet for migrants for much of its existence, from the Romans to the Saxons to the French Huguenots to the Ithaca College London Centre staff.  In turn, these migrants become locals and make London their own.  Steeped in history, so many Londoners have left their mark somewhere (lucky for Bill, he can't be identified as having graffitied Stamford Bridge).  The plaque marking Christopher Wren's burial place in St. Paul's Cathedral says, "Reader, if you are looking for his monument, look around you".  So, we would like you to find the most interesting burial marker or memorial, whether it be a headstone, a monument or anything else that serves as a reminder of a person (but don't bring a photo of Christopher Wren's, that's just unoriginal).  Many of you may be new to London, so this may seem like being thrown into the deep end, but that is what immersion is about.  Dive in! (Actually, if it's diving you are doing, don't necessarily try it in the Thames.  It's cold and has a strong current.  The Thames Barrier is a pretty cool landmark to see, but rather than traveling as a human boat my recommendation would be to take a train to get there.  That also saves you needing a change of clothes, so that's one less thing to carry with you.  I'm not speaking as the voice of experience or anything, but just taking a really educated guess.)  To pay tribute to migrant populations we would also like you to find some Danish cuisine.
-Elsie

Notting Hill Carnival

It’s Saturday on Bank Holiday weekend, August 28th-30th  – NB the cultural issue: in England we don’t have July 4th, Memorial Day, MLK day holidays; instead, the banks go on holiday as befitting a nation that rose to greatness on the strength of its commercial and financial expertise – and you’re doing a little cleaning in your new Bayswater lodgings when you hear the unmistakable sound of steel bands coming from somewhere in the west. On Sunday, in a taxi on the way from the hotel to your flat, the cabbie complains about the closed roads and disrupted traffic in W11. As you clamber out of the taxi, tripping over an overlarge suitcase, you again hear the sound of music carried on the westerly wind. On Monday en route to class, you note that some of the local tube stations are closed. Your curiosity well and truly raised you ask the underground attendant, “What’s going on?” Answer: “It’s CARNIVAL time.”  And Monday the 30th is the big day.

Urban Britain had a substantial black population from the 17th century.  As a key player and financier in the triangular trade which brought slaves from western Africa to the West Indies and the United States in the ‘middle passage’, Britons became increasingly familiar with Africans in the period before the Industrial Revolution. Some came as slaves, others as ‘freed’ individuals, some no doubt as mariners.  It was not, however, until after World War II, when a victorious yet ravaged and impoverished Britain, short of labour for reconstruction, appealed to people from its West Indian colonies to take up work in the newly founded National Health Service [1948] and the public transport system.  As you might expect, the indigenous population did not extend a warm welcome to the new arrivals.  “Keep Britain White” placards appeared and all of a sudden landlords had no rooms and flats to rent. The more literate of them simply put ‘No coloureds, Irish or Dogs’ signs in their windows. [TIP: Read Andrea Levy’s novel Small Island  for a fictional account of the racial tensions in nearby Earl’s Court in the late 1940s.] Tensions grew throughout the 1950s and riots broke out in 1958, the most important of which occurred in Notting Hill west London in September 1958 when ‘teddy boys’ began attacking West Indian homes, offices and people on the streets.

The police made arrests and the courts imposed stiff sentences on the rioters. The West Indians responded by celebrating their culture, initially in halls and latterly in the open air. The inspiration came from the Trinidadian born, American-raised, communist Claudia Jones, who had been deported by the USA during the McCarthyite witch hunt and been granted asylum in Britain. The model was also Trinidadian, a carnival, held on the streets of Notting Hill over the Bank holiday weekend [the end of summer].

The Notting Hill Carnival is now the largest street festival in Europe and the second largest carnival in the world after Rio. The three words that best describe it are (a) music [VERY LOUD], (b) costume [VERY BRIGHT and OUTRAGEOUS], and (c) food [DELICIOUS].  There might also be a heavy smell of cannabis on certain streets in the Notting hill area. Police don’t mind the smell but they will not tolerate buying and selling of drugs.  Carnival is a wonderful celebration of the vitality of Afro-Caribbean culture. Be smart:  the carnival has attracted trouble in the past, especially near the end on Monday evening, and there is a heavy police presence.  If you go, and you should, leave wallets, bags, jewellery at home. Go as a twosome or threesome. Just bring a few pounds to buy some food and drink.  Cameras are OK – remember that we run a photo competition at the end of the term - but take good care of them.

-Bill (without any help from Elsie or Pete's scooter)

Meet the Three Dogs (and Elsie)

We are so excited about the upcoming semester at the Ithaca College London Centre that we are starting a blog! The aim of this blog is to talk about life in London, to give you an idea of what lies ahead while studying with us in London and we might even mention a little bit about ourselves. A lot of students study abroad hoping to immerse themselves in another culture. You will be pleased to know, despite the fact that an American, a Canadian and a token Welsh person are running this programme, we have jointly spent a total of 55 years in London. As foreigners ourselves (Welsh are not English) we are experts at getting to know the locals and have even picked up some local slang:

"Claire climbed the Apples today and recovered with a Rosy"
"Claire weren't 'alf knackered after climbing them stairs. She was gasping for a cuppa."

One of your first projects when you arrive will be the flat hunt.  Hopefully you have all started thinking about whom you would like to live with, what your budget is and possibly even started looking at different areas of London.  The Queen may have rooms to rent in Buckingham Palace, and with she and the family being out of town on the weekends, it should be an excellent house for hosting parties.  I needn't even mention the other parties that Princes William and Harry will be likely to invite you to.  But in case she falls through, you may want to start working on plan B.  On a serious note though, to get you thinking about where you are going to live in London our next blog will be about where we all live.You will get to hear about a great place in North London called Stoke Newington, a trendy place in South London called Camberwell and a more suburban place in South West London called Worcester Park. If you are lucky there might even be some photos!  We will also give you some information about areas of London that previous students have lived in recent semesters.  Zone 1, central London, probably has the most transport links and ease of access, but it is also the one of the most expensive places to live.  We three live in zones 2 and 4, with average commute times around 45 minutes.  Be open minded and have a look around at your options when you get here!

-The Three Dogs (and Elsie)