Friday, August 31, 2012
ahem
I thought you might be interested that I've purchased medicine so I won't explode or die abroad.
Thursday, August 30, 2012
percy pigs
I was talking to my friend today who suggested I go to Mark & Spencer to get Percy Pigs. Apparently they're exclusive to M & S. I'd been told to visit the same store to stock up on jumpers, so this was new information. Imagine my delight when she sends me a picture! Or, don't imagine it, and experience it for yourself.
I will report back when I have acquired some of my own. Only I will be purchasing the vegetarian, pea-protein-based pigs instead of the pork-gelatin based ones. I have no way to tell what's pictured above, for the curious.
edit: my mother has just informed me she thought these were cookies. In fact, they're small jelly sweets. ahem.
I will report back when I have acquired some of my own. Only I will be purchasing the vegetarian, pea-protein-based pigs instead of the pork-gelatin based ones. I have no way to tell what's pictured above, for the curious.
edit: my mother has just informed me she thought these were cookies. In fact, they're small jelly sweets. ahem.
late august, 3
today I went to the bank (which shall remain nameless) to see a banker (who shall remain nameless) to talk to them about setting up an account for my abroad things. Forgive the quality of that sentence, but it's 90 degrees outside.
and I understand that I'm slightly--er--touchy--on the subject of being treated as an independent, intelligent young person, but I suppose it's because that feels like a right to me. I understand, too, that I do look a great deal younger than I am and perhaps to some more innocent, more able to be led into certain things, more clueless. And in a lot of ways that's true. But I don't suppose it's anyone else's business, either, that it is.
mostly, I say this only because while the nameless banker was informative and he answered the questions I had and setting up an account wasn't a problem, there's a certain--I suppose--code of conduct that I expect from a banker who is clearly much older than me and wearing a suit (ahem) and across from a desk from me in a professional situation. I expect someone out there is thinking loosen up! And perhaps I should. But this isn't a post about that, so.
it was just little things: he was friendly, conversational. I'm consistently being told by friendly and conversational people that I never "look" how I should for a certain situation, and this time, I didn't "look" excited about my trip. I will take a moment to point out a couple of reasons why this is a preposterous statement: 1) I'm at a bank encountering an entirely new situation by myself, quite aware that I appear to be twelve years old and unwilling to allow you to use that to your advantage; 2) I'm at a bank, why should I look excited about anything?; 3) it's none of your business; 4) how would you know what I look like when I'm looking forward to something?; 5) this is a specific moment in time. I cannot feel the only emotion you'd expect to see on my face at every moment until I arrive in the UK.
after a moment of thought I decided it was best to be polite and made an excuse for myself, that I was nervous about going abroad for the first time. And that's true. But the story gets better, because he was talking about how it was good that at least in England they don't speak a foreign language, so I'll understand everyone. While this is not 100 percent true, I nodded anyway, because that is one of the factors that I considered when I decided to apply to UK schools rather than ones in Spain. I made the mistake of relaying that information to this nameless banker and he asked me why I'd chosen Spain first, and I said because I can speak Spanish and had been interested in the culture because of Spanish class; and, this is all true, before I could finish this sentence he interrupts me and says "it's because you like Spanish boys, isn't it?" and I was nearly stunned out of speech because, as a private person, I'm not wont to give that kind of information out to strangers and because we are at a bank and I am here on business.
and I will admit that I might have taken care to squint at him an extra moment before replying. I said something like "I hadn't taken that into consideration," but it doesn't matter what I said, because it wasn't a real question.
anyway. The rest of the appointment passed while he talked gregariously and got business done between sentences and I sat and extracted all the information from him that I could. I was pleased to have the opportunity to confirm to him that his writing was "chicken-scratch" after he made a comment about it himself. Small pleasures.
the point of this is mainly to tell you that I've gotten an account set up and now know where to go to get my hands on British Pounds before I fly. I'd also like to add that had I had a similar encounter in a non-professional setting, I probably wouldn't have been overly pleased, but I shouldn't either have been affronted. Sometimes I think that I'm probably too sensitive about this, but it's hard looking eight years younger than your age and trying to be taken seriously. I'm not a down-with-the-man feminist but I do believe that a person is a person first, before anything else, and should be treated as such. I can't imagine nameless banker presuming to ask a twenty-year-old man if he liked Spanish men, and whether or not that was the reason for him choosing Spain as a country in which to study and spend most of his savings.
and I understand that I'm slightly--er--touchy--on the subject of being treated as an independent, intelligent young person, but I suppose it's because that feels like a right to me. I understand, too, that I do look a great deal younger than I am and perhaps to some more innocent, more able to be led into certain things, more clueless. And in a lot of ways that's true. But I don't suppose it's anyone else's business, either, that it is.
mostly, I say this only because while the nameless banker was informative and he answered the questions I had and setting up an account wasn't a problem, there's a certain--I suppose--code of conduct that I expect from a banker who is clearly much older than me and wearing a suit (ahem) and across from a desk from me in a professional situation. I expect someone out there is thinking loosen up! And perhaps I should. But this isn't a post about that, so.
it was just little things: he was friendly, conversational. I'm consistently being told by friendly and conversational people that I never "look" how I should for a certain situation, and this time, I didn't "look" excited about my trip. I will take a moment to point out a couple of reasons why this is a preposterous statement: 1) I'm at a bank encountering an entirely new situation by myself, quite aware that I appear to be twelve years old and unwilling to allow you to use that to your advantage; 2) I'm at a bank, why should I look excited about anything?; 3) it's none of your business; 4) how would you know what I look like when I'm looking forward to something?; 5) this is a specific moment in time. I cannot feel the only emotion you'd expect to see on my face at every moment until I arrive in the UK.
after a moment of thought I decided it was best to be polite and made an excuse for myself, that I was nervous about going abroad for the first time. And that's true. But the story gets better, because he was talking about how it was good that at least in England they don't speak a foreign language, so I'll understand everyone. While this is not 100 percent true, I nodded anyway, because that is one of the factors that I considered when I decided to apply to UK schools rather than ones in Spain. I made the mistake of relaying that information to this nameless banker and he asked me why I'd chosen Spain first, and I said because I can speak Spanish and had been interested in the culture because of Spanish class; and, this is all true, before I could finish this sentence he interrupts me and says "it's because you like Spanish boys, isn't it?" and I was nearly stunned out of speech because, as a private person, I'm not wont to give that kind of information out to strangers and because we are at a bank and I am here on business.
and I will admit that I might have taken care to squint at him an extra moment before replying. I said something like "I hadn't taken that into consideration," but it doesn't matter what I said, because it wasn't a real question.
anyway. The rest of the appointment passed while he talked gregariously and got business done between sentences and I sat and extracted all the information from him that I could. I was pleased to have the opportunity to confirm to him that his writing was "chicken-scratch" after he made a comment about it himself. Small pleasures.
the point of this is mainly to tell you that I've gotten an account set up and now know where to go to get my hands on British Pounds before I fly. I'd also like to add that had I had a similar encounter in a non-professional setting, I probably wouldn't have been overly pleased, but I shouldn't either have been affronted. Sometimes I think that I'm probably too sensitive about this, but it's hard looking eight years younger than your age and trying to be taken seriously. I'm not a down-with-the-man feminist but I do believe that a person is a person first, before anything else, and should be treated as such. I can't imagine nameless banker presuming to ask a twenty-year-old man if he liked Spanish men, and whether or not that was the reason for him choosing Spain as a country in which to study and spend most of his savings.
i.e. proof i am nocturnal
today Mom and I went to Target. I went because I needed last-minute ~things~ for the trip and Mom came because I didn't want to go alone. And I'm unsure why, because most of the time I spend shopping I spend in contemplative, comfortable solitude.
it wasn't anything big: a "dressing gown," travel-sized everything--which includes a foldable toothbrush, by the way; toothbrush!--socks, and tights. I'm pretty concerned about transforming into a popsicle this autumn/winter, so layers are high up on my priorities.
still looking for miscellaneous, such as a case for my makeup.
but the big news is that I've packed! Not everything--I still have probably about a third of the clothes I want to bring to pack, and I haven't packed books yet. I'm restricting myself to three: The Waves (Virginia Woolf), Anna Karenina (Leo Tolstoy), and Betrayed by F. Scott Fitzgerald (Ron Carlson). I'm on my way towards finishing Anna Karenina before I leave, though. In the case this happens I'll probably tote along the Collected Poems of Dylan Thomas.
well really the news is that I did all this packing post-midnight, which is my most productive hour.
so, not news at all. but there.
it wasn't anything big: a "dressing gown," travel-sized everything--which includes a foldable toothbrush, by the way; toothbrush!--socks, and tights. I'm pretty concerned about transforming into a popsicle this autumn/winter, so layers are high up on my priorities.
still looking for miscellaneous, such as a case for my makeup.
but the big news is that I've packed! Not everything--I still have probably about a third of the clothes I want to bring to pack, and I haven't packed books yet. I'm restricting myself to three: The Waves (Virginia Woolf), Anna Karenina (Leo Tolstoy), and Betrayed by F. Scott Fitzgerald (Ron Carlson). I'm on my way towards finishing Anna Karenina before I leave, though. In the case this happens I'll probably tote along the Collected Poems of Dylan Thomas.
well really the news is that I did all this packing post-midnight, which is my most productive hour.
so, not news at all. but there.
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
late august, 2
some information that you might be interested in:
I'm flying out of LAX into London Heathrow on Sunday, September 16th, 16:45. I'll arrive in London on September 17th at 11:15.
I have an orientation with the EAP UK contacts on September 17th starting at 16:00. We'll check-in to the High Holborn Residence near Convent Gardens a bit earlier than that; though I'm hoping, as it's only a five minute walk from the Holborn stop on the Piccadilly line out of Heathrow T4, that I'll be able to drop off my luggage and sit outside somewhere. I've heard that's good for jet lag, which I'll undoubtedly have, if only that I don't feel it right away. (Here's to hoping that I manage not to get on the wrong train~)
You might be, at this point, wondering what EAP means. It's an acronym for "Education Abroad Program" and it's run by the UC system. They've got partnerships with various schools across the map, or something like that anyway. (Here's their homepage if you're interested in learning more.) I'll probably be referring to EAP regularly, as I'm told I'll need to be in touch daily with an EAP contact. To convince them I'm still alive and not yet a drug addict, probably.
I've been sent several emails that contain the itinerary of my nearly two-whole-day / three-calendar-day stay in London. I'll be writing about them as soon as I can after they've actually happened, but here are some things to look forward to reading about:
day 1: meet other UCEAP students going to the University of East Anglia. We will go into "town," apparently, and then after 8 PM will have free time in the city.
day 2: the schedule says we'll be going about for 12+ hours. I'm not sure I'll be awake for everything, but assuming I'll be able to report on activities, we'll be visiting the Tower of London, Convent Gardens, a batch of "culture-awareness" orientation talks, dinner at a popular restaurant and will end the day in a West End show: Chariots of Fire.
day 3: taxis will collect us at 10:15 and take us to Liverpool Street Station, where we'll take a train to Norwich and arrive at 12:30. There'll be taxis to take us to UEA.
I think the UEA exchange student orientation will start on the 19th as well, but I'm not totally certain.
Today I'm planning to go out and get travel-sized liquids to bring with me on the plane. Apparently the largest we're allotted is 100 mL of each liquid, which is conveniently never the size that regular things come in. Similarly makeup like mascara and "lip gloss," according to the airlines website, have to be in the same bag as the shampoo and things.
Amanda's been on long international flights before and told me I need to bring my own blanket and pillow. I'll probably get a neck pillow but I don't know that I want to take up space in my carryon with my snuggie, which is what she suggested I bring along. I want to bring my laptop as my "personal item"--the thing they allow you in the cabin besides carryon luggage--because it's probably the single heaviest thing I'm bringing along and I don't want to take up pounds in my 50 lb allotment for baggage.
I've been told to sleep on the plane, drink a lot of water on it and when I arrive, and stay outside as much as I can after I get to London to avoid jet lag. I've never had it, so I don't understand how serious it is, but I think for the first few days it's possible that adrenaline will string me along. This is completely new for me--flying abroad, and alone!--and while I am not afraid to do new things it's not too often the chance presents itself.
It's funny that I've always felt, whilst encountering something new, that somehow I'll feel different, that somehow I'll be different in a place that feels deep: in my bones, in my chest, at the back of my neck. And I've been talking about this recently with a friend who's felt the same, but it's never that we instantly become someone else; I think we're only always ourselves, carrying the same worries and outlooks and needs; and I think that what's the strangest out of everything is that we're always at the forefront of our own life's line, and we have all the choice possible spread out before us at every moment, and these are large moments, but we each still inhabit the same body, with the same mind, and same heart. When I began college, I magically expected to become social and "cool" and it seems silly to say it now, but of course I didn't! I suppose that much the same thing is occurring this time: I've always expected to feel twenty, to feel prepared. I'm doing the real things, the things outside of the body, to make this happen, and it still feels entirely up in the air. The way that big things are a dream forever until they happen.
I know myself in these ways: I have never been a preparer, I've always been a rather passive person, I have always had large, explosive dreams. And I think I'm at the point now in which it's advisable to move, and keep moving. I think things will start to fall into place.
I'm flying out of LAX into London Heathrow on Sunday, September 16th, 16:45. I'll arrive in London on September 17th at 11:15.
I have an orientation with the EAP UK contacts on September 17th starting at 16:00. We'll check-in to the High Holborn Residence near Convent Gardens a bit earlier than that; though I'm hoping, as it's only a five minute walk from the Holborn stop on the Piccadilly line out of Heathrow T4, that I'll be able to drop off my luggage and sit outside somewhere. I've heard that's good for jet lag, which I'll undoubtedly have, if only that I don't feel it right away. (Here's to hoping that I manage not to get on the wrong train~)
You might be, at this point, wondering what EAP means. It's an acronym for "Education Abroad Program" and it's run by the UC system. They've got partnerships with various schools across the map, or something like that anyway. (Here's their homepage if you're interested in learning more.) I'll probably be referring to EAP regularly, as I'm told I'll need to be in touch daily with an EAP contact. To convince them I'm still alive and not yet a drug addict, probably.
I've been sent several emails that contain the itinerary of my nearly two-whole-day / three-calendar-day stay in London. I'll be writing about them as soon as I can after they've actually happened, but here are some things to look forward to reading about:
day 1: meet other UCEAP students going to the University of East Anglia. We will go into "town," apparently, and then after 8 PM will have free time in the city.
day 2: the schedule says we'll be going about for 12+ hours. I'm not sure I'll be awake for everything, but assuming I'll be able to report on activities, we'll be visiting the Tower of London, Convent Gardens, a batch of "culture-awareness" orientation talks, dinner at a popular restaurant and will end the day in a West End show: Chariots of Fire.
day 3: taxis will collect us at 10:15 and take us to Liverpool Street Station, where we'll take a train to Norwich and arrive at 12:30. There'll be taxis to take us to UEA.
I think the UEA exchange student orientation will start on the 19th as well, but I'm not totally certain.
* * *
Today I'm planning to go out and get travel-sized liquids to bring with me on the plane. Apparently the largest we're allotted is 100 mL of each liquid, which is conveniently never the size that regular things come in. Similarly makeup like mascara and "lip gloss," according to the airlines website, have to be in the same bag as the shampoo and things.
Amanda's been on long international flights before and told me I need to bring my own blanket and pillow. I'll probably get a neck pillow but I don't know that I want to take up space in my carryon with my snuggie, which is what she suggested I bring along. I want to bring my laptop as my "personal item"--the thing they allow you in the cabin besides carryon luggage--because it's probably the single heaviest thing I'm bringing along and I don't want to take up pounds in my 50 lb allotment for baggage.
I've been told to sleep on the plane, drink a lot of water on it and when I arrive, and stay outside as much as I can after I get to London to avoid jet lag. I've never had it, so I don't understand how serious it is, but I think for the first few days it's possible that adrenaline will string me along. This is completely new for me--flying abroad, and alone!--and while I am not afraid to do new things it's not too often the chance presents itself.
It's funny that I've always felt, whilst encountering something new, that somehow I'll feel different, that somehow I'll be different in a place that feels deep: in my bones, in my chest, at the back of my neck. And I've been talking about this recently with a friend who's felt the same, but it's never that we instantly become someone else; I think we're only always ourselves, carrying the same worries and outlooks and needs; and I think that what's the strangest out of everything is that we're always at the forefront of our own life's line, and we have all the choice possible spread out before us at every moment, and these are large moments, but we each still inhabit the same body, with the same mind, and same heart. When I began college, I magically expected to become social and "cool" and it seems silly to say it now, but of course I didn't! I suppose that much the same thing is occurring this time: I've always expected to feel twenty, to feel prepared. I'm doing the real things, the things outside of the body, to make this happen, and it still feels entirely up in the air. The way that big things are a dream forever until they happen.
I know myself in these ways: I have never been a preparer, I've always been a rather passive person, I have always had large, explosive dreams. And I think I'm at the point now in which it's advisable to move, and keep moving. I think things will start to fall into place.
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
uea mailing address
you will need my last name for this, but odds are you know it if you're interested in sending me mail.
Lily ____
Visiting Student
School of American Studies
University of East Anglia
Norwich Research Park
Norwich
NR4 7TJ
UK
Lily ____
Visiting Student
School of American Studies
University of East Anglia
Norwich Research Park
Norwich
NR4 7TJ
UK
late august
It is now edging into September. I've decided it's high time to live up to the promise and establish a blog through which I hope those of you interested in my travels to England this autumn will be able to keep in touch with my activities.
I am not a person highly regulated by routine, but I mean to make a special effort to keep this updated as both a way to stay sane through this completely, completely new event in my life and an effort to let you all know that, well, I am alive each time I update.
Here are the facts about this blog:
1) I have created it because I am going to use it to keep a record of my trip to study abroad at the University of East Anglia in Norwich, UK: a record which will ideally include pictures and stories.
Here are answers to potential questions you might have about these facts:
1) Yes, really.
Wish me luck; cheers, ta, and everything else the British say.
((please send peanut butter in advance!))
I am not a person highly regulated by routine, but I mean to make a special effort to keep this updated as both a way to stay sane through this completely, completely new event in my life and an effort to let you all know that, well, I am alive each time I update.
Here are the facts about this blog:
1) I have created it because I am going to use it to keep a record of my trip to study abroad at the University of East Anglia in Norwich, UK: a record which will ideally include pictures and stories.
Here are answers to potential questions you might have about these facts:
1) Yes, really.
Wish me luck; cheers, ta, and everything else the British say.
((please send peanut butter in advance!))
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