Whilst in London: 2010

I truly meant to post sometime in November, make this a 'at least once-a-month' blog, but so far, it has obviously not been happening. Where is the time going?
At any rate, here are the updates and more pictures.

School: I still love being a student again, though the stress level has gone up. Next week is the last week of class, and I have an informal presentation in one course, an exam in Spanish, and in addition to the readings assigned for the classes, there's now the looming deadline of two essays, which will each be the entirety of the grade for two of my classes. I've been to the library multiple times for research, and most of any spare time is spent planning and researching. They're due in January and I'm nervous, but they'll get done. They have to get done.
Being a graduate student in London is in many ways ideal. The accessibility to important centres and research institutions is wonderful. Yesterday, I received a membership to a sixth library. Crazy. The only downside is now I have to keep track of six library cards...
However, the general higher education situation in London is tense. Parliament is voting tomorrow to decide whether to raise university fees. If it goes through, the cap on domestic student fees will rise from around 3,500 GBP to 9,000 GBP (that's roughly from $5,600 up to $14,500). The concern, of course, is that will reduce access to universities, especially to students from lower income families. There have been major student protests in London city. I almost got caught up in one (as an international student who's paying far more than what the cap will even potentially be, the incentive for me to protest is quite minimal). You can check out the BBC story about this particular situation at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-11882582. At at UCL, students have staged an occupation in the main building, and have been there for weeks now (BBC story at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-11874633). I walk by each day on my way to the library. What has struck me most are the posters declaring 'Education is a Right, not a Privilege.' What a different view the US (regrettably) has on higher education.

Work: Yep, I've found a part-time job to help pay for groceries and incidentals. I'm working at Starbucks again (I did as an undergraduate and for six months after graduating). My manager is from Vancouver BC, and worked for Starbucks in North America. We get along splendidly, and I've picked back up on being a barista easily. There are so many Starbucks stores here. It's slightly ridiculous. I work at one right at the foot of St. Paul's Cathedral, about a half hour walk from my flat, and I pass maybe 5 other Starbucks on my walk to work. Fortunately it's not the Starbucks in St. Paul's courtyard, so the customers are primarily City of London workers, and not tourists. The store is also only open during the week, so I still have my weekends. The timing of securing the job, however, has added to my stress level, as I have had to re-work how I use my time as the term comes to a close.

London and beyond: Since I last posted, I've had two day trips out of London- one to Brighton and the other to Oxford. Brighton is on the coast, two hours southeast of London. I visited on a crisp clear day and had a lovely day walking around, with the exception of a terrible fish and chips on the pier, and a scary and angry old man accusing me of taking a picture of him (I didn't, by the way...it was a picture of a church). Oxford was gorgeous. I loved Oxford. It has a small-town feel, but certainly a sense of self-importance (albeit somewhat justifiably).
I am a much more confident London resident, yet still have the most surreal moments as I walk back to my flat. It's hard to believe I've been here for almost three months. It's honestly still so painful to be apart from Chad, my girls, and friends and family, and waves of homesickness still wash over me while sitting alone in my quiet flat at night, but I am building a support base of London friends, had two amazing Thanksgiving dinners with them, and the lovely Jamie Forslund visited from Madrid for a whirlwind two days! It was so good to have a visitor, and though we were frozen much of the time (the weather here is really cold...and we even had a couple days of snow), Dame and I had a great time. I think my one of my favorite parts was with Dame at Borough Market. We were enjoying a fantastic cheese sandwich (muy rico) and a raclette, when we were joined by a couple eating their take-out bangers and mash. After exchanging some small talk (they were British), we got up to leave, and they wished us a Happy Thanksgiving! It warmed my heart...that they knew it was a holiday for us.
I'll be having more visitors soon for the Christmas holidays- my baby sister, Betsy, will be here on Saturday and staying for ten days, Catherine Cheng, a PLU student I know from the admission office will be here for a couple days before she meets her family for the holidays, and Chad is flying in on Christmas Eve. He's here for two weeks, and some of our plans include flying up to Glasgow (weather permitting) for a couple days, then down to Madrid for New Year's Eve with Jamie.

A Decision: Many of you know by now that this Master's is to prepare for admission to a PhD program in European History, in the hopes I'll eventually go on to teach in higher education. 'The Plan' had been that whilst here (yes, I'm beginning to incorporate British terms and spelling...you'll just have to deal with it) I would apply to PhD programs that would start Fall 2011. 'The Plan' has been changed. (Oh, with what frequency 'The Plan' changes and will change in life...) At this point in the year, I've done no real Master's work to use for PhD applications. Simply put, it would have been too much to try to be a Master's student for less than two months and then turn around and go through the process of PhD applications, which have deadlines as early as December 1st. So that means Chad and I will definitely be in Tacoma for at least another year, after I finish up here. Not quite sure what I'll be doing (besides school applications...again), but I'm not too worried. It's actually been such a relief to know I'll really be coming home to be home, instead of coming home to uproot and move again to start a new program.

I hope all is well with each of you. Many blessings to you as you prepare for the holidays!

Royal Pavilion- ostentatious to say the least

Brighton Pier

View of Brighton from the pier

Halloween cupcakes!!

Fall in Oxford

This couple was dancing to Roger Miller's 'King of the Road'

Merton College

Merton College-the windows straight across were Tolkien's rooms

Merton College Cathedral

Getting good at self-portraits

Bridge of Sighs

Oxford's oldest building

Christ Church College- The Great Hall

Anyone recognize this staircase?

Look closely- portrays the murder of Thomas Becket

Charles Dodgson (aka Lewis Carroll) attended Christ Church College- some of the stain glass windows in the Great Hall have Alice in Wonderland characters

Tom Quad at Christ Church College. Tom Tower is a Christopher Wren design (former student and also responsible for St. Paul's Cathedral). Not just anyone can walk on this grass, by the way.

View from the tower of the 14th century Church of Saint Mary the Virgin. The staircase was absolutely petrifying.

Radcliffe Camera

Spires of Oxford

Yes, I popped by the World Premiere of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1. All the excitement was over, but was still cool to be there.

Jamie in London!

Hyde Park, The Serpentine

Harry Potter at Electric Cinema, coolest theatre ever...

because they have footstools!!

Jamie putting her feet up, enjoying a glass of wine, and watching Harry Potter after a long walk around London.

Thanksgiving Dinner. Everything except the traditional turkey. Instead, we had turkey pie with cranberries and stuffing. Delicious!

Thanks goes to Corey, one of my classmates, for inviting us for Thanksgiving!

Changing of the Guard. It was soooo cold that day.

Em, Dame, and Buckingham Palace.

Em, Dame, and Lord Protector Cromwell.

View from Waterloo Bridge.

Borough Market. Easily my favorite London Market.

For those of you who (I'm sure) anxiously wait to read what I write about myself, my apologies for the length of time that has passed since I last posted. This one is especially long just for you. I've even split it into sections so you could make reading this a multi-day affair.
School has finally started and I am so grateful for the purpose, routine, and reading materials it has provided me! It was honestly a difficult summer once I was out of work and without something to keep me busy, and then once in London and without a hubby, a difficult week before a routine was established. Even with a schedule my sleep pattern is still horrendous. No worries though, you worriers. It's all getting better!
London:
Today I celebrate the one month anniversary of living in London. I love this city more each day, especially as I acclimate and find those places I know I will frequent (pubs, restaurants, parks, libraries). Since my trip down to the Sunday UpMarket and Spitalfields Market I have been to the Camden and Stables Market (terribly busy and chintzy, even on a weekday when it's pouring outside, like the day I went). Apparently it's a huge tourist attraction, but wasn't quite for me. I also visited Covent Garden Market, which I liked much better. It was cleaner and classier. The market is right up against St. Paul's Church (not to be confused with St. Paul's Cathedral) and is known for the performers who juggle, sing, etc. for the crowds that gather in the square behind the church. The first time I went was on a weekday. I then decided to go again the same weekend and though the crowds were stifling, there was more to be found in the way of entertainment. I spent 20 minutes in the square during a light drizzle, eating a traditional cornish pasty (if you get them from the right place they are amazing) listening to a guy perform a Jason Mraz medley and watching a crazy lady 'dance' along on the sidewalk next. 'Jack Sparrow' was also there standing beside one moving statue painted completely in gold, and another in silver. I thought Covent Garden was much more pleasant during the week, even if you do miss the weekend performers. The best time to go to a market is as things slow down in the late afternoon. The food vendors sell their wares for half price, and yes, I know it's been sitting there for hours now, but it's still good (and half price!). On the list still to visit is Portobello Road Market and Borough Market, known for it's fruit and veg/farmer's market. Other exploring in the last couple weeks has included a day trip out to Hampton Court Palace- one of Henry VIII's and supposedly haunted by one of his wives. It's also an interesting mix of Tudor and Georgian architecture. I also wandered through another portion of the Victoria and Albert Museum and from there walked over to Kensington Gardens, saw the Royal Albert Hall, the ostentatious Prince Albert Memorial, Kensington Palace and ended up on Kensington Gardens Street, where I walked by the Romanian Embassy, Royal Norwegian Embassy and French Embassy among others. Beautiful houses with intimidating black gates, and cameras on every wall. That night I actually walked about 3/4 of the way around Hyde Park- and it's not a small park! This past Sunday I walked over to and around Regent's Park and loved it. It's absolutely gorgeous.
The last two weeks have also been an exploration of libraries. As a graduate student in central London I have access to the Institute of Historical Research, the impressive UCL Main library (if you've seen Inception, apparently a scene was filmed in the foyer), the Warburg Institute, Senate House Library, and the British Library, which counts among its many treasures two complete Gutenberg Bibles and two of only four surviving copies of the Magna Carta. I now have four (count them) four library cards! The truly wonderful thing is all of these are only about a 10-15 minute walk from my flat.
7/7:
Now that I no longer have the very professional and completely impartial journalism of Q13 Fox News to inform me about all the important things happening in the world (oh, how I miss James Lynch), I've instead, albeit reluctantly (winking face), turned to BBC for my news. One of the stories they've been following lately has been an inquest into the July 7, 2005 London transport bombings. I have to admit, I really didn't know much about them until just recently, and it's come as a real shock to realize two of the four bombs detonated by suicide bombers were very close to where I now live and study. One was underground on the Picadilly Line just between Russell Square and King's Cross- Russell Square station is literally a block from my flat and King's Cross is only a seven minute walk away. In fact, the Picadilly Line is the one I most frequently take when traveling on the Tube. The other exploded on a bus on Tavistock Square, which I walk everyday on my way to campus. I don't include this in the blog just to be macabre. This blog is about my experience in what is my home for the next year, and this has certainly shattered some of my initial suppositions and assumptions about how I would relate to and experience London. Knowing now what I know makes being in those places...different. I think sometimes we as Americans feel we hold the market on suffering at the hands of extreme terrorist violence, and though the loss of life in numbers that day (52) was much less than that of 9/11, it certainly doesn't make that loss any less tragic.
I suppose having this type of (I don't think eye-opening is the right expression, but maybe thought-turning) experience is exactly why PLU pushes their students to study away. As an admission counselor I messaged- very well, I'll argue- how impactful and changing study away can be...how funny I'm now actually undergoing those impressions. I knew I would, but I wasn't certainly wasn't expecting all of them.
School:
I do like being a student again. It's different- I have four classes, which are held for only two hours once a week. I have one class each day Monday-Thursday, and none before 11am. (That's most likely a strong contributing factor to my out-of-whack sleeping pattern). Monday is 'The Public Sphere in Britain 1476-1800'- a little dry but I don't mind it. Tuesday I walk over to the Strand campus of King's College (about a half hour away) for an intercollegiate option 'New Perspectives on Early Modern Religion.' Really enjoy that class so far- it really is amazing to see the engagement a conscientious, intentional and talented professor can pull out of students. Wednesday the Core Masters Methodologies and Research course, where for the time-being we have combined with the MA History students (I'm an MA European History student, remember). This Wednesday we tried to wrap our heads around Weber's 'ideal type,' a social science methodology that's...never mind. I'm not even going to attempt it. And Thursday is Spanish Level B (intermediate), where I have 5 years on each of the other students (I feel kind of old). I'm filling up much of the rest of the time with reading- lots of reading.
UCL is a fairly exciting place to be. It's only since being here that I've realized how prestigious the school really is. Of course there's self bragging (my MA tutor consistently 'extols its many virtues'), but I'm finding there's some merit in it. Apparently, UCL is a part of the 'triumvirate' of universities in England, alongside Cambridge and Oxford, and has been ranked 4th in the world by QS World University Rankings. Now, my friends in higher education know just how meaningful (or not) these rankings can be, and have a healthy skepticism about how exactly organizations go about ranking schools- but my friends in higher education admission also know that if you are ranked well- you brag about it. At any rate, I feel more each day I made a wise choice in deciding to do part of my postgrad work here. Other fun facts about UCL: it was the first university in the UK to admit people regardless of religious affiliation (or lack thereof), and the first to admit women on an equal basis with men. Alumni include the first prime minister of Japan, Alexander Graham Bell, Ricky Gervais, Christopher Nolan, the entire band of Coldplay, 21 Nobel Prize winners, and Mahatma Gandhi. That's right folks, I'm going to school where Gandhi was educated.
Photos: Yay! For those of you patient enough to read my ramblings, you'll now be rewarded with the latest photos. I'll try to post a little more frequently, but make no promises. Hope you are well. Love, Emily

Lookit what I found! It's an ad agency on one of the streets very close to my flat.

Hampton Court Palace- the Tudor front

Hampton Court Palace- the Georgian back

Hampton Court Palace- the yeomen's chamber, completely decorated in weaponry

The King's throne

The King's other throne

In the Tudor part of the palace- the Great Hall

English Garden

Victoria & Albert Museum- a turban brooch

V&A- Indian playing cards and chess set

V&A- Valour and Cowardice

V&A- Truth and Falsehood (she's pulling out his forked tongue)

V&A- Buddha (Tibetan)

Outside the V&A

The Prince Albert Memorial

Prince Albert Memorial, and behind it, the Royal Albert Hall

Kensington Gardens- an Anish Kapoor sculpture. I'm the one in the middle, taking the picture.

Oliver, the bulldog. He loved that basketball. Apparently he's a very rare type of bulldog (one of six his owner told me), but I haven't been able to find any information, so I have to admit I'm a little skeptical. But he was still awesome. I miss my pups.