I told you to be balanced

I've been here almost two weeks! I left two weeks ago today. That doesn't seem possible. Time is just slipping through my fingers (as it always does, but never ceases to shock with its intangible, and elusive qualities). December will be upon us before we can believe it and all you Minneapolitans out there will be anticipating an inevitable storm that will put you up to your earlobes in snow and welcome me home to the delights of Winter.

But right here, right now the weather continues to be perfect, idyllic even. It's 80 degrees and the sky is the brightest blue here in London. Everyone keeps telling me that this is abnormal and not to get used to it because there will probably be just as long a period of time where it's cloudy and rains most days. I'll acknowledge that when it happens, but for now I couldn't be happier with the sun.

Classes started here on Monday, but I started on Tuesday because I have Mondays off. My first class was 'Modernism'. The course convener (Professor) is a great lecturer and seems like a very nice person. I think this class is going to be very interesting and I'm really excited to see how it unfolds. I really feel this way about all of my classes which is such a relief, as it is every semester to find out that you made good choices from the brief online paragraph descriptions of courses. This is certainly not always the case. Following the lecture the class splits up into smaller groups to have their discussion section or 'seminar'. I enjoyed that as well. AND I learned a fun fact. We split into smaller groups to discuss some questions and when we'd finished that my other group members asked me about being American and how it is to be here, the standard questions. One of the guys asked if I lived on campus and I told him I did, in Varey House. He proceeded to tell me that during his one year University stint, Pete Doherty (of The Libertines, Kate Moss dating, and very publicly drug-addicted fame) stayed in this very building!

Tuesday night I went out with a group of friends and ordered my first legal drink; A shot of Southern Comfort and lemonade (per the suggestion of a friend). Anything alcoholic that doesn't taste particularly alcoholic is the way to go, in my incredibly limited experience. I didn't drink anymore than that because it was a school night and I'm a responsible adult after all. I did a bit of dancing and made it home at a responsible hour. Success.

On Wednesday I had my second class 'Architexts'. This class is about Freud, Nietzsche, and Marx and how these theorists influenced many aspects of how we interpret the world today. I know when mentioning those three one might think 'Oh Nietzsche/Freud/Marx, typical college class,' but it sounds like it will be very interesting and the professor, who is also my seminar leader, is wonderful. We spoke a bit after the seminar and she was so accommodating and helpful, which is really what I've found to be the norm so far. So great.

After class I walked to a post office I'd seen on the way to Sainsbury's. I got to the post office, weighed my letters, bought stamps, and sent them on their way. If you're reading this and we haven't corresponded about letter correspondence and you find yourself thinking 'I'd enjoy a letter from Tianna,' let me know and I would love to write you one. OR conversely, if you'd like to send me a letter (or anything else) my address can be found here (http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=10150282510981695).

I did some grocery shopping and turned in a form that is due by the seventh of October. I felt really adult, mailing letters, grocery shopping, turning in forms ahead of schedule. Clearly, I've done these things before, but not at this frequency and all on my own all the time like this. This is one of the things I was really hoping to get from this experience; a greater sense of independence and confidence in my ability to navigate the world. I've always felt like a pretty independent person but I've never pushed myself to this extreme. I've never been away from home this long. And the fact that I'm absolutely fine, happy, making friends, staying fed, sleeping (kind of) enough, budgeting, and just doing my own thing is very encouraging.

On Wednesday night I talked with a couple friends that I hadn't actually spoken to since a bit before I left. It was lovely to hear their voices and their news. It's amazing how connected I can be to most of the people in my life even though they are thousands of miles away. Skype, facebook, and cheap(ish) international phone plans are wonderful.

On Thursday I had my third class 'Shakespeare'. All of my other classes are level 5 or second year classes but this class is a level 6 or final year class. I was little apprehensive because there is a first year Shakespeare class that all the regular three year Queen Mary students take. This class also doesn't really have a lecture aspect to it, it's just a seminar.

(oh my goodness! The fire alarm just went off and I almost jumped out of my skin. Apparently they test it weekly. I'm sure I won't remember next week and my heart will practically pound out of my body.)

There are about 15 people in the class and the professor is great. I'm the only associate (one semester) student in the class, so he and I talked after class about how my assignments would be slightly different than the other students. He asked me how I was settling in, what other classes I'm taking, and told me that I would be totally fine even though I haven't taken the first year Shakespeare class.

I also went to the weekly farmer's market, which is literally right outside my door and got some local & organic lettuce, oyster mushrooms, orange peppers, strawberries, and apples. And a delectable almond croissant (not as good or deluxe as Turtle Bread's, of course).

There's a cinema about 8 blocks from campus that has much cheaper rates than many of the others in London. Last night Jess and I went there to see Drive. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I thought that the acting was spot on, especially Ryan Gosling. The soundtrack was also very fitting. And I always love to see Bryan Cranston I feel like he's underrated, but that's probably only because I don't watch Breaking Bad and am not a part of that fan community. I should probably watch that show if I love Bryan Cranston so much. Anyway, I really enjoyed it and it had been awhile since I'd been to a movie.

Something you may be happy or unhappy to note depending on how you look at it is, the completely and utterly unaware moviegoer is not unique to The States. There was a couple in front of us that came in late, took forever to find their seats, loudly. That, I can get over. But, then the intensity, volume, and sheer amount of time that it took them to eat their popcorn was incredible. I don't think I've ever heard noisier more, for lack of a better word, inconsiderate eating. It didn't help that there were a lot of quieter times in the film, sometimes a louder movie will drown out distractions such as these. And on top of that the woman took a phone call at a very crucial intense point in the action. Really? Fortunately a sassy Brit said 'Excuse me!' and the woman got off the phone. Still, really?

This morning I had my fourth and final class 'Seducing Narratives: The novel in the 18th Century', which is all about the origin of the novel. Again, the class was interesting and the teaching staff seem like they will be very helpful. I'm so glad that it seems I'm going to like my classes.

Now, I'm going to head to St. Paul's to visit the cathedral and then the Tate Modern Museum!

Every moment can be joyous.

Well I managed to accomplish some of my 'big plans' on Friday. I found a WH Smith that's about two miles from campus. It was pretty much straight down Mile End Road, so I thought 'I'll walk, see more of the neighborhood.' The sun was shining, it was a beautiful day & I'm always all about a good walk. There were some Indian and Somali markets along the way, selling food, clothes, and numerous other things, that I would like to check out.

I made it to the block that the store was supposed to be on, but I didn't see it. I just saw a bus station, a Starbucks, and some office buildings. So I went to the Starbucks purely to ask where the store was, but somehow ended up with a sugar-free vanilla soy latté. They're my favorite. I also accomplished my original goal of finding out where the WH Smith was, and it turns out, it's in the bus station.

I sat outside and drank my coffee appreciating the beautiful British blue sky more than I can say and realizing that a store in a bus station is probably going to be very small and might not have what I need. It was very small and it didn't have notebooks. Even though I didn't achieve my initial goal I did get a really nice walk in and see more of the Tower Hamlets neighborhood.

As I started the journey back I figured that there must be some store between there and campus where I could buy notebooks. There was! I found a Sainsbury's, which can be anything from a small grocery store to super Targetesque , depending on its size. This one is in the super target size range, so they have pretty much everything.

I should mention that to get in I had to turn off the street that I was on. I picked up what I needed and left out a different door than the one I had come in. Bad call. I walked through the parking lot and thought that I was on the same street that I'd come from, but I wasn't. I didn't really realize this until I'd walked about six blocks and London is not set up on a grid, the streets just kind of go every which way. I decided that it made the most sense to turn right because I thought I would eventually have to make it back to Mile End Road. I didn't, but I did find the Canal after awhile, which was quite a relief because I really wanted to be able to find my way out of being lost myself and I was going to have to ask someone soon. Thank goodness for the Canal! Once I found that it was a simple ten minute walk back to my dorm.

All in all, the walk ended up being a bit longer than I planned, but that's okay. Like I said earlier, I think it's totally necessary and inevitable that you get lost a few times in a new place. I was able to explore more of the neighborhood and definitely get in all my exercise for the day.

When I got back to the dorm, I decided to check the mail and to my surprise and absolute delight, there was something there for me! A letter from Lizzie! That was really nice to find for multiple reasons; it's just sweet in general, and I really wasn't expecting anything so soon.

I'm sure everyone in Varey House is a cool person, but some of them like to stay up a lot later than I do on much more regular basis than I do. This is totally fine, not everyone keeps the same schedule and I understand that. I just hope it calms done a little bit once classes start next week. My room is literally right next to the door and that doesn't always make for the quietest night.

I partially accomplished another one of my goals; I've written a few letters, but not all of the ones I meant to. Hopefully I'll have some time today to work on those. There's no post on Sunday anyway, so I don't feel quite as unaccomplished.

On Saturday Jess and I went the GLBT group and marched in the East London Pride parade. Met some fun, nice, interesting people. It felt good to be a part of this because although I am not gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender I completely support and have love in my heart for anyone that is. I'm always all about being a part of something that allows me to express that love and support. And essentially I'm really just all about loving other people. The world would be a far nicer place if we all loved a little more.

Yesterday Jess, Roxana and I went to the British Museum, Covent Garden and Chinatown. The British Museum is insane! Both in sheer size and scope of the items it houses. We were there for hours and I'm still not sure that we saw everything that there was to see. We had a good laugh about the fact that most of the objects in that museum are; A. Not British in origin and B. Things that the Brits essentially stole from other places. So many interesting sights though. My personal favorite was anything having to do with Egypt. I love that stuff. I even went as far, in fourth grade, as to write a report about how Zahi Hawass (look him up, seriously) was my personal hero. They even have actual real live (I suppose 'very dead' would be a much more accurate way to describe them) mummies! If you're in London and you have a few hours and you're up for a big museum, do it.

Covent Garden was exciting largely because it's so famous. The shops were crowded and overpriced such as one might expect. There was however an open market that I'd like to go back to and explore more in depth. I'm sure there's a reasonably priced gem waiting for me there. Chinatown was good. I feel I didn't get the full experience because I didn't eat there. I did have a cheap pastry in a shop that also sold Palmier cookies, which reminded me of my job. I love Turtle Bread. I could write a whole lengthy post devoted to my love of that place and those people, but that's for another time. I do plan on going back and having a proper meal there.

This morning I had a meeting with an advisor in the English department just to talk about my classes, make sure that I'm in the right ones. I felt fairly confident in my selections, but it's always nice to have some sort of confirmation and reassurance. The woman that I met with was incredibly nice and American. Not that I have anything but love in my heart for the Brits, but it was nice to talk with someone who is well versed in both school systems. Our meeting really put my mind at ease. She told me that all the instructors in the English department are very nice people, that generally the American system has a more standardized approach to teaching writing so that will be very helpful for me, and the exacting and intense language on the syllabi about how to get an 'A' is only that way because the school deemed it necessary for the academics to be very explicit in saying exactly what they were looking for. She said that everything would be fine and if for some reason it wasn't don't hesitate to speak with her again. Quite a nice way to start the day.

Jess and I went to Sainsbury's this afternoon and managed to take the same wrong turn that I took the previous time I was there. I swear that place is the Bermuda Triangle of supermarkets! One day I will successfully figure out how to exit that store and make it back to Mile End Road.

I just got back from letter writing in one of the coffee shops on campus and I feel really good. I feel like I belong here, now. I'm so happy to be here. I had that feeling of comfort. The coffee shop was busy and cozy, people talked to me and they were nice.

The view is good from where I'm sitting.

An American werewolf in London

How to describe the International Student Boat Party...the comment I think I heard most often was, "I thought it was going to be an open bar". If that doesn't tell you all you need to know, let me elaborate; for about 75% of the people it just seemed like an excuse to get 'totally wasted'. That's fine, have a good time. But I didn't come here to just be in a constant drunken haze.

The tube stop we met at was Tower Hill, which is right by the Tower of London, which is of course on my list of places to see. Check. We saw London Bridge and went under Tower Bridge. I was on the deck just looking at the river and the different parts of London for a long time. I mingled, met a few different groups of people, did a bit of dancing, and generally enjoyed myself. I was under the impression that there would be a bit more site seeing though.

On Wednesday morning I went to 'Freshers Fair' with Jess and Roxana. All the different student groups were trying to recruit. I found a few that I might be interested in joining. The theater group does improv! I can get my improv on in London!

Later that afternoon I pulled out my touristy card, which I'm sure will be pulled out constantly, and went to see Parliament, Big Ben, The London Eye, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, Downing Street, and Trafalgar Square. Great night! As we stepped out of the underground station there was Big Ben and Parliament. Unfortunately, Parliament isn't in session right now, otherwise I would be all about watching the politicians debate, I think the session starts up again in mid-October, I might go back. Stay tuned for that.

On top of the fact that it's simply really cool to see these places, it was a beautiful evening! Sunny, warm, and the lighting was perfect for taking pictures. Westminster Abbey was very epic in size and content, everything in it seemed to be on such a grand scale. I was very happy to have finally visited Poet's Corner, where many of the greats are buried or commemorated.

Before and after seeing Buckingham Palace, we walked through a few gorgeous parks and saw a black swan, no not Natalie Portman, an actual swan. I took the obligatory picture with a guard, but he talked to me! I walked up and apologized for the obnoxious picture taking and he said, very quietly, hardly moving his mouth, 'It's alright'. I thought they weren't supposed to talk?

The closest you can get to 10 Downing Street without being some sort of government official is a large guarded gate at the opening of the street. We got as close as we could then walked on, found a Tesco (grocery store) and had dinner in Trafalgar Square.

Yesterday, I went to the English department and got my schedule or 'timetable' as the Brits call it. I have class Tuesday through Friday two hours a day. Not bad. But, it looks like I'm going to have a lot of reading and a lot of independent work.

Last night Jess and I found a large Tesco about a mile from here. There's a small one a few blocks away but the selection isn't anything to write home about. We walked over there and had a chance to explore our neighborhood a bit more. This Tesco made my dreams come true. I've been craving avocado and portobello mushrooms and they had them!! So jazzed about it. On the way home, both of my bags split (as they would), but we made it work.

All of us had dinner together last night. We've all been together for certain things, but I think this is the first time that we've all been together for dinner. That was lovely.

Big plans for today;

1. Walk to WHsmith and buy some notebooks and stationary (to write letters!)

2. Write letters!

3. Take pictures of campus and surrounding area

More sight seeing for sure this weekend, plans to go to the British Museum on Sunday!

Olympics & Orientations

Day 3

Another predominately sunny day has come and gone in London. And that stereotype continues to be shattered for me. I have quite an affection for the sun so this has been quite lovely.

There was an orientation for Study Abroad students from 9-1, led by one of the people that I have been exchanging emails with all Summer, so it's nice to finally be able to put a face to a name. They basically just went over some services that are available to us here, the local area, talked about traveling in and around London, practical shopping and a number of other things to do in the city.

Following the orientation, my flatmate Jess and I decided to go the Olympic Park and large, new shopping mall. We thought it was just one tube stop away from Mile End station (which is a few blocks from campus), as it turned out that's not quite the case. So, we got off the tube, went outside and saw the massive shopping mall, and all I'd heard over and over was that 'you'll be able to see the Olympic Park right past the mall!". Not the case. We saw some housing developments, which we decided must be accommodations for the Olympians. I took pictures of them regardless and that's how I will explain them when showing my pictures, even though it might just be some housing development that has nothing to do with anything. We ambled around for awhile, realized that we didn't know where it was, and finally decided to go back to the station and ask. I was incredibly determined that we should find it ourselves, but it's a good thing that we asked because I don't think that that would've worked out.

As it turns out we had to take another train, one additional stop and then it would be right there and obvious. Thanks everyone, who told me it was one tube stop. I could've saved some money on my Oyster card (speaking of which, does anyone have any idea why it's called an 'Oyster card'?). Getting lost or getting off at the wrong stop is certainly part of and I think really a necessity when you're in a new city and maybe even more so in a new country.

We got on the train and went a very short distance and it became obvious that this was the correct train to be on; we could see the main stadium and the swimming building, which was quite cool to see.

Contrary to what was said at the Orientation earlier in the day, "If Ikea made stadiums, that would be it," I think it looked very adequate. Granted, I didn't get right next to it or inside of it, but I wasn't too far away and it looked fine to me. When we'd gotten as close to the grounds as we could go there was a little shop and cafe. Everything at the shop was pretty expensive. And that's now, the games are practically a year away still! Think about how expensive that place is going to be when it's on. I bought a pack of erasers for £3 just because I thought it would be cool to have a little something from there. And now I can sell them for scads of money in 50 years (probably not though).

After wandering around that area for a little while we took the train back to Westfield Shopping Center. Where I made a few exciting purchases; an incredibly cheap cell phone, a calculator watch, and a tiny alarm clock. The cell phone was nice because we went into one store and I explained that I would only be here for a few months, I don't need anything fancy, and I won't be using it very often, the clerk said that it would be cheaper and easier for me to go to a store a little down the way. I was shocked by this because it seems to me that whenever you're in the market for something people will do just about anything to sell you something. But he didn't. We went to the other store that he'd recommended and got a phone. The guy who helped me set it up was hilarious. He asked all these questions about high school in America. The best was, 'What the hell is a pep rally?"

If you'd like to talk on the phone let me know, and I will call you because it won't cost me that much, but if you called me it would cost you a lot.

I also wanted a watch and the cheapest one I found was £2.50, a blue calculator watch. Too good. I also purchased a tiny orange alarm clock, that actually works! Many of the shops were 'quite posh', a little out of my price range. But, I did venture in TopShop, which made me miss Lizzie and Addie because they're always saying it in a British accent.

At this point the mall started getting incredibly crowded and we were both a bit overwhelmed. We left. Then we made it back to campus and had some dinner with our other flatmates, Benn and Tristan. I really enjoy the communal mealtimes, it's a pleasant way to wind down and talk about the day with the people that you live with.

Had an epic skype session with Jessica and then went to bed.

Day 4

I had grand plans of waking up this morning at 7:30 to take a run by the canal (there's a canal that runs along campus), but that did not happen. The alarm went off and I was just too tired. When I woke up again it was 8:45 and orientation round two started at 9.

I freaked out for a minute, let that pass. Then I quickly changed out of my pajamas, slammed a bowl of cereal, and ran to the ArtsTwo building, still a bit early!

Some of the major departments did presentations.

TIME PASSES

I've just returned from an orientation on how to use the online learning website. Fun times. In finding out how to access this website I've found out that there just about a million books that I need to buy. Yay.

Today has been full of orientations that have succeeded in making me feel a bit more disoriented and stressed about the coming classes. I suppose that's the way it is every semester though.

I think I'm finally going to go on that run by the canal. It's the international student boat cruise on the Thames tonight, so you can look forward to that later! I'm hoping it will be more than just a booze cruise for some of the students ; )

You've left me here alone, I'll walk the streets of London

I did not do well with the word of the day, but I think that while I'm in London I will have enough to write about to sufficiently fill a blog entry. So, that will be on hiatus until my return in December.

In lieu of the word of the day, let's talk about transatlantic trips! On Thursday I had tea with Amy (which was lovely) and as I was biking home from her house and over the Stone Arch Bridge, looking at downtown and feeling more Minneapolis Love than I've ever felt, I realized how much I'm truly going to miss home. Minneapolis is a beautiful, wonderful, amazing place and it's been my home for twenty years. This Summer I've grown to appreciate it more than ever before and it was tough to leave. BUT it will still be there when I get back in all its mid-December glory. Everything and everyone where its supposed to be when I get back and that's a comforting thought. And three months is really not much time at all, I can barely believe how fast June turned into September. By the time it comes I'm certain I'll be sad that the experience is coming to an end.

Thursday faded into Friday, as it has a way of doing, and I was ready to go...and then I wasn't...and then I was again and I fluctuated the whole day. Until it was finally time to go to the airport and it wasn't a matter of being ready or not, I was going. The idea of actually leaving, actually studying here in London has just been such a nebulous concept for 10 months that even on Friday it felt like it couldn't really, finally be happening.

The plane ride itself was one of the best I've had. I had a nice and interesting seat mate who didn't take up too much space and gave me helpful hints about England as she's a law student at Cambridge. Also, thank God for Benadryl. I took two and actually slept for a good five hours, so when I got to Heathrow I wasn't completely and utterly exhausted.

Speaking of Heathrow, I feel like people make such a fuss about it, but it just seems big to me. Not that there's anything wrong with it. Fortunately I managed to navigate its size with my two suitcases and make it to another terminal to meet the Queen Mary group and catch the shuttle.

The ride from Heathrow to the University was exciting. We drove through a large portion of London, so I've seen The London Eye, The Thames, Parliament, and Big Ben. I'll actually go and visit them soon and be that tourist with the obnoxious camera. It has to be done. Conveniently, the bus parked right outside my hall. I picked up my key from the front desk, went to my room, which is on the first floor, right inside the door, and took a deep breath. Waiting for me in my room was the box of 'essentials' (pots, pans, plates, silverware, bedding, etc.) that I had pre-ordered and was worried might not arrive until Monday. That was a relief.

After getting most of my things put away, I realized (or at least I thought) that of the six rooms in my flat, I was the only one there. So, I decided to take a walk around campus to see what was going on. I managed to get a bit lost for a decent amount of time, but didn't really meet anyone and when I came back to the flat it seemed that I was still the only one there. At that point I started to have a little bit of a moment. I felt so disconnected from everything and everyone. There was no one in the flat, my internet wasn't working and I don't have my London phone yet, so I couldn't talk with anyone, it was dark and I wasn't tired. But, I wrote in my journal and reflected on how amazing this experience is going to be and that I can really deal with one rubbish night.

And when I woke up this morning, well rested with the sun streaming through the curtain, I realized just how okay everything is going to be. I walked into the kitchen and two of my flatmates, Benn and Jess, were eating breakfast. I was so excited that they actually existed. We made introductions and expressed our mutual excitement that we were meeting. We went grocery shopping and went in together on a number of things which is nice and probably much cheaper than doing it individually AND I am not the only vegetarian! Which is also rather exciting.

I am officially enroled as a Queen Mary University student as of this morning, I even have an id card with a silly picture. I don't know if there's much that could make me more official than that. I also made two trips to the library to sort out my internet connection difficulties, because nothing can ever just work on the first try. This evening three of my flatmates and I decide to meet the other flats of Varey House and ended up hanging out with a group two floors above for a few hours, we got on quite well. Now that I've actually met people, realized how great my flatmates are, gotten a few things accomplished, and seen that some days are completely sunny in England, I feel loads better.

I also found out today that classes don't actually start until next Monday, and that's Tuesday for me because I don't have a Monday class. Hopefully I'll be able to get a bit of sightseeing in this week.

Chances are if you're reading this, I miss you already. But, we will see each other again soon and it will be all the sweeter for the time apart.