LONDON.

♥ Welcome

"I met a lot of people in Europe.
I even encountered myself."
-James Baldwin

♥ The Girl

Name: Sarah Elizabeth Ashlock
Birthdate: 02.18.1988
School: UMKC

♥ Oh, the Places You'll Go

Congratulations! Today is your day. You're off to Great Places! You're off and away! So...be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray or Mordecai Ali Van Allen O'Shea, you're off to Great Places! Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting. So...get on your way! You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the guy who'll decide where to go. OH! THE PLACES YOU'LL GO!

♥ What's Going On

★★★ FALL 2009 ★★★
☆ Studying in London, England! ☆

Thursday, September 24, 2009

inspired. ♥ 1:55 PM

I’ve done a lot of things as usual. First of all, today we had a fire drill at 8:30am which was really pleasant. Anyway, tomorrow I go to Paris! I’ll update on that once I get back.

On Sunday, I went to The Royal Academy of Arts. It was amazing! I’ve really fallen in love with modern and contemporary art, which I am surprised about. Being in London has only reaffirmed this adoration. The Royal Academy has a really impressive reputation; so I am very grateful that I got to see it. I think I might be going back for their ‘earth’ exhibit coming up.

Last week was eventful at the flat, because we lost our hot water about five or six times, but thankfully this got replaced. Also, in the bigger bathroom the handle came off and so it ran blasting hot water for about six hours until the maintenance person finally arrived. There goes our attempt at being green I guess!

On Monday, I went with my Artist & the City class to The National Gallery. I absolutely love that class, and am excited because my professor is going to guide us through the Louvre in Paris, so it should be even more educational. We went around it for about two hours, but afterwards I really wanted to go back. That’s the beauty about London, museums are free. Some exhibits you have to pay for, but most things are free. I like it, because it really inspires the community to educate themselves with art and history.

Tuesday night we went to Slaughtered Lamb. It was a really nice venue, northeast of us. It had a downstairs area where four bands played. They were really good!

Yesterday, Heather and I went to the National Gallery. We went around part of it. It’s enormous and unless you want to just fly past paintings, you really need to just keep going back. That’s one amazing thing about living here, is that you aren’t pressed for time. You can go back any day. They have a lot of popular pieces of art, one is a piece that I learned about in an Art History class that I’ve always loved: “Giovanni & Wife” by Jan Van Eyck and they have quite a bit of Van Gogh paintings as well, including one of the Sunflowers paintings. I bought a ring that kind of looks like a Sunflower in the gift shop, because I love that piece.

After spending a couple hours there, we went to the National Portrait Gallery. Again, we didn’t go through all of it. There was one piece called “Mike’s Brother” and was an oil painting on masonite. It is actually of Paul McCartney, and is titled that because the artist was friends with Paul’s brother Mike. It was made during Beatle Mania. I really liked the Portrait Gallery a lot. We walked around a little more and found a small stone alley filled with bookshops. I am definitely going back there!

We went through the Charring Cross train station to get to Embankment tube station and happened to see a ferret on a leash. Crazy huh?

Later tonight we are going on a Harry Potter tour and then celebrating Karly’s (she lives in Flat 5) birthday at a place that is having a pirate night. Arrrgh matey.

The End.

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

right as rain. ♥ 11:05 PM

hello, hello.

yeah, so clearly i need help in the blogging department. a lot of things have been going on since i arrived here. let's start from the beginning...

the flight was good. it went by a lot quicker than i thought. honestly, i didn't do anything. i didn't read any of my magazine, and i read like two pages from my book. the flight from kc to detroit was super fast and talked with heather the majority of the time. then we had a layover that was delayed by about thirty minutes. so, in detroit heather and i met up with carrie and lisl. we then proceeded to play cards...i'm not a big card player so that was so-so. then nate met up with us and he taught us how to play rook (i don't know if that is how you spell it).

finally, the flight to london came. i sat by another study abroad-er, and we had a lot of fun. we played games on the monitor in front of us and then watched 'the ghosts of girlfriends past.' i don't recommend that film haha. i slept a couple of hours maybe and ate a semi-delicious meal consisting of chicken & rice. we were served breakfast before landing down at 7:40am uk time.

we waited in a long line through customs in which i was asked questions like, do i plan on working, do i have enough money to support myself during my stay, etc. then we met up with our program director named anderson. she is a super sweet girl from mississippi. then we were dropped off about forty minutes later at our flat.

that brings me to the point in time that i saw my room...that i would be sharing with two other girls. oh, and the bathroom that is literally just the size of a closet. and the shower is nice because you can't bend over without smacking your head on the glass door and then it fills up within a few minutes so you have soapy feet all of the time. but honestly, it isn't as bad as i thought it would be. i am very used to the bottom bunk :)

so the day we arrived i had to force myself to stay awake until 3pm for the walking tour. i went around the block a couple of times before then with my flatmates. then during the walking tour, we went around and went to the nearest tube station which is earl's court station. then we saw the nearest grocery place and where we would be going to take our classes.

the next couple of days consisted of meeting for a program orientation where anderson and kieron (program coordinators) discussed what to expect. also, we met in our classes to go over the syllabi and other classroom informations. after that, we went on a panoramic tour of london. we all got into a regular coach bus and drove around the city for three hours. we got off and walked around st. paus cathedral, st. albert's hall (which is within walking distance of my flat) and buckingham palace. the tour guide was practically a london encyclopedia and talked the entire time pointing out anything and everything interesting and historical in this city!

so those were the priliminary events that occured. that sunday i went with heather, lisl, nate and carrie and walked around westminster abbey and parliament. it is crazy how many tourists are there even on a sunday! it is strange how the longer you are here, the more annoyed you get at those pesky tourists with their suitcases and their maps!

anyway, i was so taken back from westminster abbey. since it was a sunday, we could only go on the outside...but that was amazing as well. i found this small wooden door that was just a couple inches taller than me. i felt like it was made for me haha. i think that place really symbolized london for me, and made me realize that i am actually in a city that goes really far back. that is amazing considering that america is so new. i guess that is the real thing i have learned so far...that america is a baby compared to england.

thankfully, we went back to westminster abbey and paid the student admission to get in. WELL WORTH IT. there are so many amazing things about it, that i can't even explain everything. first of all, the magnitude of that structure is shocking. the place is huuuuuge. also, every inch is filled with some sort of creative or artistic thing. you think that the edge of a doorway is just intricate, but it is actually a carving of several men. that kind of thing. not only was the detail incredible, but also the amount of people buried there. isaac newton and charles darwin are buried there. i mean, you name a king or queen and he/she is probably buried there. one weird fact: my school is on cromwell road which is named after oliver cromwell. well, he was buried at westminster abbey but his body was dug up soon after and his corpse was actually hung, decapitating him. weird, huh? also, i lit a candle and said a prayer in the nave and also attended a service there too.

i've been to so many other things so far. i went to the thames festival which was by far my favorite thing so far. i went to the festival on saturday and the parade (they call it a carnival) and fireworks on sunday. the festival itself stretches itself across the thames across five bridges. what was different about this festival compared to others from america is the food. normally at festivals (at least the ones in the midwest) is that they sell basic food like hamburgers, hotdogs, etc. and maybe they have some other kind of food, but it's never very impressive. not at the thames festival! they had everything from free-trade food products, organic, curries, crepes, tarts, and so forth. everything was fresh and something you would order in a nice london restaurant. very impressive! also, i bought a cute hat!

i have done a lot more like going to several musical performances. one of which was at the notting hill arts club. this is definitely my new hangout! it is really hip & elle magazine named it one of the places you must go to in london. very cool!

that's all for now. it's bedtime. :)

The End.

Monday, July 27, 2009

Running from time. ♥ 6:09 PM

I finally got some luggage! I am very pleased with the purchase. There are three pieces, a 25" suitcase, 21" suitcase and a rolling tote thing. I have pretty much decided to take the 25" and the rolling tote. I don't want to overpack/overextend myself moving about. My dad is convinced it is a "slate blue" while my mom thinks it is a "teal." I have yet to decide what the hue is.

The health insurance is paid for! That is probably the most unexciting part.

Also, I have decided to go ahead and get a laptop. I'll update on more info once I actually get one.

I received an email a week ago that had a little more infomation regarding my residence. I still have no idea about the interior. The outside looks very awesome though (I'm not sure I want to put the exact address on here). It is what I was hoping it would be like....quaint, looks like it has some history, etc. Also, it just looks NICE and thankfully it is in a really nice part of London.

This leads me to my next bit of information, the part of London I will be living in:

"South Kensington offers a fascinating combination of fashionable modern London life and stately, grandiloquent Victorian architecture. It covers some of the most exclusive real estate in the world and is one of London's smartest districts. Prestigious Knightsbridge and Harrods are found in the area, as well as a collection of museums including the Natural History Museum, the Victoria & Albert Museum, and the Science Museum. The Royal Albert Hall, Hyde Park, Kensington Palace & Gardens, Imperial College London, and Earl's Court and Olympia exhibition centers are also home to South Kensington. Today, the area proves to be one of the most enviable neighborhoods in all of London! With a wealth of museums, theatres, historical and cultural sites, restaurants, shops, and nightlife options at your fingertips, South Kensington is a prime place to be."

My room allocations and detailed housing amenity sheets are supposed to be passed along the first week in August. Let's cross our fingers, because I really want to know more! Especially who my roommate is...actually, I suppose I should say flatmate!!

It is almost August, and I can't help but think that time is running out. I'm on an emotional rollercoaster (which my mom can attest to). Basically, I feel every good & bad emotion you can possibly experience. I go through it everyday. I attribute a lot of that towards stress/being overwhelmed. I also believe it has a lot to do with how connected I am with those closest to me, and how I never realized how difficult leaving would be. It is becoming more of a reality with every passing moment, and it has become somewhat bittersweet. However, I am very thankful for having such a strong support system and hope that I don't have any more emotional breakdowns!

The End.

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Figuring it out. ♥ 6:37 PM

I received my textbooks last week. Let's just say that I am very concerned about how I am going to fit them in my suitcase/carryon. Um yeah, I don't know how that is going to work out. Anyway, I am going to try to work on reading them over the next several weeks to try to get ahead. I've made no other London purchases really, except I did get some really nice walking shoes. My mom and I went to DSW and I found the perfect walking shoes. They didn't have my size, so after looking everywhere else we eventually got them online. I got some dressier shoes that I can bring too (that won't kill my feet). I also got an awesome water bottle from Eddie Bauer while on the Plaza with Ben. I think it is something I will need on excursions/walking tours/etc. I'm still figuring out other things I need to get.

In other news, Nicole reminded me of a website that has super cheap flights to places like Barcelona and Dublin so who knows, maybe I can travel even further than I anticipated! I'm debating about whether I should go to Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany. Another student wants to go, but that isn't the closest place. However, I do want to go to Berlin, because November 9th is the 20th anniversary of the collapse of the Berlin Wall....which I have always been interested in.

I'm still waiting to get information on my living situation. Supposedly, I was going to receive info in June. In case you didn't notice, it is July! I just can't wait to figure out who I am going to be rooming with (possibly more than one person?) and what the "flat" is like. I have to try to pick up the lingo, you know.

The End.

Friday, June 12, 2009

Preparation. ♥ 5:46 PM

Sooooo in less than 2 months & 3 weeks I will be in LONDON! My program is taught by Missouri faculty and the students are from Missouri universities/colleges. The program has existed for over 25 years, but things are a little different this year. It was facilitated by International Enrichment, Inc. all of those years but for reasons unbeknownst to me this year it is now facilitated by CAPA International. Apparently, CAPA (The Centers for Academic Programs Abroad) only has the highest expectations when it comes to education, accomodation, et cetera & I have been told that this switch will be a huge improvement, and that I am very fortunate.

Here are the classes with descriptions I am going to be taking:

◘ Introduction to Shakespeare
Introductory course which surveys six plays in various genres, highlighting Shakespeare’s development over time. In addition to ordinary readings, discussing, amateur acting, and writing, students will attend several live productions of plays and visit Stratford on Avon.

◘ The Artist and the City: Paris and London
This course will explore how British and French artists working between 1860 and 1914 came to terms with the modern metropolis. Themes to be considered include the metamorphosis of the urban fabric of Paris and London, the artist as flaneur and observer of urban life; the forms and spaces of urban entertainment and leisure; working women and the importance of fashion; the railroad and suburban recreation. The course will draw on London collections as well as works in French museums during the term’s visit to Paris.

◘ Bach to Beatles
This course designed for surveying a wide spectrum of musical styles and genres in connection to a range of performances taking place in London during the semester. A major goal of this course is the development of engaged and active listening skills. Topics of study include musical forms, popular and elite types of urban entertainment, public versus private music, artists and their personal means of musical communication. Students will visit London music venues and concerts.

◘ Understanding Britain Today: Contemporary Britain
Its aim is to place the experience of study in London in a meaningful context so that students are provided with a sense of the historical and contemporary culture of the city and country in which they study. The course presents students with a series of lectures by distinguished British lecturers. The following day, British Life and Culture will explore sites reflecting the topic of the lecture the previous day.

There are a lot of things that I need to get done, but there are also a few things that I have accomplished so far:

One: I received my passport. Thankfully, everything was spelled correctly haha. Of course, this is super exciting. Now I am in the process of looking for a colorful leather passport holder.

Two: I booked my flight to/from London! One of the students going named Heather got the same flight as me. Her and I are going to be flying out of KCI together and coming back together. Also, a student from St. Louis named Lisl is connecting with us in Detroit. I am excited to be travelling with two other girls over a large body of water (you know I hate driving/flying over water).

Three: I got my ISIC card. Basically, this "International Student Identity Card" will get me discounts at places. The description says that with all of the money I will save, I can "live like a celebrity" hahahahaha! Riggggghhhht.

Those are the main things I have gotten done. Oh & making this blog. I found out I do not need a visa according to new UK policies which I am incredibly thankful for (that saved me approximately $90). Hopefully I get more things done, & I will try to write on here as much as possible!

The End.