Thursday, 1-4-96
12:26 AM London
6:26 PM E-Town (1-3-96)
Another LONG day… But I am beginning to adjust more easily and feel more confident about my decision to study here…
I got up this morning at 7:30 AM. I felt a bit more sane after catching up on some sleep! Lori got up then too. We both showered, ate breakfast (which is provided here — one of the perks of living at Pembridge Gardens), and then explored Nottinghill Gate, a street up the road just a bit. Later this afternoon, after a day of lectures about adjusting to British life, our academics, and safety, we found our way home on foot & even grocery shopped at a store called “Europa.” I bought 3 Granny Smith apples, 3 “good buns.” a block of white cheddar cheese, 8 slices of smoked ham, a small jar of Skippy creamy peanut butter, & a jam of strawberry jam (it’s “jam” here, not jelly ☺︎).
Earlier I had bought a bottle of water, more for the bottle than the water & some cheese Ritz crackers to snack on.
For dinner I made a ham & cheese sandwich on a “good bun.” It was really tasty & I was a “happy camper!”
In fact I kind of have felt like a camper over the past few days! Seeing as we always travel in packs etc…
I believe this will change after orientation…
This evening ISA had gotten us tickets to see “A Christmas Carol” at Barbican Centre. It was put on by London’s “Royal Shakespeare Company” & I really enjoyed it! I especially liked the eccentric spirits of past & present!
I even thought the Ghost of Christmas Past was sitting in our tube car on the way home, but I didn’t have the nerve to ask…
On the way home I was invited to have a beer at a pub w/ some of my housemates from Pembridge Gardens. I hadn’t been to a pub yet, so I agreed to join them! ☺︎ Lori chose to go home, she was real tired. I enjoyed the pub “Ashes,” my 1st British beer (a 1/2 pint of “Fosters”) — which I bought for myself ☺︎, the atmosphere, and getting to know:
Kelli — Connecticut College from New Jersey (going to Birkbeck here, like me)
Aimee — Notre Dame from ? (also going to Birkbeck here)
Martha — UCLA (Anthropology major) from Fresno, California (going to UCL here)
Paul — UIC (Pharmacy major) from Des Plaines, Illinois (also going to Birkbeck here)
Oh, Lori, my roommate goes to Kansas State. She is 23, a Sr. majoring in shoe design, & is engaged to be married the month after her program ends (she isn’t going to Birkbeck). So far, so good — we are, as roomies! I continue to think we are compatible, but time will tell… Well, my pillow is calling me to catch some zzz’s…
Thursday, 1-4-96
11:35 PM London
5:35 PM E-Town
“Roast Lamb & Mint” Thick Potato Crisps… YUCK! 😝
Lori & I just returned from a pub called “The Rat & Parrot!” After almost 3 hrs. of hanging out & 2 pints of beer each, we had the munchies.
So I went up to the bartender & asked for some potato chips… He said, “What flavor?” He told me he had, “Mustard & Roast Beef,” Ham & Pickle,” “Cream Cheese & Chives,” & I thought he said, “Lemon Mint…” Granted lemon mint isn’t particularly mouthwatering to the appetite, as the brand of “crisps” claim to be, I was very surprised to realize that for 50p I had purchased “Roast Lamb & Mint!”
I must say our little adventure to one of our local pubs was the highlight of today!
This morning I bought my 1-month, Zone I, tube pass & Lori and I attempted to get ourselves to Imperial College for our last morning of orientation & lectures. Though we got lost, we quickly figured out our way & were only a 1/2 hr. late.
A very interesting & knowledgeable man, who used to be part of Parliament was speaking about current British issues when arrived. He spoke of how parliamentary elections go & how Prime Ministers can be “challenged” as was Margaret Thatcher. He told us that he stopped agreeing with his party’s platform while representing them. Thus raising the question of whether members of parliament are people, or merely puppets for the people?
He said that pondering this question led him to run as an independent candidate for parliament. He said he won once independently before stepping down.
He also explained how Prime Ministers are expected to have an immense knowledge of everything, especially British Parliamentary rules & current events… They even are subjected to questioning (or “inquiries” as they say here) weekly to test their competency!
Next we had a short Birkbeck meeting followed by a longer meeting about our family visits. I leave at 2 PM tomorrow, for a 5 hr. trip, out to Chester, to stay with a couple, who live in a 3 bedroom house, w/ no children or pets, but fish! ☺︎
I found out about them through a short, but sweet, letter I received, through the EIL (Experiment in International Living), from them.
Dear Kathleen,
This is just a short letter to introduce ourselves. Our names are Simon and Helen Barnes. We live in a three bedroom house. We don’t have any children or pets, except for fish! Brighton is a very nice village and I’m sure you will enjoy your stay with us. And we look forward to meeting you in January.
Helen
This afternoon I was tired & let myself be lazy… I napped often & really enjoyed the rest & tranquility… ☺︎
Later! ☺︎
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Note from Present Day Kathy: “Good buns” are a nickname my family used to describe fresh-baked buns that you can buy individually from the bakery at a grocery store. I loved making “Good Bun Sandwiches” and having one so early on in London was super yummy and comforting I am sure.
For the most part I am copying how I wrote my entries word for word and keeping punctuation as I had it, though at times I am cringing from how I misused it, and in a few cases am editing when it is so bad it doesn’t make sense (though I am able to figure out what I meant). And I am amused how often I chose to use quotes and … in my writing.
I got a kick out of my description of Lori and my experience inadvertently trying (and not liking) Roast Lamb & Mint crisps! These are the little moments that I’d likely never otherwise remember, but enjoy getting to revisit through these journal entries.
I also appreciate that I wrote about the former member of Parliament who spoke to us during our orientation. I recall how fascinated I was to learn about how prime ministers were subjected to weekly “inquiries” from the members of Parliament. And if I recall correctly, at least some of the time these inquiries were televised and I watched a few while over there.
I wondered how American presidents would do with such inquisitions and wished they had to do so as well. Especially now, in 2018, I can only imagine how President Trump would struggle if the U.S. Congress and/or the Senate got to question him regularly about anything and everything. However, there are many former Presidents, as well as those who ran and were not elected, that I think would do well put in the hot seat like that.
Finally, coming up with aliases for everyone I interacted with during my semester abroad has been an interesting, and somewhat amusing, exercise. I am using a few common name websites from the 1970s for the US and the UK, as well as picking names that have the same number of syllables as the person’s given/real name (with a few exceptions) and, in my opinion, either sounds somewhat the same and/or fits my memory of the person I am assigning it to.
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Reminder: Unless I’ve been given permission to use people’s actual names, in most cases I’ve removed or replaced the names of the real people who were part of my journey/experience there, in effort to protect and respect their identities/privacy in my London Semester Journal entries. I will also not share details that I think and feel are too personal for anyone I interacted with, my loved ones, and me.
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Here’s the back story of My London Semester Journals from 1996, including what prompted me to revisit and decide to share them here in 2018. And here’s a list a list of the entries, which I will update as I share them.
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