Friday, 1-12-96
12:17 PM London
6:17 AM E-Town
Didn’t get to writing in here last night, so I’ll do a quick entry now. Yesterday, I went to the other Classical Architecture section & loved it! The tutor is very passionate about the subject & it adds so much to the course! I will definitely be switching into that one…
After class Jill & I ran some errands w/ this guy Brendan who we met in our class. He doesn’t really got to Birkbeck, he is doing an internship & is just taking the one class. He is cute & interesting & had a girlfriend. Don’t they all?! Well, then Jill & I worked on our project.
Then I took the tube to High Street Kensington to explore! Since I couldn’t go back to the house till after 5 PM… I went into lots of stores & little shops & even bought a scrunchy for £1! ☺︎
I was back at Pembridge by 5:15 PM & then Lori & I took the tube to “Spaghetti House” for a yummy lasagna dinner on ISA! ☺︎ It was fun, but after we were tired & full & decided to go home & chill. Adam, from U of I, joined us & we all bonded till like 1 AM! Turns out Adam is engaged too! So I felt oh so single in their company…
Okay, I am going to the British Museum now w/ Adam. Time for some touristy stuff or as “Funny Guy” Mark calls it, “Look kids, Big Ben!” Or, in this case, the British Museum!
Tonight Lori & I are going “clubbing” or at least dancing at a club! We will be out late, so I may not write till tomorrow. We’ll see…
Oh, Jill & I stopped by Newman House in Bloomsbury by school & got lots of information about masses & activities for Catholic Students here! I met Fr. Tim who seemed nice & saw the chapel. The front desk lady was really helpful! I plan to attend daily mass at some point in the next week & on Wed. got to Fr. Jim’s “Growing in Faith” talk & prayer time!
— Later ☺︎
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Note from Present Day Kathy: Classical Architecture ended up being my favorite class during my semester in London, in part because of the enthusiastic professor/tutor and because so much of our learning took place in the form of field trips to famous locations, where he taught us about architecture through showing us the various styles. When uploading this picture, of a page from one of my scrapbooks, highlighting my first trip to the British Museum with (not his real name) Adam, I remembered noting that there is a portico at the top of the British Museum, something we’d learned about in Architecture. Also, one of my housemates, who I’d go on to travel Europe with for 3 weeks, after our semester ended, was in the class section I transferred to. I still recall how excited she and I were to look for various styles of architecture that we’d learned about during our travels together, especially when we got to Rome!
Speaking of Italy/Italian things, a funny memory about having lasagna that night at “Spaghetti House,” which was hosted/paid for by the Institute for Study Abroad (which was abbreviated then as ISA and is now referred to as IFSA), is that I’d never been a fan of lasagna. I’ve never cared for ricotta cheese, which is usually a main ingredient in lasagna, at least in the States. I recall there being set menu items we could choose from, none of which jumped out at me, being a relatively picky eater then (and now). So I opted for lasagna, not expecting to like it very much, and I ended up loving it!
For whatever reason, at that time, in London most lasagna was made (and may still be) with a cream sauce, instead of ricotta cheese, and it was delicious. It ended up being awesome that I tried it at the restaurant that night, as then I found a frozen version at Sainsbury’s grocery store in London, which I bought often throughout my semester there to make for dinner at Pembridge Gardens (the house where I lived). To this day I wish I could find that here in the States and one of these days I am going try to find a British recipes to make it myself.
I find it amusing how single I was/felt and commented on multiple times in this entry, being surrounded by new friends who had significant others and two who were even engaged, one being my roommate. I made a point the previous semester (Fall 1995) at U of I not to date anyone seriously, as I didn’t want to go to London with any romantic attachments. My intention was to be all in for my experience abroad and not to be distracted by pining for some guy back home who I was infatuated with. So getting there and finding all these cool people who had traveled there while in serious relationships surprised me in some ways.
The reference to (not his real name) “Funny Guy” Mark and “Look kids, Big Ben!” cracks me up now, as I remember at the time I’d never seen the movie he was quoting, National Lampoon’s European Vacation or any National Lampoon’s movies for that matter, except maybe the original Vacation one. Not long after I got back from studying aboard and met Bob, at the beginning of our senior year at U of I, he introduced me to those movies, as one of his favorites is National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.
Lastly, I sought out the Newman Center affiliated with Birkbeck College/the University of London because, as I’ve mentioned in previous posts, I was determined to have a British experience in Britain, as opposed to an American one. Since I wasn’t able to live with Brits, I wanted to immerse myself in other experiences where I could meet local people there. That said, London being an international city, not unlike Chicago or New York City, I met many students and other people from all over the world. I could’ve gone to any Catholic church in London, but I knew if I went to the Newman Center there, like the one I was actively involved with back at U of I, I’d be more likely to meet college students who shared my faith. I was really into my faith at that time and it was important for me to find a place where I could worship and find comfort during difficult times while abroad, especially when I felt homesick.
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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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