Winning London

Remember the beginning of the semester when I was really good at blogging regularly? Well, that lasted about as long as my weekly planner did (and does every semester). However, unlike the planner, which always ends up unused and forgotten, I will attempt to make a blogging comeback.

If you recall, a week ago I spent a week in London with my child development and diversity class. I will now attempt to summarize the highs and lows of the week:

GREEN grass in Hyde Park!

HIGH: I had nearly forgotten that the colors blue and green exist! The grass in London was so, so green. I mean, it was probably too green and probably not natural at all, which is kind of an environmental bummer, but still, it was amazing, compared to the dull brownish Danish grass. And the sky was so, so blue (on the days where it was sunny, at least). Granted, we do have the occasional sunny day here in Denmark, but they are pretty rare; I've grown accustomed to the sky being a fairly colorless grey.

brick wallpaper. major bummer

LOW: Platform 9 3/4 was under construction- NOT okay! I don't really understand why "REPARO" didn't work; it would have been a lot simpler. Well, either way, I did not get to see the real Platform 9 3/4, which means that I did not make it to Hogwarts, either. Major bummer. All we got to see was a PICTURE of a brick wall with a baggage cart going into it- lame.

my camera couldn't even capture the
brightness of the sun

HIGH: There were two days in London where I elected to carry my coat rather than wear it! And, I probably could have done without it at all, but I am so used to layering and preparing for the cold that I could not bring myself to take that risk. But it was seriously amazing! I had forgotten that sunshine could actually feel warm (the sun in Denmark is wonderful when it is out, but so far, it does little to warm your face and burn your eyelids), so any time we were outside and the sun was out, we would all just stand there and embrace the rays.


LOW: No fish and chips. Granted, a nice man on the tube informed us that London's fish and chips are no better than anyone else's, but still, that's supposed to eat when you're in England, right?

HIGH: Spring really does exist! In London we experienced flowers, green grass, budding leaves, and warmth. Springtime really needs to come to Denmark- the weatherman says it is supposed to get up to 11-12º Celsius (low 50s) next week, which would be AMAZING. But, I've learned not to get my hopes up (one reason that they say the Danes are so happy is that they don't have really high expectations and thus are more satisfied- maybe I am learning to be Danish!), and will thus believe it when I feel it. Until then, I will expect more winter.

LOW: No wi-fi in the hotel was a bummer. But, in retrospect (after hearing about bed bugs and the awful breakfast of the London hotel that another class stayed in), I'm very pleased with Novotel, our home for the six-ish days. And the breakfast was AMAZING, definitely another high.

bird's eye view of Parliament/Big Ben

London Eye by night

HIGH: Went to all the London-touristy spots- Buckingham Palace, the Millennium (bridge the dementors destroyed in Harry Potter!) Bridge, drove over the Tower Bridge, visited the Tate Modern Art Museum, saw (the outside of) Westminster Abbey, saw Big Ben, took (a LOT of) pictures with red phone booths, rode on the top of a double decker bus, went to Hyde Park and saw the Peter Pan statue, and saw the bird's eye view of London from the London Eye (huge ferris wheel on the river Thames). All very cool.

LOW: On the flight on the way to London, which was early on Saturday morning, it was near-impossible to sleep due to the crazy, drunken soccer fans on route to see a match. Granted, it was pretty entertaining, aside from the fact that it was 9am, but it was frustrating to get woken up every five minutes by intoxicated shouts. But that's European football culture for you- wake up at 6am, catch a 9am flight to another country to watch a match, spend probably $100+ on in-flight alcohol (along with what you and your friends purchased duty-free for the pre-game upon landing). Honestly, I kind of love it though...maybe not the drunken flying part, but the fact that people are die-hard soccer fans. The US could learn a thing or two about that.

HIGH: The accents. Enough said.


LOW: No Prince William and Princess-to-be Kate Middleton. Enough said.

is this still London?

HIGH: Also did a few less-touristy things. My friend Cherish, whom I met at the first hostel I stayed atbefore classes in Copenhagen), showed me and my friend Maisy (not of the Suslavich variety) St. Katherine's Dock, a lesser-known spot in central London. I loved it! It was so peaceful, with lots of boats, some little shops, and walking pathways around and over the water. It almost made you forget that the city existed only a short way away. Also, on our last night in London, a bunch of us went out to celebrate our friend Emma's birthday, and we ended up frequenting a random Imperial College (a university in London) party. It was most definitely closed, and only those affiliated with Imperial or a guest of someone who went there were on the list. We most definitely fell into neither of those categories, but found a few nice people who were to sign us as guests, and we made it in. It was a fun night, and I definitely think that the US should adopt some of these British party habits (Such as the free coat check. Maybe the accents too).

(another) HIGH: Oh yes, we also did some more scholarly stuff as well. Like I said, it was supposed to be an academic trip, although, I'm still not completely sure what I'm learning. Anyways, we went to a bunch of really cool schools, ranging from a Muslim boys' school to various early educational institutions. Highlight of these visits? Most definitely being able to communicate with the kids using a full range of words (unlike my very limited Danish used in the kindergarten). And the fact that they not only spoke English, but the kids spoke BRITISH English- so precious. Oh, and we went to the coolest playground I've ever seen- it was like something out of Hook, it would be the Lost Boys' paradise playground.

Neverland?!

Well that's all I can really think of right now. Having some people over for dinner tonight, should be fun. It's funny how Danish I'm becoming- the Danes love to plan far in advance and really prepare when they have guests, and I can feel myself adopting these attitudes. I am so not the plan-in-advance-type, but I'm kind of liking it.

Oh, and tomorrow I'm going to the F.C. København - Brønby soccer game, which should be really fun. These are the two teams with the biggest rivalry in all of Denmark- there are known to be fights and brawls during/after this game. FCK is currently the best, and richest, team in Denmark- they just went to the Champion's League and went 0-1-1 with Chelsea, while Brønby is known as a "lower class" (to use the stereotype) team, the underdog of the match.

Okay, to be fair, there are occasionally shockingly,
almost-looks-fake sunny days in Denmark.
This is Nyhavn the week I returned from London