Greenwich & Mudchute

Today I took the bus to Greenwich and walked around for a while. There was a little outdoor market where people were selling different things. Next I walked around Greenwich Park, which is very nice and holds the Royal Observatory, which includes a small museum and the Prime Meridean line. In the park, I saw a guy walking his pet ferret on a little leash, which looked funny.

For lunch, I had jellied eels (chunks of eel mixed with gelatin), which I was told was once the signature dish of East London. They tasted okay (I've had eel before at a sushi place), but I just couldn't get over the texture or the fact that the eels still had their skin and spines. I didn't finish them and wound up getting a grilled cheese from a cart, but at least I can say that I tried it.

Next I walked over to the river where there is a tunnel that takes you under the Thames. I didn't know what was on the opposite side of the river, but wanted to try the tunnel anyway. You had to go down this winding staircase to get to the round tunnel and would be creepy if you were alone in it, but it was crowded.

On the other side there was a sign for Island Gardens which was a neat little park and led to Mudchute Park and Farm, which I had never heard of, but thought I'd check out. It turned out to be this community run park with nature trails and farm animals. So I got to pet some more piggies!!!! There were also goats, sheep, horses, chickens, cows, and more. There was even an open pasture area where you could go inside with the cows and sheep. It was neat to see pasture and cows in front of you with skyscrapers in the background.

Next I walked back through the tunnel and walked around Greenwich some more. I rode on the Greenwich Wheel, which is this enclosed Ferris wheel, like the London Eye, but smaller. I also stopped at Greenwich Market, which has a lot of stalls selling different foods and handmade stuff, such as jewelery and clothes.

After walking around some more, I took the bus back to my dorm and am spending the evening relaxing. My classes start tomorrow. I have The Short Story and Magic and Myth in Medieval and Early Modern Europe. Wish me luck!!!!

Pictures of St. James Park

Birthdays, Ear Wax, and Westminster

Thursday was Mei-Ling's Birthday!!!! Not much happened during the day. I exchanged the fan for one that didn't need to be held together with tape, got more info about my classes (where they meet etc). In the English department, I met some really nice people from Seville, in the south of Spain. They were wearing really heavy coats and couldn't believe that I was perfectly comfortable in just a tee-shirt.

That night a bunch of us went out for Mei-Ling's B-Day to this pub called the Montague Arms. It was really nice. A lot of pubs are being bought up by big franchises and modernized. This is one of the few that is independent and still has its old pub charm. It had kitschy decor (including a zebra in a carriage) and good live music playing. I also had my 1st hard cider, which is much better than beer, which I feel tastes slightly like pee. Everyone had a good time talking and listening to the music.

Friday I had this weird waxy crap in my ear (I know you wanted to know that) so I went down to the grocery store and got some ear drops, which fixed the problem almost immediately. In the afternoon was the Freshers Fayre, where you could sign up for different things. I didn't join any organizations, but I did buy a discount card. I also signed up to get theatre updates online and they gave me a promotional condom, which had an ad for the musical "The Jersey Boys" on the wrapper. Later that afternoon was another International party. People mingled and ate food.

Today, Saturday, I finally decided to brave going into the city on my own. I took the train into the city, then the Underground to Westminster. I didn't get lost once the whole day!!!! I was so excited!!!! I visited Westminster Abbey. I had never seen it so uncrowded before; for a few seconds I was the only one by Elizabeth I's tomb, which is usually packed. We weren't allowed to take pictures in the Abbey, but I did sneak one of Britain's oldest door when no one was around.

I also walked around outside the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben, which are right next to the Abbey.

Then I went to the London Aquarium, which is right across the river. It was very nice. There was one tank that only went up to waist height, so you could look down into it and see the sting rays peeking their heads out of the water.

Next I had lunch at a little cafe. I had a jacket potato, which is a big potato with lots of stuff in it. It was very good. Next I walked around St. James Park, which is really beautiful. There are all kinds of birds, including some huge pelicans. There was this guy feeding the squirrels from his hand and one crawled right up his pants to get to his hand! I have so many pictures from there that they will have to get their own entry later. There was also a little petting zoo set up today, so I got to pet a piggy, a goat, a sheep, and a pony!!!! The park is right next to Buckingham palace, so I also checked that out.After the park, I walked around the area some more and wound up at Jewel Tower, which is part of the original medieval Palace of Westminster. It was originally a treasure house for Edward III but has had different uses over the years. It is now a neat little museum.

It was a really great day. I promise I will put more pictures up later.

Cheers!!!!

Quick Correction

Mei-Ling fixed my computer, not Mei-Lin, I misspelled her name earlier and am very sorry.

Pictures of Goldsmiths

Above: the main building

Left: Ben Pimlott Building (holds art dpt)

Below: my room from slightly different angles

Left: my tiny bathroom

Right: my building,

Chesterman House

Below: common area, kitchen

Above: View from common area, glimpse of Central London

Registration Week Continues

In case anyone is interested, here is my address (I love to get mail!!!!):
Samantha Matkovich
Flat 12A
Chesterman House
334 New Cross Road
New Cross
London, UK
SE14 6AG

On Sunday night, I had dinner in the common area of the flat and finally got to properly meet most of my flat mates, who are all very nice. There is a student from Japan in our flat whom none of us has seen since up close since the first day. None of us are sure what to think of that. But I did learn that Princess Beatrice of York is starting at Goldsmiths this term. I'll have to keep an eye out for her!!!!!

One thing that I wish I had been told before coming here is the different meanings of "Are you alright?" and "What's up?" In America we say "What's up?" as a general greeting and "Are you alright?" if something appears to be wrong. Here it is the exact opposite. So every time I'm asked if I'm alright, I have to fight the instinct to say "I'm fine. Why? Do I look upset?"

On Monday, the visiting students had orientation all morning where they provided basic information. Then I had to stand in line to get my ID card and went on a tour of the library. Later that day the English Literature Department had a meeting for visiting students and we found out what times those classes met.

Tuesday was the History Department meeting and the Art Department meeting. I was originally signed up to take 2 Lit classes, 1 History, and one Art. But some of the classes that I was assigned conflicted with each other. So I've spent most of today getting it fixed. I still have to confirm the changes with the International Office later today, but I'm pretty sure I will now be taking "The Short Story" a Lit class, "Magic and Myth in Medieval and Early Modern Europe" a History class, "The Crusades" a History class, and "Critical Studies" and Art class.

The scheduling differences are going to take some getting used to. At Beloit classes meet 4 hours a week, here it is only 2 hours and once a week, with the exception of my Art class. The class meets for a hour-long lecture then for an hour-long seminar in smaller groups. I don't have any classes at all on Tuesday or Friday!!!!

On Tuesday, I also bought a fan for my room which overlooks the courtyard where people like to stand and talk loudly all night. The second night everyone seemed to be talking about how stupid Americans were. It was actually pretty funny because most of it was stuff that I myself have complained about about America, but is still a little disheartening to hear your first week in a new country. I had trouble assembling the fan and wound up using a lot of tape, but it works!!!! It did start making a funny sound after a while, but at least it drowned out the talking.

Tuesday night, Daphne and Nicole (from the international tea) and I went down to the Student's Union. Hanne, Julia, Harriet (from my flat) joined us there. They were doing a Pub Quiz night, which are popular here. We all formed a team. The Quizmaster asked different questions (general knowledge, current events, music identification, etc) they were also up on a projection screen and we wrote our answers down. The winning team won some beer and home-made bread. It was a lot more fun than my description sounds because everyone is talking, drinking, and having fun.

Cheers!!!!

Finally Here!!!!!!!!!

I am finally here and I finally have Internet access!!!!!!!!!

We left on Wednesday the 17th. My Daddy came with. He travels to London sometimes for business and was able to arrange his meetings so he could come with. This was great, if there was a moment when I would have wussed out and stayed home it would have been if I had to get on a plane and go alone.

The flight was good. I watched the Sex and the City movie and the new Indiana Jones movie, they also had a couple episodes of The Office. The only bad thing was that I may have been mistaken for a hooker or something. To be nice, Daddy sent back his dessert from business class, and the flight attendant that brought it over said "This is from a gentleman in business class" with this very knowing tone and smile. Then at customs the lady thought he was my grandfather, so that made me feel a little better and him a lot worse. But then at the hotel the guy referred to him as my husband, so now I don't know what to think. Anyway, the flight arrived early which turned out to be especially good because when we got to the hotel, they had overbooked and had to move us to a different hotel. But the next day when we returned to the original hotel, they felt so bad about messing up our reservation that they moved us to this really nice suite and sent up free snacks. The hotel we stayed at the 1st night was near a monument to animals that died in wars.

The next day, Thursday, we went to the British Museum, which had a special exhibit on the Roman Emperor Hadrian, which was very interesting.

We couldn't take pictures in the special exhibit. We also saw the regular exhibits, such as the Elgin Marbles and the Rosetta Stone.


After the museum, we went to lunch, then to Charles Dickens house, where he wrote Oliver Twist. It has a neat little museum.

On Friday, we went down to New Cross, where Goldsmiths is located on the southeast part of the city. We checked out where the dorm and other things are. Then I got to go on my 1st double-decker bus ride! We went over to Greenwich, which is about 10 minutes away. We walked around and got me a cell phone (or mobile as they say here). We then took a boat from Greenwich to Westminster, which passed a lot of the sights such as Tower Bridge and the Tower of London.

That afternoon, we went to the Victoria and Albert Museum, which has a lot of interesting decorative arts.

On Saturday the 20th was move in day. I have a pretty nice single with a private bathroom. We brought my bags up, bought some groceries and things. Then Daddy left, which was really sad at 1st, I started to feel better as I was unpacking, but then my Internet wasn't working and my electric plugs work sometimes for some things and I dropped my razor in the toilet. It was around this time that I started wondering why I ever thought this was a good idea. That evening, they had a buffet dinner for the international students. Once I met some nice people I felt a lot better. A lot of people said their hot water did not work, when I got back to my room I tried my shower, thinking that if this didn't work either, it would be the last straw. It worked.

Today, Sunday, I walked down to a bedding store to try to get a comforter, they were sold out, but they said they hoped to get some in tomorrow. I also walked around the small park nearby. At 2, they had a tea for the international students. Most of the International students seem to be post-grads. But I met some nice people anyway, including 2 girls from India, a girl from Japan, and a guy from Columbia. After the tea Nicole from Canada, Mei-Lin from San Francisco, Daphne from Holland and I walked down to the pound store (instead of a dollar store). After that Mei-Lin helped me set up my Internet. She saved my life and I will love her forever for this.

Tomorrow I have orientation at 9, so I will probably go to bed early tonight. Talk to you later!!!!!!!!!

Almost Time!!!!!!!!!

Only 2 days left!!!! If my life were a musical, this would be the part where all the different characters sing about how there's only a certain amount of time until something important happens. Well, next time you hear from me will be from London!!!!!!!!!

Correction

I will be leaving on the 17th of September. I don't know why I said 2 weeks. Anyway, now I'm just busy packing. I'm afraid I may have to eliminate some of the shoes I put aside, but let's hope not.