I’m gonna write you a letter, I’m gonna write you a book, the Amsterdam Experience

Here are my thoughts and musings on my first trip to the Netherlands! Quick summery: the dam is an interesting place.

AESTHETICS: It is stunning – reminded me of Hampstead Village (where I live here) combined with Georgetown but with more canals. It is SO old – there is history everywhere, on the small roads, the bridges, and the buildings. It is odd – the red light district was absurd and more than a little depressing. Scent – Im sure you can imagine what it smelt like. In all, it was gorgeous – I loved the neighborhood called Jordaan (your-dahn).

EATS: I ate wonderful foods – a lot of chocolate (Puccini, Albert Hijn brand and Galler were favorites), French fries, stroupwaffles (!!!), pancakes (my favorite was a savory – mushroom, spinach, onion, tomato and pine nut).

ART: Vermeer, Rembrandt, Van Gogh, Dutch painters in general…do I need to say more? Basically, I spent a LOT longer in the museums than either Kesley or Katherine (Hollis, you were missed).

XXX Bikes: My favorite part of Amsterdam, however, was the prevalence of biking. As one astute study abroad student put it “the dutch were born better bikers, we can never be as good as them.” And lets be honest. It’s true. The dutch people riding on bikes could ride in and out of traffic with no problems, with two children positioned in seats on the bikes or in wagons, with so much ease that it made me embarrassed to try. Even when I felt confident, I still felt clutzy in comparison with their deft skills. I saw a parent biking with their YOUNG (under 3) child standing on the back of the bike, holding onto the parents shoulders. And no one was worried about this? No one even wears helmets!

In the interim, while I loved biking around Amsterdam, clearly the roads weren’t so pleased with my presence and I absolutely wiped out after day one of biking. (Slipped on a tram track to the amusement of drunk Dutch people – I hope their guilt complex freaks out.) With my own deft skills, I managed to bang up my knee and scrape my hand, but biking after that was a little too adventurous. While I love biking, and I love that Amsterdam loves biking, I would love Amsterdam and biking a lot more if they could get some bike safety laws. Helmets for instance, and maybe seatbelts for children under the age of 5? And maybe the coordination-challenged?

CASE AND POINT: Amsterdam is amazing. Everyone should go. Everyone should rent bikes. Everyone should deftly avoid sliding on tram tracks. Eat chocolate. Eat pancakes. Look at beautiful things. Trust me.

In love,

Lauren

Random MISadventure: Almost didn't get let back into the UK because I forgot my documentation. WHOOPS. Luckily I found forms that worked. Oh visas.

Shivers and Sweatpants

I think I just took the second most cold shower of my life. By just, I mean two hours ago. The water was not as cold as it was in Mostar. A KEY difference, however, is that the horribly freezing shower in Mostar happened in July. It is now October, and cold, and raining outside, and my heater does not work.

Cold water is not conducive to anything but shivers in the winter. Luckily I have many layers of sweats.

Why they (the UK) don’t have hot water is beyond my comprehension. I think I got unlucky.

That’s all I got.

Lauren

Food, Glorious Food

This is my last food entry… I promise…well, at least for a week or so.

Thursday I went to Borough Market for the first time. As soon as I stepped into the building – the orchestra in my head began to play the Oliver song “Food Glorious Food,” that is not a joke.

We are talking food stalls, plate stalls, farmers markets, fruit juices, “pies,” veggie burgers (amazing), sandwiches, CHEESE (everywhere), bread, cookies, chocolate truffles…I mean this is basically the universe saying “here Lauren, are all of your favorite things, in one places, only 10 minutes from your school.” Thanks universe! The mix of market stalls and take-away stalls, unprepared and prepared goods is ideal and it is a lot of fun to walk around.

It is also really nice to see local farmers with produce, meat products, fish products and dairy products. It’s like Carrboro Farmers Market on crack. AND not only is the food delicious, but it also occupies a historic spot on the river Thames, and has been there for 250 years! Borough Market – Yummy and historical. So London.

In all of my free time, I plan to go to this market a lot. And to lots of different museums. How exciting! What else is a girl to do with only 8 hours of class a week! Honestly, I don’t know how I lived without this market and all that its glory entails. To see how wonderful it is for yourself just LOOK at this website: http://www.boroughmarket.org.uk/.

With love and good eats,

Lauren

A Natural Kind of Feeling

            I might be getting ahead of myself – but so far my London weather experience has been great! I have had 4 days of rain, and other than that it has been mostly sunny (now I will jinx it, but its true!).

            I have had a wonderful time exploring parks and in general walking down the leafy streets of my neighborhood. Somehow, through some Darwinian process Roses and Honeysuckle are still in bloom. While their days are nearly over, the fact that I saw Roses and honeysuckle in OCTOBER amazes me. That is some efficiency that other English things (sinks) could learn from, but more on that later.

            The rest of this post is an aside to my travel news (which is going swimmingly I might add). It will be devoted so something I love next to traveling, eating. So first a rant, because don’t get me wrong, I love Michael Pollan as much as the next ex-eatser/foodie…but isn’t he getting a little full of himself? I thought that Omnivore’s Dilemna was eye opening and a fantastic read. I thought that his second book, In Defense of Food, followed Omnivore’s nicely and made good sense. But now Pollan is releasing a third book that seems to do the exact same things as the others? Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual is scheduled to come out in January. Maybe my problem is that I am being pessimistic, maybe I haven’t properly researched his newest topic – but I am strained to see what new things he can give us. Though I will still buy it and read it. I’m just throwing that out there.

            In my 3^rd leg of the stool (eating and enjoyment) food experiences in London so far I am confused as to the status of the  “food movement.” Certainly there are not many locally grown goods, because England doesn’t have that sort of geographic capability. Though in all of the major chain coffee shops – Starbucks, Café Nero, Costa – there are signs for fairtrade coffee, rainforest alliance coffee or some other array of certification systems. There are also delicious sandwich shops offering “fresh” food – though I haven’t done my research yet to see whose food is actually the freshest (my favorite is EAT, but we will see if htat changes post-google). One of the best meals (despite a home-cooked meal at a family friends’ home) was at my new yoga studio. A spicy green lentil and coconut soup was scrumptious and tasted like “goodness.” I was a very happy camper in my down-dogs and sun salutations.

Just some food for thought…

In Love,

Lauren

PS – I also recognize that the last post was foodie-like too. It’s just the way things are, don’t judge.

Comparisons, or Life as Fruit

I have come to find many points of comparison in my life in London and my life at Carolina. When I examine the similarities and differences more closely, I can see that the two universities and the two cities could be categorized as different types of fruit…bear with me, its going to come together at the end.

            Example One: At Carolina, basketball is legendary (as it should be) and as such the team’s players become legends. It is not out of the ordinary that Danny Green made waves when he walked through the pit or that Tyler Hansborough was properly gawked at when entering any building. I have taken my fair share of cell phone pictures of, have smiled at and have chatted with (okay maybe only in my dreams) many a Carolina basketball player. In London, perhaps a more global city, theater reigns quite highly (as it should). During intermission at the Globe Theater on Friday night (I made my second trip with a five pound standing-room-only ticket) I glanced at a man’s face and stared a little more than socially acceptable. But his face was SO familiar! As it turns out, the man who I awkwardly stared at for a few minutes was none other than the actor Patrick Stewart! (think X-Men, Star Trek, try Google/Wiki if you must) Since this performance of “A New World” was both the last show of the run, and the last of the Globe’s season the company, crew and volunteers were honored. Not only that but the writer of the show (Trevor Griffiths) was also present and honored! So lets create the comparison: Chapel Hill to London, basketball to theater, Danny Green to Patrick Stewart. Catching my drift?

            One could compare the Tower of London to the Order of Gimgoul, okay that was a far reach – because Gimgoul doesn’t have jewels and the Tower isn’t really a secret society at all…but the yeomen warders live there, so it sort of counts….right?

            In London, things close when you want them to be open. Often things close too early. For example: most food places close by 6, if you’re lucky places serve food until 9 – good for early birds, bad for late night snacks. Example 2: Westminster Abbey closes at 1:30 pm on Saturdays. This seems to be counter-productive because a lot of tourists exist on Saturdays. Think on that moneymaker that’s being thrown away (it’s all about the money).

            The Ackland Art museum is free. Many museums, including the Imperial War Museum (the one I visited this weekend) are also free. There is really no comparison there either, except that they are both wonderful museums (and free!).

            The previously mentioned rivalry between KCL and LSE seems to embody the never-ending rivalry of good and evil (UNC and Duke).

            My dorm is Hinton James. On London Scale.

            There is singing in a church service at Westminster Abbey or in the Kings College Chapel. There is singing in Tuesday Night Worship in Chapel Hill.

            So maybe there are less things to compare than I thought…but what it all comes down to is that KCL and UNC are frighteningly similar universities (perhaps that is why they have an exchange). Rather than apples to oranges, I would pear (I know, punny) the two schools as apples to apples. Perhaps the schools are so different than a starker differentiation must take place, so…granny smith to pink lady – entirely different in almost every way – but when it comes down to it, they are both still apples.

I hope these gave you some food for thought on your Sunday evening (punny take 2)!

With love,

Lauren

*Petite disclamer: I know that some of these comparisons get far-fetched, just roll with it*

Something from the Trolley?

Even though I know that Harry Potter is a work of fiction and imagination, the story seems to exist everywhere in daily life. For instance, on the train on my return trip from Scotland, the porter came by with a cart of food and, much like the woman on the Hogwarts Express jovially asked if I would like “anything from the trolley love?”

In addition, I spent a few minutes gazing at the “Elephant House,” where J.K. Rowling wrote the first draft of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. I walked by the school on which the cinematic Hogwarts is based. Sadly, however, upon my visit to King’s Cross train station I realized that the platforms are labeled by letter and not by number, this was a discouraging realization since now I don’t know where to find platform 9 and ¾.

All things Harry Potter aside, as the book series does not run my life, I had an excellent first week of class and an excellent visit to Scotland. In my eight hours of class I was finally a student again, something that I have missed since May (summer lectures only sort of count). Learning “what Americans think” from a foreign professor has already started to intrigue me, and this is only week one. I also can’t realize what students here actually do considering that I have 8 hours of in class time a week and the semester is only 12 weeks long (with a week of exams, essay consultations and a reading week). I have started cooking for myself more, which is fantastic and fun, except for when the food that I buy goes bad faster than I think it should. It’s all a part of the learning game. Scotland was a weekend of good food, laughter, pretty buildings and interesting conversations. I can’t use enough words to explain how much fun I had with Lizzy and her flatmate Sarah. I had a little experience on the train ride back to London in that I had bought an “18-25 year old rail card ticket” when I don’t have a railcard. Luckily, the kindly conductor didn’t make me buy a whole new ticket (over 130 pounds sterling, gasp) but he did make me pay some extra money. Whoops. It was worth a shot/this country is too confusing.

Today marks the first rainy and drizzly day in London since I have been here. Looks like I will need to grab my wellies! It also marks week 2 of classes and the beginning of a lecture series called “AKC,” which I am going to start attending. I am sending you all my love and I do love getting emails from you so lets keep that up!

With love,

Lauren