cheerio

Hello, hello, hello:

I must start off by apologizing for my absence. I know everyone’s been looking forward to hearing about what I’ve been up to and I’ve been a complete failure about keeping in touch. Know that I’ve been thinking of you all- my friends, family, peers- quite regularly and wish you could all be here with me.

The past few weeks in a whirlwind: I left Portland, Maine, arrived at JFK airport in New York City, left a few hours later for London. My first international flight was smooth but a little emotional- I realized how much I’m going to miss home. I flew Virgin Atlantic…by far the coolest airline I’ve ever been on- wine on the plane, sleep mask, socks, TV and movies all night long…loved it. Arrived in London wicked jet lagged, wiped out in the hotel shower (twice), but thankfully with all of my luggage. I landed a GREAT apartment with six other people, including two of my best girlfriends, a close guy friend, and three other really nice guys. We’re living near Oxford Street in a tenth floor penthouse; there are three bedrooms and two and a half bathrooms, but we chose the place because of the view. 50% of our walls are actually windows and we’re able to see almost ALL of London. We have a balcony that wraps around three sides of the building, and, ironically, some of our other SU friends moved into the other apartment on the floor. But from the balcony I can see the London Eye (huge Ferris wheel), Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, the financial district, Madame Tussads Wax Museum, the BT tower, St. Paul’s cathedral, and basically the rest of the city. It’s unbelievable and I am still in awe every time I check it out. Day, night, sunset: it’s always beautiful.

School is a quick tube ride or twenty-minute walk away, near Russell Square. The building is called Faraday House and is very discreet; you’d never know it was an American or university building. We have three unfriendly security guards who keep us safe. The staff at school are great and incredibly helpful. My professors are INCREDIBLE and I’m going to learn so much about London from them. I’m enrolled in fifteen credits: Strategic Human Resources, London: A History Through Architecture, Multicultural London, Managing in a Global Setting, and The World Economy. My architecture professor is a legend and over the course of the semester, I’ll visit Westminster Abbey/Big Ben, Tower of London, and dozens of other British buildings. Multicultural London is going to be equally interesting, with opportunities to visit the different cultural neighborhoods and religious places of worship around London, including a Jewish temple and a Sikh gurdwara. My economics class is going to be miserable; Janielle already slept through the first three-hour class. The other two management classes will be bearable.

SU London plans this AMAZING weekend for students called Love London. We’re offered discounted trips and opportunities to do really cool things. It’s actually taking place this upcoming weekend… I’ll be seeing Billy Elliot at the theater, Romeo and Juliet the ballet, taking a bike tour of the city, a Beethoven concert, and will take a tour of the Royal Opera House. I’ll be doing all of this for fifty pounds, which is amazing.

Speaking of pounds… everything here is SO incredibly expensive. The exchange is basically 1 British pound to 1.75 US dollars. Send money!

Now when we got to London, we had to get basic necessities for our apartment. To find these things, we were directed to a shop called Argos. Imagine this: walk into a store and find fifty Sears catalogues located throughout the floor, but no products anywhere. You search through the catalogue for the product you want, type the code into this weird Jetsons-looking machine, and check if there are any in inventory. If there are, you fill out a slip, take it to the counter, pay for your products, and then head over to a counter to wait for your order to be passed to you from a conveyor belt. Amazing!

Remember the TV show on CBS called Big Brother? Well, if I flip on one of my five TV channels at any given time during the day, British Big Brother is on. At 2:00 AM…British Big Brother is as uneventful as you could imagine- we have literally spent hours just watching people sleep. It’s the creepiest thing ever; it feels like there are people in the room with you sleep-breathing.

I’m really going to try to take advantage of all the CULTURED opportunities London will present me with this semester. I want to go to the theater multiple times, go to a variety of musical concerts, and visit many museums. I’ve already checked out the mummies at the British National Museum, seen the Rosetta Stone (the key to unlocking ancient hieroglyphics), and fallen in love with the CHARMING, uniformly dressed British schoolchildren. I’ve never had the chance to expose myself to much culture and now that I have the opportunity…I really want to run with it.

My vocabulary has expanded since I’ve been here. I don’t have a cell phone, I have a mobile. To add more minutes onto my mobile, I “top up.” I’ve learned what aubergine is (only after I ate it and had to search it on Wikipedia.) On nights we don’t go clubbing, we go pubbing. Big Brother’s on the telly, my watch is broken if it’s moving anti-clockwise, and instead of waiting in line, I’m on queue. The lift takes me down to the tube, and traveling the streets at night alone is awfully dodgy.

I have done some cool things already- I’ve been to Stonehenge, a small town called Salisbury, and crossed the Prime Meridian (the “line” that separates the eastern and western hemispheres.) I already have plans to travel to Dublin, Amsterdam, Paris, Madrid, and Barcelona over the course of the rest of the semester, as well as intentions to visit Normandy, Krakow, and Prague. I also have the opportunity to spend a weekend with a British family (which I’d really like to do) and to travel to Wales on an “adventure weekend,” where I could surf, hike, go coasteering (cliff jumping), and kayaking. I’m also thinking about spending a week in Italy once the semester is over before I head back to the States.

My mom is coming to visit! She’ll be here for five days in February; she’s prefacing her time in London with a quick trip to Paris. I’m really looking forward to seeing her and already have a few thoughts about what we’ll do together when she’s here. Also- two of my best friends are coming from the US for spring break and I am SO excited! We’re spending our time in Madrid and Barcelona.

I haven’t felt any sense of culture shock. I suspect that’s because I am in an English culture. Still, the differences in food (British cuisine is TERRIBLE), style, conversion, and custom make it clear that I’m not in the States. Still, sometimes I yearn for the familiar…thankfully Starbucks, Pizza Hut, and Diet Coke are found on every corner.

In Europe, beer is water. No one carries bottles of water with them, but enjoys a pint as frequently as one might guzzle Poland Springs in the US. And no one is drinking Coors Light- the beer here is far heavier and much tastier! Corona can be found here, but my drink of choice is Strongbow- a cider brew.

London closes early. Most of the pubs shut by 12:00, so people are out drinking by 7:30 pm. Clubs are open late, but they’re really, really expensive. In order to stay open late, an establishment needs a special, very expensive license granted by the city. Therefore, the places that are open late are costly.

I picked up this great yellow wool coat while over Thanksgiving break, and it has been a HIT here. The staff at school calls me “the girl in the yellow coat” and my roommates like it when I wear it out because they can spot me anywhere. It’s actually in for dry cleaning right now and I can’t wait to get it back.

I’ve been taking tons of photos, but not putting them on Facebook. No one really wants to see an album of 200 pictures of Stonehenge, so I haven’t shared them. I have, however, created a Picasa album where I’ve put all I’ve taken. I can grant access to anyone who wants to see it, so just let me know if you’re interested.

I’ve got lots more to share, but a ton of reading and travel planning to finish conquering tonight. I’d love to hear from everyone and anyone- Skype me! My Skype name is kelsiebouchard. You can send me mail at: 48-51 Old Gloucester Street, London WC1N 3AE, United Kingdom.

Oh! One of my favorite things about where I’m living- In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Harry, Ron, and Hermione apparate to Tottenham Court Road (WHERE I LIVE) when the Death Eaters attack at Bill and Fleur’s wedding. There, they duck into a grungy little café…and are taken by surprise when three Death Eaters, dressed as construction workers, attack them. They are able to defend themselves and have to modify the memory of the waitress in the shop, but they survive. And it all happened so close to where I live! (Sorry, non-HP fans!)

Anyways, like I said, lots more to share, but lots of other things to do. Please do keep in touch! I’ll leave you with a few photos from my trip thus far…

Cheers,
Kelsie

pre-departure

so: it's about that time. i guess it's actually a number of different times: time for me to start blogging again, time for me to start packing, time for me to finally head to europe for the semester!

the ability to easily study abroad was one of the major reasons i chose to study at syracuse university. a lot of my initial, pre-college plans, including my intention to study communications, become an RA, and work in non-profit have dissolved since i've been at SU. studying abroad has been one of the few college-related goals that remains three years into my academic career.

choosing a place to study was a difficult decision- i danced around for a while between hong kong and london. hong kong would have been an incredible experience that would have been an unbelievable asset in the corporate world. london offered the opportunity to travel to places i'd read and learned about. my professors encouraged asian studies, my friends were going to the big smoke/the square mile (generally unheard of nicknames used for london). when i sat down and thought about what i ultimately wanted, i chose london. because i've never been to europe and because i don't speak another language, i figured it'd be a great place to really begin what will hopefully be a lifetime of "exotic" travel.

i'm looking forward to this experience more and more with each moment, conversation about it, and packing list i create. there's so much i want to see in europe: world war 2 relics, the bakery at harrods, italian wine country, the swiss alps. there's so much i want to try: hiking along british coasts, belgian waffles, german beer. and i think much of my coursework (yes, i am enrolled in classes) will complement everything i hope to see and experience. i'm taking 15 credits at the SU london program, five three-credit courses. i'm in class mondays 9-10:30, all day tuesday, and all day wednesday, but have wonderful four day weekends. my classes include: strategic human resources, managing in a global setting, the world economy, multicultural london, and a history of london through architecture. i particularly think the last two courses will truly enhance my experience (london through architecture includes a four-day trip to paris!)

we all know that i grew up secluded- geographically, racially, culturally, ethnically, religiously. i really believe, that for the first time in my entire life, i will be introduced to a lifestyle that is truly diverse.

just in case you're wondering, my itinerary for the next few days... PACK, PACK, PACK. i'll be leaving fort kent on saturday, spending a couple of nights in southern maine, and leave from portland on monday the 18th. my flight arrives at jfk in new york city around 12:00 noon, and i depart for london that evening at 7:50 pm. after a seven hour flight and five hour time change, i arrive sometime around 7 or 8:00 on tuesday. i'll surely be cranky.

i plan to use this blog as a way to keep in touch, share photos, and share my observations about life in europe. i can't promise i'll update as frequently as i did this summer in boston, but i'll try to keep you entertained all the same. please, keep in touch! also, feel free to send me your mailing address.

cheers, (thanks, sarah d.)
kelsie

ps- a quick note about the headline used on this blog... the photo itself was taken this summer from the fire tower on top of deboullie mountain in allagash, maine. it was shot minutes before a rainstorm hit. i found an outline of the london skyline online and used photoshop to overlay it onto the photo. i felt it was an appropriate representation of this semester- fort kent to london, country to city.