Try this…

I have class, but will add more later. Try this link for those London pics.

 

Day One is Done!

I started my course today. It is always nice to be welcomed with a test. See how you might do on some of these questions:

-“He had been driving for three hours before he realized he was going the wrong way.”
Name the verb tense and function of the sentence above.

-“I like cheese.”
Change the sentence above into reported speech.

-“How much rice and vinegar have we got and how many people are coming tonight?”
When do we use “many” and when do we use “much?”

I will spare you the rest. But, I had to answer 40 questions like these first thing this morning. I pretty much just read each one and wondered how I got through writing a thesis without knowing the grammatical structures of a sentence.

It’s an unique layout, with some unique teachers. We start teaching Czech students reading comprehension tomorrow- poor souls. And, as it is only day one, I will hold my tongue about my reservations for the course until week one is done. I guess I can give them that much of a chance!

Oh, and we also got a short lesson in the Czech language today…we all walk around saying “Dobry den!” “Dobry den!” (“hello!” “hello!”) like little wind up toys and all the Czechs on the Metro laugh at us.

Actually, that is a lie because I haven’t seen a Czech even SMILE yet. But, I am sure they are laughing on the inside.

 

**Here are some belated pictures of London I am sending out…**

 

In Prague!

I have made it to Prague. After meeting Justy’s friend my last night in London, I thought I didn’t ever want to leave. He took me (and a friend I made at the hostel) to Camden town which is North of the city. We went up Primrose Hill to see the city skyline which looked something like this (although much more beautiful in person):

London was so great. I got out of there and on a flight to Prague and was super excited. And, then I got in. Holy crap. Talk about culture shock. I thought it was difficult to navigate London…at least I knew what they were saying. Here, NOTHING is written or spoken in English. Especially where I am staying on the outskirts of town. I got in late so I crashed and the next day I was somewhat hesitant to get out, but did so anyway.

I took the metro into the city and when I came up the stairs from the darkness of the tube, I walked into the most beautiful sight I’ve seen yet! It was so amazing to see these old 12th/13th century Romanesque buildings with modern signs of “Samsung” or “McDonald’s” sprawled across the front.

And, then I look to the top of the street and see this huge museum.

I cruised around town and walked up and down streets. Found the Anatomical Clock- which has a cool story I will add later.

And, then ate my first Prague sausage. I wondered back to my hotel where I slept on my incredibly uncomfortable bed. I woke up to do yoga in my cramped space to ease my back pain and then got up and ready to head out. As I was walking down to the Metro to make my way back into town, a girl came up and asked me if I spoke English and (thank goodness!) she is part of my program staying in BFE with me! Her name is Anna and we have come to this hotel where our school is to use their internet and ran into others in our course. So, now that I have friends, we are going out to the city center for dinner and maybe clubbing?!?!

So, I am slowly getting used to Prague. I promise to send a better post soon!

 

A few tid bits about London

-Everyone who is here is from somewhere else. I have yet to meet someone who was born in London although they may work here now.

-People here like to smoke. People here can’t wait to smoke. You will see people hop off a bus, come out of museum, sneak away from their table at a restaurant and instantly light up a cigarette.

-The streets are amazingly clean for all these smokers. I have seen street sweepers everywhere. Apparently, the queen wants to keep her city spic ‘n span.

-Traffic here is relatively calm for as many people as this city holds. I haven’t caught on to different traffic signals yet, but they seem to work as things keep moving. However, if you are walking, you must be careful to look RIGHT first when crossing. And, watch out for motorcycles as they apparently have their own rules.

-Gap must be a big deal here. Every bus has a GAP add. EVERY bus. I went into a Gap store to see if the fashion was different and it is just a bit cooler than at home.

-Ice and water? Doesn’t seem to be much of that here. You ask for water at a restaurant and you get a hot glass with 2 cubes of ice. At the grocery store, the bottled water is atleast a gallon large so it isn’t really accesible to carry around. I have gone to drinking a lot of milk as it seems to be packaged in 12oz.

-Tube folks aren’t very nice when they are on strike. They don’t help tourists get bags unstuck from the gate that closes too soon and beeps wildly. They just kind of sit there and shake their heads- and that isn’t embarrassing at all.

-Street signs are a bit hard to find. They are usually posted at the beginning of the block on a building somewhere. So, for someone who has a really bad sense of direction this could call for much more walking to figure out which street one is on only to find out the sign is at the other end.

-The news here is talking about teens who binge and how that can be a problem as they grow up. Apparently they are just figuring this one out.

-London has graffiti that is much more artistic than what is found in Colorado.

This one is called tile mosaic graffiti as the tagger will get a ladder and carefully place tiles as his mark. This one is about 2ft by 2ft with 1 inch tiles.

This one has made this graffiti artist a real artist. I forget the name, but can you see how he painted the maid sweeping trash behind the curtain hanging on the wall? You have to pay for this now.

(Where are the pics you ask? They will be added soon as I can get this to work again. Use your imagination for now!)

 

I need a pedometer.

I was concerned about missing my yoga practice while here. I had even given a considerable search for a yoga studio near where I am staying before I left. But, since I have got here, I have probably walked the distance from Denver to London and feel I will be ok for skipping out on the yog this week. My calves are sure to be the size of watermelons by the time I am out of here.

But, all the walking has done me good as I am getting around London just fine now. Yesterday am I got up early and started walking towards Hyde Park. I ran into Kennsington Palace where the memorial to Princess Diana was up (to mark the 10 years since her death) and then around to Oxford. I caught one of the tourist buses, which actually turned out to be a great idea as it took me to all the hot spots and I would hop off, walk around and catch another one later. So, I saw it all yesterday from London Bridge to Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey.

Today, I caught the bus and did some more touring and stopped of in Trafalgar Square and Picadilly Circus (the first a memorial plaza of sorts, the second is the theatre district). I then found Knightsbridge which is where the world famous Harrod’s is (a shopping department store) and popped in there to only remind me that I am budgeted for a hostel and could not afford a Fendi bag or 5 carrot pink diamonds offered.

I have met some really great people here in the hostel. The first night I met Heather and Amy- two Ozzies traveling around, then yesterday I met Sylvia who is Chinese and getting her PhD in English from UC Riverside. Today I’ve met Romania from Bulgaria. (Really.) And, tonight, I am meeting one of Justy’s friends who lives here. We are going to Camden which is supposed to be a hip, punk, fun place. I am to find Stef who will be wearing a Ghostbusters hat. Should be entertaining!

I totally dig London.

 

I never knew…

…it would all be so hard.

I thought I was good after saying goodbye and trying to be the tough one who didn’t cry. But, then I was left alone at the airport and I was a mess. I had tears streaming down my face and couldn’t make them stop. Of course, my flight was delayed an hour so everyone was probably looking at me the entire time wondering what on Earth I could be so sad about. Then, while TRYING to sleep on the plane, I would wake up, and yes, start crying. I got into my hostel, opened my bag to see the shirt Mikayla made for me and, yup, tears again. Emails, this post…I just can’t seem to stop. But, they are good tears. Definitely due to me missing everyone ALREADY, but mixed with a bit of excitement about what lies ahead. And, maybe a touch of “what did I get myself into?”

BUT…

I’ve made it into London. The flight went fairly well, considering the seats were extremely uncomfortable and I couldn’t sleep a wink. I looked a mess as I got off the plane. Of course, eight hours in a cramped spot and a lot of tears doesn’t really do anyone any good. But, I found the tube (before the strike!) and made it to my hostel.

My first day, I was kind of a dud. Luckily, another woman checked in the same time I did and she is much better versed in London than I so she showed me the ropes. We walked around this area, she took me to a grocery store (another experience in its own) and we bought a nice dinner which we ate on the rooftop of our hostel. I was absolutely exhausted and crashed at 8pm my first night in town!

But, I am up and ready to go (as I should after about 11hours of sleep). I am so near Hyde Park, I am going to check out that area and then work my way to the West End which is apparently where all the real touristy things are. I look like such an idiot with my bags and maps, but I guess that comes with the territory :)

I hope to have pics and a better update soon!