Success and Rejection

Forest near my home

I'm so bewildered right now. My life could not possibly have taken a more dramatic turn in the past few days. 

Just over a week ago, I took the bus to university nearly crying. I'd been rejected from two universities and the other two weren't providing me with enough funding to afford to attend. My papers weren't going well. I was looking for jobs, but even with a Masters it seemed like I wasn't qualified for anything.

And then Friday Afternoon happened. 

I can't release details yet, not until everything is finalized, but I now have the opportunity to go do my PhD in the UK next year, which is what I've hoped and prayed and worked for all this past year. 

One big yes began an avalanche of yeses, all happening so fast I could barely keep track. I went from a burnt-out MA student uncertain if I'd ever enter a classroom again to a desirable PhD candidate with grad chairs at prestigious universities casually saying they'd love to have me and graduate financial managers suggesting we meet up for drinks and world experts in my field chatting in my office and offering to help in any way they could. 

It's wonderful. It's crazy. It's utterly beyond what I could have expected.

Moonlight walk the evening I heard the news

It’s also, quite frankly, a tad uncomfortable. I’m exactly the same person I was a week ago, but just with one highly important piece of paper in my hand. And now everyone wants to help me out. I’m the go-to success story that makes my department look good. I’m the rags to riches fairy tale.

I always assumed that people doing PhDs at prestigious universities with sizable scholarships had it all together. They were the best of the best. They were smart. And hardworking. And somehow magical—everything worked out for them. They could sit in their comfy office chairs with all their applications and grant proposals comfortably behind them and smile because they had succeeded at life.

But that’s not how it is. Maybe for some people, but not for me. I was rejected. I was burnt-out. I was so lost and confused. If there’s one thing I know about life, it’s that I most definitely don’t have it all together.

There’s a lot of hard work coming. I may have gotten the PhD position of my dreams, but actually getting the degree won’t be easy. And then there’re postdocs. And adjunct positions. And maybe, sometime in the future, a professor’s chair.

Western

I certainly haven’t written my last application or received my last rejection. Life is not all sunshine and rainbows from here on. I may have gotten accepted where it counted most, and I am beyond thrilled. But I am still the same person who was rejected.

I want to be the person who learns from those rejections rather than the one who pretends it’ll never happen again. I want to remember how hard the road has been so far so I can be more empathetic towards the ones travelling behind me and more respectful of the ones ahead. I want to sincerely thank everyone who has supported me so far and in turn support everyone I can.

I want to grow, yet not become a different person from last week, before everything went right. My worth as a human being does not depend on what one scholarship committee thinks of two pages I’ve written. I want to work hard and trust God and move forward knowing that I am not defined, ultimately, by either my academic failures, or my successes. 

Day 144-148: Theatre in London

London. I can never get enough of that city. The energy, the vibrancy, the diversity, the Britishness... Just stepping off the plane put a smile on my face.

The National Gallery in Trafalgar Square

This time, I went to London to spend the weekend with Hannah and her friend Molly. We stayed at Molly's great aunt's, and I'd say it was the nicest place I stayed at on my whole trip. We had a guest flat in a large, modern glass building, in Chelsea (the posh part of London) right overlooking the Thames. It was a tad inconvenient to get to the tube (the nearest station was half an hour walk away) but a helpful bus ran right by the flat and into central London. 

At the Canadian Embassy- One foot in Canada, the other in Britain! :)

The point of being in London, as I wrote about here, was to get tickets to Coriolanus and Richard II, starring Tom Hiddleston and David Tennant, respectively. As I mentioned, we were only half successful, but I enjoyed the theatre experience nonetheless.

The stage at the start of Richard II

Firstly, Richard II was fantastic. Tragic, funny (the scene where they keep throwing down the gauntlet was flippin' hilarious), well-acted and directed, with beautiful musical additions... It was everything I had hoped it would be. Even without David Tennant, I would have loved the show. With him, it was basically the best first live Shakespeare experience I could have hoped for (odd, isn't it, that I hadn't see Shakespeare live before? What kind of English Major am I?)

The stage at the end of Richard II

Since Hannah and Molly were disappointed about not seeing Coriolanus, they had scoured the West End to find another show for us to watch that evening. Eventually they bought tickets for Agatha Christie's 'The Mousetrap,' which is the world's longest running play, going for 62 years and 25,498 performances. I really enjoyed the show, it was dramatic and funny and clever, and watching it definitely took the sting off of not seeing Coriolanus. We were just a tad depressed when we walked out and noticed that the Donmar Warehouse was right across the road. So near, yet so far...

St. Martin's theatre, playing the Mousetrap

Sunday was supposed to be an exciting day: morning church service at Hillsong, afternoon tea at Molly's aunt's, and evening service at Westminster Abbey. Unfortunately, I managed to get dreadfully ill with a fever/flu/cold, so I spent the entire day lying in bed, too knackered to even watch TV. By the evening I was feeling a bit better (probably because Hannah made me take a pill, helped down by a spoonful of Nutella) so I called my family and talked to them for about three hours before my iPad decided to quit. 

These lovely ladies dressed up for The Mousetrap;
I was still in a hoody and messy makeup after queuing at 6:50 for Richard II! 

On Monday, I took the four o'clock train back up to St. Andrews. It's really convenient how they have a train service directly from London up to Aberdeen, running past St. Andrews, so it only took me 5.5 hours to get back.

The Albert Bridge in Chelsea, where I went for a walk Monday morning

And that concludes my adventures. Forty days, eleven cities, countless friends and relatives and acquaintances... It was quite a time. I'm never going to forget this Europe trip.

Day 118-122: Newmarket, Cambridge, and Ely

After the Great Train Fiasco leaving Nottingham, I ended up at my friend's house in Newmarket without farther mishaps. My friend (Kirsty) has two older siblings and some family friends were over for the day, so the house was definitely busy compared to my great aunt and uncle's! That afternoon we took a walk up a bit of a hill (basically the only hill, as the whole area is very flat) where they exercise horses, since Newmarket is a racing town. It was bright and sunny and we had a beautiful view over the town.... but I forgot my camera, so I'm afraid I can't share it with you.

Aside from spending time with Kirsty in Newmarket, we also took day trips to Cambridge and Ely, which are both only around 20 minutes drive away. In Cambridge we got to park at one of the university's colleges because Kirsty's sister was an alumna. Kirsty and I walked around a bit, took photos by a row of four red telephone booths, went shopping, and visited another one of the colleges. Since the college wasn't open to tourists, we just pretended to be students and walked right on in. 

Ely was also a nice town, built on fenlands. We went to visit Oliver Cromwell's house, which was fascinating, since Milton (who I intend to write my MA thesis on) was a chief propagandist for him. Embarrassingly, our favourite part of the house was the children's fancy-dress bin, where we got to try on some period costumes. Afterwards, we attended evening prayers (we were hoping for evensong, but since it was New Year's Eve the choir boys were on holiday) at Ely Cathedral.

New Year's Eve was spent with friends of friends, which I think was a sort of perfect way to end/begin a year full of meeting new people. We played a bunch of games, lit fireworks at midnight, and sang Auld Lang Syng in proper Scottish style (despite being in England.)




The next day it was time to leave and catch the overnight bus from London to Amsterdam. As I wrote about here, the trip wasn't exactly a lot of fun, but it did get me safely to continental Europe, where the adventures truly began.

Day 202: Summer Plans

(I visited Stonehenge the other day-- so cool! Blog with more pics coming soon)

I was planning a big post on day 200, but since I was rather busy that day and I had just made a big deal of the halfway mark on day 187, there was really no need to go on again about how it feels like I've been here forever and how I've changed so much and yada yada yada... 

Instead, as I sit in the Southampton airport waiting for my flight to Belfast, I'll briefly describe my plans for the summer.

My exams end the second last week of May, leaving me a few days to pack up and start saying goodbye to friends before my mum comes out, hopefully in the last week of May. We'll then travel around Scotland, Germany, and the Netherlands together (my mum's side of the family is Dutch, and mum did an exchange in Germany) for a few weeks.

I'll be back in St. Andrews for a few weeks mid June, possibly doing some acting, watching my friends graduate, or climbing mountains (I'd love to climb Ben Nevis, the tallest mountain in the UK-- anyone up for it?)

At the very end of June I head off to Romania, where I'll spend a month teaching English in the city of Suceava. Suceava is right in the northeast corner of Romania, putting it only about half an hour drive from the Ukraine border... so let's pray that the situation doesn't escalate while I'm out there.

After Romania, I have a week before I can return to the UK, since my visa expires on my birthday, July 31st. After that date I'll re-enter the UK as a visitor, but before then I'll probably travel around a bit, possibly spending my birthday in Rome (which is one of my top places in the world to visit.)

August will find me in Harrogate, a city in northern England which hosts (this year) the International Gilbert and Sullivan festival. St. Andrews will be sending our production of The Sorcerer down, and I hope to get involved with a couple other shows as a chorus member.  I also plan to travel a bit during August, maybe finally making my long-warranted trip down to Wales. 

As of yet, I don't know when I'm going back to Canada. What I'd absolutely love is if I could stay until the second week of September and meet up with my friend Sharon, my former roommate and BFF who is coming to St. Andrews on exchange next year. I also might spend a day or two at St. Andrews during fresher's week, which would be so much fun. All this depends on when my MA program starts, however, so it's a bit up in the air. 

And that's my summer! A lot of fun things planned, a lot more possibilities... It's really fun to look forward and see how many things I could do. Obviously many of my plans won't work out-- I don't have time to do everything I want to do, sadly-- but whatever happens, this summer will be full of new and exciting experiences. My time at St. Andrews may be drawing to a close, but the adventure is nowhere near over. 

Day 197: Spring In (and out of) St. Andrew's

Spring has come to St. Andrew’s!

The sun is shining, daffodils are sprouting, the summer dresses are emerging from the backs of closets… and all I can think of is ‘April is the cruellest month, breeding lilacs of the dead land…’ T. S. Eliot does have a way of dampening beautiful spring mornings.

Spring means long walks and campfires on the beach and walking around without my coat. It means doing readings on the shore rather than in the library, or meeting a friend for a picnic rather than in a coffee shop.

The most significant spring event in St. Andrew’s, however, is our two week Spring Break, beginning next week. You could say that I’m actually already on break, since my last class of the month was yesterday. Weird to think that I won’t be back in Castle House until April…

My friends’ plans for spring break vary, from simply going home and studying to visiting Rome or Marrakesh. I was considering a trip to Spain, Portugal, and Morocco with some other exchange students, but eventually ended up saying no because of the money. Since I’ll be staying in Europe all summer and not getting a job, I need to make my funds last.

Instead, I’m sticking around in the UK and visiting a number of friends. On Monday I head down to Southampton, on the very south coast of England, where I’ll stay with a postgrad friend for a week. Then I head up to Belfast, visiting a few more friends, before finally flying back to Scotland and staying in Kirkcaldy for a couple days.

In a way I’m jealous of my friends with more exotic travel plans. Who wouldn’t want a Mediterranean vacation in March? On the other hand, though, I’m completely content. I’m more interested in the UK than in the rest of Europe, and I’m thrilled to get the chance to see more of it over the break. All I need is a little perspective: if someone had told me last year I’d be spending Spring Break in England, Ireland, and Scotland, would I have complained?

Spring break should hopefully be a great mix of friends, travel, and relaxation. Hopefully I’ll take lots of photos and manage to blog a bit, so I’ll try to keep the updates coming… but don’t expect me to be any faster than I was with the January travel posts!

Days 109-118: Christmas in Nottingham

Nottingham as viewed from the castle

I have to admit that I didn't know what to expect from my stay in Nottingham. I was staying with my great aunt and uncle (on my dad's side) who I had only met once before when I was just 12. It was also my first Christmas away from home, and I was worried that homesickness (which hadn't hit that hard so far) might be more of a problem once it finally sunk in that I wouldn't be with my family over Christmas. 

In the end, though, I had an absolutely lovely time. I got along really well with my great aunt and uncle and I enjoyed getting to know them better (I have to say that, since they're probably reading this blog, but it's true!) They took such good care of me-- four course breakfasts, anyone?-- and had new sightseeing plans every day. After the stress of exams, a busy but relaxing Christmas was exactly what I needed. There was plenty to do, but also lots of time for sitting in the living room reading or watching telly (like the Doctor Who Christmas special- so many tears!)

Probably the best way to describe my stay is to go over it day by day:

Auntie Diana and I with Robin Hood

Friday the 20th
Shopping in Nottingham. I was introduced to John Lewis (an upmarket department store) and taken to Waterstones (a bookstore) where Uncle Paul invited me to choose any book I wanted for a Christmas present. In true English-nerd fashion, I choose the facsimile of the original drafts of T. S. Eliot's 'The Wasteland.' We also said hi to my pal Robin Hood where he stands outside Nottingham castle.

Saturday the 21st

Newstead Abbey, the home of Lord Byron

In a day of contrasts, uncle Paul and I first visited D. H. Lawrence's humble birthplace (he was the son of a coal manner) before touring Newstead Abbey, which was originally a 13th century monastery before it was sold to the Byron family, the last of which was the famous poet Lord Byron. It was neat to see two such different sides of Nottingham's literary history.

Sunday the 22nd
I got to meet my dad's two cousins and their kids (my second cousins? My cousins once removed? I dunno...) on a family trip to Calke Abbey, a stately home out in the countryside. While I preferred Newstead Abbey, it was lovely to meet my extended family, and we all had a great time shepherding the kids around.

Monday the 23rd 

Lincoln Cathedral

After picking up the Christmas turkey from Mark's and Spencer's (which was a proper British experience, involving queuing for nearly an hour) we took off for Lincoln cathedral to meet some friends of mine from back home. These friends are British originally, but they've been living in Canada, ten minutes from my parent's house, for the past five years. Back in Britain for Christmas, they had brought some presents from my family (TIM HORTON'S CAPPUCCINO POWDER!!!!) and had offered to take some gifts back from me for my family.
Aside from the gift exchange, it was really nice to see some familiar faces and to spend some time together exploring the cathedral. The sheer oldness of these English buildings never ceases to amaze me; I just don't understand how buildings as absolutely magnificent as those cathedrals could have been built almost 800 years ago.

Tuesday the 24th
Uncle Paul and aunty Diana took me on a family tour of Nottingham, stopping at all the places that they had lived, and showing me where my great grandmother lived for a few years. It was fascinating to hear about family history and to see how long Uncle Paul's family had been in Nottingham. 
We also went to the local church to see the bells and ended up staying for the Christingle service. To anyone who doesn't know what a Christingle is: google it. I'm not even going to try to explain. 

My Christingle and hymnal

Wednesday the 25th
Christmas was a relatively quiet day. We went to church in the morning and I got to bell-ring! My great aunt and uncle are bell-ringers at their parish church, so they took me up with them to watch. Then the head bell-ringer asked me if I'd like to try, so he helped me ring the fourth bell in a few 'rounds.' Definitely a Christmas highlight!
For the rest of the day, we ate excessive amounts of food, drank good wine, and watched what Britain had to offer in the way of Christmas telly (Call the Midwife, Doctor Who, and Downton Abbey). 

Thursday the 26th

Christmas Day Bell-Ringing

Boxing Day was similarly quiet, with one of my second cousins + family coming over for dinner. We are more food, drank more wine, and watched more telly. This time, we also had my very amusing second-cousin-once-removed (I'm gonna go with that) for entertainment. At 18 months, he was far more interested in his toy vacuum than in opening any new presents.

Friday the 27th
Since it was my final day in Nottingham, we had to pack in all the big things I hadn't seen yet, which, crucially, included Sherwood Forest. Had I been expecting the greenwood, with Robin Hood and his Merry Men feasting beneath, I would have been sorely disappointed. These days, after most of the huge trees were cut down for shipbuilding, the Forest is just like any other. However, a number of ancient trees do remain, including the Major Oak, which is supposedly 1000 years old.
We then went back to Nottingham (stopping at yet another country house for lunch and detouring through a 3 mile long road double-lined with lime trees) to visit the Castle, and, more importantly, the caves beneath. Nottingham rests on sandstone, so underneath the city is a complex network of caves, none more important than the ones beneath the castle keep, which allowed food to come in during sieges, or soldiers to sneak in intent on kidnapping a king. Nowadays they have a small section of these tunnels open on a guided tour, which was fascinating.

Climbing a tree in Sherwood Forest

Saturday the 28th
We all woke up bright and early so I could catch the 7:45 train to Newmarket, where I was staying with a friend from St. Andrews. On our way, uncle Paul recounted an amusing story where my uncle Mark had been staying with them some years earlier and had missed his train to London, meaning that uncle Paul ended up driving him half way to London to catch the train at the transfer. We had a good laugh over the story, but arrived at Nottingham station in a bit of a rush, just a few minutes before my train was scheduled to leave.
Now, I don't know if it was my fault, or the train station's fault, but we ended up waiting for my train at platform four, when we should have been at platform 3b. About two minutes before departure, we realized we were at the wrong platform. 30 seconds before departure we saw my train at platform 3b, which was about twenty feet away from us... across two sets of tracks. So we ran down the platform, climbed the stairs to cross over the tracks... and watched my train chug cheerfully away without me.

Auntie Diana and my little cousin

The most economical thing to do at this point would have been to wait for the next train (40 minutes later) and tell the conductor my sob story and hope he wouldn't make me buy another ticket. Instead, uncle Paul was wonderful and offered to drive me to Newmarket, an hour and a half away. I gratefully accepted his offer (thanks again, Uncle Paul!) and we set off for Newmarket, where we met my St. Andrew's friend, and a new chapter of my adventures began.


So. That was Nottingham. I really enjoyed my time there, both the company and the places we went, and I look forward to visiting again. My great aunt and uncle love gardening, so I plan to return in the summer, when everything will be in full bloom.

But for now, this post is long enough. I hope you've enjoyed the small selection of photos-- I have so many more, but no time to go through and edit them all!

Day 187: Halfway (and What Six Months has Taught Me)

Day 187. This past Monday, Day 183, was the halfway point of my time in Europe, exactly six months after my arrival in Scotland.

It’s odd to be halfway done (or two-thirds, if you’re only considering my time in St. Andrew’s, and not the three summer months I’ll spend in Europe.) It feels like I’ve always been here. I can’t imagine not knowing my way around St. Andrew’s, not using the word ‘biscuit’ correctly, not hanging out with all the amazing people I’ve met… St. Andrew’s has become home.

Sunset at Caulk Abbey, near Nottingham.

When I attempted to write this post yesterday, it descended into a sort of mope-fest about how I didn’t want to leave. So, today, I decided to take a more positive direction, and share five things I’ve always known, but that my time here has really cemented in my mind.  

1- The world is a big place

Canada may be a big country, but there’s just so much more out there in the world. There’s more to life than travelling back and forth between PEI and Ontario, more to do than sitting in my room writing essays. I used to love the idea of the ivory tower academic, sitting alone amidst books and papers, but after seeing more of the world I could never cut myself off from it.

Phone booths in Cambridge

2- Everyone’s got a story

My favourite thing about travel is meeting people, whether that’s a friend I’ve become super close to here in St. Andrew’s, or a random guy I chatted with on the bus. Everyone has such unique experiences and I can learn so much from them. Meeting so many new people has helped me to stop talking about myself and to really listen to other people.

3- People are worth investing in

Amidst the craziness of essays and shows and exams and events, people have to come first. I can’t let myself get too busy to chat for an hour on the streetcorner, or to pick up a family’s children from school, or to ask a friend “How are you?” and mean it. I’ve been really privileged recently to have some close friends share difficult aspects of their lives with me, and taking the time to listen and pray with them was 110% worth it.

4- I can be a friend

Too often I’ve been afraid to get close to people because I thought they wouldn’t want my friendship. I’ve waited for them to ‘make the first move,’ and, if that didn’t happen, I just let them drift away. This year I’ve been much more confident in my abilities to be a friend—I’ll ask people over for tea, or go up to new circles at church, or give random hugs. Sometimes people don’t reciprocate, and that’s alright, but most of the time I’ve gained new friends.

Overlooking the Danube, Budapest.

5- Say Yes

My drama coach taught me this years ago, and it’s finally starting to take hold in my life. Saying Yes means taking advantage of the opportunities that life gives you. It means visiting an ill friend when you should be writing an essay. It means waking up at dawn to dance on the pier. It means bussing all the way to London to see Coriolanus. Saying Yes isn’t an excuse for being irresponsible, but it means not missing out on once-in-a-lifetime opportunities.

That’s what I’ve learned in six months on exchange. Maybe my list is a little sentimentalized, but it’s all true. My time in St. Andrew’s has been (and will continue to be) a life-changing experience, in so many ways. 

Day 160 Part 4: Worth It?

After telling people about my ridiculous adventures in London trying to see Coriolanus, the most common question is: 'Was it worth it?'

It's a fair question. £70. 27 hours on a bus. 21 hours in three queues, with half of those hours in the cold and rain. Less than ten hours of sleep in three days. All that to see one play.

When I went to queue for Richard II, I woke up at 5:00am and arrived at the Barbican just before 7. As I walked up to the theatre, more than a little tired, I remember thinking that I had reached my limit- waking up at 5:00 would be the most I'd do to see a play.

Yeah, right.

Now, after going far past what I ever thought I'd do to see a play, the question of 'is it worth it' is a little tricky. Richard II was definitely worth waking up at 5:00am, but could Coriolanus possibly be worth the time and money I invested in it?

Strictly speaking, I don't think it was 'worth it.' Had I known what it would take to see the show, I definitely wouldn't have done it. As much as I absolutely loved the performance, I don't think any three hours are worth what I 'paid' for Coriolanus.

But still... I'm glad I went. In the same way that I enjoyed walking through London in the dark and wet, I somehow liked standing in a queue at 2:30am. Somehow, the utter insanity and discomfort of the situation made it into a positive experience. It was just so unlike anything I'd done before, or hopefully will ever do again.

After all, that's why I went. When am I going to get the chance to see Tom Hiddleston live in Shakespeare again? When can I just take off and go to London for two days? When can I be part of the insanity that is West End theatre queues?

Maybe it wasn't worth it. Maybe I was more than a little crazy to go. But it was an experience, one I won't forget any time soon. So, am I glad I went? Absolutely.

P. S. I promise that this is the last time I'll post about Coriolanus. I also half-promise that I'll start posting about my Europe trip soon. I've decided I'll just edit a half dozen photos from each location, rather than waiting until I've sorted through all 2000 pics. So maybe I'll get them up only a month late?

Day 146: Back in the UK... and Queuing

(The proper British experience- a queue)

I'm currently sitting in the Barbican theatre in a queue of far too many people, waiting for tickets to David Tennant's Richard II. My friends Hannah and Molly are probably at the Domar Warehouse (a smaller theatre in the West End) queuing for tickets for Tom Hiddleston's Coriolanus. If all goes well, I should get to see both today, one matinee and one evening. At very least I'll get to see Richard II, since I'm currently person forty in the queue, and they have sixty day seats.

All this theatre madness means, of course, that I'm back in the UK. London, specifically. It's fantastic to be back here, to have all the signs in English, to hear the British accents, and to be in a semi-familiar city. I may not have spent much time in London, but I definitely know it better than Budapest!

The strangest thing, actually, has been the language. It's been almost as jolting as when I got home from my Quebec trip- I was so used to hearing another language all around me, to not being able to read signs, and to speaking slowly when asking for directions from a local. Getting back to all-English was an unexpected shock. 

It's also funny how London feels so homey. As soon as I got off the plane, almost literally as my toe hit the tarmack, I felt like I was back where I belonged. The little happy voice started chattering in my head, and I immediately began talking in a British accent. I picked up a bit of an accent over Christmas, lost it while travelling, but as soon as I got back to England, even before talking to a single British person, my accent was back. 

I'm in London until Monday afternoon, hanging out with Hannah and Molly at this really posh flat in Chelsea, a nice area in west London. It's been great to see my friends again and I love getting to visit London with some other people. Hannah is also into rather different things than I am, so we're going to a lot of different places than where I went last time. If this was my first time in London I'd be disappointed that we weren't going to the famous sights, like Big Ben and the London Eye, but since I've been here before it's nice to see new stuff. 

This queue is ridiculous. It's now 9:30, which means I've been here for over two and a half hours. There are likely about twice as many people behind me as ahead, meaning that there are about 120 people waiting for day seats... about twice as many as there are seats. I have no idea why people near the end are still here. I suppose it is the last day the play is showing, so they're probably just holding on to the vain hope that someone will return a ticket. Still, it's another hour until the box office opens, meaning they'll probably be waiting for nearly two hours still only to be disappointed.

(Later note: I got tickets to Richard II! Unfortunately, we didn't get Coriolanus tickets, but I probably would have picked David Tennant over Tom Hiddleston, if push really came to shove. As I post this, it's the interval between the two acts of Richard II, so I have seen David Tennant! So much excitement!)

Days 122-123: Travel Live-Blog

Entry 1: 15:27h, England, East Anglia Trains

I'm on the road again. Or, in this particular case, I'm on the train, but I'll be hitting the road soon enough. I'm currently on a train from Cambridge to London, where I'll catch an overnight bus that will take me to Amsterdam. From Amsterdam, another train will get me to Friesland, a northern province of holland, where my mum's side of the family is from.

I'm a little tired, since the past few weeks have been so busy. Christmas in Nottingham was just wonderful- I reconnected with my great aunt and uncle, met their kids and grand kids, and visited so many historical sites (like lord Byron's house, Sherwood Forest, and Nottingham castle). I'll post a full account of my adventures once I get back to St. Andrews and can load all my photos on to my laptop. For now, just know that I had a lovely first Christmas away from home.

For the past weekend I've been in Newmarket, visiting a friend I met in St. Andrews. I got to see a bit of Newmarket, Cambridge, and Ely, as well as just spending some time with my friend's family. For New Years, we went to another friend's house where we rang in 2014 with some fireworks and a rousing chorus of Auld Lang Syne.

Ah! I'm in London! The train is moving rather slowly now, and in the distance I can see the Shard and the Gherkin. It's rather cloudy here, so I may take the tube to the bus stop rather than the hour long walk. Either way, it's time to start packing up my stuff and prepare for a few brief hours in London.


Entry 2:18:17h, London, Victoria coach station

I walked here. In the dark. And the rain. And it took me an hour and a half.

And I enjoyed it.

Alright, I admit that I wasn't having the greatest time toward the end, when I was walking through non-descript streets with soaking feet, a growling stomach, and a heavy bag. But until then, when I was strolling along the riverside walk, with Big Ben and the London Eye lit up against the sky... I enjoyed it despite the rain.

I'm not sure quite why I decided to walk. The tube station was right there and would have gotten me here so quickly and fairly cheaply. But instead I walked, and got cold and wet... and saw London.

I'm glad I walked.


Entry 3: 11:44h, Friesland, Drachten Bus Station

Well then. That was not exactly the most enjoyable of nights. But, then again, I didn't choose the overnight bus because I thought it would be fun. I didn't properly sleep at all, and, since it was dark, I didn't really see any of the three countries that we passed through. We stopped for half an hour at a service station in France and I was too tired to get out of the bus.

An unexpected addition to the journey was a ferry ride from Dover to Calais. I had assumed we'd be taking the tunnel, so I was a little surprised when we turned up at the ferry terminal. I really wish it had been daytime, because I caught some tantalizing glimpses of the white cliffs of Dover and I would have loved to see them properly. Also, a ferry ride to France could have been really exciting, but since it was 1am the day after New Year's, I just sort of half-slept and didn't see much.

But I'm here now. In Friesland. Waiting for my mom's cousin to pick me up. It's more than a little odd being here, in a country where English isn't an official language. What's even weirder is the fact that my family comes from here. Around the same time that my dad's parents emigrated from England, my mom's parents came over from Holland. I belong here in the same way as I belong in England. We'll see if, by the end of my stay, it starts to feel like home.

Days 81-85: London Sightseeing

*drumroll please*

Now, from the dark cave of Revision Week, from the midst of studying, I bring you... the final blog post about my London trip! I apologize for it being so late, but I had to sort through approximately 500 pictures to bring you the 70 best ones. Enjoy!

Since I've already covered  the West End shows and Doctor Who convention, I'm going to finish up with a post on some of the sightseeing I did in London and general thoughts about the city and my trip as a whole.

Thursday was a big day for sightseeing because it was all so new. I decided to start out with a general view of the city, so I took a bus down to canary wharf (doctor who fans?) and then hopped on the Thames Clipper, which took me all along the river, under the tower bridge and up to Westminster bridge.

I spent the rest of the day (when not watching shows) walking around and snapping photos. I saw Big Ben, Westminster abbey, the London eye, the Globe theatre, Trafalgar Square, and I briefly toured the British Gallery, where I saw some pretty famous paintings (like Van Gogh's sunflowers).

One odd thing about London is that everything is either free (the British gallery, the museum, the library... etc...) or really expensive. To go up the Shard (a really tall office building) costs 25 pounds, and even going in Westminster abbey is 15 pounds. I ended up not doing anything that cost money (so I could save up for the theatre) and instead spent my time doing free things.

Another strange thing in London is that there are simply so many tourists there. I wasn't expecting many people to be there in late November, but on every street corner there'd be people with cameras, and I'm pretty sure no London native is going to be taking a selfie in front of Big Ben on his way to work. There are also a bazillion tourist shops, all selling the exact same items. Prices were somewhat reasonable, so I picked up a few gifts for my family.

On Saturday I mainly just walked around because I got rather lost trying to find Harrod's (a really high end department store) and so I ended up seeing some less touristy parts of London that I otherwise wouldn't have visited. Then on Monday I visited St. Paul's cathedral, where lots of famous people are buried (including the poet John Donne and the composer Arthur Sullivan) and which has absolutely amazing views from its galleries (my legs are still sore from climbing hundreds of stairs. I also briefly visited the British museum (which definitely warrants another visit... or a week of visits) and the British library, which is an English nerd's paradise.

In short, I saw a lot in London, but there's still so much I didn't see. I didn't visit the Tower of London, or walk over tower bridge (though the Thames clipper did go under it) and I didn't visit Sherlock Holmes house at 221b Baker Street. However, I plan to be back in London for new year's, then again at the end of January to see David Tennant and tom Hiddleston, and then possibly again in the summer to see some performances at Shakespeare's globe... so I think it's okay that I didn't see everything on my first visit.

The train down past Edinburgh-- got some lovely ocean views

Train for London! :D

Cliffs of Scotland (or northern England... not sure where the border was)

Newcastle,  I believe

A pier at Newcastle... Rather St. Andrew'sish

London tube (people were looking at me really oddly when I was taking a photo)

My bedroom. Have I mentioned that the people I stayed with were fantastic? So kind and welcoming.

Canary Wharf. Still not really sure what it is, but there were a lot of people running around in suits.
No Daleks or Cybermen, though. I was disappointed.

Bridge at Canary Wharf. You can see the Shard and other famous buildings in the distance

London Riverline

I took the Thames Clipper down to the city centre. Expensive, as public transit goes, but worth it for the view.

"Sweet Thames, run softly 'till I end my song
Sweet Thames, run softly, for I speak not loud nor long"
--- T. S. Eliot, The Wasteland

Tower Bridge! We went right under it, but I need to visit it up close another time.

The Shard (and various other buildings whose names I don't know)

Trafalgar Square!

British National Gallery-- home to some famous painters... and Zygons...

Trafalgar square... super busy even in November

Some large archway on the west side of Trafalgar Square

The other side of the archway (since I know you all wanted the full view)

Everyone seemed to be really excited that the heron was around.
I was more interested in the London Eye and the British flag in the background.

Duckies

"I heard the minx remark
She'd meet him after dark
Inside St. James' Park and give him one!"
---- Gilbert and Sullivan, Iolanthe

Lovely monument right outside Buckingham Palace

Residence of the Queen. She, unfortunately, did not make an appearance.

Oh, hey there, Buckingham Palace...

Most British photo of life

Big Ben, and part of the Parliament buildings (I think)

The entrance to Westminster Abbey (not the prettiest bit)

The front of Westminster Abbey (much prettier)

Big Ben! And the London Eye! ALL THE BRITISH!

Any idea what this is? Any guesses? No?

Thames river when standing on Westminster Bridge

Nope, I take back what I said earlier. This is the most British photo of life.

London Eye

More London Eye

And (wait for it) more London Eye
(apologies for making that LOTR reference twice on this blog)

The Dome on the left is St. Paul's cathedral... but look how many bridges there are!

Shakespeare's Globe. :) I didn't properly go in because tours are expensive, and I figure that I'll come back to see a play next summer anyways

Police Public Call Box!

Trafalgar Square... at night! (well, really, it's probably about 6pm... but that counts as night this far north)

And Big Ben looks even cooler at night

Christmas lights EVERYWHERE

Some random white houses... this is when I got lost south of the West End and just wandered around for awhile.

Harrod's! Super cool department store, but way too crowded with tourists.

No idea what this is, but it was pretty.

Wellington Arch (I think... don't really remember)

Memorial of those who gave their lives in the Great War.

Trees. Sun. Happiness.
The parks in London do make great places to walk through.

Piccadilly Circus! (I think... Pretty sure this is where the opening sequence of Sherlock is filmed. But honestly, I was a bit lost at this point, so I'm not quite sure where I was)

Selfie by the fountain in Trafalgar Square... great place to stop and journal for a few minutes.

Random giant rooster in Trafalgar Square. I don't understand.

The view south when standing on that giant monument in Trafalgar Square.

CANADA REPRESENT

Feed the birds...

And feed the birds in Portrait...

And the birds come down with their wings dramatically sun-tipped...

The river flowing through St. James' Park

Leicester Square at night (vue cinema is where I saw the Doctor Who episode)

Not quite sure what this is called... but it always shows up on TV shows.
The church I went to was right around here.

St. Paul's Cathedral

London skyline from the middle of St. Paul's three galleries (several hundred steps up)

Mordor...
(I admit to editing... but I couldn't resist...)

SO MANY BRIDGES. AND BOATS. AND RED BUSES.

One of St. Paul's spires

Spiral staircases on the way up to the highest gallery

Such a fantastic view

The poor little Globe, so surrounded...

Mordor again... I need someone to photoshop Sauron's eye onto this pic

The front of St. Paul's (see those spires? I was up higher than that)

I didn't find the Muffin Man... :'(

Covent Garden Market (didn't stay for long, just sorta ran through)

British musem

Roman Emperors. I think one is Marcus Aurelius, but I can't remember which. The odd thing is that the one on the right looks exactly like one of the guys in my Beowulf class...