And So It Begins...

Monday, September 20, 2010. The adventure begins.

2:00 pm: Siodhbhra,  her mom, and her little sister pull up to my house. My mother feels compelled to take a "first day of school" picture in front of the Oleander plant. After that, we say goodbye and head off towards LAX.

2:45 pm: We arrive at LAX, Siodhbhra's family comes in with us and hold our (probably overweight) carry-ons, while we check in. Then we head off to security. At this point, things are starting to get rather real. We're getting closer and closer to the point of no return, where we are completely committed to heading off to London.

We also recorded this fun (and terrible) video:

5:20 pm: After a delay, we are finally allowed to board the plane. The seats are tighter than normal, but Siodhbhra and I are next to each other so its fine.


6:10 pm: The plane takes off and we both have a minor freak out. There's definitely no turning back now.


Nine and a half hours later, we land at London Heathrow Airport. With the exception of a rather annoying young girl behind us, the flight was relatively uneventful. We had to walk hither and yon from the plane to get into immigration where Siodhbhra and I had to separate because she's all special and has an Irish passport. The line for EU nationals (like Siodhbhra) was a lot longer than the line I had to go in so for a few seconds, I thought I had lucked out but it turns out that Siodhbhra's line went a lot faster than mine because all she had to do was give them her passport but I had to give them a passport and my fingerprints and what not. After we got our bags, we met up with Siodhbhra's uncle Noel who ever so kindly picked us up from the airport. His daughter, Ruth, also met us there so that we would have two cars to fit our bags and us. As someone who has had to drag her bags through the London Underground, I was infinitely grateful.


It was about a 45 minute drive to the house which is in Morden. As soon as we arrived, Noel made tea. This (the Noel making tea), I would soon learn happens a lot. It made me feel so much like I was in England. The combination of the flight and Noel meant I had something like five cups of tea  since leaving the States. And also that my transformation into my father is nearly complete.


I have to say that I was a bit nervous about staying with Siodhbhra's family, being an outsider, as it were. But everyone I met was absolutely lovely. They are so nice to take us in, give us food, and beds to sleep in, and of course tea and are just very nice people. It has definitely set the trip off on a very good note.

Until Later!
Kathryn

And a Girl in Kent

Our glorious and wonderful friend Angelique is heading off to England on Friday for a study abroad programme. We therefore have offered her a guest spot in our blogging adventure. So without further delay, we give you Angelique:

Katie and Siodhbhra have been gracious enough to offer me recurring guest spot on this lovely blog, as I too am bound for England this fall. So, you may ask, are you attending LSE? Are you also an international relations student or even at least into political science? Well, um, no. Unlike my esteemed colleagues, I am a biology student attending the University of Kent for a semester long study abroad. While they are writing theses and taking classes on game theory in London, I shall be cramming advanced immunology and forensic DNA analysis into my brain over in Canterbury.

So what can you expect from me on this blog? Obviously some geeking out over science, probably some tired rants about how stupid it was to take only bioscience modules and live in a dorm again, and some of the highlights of Canterbury and UKC campus. Also, look forward to the epic search for a good Indian restaurant somewhere in the university area so I can get my ethnic food fix. All in all, it’ll certainly be interesting to spend my last semester as an undergrad gallivanting in a country where words ending in 'ise' now end in 'ize' and pants are underwear.

At least I’m already used to thinking in metric and Celsius.

P.S. - If you care to read more of my individual adventures in Kent, in addition to other random and nerdtastic topics, I’ll be posting entries on my LiveJournal. I can found at http://foxp3.livejournal.com/

And Lo, An Agreement Was Made

SIODHBHRA IS BACK!!! WHOO HOO!! The flatmates are reunited! Observe our awesome picture:

The incredulous Ms. Kathryn and Ms. Siodhbhra

We drew up a roommate contract and because we are lame/ were bored, we decided to try and make it funny. Note the important clauses about zombie invasions and meeting the Queen. Enjoy:

The Book of the Sisters of the Order of the Flatmates

And lo, in an effort to promote peace and unity between the Sisters of the Order of the Flatmates of the American Tribe within the House of ISH, on this the six and twentieth sun of the eighth moon gathered and entered into a holy pact under punishment of the withholding of warm, baked chocolatey sustenance.

Of the lights of the room, thou shalt extinguish them after the four and twentieth hour of each day upon declaration of weariness by one of the Sisters of the Order of the Flatmates of the American Tribe within the House of ISH. Neither of the Sisters of the Order of the Flatmates of the American Tribe within the House of ISH shall cause the lights to shine upon the face of a Sister of the Order of the Flatmates until after the tenth hour of morning.

Of the waking bells, none of the Sisters of the Order of the Flatmates of the American Tribe within the House of ISH shall not cause them to sound more than twice prior to the rising of both of the Sisters of the Order of the Flatmates of the American Tribe within the House of ISH.

Of weary travelers seeking shelter in the American Sector of the House of ISH, none shall be granted entry without the permission of both of the Sisters of the Order of the Flatmates of the American Tribe within the House of ISH. No male may bed for the night, and any guest must depart before the rise of the fourth sun. Those not seeking repose in the American Tribe of the House if ISH shalt be banished before the third and twentieth hour.

Of the noise resounding from the electronic devices of the Sisters of the Order of the Flatmates of the American Tribe within the House of ISH, the Sisters shall don headphones unless granted pardon from another Sister of the Order of Flatemates of the American Tribe within the House of ISH.

Of the food within the walls of the Sisters of the Order of the Flatmates of the American Tribe within the House of ISH, the financial burden shall weigh evenly upon each of the Sisters of the Order of the Flatmates of the American Tribe within the House of ISH. If one of the Sisters of the Order of the Flatmates of the American Tribe within the House of ISH doth not pay up at the market of the island natives, she shall give native coin the other one of the Sisters of the Order of the Flatmates of the American Tribe within the House of ISH before the rising of the next sun. Unless received as tribute, all sustenance (most particularly of the warm baked chocolately variety) belongeth equally to each of the Sisters of the Order of the Flatmates of the American Tribe within the House of ISH. She who doth not cook shall be compelled to clean.

Of the maintenance of the lands of the Sisters of the Order of the Flatmates of the American Tribe within the House of ISH, burdens shall be borne equally. If the possessions of one of the Sisters of the Order of the Flatmates of the American Tribe within the House of ISH proveth to interfere with the rituals of another of the Sisters of the Order of the Flatmates of the American Tribe within the House of ISH, that Sister shall be compelled by the other to picketh up after herself.

Of the foot coverings worn in the land of the natives, the Sisters of the Order of the Flatmates of the American Tribe within the House of ISH shall be removed when treading on the holy ground of the American Tribe of the House of ISH for longer than ten one-sixtieths of one hour (ten minutes). Travelers seeking passage or shelter shall also be compelled to removeth their unclean foot coverings.

Of the possessions of the Sisters of the Order of the Flatmates of the American Tribe within the House of ISH, a Sister shalt not use of another’s possessions without first humbly seeking permission. Tribute in the form of warm, baked cholatey goods or hot beverages shall cause the other one of the Sisters of the Order of the Flatmates of the American Tribe within the House of ISH to look favorably upon her Sister’s request.

Of invitation to be in presence of Her Highness the Queen or other leaders of the native land. Each of the Sisters of the Order of the Flatmates of the American Tribe within the House of ISH must give her most sincere effort to ensure the presence of the other.

Of the attack of the undead, it was nice knowingest thou and aimeth for the head.

And lo, peace and harmony in the land of the Sisters of the Order of the Flatmates of the American Tribe within the House of ISH was assured, but lest strife rend the two apart, both Sisters hereby pledge in all matters to remember their love and dedication to the other when abroad in a Strange and Rainy Place.

Kathryn and Siodhbhra

And there was much rejoicing

With 32 days until we leave for London, two major hurdles have been overcome.

First, it appears I have a job. (Cue excited happy dance) This is awesome on many levels because 1) It means I will be able to eat the entire time I am in London. And that, my friends, is very important and 2) It is a job that is actually somewhat related to what I am studying. The firm is called Monitor Quest and they do risk management and security consulting, something that could be useful for an International Relations manager. We still have details to finalize and what not about what my position/ pay/ start date ect. is, but those are just minor things.

Secondly, the friendly UPS guy showed up at my door today (in California, where I am now) and after like, 5 minutes of trying to confine the dog, he gave me an overnight package which contained... drum roll please... THIS:

Woo Hoo! A student visa it's all shiny and pretty and lets me stay in the country until January 30, 2012. And it lets me work up to 20 hours a week (good because, see first part of the entry). And those little black marks don't exist on the visa, I just don't want to advertise my passport number to the world.

Siodhbhra doesn't have to have one of these because she was lucky enough to be born to Irish parents and is therefore a dual Irish and American citizen (technically a tri-citizen because every citizen from an EU country is a dual citizen with the EU). And is therefore aloud to study in any EU country without a visa. So she will just have to gaze at the shiny sticker from afar.

The last thing that needs finalizing is housing. We submitted our application and hopefully should be hearing back from the International Students House soon. And I have to move out of my room so my little sister can take it over. That should be fun. But things seem to be falling into place.


Kathryn

Issues to Ponder

So, a couple of weeks back, I got a welcome letter from the International Relations people at LSE. It gave me some dates that are good to know, like when the programme starts, what courses I am going to have to take, a link to the course catalogue (which didn't work) and a link to the registration website (which also didn't work). I have to say, that I am not surprised about the whole not working website, because, quite frankly, the London School of Economics's website is the most labyrinthine, indecipherable thing on the face of the planet. Seriously. Siodhbhra and I are convinced that the step in the admissions screening process is seeing if you can navigate the website. I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that they keep creating new pages, and don't get rid of the old ones or forget to change all of their links.

The sunglasses are there for scale.

But I digress. In the letter, they suggested we study one of three books to prepare for our international politics course in addition, they said we should read a "selection"  of six other books. I don't really know what "selection" really means. I think it will mean, however many I have time for, probably one or two. And there would be a test in October to asses our knowledge of International Relations.

So I ordered two of the books on Amazon, and one of them, World Politics Since 1945, arrived yesterday. To use one of my favourite phrases, I was a bit disconcerted. It's bloody huge. And not only is it enormous, it is just straight text, with really long paragraphs, and almost no maps or figures or anything. I think the best way I can describe it is "dense." In every sense of the word. Now. I like to think that I am a hard working student. But I have to wonder what I am getting myself into, if this is the summer reading. 

A page, chosen at random. Note all of the black lines of words. All the pages are like this.

Adding to my consternation is the fact that the British University system is one that relies heavily on reading, rather than the more lecture/ seminar based system in the US. And that is not my strong suit. Maybe I should have thought about that before I decided to go there. Whoops. Too late now. In reality, I wasn't coming in completely blind to that information, it's just starting to hit home that I am going to have to work hard this year.

Also, the workers and the major airports in the UK (including, of course, Heathrow) are talking about striking. Oh goody. 

Kathryn

What's In a Name?

While the people I am around all the time are probably sick of hearing me go on and on about how I am moving to London (in 41 days!) and going to London School of Economics, I get more excitement than I should from getting to say such things. However, I have had with rather alarming frequency, the following conversation:

Me: "Yeah, I'm going to get my masters degree"
Other person: "Oh? Where?"
Me: "London School of Economics"
Other person: "Oh. Where's that?"
Now. I know that in small town Wisconsin, where I am, LSE is not exactly the topic of daily conversation. And I know that I might say "London School of Economics" kind of fast. But still.

This conversation also puts me in a somewhat awkward situation because if I answer "In London" the person might feel like I am being condescending or they might feel like "well, duh." So I usually just say "In England."

The fact that this has happened at least half a dozen times has made me wonder why. There are several explanations that come to mind.

Wait. Which London is this?

First, they don't think that I would be going abroad for my Masters so the idea that it is in England doesn't occur to them. Second, maybe people think it was named after Mr. London or Dr. London or whatever. Or third, they are thinking it might be a different London.

So, as a public service, and because I was bored and wikipedia is awesome, I have decided to give you a little bit of information on all of the different Londons in the world.




London, England, United Kingdom

Area: 659 square miles
Population (2007 estimate): 7,556,900
Mayor: Boris Johnson

Capital of England. Home to the London Eye, the London Bridge, the Thames, the tube, tea, Parliament, rain, and soon, me (and Siodhbhra). Also those guys in funny bear skin hats.

This is Tower Bridge. London Bridge is boring looking.

It started as a Roman settlement in 43 A.D. and now has the largest city GDP in Europe. The "City of London" is actually a 1.12 square mile area within the heart of Greater London, home to a lot of large business and much of the country's financial industry. Greater London is made up of 32 different boroughs, each has its own local government. .


London, Ontario, Canada

Population (2006): 352,395
Area: 162.34 square miles
Province: Ontario
County: Middlesex County
Mayor: Anne Marie DeCicco-Best

Downtown London, Ontario

The area was home to several Native North American tribes before European settlement in the 18th century. The village was founded in 1826. During the Upper Canada Rebellion, it was a center of Tory (Crown favoring) support and so the British government located a garrison there, this greatly increased its population.

Today, the economy (according to Wikipedia) is based on medical research, locomotive production, insurance, and information technology. It also has a hockey team called the London Knights. Like the original London, it also has a Thames River.

Wrong Christmas.

London, Kiribati (aka Christmas Island)

Part of the Kirbati Atoll in the Pacific Islands, it is the 2nd largest city on the atoll of Kiritirmati and in whole Line Islands with a population of 1,829.






London, Ohio, USA
Population (2000): 8,771
Area: 8.5 square miles
County: Madison
Mayor: David G. Eades

Established in 1811to serve as the county seat. Notable residents include Richard A Harrison, US Representative from Ohio, Clyde Tingley, the former governor of New Mexico, and some guy who played at Ohio State (insert automatic Wolverine "Booo" here).

London, Kentucky, USA

Population (2000): 5,692

Hey! We're not to late!

Area: 7.7 square miles
County: Laurel
Mayor: Troy Rudder

The county seat of Laurel County, London, Kentucky is also home to the World Chicken Festival, which attracts 250,000 people annually. Also Kolb Aircraft, who are awesome people. Notable natives include Flem D. Sampson, the 42nd Governor of Kentucky, and Chera-Lyn Cook who was Miss Kentucky in 1998 and placed 4th runner up to Miss America 1999.


London, Arkansas, USA

Population (2000): 925
Area: 2.4 square miles
County: Pope

Whoever the mayor is, they are apparently not cool enough for the wikipedia author to include them. Notable natives include Brooks Hays, a deceased member of the US House of Representatives and Mccoy Heath, owner of one of the region's largest egg farms and chicken breeders (what is it with Londons and chickens?).

London, California, USA

Population (2000): 1,848
Area: .6 square miles
County: Tulare

They don't get a mayor because it's not a city or town or whatever. London, CA is a "Census-Designated Place". Wikipedia has no other information that you would care about.

Careful London, don't get all high and mighty.

London, Texas, USA

Population is estimated to be around 180. Even though it's unincorporated, it still has a post office.






London, West Virginia, USA

Another unincorporated community. The London Lock and Dam is located there.



There's also London Township, Minnesota and New Londons in Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Texas, Wisconsin, and Prince Edward Island, Canada.


Hope you found this informative and/ or fun. The pictures with captions took me for bloody ever but I think I may have a system worked out now.

Till next time!
Kathryn

Updates!

I know it's been a while but I thought I would update you on our progress.

It is 66 days until we leave for London! (Cue hyperventilation now)

We have navigated the labyrinth that is the LSE website to apply for housing, and get single rooms, which are far too expensive (plus, I will be denied the pleasure of annoying Siodhbhra at any hour of the day) so we are in the process of looking for other options. We have an idea, but fall back ideas are always welcome.

I found out that I have to take a test in the beginning of October regarding my "knowledge of international relations". This should be interesting, because I feel like I know basically nothing on international relations. ("But, Kathryn!" I hear you say "Why are you getting a Master's degree in it?" So that I can actually know something about it, that's why.) To this end, I got a letter recommending that I read one of two books and a "selection" of something like 8 books. What the heck does "selection" mean? Is it British for read all but one or read two or three?

I'm also looking for a job, which can be kind of difficult from 6,000 miles away. I am thinking I might be able to talk to some people during AirVenture, which is a HUGE airshow starting in a week and a half that I am working at.

This whole process is getting very interesting with me in Wisconsin, Siodhbhra in Beijing, trying to coordinate with people in London. Welcome to the globalized world!

Kathryn