I came, I saw, I blogged about it

Dear Internet, 

The prodigal LSE Lass has at last returned. I would have written sooner, but the Chinese government has a bone or two to pick with freedom of expression, especially websites known to inspire bloody national revolution like Blogspot. So sorry for not returning your calls. I missed you, too. 

So here I am in the midst of one of the most exciting cities in the world, about to embark on what are sure to be many a madcap adventure. The first of these involves navigating British postgraduate education, which in the humble opinion of this red-blooded American is truly baffling on a number of levels. As the Bard once said, "Let me count the ways":

1. Drinking. Appears to be mandatory. Can happen anywhere, at any time. Prepare appropriately. Professors at the LSE frequent the pub George IV; at all costs, it is to be avoided the day before an exam or a paper is due.

2. Course selection. Appears to be capped, but no one knows; appears to involve applications, but no one is really sure which ones or how to do it; appears to involve approval of the department, which is attained in an unknown fashion; and appears to be due. Soon. Panic ensues. 

3. Student Help Office. Open regularly, Monday through Thursday, 2-3pm, only in weeks immediately preceding a partial lunar eclipse or immediately following the anniversary of the ascension of the fourth Vice-chancellor of Mauritania. Barely exaggerating. 

4. Student Union. It says something about the school as a whole that one of the most prominent student grounds on campus is the Marxist Society. Words cannot express how excited I am to debate them while inebriated in a public place every time they try and give me a flyer. Margaret Thatcher will be proud. 

5. Kidnapped penguins. Apparently, it happens here. 

6. The Queen christens our buildings! How adorable!

On a slightly more serious note, it strikes me how much London is a city of immigrants, and how much this resonates with my own experience. My own mother lived here for years when she was young and still at school. My aunt and uncle came here during the Irish recession in the 1980s and never left. My great-aunt and her four daughters still call this place home decades later. Countless cousins have passed through here for every reason you can imagine: for education, finding work, finding a new place to live, visiting friends and family who have come before, and just for the sake of passing through. London attracts them all. And now here I sit, another immigrant in a line of immigrants. Who knows how long this city will be home?

Of Triangular Sandwiches and Lemonade

One of the most overused quotes when describing the Anglo-American relationship is that the US and the UK are "two countries separated by a common language". While I thought it was amusing the first time I heard it, I must say that I am now getting rather sick of it. Aside from the fact that it gets old, I think that it implies that the only thing different between our two countries is language, while that is clearly not the case.

I have lived in London before, spending two months in 2008 interning in Parliament so I had some sense of what I was getting into before I came this time. There are a lot of things that people expect when coming to the UK. Most people know, for example, that they drive on the other side of the road, chips= fries, and colour and labour are spelled with an added u. But there are still some things, smaller things, that remind me that I am, to use another oft quoted phrase, not in Kansas anymore. Here are some, in no particular order:

 Triangular sandwiches:


Pret is another one of the triangular sandwich shops



    Britain has some strange obsession with pre-packaged sandwiches that are cut diagonally and put into triangle shaped boxes. There are at least three ubiquitous chains all over London that sell these along with sandwiches on baguettes, salads, fruit and what not. My favorite of these is "Eat" simply because of the name. I can just imagine the conversation:

"Hmm darling, what do you think we should name our store"

"I don't know, dear this is the millionth time you've asked me. People don't care what you call a place, all they want to do is eat"

"That's brilliant!"  

Keyboards:

Mostly the set up is still the same but there a few things moved. The quotation marks are shift+2, where the @ symbol is and the @ symbol is where the quotation marks usually are. There also an extra key next to the enter where the # and ~ are. The £ (pound sign) is above the 3, there is a $ over the 4 and the ` and ¬ symbols are where the ~ usually is. Now, I know that this isn't all that different but, as a child of the 90s, I grew up learning to type, it is pretty much second nature to me. And it is driving me mad to try and get used to it. Especially since I am using my US keyboard on my laptop and a British one here on campus so I can't just convert completely. The number of times I typed @Eat@ instead of "Eat" earlier in this entry was quite annoying.

Lemonade:

In the US, Lemonade is a lovely summer drink made from lemons, water, and sugar. Occasionally, if people are feeling fancy it can be made of sparkling water and there might be some raspberry or strawberry flavor thrown in. Sprite, 7-UP, or Sierra Mist is a clear soda that they claim is lemon lime flavored but we all know is just Sprite (or 7-Up or Sierra Mist) flavored. Here, Lemonade is what we would call Sprite and Cloudy Lemonade is what we would call lemonade.  

The Electric Kettle:

It's kind of one of the bet inventions in the world. It'll boil water really fast without you having to use the microwave or the stove and then you can make tea. Which is also awesome. The one at Siodhbra's Aunt and Uncle's house is almost constantly in use.

On a separate note, I had a meeting about US loans today. The guy who ran it was really very nice and was availing us of all of the tales of woe regarding the law changes that the US government made and how little time they had to actually figure things out. So, again in my life, it seems that I am a beta tester. That means they still are trying to figure stuff out, like how we can apply for additional loans if we need and what not.

Also, I am officially a registered student of The London School of Economics and Political Science. With a student ID card and everything. (Cue expressions of OooOoos). Like almost everything else, the EU students get to go through a quicker line while I had to stand with all of the non special people. Note to self: figure out how to get EU citizenship without giving up my US one.

Until later,

Kathryn

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