Job Hunt

Now that I'm finally settled into a flat, it now comes time to commence the intensive search for jobs. I've been applying to any and everything I see. From pubs in central London to office positions all over the city. So far nothing has turned up. I finally got word back on the job I interviewed for and they turned me down. Oh well, I didn't want to work for their stinking college anyways (well... maybe I did). Today though I have an interview with a pub called "The Queen's Head" near Leicester Square. Hopefully I can get hired on there and then continue looking for a bit higher paying jobs somewhere else. That's about all the update for now, nothing much else is happening. My flatmate and I are getting along very well. Last night we watched the football game (soccer for you non-Europeans... which is just about everyone) between Manchester United, apparently the best team in England, and a Turkish team whose name I can neither remember nor pronounce. I was charged, by Alastair, the duty of researching football and to chose a team to support. I have yet to do this, I might save that for after my interview today.

P.S. Pictures of my flats (the old and new, so you can see the amazing difference) will be posted as soon as I get internet at home, which should be sometime this or next week.

P.P.S. English lesson for the day - restaurant terminology: "for here or to go" is "eat in or take away". Of course most Brits speak quickly and don't care to annunciate their words so this phrase sounds like a load of gibberish until about the 20th time you've heard it, then it makes sense (but until the 20th time or however many times it takes to become comprehensible, you stand around looking like an idiot, not knowing how to respond to what sounds like "et-in-or-tak-wey".

Flatmates

I can finally say that I have moved to London now. It took a while, but I found a flat and a flatmate that are both wonderful! Yesterday, Alastair meet me at the tube station near my old flat and helped me bring my bags up to Golders Green. I unpacked a bit, then we went out to IKEA and got some stuff for the flat and did some grocery shopping. Let me tell you how not fun it is to bring back groceries and home decor on the multitude of buses (ok... only two luckily) that it takes for us to get to the mall near here. Anyways, after that we cooked a pizza in our gas oven (another major adjustment for me - not the cooking part, the gas stove part) and had a little wine and watched Mulholland Drive. We then went around our little flat thinking of ways to improve upon the drabness of it all. So far we've decided to rearrange our bedroom furniture... and that's about it. But we do have some great ideas for the bathroom once we have money, time and inclination to act upon them. Today his mom and sister came to look at the place and they've gone to the center to do some touring things. I am just settling in a bit more into the place and running some errands. That's about all for now. Soon we'll be subscribing to cable television (we're both tv/movie/music/book freaks) and highspeed internet. So until then I'll keep coming to internet cafes. Which, by the way, I have recently found some actual "internet + cafe". The one I'm in now, for instance, has both computers as well as coffee and pastries. What more in the world could you want? Besides maybe a comforter for my bed (which I foolishly forgot to get yesterday and consequently froze last night between my two new fitted twin sheets, which are actually too big for my twin bed - they don't have flat sheets here, none that I've found at least. You just use a fitted sheet and a comforter... weird people.) So off to complete my shopping by purchasing all the things I forgot to pick up yesterday. Which was actually quite a bit.

P.S. English Lesson for the day - "pot holder" is "oven glove" here; learned that last night when I asked if we had a pot holder and Alastair looked at me like I was mad (crazy).

Golders Green

I have now most definitely found a wonderful place to live. It's north of the city but close to a tube line that will take me directly into the center of London. The neighborhood is called... Golders Green. I'll be living with one other person and we've talked enough to know that we have a lot in common. His name is Alastair, he just graduated from college as an English major. He's working at a PR firm here and just moved into this one bedroom flat that he converted into a two bedroom flat. (Basically he turned what would be the living room into his bedroom.) So he advertised a room to let online, where I found his ad, called him, met him and agreed to move in. I'll be moving on Saturday.

The neighborhood itself is a really nice, quiet residential area, that apparently is the Jewish heart of London. Lots of kosher food here! (Ironically, as I sauntered into a discount shoe store, looking to replace my over-walked, sole-stripped trainers - what we call tennis shoes - I was accosted by the owner after I inquired whether he had a pair of shoes in my size. He wanted to know if I was looking for cloth shoes for Yom Kippur... I said yes. I walked away wondering why I answered in the affirmative ,having really no idea what he was talking about, or why you would need cloth - not leather - shoes for Yom Kippur.) Anyways, the area is great.

Again.. out of time, more to come soon!

The home that wasn't...

The lovely flat I had rented is not quite so lovely as I first thought. The place is actually rather trashy. Which in itself is not terrible, but that the toilet area is basically only one step up from a Turkish toilet (that being a hole in the ground) by the virture that it does actually have the proper facilities (that being a toilet). However the rest of the toilet room, if one can call it a room, is I'm afraid one good 1.5 richter-scale earthquake (or merely the vibrations of a nice and heavy truck rolling down the street) away from falling in upon itself. Add to this dismaying thought and scene, that of the bathroom - which is literally a small pantry sized room with only a bathtub - and it's more permanent residents, spiders galore, cobwebs strewning everything, also in such a state as would give Ghandi the shivers. (Consequently I've abstained from taking a shower in this place for three days, until at last a friend also on the program here, graciously let me use her beautiful, clean, insect-free shower this morning. Needless to say I've been extremely irritable for the past few days, as I've slowly become grimier and grimier.) I have thus decided it would be most prudent to leave said establishment. My mind was made up when I heard the family overhead, and I can hear everything, screaming and yelling the other day for about three hours in the morning, trying to get one of the daughters to school, a place she vehemently abhors apparently. So now the excitment that I held for a brief shinning moment is turned yet again into horror as I face the prospect of looking for another place to live. Which is why I'm at the internet cafe yet again to look online for flatshares. So that's the latest update. More fabulous and horrifying stories to come I'm sure in the future.... stay tuned.
P.S. No job yet.

My new home...

Well I did it!! No, I didn't get a job yet. But the next best thing. I have a place to live! It's in the London borough of Camden. A nice little place, north but not far from the center of town. It's near Regent's park and the Bunac office. I will move in on Saturday. It's basically the basement rooms of a family's house. The family consists of a mother, father, four daughters and a cat. I have a bathroom, kitchen, bedroom (with tv) all downstairs with me, and the three floors above are for the family. Apparently there is another renter there with me, a German girl. I didn't see her today, but I'm sure we'll run into each other. So that was the big accomplishment of the day, that and finishing my first book read almost entirely on tube transit - Angels and Demons. I actually finished the book in a cafe down this little town square area near Oxford Street (the big posh shopping district). So now I'll head back down to the far south of town to my friend's place and scrounge up a little dinner.

Streatham

Yesterday, Monday, I moved into the attic flat (seriously a crawlspace converted into an apartment) of the DU alumni girl I met here. It is very nice of her to let me use her apartment for a week and when she informed me that I might have to turn the dial on the electricity to keep it running, I thought that was some funny British humor..... until I went to her place on Sunday to see it and she showed me this little switchbox with a slot for coins (and a handy tupperware full of pence on the floor next to said switchbox) and told me how to put in some coins and turn a little dial to ensure the electricity wouldn't go off. But really it's a nice little place in Streatham, yet another of the infinite neighborhoods here. The only other drawback is the fact that it's about an hour south of central London and let me tell you, dragging my gigantic fully extended bulging suitcase with a 3600 cubic inch backpackers bag on my back, also filled to the brim, and my precious laptop ("my preciousss...."), navigating through the London underground, then yet another train station - it's this far out of the center - then down the winding streets, being sure not to get run over by crazy drivers, was not the most enjoyable ways to spend my Monday. But I made it and I love having the space to myself. No more hostel for a while. It's fun enough, but not with your entire life in tow.

As for the weekend, I spent Saturday morning strolling up and down Nottinghill. Didn't find the infamous blue door from the movie but had a fun time looking for it and at all the hundreds of kiosks set up. I had lunch at the Prince Albert Pub, and got bangers and mash (translation - sausage and mashed potatoes). It was a lot better than it sounds really! Then I went to the British Museum and walked around the ancient exhibits, the usual Egyptian, Assyrian and Mesopotamian things, you know.. Then I had dinner at the Museum Tavern and this time tried the other British classic - fish and chips and had some local brews. That was really good actually. Walking back to the tube station, I stopped off at another little cafe, where one of my new found friends works (a Spanish girl I met in the hostel, who'll also be staying 6 months to work and study English). I didn't see her, but I had some pudding (which is really cake) that was also quite delicious. Sunday I walked around Hyde park and then went to meet the girl whose house I'm staying in. She and I walked around the south bank of the Thames (pronounced "tems") then made our way up to Trafalgar Square and Chinatown and got lunch at a Chinese restaurant. Then I went home only to go back out again to meet some Bunac people at a place near Trafalgar for some drinks and ice cream. Now I'm going to call and try to find places to live so there's the update for now.

BUNAC and DU

(Note: I tried to blog earlier this week, but it wouldn't let me publish it so I'm going to try to rewrite my witty comments from the other day.)

On Tuesday I went to the BUNAC headquarters and did orientation. It was good to know that I'm not alone in the program (and that it really does exist ;) ) I was a bit disheartened though that many of the participants came with friends or on very planned out school programs. But I met some nice people and one guy, Richard, and I went to get lunch and cell phones. Then we went back to Bunac and starting looking for jobs and places to live. After that we topped off the night by meeting his friend and having dinner at a fun Japanese place and took in a play by the Reduced Shakespeare Company (which is actually made up of three Americans). They did "A Brief History of America" and it was great! Really funny guys. I can't wait to see their Shakespeare: Abridged play (supposedly all of Shakespeare's work in about an hour, or something similarly ridiculous).

The next few days have been spent pounding the pavement, so to speak, and looking for jobs. Thursday I met up with many alumni from DU and talked about London, living and working here, and other various things. The good news is that one of them, a girl from the international studies school, offered to let me stay at her flat next week while she's out of town, so no more hostel! (at least for a while). Also I got an email today offering me an interview at one of the universities I applied to before I came. So there you go. Now I'm off to find food and make some more contacts here.

The first days

I've been in London for two days now and I'm finding my way around pretty well. Of course making some minor and enourmously embarassing mistakes, such as totally butting in line - to the very front - to get a tube ticket as I didn't see there was a mass amount of people lined up politely behind me. Then using the Emergency Exit at the BUNAC office, which was clearly and blatantly signed so, because I was so nervous and decided not to read the signs but just go through the first door I saw... bad plan. Loud alarms. OH and cameras to boot, so they caught the whole thing on tape, yeah! But I expected to be making stupid mistakes like that, though I still feel like an idiot.

Anyways, I went to orientation yesterday and that was great, met with other people on the program, went to lunch with this one guy, Richard, then got a cell phone and went back to BUNAC to job hunt. After that I met up with Richard and his friend Ryan and we had dinner, then took in a play by the Reduced Shakespeare Company, "A Brief History of America". It was great! Then came back to the hostel and went to bed before anyone else.. I feel like a little old lady. But my excuse is that I'm still adjusting to the time.. so there. Well better go do more job hunting.

From London with Love

Hello all! I'm in London now! 2-6 Inverness Terrace to be exact. At the Hyde Park Hostel, a bit shabby place, but what do you expect for £11.50 per night for a 12-bedded dorm... ah the life of an unemployed ex-student. I got here with no problems, beyond nervousness which prevented much needed sleep on the plane, but other than that all was well. I arrived at Heathrow a little after 7am and after circling the airport a bit, we landed. I then found the Heathrow Express, picked up my pre-purchased e-ticket from the machine, got on, got to Paddington Station and queued up for a taxi. That was the more hairy part of the trip as the driver didn't seem to know where I wanted to go, so after turning onto Inverness Terrace and having a slight discussion of the house/street number of the hostel, I saw a place called "Hyde Park Inn" and in my excitement and desire to be done traveling I told the driver to stop, paid him and was only at 58 Inverness Terr., so I then walked the last leg of trip to house #2 - 6, where my hostel lay. Now that I'm here, I think I'd rather be at the Inn. I arrived an hour before check-in so now I'm biding my time at the internet cafe -- which by the way is misleading as there is no cafe to be had here, though there is internet, however I could really use a cup of joe right now -- anyways, I'm here tying away and waiting for check-in so that I can finally be settled, then I might try to find a bit of lunch and perhaps a shower and then off to explore the city (or at least this neighborhood of it). So keep you posted. The good news for now is that I'm here! Until later...

Our hero cometh! 

Who is this guy again? 

Washington, DC

Here I am for a few hours more in the nation's capital. I got here without incident on the 2nd, flying standby, I managed to get put in Business class. Very nice! Mike, Stacy and I spent two days doing the usual touristy things... going to the mall, monuments and Mount Vernon. Highlight of this trip: soaking our tired feet (after walking 16,000 steps) in a fountain in the Sculpture Garden while listening to live Jazz. I am now fully re-packed, having to buy a new back pack since my old one was breaking and I needed to shift some weight from the suitcase to my pack to avoid having to pay fines for excess weight charges. Now we're waiting to go to the airport. I'll be flying Virgin Atlantic at 7pm tonight arriving 7am London time tomorrow. Then I'll be off to find my hostel and possibly do a bus tour of the city to get acclimated to my new surroundings. More to come in the next few days, as both the hostel and the program headquarters have internet access. Until next time....