Last Post in London?

It has once again been a very long time since I have blogged, but the past few weeks have been filled with adventures.  From the Peak District with my parents to Cambridge on my birthday and Edinburgh this past weekend, I have been going non stop! 

However, my internship is coming to a close tomorrow and, as much as I don't want to believe it, this is my last weekend in London.  Next Saturday I will be taking off for a tour around Italy before returning home on May 6th.  Time has flown by but I really had the time of my life!

Its been a while...

The past few weeks have been a whirlwind and it has been a while since I've had time to blog.  But, this relaxing, rainy London Saturday is the perfect time to get back on the ball!

Last weekend I took day trips to Warick Castle and Stratford-on-Avon, as well as Stonehenge and Salisbury.  Stratford was a great little town that was, of course, the home of William Shakespeare.  It was really neat to see where he was born and buried and see the surroundings that he might have seen.  Sunday was a wonderfully relaxing day trip, as Salisbury was a sleepy town where we had plenty of time to explore and enjoy a long cup of tea after seeing the iconic Stonehenge. 

The internship is still going well.  I am enjoying it more now that I am in the swing of things.  The highlight of this week was a domestic violence awareness training I went to with my supervisor.  She was running this training for interpreters who might encounter this issue in their work.  It was really interesting and fun to hang out with people from all over the world.  Many of them shared aspects of domestic violence that are different in their countries, and how certain behaviours are interpreted there.  It put a unique spin on the training and spurred great discussion.

Another highlight from this week was seeing Sir Ian McKellen live on stage! I got cheap tickets to see "Waiting for Godot" in which he is one of the stars.  It was a fabulous production, and he was mesmerizing! We had good seats, but were toward the back, but his facial expressions and emotion carried all the way back to us! His character, Gogo was also really funny.  The show was also very thought provoking.  In all honsety I hadn't known anything about it before booking the tickets (except that Gandalf was in it) but was really drawn in.  It is basically a play with no plot, just two men literally waiting for someone named Godot.  But in this simple story are wrapped fears about lonliness, death, pain and the strength of love and friendship.  It was all together fantastic!

And that brings me to today! My roommates and I spent the morning exploring the exciting, hip and funky Camden market, and then went down to Platform 9 3/4.  Sadly, the Hogwarts Express wasn't running, but we got some cute pictures anyway! Then my roommate Marissa and I went to the British Library which, we both agreed, was the most fantastic activity we have done in London (and it was free too!).  They have on display documents like the original Beowulf manuscript, works handwritten by Jane Austen, handwritten compositions by Handel and Mozart (including Handel's "Messiah") and Aesop's Fables.  We also saw the Gutenberg Bible, a copy of the Magna Carta, the original "Alice and Wonderland" and DaVinci's theories about the moon.  My personal favorite (of course) were handwritten lyrics by Paul McCartney and John Lennon for "Help!" and "Yesterday."  It was incredible!!

This time next week my parents will be here! I can't wait to show them around this wonderful city!

The Internship Begins...

It has been a while since I last blogged, since I am getting used to this new stage of my program and adapting once again to working life! The internship phase is now in full swing and I'm liking my placement more and more everyday.  Two days a week I am with the legal team of the organization and the other two days I am at one of the organization's refuges (they don't use the term "shelter" here).  The refuge in particular has been interesting for me, since it is organized very differently than the ones I have worked in before.  The women have their own apartments, where they can stay for around 1 year, so they have a lot more freedom and privacy than at a shelter where they are surrounded by other people all the time.  It is like the transitional housing programs in the US, except that these are women who just left their batterers.  I feel like this longer time frame may make it easier for women to move on, and make it less likely for them to go back to their abusers. It also could make it difficult though, if what a woman really needs is a strong support system of other women around all the time.  I am really interested to see how it works in more detail.

I am also still loving my British Youth Culture class! We took a field trip to Abbey Road Studios on Monday, which was incredibly exciting!! We were just walking down the road, and all of a sudden we were crossing the zebra stripes! It was awesome. To be in a place that I knew for certain all four of the Beatles were, spent a lot of creative time, and loved, was so moving.  The studio is still in use for recording and so we weren't able to go inside, but just being there was enough.  It was interesting to be there at this time, when the studios were just saved by the British government.  The announcement that Abbey Road was going to be sold caused quite an uproar over here, as it is such an important landmark and part of British culture.  Watching the public reaction in the news was really interesting and just illustrated how important the Beatles really were and still are to the British people. 


This past weekend I took day trips from London to Leeds Castle and Canterbury on Saturday, and Bath and Avebury on Sunday.  Both were really interesting and we drove through some really beautiful English countryside on the way to our destinations.  There is so much to see in London and England that I am excited to be staying in the UK for the next few weeks exploring!

A Fantastic Trip to Ireland

The first week of the second part of the semester has officially started.  Today was my first day of the internship, which was interesting...but more on that later!

Last week Zach and I toured around Ireland, and it was a fabulous trip! We were expecting a rainy week, but ended up having perfect weather! It was not too cold and we didn't get a drop of rain until our last night!) 

We started off in Dublin on Tuesday night, staying only until Wednesday morning.  But we fit in a trip to the Temble Bar, where Zach broke a bar stool, we tried Guinness and heard live Irish music! Wednesday morning we walked to some of the sights like Trinity College, the Dublin Castle and other things.  It was a fun city and I would like to go back sometime when I have more time to spend there. 

Wednesday afternoon we moved on to Sligo, which was personally my favorite part of the trip (and I think Zach would agree!) There we stayed with my Mulligan relatives, Mary and Padraig, who run a bed and breakfast and the largest dairy farm in western Ireland! Wednesday night Zach and I walked around in their area, down to the ocean where there was a lovely beach and cliff walk.  The Sligo countryside is absolutely gorgeous, and exactly what I always pictured Ireland to be.  

It was great to be able to visit with the Mulligans as well.  Padraig, who is a Mulligan cousin, looks so much like my grandfather and the whole family is wonderful.  He and his wife Mary showed us such generosity and hospitality and made us right at home.   

We spent most of Thursday in Sligo as well.  Padraig showed us around the dairy farm in the morning.  They have somewhere around 600 cows and milk them all twice a day.  There were some newborn calves (3 hours old!) that we got to see and we watched the milking process for a while as well.  It was great to be on a farm, but what I loved the most was hearing Padraig talk about it.  It was clear how proud he was of the farm he had completely built up to be one of the most successful in Ireland.  In addition to showing us the farm, he drove us down to Easky, a spot on the coast that is world famous for surfing.  It was gorgeous! On the drive he also showed me the foundation for the house where my great-grandfather lived.  I loved seeing where my family is from! 


After a delicious lunch cooked by Mary, Zach and I climed Knocknarea, the mountain in Sligo that Queen Medhbh/Maeve is supposedly buried on top of.  We had seen this mountain from afar during our whole visit, and we were looking forward to the views from the top.  Seeing Queen Maeve's grave was really great, but the views were even better! We could see everything from up there! It is a flat topped mountain, so we were able to walk all around it and see Sligo from different angles.  The light kept changing as well, making each view different and more beautiful every time we looked.


Thursday night we took the bus to Galway and, once we arrived, we were too tired to see anything.  We got up with the sun (literally) on Friday though and saw Galway Cathedral, the shopping areas and got some breakfast before hopping onto a bus tour.  This tour took us all around Burren National Park, as well as the Cliffs of Moher.  We saw so much along the way- castles, Celtic crosses, small towns, megalith burial sites, and had lunch at O'Connor's pub! The Cliffs were goregous, as was the countryside we passed through to get there.

Saturday was spent in Cork, which we did not see enough of.  We did some exploring Saturday morning, but went to the Blarney Castle in the afternoon which occupied most of our time.  It was a beautiful park, with much more to see than just the Castle and the Blarney Stone.  We did climb the Castle and kiss the Stone (which was much more scary than I had expected!) but also wandered around the grounds.  Saturday night we went out to a nice and relaxing dinner for our last meal in Ireland.

And now it is back to work! Zach flew back to Boston on Sunday and class started up again on Monday.  I'm only taking one class during this phase, British Youth Culture.  It seems great.  We are learning all about how British Youth Culture developed and why it has had such an impact on this country and the rest of the world.  And you can't complain about an academic class that involves listening to and learning about the Beatles and Bowie! 


Today was the first day of my internship.  I am doing two days a week at in the organization's legal office, and the other two days in one of organization's refuges (shelter).  There is another BU student working at the legal office with me, which will be fun.  The people all seem nice and I think it will be a good experience.  I am also excited to be here in London for more than a few days! There is still so much to explore!

Back from Barcelona

This has been a busy week but I finally have some time to reflect on last weekend's trip to Barcelona! Because my program is split up into two parts, the class and the internship phases, we are in finals right now! This week has been full of writing papers and presentations and getting ready for next week's tests.  But everything is caught up, right in time for a fun weekend!

Last weekend in Barcelona was the best trip I have taken so far! Even though I was only there for a very short time, I was able to see the main sights of the city, and relax on the beach all in the same day! The weather was gorgeous- 63 degrees and not a cloud in the sky! Soaking up some sun for a weekend was refreshing after being in cloudy London.


The city was bright and full of color, amazing architecture and fantastic food! We spent all Saturday walking around, starting at the Sagrada Familia.  The cathedral was beautiful, inside and out.  Every inch is covered with detail and sculpture.  There was a small exhibit inside that explained how Gaudi drew inspiration from nature, taking natural geometric shapes and transforming them into architecture.  The columns used inside the cathedral look like giant tree trunks, making the observer feel like they are standing in a forest, under a canopy of leaves.  Though the building is made out of stone it feels organic, connected with the earth despite all of its grandeur.  It is a shame that the cathedral was never finished and still under construction, but it is easy to imagine how fantastic it will be when it is finally done!


After the Sagrada Familia we walked up to Parc Guell, which was probably my favorite part of the trip.  It is at the top of a large hill, so from it you can see all of Barcelona.  Gaudi designed it, and there are mosaic covered buildings, fountains, benches and pavilions all over the place! I would have loved to have had all day to explore every last corner of it, but we had to cram a lot in so just stayed briefly.  We did go into the house Gaudi lived in for 10 years which is in the park.  It was interesting because, as Emily pointed out, for all the eccentric designs and architecture he created, his house was fairly simple! There was some interesting furniture, but it was not as ornate as I would have expected.  

After the Parc Guell we went to the Casa Batllo, a house Gaudi designed for a family.  The outside, including the roof is completely covered with mosaics.  Gaudi designed the house to look like an underwater living organism, and so the mosaics are all in cool colors, and look almost like shimmering algae.  The inside has no straight lines, with curving wood staircases and incredible decorations.  It is really hard to describe this house, since there was so much to see and each room was so different and beautiful.  My favorite part was the "courtyard" or the staircase that went up through the middle of the house to the roof.  The walls are covered with blue tiles that got darker and darker as the stair case ascended. The stairs were also surrounded by wibbly clear glass panels that, with the combination of the blue tiles in the background, made you feel like you were submerged in water. It was beautiful!


We then made our way down Las Ramblas, the main street in Barcelona, stopping to get some wonderful paella.  The street was a lot of fun, filled with fountains, street performers and vendors and trees.  We stopped at La Boqueria, a famous market along Las Ramblas, which was filled with every food imaginable.  It was so colorful! There were also adorable chocolates (the hedgehogs were my favorite) that we had to buy!


Las Ramblas led us right to the harbor, where we sat among the boats and ate our snacks.  It was a beautiful day and so wonderful to sit in the sun! For the rest of the day we wandered over the the Cathedrals and then down to the beach.  


Once the sun set we headed back to the hostel for a free dinner hosted by the owner.  It was definitely one of the highlights for me.  We had heaping portions of chicken and pasta and mingled with other travellers from all over the world.  I love that about hostels- you never know who you are going to meet and are bound to have some really interesting conversations! I also realized what I love so much about people who travel- they talk in terms of "when" you visit, not "if" you visit.  They assume that because you are travelling now, you will have the ability to travel again, which is a really hopeful and optimistic way to think about it.  


Sunday we went to the Picasso Museum (for free! because we just happened to be there on the first Sunday of the month. Go us!) which was great! I was really impressed and wished I could have spent more time.  It was mostly his early work, ending with a few great Cubist pieces.  I think it is really important for people to see Picasso's early work, since he was a child prodigy and produced amazing works from a really early age.  Seeing what he produced when he was younger, what talent he had, really helps Cubism to make more sense.  It is easier to see what incredible genius it took to create a movement like Cubism when you understand where Picasso came from. It was a great way to end a great weekend in Barcelona!


My week in London was also good, despite the paper writing! I am excited about what I have learned these past few weeks and am even more exicted for the internship phase! Zach is flying into London tomorrow and we will be heading to Ireland after finals on Tuesday!

Amsterdam

My roommate Marissa and I spent this past weekend in Amsterdam! We left very early Friday morning and returned Sunday night.  We stayed in a house boat hostel, which was awesome! It was very small and the bathrooms didn't smell great but it was a fun experience! Since houseboats are a big thing in Amsterdam, a city full of canals, it was a good way to get the feel of the city!

Friday we took a free walking tour around Amsterdam, which was great! This company has tours in cities all over Europe, and tells the visitors a lot of details about the city and landmarks around it.  We learned all about how Amsterdam was founded, the history behind it and its liberal policies and what the future looks like for the city.  It was also a great way to meet people from other countries, since there were folks from Australia, Spain and Portugal, as well as some students from New York! The tour ended at a restaurant that had cheap stampot, a Dutch dish consisting of a sausage, mashed potatoes mixed with cabbage and gravy, so we had an early dinner and heard about all these different people's travels.  It was great and gave us a chance to speak with people we wouldn't have met otherwise.  

After the tour and dinner, we walked to the Anne Frank House museum with the other students from New York.  The museum was really nice, and obviously very emotional and I was very glad to have visited.  It was very simple, as Otto Frank did not want there to be furniture in the rooms they had lived in, but just to see how small a space so many people lived in for so long was very moving.  The quotes from Anne's diary also made the experience more real and touching.


On Saturday we set out early into a sleepy Amsterdam and made our way to the Rijksmuseum.  It was a nice musuem but smaller than I had expected.  There were lots of great paintings by Rembrandt, Vermeer and other Dutch painters.  After that we walked to the van Gogh Musuem, right down the street.  I was very excited to go, since my favorite van Gogh is in the Amsterdam museum.  I was slightly disappointed, since the museum, though it consists of four floors, only has one floor of van Gogh.  The others house works that served as van Gogh's influences and also works that were influenced by him.  It was interesting and important to see where his art work came from and how it impacted future artists but I wanted some more Vincent! The works that they did have were fantastic though, including some very unusual early works and some of his most famous later works.  Wheatfield with Crows, my absolute favorite, was even more gorgeous and emotional in real life, and I was so glad to be able to stand in front of it.  


Saturday evening we wandered around, found the tulip market (which was beautiful) and got some dinner.  Then we went on another tour, through the same company, that went through the Red Light District.  Marissa and I were glad to go with a group, since we were a little wary to walk through the district alone at night.  The tour was with the same guide and he told us the history of the district and how everything works, which really enhanced the tour.  


Sunday we spent the remainder of our trip wandering around the city.  We did some shopping and found some great buildings and streets and got to know Amsterdam a little more.  It was a great weekend! 


I'm now in my second to last week of class before the internship phase and so am busy writing papers and presentations! It is weird to be in that stage of the "semester" already, since we literally just started!

This was a fairly uneventful week!  A highlight though was my visit to the van Gogh special exhibit at the Royal Academy of Art yesterday.  It was by far the most comprehensive and consuming exhibit I have ever been to.  It was, as many van Gogh exhibits are, looking at the connection between his letters and his paintings.  However this exhibit not only paired letters with paintings, but with ink drawings, early works and sketches.  Each painting was preceded by sketches and drawings, which made it easy to see how his thought process worked and how he came about painting the masterpieces that he did.  It also contained a great number of early works that I had never seen before, and worked up to his later style.  It was fabulous to literally watch his artistic talents develop and to read how he felt about it.  The pair of paintings of van Gogh and Gauguin's chairs were in this exhibit; two paintings I love.  The last room was the most emotional, as it included the last paintings van Gogh produced and contained the very last letter he wrote to Theo and the copy of that letter he had on his person on the day he died.  Through the quotes and works they included in the previous rooms, this already emotional story became even more moving. It was a fantastic exhibit!

Today I went on a field trip to the Freud Musuem in London, the house where he spent the last year of his life in exile from the Nazis.  It was really interesting and contained a lot of the objects that had been in the house when he lived there.  The most interesting room was his study, which had the famous couch and chair.  But curiously, the study was filled with ancient artifacts from other civilizations.  It was interesting to see what Freud surrounded himself with and to learn that he had other interests besides the ones that are always stereotyped and talked about today.

After the field trip I had my interview for the internship phase of the semester. I really liked the location and the organization and the women I met were very nice.  I should be all set with this placement, and am due to start at the end of February! I think it will be a great experience.  Just from talking with the staff in an hour this afternoon, I can see that there are different populations of people who need help in the UK, populations that I have never learned about or been in contact with, and who are dealing with different types of violence. I am excited to learn more and am looking forward to that part of the semester.

My roommate and I are heading out to Amsterdam early tomorrow morning, so there will be many more stories when we return!