August 14th, 2011 by Rachel | Country: Great Britain | No Comments »
One of the courses I took this past year in London is Ethnographic and Documentary Filmmaking. For my final project, I created a film, Conversational Exchanges: International Students’ Experiences in London, sharing international students’ experiences in living in London, which includes stories of their newfound discoveries, obstacles and benefits of studying in London.
Part One:
Part Two:
August 14th, 2011 by Rachel | Country: Great Britain | No Comments »
I would like to sincerely apologize for being out of the picture in the past year. It was due to a very good reason. I just spent the past year living in London attending a grad school to pursue a masters in anthropology.
I didn’t go to London just to earn a masters in anthropology. I went there to ‘reinvent’ myself, broaden my knowledge of the world, gain a greater appreciation of the world surrounding me, and most importantly, meet new people who are now my closest friends and will be my travel companions in the future. In my courses, I studied how people interact with mass media, technology, photography, products, and companies. The courses and activities in which I was involved this past year gave me lots of food for thought – Do I want to pursue a PhD to be more involved in research? Do I want to continue photography or reconsider filmmaking? Do I want to work with people with hearing loss? Do I want to be a journalist? Do I want to work in the travel industry?
While studying and writing papers for school, I ventured throughout London and the UK. Oxford, Cambridge, Dover, Brighton, Worcester, and Southampton are all little trips I made by simply taking trains and buses. Taking these trips gave me the realization of the ease of traveling within the country and led me to think about the logistics of traveling in the US. One day, I wrote on Facebook, “The UK’s public transportation put New England’s public transportation to shame.” My country does have a network of trains and buses, and New England is one of the areas in the country with the best system. However, it is not the best in the world.
My friends and I in Brighton
When organizing trips with friends to other cities in the UK, booking a bus or a train was as simple as clicking the button of a mouse. You can find a number of buses and trains taking you directly from one destination to another without a lot of hassle. I’d be in Oxford within an hour by train from London or in Brighton within two hours by bus from London. This is not the case in the US. If you want to travel to Savannah from Atlanta by train, you have to go all the way up to DC and then come back down. Greyhound has a bus service, but it takes nearly five hours and there are only five time slots. Not to mention, the price is not cheap compared to the price of taking a National Express, UK’s major bus coach service. At one point, I looked into taking a bus from Boston to North Adams, MA, and while there was a way to get there, there was only one time slot and not to mention, the bus stop is inconveniently located far from the town center, so far that I’d have to take cab. Experiencing the differences of public transportation gave me thoughts of wanting to advocate for a better system in the US. This is a difference that traveling can make in one person’s life – understanding the issues that our own country has and learning how we can solve the problems.
Aside from gaining a greater appreciation of the UK’s public transportation system, I continued to appreciate the charms of old architecture as I did during my travels to Italy and France. It was more than just about gaining appreciation of the designs of Tudors and building with brick facades, but also gaining an understanding of where the designs in New England exactly came from. I found architecture in New England, in particular in Boston, and in the UK to be very similar. It is obvious that the settlers from the UK from hundreds of years ago brought their culture to New England.
On top of traveling to various destinations, I considered myself to be part of many destinations in the world everyday as I was represented an international student in London. Believe or not, London is an empire for international students to study there. Not one of my flatmates was from the UK. They were from Poland, Germany, China, Australia, and the Netherlands. Many of my classmates were from other parts of the world, including Sweden, China, Korea, Canada, and Jamaica. I was immersed in learning about everyone’s home life, cultures and values. I learned that most homes in China do not have an oven. Universities in Sweden only have pass and fail grades. Germans and Netherlanders value common goods. I was also enriched in learning to cook different cuisines – Swedish cinnamon rolls, dumplings, and Russian soup.
My flatmates and friends learning to make dumplings on Chinese New Year!
Aside from being surrounded by students from all parts of the world, I was also part of a cosmopolitan life. Everywhere I walked, there were Japanese restaurants with luscious Sushi, Chinese restaurants serving hot pots, Belgian restaurants serving mussels, American chain stores including Apple Store, GAP, and Urban Outfitters, and a Chinatown nestled in middle of the city adorned with beautiful lanterns and Chinese decorations. One stranger walking by me could be from Saudi Arabi while another could be from Australia. While standing on the subway and looking at everyone’s physical appearance, it was evident that London is rich in diversity. As much as I wanted to escape my culture, seeing McDonalds and Starbucks on every corner gave me a sense of appreciation that many people around the world treasure my own culture. I also gained an understanding of why people adored my culture – It is the creativity and ideas that we develop and innovate that many people admire.
Everywhere I walked, there were many cultural activities ranging from museums to theaters. I am not going to deny that I saw ten Broadway shows, including Mamma Mia, Priscilla Queen of Dessert, Dirty Dancing and Legally Blonde.
In the past year, I formed a very close friendship with a particular woman from China, Sophia. She was my classmate, study partner, chef partner, and partner-in-crime. I will be heading to her home in China in a few weeks. I will be writing a separate post about how our friendship came to be where it is today.
I could go on and write many more posts about the lessons and morals that I’ve learned in the past year, but I am going to end here for now, and perhaps write more in the next few weeks. I just need to finish writing my dissertation and hunt for jobs as my masters program ends next month.
August 10th, 2011 by Rachel | Country: Other | No Comments »
Last summer, I was featured in the UK’s The Weekly News, sharing my story about overcoming the obstacles of having RP and seeing the world with usable vision. Click on the images to view the full size.
August 9th, 2011 by Rachel | Country: Other | No Comments »
August 1st, 2011 by Rachel | Country: Great Britain | No Comments »
Who knew three years ago when I was on the London Eye that I would be on the London Eye again at least a few more times a few years later? When I am on the London Eye, I am always in awe of the beauty of the city, especially the elegant and ancient buildings, the Parliament and Westminister Abbey.
July 31st, 2011 by Rachel | Country: Great Britain | No Comments »
When I wake up to a warm sunny day and look out the window which shows a view of a park behind my flat, I often see people in their bathing suits. Laying on the grass and bathing in the sun at parks in London is Londoners’ way to go to the ‘beach.’
London has many parks spread throughout the city, giving people opportunities not only to soak in the sun, but also to play games and sports, have picnics and socialize with friends. It’s a place where people can escape the bustling life without leaving the city.
July 30th, 2011 by Rachel | Country: Great Britain | No Comments »
As London is a cosmopolitan city, not one person can miss seeing a Sushi bar or an Italian restaurant or McDonald’s. I took a moment to enjoy an evening at a Sushi bar called, Yo! Sushi where I had the opportunity to taste many different sushis. As I was eating the sushi, I wondered if the sushi I am eating in London tastes the same and is made the same way as they are made in Japan?
July 30th, 2011 by Rachel | Country: Great Britain | No Comments »
In my flat, a bulletin board adorned my wall. As days passed by during my year in London, I added new items to the board. The board went from being totally empty and calling me to tell a story to being covered with a story that I could tell about my life in London. Pamphlets of broadway shows such as Mamma Mia, Love Story, Legally Blonde and Cinderella told the story of my joys of going to theaters. The name tag with “Visitor” and a photo of me on it was a proof that I visited the Parliament. Birthday cards shared the memories of celebrating my birthday abroad for the first time. The map of the school campus told the story of my arriving in London and not knowing where I was going, but getting loss gave me the opportunity to explore the undiscovered spots. I never missed seeing the black cabs that roamed through the city, and I certainly did take them along with Tubes and Double Decker buses. My bulletin board spoke a 1000 words.
July 30th, 2011 by Rachel | Country: Great Britain | No Comments »
Taxi roaming in London!
July 29th, 2011 by Rachel | Country: Great Britain | No Comments »
Russel Square Underground Station
