A Very London Week

I have been trying to soak up London as much as possible before school starts. And I am quite proud of myself for all that I have accomplished. Here are just a few of the highlights:

My college (community where I live, not my actual university) organized a tour of the House of Parliament and it was amazing. We started the tour at Westminster Abbey, the famous church which was originally built in 1066. it is an incredible Gothic building that is still used today for most large state affairs. During the 1834 fire, the crews prioritized Westminister Abbey because of its lengthy history, forfeiting saving other parts of Parliament which had to be re-built later on. The building consists of both House of Lords and House of Commons. There are so many interesting tidbits about the building itself and British traditions that I won't be able to adequately explain them but I highly recommend the tour so that you can see it for yourself. The best part of the tour was that we got to meet an actual Lord, who turned out to be Jewish. He was quite thrilled to learn I was born in Israel and spoke to me in Hebrew.

My well-connected college also happens to have a box at the Royal Albert Hall and does a drawing for each performance. I managed to win the tickets for last Saturday's show which consisted of several conductors leading the Northern Sinfonia and the Philharmonic Chorus. There was also a guest appearance by The Priests, a group of three, shockingly, Priests who are VERY musically inclined. They have become an international sensation and have a top-selling album. The hall is absolutely gorgeous, designed like a Roman amphitheater with great acoustics. Again, highly recommended!

The Courtauld Gallery has a highly-regarded collection for its size. It is best known for its impressionist and post-impressionist work, including famous pieces by Van Gogh, Monet, Renoir, and more.

My family from Israel came to visit me for five days and we had a great time exploring the city together. One of the highlights was visiting Borough Market on Saturday morning to see and taste some of the fresh produce. It was freezing along the river but well worth it.













Fresh local mushrooms; my niece and I :)

A church has been sitting on the property of what is currently St. Paul's Cathedral since 604 AD. The current cathedral was designed by Sir Christopher Wren and built between 1675 and 1710 after its predecessor was destroyed in the Great Fire of London. Located at the heart of London, it has a great view of the city... after climbing some 400 stairs.

My friend and I bought the cheapest tickets for Shakespeare's Globe Theater, which require you to stand in the "yard" of the famous theater right in front of the stage. Despite the aching feet by the end, we loved seeing Love's Labour's Lost the way it was truly envisaged by Shakespeare.

Arrival and Chance Encounters

There is something quite magical about arriving at a new destination- the limitless opportunity to re-create yourself, the recognition that in a year's time you will look back and remember fondly the awkwardness of trying to navigate a new city and a "new" language (British English is quite distinct from American English), the anticipation of starting school anew. Few things are as exciting as moving abroad- alone no-less- to embark on an opportunity that can completely change your life's course. As I arrived at Goodenough College in central London last week and settled into my small but adorable room, this realization crept up on me... that or the pure jetlag and exhaustion. I was so happy to be in my new home for this next year.

I have spent the last week running around London to get a feel for the city and to accomplish my tasks before school starts next week. Simply having a cell phone and a trusty London map book called A-Z (pronounced zed) made me feel more settled. It was only after a few days that the magnitude of this move dawned on me. I was power walking to Hyde Park and back, a nice hour and a half long walk, and saw literally more people in one place than I have ever seen before. The best way to describe it is like exiting an enormous sports arena or concert where there isn't an inch of extra space between you and the next person. Everyone was in a hurry to get to their destination, rushing past or alongside me. Even with my ipod in my ears I could feel the pulse of the city vibrating. And people were speaking so many different languages and looked so different from one another. It wasn't culture shock, it was CULTURES shock. I am living in a city of over 8 million people, representing every country on earth. London isn't just British, it is also Dutch, and French, Iranian, Pakistani, Nigerian, Indonesian and so many more. The challenge with living and studying in London is decoding its conglomerate culture and idiosyncrasies.

I was thinking about this as I returned from the tube (subway) today after a lovely lunch with a former colleague of mine. As it is Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, it is customary to share meals with friends and loved ones. I was in my own world walking alongside the park back to my room when I noticed three religious Jewish men. As I walked past them I said "Shana Tova" ("have a sweet new year") and continued on my way. One of the man quickly turned around and said "Shana tova, have you heard the shofar yet?" (The shofar is made from a ram's horn and is blown everyday during the first month of the Jewish calendar to remind us of the sins that we have committed the previous year so that we may correct our actions for the new year. It is considered a mitzvah, or good deed, to hear the shofar). I sadly realized that this is the first year that I hadn't heard the shofar on the new year as I hadn't gone to synagogue. He hurriedly pulled out the prayer book, said two prayers and then took out a shofar... he did the entire collection of callings, a good 3-4 minute show, standing next to the soccer field. I, totally astounded by the gesture and peculiarity of the situation, stood by and listened as people walked past, some staring quizzically, others averting their eyes. The man finished the set of calls and wished me a sweet year filled with success and happiness. As I slowly continued toward my dorm, I smiled broadly realizing that my own culture and heritage is also weaved into this fabric that is London and remembering that I am never alone in this city.

Shana tova u'metuka -- May it be a sweet and good new year!

Scrambling Until the Very End

It has hard to believe that I actually started "preparing" for London in May 2008 when I flew back to the U.S. to interview with the district scholarship committee. And today, 17 months later, I am actually leaving. Needless to say the time between these two events hasn't been always been so fluid and seamless but right now I am ready to embark on this next step in life.

I will spare my two readers the tireless details of applying to graduate school, re-locating (twice) and going through the process of saying good-bye. Only one event really sticks out in my mind as worth sharing- the dreadful visa process. My American passport was going to expire while I would be in London so I had to get a new passport. However because I was going to be traveling internationally I had to wait until I returned from Israel to apply. I needed to time the whole process perfectly- so having learned from Teach For America the art of backwards planning I mapped out the entire process of applying for a passport and visa. I knew it would be tight but there was no alternative. The first challenge was that my family was going on a cruise in honor of my mom's 60th birthday exactly 2.5 weeks after I sent my passport to get renewed. So I sent it overnight and crossed my fingers, hoping it would return in time.

Thanks to great customer service at U.S. institutions, it arrived in the nick of time and the family was off on a great cruise to the Bahamas and Mexico. (Aside- We got off the boat at Nassau, Bahamas and greeting us was a sign with the Rotary Wheel and their meeting schedule.... truly a worldwide organization!). During the previous month I had been preparing for the visa process which is quite possibly the most intensive background check possible- transcripts, visa letters, offer letters, bank statements, pictures, and the promise of your first born (just kidding). The Monday after we returned from the cruise I was off to get finger printed, kissed my massive envelope of important documents and sent it off to the UK Consulate in Chicago. I had four week until my scheduled flight on Saturday Sept 12th.

By Thursday Sept 10th I had still not heard anything and was ready to call United to see if it would be possible to change my flight. To my surprise a pleasant woman with a strong British accent called Friday morning to assure me that she had just completed approving my application and that the visa would be printed and should arrive in Minneapolis by Friday afternoon, the day before my scheduled flight.

Unfortunately I had missed that famous brown van known as the UPS guy Friday afternoon and was scrambling to find out where my package was located and how to get it before UPS shuts down for the weekend (Another aside- UPS asks "What can BROWN do for you?" how about staying open every day?! just a thought!). Turns out the van carrying my package would be back at the Maple Grove center at 7 pm, one hour before they close. I rushed there and made it 20 minutes before the center closed, frantically opened the package to ensure it was actually MY passport with a UK visa in it. It was in fact mine and at that moment a month's worth of stress and anticipation melted away.

So in a few short hours I am off to London via Chicago to begin this next amazing chapter in my life. Now that the bags are packed, my passport is at hand and my mile-long-to-do list has dwindled, I feel totally at peace. I know there will be bumps along the way but having gotten this far, I am also confident that it all works out... somehow.