The aforementioned greeting "you alright?" Is in proper British use mashed together slurred and accented and often comes out sounding "y'woight?"
Of course a "biscuit" is a cookie, "chips" are fries and "crisps" are potato chips.... but my new favorites are "a rubber" is not a condom, but an eraser. Your neighbor in class may ask you out loud if you have a rubber on you. And if someone asks you what time you would like to be knocked up in the morning, they are referring to tapping on your door to awaken you. :)
Monday, October 26, 2009
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Ooooodles of pictures
Drumroll please........
The first day in London we toured a lot of the city. This is my wonderful flatmate Laura who you will see gracing many of my pictures : )
First exhibit: St. Paul's Cathedral in all its glory
Self explanatory, a rubbish-eater on the Thames river (pronounced Tames)
This spire was the original inspiration for what is now the standard of wedding cakes! It is the church of the matron saint of beer, London's favorite saint.
This is technically the Millenium bridge, but the locals call it the "wibbly wobbly bridge" because that's what brits call things, and apparently the day it opened in 2000 so many people walked across it that it began to wobble and they had to close it down for 8 months of fortifying reconstruction. A little bit humiliating.
A replica of the Globe Theatre, for you Shakespeare fans!
One of the oldest pubs in London. In my first few days here someone told me that London is so cool because the pub down the street has been there longer than the United States, and the drunk sitting outside it nearly as long as I've been alive.
The Clink prison museum, (previously an actual prison) I haven't been inside yet but I will. We were told that the worst offense was not murder, theft or treason, but a woman who cheated on her husband. It was punishable by boiling in hot oil, and it was up to the mercy of the prison guard whether the oil was heated before or after she got in.
In this cage hanging from the side of the prison is a warning of what would happen to you if you broke the law in London. It's funny because now things aren't so much "illegal" as discouraged for your own welfare. There are very few bums and beggars around, and if one tries to plant himself on a street corner, he won't get fined but a police officer will go up to him and try to pursuade him that there are indeed much better ways of making a living than to resort to this. And it's not really illegal to drink alcohol out on the streets, it's just that if you are, you probably have a sleeping bag under the other arm.
My stylish flatmate ;)
A beautiful old window
"The Golden Hinde" a replica of Sir Francis Drake's famous ship. This replica has actually sailed round the world.
I love this picture : )
The current London Bridge (yes there have been many reconstructions and we all know why) quite insignificant, huh?
The Tower of London. To me it looks like Disneyland. If you want to see a great movie about a French guy who tightrope walked between the tops of these two towers and then moved on to do the same between the Twin Towers in New York, watch "Man on Wire". Super awesome I highly recommend it.
A cool building. I think this is the London Parliament but I could be totally wrong.
The white castle on the hill. There's more to that story, but the tour was already getting really long when I got to this point so my memory is not so great.
A fabulous window display, of which there are hundreds in London
Our first show in London! Laura and I stopped to have a drink at a restaurant and the guys in this band came by and gave us tickets, so we thought "why not?" They turned out to be pretty impressive. A totally american style rockabilly band, but they're from Spain and only two of them know any English. They're called "Dusty Trip."
Yeah I'm pretty much an awesome photographer.... (it's Laura)
Laura rocking out to Dusty Trip
Having a blast
And that's all for now folks! Until we meet again...
The first day in London we toured a lot of the city. This is my wonderful flatmate Laura who you will see gracing many of my pictures : )
First exhibit: St. Paul's Cathedral in all its glory
Self explanatory, a rubbish-eater on the Thames river (pronounced Tames)
This spire was the original inspiration for what is now the standard of wedding cakes! It is the church of the matron saint of beer, London's favorite saint.
This is technically the Millenium bridge, but the locals call it the "wibbly wobbly bridge" because that's what brits call things, and apparently the day it opened in 2000 so many people walked across it that it began to wobble and they had to close it down for 8 months of fortifying reconstruction. A little bit humiliating.
A replica of the Globe Theatre, for you Shakespeare fans!
One of the oldest pubs in London. In my first few days here someone told me that London is so cool because the pub down the street has been there longer than the United States, and the drunk sitting outside it nearly as long as I've been alive.
The Clink prison museum, (previously an actual prison) I haven't been inside yet but I will. We were told that the worst offense was not murder, theft or treason, but a woman who cheated on her husband. It was punishable by boiling in hot oil, and it was up to the mercy of the prison guard whether the oil was heated before or after she got in.
In this cage hanging from the side of the prison is a warning of what would happen to you if you broke the law in London. It's funny because now things aren't so much "illegal" as discouraged for your own welfare. There are very few bums and beggars around, and if one tries to plant himself on a street corner, he won't get fined but a police officer will go up to him and try to pursuade him that there are indeed much better ways of making a living than to resort to this. And it's not really illegal to drink alcohol out on the streets, it's just that if you are, you probably have a sleeping bag under the other arm.
My stylish flatmate ;)
A beautiful old window
"The Golden Hinde" a replica of Sir Francis Drake's famous ship. This replica has actually sailed round the world.
I love this picture : )
The current London Bridge (yes there have been many reconstructions and we all know why) quite insignificant, huh?
The Tower of London. To me it looks like Disneyland. If you want to see a great movie about a French guy who tightrope walked between the tops of these two towers and then moved on to do the same between the Twin Towers in New York, watch "Man on Wire". Super awesome I highly recommend it.
A cool building. I think this is the London Parliament but I could be totally wrong.
The white castle on the hill. There's more to that story, but the tour was already getting really long when I got to this point so my memory is not so great.
A fabulous window display, of which there are hundreds in London
Our first show in London! Laura and I stopped to have a drink at a restaurant and the guys in this band came by and gave us tickets, so we thought "why not?" They turned out to be pretty impressive. A totally american style rockabilly band, but they're from Spain and only two of them know any English. They're called "Dusty Trip."
Yeah I'm pretty much an awesome photographer.... (it's Laura)
Laura rocking out to Dusty Trip
Having a blast
Ok so here are some pics of my Creative Drape and Volume class. Each of us were told to bring in two old garments and drape them into something new, really fast, take a picture and tear it down and do a new one. It was a great exercize in just letting creative juices flow and see what kind of shapes we could come up with. I had a sweater and a long boxy skirt and these are a few of my creations.
And that's all for now folks! Until we meet again...
Keflavik
I finally figured out my camera situation and found a little spare time. Yay! So I'll show you a few in chronological order.
This was my short visit to Keflavik, Iceland. I really wanted to see Reyjavik (Bjork's hometown) but the buses didn't run until noon and I wouldn't have gotten back in time for my flight, so I just visited tiny Keflavik for a few hours until I could stand the cold no longer and caught a cab back to the airport. It was right on the ocean, and 21 degrees fahrenheit. I bought a pair of gloves within 20 min of being there, but they did hardly any good. I would absolutely love to study the language some and go back to see more of Iceland, it's so beautiful. (If you click on the pictures I think they enlarge)
This is the beautiful black rocks of the coastline.
This was a huge statue, I believe it is symbolic of a viking ship. Icelandic culture derives a lot from their viking predecessors and the mysticism they followed like runes (charms with symbols that had specific meaning)
When I arrived early in the morning, all of the park benches were turned upside down like this, a man drove up in a van and flipped them all over. I'm not sure if they were overturned intentionally or if the wind off the water blew them over. It was strong enough, I wouldn't be surprized.So this "inserting pictures" method is a little wacked, I'm going to start a new post to insert the rest in a more effective manner.
Monday, October 12, 2009
London is the real deal, man
Sorry I haven't posted in a while! I have sooooo much to write about and not nearly enough computer time for it all. I'll have to just give a few highlights.
So being here makes me so devastated that I am only staying for one quarter. There is so much to learn, so many people with incredible amounts of experience, I just want to sponge up everything in their brains and live and breathe that for years. I am taking a millinery (hat making) class from a woman named Prudence Spiegel. She makes all of the headpieces for all of the fashion shows of Yves Saint Laurent, Vivienne Westwood, Lacoste and more. For those of you not fashion savvy, those are some of the biggest names in the business. She is highly trained and has tons of experience.
Then I'm taking a creative drape and volume class from an incredible instructor named Georg (pronounced Ghay-orgh ... it's German) and he has a degree in fine arts and another in photography and graphic design, then he moved to London to work in fashion illustration and decided to study fashion design. He is really enthusiastic and artsy and I'm really excited to train under him, especially because our focus in the class is going to be a huge challenge for me and I love being challenged. Our assignment for the final project (after a series of other projects) is to create a runway garment that is inspired by electronic music, the color scheme is loud clashing colors, and it has to be really big and crazy and creative. As you can see from my portfolio (my first post) This is completely the opposite of my work, so I am really getting pushed out of my box and I'm gonna have to use a lot of muscles I'm not used to working, but it will be a fun challenge.
And finally, my internship with Ulrich! I forget if I posted this before, but I interviewed for and was accepted for an internship with Ulrich Engler. I had never heard of him before, but he is a very high-end couture designer, and his clientele includes royalty. AACKKKK!!!! wow. If I screw up a pocket, off with my head!!
Well I had my first day with Ulrich today, and I was sooooo nervous and scared, but it went ok and I know that when I get comfortable there I will really enjoy it. I helped to sew a suit jacket today, which was a great experience, because there is so much involved with the inner construction of suits, it takes a long time to learn how to make one properly. I only messed up a couple times, but Ulrich was really nice about it. He mostly makes really fine dresses, so I won't be doing a lot of suits, but I really valued this experience. I am really looking forward to all the hand sewing and couture techniques that I will learn from him. It's a very highly developed art, and I am really learning from the best.
I have to stop hogging my flatmate's computer (thanks Laura!) But I'll write more when I can! Ciao!
So being here makes me so devastated that I am only staying for one quarter. There is so much to learn, so many people with incredible amounts of experience, I just want to sponge up everything in their brains and live and breathe that for years. I am taking a millinery (hat making) class from a woman named Prudence Spiegel. She makes all of the headpieces for all of the fashion shows of Yves Saint Laurent, Vivienne Westwood, Lacoste and more. For those of you not fashion savvy, those are some of the biggest names in the business. She is highly trained and has tons of experience.
Then I'm taking a creative drape and volume class from an incredible instructor named Georg (pronounced Ghay-orgh ... it's German) and he has a degree in fine arts and another in photography and graphic design, then he moved to London to work in fashion illustration and decided to study fashion design. He is really enthusiastic and artsy and I'm really excited to train under him, especially because our focus in the class is going to be a huge challenge for me and I love being challenged. Our assignment for the final project (after a series of other projects) is to create a runway garment that is inspired by electronic music, the color scheme is loud clashing colors, and it has to be really big and crazy and creative. As you can see from my portfolio (my first post) This is completely the opposite of my work, so I am really getting pushed out of my box and I'm gonna have to use a lot of muscles I'm not used to working, but it will be a fun challenge.
And finally, my internship with Ulrich! I forget if I posted this before, but I interviewed for and was accepted for an internship with Ulrich Engler. I had never heard of him before, but he is a very high-end couture designer, and his clientele includes royalty. AACKKKK!!!! wow. If I screw up a pocket, off with my head!!
Well I had my first day with Ulrich today, and I was sooooo nervous and scared, but it went ok and I know that when I get comfortable there I will really enjoy it. I helped to sew a suit jacket today, which was a great experience, because there is so much involved with the inner construction of suits, it takes a long time to learn how to make one properly. I only messed up a couple times, but Ulrich was really nice about it. He mostly makes really fine dresses, so I won't be doing a lot of suits, but I really valued this experience. I am really looking forward to all the hand sewing and couture techniques that I will learn from him. It's a very highly developed art, and I am really learning from the best.
I have to stop hogging my flatmate's computer (thanks Laura!) But I'll write more when I can! Ciao!
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Daily life in London
When I flew in on Thursday, I was pleased to find that although I have flatmates (it's not an apartment, it's a flat) I have my own room with a large desk for studying and a small bathroom and shower. Our building has roof access, and I love to wander up to the roof early morning or at night before bed to look out over the city. I can see off in the distance an arch lit in purple lights and I wonder if it's the famous London ferris wheel.
We walk absolutely everywhere. We've been warned thoroughly that when crossing the road even at a crosswalk you must watch for cars because they do not stop for pedestrians. It's your responsibility to jump out of their way,and if you don't you will be hit. Everything is so fast, I walk twice as fast as I ever have, and if you need to purchase something or swipe your oyster card to get on the tube it's all done in passing, no one pauses to do anything. It makes me realize why everyone refers to Seattle as painfully laidback.
I've gotten in the habit of eating one meal a day and having a protein bar in the evening because it's just so expensive to eat here, but I'm headed out to the market today with my flatmate Laura so we can stock up on fruit and veggies, and stock the cupboard a little. It's true that England has no good cuisine of its own, but they are so international that you can walk down one street and find cuisine from two dozen different countries within a few blocks.
Well I'm off to the market - Cheers!
We walk absolutely everywhere. We've been warned thoroughly that when crossing the road even at a crosswalk you must watch for cars because they do not stop for pedestrians. It's your responsibility to jump out of their way,and if you don't you will be hit. Everything is so fast, I walk twice as fast as I ever have, and if you need to purchase something or swipe your oyster card to get on the tube it's all done in passing, no one pauses to do anything. It makes me realize why everyone refers to Seattle as painfully laidback.
I've gotten in the habit of eating one meal a day and having a protein bar in the evening because it's just so expensive to eat here, but I'm headed out to the market today with my flatmate Laura so we can stock up on fruit and veggies, and stock the cupboard a little. It's true that England has no good cuisine of its own, but they are so international that you can walk down one street and find cuisine from two dozen different countries within a few blocks.
Well I'm off to the market - Cheers!
Friday, October 2, 2009
I'm Here!
Ok only a brief moment to post, but I wanted you all to know that I'm here, made it safely and I'm never leaving.
Iceland was gorgeous and I will write more and post pictures when I have a little more computer time.
So London is fifty times more incredible than I ever dreamed of. It's not british so much as international. As I walk down the street I hear different accents from different countries all around me. 30% of the population is foreign born. As I walked down the street back from a grocer an hour after I arrived I passed a shabby bum on the street who stopped me in my steps with "got a spot o' change, love?" too bad for him I'm a broke student, 'cause that accent would have convinced me in a second.
The transportation is amazing, I never want to return to the tangle of Seattle. They don't have a grid system or numbered streets, just winding streets every where but the tube is so easy to use, and the bus as well. I'm already (almost) comfortable getting anywhere on the map. There are posches and ferraris all over the place. My school is in the middle of the most expensive shopping district in London, and though shopping is utterly out of the question I walk the streets with the wealthiest, most stylish people in the world. I already stood by the Vogue building and have seen shops carrying Prada, Fendi, Dolce & Gabbana, Gucci, etc. Today I was passed by a male model who walked with a halo around him and a choir of angels singing hallelujia to make way for him. I'm sure he was an absolute stuck up jerk, but I've never walked the streets among such celebrity. I've heard it's common to see Kate Moss walking the road right outside my school.
Now I'm sure you all think I'm turning into a materialistic snob, I'm not. Just amazed by my surroundings. The historic buildings are incredible and I'll talk more about that when I can post pictures too.
Until then - Cherio!
Iceland was gorgeous and I will write more and post pictures when I have a little more computer time.
So London is fifty times more incredible than I ever dreamed of. It's not british so much as international. As I walk down the street I hear different accents from different countries all around me. 30% of the population is foreign born. As I walked down the street back from a grocer an hour after I arrived I passed a shabby bum on the street who stopped me in my steps with "got a spot o' change, love?" too bad for him I'm a broke student, 'cause that accent would have convinced me in a second.
The transportation is amazing, I never want to return to the tangle of Seattle. They don't have a grid system or numbered streets, just winding streets every where but the tube is so easy to use, and the bus as well. I'm already (almost) comfortable getting anywhere on the map. There are posches and ferraris all over the place. My school is in the middle of the most expensive shopping district in London, and though shopping is utterly out of the question I walk the streets with the wealthiest, most stylish people in the world. I already stood by the Vogue building and have seen shops carrying Prada, Fendi, Dolce & Gabbana, Gucci, etc. Today I was passed by a male model who walked with a halo around him and a choir of angels singing hallelujia to make way for him. I'm sure he was an absolute stuck up jerk, but I've never walked the streets among such celebrity. I've heard it's common to see Kate Moss walking the road right outside my school.
Now I'm sure you all think I'm turning into a materialistic snob, I'm not. Just amazed by my surroundings. The historic buildings are incredible and I'll talk more about that when I can post pictures too.
Until then - Cherio!
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