My London Escapade: Weeks 1 and 2 (January 9-18th)

So I first want to apologize writing so much for this post but (lucky for me) I was able to partake in several trips and experiences these past two weeks. Although I am having such a fun time, I do miss you all so if you want to text or call me for free via Wifi please download the WhatsApp and Viber :) You can also email me at gjc9536@yahoo.com or message me on good ole Facebook.

I will first start with some pictures from my dorm and campus. Four colleges (Froebel, Whitelands, Digby Stuart, and Southlands) joined together to form Roehampton University. Since the school is set up this way, I was happy to find out the school host a University Games similar to the House Cup in the Harry Potter series. Each college earns points via student activity and is represented by a mascot. Froebel College, which I reside in, has a zebra as a mascot (a bit weird) BUT in Hogwarts terms we are known as Slytherin. My dorm isn't the most pleasant but it's not unbearable.

My 'lovely' dorm room

Froebel College

The bar on campus, which I have become quite familiar with.. :)

The popular drink is a Snakebite which is equal parts lager and cider with some blackcurrant syrup. I honestly find it too sweet so it's a little gross.

These two photos are right outside of my dorm, New Court.

This is Roehampton's campus chapel. Thought it looked pretty.

On Friday, January 9th, as part of the Study Abroad orientation I went on a photo scavenger hunt around London. Exhausting, but it was a blast and I met some great people!

Big Ben

The London Eye

Lions at Nelson's Column in Trafalgar Square

Blue Chicken at the 4th plinth in Trafalgar Square

Statue of Eros at Piccadilly Circus

Met the Goliath of Yodas while I was there :)

This was also my first day learning to navigate through the Underground.

At 221b Baker Street, sadly there was no Sherlock Holmes.

King's Cross Station. Unfortunately I still need to take a photo at Platform 9 3/4.

Lover's Embrace Statue at King's Cross Station

Exploring along Thames River

I began my classes Monday, January 12th. My first course was World Cinemas which in itself is self-explanatory. We viewed a Turkish German film titles Head-On (2004). It was a tragic romance sprinkled with emotional mental illness and substance abuse in the hopes to discover happiness. I would recommend it.

Tuesday was my day off from classes. My housing college, Froebel, however, did organizing something called the Froebel Strip in which male students did a 'Magic Mike' like dance show to raise money. Not the least bit entertaining but I did get to enjoy a nice duet of the Frozen song, "Love is an Open Door". One of the dudes did gather an acceptable Anna costume haha.

Wednesday, I had my Audio-Visual Criticism course. At first I was very hesitant in taking the class, but the professor was great and enthusiastic! He also pushes students to think freely and to speak their opinions which I unnervingly did. We viewed several short audio-visual critical films but the one that impress me the most was Human Remains (1998). It edited together domestic footage of Adolf Hitler with a fictionalized narration provided by an actor portraying Hitler. The film had an eerie audio construction but the homely visuals made the whole film unsettling. It was a great example of how skillful editing can transform any previous films into its own.

On Thursday, I had my Modern Vampire class and of course I felt right at home. Unfortunately we did not view a film this week but we had plenty of discussion about the development/history of vampires. I did however read a very interesting article relating Forensic Pathology and the Myths of Vampires that I throughly enjoyed :)

I do not have classes on Friday either so I gathered a group to go to the British Museum. I acted like a little kid going to Disney World for the first time and my true anthropologic nerdy-ness was exposed. I viewed the Ancient Lives: New Discoveries exhibit which presented new Egyptian mummies and allowed you to interactively zoom in and out of actual CT scans of the recovered remains. It was so cool! The most interesting of the mummies in this collection was one of a 7 year old temple singer and man buried during the Roman Period. The man's mummification was quite different as you can imagine with the culture assimilation occurring. His linens where wrapped so accurately to the figure of his body as well as facial representation on the facial linens that the man still appeared alive.

Male, 3500 BC

Interactive CT scans

Male, Roman Period after 30 BC

Female, 7 years old. Temple singer of the Interior of Amun. 800 BC

After that I also browsed around the permanent exhibit but sadly not in as full detail as I wanted. I will return on my own time at a later date :) Here is what I was able to browse through at the Egypt, Greek, Roman, and historic England. I will post more detailed captions after my next visit. Later that night I went to the school event called BOP, which is every Friday night. Some friends and I pre-gamed and hung over with some of our flatmates before heading to BOP. Funny enough the theme this week was American High School. I wasn't really sure how to dress for it so I threw on a Harry Potter shirt and my glasses to try to pass as a 'nerd' (as if I'm not already one haha). Reminded me a lot of a homecoming dance so not much of a fan but it is a nice excuse to drink…

Rosetta Stone

Statue of Venus

Royal Greek Lion Hunt

Meroe Head of Augustus

Gladiator Helmet

Roman Mosaic

The Lewis Chessmen (or Wizard's Chess Pieces for you fellow Harry Potter fans)

Shield of Parade

The famous mummy named 'Ginger' who was buried in a shallow grave in the Egyptian desert, 3400 BC

Becky, Abby, and I at the entrance

Easter Island figure

Saturday I went on the Social Programme trip to Greenwich which was a blast! I will have to return to explore the Royal Observatory more as well as the rest of the town. I got to explore the Cutty Sark (a British clipper ship), the Royal Observatory, Clocktower Market, Greenwich Market, the Chapel of St. Peter at the Old Royal Naval College, the Painted Hall and the area in which the Palace of Placentia (where Henry VIII and Elizabeth I were born) but it is now where the University of Greenwich is located.

Gherkin

The Globe Theater

The Shard

Tower of London

Cutty Sark

Entrance to University of Greenwich

Chapel of St. Peter at Old Royal Naval College

Area of where Palace of Placentia was originally

The Queen's House in the center

Chapel of St. Peter

Panoramic of the Chapel of St. Peter

The Painted Hall

The Royal Observatory

Best view of London from the Royal Observatory

Prime Meridian Line

River view of Big Ben

Traditional Fish and Chips with the Kings Arms house Ale. Yum!

Panoramic view of London from the Royal Observatory

Clocktower Market

Greenwich Market

Brazilian Churro filled with Dulce Leche and Chocolate

And finally today, I went to the British Museum to view the Terror and Wonder: The Gothic Imagination exhibit. It was an amazing collection of Gothic literature, art, and film and how the theme of art evolved. It began with the development of The Castle of Otranto, a 1764 novel by Horace Walpole, to Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre, Robert Lewis Stevenson's The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Sweeney Todd's first appearance in The String of Pearls, the newspaper's fascination with Jack the Ripper, Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Grey, Bram Stoker's Dracula, and even films such as The Shining, Hellraiser, and Coraline. There were several original copies of many of the books as well as the author's manuscripts in which they developed ideas for their novels. There were also original notes from Stanley Kubrick on the screenplay for The Shining and notes from Clive Barker on the screenplay for Hellraiser. Of course photography was not permitted but I was able to sneak a few pictures. My friends Abby, Paula, and I then went to Yo! Sushi for lunch which was delicious especially with some hot sake!