As far as weeks go, these past few have been pretty mundane...but that being said even the most basic of daily rituals become fascinating learning experiences when you're in a foreign country. My parents will be happy to know that the majority of my days have been spent on school work as we have had what seems like a never ending stream of presentations and reviews for my classes (architecture apparently doesn't get any easy just because you're in London.) That being said, I've still found time to do some things outside of school as well.
My most important discovery of mundane British life is one that reflects a large portion of college routine...take out delivery. It might not seem very exciting but after weeks of cooking and grocery shopping I was looking for something new and craving some of my favorite forms of take out back in Syracuse. From Chinese to Wings to Dominos delivery, the options are always endless, so I decided to delve into that part of London...and boy was I disappointed! I was assuming that take out only varied slightly by country, especially when it comes to food which is not native to either place. Apparently I was WRONG. It turns out, all of my favorite Chinese foods are "American" and you would have better luck finding a needle in a haystack to use a clichéd expression. As for wings, it is something hard to find even at sports bars or American style restaurants and if you do come across them, honey mustard must not exist across the pond because I have yet to see it on any menu or any shelf at the store. And Dominos...the best of all pizza delivery in my opinion...even that is different here! Needless to say I will not be attempting take out again and I will be eating nothing but it for at least a week when I return home in May.
Aside from the brief disaster of take out food, I had a much more pleasant experience in the world of shopping. Thankfully, this is something which is fairly universal and because of the recent warm weather my wardrobe had taken a hit so I decided to explore for some British clothing that more suited the warmer temperatures. I have not explored all of Oxford Street (one of the main shopping areas of London and a quick 30 minute walk away) but I have discovered PRIMARK, and what a wonderful discovery it is. Similar to an H&M or Forever 21, this store is 4 levels of clothing as well as a small home goods section too. But the best part? The prices! Buying a shirt here runs you an average of $10 but if you take the time to really explore, like I did, you can make out even better than that! The only snag I had was adjusting to the UK sizes of clothing which are larger than the USA ones. A pair of jeans size 4 in the US is about a size 8 or 10 UK...I think I like the USA sizing better!
My final excursion for the week was to catch a movie with a friend at the local cinema. There isn't a lot to say about this other than the major differences. First, you buy your tickets from a machine upon arrival and you can't use cash so leave that at home. The cool part about the machines is you get to choose your seats...then again it works just as well in America to get there early and sit wherever you like but I guess the English are more civilized about it. Secondly, movies are expensive! I was about to get a student discount and the ticket was still the equivalent of $17! Most likely, this has something to do with purchasing most of the movies from America but still...that's half the cost of a ticket to the Royal Ballet! Third, you can purchase alcohol in the theatre! Not only do you have a large selection of candy, soda, and even a Ben & Jerry's counter (okay that's pretty cool), but you can buy beer and wine by the glass or bottle for your viewing experience. Needless to say it was an interesting experience of mundane culture and the movie was really good too!
As I said before, this week was fairly banal so no interesting pictures to add or fascinating stories to tell but I have a few fun things planned in the upcoming weeks so keep your ears open for those experiences as well.
Cheers!
