I'm back I promise

Well, I'll admit. This month I have paid amount as much attention to this blog as I do to my studies at LSE. Very little. I will try and make up for it now. 

An update on my life: 

November has FLOWN by. I hit the 2 month mark two days ago and marveled at all I squeezed into the past couple weeks. I had my grandparents visit, watched the US election from abroad, traveled to Copenhagen for a weekend, and visited friends at St. Andrews (again). I wrote a few papers for school here and there, but school has been low on my list of priorities, as it should be when I am graded pass-fail. Also. Will is coming to visit today! And all of my family and friends arrive tomorrow!

A few signs that I had adjusted to life in London: 

1. I hate waiting in queues of any kind. London has made me lose all sense of patience. I move at warp speed pretty much all the time. I may or may not have developed a mild case of ADD. 

2. I am beginning to understand local dialect. Trousers mean pants, pants mean underwear. Knackered means tired. Cheers means thank you. And cheers in a toasting sense too. However, I am often too afraid to use these words in sentences, because a word like 'cheers' sounds so dowdy when I say it compared to a Brit. I did adopt a few phrases that I sneak into my everyday language without completely embarrassing myself, such as loads (I have loads of homework...not), ages (it has been ages since I've seen my family!), and my personal favorite, I can't be bothered.  I use that one a lot. 

3. I avoid Oxford Street unless it is an emergency, and if I have to go, I will go at an obscure time like Wednesday morning. The idea of herding through Oxford Circus between millions of people moving at the speed of a gimp snail frightens me. Topshop is pretty amazing, but I don't feel like sacrificing an arm and a leg for it. 

4. I watch the X Factor. This show is like the British version of American Idol but wayyyy better. Simon Cowell is a judge on this show as well, but he actually has talent to evaluate. The absence of Paula Abdul-on-painkillers is quite refreshing. X Factor is a typical Saturday night staple to my weekly entertainment diet. 

More updates to come soon. Got to prepare for my family visit. Can't wait to see them! 

The 4th of November

And speaking of November...GO VOTE. 

I will be watching the election on CNN in the Student Union bar until it closes at 4 am. And then I will wake up later in the morning to find out my new president and prepare to face either the wrath or joy of the rest of the world. 

And if its wrath...at least the red Starbucks cups come out on Wednesday. 

The 5th of November

A quick comparison of days used for fireworks displays in the US and the UK. Now based on my own personal experience. 

Name

US: Independence Day

UK: Guy Fawkes Day

Date

US: 4th of July

UK: 5th of November, but they have individual celebrations based on whatever day is most convenient for them (ie weekends)

Celebrates: 

US: Independence from the overbearing tea-drinking motherland

UK: The foiling of a plan for a group of Catholics (including Guy Fawkes) to blow up Parliament. So instead of fireworks in celebration, the fireworks represent what would have happened had the Catholics taken over the entire country. 

Time of Day

US: All day long

UK: Evening

Location

US: backyards, lakes, vacation houses

UK: communal squares

Weather

US: Sunshine, hot 

UK: Rain, cold

Food

US: Burgers, hot dogs, other grill food, watermelon

UK: Sausages, baked potatoes

Drink

US: Beer, beer, beer, and soda

UK: Mulled wine aka URINE

Attire

US: shorts, t-shirt, loads of sunscreen, Old Navy flag shirt, red white and blue

UK: raincoats and wellies (rainboots)

Activities

US: Contests, lawn games, fireworks

UK: Giant bonfire to burn "guy", huddling for warmth, feeble attempts at fireworks

Thank you mom and dad...

...for giving me a pronounceable name!

This morning I had my first accounting class. Because it was the first class, the teacher was required to take attendance. Usually, attendance is an easy task--shouting names of students, said students raise their hand. However, when the names are completely unpronounceable in the English language, attendance turns into a comedy of errors. So my poor teacher goes through the register, trying to correctly say names that only make sense in Asia and completely butchered every syllable in the process. 

The best part of it all is that a lot of the Asian students have come up with alternate names for themselves. Example:

Miss Morley: Yoo-yung-kai? Yo-yang-kae?

Student: I go by 'Danny'

Miss Morley: Dan?

Student: No, Danny. 

How he got 'Danny' from his real name is beyond me. This happened with almost every other Asian name, except for one girl who wanted to be called 'Yoo'. That might get confusing, she must respond to a lot of people she doesn't know. We also had an Elizabeth, Kevin, Brian, and Ken. It's like everyone took their names from Barbie's playhouse. 

When it got to my name in the middle of the list, she pronounced it correctly, and looked at me with a mixture of desperation and sarcasm and said, "do you go by Anna?" Lucky for her I do. 

PS I learned that my Williams nickname, "Momo", actually means 'peach' in Japanese!

Things I enjoy while living alone that I never dreamed I would enjoy...

1. Grocery shopping. Walking through the aisles with the intention of buying more than soda and junk food is quite delightful. In addition to the pasta/rice staples, I have started adding other cooking essentials like spices! Whether or not I use them is a different matter. 

2. Doing dishes. A messy sink is so ugly, especially when my room is small. A little clutter makes the very small kitchen surface look gross. So whenever the dishes go back on the shelf, it clears my sink and my mind.

3. Spraying all-purpose cleaner. Nothing is more satisfying than wiping a dirty surface with a paper towel and watching the dust particles disappear forever. 

4. Filtering water. I bought a water filter because I heard that the water in the UK was questionable. Seriously, one of my best purchases ever. Filtered water is to me like ambrosia nectar was to the Greek gods. I am well hydrated and enjoying every sip. 

5. Running to the 24 hour store. Unfortunately, I suffer from an addiction to chocolate. I try not to keep it in the room, but every once in a while, I hit an intense sugar low that can only be remedied by a three block walk to the local 24 hour store run by a nice group of Indian guys. They must think I am crazy because the only things I have bought from them are various kinds of Cadbury chocolate, rice crackers, and Hob Nobs (a delicious semi-healthy pack of British granola cookies). The only way I can justify this trip is by taking the four flights of stairs both directions. And the chocolate here is SO GOOD. 

I'm learning!

Victory!

A woman stopped me on the street and asked me how to get to St. Paul's Cathedral today. And I knew which way to go! ( I did have to get out my map...but only to show HER a visual)

Quiz Night

Tonight I was invited by my mother's childhood friend, Diana Phillips, to a charity event to benefit rehab for drug addicts in prison. The event was a quiz night--each table was a team of about 10 people and together we had to answer a total of 72 questions split into 6 rounds based on color themes (red, orange, yellow, etc). I was the youngest person at my table and recruited to fill the young American student pop culture niche. We finished 7th out of 40 and I hope that I had something to do with it. I was useless on every single British, historical, or literary question, but here are the questions that I answered right for my team.

1. What South American country exports the most copper? 

Chile! After spending the month of January in Santiago and logging numerous hours Wikipedia researching their economy, I would have kicked myself if I got that wrong. 

2. What Tube line is shown in yellow?

Because all of the civilized adults at the table probably had not taken the tube in a while, I was quick to jump in and say, "ooh, ooh, the Circle line!!!!". I knew this because I spend approximately 1/4 of every day staring at a map of London.  I am sure they would have gotten it without me but it was still exciting to say it first. 

3. In Harry Potter, what is the name of Albus Dumbledore's phoenix? 

This one took me a while. After the question showed up on the screen, every British person at the table looked to me for the answer (really people?!?! none of you know the story of your fellow countrymen!!) and I was SILENT. Will Moseley would have been ashamed of me. But finally, right before we had to hand in our answers for the round, I had a flashback to Richard Harris as Dumbledore explaining the life cycle of his bird...Fawkes. We rejoiced in my sudden memory return. 

4. In the "Orange" category, there was a question about the television show/soap the O.C. As soon as I heard that acronym, the question stood no chance against me. In the arms of which character did Marissa die in the series finale? Not only did I provide the right first name, Ryan, but I also provided the surname of Atwood. 

Now as I review my performance of the night, I feel like a big joke. I answered a question about Chile, the Tube, Harry Potter, and the O.C. So much for useful knowledge. I guess I could add the time when a man at my table asked why a question about an artistic photograph of Kate Moss related to the "Green" category. I knew that... " because moss is green!"