Week 3: More Sure Than Usual That This Is Real

| writinghoume

This past week abroad felt like it slowed down a little bit. I think it’s because we’re all settling in–realizing that this is where we actually live, it’s not about to disappear, and we have plenty of time to explore. As a result, I’m a little more well-rested. My feet hurt less from walking.

Still, that’s not to say it was in any way a boring week. I witnessed some amazing musical performances and discovered some parts of the city I hadn’t seen before.

Here are the highlights of my week!

Benjamin Grosvenor & Doric Quartet, Steve Reich

my view on monday night

Last Monday evening, I was able to hear music from Benjamin Grosvenor & Doric Quartet. It had been a while since I had heard a professional quartet, and listening to them/watching them play reminded me how much I enjoyed performing in an orchestra. It also reminded me of how terrible I was at violin.

The next night brought me to a different venue to hear music composed by Steve Reich–namely, “Clapping Music” and “Music for 18 Musicians”. I found myself mesmerized. Below is a link to his “Clapping Music”. On the surface, it doesn’t seem too hard to perform (it’s just two guys clapping!), but be sure to take a listen. It’s a rhythmic nightmare.

Greenwich

view from near the royal observatory

Thursday brought my classmates and I to Greenwich. We saw a production of Shakespeare’s “The Tempest” that evening, but the bulk of the day was spent wandering around the town. We saw Cutty Sark, “the last surviving British tea clipper” (a cool, big boat), had too much to eat at Noodle Time, strolled through Greenwich Park, and toured the Royal Observatory.

Greenwich was a cool destination because it’s actually home to where the eastern and western hemispheres meet. They have a line at the Royal Observatory to mark exactly where that meeting point is!

my friend and I on the prime meridian
order breaking down as we attempt a group photo

Borough Market

seen outside the market… I apologize for the video orientation in advance.

This may have been my favorite market so far. There was so much food! I tried to practice restraint but definitely bought some banana bread. No regrets on that front.

While the market itself was amazing, so was the walk there. We crossed the Waterloo Bridge and walked along Southbank. This way even took me past Shakespeare’s Globe! I haven’t visited there yet, but I’ll be seeing a performance of Richard II there later this semester.

Somerset House & Penge

somerset house

Saturday morning I learned chess, which seemed like enough of a day to me. But apparently there had to be more. My friend and I walked over to Somerset House and read/played cards into the afternoon at a table in the main courtyard. As fun as it was wondering about the royalty who had stayed here, it was almost more fun to think about the movies which had been shot here–like some James Bonds, The Duchess, Sleepy Hollow, and even 2009’s Sherlock Holmes.

After that, my friend and I decided to just get on a bus and see how far it could take us. That ended up being Penge. I don’t know that much about Penge except for the fact that I was there for about ten minutes as we waited for a bus back home.

me trying to leave penge

By the time we were in the heart of London again, the sun had set and city was aglow with every color of light. We crossed the Thames in the front row of the bus’s top deck and had the perfect view of all the lit-up buildings, even the glowing red London Eye. I think our bus adventure was definitely worth it.

Another great week here in London. I can’t wait to see what this next week has in store for me. Thanks for the read, and I hope you’ll come back again next Monday!

Week 2: Still Not Sure This Is Real

| writinghoume

Another week in London has come to a close, and I still can’t believe I’m here. I also can’t believe I somehow managed to have a busier week than last week. Somehow, I’m finding more and more time in each day to explore the city–and I’m also managing to do some homework. I promise.

Like in my last post, I’ll share some of my favorite experiences from this past week.

Magic with Morgan & West

I attend various performances throughout each week as part of my 19th and 20th Century Cultural Traditions class. So far, we have attended plays, a percussion ensemble, and a dance performance. This meant that when I checked our schedule and saw this, a magic show, I was a little surprised.

It ended up being so much fun! At one point in the show, one of my friends was chosen as a volunteer. The trick involved dropping a coin into a vase, and based on the noise, the turned-around magician would guess which coin it was. It was my friend’s job to provide the coin and confirm the guess. Every guess was right–but my favorite part was that with these foreign British coins, my friend’s guess as to which coin was which was as good as the magician’s.

Camden Market

a glimpse into camden market

Later in the week, all my classmates and I would travel to Camden Market, a place I walked past last week but never explored. It was this huge, twisting maze of food, clothing, and knick-knacks. I didn’t buy anything because it was all so expensive (for example, regular macaroni and cheese was marketed as “Nostalgia” and cost $9), but I’ve found a lot of places here are still worth my time even if I don’t plan on spending much.

Laura Linney????

my view of the stage

I’m pretty sure I made eye contact with Laura Linney on Wednesday night. My class went to see her in a one-woman show, My Name is Lucy Barton, and our seats were so close. The performance was funny and devastating and everything I’d hoped it would be. Before the show, we found ourselves waiting outside the venue right next to Tower Bridge. Naturally, pictures had to be taken.

a big bridge
my classmates, professors, and I trying our best to take a normal picture

Tate Modern

The next day, I stumbled upon a pretty big pocket of free time, so a friend and I walked to the Tate Modern. There, I was able to see work from Picasso and Matisse, among many other artists. The journey to and from the museum stood out to me, too. Not only did I get to cross the Millennium Bridge (“the Harry Potter bridge!”), but I also got a true taste of London weather. Rain. Wind. Air that’s a little bit too cold. My friend and I attempted to use our umbrellas, but they kept popping inside out at the exact same time, leaving us to stumble around like the confused tourists we kind of still are in this city.

Little Venice and Notting Hill

the beginning of the market in notting hill

On Saturday, the same friend and I faced yet another free day. We first went to Little Venice, an hour’s walk away, and picked out our favorite house boats. Then, we found ourselves in Notting Hill. The residential quickly gave way to an enormous street market. We resisted buying anything for only so long–the veggie samosas just looked too good. Once we reached the end of the market, it would have been a 1.5 hour walk home in the rainy dark. We opted not to do that and took the bus instead. Miraculously, we got two front seats on the second deck of the bus!

our view on the bus

Pizza Night

getting crafty

No blog post about last week would be complete without mentioning that Saturday was Pizza Day. My classmates and I decided pizza was a dinner necessity. After getting over the shock of how expensive the pizza is here to order in, a friend and I opted to make it for everybody at home instead. It proved a bit of a logistical challenge: no big bowl for the dough, a tiny oven, a large carrot for a rolling pin. But we did it. And the pizza was everything we’d hoped it would be.

Those were the highlights of my week! As always, questions, recipes, and London recommendations are always appreciated. Thanks for keeping up with me.

Febrero Rocher

| writinghoume

In stark contrast with last week, this week was unseasonably nice and warm. Athens was graced with sunny 60 degree weather and clear skies. To quote the lyrical genius Samsa, “Yeah, our climate’s fucked, we might as well enjoy the weather”. That’s exactly what we did. The days were perfect for running and nights were perfect for stargazing—I got a good long look at the Pleiades (this time without any tears in my eyes, but also without an Anna beside me). I wonder how visible the night sky is in London.

Last Saturday – Now That’s What I Call YIKES

I think this should begin with an account of the past weekend. I planned to go visit a friend in Columbus on Saturday and have lunch at North Market, maybe catch up while lurking around the Columbus Museum of Art—CMoA. However, the morning started shakily as Ryan (my gracious chauffeur) and I were forced to stop only a few minutes outside of Athens; the car was making very unpleasant noises. We pulled into the Wayne National Forest Headquarters and inspected the vehicle: the plastic panel on the underside of the front bumper had partially detached and had been dragging against the highway. We entered into the ranger headquarters on a quest for zip ties, but returned instead with a paperclip, three rubber bands, and two pieces of packing tape. Despite our most valiant efforts, the makeshift supports did not hold for long.

hermit by deborah butterfield at cmoa

We made it into Columbus and endured the sound of plastic grating against asphalt until arriving at CMoA. At that point, since we were already in the area, we decided to add an extra leg to the trip and see my family (as well as enlist their help in repairing the car). Traipsing around CMoA with my friend was lovely. I always appreciate the chance to visit Hermit, a bronze sculpture of a horse made to look like wood. Our visit home was welcomed by my family with zip ties and dinner. Car repaired and bellies filled, Ryan and I headed back hOUme.

Friday – One more year to enjoy Teenagers by MCR

a masterpiece rivaling that of hagrid’s. if only I had green icing.

Will’s birthday was this past Friday, which warranted a cake. Confession: I had never made a cake before this past Friday. It turned out alright, I think, besides the icing job. Will requested that it not be made a Thing (i.e. no singing of the happy birthday song, no illegal candles being blown out) so I stealthily delivered said cake to his dorm room that night.

Saturday – Moon Hooch concert

moon hooch’s wenzl mcgowen jamming out on his contrabass clarinet.

The most interesting part of the week had to be the Moon Hooch concert on Saturday night. If you’ve ever wondered what woodwind dubstep would sound like, wonder no more (I mistakenly called them brass. I’m now aware that shiny instrument does not equal brass. I’m big dumb). At some point, one of the members of Moon Hooch whipped out an instrument I’d never seen before: an EWI (electronic wind instrument). Pretty cool stuff. Apparently they got their start by busking in subways, even being banned from a station because police didn’t want people to dance on the platform.

Tl;dr life in Athens is going well! The workload for this semester is a bit heavier than last, even with less credit hours, but I’m more adjusted to the vaivén (ups and downs) of college. When everything seems like too much, I’ve developed the very effective coping strategy of eating chocolate and writing blog posts. Is this a self-call-out? Probably.

-Emma

Week 1: London Rocks (and I Apologize for the Pun)

| writinghoume

I’ve been in London for a week now, but it feels like forever. I’ll try my best to be chronological here.

I caught a flight out of Pittsburgh last Saturday to get to my connection in Chicago. There was a constant threat of delay, but in the end, things went pretty smoothly—literally and figuratively. The stretch from Chicago to London was the longest flight I’d ever been on, and the kid kicking my seat combined with the kid crying a couple rows ahead made sure I was able to take in every second of it.

I moved in in the rain and immediately met my other flatmates, six other girls I’ll be taking my classes with this semester. The rest of the week turned into a blur of fun: my first fish and chips, not being able to find salt at the grocery store, finding my favorite parks, wanting to try every coffee shop I see, performances almost every night, and long walk after long walk after long walk. I’ll list out a few of my favorite experiences.

  1. Mind the doors!

To say the least, I struggled with my luggage. One fifty-pounder. One lighter carry-on. One over-stuffed backpack. Stairs proved a challenge, but the toughest part was getting onto the train to get from the airport to the flat. One rolled up to the platform where I stood, and the doors slid open. My friend stepped on with ease. Me, I threw my carry-on onto the train ahead of me.

“Mind the doors!” someone called over the speakers. I was. I really was minding them. But I had to get on that train.

Time slowed down. I took my fifty-pounder in my hands. It scraped along the ground. The wheels caught in the gap. The man on the speakers continued to announce with increasing force: “Mind the doors. Mind the doors!”

A worker rushed up to me. Lifted my bag onto the train. I tumbled inside, and the doors immediately flew shut behind me.

Welcome to London?

2. Richard II

After getting ready and stress-eating some pasta, I went to see Richard II at the Almeida Theatre with the rest of my class. It was beautiful. It was kind of a bare-minimum production; the set was almost modern, and what there was in props and sound I found to be really effective. After seeing this production, I find myself wanting to read the whole tetralogy.

3. Trafalgar Square and Westminster Abbey, accidentally

My friends and I accidentally stumbled upon Trafalgar Square, Elizabeth Tower, and Westminster Abbey. We meant to only go to the Tate Britain, but the path we took to walk there brought us past all these classic sights. There was a certain magic, I think, in finding them without meaning to.

4. Dante Gabriel Rossetti at the Tate Britain

While at the Tate Britain, I was able to find a work of art from one of the artists I studied last semester, Dante Gabriel Rossetti. After finding it— “Proserpine”—I just kind of sat down for a while. I couldn’t quite get over the fact that Rossetti’s hand once brushed against that canvas.

5. A family dinner?

On one of my favorite nights so far, my flatmates and I stayed in and cooked a huge dinner for one another. I think it was my favorite because it really opened my eyes to how sweet and helpful my flatmates are, although I can’t discount the fact that it may be my favorite night because it was the best meal I’ve cooked and eaten since arriving here. (Feel free to send recipes; I’m always in need of more ideas!)

6. Walden Books

Most recently, my friend announced that he’d found a used bookstore nearby that he wanted to check out. While “nearby” turned out to be a fifty-minute walk, it took us right through Camden Market (to be thoroughly explored at a later date), and the bookshop was lovely. I picked through the fiction section outside under a sunny London sky (less rare than I’d thought), met the shop’s cat, and got lost in the old volumes of nonfiction inside.

These have been my favorite parts of the past week! I’ve loved every second of my time here. Thanks for keeping up with me, and I hope you’ll be back when I post next week!

January? More like sans-Ann-uary.

| writinghoume

Okay, okay. I’m not the best at titles. Anna is a wonderful writer, very formal (while still making it personal?) and clever. I’m somewhere near the opposite. Thank you for reading this anyways.

Another week of school draws to a close, and with it the first month of the year. I have to admit that the year 2019 never truly existed to me. I feel like I’m living inside a fever dream, and recent goings-on in the world haven’t helped. I still can’t get over how Trump fed the Clemson Tigers fast food. On a more serious note, the Supreme Court upheld the transgender military ban. Are these Real Events that have Actually Happened? When I hear about these sorts of things I feel a dissonance with reality.

My host mom from Spain texted me yesterday because she saw on TV that “[my] country is frozen”. Classes were cancelled, although today the temperature is the same and yet campus is opened back up and bustling with college students rushing to get to class (or maybe just to seek refuge from the cold). And man, is it COLD.

Let me tell you a story. A few months ago, after having given it some thought, I decided to let Nicole to cut my hair. Part of my reasoning was that shorter hair dries much faster–I wouldn’t have to walk to class with wet hair from my post-morning-run shower. I recently had the realization that my refusal to blow dry my hair still has consequences. Have you ever walked to Clippinger with wet hair when it’s below freezing? By the time you get to the building, it’s not wet anymore. It’s crunchy. I would categorize it as a Bad Dry. As the Spanish say, manténgase abrigado. Stay coated (warm).

I’m trying very hard to make this interesting, but honestly, not too much has been happening. I can reiterate that it’s cold outside, which means I’m likely to stay indoors under a heated blanket, sipping some tea and working on homework. So much homework. Speaking of which, I should probably get back to that. Peace.

-Emma

Getting Started

| writinghoume

It’s an important habit of girls attending Ohio University to replace an “o” in words with “OU”. Pronunciation may become a wash, but at least those Instagram captions are cute. This means that when my friend and I decided to create a blog, there was only one way to go. I had to write h{OU}me, no matter how hard to read or spell or understand it was.

I’m Anna, a freshman English major with the Honors Tutorial College at Ohio University. I’ll be studying abroad in London this semester, and I plan on writing about my experiences here weekly. In turn, my friend Emma, a freshman Physics major with the Honors Tutorial College at Ohio University, will “respond” with her own experiences in Athens.

It’s like we’re exchanging letters. Writing h{OU}me. Except this is a website. And the letters are for you to read, too.

Thanks for joining us this semester!

-Anna