En France pour le week-end
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Be back Tuesday morning.
Food Diary: Day 2
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Thursday 10/2/08
This morning I made scrambled eggs. Although eggs seem to be a bit expensive, it’s notable that they’re all free-range, which undoubtedly are more expensive to produce than what I’m probably buying back at home. There is a sense of comfort in knowing that they were produced from free-range chickens and it justifies the price. I don’t know if the eggs back home were also free-range; it’s not advertised that they are, so I’m doubtful. I haven’t cooked much using our kitchen here in London, but out of anything cooked, I’ve certainly cooked eggs the most. The eggs were accompanied by a few glasses of Somerfield orange juice, and a single glass of hot chocolate (made with a mix by Somerfield and skim milk).
After going to and returning from class, a few friends and I stopped into a bar to get a couple of drinks. I had a Stella Artois and a Guinness. No food. It was relaxing to just chill out and sit down after class (our photo class can be quite stressful and sometimes depressing!) and talk about issues with friends. Alcohol, as always, eases conversation and we made it a relaxing time.
I still find it fascinatingly absurd that it would be illegal in the United States to do what we had just done. I’m 20 years old, so drinking in the U.S. would have been much more secretive lest I get arrested for participating in such a horrible offense. So, it’s a refreshing experience to buy a pint and realize that not everyone in the world is backwards about its laws and regulations.
In the evening I ate a frozen pepperoni pizza from Tesco’s and drank water with it. Prior to that, I had eaten some nice-looking green grapes from the same store. Grapes are not a food I often buy, but when I do I never regret it. I feel good about myself when I eat them because I associate them with eating healthy. And perhaps in hindsight, I sort of looked at eating them as a way to cancel out the pizza I was about to eat. Frozen pizzas from Tesco’s are cheap and filling and I buy them every so often. It’s nice to eat something warm as well. Despite health concerns that people would certainly bring up, pizza is a bit of a comfort food for me. It is familiar and inexpensive and almost always delicious. If I’ve had particularly bad luck with trying new foods on a given day, something like pizza would be an appropriate way to finish the day off.
This morning I made scrambled eggs. Although eggs seem to be a bit expensive, it’s notable that they’re all free-range, which undoubtedly are more expensive to produce than what I’m probably buying back at home. There is a sense of comfort in knowing that they were produced from free-range chickens and it justifies the price. I don’t know if the eggs back home were also free-range; it’s not advertised that they are, so I’m doubtful. I haven’t cooked much using our kitchen here in London, but out of anything cooked, I’ve certainly cooked eggs the most. The eggs were accompanied by a few glasses of Somerfield orange juice, and a single glass of hot chocolate (made with a mix by Somerfield and skim milk).
After going to and returning from class, a few friends and I stopped into a bar to get a couple of drinks. I had a Stella Artois and a Guinness. No food. It was relaxing to just chill out and sit down after class (our photo class can be quite stressful and sometimes depressing!) and talk about issues with friends. Alcohol, as always, eases conversation and we made it a relaxing time.
I still find it fascinatingly absurd that it would be illegal in the United States to do what we had just done. I’m 20 years old, so drinking in the U.S. would have been much more secretive lest I get arrested for participating in such a horrible offense. So, it’s a refreshing experience to buy a pint and realize that not everyone in the world is backwards about its laws and regulations.
In the evening I ate a frozen pepperoni pizza from Tesco’s and drank water with it. Prior to that, I had eaten some nice-looking green grapes from the same store. Grapes are not a food I often buy, but when I do I never regret it. I feel good about myself when I eat them because I associate them with eating healthy. And perhaps in hindsight, I sort of looked at eating them as a way to cancel out the pizza I was about to eat. Frozen pizzas from Tesco’s are cheap and filling and I buy them every so often. It’s nice to eat something warm as well. Despite health concerns that people would certainly bring up, pizza is a bit of a comfort food for me. It is familiar and inexpensive and almost always delicious. If I’ve had particularly bad luck with trying new foods on a given day, something like pizza would be an appropriate way to finish the day off.
Food Diary: Day 1
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Wednesday 10/1/08
I have a feeling that my food choices will reflect my schedule more than anything else. I woke up too late to cook anything at home and left directly for my 10:40 class. I left a bit early to leave some time to grab food from a store along the way though. I went to Sainsbury’s and bought bottled water and a hot breakfast sandwich (with eggs, sausage and bacon, as well as some sort of seasoning perhaps). I took these items with me and ate them in Faraday before class began. It’s the first time I bought this sandwich, so I was trying something new, though I always tend to buy bottled water more than any other drink. It’s always the cheapest for the amount I’m getting, and it goes well with anything.
After class and before the following one, I went with a friend to Humus Bros., a restaurant near Faraday, and ordered a small dish of chicken curry and pitas. I had enough water left over from my earlier purchase so I did not buy a new drink. We took the food to go and ate it during the beginning of our next class. Although a bit more expensive than I would like for a small mid-day meal, it was certainly good. I don’t know if I’ll make the purchase again though, as buying a sandwich from Pret A Manger is cheaper and fills me up just as well. Also, the aroma from the hot curry I felt was perhaps distracting the class a bit.
On my way home I went to Somerfield to purchase some turkey from the deli, bread, mustard, cheese and olives. This is the first time I’ve bought turkey since in London, and it certainly won’t be the last. Turkey is one of the things I miss the most, and I have yet to find it in any pre-made sandwiches in any store. It is apparently rare, and buying pre-packaged turkey on the shelves (which is also a bit rare) is quite expensive and most definitely not worth it in my opinion. Buying cut turkey from the deli was priced reasonably I thought. To me, turkey is a staple deli food. It seems to be replaced by chicken here, which isn’t too common a deli meat back at home. The reasons for the lack of turkey are obvious (although something else may be at play as well): turkey isn’t a native English bird.
I put together a sandwich later that evening with these supplies. It was a sandwich that I was completely satisfied with, and I suppose I felt some comfort in eating something that I so commonly do back home.
Food shopping here has so far been similar to how it works at home. At home, however, I have access to a store with much greater variety than the supermarkets I’ve been to here do. There are much more smaller and food-specific shops around there that I haven’t gone to. It’s simply more convenient and less time-consuming to shop for all your groceries in one place.
I have a feeling that my food choices will reflect my schedule more than anything else. I woke up too late to cook anything at home and left directly for my 10:40 class. I left a bit early to leave some time to grab food from a store along the way though. I went to Sainsbury’s and bought bottled water and a hot breakfast sandwich (with eggs, sausage and bacon, as well as some sort of seasoning perhaps). I took these items with me and ate them in Faraday before class began. It’s the first time I bought this sandwich, so I was trying something new, though I always tend to buy bottled water more than any other drink. It’s always the cheapest for the amount I’m getting, and it goes well with anything.
After class and before the following one, I went with a friend to Humus Bros., a restaurant near Faraday, and ordered a small dish of chicken curry and pitas. I had enough water left over from my earlier purchase so I did not buy a new drink. We took the food to go and ate it during the beginning of our next class. Although a bit more expensive than I would like for a small mid-day meal, it was certainly good. I don’t know if I’ll make the purchase again though, as buying a sandwich from Pret A Manger is cheaper and fills me up just as well. Also, the aroma from the hot curry I felt was perhaps distracting the class a bit.
On my way home I went to Somerfield to purchase some turkey from the deli, bread, mustard, cheese and olives. This is the first time I’ve bought turkey since in London, and it certainly won’t be the last. Turkey is one of the things I miss the most, and I have yet to find it in any pre-made sandwiches in any store. It is apparently rare, and buying pre-packaged turkey on the shelves (which is also a bit rare) is quite expensive and most definitely not worth it in my opinion. Buying cut turkey from the deli was priced reasonably I thought. To me, turkey is a staple deli food. It seems to be replaced by chicken here, which isn’t too common a deli meat back at home. The reasons for the lack of turkey are obvious (although something else may be at play as well): turkey isn’t a native English bird.
I put together a sandwich later that evening with these supplies. It was a sandwich that I was completely satisfied with, and I suppose I felt some comfort in eating something that I so commonly do back home.
Food shopping here has so far been similar to how it works at home. At home, however, I have access to a store with much greater variety than the supermarkets I’ve been to here do. There are much more smaller and food-specific shops around there that I haven’t gone to. It’s simply more convenient and less time-consuming to shop for all your groceries in one place.
Food Diary: Introduction
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When I was studying abroad in London in the fall of 2008, I took a class with some friends called Food, Culture and Identity, course ANT 400. The class examines the role of food in the construction of identity. The food we consume provides the essential energy we need to live, but does it also provide us the way we perceive ourselves to be, and does it allow others to perceive who we are? Incorporation is a basis of identity. In other words, what we incorporate in our eating habits is significant to how we establish and maintain or alter our identities. This may also explain why we tend to avoid foods that are unknown or unfamiliar to us. People hesitate to consume foods that can not be clearly identified because we do not know what effects that would have on our own identities.
The class took us around London in field trips to help situate our theoretical understanding of food in relation to London's many foodscapes. One assignment is what was called our "Food Diary," where we would record our food eating tendencies for two weeks and turn in the results. I thought this record-keeping was also a good representation of my experiences abroad, albeit with a focus on food consumption.
The following post series is a fortnight record of these experiences.
The class took us around London in field trips to help situate our theoretical understanding of food in relation to London's many foodscapes. One assignment is what was called our "Food Diary," where we would record our food eating tendencies for two weeks and turn in the results. I thought this record-keeping was also a good representation of my experiences abroad, albeit with a focus on food consumption.
The following post series is a fortnight record of these experiences.
Nederland
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A river running through Amsterdam's red-light district.
A crowded Amsterdam street at night.
A panorama of streets in Amsterdam at night.I went to Amsterdam with Will, AJ and Matt this weekend. It was good fun, except that the traffic makes no sense there. What looks like a sidewalk could very well be an extension of the road, or a bike path, and pedestrians never have the right of way. And bikes were everywhere, which makes sense given the approximate €13 price of gasoline in the area. A very lively city, especially at night.
Then we went to Zaanse Schans, which was out in the country, and walked by some of Holland's oldest windmills by the River Zaan.
A family rides their bicycles on a path in Zaanse Schans behind the windmills.
This windmill, called De Kat was used as a dye mill. According to the Zaans Molenmuseum, this is probably the last wind-powered dye mill in the world.
Windmills line the Zaan River.Amsterdam for the Weekend
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Be back Monday.
Imperial War Museum and Looking Ahead
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A Churchill Mark VII Infantry Tank, the last true infantry tank to serve with the British Army. Over 5,500 were produced between 1941 and 1945. It was especially valued for its thick armor (better than previous marks), a redesigned heavy turret, heavier suspension, an improved gearbox and a 75mm gun rather than the earlier two and six-pounders.
An M4 Sherman V Tank. American-built but known by its British name of Sherman, it was one of the most important Allied tanks of WWII. Though inferior to German and Soviet tanks at the time, it was simple to operate and maintain, it was reliable, fast, durable and had an uncomplicated design. This was all very important for a tank that was being mass produced (over 40,000 were built between 1942 and 1946).Today I traveled from Edgware to the Elephant and Castle station all on the Bakerloo line to get to the Imperial War Museum. I was most excited about all the various war vehicles and weaponry kept in the ground and first and second floors, and I was really excited about them having a Churchill Mark VII tank and a Sherman V tank on the ground floor. Maybe it's from playing too much Company of Heroes but World War II is of particular interest to me and seeing these two tanks there was amazing. Also displayed in the museum with other WWI and II aircraft was a German V1 rocket attached to an autopiloted pulse-jet engine. These were key to Germany's terror campaign in Britain. As the rocket approached it had a unique buzzing sound that got louder and louder until the engine suddenly cut out after reaching a set distance from the target. After a few moments of eerie silence the bomb would detonate. (Audio of V1 Rocket)
Anyway, I had to rush because I got at the museum at 2:30 and it closed at 6:00, so I didn't get to spend as much time as I'd have liked to, so I'll most likely be back sometime.
Other than that, I've been working on my fall break plans. I booked a flight to Dinard, France on the friday before break and will be heading up to Cherbourg to stay for the night. That's about all I've managed to do so far though. I wanted to plan everything, but now I'm starting to think I should just go to France and wing it. I did buy three Eyewitness Travel books, for France, Switzerland and Germany and they're all pretty helpful in figuring out what to do and how to go about doing it.
Two weekends before fall break I'm going with Andrew and Juliette to Grenoble, France, where we intend to go southward through the French, or Swiss, Alps down along the coast of Provence, or the Côte d'Azur, making a few stops along the way and ending at Marseille, where we'll fly back to London.
So, I'm cutting southern France out of my fall break plans for now. I'll most likely stay in Normandy for a couple of days, then to Paris for another two or so days. Then I'll head to Switzerland again and into Bavaria where I really want to visit Schloss Neuschwanstein. But I still need to really look into what I want to do in Switzerland and Germany.
Speaking of Germany, I booked a train through a German line today, and the site and all the interfaces I had to use to sign up were all in German, so hopefully I didn't mess anything up.
Anyway, I had to rush because I got at the museum at 2:30 and it closed at 6:00, so I didn't get to spend as much time as I'd have liked to, so I'll most likely be back sometime.
Other than that, I've been working on my fall break plans. I booked a flight to Dinard, France on the friday before break and will be heading up to Cherbourg to stay for the night. That's about all I've managed to do so far though. I wanted to plan everything, but now I'm starting to think I should just go to France and wing it. I did buy three Eyewitness Travel books, for France, Switzerland and Germany and they're all pretty helpful in figuring out what to do and how to go about doing it.
Two weekends before fall break I'm going with Andrew and Juliette to Grenoble, France, where we intend to go southward through the French, or Swiss, Alps down along the coast of Provence, or the Côte d'Azur, making a few stops along the way and ending at Marseille, where we'll fly back to London.
So, I'm cutting southern France out of my fall break plans for now. I'll most likely stay in Normandy for a couple of days, then to Paris for another two or so days. Then I'll head to Switzerland again and into Bavaria where I really want to visit Schloss Neuschwanstein. But I still need to really look into what I want to do in Switzerland and Germany.
Speaking of Germany, I booked a train through a German line today, and the site and all the interfaces I had to use to sign up were all in German, so hopefully I didn't mess anything up.
A red double-decker coach drives over Westminster Bridge in front of the Houses of Parliament.I decided to walk a bit instead of taking the tube directly from the Imperial War Museum to the flat. I walked over Westminster Bridge, past Parliament and the Abbey, and took the tube back from St. James's Park to Paddington Station. I'm only writing this so these two pictures appear to have a purpose.
Paddington Station at dusk.On a separate note, lien du jour.
Camden Town
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Stables Market, a smaller market within the greater Camden Street Market area.Today we went to Camden to take a look at the markets and to just look around. I had walked down the main street in Camden before, but I hadn't been into the depths of the markets. The markets were plenty, selling clothes, food, books, antiques and other bizarre odds and ends. The whole area had a different feeling from the Portobello markets though. Camden was darker and seemed to cater to a slightly different crowd. The fashion, not just what was being sold in the stalls but what a lot of young people were wearing, can perhaps be quickly described as 'alternative.' Punk and Goth subcultures were very common here. The place had a real organic feel to it, as the markets and stalls seemed to be built randomly into the walls, as if no real planning went into the placing of these stalls, but sort of just grew out from a central location. It kind of seemed like an underground city as sunlight wasn't too common in the narrow and crowded corridors. The expansive and unorderly area was dark, but inconsistent strings of colorful accent lights from within the market stalls produced some fantastic and peculiar light. Different varieties of music, but mostly trance and electronic could be heard throughout the market area. I bought a sweet black and green Chinese paper lamp at one stall and a nice messenger bag at another. I also enjoyed some Indian food. As for clothes, most of what was being sold wasn't for me.
Day Trip to Bath
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A Virgin hot air balloon floats over a football match outside the Royal Crescent in Bath, England.
More hot air balloons fly over Bath Abbey in Bath, England.More Shooting in Hyde Park
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Royal Horse Guards training in Hyde Park.Tubes, Stores and People
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Edgware Station and the Bakerloo Line.Today I went down to Oxford Street to do a little exploring and shopping. I'm really excited that I basically have the tube system figured out. It isn’t nearly as complicated as the NYC station is to me. It's also a ton cleaner, and there aren't dodgy or homeless people on it. It makes busy days on tube when everyone is cramming onto the train before the doors close a lot easier when it’s evident that the people you are uncomfortably close to are clean, normal people.
I got off at the Marble Arch station and walked along Oxford Street for a bit. The buildings on either side of the road primarily sell clothing, and the entire area was very busy. Saturday is the big shopping day. I’d rather go during the evening on weeknights, but the vast majority of stores close at either 5 or 6 p.m. for some reason. It’s too bad, because I wake up kind of late, have classes until 5, and then everything is closed for the evening.
Primark is almost the Wal-Mart of the U.K., at least in terms of controversy. It sells clothing and some household items like bed sheets and curtains, and everything is suspiciously cheap. Of course, with my budget and the fact that the USD is horrible, it’s hard to resist. Primark sources its supply very cheaply and uses sub par materials for their products, I have read. It also ran into some trouble just earlier this summer when the BBC uncovered three garment manufacturing facilities in India subcontracted under Primark that were using child labor. Primark said it had no idea. It’s also gotten some publicity about poor workers’ rights.
Everything else on Oxford Street was too expensive for me. I also stopped into a bookstore and bought a few travel guides on the countries I’m thinking of visiting for fall break, France, Germany and Switzerland.
The people in the flat below us had a note delivered to our flat, complaining about noise. But rather than the type of noise you’d think of somewhere like a house on Ackerman Ave. emanating, they referred only to a specific incident where someone in the house dropped a pair of shoes on the ground, and how they can also sometimes hear us treading down our corridor. They ended their note by suggesting we purchase softer shoes like slippers so as to help us quiet down.
None of us were particular happy about this, mostly because they’re being ridiculous. We’re all trying very hard to keep the noise down, conscious already about Americans having a reputation of being loud and obnoxious. I don’t know what their problem is.
Tower of London and Westminster Abbey
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A Yeomen Warder speaks in front of a large group at the Tower of London.Today we visited the Tower of London in the morning in a tour paid for by SUL, and that was followed by Westminster Abbey. Although free, the tours were brief and left out a lot, so I intend to go back on my own sometime in the future. Also, our tour was guided by someone the university hired, and while very enthusiastic and intelligent, he wasn't a Beefeater like pictured above, so we missed out on some theatrical aspects of the Tower of London experience.
Finally. Internet.
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Now I can bear to work on this with a bit more care.
Hyde Park
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Matav Saeed Mansoori feeds birds in Hyde Park on a Monday afternoon.I went to Hyde Park today in search of a story for my photo class, but to no real avail. Not much goes on in Hyde Park it seems, or at least not this or next week. Sarah accompanied me today, and took care of two out of three IDs for pictures we took, including the guy in the picture above. It's still something I'm really uncomfortable with, and it's one reason why I prefer working with objects and scenes and other non-human, non-documentary photos. It's why, as of now at least, I'm in photo illustration, not photojournalism. In any case, this is a photo j class I'm taking right now, so I have no choice.
Tourism
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Haystacks are plentiful for miles amid the flat terrain on either side of the road to Stonehenge.
Stonehenge during a cloudy day.
Salisbury Cathedral.SUL coordinated a day to Stonehenge and Salisbury. It was Fantastic.
Food Class
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A man with a colorful shirt walks down the similarly colorful Neal's Yard, a quaint organic fruit and vegetable seller area in Soho.Now that classes have begun, I'm counting on a much less fun London abroad experience. I did what I could for myself though, signing up for only 12 credits and ensuring I didn't have classes on Fridays and Mondays, leaving me with a sweet four-day weekend. One of my classes is called Food and Identity, and on the first day of this class we walked around near the Faraday House into Soho and were taken by some restaurants, markets and pubs. Towards the end we were treated with a small snack from London's Chinatown. I really don't want to be taking classes right now, but I guess the London Program here is at least trying a bit to make them a bit more tolerable.
Hooray for Day Trips
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Views of Dover Priory from the top of Dover Castle.Those of us without Monday classes traveled down to southeast England to Dover, to see both the Castle there and the White Cliffs. Both were spectacular and I would have liked to stay longer. We arrived by train which took about and hour and a half and went to the hill that the castle is situated at first. Some of the first activity here was by the Romans who built two lighthouses and a series of underground tunnels. These tunnels were kept up, and during WWII were expanded for use by the British Army serving as a strategic position as they are on the coastline facing the Straight of Dover and France. It's also quite a lovely sight.
Settling In
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Will Halsey, Juliette Lynch, Taylor Weidman and AJ Chavar look before crossing Edgware Road.Portobello Road
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Colorful shops and restaurants line Portobello Road, a major London marketplace most active during weekends.Today we went to and walked down the very crowded Portobello Rd. The road is several blocks and must be at least a half mile long. There are a ton of stalls selling antiques, jewelry, food, souvenirs, clothes and other collectables. I didn't buy anything, besides food, just because I was overwhelmed by the amount of amazing items available. But I'm definitely going to be coming back often to get some cool stuff. I'm particularly interested in this one stall that sells authentic WWII uniforms, caps, bags, holsters, weapons and tons of pins and other memorabilia.
Day 4
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Stefanie Campolo shooting from the London Eye.More SUL orientation activities including a free ride up on the London Eye today in the evening. It's our last full day in our cheap hotel before moving into our flat. Our photo group travelled around a bit in Westminster after the Eye, over Westminster bridge and past Parliament, a bit through St. James's Park, around down some various roads after getting a bit lost.
