Can I change my major to British Life and Culture?

This week has been amazing so far! I feel like I’m learning so much about British life and becoming what my professor, Lyndon, would call a “social anthropologist” and less like a tourist. I mean, there’s no doubt that I still have American written across my forehead, but I just feel like what I’m learning about here is giving me a different perspective on America as well. Does that make sense?

On Monday, we had our usual British Life and Culture class – during which the topic of Kew Gardens was brought up. And of course since Mel and I had just been there, Lyndon wanted us to talk about everything we had seen. I think he was very proud that we had gone there on our own time. Also, I think the group that was supposed to research Kew Gardens was happy that we were there to bail them out since their research was “rubbish”. :)

We also talked about social classes, which are so much more pronounced here than back home in America. I know that we have them in the States, but here it is so hard to move out of the one you’re born into. Really the only way to do so is to go to college, like Lyndon, but that doesn’t seem that it’s the norm to do so. If you know anything about the Royal Family, that’s why it was such a huge deal when Prince Charles married Diana Spencer. She “supposedly” had some royal blood, but was still from a middle-class family, which was apparently not good enough for the Royal Family. That’s also why there’s a huge controversy surrounding Prince William and the possibility of him marrying Kate Middleton, who is also middle-class.

That night, before our weekly musical, Mel and I went out to eat because I’ve basically been living off English muffins and cheese. So we thought a little Italian food would be lovely. We had no idea where to go, but we just got off at the tube stop where the theatre was, saw a cute little Italian restaurant, and went there. It turned out to be fabulous and fairly inexpensive. That’s what makes London so fun – you can basically go anywhere without any sort of plan and discover something new and wonderful.

After our little Italian feast, I saw the BEST musical I have ever seen in my life! WICKED! Oh my gosh, it was so AMAZING! Now I see why my cousin, Jackie, loves it so much! Everything about it was fun – the characters, the scenery, the music, and so much more! If you’ve never seen it, you MUST go. It will completely change your perspective on “The Wizard of Oz”.

On Tuesday, I had my usual international relations class in the morning. Then I spent way too much time on homework, but it needed to be done. That afternoon I went on a run to and through Hyde Park. I definitely got rained on, but it wasn’t horrible – kind of liberating, actually. That night, one of the girls downstairs had a guy come over who she met at the American sports pub/club a week ago… He just happens to be in the Queen’s company – meaning, he wears the bearskin hat and guards the Queen at Buckingham Palace! Seriously, how cool is that?! AND, the best part is that he brought some of his friends over too who also guard the Queen. They’re all over 6 foot tall because apparently you have to be a certain height to be one of her guards, I guess. But they are all HILARIOUS and so much fun. Two of them are from Birmingham (which they pronounce “Bur-ming-um”), and their accents are so strong. They try to hide them because the stereotype is that people with a Birmingham accent are dumb. But of course the Americans wanted to hear it, so when they busted it out, it didn’t even sound like English. At one point I said something about candy corn, which they’ve never even heard of, so I let them try some that my parents had sent me. Two of them didn’t like it, but the other guy wasn’t completely opposed. They said it tasted like fudge. Yeah, I don’t know. Oh, and they also thought I sounded “posh”. I will take that as a compliment, thank you very much. :)

Today was an absolutely gorgeous day. We took a day trip first to Dungeness and then later went to Rye. Dungeness is on the coast of England and one of the most unique places I’ve ever been to. It is so quiet because it’s located in a nature reserve, but it still has its own unique identity. In the city, a nuclear power plant and a wind power plant sit only a few kilometers away from each other. It’s so amazing how this small coastal town is experimenting with those two power sources, but a huge country like America can’t seem to get away from foreign oil. Just kind of interesting.

Lyndon wanted us to take lots of pictures of this town to use later for an assignment. We only had one hour, which kind of rushed things because there were so many unique things to look at. I saw a couple outside their cute little home, so I walked up to them and asked if I could take their picture. The lady said, “What… is all our lovely clothing?”, laughed, and then allowed me to take their picture. That was probably my favorite picture of the day because it captures their simple happiness and the beauty around them. Another interesting picture was one of a clothesline with the nuclear power plant in the background. That just shows the strong contrast between their simple lifestyles and the rise of complex technology all in one small area. It was such an adorable little town, and I know I won’t ever forget it.

Next we went to Rye, which is much more developed and “touristy” than Dungeness. There’s a quaint little church in Rye that has spectacular views of the city from the rooftop. It costs one pound to go up there, so we decided it was worth it. Getting up there was hilarious because the passageways were so narrow! I had to turn sideways to fit through a lot of them and last time I checked, I am not a huge person. But it really was worth it because the views were incredible. You could see the entire city and the windmills for the wind power plant – all very cool. After that, we had some fabulous fish ‘n chips, looked at a building that King Henry VIII had built during his reign, and went to an adorable little teahouse. Once again, there just wasn’t enough time to see everything – but nevertheless, it was absolutely beautiful.

And now, I’m about to go on another adventure. Tomorrow after class I’m flying to Barcelona, Spain for the weekend! I have that anxious nervousness, just because I’ve never been to a country where English is not the number one language and I’ve never stayed in a hostel before. But I’m sure we’ll all be fine. Oh, and all I’m bringing is ONE backpack. SERIOUSLY, that’s it for three days. But I guess that’s what makes it an adventure, right?

Until next time,
Rachel

P.S. This is random, but I have to share it. The British guards we hung out with on Tuesday also say aluminum very strangely - they pronounce it as "al-you-mini-um". Isn't that crazy?! The first time I heard it, I was like, "Umm... I have NEVER heard that word before!" Ha.