Hello, Internet People! I’m frightfully sorry that I haven’t been posting very often. I promise, friends, that I will try to get better about it. This post, like the last, will be about a trip to London, but a very different one than I posted about before. Different, even, than most typical ‘travel blog’ posts.
If you lived in East Halls in your freshman year at Penn State, you may be familiar with the presence of a certain dance machine in Findlay Commons and a certain group of people who spend many an evening sitting around it. Over the course of last semester, I had the honor of getting to know these people and familiarizing myself with the game that brings them all together. While this occurrence may seem odd to common passersby, (I know, not to long ago, I, personally, found it to be a strange phenomenon) the dance machine has fostered a community full of absolutely lovely and wonderfully misfit people. Whether you’re there for the dance games or for the friends, it is a place for many different people to simply belong.
But what does this have to do with London? A very good question, my dear friends. This dance game phenomenon is not limited to the confines of Central Pennsylvania. Communities like this exist in many different places, and dance game tournaments are held around the world. Thus, through friend-to-friend connections and internet communication, I found myself at the London Anime & Gaming Con for a Sight Reading Tournament.
While I would like to say that everything went as any normal person would expect it to go, this was not the case. Thankfully, my first train trip into London went smoothly; I made both my trains and got off at the correct stops. While there were some things I liked about being on the train and others I did not, there’s definitely something thrilling about traveling on your own into the unknown. But there’s also something terrifying about it at times, when you’re as awkward and nervous as I am: checking the tube map ten times before you buy a ticket, walking one way down a street then deciding that you should actually be walking in the opposite direction, unexpectedly being asked for a ID and fumblingly pulling out a US drivers license, and many other awkward moments.
When I arrived at the convention, I wandered around to see all that they had going on. It was interesting to see a particular aspect of the culture of one nation (Japanese animation) can be taken up and enjoyed by people living in many other nations. I have a great appreciation for the community that things such as Anime and video games create, the havens they provide for all those interested, however, I have never really been a part of those things myself, and while many of my friends are found in such communities, I have never been passionate about either enough to really fit in. I watched a few panels and performances, but I spent most of my time hovering around the dance game machine.
Eventually I was able to put names to faces and watch some people do what they love to do (step on arrows to the rhythm of dance music). Some people had been playing for a long time while others were completely new to the game (people who happened to be at the convention and wanted to give it a go). Either way, both parties were able to enjoy themselves.
The tournament never happened due to technical and timing issues, but I’m not sure if I would have benefited more from the experience if it had. As it was, I was able to observe the similar way unsuspecting players reacted to crazy step charts, while discovering the joys of charts that are mostly popular only in the UK. So, really, if I can say anything about this experience, I can say that it was my first time using arrows to shoot arrows with arrows.
But I think my favorite part of the day was when I was simply waiting in line for food. A stranger in front of me asked me if I’d seen a particular presentation and then started talking about what he found to be interesting about it and, in general, things he was passionate about. While I could only offer him a single anime movie I liked and a single game I enjoyed playing, I was glad I was able to meet such a friendly person, and it made me smile to know he found a place where he felt he belonged.
So I guess while this post has no grand photos of famous landmarks, I hope it maintains some sort of consistency in my continued attempts to convey to you what it’s like to be me, to try to help you walk in my shoes, while wandering around this world.
Hello, friends. It’s been too long. A week ago I took a trip to London. While the trip was originally advertised as a bus tour, most of the experience came from the time we had to simply walk around the city. Being the photographer that I am, I took pictures of almost every building we passed, attempting preserve as much of my experience as I could on film (technically on a memory card).
While that is all fine and good and I have no qualms sharing these photos with you, I felt like there was something missing from this story. Yes, the London Eye looked wonderful against the blue sky, and yes, the Parliament building has remarkable history and stunning architecture (pictured below), but there are a few things that particularly struck me in my wandering.
First of all, we really had no definitive plans on where we wanted to go or what we wanted to do. There’s something fantastic about going to one site and realizing that another is just a few blocks away. Or walking down the street, passing bridge after bridge, trying to find “London Bridge” and suddenly looking up to find yourself in front of the Globe Theatre. These are things you have read about or seen pictures of, but you never really think about how real they are, how you can just ordinarily stroll around and happen upon them. It’s surreal looking at other people on the streets and realizing that there are people walking by every day; there have been for a long time and hopefully will continue to be long into the future. You almost feel a connection with everyone throughout history who has stood/will stand in that square, looking at the same statue, having an experience that is similar to yours but completely unique in its own right.
People. That’s what I really started caring about (as I should, since I study Anthropology and all). Of course, I took pictures of the buildings and views, but I also started taking pictures of the people. It’s hard because you feel awkward asking people for their permission yet feel like a creeper if you don’t. While these pictures are few compared to my stereotypical tourist frames, I feel they are some of the best. “The Faces of England” I am calling them. I am hesitant to post them here as I do not wish to violate anyone’s privacy, but most of them were making themselves publicly visible, so they may not mind if I did. However, these pictures will remain off of this blog for the time being.
I just wanted you to have a glimpse into my mind. I wanted to share my pondering with you so that you may feel closer to me and my personal experiences in one of the best cities in the world.
Oh, yeah. I almost forgot. Here some pictures for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy!
Trafalgar Square, Fountain in the Foreground with the National Gallery in the Background
Silhouette of Buckingham Palace
Palace of Westminster
Silhouette of the London Eye
Saint Paul’s CathedralThis morning I woke up, ready for a nice day trip exploring Brighton. It has rained since the day I arrived, so inevitably it was raining as I left my flat. While walking to the bus stop, wondering if the trip may be delayed due to the weather, I realized that rain-checks are probably less likely in England. However, although the rain comes every day, it never stays around for very long and by the time we were fixing to leave campus it had cleared up.
Don’t be fooled by the Indian-inspired architecture. The Royal Pavilion is a palace built for King George IV as a vacation spot. King George IV was known for his lavish lifestyle. The interior was indescribably beautiful with 24kt gold paint on the walls, three-story tall chandeliers, and beautiful domed ceilings. While the outside was built in an Indian pavilion style, the inside has a mixture of Eastern Asian and European styles. Several of the rooms are filled with depictions of dragons with both the European wings and the Asian serpent’s tail. Because it took so long for goods to be imported from Asia, many of the interior pieces were created in England in an Asian style. An example of this is the painting of local wood to look like bamboo. Unfortunately no pictures were allowed inside the pavilion.
My first day here, I had a fantastic experience of ice skating outside the pavilion. For the holidays, they set up an outdoor ice rink on the front lawn where people in the community can pay to go skating. Both on my tour of the pavilion and my trip ice skating I walked through the gardens, which I am sure are quite beautiful in the summertime. After the tour, I was treated to traditional cream tea and a fruit scone with clotted cream and jam.
From the pavilion I walked towards the pier, taking pictures of beautiful city landmarks on the way. The pier was lovely in the sunset with seagulls circling the skies all around. I know I will be back soon, but for now, here are some pictures from my adventure.
By this point I had been out for quite some time, it was starting to get dark, and my socks and hat were still a bit damp. So naturally I went back to campus to make myself another cup of tea.
Location: Brighton, England
and welcome to by blog. My name is Catherine, and I am an undergraduate student studying Biological Anthropology and Biology. Please come along and join me on my journey abroad.
This semester, I will be studying at the University of Sussex, just outside of Brighton. Brighton is on the southern coast of England, about a two hour train ride out of London.
Throughout the course of this semester, I will be taking pictures, creating videos, and writing posts that catalog my experience abroad. I plan to take you on virtual adventures with me as I get trapped by typical tourist destinations, escape to find hidden treasures, find a home on campus, and hopefully a have unique, unforgettable experience. I don’t want to just tell you about the so-called “exciting” things that everyone expects to hear about; I want to immerse you in British culture by sharing with you every day occurrences and typical life experiences.
Our adventures begin on the 14th when I arrive at Heathrow airport. I already have a packed schedule with a dinner on campus, a tea outing in Brighton, and a tour of London. Once the semester begins, it will be full of both activities on campus and excursions elsewhere. My fun will be your fun, my good times will be your good times, and my experience will be your experience. Get ready to study abroad with me and my GeoBlog.
In addition to wanting to share my experiences with you, my new internet friends, I want to learn from this experience, both about myself as a person as well as in terms of gaining knowledge. I have thus taught myself to code html for the occasion. Please bare with me as I discover the mechanics of this new language.