Author Archives: cog5049

Happy Valentine’s Day, Lovers!

Well, it’s that time of year again. Where those of us who are not in any relationship at all forge a deep and meaningful dependence on our televisions, chocolate boxes, football teams or gin and tonic mugs. Or in the case of a lucky few, all of the above! After doing schoolwork yesterday in a cafe alone, watching hordes of boys walk past the most recent attempted murder scene with bouquets of flowers, I couldn’t help but think of Bridget Jones lamenting on how she was most likely to be eaten by wild dogs and found several weeks after her death. While I have already decided that I prefer dogs to people and welcome this fate, I woke up this morning, completely forgetting that today was Valentine’s day.

Maybe it was the sunlight, streaming in my window, or the chirping of birds, but it felt more like the first day of spring, so I decided I would spend the afternoon in Regent’s Park writing about demilitarisation following the Cold War. It also seemed like a good day to take in a museum, so I decided to dress in as much preppy J.Crew as I could, and spend the day flitting about.

Upon arriving at Regent’s Park, I noticed that every single person was joined at the hip by another person. Each bench was filled with two people, making out, having a picnic or playing the guitar to one another. Runners weren’t running alone, and even squirrels seemed to be coupled off. And that was when I remembered what day it was. So I marched off onto a hill on my own, spread out a patchwork of blazers and jackets and got to my work.

This lasted for only about two hours, until I realized how cold it was, and decided to find lunch. But not before I found the other person in the park who was alone. I happened upon who I believe was the bird woman from Mary Poppins, who was feeding the birds around her, and seemed to be having a great time. So I asked to join her, and she seemed more than happy to share her crumbs with me, although I couldn’t get an interesting life story out of her, which is what I really wanted. She seemed to be quite happy in her solidarity, so I left her to find more coffee.

Which led me to realize; if this woman can be so happy with her choice of bird feeding and individualism, I can be just as happy with Liverpool and chocolate! But just to be safe, I’ll start that tomorrow, in case I form a deep and meaningful relationship when we go out dancing tonight.

Location: Regent's Park, London

Clairiver’s Travels

Preemptive apology for the length

Now that I am starting to get into a rhythm of classes and schoolwork, I am able to reflect a bit on the last whirlwind week. The weekend started out on Tuesday, when Matt and I went hashing with the London Hash House Harriers. As it gets dark so early here, the run part was quite scary, and I had a constant fear of tearing my ACL on the slippery pavement. The pubbing afterward was very enjoyable, and I got to visit with a lot of Matt and Mo’s friends. After the hash, a group of kids from my dorm went to the Ministry of Sound, which is a fun, nearby club, although, it is in a seedier part of town. We stayed in our group while walking home, and were not accosted at all (yes, I’m expecting congratulations)! Needless to say, between the multiple runs and dancing, i.e. mindlessly jumping in heels, my body was quite tired the next day.

Wednesday meant the start of classes, but as my absolute favorite class ever (no offence Daddy), it sped by, before I went to the Fulham-Newcastle game at Craven Cottage. Unfortunately, it meant I missed the debut of Luis Suarez, but on the bright side, I was getting fresh air during a Premier League day! Typically, I’m sitting in a room that’s as dark as possible, talking to old people, outscoring Johnny in Fantasy, or watching several games on my computer by myself. Not exactly normal human interaction. Before the game, some of us met at a pub and bantered with Newcastle fans (bear in mind, Liverpool just bought Andy Carroll, so I wasn’t a welcome presence), before taking our seats with the rest of the kids from the CIEE program.

Thursday was a bit more tragic, as it was the final parting of Claire and Eileen. I plan on creating a video montage of our brief time together, but that would require knowledge of computers or cameras. As proof that I am my father’s daughter, the only camera I own is disposable, and I sent that home with Flat Stanley. Knowing that my Dad was coming on Friday, I spent the remaining parts of my days at libraries, and trying to figure out the British Library System. Did you know it takes between 70 minutes and 48 hours to get a single piece of material? And you’re not allowed to get it yourself! But I guess when you have the Magna Carta, you hold all of the cards.

And finally Friday came! My dad came for a very short 40 hour trip, and we had a great time packing in as much Daddy/Daughter/Dragon/Matt hangout time as possible. We started with a night out in Camden to watch Six Nations Rugby, and began our own attempt to eat our way through Six Nations of Cuisine. Matt was nice enough to teach me and Dad the rules of rugby, and I think I’ve figured it out; hit one another at full speed, after making yourself as big as possible… And only throw the ball back. We spent the rest of our time together walking around the city, watching Premier League, cheering on Momo in her game, and obviously, eating, drinking, and generally having a great time.

The weekend ended with a fantastic Liverpool win over Chelsea and Fernando Torres, but the unfortunate reality of classes, tests and papers has sunk back in, so I am taking up permanent residence at school again. Starting tomorrow that is, after I become an International Super Star when I debut in The Inbetweeners.

Location: Floor of my room

Inbetweener!

Welp, it’s finally going to happen. After these last 16 years of education and multiple majors, I have decided to give it all up for my big break in show business. This Thursday I will be an extra (but will end up stealing the show) in the film The Inbetweeners. Chances are, you’ve never seen or heard of it unless you are from the UK or watch BBC America.

So mental image. Picture Skins (either the original, or the new version), and then picture the exact opposite of Skins. That’s more of less what this is. Four nerdy boys (and me!), acting like themselves in awkward situations somewhere in England. Naturally, I put on my resume that one of my interests/talents included dancing awkwardly, which explains why they cast me in the nightclub scene. What’s more, we are supposed to pretend that it is Spain in the summer, so rather than wear rain boots and sweaters, well… ;

“Although we are filming this scene in London, in the film the club is in the holiday resort of Malia. The club is very glamourous, sexy and fun. You need to imagine it’s 30 degrees outside the club, not 3!

Girls – we need you to look fabulous in summery dresses, skirts, hot pants for the very brave, shorts, summery, sparkling tops, sunglasses – dress as if you were going to the best club in Malia.

We would love you all to have a golden sun-kissed glow. Please fake tan! If you’d like to bring a couple of options, that would be great.”

This is kind of going to kill my attempt to become as pale and vampire-ish as possible, but I’ll make this one concession I suppose. Also, I’m not one-hundred percent on ‘hot-pants’ but I imagine they’re fantastic. Eek! Just googled it, definitely not.

So dear friends, this also means that you will probably be subjected to watching this movie in the future, regardless of whether or not they cut me out entirely. I think that the best way to ensure that I don’t get cut out would be to create a dance routine similar to Monica and Ross’ from “The One with the Routine”. Any dance move suggestions would be appreciated.

xox

The One With the Routine

I don’t imagine they could cut THAT out.

Location: Elephant and Castle

1001 Ways to Wear a Black Sweater

When I first got to London I was amazed at how practical and conservative I found my packing to be. I was quite proud of my button-downs, pull-overs, jeans and even (gag) flat shoes. In the following three weeks, I’ve had a realization that while a normal person may find it practical, I just find it dull. I have worn some sort of sweater every single day, and while I do love a sweater, it’s a hard transition to make from voluminous tulle skirts and daily over-the-knee boots.

Sure sometimes I throw on a pleated, ruffled vest, a massive silver belt or a gorgeous (albeit ostentatious) green hat, but I have not yet branched into my world of comfortable dressing. Which is why, I made my first purchase today. A fuchsia asymmetrical, semi-pleated skirt, that looks straight out of an autumn/winter Victoria Beckham collection. Yay!

I spent Saturday out with both of the lovely McDonnell’s and three of their wonderful friends. We explored Borough Market, and picked up some groceries for the week (and fudge for a year), and had a wonderful breakfast overlooking Kensington. In the evening, I continued to impose upon them through dinner and drinks in Covent Garden, before listening to street artists perform beautifully. The whole area was very communal, with everyone dancing and singing along to a variety of classic songs. The atmosphere did a 180 within an hour when I returned with a friend. It seemed much more hostile, although still quite fun.

Sunday was spent reading 500 pages of various books, not for pleasure, and feverishly checking transfer gossip. With the imminent departure of Fernando Torres to Chelsea, but the arrivals of (hopefully) Andy Carroll, Luis Suarez and Charlie Adam to Liverpool, I will assuredly be stress eating crunchy peanut butter until 11 o’clock GMT.

Location: Covent Garden, London

Completely Gratuitous!

Well, I am now over the first three weeks of life in London, and so far there has been very little in the way of life threatening experiences. Sure there were some people that my parents were probably not keen on me meeting (cough.. Prostitute), but there have been many strangers to whom I have been very grateful; Rodger, whose cancer had gone into remission, and subsequently bought me flowers; Cindy and Sharlene, who I met at Cafe Rouge, and who bought me drinks (they were also willing to talk about domestic and international travel policy within the United States),; and finally Tony…. no… wait… he really was just creepy… Seriously, is there something that attracts weird foreigners between the ages of 20-50 to talk to me?

On to my classes this semester. I am absolutely in love with my seminar professor of International Security Studies. Daddy, before you freak out, let me tell you… He’s. From. Spain!!! Also, he wears green cableknit sweaters, and brown corduroy pants, so apart from dressing like Ainsley in 9th grade, he’s perfect! (Mother, he is pursuing his PhD in conflicts in Kosovo! What could be more romantic, right?) The chances are good that he’s probably already engaged or something.

The rest of my professors are less dreamy, although no less interesting, and I have made a base of wonderful friends in my classes. We are able to engage in liquid lunches (usually smoothies) and many hours in various libraries together. I have already become more familiar with the libraries on my three main campuses and the massive British Library (in which you are not allowed to actually check out books) than I have ever been with Schlow, Pattee or Paterno (I hear the last two are actually one library. Huh!)

But on a serious note, I have been very lucky to meet so many wonderful people, and they have all relayed to me just how fortunate I am that my parents have allowed and financed such a wonderful experience for me. I have nothing that I am more thankful for than a wonderful base that has encouraged me so far in my travels.

Happy birthdays to Mummy and David-cita, and I want to reflect on the wonderful life that my first puppy Max had.

To call him a dog hardly seems to do him justice, though inasmuch as he had four legs, a tail, and barked, I admit he was, to all outward appearances. But to those who knew him well, he was a perfect gentleman.

He was the best dog I could have ever known, and losing him, especially while away from home, has been incredibly painful. My love goes out to him, Lassie and Molly.

Love from London,

Claire

PS- I just accidentally signed off an email to Guy Carpenter today Bearbatronoid.

Location: Lambeth, London

After he’s gone all the way to Ipswich!

Momo- “Besides their horns, can unicorns do anything else?”

Claire- “Well that one just did magic…”

First week of classes: Check. Week one into my 12 week semester has ended and so far I absolutely love it. Not to sound like a total nerd, but I love foreign policy, so the fact that most of my classes revolve around policy and trade relations thrills me. After Wednesday’s European Economics and Policies lecture, I attended the subsequent seminar on Thursday in addition to the International Security Studies lecture and seminar, and Friday’s European Foreign Policy lecture and seminar, and the Rise of the Novel.

I knew I was in for a bit of a shock when I walked into my first ‘lecture hall’. Seating was for near eighty students, although there were only about forty of us. However the professor still apologized for the high number of students in the class. Thinking back to economics classes of +600 students in Thomas Building amused me, and I think I could easily get used to the comfortable arm chairs in each of my classes. The seminars are really great because there are only about ten students to a professor so we get to have actual discussions. The one downside is that each class is based on only one or two grades throughout the semester. This means I am now trying to set a record for consecutive hours catching up on the history, formation, policies and leaders of the European Union.

On the non-academic side of things, I now have these wonderful friends in my dorm who teach me how to do things like cook, and in return, I demonstrate how to dance awkwardly in public places. They’ve also taught me that cover charges are really only a suggestion that we whole-heartedly veto. Furthermore, one of my new friends brought me to an audition for the movie version of the UK show The Inbetweeners. Though I’ve never technically seen the show, I studied up the morning before, and could adequately describe my favorite characters and the like. I was informed that I was the first American that had ever auditioned, which in my mind, puts me at the head of the queue of extras.

The day ended quite wonderfully with a Liverpool victory, and a mass consumption of all things delicious. Momo and I had a wonderful girl’s day/night that led us to consume our weight in pizza, fudge, cookies and wine, while avoiding physical activity. This was accomplished by watching Stardust, where we concluded that all unicorns must be magical, or at least have basic magical properties.

Location: Tooting, London

Culturally Relevant

Gravity is another great English invention -Jimmy

First day of school! For the first time I hadn’t gone ‘back-to-school shopping’ or prepared an outfit in advance. Tr�s stress-worthy. Somehow, the world didn’t end, and I still managed to fall in love with European Economics and Politics. It’s really exciting because it turns out that every topic is covered by Amy’s Economics of European Integration book, which Bender once mocked me for reading. Who’s laughing about the European Coal and Steel Community now? Oh, that’s right… still no one.

Monday and Tuesday were spent becoming very culturally aware with lovely Ms. Eileen! Apart from learning firsthand the differences between the Circle and District lines (as well as east and west), we spent the first of our two dates at Kensington Palace, once home to Princess Diana. Imagining the Enchanted Palace conjures a Disneyworld-Adventureland in my head. It turns out, that it was the Disney classics, but with the Brother’s Grimm endings. The Enchanted Palace came complete with forgotten children, early deaths and depressing rooms like the Room of Royal Sorrows, the Room of the Quarrel and the Room of Lost Childhood. Although it made me happy that I no longer force people to call me Princess Diana, it doesn’t exactly inspire romance and majesty in the royal family. But the day ended on a bright, cheerful note with delicious scones and a tea hour at the Orangery.

After an evening bout of food poisoning from cream cheese, I was able to march into Tuesday ready to enjoy the first sunshine since I’d arrived in London. While the darkness has been doing great things for me, it was wonderful to be naturally warm. We decided the best way to take advantage of it, would be to tour the Tower of London. Perhaps the most depressing, albeit awe-inspiring, site in London, we learned the history of the castle/dungeon/fortress, which included over 1,000 executions, many public beheadings, and various methods of torture. Also housed in the Tower, are the crown jewels, which are absolutely spectacular.

Fun fact of the day: Queen Victoria’s Coronation ring was fitted to her pinky finger instead of her ring finger. When it came time for the Archbishop of Canterbury to put it on, he had to make it fit, regardless of the obvious pain she was going through. Try working that into casual conversation.

After the perfect lunch, Eileen found a marvelous French brasserie in Kensington, and while chatting for a long time, we discovered Asahi, which is our new Stella. I don’t know what I am going to do with myself when she leaves in February!

I’m going to go give cooking another try, if anyone has a suggestion for ways to eat an onion besides in layers, slices, or dices, I’d love to hear it.

Location: Tower of London, London, UK

While you were sleeping

“It’s not the sort of thing you want to watch with your mother and George McLucas” – about Mom’s ketchup ad. (Somewhere there must be a George McLucas with whom you wouldn’t want to watch it.)

This time yesterday I was off to Leadenhall Market to meet Mo, Matt and some of their friends for after work drinks. Work, of course being the operative word, as my day consisted of getting caught in hail and a thunderstorm on my run. No, really, that was all of it. Leadenhall is a really cool outdoor/indoor street of pubs that seems very 19^th century-Sherlock Holmes, and after several drinks Matt introduced the idea of going out for a proper curry. As I’ve been living off of canned tuna and Cheerios, this sounded like an excellent idea, particularly as I’d be able to follow other people, rather than find something myself. A delicious meal later, and the group broke up with everyone on their way to their comfortable beds/radiator floors. Or so I thought.

On the underground back to Lambeth North, I ran into a group of Londoners and Boston University drama students that I had met last week in Kensington. They were on their way to a club in Leicester Square, so, naturally, I invited myself along. If you’ve never been to Tiger-Tiger, I’m going to recommend that you go. Immediately. It’s one of those reeeeally skeezy bars with the most interesting mix of people. After one drink, I had met about 15 people who all promised to be my new best friend. There was the son of an ambassador, who traveled with his bodyguard; a Canadian backpacker, with a thick beard and a large knit sweater; and a group of Italian boys, who definitely did not look old enough to be in a bar. But my absolute favorite was this gorgeous prostitute who had wonderful pink candy floss hair and an upgraded 50’s housewife dress.

My prostitute quickly took me into the world of underground clubs, where everything is made out of glass, mirrors and black slate. She also refused to let us spend money, which I was more than happy to oblige, and she found someone to buy all of our drinks. Alas our friendship could not last the night (after all, she was working), and I reunited with my drama friends, before the place shutdown around 4. After a painful bus ride home, I slipped under my cape and fell deeply asleep.

But fortunately the day dawned semi bright, and Mo and I spent a wonderful afternoon hiking through Wimbledon, eating lunch and watching 30 Rock, before picking up a sheet, a blanket and a pillow. For all of you concerned, I did in fact bring towels, and I have been showering quite regularly.

Location: Leicester Square, London

Champagne Wishes and Caviar… Realities?

Well, I don’t actually eat caviar, but chocolate truffles have always been better anyways!

This morning I met with the fabulous Eileen McDonnell, who is currently residing in the posh neighborhood of Kensington. We went out for a wonderful day in the area, and started by making every wrong turn that a person can make. I blame it on London’s poor layout, and not my own failed cartographic abilities.

Eventually we did make it to Harrod’s, where we were overwhelmed by everything from the princess fairytale cakes, to the millinery. I believe I found, and subsequently lost, my soul in that little department. However, I plan on returning, pending an invitation from Prince Harry to his brother’s wedding. After a lovely lunch, Eileen treated me to chocolate truffles and champagne, which seem oddly out of place back in my dorm.

We then pressed on to the Victoria and Albert Museum, which was beautiful beyond belief. There were the best collections of jewelry and sculptures, and a whole hall full of busts! It was all very Pemberley Estate, and I was more than happy to act as Elizabeth Bennet (from the Keira Knightley version, of course). We also had a nice little tour of the Underground, before my first London tea and pastry.

I’m also getting really excited for classes to start, but it feels like the first day of kindergarten all over again. Except this time I don’t even have Ainsley like back then! I guess in the meantime I’ll overcome my nerves by pigging out on chocolates and champagne!

One of these things is not like the other!

Location: Kensington, London

Down and Out in Lambeth

Since getting internet in my dorm, my blogging time has been eaten up by my Sporcle time. And that has taken quite a hit by my people watching (read: boy scouting) missions. So I’m going to assume that I have finally learned how this works, and that posts are going up.

I’ve only been in London for a week, but already I feel quite at home in my little neighborhood. I live in a dorm owned by the University, and although there is not a campus (we are told to think of London as our campus), there are about 50 students in the building, some of them also international. However I like to imagine myself as an Oliver Twist character. I don’t yet have a blanket or sheets, so I sleep on the floor next to my heater, covered by my jacket and using a bag as a pillow… And they turn the heat off at midnight. It’s sort of like camping, right? But apart from that, and the bathroom not working, it’s great! I can even see Parliament from my window.

Everyone has been so wonderful helping me out, and pointing me in the right direction. I think it helps that I’m constantly smiling like an idiot, but that also leads to a lot of conversation and invitations.The other day I met the most interesting artist on my way to a meeting, and he bought me a coffee told me about all of these wonderful little hidden museums and art shows.

I’m currently hosting my friend Flat Stanley, on behalf of Emily, and he has attracted his fair share of gawks. The fact that he has a red, yellow and green face only makes him fit in in a city like this. Or maybe it’s that I ask random people to take a picture of a piece of paper and myself, with a disposable camera from the late 1980s.

Lastly, eventually I’ll get to relevant things!

Location: 1-5 Lambeth Road

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