"College town boy..." or "Do you want to go to the seaside?" or "London calling..."

This is going to be a short entry. Really, this probably should have been included in the last entry. The theme is pretty much the same, so just consider this an addendum.

I met my friends Stephanie and Oli my junior year at IU, when the two of them spent a semester abroad in Bloomington. I thought their University was in London, but that was like thinking Bloomington is in Chicago. In reality, they both attended the University of Kent in Canterbury. Another IU friend, Caitlin, has also been living in Canterbury on a year abroad.

Not coincidentally, I arrived in Canterbury for Stephanie's 22nd birthday celebration. After taking the train down from Lancaster, I met all of her (very friendly) roommates, and we all wet out drinking at an on-campus pub and then dancing at a club. Canterbury is essentially a (very old, historic) college town. It has all the fixings: bars, academic buildings, student housing, late-night restaurants, etc. In a lot of ways, being in Canterbury felt like I had stumbled into a medieval Bloomington. I am always amazed at how similar colleges are across the world. From Indiana University (Bloomington) to University of Kent (Canterbury) to Tribhuvan University (Kathmandu), college campuses feel remarkably similar around the globe... at least from what I can tell. Hanging out with Stephanie and her roommates reminded me very much of my own living situation(s) in Bloomington. Not that I expected any major differences, but it's always cool to see that things are pretty much the same no matter where you go.

"The Venue" on Steph's birthday.

The next 4 days or so, Steph and Caitlin graciously filled their days showing me around Canterbury. We did a fantastic boat tour of the city. Canterbury is extremely historic—St. Augustine spread Catholicism there, the buildings are ancient, and the town is beautiful. Most notably, Thomas Becket was killed there, which led to Canterbury becoming a pilgrimage site for Christians. This history, as any unenthusiastic Brit Lit student can tell you, offered Chaucer the fodder for his classic Canterbury Tales, the bane of every high school senior’s existence.

We visited Canterbury Cathedral, which was yet another mind-blowing church filled with tombs, lovely statues, high ceilings, garden courtyards, and the infamous site of Thomas Becket’s aforementioned murder.

West Gate, the edge of the city center.

The view from our riverboat tour.

Canterbury's amazing cathedral.

High ceilings.

Outdoor walkway.

One day, Caitlin and I visited Whistable, a nearby seaside town. I have always wanted to see the English seaside, so I was glad to check that off the bucket list as well. Whistable is extremely quaint, and there’s really no other way to describe it: quaint pubs, quaint fish ’n chips shops, quaint streets, and quaint boats along the beach. It was exactly how I had imagined the English seaside, and I mean that in the best sort of way.

Quirky (and awesome) dixie jazz band in Whistable.

The quaint English seaside.

Catch of the day.

Just how I'd always imagined a place like Whistable.

Stephanie studied theater at Kent, so she is heavily plugged into the drama department at the university. On one night, she took me to an annual comedy show, hosted by the comedy program, at which alumni perform. Many of the graduates are now giving comedy a go on the professional UK comedy circuit, so the four acts we saw were hilarious, and I very much enjoyed myself.

My last full day in England, Caitlin and I went to visit London. Oli no longer lives in Canterbury, and he has been working in London. Although I would have loved to spend more time in London, it was a very jam-packed day, and the runaround reminded me of Ferris Beuller in Chicago. We walked around the Natural History Museum, which has some incredible exhibits. We visited the tourist spots on/near South Bank: the London Eye, Parliament, and Big Ben. We wandered around Brick Lane and surrounding markets, an extremely trendy hipster area with great restaurants and record stores and chic shops. I finally experienced an Ice Bar, which (if you haven’t seen one) is exactly what it sounds like: a bar in below-zero temperature, in which everything is made of ice, including the glasses, tables, and seating. Once again on this trip, I felt like I had raided some bourgeois party intended for people much more urban and fashionable than myself. Still, it was pretty awesome, and I’m glad I experienced it.

Natural History Museum in London. Science rules.

Oli getting dinosaur questions wrong at the interactive exhibit.

Jewel encrusted snuff box made for a Russian ruler as a gift. Coolest tobacco box ever.

Hipster area of London.

Oli and Caitlin.

Caitlin and I at the uber-trendy Ice Bar.

So trendy.

"What a shitty circus." --Garth Algar of Wayne's World.

The London Eye.

I feel really happy with my day and London, and I think I got a good taste for the city. Furthermore, it was great to hang out with Oli since he hadn’t been around like Steph and Caitlin since I arrived. Parting ways at the end of the day, as I would later do with Steph, was kind of odd. After all, I really can’t say for certain the next time I will see either of them, assuming I see them again at all (I do think that I will). It’s not as tragic as it sounds, but it’s definitely pretty unique to 21^st century friendships. In such a flat, globalized world—a world of Facebook, Skype, and Boeing 747s—it’s easier than ever to accumulate a truly global network of friends. These days, everybody knows at least somebody who lives abroad. And that’s a good thing, as it makes for really interesting and enriching relationships with people. However, the necessary downside is the constant uncertainty about when you will see them next—if at all.

In any case, my trip to Canterbury and London was fantastic, and it was great having local tour guides in Steph, Caitlin, and Oli. They kindly let me crash with them and showed me around the sites they are surely tired of by now. I really appreciated it.

After a 9-hour bus ride from Canterbury, I have finally arrived in Paris, the so-called city of love and light. I’ve spent today walking around the city, and I’ll be here for a few nights. But that’s for another blog entry.

“Be well, do good work, and keep in touch.”

.

"On the Leeds side-streets that you slip down, the provincial towns that you jog 'round..." or "God save the Queen..."

Well, my time in Asia has come to a close, and I have spent the last week or so in the UK, readjusting to the reverse culture shock of being in the so-called “First World.” In spite of Britain’s insanely high prices and ungodly exchange rate, I have had a wonderful time so far, and it has gotten me very eager to see more of Europe.

Jobi has been studying all semester in Lancaster, a sleepy college town in northern England. On May 10, I arrived in Manchester and caught the train up there. She has a great dorm room at Lancaster University, and the city is nothing if not charming. This is my first trip to the UK, but Lancaster offers everything that I always imagined the non-urban areas of England could (in the best sort of way). Jobi showed me around the small town, and I was enchanted by the cobble-stone streets, quaint cafes and pubs, and green countryside. After 3 ½ months in the dusty, dirty, noisy, loud, exciting, over-stimulating places in South and Southeast Asia, Lancaster presented a welcome chance to unwind a bit and catch my breath. Now that I am about 2/3 of the way through this trip, I am definitely enjoying the change of pace. Here are some photos of Lancaster:

Residential street in Lancaster.



Market day in the downtown area.

Downtown Lancaster.

Jobi also introduced me to her circle of friends out here. All of them seemed extremely fun, and I can tell that they have formed close friendships this semester. Studying abroad allows you to make close friends very quickly. Everyone I know who went abroad—no matter the destination—developed strong ties with the other people in their program. It definitely happened for me (just look at the people who have appeared in this blog so far… most of them are people I know from Semester at Sea). I have talked about this with many people, both home friends and Semester at Sea friends, but the friendships formed abroad are of a different nature than home friendships. Not better, not worse, but definitely unique. Being abroad allows you to meet like-minded people when you’re full of excitement, no preoccupations, and no social hang-ups. In my experience, there is a certain “come as you are” attitude while studying abroad, which allows for eclectic, rag-tag, motley crews to become very close very quickly. What’s even better: some of my SAS friends have met some of my best friends from home; I have befriended the home friends of my SAS friends in Pittsburgh, Atlanta, Philadelphia, and elsewhere; and I have enjoyed the company of my Indiana friends’ friends from their semesters abroad. If that wording got confusing, that’s sort of the point: the friendships are not mutually exclusive, and every combination of people seems to be able to interact and have a great time together. As I watched Jobi and her friends (mostly Australians, Americans, and Canadians) interact in the Lancaster restaurants and pubs, I felt very appreciative that I, too, have been fortunate enough to have those kinds of friendships. At first they seem ephemeral, but, over 2 years after my semester abroad, I’m still close with that group—perhaps more so. It’s really great.

But I digress.

After a few days in Lancaster, I took the train north to Edinburgh, the understated capital of Scotland. Jobi had some review sessions for her impending final exams, so I was on my own. Honestly, I did not expect terribly much from Edinburgh, and I booked the trip because it was a recommended city that was easy to get to and that would allow me to check Scotland off the list. I was pleasantly surprised by what I found in the city, though.

I booked a room at a very touristy backpacker hostel close to the historic district of the city. I spent the next three days not DOING too terribly much. Instead, I just walked up and down the Royal Mile, the main drag in the historic district that is teeming with tourist shops, great pubs, and street performers of every variety. My first evening, I did the Real Mary King’s Close tour, a guided excursion into the old (15^th-19^th century) streets that lie beneath the current city. It was quite interesting, but our in-character tour guide made it feel a bit too much like Connor Prairie, which made me feel a bit too much like a cheesy tourist. After that, I did not spend any money on guided tours. Instead, I walked around the lovely St. Giles’ Cathedral, the first beautiful church in what I’m sure will be a long line of beautiful churches throughout Europe. I walked around the Writer’s Museum, which inspired me to actually read Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (I had no idea Robert Louis Stevenson was Scottish, so it gave me an excuse to plow through it). I admired Edinburgh Castle, the hilltop attraction that towers over the city and offers awesome views—Lonely Planet accurately describes it as a “city in the clouds.” I also spent a good deal of time enjoying the pubs and cafes and restaurants. Here are some photos: 

West Princes Street Gardens in Edinburgh.

Edinburgh Castle, from below.

Edinburgh Castle.

The awesome view from Edinburgh Castle.

Another view from the castle.

  

 

High Street, or the "Royal Mile."

Designer kilts.

St. Giles' Cathedral on the Royal Mile.

Inside St. Giles'.

Again.

Again.

Great view from a hookah bar over Victoria Street.

As I wrote before, the Royal Mile is filled with extremely talented street performers busking to earn some money. They come in all varieties. With so much amazing music, comedy, and random entertainment, it was easy to spend all afternoon walking up and down the street taking it all in:

  

  

There was another thing I loved about Edinburgh: the men’s fashion. I know that, coming from me, that statement sounds ridiculous. Excluding the kilt, though, Scottish fashion sense is exactly what I hope to wear as a stately old man: corduroy pants, sweater vests, bow ties (distinguished, not like a Southern frat boy’s), tweed jackets, and tobacco pipes. Just to remind myself of my fashion aspirations, I took a photo of my ideal ensemble:

Someday, I will be able to dress like this.

On my last night in Edinburgh, I met 3 girls (a Californian and two Austrians) who were staying in my hostel dorm room with me. We all went out, got dinner, and then decided to head to the cold, windswept beaches of Edinburgh. In spite of the chilly temperature, it was great walking along the seaside.  I am really glad that the Austrians suggested it, because I never would have thought to do it otherwise, and it was very beautiful:

The awesome beach of Edinburgh at dusk.

I could not help but take this Hallmark photo.

Now I am back in Lancaster for a couple of days. Next, I will move down to London to visit some English friends that I met while they studied abroad at IU a few semesters ago. I’m really excited to check out London and the surrounding areas, especially with locals as guides. More to come.

“Be well, do good work, and keep in touch.”

.