The First Week: Stupid Americans, "Lovely" Brits, and Swedes?

Cheers from jolly ol' London!

so, I think instead of going chronologically, which a) could become quite boring and b) will be difficult since a week here has simultaneously felt like months and seconds, I will go by category, starting with the serious and moving to the ridiculous (sort of):

• adjusting to England, and living in a big city, and living in England in a big city: for some reason I was under the assumption before I came to London that, simply because the British speak the same language (kinda...we'll get to that), their culture and...demeanor (?) would be very similar to Americans, well, at least some Americans. Friends that have studied in the UK before me can attest that this is DEFINITELY NOT TRUE. I mean, Brits are certainly not so drastically different that I can't relate to the ones that are my age, or are students and such. But it really is a different culture here, especially because I am in a biiiiiiggg city. Now, when I describe people I've encountered, y'all know I gotta be P.C. and say that obviously not all British people are the same...these are just a few observations I've made. Anyway, I've found people are not as friendly (or what Americans consider being friendly) to strangers: they don't smile much, many cashiers don't say anything besides how much something costs, and they are generally more aloof. It is less formal and "polite" by our standards, and at first, I felt like everyone was judging me or being rude or disrespectful. Some examples:
• still can't get used to saying "toilet" instead of restroom or bathroom. To them, our words are beyond the point of polite. To me, toilet sounds kinda gross to say to an acquaintance.
• I auditioned for a choir here (and I ended up getting in!). The process was quite informal, and I felt a bit like I wasn't being paid the respect you might normally receive. It was partly due to the choir director being, well, an asshole (anyone who's been in PCC: he was like a less effective, more negative, mean British male version of Donna. frightening, right?) quick digression: i liked the choir, however, they are singing a French opera, and I found that the French language is like the UK's version of California's Spanish, in that if you don't speak it here, you at least know how to pronounce it. And I do not. Great. moving on.

• The English version of English: again, was not expecting it to be so difficult. Shopping for groceries and anything practical is near impossible at first; everything is called something slightly different. Also, different foods are much more expensive or more cheaper here, so I have to think about what I buy differently. And let's not even talk about pounds versus the dollar. Shudder.
• slang: well, slang everywhere is weird, and Britain is no different. And just like we have different accents for different states, they obviously have different accents for different regions, some of which are a) not really the English language and b) impossible to understand. And that brings me to...
• ...accents...: zomg YES. Anything a British person says automatically sounds five million times classier, smarter, and hotter than anything I say. Guys are a thousand times hotter, wittier, and smarter than they probably actually are (with some exceptions). And when guys actually say something cute or funny? Good god...I swoon every time. It's dangerous.
• teeth: mmmm, not as bad as people make them out to be. BUT, the body odor factor here is WAY worse. I guess it's a trade-off: our country is plagued by obesity, theirs by body odor. Which would you prefer? (I'll take body odor-- less showers! :))

• groups of people I've met: some excellent, some not
• the other pomona kids: it was really nice to have them (Petey Kass, Megan Prior, Lauren Lederle, Amelia Yu, Brooke Rosen, and Amanda Barkley-Levenson) here from the start, made everything waaaay less scarier. Plus any friends they make, we get to meet them, too! Petey lives three floors down from me, which has been really nice and comforting. AND NICOLE GUILLEN IS HERE!! We are planning on busting out with some Interloper, Water-Polo, and the Look-Back AT LEAST once at a club, pub, or party. or all three. :)
• the other new international students: and when i say "international", i basically mean 99% Americans. Most are pretentious WASP-y girls from east coast private schools and Ivy leagues-- my absolute favorite! I avoid them at all costs. Really. I can't be bothered with that shit. :D
• people in my dorm: met a really nice girl named Sommer from Texas who has been here all year. She serves as sort of a translator for us, since she's been here a while, but is from America. She introduced Petey and I to a bunch of sweet, nerdy, video-game playing, practically alcoholic boys that live here-- very similar to boys you might find at Pomona :) Anyway, they seem like a good group, we just haven't hung out with them much yet.
• the UCL neuroscience students: pure excellence. an eclectic group of about 15 students, they took us (the seven Pomona neuro kids) out for drinks the other night so we could get to know each other. For some reason, three of them have dreadlocks...? Including one boy that I fancy in particular...more about that as it develops ;) anyway, we met mostly the neuro boys, and they are all really interesting and fun to talk to. I give them an A+, and hope to hang out with them more.
• random people in pubs, aka Swedes: oh, the Swedes. Met three sweet Swedish boys visiting London in a pub. One particularly charming and funny boy, Simon, had us laughing a bunch. I took a particular fancy to him as well :) I mean, really guys, Swedes are generally tall, lean, blond, and feminine...with accents. aka my type hahahahahaahahahahaha. There's a possibility that this Swede might be coming to Vegas in the future??! hahahaa so excellent
  

• places I've been so far:
• Big Ben/Buckingham: I mean, it is what it is. Really cool and stuff. The palace was actually less impressive than I was expecting. I haven't done a whole lot of sightseeing yet, but there's plenty of time left.
• the area around where I live: basically Petey and I's housing is in the most convenient location possible. It's a block from the student union and the gym, a five minute's walk from all my classes, and about three or four blocks from a main road that has tons of food and shopping and of course, pubs, which are on literally every block. That road, Tottenham Court Road, intersects a little ways down with another road, Oxford St, which has shopping similar to Union Square in SF-- clothing, stuff like that. So everything I need is within a 10-20 minute walk. Including...
• ..."The Place", which is literally three blocks from my dorm!!! The Place is a well-known center for dance that John and Laurie recommended I go take class at. I took my first class there the other night, Comtemporary Technique (Limon/Release). I really liked the teacher and the movement style, the class was not super challenging, but it was fun and a good workout. The body odor thing was DEFINITELY noticeable in the hot studio. Gross. But it was really nice to move around again, and be in a setting that I'm familiar with. I'm going to take this class once a week, and go to the gym...gotta work off all the pints and heavy British food!!
  

• University College London:
• my housing: like I said, super convenient location, renovated recently. My dorm consists of five converted Victorian row houses next to each other, with about four stories each, and 2-3 rooms (mostly singles) and a bathroom on each floor. So I basically share a bathroom with one other person, and a kitchen with about 6 or 7 people. Not too shabby, I'd say! I have a single room that is far more spacious than my Gibson or Smiley singles at Pomona, haha. It has a pretty nice little view, carpeted, my own sink and mirror. The two bad parts: it's on the fourth floor (another semester of drunkenly stumbling up the stairs at night...), which means part of the ceiling is slanted, so I consequently hit my head on it approximately 3.5 times a day. The other bad part: the only bathroom that has showers is on the ground floor. The rest only have bathtubs. Really, UCL? Who fucking BATHES? honestly. But really, my housing is more than decent, and I enjoy my cozy attic room.
  
• my classes (modules): all the terminology for classes is totally different (a class is called a lecture, a course is called a module, most teachers are lecturers, not professors, etc). For most classes, science ones in particular, 75% of your mark (grade) is the final exam. seventy-five fucking percent. And they are in essay form-- my favorite. What the fuck do you write essays on in science?!?! However, there are only 3-4 practicals (labs), and they have a time limit... so no crazy ochem-style labs till 6:30 (these are only three hours). My two neuro classes are Developmental Neurobiology and Cellular Neurophysiology. Tell you more about these later, as we've only had two classes...er, modules...??? My two "fun" classes are Ancient Egypt in London (archeology) and Renaissance Art in London Collections (Art History). I'm really jazzed for both of these because 1) at Pomona I don't have time for anything besides science, dance, and singing, and 2) both courses meet and are held at museums and galleries!!! every class period!!! It's really an opportunity that I will probably never have again, and I'm so intrigued by both topics. YAY!
  Oh, and did I mention I don't have class on Mondays or Thursdays? ZING.
  
• Pomona versus UCL?: different, different, different. Thank god they at least speak English...well, sort of. More on this as it develops :)
  

I think for next blog I'll try to write a little bit as I go along each day, especially when interesting things happen. might be more accurate and hilarious that way. :) <3

>COMING UP NEXT:

* party in my dorm on friday AND party with the neuro kids
* Eliza comes to London on Saturday!!
* I actually have to start doing homework?!? FUCK.

I miss you all terribly, there are so many things that I see, say, and do that I want to share with you!!! I wish all of you could visit me here....so please do!!!! I hope you all are doing well and enjoying the end of your breaks/beginning of your terms. I'm still trying my best to sass all over London for ya ;)

Love,

Alissa