Australia Day: Let's have a barbie!

Sunday was Australia Day which is essentially the Aussie's version of Fourth of July, except instead of celebrating their independence, they are celebrating the invasion of Britain??? Riggghht....

Anyway, it's also about being patriotic (which is clearly much more like Fourth of July for us) and because the vast majority of my friends here are Aussie or Kiwi, I was included in on the celebration. Here in London it becomes a bit of a party scene. Facebook event groups were set up weeks in advance to discuss where the celebration would be. We ended up deciding on a barbie on Sunday Arvo (see below for explanation). 

We were definitely in a giant Wig Wam with a huge circular barbecue in the middle.

To further honor my friends and their day (and to entertain you), today we're going to talk about some common Australian slang. 

Arvo = afternoon 

Barbie = BBQ

Brekkie = Breakfast (although the Brits do use this quite a bit too)

Feral = hairy, unclean hippy

Fortnight = 2 weeks period of time 

As I've informed you frequently: I ONLY speak American. So I required a bit of clarification in understanding when exactly our cleaner was going to be returning. The last time I used the word "fortnight" was likely in history class when I was 14. 

Heaps = a lot 

Pash - as in 'we had a pash'. I'm not sure if this is all Australians or just my friends Cadence and Kirsty (not to be confused with me, Kirsti), but its way more fun way of saying you made out with someone. 

They generally seem to take words, cut them in half and shorten by adding 'ie' to the end: brekkie, barbie, sunnies (sunglasses).

So now you want to know how to use these in a sentence?

Hey mates, let's go to Cadence's for brekkie before going to the pub in the Arvo to celebrate Aussie day. 

There! See, now you know everything there is to know about speaking like an Aussie! Or at least everything that I know! Cheers mates! 

So much has changed…..or has it??

This is going to be a “shorter” blog post (if that’s even possible for me) given the fact that I’ve been at my kitchen table – and at my computer – pretty much nonstop for 12 hours a day, every day all week in an attempt to finish my research project. Big shout-out to my cousin-in-law Jess and my brother Kyle who have seriously been a god-send, along with some also-much-appreciated Excel help from Dan and Eric, and an insane amount of proofreading by Mary! Thanks guys, you all are awesome! It’s almost over….. (but that also means my time here is winding down too!)

So I was reading more posts from last year. Interestingly, the first one that caught my eye was this photo of me studying

…. Apparently not much has changed! ;)

I read my birthday post from last February – when I turned 30 here – and was reminded yet again about how amazing the friends I’ve made here have been to me. 

I'm including this picture with the sole hope that Matt and Jenny look at this and remember this night! Who knew people you had just met would become such great friends!

I may live in a totally different house, on the total opposite end of London… but my current flatmates are no less great! In the 2 months I’ve lived here, I’ve had several amazing meals cooked for me on weekdays “just because!” Anyway, I was a bit sad last year to not be home to celebrate with my family ….and now it’s so weird to think that I will be arriving back in the States just a few short days before my next birthday!

I also remember last year around this time hearing about “Australia Day” which I’ll evidently be participating in to some degree this year (the degree will be determined by how much of my paper is complete by the weekend). I’m not sure if that’s lucky of me that I have so many Aussie friends now… or if it means I’m in for a rough day. I also remember the Chinese New Year celebrations down in Soho. Not gonna lie, that’s one occasion where I feel like I ticked the box and don’t need to go back…

The end of February and March 2013 were packed full of amazing things: my first trip (skiing in France!!!!!),

Apparently this doesn't even do Apres Ski justice! Bummed to not get the chance to experience it this year!

And the white-out that closed half of the lifts and runs....

Which I apparently conquered, bug-eyes and all!

followed by another trip (Lithuania!),

I figured I'd include this mostly because it has the Lithuanian language - a clear indicator we were there! 

And this.....which still haunts me...the worst food I've ever tried: slimy pig ears

sandwiching several concerts that I was super excited about (Of Monsters and Men and The Lumineers!). No wonder I was loving the first few months here!

AND, I just saw a picture I’d posted of Lobster-flavored “crisps” (chips) which started me giggling because my flatmate Phuong was just eating this bag of Prawn (Shrimp) Cocktail flavored crisps! We had a Mexican dinner party with “shrimp” tacos earlier this week and the Aussies think it’s so crazy that Americans call “King Prawns” (their name) “Jumbo Shrimp.” I guess it is kind of an oxymoron when you think about it!

Lately I’ve really been missing my runs through the parks that I used to do when I lived on the “West” side….Until I realized how close I am to the Thames River now! So here's my new running route...

 which I access via St. Paul’s Cathedral. Not such an awful replacement for the parks!

I'm starting to get an eeny weeny bit excited for my return home...although candidly I can't think much past what I'm going to do next week with absolutely ZERO responsibilities (except for a couple of job interviews via Skype!). Happy almost-weekend!

Reflections on the year....

Continuing on with my reflections on the past year.....

I just re-read my first couple of blog posts from a year ago, and it's pretty crazy to see how my opinions of things have shifted (and also just what was on my mind at the time). I thought it would be fun to compare my thoughts to now. My current thoughts are in blue next to the original....

The few things that I don't like (and there aren't many)

• Their front doors - the handles are in the middle! It's just awkward. They don't close easily so I'm constantly SLAMMING the door. Get real! The handles are so cool! I love the doors here!
• The gym situation - It's less than ideal. They are super expensive, and super small. Still annoying. I've lost all my muscle tone and pretty much rely on running, in-home workouts from Mens Health and yoga. But, I have found some of the most incredible yoga studios and yoga teachers here. I will miss them so much when I come back! And Lululemon's free yoga classes have become my lifeline (although I have to say, I've done some freaking weird "yoga" at their classes). My legs may be thinner...but my muscle tone is GONE. 
• Carrying my bookbag or shoulder bag (depending on the day) with me. Too heavy. I don't like carrying books, and a laptop, and my notebooks and my packed lunch for the day. I feel like my arm is going to fall off. Maybe I can get a boy to start carrying it for me... Haha, I just laughed at the "get a boy to carry it for me" comment. That clearly didn't happen. Books are a pain man! I should've gotten an iPad and e-books! :)
• Top up cell phones - What a pain in the ass. Seriously. Customer service doesn't exist here. And the cell phone situation without an established credit history is ridiculous. Well, I do have to say this brought back a load of bad memories about the first month..but now?? I LOVE the cell phone plans here! I pay £12 per month for unlimited data, text and talking! You cannot beat that anywhere in the US. UK > US on this one. 
• The coffee situation - Still figuring this one out. Their "filtered" coffee (aka American coffee) is rubbish. The Americanos aren't a good substitute...and everything seems to have a lot more milk than I want. They don't like personalizing your coffee either, so unless you go to Starbucks don't ask. Don't do a half-caff, 2-pumps (not 4) of syrup. In fact, don't add syrup at all. They don't like fancy. Just order a dry cappuccino and get on with it already.  Well, I suppose I've changed my opinion a bit here. All of the "rubbish" comments sadly apply to Starbucks here (for the most part...except during the holiday season when I wanted my Gingerbread latte so much I dealt with the mediocre coffee). After working at an Aussie-run coffee shop for 5 months, I've learned a bit more about the "good" coffee culture. They think Americans with our "Venti" coffees are ridiculous (and we sort of are...). You get as much caffeine in one flat white as in the largest coffee in the States. Avoid the chains. Find the Aussie and Kiwi coffee shops, and you'll not only get delicious cappuccinos, you'll get an awesome design to boot!
  
• Everyone smokes. Seriously. Everyone. Yeah...this is pretty much the case all over Europe. It takes a bit to get used to, but I did. 
• The Britons are crazy about the weather. It's like they don't need heat. The sun comes out and the weather gets above 2 degrees (Celsius) and people are suddenly eating on patios!!?!? Seriously, I don't know how their hands don't freeze off! Yeah, that's still true too! I saw people eating dinner at a nice Italian place outside last week under heat lamps. I would be miserable. But I guess it speaks for the fact that they don't like the rainy, gray weather get them down. If it's a clear sky, people take advantage of it. In Chicago we get 3-4 awesome months of summer. Here they considered 5 weeks a good summer! I guess you take advantage of what you can. I have to say, this trip did make me realize I need sun more than I realized. 

Anyway, after 3 weeks here in London...there's not much not to like. I'm facing constant battles with wanting to do and see it all (like a tourist) and getting overwhelmed with all there is to do while I'm still trying to study finance (which I'm horrible at) and live an everyday life. But discovering a different way of living with all types of different people has been great so far!

This is the most interesting part to read now that I'm nearing the end of my "journey". I started off thinking London was amazing. Late spring came around and I started to feel like I "liked" but didn't "love" London. I have always loved Europe. And traveling. And the culture. And I even recognized that there were tons of things about London that were charming and beautiful. But the "love" was missing. It wasn't until a month or two ago that this changed, and now I LOVE it. I still have the constant battle between wanting to do everything and wanting to chill out. I haven't read half of the books I brought here thinking I would read. But how can I when there is constantly a new exhibit or pop-up bar/restaurant or new neighborhood to check out!? Leaving is going to be so hard. I'm sure a lot of this has evolved as I've developed stronger friendships and gotten more comfortable. It makes sense. But it's not going to make it any easier to leave. 

I'm going to write another post about the "Best of" London where I'll ramble much more about the specifics I love here! :)  Anyway, back to real life. Just a couple more weeks here and then I'm home for good. Such a strange feeling... in the meantime, back to resume-writing, job-searching and research project analyzing! Happy Friday!

It's a NYE Blitz!

I don't know if many of you remember, but not long after I moved here, I went to a 1920s Prohibition "fancy dress" party. I LOVED it! People in London go all out for fancy dress, and it was a great time! The same event group also hosts these "Blitz" parties, which have a 1940s, WWII theme. For those of you who aren't familiar with the Blitz... If you're American, that's probably because it took place in London and we have somewhat of a crappy knowledge of most things in history that aren't directly related to ourselves. (Oops! Did I say that??) Anyway, it was a specific mass air raid on the city here during WWII. The video below is WAY too long, but the first minute tells you all you need to know.

For the past few years, Londoners have "celebrated" this event (or maybe commemorated it is a better word?) by throwing Blitz Parties. It was even featured on BBC!
http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/london/hi/people_and_places/newsid_9031000/9031640.stm

Anyway, Dan and I have been talking about going to one of these for months. Dan came to visit for New Years as the last time we'd be here in London, and we kept tossing around whether or not to go despite the fact that none of my friends were able to join. In the end, Kyle (my brother) bought me an awesome Christmas present: a ticket to the event! So it was settled; we were going! I have a few girlfriends who had gone previously, so I was lucky enough to borrow costumes. Dan's was a combo of new and borrowed clothes! I have to say I think we did a pretty nice job!

Make no mistake: this hairdo was NOT simple. I had to watch numerous YouTube videos (apparently there's a whole group of people who just post "how to" hairdos there) to figure out how to do roll!

It was pouring down rain all night, which made getting down there in the madness of NYE a little bit messy. But once we arrived, I have to say we were pretty impressed with how authentic they made the "bunkers" look.

There were 2 different bands (although truthfully we were disappointed with the amount of time they spent NOT playing).

The party was definitely packed!

We also obviously had to have a little photo shoot in front of the USA jeep. (Seriously....we couldn't figure out why they would have USA jeeps there...). Actually this was a girl that we asked to take a photo, and by the end she had taken like 23 pictures of the two of us! Quite fun!

Everything they do at these parties is on-theme, which makes it even more fun!

This was the drinks menu.

They even had hairdressers there to fix girls hair in 1940s style!

Here's a few more fun pictures from the night...several of them I also posted on Facebook though so don't want to give you too much overload. :)

Wanna see that bright red lipstick in action?

Seriously, by the end of the night, Dan and I were trying to figure out how we could bring these parties back to the United States. Anyone have contacts in events in Chicago looking to get involved in "fancy dress" theme parties? :)

All in all, pretty amazing and unusual New Years Eve!

A Year In London...

I just had a reality check. I moved to London January 3, 2013; A full year has passed! I'm actually in the middle of finishing my final exams as we speak, meaning my program is about over!! (I realize I'm over-using exclamation marks here.... it's reflective of how I'm feeling though.) Time flies! 

Since it's the start of a new year, it's obviously an ideal time to reflect back on this past year spent abroad: the places I've been, the friend's I've made, the experiences I've had. I have such a mix of emotions running through me: I'm humbled and grateful for the opportunity to have even lived here at all, I'm excited to go home and see my friends and family, but I also never want this to end. London tends to be a bit of a Never Never Land, and it's difficult to want to leave. I was just reading through a journal I had written in years ago and saw that both living abroad and traveling more were under my list of "dreams". It's almost funny to me to reflect back and realize just how long I've been wanting to do this, and how fortunate I am to have been able to make it happen.

The next month proves to be a quiet one as far as experiences go for me. I have exams and my dissertation to finish. It's a perfect month to blog about some of my favorites over the past year! So for this first of the "Favorites" I will give you the scoop on what's been happening in December!

Christmastime in London

I've always loved how decorative and festive Chicago is for Christmas, but I have to say London beats it. This city comes alive with decorations and festivities! Some of the examples are...

Lights, trees and decorations...

Regent Street always has lights down the length of the entire shopping street.

Carnaby Street also does up the decorations (although I admittedly don't understand why redbirds..)

Covent Garden has a huge tree out in front.

Harrod's lights look especially festive.

Picadilly Circus is transformed into a lifesize snow globe.

Even pubs have Christmas trees and decorations!

Christmas markets...

The Southbank has German-style Christmas markets set up lining the river

Covent Garden has indoor Christmas stalls set up

Gotta love that you can walk around the city with mulled wine!

Even the neighboring towns (such as Bath) have crazy Christmas markets!

Winter Wonderland (a Hyde Park festival)...

A huge Christmas festival is set up in Hyde Park for 6 weeks.

This is right outside the German beer hall inside Winter Wonderland.

Santa pub crawls...

Have to say, I've never seen so many Santas on roller blades.

A group of my friends organize their own annual Santa pub crawl as well.

My flatmates are actually the organizers.

Christmas onesies are highly encouraged.

Friends host Christmas parties....

Vero and Maria spent ages putting together this dinner! 

We even got a Christmas turkey!

I was told to "dress festively"..... however I seemed to be the only one actually dressed in Christmas attire.

Pop up ice skating rinks in multiple locations...

(We ended up going to the Tower of London, but there are also ones at Somerset House, Hyde Park, Museum of Natural History and Canary Wharf!)

Jane, Cadence and I had been trying to get an ice skating date organized for ages. Finally we made it to the Tower of London with a group of friends (with the Shard in the background) for our skate date.

Jane looks like she's having too much fun not to post this!

Dan before the beard got shaved off for the Blitz Party!

Although I did unexpectedly get to go home for the week of Christmas (thanks for my insanely generous friend Lauren), I have to say my Christmas spirit was in full swing thanks to the city's decorations and events. If you ever get the opportunity to come to London around Christmastime, you MUST! 

Stay tuned for the Blitz Party NYE post!