I had to go through an automated answering service to contact my ophthalmologist. I was prompted to say the name of the department I wanted.
The conversations goes as follows:
Me : “Ophthalmology”
Automated service: “Ok, Dermatology”
Me : “Cancel. Ophthalmology”
Automated service: “Ok, Dermatology”
Me : “Cancel.” ( Shouting) “Ophthalmology”
Automated service: “Ok, X-rays”
A million years later, it finally clicked …
Me: “Cancel. Ophthalmology” (In my Pseudo British Accent)
Automated service : “Ok, Ophthalmology ”
Moral of the story: It’s easy to get comfortable knowing that both the US and UK share the same language. However, the inevitable is that you will have to change your accent ( at least a little) if you want clear communication. I was “lucky” that the automated serviced “corrected” me. However, I wonder how many other Brits think I was speaking “rubbish”.
Here is the cheesiest Viking smile that i could possibly ever give!
On the Valentine’s day weekend, I went to York with my fellow Fulbright Colleagues. It was certainly a memorable occasion. We celebrated together at a restaurant that looked rather haunted ( There were spider webs on the chandelier ) . It was called the Golden Fleece. However, the food was great and the portions were surprising larger than life!
Afternoon tea at Betty’s tea rooms. It was probably the best tea I’ve ever had ( China rose petal tea) .The rose taste was very rich and went well with my fruit tart dessert.
Betty’s was an extremely popular location for Afternoon tea. We waited 45 minutes in a queue ( a line) and it began to rain during the last 10 minutes of our wait! But it was certainly worth it.
We also explored York traveling along its historic walls…
Our day at the Jorvick Viking Centre was filled with fun information about the Viking way of life. Specifically, customs , trade, food, and battle!
We attempted to uphold the famously fierce Viking spirit by wearing armor. We looked great, but weren’t convincing Vikings at all ! I think we ought to stick to our role as Fulbrighters instead.
Here are some interesting artifacts archaeologists discovered:
The arrow on this skull reflects an injury to the head. The centre had many skulls and full skeletons that reflected gruesome injuries. No wonder they developed such fierce armor!
The Vikings were described as very creative people. They used animal bones to make goods for everyday needs. Below are combs made from animal bone. I even came across an ice skate also made from animal bone.
On our visit to the Jorvick Viking Museum, the archaeologists showed us an “interesting artifact” . They were able to explore much about the Viking way of life through this artifact. Can you guess what it is? Leave a message below.
Finally, we also paid a visit to the beautiful York Minster. Of course the sight was breathtaking. Ok, well it was nice and all but the 275 stairs I climbed to get to the top is what really took my breath. However, it was the best sight to see as the sun started to set.
It felt like the stairs would never end!
Midway, we were able to step outside and get a great view of the great detailed architecture on the Minster.
Finally, we arrived ! The view was gorgeous and I declared that I achieved my workout for the week!!!
Nov 7th : Screening of “ Parkland” at the US Embassy
The US Embassy in London hosted a pre-screening of the movie “Parkland”. In memory of John F. Kennedy, the US embassy showed this screening to reflect on the tragedy America experienced on November 22, 1963. Unlike the many films that have previously described the assassination of JFK, this film was specifically created to honor the unsung heroes at Parkland Hospital. The nurses and doctors at this hospital were the first responders to this horrific event. I can only imagine the tremendous stress of the Dr. McClelland and Dr. Jones who had the life of President Kennedy in his hands. What was even more surreal during this movie was the packed audience of British and American viewers who could barely keep a dry eye. I recall the movie goer next to me during a scene saying “And it happened just like that!” I could feel the intensity in his words, it reminded me that even with our political and social differences across the United States, national tragedies like this can be felt by all. In a Q & A after the movie, many Brits in the audience described the loss they felt when President Kennedy was killed. Certainly, this is a reflection of the strong partnership between the US and the UK. Trailer : http://youtu.be/SgPjt_BRLvY
US Embassy – London
Nov 15th : Presentation of “ The Universe, the Stars and the Prospects for Earth” by Astronomer Royal Sir.Martin Rees
If nothing else, the title “ Royal Astronomer” ought to catch your attention . This title was established by the monarchy thus its association with royalty. Sir. Martin Rees is only the 15th person to hold this title in the UK ( since 1675) and he is known as an expert commentator on the science of black holes. There can only be one Astronomer Royal at a time, and the appointment comes from the Queen. Thus, subsequent Royal Astronomers are usually not appointed until the current one dies.
Here are a few fun facts from this event :
– Europe is home to a very large telescope. It is called the “ European Extremely Large Telescope” ( Gotta Love that!). Further, it is dubbed “ The World’s largest eye on the sky”.
– As you can imagine, the Astronomer Royal, holds great responsibility as an eminent professional of astronomy in the UK. In addition to applying scientific theory, testing models and making new discoveries, he also spends his time reading mail of residents who describe that they have been abducted by aliens.
– As we progress with scientific and technological discoveries, there is much hope and excitement for the future. In fact, there are many who would like to see what life on earth will be 100+ years from now. I consider myself one of those people. However, I didn’t know that there was a group called the “ Society for the abolition of involuntary death”. This group serves to discover how to preserve human life beyond our current life expectations. In all, as science becomes more advanced, those sci-fi movies don’t seem as far off as they once did!
On a trip with London Universities International Partnership ( LUIP), I had the opportunity to get an inside look of the Houses of Parliament. Like the U.S. Congress which holds the House and the Senate, Parliament consists of the House of Lords and the House of Commons. It was a treat to explore the inner rooms of the nation’s policy making hub. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to take pictures due to strict security protocol. However, I was able to capture a few pictures from the preceding hall which has been maintained since the 11th century!
11th Century Hall :
Caption : The Lion and Unicorn represent England and Scotland respectively. Both can be found on the coat of arms. Guards: Though Parliament was not in session today, the facility remained heavily protected.
Certainly, British history has deep roots. Our tour guide also seemed to think so with her description of the British Parliament as the “Mother of all parliaments”.
Here are a few interesting facts I learned from our tour guide:
– Between a fire and the elements , Parliament has been reconstructed several times. In fact, the current building was “only” built in the 1840’s. Currently, there are over 1,100 rooms and 100 staircases in the parliament building.
– The state opening of parliament ( read more here) holds strong to the traditions it has kept over the centuries. In turn, the Queen is transported by carriage and horse via the “royal route” from Buckingham palace to the Houses of Parliament. Once she arrives, she then walks up the “royal staircase” to get to the robing room. Only the monarch has exclusive right to use this stair case.
– Before the annual State Opening of Parliament, the Queen enters the “Royal Robing Room” of which she is adorned with the “Imperial State Crown” (2.3 lbs) and the State Robe ( 15lbs). The crown consists of 2,686 diamonds, 273 pearls, 17 sapphires, 11 emeralds, 5 rubies (dailymail.co.uk).
– At present the Monarchy has no true governing power. The United Kingdom was actually “forced” to sign the Magna Carta. This represented the beginning of the Monarchy’s” loss of power.
– A glaring example of the monarch’s loss of power was when King Charles I was executed (beheaded) for treason. He is noted as the King who remains unforgiven for inciting a civil war. He is known for forcing his way into the House of Commons seeking to arrest a few Ministers of Parliament (MP’s are similar to a Congressperson) who disagreed with him. To date, no Monarch is allowed into the House of Commons.
In all, I was most intrigued by the commitment to tradition that the houses of parliament have reflected over the years. The Queen leads the State Opening of Parliament like every monarch has before her. The judge of the House of Commons wears a white wig like the many judges that have come before him. MP’s present their policy matters to the judge instead of each other in reflection of the history that their policy reports to each other would incite sword flights. Finally, The houses of Parliament are maintained to keep the look it has had for years, adorned with gold leaves and more.
Nov 23rd : Royal Opera House – Presenting : Chroma/ The Human Seasons/ The Rite of Spring
Beyond the annual Christmas Nutcracker ballet, I’d never been to a professional ballet performance before. So, I was really excited to see this performance especially as I was invited by a Fulbright colleague who is a professional dancer himself.
Our seating was quite the fun, there were none…
We had the equivalent to what people call the “nosebleed” seats in America. However, these tickets were to stand behind others who were seated. Luckily, after the first performance, we were allowed to find seats as there were several empty seats in our section.
The show was a mixture of both modern and traditional ballet. Of the three performances experienced that day, I was particularly taken aback by the second performance called “The Human Seasons”. The music and choreography simply took me to a place of deep emotion I never experienced in the performing arts before. I have no doubt that I will be back again!
Since Thanksgiving is an American holiday, there were no advertisements for turkey, pictures of cornucopia or symbols that invoked feelings of thankfulness. London was business as usual on November 28th and I almost forgot it was Thanksgiving in America. However, the Fulbright Commission organized a Thanksgiving dinner for 25 of us at a restaurant so we could maintain our Thanksgiving tradition. Unlike a menu I would select at home ( Turkey, stuffing, cranberry etc.) I went with very delicious baked Salmon for a main course.
Dessert
Although my meal did not represent a traditional Thanksgiving meal, the time spent with my fellow Fulbrighter’s captured the essence of Thanksgiving. The evening was intertwined with an element of British Christmas culture as we broke “Crackers” with a partner. The object of the activity is to gain the biggest portion of the cracker by tugging it with a partner. When it bursts open, it produces a loud snapping sound and contains a few prizes inside. While each prize is different, each cracker contained a gold or silver crown of which is pictured below.
Christmas Cracker
Nov 29th : Visit to the Albert and Victoria Museum
Although London can be an expensive city to live in, people seeking to go to museums can always do so for free! There are so many museums I intend to visit, my first stop was at the Albert and Victoria museum.
The first few displays I went to were of clothes from varying eras. Here are my favorites :
Check out this “ larger than life painting”, this once hung in the Sistine Chapel.
“The Healing of the Lame Man” by Raphael of Urbino
One of my favorite displays were these combs made in Jamaica in 1673. The display suggests that it is unknown whether the inventors were European or Jamaican. Nonetheless, given the tooth width of the larger comb on the bottom, it would guess that it was used for Black African hair as many black people today own combs of a similar tooth width.
Armor :
I also enjoyed trying out this hand armor piece. I can only imagine how much the whole suit would weigh.
Nov 29th : Barbican Hall – Guildhall Symphony Orcestra ( Takuo Yussa Schoenberg/Strauss)
Attending this Orchestra performance was yet another invite from a fellow Fulbright colleague. She was a musician in this performance and it was clear that this Orchestra had practiced for long hard hours. I have limited familiarity with classical orchestral music, so attending this allowed me to enter a new realm of music listening I hadn’t ventured in before. Even though I don’t have a “trained ear” for classical music, I think I am indefinitely partial to wind instruments. Nothing negates the sound of the violin for me and the violinists in this orchestra were phenomenal.
Here are a few behind the scene shots after the performance concluded :
Dec 8th : Handel’s Messiah
I was invited to attend the performance of Handel’s Messiah. The vocal performance is similar to Opera and is accompanied by an orchestra. If you are not familiar with Handel’s Messiah, you are most likely familiar with the Hallelujah balled that is often played near Christmas. While this was a great experience, I can’t deny that it wasn’t my favorite experience. However, that didn’t last long in the presence of the great bellows of the bass soloists and the resounding sounds of the Hallelujah chorus.
Billy Elliot has been an encore performance since 2005. It has been performed on Broadway, in Australia and across the UK receiving many awards in each country. I enjoyed the play because it captured a multitude of experiences across age, wealth, employment type, and gender. The story focuses on a young boy (Billy) who grew up in a miners town which was on strike. However, what was unique about Billy is that he had a heart for ballet which was frowned upon for a boy. The musical captured his struggle between his love for dancing and desire to uphold gender norms for a young boy. It was especially great to see so many young performers in this musical. Trailer
This musical was based on the 1930’s story of nine Black boys who were falsely accused of raping two white women. The setting took place in Jim Crow Alabama where the unequal treatment of Black people was common place. In turn, the boys were never truly given a fair trial. When I first heard of this musical, I was interested to know how such a sullen story could be delivered in the form of a musical. To my surprise, the musical was a great format to reposition the power of storytelling so the “truth” could be told. Thus, this musical was told from the Scottsboro Boys’ perspective and it served to highlight the absurdity of racism and injustice of the legal system . The absurdity was all the more vivid when one of the alleged victims of the rape confessed that it was a lie. Thus, instead of the singular story of defeat and injustice, the musical shared how the young men kept hope alive. It described how they fought back and stood up for their self-respect. The musical described how the governor of Alabama was willing to give pardon to one of the Scottsboro boys if he would admit to the rape. However, deciding that the legacy of the truth was most important, he never cowered to the request. In all, this musical was a display of the importance of integrity, truth telling and pride despite the consequences. Trailer
Dec 14th : Birthday Party (Toss the Pigs)
In between all the plays , museums and musicals, I was also invited to a 30th birthday party. I wasn’t able to stay long but had the opportunity to play a game that I’ve never seen in America. It is called “Toss the pigs”. The rules to the game are all wrapped up in the title. One just simply has to toss two pigs and insure that they don’t touch each other. The manner in which they land will dictate the amount of points you accumulate for your team. The most points are awarded to pigs that land on their noses. I was also informed that this version was non traditional as it is usually done with small toy pigs that can fit in one’s hand.
Dec 17th : Collegium Musicum 90 , Director Simon Standage ( Orchestral suites by Telemann and Bach)
Finally I had another opportunity to listen to the amazing music produced by violinists. This orchestra was led by world renowned director Simon Standage. Again, I am no music buff, but I was in absolute awe of this music.
Oh yes….
And between all of this I have been a full time student thus writing papers, giving presentations, going to meetings and all the wonders of academic life. In addition, I have been getting lost, figuring out the bus transportation system and using “harmless” American terminology that have totally different meanings here in the UK ( I get a few funny looks) . Moreover, I have had a great time meeting new friends and spending time with my family in London. It has been a whirlwind of fun and I would not have it any other way!
Learning English : My Fulbright year in England 