Monday, June 4, 2012

Sex (Appeal) in the City


I believe that in the same way someone can be attracted to a person, they can be attracted to a place. And in the same way one can’t be held accountable or necessarily even explain why they are attracted to a person, sometimes you have a hard time figuring out why you’re drawn to a place. This “city sex appeal” happened to me in Amsterdam. It’s partially because of this immediate infatuation that I haven’t yet blogged about my trip to Amsterdam, despite the fact that it’s one of the first places I visited in Europe.

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

So I noticed that it's been over a month since my last blog post.

All I can say is: wow. I can't believe it's been a whole month. That being said, I can't believe I've been an ex-patriot for 5 months. Time has stopped making much sense to me outside of so-and-so is leaving in two days etc. The most frightening acknowledgment of time is that I leave in two weeks. Back to the reality and responsibility of work, school (because who am I kidding when i say I'm "studying abroad"?) family, and relationships that last more than five months. And as my extended vacation draws to a close, I have inevitably been thinking about what my time in London has been worth. Not just because in order to get credit for this semester, I have to write a paper about this, but also because reflection is one of those habits people stumble into when they're about to make a big change in their life.

Saturday, April 28, 2012

No memorial in Berlin dedicated to the Jewish people who died during the Holocaust will be uncontroversial. In fact, a lot of people will hate it.

I, however, found the Holocaust Memorial built by Peter Eisenman and Buro Happold provocative and moving. My hostel tour group was brought there one gray Tuesday afternoon. The tour guide gave a brief blurb of information and then allowed us to explore.

Thursday, April 26, 2012

A List of Lessons Learned in London (that don't deserve their own blogpost)

1. Tea shops need more than one bathroom stall.

2. There's a law that says a business isn't allowed to stay open for more than 6 hours on Sunday, with the exception of Tesco, which is always 24 hours regardless of outdated Christian laws.

3. Meal Deals are life-savers (2 pound 50 for a sandwich, drink, and chips)

4. Don't bother trying to convert pounds to dollars. The amount of money you're spending will drive you crazy if you think too hard about it.

5. London is expensive.