Football, Diwali Festival and Cheeky Nandos

For a sociological analysis on social class, my class went to a local football game (on Saturday, Oct 15th) to see the "lower class" in action. It was quite the experience:

I assumed English people wouldn't be as aggressive as Americans when it came to sports. Boy was I wrong. The home team fans and away team fans had separate entrances and the stands were separated by large barriers and security guards to prevent violence. They also weren't allowed to drink in the stands...alcohol is allowed during halftime but it has to be finished before going back in. I could see why; fans were screaming at each other-chanting things at eachother I won't repeat. And we were in the "family section", which is a little less intense than the hard core (read: more vulgar) fans. 

I was half expecting a national anthem of some sort before the game started...and then I was like, wait I'm not in America! That was kinda strange. They basically just started playing. Below left is the one ritual-y thing they did...a bunch of fans ran out onto the field and helped bring this tarp out (with the home game's logo on it). But other than that, it was all about the game.

"Thursday [class] Leah and Wednesday [class] Leah" before the game. aside from having the same name, we are so alike it kinda freaks us out. 

And this is a picture of the "quote of the day" board at Tottenham Court Road tube station. It almost always makes me smile when I pass through:

A little taste of home with Good Ol' Abe :) although I think this is a Mark Twain quote so...

So that was my Saturday! I won't get too academic on you all, but it definitely gave us a lot to talk about in class the next week. An interesting difference between the UK and US: social class is not based on money here. It has more to do with the way you talk, your surname, the way you dress, and the way you make your tea. It's not as fluid (you can't just become famous or make money and move up the chain like you can in the US). For example, Tom Hanks, a wealthy actor who would probably be considered of the upper class in America, is of low class here. Not because he isn't successful (he sure is!), but simply due to his name, the way he talks, and how he grew up). 

Example 2: These pictures I took (left) on the walk to the game and (right) on the tube on the way home.

 The "Chav sweatsuit" vs. The "smart casual" style of the upper class.

Saturday night I stayed in and worked on homework (yes, I promise I do actual work as well!) The next day I did the same...until later that night, when Jenn and I took a trip to Trafalgar Square for the Diwali Festival. We both needed to get out of the house!

So many people. It was very similar to the Malaysia Fest I went to in regards to its setup. Food, vendors, and performers on the stage in front of Nelson's Column.

My almost roommate :)

We only had nine pounds between the two of us in notes, so we had only enough for food, and couldn't not fresh coconut water (left). 

 But we learned a lot from the vendors...I talked to the lady who makes delicious spices (middle) and Jenn and this guy (right) talked about the benefits of yoga and meditation for several minutes.

We managed to snake through the crowds and get fairly close to the stage :)

Here's a video of one of the performers who sings in several languages:

And here's a video of this crazy-good street performer (outside of Trafalgar square and the festival) I've seen a lot of really good ones here...but this one blew my mind. He stayed so perfectly still while still balancing off the ground. WHAT?

And when we gave him a few pounds, he did this:

We got sort of lost on the way home, but used that as a way to do some sightseeing. And then I figured out where we were and was proud of myself because I knew where the nearest station was! :)

 Big Ben + Sunset = Perfection

And one last picture because I was excited about this billboard. I honestly don't remember why: 

On Monday (last day off of the weekend), I spent the day working  procrastinating on homework until Claire and I left for the center. Neither of us have class on Monday, so we've made it a tradition to go into the city when rush hour is headed the opposite way. We work on homework until the Arcadia centre closes at nine, and then head to Nando's across the street from the school. 

From last week:

This week:

Next week I'll explain the phrase "Cheeky Nandos". It's a British thing that I don't fully understand as an American :) But the tradition has been a fun one...and it makes for a (relatively) fun Monday!

Me feeling like those TV geniuses (above): ferociously outlining my essay on a napkin because I "just can't find a piece of paper fast enough". Not so genius: the fact that the essay was due the next day. Whoops. Claire and I both pulled an all-nighter that night. 

Creepy face in the grocery store because this much ice cream is a necessary evil for sleepless evenings

At six in the morning the next day, we decided we might as well get ready for school and beat the traffic to get to the centre. So we got to see the sunrise on our walk down the hill!

We got to Arcadia and Claire looked at me and said, "Doesn't it feel like we were just here?" Haha. 

But I don't recommend it..I nearly fell asleep in class on Tuesday. I was in Holborn until 5:30 and then had to go to see 1984, the play, for my London Stage class at 730. I didn't get home until 10ish that night. Here's me (above) asleep in between class and the theatre. Out cold. 

Wake up cuz next up is: Grandma and Grandpa come visit!! Stay tuned. 

La Ciudad (Day 2)

(Saturday, October 8th)

After doing some research before we left, I had a rough list of things I wanted to do while in Barcelona. So the night before, Anna and I planned a general schedule for Saturday, and I'm proud of us for truly making the most of our time!

1.) Wake up early and reserve the bikes.

We did it! We were ready to go by 8 o'clock, despite the fact that no one was up. A typical day in Spain is much different than the U.S. No restaurants were open this early in the morning. Fun fact: Spain has been in the wrong time zone for 7 decades. During World War 2, dictator Francisco Franco set the time to be in line with Nazi Germany. It makes no sense geographically, but still remains and Spain is late-to-bed and late-to-rise. 

We finally found this one that was open:

Coincidence? I think not. 

We were the only customers in the restaurant. After a satisfying avocado omelette, I was ready to start sightseeing. 

2.) Visit Boqueria Market on Las Ramblas (street) and try at least one of the famous fruit juices. 

It took a little bit to get there on our bikes, but it was totally worth it! I could spend forever there. 

Before heading into the market, I saw this group of Spanish ladies decorating the road in an almost mosaic-ly design using cut up flower petals, salt and dyed flour. They were promoting something but I couldn't quite figure out what because the pamphlet was all in Spanish. I did talk with one of the women, who made a joke: "take picture: one euro" and the rest of the women laughed. They appreciated the attention and my interest in what they were doing (I think, anyway!)

Then we went into the market. Oh, the colors!! It's a photographer's heaven. 

It reminded me of high school Spanish class. It's weird. I knew the pictures in my text book were of real things, but this felt real. It was neat because, despite the tourism, it was definitely a place that locals frequented all the time. 

This woman skinned and chopped up this fish faster than I've ever seen, only pausing to wipe off some blood that splattered on her face. At the same time, she carried a conversation with the local man who ordered it in rapid Spanish and I tried not to stare in fascination.

(Left) Zoe and Anna trying some strange fruit (forget the name), (Right) Zoe grossed out by the live crabs moving on the ice. 

I had read to wait until going further into the market to buy the fruit drinks (they were everywhere, but only 1.50 in the booths further in). The drinks are pure fruit: no sugar and no water. There were so many different combinations it was difficult to choose. I ended up having Blackberry & Coconut. 

Absolute perfection. 

Some other absolutely beautiful presentations:

Sweets and candies galore!

Some sweets decorated to look like McDonald's and other American food. Do they really think that's all us Americans care about? Maybe so. (I guess I'm guilty because it got our attention and I took a picture!)

3.) Observe the architecture, especially the cathedrals.

Last week in my ECA (Environments, Communities and the Arts) class, my professor specifically mentioned the architecture in Barcelona and told us that sometimes in our lives, we should check it out. I made a mental note to do so!

We saw this church as we were leaving the market. I'm mad at myself because I forgot to bring a sweater to go over my dress, and thus wasn't allowed into the church to see the architecture on the inside. Next time! But here's some pictures of the outside. 

The woman on the left was playing a version of  Canon in D and it was soo nice to listen to!

We continued wandering around until around 11:30 (we were meeting Mel and Nick at the Bed and Bike at noon). 

I happened to witness a man getting arrested as someone was being lifted into a stretcher in an ambulance. Reminded me once again to be aware of my surroundings! Not ten minutes later, I tripped with my bike (for the second time), and was approached by two police officers who didn't speak any English. Fun stuff. 

4.) See some Gaudi's work, including the famously unfinished Sagrada Familia.

The groups of us split up once we got back to the Bed & Bike. Mel, Nick, Zoe and I decided to head towards the Sagrada Familia. It's truly massive. SO detailed. And crazy unique. 

Pictures don't do it justice. The top right picture shows how large it is compared to the poeple waiting in line to go in. Construction started in 1886 and is still ongoing. The architects predict it will be finished in 2026. (Hey, what's 10 more years??) I would've loved to go inside, but we didn't quite have enough time and it was fairly expensive. Next time!

Park Guell was next on the list of Gaudi's work. But it took awhile to get there, and we made quite a few stops along the way. So to keep it chronological...

5.) Do random, unplanned things. 

Yes, this was on my list :) And we definitely did!

 I really had to go to the bathroom along the way, and the only option was to stop at a Cafe along the way. I found this one, but I felt awkward because I was the only customer. The lady, in her late 70's, looked expectantly at me for me to tell her what I wanted. I felt like I couldn't just use her for her bathroom, so I fumbled around, trying to see something small I could buy while also trying to come up with a way to politely ask where the bathroom was. Oh man, was it awkward! She asked me if I lived in Spain or if I was a tourist. I said, "No I'm just visiting. Can you tell?" (awkward laugh). She raised her eyebrows in response. (sigh).

I ordered a pastry and dashed for the bathroom while she got it ready for me. Then I sat down and ate as quickly as I could (a shame, really, cuz the place was cute. But my friends were waiting for me across the street). 

Ice cream for lunch :) Melanie ordered for us in Spanish, but the server did speak English. (It was a pretty touristy area-as you can see by the McDonald's next door!)

Last but not least, my FAVORITE RANDOM THING WE DID:

As we were biking up the looong hill to Park Guell, we heard cheering coming from this stadium. We decided to park the bikes and check it out. It turned out to be the beginning of a local football match. (My guess is the players were in 6th grade or so). It was so neat to be part of their culture: to watch the players (who were AMAZINGLY talented) and also the parents, who continually chanted some chant in Spanish that I didn't understand. It reminded me of Brookside Park Saturdays in Ellington, except on a much larger scale. 

We stayed for the start of the game and to see this girl score two goals (aka the only two goals). She was the only female player, so we chose her team to root for. She was awesome...and the yearbook editor in me was excited to get this shot :)

Two little kids (siblings of players, I'm assuming) were playing on the sidelines and were SO. ADORABLE. I had no idea what they were saying to each other, but their innocence and excitement had me missing my cousins a bit. 

Mischievously taking the corner flag off the post..putting it back...and then looking to make sure he didn't get caught :)

We had to leave early to make it to Park Guell, but I definitely was a little bummed we didn't get to watch the whole thing. It was such an unexpected, non tourist-y thing, but I think it was my favorite Barcelona memory.

6.) Make it up to Park Guell for sunset. 

We didn't get to be there for sunset, but it was certainly beautiful nonetheless (and worth the bike ride walk with our bikes up!). The park was free, but the main tourist attraction (Guell's mosaic) wasn't, so we just hiked up and had a view of the architecture from the distance. 

The view from the top was amazing!

And I even managed to convince Melanie to take a serious picture of us. Can't wait to go to Venice with these three!

As expected, there was a neat gift shop:

Thought of you, Auntie!

Building overlooking the view in typical Gaudi fashion :)

The best part about riding up a hill is that it's downhill on the way back! We had a blast coasting through the intersections (which are strange, by the way: there are parking spaces along the perimeter of every intersection):

7.)  Don't spend too much money (so I can go somewhere else next weekend!)

Zoe, Marisa and I found a Japanese restaurant that was so nice. Less than 10 euros per person, and you pick any four dishes from the menu. Yes please!

I love me some sushi and duck!

It was definitely strange to have Asian waiters who spoke Spanish. (They probably speak Japanese, too, but that wouldn't have helped either. haha). Moment of understanding: "Can I have, um, agua?" "Si, aguaaaa." He ended up giving us the pad of paper and having us write down the numbers of the items we wanted.

Zoe refers to me now as AGUAAA. 

And that was my Saturday! There are still several things on my list that I didn't get to do (including the Picasso museum, Flamenco Dancing, and Sanderman's free walking tours). But there's always next time!!

Front row = leg room = sleep :)

We left Sunday morning at 4:45 to make an early plane flight...and after a few bumps in the road, made it back to London around noonish. As Mel and I stepped out of Archway station, I had this overwhelming sense of happiness and my first thought was, I'm home! Such a strange thing...this place I've been in for just over a month has become home. And it took a small getaway trip to fully appreciate it. It's good to be back!

And now it's time to hit the books! :(