Day 1 in BERLIN!

Danke!

As you can see, I haven't been updating my blog as often as I'd hoped I would. Tomorrow will mark the end of my first week in Europe and I have to say each day has been an adventure full of sightseeing, discovering, and MAJOR walking. It's funny...my friends and I have been asked by several people if we've experienced culture shock, and to be honest I feel like I've been living a life of culture shock. Ask me more about that when I get back, but seriously, I have nothing but good things to say about life outside of being American.

So, this post will be a recap of all things in London and hopefully I'll touch base on some of the things we've been doing in Germany, but I'm hoping to do a full Berlin post tomorrow. I'm working on my German and I've been told my accent is very good, so we'll see if this Korean girl can work it on the streets in Berlin when we visit again as a class later in October.

Since my last...and first post, my European scope has expanded beaucoup.

Of course it starts with making my musician's pilgrimage to the Abbey Studios, where the Beatles recorded their infamous music. The wall just outside the studios are covered with signatures and stupid Americans, of course, have to make their mark by signing in big letters "Americans! F*** Yeah!" I think instead of teaching us US History in school, they should teach us how to be civilized...LOL.


This is the actual recording studio. Can you hear the music? "Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far awaaaaaay...."


One thing about London, they love their monuments (I guess that could apply to the rest of Europe) and the coolest thing is, they incorporate them into street nodes so that pedestrians and motorists alike can appreciate the history of where they're driving. I suppose you can't really do that in America...since we don't have centuries of history...plus we have people driving in Hummers, which could potential destroy the monuments anyways.


But aside from monuments, you can also enjoy driving on the wrong side of the road. Gabi told us that they put these warning signs on big intersections so that tourist pedestrians look the right way before crossing the street. Yeah, it takes a while to get used to...don't look left, LOOK RIGHT.


Double decker buses and mail drops are pretty common and easy to find...they're red!


We also walked along Regent's Canal.


There's an area along it called Little Venice...you can imagine why...


And there are rich areas along Regents Canal, as well as a zoo and an aviary.


At the end of the Canal, is Camden Town, a shopping area with fringe culture shops and vintage stores. Think Melrose, but London cool.


It's just sidewalk shop after sidewalk shop of clothes, accessories, and FOOD! There's a lot of "oriental" stuff from Cambodia, Japan, Morocco, and India.


Food is not native to England (because besides beer and fish & chips...). So, there's a lot of Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Mexican, Italian, French foods (not authentic, mind you). This is a food court, all nicely tucked away under a cozy roof.


More shops...


And then we went on the tube to the center of town.


TO SEE BRIDGES!!!...and stuff. We walked along the Thames River. If you're in London, this is a must. Especially because the English make it a point to keep the path continuous for MILES. My archy friends and I think that building codes require a setback from the River so that people are able to walk freely. That's the Tower Bridge behind me...the English love their bridges.


The pathway's even big enough for ice cream trucks! "Mind that CHILD!" Translation..."Caution, children"


And there's even exhibits along the path so that annoying tourists can take obnoxious pictures. I almost knocked the guitar down as I tried to lean on it with my excessive American power. They're all signed by the artist and a musician...we saw one with Rod Stewart's autography.


There were people also playing Bachi ball in the covered courtyard of a building next to the Thames River.


Across the Tower Bridge is the London Tower, where people were tortured in the medieval times. Guys tend to like this one...but we didn't go in because of the fact that the conversion from pounds to dollars is 2:1. Needless to say, we enjoyed it from outside.


We walked for miles and saw the replacement London Bridge...and Fergie, it ain't that nice. The REAL one is actually in Arizona, but that's not nearly as exciting as it being in London among its sister bridges.


Here's the Millenium Bridge. It's a pedestrian bridge that was designed by Norman Foster and structured by Arup (the Walmart of construction). It leads to cool destinations on the other side...the tall tower is part of the Tate Modern, a museum.


And the Shakespeare Globe! HEAR YE, HEAR YE!


I thought it was cool that we got to chill and have a Cadbury 99 Flake next to the Shakespeare Globe. So, for those of you who want to learn some slang, a 99 is just a soft-serve ice cream. Soft-serve ice cream is actually called a "softie" and the Cadbury softie used to be 99pence. So, for short, it's called a 99. The flake is just the chocolate stick...it's just flakey.


Here's the inside of the Tate Modern Museum. We went in because Gabi said the entry sequence was cool...we were just being architects.


Then we made our way to get a tour of the firm, Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates (KPF), London. KPF is a huge architecture firm with buildings all over the world and they only do large-scale commercial stuff. They have firms in New York, London, and Shanghai. We got a tour from Tim Oh, who is a good friend of Courtney's USC Architecture Guild mentor. I have to say, I didn't see many Asians until we started walking around the KPF office.


Tim showed us the crazy models they do...but with laser cutters (cheaters...).


After the tour, Tim invited us to go to the local pub for a drink with his coworkers. This is a nightly ritual, apparently.


So, at the pub, no one sits...they all stand and enjoy their drink on the crowded street (because it's legal to occupy the sidewalk with an open drink). Sorry mom and dad, but the English are famous for their beer (I didn't finish it anyways, but just for reference, it was a London Pride...a warm one at that).


There are the guys from KPF we were talking to the most. Left with the curly hair is Will, the guy in the black shirt is Eric, and there's Tim.


After the pub we were all hungry...so FISH & CHIPS! But I had a chicken pot pie...fried foods are not my cup of tea.


That's it! My friends are yelling at me to get off the computer so we can explore more of Berlin. Unfortunately, I have more pictures from London, so I might do another later!

Miss you all! *Muah*

English Tea in ENGLAND!

DAY 1 - Our Arrival

It's pretty surreal to finally be in Europe. Even after landing in Heathrow, I kept imagining stepping out of the plane and finding myself back in LAX. But, I'm here! And after having to lug my 30kg luggage (that's 70lbs for those still in America...hahaha) up several flights of stairs and walking in the London fog which later turned into a light drizzle, my three travel buddies and I finally made it to the house in Westminster, London, where we're staying at for the next five days.

So far, we've hit the Underground tube (subway), a couple corner groceries, The Abbey Studio (reference...The Beatles...pictures later), and a local Roman pizza place. We were too jet lagged and cold to do anything else.

Of course we've already sampled the ever-famous English tea, hence the title. Tomorrow's schedule (pronounced sheh-dule *ahem*) is still unknown, but it'll definitely be full of adventure and LOTS of picture-taking.

Please pray for me! Things here are different and though I'm not too homesick now, it seems quite inevitable. But as much as my heart longs to be where things are familiar and comfortable, I know that God has much to teach me.

I'll try to keep you updated with entries and pictures. I'll try not to get too philosophical, but it tends to happen from time to time. Hopefully the pictures will keep you interested...

For now, here are some pictures from today! Well, technically two days ago...I'm behind on my blogging...but I'll catch up...hopefully.

Courtney and I were feeling antsy during the 45min we were at a stand-still in Heathrow Airport, so we decided to pose for a picture.


After we got out of the plane, it was time to make our trek to the baggage reclaim and then to the tube (aka the Underground subway).


The blue and red symbol is for The Underground, which is the public transportation system everyone takes. You don't have to wait more than 5 minutes for a train at any given time of day and it's always on time...probably something we Californians should take note of, those clever Brits.


The tube is always bustling with travelers, businessmen, students, elderly, families, etc. For those who enjoy people watching, the tube station is a choice spot. :-)


We were slightly confused to how to get our oyster cards (for constant travel on the tube), but luckily Gabi, one of the other girls I'm traveling with, has been to London a couple times or else we'd be screwed...


And finally! We get ready to ride the tube, 50+ pounds of luggage and all!


Lugging 4 months of clothes, architecture supplies, etc. is a difficult thing to do, especially after a 10 hour flight. My friends and I were so grateful to get on the tube and rest a little. I should probably introduce you to my entourage. From left: Courtney, Arthur, and Gabi, the girl we'd be lost without.


Our ride on the subway was 1hr 15min with one stop in between. We were all tired and sick of standing by our 6th stop and since the beginning of our ride was above grade, I had to bust out my camera and document the city!


The British are quite polite...they don't just savagely say, "Please watch your step," like us Americans. They say, "mind the gap." I couldn't stop laughing when the automated voice said it at every stop.


We arrived in the City of Westminster in London around 3:30 and still had to walk a few blocks to the house. Man...50 pounds never weighed so much...


All the buildings are beautiful with age, here. It's all brick-clad, like USC, but it's actually authentic...take that Steve Sample...


Here's the little street we're living on for the next 5 days! It's very quaint...only a couple houses on this block. There's a small cafe right across the street and a corner grocery, too. All the houses in this neighborhood are pretty upscale...you can tell by the porsche chilling on the side of the road in the previous picture.


Each house is gated with a small patio in front. I haven't had a chance to take a picture of our awesome gate, but it shall be posted so time soon. The house is soooo gorgeous. The epitome of London-town living.


Here's the small seating area in front of the house. Right as we got to the house, it started drizzling...I guess they're not kidding when they say that London is gloomy.


There's the red gate.


So the house actually belongs to a family friend of Gabi's father and we lucked out since we're getting free housing! The house is two levels with two bedrooms on the ground floor (in Europe, the first floor is actually our second floor and our first floor is their ground floor), and with a small kitchen and living/dining on the second floor. The most awesome thing about this house? THE SEQUENCE OF ENTRY!!! So, you enter the house through a small, narrow-ish hallway...it's dark and pretty cozy with the bedrooms likewise.


Then you approach an even narrower staircase that is brightly lit from above, which suggests something grand at the top...and to your surprise...


A double-height first floor that takes your breath away. Here's the living area...we watch movies here on our laptops.


And then the dining area...each time I come up those steps, the grandeur of the space just takes my breath away. Now that's successful architecture, man...


Anyways, that's the end of my first post. Like I said, I'm pretty behind on my blogging, so my deepest apologies for that. I've already been to a slew of places and have hundreds of pictures. So, be prepared for the next post!