Spring Time Adventure

Spring rain was falling upon the steady stream.
With my paddle in my hand, I stroked deep into the murky water below.
The wind was gently blowing causing the rain drops to streak down my face, like tear drops of joy.
The spring air smelled of pomegranate and freshly planted tulips.
With a gust of wind daisy seeds flew freely past my face, much like a feather tickling me.
In the distance I could hear a woodpecker, tirelessly pecking away at his craft.
I came upon a swamp and my canoe got stuck in some mud.
As I freed myself from the clenches of the mud, I noticed the many mosquitos freely dancing and prancing upon the water almost as if I was the spectator of a ballet.
I continued on through the swamp until I reached a clearing.
The sun was slowly setting, casting a vibrant hue of orange and yellow and in the distance a fog was settling as the evening sky turned to nightfall.
The night sky was crystal clear and the stars were shinning ever so brightly.
The stars constellations tickled the night sky.
The water remained still and the wind had stopped.
I put my hand into the water and felt a chill go up and down my spine.
I found a camp site and set up my tent.
I got a fire going and relished its warmth.
The outside air had become cold and damp.
After having dinner, I laid awake in my tent for some time, listening intently to the world around me.
An ominous cry of a loon pierced the night, echoing in my years keeping me up for a while longer, until eventually I fell asleep into a deep sleep.
Eager the next morning I set out upon my canoe, uncertain of what might lie beyond the horizon.

An American's Surviual Guide to London

London is a city rich with cultural diversity and an array of various neighborhoods that distinguish London from any other place in the world. Being an American in a British setting is a lot more complex than most people will come to realize. The biggest anomaly being the English language in the context of England, although there are many similarities, there are also some major differences. Pronunciation of words is amongst one of the hardest things to get used to. For the first few weeks I would be sitting having a conversation with a local, and I found myself listening more inventively on what the person was saying and how they were saying it. This led me to try and adapt myself to the local language as best as I could, although, it was extremely challenging. Every time I would try changing my pronunciation of a word, it always felt weird and I would often revert back the American pronunciation. I ultimately came to middle ground, that rather than changing the way I speak, I would adopt the phrases commonly used in order to "fit in".

Being an American in London can be a mixed bag. You are either highly acclaimed or sometimes repulsed by the local community.

Amongst the biggest challenge for me was adapting to the left side traffic. At first I had many close calls where I nearly got hit a few times. Within a few weeks I got used to looking the opposite direction, however, then the problem became where was the driver? My eyes would always dart to the right side of the car to look for the driver and not see a person, was often concerning to me. It was not until about three months in that I got used to this.

Another thing was that most of the time I was here it rained. This often brought my morale down, but then I learned to embrace the humorous side of it. The way I began to look at it was that I did not have to look at the weather forecast anymore, because of the fact that every single day for the most part was 50 F, cloudy, with a chance of rain. The days that we did have sunshine which were few and far between, were a blessing when they happened.

The pub culture was amongst one of the most fascinating dynamics of London. While every pub or bar has a different atmosphere, there are some defining characteristics you will find throughout. The biggest one was the social atmosphere, everyone in the pub was there to socialize with one another and drinking the beer was a very slow process. A person could be there for 1.5 to 2 hours and only have 1 pint, maybe two. The pub was a unique community in which likeminded individuals would come together and talk about life. I remember how in the first few weeks of being in London, how interesting the conversations were with the locals. It was something more than just small talk, rather it was very personal, people wanted to know about you and you're ambitions for your life.

Pubs also are characteristically intoxicating places to be in while a football, rugby or cricket game is on. I did not care for these sports, prior to coming to England. However, seeing the amount of energy and enthusiasm locals had for these sports, made me want to find out more about them. I began learning more about these sports and how they were played.

The final survival tip I have for you is to embrace London and all of its small neighborhoods. To truly experience and understand a culture, you must go on past all the cliché tourist attractions and wander down random streets and immerse yourself with the local culture. It is only truly then that you will begin to realize what it means to be an American Abroad....
 





   

When in Europe the UK and Beyond: Liverpool the Urban Industrial City

I woke up around 5am this morning to catch the 6am Tube to London Victoria Station for my 7 am departure to Liverpool. As soon as I got to Victoria Station, I walked down to my coach and hopped on. Before we got into Liverpool we first had to stop in Manchester City to drop some people off. The city of Manchester itself appeared somewhat less well kept in comparison to London. There was a lot of litter everywhere and many of the streets corners were covered in graffiti.

Getting out of Manchester was a nightmare, there was a massive traffic jam so we had to wait about an hour or so, resulting in being an hour and a half late to our original arrival time in Liverpool. Once in Liverpool, I found my hotel and tried checking in, but almost did not get the room. This was because when I booked the room online on Expedia, I only had the ability to book a  room with two single beds and this particular night the hotel was fully booked and wanted to "fully optimize" capacity. I totally understood this reasoning, but as I told them I paid for a room and therefore I should get a room. After about twenty minutes I was able to check into the room, I originally booked and everything was fine. I got settled in and then made my way down to Albert Docks, a major industrial port that was once the busiest industrial ports in England.

I made my way to go and see the Beatles Story Museum, which was located on the opposite side of the docks.

The Museum itself was very informative, it took you through the history and creation of the Beatles. There were various exhibits along the way that recreated some of the monumental moments in Beatles History including a recreation of Matthew Street, as well as the Cavern Club, which was one of the first places to kick start their careers. There was also a creation of the Yellow Submarine made famous from there well known song.

The final exhibit was a recreation of the iconic white room, in which Lennon filmed his music video for the song "Imagine". Overall, I'd say that the museum itself, did due diligence to the Beatles and is worth a visit if you have the time while in Liverpool.

I then took a stroll down Albert Docks, and boy was it windy. The wind was so loud it became deafening. Alongside the docks there is what is known as the Three Graces, which are buildings that have become iconic to Liverpool.

A few yards away there is a set of statues dedicated to the Fab Four, themselves!

Next I started walking towards the Liverpool Cathedral, Europe's fifth largest Cathedral.  Getting to the Cathedral was not an easy task however. I presumed that if I walked straight towards it, I'd eventually make it there. However, each time I seemingly got very close to it, I would become obstructed by either buildings or a fence. I eventually pulled out the map I had and found my way to the entrance of the Cathedral. This church was by far the most impressive I have ever seen. While the Vatican was impressive, I preferred this Cathedral much more because of its architectural design, as well as its massive stain glass windows.

It was around dinnertime so I made my way over to Matthew Street (a street named after me obviously), to go and check out the Cavern Club, where the Beatles and other famous British Bands played many years ago. The Cavern Club has to be one of my most favorite places I have visited while abroad. The club itself had a very upbeat culture that was energetic and playful. It was relatively crowded, but not to the point where you couldn't move around. I had a beer and hung out for a few hours listening to the live performer playing various songs from the Beatles, Oasis, the Who and other various British Bands who played there.

I went out to eat on Matthew Street, which had a quaint culture within itself. With so many music pubs to choose from, it was a hard decision. Everywhere you went was filled with an intoxicating energy and a passion for music. This is primarily due to the fact that Liverpool is home to several universities, so there were many people my age out and about. After I grabbed a bite to eat I made my way back to my hotel where I decompressed for the rest of the day.

The next day I got up and made my way to the Metropolitan Christ the King church. The exterior of the church was lined with various stain glass that reflected colors onto the sides of the building. In the interior the church was set up as a large circle with seating going around the alter. Above the alter were stain glass windows whose colors reflected a vibrant array of hues. Along the side of the main sitting areas, were various stations that a person could go to and explore, such as Repentance and Remembrance with correlated activities one could partake in.

Underneath the church was a Crypt, originally intended for the use of another church that was never built. I was the only one down there with the exception of the information desk at the time and it was ominous being down there by myself. The Crypt itself was poorly lit and had various rooms for prayer and worship. There was a treasury on display that showcased various religious artifacts as well.

After I left the Crypt, I headed to go up on top of the Radio City Tower, which overlooks the city of Liverpool. It was an amazing view on a relatively clear day.

Finally I made my way back down to Albert Docks to go a visit a series of Museums that were within one of the buildings. On the first floor there was an exhibition about the history of the docks as an industrial port. The second floor looked at the impacts that the sinking of Lusitania during WWI had on the people of Liverpool and Britain. On this same floor there was also an exhibit about the people of the Titanic. The third floor was about the transatlantic slave trade that was based out of Liverpool. This exhibit was really well done, as it went into an immense detail about the day to day lives of being a slave up from its beginnings to the present day.

I went to the Bus Station and waited for my bus to arrive. Once the bus arrived we did a quick stop in Manchester to drop and pick some people up. It started snowing as we were leaving Manchester. About a half hour out the snow changed to  rain, ultimately changing as we got further south into sunshine. We hit a traffic jam for about a half hour or so, but were eventually able to make our way back into London around 8:30 pm. I went out to dinner and then headed back to Richmond and got back to my dorm around 10:30 pm.

Overall, I'd say that Liverpool was well worth visiting. However, one thing to note is the fact that you can do pretty much everything there in two days max, so if you are planning a trip to there keep that in mind. The city itself was a blend of industrialization met with urbanization. There were mainly Scottish and Irish people there and everyone was  friendlier than in London. Liverpool is a lot more relaxed than London, as the people around you are not as much in a rush as they are in London.