Belgium

(No, I'm not feeling creative in post titles at the moment. Sorry. I toyed with "My Bulging Belly in Belgium" but it sounded weird...)

A couple weeks ago as the second part of our European Study Tour, our program took the Eurostar to Belgium. Upon arrival, we had about two hours before our first class, so we ventured about for lunch – and this ultimately became our only free daylight hours in Brussels the entirety of the trip, cool. And the impressions left on me of Brussels from that trip are the following: chocolate shops, cobble-stone streets, some pretty architecture, waffles, and lots and lots of annoying rain.   

Nim hanging out at the Royal Palace of Brussels

I found a treestar on the street!

The roomies explore Brussels... for an hour!

I do not like portion sizes in Belgium >:( 

Commence more classes on the EU. For days. And guest speakers. And guest speakers at Parliament. And silly group-work preparing presentations about the EU. And more speakers. And no free time.

One up-side to the program though was that all the b-school students studying abroad in Europe participated, not just us Londoners. Thus, I got to see some well-missed friends.

DSP (my business fraternity) does Brussels!

Everyone returned to their respective countries on Saturday, but as our train didn’t leave until 7 or so, we had the bulk of the day free. We decided to spend our free day in Bruges, which is about an hour away by train. If I only had a few words to describe Bruges, I think I would sum it up by calling it a fairytale city, because that’s what it was. Cobblestone streets, horse and buggies riding around, quaint little shops, and swans, lots and lots of swans. I kept my eyes peeled for Snow White or Cinderella or Little Red Riding Hood the whole time, because I would not have been surprised in the least. (Consequently, after going to Bruges I watched the film In Bruges, which I would not recommend if you want to get a picture of Bruges, because the tone of the film is a 180 from the town. I would recommend it if however if you like to see some good ‘ole head smushing…).

Pretty Bruges

Lovely architecture

Like any European city, we got to see a number of lovely cathedrals. I should have started a tally at the beginning of my study abroad of all the cathedrals I’ve been to, but too late now, oh well!

One of many in the Dylan photoshoot in Bruges

I don't remember the names of all of them anymore, sorry.

Fortunately, unlike a certain chilly European city that I had previously been scarred from the week before, there was more to Bruges than just its cathedrals. Upon arriving, Dylan and I never walked more than 20 feet without popping into a chocolate shop and indulging ourselves in happiness. I like happiness.

Dylan and I stumbled across a Salvador Dali exhibit, which was really sweet. Later on we also went to a Juan Miro / Pablo Picasso exhibit, which was good but limited in the scope of works exhibited.

But mainly the best part about Bruges was just walking around the streets exploring. We didn’t stop at all to eat or rest in fears of missing a second of it, and as such I feel like we really got to experience Bruges in our short amount of time there.

As always, I will conclude my blog post with apologies about being late, and I know I am still 2 posts overdue to catch up on the 2 weeks following my time in Belgium, so I will jump on that soon. And as always, I will remind you to drop me a note if you get a chance. Seeeeyasoon.

To Be Continued....

Okay, I've been busy, but I promise, I'm working on my next blog post. In the meantime, to tide you over....

Anyways, this is how I imagine your emotions are before and after reading my blog posts. Just humor me, okay?

Snow: White as Lithuanians

One of the components of my program this semester is the "European Study Tour," in which each set of roommates is sent to a different European Union country to research their perspectives on certain economic issues and such, and then we all meet back the next week in Brussels to represent the country we visited in a mock-parliament debate. And of course, Arushi and I were assigned to Lithuania. So the weekend before last, Arushi and I set off for the thrilling city of Vilnius.

The tone for the trip was set before we even set foot in Vilnius as we realized we were some of the only non-Lithuanians on the flight. Then, as we arrived at the Vilnius Airport Thursday night, at the border control they were stumped by our Indian and US passports. They had to take time to look them up, and kept asking us, "Why are you coming to Vilnius??" sounding genuinely surprised and confused. That being said, I would now like to simultaneously introduce fun factoid number 1 about Lithuania while giving out a world record to Arushi. That is, I would like to take a moment to commemorate Arushi for being the first non-white person to ever set foot in Lithuania... ever. Lithuania is by far the least culturally diverse place I have ever been, it was uncomfortable. Arushi and I actually were so excited when halfway through our stay in Vilnius we saw one other non-white person, that we took a picture of him to prove it - not creepy I swear. But basically everyone in Lithuania is as pale as their snow, tall, blond, and blue-eyed - actually a number of people kept trying to speak to me in Lithuanian while we were there. Another observation about the people of Lithuania we had is the sharp difference between the younger and older generations. The older generations all speak only Lithuanian and Russian, are not particularly friendly, and ignored us (leading to a plethora of selfie pictures from the trip). Meanwhile, the younger generations could speak Lithuanian and English, and were very nice and friendly and helpful to us. 

Overlooking the city of Vilnius (in other words, overlooking snow and churches)

Friday morning we got up and went straight off to work. We met with a professor from the economics faculty at Vilnius University. After a short lunch break, we went off to our meeting at the Ministry of Economy for Lithuania, where we spoke to three consultants. Then we went to the Ministry of Finance for Lithuania, where we talked to an additional three consultants. Once those were finished we were relieved to have all the work-aspects out of the way for the trip, and could "site-see" for the rest. That night we actually went to a ballet at the Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre, Anna Karenina to be exact. It was INCREDIBLE. So worth the.... well, now would be a good time to introduce fun factoid number 2 about Lithuania - that being, it is superduper cheap. 4 litas equal 1 British pound, and I must admit it is really fun to look at a price-tag and be able to divide it by 4 in your head to realize how much you're actually paying. Like oh, this dinner at this nice restaurant is 12 lita... but wait, that's only 3 pounds yippee!! Or, ordering a pint at dinner costs 2 lita ie 50 pence (in London the standard pint at a pub is no less than 3 to 4 pounds). So, my tickets to see Anna Karenina at the fancy-pants theatre pictured below cost me a wopping 10 lita - in other words bus change in London. Sweet. 

The Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre... casual

As of yet, I  have also failed to complain share with you the {not so} fun factoid about Lithuania number 2 - it is miserably, miserably, want-to-curl-up-in-a-ball-and-die cold. Arushi and I really tried our best to have a positive, glass-half-full attitude about the whole getting assigned to Lithuania thing, so we really tried to give it a shot by going to see some of their "sites" and places and such. And one of those things Lithuania is famous for is Trakai Castle. Now Trakai is about an hour outside of Vilnius, so Arushi and I, again trying to hone in a "give-it-a-shot" attitude, decided to try to go anyways. Here is what this consisted of:

1. Walk 30-40 minutes to bus stop [in freezing sub-zero weather]

2. Take a sketchy bus with no air conditioning 1 hour to Trakai [in freezing sub-zero weather that bus didn't block out]

3. Walk 30-40 minutes from the very sketchy bus stop in Trakai to get to the castle [in freezing sub-zero weather]

4. Walk around and explore castle and try to take a picture but realize you can't because if you take your hands out of your gloves for a millisecond they will turn into icicles [in freezing sub-zero weather]

5. Immediately turn around and have to walk back the 30-40 minutes to the bus stop [in freezing sub-zero weather]

6. Hop onto a bus really quickly because a homeless person at the bus stop is following you, and ride back 1 hour in a bus that was even sketchier than the first to the bus stop in Vilnius [in freezing sub-zero weather that bus didn't block out]

7. Walk 30-40 minutes from bus stop back to hotel, refraining from crying in misery only because you're afraid your tears will freeze on your face and make you even colder [in freezing sub-zero weather]

Fahrenheit. This wasn't even the coldest it got.

Okay, yes, that was very melodramatic I realize, but in all seriousness I refuse to go to a place that is that cold ever, ever, ever again. But now that I've expressed how cold I was, I will also say how lovely Trakai was. Unfortunately, however, we didn't really get to catch Trakai in all its glory, and here's why:

Trakai Castle in the summer

Trakai Castle when we went. In other words, lake doesn't exist (In fact people were ice-skating where the lake normally is).

So my final consensus on our Saturday in Trakai is: Trakai is a lovely place, but not worth it if you're going in sub-zero weather as this will not only freeze the lake, but also will keep you in low spirits that won't allow you to properly appreciate its beauty. 

Finally, on Sunday, Arushi and I explored the Old Town part of Vilnius and the sites in the city itself. And by sites, I mean churches. Literally all there is in Vilnius is churches and snow, churches and snow, churches and snow. They were quite beautiful though. That night we flew home late, and had a very brief nap before having to wake up for class in the morning. Life never seems to slow down. 

Walking around Vilnius

Old Town square in Vilnius

At a giant market - the amount of meat was incredible/disgusting

I thought the locks on the fence was a French thing?

Overlooking the city

Sorry this post came so late, and that I continue to remain behind. I will do my best to post about my trip this weekend to Belgium as soon as I get a chance. I send my love back to the States, where I am sorely missing my family and friends. I hope everyone enjoys sitting down to the SuperBowl tonight (I will be watching here at a lovely 12:30am - class in the morning is going to be a blast). 

Snowed-In Culture

If I had to describe the past week in only one word, I would describe it as cold and snowy (okay, that ended up being 2 words - sorry, clearly I put a lot of forethought into these posts...). In fact, one of our professors today said this is the most snow he has seen in London in his lifetime.

Outside St. Paul's on a nice, snowy day

Arushi being cute in the snow

Let's do a quick-run down analysis of my feelings towards the snow:

Pro - Pretty!
Con - Slippery
Pro - Pretty
Con - Cold
Pro - pretty
Con - Wet
Pro - pretty...
Con - The wind is blowing the cold, wet snow in my face
Pro - pretty...............
Con - It's muddy slosh all over the ground
Pro - pretty...................
Con - I've caught a cold and my nose is snotty because of all the cold, wet snow that is constantly blowing in my face
Pro - pretty.....................?
Con - I JUST SLIPPED AND FELL ON MY HIP AND IT HURTS AND MY CAMERA FELL OUT OF MY POCKET AND I AM UNHAPPY

Final Scorecard: I AM NOT READY TO GO TO LITHUANIA THIS WEEKEND WITH EVEN MORE SNOW AND WHERE THE TEMPERATURES LOOK LIKE THIS:

And No, unfortunately, as much as I wish I could say those degrees were in Celsius, alas, that is the Fahrenheit degrees. I'm sorry, but I can't even fathom what -1 degree Fahrenheit feels like. 

(Also, is it just me or after seeing it a bunch of times does the word "pretty" seem really bizarre? By the end I was doubting myself as I was pronouncing it phonetically in my head, like "pret tea"....)

Making the treacherous walk across Millenium Bridge (which so happens to be the same bridge the death eaters blew up in Harry Potter 7 Part 1)

As the snow has erased the possibility of outside adventures, I've been using this past week to do lots of touristy museum visiting. Weekend before last Dylan and I hit up the National Gallery, but there is so much in it that we didn't even get through half of it - we will definitely be making a return visit (check out Google's fancy new Museum View of the Gallery if you want to live in my shoes for a minute - it's basically street view, but for museums).

On Wednesday, the program took us to an improv comedy show at the Comedy Store. The structure was a lot like Whose Line is It Anyways (which is fitting, because one of the performers actually used to be on some of the original Whose Line episodes).

Also last week I visited the office I will be working at for the first time. It was really nice, and my boss was really nice - it should be a good atmosphere. I felt so legit as I took the tube home from "work" in my suit, casually reading the Standard and navigating the city like a pro. The next day our program took us to visit Lloyd's, which actually my place of work, Beazley group, manages 5 of Lloyd's 88 syndicates. The building was stunning on the inside.

No, I didn't take this picture, but I wanted to do it justice so I used the wonderful internet.

This past Friday, Arushi and I hit up Tate Modern, which was really interesting. It had a couple exhibits which were a little too "modern" for my tastes, but some of them were really great (check out the link to see some of the works on display).

Having fun in the Tanks exhibit (ie creepy music and creepy lights in a creepy warehouse) - That's me on the right and Arushi on the left. 

Look - Arushi and I are modern!

And yesterday, Dylan and I decided to visit the British Library, which was awesome. Asides from being a full-fledged library, they have an exhibit called the Treasures of the British Library, which was awesome. In it they house some of the most priceless manuscripts (again, check the link if you're curious) - literature (Shakespeare, Jane Austen - and her writing desk), historical documents (the Magna Carta, letters from Churchill), music (Handel's Messiah, Beethoven, Haydn, the Beatles), biblical (Codex Sinaiticus).

Asides from getting some good 'ole culture through museums, I've also been spending my rare pieces of downtime at home curled up in the warmth reading, courtesy of my fancy-pancy new Kindle. In honor of my time here in London, I've been working through some British Literature. I feel entirely too cool anytime I recognize a place they talk about thinking "Hey, I've been there!" or "Oo, I'm going there later!"

Anyways, I still am constantly excited and amazed at all the things I've had and will have the opportunity to do. I'm so grateful to be here, and I hope I never get so used to it that I begin to take it for granted.  I hope all is well with everyone, and again, don't forget to drop me a note!!

All the roomies! Arushi, Elise, me, and Alex :).

Taking A (Trip to) Bath

This week we started classes, of which I'm taking two courses: the Political Economy of Britain since 1945 and International Economy and Business. Since we're condensing both of these full courses into one month, our class schedule is very full, frequently meeting for the same class multiple times a day. The professors are both pretty interesting, even if the content isn't always super captivating - one professor frequently gets sidetracked on very bizarre anecdotes... Between that and random office visits to companies (this week we went to Google and EBRD (European Bank for Reconstruction & Development) we unfortunately lost basically all daylight hours to go sight-seeing this week.

Monday for the first day was the only day we finished before 6, so Dylan and I took advantage of that opportunity to go to the Natural History Museum. We ended up seeing very little of the museum itself as we got distracted in this temporary exhibit they had called "Wildlife Photographer of the Year" for hours. Totally doesn't sound 100% up my alley, right?

Outside the Natural History Museum with an ad for the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibit - quite a likeness between us, right?

Similarly, Nim found a new best friend at the gift shop for the exhibit

That night the program took us all out to dinner, and then afterwards, to the theatre! We saw Billy Elliot, the dancing in which was pretty good. I'm really hoping to see more shows while I'm here, that may end up being something I splurge on one night.

Outside the theatre before the show

On Wednesday between class and an office visit a group of us briefly went to check out St. Paul's Cathedral, but due to a hefty entrance fee, we admired it from the outside. Afterwards, Arushi, Dylan, and I went to grab lunch at this delicious falafel place in the financial district. I have never seen so many well-dressed people in my life as were walking about the streets there. And for those of you who are well-acquainted with my bizarre obsession with goats, you can imagine my delighted surprise upon stumbling across a wonderful goat statue. Needless to say, it was a good day.

Elise, me, and Arushi at St. Paul's Cathedral

Overwhelmed with happiness at the goat statue - I would find this

After a long week of classes, on Friday we were delighted to finally have a day off. While literally everyone else in the program took the first weekend to travel abroad, Arushi, Dylan, and I decided to stay in country. Instead, we chose to do a fantastic day-trip to Bath. So we took a train an hour or two through the English countryside (beautiful) and arrived in the stunning city of Bath.

On the train to Bath, prior to playing naive that we were sitting first class and having to move... worth a shot...

The countryside from the train - I delighted in reading some Pride and Prejudice during the ride

From the minute we stepped off the train, each thing we saw was beautiful. The streets of stone and the ornate architecture spread to even the most simple streets in the city. Shortly after arriving we had to grab food as we were starving, where we proceeded to have the most delicious lunch at Sally Lunn's, which is in the oldest house in Bath. With happy bellies, we wandered over to see the Circus and the Crescent, which were stunning. Continuing to explore, we wandered through a park, admiring all its loveliness.

St. John's church

In St. John's church

Arushi and I outside Sally Lunn's, with very, very happy bellies

The culprit of my happy belly - Brie and cranberry on their world-famous buns

The Circus - it makes a full circle

Arushi and I in front of the Crescent

This park was gorgeous - imagine living here and this being your daily walk

Yeah, this is kinda pretty

Group picture success!

Bath's most famous landmarks are Bath Abbey and the Roman Baths, which we proceeded to explore. Bath Abbey was absolutely gorgeous, both from the outside and on the inside. Inside I got caught up in looking at the two great windows - the one on the East End featuring 56 scenes in the life of Jesus, and the one on the West End depicting scenes from the Old Testament. The Roman Baths were very interesting and there was a lot more to it than I went in expecting.

Bath Abbey - stunning

Bath Abbey from behind

The East End window of Bath Abbey (note the 7 columns and 4 rows - the rows were split top and bottom, thus the 56 scenes depicting the life of Jesus. Words cannot describe)

The Roman Baths

Dylan looking pensive at the Roman Baths

 The private bath

After a long day of exploring, we decided to treat ourselves at the lovely Thermae Bath Spa, which was so wonderfully relaxing. My favorite was the rooftop pool, which had incredible views over the city. For obvious reasons I didn't take any pictures, but due to this modern marvel called the internet, you can still get an idea of how spoiled I was. After, the day finished up swell with some dinner at a Nepalese place called "Yak Yeti Yak" and a couple hours at a pub before catching our train home.

Arushi and I preparing for wonderful relaxation

A picture found via the internet of the rooftop bath overlooking Bath Abbey

Phew sorry that was a lot all in one post, I'll try to be better about splitting things up in the future! I hope everyone is doing well, and remember to e-mail me or whatnot how you're doing as well - I love hearing from you guys!