Chinese New Year London Style

 We went to the Chinese New year celebrations. There was performances all day and stands of food and trinkets lining the streets.

China town was decorated a very lively. Parades came through every so often. The streets were beyond crowded. 










Steph and I went out to eat and I got the BEST hot and sour soup I have ever eaten. YUM!

Everything is just a little bit different

  After a month in London I have come to the realization that this culture is probably the cloest to the American culture that is outside of the country. However, everything is just a little bit different. Some small things I have noticed:

the names of cereal (frosties instead of frosted flakes)
the standard paper towel rolls are shorter
the printer paper is bigger
the outlets
the mcdonalds menu
the taste of starbucks coffee
the traffic lights go red yellow green instead of red green
eggs are not kept in the refrigerator
family size packs of food are our single size
katchup is sweeter
no talking on the subway
cross walks don't go straight across the street

there are many more...

One thing that really sticks out though, about the British way of life is their appreciation for time. They show this in many ways but one that is really distinct is the time spent eating, particularly in restaurants. In every place I have gone to eat people take their time and enjoy the food and time with who ever they are eating with. In America as soon as a person is done with their food, or maybe even before, the table is cleared and the check is put in the middle. In London the table is never cleared and the check is never given until the customer asks for it. This takes some time getting used to, I did sit at a couple restaurants for a ridiculous amount of time. But, when you take a moment to realize why they do this, it is actually very pleasant.

Parliament

We went to visit Parliament a couple of weeks ago, but it was only today that I fully could appreciate what I had seen, and that is thanks to my British mass media professor. He explained the roles of Parliament while trying to show relation to how the BBC is regulated.

First and most interesting there is no written document stating laws like we have the Constitution. Another point that is vastly different is there is no real separation of powers and a system of checks and balances, instead the executive and legislature are closely connected. So what do they have that works for the UK? There are protocols, agreements and understandings which present more gray areas than clear areas through a system of ruling people.

On the top there is the Queen. She stands as a more symbolical statue than anything. No legislation is passed without her signature. Once  a year the Queen will dress in the most elegant robes and present the 'gracious speech of the throne' which states all that Parliament will do in the coming year.

the upper chamber is the House Of Lords. These men and women are appointed by a comittee controlled by the Prime Minister, and serve for life. They may not prevent legislation from passing but may revise it and suggest other laws.

the lower chamber is the House of Commons. This is 630 plus members that are elected much like our congressmen who sit based on population size. general election is every 5 years and the Prime Minister decides when this happens, it is not a fixed election.  

bath and stonehenge

Waking up at 7am for a two hour bus ride was not so easy after a night out. But our flat mate went in the kitchen and banged on pots to give flat 20 a wake up call. We all stumbled down the stairs most with sunglasses on and pillows in hand. Our tour guide tried talking the entire two hours to Stonehenge but she gave up after we all fell asleep on the coach. We got off the bus in rural England and it was extremely cold! We walked around the tour circle of stonehenge very fast and stopped more to look at the sheep then the stones. They were not as big as I thought they would be but I was happy I got the opportunity to go see one of the wonders of the world. Cross that off my bucket list.

We then went to the city of Bath. It was so adorable. It was an old village with shops all around. We went to see the Roman baths and walked through a museum. This was so interesting to me. I wanted to touch the steaming bath watch but our tour guide said the last person to do that died, so I resisted my urge. We ate lunch at Panasia and had the most amazing pad tai. We walked around to shops and I really wish I had more time to try things on, there were so many cute clothes! We popped in for a free fudge tasting and then headed back to the coach for the three hour bus ride home.

some things that are kinda hard to live without

1. JOE
2. driving
3. my bed
4. having it be acceptable to wear sweat pants when going no where important
5. being able to text and call without it costing soooo much money
6. being able to drop change and not have it be a big deal
7. snowy winter days
8. real starbucks
9. my bsquad :)
10. and of course mommy

10 things I LOVE about LONDON

1. double decker buses
2. the tube...mind the gap please
3. the street telling me where to look for cars in a cross walk
4. tesco
5. the drinking age
6. the rain...ok ok im learning to love it
7. the mass quantities of sandwiches
8. free museums
9. "chips" with vinegar. yumm!
10. and duh...the accents

Tate Modern

During my creative thinking for advertising class we went to the Tate Modern Museum(http://www.tate.org.uk/modern/) 
One of my favorite exhibits was the room covered with cows!