All That's Known

Ah, the London Theatre. Known for its classic dramas and comedies, a rock musical based on a risque 19th century German play is not something you'd expect to see in London's West End. But 'Spring Awakening' played to a nearly-full auditorium last Wednesday and had to do three curtain calls because the applause was so overwhelming.

And while I've been a fan of the music since it came out a few years ago, and I've been aching to see it on Broadway, I thought the show itself was mostly well put together, but at times a bit too comical and even a bit disappointing.

I should mention that the actor who played Moritz in the production we saw was the understudy -- and you could tell. His acting was more immature than his characters' antics and he missed quite a few crucial notes in songs that I loved listening too on the soundtrack.

Him aside, the rest of the cast was great, particularly Aneurin Barnard, who played Melchoir brilliantly as the clever rebel with a heart of gold -- a far cry from the character Frank Wedekind created in his original work, but entertaining and wonderful nonetheless. The old-fashioned story is sucked straight into the 21st century through poppy, catchy rock tunes that allow the audience a glimpse into the characters' thoughts. The show is certainly not for timid audiences -- 'Spring Awakening' tells the story of a group of young teens experiencing puberty and sexual thoughts for the first time in a conservative 19th century Germany. I was impressed with how tastefully many of the scenes were staged and thought it did a beautiful job of expressing the confusion and beauty of that time in our lives.

I would point out, however, that on several things, Duncan Shiek (music) and Steven Sater (book, lyrics) strayed from the original play in order to create a more marketable and popular musical. I won't go into detail, as it'll spoil it for anyone who wants to see the musical or read the play, but just know that he sold out a bit. Both versions work well in their own capacities (though my drama professor wasn't having any of the musical version -- she's a bit of a traditionalist I think), so here's my recommendation if the show is on your short list (Mom?): see the show first, then read the play by Wedekind and appreciate both for what they are.

I couldn't take photos in the theatre we saw the show at, so the included art is from the London 'Spring Awakening' website. It's of a rehearsal of the number 'The B*tch of Living'.

Would You Like Another Cuppa?

Time for another update on my life in London: classes, my internship and explorations.

Last week we started classes here at the London Center and I love them all: European Mass Media, European Cinema, Contemporary British Politics and Drama & the London Theatre. My professors are all really nice and seem very interested in the various subjects they're teaching. A lot of students here think I'm crazy for taking four classes (twelve credits) plus an internship (three credits), but actually, it's a pretty light semester by my standards (I've taken 17 or 18 a semester since I got to Ithaca).

My classes should be loads of fun too -- we're taking a trip to Parliament for my politics class, plus, the gist of my theatre class is going to see plays, writing reviews & talking about them. I'm really psyched for our first show tomorrow: SPRING AWAKENING!!! It's been on my shortlist of shows to see on Broadway for quite some time now, but I haven't been able to nab tickets. I'll probably blog about it Thursday. We're also seeing a show starring Dame Judi Dench. I think I've died and gone to theatrical heaven (at least in my book).

Anyways, I went out clubbing last Thursday with Chris and his friends John & Laura. The place we went, called Shunt, was actually in a tube station and had an underground cave-like atmosphere. There were archways into different rooms that had all sorts of odd art exhibits -- some photos, some sculptures, some modern art (too weird for my taste) and eventually, the actual club. We had a great time chatting and dancing before heading home (with a pit stop for some yummy Turkish take-out) in the pouring rain. It was a fun way to celebrate being abroad.

On Saturday, Bill led another walk, this time through St. Paul's, St. Bartholomew's and the surrounding area. The architecture was, as usual, absolutely stunning and the churches were gorgeous. At my mom's request, I've included a few photos from the walk (top photo: sunrise over St. Paul's, middle photo: outside of St. Paul's, bottom photo: statue inside St. Bartholomew's). Once again, the weather held out for us (we've been really lucky on that so far -- hardly any rain!) and we had a great time. There was another walk on Sunday through the markets of London that I missed because I was at my internship at Peace News.


Peace News is a small monthly newspaper that covers human rights issues, political conflict and local activist movements. My editor, Mil, and the rest of the staff are very friendly and I think I'll learn a lot from working there. I'll also be drinking lots of tea (my Grandmother would be so proud). It seems every time I turned around, Mil was asking me 'Would you like another cuppa?' I'm loving it though.

I should stop writing and get back to doing my homework. Blog posts will hopefully get more frequent this week -- I think we finally figured out the internet situation in our flat.

Obama-mania ... London style

Walking into the pub yesterday, the somewhat familiar scene still felt a bit surreal to me. Crowded with the usual lot, sharing pints and chips after a long day at work, Chris and I plowed our way through and, without so much as a glance towards one another, made a beeline for the empty table next to the television. Typical Americans, right? Actually, in this case, I guess the answer is yes.

After ordering a couple pints and some chips (hey, when in Rome ... right?), we turned up the volume and sat completely transfixed by the images flashing in front of our faces. Others were glancing occasionally at the headlines scrolling across the bottom of the screen --- 'Sen. Kennedy collapses at Inaugural Lunch', 'Aretha Franklin to sing national anthem', 'More than 1M come to witness first Black president inaugurated' --- but only Chris and I were solely focused on the Obama-mania back home.

It was a far cry from the parties and cheering I remember from my election night experiences in Ithaca, NY last November. There were no fireworks, no cowbells or other instruments, no sports-like cheering, no shirts or hats with the President-elect's face or name. Instead, the Brits around us were watching, semi-attentively, and commenting calmly about what it all meant.

Most seemed pleased to see Bush go and Obama come in.
"Finally! America has an intelligent president," one man said.
"Hopefully he'll be able to fix the mess Bush left for him," his friend replied.

People began to pay more attention when the President-elect stood up to be sworn in as the first African-American President of the United States, but there was still a distracted buzz of chatter from some patrons.

Quite an opposite experience from those in Ithaca, but still, an interesting way to spend the inauguration. It wasn't a top priority for everyone here to watch, but it was still very much an important day for them, and for the world.

On a side note, it was an momentous enough occasion for Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum to add a figure of the new president and to offer free admission (with a passport).

The photo above is from mine & Chris' trip earlier yesterday to the museum

'ave you spotted the morning 'eadlines?

Finally getting used to the tube/streets of London. Well, at least those around my flat and the London Centre. I was actually able to give a fellow American directions yesterday.

As a journalist, naturally I read the paper everyday to keep up with current events and learn about different styles & writing techniques. Though I have some concerns about story placement/the amount of tabloid-esque stories in each edition I pick up here in London, I have to say I'm proud of the fact that practically everyone reads the papers on the tube.

In re the title of the blog, it's a direct quote from a guy who was chatting with his mates on the tube this morning about a story about Barack Obama. It's so interesting how different the U.K. is from the U.S. already.

Off to class (European Mass Media).

Cheers,
Kathy

Practically Perfect in Every Way

Now that we're finally settled into our new flat, it finally feels real. And, to steal a phrase from everyone's favourite British nanny, Mary Poppins, our flat is practically perfect in every way: spacious, nicely kept-up, completely furnished and in a great location.

There are a few quirks though. Most notably so far is that our dryer doesn't work very well. I was the first to do laundry yesterday, so I got the ... well, let's just call it interesting task of figuring out our washer/dryer. We do have a cool drying line that stretches across our shower and bathtub, but I'm living with three other girls, so inevitably there's always someone who wants to shower. This leads to a whole charade of putting up, taking down, and re-folding clothes onto another small drying stand we have. Then having to re-hang everything in the bathroom. It's quite a bit different from what we're all used to back home, but I'm sure we'll adapt. In the scheme of things, it's really not too bad.

We also still don't have Internet set up in our flat, which makes checking email, uploading photos and blogging somewhat difficult. We're going to finish sorting that out this afternoon/evening I think (hopefully). In the meantime, you'll have to suffer through my sparingly updated posts. Sorry 'bout that.

Over the weekend, Bill, the London Centre director, led a tour through Westminster. There were about 40 or 50 students who joined us on the 4 and 1/2 hour tour. My flatmates and I had already wandered around near Parliament and Big Ben earlier in the week (we had some free time as we found a flat so quickly), but we also saw where several British diplomats live, Scotland Yard, the National Theatre, replica of Shakespeare's Globe, a fantastic little (busy) public market (I bought an entire baguette of yummy, crusty bread for only £1.50, which ended up being my lunch), the Tower of London and the Tower Bridge. It was supposed to pour, but we lucked out and it stayed sunny for the whole walk (a rarity in London). Met up with one of Keeley's friends at a pub and hung out with him and his mates for a while. Had a really interesting chat about all sorts of differences in culture between America and Britain, as well as Germany (one of the guys was originally from Berlin).

Spent a lazy day at home yesterday: unpacking, settling in, doing laundry & grocery shopping. It was a bit weird to go to Tescos for our food (I've grown up around Wegmans my whole life), but we worked it out. Watched When Harry Met Sally and The Notebook, neither of which my self-proclaimed "soul-less" flatmate Kristin enjoyed, but I'm a fan of both (they're classics and if you haven't seen them, go out and rent them!)

Off for lunch and the first day of my internship at Peace Now. Possibly searching for a job later. Classes technically started today, but my first one isn't until tomorrow morning (European Mass Media). Probably going to go to Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum tomorrow -- they've got free admission with a student ID and a new statue of President-elect Barack Obama. It'll definitely be interesting to watch the inauguration from another country and see what the response here is like.

Cheers for now,
Kathy


Photos included in this post (from top to bottom): The sunset over Westminster (London Eye, Big Ben & the skyline) and Me & Big Ben.

Mind the Gap please!

I have arrived! And while my travels warrent a much longer post than this will be, I only have access to the internet at the London Centre, which is a only a few tube (sorry, Subway for you Americans) stops and a short walk away from the hotel.

For those of you who don't quite understand the title of this blog, "Mind the Gap" is a phrase heard over the PAs in the tube stations, as there is a significant gap between the doors of the train and the platform. At first I assumed the gap referred to the horizontal distance between the edge of the train and the platform, but it actually refers to the height difference. It's better at some stations than at others, but still something to be mindful of.

Today's been a bit of a blur -- and I'm not just talking about the morning fog. Me and my flatmates (roommates to Yanks) went on the hunt all over London to find us a place to live for a few months. We've got one set and will be moving in Friday afternoon.

For mail purposes though, anyone who wants to send letters, sweets or anything else, here's my address at the IC London Centre:

Kathy Laluk
c/o Ithaca College London Centre
35 Harrington Gardens
London SW7 4JU, England


Photos and videos to follow, but I really just want to enjoy the city right now.

Cheers,
Kathy

Elementary, My Dear Readers!

This blog has seen it all -- class assignments, random thoughts, rants, you name it. And now it gets to see things from an international perspective. In case you haven't guessed by my intro (or by the title of this entry), in less than a week I'll be off to London to study abroad for the semester.

It's bound to be an incredible experience and I can't wait to document everything. In addition to blog entries and photos, I'll be trying my hand at some video blog entries.

So sit back, enjoy and get caught up in this (International) Perpetual Whirlwind with me.