Oh my gosh, the UK was a world-wind! So much craziness happened; where do I even begin? I’m warning you that this blogpost is really long... so if you don’t want to read the whole thing, I would say the end is the best part! :)
Okay I will begin; we arrived in Southampton on Wednesday. I went with two of my really good friends (Kellen and Ko) to Stonehedge with a group of 20 Semester at Sea kids. We first walked from the ship for 20 minutes to the bus station, then took a 40 minute bus to a tourist location, then a Stonehedge tourist bus for 20 minutes. Stonehedge is a famous, mysterious rock formation that no one knows why or how it was made. It was beautiful and so peaceful to be there. Afterwards we got on a bus that took 3.5 hours to get to London! It stopped a lot too, but we were all sleepy and took naps.
The hotel that we originally had booked was in a really bad area. Brianna went there first and sad it was very scary! So her and the other Brianna booked a hostel that many Semester at Sea kids were staying at. Once Kellen, Ko, and I got to London, we went straight to our new hostel- The Generator Hostel. Let’s just say it’s not the nicest place I’ve stayed before. The room had 2 bunk beds for the 5 of us and we didn’t even have enough room for us to stand at the same time. If you were sitting on one bed and then stood up, you’d be on-top of the other bed. We tried to make the best of it, so we ate dinner and went out with some of our friends. This is when I lost my phone! Aw I was so sad.
The next morning I woke up phone-less, just wanting to get out of this hostel. The Briannas, Kellen, and I went to Buckingham Palace. There was such a huge crowd! They changing of the guards was happening full of singing, marching, and horses. Afterwards I said goodbye to my friends and started off on my independent journey! Ah! I jumped into the cab and went back to the hostel to pick up my computer because my friends said I could probably transfer my information from my computer to my new phone. Then I found the Apple Store. It was literally the largest Apple Store in the world with two levels; I asked!! After talking to the workers for some time, we finally worked it out that I could get a UK iPhone and put a Sim card in it. After getting my phone up and running, I tried to look up flights to Scotland, but I figured I should just get myself ready and head over to the airport. I again got into a cab and went back to the hostel. There were no towels in the hostel, and I couldn’t find any to buy, so I had to buy paper towels to use!!! That was an experience! Once I got all showered and ready, I packed up all my stuff and went over to the Tube station. The receptionist was very nice and told me exactly how to get to Heathrow airport. I went on the Piccadilly line all the way there and got off at the Heathrow airport, Terminals 1,2,3 and 5. Once I got there, I made my way over to Aer Lengus. The tube receptionist had told me they have flights to Scotland, but they didn’t. They told me to try British Air so I did. Unfortunately, they told me there was no more spots available, but I could do stand-by. The only thing about that was there was no guarntee I would get on a flight and it was a ridiculous amount of money to fly to Edinburgh and back. He suggested taking the 6 hour train ride instead. I called Mr. Ross and told him about my situation. He said they’d be happy for me to come on the train, but he made a good point that he didn’t want my whole experience in the UK to be on a train. I was able to easily call Mr. Ross because he too has a UK phone, but getting ahold of my friends with US phone numbers was very difficult. My phone just wouldn’t let me call any of them. I really wanted to go to Rachel’s uncle’s house at that point. She had told me earlier that she wanted to come, but before my plan was to go to Scotland. In the end, I emailed Matt who called Kellen who called Rachel. Then Rachel called me on her uncle’s landline number and gave me directions. I scribbled them on a piece of paper and set off for my journey to Uncle Jim’s!
I wasn’t completely sure I knew where I was going, but I knew that I was going to make it there. I had to get on the Heathrow fast-track station which was about 40 minutes to the Paddington Station. From there I was to walk to Marlebone Station. This was the tricky part. I thought it was only 5 minutes away, but people kept making it seem like it wasn’t that far, but trust me it was! Also it was getting dark and it wasn’t the safest part of London. But rest assured, I made it to Marlebone Station! At this point I was confused what I had written down for the last leg of the trip. I called Rachel and told them where I was. I had to get on the Alyssbury train, but get off at Wendover. Once I was on the train, I kept checking the screen to make sure I didn’t miss it. All of the sudden I was at my stop, the doors opened, and Rachel was standing there waiting for me! It was one of the happiest moments of my whole life, no exaggeration! My 10 hours of running around England by myself were over.
We walked to meet Uncle Jim who was so warm and friendly! Then we hopped into his Land Rover “Defender.” I was just so happy to be with Rachel and her Uncle! As I was telling them all about my day, I noticed the streets became smaller and smaller and there were very tall bushes on both sides of the street. The street got so narrow that there was literally only enough room for one car with maybe 4 inches on either side. All of the sudden we see headlights coming towards us! I really do not know how the two cars drove past each other.
Once I walked into Uncle Jim’s “barn,” I could not have been happier! It was the cutest house with candles lit and music playing. It was already about 9:30pm by this point, but they had waited for me to have dinner. We had steak mixed in with pasta, and for those who know me know I hate vegetables, but these vegetables were so good I ate every single one of them! I only had a sandwich the entire today, so it was exactly what I needed. They showed me around the house, and then we watched an English reality show called “An Idiot Abroad.” These two famous British guys send a random guy from England to travel around the world. It’s so funny though because he hates traveling and the two men make him do outrageous cultural things. While Rachel and I were snuggled up on the couch watching the show, Uncle Jim brought out a delicious chocolate dessert. Then he went to bed and I called my dad on the landline. It was so nice to talk to him and it’s really cheap on the landline. After, Rachel and I went to our room which was up the black spiral-whirl in the furnished attic; it had the most comfortable bed in the world!!!
The next day we woke up and had English tea, bananas and cereal. Rachel and I sat outside, and Uncle Jim went to work. We then went on a walk through the English countryside. It was breathtaking! We first went through this forestry area and came upon a bunch of cows just hanging out. Rachel and I walked up really close (closer than I’ve ever been to a cow before) and one of the cows pawed at us! Jim later told us it was actually a bull! Good thing we got away! Then we walked into a cute little pub. There was no on one in it. Uncle Jim said that after the UK banned smoking in pubs, a lot of pubs have been closing. Afterwards we made our way back to the house. The countryside was full of open fields, green grass, and blue skies.
We came home to the barn and took on the task of taking a bath with one of those shower-heads that look like a phone. There is only one bathroom in Uncle Jim’s house and no shower! At first it was difficult, but it was fun! Before we left for town, he made us a bacon sandwich with chips. This was real bacon! Then we went into town in Alyssbury, but on the way we stopped at a cemetery that had people dating back to the 1700s! The town was a lot bigger than I thought; it was the about the size of Los Gatos. We went to Melrose market and shopped for our Paella dinner! On the way back home, we went into the Full Moon. It was a pretty large pub with outside seating (because of the smoking ban). Uncle Jim made us have pork scratchings, shrimp fries, and bacon fries. He said the real pork scratchings sometimes still have hair in it! EW!!! Before dinner we played English football; the rules were you get 10 chances to make the p-q. It was fun to play soccer again!
Then it was time for our masterpiece! Uncle Jim loves to cook, but he insisted on Rachel and I doing the honors. I let Rachel be the chef, and me the sue-chef, but it surprisingly ended up switching. I’ve honestly never cooked anything in my life, so this was all new to me! We made a famous Spanish dish called Paella that you cook in a huge pot. I can’t even remember all of the ingredients; there was too much! Some of them are onions, tomatoes, red/green peppers, scampi, shrimp, sausage, beef, sauces, rice, and so much more. It took about an hour to cook and it’s definitely a tricky meal to make. I actually enjoyed cooking! It was so much fun and Uncle Jim more than enjoyed it. Rachel and I were very proud of ourselves. Also before dinner he taught me the proper way to open a bottle of wine; it’s pretty tricky! Hopefully, I remember how to do it.
After dinner we watched the preliminary World Cup with Great Britain versus a small European country. We then flipped through some channels, and thankfully we found “An Idiot Abroad.” This show is so funny! Once again Uncle Jimmy brought out a delicious dessert for us. We were so spoiled! That night I called my mom and it was so nice to hear about everyone! I even got to say hi to Grandma Keel. Then we went to sleep for a last night at the barn.
The next day Rachel and I woke up knowing that we sadly had to get back to the ship. We didn’t want to leave Uncle Jim’s! I wish we were still there. Hopefully, I’ve been able to somewhat capture what was so nice about staying at the barn, but it’s difficult to do so. We had the best time ever! It was so peaceful and I learned so much from Uncle Jim. He’s such a smart man. He worked in London for years until he had his son and moved out to the countryside. He said that most English families do the same. He had a law practice there and he still works with the same clients. He told me all about the school system in England. All children go to grammar school until they are 10, then they take a test. If you score 92% or better, you get to attend a very prestigious prep school that the government pays for. If you’re the other 91% you too can attend government-funded schools, but they are very subpar. For this reason, most parents send their children to prep schools which are usually $50,000 a year! This is how it is until you’re 18. At that time, you take another test to get into university. Uncle Jim was saying if you don’t get into one of the top universities, it’s pretty pointless to go to college. For this reason the amount of people who go to college is significantly lower than in the United States. These people will get internships or start working. Thankfully his son passed the test! He also told me about the current situation in Europe, Greece, the British monarchy, and so much more. I also asked him multiple times what he considers himself. It’s confusing with the British, English, United Kingdom... it’s not very clear-cut. He said that his nationality is British, he is a British citizen, but he considers himself English. When I asked him another time he said it always changes; it depends on the context.
I had so much fun with Rachel at Uncle Jim’s “barn” in Wendover. I have such a soft spot for it now. Staying at Uncle Jim’s made me realize how the little things in life are most important. His washer was in the kitchen, there was only one bathroom, and we had so much cooking, playing soccer, and chopping wood. I wrote down his email because I told him many times, whenever I come to England I am visiting him! He is very happy to hear that. It was such a unique experience being there. Everyone can see London, but how many times in your life can you stay with someone in the English countryside? Semester at Sea told us in the beginning of this voyage that this trip is about the people of the different countries we are visiting. I now know what they mean. Besides all the great memories that I’m taking away from the United Kingdom, I’m taking away the promise to myself to get to know the locals of each country and try to learn how they live, think, and act. This is what will make me a more globalized citizen.
I miss you all in the states! I hope you’re missing me :)
Love,
Jamie
No comments:
Post a Comment