'ello there!
oh look, she's not dead...
she's just in LONDON!
indeed, this is the main reason for my journaling absence. however, at the prompting of leslie ann and lizzie, among others, i have decided to take a few minutes out of my hectic european schedule and let you know how things have been going!
i've been here for 2 weeks and 2 days as of this evening, and loving every second of it! it's been a flurry of activity over here, and that's not a bad thing... just so much to see and to do! i'm taking my photography class, which in some respects is absolutely fabulous, and then not so much. it's just very TIME CONSUMING. but i love the class, unlike some of my classmates. our tutor is extremely french, sometimes hard to understand, often hard to get along with, potentially a lesbian, and from what we can tell, rarely showers. HOWEVER... thankfully, due to the artistic nature of my chosen profession, and in turn the creative composition of my photographs, she has taken a liking to me. god only knows why. but why kick a gift horse in the mouth? she is incredibly knowledgeable, but also incredibly picky. i've come out with some amazing pictures though, and it's been good to get back into the darkroom aspect of this hobby of mine... i'd forgotten how much i enjoy it! i can't wait to get home and get my hands on a scanner so that you can all SEE the wonderful pictures i've been taking!
i love that i came over here knowing no one, but have already met so many wonderful people. and such a diverse group... it's been wonderful. i'm living in a flat in kensington with 3 other girls... they actually got us a FLAT! it was completely by chance... most people are in the dorms - but we're off campus, with our own kitchen and everything! it's about a 20 minute walk from campus, 10 minutes by tube, but we have our OWN PLACE. it's like living here, instead of just going to school. i really think i could get used to living here. aside from the whole being-really-expensive thing... yeah, have i mentioned that the exchange rate is crap? thank you, bush...
however, despite the trials of maintaining a balanced budget, i have managed to travel around quite a bit. spent my first weekend in paris - left friday the 18th at 6:30am, to return on sunday the 20th around 8ish. what a whirlwind weekend! saw all the sights... eiffel tower, arc de triomphe, notre dame, etc... went to versailles on saturday and got absolutely DRENCHED - needless to say, the weather could have been slightly more accomodating. visited sacre couer, retracing the steps of my dear nino and amelie, and giggling like a fool the entire time... paid a visit to the louvre and the musee d'orsee... and of course, ate my fair share of crepes!
this past weekend was spent touring scotland with torrey and jenny, two of my closest friends that i've made while here. we spent 3 days on a bright yellow mercedes bus with 26 other people racing through the countryside... and scotland is indeed a beautiful place. very green. and hilly. and rocky. quite a few mountains, not so many people... but still a lot of fun. stayed on the isle of skye the first night, and on loch ness the second night... even caught a glimpse of nessie herself! took plenty of pictures... as i have been the whole trip! unfortunately, i'm not quite sure how to upload them from here... usually i put all my pictures on my auburn site, and then post to here, but i'm not sure how to FTP from these computers, if i even CAN... if anyone knows of a picture site that i can post from, feel free to pass it on. most of them put their logo in the bottom corner and stuff, which just gets on my nerves. suggestions?
...not that i have a ton of time... our final project for photography is due friday, so i've been running around taking pictures like a madwoman. and dammitalltohell if they didn't go and have a stupid tube strike from 6:30 tonite until the same time tomorrow... i just hope it doesn't last longer! so as of right now i'm confined to pictures from the closer areas, which is a bit unfortunate. i SHOULD be up in the lab right now developing and such, but truth be told, it makes me a bit nervous to be up there by myself. i actually really enjoy being in the darkroom by myself... as long as i know that others are quite nearby. something about dead silence combined with not being able to see very clearly... it just makes me a bit jumpy. hmm. maybe i'm scared of the dark...
anyway...
then this coming weekend, jenny, torrey and i are off again, this time to ireland. leaving friday night, returning early tuesday morning. after that, i have the balance of the week to myself, at which point i will be crashing on the floor of whomever decides to be nice enough to allow me to invade their flat... i'm hugely thankful for this extra time in london. since so much of my free time has been consumed with photography, there are still a great many sights i'm wanting to see before i leave! i'm heading back to the states on sunday the 11th... flying into JFK to meet my family and heading straight to connecticut to visit my dad's family, jet lag and all. then home for GOOD on the evening of the 18th. whew. what a long, strange trip it's been, eh?
on that note, i suppose i'm going to head out - it's about 8:45 here, and still light out, thankfully - the sun doesn't go completely away until around 10ish. ordinarily it wouldn't be an issue, but because of the bloody tube strike i don't want to end up stranded - the 20 minute walk is no big deal in daylight, but as it involves several back alleyways and shortcuts, isn't the most ideal for traipsing around in the middle of the night.
i hope EVERYONE is doing splendidly back in the states... i miss you all horribly! i've been doing my best to keep up with you guys as best i can... i'll admit i'm falling behind a great deal, but i suppose that was to be expected, was it not? wishing everyone a safe and happy summer... and i promise, there will be a plethora of pictures upon my return! ::smile::
this world traveler is signing off... much love and big hugs to all!
cheers!
she's just in LONDON!
indeed, this is the main reason for my journaling absence. however, at the prompting of leslie ann and lizzie, among others, i have decided to take a few minutes out of my hectic european schedule and let you know how things have been going!
i've been here for 2 weeks and 2 days as of this evening, and loving every second of it! it's been a flurry of activity over here, and that's not a bad thing... just so much to see and to do! i'm taking my photography class, which in some respects is absolutely fabulous, and then not so much. it's just very TIME CONSUMING. but i love the class, unlike some of my classmates. our tutor is extremely french, sometimes hard to understand, often hard to get along with, potentially a lesbian, and from what we can tell, rarely showers. HOWEVER... thankfully, due to the artistic nature of my chosen profession, and in turn the creative composition of my photographs, she has taken a liking to me. god only knows why. but why kick a gift horse in the mouth? she is incredibly knowledgeable, but also incredibly picky. i've come out with some amazing pictures though, and it's been good to get back into the darkroom aspect of this hobby of mine... i'd forgotten how much i enjoy it! i can't wait to get home and get my hands on a scanner so that you can all SEE the wonderful pictures i've been taking!
i love that i came over here knowing no one, but have already met so many wonderful people. and such a diverse group... it's been wonderful. i'm living in a flat in kensington with 3 other girls... they actually got us a FLAT! it was completely by chance... most people are in the dorms - but we're off campus, with our own kitchen and everything! it's about a 20 minute walk from campus, 10 minutes by tube, but we have our OWN PLACE. it's like living here, instead of just going to school. i really think i could get used to living here. aside from the whole being-really-expensive thing... yeah, have i mentioned that the exchange rate is crap? thank you, bush...
however, despite the trials of maintaining a balanced budget, i have managed to travel around quite a bit. spent my first weekend in paris - left friday the 18th at 6:30am, to return on sunday the 20th around 8ish. what a whirlwind weekend! saw all the sights... eiffel tower, arc de triomphe, notre dame, etc... went to versailles on saturday and got absolutely DRENCHED - needless to say, the weather could have been slightly more accomodating. visited sacre couer, retracing the steps of my dear nino and amelie, and giggling like a fool the entire time... paid a visit to the louvre and the musee d'orsee... and of course, ate my fair share of crepes!
this past weekend was spent touring scotland with torrey and jenny, two of my closest friends that i've made while here. we spent 3 days on a bright yellow mercedes bus with 26 other people racing through the countryside... and scotland is indeed a beautiful place. very green. and hilly. and rocky. quite a few mountains, not so many people... but still a lot of fun. stayed on the isle of skye the first night, and on loch ness the second night... even caught a glimpse of nessie herself! took plenty of pictures... as i have been the whole trip! unfortunately, i'm not quite sure how to upload them from here... usually i put all my pictures on my auburn site, and then post to here, but i'm not sure how to FTP from these computers, if i even CAN... if anyone knows of a picture site that i can post from, feel free to pass it on. most of them put their logo in the bottom corner and stuff, which just gets on my nerves. suggestions?
...not that i have a ton of time... our final project for photography is due friday, so i've been running around taking pictures like a madwoman. and dammitalltohell if they didn't go and have a stupid tube strike from 6:30 tonite until the same time tomorrow... i just hope it doesn't last longer! so as of right now i'm confined to pictures from the closer areas, which is a bit unfortunate. i SHOULD be up in the lab right now developing and such, but truth be told, it makes me a bit nervous to be up there by myself. i actually really enjoy being in the darkroom by myself... as long as i know that others are quite nearby. something about dead silence combined with not being able to see very clearly... it just makes me a bit jumpy. hmm. maybe i'm scared of the dark...
anyway...
then this coming weekend, jenny, torrey and i are off again, this time to ireland. leaving friday night, returning early tuesday morning. after that, i have the balance of the week to myself, at which point i will be crashing on the floor of whomever decides to be nice enough to allow me to invade their flat... i'm hugely thankful for this extra time in london. since so much of my free time has been consumed with photography, there are still a great many sights i'm wanting to see before i leave! i'm heading back to the states on sunday the 11th... flying into JFK to meet my family and heading straight to connecticut to visit my dad's family, jet lag and all. then home for GOOD on the evening of the 18th. whew. what a long, strange trip it's been, eh?
on that note, i suppose i'm going to head out - it's about 8:45 here, and still light out, thankfully - the sun doesn't go completely away until around 10ish. ordinarily it wouldn't be an issue, but because of the bloody tube strike i don't want to end up stranded - the 20 minute walk is no big deal in daylight, but as it involves several back alleyways and shortcuts, isn't the most ideal for traipsing around in the middle of the night.
i hope EVERYONE is doing splendidly back in the states... i miss you all horribly! i've been doing my best to keep up with you guys as best i can... i'll admit i'm falling behind a great deal, but i suppose that was to be expected, was it not? wishing everyone a safe and happy summer... and i promise, there will be a plethora of pictures upon my return! ::smile::
this world traveler is signing off... much love and big hugs to all!
cheers!