Video of my flat

This is a video of my flat- I'm whispering because my flatmates are sleeping and I was a tad loopy with lack of sleep so please forgive the commentary.

So... I love it here. I want to stay! I had my first day of classes on Monday and they were absolutely amazing! It was a 10 hour day but it didn't seem like it. Classes here are small and much more independent. You do a lot on your own and if you want to learn more you have to take the initiative to ask. They gave us our projects for the term and then we mostly discussed and began ideating together. My first class was menswear which will be a lot of work but worth it. We got our design brief which is the theme of our work for the term. This term the brief is science based and since it's Darwin's 200th birthday he, his life, and his work are our inspirations. We are required to visit the Darwin exhibition in the Natural History Museum and do an abundance of research. By the end of the term we will have a sketchbook filled with our research, ideas and designs. It will be bursting at the seams with fabric swatches, pictures, tearsheets (magazine rippings), documentation of our progress, etc. and it has to be mixed media so I had to go shopping for watercolor paints, pencils, pens, markers, glue, scissors, etc. The final will be a set of 6 boards detailing our process and a final outfit which will consist of at minimum 3 garments but I might do 4 (pants, top, vest and jacket). We will also have a 1500 word essay evaluating our work.

Fashion styling is also wicked brilliant (I'm practicing). Our teacher reminds me of Ms. Jay from Americas Next Top Model. He dresses in vintage; on the first day he wore an amazing fur coat, a houndstooth (or as he calls it "puppystooth") jacket, magenta scarf, a pocket watch, a murse, leather pants and Italian dress shoes. He also must bathe in some concoction of oils because he has a very, very distinct aroma that remains long after he is gone from a room. I would love to go through his closet and see his other amazing clothes. Our projects for this class are a still life of a fashion item that we purchase, 5 two page elemental collages of things representing our self, a fashion shoot, and 10 pictures in the final. We have to turn in a portfolio at the end of the term with 100-500 word explanations of each of our works. Each of the fashion shoots are directed by us and we have our own studio time. This weekend he is taking us to  vintage markets and museums to give us a quick and dirty fashion history lesson and help us find objects for our shoots. It will be amazing and enlightening to follow him around and listen. He absolutely loves what he does and he has been in almost every area of fashion so he is incredibly knowledgeable. 

My class on Thursday for 5 hours is accessories which is apparently taught by a famous milliner who has fashioned hats for the likes of The Queen, Vivienne Westwood, Hugh Grant, and many, many others. All of the teachers here are still very integrated with multiple facets of the fashion world which is amazing. In fashion, if you are out for even a few months you are no longer up to date. I am going to find it very, very difficult to leave London for this and many other reasons. Another reason is the well dressed people. The over abundance of brilliant looking people awes me and excites me. It is without a doubt inspirational and urges me to design and be more and more creative. 

The night life is so fun! The crew that goes out always changes

but my flatmates are usual suspects. Bill, Ally, Bri and Megan (not pictured because she was busy in Dubai) are all AIU students from the states and only Megan is an interiors student (the rest of us are fashion design). Ally and I are always dancing (nothing new there) and we found a great dance place the other night called Taste of Brazil. We weren't going to go in because there was a cover but he let us in for free (the ladies anyway) and sent us to the VIP room! We danced the night away! Guiness is amazing here; nothing like the states! What is funny is that they measure out shots in shot glasses to make sure you get the right amount. My friends were complaining that 

usually they don't do this in the states. It makes more sense to me for them to not pour it out because it creates more dirty dishes! 

As you can see in the group picture I FINALLY found a leather jacket! I LOVE it and plan on purchasing more. It feels and smells so amazing! It was a great deal too- I found it at Camden market which is a crazy place! Bill and Bri keep saying that the market is almost like Hot topic threw up on Camden road which is pretty close. You have to dig for the finds but they are there (take my jacket for instance!). Of course I haggled too so that made the win even better. 

I have been walking my feet off! You would think, then, that I have been getting amazing sleep but, alas, the bed is without a doubt simply a box spring. You can feel each and every spring in your back which makes it impossible for you body to relax. Luckily Megan, who lived here last term, had some extra blankets from the girls who lived here with her and she donated them to our beds. It helps but I know when I get home my bed will be heaven. That is if I actually do come home. 

Well, there is so, so much more but I'm off to see what the flatmates are getting into. I'll write again soon. I miss and love you all! 

Mom: you know you can comment on this page, right? Ask Ben. Oh yeah, happy UK Mothers day!!!! I love you!!

Dodgy Days

Ello, ello! I am officially here, safe and sound in London’s Camden Town. The neighborhood is adorable, lots of row houses and just 2 blocks away is a busy street (Camden Road of course) with shoppes such as “Snappy Snap” (where you get film developed; how clever), “Murray’s” (London Radioshack), Sanisburys (My grocery store), “Chicken & Ribs” (full vegetarian courses… kidding), and the like. Apparently just up the road is H&M (dangerous, I know) but we haven’t made it there yet (don’t worry, I will tomorrow!).  

My travels were less than pleasant. I have discovered a few things I would like to relay to anyone planning on traveling here via the route I took: 7 hours is JFK airport is 10 too many, people in JFK have their panties in a multiplicity of wads, men with Scottish accents are a cute novelty until they yell loudly across the whole 757 and have to be told repeatedly to put their chair back up to take-off/ land, don’t count on your pre-arranged cab to be there (it wasn’t), and finally, 45-50 pounds actually means 80 pounds. We arrived in London at 9am London time so that was about 2am Portland time meaning we traveled for far, far too long and slept far, far too little. We had hoped to get out into Manhattan for some sightseeing during our awful 7-hour layover but we did not. This was due to the fact that a) Ally and I were exhausted, b) we were tired of carrying our carry-on junk around, c) we felt disgusting and nauseous, and d) I had TA attendance to grade! So for 7 hours Ally semi-rested in what must have been the loudest and most obnoxious airport on the planet and I input attendance data and thought about taping my eyelids open for the majority. Thus, I am exhausted, more than sleep deprived, thinking I am still in a dream, didn’t see Manhattan, didn’t get much exploring done in London, my immune system is failing (Nyquil/ Dayquil here I come), and I have heartburn from the stress and nasty airport food. I was more than ready to get the grades onto the Internet for the kiddies in the class but, alas, I was unwilling to pay for Internet in the airport (no Royal Crown Club for us poor students, thanks for the thought though Rick) because I figured I would have it upon arrival to my flat (yes, flat). Wrong. Apparently I will not have Internet until tomorrow morning. What can you do.

Our [$130] drive from the airport [more like in a few circles] took about 40 minutes. The cabbie was not much of a talker- I asked about the weather and he half answered, paused for what seemed like forever, and semi grunted/ semi spoke something to finish his sentence. He was helpful in the end after he took us around our block a few times… you might be asking how he was helpful? Well, he did finally drop us off on our doorstep. So, we checked in, lugged our bags to our flat, crammed into the world’s tinniest elevator, dropped our bags off and went on a walking tour. All I can say about the tour was that I felt like I was at camp and there was a giant stamp on my forehead that read “Stupid, Obnoxious American”. We stopped to talk at the most inappropriate and teensy areas and were rewarded with a multitude of disgusted looks. I was almost killed by two different ladies utilizing strollers as bulldozers to get through our group. Finally we were done with the excursion and Ally and I literally ran to our room to shower. After the shower I got to know two of my other flatmates, Bill and Briana. They are from SUNY Oneonta New York and are studying fashion as well. We have one other flatmate whom I have yet to meet. Apparently she/ he lived here last term so we are guessing she/ he is traveling until school starts up on Monday. For dinner we went to a cute Italian pizzeria, had a Margherita pizza, paid for water, and went home to unpack. People here are adorable. People watching has never been more rewarding. I have noticed two prominent things during my stares: first, everyone has their own style so there is tons of variety and not really a right or a wrong, and second, there are zero rusty beater cars driving around. 

American convience store: tobacco and beer; London convience store: Food and wine. This is my world, without a doubt where I belong.

[Please remember that I am very sleep deprived and lacking full use of my brain when reading this section] I will be utilizing Murray’s tomorrow because I blew a fuse. First I tried plugging in my alarm clock in an adapter, which effectively fried the a/c plug’s inner workings and smoke immediately emitted from the cord hole. I threw open the window so the fire alarm would not sound which thankfully worked. After it cooled I wondered if I had broken the a/c plug so I plugged it into the converter. I blew technically two fuses. After bravely opening the fuse box that read “CAUTION” and “DANGEROUS” in hundreds of places to right the first fuse, I flipped my bedroom switch back on. To right the second I tried to switch the fuse from the surge protector with one from another adapted. It did not work and I am now out a converter until tomorrow- off to boots. Lovely.

So, here I am, logging my first adventures of what is shaping up to be a most exciting, nerve wracking, and life changing experience of my life and here you are living vicariously through me! Pretty sweet of me don’t you think? Heh.

Few questions for those travel experts out there:

What is the kosher amount to tip taxi drivers?

Since they drive on the left should I walk on the left? Trying to figure out where to walk makes me look like a complete idiot with two left feet thus rewarding me with more disgusted death glares. Some of these glares rival even my best stink eye if that gives you a good idea.

What should I do if I realized that I have a check I neglected to cash prior to departure? Theoretically of course.

I’m sure there will be more. I’ll try to keep up with posting pictures and more stories best as I can in the future.

Much love! Ta ta, cheerio, peace out (a little Americana for you incase my accent was getting too thick)!