I love London

By now, you will have heard about (or experienced first-hand) the senseless violence of the UK Riots. You will probably also have heard about the thousands of people who rallied to clean up our communities. We've seen both the worst and the best in people over the last few days.

Here's some more of the best...


I live very close to Peckham. If you heard about the Peckham bus fire, that was within spitting distance of my home. It's a neighbourhood that often gets a bad rap because it's full of folks who are unemployed and--I hate to say it but--black. And yet when I went out for a walk the morning after the riot, the streets had already been cleaned, the vandalised shops were open for business, and there was a good feeling in the air. There was definitely a sense of "keep calm and carry on," but more than that there was a sense of community.

It wasn't long before the "I love Peckham" project sprang up. A couple of girls have taken it upon themselves to spend their days handing out post-it notes and marker pens to the locals and sticking up the community's thoughts for the world to see. When I stopped by yesterday, I saw a man I remembered from photos someone else had taken. He was there to give the girls a bouquet of flowers.

It just goes to show that even when this city is at its lowest point, it's still full of heart. In a city this big, where it's easy to go through each day without any meaningful interaction with those around us, sometimes it takes a tragedy to remind us of that. I love Peckham and I love London. I feel so very lucky to live here.

Why I love London: Reason #42

People often compliment me on the courage and determination it must have taken to move across the ocean. I never quite know how to respond to this, because as far as I'm concerned, moving here was no act of courage at all. It actually would have been a much greater struggle for me to stay put. I moved here, quite simply, to scratch my interminably itchy feet.

I come from a long line of wanderers. You don't have to look far to see it: my family is spread far and wide, and my mother alone has lived across (and holds citizenship in) three countries. Look a little further down my family tree and you'll find explorers, pioneers, Vikings, and conquerors. You'd be hard-pressed to find a European country that isn't somehow involved in my lineage.

I'm also hugely interested in everything relating to human behaviour and the mind. I love travelling to new places because there's very little that excites me more than experiencing, for the first time, where and how a group of people live. But of course, sampling a culture for a few precious days isn't the same as becoming a part of it. Here in London, I'm perfectly placed to be involved in both the breadth and depth of anthropological observation.

Not only am I living in a new country and within easy reach of dozens more, but London itself is a pretty reasonable microcosm of the globe. With over 300 languages regularly spoken here, and nearly 30% of its population having been born outside the UK, London is one of the most multi-cultural and cosmopolitan cities in the world. It's impossible to escape the beautiful array of accents, colours, and flavours, and nearly every street and alley I step into in London feels like a different reality. It's mind-boggling just how much diversity there is here.

And that's part of what's making my next move (a much smaller one this time) so exciting. South London is even more multi-ethnic than the city centre, and among the neighbourhood pubs (Hermits Cave! What a brilliant name!) are restaurants specialising in Bengali, Nigerian, Eritrean, and countless other lesser-known cuisines from around the world. Not to mention a highly-rated Spanish tapas bar, so I can get my taste of Spain after all.

Cake: I am having you. And eating you too.

5 x 15

One of the best things about London is the assortment of neat and quirky events that are always happening around the city. Last night, I had the pleasure of attending 5 x 15 -- an evening of entertainment that features 5 speakers, each telling a 15 minute cross-section of their personal stories or areas of expertise. Somewhat reminiscent of TED talks.

The topics ranged from how to get into Oxford on blind luck, what it's like to grow up with an eccentric gay dad, the reformation of a hardened criminal, a behind-the-scenes peek into a documentary on Peter Mandelson, and the sexual nature of cars. Quite an eclectic mix of subjects, and an equally eclectic mix of personalities.

I think I was most touched by Noel 'Razor' Smith's account of how he turned to a life of crime after having been victimized and harassed by the police. He spent the majority of his adult life in prison, where he taught himself to read and write, and eventually realised he could raise more havoc by writing complaints than he could by punching out the guards. The real turning point, though, was when his son died and he wasn't allowed to attend the funeral. Despite never having done any public speaking before (except "from the witness box at the Old Bailey," he quipped), he had a captivating presence and I didn't want him to stop. Alas, the bell rang and he was cut short. Just to give you an idea of how enraptured I was, the bell apparently rang several times and I never even heard it.

To give the evening a little more texture, there was also a musical interlude. Lulu and the Lampshades were absolutely enchanting. Their creative use of instrumentation, rhythm, and melody sucked me right in.



This little number is their most popular on YouTube. I think I might have preferred some of their other songs, but I love how they've incorporated the cup game here. Their stage rendition was even better, backed by a flute, guitar, and more percussion.

This all took place at Union Chapel, a Gothic church souped up with red stage lights, candles, and strung up number cut-outs. There was even a proper trendy bar upstairs where we hung out with a diverse crowd of hip 20-somethings, middle-aged professionals, and the retired elite during the intermission. A perfectly quirky venue for a perfectly quirky evening. They run these events regularly, and I think I might be hooked.

London in Autumn

From the time I was a small child, I've been told the natural order of autumn leaves is for them to first change colours, then fall to the ground. But in London, this "law" of nature is only obeyed sporadically.


The majority of trees here go directly from green to barren. At first I thought the leaves, once turned, must fall right away... but then I started noticing an abundance of fallen, dried, green leaves. It's messing with my head! And is a little bit sad too; I feel as though I'm missing out on one of the best parts of autumn.

Another of the best parts is Halloween--a holiday mentioned only cautiously and with disdain in this part of the world. Several of my English friends have speculated it's because people here still associate the festival with its controversial past. Others have noted it serves mainly as an excuse for rebellious British youth to make mischief. But I, for one, think it's a crying shame.

That's why I was overjoyed when I was asked to carve a pumpkin with the children at school on Wednesday. I even got to roast the seeds! I was on a high from it the entire day, and I think I might buy another pumpkin and do it all again.

Ironically, despite the lack of qualities that have traditionally reminded me that this is a great season, I'm actually enjoying autumn a lot more than I have in many, many years. I've always found it difficult to enjoy the present when it serves as a constant reminder that the days are getting shorter and colder, and that soon we'll be plunged into the depths of winter (my most despised time of the year). But although my first British winter was hard on me, I think its relatively short lifespan coupled with a long, hot summer (I managed to be in India, Spain, Hawaii, England, and Canada at all the right times to maximize the heat) have made me much readier for winter this time around. We'll see how I feel about it in a month or two, but so far I'm doing ok.

In the meantime, we've arrived at our first break of the school year. I had hoped to spend this time in Italy, but unfortunately circumstances conspired against it. Instead, I'll be messing around with recipes, working on creative projects, and preparing to move. Yes, you read that right, I'm moving next month! Not to Spain, but to Camberwell--a charming area of South London only a 15 minute walk from my school. I'll be living in a lovely Victorian townhouse with four other really cool people. I think it'll be good for me.

Whirlwind tour

Two days ago was the one year anniversary of this blog, and I had meant to write my 100th post that day... but I got caught up in the craziness that was Summer Hummer -- a major West Coast Swing event outside of Boston. More on that later.

My last couple of weeks in Ottawa were fun and busy. Plenty of teaching and socialising and side gigging ensued. But now that I'm looking back on it, even though it's only been a few days since I left, it feels so long ago.

Fresher in my mind is the trip down to Boston. Imagine the look of shock on the customs officer's face when he realised a stuffed animal was driving our car.


Ok, maybe not. He did ask us if we knew anything about the terrorists in Ottawa, except he worded it as: "What's happening in Ottawa?" Um... well there's the parliament, which seems to be perpetually on vacation. There are some shopping malls and museums and bike paths. Oh, there's swing dancing! You should go there and check it out. But no, we don't know anything about the terrorists.

Summer Hummer was fun. Relaxing, as far as dance weekends go, since it was workshop and pool party and competition intensive and I only really danced around 3 hours a day. Sunday was the best part of the weekend. I ate real food (trust me, this was a big deal), took an awesome private lesson from my favourite WCS follow (Melissa Rutz), and danced my face off at the after party.

Monday, I spent countless hours in airports and on airplanes. Tuesday morning, I arrived home, took care of a couple important business matters (bank and grocery store), and promptly fell asleep. I slept for 14 hours, woke up for 6, and then slept for 6 more. I now have a killer headache. But I'm home! And now the challenge of finding work begins.

Forget London Bridge... the whole of Greater London is falling down!

I thought I was being clever by opting to stay at Nathan's the night before taking off to Barcelona. In retrospect, we really should have crashed at my place (in Central London rather than Zone 3). Apparently, London totally freaks out at the slightest hint of snow. In the course of our journey, the trains stopped running, traffic halted to 0.5 mph, and buses pulled over to the side of the road. All for absolutely no reason that we could see... the roads weren't at all covered in ice or snow. In the end, we trudged 5 miles on foot (with luggage in tow). In a weird way, it was actually kind of fun. But I hope I never have to do that ever again.

Enjoy this annotated map of our crazy adventure, courtesy of ze boy:


View Crazy Night of Travel in a larger map

PS - Nathan's version of the story involves a little bit of actual snow on the roads. I will swear all the way to my grave that this never happened. There was a bit of slush on the sidewalk, but only water on the roads.

The Outsider

Being an expat is a crazy experience. Until now, I've taken it for granted that I belonged to the culture in which I lived. Here, I am an outsider.

You probably wouldn't know it to look at me; I've taken great care to adopt the local norms and customs, and everything about my appearance (most days) screams, "Londoner." But you'd know it the moment I opened my mouth. And more importantly, I'd know it.

British and Canadian culture aren't wildly different, of course. I could have easily picked a more extreme leap, say to Korea or Russia or Zimbabwe or something. But they're different in many small, subtle ways, and those subtle differences eventually add up. I'm beginning to realize that the people who surround me every day have all grown up in a very different reality than I have, and that their common experiences bond them together while segregating me. I can find and create my own common experiences with people here, but it requires concerted effort.

I came here claiming that I wanted to land a man with a hot British accent. Instead, I've landed myself a wonderful American man. It's amazing how much his accent soothes me, and how much it matters to me that we both grew up on the same continent. I never would have thought that would be relevant to me at all, but there's so much that we share that's different from everyone else around us. Things I never would have noticed or cared about if we'd met across the pond (although I would have noticed all his other amazing qualities).

I wouldn't say I'm homesick yet, but I would say I'm learning more and more to appreciate where I come from. I'm fortunate that I get to live here and experience this new place... I'm even more fortunate that I can hold onto little pieces of home.

Moments (a.k.a. excuse me while I temporarily become a hippy)

There was a moment this morning, while peering out through the front window at Starbucks, when the footsteps of the passers-by on Oxford Street fell perfectly in line with beat of the music on the stereo. Suddenly, the street scene became a work of art.

There was another moment, on Tuesday morning, on my way to the Tube. Across the street, a team of workers were demolishing a flat. The rhythm and tones of their smashing sounded remarkably like jazz.

Moments like these remind me of how perfectly aligned the universe is. We may have war, famine, disease, and climate change to battle... but compared to all the wonders of the world, these begin to feel like minor obstacles.

Stereotypes smashed

Back in August, I wrote an entry in the Classroom Canada Teachers Blog about The Top 10 Reasons I Can't Wait to Move to London. It was a response to the negativity I'd been receiving from certain people who couldn't understand why I would want to move somewhere so expensive, with such lousy weather, stuck up people, and bland food. So I said, "cost, people, weather, and food be damned." At least I was taking this risk and going on this adventure, which is a lot more than most people can ever claim.

Well, I've been living here for nearly two months now, and all my reasons for moving here are holding strong. But I'd like to add four more: the cost, the people, the weather, and the food.

The Cost
I'm not going to lie: some things here are very expensive. Namely, rent and transportation. I live in a small room with no kitchen or bathroom of my own and I pay £485/month for it -- if I lived in a real flat, it would cost a lot more. I don't even want to think about how much it costs for me to get around. But I'm willing to forgive these things, because I live in an incredible location that allows me to walk a lot of places, and my standard of living is really quite high because of it. On the flip side, there are things that can be very cheap if you know where to look. Namely, food, clothes, and entertainment. Since those are the items I traditionally spend the bulk of my money on, this is a very good thing.

The People
I like the people here. They have generally been friendly and lively yet unobtrusive. That's my style.

The Weather
The weather so far has been amazing. While my friends and family back home are already complaining of cold and snow, London is holding strong at 15-20 degrees celcius nearly every day (it's currently 18). It's overcast a lot of the time, but I'm discovering that I really like it that way.

The Food
Oh my god, the food. Traditional English food may not be terrifically exciting, but it's actually more difficult to find traditional English food than it is to find any number of other interesting cuisines. The biggest difference between here and North America? The ingredients. I am continuously blown away by how fresh, tasty, and healthy the ingredients are and how few chemicals I'm consuming. Even "fast food" (I'm addicted to Eat. and Pret A Manger). It's incredible. Food here a whole different experience.

So, in short, I'm still loving London. I'm sure none of you are surprised, but I just had to put that out there.

To do list: half-term break

Schools run year-round in the UK, so we benefit from quite a few 1-2 week breaks throughout the year. The first one is coming up at the end of October. Although I had originally planned on going to Italy, I haven't worked enough yet to be able to afford a holiday so I'll be sticking around London. Thankfully, there are quite a few cool things that can be done here for free, or at least cheap.

Things I'd like to do over half-term break
- British Museum, Victoria & Albert Museum, Tate Modern, and Science Museum (all free)
- Kensington Gardens (free)
- Borough Market (free, if I can control myself)
- Rent a paddle boat in Regent's Park (not sure how much, but it can't be too expensive)
- Exhibition and Globe Theatre Tour (£10.50, or £8.50 if I can convince them I'm a student)
- Sit in on a trial at the Old Bailey (free)
- Find a nice spot to do some writing and drawing (free, plus cost of art supplies)
- Attend some workshops at the University College London (free)
- Go on a walking tour (£7, or £5 if I can convince them I'm a student)
- Learn stonemasonry (£10, or £8)

If you're going to be in London and would like to join me for any of this, or you have some ideas of your own, please let me know!

Beautiful days

The weather here in London has been absolutely glorious the past few days. I hope I don't jinx it by writing that, but so far the daily forecast has been holding steady at 20ish degrees and sunny.

So what does one do on beautiful, sunny weekend days in London? Walk, of course! I've done so much walking since I got here, I think my legs are preparing to fall off.

Yesterday, I wandered over to Holborn to meet up with my friend Christine. We walked down to the Thames, across to the Big Ben, up through Trafalgar Square to Covent Garden, and back again. An EiD festival was happening in Trafalgar Square, and this random Dame Edna lookalike was there juggling.


Later on in the evening, we got together again for a light dinner and off we went to Down Home Blues, followed by an after party at Charlotte Street Blues. Great night.

Today, we headed over to the Regent Street Festival, which wasn't nearly as big or exciting as the Thames Festival, but still a nice way to kill a bit of time on a Sunday afternoon. They had a carousel and a ferris wheel that went at least 50% faster than the ones at Carnivale (which were already the fastest I'd ever seen, by far).


After spending a good deal of time in the National Geographic store and being joined by Kirbie, we decided to wander over to Speakers Corner in Hyde Park, where Jodi and Tyson were hanging out. We got a little distracted on the way by this awesome street art. Shiny!



At Speakers Corner, this crazy lady was rambling on and on about how all non-English people should go back to their home countries. I offered a rough translation to a couple of French tourists standing behind me, and also chatted up this Free Hugs guy...


I guessed correctly that he was from Scotland. My ear for accents is improving! Meanwhile, I'm still amazed by how many people think I'm Australian.

Ahhh, London. Never a dull moment.

PS - As though that weren't already enough excitement for the day, when I got home, I finally found the legendary Benito's Hat burrito place. Mexican food has never tasted this good.

Everything's coming up roses

Today's sunshine comes as a welcome contrast to last night's stormy weather. This morning, a few of us set out to see the changing of the guard, but missed it due to not being able to grab a good view through the crowd. Still, it served the purpose of getting us out and about to enjoy the lovely weather. From Buckingham Palace, we walked through the park to Piccadilly Circus, where we stopped for lunch (and found a Tim Horton's!), and then eventually wandered home. I can't believe how close we are! It couldn't have been more than a 20 minute walk back.


Anyway, once we got home, I sent off an email to my contact at the agency, just to confirm my interest and send some updated information for my file. We've all been freaking out a little, because even though we know it's still early in the school year and things will come together soon enough, it's hard being uncertain of your next paycheque. So imagine my relief when, not even 10 minutes later, I received a call from Classroom asking if they could submit my resume for two long-term positions that have just come up. Um, of course!!!

One is working in a mainstream school reception class, one-on-one with a boy who has low functioning autism. The other is in a mainstream secondary school as a TA for their performing arts program. I had gotten excited about the idea of working in a special needs school, but both of these opportunities sound awesome. Here's hoping one of them works out.

Tonight, I'm heading out to the new weekly blues night run by Blues Revolution. They've asked me to teach for them, so I'm looking forward to getting acquainted with everyone and getting a sense of the scene. Blues dancing is just beginning to pick up here, but there seems to be a very enthusiastic, willing-to-learn bunch of dancers, and that's so exciting for me. Bonus, too, that the venue is literally a 2 minute walk away. Should be fun.

"Let me try this on the ginger"

I spent yesterday taking in the sights, sounds, and scents of the Thames Festival.


When we set out, I had no idea what I was getting into. This festival was huge!!! It spanned from Westminster Bridge to Tower Bridge, which Google Maps tells me is 2.3 miles (yes, we walked all of it, and most of the way back). The whole way along was packed with awesome: taping of a CBBC show, a trapeze (that you could try... sadly, we missed this), free runners, a wheel of death, a night carnival, welly-throwing competitions and sandcastle building at the beach, swing dancing to live music, archaeological walks, photography master classes, a market (I had a vendor call me a "ginger" - teehee!), street performers, and much, much more. I even got a massage.

My favourite part, though, had to be the fire garden. It was like stepping into another world. Imagine, if you will, a garden with fire suspended everywhere. Here's the description from the program, as they describe it better than I do:

Fire alchemists Compagnie Carabosse are one of France's most important street arts groups. For this major commission they create a magical and awe-inspiring fire garden outside Tate Modern with animated fire machines, garlands of flamepots, boilers that belch flame and glorious structures laced with fire.

I felt as though I had suddenly become a part of some kind of crazy commune.

The festival was punctuated by the greatest fireworks display I have ever seen, designed by winners of the International Fireworks Festival in Montreal.


It astounds me that this seems to have been just a no-big-deal festival on a run-of-the-mill weekend in London. One thing's for sure, I will never be bored so long as I am living here. I just worry what it'll be like to go back to the rest of the world.

Fashion

Over the past few years, I've developed a thing for fashion. I'm not exactly sure how it crept up on me, seeing as I used to be the type to wear oversized, worn out overalls, folded over and tucked in to look like jeans. I shudder just thinking about it. Anyway, over the past few years I've realized how much better I feel when I know I look good, and I've made it a priority to always feel that way.

That was relatively easy to do in Ottawa. Now I live in London.

European style is different. And while I'm not one to blindly follow the crowd, my sense of style has always been based on looking well put together without necessarily standing out too much. Classic with a twist; a nice silhouette with a bold colour or an interesting cut. Here, you stand out if you aren't more daring.

Rather than give in to my shopaholic tendencies (difficult, since amazing clothes are everywhere I turn), I'm trying very hard to simply reconsider how I pair items together. So far, I think I'm doing ok. My scarf collection has certainly seen more daylight in the past week than it had in the previous year. And I'm definitely going to be loading up on tights... and maybe a few key items like those fabulous green patterned pumps I saw in Camden Market (I'm still dreaming about those).

Beyond that, I'm going to rely on the help of Closet Couture -- a free website based on every little girl's fetish for paper dolls. You upload pictures of your wardrobe, then mix and match to create outfits. You can even design outfits for other people, or have them design them for you. Along with my flare for fashion, I've also developed a love of design in general, so I love this concept. I spent all of yesterday editing and uploading photos of my dresses and shoes. I still have a long way to go before all of my tops, jackets, vests, trousers (I'm being careful not to say pants), skirts, belts, and scarves are up there... but I can sense the potential, and I can't wait.

My first few days in paradise

It has to be said: I love London. The rhythm, the energy, the overwhelming opportunity and diversity... it suits me. Still, I'm glad to have been able to take most of today to slow down, relax, and catch up.

I arrived here on Tuesday, and so far I've been on the go pretty much nonstop. A quick recap:

Tuesday - Fly to London. Feel all posh due to having my own private driver. Check into my accommodations (which are lovely, and the people are so nice!). Marks & Spencer for cheap linens. Supper with Mackenzie (a fellow Classroom Canada teacher I'd met in Ottawa). Drinks at our local pub with Mackenzie and Shannon (another Classroom Canada teacher I'd met in Ottawa). Meet up with Damon (a friend from the States who's here teaching blues dancing) and company for West Coast Swing, which turned out not to be happening. Blues bar where there are random dancers. Hot chocolate. Very long walking tour of my neighbourhood, trying to remember where I live.

Wednesday - Meeting with Classroom (which was great, and I'm totally excited for what I'll be doing... more on that later). Lunch and shopping in Notting Hill (where I ate pizza with dough that's so far only been paralleled by one bistro in Brooklyn, as well as some very good gelato) with Damon and my new friends Kavita and Emily. Home. Try to go out again for a solo blues class, but realize I don't know where I'm going and don't have much time to get there. Opt for watching football at our pub with a whole big pile of Classroom Canada teachers. Feel increasingly British.

Thursday - Camden Market with Mackenzie and Shannon. Pass through the very lovely Regent's Park on the way. Buy a delicious raw chocolate raspberry smoothie, three elegent posters of London, and a gorgeous red cashmere coat. Obtain hangers from a dry cleaner and FINALLY put my clothes away. Feel incredible sense of relief. Supper at a super cool Japanese restaurant with my friend Jamie Cameron. Dancing at a quiet venue in Hammersmith. Dance lots and lots with Jamie Cameron. Surprise myself by not really getting lost on the way home.

Today - Groceries from Sainsbury's. Bed. Blogging. Supposed to go out tonight with some people from my building. I've yet to decide if I have the energy. Bed.

This city's frigging huge

I'm in LONDON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I love my new digs and all is well in the world. I even have internet already set up. I promise to write more soon, but first I need to shower and shop. It's tough to unpack without any hangers.

PS - When moving to a new city with a crapload of luggage, hiring a private car is the right way to go. For sure.