Spring Break: Study Abroad Edition

Sunday, March 28, 2010

Today is my last day of spring break here in London, and I thought it would be a good idea to blog about what I did. Before I do, I would just like to mention that my spring break was ten days.



Anyway, I started my spring break with a trip to the Adelphi Theatre to see Love Never Dies, the sequel to the Phantom of the Opera. I really enjoyed it, and it was the perfect start to my spring break. For the next couple of days, I really didn’t do anything that fun. I just stayed around the flat and relaxed. The weekend was a little bit better because I got the whole flat to myself. This allowed me to do some cleaning up of my room and some of the flat itself. I also got many chances to have my Broadway Jam Sessions. Basically, these sessions include me singing along with a set playlist of songs that I like. I really like doing this because it relieves a lot of stress and is just really fun. I don’t know how good of a singer I am, and because of this, I try not to sing to loudly. Yet, there are just some songs that I have to sing loud because it is the only way to convey the emotions of the song. Along with that, I had the TV to myself which meant I could watch what I wanted. I don’t watch a lot of TV, but there are specific shows that I like to watch every once in awhile. I also got a chance to watch a couple of movies too. Yet, the highlight of my weekend was the walk that I went on last Friday. I was kind of itching to get out of the flat to do something, but I had no idea what I wanted to do. So, I went straight to my City Walks, a box of preset walks given to me by a friend, and picked on out. The one that I picked out was a walk along the canals that are here to Regents Park. The walk itself was about 2 hours total, and it was really beautiful. It was just cool to walk along the canals and see everything that was along them. There was an area near the park that had all these elaborate houses, which were pretty to look out. Towards the end of the walk, I decided to spend some time in the park and read a book. That was really fun, and it gave my legs a bit of a rest. Overall, it was a very beautiful, energizing, and refreshing walk.



Though the weekend was fairly good, the highlight of my spring break was my three day trip to Paris. When I came to London, I made up my mind that I wanted to go to either Rome or Paris. I did some research and found that Paris was a bit cheaper. So, I decided that I was going to do a trip to Paris. I also decided that it would be cheapest for me to go for a couple of days instead of the whole week that we had off. Plus, I didn’t really speak the language, and I really just wanted to see the sights. I made the plans and started asking around for people who wanted to go. Mary, a fellow Teaching Fellow, agreed to go and booked the tickets for the train and the hotel.



Overall, the trip was fantastic. The train ride was really smooth and enjoyable. It was my first high speed train ride, and I was surprised how fast the time went by. Granted, I did sleep most of the trip, but it was still surprisingly fast. After we got there, we wandered around the train station trying to find our metro platform. We found it on the map, but could not figure out how to get there. After about five minutes, we asked someone, and they told us how to get there. Once on the platform, we were in familiar territory. Being temporarily from London, we knew how to travel the metro and adapted pretty well to the Parisian system. We got on and eventually got off at our hotel’s stop. We found our hotel and unpacked. After unpacking, we got lunch at a really good Italian restaurant near our hotel. It was a little awkward eating lunch there because they spoke French and we spoke English so the language barrier made things tough. We got through it and had a spectacular time. After lunch, we decided to go to the Opera Garnier, the haunting ground of the Phantom of the Opera, via walking. The walk there was really cool because we got to see a lot of the city, and we even saw a protest of educators. Once we got to the opera house, we went inside and walked around. I was geeking out because I am a huge phan of the Phantom of the Opera by Andrew Lloyd Webber. It was just really cool to be in the opera house that the musical’s opera house is based on. The highlight of it was I got a picture in front of Box 5, the Phantom’s box. I also got pictures of the infamous staircase and the auditorium. It was such a beautiful place. After the opera house, we ended up going to the Lafayette Galleries, which was a really big department store. We just walked around to see what the store had, and we eventually had dinner there. The coolest part of that store is that you can go to the roof and get a really good view of the city. After all of that, we went back to the hotel and crashed.



The next day, Mary and I decided to spend most this day at the Louvre. For those who don’t know, the Louvre is Paris’ famous art museum. According to a source, it would take 32 days to see all the works in the Louvre. That includes no breaks and 30 seconds at each piece. Overall, the Louvre was awesome. I have never seen so much art in my life, and it was just really cool to see everything from the ancients to the art of the 20th century. The highlight of the trip was definitely the Mona Lisa. Going in, I knew that the piece was small, but it was just a little smaller than I thought. I also think it is kind of overrated, but it was still cool to see it. After the Louvre, we made our way down the Champs Elyse. This road is really famous and has really expensive shopping on it. At the end of the road is the Arc. We made our way along the road, and as we did, we both got crepes with nutella. Mine was excellent, and I found a new topping for my crepes back home. After taking pictures of the Arc, Mary and I went into the shops on the road and looked for souvenirs. As it was getting dark, we went back to our hotel and crashed.





The last day of our trip in Paris was dominated by a free tour of the city. The tour was done by a group called New Europe tours. The tours are free and done by graduate students who are living in the city. Like most tours, we saw many of the sights, but we never really got up close to them. Luckily for us, Mary and I had already been to most of them so it wasn’t a problem. The best part of the tour was learning the history of Paris. I knew a little of Paris when I arrived, but I know some more since that tour. After the tour was done, Mary and I took pictures of the Eiffel Tower and made our way to the train station. We eventually got home at around 9 pm London time and parted ways at the main door to our flats.



Since my Paris trip, I really haven’t done anything exciting. The last couple of days have been getting ready for the restart of classes and practicum. Sadly, I have become to realize that I have a little more than a month left in London. I still have so much to do and see. I hope I can’t get all of it in before exams.

Until Next Time,
Jefe

Love Never Dies

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Last night, I had the privilege to see Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Phantom: Love Never Dies, and it was really amazing. Since I heard that Webber was making a sequel to Phantom, I was a little apprehensive and thought he was extremely crazy. That all changed when I heard Till I Hear You Sing from the Press Launch on youtube, and I instantly wanted to go. I was really excited that I was going to be in London when it premiered, and I straight away made plans to go see it. I first tried getting a group together to go, but that failed epically. So, on Tuesday after class, I went to the Adelphi Theatre and got my ticket. I left the theatre and was extremely excited.




The basic plot of this musical is that the Phantom has escaped Paris and gone to Coney Island. He opens a new attraction called Phantasma and invites Christine to sing there. Christine, along with Raoul and their son Gustave, accept the invitation and travel to America. For the rest of the musical, old friends are reunited, old flames are reignited, secrets are told, and tragedy happens at the end. I wish I could tell more, but I don’t want to give anything away.

As I said, the musical was amazing. The acting was spot on. Sierra Boggess and Ramin Karimloo, Christine and Phantom respectively, outshined everyone in the cast. They both got enthusiastic applause during their solos and even during their duets. They displayed so much emotion that I was extremely attached to both of them. This surprised me because I was not close to the stage at all. Granted, the Adelphi is quite small, but my seat was somewhat far back. By the end of the show, I was on the verge of tears.



The music was also really good. It was happier than Phantom, but it still had that haunting quality. The thing I liked most about the music is that there were little themes here and there from Phantom. The themes were not overused and were strategically placed throughout the show. There were also themes from Webber’s previous work. They were very slight, but would be recognizable by anyone who had listened to all his works. Surprisingly, this didn’t distract from anything. It actually enhanced the musical a bit for me because it is rumored that this is his last big musical.

Along with all of this, the set was probably the most amazing I have seen in awhile. Much of the perspective was a little skewed, but it just for some reason fit. The coolest thing about the set was the projector. Before I went to the show, I heard that they were going to use a projector as part of the set. This kind of bothered me because I thought it would be the dominate player. Yet, I was completely wrong. The projector was used quite wisely and strategically. The most ingenous use was in the overture. Like in Phantom, the overture is used for resurrection. Instead of the Opera House, it is now Phantasma. Also, it is Madame Giry’s recollection of Phantasma, which means she is in the middle of everything. For this part, the projector is used as Madame Giry’s memories swirl around her. It is very hard to describe, but it is basically a resurrection of the park. The projector was definitely the way to go with this.



The best scene for me in the whole show was the scene with the song Love Never Dies. In this scene, Christine is on stage and almost ready to sing. As the introduction to the song goes, the set revolves with Christine in the middle and the Phantom and Raoul on the sides. Before this scene, both the Phantom and Raoul try to convince Christine. The Phantom wants Christine to sing and Raoul wants Christine not to sing. As the set revolves, Christine is torn between the two and has no idea what to do. Then, she suddenly starts to sing, and you can hear the she is conflicted to continue. She continues and all her emotions come out. It was such an emotional scene and one that I will not forget.

As a fan of the original production, I was very pleased with the sequel. There were so many nuances in it that I was in Phantom nerd paradise. The only thing that I have a complaint about is the lyrics. They are just way too simple and straightforward for me. The ones in the original were at many times poetic and metaphorical, and that combination made many of the songs unforgettable. These lyrics pale in comparison, but they at least work most of the times. There are times when they don’t, and it is not hard to tell. Good thing is that it doesn’t distract from the actual show.



So, the question is would I recommend this musical? I would. I had a fantastic time and I was glad I went with an open mind. That is my one recommendation. If you are a fan of the original, go in with an open mind. This musical is definitely a stand-alone and should not be compared to the original one.
Besides Last Night, there is not much to report on. I had another fantastic day at practicum, and I mean that with much seriousness. I got to help out a lot of kids, and they are starting to open up a lot more.
My plan for today is to relax and just enjoy an empty flat. I’m also planning on going to the National Gallery for an hour or two to look at some art. I enjoyed it when I went with my art class, but I want to be able to walk around without any time limit.
Until Next Time,
Jefe

PS I stage doored last night and got pictures with the leads. Those pictures are on here and on Facebook.

A Weekend in Liverpool

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Sorry it’s been so long since I had last written, but I had a very busy weekend and week. Because of that, I yet again have a lot to write about. The good thing this time is I have pictures for you to look at as you read. Plus, they’ll help break up the text. So, let’s get started.



This last weekend was the best weekend I have had here in London so far. The reason for this is the fact that I got to Liverpool. For those who don’t know what Liverpool is, it is a city in northern United Kingdom and the home of the Beatles. The trip was fantastic, and I learned so much about the Beatles.
Our trip started out Friday morning with a 4.5 hour bus ride from our flats to our hotel in Liverpool. During the ride, I got to see the lovely UK countryside and the UK version of rest areas. Rest areas in the UK are kind of like the ones that occur on the New Jersey Turnpikes. They are a combination of restaurants, bathrooms, and small shops, and they occur every so often on the highway. So, it wasn’t much different for me. The weirdest thing that I saw on the bus ride was the fact that the highway signs displayed the distance to places in miles and not kilometers. That just kind of threw me off. Besides that, I enjoyed the trip up.



We arrived to our hotel in the afternoon and got a thirty minute break to unpack and settle down. Then, we did a small walking tour of Liverpool. The tour was just to give a sense of what was around us and what was in the rest of the city. At the end of the tour, we got to go inside a building that was a part of the Beatles Story, a history of the Beatles thing. Inside, we got to see a whole section devoted to the story of John Lennon. That helped give some perspective on him and on some of the Beatles’ songs. After that, we went to a little movie thing called “The Fab 4D.” It was a 3D movie that had a compilation of Beatles’ songs and a crazy story. It was a little trippy, which I think was the point.

When we were done with the Beatles’ Story, we did another walking tour of Liverpool. This one was basically of places related to the Beatles. We went to Matthew Street, and this was the place where most of the clubs and pubs were. On this street was the Cavern Club. This place is where the Beatles played a lot of their gigs in Liverpool, and sadly, I never got a chance to go in. That was fine with me. It was just cool to be outside the club. After this tour, some my fellow TFs and I went to a really good Italian restaurant, which had great food. For the rest of the night, we walked around Liverpool.



The next day was yet another Beatles filled day. At the start of the day, I had my first English breakfast. It consisted of an egg, sausage, bacon, baked beans, mushrooms, and tomatoes. Personally, it was ok, but it is definitely not something that I am going to order any time in the near future. Luckily, there were pastries and other things around to eat. After breakfast, some of us went to do another part of the Beatles story while others went to see the childhood homes of Paul McCartney and John Lennon. I was luckily in the second group and had a fantastic time seeing the homes. The cool thing is that there are actual people in the homes, and they are paid to live there. Also, the homes were decorated to be like they were when the Beatles were growing up. These visits put a lot of perspective on both Lennon and McCartney and again the music of the Beatles.




After all the tours were done, we had some free time to go out on the town. I got to see an exhibit at the art museum that related to stuff I had been studying in my art class. I had extremely good fish and chips, which was accompanied by an excellent glass of pinot grigio. For dessert, I had a really cheap, but really good piece of chocolate cake. After all of that, I just hung out with some of the people on the trip.

The last day in Liverpool was full of more Beatles’ and beautiful skies. For most of the morning, we explored the city and saw some more places related to the Beatles. The one I liked the most was the Casbah Club. This was another place that attributes itself to the birth of the Beatles since they played there a lot. It was/is located in the basement of a house, and it is really small. The cool thing about it is that the Beatles helped decorate the inside. After that visit, we went to the highest point in Liverpool and got to a panoramic view of the city. We took a group picture and went back to seeing the city. That afternoon, I got to do the Beatles Story audio tour. The tour basically went through the history of the Beatles, and it was very informative. At the end of that, we had some free time in the city and left that afternoon.



If I had the money, I would definitely go back to Liverpool. It was very fun, and there is so much more that I want to do there. At the end of the trip, I decided that if I had the chance, I would live in Liverpool for some time. The people there are really friendly and it is so much more relaxed than London. I enjoy being in London, but I think Liverpool would be a much better experience for me.

With the weekend done, I guess it’s time to move to my week so far. There is not much to report. Monday was another school day. It seemed that the students overall were much better behaved than the last two Mondays, but there were still issues. The good thing though is I got to help out a couple of students out during the day. For my next three Mondays, I’m going to balance my “research” with my helping out in the classroom. I’m definitely not going to teach a lesson, but I am going to help out whenever I can. That night we saw another play called London Assurance. I really enjoyed it. I was surprised by that because I had to read it beforehand and that was extremely boring.

There’s not much to report on Tuesday, except I signed up for housing.
Wednesday was an interesting day. I had no class that day and that night we had another play called Money. This was a site specific play and it was very weird. I’m still trying to figure it out, and I will get back to it when I can.
Not much happened today. I got all my essays done that are due tomorrow, and we watched Help! the movie in the Beatles class.

Highlight of the Week: My step mom came to London for some work stuff and she had time to visit me.

That’s it for now.

Until Next Time,
Jefe

A Month and Two Days

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

It has officially been a month since I arrived here in London, and what a fantastic month it has been. I mean there have been a couple downs, homesickness and some issues with the mates in my flat, but overall, it has been good. The tube and I are best friends now. I know how to navigate it like a pro and figure out which stations are good to do connections and what not. I’m starting to do well with the whole “excuse me I need to get out” aspect of the tube. I still have some trouble saying “excuse me” in a way that means “I need to get out so move.” Most of the time, I just push my way through or have had people notice that I need to get out. Along with the tube, I’m doing well with getting to places like school, class, and stuff like that. I attribute a lot of that with being able to read a map, which I have with me all the time. Overall, I’m doing well with this whole being on my own thing. The only problem I’m still dealing with is groceries. I’m good with buying them, but I’m still trying to figure out what’s most economical: buying large or buying the basics and buying stuff for dinner when I need to. I know how much money I have so I’m going to start budgeting and see.
With that out of the way, I have some updating to do. Monday was my second day in the schools, and it was very hectic. Almost every single class that I was in had a lot of misbehaving kids. A lot of them were off task and talking over the teacher while he was trying to teach. They were hyper, unfocused, and very distracting. The worst part was none of the teachers could get these kids focused on the lessons. I had three that day, and only one of them tried. The rest ignored those that were off task and focused on those that were. What I saw was something that really annoyed me. The behavior of the class is something that promotes or detracts from the learning. It is essential in the classroom to get kids on task because it is important for them to learn. Plus their behavior would be distracting to those that want to learn. The worst thing is that I even tried to get the students who were off task on task but it didn’t work. I just felt like that the teacher had no authority in the classroom, which was bad. It was a good learning day for me because I definitely learning what things I should do and shouldn’t do to get my class to behave. If this keeps on, I don’t think I’ll be able to do what I want to do while I’m there.
Phew, I’m off my teacher soap box for now until I write my journal. You’ve been spared a lot of my ranting that I will be doing in my journal. Anyway, back to Monday. After school, I had class, and we had a speaker to come talk to us about Every Child Matters. It is basically legislation that was passed concerning the health and safety of the children here in the UK. The session was really informative and really interesting. At the end of class, I went back to my flat, ate dinner, did work, and passed out. It was an extremely long and exhausting day.
Today, there is not much to report. Classes went fine. We had a quiz today in my Theatre, and I thankfully did not get called on about the play we had to read. Why am I thankful? The answer is I was not able to finish the play, it was very boring, and I had not retained any of the details. It’s a really bad sign when that happens because I am usually interested in reading plays. Yet, when I can’t finish one, there is little to no hope that I am going to like it. But, we’ll see.
For the rest of the night, I have a Beatles essay to finish, an EDU journal to write, Art notes to write up, a reading for Art, and pizza with some of my TFs and flat mates.
Achievement for the weekend: I decided to not clean up the kitchen the last couple of days. It was more of an experiment than annoyance that I’ve been the only one doing it. It worked because yesterday the dishes were out of the sink and washed. The counters were still dirty, but that’s to be expected. I was informed by one of my TFs that my flatmates noticed that I stopped cleaning. One of the mates thought that I was annoyed with them and just left the kitchen the way it was. He also stated that it would get done, but I was only doing it because of my compulsiveness. I do have a slight compulsiveness when it comes to cleanliness and organization, but I can control it. I really only do it if I am stressed or bored. I have been stressing out lately so I did it. It really only annoys me when that happens. Otherwise it would be fine. Also, I tend to start cleaning more when I clean up my messes. I get into the zone and just clean until I’m finished. So, that’s really what it all entails. Also, I’m done with my moaning about it too. It just surprised me that people could be that lazy and dirty. It was just a new thing to me and very interesting thing to me. I’ve gotten used to it and might have to give these guys some lessons in cleanliness. Anyway, I’m done with my ranting here.
Until Next Time,
Jefe