Other Side of the World

I've been feeling a little bit homesick this past week and as a result have rarely gone into town. I think aside from the homesickness, it's also the realization that I need to keep an eye on my money. An option I have chosen in replacement of going out into town and spending money on booze and cover charges, is to just hang out in my room. Gaby came over the other night and we watched the Incredibles.

If Gaby looks like she's out of it, it's because she is. We both were at that point, ha.

I just came back from the London river cruise that my program organized. Here's a picture of the girls before boarding the cruise.

Since this isn't my first trip into London, let alone on the Thames River, I didn't take pictures during the cruise of the view. It was very relaxing though and surprisingly warm! The sun came out to greet me on my last trip into London! Our last stop on the river cruise was Greenwich, which is home to the Prime Meridian. We climbed up a hill to reach the Royal Observatory where I got to stand on the Prime Meridian. Those are Gaby's feet in the shot, haha.

The view from the top of the Royal Observatory.

I just had to take a picture of this sign because of the Glasgow band that shares the same name. I'm such a nerd sometimes. Okay, all of the time.

I was walking past this sign at the Royal Observatory and I had to snap a picture of it. This picture is for you Dad! :)

After we checked out the Royal Observatory, we headed back to Westminster via the cruise and grabbed some ice cream and then headed home. The weather was unbelievably glorious and I hope the same weather will greet us at Cambridge tomorrow. Until next post, cheers!

P.S. Big thanks to Michael no-middle-name Tu for the care package!

Strawberry Fields Forever

I cannot believe that I have only a couple more weeks left in England! I'm extremely homesick yet at the same time I do not want to leave! I find myself missing the obvious things such as family, friends, and Coco (haha) and unexpected things such as free water in restaurants, sandy beaches, paper towels in public toilets, and using my car to take me wherever my heart pleases. Thank you to those who left positive comments on my previous entry. I must stress that I am enjoying my time here in England. I was feeling emotional when I wrote the entry and I do know that I am lucky to call California home and my run ins with racism has not prevented me from having fun!

Last Friday, a group of us went in search of a sandy beach. Ram informed me that there is such a thing in our area of England, but I was not convinced especially when he informed me the morning of our beach picnic via the telephone that he did not know where this beach was exactly located. Long story short, we asked several locals where this so-called sandy beach was and were given looks of surprise. Apparently there is no such thing in Brighton so we opted to take a bus ride into the Brighton Marina and have our picnic on one of their pebble beaches.


The water was so clear!

Nhu and Jesse enjoying the sunshine and the hard pebbles beneath their stomachs.

With Tammy and Gaby. What is Tammy staring at?

A couple of people decided to bury Nhu with some pebbles while she tried to nap. Poor thing had difficulty getting up a few minutes later.

Saturday morning we headed off to Liverpool, but first we made a quick detour to Warwick castle, where we were greeted by these beautiful individuals.

My view while climbing Guy's Tower. I felt slightly claustrophobic in the tower.

The lovely view from the top of Guy's Tower.

After spending the morning in Warwick Castle, we headed off to Liverpool, home of the Beatles and of the wonderful Liverpool football club!

The gate to the stadium. Our tour guide played their theme song, which sounded like a pop song from the 1960s!

Then our tour guide took us around Liverpool and to Penny Lane! I enjoyed this part of the tour very much because our tour guide, whose name escapes me, played several Beatles songs.

After our tour around Liverpool, we went to our hostel to freshen up before our night out. The hostel was decorated with several Beatles memorabilia such as this painting. I wish there was a canvas painting of this exact image!

Later that night, our wonderful tour leader from Brazil, Leo, took us out for a night of pubbing and clubbing! He took us to the Cavern pub which was one of the first venues that the Beatles played! Unfortunately I do not have a picture of my night out, but my word for it that Liverpool has one of the most exciting nightlife's in England! There were about 10 different bachelorette/bachelor parties going on that night and almost every single group had a costume theme, it was wonderful! The citizens of Liverpool were so friendly, it is definitely one of my favorite cities in England.

The following day we went to The Beatles Story. It was one of the best museums I've ever been to. There were heaps of Beatles memorabilia and the soundtrack was awesome of course! Sadly, we were not allowed to take pictures inside the museum due to copyright issues, but that didn't stop a bunch of people of taking pictures. I'm thinking that they didn't understand the employee at the museum because they were non-English speakers, or maybe that's the excuse they used!

Ram and Jesse sporting their new Beatles-inspired sunglasses. What silly boys.

After Liverpool, we drove to Manchester. Gaby and I were only able to see a mall while others were only able to see the football stadium so sadly we didn't see much of Manchcester at all. I did enjoy myself in Liverpool though. They sure are proud of their football team and their little band, which they have every right to be!

I only have one more weekend until I leave England. My last weekend will be spent on a cruising down the Thames River in London, Oxford, Windsor (the Queen's weekend residence), Eton, punting in Cambridge, and Greenwich. Whew, I'm exhausted just thinking about it! I hope everyone is enjoying their summer!

I See Who You Are

Racism is not dead. I know that and I don't pretend that it no longer exists. I was born and raised in California, which is a very diverse state and probably is home to the largest Asian population in America. Therefore, I'm used to seeing faces of many different colors and I have friends who come from all races and background. Yes, there may be parts of the state that are still segregated whether it is intentional or not, but for the most part everyone is tolerant of each other.

I entered England thinking it was going to be a diverse country. And it is, but only in the major metropolitan areas. While Brighton can be aruged as one of those large metropolitan areas, I noticed the lack of minorities in the city. Brighton is a very affluent area, which may contribute to dominant white population. The minorities I do come across outside of campus in downtown are international students who, like me, are here for the summer studying. Most of them are European and few are Asian.

Now why am I going on and on about races and racism? Because sadly I have been a victim of several instances of racism. It's upsetting yet sad that I have to admit this. I have never experienced racism myself and was very shocked and very angry when the locals would be blatantly racists to my friends and me. Have they never seen an Asian before? We're not all Chinese you ignorant pigs. You have no right to point and gawk at us and speak to us in what you think is Chinese. No, we are not Jackie Chan's wife (yes, this one imbecile walked by us pointing at me and Jen and laughed "Jackie Chan's wife"). There was one instance in London this past weekend where Jen and Gaby were waiting for me to buy tea in Hyde Park. As I was walking back towards them, a local and his friend walk past Jen and ruffle her hair. As if she was a dog or something! I was outraged as was Gaby, who promptly called him a "fucking idiot."

My friends and I are not the only ones who have experienced this. Stella recounted several of her stories and it is along the same lines if not worse. I cannot believe the behavior of these people. We are here, visiting your country because we have a general interest for it and yet you treat us with disrepect and racism. Thanks for the wonderful and kind welcome England. I have been turned off towards this country sadly. I know not every English person I will come across is racist and I have met several wonderful people who were genuinely interested and excited to have American tourists. Unfortunately, whenever I think of England, I will recall the several racist incidents as well. I do not enjoy the feeling of apprehension that overcomes me whenever I enter downtown. I shouldn't be asking myself, "I wonder if some racist will insult me tonight?" I have a right to be there just like anyone else and I demand the same human respect. We're all humans and I know this sounds cheesy, but can't we all just get along? Can't we all just love one another for who we are?