Category: England

Positively Chuffed to Bits

Published on by alexandrachoudhuryLeave a comment

Instead of having multiple playlists for one particular mood or feeling, I am actually insane and I make one playlist for each month. I do this so that I can go back and look at them and see what I listened to in a given month in a given year. My music taste ranges from profane rap music to some kind-of-niche R&B artist to angry 90s dad rock on a daily basis, but I have been trying to immerse myself in some music that comes from the UK since I arrived here in September. Here are five songs that I’ve enjoyed as I continue to build my October playlist:

Smooth Operator – Sade

  • My mom actually listened to a lot of Sade (pronounced shah-DAY) as I was growing up. This British-Nigerian singer has the type of voice that can command a room. If you like the aesthetic of espresso martinis, dimly-lit jazz clubs, throwing on a fur coat late at night, and leather boots on a damp city sidewalk, Sade is for you.

In My Bed – Amy Winehouse

  • Oh Amy, how I miss you… a wonderful singer with even more iconic eyeliner, gone too soon. You deserved those six Grammy and so much more. Her music is an eclectic blend of genres: soul, rhythm and blues, and jazz. I just really like the wind instruments in this song, and her voice, like the rest of her music.

Gas Me Up (Diligent) – Skepta

  • I listen to a lot of American rap, so I was curious to explore the UK scene. From Tottenham, Skepta is well-known in the British grime music scene. If you want more British rap, try Central Cee, Fimiguerrero, Lancey Foux, and if you’re feeling a little edgier, Scouse rapper EsDeeKid. 

One Thing – Lola Young

  • Lola Young is well-known for her viral track “Messy” in addition to being featured on Tyler, the Creator’s album Chromakopia (who is also one of my favorite artists), which is how I initially found out about her. From Southeast London, her music is her trying to make sense of the world around her in a sort of there’s-all-this-crap-out-there-and-I’m-just-here kind of way which I appreciate.

While My Guitar Gently Weeps – The Beatles

  • Because what’s more British than The Beatles?

Is this a futile attempt to be more of a local? Appreciate the British accent as a musical instrument? Understand how Brits think? Or just expand my listening palette? Who knows! 

Bath, Bath
In Bath, there is (shockingly) a big bath to see. These Roman baths have been around since 1 AD!

The construction of my playlist this month has gone well, but I had a bit of an identity crisis over the weekend as I listened to said playlist on the way home from a day trip to Bath. October 5th marked one month in London for me. By now I know which Underground lines go where, that chips are fries, which grocery stores have meal deals. My friends have asked me about “the chube (tube)” which I can describe in good detail, and if someone were to ask me what to do to get a decent view of London in one day I think I’d be able to give a decent enough itinerary; something touristy like Big Ben or Buckingham Palace in the morning, a free museum like Tate Modern, food at Borough market, which is overpriced and overstimulating, but has something for everyone, wandering around the streets, then finishing the day at an English pub with a cider or beer. I also catch myself saying “fair enough” and not bothering to use an umbrella anymore. Slowly, I feel that I will forget how to drive my white Honda CRV at home. I have started drinking less coffee and more tea in the morning.

Bath view
The view of Bath, which I visited this last weekend, from Prior Park. I can understand why Jane Austen spoke so highly of the city.
Sunday Roast
I also had my first Sunday Roast in Bath at the Saracen’s Head in Bath. It’s the oldest pub in Bath, and also hosted Charles Dickens at one point.

Am I even an American anymore? 

I may giggle to myself feeling like a local when I can go to and from class without a map, but I’m really just here temporarily. There is a lot I don’t know about London, and the United Kingdom in general. I was talking to one of my British friends, who jokingly said I should take a trip to Croydon. I responded, “what’s in Croydon?” which got a laugh out of him. He said that I have only really been to the nicer/safer parts of London, which is true. Most of the time I hang out in Regent Street, Oxford Street, Marylebone, or Shoreditch, which are all pleasant areas with a lot to do. I also have not escaped American stereotypes. I still drink a lot of water, say “oh my god” a lot, and get jumpy when I try to jaywalk (to be fair, in the US, you can jaywalk, but only if you want to risk being hit by a car going 50mph). When I buy things I still have to convert to USD, and I still get the underlying feeling that British people tend to think that all Americans are sort of dumb, which I take offense to—there are stupid people everywhere, not just America!

(Note: Croydon is considered to be a notoriously “bad” area in London. Unfortunately, Croydon has very high population density, poor housing and infrastructure, a broke local council, and little job opportunity available to the people who live there, which contributes to crime, addiction, and homelessness.)

So no, I’m not a local. I have a very American passport, and I miss Chick-fil-A. Things are going well, I’m liking my classes, have made good friends, seen a lot of cool stuff. I saw my first fox in Central London, which I think is a sign that I’m doing things right (and that I should go to the nearest Sainsbury’s to buy a lottery ticket). 

London 2
There are actually two Londons: Greater London, which is what you’d generally consider “London” as a whole. The City of London is the “original” London, founded by the Romans. It’s a big financial district now.

Since it’s been a full month now, I feel like I should be feeling homesick at this point. It’s all anyone talks about, the fact that homesickness is an inevitable disease that you will catch at some point while abroad, only a matter of when. While I do reminisce about my dad’s slow cooked lamb and my much larger bed at home, I don’t actually feel homesick. Is it because I’m always doing something? Maybe I’ll feel it later on.

Palladian Bridge
Me in Prior Park, Bath.

I think my lack of homesickness is because I try to keep in close contact with my friends, family, and support system back in the US. I text my parents and friends every day, send them pictures, call them as often as I can. The point of studying abroad is getting away from your usual life, but travelling and ghosting your relationships at home are not mutually exclusive. You can (and absolutely should) do both. Even if it’s just sending a photo of your breakfast or telling them about a weird squirrel you saw, let them know you’re alive. I can guarantee that they’ll appreciate it.

Once again, thanks for reading!

Alexandra

Be Uncomfortable Being Comfortable

Published on by sanakkholghy:)Leave a comment

It’s been a moment since I’ve moved into my flat in London, and I have A LOT to discuss. Let me preface this by saying that as a third year commuter student, my only ‘roommates’ have been the mice that I occasionally hear scurrying in my walls in the winter. Also, you should know that I may be a bit of a neat freak, but in my opinion, anyone who wears their outside clothes in their bed should never be allowed to enter your home.

Anyways, back to moving in, I can confidently say that my experience so far has been..shocking? Confusing? I truly don’t know how to describe it, so instead I’ll write about what stood out the most.

Dirty carpeted floors, showers with no ventilation, and gum stuffed into holes in the wall- all things that I anticipated seeing in my flat after two years of visiting my friends’ dorms at DU, and unfortunately, I was right. Many accommodations are worse than this, yes, but I can still complain! I share a kitchen and hallway with 5 others, one being my close friend from DU who is also studying abroad, and the rest who are first year students.

Oh! Did I mention that my room is right in front of the kitchen door, and right next to the entrance door to the flat? It’s great! On the first night, I heard my flatmates coming in and out of the kitchen, playing chess, making the fire alarm go off (twice), and trying to get into my room from 1 AM until 5 AM- it was an incredibly immersive experience.

For context, this past week was freshers week. It’s an event packed orientation week of sorts; free food, club fairs, and even University-sponsored nights at the club. While other students prioritized going out and meeting others, I, on the other hand, was occupied trying to come to terms with the fact that I will be in London, on my own for the first time, without my family beside me.

My mom helped me move in after we explored Edinburgh the week prior, and the combination of a disruptive first night in my flat alongside the sadness I felt about my mom going back home made the first part of the week very difficult. I started the panic, counting how many weeks I had to endure my living situation before I came home into my cozy, quiet bed. My thoughts began spiraling into feelings of doubt about this entire academic journey. So, I started to do what I do best: talking people’s heads off for reassurance about my anxieties. One person who I complained to, my brother’s girlfriend, told me to “be uncomfortable being comfortable” and at the moment, I hated her advice.

Moving on, one night, I went into the kitchen and asked my flatmate and his friends if they could keep the noise down in the hallway. Not only did they listen, but I even got a text in the morning apologizing for the disturbance. It was a small thing, but it reminded me that not everything — or everyone — is out to get me. There’s kindness here, even if it’s a little hidden under the chaos. I need to keep reminding myself: things could be worse, and they often aren’t as bad as they seem at the moment.

That moment with my flatmate got me thinking – I signed up for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and I know I’d regret it if I came home unchanged. Growth doesn’t happen when you’re comfortable, and I have to learn to sit with discomfort instead of running from it. That’s kind of the whole point, and it’s exactly what my brother’s girlfriend was trying to tell me. Studying abroad was never going to be just an extended vacation. If I don’t lean into the challenge, what was the point of coming in the first place?

So I keep reminding myself of everything good: the comfort of my bed, the places I finally get to visit, and the spontaneous catch-ups with my best friends who are studying all across Europe. Just this past weekend, I attended Oktoberfest in Munich with some of my closest friends, a trip I had been eagerly anticipating for months. I still miss my family, but it turns out, there’s less time to be sad when you’re too busy figuring things out. And maybe that’s exactly what I needed.