The Year of the Dragon!

Today was the Chinese New Year celebration in London’s Chinatown and Trafalgar Square! 2012 is the year of the Dragon, so all the babies born this year will be very lucky. Being a Sheep myself I admit to having Dragon envy. The ceremony started with official greetings from the likes of the Mayor of London and the President of Chinatown. After the formalities they performed the “dotting of the eye” ceremony in order to “bring the dragon to life.” Then there was a performance of two acrobats holding up a huge lion puppet, jumping around on posts raised way off the ground as a prelude to the dance with the vast golden dragon puppet. In fact there was such an intense dragon theme, and it was all so cool, that I couldn't help but wonder what on earth they do when it's the year of the Rabbit, for instance.

Then it was time for a walk around Chinatown. Everything was decked out in red lanterns. It looked absolutely beautiful. Soon we began to hear drumming noises and all of the sudden Zoe, Samira, and I were swept up in a huge crowd. We found that there was a lion puppet going from door to door of all the restaurants and shops along the streets of Chinatown. It would dance around, growl, and pace at the door and then a shopkeeper would come out and bow to it and give it some lettuce, which it would gobble up and fling everywhere. Then, appeased, it would move to the next shop demanding more lettuce. When I went home I researched this behavior and found that it was a part of the traditional Chinese New Year "Lion Dance" called "Picking the Green" as defined on this website: http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/Chinese_Customs/lion_dance.htm

After enjoying some delicious moon cakes outside a Korean pastry shop we made our way back to Trafalgar Square for the closing festivities. We managed to force our way through the crowd and stopped by one of the fountains with a fairly clear view of the stage and the large screen on the right side. There were a lot of performances in quick succession and then the speakers started pounding out epic instrumental music with thunderous percussive beats! A red pillar topped with a man waving a flag rose into the air, a moving graphic of a dragon was projected onto the column, and flame throwers started shooting off from the canopy of the stage. It all culminated with an impressive display of fireworks. 

I know that America greatly enjoys holidays. We take holidays from other countries and make them our own, we have heavily commercialized holidays such as Christmas and Easter, and everyone knows we love fireworks. And yet I don't know if I've ever seen a holiday as grand or well organized as this in America... at least not as a public event. Granted the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is pretty up-there, but with this there was something incredibly precious about it to go along with the extravagance. There was such an attention detail alongside the fanfare and bling, and it had the feeling of being so much older and steeped in tradition than many of our own holidays. You really got the sense that everyone took great pride and enjoyment in the celebration. 

What an odd and wonderful experience, exploring a different culture within another different culture! I can't wait to see what other hidden chapters this city has to offer!

Coach Tour

Today I got a crash course in London's History and saw nearly all the city's famous landmarks (as featured in the London calendar hanging on my wall) firsthand. A coach tour had been scheduled for the NYU London students, and I was absolutely wild about the idea. For a very brief moment when I had first heard about the "coach tour" an image of a horse and carriage floated through my mind. However I was very quick to realize that this would be a highly improbable means of travel. I then discovered that coach is another word for bus in Britain.
We loaded into the buses at around 1:30 in the afternoon (or 13:30 by European standards). Our tour guide was a charming gentleman by the name of Peter who was born in Wales and didn't speak English until he was 12, lived in England during World War 2, and studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. During the tour he talked a lot about London's history, from its foundations as a city occupied by the Romans, to it's Medieval and Renaissance highlights, to its destruction during the Great Fire and World War 2 respectively, to the newest buildings being set up and remodeled for the 2012 Olympic Games.
The tour was absolutely surreal. We drove past nearly every major icon in London! I could hardly believe my eyes and take it all in I was so enraptured. It was as though I were watching a movie. We would drive for a little while, then stop and take pictures at the particularly famous sites like the Tower Bridge and Buckingham Palace. Below are some of the more impressive things we saw:

The Royal Courts of Justice

The Shard of Glass (still under construction, soon to be the tallest building in Europe)

Tower Bridge

The Tower of London

The London Eye

Big Ben

Westminster Abbey

Buckingham Palace

Piccadilly Circus

Trafalgar Square

Even after seeing all of these awe-inspiring locations that have told a story of London through the ages and captured my imagination for so long, I can hardly believe that I am here. As we drove past a part of the original roman wall thought to have been built in the year 200 AD my mouth dropped open. This city is so old, so grounded in a millennium of inhabiting cultures and empires, and yet so fluid and modern. It is always changing, and yet committed to preserving it's history. You could spend a lifetime exploring it and still never experience the entirety of what it has to offer. I don't have a lifetime, but hopefully before the end of 4 months it will have finally sunk in that I have arrived in the city I've dreamed about all my life. I am so beyond grateful to be here.

Greetings, friends!

Well, chances are good that you're our friends, if you're reading this. :) We've set up this blog as a record of our shared adventures here in London this semester! YAY! There's not much to report on yet, but here's the skinny so far:

Yesterday night, we went to the Euston Flyer and had a few drinks. It was a lovely pub, and Abby's favorite so far of the three she's gone to! Today we had tea at the Muffin Man Tea Shop, which was really delightful - we had toasted scones with devonshire cream and jam (who knew toasting scones was such a good idea? Not Zoe!!), a slice of Queen Mother's Cake, some English muffins, and a pot of rosehip tea, Earl Grey, and the house blend. Then we walked around Hyde Park for an hour or so, and saw several lovely sights, including the Princess Diana Memorial Fountain, the Peter Pan statue, the Italian fountain (still not sure why it's named that), and the Prince Albert Memorial. We also saw some beautiful swans at a pond, prompting Abby to say "Swans are so majestic" just as one of them one of them honked... if you've never heard a swan honk before: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0sVMxFqRbI&feature=related. Imagine that but lower and uglier. You're welcome. Then after that we returned to Abby's apartment, where we are currently sitting and typing this post! The agenda for tonight is to check out the Hen & Chickens Theatre Bar, where they host stand-up and other acts year round; we'll be attending something described as an "improvised movie live on stage." It should be great fun, and we will report back on it later! (Probably not tonight, though - after the show, we'll be watching the latest episode of Sherlock, which looks BOMB.)

Tea!

This is the Princess Diana Memorial Fountain; really beautiful and serene...

Peter Pan!! <3 He had lots of flowers laid around him.

The Serpentine River.

Just look at that Skyline :)

That's all for now, folks! 'Till next time; much love!