Call The Locksmith

     Often times in class we go to the National Gallery, which is only about 15 minutes to walk to from my classroom. We go there probably once a week and some weeks even more. By now, I know every inch of that walk, from the shops to the restaurants to theatres.
     So now that I'm familiar with the walk, I can now notice things past the signs, adverts, and cluttered window displays. The reason why all of this is important is because I have found the greatest secret in London: Ryan Gosling works as a locksmith on Monmouth Str.
     Ok, so it's not the real Ryan Gosling. But I'm not exaggerating when I say that I did a triple take to make sure... and so did the rest of the girls in my program. I don't actually know his real name, so we just call him Ryan Gosling.
     He works at a locksmith and key-cutting shop on the corner of Monmouth Str with an elderly man who we presume to be his grandfather (who is also an adorable man). He seriously looks like Ryan Gosling. And if you know anything about me, it's that my love for Ryan Gosling is equivalent to my love for Justin Timberlake... which is a lot.
     It's the highlight of my week when I walk past Ryan Gosling's shop. Maybe one day I'll break my key so he can fix it... Also, I am going to make a conscious effort to hone down my creepiness... hopefully.

London Love, Kristen

With Love From Me To You

     On 20 March 1962, my father and his twin brother became the newest and final additions to one of the most loving families I've ever known to exist. Today is their 51st birthday and while I can't be with there in person, I know that they are surrounded by so much love from family and friends.
     My father is most assuredly one of the most influential people in my life and I thank him everyday, whether I say it or not, for all of the wisdom that he has shared with me. I'm fortunate to have such a family that doesn't hesitate to show love and to have a father who is so worthy of looking up to as a role model.
     So before I start crying all over my laptop, just wanted to give a quick shout out to my father, Christopher, and my Uncle Peter. I love you both very much and hope you have a wonderful day. HAPPY BIRTHDAY :)

Dad on the left, Peter on the right....they're wearing "beach smocks"??

How do you think I became such a good cook?

Dad comes to JMU!

Family hike at the Cascades.

London Love, Kristen

Ian the Bouncer & Scott With No T's

     So the Porter House is officially my favorite hang out spot in London (and to clarify before I even begin, it's not because it's a pub). I go there regularly now to hang out with my friends after class or dinner in addition to my new friends Ian the Bouncer and Scott With No T's.

     Ian is the middle-age bouncer at Porter House and is probably one of the most kind and wonderful human beings that I've ever met. He works hard, adores his children, and has given me some of the best advice on life that I've ever heard in my life. And on top of that, he loves me and says I remind him on his daughter. And I find that adorable and not creepy at all. To be honest, I don't remember how I started talking to him or why we were getting so in depth with each others' lives, but we're friends now and I love him nonetheless.

     Scott With No T's is kind of a hilarious story. He's one of the bartenders at Porter House and my friends and I met him the same night as Ian. However, Scott With No T's isn't his real name. His real name is Joe, which we learned on Sunday night. When Ian and I were having our heart to heart, my roommate was talking to Scott/Joe, but she couldn't remember his name. So she turned to me and asked what it was. I, having absolutely no idea, just said, "Scott.. with two T's," and then Scott/Joe played along so then I and everyone else thought that his name was actually Scott With Two T's. It's kind of confusing... and awkward when we found out his real name... but mainly hilarious.

     And the best part yet manifested itself on Sunday, St. Patrick's Day. After seeing the festivities and concerts in Trafalgar Square, my friends and I went to the Porter House where we found waaaaay too many people waiting outside to get in. But because Ian loves me and was working the door, he let us cut the queue and get in without a cover charge. Once inside, Scott With No T's (Joe) gave us free drinks.
     Sometimes awkward moments turn into hilarious stories with wonderful endings. And like Humphrey Bogart told Louis at the end of Casablanca, "I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship."

London Love, Kristen

I Lost My Heart To A Galway Girl

     March 15th-17th.
     Cork, Ireland.
     5 Americans.
     Two holidays for the price of one (yes, I consider the Ides of March a political and literary holiday)(and then obviously St. Patrick's Day was the other....just wanted to clarify)

     So pretty much my weekend was one of the best thus far. Cork is a small city on the coast with some of the nicest and most hilarious people I have yet to meet. A girl I was traveling with is friends with an Irish guy who lives and studies in Cork. So we met up with him shortly after landing and he showed us around the city.
     But since Cork is tiny, that lasted about an hour... so then we decided to go to a pub (shocker, I know.) But this wasn't any pub, it was a local brewery. It wasn't Guinness or anything fancy, but it was small and homey and really cheap. So naturally we had to stay for three hours. I can't even begin to explain the confusion on my face when I saw the sun was still out when we left. It's like I forgot what the concept of daylight was altogether.
     Later that night, we went to 21st birthday party at another pub. Moral of Saturday night: Irish people like birthdays, alcohol, and "Sweet Caroline" more than anyone else in the world.
     Saturday, we went to Blarney Castle and much to my anxiety's dismay, I leaned over the edge to kiss the Blarney Stone. Cue the visual aid:

     After that, we went to my friend's favorite pub to watch a few rugby matches (I also love rugby now. Like I reaaallllly love rugby).

     So that's pretty much my Ireland experience in a nut-shell. There are a few more funny stories and a few more pubs, but I think I've made my parents proud enough for one day so I think I'll just quit while I'm ahead :)

London Love, Kristen

What Was My Life Before I Found Paella and Sangria?

     But really though, how did I survive without paella before now? It's the most beautiful creation in the world. I literally ate it everyday, five days in a row. And, admittedly, I ate it twice one day. No shame. And let's not even get started on the wine and sangria... Basically, the moral of this Spanish story is you should just appreciate the beautiful things in life (cough*paella*sangria*cough*cough) while you still can.
    On a more serious note, Barcelona was absolutely wonderful. I went for 6 days with my friend, Phil, and while my ankle prevented me from doing everything in the world, we were still able to have the best spring break ever by making due with what we had. And to be honest, that's exactly what I wanted/needed from a vacation: just a chill getaway from the city with some touristy sight-seeing and a lot of "let's see where life takes us" adventures.
     Actually, I think the latter part was my favorite. Phil and I shared a room with a backpacker from Florida who was pretty much the living, breathing epitome of "let's just see where life takes us." Jason had been working in New Zealand as a dairy farmer (whatever that means) until he saved enough money to just travel the world on his own. We met him after about 2 months on this trek and the amount of stories that he had to tell was novel worthy... in fact, he is working on a novel. Like seriously, it's like we were meant to find each other and be best friends.
     Our friendship was tested, however, when the suggestion came up that I should trade him my copy of  The Count of Monte Cristo (my favorite book) for his copy of On the Road (his favorite book.) Yet, out friendship proved true as we, indeed, traded our most prized possessions. I have to say though, as hard as it was for me to give it up, I'm extremely glad that I did it because On the Road is proving to be a new favorite of mine (if I read 150 pages in two days, that means something.)
     So basically, Barcelona was a beautiful vacation with Phil, Jason, and the various adventures that Spain could provide for a couple of souls like us.

London Love, Kristen

Fits My Life, Oh So Right

    Upon waking this morning with the sun glinting in my eyes after a most glorious 10 hours of sleep, I rose to find that I am now walking the best that I have in the past 10 days. Easily strolling around the flat, I got dressed and sat down to my morning e-mails, Facebook, and music session.
    It felt like the right kind of morning for Dixieland Delight. As I was listening, I received the FANTASTIC news via Facebook that JMU won the CAA Championship last night in Richmond and is now NCAA March Madness bound!! While I typically would have felt an intense wave of F.O.M.O. (fear of missing out), I rather felt extreme pride and happiness for my fellow Dukes. It's such an exciting thing for us and I know that the energy on campus is going to be thriving more than ever today. I wish I  could see it but I the fact that I know it's there and can imagine it makes it even better in some ways.
     Listening to Dixieland Delight made it even more appropriate. That song has become a JMU anthem for me (much like how "Enter Sandman" is for VT folk) and I found it a beautiful scene to be listening to it, with the sun still glaring through my window, as I learned all of this.
     And naturally, since I was on Facebook, I began to "like" every status/picture/comment/suggestion/thought bubble relating to the game and our victory. And then endless scrolling kept me doing this for nearly ten minutes and I gave up on trying to like everything because there was just too much to like! And I never give up on "liking" Facebook statuses!! So this was my morning, and I'm just really happy to be a Duke and alive and have the sun coming through my window :)

And, of course, the visual aids:

This is JMU, we like to storm things.

President Alger cutting the net (also shout-out and congratulations to him! It's his inauguration week!!)

London Love and Duke Dog Delight, Kristen

PS- I'm not neglecting any Spain stories. I just found this post to be more of a priority at the moment.... and now  I have to go to class. KEEP POSTED FOR IT!!

Remember That One Time...

     So it took great deliberation whether I would share this with my cyber community or not, but I guess it will be one of the most memorable experiences of my trip.
     So here it goes: I sprained my ankle last Wednesday because my powers of observation briefly failed me as I went to lean against a railing that was actually a gate and not a railing where I then fell down a flight of concrete stairs.

And now for the visual aid (VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED):

DAY TWO: We don't have ice, so we improvised with frozen french fries and chicken.

DAY TWO (pt. II): the swelling prohibited me from holding my ankle straight... also let's note how gargantuous that thing is.

DAY FIVE: But at least I got to play in the Mediterranean Sea.

DAY FIVE (pt. II): It's not that gross, right?

So there you have it. It happened. And now you know... this is my life, these are my choices.

London Love, Kristen

Identity In A Nation, Identity In A Self

     I know whoever reads this blog on a regular basis must be getting really tired of me saying how much I love the places that I'm traveling. Truthfully, even I get annoyed at myself for doing it. But it's really only because that's what this trip is doing to me: it's making me see the beauty of cultures, languages, and world's other than my own. I love my country and I'm proud to be where I'm from, but I can't deny how incredibly grateful I am to be enlightened to what the rest of the world has to offer.

     This became extremely evident to me as I was going about explorations of Prague.
     I didn't know a single word. I couldn't even say "yes" or "no." In the beginning of the trip, I thought this was going to hold me back the entire time and make me regret my decision. Yet, it didn't; it did just the opposite actually. The language barrier showed me something that I hadn't thought about before. Letters, words, phonetical structures, and basic grammar don't make people who they are. Knowing a language of a country isn't going to change anything about what that country has to offer. I learned just as much by letting my dear friend Alex translate for us than I would have if I were speaking for myself.
     Sure, ordering my own dinner would have made things more efficient some nights. But sitting back and watching her translate and seeing the ideas and understanding flow through two people, while I sit there listening to indiscernible words,
     Initially, I had begun to record my Prague experience with a witty and sharp account of my travels, but upon further reflection I saw that I would much rather explain to you all that I understood nothing around me, but learned nearly everything that I could have. And probably some more too.

London Love, Kristen