UK Update 2

I honestly have no time to write blogs. I am either out, drinking, playing futbol, eating, reading, sleeping, or travelling around drawing. Somehow I squeeze time here and there and put up some photos. So here we go, here's what has happened since the last time








































































From finding out what GMT finally means (Greenwich Meridian Time), to going to the Prime Meridian, to going up to the London Eye, to the Thames Festival, to Saratoga people in London, to going all around the outskirts of London to finally being able to watch my first Premier League match, to going out almost every night, I doubt I will finally have a time for when things settle down. Which is great, although I will probably lose a couple years of my life doing this. But everything has been fanastic, besides the obliteration that my wallet has taken as a result of it. Gone to the craziest places (IceBar London, Maya London), to the most historically exquisite (St. Paul's Cathedral, Church of St. Bartholomew, Kew Gardens), to the suburbs and areas in which I normally wouldn't go to as a normal London tourist. I am trying to take everything in and really try to experience life as Londoner, along with meeting new people along the way. It has been a fantastic time. I wish I was back in New York, there are elements that I miss - Lamb and Rice, 24 Hour Subway, the US Dollar, DSP - but there are some things that are just so much better out here. Short list:

1. The Chips, or Crisps, out here are just astronomically better. Walkers > Lays, all day.
2. Beer is better, even the Natural Ice equivalent out here (Carling, Carlsberg) is still better.
3. Pubs - enough said.
4. Salt and Malt Vinegar over Chips (Fries) is the best idea ever.
5. The metropolitan atmosphere is amazing - with old history blending with modern, its just not comparable to any other place.
6. Tipping - you don't have to tip as much. At the bars, you don't even need to. If you're at dinner, 5-10% is customary. Awesome.
6. Football, football, football, football. I love the sport, and every day is a new story about football. It is just so easy to play a pick up game at the park, its a beautiful thing where the fields are lined for football, not baseball or American Football. And I've taken a liking to Rugby, which is just crazy those guys.

Well last time I had a list of to do's, here's an update:
- Watch a Premier League match - DONE
- Get at least some kind of soccer going on a real pitch with my boots on and group of people
knocking the ball around. - DONE
- Find that "go to" restaurant - TOO EXPENSIVE TO EAT OUT
- Find chopsticks for eating - DONE
- Get some kind of Fall Break intinerary punched out. - DONE, WALLET R.I.P.

Here's the new list:
- Get those Manchester United tickets and go to Old Trafford
- Find that go to club/bar lounge
- Try the London Curry (I know, its pathetic I still haven't done it yet)
- Have dinner on the Thames.
- Find time to go to Paris for one weekend.


'till then.

It Costs Twice as Much to Play in the UK

Okay, so I've finally got some time to get back to this after a whirlwind two weeks of traveling and getting used to living across the pond in the UK. Classes just started this week and I can definitely feel that these classes are going to challenge me in much different ways. Equations have been replaced by essays, problem sets with readings. Poop is going to hit the fan unless I'm on top of it. Its nice that all my classes are in the afternoon so I don't have to wake up early, considering that the walk to class is ridic - 30 minutes at California pace. And with me carrying my gym stuff its just exponentially heavier and sucks. But to recap, basically these last two weeks have been spent with my family and with new people and trying to set my feet down in a new environment.

I arrived into Heathrow and instead of doing the tourist-y stuff that you would normally do, me and my dad just tried to get acclimated to the London atmosphere in the terms of a Londoner, how to live, how much prices are, the cost of living. After buying a rice cooker and sim card I knew that it was going to be a rough semester in terms of the funds. But, things look good and I feel comfortable in London. Its completely unlike New York, its got a character of its own that I can't describe right now, but I'm sure I will be able to in a few weeks. After doing all that, it was to Scotland in Edinburgh where it was just me and my dad. It was great, it was rare for me to spend so much time with my dad one on one, and it was truly a fantastic experience to share with my dad, and definitely a good "bros hanging out" sesh. Because my sister and mom weren't around, we even got to steal a day and sneak off to St. Andrews to play golf at the home of golf. Here are some pics to recap:

After spending time with my dad it was time to move into NIDO and start my life at NYU again. It was a whirlwind of activities and little sleep as I was meeting new people, going out, doing orientation, sleeping little, spending lots, and doing it all over again. Its been nice, meeting some NYU kids that I didn't meet before and kind of getting in touch with the guys that I didn't talk to over the summer that I knew before. The next step now is to step out of my comfort zone even more, to go beyond the familiar and into the new. I'm looking into joining some competitive football (as they call it here) clubs and seeing if I can meet people that way. And then maybe meeting some new people in the classes that I'm taking. With all this and planning for weekend trips, football games, signing up for gym memberships, groceries, other intangible costs, and you can see that its been a wild ride for the first few days. But now that I've got the routine down hopefully things will slow down a little bit. I'm just afraid that I won't - and I probably won't - have enough time to really do all the things that I want to do. At least I got tickets to the Manchester United/Arsenal match at Emirates on November 8th, super wicked. Anyway, first week of London with NYU pictures:







































































Lets hope the next time I'm back on here I have made some kind of progress in the goals that I have set before you:

- Watch a Premier League match (planning on going to Fulham vs. Bolton)
- Get at least some kind of soccer going on a real pitch with my boots on and group of people
knocking the ball around.
- Find that "go to" restaurant
- Find chopsticks for eating
- Get some kind of Fall Break intinerary punched out.



As always, have fun and stay classy.