The Week I was a Tourist...

With the third week of the BBC program almost at a close, I am starting to feel like I am actually back at school! I am taking a Writing for TV class that requires us to create a pilot episode by the end of the semester; this week we turned in the treatment outlining the entire storyline of the episode…this meant we had actual homework for the first time since arriving in London! At the BBC Academy we are in a DV workshop learning about using and operating the EX1 Camera. Hard to believe, but this is the first time I have been teched on a digital camera! Tomorrow we shoot short sequences and then have a professional edit them all together into one story-line. I should be prepping for that, but instead I decided to update all you lovely (this is the only word I can say with a British Accent) people on my life. 

The past few days have been filled with lots of sights and travel! Last week London was in a state of uproar with the official visit of Pope Benedict. All over the papers there were stories outlining his location and plans for each day of his visit; there was also a great deal of press protesting some of the comments from the Vatican of late. Regardless, I set out with my suitemate Saturday afternoon to see the Pope process (in the Popemobile!) down The Mall and to Hyde Park. We waited for over an hour for a five second glimpse. But it was worth it! We were less than 20 feet away from him! He looked scared to me…but as my father pointed out, he always looks scared. I guess if you are the pope, maybe that makes sense?

Bummer its a bit blurry...but still its The Pope!

On Sunday, I set off with a few friends to Greenwich. It is a small town right outside of London made famous for being the home of the Prime Meridian….0° longitude. Ya know when people say they use Greenwich Standard Time? They are referring to this place. The town itself is perfect for a day trip out of the city, for there are tons of small pubs and a very cool market—Greenwich Market—which is where we began the day. We then went over to the Royal Navel College, built in the 1700s and home to a very popular and well known military training base. Cool Fact: The man that designed these buildings, Christopher Wren, designed the current St. Paul’s Cathedral. We also checked out the Queen’s House, where we saw some great paintings dating from Henry VII’s time.

Greenwich is also known to be the favored location of the Tudors. Henry VIII and Elizabeth I were born in the now demolished Greenwich Palace, and for many seasons out of the year, the royal court resided in Greenwich. It is a happy coincidence that the Prime Meridian is located in the same town.

On Tuesday, our Arts in London Class visited the Victoria and Albert Museum. One of the great things about Britian is that all museums are free—it’s a good thing cause it seems that every museum we go to is bigger than the next! We spent most of our time in the British history section, however there is still a great expanse of things to see.

Our Feet on the Prime Meridian Line!

Wednesday was another massive London tourism day! I began by visiting the State Rooms at the Buckingham Palace. These rooms are only available for Public Viewing during the summer months when the Queen is not in residence. She comes back Oct 1….so going has been on my priority for the last few days. Now for those who like the expression “Wow,” you have not properly used it until you have seen the inside of this palace! Everything is covered in gold…Everything! The carpets are so thick you could sleep on them and the ceilings are so ornately designed they could be art exhibits themselves. I felt as if I had stepped into a Disney Fairy Tale. One of the coolest things, however, is that I could work there next summer if I wanted! They higher seasonal help to monitor the rooms and grounds…usually college kids. Officially added to the things I want to do one day.

This is from the back of Buckingham Palace. Look how sunny! Who says its ALWAYS raining in London...

From there I went to meet my fellow BBC colleagues to see The Mary Wives of Winsor at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre. We were in the Standing Section—OMG my feet hurt after standing for 3 hours—but the performance was amazing! The theatre itself is very cool and realistic…it has an open roof, so there were no lights or special effects. And because we were standing by the stage, we were very engaged in the action of the play. This was by far one of my favorite experiences so far, but I must say I need to see a Tragedy before I leave. Otherwise, I may feel like I didn’t get the full Shakespeare experience. And if this isn’t enough for one day, Wednesday concluded with a visit to the West End to see Yes, Prime Minister. Based on an 80s TV sitcom of the same name, the show revolved around the politics of the Euro, the BBC’s national tax (which they call the license fee), and oil. Lots of laughs!

Tomorrow my roommate and I set off for Edinburgh, Scotland! Can’t wait, but fear I may not be a fan of the colder weather. Having a great time, only trick is when will I fit in this homework I’m starting to accrue? Hmmm….

London Eye, Oh My!

I beginning to realize that there is so much happening that it is hard to fit it into my posts…maybe I should post more than once a week? Rewinding to a week ago, my roommates and I attempted to make a traditional English dessert: a Swiss roll. And by attempted, I mean we had to completely start over half way though and it took us the good part of three hours before we were done. Future Reference: whisking without a whisk is pretty damn impossible.

We Managed to Make Something...

Last weekend was the Thames Festival. Not sure what it celebrates other than the Thames River, but it was a full weekend of parades, food, and festivities, which culminated in an evening of fireworks on Sunday. Quite spectacular.

Seems everyone is getting into the swing here, and with that comes the wave of people getting sick as well. I was greeted early last week with one of my best guests: The Sinus Infection!!! (cue haunting music). Sniffling, I went to class each day this week with a role of toilet paper in my bag, causing others to ask if I had a weird thing about only using my own toilet paper…

We saw Educating Rita on Wednesday night. After the terribleness that was Danton’s Death…this was two hours of pure bliss. The two person show is a revival of the popular 1980 show that made Julie Walters famous around the world (she plays Mrs. Wellesley in Harry Potter). Although I really enjoyed the play itself, and found the main point of the show—which was that too much academic knowledge causes one to loose their innocent a pure views—was fabulous, I was not in love with the performance. It will be interesting to see the movie, starring Walters and Michael Caine.

Official instruction started at the BBC Academy this Thursday! I must say, the program here is AMAZING!! I can already tell we are going to come back to the States so much more prepared for working in the industry than we imagined was possible. Our swanky ID badges are the same ones that full-time employees wear, and the building we are in is opposite the iconic BBC studios building where celebrities appear and tourists flock. This week, we concentrated on learning the role of a “Researcher.” This is one of the bottom people on a project, however it is these people that come up with the meat of a show, contact guests or experts, and any other odd-ends that need to happen.

On Thursday Night I joined other NYU students on a trip to the London Eye! (I’ve been calling it The London Eye, OH MY!!!) This is a really big ferris-wheel that tourists get on to see London from the sky. It is an iconic part of the London Skyline, and a humongous tourist attraction. Lots of fun, and really interesting to see the layout of the city from the sky…unlike New York, London grew in twists and turns, eventually spilling over to the other side of the Thames River.  Today, nothing makes sense at all!

This is from the bottom of the Eye...each pod holds about 20 people during the rotation.

View from the Eye!

Currently reading Bill Bryson’s “ Notes from a Small Island.” (My high school friends should remember the author.) Its about his last travels around the UK before leaving for the US after living in England for 20 years….very funny and insightful!

Going to see the Pope today and then off to Greenwich tomorrow! Looking forward to being at 0°, 0°!!!

Classes Begin!

While you celebrated Labor Day in the US, I embarked on my first day of classes. 9 am ushered in Writing for TV taught by Archie Tate (IMDB him…its impressive). He talked about an number of British TV shows including Cracker, Dr Who, Skins, and of course The Office, making it clear to me that I have a lot of catching up to do when it comes to this country and television. We also watched an episode of “Spooks”—now in its 9^th series…we say seasons—and I more or less decided that British TV is either really really good or really really bad. Right now their most popular drama is called “Eastenders.” I watched an episode…it was crazy and hard to believe this was on anything but daytime tv.

Oh well. On Tuesday, in Arts in London, we visited the British Museum. I SAW THE ROSETTA STONE!!!! The Museum itself is very large, and a bit overwhelming—like most. Most of the objects are from early civilization stretching from Egypt to Mesopotamia to South America. It is impressive the collections that are housed under one roof, however the more and more I visit museums with famous relics, the more I am finding that the relic itself is not nearly as exciting as one expects. When I first saw the Rosetta stone, I nearly walked past it; and with so many tourists milling about it was hard to get a good look, let alone appreciate its significance. In the end, we had to leave the museum early because a child was lost. Luckily, all museums in the UK are free, so I can go back anytime.

Wednesday marked my first and last free day without class. However, in the evening, our Theatre in London class went to the National Theatre to see “Danton’s Death.” While the it was exciting to see the National Theatre—which serves as London’s premier threater exhibition platform—the show itself was not great. I won’t bore you with details.

Then what we were waiting for: Thursday was our first official day at THE BBC!! The main studios are located in a part of London known as White City, meaning I had to take The Tube. On my walk to Kings Cross Station—everytime I get jitters hoping to see a flying car—I felt like I was back in NYC attempting the subway for the first time. No worries, the trains are very clearly marked, and in no time I was flying along with other commuters. And for those New Yorkers out there: London’s tube is leaps and bounds ahead of our subway! Not only is it clean and comfortable, the trains are smooth and quiet!

As I stepped onto the platform between 9 and 10…no just kidding. I look forward to sharing my thoughts on inside the BBC in the next few days!!!

Cheers!

FIRST OFFICIAL LONDON PHOTO!

Tower Bridge across the Thames River in London

The End of Orientation/The Beginning of Class

With five days of orientation behind me, I am looking forward to starting classes bright and early at 9am tomorrow! The past few days were filled with getting to know you events and learning about London tours. Our main orientation was three hours long!!!! Luckily our Tisch orientation the next day wasn’t that bad. NYU in London is housed at The University of London, which is located in Bloomsbury. It is about a 15 minute walk from the dorm. All of my classes, with the exception of the BBC training program, are in the Senate House. This is the center of campus, and is the building the Vice-Chancellor (in our terms the President of the University) has his office and where the library is located. Our dean at Tisch said that had Hitler captured London during WW2, he would have taken up his headquarters in the Senate House!

Pubs here are quite the center of society! Many NYU students have been going out and having beers, however the big thing to get used to is that most pubs close at mid-night! For New Yorkers this is a real surprise (as is the fact the “The Tube” closes from midnight until 6am)! I went with a few others from my floor to the “Euston Flyer” on Friday night…just happened that a “football” match was taking place so the pub was packed. I met a lawyer from the area who told me all about how much the British hate Tony Blair. From the way they talk about Blair here, Bush should be thankful that we Americans aren’t so blatant about our dislike for him. It is also interesting how hung up the British still are about WWII. However, I do forget that London was bombed heavily during the war and that it marked the beginning of the end for their empire. Fun Fact: This week marks the 70^th anniversary of the Blitz, which was 57 consecutive nights of bombing by the Nazis.

On Saturday NYU sponsored a Panoramic Bus Tour of London—which they called a coach tour.  It was a wonderful overview of the city. I have officially seen Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, Houses of Parliament (including Big Ben), The Tower of London, London Bridge, Hyde Park, the Globe Theatre and St. Pauls Cathedral…but from a distance. Our tour guide was a cute old man that studied with The Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts (equivalent to Julliard in the US). The Tisch students that are studying there this semester were thrown for a loop to think that fifty years from now they may be doing bus tours in NYC! However, I am looking forward to exploring the city on my own very soon! There is so much to see!

Today was a great day of relaxation. And it seems it is such for many Londoners as well, for most shops and stores were closed! I used the time to surf the web, and I discovered that Netflix and Hulu does not work outside of the US! I guess this means no Mad Men or Greys Anatomy til I get back! On the upside, I did discover the TV lounge in the basement of the building! It was very empty, so I am looking forward to escaping to watch British TV soon. With classes beginning tomorrow, I know my hours of freedom will dwindle. But I am very excited regardless.  

First Night In London!!!

Hi All!

A little less than 12 hours ago I arrived in London...well I landed in the Heathrow Airport. Turns out this is about an hour outside of "Central London." I left JFK--which I have to say is one of my least favorite airports of all time--around 10:30. There was the usual hour and a half delay and the unusual security guard who told me my passport was invalid. (5 seconds of me internally flipping out until he told me it wasn't valid until I signed the document...why he couldn't have said that in the first place is beyond me!) On the plane--and we film kids know how important this is--the movie system was down! DOWN!

Oh well. My arrival in London sent all of these ole plane worries flying. This may be the city of rain, but today it was perfect. No jacket needed and not an ounce of humidity. What a wonderful change from the heat drenching City of New York! I am living at Byron Court, one of the three dorms for NYU in London. The dorm is BEAUTIFUL. Brand New! Wonderful Kitchen (with kitchenware so new the stickers are still on most things). The rooms are snug, but we are definitely living in class! Almost forgot: we have the honor of sharing the building with 80 year old residents who live on the first floor. Wonder how they feel about having us in their building?

Officially Skyped across the pond with my parents in South Carolina. It was kinda un-nerving that I could see my house and the sun pouring into the windows when it is pitch dark here--not sure if they have street lamps on the street outside. But whoever invented the program is a genius. PS: I've only used Skype a total of 4 times, so I'm still adjusting to it in general!

Tomorrow begins orientation in all its glory. We have a lot of walking tours ahead...very reminiscent of freshman year! Its almost 11pm here, but since most of us are jet lagged its impressive that we managed to stay awake until 7! Secret: I took a 3hr nap!

London Awaits!