Welcome to A Buffalonian Abroad

Why hello there! Having been in merry ol' England for just over a week now, I thought it might be time to drag myself out of jet lag-induced stupor and start blogging already. So here we are: my travel log and daily (or weekly, or twice-weekly, depending on how exciting things get over here) journal for all things Lizz in East London. This blog is still a work in progress, as I'm trying to decide which layout, background image, font, etc. are best, so bear with me as we travel through what may be several incarnations before I decide which I prefer. Anyway, enough of that, on to the topic at hand. Where shall we start?

Like all good artists, I appear to have been a bit absent-minded in my packing, and so forgot (of all things) my camera USB cord to upload photos. So you're going to have to wait for my stunning photos of the campus and surrounding area. For now, a little old stock photo will have to do. So here we are:




I live in Clare House (the round blue one) on the ground floor, with a lovely view (and earful) of the airport just a stone's-throw away. Literally. The City Airport is located on the shore of the Thames in Docklands and the planes land right smack in front of campus. My room (photos to follow, see USB issue above) is, shall we say, cozy. It's wedge-shaped, about six feet wide at its widest and tapers down to the door. My bed is tucked into the wall with shelves above, and my bathroom (shower included) may be the size of the average Winnebago. But hey, it's all mine, so I can't complain. I live in a flat with two other girls, Mags from Ireland and Antonia from Nigeria. Antonia (a second-year undergrad in Business Management, I believe) isn't around much, but Mags (a primary education postgrad) and I get along well. Sharing the kitchen with just two others is a treat, since most people share between five. More on my cooking adventures to come, I'm sure, as I'm still getting used to stocking my own kitchen, using UK appliances (a switch to turn on the stove? what?) and the like. Anyway, living accomodations are humble, but vastly cheaper than living in Central and easier than real-estate hunting, so I really can't complain.

As for the surrounding area, the University is situated right on top of the Cyprus DLR stop, an above-ground railway which connects to the Tube into Central London. I haven't timed it out yet myself, but the journey into Central is approximately 45 minutes on the train. All-told, not terribly awful. I'm within walking distance of an ASDA supermarket (which is owned by Wal-Mart) and supposed walking distance from a shopping center called Gallion's Reach, which has all the usual chain stores, a cell phone place, a Mickey D's and a Tesco, which is the other large supermarket chain. I learned quickly to bring my own bags to each of these, since hoofing it with a plastic bag full of canned goods and glass bottles is just asking for trouble. I already saw one girl lose her groceries to an unfortunate rippage event and it wasn't pretty.

Instead of staying on campus all the time, I'll be traveling to a venue called Stratford Circus in the nearby town (city? I can never tell the difference) of Stratford for class. No, not Shakespeare's Stratford. That's Stratford-Upon-Avon, which I will be visiting on Sunday. I couldn't tell you the difference just yet, but I'll be sure to report back once I find out. This Stratford is (as far as I can tell) a bit more populated than the area I'm living directly in, and will be a nice change from campus at least twice a week. Stratford Circus is near (but not on) the other campus UEL operates. It's a performance space for artists, since the MA Writing students are invited and encouraged to collaborate with the dance, performance and mixed media students to create our projects. For example, if I were to write a play, I could ask theatre students to perform it in class for me. Not bad, eh? Here's a photo of Stratford Circus:




My classes will take place two evenings a week, Tuesdays and Wednesdays this semester, for three hours each. They will consist of a lecture and/or seminar and workshopping of each other's work. We had our induction (which is like an orientation) on Tuesday, and I have to say the module leaders (what we Yanks would call professors) are really enthusiastic, fascinating people. I think I can really learn a lot from them and my fellow students. It's a small program: there are only about ten of us altogether, which will be nice for workshopping. It's always better (in my humble opinion) to share your work and have it torn limb from limb by a small group of people you can grow to know and trust than by a large symposium of strangers. We range in age from 20s to 60s and come from all different places and backgrounds, which is sure to provide some diverse material. I'm pretty pumped to see how it all plays out.

There's really not a whole lot more to tell, although expect more exciting developments in the weeks to come. There's a card called an oyster card which I need to use public transportation without buying single trips, which I've ordered and am anxiously awaiting in the mail. Once I have that, I'll have greater mobility and (I hope) better stories for all of my loyal readers.

I've also applied for a bank letter to get a bank account, which is a letter the school must supply stating that I'm a resident at their campus to satisfy UK bank residency requirements. I've chosen Lloyd's as my bank here because they're large, offer free banking, overdraft protection (not that I'll use it, but just in case) and their debit cards can be used widely throughout the UK. A UK bank account is vital for two reasons: first, I need somewhere to deposit my student loan check which I expect at the end of this week and it makes my money more accessible for everyday expenses. Drawing large amounts from my US account at the ATM is not only inconvenient but expensive, and I'd (obviously) like to stop doing that as soon as possible.

Communication with the outside world relies solely on the interwebs and skype at the moment, as I haven't got a cell phone yet, but I think I'm going with T mobile for the same reason: cheap, easy to use, and their store is conveniently located to me. There is still a myriad of things I have yet to buy, find or figure out (London tube system, grocery shopping at the local market, Stratford, etc.) but I'm confident all of that will come with time. In the meantime, stay tuned! I promise more interesting stories to come.