I'll Be Home for Christmas

I can't believe I have not written a post in so long. Quick update: after three weeks of no facebook and Wheaton webmail I finally gave in and failed my own test which was a month. One of the inconveniences of not checking facebook is that I failed to keep up with people's lives and events. When some people added me on facebook and did not receive an immediate confirmation, they were a little "offended". The same is with people who sent me message and did not receive any reply. The lesson in all these is that it is okay to go on facebook as long as we have a clear idea of what the purpose of facebook is which is to serve strictly as a communication tool.

On a more positive note, I am coming home in a week and will spend the whole break in NYC, until January 11. There will be a weekend where I will be in Boston, mostly likely the weekend before Christmas. I look forward to seeing all the friendly faces and make up for all the hugs and hot chocolates I missed while I was away.

Even though I missed Thanksgiving, I have a lot more to be thankful for this year than any other years. Changes do teach us many things and there is no denial that they are good for us though we do not voluntarily choose them. With each change there is always a time to adjust and reflect on our vulnerability and inadequacy. Being open-minded and positive about these changes are key to our personal growth. One thing I learn while I am here is that it is important to continually examine the state of our circumstance, to make sure that we are being challenged and be grateful for these challenges for they are blessings in disguise. This is one way our Heavenly Father communicates to us. He uses these transitional times to help us understand His grace and love. Though we are weak and we are utterly dependent on Him, He does not put us through any situation where it is beyond our ability to adapt. Instead, it is precisely in these situations where we grow and realize our potential.

May this Christmas be an extraordinary time for people to come to a fuller understanding and acceptance of the great love He displayed on the Cross for all humanity.

Test of Discipline

What do people do to avoid work? This is an easy question for many of us who live in a technological advanced and information-saturated time. Facebook, youtube, MySpace, AIM, MSN, and the like can easily entertain us for hours where we find escape from our tedious yet obligated work. However, the irony of it all is that even though we have all the knowledge and information readily available within the grasp of our fingers, we aren't reaching out to them. We are not necessarily learning more or becoming smarter than those who came before us who did not have these conveniences. This prompts us, the Y2K generation, to examine our relationship with computers and ask if the modern convenience plays any role in improving or hindering the quality of our learning, either by making knowledge more accessible or if it deters it by creating unnecessary distractions?

Personally, having a laptop and the Internet provide reasons enough for me to spend times away from my actual work and learning. Therefore, I challenge myself to spend my time wholly on the books and away from the computer and Facebook. This is a true test of personal discipline and I am determined to give it a try.

Here is the test,

No Facebook or Wheaton Webmail for a month starting from today, 10/20/08

Instead,

I am only allowed to check my LSE email and online search and keep up with the current events.

Please email me for any urgent matter at x.l.wang@lse.ac.uk

This is going to be hard, considering how much I dread and appreciate my readings that covers a range of subjects from philosophy to history, economics to the environment. Regardless of interesting subjects, I can't help it when my attention span moves way down to the negative quadrant on the X and Y axises and does not shown any sign of recovering any time soon. I know this is a necessary step if I am going to survive my year and truly live life to the fullest by having enough time for both learning and fun.

What happens to a few Loud Americans Abroad?

It has been two weeks since I settled in London and things have gotten easier, just as my faithful friends who had gone abroad promised me so. I have done some sightseeing but not enough to write a guidebook or advise someone on how to get around London. I have so far visited some of the most popular sights in London: Westminster Abbey, St. James Park, House of Parliament, Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, Tower of London, and Tower Bridge. I have a long list of favorite places in London and I have no doubt that in the foreseeable future, this list will continue to grow to be as long as a traditional Chinese scroll. For the starter, I recommend Westminster Abbey and the British Library. Nothing can be more exciting than standing on top of Charles Dickens' relics and breathing a few inches away from an original copy of a Shakespearean play or Jane Austen's journal or the Gutenberg Bible.

While much of these sightseeing enriches my understanding of the British history and intrigues me to learn more, I also long for some cultural familiarity. Before long, a few new friends and I embarked on a trip to satisfy both our stomach and cultural immersion. On one of those few sunny Friday afternoons there are in London, a few loud American students went to Leicester Square where the London Chinatown is located in for some yummy dim dum. Eating out with friends is a very pleasurable thing to do, if the food is delicious and the conversation is interesting. However, such enjoyment can end up very unforgettable where trying to figure out our individual bills can take as long as the meal itself. Needless to say, none of us are mathematicians and at the end, the waiter had to come after us for more money. Hopefully, we have not climb up to the top of that restaurant's banned customer list. Maybe, we will just have to disguise ourselves next time and keep it really low key to avoid any attention.

Getting Lost as Part of the Fun

It has only been a few days since I arrived in London but I feel like I have been here for ages. There are a lot of places and things to explore, there is simply no time to waste. Even so, I try to have a balance life and ease myself into this city by allowing myself plenty of leisure time because before long I will be diving into a lot of school work and bowful of stress and insomia that I will barely have the time to relax.

London is a city consists of many districts and I live in a district called Bloomsbury and LSE is located near Holborn. There is a 25-minutes walking distance between the dorm and the school and even though I've walk back and forth between these two places several times I still manage to get lost everyday on my way back to my dorm. If I have not been tempted to make just one turn, it would have saved me at least one hour of being lost somewhere. Even though I carry in my bags all the maps one would need to get around Central London, however, I feel somewhat incompetent because I have no sense of direction. It is a frastrating process but when I come to think about it, I can't help but laugh at myself. And after I have a good laugh, I sit down and give myself a pat in the back for having the courage to venture to a new destination all alone and was not afraid at all the whole time. I have gotten very good in using the underground system in London, which is equivalent of the subway system in the U.S. but I have yet to learn how to use the double-decker buses. The distance between the ground and the underground is so great the the escalators that take people are all very steep and long. If you stare up from the bottom of the escalator it is at least two stories high. I can't believe how people done it before those modern conveniences were installed. All those heights are not good for my nerves.

It is so much fun and rewarding to explore a new city all by yourself though it can be very scary. After reading a raving review about this Indian vegetarian all-you-can-eat buffet located in Chapel Market (Southwark) in my London guidebook, I decided to go there and have a meal. It is worth a try because London is a very expensive place to live and the cost of food is ridiculous. As a student, this is definitely a place where you can bring your friends to go to and have a spicy, healthy and inexpensive food.

After this daring first adventure into Southwark, a new district, it gives me new confidence that even though I will get lost sometimes it is worth the whole trouble because at the end of it is the fruit of my labor.

I am HERE finally! After hours of waiting in the airport and on the plane, I am grateful that I am still awake and not so much jet lag even though I slept little last night. This is technically my first flight experience without my family; it did feel a little weird and rebellious at first but I was comforted by these two older British couple who kept me company and held my hand when I was scared during the take off and the landing. I can't help it! I have little tolerance for speed and height! Anyways, during our sporadic conversation about politics, British history, economy, and personal matters throughout the night, the most surprising fact about London has been the fact that Londoners are mean! On the contrary, when describing their vacation in New York City, they found the New Yorkers to be very friendly (Something the Americans take for granted). And, it is not just two people. A 28 year-old single mom who helped me to get to my dorm also said the same thing! She reasoned that perhaps the media plays a role to help portray a kind and friendly image of New Yorkers. Nevertheless, I am intrigue to find out whether this statement is true or not in the seceeding months to come.

As I walk around the London streets, much of it reminds me of NYC. However, as I listened to the people talk in their British accent and heard the phrase, "Mind the gap" over and over again in the Piccadilly train line, I realize I am not at home anymore. This day has feel so long and it seems like a continent away between my dorm and the campus. I am starting to miss my little Wheaton bubble because my aching feet would have agree!

Countdown 'til I Leave

I have to say as a New Yorker, I am not very comfortable with having an online blog because I will be very self-conscious of what I say but I also understand that this is the best and the most efficient way for me to update my friends on my abroad experience. There is just one more thing, this blog is not just for those who read it, but for myself a year, two years, five years down the road when my memories have failed me in the lessons I learned and the adventures I undertook. Many have asked me if I am excited about this trip and for some weird reasons I seem to have trouble answering that question. London is a big deal to a lot of people but for someone who did not plan to go there in the first place, I can only say it is God's plan. To someone who is not a big traveler, I might not understand the implication of this abroad experience or the impacts it will have on me, but I trust that it is the better plan than the one I originally had. As a city girl, I look forward to exploring a new city. As I bid my posse and friends who are going abroad good-bye and praying for their safe journey, I wish I could leave with them instead of waiting here patiently for another month.

There is only one more week to go before I hop on a plane and land on a city that is so different and yet so familiar at the same time. For the journey ahead, I have no doubt that there will be many challenges but I know that I am ready for them.