MIND THE GAP

// Preface: I took all these notes in a 100page small notebook and filled the entire thing up during the trip. Maybe I will remember details as I write but 90% of this is from my little notebook on which I have since painted the Mind the Gap logo on the cover. I did change the tense as many times I wrote things as they happened and it is confusing to keep switching around like that. //


Flight EI248 18.50 departure - 20.10 landing. seats 14A / 14B
Flight EI243 8.35 departure - 9.55 landing. seats 10A / 10B

9 Feb 2008

Harris and I walked to Spar and met up with Noah Beki and Morgan. We got the bus to Galway at half nine and caught the 11 am bus to Dublin Airport, which was € 19, but oh well. It took till 3.15 and we tried (mostly unsuccessfully) to find a comfortable way of sleeping on the bus. Beki Morgan and Noah had to run to catch their flight. We got some food while we waited for it to be check-in time. The Dublin airport was really pleasant in the departure area at least. I liked the huge green and red futuristic lights that took up the entire ceiling (how did I not notice them right away) and the shiny silver bits on the floor - I bet they put them there to keep little children, and people like me, amused. Security was incredibly stress free (for once) and took about 2 minutes. As we walked toward our gate we saw this guy shining a woman's boots. It was a nice little setup with four red leather chairs. €7 but it was about the experience, so Harris got his boots shined. The guy was pretty great. I think his name was Boco and we asked where he was from and he said that his capital city was Sophia. We were trying to figure out where he was from and kept guessing all these countries because he said it was around Greece and Turkey and the Black Sea and Serbia Montenegro and Romania. We obviously aren't taught geography very rigorously in the states, and we could not guess it, but it turned out to be Bulgaria (he told us after 5 or so minutes of embarrassed struggling). Well, now we will always remember. Harris's shoes look pretty awesome though, brand new like. We got to our waiting area and Harris went off to go find out how much pints were.

"Hey, hey Harris"
"Wh-wh-what?"
"We're going to London!"
"Yess we are!"

What I want to know is why there were one, two, three, four three-quarters full pints sitting around the edges of counters in the waiting area. What a waste. Do people buy a pint 5 minutes before boarding time or do they just take two hours to drink it? I don't know. We had about an hour and a half to relax, but one Bulmers and a guinness made the time go quicker. The sun setting outside of the window to my right was cinematically beautiful. For such a loud (planes taking off) and busy place, it was surprisingly calm and quiet. You could see the mountains in the distance & for me at least it drew more parallels to the desert. There was a really cute baby running around whose brother kept having to reign him in. I also liked that the bathrooms were labeled "Ladies" and "Gents." While I was in the "Ladies" there was a little boy a few stalls over and I heard him say, "I was the best mascot ever! What is a mascot? You're going to flush down the toilet when you scream, Nana!" Psychobabble. Back outside, we talked about Paris and I told Harris everything I could remember about what to do and how to act and things to say and such. We were also pretty sure there was a French futbol team next to us, based on the cheering at the TV. We paid a euro or so to use the internet booth next to our seats. 20 minutes before the flight, it was very dark out. We took photos of each other in the airport and there was a poem on the wall called "On Dublin and Sunset over the Liffy" but my eyes were too bad to be able to read it from my seat and I was content sitting and looking forward to a nap on the plane. Harris drew in his sketchbook and I attempted to crack my back to no avail. Gate B25, you were so quiet compared to Newark or BWI and I really appreciated that. Orange lights outside twinkled in the darkness and for some reason, for a small second, it felt like Christmas. I watched planes take off behind a man in white patent leather sneakers and one of the janitors looked just like Jesus. The plane ride was uneventful, sleepy, and full of pretty lights in the dark. We landed around 8. They herded us all past customs without looking at anyone's passport.

The exchange rate of course was and is miserable. I had £100 but the tain to Victoria was 10something already. The train was a bit slow and I took a photo of the reflection of us in the window. We got to Victoria and stood outside for a moment so Harris could have a cigarette and I said I knew I was in London because of their cute British cabs/taxis and such. We paid for a one day pass and waited quite a long time for the Circle Line train to Bayswater. We got to Fiana's flat without a hitch around 11pm. The architecture of the buildings all around was pretty impressive. Bayswater street seemed promising as we walked past. We got changed and unfortunately it was already close to midnight so everything was closed besides clubs that were 2 bus rides or so away and also had cover charges. We walked up Portabello road for quite a ways with Fi and her roommate Steph before deciding that "The Bed" pub she was looking for did not, in fact, exist. We stopped in an Indian run convenience store and got 2 Carlsbergs each fairly cheaply and Harris got a magazine and we went back to Fi's flat, which is in the basement across from Prince Edward's pub. Harris and I were famished so we went back to Bayswater street and the only thing open was Subway, so we shared a 12inch onion chicken teriyaki sub, which they put extra meat/cheese on without asking and tried to overcharge us, but they took 10% off at least when we complained. It was however, extremely delicious, so thank you Subway, for being open and making a good sub. And thanks Fiana and Steph for the bed and hospitality.

10 Feb 2008

We must have been very tired (although with no jetlag we don't have an excuse) because we all woke up around noon. Fi offered us the use of her shower but as it was so late already we wanted to get a move on and start the day. We walked literally around the block to Hostel 63, which Harris saw yesterday while out for a walk. There was a Polish guy working at the desk named Marchin (spelling?). Anyway, it was only £12 a night (per person) so we booked it for Monday and Tuesday nights. Then we walked up to Bayswater and ate breakfast at the ARTCAFE which was beautiful and laid back and run by spanish speaking people who were all very pleasant. I got the Renoir breakfast, which was 2 eggs, 2 rashers, beans, a cooked tomato & toast and Harris got basically the same thing minutes the beans and tomato plus a delicious cheesecake with kiwis on top. There were some obnoxious Americans that walked in with a frisbee who were saying stuff like "there's not even room to sit outside, why even bother?" but eventually came back and sat inside behind us and we've been mocking them. They make me cringe. We paid £1 to use their internet for 90 minutes (which we didn't use all of) to look up galleries and museum locations and email Nigel. Harris finally got through to Jaime and there was some Chinese New Year celebration outside. Unfortunately we didn't know till later that the BIG Chinese New Year celebration was happening in Soho, so we missed that. Harris picked out a purse for me at this shop where mostly everything was only £5, which is good because the purse I bought in Dublin had broken. We took the tube to Embankment and walked across the bridge over the Thames. We saw a very tall, very neon, very bald cross-dresser/clubkid/something and found the Hayward Gallery. We got directions to the Tate Modern from a girl inside with pastel pink hair and walked back across the river. Having walked quite a ways we asked a nice businessman for directions and he said to walk back across the river again and we finally found it. The Tate Modern was pretty amazing. They had up some Francesca Woodman photos and a whole Surrealist exhibit. I could write you a list of names but I don't know if you'd recognize most of them. Little kids made art on the floor and there were some really great works from Joseph Beus. Max Ernst, Yves Tangay, Mark Rothko, Franz Kline, Jackson Pollock, Andy Warhol, Piet Mondrian, Sol Lewitt, Fiona Rae, Robert Morris, Christina Iglesias, Donald Judd, Roy Lichtenstein, Ellen Gallagher, some great artists from the Congo, Dieter Roth, Steve McQueen, James Rosenquist, Robert Rauschenberg (reminded me of that huge show i saw of his in the MOMA i think? That was such a good show), Oldenburg, Juan Gris, Eduardo Paolozzi, John Baldessari, Jonas Mekas, Henri Matisse, Maurizio Cattalan (had 3 sculptures of saluting hands -hitler style- coming out from the wall), Pierre Bonnard, Ernst Barlach and Gerhard Richter. To name a few. On the first floor there is also a giant crack in the cement floor as an art piece that runs the length of the gallery and I have a photo of Harris's head in it. We got a smoothie and talked to a nice man on the balcony outside the cafe who said not to pay for a ferry to Tate Britain.

White neon lights: "The whole world + the work = the whole world"

We decided it was probably too late to go to the other museums, so we walked back along the South side of the river and saw some very pleasing blue and white lights on the trees. We heard reggae music in the distance and all of a sudden these two 60-70 year old men were dressed like Elvis (I will post video) dancing and hip thrusting to the music and it took us about ten minutes to pry ourselves away. We were almost crying it was so funny. We took tons of photographs on the way back. There were blue, pink and green lights in the water but they didn't show up on camera unfortunately. We got money from an ATM in Embankment Station and then walked a bit but ended up turning back around and going back to Bayswater. We ate at a Thai place called Tuk tuk or Nuk nuk or something like that and split this appetizer combo that was delicious for only 4.80 per person, and I also got Thai ice tea, which mom knows I love. We went back to Fi's and on the way, in the tube station he asked why I wasn't wearing my hair down and I said since it was up in a ponytail it'd look bad but I'd shower and use Steph's hair straightener when we got back so he went to the art store we'd seen on Portabello the night before while I took a shower and dried and straightened my hair. I talked to Mom on the phone which was good, but she told us how a large chunk of Camden Town apparently burnt down the previous night, which none of us had heard about. I would later find out was a 14 alarm fire and apparently some pub that a lot of celebrities (incl. Amy Winehouse) like was one of the places that burnt. Then Harris, who had fairly good success, came back. I mentioned thinking about giving myself bangs and he said to go for it so I used Fi's baby scissors and stared at myself in the mirror for a bit and did it. I had an audience half the time heh but I guess it turned out well, eh. It went through about 3 stages and critiques before I finished. Then Fi, Steph, Harris and I went to Prince Edward's. They had a kind of cider kind of like Bulmers called Strongbow, but I got gin&tonics instead, and some food. It was very good. Harris drew this interesting man at the bar's head who looked like Royal from the Royal Tennenbaums. Luis, who works here, was really nice as well. We saw Big Ben from far away but Fi just told us it is covered in gold, which I had not realized. Also, apparently the city of Bath is really nice and I hear from an ariel view it is shaped like a question mark.

Okay I guess it is high time I told you about CCTV (thank you Harris for informing me CC stood for Closed Circuit, you are a wealth of information). But yeah, Big Brother is everywhere. Cali, NY, Miami, some parts of Washington have some in the traffic lights and corners, but nothing like this. The average Londoner is on CCTV something like 500 times a DAY. Average. And you know there's got to be some veritable hermits who bring down the average. We counted about 48 in one tube station alone.

We talked to Fi about how much the British love American Cheerleaders and how she met a New Zealander and an Australian and the New Zealander hated Flight of the Conchords (Australian hadn't seen it). Also she told us a story about some Brit who said "I saw that 'I love New York shirt and I was like eff that so I got an 'I love NJ" shirt." She told us about how when she was in Bath they stayed with a Brazilian futbol team who spoke no english, trying to play Jenga with them and that's the only word they had in common. We went back to the flat and watched the BAFDAs which are like Britain's Oscars I guess, or whatever award actors get. After it was over Harris said

"Let's go find celebrities!"

The only downside was that the tube stops running at midnight and it was already almost half eleven. Also we didn't know where said celebrities were but we were going to try Leicester Square. Videos about this event also were taken and quest Viggo Mortensen began. We got on the circle line and debated if were doing a possible thing. We took a bunch of photos (that looks really scary because of the blur) in the tube station and there was also a giant panda sculpture thing I photographed in the subway. I saw a Lord of the Rings musical poster, which I am still curious about. Fi had given us the Transport London number that you call and tell where you are and need to be and they will tell you what bus line to take but she said you need to also find out the letter or you will go in the wrong direction. It seemed a little sketchy/confusing but regardless a diseased looking drunk with his leg wrapped up in gauze appeared on the train and gradually moved up toward us and right before he approached we reached Glouster so we ended up getting off and caught the very last train back to Bayswater. We stopped in a 24 hr convenience store and bought ice cream (I got the same kind I always get in town here haha) and then took more video on the way home. Then we watched this weird movie I still don't know the name of because I nodded out during the credits, but I know it included flashbacks and 4 older men going on some journey with another man's ashes whose wife used to be a gypsy girl and he used to be a butcher boy and they had a retarded daughter. (Anyone know? Sound familiar?)

Oh, I forgot to mention. Fi told us how last semester a boy from Syracuse NY was being a stupid tourist and not paying attention and ended up getting DECAPITATED by one of the double decker buses. Pedestrians, by the way, do not have the right of way here.


11 Feb

I woke up at 8.15 and got ready. Steph said I could come use her hair straightener whenever, which was nice of her. Fi left for school around 9.15 and I borrowed Steph's key so I could go sit outside. It was a bit chilly and I wished I had a warmer coat, but it was nice to be out in the fresh morning air. Lots of buses and cars and birds chirping and morning sun making the white buildings, balconies and columns even more radiant. I walked up to the hostel to ask Marchin what time check in was. I was greeted good morning by 4 or 5 people, one of which being an Italian businessman (or so he looked) and another black guy with long braids in his hair working on something in the street. London is apparently a morning person.

We stopped at a french pastry shop to pick up breakfast. The woman at the counter looked just like Angelina Jolie playing Mariane Pearl in A Mighty Heart, except even more believable. We drank our coffee and ate our pastries outside of Prince Edward's after a walk and then walked through Kensington and Hyde parks, which were really nice, past the pond with all the ducks and swans and numerous other birds. We found the Serpentine Gallery after passing it twice, but unfortunately it was closed due to putting up a German exhibition. I did buy an interesting book about Polaroids and OCD and a postcard. We walked back through the park and checked into our hostel. We then left to go meet Jaime for lunch. We got sandwiches and sat outside of a Starbucks to eat and she told us how to get to places and about her 3 years here. She told us a story about a guy trying to break through their kitchen window (but he didn't). We went to her flat and met her roommate whose name Harris and I cannot, unfortunately, remember but I liked her a lot and she was born in American but grew up in Milan. She goes to school with Jaime and makes jewelry. After that we walked through China town to the National Portrait Gallery. Sam Walsch, Lucien Freud, Leon Kossoff, Snowdon, Ian Breakwell, John Keane, Stuart Pearson Wright, Ross Wilson. The Photo Prize was up as well, and I am not going to write any of the names because I am sick of writing names but I'll just say it was great. Well there's a star next to Chad Hunt so I guess I really liked his work.

Then we went to the National Gallery which was right next door. We saw the Tudor gallery

"ALL FLESHE IS GRASSE"

and I really liked the portrait of Henry Wriothesley, 3rd Earl of Southampton 1573-1624. He had nice, unique hair. For that time at least. We also really liked "A Grostesque Old Woman" attributed to Quinten Massys. Lots of Rembrandts too. Turner. Constable. Delaroche. Monet. Cezanne. Rosseau. Van Gogh. Picasso. Degas. In the gift shop we each got a map/guidebooky thing. We took the tube to the Tate Britain but they were closing soon. The exhibit we went to see cost £6 so I didn't want to do it but after Harris went in and flipping through fashion art magazines for a bit, the guy at the door waved me over and said I could go in for free, which was really nice of him because it was an amazing show and I am really glad that I got so see it - Peter Doig. I got two magazines and the girl at the checkout, whose name also turned out to be Emily, asked where I was from and wanted advice because if her boyfriend gets into SVA they are moving to NYC so I told her I would ask my uncles/family and get back to her so we exchanged e-mail addresses. It was already dark at that point so we went back to the tube. It was VERY crowded. We got off at Notting Hill and tried to go to a thrift store but it was closing. So we went to Cafe Diana, which was dedicated to princess Di and ate Lamb & greenery in pita bread - delicious - and mint tea. There was a program on the telly with a rescued seal and it was so cute. At that point my knee had unfortunately started throbbing - the pain actually started in the National Portrait Gallery, where I had to hop/hobble down the stairs - and yes, that sucked. Some lady on the street earlier asked me to be in some hair show, forgot to mention that. We got some free newspapers which is good because out of £160 I only have £28 left. Things I have bought: food, tube tickets (one 1 day pass, and one 3 day pass which has paid for itself a million times over), guidebook, a couple drinks, purse so i can carry stuff around, and hostel. At least there is actually a Barclays here.

After Cafe Diana we found about 3 thrift stores and I got a red dress for my photo project! I tried it on when we got back to the hostel and Harris liked it and considering it was only £4 total I'd say that is a great success. Harris got a tie to go with the green sweater he got last night and a pair of blue sneakers. We dropped off our stuff and went and got the 6 Carlsbergs for £5 special at the convenience store and went back to the hostel and drank them while reading our magazines and free newspapers we'd collected. I stared/listened with my ear out of the window to a group of Russians sitting outside of Prince Edward's. From our window you could see Fiana's flat. Someone in the garden below was definitely smoking weed because you could smell it from our window. We made friends with one of the other guys in our hostel - Neil Douglas Edward's. What a name. I have since found him on Facebook. He told us where the cool places were and I talked to him about our school here while Harris went out for a walk in Hyde Park. He said how he worked in Chino (Cali) for a while and stayed with this crazy woman for a month just by knocking on doors and asking for a place to stay, and she'd buy them food and stuff for free. The three of us went out for a stroll around the block so Neil could get a drink from Subway. We saw a place that was open, some cocktail havana latin dance something, but w went back to the hostel and went to sleep. I had a dream that Robert wanted each cottage to do fire drills but in order to do so we had to actually set our houses on fire.

12 Feb

We got up around half nine and went to Fi's so Harris could shower and I could straighten my hair. Then we went to ARTCAFE for brunch and I had a tomato-mozzarella-avacado panini and a lemon & sugar crepe. We went to Barclays to use the ATM and then took the tube to Oxford Circus and I got a cheap jacket in Primark. Top Shop was huge and not all that impressive but at least they played Hang the DJ and Personal Jesus. We took the tube to Camden Town, the punk/rock/goth/alternative lifestyle mecca, grabbed some food (scottish smoked salmon sandwich for me, & mango soda) and ate up on Starbuck's terrace overlooking the closed off street from the recent fire. We walked through dark markets smelling of incense and lots of punk gear, British boots, jewelry, scarves, lingerie, thrift stores, foreign food, basically anything you could possibly think of was there. We were looking at our map under a bridge and a woman (50s? 60s?) with burgundy hair and piercings asked if we were lost and needed help. We told her we were looking for Frank Auerbach's studio and she thought he was our friend (we are more likely to get sued for stalking) and to look it up on the internet. She also said that it was like if she came to our country and asked us where John Smith lived heh. After walking around for a bit, we did go and search online and Harris found the address of Walter Sickert's studio, where Frank now works so after following clues we drew ourselves a map and took the tube to Mornington Crescent and it took me a few minutes to get Harris to realize we were standing right across from the street we were looking for. We walked up and saw the sign saying "Walter Sickert lived and worked here" so we knew we had actually found it. Harris pressed all the door bells ABC&D but alas, no answer. So he wrote him a note (which I have photographic documentation of) and we went and got coffee around the block and then went back and rang again and then finally left. We got off at Notting Hill and went to the art store. We tried 2 of the vintage stops again but no luck. We went back to the hostel and I felt bad because I kept missing everyone's calls due to my phone being in my purse where I can't hear it. Stephanie Leal texted saying she was out of work. Harris called his dad while I rested my feet/knee. I didn't get much sleep the night before due to knee throbbings. We went off to go find Slade but when we finally found it they wouldn't let us see the painting studios and we didn't think to ask about an actually gallery, but it was really disappointing. We walked around and Harris got some souvenirs and I looked for boots but no luck. We went into Whiteleys and there was an H&M in there and Harris got a really nice light grey dress shirt and I got legwarmers, which I know are stupid but they actually do keep you warm. We ate dinner at a Lebanese restaurant, where harris changed into his nice new shirt. The food was delicious, even if it was more expensive than last night. The guys next to us put salt in their friends drink while he was in the bathroom and we were all laughing at it. I also realized that the back of my heel was bleeding. We went back to the hostel again and I changed into less-dressy jeans so I could wear socks as stupid as they looked, my feet hurt too badly not to, and Harris found a gallery that was assuredly closed but he wanted to find it anyway so Neil (our hostelmate) and I went to meet Stephanie while Harris went off on his quest.

On the way, Neil gave me a phraseology lesson. Some I knew, some I did not.
Truck = Lorry
Stop Light = Traffic Light
Sidewalk = Path

We met up with Steph at Warwicks. Jaime came and we met him as well. Conversation ranged from philosophy of artistic aesthetics-beauty to comedic poetry to Jaime buying a motorbike on eBay one night while drunk (he later resold it and made a small profit luckily) to "This is going to be awkward because that's my dad (Kenny Leal) sitting in the first row, and this is a poem about how I didn't want to cook breakfast after a one night stand with that guy (points at random audience member)". Neil talked about his constant need to travel and how he majored in Politics. Jaime apparently talks to his plants, I think the one's name is Vanilla? and apparently Steph killed a bunch of them haha. Jaime works for some famous chef in London who has a bunch of TV shows but I can't remember the name. They each bought me a drink. Steph tried to give Harris directions because I had run out of credit on my phone but in the end she and Jaime left and Neil and I went to try and find Harris by the Shakespeare, which we got a bit lost trying to find but eventually we were all reunited and we decided to go to that Latin cantina dance place we'd seen on bayswater the previous night. We ended up being the very first people there, which was a little awkward and then Harris and I didn't realize we'd get change for our Beck's so one of the girls brought it over and that was embarrassing as well. We sat in a corner and Harris told us how he accidently almost hopped a fence into Buckingham Palace hahaha. After a bit we headed back and Harris and I said goodbye to Fi and Steph and dropped off the key they'd let us borrow. Fiana told us a story that finally satisfied Harris's "What's the worst thing that happened to you here?" question: Four guys from ithica had made "friends" with these 3 guys while drinking and hung out with them once or twice and then one night real late they called them up and wanted to come in and they said no cuz it was late but eventually one of the guys let them in and once they were inside they pulled down skimasks or the equivalent and one pulled out a gun and said to give up all their laptops and wallets and get on the floor. One of the guys had his laptop to his chest and refused to do it. One of the Londoners said to shoot him but as this was happening one of the other boys got up and ran out of the flat and started screaming for help. So the three guys took off after him with the bag of stuff leaving the other 3 to call the police. They chased him for awhile but eventually dropped the bag and got in a car and sped off. He got the bag back and in the end the only thing that was stolen was one kid's social security card. Turns out the gun was a BB gun which makes sense, since you can't buy guns over here, not even the garda carry guns, but in the heat of the moment, what would you have done, right. Crazy. We went back to the hostel and packed and Harris and Neil had a political discussion while I fell asleep.


13 Feb

I woke up at 5.15 and got ready. When we got to Bayswater Station the circle line was closed so we went up to Queensway and took Central line to Oxford and then transferred to the blue line to get to Victoria Station. We bought breakfast and took the Southern Train Line to Gatwick. We wandered around and passed the time in the bookstore since our flight was delayed till 9.15 (because of so much fog in Dublin) but then I saw this Polish-English dictionary I really wanted but by the time I found it I couldn't get it because our flight was boarding. We had perfect timing though because as soon as we were in the waiting area everything got really crowded and we didn't have to wait in the long line. I slept on the flight so it felt like it lasted 5 minutes and Harris sketched my portrait of me sleeping on the back of one of the barf bags cuz it was the only plain paper. Customs took mere seconds once we got through the painfully long line of obnoxious tourists. We went to the currency exchange. £37 turned into €48 but then only 44 because of commission. We took a different bus, Nestorlink, instead of Citylink, to Galway because it was €1 cheaper and the guy said they'd get there fast, and he was nice. We spent the first hour of the ride talking to this great Scottish man named Lawrence and his neighbor, a 13 year old Irish boy named Ray I think. They had just gotten back from L.A. and Universal Studios. They got to go on the Jurassic Park ride, not fair!

"Limerick. It used to be Stab City, but now they just shoot ye."

He spent a lot of energy trying to talk us into going to Glasgow. It was incredibly warm out - 13 degrees C and really sunny. There was a Garda car parked on the side of the road and Lawrence started snorting and calling them piggies so I guess some things are not so different from the US haha. No one was in the car but Matt, our busdriver, whose real name is actually Muhammad (but I'll come to that) said they have cameras hidden inside the cars to catch you speeding. We discussed regional accents and sayings, like how the people in the North as a greeting will say "What about ya?". Lawrence also had a bottle of Jack Daniels that he bought for $80 in Duty Free thats box was larger than say, an old school boombox. He moved to Ireland about 27 years ago I believe he said, but he still goes home 4 or 5 times a year.

After they got off, we talked to Matt, our busdriver, for the remainder of the trip. Matt's real name is Muhammad but the Irish really like to change people's names. He'd been in the country 7 years now, originally from Kosovo. We talked about politics and the effects of American government on everyone else in the world. He talked about this Match Making Festival in Lisdoonvarna every year that Mikey had told Shelby and I about when we visited (he said it was crazy and he'd go to protect female friends haha). Matt said, yeah, well, but now I am married so I am not so wild anymore. "We say in Ireland, I have the talk but I don't have the walk." Matt told us about how he has never had a loan and always pays off his credit card on time. Then we talked about Kosovo.

This Sunday Kosovo is declaring independence officially! We are going to celebrate, and you should too. 17 February!

I learned that there is only one airport in Kosovo, in the capital, Priština. Anywhere you go in Kosovo is only an hour away from Priština. He grew up about 10 miles away from there. He studied law but never finished because of the war. He was 20 years old when he fought in the Liberation Army of Kosovo. "They used to call us terrorists, but we were invaded. They wanted to do ethnic cleansing. They raped and killed women and children." We talked about how terms like militia and guerilla all depended on political propaganda. He fought for most of a year and a half. His family came to Ireland to escape. Half of Kosovo left. Walking. Driving. Any way they could.

We talked about the differences in welfare and healthcare between Ireland and America and how nauseating the US insurance business is. It was very sunny so Harris gave Matt his sunglasses to borrow. Matt told us how he is 29 and his wife (also from Kosovo) is 23 and he married her and brought her here and wanted to get married before he lost his chance with her haha. He knew some Polish because he dated a Polish girl years back, but mainly he speaks Albanian. He gave us some historical background on Kosovo and also we talked about how in Kosovo there are people that are Christian, Protestant, Muslim, and no one has any problems with each other. That was never an issue. They just saw themselves as Albanians. We discussed the Troubles in Ireland as well. He told us how he feels bad when people blame him for traffic or other things out of his control.

He turned the radio on for a bit since we'd been talking since the airport. He was fascinated that I was writing everything down and said how it was good because in 50 years I will read it and things I never thought of will all come flooding back.

I loved his speech patterns.

"Amazing how system of brain work."

We then talked about obnoxious American tourists like that group of girls Harris Neil and I saw on the tube the night before. Matt said how many Americans come over thinking they are better than everyone else. Humility is necessary. Matt told us about the walls in county Clare. He says many Irish are bad drivers "cuz you get license at pharmacy." He said that about how in America it is so easy to get guns "You get in pharmacy." He said there was another recent school shooting. I still have to look that up and see what that is about. He told us about his 9 month old son, Ensar (he spelled it for me) who his wife is not working right now so she can take care of him. He wants her to raise him. He said when he is old enough, he will send him to Montessori school, best in IRE.

I found out Harris's mom owns 6 houses in one complex at Ohio State that she rents to International students so he gets to meet them, which is really neat.

There were some gardas checking seatbelts or registrations or something so we all put on our seatbelts. Ireland towns are a lot more colourful than the white stone London. Harris and I both dozed off for a bit. We arrived in Galway and Harris tried to get Matt to keep the sunglasses but he wouldn't, however I took photos of them together and he said maybe he'd see us if/when he took his wife through Ballyvaughan on the way to Cliffs of Moher. We walked to the ATM and then walked to this great fish & chips restaurant Harris knew about that was delicious. There was a family eating on the same bench as us whose little kid was NOT happy about eating his fish. The dad tried to bribe him by telling him that pirates ate fish every day and he'd never be allowed to be a pirate if he didn't. After not having soda for so long, sprite tasted so good! We went to the art supply store and I got some paint. We went to Dunnes for Paddy but ended up getting something a few euros cheaper. Then we walked through the park to the bay, which was really beautiful if you ignore the construction to your left. I also loved how the mountains rose out of the mist. Speaking of which, when we landed in Dublin, ti was absolutely breathtaking. A blanket of fog. What I first took to be volcanic looking islands were the tips of mountains and everything was dark green and greywhite. So beautiful/magical/mystical. I've never seen anything quite like it, in real life, TV, photos, anything. After going to the bay past a swarm of swans, we picked up our backpacks from left luggage, where we had dropped them off at the train station so we didn't have to haul them around all day. I also had bought a bag of Taytos we shared with some cute pigeons. We waited for the bus and successfully did not miss it and left Galway around 1800. Harris and I each had 2 sears to ourselves so we could lounge. Harris tried to take a nap before writing in his sketchbook.

After being immersed in London it was very strange to walk around in Galway. Everyone looked blase about their appearance and underdressed.

The trip was definitely worth it though, and I think it helped to put things in perspective, for me in general, in life. The more different countries I go to, the more I notice both differences and similarities in cultures and the more I am able to value them individually. There are definitely certain things about London that I loved, and just so there are things I am happy to be returning to in County Clare. I really believe that going to as many countries as possible, even if you can only stay a long weekend, changes your life and your viewpoint permanently, and for the better. It broadens your horizon, metaphorically but sort of literally.

My hands are getting really tired of typing so I might add some extra notes later but let me quickly wrap this up.

My backpack popped a button off my new coat when I put it under the bus so I will have to sew it back on. I wish Lily Allen's new CD had come out while we were there, I would have gotten it. It was very cold when we got home. I went home and Harris called saying he was going to Logues right before I got in the shower. So I went and hung out and saw people and chitchatted and we went and tried to watch the Italian Job but I fell asleep almost instantly on the couch and woke up in the dark at 1.15 and went and showered and passed out.

This morning Aine didn't recognize me with my new haircut and came and found me and said how the whole time she was talking to me in the cafe she couldn't place me. Martina wants me to maybe model for her for one of her photo shoots. Aine said I win the best dressed award. We had crits. Mine was really short. Really short. I mean, no bad feedback. But short, and I could have had the same conversation absolutely any time which is a leetle frustrating but Harris's crit was apparently really good, and I'm glad. It was worth it to come back early so we could meet Lawrence and Matt though.

Anyway, my hands hurt I typed so much. Now I am going to go upload photos. Be back!