On Monday I got back into my routine of Museum Monday. I decided to go to Tate Modern, which I had heard a lot of great things about. This is a fairly new museum, opened in 2000 to celebrate the Millennium. The building actually used to be a power station in the heart of London. It is situated right on the bank of the River Thames all the way across town. I hadn't been to this area in a while so it was nice to pay a visit again. Tate Modern belongs to the same family of Tate Museums as Tate Britain, which I blogged about going to a few weeks back. Of course, Tate Modern, is the national gallery of international modern art. Although I didn't enjoy my last experience with modern art, I thought I would give it another chance. Well let me just say I still don't like modern art. Some of the pieces I think a 2 year old could have done better and other pieces just creep me out. I found one piece in the entire museum that I would actually like to own. It was a sewn world map framed. Each of the countries was their own flag sewn over the shape of the land. It was pretty neat. I was impressed by the detail and time it must have taken to complete. The parts that were most impressive were the areas in the world with many countries all packed in closely together, like South America and parts of Europe. Sometimes I forget how large of a country the US really is. However, traveling around Europe has made me realize the vast amount of land we occupy. I didn't spend too much time in Tate Modern. I was more impressed with the architecture of the building than the art work. I think I will stray away from modern art in the future. Picture below of Tate Modern.
On Tuesday I had my internship. My supervisor, Karina, was on time today, so I didn't have to wait outside the door getting weird looks by all the locals! I fit in pretty well in Central London. However in the borough where my internship is located, I am definitely a minority. I don't ever feel threatened, but I am greatly aware that I don't belong. Today I worked on updating the company's database. It was boring and not very much fun to stare at the computer all day. My supervisor had an optician appointment and was gone for a good portion of the day. This left me alone at the Trust. Tuesday is not a busy day at the Trust because they do not have English classes or legal advice services offered on this day, therefore no one is there. Before Karina left she told me that I shouldn't let anyone in and to meet her for lunch at a cafe up the street at 1:30. I was kind of shocked that she told me not to let anyone in, like it was unsafe. DUH! Karina doesn't fit into the local area either, so she must kind of get it. I didn't really feel scared because even I have to ring a button to get into the Trust. Then Karina answers and pushes the buzzer to unlock the door. I had access to all this while she was out. It is actually quite fun to use since it is like the something you would see in a movie and exciting compared to Iowa businesses where you just walk through the front door. I am assuming a normal London business would have a full time secretary to answer the door and buzz people in, however, this is a charity.
I locked up the Trust and met Karina for lunch at the cafe. She was a half an hour late, but I just enjoyed some tea and read the paper. Lateness used to be one of my biggest irritations. However, I find myself handling Karina's habit quite well (I guess I kind of have to handle it well since she is my boss)! Karina finally arrived and she wanted to hear all about my Spring Break. It was nice to talk to her about my trip since she has been to all of the places and can relate. She thinks it is great that I jet off every weekend to see something new. I asked her how she had been and she went on to tell me that an old boyfriend had rang her up and confessed he still loved her. Wow, that is not something you expect your supervisor to tell you, but I do appreciate good gossip! She said that it was all very flattering, but he has a serious wife and lots of kids, besides she doesn't really fancy him anymore! Ha ha. It is so hard to talk to this lady and not laugh in her face. I quite enjoy our conversations though. I had a very tasty jacket potato with bacon and cheese fixings before we headed back to the Trust. I told Karina that I would have to leave early this day because I was going to the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra with my program that night. She said, Oh that is very posh! Posh is a British word associated with upper-class, fashionable, elegant, and expensive. I think Karina was surprised that I was going there with my program, however, my program director is very posh himself. I love this new word! Later on in the day while working on the database Karina nonchalantly asked me if we were still in April. I was like WHAT? (The date was April 13)I wanted to say April just started, but instead I just said yep. I love this lady, but wonder if she might be slightly mental sometimes!Below a picture of me at my desk at Hoxton Trust and the building.
The tube was packed on the way home and my journey was over 45 minutes to get home. I had to rush to change clothes quick before heading off to the Royal Festival Hall for the orchestra. The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra is one of UK's leading orchestras. I wasn't honestly looking forward to the orchestra that much, since I am not a big music person. However, it was free, my friends were going and a good British experience. To my surprise, I was extremely impressed! I have never been to more than a High School Band Concert, so listening to an orchestra was wonderful. I especially appreciated the pianist playing the huge grand piano. I don't think I have ever seen a piano so large or fingers move so fast across the keys. It was fabulous. The rest of the band sounded great too, even to my out of tune ears. I must admit I was someone who used to make fun of band geeks, but this experience definitely gave me a new perspective. The orchestra played Glinka's Overture to Rusian & Ludmilla, Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto and Rachmaninov's Symphony No. 2. I couldn't believe how the conductor jumped around on the platform waving his wand everywhere; he really got into it. Another thing that surprised me at the orchestra was the amount of applause. The pianist and the conductor both bowed, went off stage and came back out to bow again 3 or 4 times. I just wanted them to stay on stage until the clapping stopped, but they would just go off stage and then come back on over and over again. It was nuts. I really enjoyed the orchestra a lot more than I thought and I was very pleased that I went. Below is a picture of the Orchestra.
Wednesday and Thursday were catch up days filled with class, homework, lots of laundry and a few walks in the park. On Friday the whole program went on a day trip to Canterbury. The coach picked us up at 8:30 and we were in Canterbury by 10:30. Canterbury, a World Heritage Site and home of the popular Canterbury tales, is a small English town South of London with a lot of history. I really liked Canterbury. It was one of those little towns that looked nice to live in. Canterbury is famous for the Canterbury Cathedral,which we toured. I enjoyed having a guided tour of the Cathedral. The tour gave me a lot more information on the history of England and the Cathedral. The Cathedral is the place where the Canterbury Archbishop, Thomas Becket, was murdered by King Henry the 8th's knights. Shortly after the Pope made him a saint, St. Thomas. After our tour we ate some lunch and browsed around the rest of the town. We had a beautiful day to walk around. We saw the Canterbury Castle and the old town gate. Of course we did a little shopping too. It was a really nice day trip. Then we headed back to London and I took off for Ireland! Pictures below of Canterbury.
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