22 December

We slept in a little bit this morning and then headed out to catch a train to the Atomium. During a World’s Fair many years back, someone built an enormous model of an iron model for Brussels. This atom is something like several billion times larger than actual size and is truly a sight to behold (being the science geeks we are). I think you would like this one, Kevin. Unfortunately for us though, the top third of the atom was shrouded in mist and thus we could not get the nice pictures we wanted. People are allowed to climb the atom but we also refrained some doing this because of the poor weather. After spending only 15 minutes at the Atomium, we boarded a train back to Brussels and headed to the so-called Euro City. The Euro City is a complex of buildings in which a lot of the important business of the European Union is conducted. As a sight it was nothing impressive; just a lot of glass-paned buildings. From the Euro City we took a local train to the city of Bruges which was a quaint and pretty Belgian town. Its multitude of bridges and canals reminded us of Amsterdam. Probably the best part of Bruges was a tall belfry that looked remarkably like the tower of Orthanc from Lord of the Rings. The belfry had over 360 steps which was quite a hike but definitely worth it. We were lucky to get a wonderful panoramic view of the city near sunset. After Orthanc (which we probably took more pictures of than anything else in Belgium) we walked around the city some more and then caught an early evening train back to Brussels. Upon returning to Brussels we made our way back to the Grand Place to see some of the light show again and to the Christmas Market to enjoy a warm chocolate-covered Belgian waffle. It was delicious. From the Market it was back to the hotel for some much-needed rest, packing, and postcard writing.

21 December

The train ride to Brussels was thankfully uneventful and after our arrival at the station, it took us a little while to orient ourselves and find our hotel. Once we did, we were extremely pleased by its appearance and even more happy when we realized it was a four-star hotel. Sachi was the one who found it and scored major points with Saket and me. We freshened up and rested for a short while before heading back out into the city. Since we were situated close to the grand palace and a gorgeous city square called the Grand Place, we went there first and admired the pretty Christmas decorations there. The citizens had built these huge snow globes with small trees in them covered in flashing lights. All the main buildings in that square dated from the late 1700s and looked remarkably good for their age. There was a Christmas market near the square which we happily walked through. Christmas markets are popular in Europe according to Saket as he saw them in Stockholm, Oslo, and Lund. Vendors set up wooden stands and show off goods ranging from freshly made waffles to jewelry to winter accessories. We tried some Glühwein which is simply hot red wine and a German winter tradition. Like the beer in Amsterdam, I didn’t like this much either and even though the warmth of it felt good, the taste was enough for me to refrain from more than a couple of sips. From the Market we headed for a famous cathedral and admired its interior for a bit. It was late afternoon by this time as since we were all feeling a bit hungry, we decided to hunt for some dinner. Traditional Belgian food is not very vegetarian friendly and so we chose a Pizza Hut. The food was all right and it looked much like the Pizza Huts at home. It was a boring choice, yes, but we still had a good meal. On the way back to the hotel we stopped by the Grand Place again to see it lit up. A light show was designed for the square in which the façade of one building was used as a screen for a quaint Christmas slideshow. Images from several European Union countries (Brussels is the HQ for the Union, after all) were displayed as was Santa Claus on his sleigh. It was a pretty sight and nice end to our day. We found a grocery store nearby from which we purchased some bread, cheese, juice, and chocolate for breakfast and a late night snack. Grocery stores are great for travelers on a budget as you can get wholesome food for much cheaper prices than what you’d pay in restaurants. In the hotel we checked out what was on television and found a Bayern-Munich versus Hamburg football match. Saket learned a bit about European and German football in particular from some German corridor-mates of his and proceeded to educated Sachi and me as to the finer elements of the game. The match was fun to watch and we shared a bottle of Leffe, a type of Belgian beer, and some chocolate while watching. I found the Leffe as disgusting as the Amsterdam brew so Saket and Sachi really shared that one. I started feeling very sleepy during the match and after it was over we all went to sleep.

20 December

Today morning we strolled through Vondel Park which despite the morning chill was filled with bikers, runners, and dogs. After a short trek through the city we visited the Amsterdam Historisches Museum, or the Amsterdam History Museum. It was more interesting than I thought it would be as it shed light on the remarkable growth of a small town into a bustling city. I was surprised at how much the Hollanders changed the landscape in order to build the town. In the early afternoon we saw the infamous “red-light district” which is nothing special during a winter’s day but apparently really lights up during summer nights…If anyone is planning on visiting Amsterdam and hopes to enjoy some of the ubiquitous European sidewalk cafés, I must warn you of what you might find in Amsterdam. If the shop is a “coffee-house,” it is NOT selling coffee but instead marijuana and possibly other drugs. If the shop has “café” in the name, then it’s all right and you can be sure to purchase coffee there. Also, apparently you are not supposed to take pictures in the red-light district. Our guide says people will try to break your camera. During the latter part of the afternoon we saw some of the industrial part of the city, finished some souvenir shopping, then headed to a swanky Indian restaurant for dinner. Service was surprisingly slow considering we were the only customers there for our entire meal. While we were leaving, our waiter noticed how tall Sachi is and commented by saying, “Damn, you’re tall! Do you play basketball?” After Sachi answered in the negative, he went on to say, “Good luck on finding a man!” Yes, Sachi is surprisingly tall for an Indian female and her height has elicited comments from many people, but this guy definitely showed the least amount of tact. After dinner we admired the city at night for a short while, then headed back to the hotel to write postcards and get some rest for our early morning train to Brussels.

19 December

We headed out early today. They served a nice breakfast in our hotel and the array of cheeses, tomatoes, cucumbers, and sliced bread gave me the idea of making our lunch at breakfast. Saket and Sachi quickly agreed so we proceeded to do just that as inconspicuously as possible. It worked marvelously and we did the same every day at that hotel. Our destination of interest that day was The Hague, known in Holland as “den Haag.” Thus, you can pronounce it with a long “a” or a short “ah” and you would be correct. The train ride there was uneventful though the weather looked dishearteningly somber. It wasn’t until around noon that the clouds finally broke in the city and we could appreciate its features better. For those not in the know, den Haag is a center for world affairs. The ICC, or International Criminal Court, is located just 15 minutes by car outside the city. The Ministry of Justice, Peace Palace, and such are also located there. Many shops and attractions in Europe are closed on Monday and businesses usually do not open until later in the day, so we found ourselves on mostly empty streets for the first couple of hours in den Haag. The buildings were not as impressive as those I saw in Vienna and the construction present everywhere both reminded me of UNC and definitely detracted from what beauty the city had. Around 2 or so, we ate lunch then headed north to the beach by the North Sea. The sky was still cloudy though we got extremely lucky after we walked out onto this pier-like shopping center [insert awesome picture here]. The sun burst through the clouds at the perfect moment and you can see here how happy I am to feel the sun on my face [insert picture here]. It was a nice view though the weather was quite cold and thus we left shortly after the sun ducked behind the clouds again. From the beach we went to this small town called Delft that is world-famous for its porcelain. Its layout is similar to Amsterdam though the buildings and streets were prettier and we spent about 2 hours total there. We tried to find this placed that apparently shows off Delft’s porcelain but after walking for nearly 25 minutes and no luck, we gave up on it and found a tram and train back to Amsterdam Centraal. Upon returning to Amsterdam we went to the Anne Frank House and Museum. I’m sure many of you remember reading the diary in middle or high school but I must say you cannot really appreciate what she must have gone through until you see for yourself where she lived. I cannot imagine living for years in such tiny rooms without being able to go outside or laugh and play carefree. After that sobering visit we walked around the city some more, found purely vegetarian restaurant for dinner (a bit expensive but good food), and then back to the hotel for sleep and planning for the next day. We had purchased some local brew at a grocery store which we shared, or rather, which Saket and Sachi split and I had two sips of. It was my first taste of beer and I must confess I found the taste simply awful. I am not found of bitter drinks in general, like chash (an Indian drink of some spices and yogurt) and coffee, so I wasn’t too surprised to find beer distasteful. I am afraid this dislike may prove troublesome in England where nearly every college student drinks (there’s even a pub in my dorm), but either I’ll eventually acquire a taste for it or just stick with some sweeter drinks.

17-18 December

It’s go time! After waking up a little too late at 10:30 (I went to bed at 3 a.m…), I started frantically finishing some final packing. Sachi and my dad went to get pre-departure haircuts and since I’ve been meaning to get one too, I went as soon as they came back. Before I left for my trim, I called my bank and credit card company to inform them that the upcoming foreign charges and transactions would be legitimate and my own. If anyone is planning on going abroad, I strongly recommend you do the same before you leave. Banks may put a hold on your ATM card if they suddenly see withdrawals from foreign countries when the rest of yours have been from say Chapel Hill. Don’t let this happen to you, especially if you don’t have much of the local currency! The cut I got lets my hair fall just above my shoulders and is a bit of change from what I’ve since January when I got a similar cut in India. Short hair is infinitely better than long hair while traveling: shorter drying time, less shampoo required, and a shorter brushing time. It’s a little inconvenient on windy days when you’ve forgotten your hair-tie or it doesn’t quite hold all the hair. But enough of that…We planned on leaving for the airport at 4:15 and to meet this deadline I resolved to finish packing by 2. Final weight of my big bag: 46 pounds out of an allotted 50. Final weight of my duffel bag after my parents threw in some birthday presents (which were totally uncalled for since our little two-week European extravaganza is surely present enough for the three of us) and some Indian food: 28.6 pounds. 28.6 pounds is a lot heavier than many might think, especially when one shoulder or arm is bearing all the weight. I’m writing this on Saket’s laptop in Amsterdam on 20 Dec at 3:14 p.m. local time and my shoulder still hurts a bit! It’s just that I’m weak; Saket said it was unusually heavy too. So there. Anyway, back to the 17^th. After making some final packing arrangements, eating some delicious homemade Indian food for lunch, and saying goodbye to the house and neighborhood, we were on our way at 4:15. I expected a Christmas rush as this was the last weekend before Christmas Eve, but to my surprise the airport was hardly busy and even the line for security was all but empty. Sachi and I said farewell to my parents and we were off. For reading material, I bought The Rule of Four by a couple of Princeton graduates. This book is apparently an international bestseller, but after only reading a few pages I started to wonder why this book did so well. It could be that after a semester of Shakespeare in the fall and reading Jane Austen in the spring could spoil one on fine language, but I found The Rule of Four almost painfully amateur. As a burgeoning writer myself, I look for examples of what not to do in order to improve my writing. One thing I’ve noticed about less than stellar writing is the tendency to over-describe a scene: “‘You’re going to do fine,’ he said confidently, keeping his eyes turned from mine as he absently toed the floor. I lifted my head slowly to look at him as I wondered at this sudden change in attitude.” I made this up, but it’s an example of what I found in RoF. The writers are young, fresh from college, and clearly excited about the material on which they’re writing, which I always respect from an author. I cannot claim to write better than they do, but I can see places where they can improve which increases my hopes that I may be able to publish before I leave college. Anyway, I hardly touched this book before we boarded and haven’t opened it since because I tried (in vain) to sleep on the transatlantic flight and then mistakenly left the book in my backpack at King’s. The flight to Gatwick was uneventful but unfortunately I couldn’t sleep a wink. We reached London at 7:25 a.m. local time and after customs we proceeded immediately to the Gatwick Express train bound for Victoria station. From there we hailed a cab for King’s College Hall and although our cabbie didn’t seem too confident about knowing where it was at first, we got there all right for 15.4 pounds. The porter at the desk wasn’t much help in directions to Luton (a small airport north of London where smaller carriers ferry passengers to and around the Continent) but let me lock up my luggage in a room, which was really nice. He called down a senior student curiously named Bambi who turned out to be an amazingly friendly and helpful guy. In just 10 minutes he acted as though he’s known me for a while and even kidded me about not bringing a UNC jersey to cheer them on in March. The poor guy has to be at the dorm for most of the holidays (he only gets four days off out of just over three weeks!) which is bad for him but good for me since he can help me get oriented in the hall and the city. The hall looks more impressive in the brochure than in person, but I cannot really comment since I saw so little of it (my room won’t be ready until the 1^st, so I couldn’t see it). Unfortunately, I’ll have to take the bus everyday to get to the Strand campus and I hate relying on the bus for transportation; it’s far too constrictive time wise for my taste. After talking with Bambi for about 30 minutes, we found the nearby bus station and soon left for Luton. By the time we reached Saket in Amsterdam, Sachi and I had been traveling nearly continuously for nearly 25 hours. From our home to our hotel in Amsterdam, the modes of transportation we used ran as such: caràplaneàsubway trainàcabàbusàover ground trainàplaneàtrainàtram. Sachi and I both slept soundly on the plane from Luton to Amsterdam which was an enormous relief to me since it was my one hour of sleep after 24 hours waking time. Our meeting with Saket was nothing short of joyous as we haven’t seen him for over four months. In nearly 21 years, the three of us have never been separated for so long. After Saket and Sachi checked the map and consulted the guidebook, we found a tram and made it safely to our hotel. As it was still not too late at night, we refreshed ourselves a little and headed back out for some night-sightseeing and dinner. We found a falafel place a few blocks from the hotel and got some take-away. The owners had this adorable cat there just chilling on the barstools. That, and the fact that the man cutting the vegetables wasn’t wearing gloves probably broke several food safety codes didn’t seem to matter here while in America that establishment would probably have scored a 50. We ate in the room and then we watched “Klovikka,” the movie Saket made with his corridor mates in Sweden while on vacation in Norway. Klovikka is the name of the house in which they stayed. It’s campy, funny, and extremely well-made for an amateur film. The DVD itself is quite remarkable and quite honestly it’s menu system (especially for the chapters) is better than most professional DVDs I’ve seen. Sachi and I enjoyed finally getting to see the movie and I don’t think Saket will ever tire of watching it. Mom and Dad called around 9 p.m. our time but unfortunately ate up the remaining money in Saket’s phone in about two minutes. Oh well. At least we touched base for a bit. Movie over, we got ready for bed and finally received some much welcome sleep. Cheers!

I have a place! and December trip

Great news! I finally heard back from the Accommodations Office at King's and now have a place to stay: King's College Hall, Champion Hill (street), London, SE5 8AN, England. Unfortunately, it's about the furthest residence hall from the Strand campus of all the ones offered. On the other hand, it's also the unofficial "international hall" which means, like Saket, I'll get to live with students from all over the world. It's also a catered hall, so I won't have to cook all my meals, just most of them (and even that will vary depending on how many vegetarian options I find. I know, pizza is always a choice, but not more than two meals in a row...) As soon as I send in my "damages deposit" which is refundable at the end of the semester, assuming I don't trash the place, the room will be mine! It's a single on a co-ed hall with shared bath which is fine. The hall has been around for over a century but is apparently, and fortunately, wired for internet access (a girl I met at UNC who was there last year said King's College Hall wasn't wired at the time, but a recent brochure on their site says otherwise). As soon as I work out my luggage plans, finish packing, cleaning up my dorm room and home room, and finally take all my exams, I'll really be ready to go. We've finalized our travel plans and gotten all our hotels booked and such. Our "21st Triplet Birthday European Extravaganza" will proceed as follows:
17 Dec: Sachi and I leave RDU for London
18 Dec: Sachi and I arrive in London and leave for Amsterdam where we meet up with Saket and stay the night.
19-20 Dec: Amsterdam and day trip to The Hague.
21-22 Dec: Brussels
23-25 Dec: Paris and Normandy
26 Dec: Geneva
27-28 Dec: Zurich and birthday (28th)!!
29-30 Dec: Munich
31 Dec: Sachi and I fly back to London, Saket flies to Lund to check out
3 Jan: Saket flies home to Raleigh
5 Jan: Sachi flies home to Raleigh while I have day 1 of orientation at King's

From there, those two are home and I'm on my own! I promise we'll take loads of pictures and send you postcards as often as we remember to. You only turn 21 once, so you might as well do a good job of it. I figured toasting each other with champagne in the Swiss Alps (or thereabout) may not be such a bad way of going about it...No parents on this trip, but that's probably for the best as the three of us may not see as much of each other in the upcoming years as we always have. Although undergraduate college did not do much to separate us, I have a feeling graduate school really will. Saket and Sachi, here's to you!

That's all for now. Cheers!

The Countdown Begins...

As I write this it is 2:34 a.m. on November 19th. I've recently returned from viewing of the latest Harry Potter movie, "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire." A good show, better than the first three but not entirely satisfying (didn't think much of the ending). I guess I felt somewhat dissatisfied because it only made me even more anxious to finally get to England and be surrounded by all those marvelous accents.
In other news, we've finally booked our departure and return tickets from Raleigh to London (17 Dec-11 Jun, for me if you're interested and 17 Dec-5 Jan for Sach). Our intercontinental tickets, however, have yet to be settled but should be by the end of the weekend. Currently, the plan is for Sachi and I to meet up with Saket in Amsterdam, travel through France, Belgium, Germany, and Switzerland, and then for us to part ways on 31 Dec when Saket returns to Lund to check-out and Sachi and I head to London to check me in. We'll mostly be traveling by rail with those wonderful Eurail tickets though we'll be flying one of those cheap intercontinental airlines to get from Munich back to our final destinations. Rather a shame we'll be in transit for much of the 31st, but the good news is that Sachi and I will probably be in Leicester (pronounced "lester") Square by midnight (if we're still up to going). We're all terribly excited about this winter break trip and I'll be sure to keep you all informed as often as I can about our little adventures. At the very least you'll get a belated posting in January.
As for studying abroad, all of the important forms have been mailed or faxed off (acceptance letter, housing form, etc) and all that remains are getting several passport-sized photographs and PACKING PACKING PACKING. At our last study abroad (known as SA from here forth) meeting I met a girl who spent her junior year at King's who is now sort of allied with the British Council, a sect of the British Embassy, and helps other American students SA in the UK. She handed out lots of useful maps and guides which I of course picked up. According to one such guide, I should pack everything I think I'll need, then remove a third. I usually pack far too much luggage for ordinary trips, and this being an extraordinary trip will require even more attention and diligence than normal. SA has become another class for me on top of researching graduate school options (but that's a whole other topic). Anyway, the focus of this blog was to keep you all updated on SA progress and not every minute detail of my life, a story which does not make for great entertainment (at least not yet), I will try my best to stick to SA topics only. I have a penchant for digression, however, so consider yourself warned. I like to write. I often like to ramble; and it's so much easier to ramble when your audience is reading and not actually listening.
So please excuse all this loquacity
And if you demonstrate tenacity
In reading all these verbose paragraphs
You'll find yourself in future epigraphs.

Did I mention I still need to pack? If you have any advice on SA packing, please let me know!

Cheers!