Not so much "good night," but we need the "good luck"

Tonight is the night. It's probably the night that will never end considering it will run into the morning when we leave the place we're staying in Arlington for the Metro around 5 a.m. We definitely debated heading out on the first train at 4 a.m., but then reconsidered after realizing how much content we need to finish producing tonight before heading back to Elon tomorrow afternoon.

Today was very productive, once again. Our first interview was around 10 a.m. at the Willard Hotel. It was really interesting to hear about the history behind the hotel, especially when I found out that Martin Luther King Jr. stayed there to finish his "I Have a Dream" speech and that Abraham Lincoln stayed there on occasion. After the grand tour of the Willard, we headed over to the White House to catch some tourists, and that's when it started to snow! Unfortunately, it ended as abruptly as it started, but the fat, solid flakes made me smile enough to hope for more later on in the afternoon (though they never came).

We then made our LONG trek to the Dirksen Senate Office Building to interview Kay Hagan. There were a lot of entertaining moments that accompanied that trip. First, we found out we were at the wrong intersection...the building was not where we thought it would be. So, as we're trying to figure out where to go, the three of us break into a semi-run straight ahead toward the capitol and Supreme Court, realizing we only have 10 minutes left to get to the building, through security and down to the basement where her office is. The added tricky part was that we had a 5-minute window. If we weren't there at exactly 1 p.m. our interview would vanish at 1:06. It was definitely crunch time. We finally found the building and at 12:56, called to her office to have someone come get us and vouch for camera gear to get us through security. At 12:58, our escort came and we bypassed everyone standing in line for their senators' last available tickets for inauguration. There were some kind and loving words exchanged behind us as we were escorted in front of them through security. I had to wonder, did they realize they were talking about us that loudly when we were less than a foot away? At that point, we simply didn't have the energy to turn around and say that we were with the press and promised to not take away what little chance they had at obtaining tickets anyway. OK, so at that point, we were very overheated and not up to debating or feeling very remorseful.

When we got into the office at 1 p.m., we were feeling very confident about getting as much in as possible into the 2-minute slot we were alotted with Hagan. She was very busy today! It was a great interview and it seemed like she would have loved to talk more if only she had the time. After that, we headed to Richard Burr's office with hopes of an interview, but got a photo instead. Later, I conducted a phone interview with Howard Coble. It was a big day for interviews with politicians!

Our day was winding down, but before we headed out of the city, Derek and I were determined to get a story on the street vendors. After interviewing four of them, we had a solid base for our pet feature story.

And now, after dinner and a couple cans of ginger ale, I am tackling about four stories at once and uploading hundreds of photos to flickr so that The Pendulum and Burlington Times-News have solid content from us to run in the papers and online! So for now, good night (though it may never end) and good luck!

A cure to loss of epicenter

When I woke up this morning, I diagnosed myself with having “lost my epicenter.” I couldn’t quite figure out why my balance was so off and why I couldn’t stop feeling so dizzy, but I was determined to not let it ruin my day and keep me away from the city. So, like every journalist should, I sucked it up. And sure enough, as soon as I hopped out of the car and approached Washington monument, I felt significantly better. The cold air certainly helped, but seeing the hundreds and thousands of people trek toward the Lincoln Memorial for this morning’s concert made the most significant change to my morale.

Derek, Olivia and I made our way through CIA security in about 10 minutes and waited at the end of the reflecting pool near the WWII Memorial. We gathered some man-on-the-street interviews and captured b-roll of the crowds and police officers at work. As it approached 2 p.m. we made our way along the left side of the reflecting pool to get closer to the jumbo screens where we could watch the concert. We could barely see the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, but just knowing that we were so close was an incredible feeling. One amazing moment was when Barack and Michelle Obama pranced down the stairs to greet the crowd. There was such an enthusiasm in the way they approached the podium. Even more enthusiastic was my and Olivia’s response. As soon as we saw them on the jumbo screen, we jumped up and down and hugged each other. We had no idea that the Obamas were going to show up at the concert! And we just couldn’t believe that we are HERE, in D.C. witnessing this moment. It was truly incredible.

The other gasps I emitted this afternoon were for Tom Hanks, Laura Linney, Steve Carell, Jamie Foxx, Stevie Wonder, Kal Penn, John Legend, James Taylor and…Josh Groban! I absolutely flipped out when he came on the steps that were his stage. As always, he sounded wonderful. Just thinking that we were that close to all those people…wow.

Derek was hardcore about his video today. At one point, he climbed to the top of a port-o-potty to get video and stills of the crowd! He didn’t start the trend, though. There were tons of people sitting on top of them all along the sidewalk. People were also sitting in the trees to get a good view of the steps.

Approaching the capitol yesterday and the Lincoln Memorial today brought on so many varying degrees of excitement and made me realize how incredible it is to be a part of this. I just wonder what we’ll witness tomorrow.

Viewing the capitol with new eyes

Driving up to Washington, D.C., yesterday, I had no idea what to expect. Derek Noble, Olivia Hubert-Allen and I were the “meat” of a sandwich caravan between the journalists of Phoenix 14 in front, and Colin Donohue, our adviser, and his wife behind us.

We drove here with a decent idea of stories that we wanted to seek out and cover, and the various ways in which we would go about writing, photographing and filming them. But I never could have expected what we faced when we hopped out of the car and approached the capitol yesterday afternoon. Our first plan was to take photos in front of the capitol before everything gets too busy and crowded to snag those few moments with a clear view of the American flag-bedecked building. But as we made our first attempt at a headshot, we were approached by a woman from Georgia, who wanted to share her story with us.

Several interviews and meetings later, we had solid material when we did not expect anything more than the comfortable feeling of getting our bearings of the area. We met an online reporter whose mother just moved to Elon, a man from Durham, someone for works for Voice of America, a retired Marine, a pair of pedicab drivers from Texas, and my favorite, a man from the Comoro Islands, which is between the eastern coast of Africa and Madagascar. Because of Abou Kaudra’s strong enthusiasm for Obama and the American way of life and politics, he was given a free trip to D.C. by the American ambassador of Madagascar. Traveling for 16 hours, he is here to take small steps and a giant leap for his country.

Two hours passed by and we hadn’t even realized it until it became dark enough to use a camera light for our final interview with Kaudra. Exhausted on the ride home, but energized by our productive first day, we got to working as soon as dinner was over.

This is going to be one of the best reporting experiences of my college career, and as I mentioned to Olivia and Derek when we were first approaching the capitol, I never imagined that I would attend an inauguration, but covering it is even more incredible.

A Mid-October Night's Nightmare

I usually don’t talk about my normal nightmares. If something horrific happens in my nightmares, something that will most definitely not happen, then I share them simply because they’re so out there. But the normal ones, the ones that have potential to happen – those I usually keep to myself. This time, I have decided to share it because there’s a lesson behind it. And we all like lessons.

Last night, I spent half the evening balling my eyes out – all in my nightmare. I was home again, in Maryland or North Carolina – I couldn’t tell – and I had realized that my London life was over. I had accomplished nothing, I had seen nothing, I had not even come close to doing all the things I had on my list. I didn’t travel anywhere while I was there. I didn’t find my happy-ever-after ending. It was basically an awful nightmare. Reverse culture shock hit me harder than I could have ever imagined. I did not want to be where I was anymore. All I wanted to do was go back home, to London. But for some reason, that wasn’t possible. Something was standing in my way of coming back to London. Before I could figure that out, I had two visits from people I hadn’t seen in years. I can’t remember who the first was, but the second I do. I don’t know why she was one of my visitors, but she came to the door with her mom and someone else who I didn’t know. And the door wasn’t the door to my home even though I was with my whole family. (I know, you are probably even more confused than I am at this point, so I apologize and I applaud you for hanging in there with me.) But she was there asking me about my life since I had seen her last. And that’s all I can remember.

The visitors’ conversations are a blur, my neighborhood – which wasn’t my actual neighborhood – is a blur. I have no idea what else happened in this nightmare, but the details aren’t important anymore. What I learned from my nightmare is that it’s time to slow down. It’s time for me to start seeing the things I want to see and stop letting people and other things hinder me from doing exactly what I want. The real nightmare would come when I do have to go home in less than two months and have nothing accomplished beyond the skeleton of my list of things to do. It’s time to stop letting the minutes tick away and it’s time for my family to pick up and move to London.

The lesson here: Don’t fall asleep with your London guidebook and wake up with your iPod earphones choking you as The Beatles’ “Love Me Do” is playing.

Tube Thoughts

The other day, I headed off to Hackney after class to go to my internship...simply because that's where I love to be. I had work to do as well, but I just love going to my internship. But that day in particular, Thursday, I learned more about myself in a few hours than I have been able to figure out in a long time.

What an incredible feeling of independence it is to just walk around London and do as I feel without a care in the world. Well, of course I have many cares in the world, but what a brilliant feeling. I had my iPod in, listening to all the most marvelous tunes, and was just completely soaking in all the glory of London: the tube, the people, the sites, the freedom, the buildings, the smells, everything. I can hardly put it into words and I know that I'm not giving those moments justice. But during that time, I thought about so many things and tried to figure out so much. I didn't necessarily have any resolution to any of the things I thought about, but it felt so good to be able to think for once. I have been going and going non-stop for the past couple of weeks, unable to take a moment to process everything, but Thursday gave me that moment, plus a few more.

I thought about my internship and how it's something that I can see myself doing for a long time after college. I thought about The Pendulum and my future and how much it hurts to see such incredible things going on with the paper and I'm unable to be there to share in it - it's given me so much joy to see everything online at least and to see how stunning the paper has become, but I so want to be a part of it. I thought about my major and how much time is left in making a decision about my future - not only have I been unable to decide between television and print/online, but radio has been added to the confusion and fumble. I thought about my family and how my mom will be here so soon and I finally get to share my city with her.

And as I was taking in the glory of independence and realizing how much I have grown in only one month, I thought about how this is the only place in the world where I will be completely happy. It's the only place I can imagine spending the rest of my life. And whether I have to live here and there for some years before I make it to London, it's a time that I'm willing to spend.

Croeso i Gymru, Welcome to Wales

Wales this weekend reaffirmed my belief that Europe is truly the greatest place on Earth. Not only that, but the UK in general is the closest thing to Heaven I can get to right now. Wales is incredible. But when our train pulled into Paddington station this afternoon, I got off the train and took a deep breath – I was home again. In London.

Our weekend started very early Friday morning. We took the fast train straight to Cardiff, but when we hit the Bristol train station, I couldn’t help but hear Hagrid saying how “Harry fell asleep just over Bristol,” or something along those lines. I just need to face it. I can relate anything to Harry Potter something.

We stayed at a very cute hostel just outside the Millennium Stadium, the first home of Welsh rugby. Our first day we explored Cardiff Castle (which dates back to 75 AD when it was a Roman fort) and took a bus tour around the city that ended at the Inner Harbour. It was there at the docklands where we had an amazing Italian meal, met a woman from near Elon, and saw a beautiful carousel, ferris wheel, the Wales Millenium Centre (home to Welsh National Opera) and other sights set to the backdrop of a sunset we can’t always see in London. There was a marvelous waterfall coming straight down an enormous metal pole, with smaller poles surrounding it that lit up and changed colors once it was dark enough. It was a beautiful first night in Wales.

We woke Saturday to a glorious breakfast of nutella toast and cereal. Oh, how I’ve missed nutella. My favorite part of Wales, by far, was Swansea and the Gower Peninsula in the south. We started in Mumbles, drove out to Rhossili and then back around and home to Cardiff – all over the Gower Peninsula. We walked along the coastal path from Langland Bay to Caswell Bay and saw breathtaking views of sailboats and water smashing against the rocks below. It was a long walk, but completely worth it. The sun was so bright and hot, and we were all dressed for cooler weather, but when we finally reached the beach and got to play in the sand, it made everything cool down again – especially when I saw a giant 99 Flake and got to hug it.

That night, a couple of us sat in the common room of our hostel to watch “Friends” and “Sex and the City.” I’m not a huge fan of the latter, but when three guys came in to join us, just the fact that they were being such good sports made everything so much more entertaining. One guy, a bit older, is from Crete. Another guy came in and he’s from Germany. I told him that I would be visiting some friends and family in Aachen and Murrhardt, and he recognized Aachen, but I had to explain that Stuttgart is where my family lives closest to because Murrhardt is too small a town for him to know where it is. Our final new friend told us he went to William and Mary and was just about to start a Ph.D. program in Ireland. He will be there for three years! How brave is that!?

And today consisted of a trip to Raglan Castle and Tintern Abbey. After the abbey, we had a marvelous lunch that consisted of a bacon and cheese baguette, and a potato and leek soup. SO good. I also ordered Welsh Cakes for dessert – a new favorite. And before catching our train home, our tour guide gave us two more packs of Welsh Cakes for the ride home. God bless him.

While it was wonderful to visit the countryside for a weekend, it does feel good to be back in London. And I can’t wait for my internship again tomorrow.

A...A…Alan R…R…R…Rickman!!!!!

This morning we were on our way to the Museum of Brands, Packaging and Advertising for our Media & Culture class. There was a huge group of us from Elon and we were weaving our way through Paddington station to get to the Circle line. But this is just the background information you need. Here’s the important stuff:

As I’m walking up the stairs approaching the hall leading to the Circle line, I look up. I’m climbing on the left and a man came around the corner to climb down on the right. Holy gosh and golly gee. There was NO doubt and NO question in my mind. That furrowed brow. The distinguished face. The tight-lipped serious near-grin. The grayed and airy hair. Alan. Rickman.

I. Was. Breathing. In. the. Same. Vicinity. As. Alan. Rickman.

As chills ran all over my body, my heart was absolutely pounding in my throat. God help me when I finally find Rupert. Because if this is how it feels to just SEE Alan Rickman. Well. I will be more than a wreck with Rupe.

I just couldn’t believe it. Here I am in the bloody tube station on my way to a museum in Notting Hill and Alan Rickman is in the same bloody tube station going about his business as though he weren’t Alan Rickman. Is that allowed? Is he allowed to just walk around Paddington station? My gosh, I can’t believe it. One of my favorite actors of ALL TIME!!

Scenes from all his movies were flashing in my mind. There he was watching Kate Winslet sing at her piano in “Sense and Sensibility.” I could see him sitting down and asking Laura Linney how long she has been in love with Karl in “Love Actually.” And, my GOD!! He was lurking the halls of Hogwarts getting Daniel, Rupert and Emma in trouble for something. Oh. My. Gosh.

Well, now that I’ve written this all out, I can finally allow myself to scream. That was my deal with Morgan (one of my roommates). I had to bottle it all up and then I could scream later. So let me get on that, shall I?

Ladybird

We were eating lunch in the flat yesterday and Morgan spotted a ladybug (called ladybird here) on a chair. What a wonderful sign. I lifted the window, my favorite one, and was thinking of letting her out onto our balcony, but since there are no plants for her out there, I picked her up and took her down the stairs and outside to our neighbor’s garden. I placed her on a leaf there near some beautiful red berries. It took her a second until she started to crawl around the leaf, but I hope she’ll be content there. And possibly come to visit us again soon! Good things are in store for us now.

the weather WILL turn

It was an early start for us yesterday as we left the flats around 8 a.m. Breakfast was grab and go with the pink lady apples, bagels, jam and cream cheese we have in the kitchen. Our coach driver, as we knew once we finally arrived back at the flats, was awful. I’m still wobbling from the ride. I didn’t realize that the majority of people still drive a clutch here. I know that I haven’t learned so I can’t quite judge, but I DO know that my 15-year-old brother who just got his learner’s can drive a stick better than our coach driver today.

I slept for nearly the entire two-hour ride to Salisbury, just southwest of London. When we arrived, it was a gorgeous and quant town with narrow roads. The people walking along the sidewalks would stare up at the coach as though it were a rare occasion to see something so large come through their town. When we got off the coach, it was lightly drizzly, but hardly noticeable. We went straight up to Salisbury Cathedral, a 750-year-old cathedral that houses one of four of the remaining copies of the Magna Carta of 1215. It has a gorgeous spire – the tallest in England at 404 feet high – and also holds the world’s oldest working clock. It was neat to see how the gears still ticked rotated so slowly as they triggered the other enormous gears around it. Historic figures and saints stand stuck on the outside walls of the cathedral. One part that we weren’t expecting at all was when we walked into the Chapter House and were surrounded by gorgeous stained glass windows of mint green, yellow and springy colors that let the light flood in more than the other stained glass windows around the cathedral. When we approached a display at the back, we were faced with an original copy of the Magna Carta. Our jaws dropped when we saw the elegant handwriting on muted forest green paper. No one told us we would be seeing the Magna Carta!

When we left Salisbury, we drove through countryside with checkerboards of different green and brown fields. The path had natural overhangs of trees forming a tunnel of green that looked like it was carved by a number of buses and vehicles that have squeezed down the street over the years. We then encountered peach-orange fields that Elise and Dr. Barnett dubbed “Hay Henge” as the hay standing at increments in the field was stacked in squares rather than the barrel shape we’re used to at home.

As we approached Stonehenge, I couldn’t believe I was finally seeing it. It was built around 3000 BC and is connected with the sun and the passing of the seasons. I couldn’t help but think of “Children of Eden” from senior year at Lackey and the song “A Ring of Stones.” We modeled the set after Stonehenge by hanging rings of sheer curtains from the top of the stage. It was so neat looking. But the real Stonehenge is way cooler, of course. Outside Stonehenge was someone called the modern-day King Arthur, a man who has pledged to stay at Stonehenge until it is returned to its natural state: without concrete and fences, a café and other goofy touristy things that take away from the magic of the site. He stood behind a wooden gate with cloth banners that say: “English Heretics Take Up Thy Fence and Walk,” “Set Free the Stones,” “Honor Thy Spoken Word” and “Return Stonehenge to the Free, Open, Sacred Landscape.” Honestly, I can’t blame him. It’s just like the Great Wall. I can understand wanting to protect it, but why on earth does it have to be encircled by hideous fences and be made into a tourist trap!? Oh, well.

After the awe of Stonehenge, we headed to Avebury. This is when the weather turned on us. The sky was absolutely perfect at Stonehenge, a beautiful and clear blue with fabulously soft white clouds. As soon as we arrived in Avebury, the sky turned a bit gray and ominous looking. We popped into one small museum to learn about the henge (and David decided to color at the kid’s corner) and about the people who built it. Enter downpour. We dashed over to the next museum – thank goodness I had my umbrella – but everyone was drenched. We spent a long bit of time there before braving the rain to actually see the stone circle that was built around 2500 BC. The stones are smaller than the ones in Stonehenge, but the circle of stones itself is 14 times larger. We sloshed through the mud and flooded paths to see part of them before surrendering and wading back to the coach. We were some of the first back, but were followed by the rest of the crew shortly. It was a nice but damp sleep back to London.

Hopping the Pond

Good night, Maida Vale. As I sit at our pale wooden dining room table, I love staring out the window with the full-length sheer curtains parted and held on either side by silver bolts. I can see a circle of rain haloing the streetlight across the way, and can hear it hit our balcony and black iron railings. This is my favorite spot in the flat, even more so than the comfortable red couches just a few feet away. I love staring out the window that’s at least twice my height so I can get a full view of the double deckers driving by and our neighbors’ silhouettes through their own windows. This place has a magical feeling to it. The moment I step outside the flat, the air is crisp and whimsical. Besides the rain, the weather has been marvelous. I love the palette of pashminas around the city. No matter what, a pashmina is necessary to look truly British. I must get on that asap.

Despite how exhausted we all have been since we arrived, I feel like I don’t want to sit still. There’s so much to see and so little time to do it! These three months feel nearly over although they haven’t even begun. Sleeping can’t be that necessary when you’re in a city like this. Last night was a perfect example. My roommates and I stayed up past midnight London-time just chatting about London and other British things, eating Frosties (British Frosted Flakes) and enjoying the silence of the neighborhood save the occasional drawn out swoosh of the pavement that buses make driving on the rain-soaked road.

Yesterday we went on a walking tour of our neighborhood, Maida Vaile. The area is also called Little Venice because of the charming canals with their quaint and colorful narrow boats lining either side. Some are homes, some are restaurants, some are covered in flowers and some take trips to Camden Town on the weekends. That’s one of the many things on the to do list.

After the walking tour, we hopped on a coach and toured the city. I blew a kiss to the Thames for Bethany, as promised, and smiled at Big Ben. I can’t wait to see him again and to actually tour parliament with my class next week. The queen was not in Buckingham Palace, but I know that my flatmates and I will be soon before the tours close at the end of the month. The queen will be back in October, though, so perhaps the ever-gorgeous princes will accompany her. For now, we plan to go clubbing at their favorite spot in London. We’ll close our eyes at how much it probably costs to get in to William’s club of choice, but I suppose it will be worth it. I’ve promised a few friends to pass along their numbers to him. Though we all know I’m not interested in either of those princes. I just have to find mine around here somewhere.

Today was a very low-key day where we traveled to our classroom building at Bloomsbury Square and learned more about living in London and got details about our internships. Afterward, we had our first semi-official grocery shopping trip, which was especially an adventure for Stacey and me when an older British man approached us and asked if all that food was just for me. I laughed and said that I was sharing and that we were stocking up. He must have taken that as we were “bulking up” for the boys and suggested we buy wine and beer as well. We decided to pass on that and when we ran into him at the queue, he shook his head and commented again at the amount of food we were buying. Note to us: Apparently we should go grocery shopping nearly every day rather than “stock up.”

For now, we are happy with our lunch meats, fruit, rice, pasta and sauces on reserve for the next several days’ meals. We have to pack lunches for our excursion tomorrow to Stonehenge, Avebury and Salisbury, a trip I’m really looking forward to. So until then, I’m going to enjoy the pattering off of the rain and the hours of laughs that I’m sure are in store among the flatmates until we finally drift off in mid-conversation, surrender and go to bed.