Week 10, Post 2: My Disloyal Love Affairs.

As you know I have an internship at King's College Hospital, which I love, the only problem is that they changed their tea provider from Tetley to something with a cow on the front of the tin. Now, everytime I go to get tea during my break or lunch, it's just not the same. I had a love for Tetley tea, it was perfect for my morning, lunch, and afternoon break. I feel that the love is still there, I just haven't had the chance to reunite with Tetley. This love affair has got me going a little crazy, I've kind of gotten used to the new tea because it has been around for about a month now, but I feel bad for betraying my first true love of tea, Tetley. Recently, I've been thinking about spicing things up in the Staff Tea Room by adding a little sugar to my tea, but I can't bring myself to do it. First I don't want the extra calories, and second I don't want to impose on the originality of the tea. Also, the tea bags from the new provider aren't as great as Tetley, I sometimes see little pieces of tea leafs that left the tea bag, floating around in my cup. Tetley would never do that to me.
Aside from the tea issue I bring up in just about every blog, I decided to eat a sandwich today from the Hospital cafeteria. It's nice because everything is so affordable and they have some pretty good stuff, that's healthy or appears healthy. One of the best parts is the sandwich bar, its almost just like a subway, without the amazing breads. They don't have all the veggies that subway would carry either, but that isn't a big deal to me because all I get is a ham with cheddar cheese toasted. Anyway, after the 2 minute line, I got my sandwich and headed to check out. It's amazing how inexpensive things are when you aren't on the west end of London. Of course after paying for my sandwich I headed down to the Staff Tea Room to meet up with Havisha. I shamefully made myself a cup of the replacement tea like it was crack, and sat down to enjoy my meal. The bread was very good. When I picked the bread, I thought it looked the most healthy, so I had a healthy mind set while eating it. The ham was great also. The only thing I was really concerned about was the cheese, which actually ended up being way better than I expected. I think that the cheese here has grown on me. I'm starting to like it a lot more, but maybe that's just because I forgot what the cheddar cheese back home tasted like. I know when I get back home though, I will fall in love all over again with the cheese there. There's no denying that the orangish-yellow cheddar cheese is my favorite of all time. This white stuff is only a temporary love, until I get the real deal back home.

Week 10, Post 1: Reading

I believe it is very true that someone can be exposed to a culture just by their food. Food is something everyone can relate to, we all need food to survive, there are just different ways of preparing food. I find food sometimes as being one of the biggest culture differences, therefore, the food is a lead into the culture. Weather its on the streets or in a restaurant, the food from a specific culture is displayed allowing others to see a different side of life, a different way to cook some of the same foods we use, just prepare differently. Rice is a dish that is used all over the world, some put soy sauce with it, while others put spices, or vegetables with it. The food all ties into the culture because it is a main indicator of what the sources are in a particular area. For instance, people that live on the coast will tend to eat more fish because it is a main food source, while people from the flat lands eat vegetables and fruits because the soil is so rich it can help grow crops. I personally have been exposed to many different types of food and cultures, so far my favorite has been Honduras. In Honduras, the organization I stayed with had loads of crops in the front pasture. I loved it because everything we ate was so fresh. Of course we had a lot of beans and rice, but everything else was so fresh. There were cooks there that would cook us breakfast and dinner. Breakfast was always amazing with fresh cut fruit, eggs, toast, cereal, and basically anything you would want for breakfast. Dinner was always a gourmet meal, one time we had tilapia that the cooks went to the market and got for us, it was amazing! All the vegetables mixed in where freshly picked that day from the front pasture. There was always something I could eat, which is great because most of the time I don't like trying new foods. The food was so fresh it made my body feel good by not having all of the preservatives. Second to that, Italy was amazing. They always had fresh pasta which made for an amazing meal. Since it was Italy, all the Italian food was cooked right then and there instead of the food having to be shipped across seas and prepared. I enjoyed it a lot although I only had spaghetti and lasagne. When a person travels, they get to experience a whole new culture alone through food, aside from that there are many other quirks that make each culture unique. The diversity only makes the world more interesting!

Week 9, Post 1: Harry Potter Part 1

I’m very impressed with J. K. Rowling, the book is pretty good. I almost feel as though the book is for pleasure instead of for school, but that might just be because of the type of story it is. I also have a feeling that I might have seen the movie of this one or maybe the start of the movie. I kind of remember some of the things happening, like him living in the cupboard and Dudley being fat. I am kind of anxious to see the movie now after reading some of the book. I have never been able to say the line “the book is so much better than the movie,” but that’s mainly because I never read, and anything I do read isn’t made into a movie. Although I’m about 10 years behind my generation, I’m starting to like the book. Rowling does a great job at telling the story, and giving each character their own personalities through how they talk. I also think that the thought of the movie in the back of my mind really helps to see the story and the characters. When I read, I think of the characters played in the movie and it helps me to understand what is going on in the book. I couldn’t imagine living a life like Harry has thus far. A family that doesn’t want you and lies to you about your parents and how they died, I just wouldn’t want to grow up like that. I can understand if they were trying to protect Harry from something absolutely horrible, but really he is coming to an age when he needs to be told to understand his past. I don’t think it was right for the Dursley’s to keep Harry’s past from him. I’m glad Hagrid came through to tell Harry and save him from the Dursley’s. I’m interested to see how the story plays out at Hogwarts, the first guy Harry met while he was getting fit for his wardrobe he wasn’t too crazy about so I hope he finds friends fast. If the Dursleys would have told Harry everything he is now hearing might not have been such a shock, but it makes for a good story line! I’d be interested to see what Rowling was thinking when she decided to write a book about wizards. Like, was she trippin on some other sh*t, did she have a kid that had this crazy imagination, or did she just think this all up on her own! Either way, it seems like a great story and many people have loved it! It was ironic that she said something in the first chapter about every kid in the world will know Harry Potter’s name, and now, 17 years later, just about every kid in the world knows his name. Impressive J. K. Rowling, impressive.

Week 9, Post 1: Irish Getaway

So for St. Patrick's Day weekend I went to Dublin Ireland, it was absolutely fantastic! You would not believe the great food they had there too! When I think of Ireland, I can't exactly pinpoint a specific type of food they are known for, there isn't a type of food called Irish food, other than maybe and Irish Coffee. Every single meal I had in Ireland was amazing though. The night I arrived, my friend Omar and I walked around the main street in Dublin and found a small place called Wok-In a noodle bar. Luckily we were both feeling some noodles so we stayed. I got the chicken and noodles which turned out to be amazing. They gave huge portions, which I didn't think I would be able to finish, but I did surprisingly. Omar got some type of Chicken and Prawn Fried Rice that also looked good. The next day, we were going to grab breakfast around O'Connell Street (the main street in Dublin), so we walked down the roads off of O'Connell looking for some delicious food. We passed by a couple pizza places, but then stopped at a little Italian place that was still serving breakfast. There were so many options for breakfast I just couldn't decide, I had it narrowed down to two options then Omar decided to ask for the lunch menu because she was kind of wanting some Italian food. The second our server brought over the lunch menu, I immediately found two entree's I liked on it. This was the struggle, not only did I have to pick between two choices, but I also had to pick between breakfast and lunch. Damn you, Omar. So I thought I would toss a coin in the air and by the time the coin got to the peak of the toss, I would know which side I was hoping for it to land on. Then I realized that our hotel gives a very large breakfast in the mornings, therefore if I got the lunch then I could get the breakfast the next morning at the hotel..If I woke up in time of course. Finally I decided to get lunch, my options were between the Spaghetti and the Lasagne so I asked the server what she preferred more. The Lasagne it was, I also got some garlic bread and a pot of tea! That whole meal was absolutely fantastic, I wish I would have gotten a picture. Later that night, before going out, Omar and I decided to go back to the Wok-In Noodle Bar and get some more noodles because they were just that good the first time. I ended up getting the Chicken and Prawn Noodles, which wasn't on the menu, but the lady mixed them both together for me! She was just too nice! ;) the Chicken and Prawn Noodles were just as good as the night before, but I couldn't finish the large portion. The next morning was the morning we had to get on a plane to fly back to London, so Omar and I grabbed breakfast at the hotel. We each had the Full Irish Breakfast which consisted of eggs, bacon, sausage, toast, (my mouth is already watering) tomato, cereal, and something else but we switched out the tomato and the other something for more sausage and bacon. It was greattttttt! I even got a cup of tea to go with that meal too. Out of all of those dishes I couldn't even tell you my favorite. I loved them all and wish I could go back to re-live the experience again!

Week 8, Post 2: Dalloway Reading

As of now I don’t fully understand why Clarissa and Miss Kilman don’t get along very well. It seems like Clarissa at least makes and effort but Miss Kilman is determined to have conflicts with her. I was glad to see that Elizabeth thought about Clarissa and Miss Kilman not getting along and decided to come home to her mother after a while, sticking with the family. Not that Elizabeth had to choose between the two, it just seemed like there was a little choice in there.

I can’t believe Septimus jumped to his suicide, I mean, I can believe it because he had gone mad, but still. I thought it was kind of a good thing that Dr. Holmes didn’t want Rezia to see Septimus all mangled, but I didn’t know how I felt about him giving her some kind of drink to fall asleep. I feel like Rezia had the right to watch her husband as he was taken away, but then I can also see that it might be best if she didn’t see it. I feel that Septimus’ death was coming, but I thought it would be a little happier for Rezia. She might not have to deal with him anymore after feeling like they had no marriage left, but she still loved him before he went mad.

Finally we made it to the party we have been reading about for the past three weeks! The party seemed to be going great, it was a surprise that Sally arrived. I would think it would be a little awkward, but also I don’t think anybody knows about Sally and Clarissa’s past together. They seemed to have a good time talking and catching up instead of focusing on any awkwardness. Toward the end, when Clarissa learned about Septimus, Virginia Woolf kind of made a connection between the two of them. I hadn’t noticed a connection between the two until we talked about it in class that Septimus was more of Clarissa’s dark side. Looking back I could kind of see how they relate in some ways. However, I didn’t fully understand the relation between Clarissa and Septimus’s death. I can still see a little connection here and there though. Then at the very end, I thought it was destined that Peter and Clarissa would get back together some how. I mean, I know the story was only over a day, but I still felt there was a connection between them. Even though Peter kept telling himself that he does love Clarissa anymore, he always seemed to have his doubts. Clarissa also had a couple doubts throughout the story, that’s why I thought it was destined. I guess we will never really know since it ended before Peter and Clarissa really got to talk again. All in all, I would expect Clarissa and Peter to actually go back to each other, but also I feel they would both not want to take the risks.

Week 8, Post 1: Eggs Benedict

For spring break, a friend came from home to visit me. He flew in to London, then we had about 3 hours to kill until our flight to Amsterdam, so we decided to get some food while we waited. We ended up at a breakfast place, which was really good, then he asked me "have you ever had eggs Benedict?" Of course, I hadn't ever had it, so it became his mission to find eggs Benedict for me to try before he left. Looking back on it all now it seems ironic, because it was one of the first things we planned to do, but it was one of the last things we actually did before he left. The morning of his flight we decided to grab some breakfast. We picked Earls Court Tavern because we saw that they had a sign up saying "English breakfast from 10-12 for £6.49," we were sold. I go to Earls Court Tavern all the time for drinks, but I had never had breakfast there so it was going to be a new experience. When we sat down and looked at the menu, the first thing I saw was eggs Benedict. I was planning on getting the ham, eggs, and chips that is always featured on the menu, but after seeing Brandon's face light up when I said "hey, there's eggs Benedict," I had to try it. For him at least. I was a little iffy about it when I read the description and it said "Holland sauce" like what the heck is holland sauce, but I didn't let it stop me. So we both ordered the eggs Benedict. When the food arrived at the table, I was instantly concerned because the "Holland sauce" I was so worried about, was covering the entire meal! Then he said "it will be fiiiiinnneee, I promise, it's really good." After the first bite, I couldn't decide if I liked it or not, then after the second, I started liking it more. 

I don't know if you've ever had eggs Benedict, but it was an English muffin, with bacon, --your vegetarian, never mind-- and pooched eggs, covered in the holland sauce. It was pretty good, I probably would have liked it better with ham because I'm more of a ham person than a bacon person, but it was still very delicious. The yolk on the egg was the perfect "runniness" that it didn't burst over the whole plate, but enough to cover the bite you were about to take. Which for me is great. I like my eggs over easy some times, while others I just enjoy scrambled. The pooched part of the egg was different too, it seemed a little healthier than frying the egg on a pan with oil. Anyway, Brandon accomplished his goal, I had eggs Benedict and it was pretty good. I might actually order it again sometime, depending on what I'm feeling that day. :)

I have been craving an over easy egg these days, I just haven't cooked one yet. Just the other night, I did a little experiment with cooking an egg in the microwave, as in, cracking it on a plate and putting it in the microwave. I've done it with my scrambled eggs so I thought hey, what the heck.

After cooking the egg for the first 1.5 minutes, it didn't look like things were going well, so I decided to flip it like I would an egg on a pan, then put it in for another 2 minutes, and the egg turned out great. The yolk actually cooked all the way, but more in the form of a hard boiled egg yolk, which was a little different but still very tasty.

Additional Blog 1: First days of Spring Break!

I go to my internship three times a week, Monday, Thursday, and Friday. Believe it or not I have kind of made a routine of having tea 3 times a day on those days (except for Friday, I drink one). One at 10:30, one for lunch, and one at 2:30. I don't drink tea here any other time unless it's offered. Therefore I don't go out of my way to make my own tea at the flat, only because I don't want to create a habit, then go back to the U.S. and have tea withdraws! Although I don't drink tea too often, I do have a special way I like my tea. I generally grab a mug, throw a small tea bag in the bottom, fill the mug 3/4 full with hot water, then top the other 1/4 off with "semi-skimmed" milk. Then I wait for about 5-10 minutes before I take the first sip, trying to prevent burning my tongue and the roof of my mouth.

Well today, is the Friday before spring break officially starts, also the last day I will be drinking tea for about a week. No biggy. So I walk in the tea room and grab a mug, toss a tea bag in, add 3/4 hot water, then reach for the fridge to grab the milk, but there wasn't any milk. Generally the fridge has at least 15-20 jugs of milk to choose from, but today, there was nothing, not even a drop. So I thought about adding some sugar, but really I didn't want the calories. Later after letting the tea set for about 5-10 minutes, I tried the tea. It really wasn't that great. It just wasn't what I was used to with out the milk. Also, King's decided to change their tea provider the whole week, so there seemed to be nothing normal about my tea. Honestly, I didn't even finish the whole glass because I saw what the tea was doing to the inside of the mug (sticking to the side making the mug look brown and dirty), and I couldn't stop thinking about what it was doing to my teeth. So having tea for the last time for at least a week, wasn't the best. But I think I will survive. I don't need to get addicted to the tea and caffeine here. When I first arrived in London, I thought it was weird that the Englanders put milk in their tea. I had actually never seen it before. I had only seen milk being put into coffee, but I understand why they do it now, it's actually very good that way! It also seems to cool the tea down a little before you drink it, so you don't have to wait as long to drink it. 

I've never been a caffeine drinker, I mainly just drink water. My body doesn't ever feel the need to drink caffeine because I don't drink it. Which I think is a good thing, I'd rather not get "caffeine headaches."

*side note, I'm on the plan to Amsterdam as I am finishing up this blog, and there are the energy windmills in the water all lined up in rows. Very interesting because I haven't seen them in the water before, only on land. Maybe the water helps generate more energy? I'll look in to it. But they are everywhere!

**second side note, I went to KFC in Amsterdam, it was different from the one in London and the one in the U.S. The items on the menu were completely different. It was great though. Amsterdam is beautiful. Next is Barcelona, maybe they have a KFC I can try!