London Spring: Some things you need to know

 Hi everyone!

It has been a minute but I wanted to come on here and share a little more about my second, and final, semester in London. Again, my name is Hope and I spent the last year studying abroad in London!

It has now been well over four months since I got back on the island and it has given me a lot of time to put together some things for you all. I would like to send a disclaimer that this is not going to be the most positive post but I hope it will help you in making your decisions!

Is Spring in London worth it?

Honestly, I would say it depends. I'm not going to lie and say that it was all terrible, because there were really good moments in my second semester, but there were other factors that made it not the most ideal situation. Also, these factors were mostly on me so if you catch these early on it would probably be better for you.

╰┈➤ There is no real "Spring" in London 

Now this might be controversial depending on where you are in the US, and maybe this is just because I grew up on island, but Spring doesn't really start until April-May (and saying April is really me being generous). Some days you would get lucky and the sun would come out for an hour or two but mostly it stayed winter weather almost my entire second semester there. Which would be good for those of that like that sort of weather but for everyone else, it is a big thing to consider when choosing what semester you would head out there.

 

On the left were most days and on the right was literally the last day of April. I kid you not when I say this was the first couple of days of Spring.

╰┈➤ It's kind of dull 

Due to the lack of holidays and celebrations during this time of year, compared to the Fall/Winter semester, London wasn't that exciting. There weren't that many events or fairs going on during the spring, like Winter Wonderland @ Hyde Park or any of the Christmas Markets. Even all of the markets were sort of empty due to the constant rainy and windy
weather so if you planned to try and do something they were limited to indoor activities. Which can be equally as fun, you just need to find your niche!

 

As you can see we did what we could but usually stuff was indoors and for a fee, and that plus transportation wasn't the most ideal.

╰┈➤  Classes 

This was my view most weekends :(

Now this is where I messed up big time. During my second semester, I took a media production class, not only that I took a photojournalism class as well. A huge part of this is because the school that I was going to messed up my schedule and I had to choose something available, which wasn't a lot. However, if you are going abroad and are there for a limited amount of time DO NOT choose a class that involves a camera. Unless that is what you're passionate about and you don't mind most of your time being consumed by editing or camerawork, you're just going to find yourself missing out on all of your time to explore!

Now, I don't mean to tell you this to push you off from studying abroad because there were so many incredible things I got to do during this semester too (which will be my next post!). However, it is important to know some of the things that I either wasn't aware of or didn't understand just how much of an impact they would have. I'm sure I would've had a more amazing time if I wasn't in certain classes and had more free time. So just take this with a grain of salt, your experience is up to you!!

Anyways, if you have anymore questions please feel free to let me know @/whenhopemeetsworld on ig would probably be best!! 

Thank youu :)) 

*ೃ༄  Hope 

The road less traveled...

    Around the UK...

            ☆ ° ｡⋆⸜ 🎧 listening to anything by the Cranberries

       

  During my first semester abroad, I was able to visit multiple neighboring countries. The travel time as well as the costs are so much less than in the States so it's definitely something you should take advantage of. Through most of my travels my friends and I took Ryanair, which is an affordable airline where I could get tickets for like $25! 

Out of the many cool places that you could travel to, for this trip, my friends and I journeyed an hour and a half out to...

˗ˏˋ ꒰ Cork, Ireland ꒱ ˎˊ˗

  

Now, some places may seem out-of-the-blue, somewhere you never heard of, or never had on your list. While having a list is amazing, it's also really fun to explore places you hadn't thought of. Places that may be more local or let you have a feel of everyday life rather than what larger cities will show you.

Cork was such a wild card but very fun nonetheless!! Lots of cool history, castles, and amazing scenic views!! 

Our day started out rough with a slight miscommunication we had missed our tour, however, we made the best out of it and started our day at our BnB with a traditional Irish breakfast!! 

Blarney Castle & Bus rides

featuring the buses that had
Cench on the side of them

Blarney Castle!!

We took a tour of the castle and even kissed the Blarney Stone!!

 It was not crowded at all in fact many of the places we went to were very 

chill in terms of crowds. So I would definitely suggest visiting around mid to late 

November, however, make sure to pack some warm clothes, an umbrella or rain jacket, 

and some thick socks because it was cold, rainy, and windy!!

the cutest little castle guardians!!

finally, saw some of the most amazing 

scenic views with the cutest cows!

... while in Ireland we were able to stay around the city and try out some local pubs and restaurants which was super fun. Although it was a bit rough and many things were unexpected it was such an amazing trip! As I said before, take advantage of your time abroad and, if you have the time, take a trip somewhere you may have never thought of before.

☆ ° ｡⋆⸜ THANK YOU for reading!!

(p.s follow me on my study abroad ig @/whenhopemeetsworld for more fun posts)

a very London fall

There are many tiny joys that we miss in Hawai'i, in the season of fall. The cool weather, the ability to wear multiple layers without looking (or feeling) crazy, escaping the cold into warm cafes and bookstores, and most importantly, the beautiful fall colors!

So when I made the decision to move to London for my Sophomore year, I expected to arrive in chilly English late-September... I couldn't be more wrong. 

The air was humid and hot, at least hotter than I expected with my sweatshirt and jean jacket combo. 

I kid you not, if you do come to London around September time do not think it will be cool and breezy those first couple of weeks, for the most part, it was so similar to the weather patterns on the island! 

For a little preview, this is what my room looked like when I first got to school! There is no AC and, as far as I know, that's how it's like for most places :( 

The school did provide fans which was nice but it was definitely working overtime through all hours of the day. 

Otherwise, you keep your windows open and cross your fingers that you don't get ladybug-infested curtains (I am not kidding they're cute until you realize you have an army of them quite literally over your head)

Apart from those first few adrenaline-packed weeks, the weather began to cool down and I could finally start enjoying the magic of fall in London!

If you are even the slightest bit interested in London, you will know some of the most iconic sights but also the coolest experiences that you can have while walking around! Here are a few of my favorites that I got to do during my first semester :)

1. Walking through the Parks 

        

One thing that I do like about this city is how walkable it is. Especially if you are someone who likes your alone time or enjoys being in nature many parks hidden within the busy streets will transport you to a calmer environment. 

The picture on the right and the one below are some of my adventures through Regents Park. The park itself is huge and spans over 400 acres, it is home to the London Zoo and Queen Mary's Garden. 

There are soo many beautiful spots in this park perfect for a quiet time!

     

I explored this park a lot within my first month there and was able to see a good amount of it but it can be a bit overwhelming and easily confusing, especially on your own. 

Google Maps is pretty reliable to help you find your way back but Citymapper is a good alternative too!

october 29

2. Markets!!!  

One of my favorite things to do...throughout the city you can find different markets that appeal to various crowds. 

On the right, is when I visited Borough Market famous for the enormous amount of food options like the chocolate-covered strawberries (they were soo good). 

So bright and busy even though we went really late in the day but soo fun. 

Highly recommend, when you go with friends have everyone get a little something and make a makeshift charcuterie board after. My friends and I did it, it was so good and so cheap, 100% better than dining hall food lol!

 3. Cafes/Cafe hopping

1000% recommend saving a bunch of different cafes to try out while your abroad around your area. This cafe is in Camden and was so close to my school!

SO cute and cozy we were like the only customers left before it closed, we spent like two hours there just studying and before we left the guy working gave us free pastries!!! 

It was such a chill and relaxing time but there are so many hole-in-the-wall places like this one that are perfect for studying or catching up with friends :)

Here is a list of some good study spots!

4. Sightseeing

Obviously, when you're so close to these iconic and historical places you're going to want to at least stop by.

 In the beginning, that is all I did. Visiting the palace and Big Ben and some beautiful sites like Primrose Hill (Pictured Below). 

Seeing some of these places was actually so surreal, as it was something that I had dreamed about for so long. Even writing this I can't believe that I have seen these sites...I've visited benny so many times now throughout my time abroad and it still never gets old seeing that view. 

 Fall in London has been an experience of a lifetime! There are so many incredible things that you can do throughout the season. It is bustling with life and cultures and has so many opportunities that you should take advantage of!  

If you have any questions about my life here so far, whether it be school or recommendations, please feel free to reach out to me on my ig/ @whenhopemeetsworld 

thank you :)

Philharmonic Dining Hall: Chicken and Mushroom Pie

 This weekend I took a trip to Liverpool and titled it “the Beatles.” Yes, you guessed it write, my day and a half trip consisted of me and my friend going around Liverpool visiting the inspirations and important landmarks of Beatles history. We started off the trip by taking off to Liverpool in a delayed coach ride that took 7 painful, sleepy, hours. It took us two stops to pick up people to get there and by the time we got there we were exhausted. We got off the coach and hurriedly made it to the Beatles Story museum where we booked tickets to explore on a self-guided audio tour of the biographies and stories of George, Paul, John, and Ringo. There were lots of artifacts from the four, and I even got to share over Whatsapp a video of the White Room dedicated to John’s famous Imagine music video scene with my grandpa, who loves the song. I thank technology for these moments where I get to share my experience with my grandparents who are halfway across the world. After visiting the gift shop where I reluctantly bought a sweatshirt to combat the 60 degree freeze outside, we headed to our Airbnb to drop off our items. I was surprised to be introduced to our host who is a Liverpool native, and had to carefully dissect her Scouse accent. We then journeyed to the Philharmonic dining hall, the same dining hall Paul McCartney performed at on the James Cordon carpool karaoke show. We had pies, mash, and veg, and by golly was it a better experience than the Sunday roast I had on the first night of my England journey. This meal was hot and filling with a side of gravy to pull all the flavors together. The pie was chicken and mushroom, and although I appreciated the large chunks of chicken, I would have liked to take bigger bites of mushroom as well. I washed it down with a berry rum cocktail. While looking towards the stained glass window where tables blocked the stage that was set up for Paul McCartney to play both his Beatles and Wings classics. I imagined what it would be like if that same stage was set up properly like that day and Paul came out with his solo for Hey Jude or Silly Love Songs. Being in Liverpool made it all the more surreal when we visited various Beatles landmarks the next day.

The Beatles hold a certain place in my heart because they’re songs were part of my childhood the same way that Fiji or Bruno Mars does. I grew up listening to their songs on catered CD’s burned by my mom or grandpa, who loved to share the music they loved. Although my name isn’t Jude, I used the Beatles to escape from reality by using their music as a certain comfort as if they wrote the song to help me get through tough times. It’s in the same way I used food to escape through cooking back home. Food has always been a comfort that holds a meaning of family and love, so to keep my head up through cooking meals for myself at home. This reminiscing of home through mashed potatoes and creamy chicken and mushroom, brought me back to my grandma’s cooking, and from this I realized that while trying to experience my own Beatles adventure, how much they have meant to my childhood and it’s almost like taking parts of Liverpool with me to bring back home. 

If you’re wondering if I had visited the famous Abbey Road in London, of course I have. But being by myself, I couldn’t bring myself to asking a random stranger to ask to take a photo of me stopping traffic for one slightly off angled photo of me trying to mimic the Abbey Road album cover. I stayed to people watch for ten minutes shifting my eyes back and forth from the angry drivers having to stop abruptly for a family taking their fifth photo to the family to the dozens of tourists lined up for their own photo. I would definitely recommend going and getting a photo of your own for making your London era in your Instagram complete. I think the best times to go is when it’s slightly cloudy, in the evening time so the light isn’t completely harsh.

Brixton

Electric Avenue (sign at the very top of the picture)

Many agree that London was built on the backs of POC. A modern tragedy of this history is that it is ignored. In a United Kingdom Parliament debate, Claudia Webbe stated in Column 33WH that “black history is taught in only 10% of all schools.”

This is among a few reasons I chose to study “Diversity in London” as an elective course. History is written by the victors, so a personal value of mine to dig deeper to understand the truth of any new space I occupy. When the real story is ugly, it may be romanticized or just hidden altogether. So I basically wanted to cut to the chase right away.

In my diversity class, we read “White Teeth” by Zadie Smith, which didn’t shy away from stories of identity, cultural heritage, and the lives of immigrants in London.

I highly recommend this book, and engagement with historic museums and areas around London. Such as, the Museum of Immigration and Diversity, Chinatown, Camden Town, Kingsland Road, Migration Museum, Brick Lane, The Archives, and Notting Hill.

One special place I was lucky to have a tour of is called "Brixton". This tour was through my school but not led by my teacher. We were guided by local blue-badge tour guide, Anne-Marie Walker.

We learned about the U.K version of America’s “KKK”. They called themselves the “Teddy Boys”. They supported the Oswald facist party, and dressed in Edwardian style.

In 1959, the West Indian Gazette came about, and Claudia Jones proposed the Notting Hill Carnival.

*keynote for U.S. readers: in England, Asian people are referred to as “oriental” and  African/Caribbean people are called “west Indian”.

This carnival is important because it was an attempt for unity amongst constant racist tension and hate crimes throughout this time. 

Caribbean immigrants were not allowed to open a bank account or mortgage, so they had to band together as a community to get a house. There were up to 8 rooms per house, and entire families, like Anne-Marie’s, would live in a room with no running water or facilities. 

In 2017, the U.K. acknowledged their Caribbean soldiers for the first time. 

Though Afro-Caribbean culture is still prevalent in Brixton, gentrification is currently pushing out immigrant families who created a life there. The average price of one house is a million dollars. 

Brixton is rich with culture and incredible food, so if you find yourself there, take in the street art, stroll down electric avenue, and try a vegetable patty at East of Eden.

While you’re there, it will be beneficial to pay special attention to Brixton’s complicated history and current struggles with gentrification.

Thanks for reading :P

By bus, train, boat, and plane.

The Girls are in France

she invested in a cute bag

Recap

 Adventure is out there...

Each time something cool happens, I try to take note of it on my way to or from my experience. I find my solace on a bus, train, flight, river, or underground. This recap blog is a lazy composition of a few of my excerpts. Though it's hard to keep track of all this in a consistent and careful way, at least something is better than nothing.

5.27.2022

Trip to Cambridge, England. Saw the school.

5.28.2022

Trip to Edinburgh, Scotland. Had a cup of coffee, found a hostel, made friends in a pub, climbed many hills, cheered on marathon runners, got free drinks from Marta.

6.03.2022

Sooooo...I was on my way to afternoon tea, when I decided tea is not quite enough for lunch so I’ll get myself a pizza beforehand. When I got my pizza, I opened it up to find it was shaped as a heart. How sweet, I thought! They make heart shaped pizzas in England. Then, when I looked at the top part of the box I saw that THE ITALIAN BOY WHO MADE MY PIZZA HAD WRITTEN HIS NUMBER, NAME AND A HEART ON THE BOX. He made the heart-shaped pizza for me. Ohhh. The phone number he left was from Italy and I’m still hesitant to message.

After the pizza, I had my nice afternoon tea date with the girlies, and proceeded to spill more tea than I drank. If you know what I mean.

6.04.2022

Experienced a Mama Mia musical. SO CUTE. I am saying farewell to the session one students as they fly home tonight.

6.07.2022

I went to the Tate Modern Museum to see the 2001 Babel Sculpture, which I loved, but I took an interest in the Monument for the Living. The sculpture “Monument for the Living '' was made by Marwan Rechmaoui in the year 2000. This piece represents diversity as the intersecting of different identities and characteristics. The sculpture is made of concrete and wood, replicating the Burj El Murr building in Beirut, Lebanon. Burj El Murr was built in 1974 with the intention of becoming a large office building. The ravages of war left the building unfinished and the office plans were not carried out. During the Lebanese Civil War, it was instead used as a sniper post. The entire evolution of this eerily resilient building greatly represents its environment and people. 

First built to hold office space by a wealthy family in a time of plenty, then filled with ammunition and dead bodies, and later deemed useless and obstructing in the post-war era. Now that the unfinished building can’t be knocked down, it serves as a memorial for the unresolved conflict of the civil war. To me, the building is a great representation of the “elephant in the room”. It's a looming reminder of change that the city is unable to be rid of. 

This historic structure represents many things for the country. Money, strength, neglect, abandonment, unresolved conflict, and death. The prominent building is a display of wealth because it had grandiose expectations. There were constant renovations and a lot of money put into it in order to become a strong office building. Then of course, the war left it neglected and abandoned. The war also left a lingering unresolved conflict and death. In “Monument for the Living”, we see that diversity may be a vast range of experiences all happening at once. 

This was interesting to me as a viewer because I’ve never considered the relevance or depth a sculpture of a building could hold. When I first saw the tower, I noticed that it was tall, sturdy, and jarring. I scoped it out all around and couldn’t think of the beauty or meaning in a tall concrete building. Before I read the description, I didn’t understand it at all. The artist, Marwan Rechmaoui, is from Beirut, and chooses to express Lebanese history through his work. The Lebanese civil war and its interconnected complexities is far out of my world knowledge, yet Beirut’s story traveled all the way to London, and I met in the middle from Hawai’i. That is a diverse interaction in itself.

6.09.2022

Heads up, I wrote this on a train in present-tense speech. Today I am traveling along the sea-to-sea rail service from West Ham station to south end central, to see the sea. I am taking a round trip train for about 1.5 hours total. The ticket was £17.50. We are passing tall green foliage that sometimes let up to reveal a town or forest. The lavender fields have opened up at last, and I want to be in the country as much as possible to explore the fruiting terrain. The closer I get to Essex, the wider the fields get, as the blue sky opens up to accommodate fluffy white clouds. I first catch sight of the ocean at Chalkwell. To my right are beautiful white beach homes surrounded by trees. To my left, flat and glittering cold water. Its good to see the area where I’ll attend school in the Autumn.

6.12.2022

Traveled far south to the lavender fields today. Got lost, had fun. Loved every moment. I hope to buy a film camera soon and capture all this on 35mm so I can keep my phone turned off.

Places to go within England!

One of my biggest fears with my study abroad experience was that I was going to come away from it wishing I had done more, gone more places, tried more things. Thankfully, now that I'm back I don't feel like that at all! While I didn't get to travel over to Europe during my stay, there were more than enough places within the UK that are just as exciting and beautiful to go to. If you find that you're in England with spare time and money and wanting to travel, these are a few places for day trips/long trips that you can do!

• London: This one's a given but I could go to London and find new things to do with every trip. Make sure you look up what there is around and make the most of it!
• Cambridge: seeing the different colleges is amazing and really feels like you're stepping back in time. Some of the colleges are free to get onto, some cost money so be prepared for that. Also, make sure you book one of the punting tours along the river to see the historic bridges and get historical/fun stories about each of the colleges.
• Oxford: similar to Cambridge, the colleges are so fun to look around. Also, you can see several places where Harry Potter was filmed.
• Dover: aside from being able to see the famous white cliffs, you can also visit Dover Castle which is the largest castle in England.
• Stonehenge: this one is also a given but not only is the experience breathtaking, the town you take the train into is very cute and has a lot of fun little shops to walk through.
• Edinburgh: really visiting anywhere in Scotland is amazing, but Edinburgh has so many cool attractions and picture spots, it's definitely a must! Try to visit Holyrood castle and the Elephant House cafe which is where JK Rowling wrote Harry Potter
• The lake district: any of the little towns will do. If you want to really experience the English countryside and small English towns with beautiful views, this is the place to go.
• Harry Potter Studio Tours: If you're a fan of the movies or the books, this is definitely worth it! it's a self guided tour, so you can take as long or short of time as needed.
• Portsmouth: this is a city I hadn't heard of before but I'm so glad I went! It used to be an old navy town, and now you can go explore old British Navy ships as well as see a once sunken ship that was one of the first naval ships in Britain.
• Brighton: worth it just for the pier and fun shops alone but also just a really cool city to explore with fun museums and historical sights.

"More than you can afford pal"- The Supercars of London

While most students abroad tend to write about their experiences travelling, tasting new food, and photos of various landmarks/sights they encounter, I focused on something out of the norm during my semester abroad in London. Namely, the supercar culture of the city.

 Having watched many YouTube videos of self-made supercar celebrities and spotters who post multiple videos of million dollar supercars cruising through the streets of London, alongside keeping tabs on a few automotive photographers who take stunning shots of these expensive cars, I set foot in the city determined to capture as much supercars or rare vehicles within my 5 months in the city.

Each week provided a challenge to find the latest or most rare of exotics roaming the streets of London. Often, the best surprises I encountered were random spots out of nowhere: like going around the block only to come across one of the most exclusive cars in the world: a Koenigsegg One:1, just shipped into the UK and registered.

With each week I was out spotting for supercars in the affluent districts of London, I made a couple of new friends along the way: primarily fellow spotters based in London who were also in the quest to spot as much exclusive and rare machines on the English roads. In my opinion, I made more friends during my spotting adventures than in my classes, largely because it was easy to break the ice and the fact that cars were something that we all shared as a passion, and it made for easy conservation starters when we were exploring the city.

The thing that makes the supercar culture of London in my opinion, stand apart out of any scene, is the spontaneity of it. Case in point: the photos below and above were from my coverage of a 'Cars and Coffee' meetup of car enthusiasts at a detailing shop based right outside of the centre of London. The car on the left above, in the Batman livery, is owned by one of the featured drivers on the famous show 'Netflix: Fastest Car": who was starting her rally across Europe in the UK that weekend. Below, was the 'convoy' shot the famous owners/elite posed for with their cars before they cruised out the business park into Kensington and Knightsbridge that day. Every weekend in most part, it was not a question of "what do I find today?", but more of "what will I find today?"

All in all, it was both a life-changing and thrilling few months abroad getting to capture this impressive scene behind my camera, and meeting owners/fellow enthusiasts alike along the way. While I am mainly an automotive photographer/student who has a taste biased for imports/tuning culture, my months in London offered myself the opportunity to delve into the world of exotic supercar spotting, change up my content range, and get up close to a world I only knew through various YouTube videos. I may no longer be based in London, but I am eyeing for the next opportunity I get to travel to the city: to do it all over again.