London

I had a great two-day trip to London for a conference on "Entrepreneurship and Economic Development in Africa" on Saturday. I wend down via coach (bus) early Friday morning and then walked the 4.5 miles to my hostel. On the way I found a massive discount store called Primark, which was a great place to explore and buy a few things. I got to the hostel in the late afternoon and chilled/caught up on email and had an early evening.

Saturday morning I had breakfast at the Hostel and then jumped on the London Underground for the trip to my conference, which was at the University of London. It was a fantastic conference, not large but attended by journalists, dignitaries like government ministers of several African countries, and many business and development people. I am so glad that I made the trip.

I walked back to the Victoria Coach Station after the conference ended, enjoying the three hour window to see more of London and eat dinner near the station.

I love the buildings in London. This conference provided the opportunity to see parts of the city I haven't seen on more touristy trips, and here are some pictures I took along the way.

I thought this building was so pretty.

Just a typical street in (a nice area of) London.

I was so impressed by these women. They are high level leaders in the governments of Ethopia, Rwanda, and Kenya. The fourth lady was the moderator. It is so exciting to hear about what governments like Rwanda are doing with their "Vision 2020."

:-)!! This was so beautiful in the flesh.

A sight very unlike an American street.

National Media Museum

On Saturday, Kagi and I ventured to the UK's National Media Museum, one of Bradford's most popular (and free) destinations, and which neither of us had been to.

We only made it through the first few floors in the two hours or so we were there, and decided that we'd rather go back when we have more time than rush through. It is a fantastic museum and I look forward to going back soon!

Here are some photos we took on the photography floor. With the help of Instagram on my iPhone and some ready sets we felt we could step into history:-).

I somehow broke character here :-).

(back to looking normal)

"Make Bradford British"

Today I watched a new show which BBC produced called Make Bradford British. It was a very interesting look at this city and some of the multi-ethnic, multi-cultural realities of this place. It reminded me of many conversations I've had here and really why I love this city. Although many look at the diversity as a down-side, it is the reason I was drawn to it and why I continue to love it here.

I'm not sure if you can see this show in the states. In the UK it can be viewed here: http://www.channel4.com/programmes/make-bradford-british/4od... let me know if you can get to it in the States, OK? If you're interested, this will give a good introduction to where I live at the moment.

It is interesting to me how the "melting pot" reality here is different than it is in the USA. I guess that's all I'll say here now, but I'd love to have conversations to understand it better!

Screaming Bloody Murder (sorry to the Brits who read this)

Today I found out that one of the phrases I remember my mom using regularly... after all her clean mouth mandates...  is a swear phrase after all! I was telling my friends about the kid next door yelling and used the phrase "screaming bloody murder," which was the best way I could think to describe what I heard.

I should have seen it coming... when I think about what that means literally it isn't very nice. Apparently it's really bad here!

I especially should have seen it coming because we've been playing a lot of Banana Grams (a game like Scrabble) lately. Sometimes a word I think is a little on the edge but wouldn't find offensive (ex: turd) gets a much stronger reaction than expected from my British friends.

Well... just another example of how, although we speak the same language, there are so many nuances between British and American English. I think I'm mostly fluent in British English but occasionally slip up like I did today.

Yet another reminder to think before I speak... and always a little more when in another culture!

Culture Shock

I think culture shock happens not necessarily when you're in a new culture but rather when you have expectations that things will be a certain way, and then you find what you expect to be familiar... different. I have experienced culture shock just a few times in my life and often forget what it's like. You see, if you decide to expect the unexpected, international life is usually fun and manageable.

A situation the other day caught me completely off guard and I'm still a little shocked at how it affected me. I was in a usually comfortable situation and suddenly nothing was familiar. I ended up breaking down and needing to disappear for a while -- suddenly feeling overwhelmed with grief for the familiar life I left behind.

Packing Light

I just read this blog post after seeing it on Pinterest. I think it is a great description of how to pack lightly -- even when travelling for months at a time.

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/well-designed-travel-packing-lightly-164798

I'd add that I LOVE my packing cubes which can be found here. They have allowed me to keep things neat and easily accessible when living out of a backpacking backpack for several months. Really, they're wonderful. Here's a picture:

Packing Cubes

I also should admit that I did not pack light for this trip... and although it's somewhat nice to have more things here, it might be nicer to live lean especially when you're not really in your own space.

Getting Settled

I know... it is high time I write a post! It is always easier for me to write about new things... places I've gone, etc, than about an experience that feels more "normal." I guess that's the nature of an adventure blog. I have had a wonderful month of homecomings, which have in fact felt pretty normal... a WONDERFUL thing! I am now back in Bradford. Although this month has involved plenty of travel, they have been comfortable, getting settled in places I know with people I know.

I feel really blessed to have friends around, work to do, and a great place to stay. Here are some pictures from the last month.

Deb, Katrina and I went to Arundel Mills Mall in MD. We found these CRAZY fluorescent patent leather shoes there. I'm sure they'll be all the rage soon -- we had a great time playing around in them.

After doing a pretty good workout we decided to go to a local restaurant for a huuuuge late lunch. It was spectacular. I love and miss these women too much... they make my life amazing.

And of course, it is absolutely wonderful to be back in the same location with Kagi:-).