Right before Christmas break, I took a trip to London to visit David during his break from LSE. The flight went quite well, although there were some delays due to the crazy weather Europe was having; well it wasn't that crazy, but the UK isn't used to dealing with massive snowstorms like we are in the blizzard-filled Northeast US. Regardless, we arrive with no major issues and I was even able to sleep quite a bit so I didn't have to worry too much about the jet-lag.
This trip was a great time to catch up with David, meet all his friends, and see what it is like to be a grad student in London. The most interesting aspect of LSE were the students. It seemed that everyone was from a different part of the world with a unique story to tell and fluency in at least two languages seemed to be the norm. I met a Ukrainian who spent time in the US and Russia, an Afghani who lived in Canada and an Argentine who studied in the US. To me, the majority of these students could certainly be characterized as 'Global Citizens.'
The activities were nice, but mainly this break offered me a good chance to catch up with David and relax. We did have a nice pot-luck Christmas dinner with students from his residence, walked the streets of the ghost-town that was London on Christmas day, and had the chance to visit both the Tate Modern and the British National Museum.
After Christmas, David and I took a trip to the Netherlands. We made a mad rush through the airport in London as we realized we arrived about 40 minutes late for our flight. After literally running back and forth through security and talking with the extremely helpful airline staff we still managed to catch our flight as it had been delayed. What a relief!
We stayed in Amsterdam for a few days exploring the streets of this amazing city. Many of the Pleins, or squares were filled with people, festive lights and vendor stalls selling traditional holiday snacks and meals. We spent the night in the Flying Pig Hostel which had a nice party vibe to it with really cheap beers. Staying at this hostel allowed us to gain inside information about procuring cheap tickets to the Van Gogh museum, allowing us to pass the enormous line that seemed to stretch for miles. We were also fortunate enough to stay at a Couchsurfer's house right in Dam Square. David stayed with her on a separate trip to Amsterdam and due to the great experience they had, she trusted us to stay in her apartment while she was away with her family for a couple of days. We even took a day trip to Albany's sister city in the Netherlands: Nijmegen. It was quite a lovely city and hopefully a new destination for Siena's study abroad students!
Upon arrival to London, we started making plans for New Year's. It seemed that no one had a clear idea of what they were doing. Some folks were going to a low-key club, others were planning on spending the night in a bar, but everyone kept asking everyone else what the plans were. Luckily, David got in touch with a British friend of his who was looking into the options of several bar/clubs that were not too pricey on Old Street. After a dinner with David's friends from Mayorca, we took the tube to the area and had no problems meeting up with the British friends. They even bought our tickets in advance! We entered the bar and were greeted by several burlesque dancers who were smiling and welcoming us in while remaining silent. This entrance, with the music in the background, the lights illuminating the several bars and huge dancing area, gave me the feeling that I was in a movie or part of a VIP New Year's party! There was dancing, drinks, great live music (where we even jumped on stage and sang with the lead singer) and even fireworks. I must have wished a few dozen people happy New Year's while roaming the streets to see the fireworks.
But all things must come to an end, as did my little sojourn to London. David got up early with me to walk me to the train station and I was off back to New York. It would have been great to spend some more time, but all in all it was a good trip.
