Life at Bellerbys College

The 2010 London and New Year Experience

Posted By Bushra

Asalam-o-alikum fellows!  Life is simply full of astonishing surprises which turn into unforgettable experiences and memories that engrave in our brains. Recently, I visited London with my siblings for a very obvious reason and that is New Year Eve. The way London celebrates the New Year is difficult to explain and simply out of one's imagination boundries. 

My New Year's Eve Experience

New Year is the time when everyone in the world forgets the past and welcomes the upcoming year in which everyone plans and wishes to do well.  This is the major event of year which is celebrated in every corner of the world.  I have also celebrated many of the new year experiences but this was the first time that I celebrated the upcoming year in the United Kingdom and in one of the most cosmopolitan cities of the world, the great London.

Every year in England people gather to celebrate New Year.  Although it is also celebrated nationwide, most of all it is celebrated by the great London Eye venue, near the beautiful view of River Thames. The clear sky, the shining stars and crystal reflection of the river and the beautiful crowd from different nation decent upon a single place to welcome the New Year and make it a glory. People gather to see the great fireworks in order to show the love and affection for the up coming time.

   

On this big day I went with my friends and family to celebrate this great night and share my experience with everyone - the glittering London Eye, the shining River Thames, beautiful Parliament House, the big clock and, of course, people enjoying, dancing, counting every single second of the time to welcome the New Year. I was standing few yards away from the great London Eye and, believe me, the view was breathtaking, this kind of sight I had never before seen in my life.

   

I waited anxiously for the time to past by but it seemed that everything had stopped and was waiting for 2010 to come, even the time, even the great clock, even the wind, and over 200,000 people just staring at the beautiful scene. I saw many students who were at the centre of the spectacular New Year celebrations in London.

  

This all was also being covered by the great news channels like the BBC. Soon an announcement was made that we have 10 minutes left until 12pm and a huge roar came up from the group of youngsters and elder.  Soon a countdown began from ten to one and everyone shouted to greet 2010 ‘Happy New Year!’ and the fireworks started.

The display lasted for about 8 minutes and the sky was as bright as sun.  Soon afterwards, the first blessing of the New Year came - it started to snow!  This made the view even more remarkable and memorable.

    
 

Bushra is studying Law Foundation at Bellerbys College Oxford.

Wrapping Up September, Welcoming October

Posted by Maggie

As the last trace of summer breeze disappear, autumn wind dawns on us.  School is in session and students are busy assessing questions.  New kids keep showing up everywhere, in French and Spanish lessons after school; debating society; Student's Union meetings and various social activities.  I'm quite impressed with their keen participation in school.  Most of them are exploring London on the weekends and some, even on weekdays!  I can't help but feel a wave of nostalgia cascade over me now...  I still remember my first year here at Bellerbys London.  I was so excited and everything was fresh.  New friends, new environment, new teachers, new culture.  How I long for those days.

But to be honest, I'm much more content with myself this year.  I've found peace in so many aspects of my life.  School life, personal life and even my domestic life (my room).  I actually enjoy studying this year (no joke!) and I have more time put aside to study.

Firstly, I only have three A2 subjects instead of four like last year.  Secondly, I'm not too preoccupied with wanting to visit every single attraction in London which by the way, is one of the best thing about London cause there are just so many amazing places to visit!  I'm so grateful that I live in this magnificent city - a world capital, where diversity prospers.

In regard to my personal life, I'm now enjoying the bliss of having a closely knitted group of friends unlike the beginning of first year, where everyone experimented with different cliques.  Lastly, I live in L block now so my room is bigger!  Which is always a bonus.  I really appreciate the extra legroom while I do my homework.

So what have I done over the past two weeks?  Apart from going to school, I got a hair cut and dyed my hair!  Nothing dramatic though so don't get excited.  My friend and I went to Sanrizz, a famous salon chain in London.  We went to both Grovesnor House and Covent Garden salons cause they didn't have anyone who could do rebonding for my friend - a permanent hair straightening process - at Covent Garden.  So while I waited for five hours for my friend, I went out for a stroll around the Mayfair area.  I think I fell a little bit more in love with London.  The streets are just gorgeous, and the people are so stylish! 

Not to mention, while my friends and I worked out at our gym in Canary Wharf, we noticed Jamie Oliver's new restaurant called Jamie's Italian!  Without a doubt, we went there afterwards to reward ourselves with our hard work at the gym earlier.

We ordered four plates of pasta - two plates of sausage pappardelle (TO DIE FOR!), a plate of Carbonara and a plate of Bolognese.  We also shared a plate of salad with yoghurt.  Then, another friend of mine came and ordered Lamb Lollipops (ANOTHER DISH TO DIE FOR!) which were basically lamb shanks.  The only thing is, the portions of the dishes were slightly smaller than the usual portion we get served here in London.  But considering how affordable it was, (the bill came up to a total of 80 pounds including tax for the four of us) we were willing to overlook that fact.

Anyway, if we're still hungry, we could always order dessert which we did!  We had a tiramisu, a cup of latte, an orange tart and vanilla ice-cream with espresso!  On top of that, we ordered three glasses of bellinis and a glass of cranberry juice!  So I'd say 80 pounds is a pretty good bargain for us students who would like to dine out at a relaxed and hip setting with very yummy food.

Well, it's almost 1 am now.  I should be getting to bed.  Economics class awaits me tomorrow at 9.30 am. Good night!

Love,

Maggie

The New Beginning

Posted by Ksenia

In all those posts that I wrote during the holiday I mentioned lots of great things which made this summer special (I firmly believe that every summer is special in its own way) – trips to Tunisia and Ukraine, searching for a flat in London, friends, family, some free time for my hobbies (finally!) - but one thing was absent from this blog and at the same time always on my mind – the 20th of August, The Day of Release of A-Level Results, The Big Day that was the aim of all the lessons, practicals, homework and tests, revising till complete exhaustion and endless patience of our teachers.

I did not want to talk or think and even would not dear to write about it.  On the 19th one of my friends wrote that whatever will happen the next day we will face it with dignity and regard it as destiny.  There was nothing we could do; and I was absolutely agree with her.

When I saw in my mail box a letter with a title “Congratulations from Imperial College!” the first thing I felt was an enormous relief: I’ve done it, it’s over, I do not have to worry about it any longer.  Then it was a feeling of absolute happiness and I just had to share it with someone – I run towards my mum crying out loud: “I got in! I got in!” and gave her a very strong hug.  Then I ran back to my computer to see the actual results on the Edexcel website and check UCAS – I could not believe that my dream has come true until I saw the official confirmation.  (Ksenia achieved an amazing six A Levels at grade A!)

Once I’ve check those two out I went straight to Facebook and Vkontakte to put “Hurrah!!!!” in my status and see how everybody else did.  My happiness was not fully complete till I realized that all my friends got in where they wanted to.  For the rest of the day we were all sending and receiving congratulations, speaking with friends and relatives over the phone and sharing our happiness with those who were next to us.  It was a great day and it was really worth the waiting.

The next big thing was to get the Visa and it's not as easy as it may seem.  I needed to receive an original Visa letter from university and the transcript of my results from Bellerbys.  At first I was just waiting patiently trying to familiarize myself with the thought (a very pleasant one) that I am a new Imperial College student.  But then I started getting a bit worried.  The visa letter should had been sent to Brighton and then sent to me by DHL but a week had passed and still did not receive anything.  Nevertheless one thing was comforting me – I knew that in my college there are people who care about me and my documents and will always be there if I need help and advice.

Here I want to thank again Ms Paula Pocock who helped me enormously in this situation – she was replying straightaway to my endless letters, answering my questions and sending me by email, post or DHL every single thing that I asked for.  While Paula was away Mr. Corcut himself (an extra busy person as I have already said) did everything to help me as well.  And after a few calls to Imperial and one more week of waiting I received all the documents and applied for my visa.

Two weeks and one day latter (seemed to be the same for all my friends who were doing their applications in Russia) I could go to the Embassy to collect my passport.  When I was flipping over its pages it felt a little bit like when I was opening my mail box on the 20th of August.  When I saw the Visa it seemed to me the most beautiful piece of art I have ever seen in my life.  Then everything was really over and the new life was about to start.

Now I just have to pack my stuff and catch a plane to London.  So how do I feel?  I guess that a line from one of the famous songs by Garbage would describe it better then my own words: “I feel ready and yet unprepared…”  So now it’s time to say goodbye to this blog.  But do not think that you will get rid of me that easily!  Nothing can tear me and Bellerbys College apart (I hope everybody understands that it’s a joke or maybe I got too used to English humour eventually?) so I will continue writing in the Life after Bellerbys College blog.

Hope that you will be following my adventures in the Greater London and wherever else in the world and I will try my best to make them fun to read!  Once again I want to congratulate all the Bellerbys graduates who got into the universities of their dreams and wish all the present and future students of our college to do the same thing.  Good luck everyone and let’s have a great year!

My Busy Summer in Moscow and London

Posted by Ksenia

When I got back home from Kiev I spent about a week in Moscow mainly meeting various friends – from Russia and the UK (well, they are all from Russia to be precise).

One my very good friend from my Bellerbys GCSE class also lives in Moscow but it’s the first time the two of us found time to meet each other during the summer.  There was so many things to do in my home city - shops, cinema, cafes and even my first driving lessons (not really lessons – but my mum allowed me to try on her car – at first I was scared to death that I will run into something, but after a few times I began to enjoy it!) so as usual I did not noticed how the time went by.  But the next trip was already waiting for me – I finally decided that I don’t want to live in the residence during my first year at university so I had to start looking for some sort of accommodation - more precisely a flat to rent.

The best way to do it was to go the London and see everything on my own.  We went there with my father who was obviously the brains of our little group and the one to make all the important decisions.  We found the flat I’ll be renting this and probably the two following years.  It is unfurnished so my mum and I are going back to London for a week again on the 10th to buy all the important stuff.  The flat itself is quite nice, not too big, not too small (at least for London), just a few meters from tube station but the window are facing the other way so it is perfectly quiet up there.  This factor was very important for me - back home in Russia our family lives on the 13th floor and in Brighton my room was facing St Anne’s Gardens so I got very used to sleep with open windows without any noise.  It’s very close to Chiswick with all the shops as well and the kitchen is small but very modern – in other way it is a perfect match for me! 

 

I got back exactly on time for my best friend’s birthday party.  The celebration wasn’t a usual one.  My friend organized a car to take us (me and four other girls) to the countryside where we were going to fly on a balloon.  The traffic was quite heavy as it was Friday and everyone was leaving Moscow but we were chatting all the time so it wasn’t a problem.  It was a very special feeling when we got inside the basket and started to take off.  It was nothing comparing to what I felt in the usual plane – here we were really flying!  We reached the height of 720 meters and went up and down a few times – from there the views were really fantastic.

The duration of the flight was one hour but we barely noticed it as a few bottles of champagne were there waiting for us and everyone wanted to say a few kind words to the birthday girl and wish her once more a happy birthday.  The landing was fun as well – very smoothly we stopped on some field and continued to take pictures and drink champagne until the car arrived to take us to one of the Moscow lounges.

 

On the way back I even felt a little pity for our drivers – for an hour or so we were talking really loudly, laughing and singing all the songs that was played on the radio.  In the lounge we met up with a few other friends and continued partying till late.

The next day we went to a restaurant to celebrate again with her relatives (except, my friend, I was the only person to be on the two parties).  The place was nice and I really felt as a part of a family as I already knew everyone and everyone knew me.  A very special present was waiting for the birthday girl there as well – they made a video where her entire family was singing a song wishing her all the best in her future life.  That was very sweet especially to see her little brother and usually serious father rapping).

I am trying not to forget my own family as well and spend with them more time as I don’t see them for the major part of the year.  Every weekend we go to the countryside with my parents where I am mainly collecting berries (and eating them straight away) and reading books (the pastime I missed the most in Brighton – simply did not have time for anything excepting science books).  I even had a chance to meet my distant relatives from Ukraine who came for a few days - I’ve never seen them before and was very pleased learn that I have a cousin who is the same age as me.

Enjoy your summer everyone!!! UK is waiting for us)

Are You Ready for Summer?

Posted by Maggie

First things first. I just wanted to say that I had a fabulous time at the Graduation Ball a couple weeks ago. The weather was on our side, thank God. It was a beautiful and warm evening. Excitement was definitely palpable on the school ground pre-soiree. Everybody, and I mean everybody, looked absolutely stunning that night! The students huddled in groups, checking out others' outfits and giggling like mad.

When the 188 bus came, everyone boarded and we were on our way to the Greenwich Pier (which I recently discovered was in fact called Cutty Sark Gardens). There were a few latecomers but all was well and at 8.15 (or so), we left the dock for what proved to be a wonderful night, filled with equally wonderful memories. A glass of bubbly is, without a doubt, mandatory once we were on the boat. As we clinked our glasses and proposed silly toasts, I realized I've been in London for nine months. Time is a very strange concept. Lately, I feel as though time and I were playing this game called "Catch-me-if-you-can". Only time is winning.  That's why I've decided to live my life to the fullest, as if it's the last day.  No regrets. Just living in the moment. And make it worth it.

 

Alright! Enough of my neurosis now, back to the party. The party was incredible. There were a few amazing performances, commenced by Yusuke and Eleanor's rendition of a song... whose title I couldn't quite remember. All I could remember was the intensity of Yusuke's solo - it was off-the-hook. You could almost feel this electrifying vibe radiating from him and his violin. Eleanor provided a steady beat and melody on the keyboard that complemented Yusuke's part. Everybody loved it. The applause went on for what seemed like milleniums! Afterwards, we witnessed the moves of the year, only better when our beloved Bellerbys students showed them off! The Russian ladies strutted their thangs and flipped their hair back while the boys did their own thing. It was like a hip-hop comeback and the dance was so hot that some people requested for an encore! Unbelievable, I know.

Some prizes were given out - like the Best Dressed for the Lady and the Gent which went to Ting Ting, who wore a subtle and elegant kimono get-up and Ian, who pulled off this luxe tuxe look, accessorized with a quirky tie with Elvis' face splattered across it. They were awarded a bottle of Cava each - which I took advantage of. Then there was the King and Queen. Melina - a very very pretty and smart girl from A5 took the crown and a Nigerian boy whose name I couldn't remember became King (and I assure you, he sure is handsome).

The night was in full swing. The bar was packed with people, the casino was packed with people, the dance floor was packed with people. Everywhere you go - there was somebody. And don't forget, the flashing lights!!! I believe the photos taken that night exceed the Oscars red carpet pictures. Loads of us went outside when we were crossing Tower Bridge - only underneath it. We were screaming and laughing our heads off, waving at confused-looking tourists.

 

The boat stopped over at Westminster and some people left and continued partying in Central London. I stayed on (though I did go partying after we got back to Greenwich) and tore the dance floor apart with my girls and boys! Then, I went down to the casino and won quite a bit of chips at the Blackjack table! Too bad they're not real money. Anyhow, it was good fun. Just like the night. It was packed with glam and that's how we like it.

We also had a prize-giving ceremony recently, which was held at the Greenwich University. The staff body was hilarious, as usual, and gave different awards to the deserving students from different groups like the ELPP, Foundation and lastly, A Level. I got a little present as well, for being one of the student ambassadors. I had a tiny dilemma with my belt that day. It kept coming off! When I walked to the stage, all I could think of was, "Snap snap snap, what if my belt just bursts apart?!" I would be the laughing stock of the school. Thank God it didn't fall off.Phew.

After a whole week of grueling exams, suddenly, reality dawned on me. I sit on my desk now, blogging at 2am to tell you how stoked and psyched I am for the summer of 2009! There are several loose ends left for me to sort out, then I'm off! I just can't believe it's already been a year since I first arrived in London. Well, not a year yet but close enough.

I'm no longer the girl who gets lost while trying to find her way to IKEA in Wembley. I'm the girl who takes my friends and Mother around in London, as if I've lived here for my whole life. London has integrated into every single crumb of my soul. I'm definitely going to miss London this summer. Most of all, I'm going to miss all the awesome people I've met in Bellerbys and my closest friends from the college. You know who you are. My dearest flat-mates, I know that next year, we won't live together but remember, flat 5 is probably the most amazing flat that has ever existed on this planet. You girls were amazing. You put up with my constant loud music and late-night disturbances, begging for food. And anyone who feeds me good stuff, well, it goes without saying that I'll love you for the rest of my life. Also, I promise, when I return in September, I'll have heaps of tales to share for everybody!

Until then, I wish you all a splendid and marvelous summer and see you when we all get back!

With love,

Maggie.

The Lowdown #5 (Easter Break Sneak Peek!)

Posted by Maggie

Exams are looming and terrified pupils roam the school grounds.  One can’t help but feel the tension and stress students are experiencing now, especially if you’re one of the students. 

Life tends to go like this: a meal followed by a succession of revision periods then back to square one.  And the hedonist in me is protesting wildly.  So I compensate by gorging large amount of gourmet food while I flip through my Psychology notes.  This is to my disadvantage hence the graduation ball is coming up soon!  The dress I plan to wear on the night is already a bit too fitting on me and with the rate of my compulsive snacking, I’m not sure I’ll be able to wear that dress. 

Thank God for the invention of gym.  I am currently obsessed with the yoga hatha classes my gym offers on Sunday afternoons.  I am perfecting my tree pose as we speak.  Anyhow, I cannot wait for the graduation ball!  It is organised by our very own graduation ball committee – a group of highly talented and efficient Bellerbys London students. 

I sometime, just for the sake of it, hang out by the stall where the tickets are being sold and where my insane friends and I try to convince people to vote Khoa* for Queen (Khoa is an awesome guy, yes, guy, and so far, there are about 10 votes for him in circulation in the Queen box).  There will be a coronation of a King and Queen (vote for Khoa!) by the end of the night.  The ball itself will be held on a boat and there will be a casino running throughout the night (which is also where I’ll be pretty much all night when I need to take a break from the dance floor).  Of course, we’ll be using “fake” money but hey, it’s still good fun right?

People can get off the boat once we reach Westminster (which is on the other side of the River Thames) but unfortunately, the under 18s are not permitted.  The authorities believe that the fact that the grad ball ends at midnight is already pushing the limits since we normally have to be in our rooms by 11pm.  I’m not complaining though.  Hitherto, I rebelled against any restrictions placed upon me but I seem to understand why we have curfews now.  It is, believe it or not, really for our own good.  Plus, it’s not like we could go anywhere (let’s not get into the whole fake id dealio – they’re so phony).

On the other hand, I’ll enlighten you lot with my trip to Paris and Barcelona over Easter break but only briefly because I could go on for days if you want every single detail.  I hope all of you too had a good time, good rest or whatever endeavours you engaged in over the break.  My mom came to London to visit me and I took her around London like I was a Londoner myself.

It’s funny how time seems to creep up on you and bam! It has already been 8 months since I first set foot on the great British soil.  So after a couple of days spent in London, my mom and I flew to Barcelona where beautiful people and Iberico jamon coexist harmoniously.  My beginner Spanish came in quite handy and it seemed that the locals derived much amusement from my evident effort and struggle in trying to get my point across.  In Barcelona, architecture is its soul.  We witnessed Gaudi’s ingenuity.  Projects like the Sagrada Familia, Casa Batllo and Park Guell were flooded with waves of tourists ranging from China to Canada.  Gaudi became our friend during our time spent in Barca.

 

Here’s one tip from me to you when you travel to Spain in the future: Have tea in the afternoon because the Spaniards expect you to reserve tables after 9pm.  You must be wondering how I’d know this.  Well, when I tried to make a booking(s) at a restaurant(s), I asked for 8pm and all I got was a prolonged “uh” and “earliest is 9.30pm, Miss”.  It’s quite an interesting custom in my opinion.  I actually grew to enjoy having dinners late at night with a glass of cava in hand.

We found an amazing diner on a street called Escudellers.  Its name is Los Caracoles, which literally translates to The Snails.  Naturally, we ordered a plate of steamed snails and ate the snail-shaped bread they had baked.  We also ordered Osso Bucco and Paella on the second night (yes, we were there for two consecutive nights).  The food was great, the atmosphere was pleasant and the waiters were delightful (which consists of mostly middle-aged, bald men).  You have to walk past the kitchen where the chefs greet you passionately before you get seated.  We loved it there!  It felt like home.

We stayed at Le Meridian on Las Ramblas - a famous street (think Oxford street) that has abundant tourists and avid shoppers.  It belongs in the Barri Gothic district where old buildings that date back to many centuries ago remain.  Narrow streets are filled with shops and diners with an occasional cathedral and plaza appearing out of nowhere. 

I found out that the Spaniards have a penchant for fresh orange juice.  There were orange juicers everywhere!  The oranges were peeled and squeezed freshly right before your eyes in all the diners that I’ve been in.  Meanwhile, La Boqueria is a market where chefs buy their daily fresh produce from and where housewives gossip about the latest happenings.  Luckily for us, there were bars where fresh seafood were cooked and served promptly.  My mom also appreciated the fact that smoking is allowed.

Afterwards, we went to Picasso’s museum to satisfy our aesthetic cravings.  I fell in love with him after seeing his early works.  Picasso’s early works were intricately beautiful and he could really paint!  He’s not just anybody who took a stroll into the art world and decides to paint weird looking figures and call that art.  He was merely experimenting because one could only go so far with conventional paintings.  He also made sculptures, which were quite cute to be honest!

 

Now, we shall proceed to Paris.  We took an overnight train where we slept on bunk beds in a super crammed cabin.  I listened to the repeated and consistent rhythms of the grinding between the train and the train tracks.  It accompanied us for the night.  I thought that it was hypnotic and soothing.  My mom disagreed.  She swore she’d never take an overnight train again for the rest of her life. 

Once we got off the train (to my mother’s relief), we took a taxi and settled down in our hotel.  I absolutely love the cafes in Paris.  Their bread is… flawless.  The texture, smell and taste of the bread are the best in the world.  Of course, I’ve only been to a few places in the world so I can’t quite confidently admit it’s the best but as far as I’m concerned, it is the best. 

We did all the touristy shebang - Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, Champs Elysees, Louvre, Musee d’Orsay and whatnot.  My favourite part of the trip was when we went on a cruise ride on the River Seine on a sunny afternoon.  We saw the Notre Dame Cathedral, the Latin Quarters, the old yet stunning bridges (some of them had gargoyles), a couple of Parliamentary buildings and lovers lounging by the steps beside the river.

 

That is when I truly found Paris a romantic city.  Has anybody seen the film called “Paris, Je T’aime”?  When I got back from the trip, I borrowed it from our school’s library (it boasts many wonderful films!  I am so thankful as I’m a huge movie buff) and saw the film again.  I duly enjoyed it and kept pointing out all the places that I’ve been to that were shown in the film.  There was this one part where the short film was shot in Porte de Choisy which is supposedly the Chinatown of Paris but there were more Vietnamese there than Chinese.  Anyway, I vividly remember this Vietnamese shop and it was in the film and I jumped up jubilantly when I saw it!  It’s quite an exhilarating experience to see the places you’ve been to on the silver screen.

Another favourite area of mine in Paris is Montmatre.  It is a tiny hill located slightly out of the central and it is lined with colourful stores and cobblestone roads.  It is such a photogenic area.  If I were the editor of Vogue, I’d definitely shoot a fashion spread in Montmatre.  Mind you, I applaud Carine Roitfeld’s work (editor in chief of French Vogue).  French Vogue is probably the best Vogue in the world now.  Russian Vogue is not bad either.  My mom and I rode on the funiclement, which means Merry-Go-Round in French and laughed a lot.  Did you know that Merry-Go-Round first appeared in Montmatre?

The next day, we went to Les Deux Magots, which means The Two Old Men in French, located in St. Germain du Pres (another area that I admire).  Apparently, Ernest Hemingway (or was it Oscar Wilde) used to go there.  We ordered blood-orange juice and salmon salad for lunch and chilled out for a while, with our new books in our hands.

 

Earlier, we went to a cool bookstore called Shakespeare and Co where they sell books in no order whatsoever.  You just venture into the bookstore and pick up any book that you’d like.  The floorboards were creaky and it was super dusty inside but it was such an interesting experience!  Don’t forget to stamp your books with the signature Shakespeare and Co stamp!  Later on, we went to the ultimate fashion store for the chic youths called Colette in Tuileries on Rue St. Honore.  I lost myself in there.  Lastly, one has to go to Laduree before leaving Paris.  It is possibly the best tea parlour in the whole wide world.  Their macaroons are delicious.  I just couldn’t get enough of their rose macaroons!

So you see, the good thing about studying in England is the fact that you could fly off to anywhere in Europe on a whim and quite cheaply too.  Paris in May, Barcelona in September and who knows where else!  Personally, the next few destinations on my list are Amsterdam and Prague.  Gather your friends and all you have to bring is an adventurous spirit!  Okay, maybe not but with a little more planning, you’d be screaming how fortunate you are to be able to live in a great city like London and the fact that it is so accessible to visit other European cities while you’re here.  I’m off now, until the next time, peace.

*We’re just kidding about the whole Khoa business. It is for entertainment purposes only.  No offense intended.  We love you Khoa, if you’re reading this. J

The New Spring

Posted by Ksenia

The first day of the spring met me in London (is anyone still surprised?).  As usual we were having a marvellous weekend with my friend who is lucky enough to live there.  This time I discovered a new to me part of the city – on the Saturday morning we went to the Notting Hill heading to the Portobello Road – home to the largest and world famous antiques market Portobello Road Market.

At first it was quite hard to appreciate how big it is - even though the road itself is definitely not the short one.  Once you walk in one of the shops which seem to take just a tiny amount of space from the outside, you find yourself in an infinitely long gallery full of little shops or just sellers with a table of various staff in front of them.  Here you can find absolutely everything from jewellery, cutlery to sculpture, paintings and furniture.  Every single corner is full of beautiful and very often bizarre things that once were a part of someone else’s life.  You never know what you might see in the next moment so everybody tries to look very carefully in hope not to miss something special.

The market and the nearby streets are extremely crowded and of course not everyone is there to buy – there are lots of tourists or people who definitely enjoy just hanging around in this peculiar place, looking at objects and having a chat with the owners.  Personally I found the market fascinating and was very tempted to buy a map of one of the regions of France.  I‘ve never seen such a beautiful piece before – it was more then 200 old, hand-painted with images representing the agriculture and the crafts of the region and even with some geographical and historical data written on it.  But I really had to listen to my reason telling me that I had absolutely nowhere to put it. Well, hopefully in the near future…

Surprisingly I felt the arrival of the spring in Brighton much more then I did in London.  When I went to college on Monday the weather was just great - warm and sunny - and a very pleasant surprise was waiting for me in the St. Ann's Well Gardens – even before the land was fully covered by grass the first flowers started to appear forming an amazing multicoloured carpet.  This was so beautiful so I even decided to take some pictures.  From one of them you can actually see the house where I live.

 

The following days were as busy as they usually are for A2 students – lots of revision, tests and homework during the week and then partying with friends on the weekend.  We had two great reasons to do it.  Firstly on Saturday it was 18th birthday party of a very good friend of mine.  We met each other on my first day in Bellerbys when I came to do a language course.  Even though our courses have been very different since then we are still very close so the majority of his friends are my friends as well and we had very nice time all together.

The Sunday, the 8th of March is the Women’s Day in Russia and several other countries.  This is a great day when girls can do whatever they want and boys are always nice to them (that’s a pity that such a day is only once a year!) 

Even though we had so many thing to do one date on the calendar was just impossible to forget about – the 12th of March – the day of the announcement of January exams’ results.  I was doing my best trying not to think about it but about a week before the big day everyone including our teachers was constantly reminding us about it.  So when I walk in the exam office on Thursday after my last lesson (the exam results were available after 2 o’clock so some people already knew theirs) I was feeling pretty nervous (however I have to admit that it was nothing compared to how nervous I felt in August when I was trying to contact Paula Pocock for my results from Russia).

Everything was on the same piece of paper and when I saw that my results are absolutely fine I was so fulfilled with happiness and excitement that I was nearly jumping outside the exam office for a few minutes.  It was really a great pleasure and a huge relief as well – of course the main exams will be in June (which will eventually decide everything) but at least I won’t need to retake anything!  Some of my friends got absolutely fantastic results getting full marks in several modules.  Congratulations everybody!!!  We did it!)

On Saturday I was in London again (no comments!) seeing my friends, walking around the city and expanding my knowledge of art.  There is a very interesting exhibition in National Gallery called “Picasso. Challenging the Past”. It's on till the 7th of June so if you interested in this unusual artist this is the one you cannot miss.  Personally I am not a fan of the modern art, I much more prefer more classical paintings and, as I've already writing in this blog, I am particularly passionate about impressionism.  However it was fascinating for me to have a look at something very different for a change, see how the Picasso’s style of painting was changing dramatically during his long career.

I was especially impressed by his variation on the Velazquez masterpiece “Las Meninas” which I had a chance to see in Prado museum in Madrid.  In his variation Picasso presents all the figures in the same arrangement but the feeling from the painting is completely different.  The image is monochrome but seems much brighter and sharper then the original creating the atmosphere of artificiality and hidden danger – which is probably the best way to describe the Spanish court at the time.  However it was almost impossible for me to understand the way Picasso has painted his wives and lovers – to me they do not even resemble to human being not even mentioning women. 

The other thing was that they all looked very similar (and equally scary – I won’t like to have one of those images in my bedroom even if I had the fortune to buy it!) independently of how they looked in the real life.  Anyway, I hope that this spring will be enjoyable for all of us and it will definitely one to remember!

The Lowdown #3

Hello readers, how are you all doing?

It snowed majorly at the beginning of February here in London and I loved every single minute of it!  Apparently, it was the heaviest snowfall in 18 years.  We had a "snow day" and everyone was thrilled! All of us came out and had snowball fights everywhere on campus. 

Most of the public transport in London were not operating due to the "harsh" weather condition.  My friends and I had lunch in a tiny cafe in Greenwich before going to the park for an afternoon of snow-packed activities. Some people even took their snowboards and sleighs to the park.  We also saw snowmen varying in sizes and styles everywhere we went.

Perhaps the funniest thing I saw when I was out was kids stuffing snow into cones and placing these "snowcones" in the middle of the roads. The oncoming cars tried to avoid them but inevitably drove into them.  I wish I had the chance to take a picture of them but unfortunately, my hands were freezing so I didn't bother taking my camera out of my bag. 

I came up with a few ideas on what to do on a snow day though if you ever encounter one.  Besides having the regular snowball fights, building snowmans and "snowcones", you could:

1. Watch back-to-back episodes of Friends.
2. Blog about your last summer vacation in Italy.
3. Eat instant noodles (the more unhealthy, the better).
4. Read Cosmopolitan.
5. Colour co-ordinate your socks.

Since I've been back from my Christmas break, which seems like ages ago, I've done some stuff that's worth mentioning here.  Let's take Bodyworld for starters. 

Bodyworld is an exhibition that depicts and describes a person's life process starting from fertilisation in your mother's womb until the day you die. Professor Gunther used plastination to preserve all the real corpses and twist them into different poses.  There were about 10 bodies shown in this exhibition.  The one that I liked most was the "Basketball Man".  It was of a man, holding a basketball in his hand, in an eagle-spread pose.  It's such a powerful pose.  The power and strength it embodied completely took my breath away.

The entrance fee costs £9.  I thought that it was worth every single penny.  I don't want to reveal too much about the exhibition because it's something that one has to see for oneself.  There are many other Bodyworld exhibitions being shown around the world as we speak.  This exhibition shown at the O2 is only a fraction of the whole project.  Our visit ended with receiving a piece of certificate, indicating that we've been to the awesome Bodyworld exhibition!  Vonderful, Professor Gunther.

Besides staring in awe at dead bodies, I've also taken some ice-skating lessons.  The decision came about when I signed up at the Reebok gym in Canary Wharf.  There was a skating rink situated right across the gym.  I was so fascinated.  I thought to myself, I've lived in Canada for 3 years and I still can't believe I don't know how to ice-skate.  Shameful!  Therefore, I signed up for lessons on the following day.

The lesson started out a bit wobbly. I felt extremely uncomfortable in those skates.  After "walking" on ice for the first 10 minutes, alas, I could relax myself and actually started to move in a slightly smoother movement.  My instructor - Jamie, was nice (and patient!) enough to put up with my nervousness and paranoia.  I kept thinking that I would fall and someone would skate right across my fingers.  Yes, not exactly a pleasant scene. 

Then - a miracle occurred.  I could actually skate!!!   After many attempts and Jamie's effort to distract me from my scary thoughts by talking about our backgrounds, I found myself sliding and gliding happily round and round the rink!  Of course, I'm not saying I've turned into an ice-skating genius overnight.  But I'm quite shocked (and proud!) that I could skate now!  It was an amazing and liberating experience. 

All the boys and girls out there, one other tip: take your significant other for an ice-skating session the next time you're planning for an interesting date.  It's romantic (when you don't fall) and if you do fall, you two can share a laugh!

I'm out for now. See you!

Unexpected Half-Term

Posted by Ksenia

Usually just before every holiday or half-term I write a post to wish everyone to have a nice time and wondering how quickly the time goes. As I am writing this blog for quite a while it has become some sort of routine. But this time the half-term arrived so unexpectedly so even did not realised that it was time to write the post. And when I see that there are only five weeks left before the Easter holidays I feel that there is definitely something wrong with the calendar.

I guess the feeling is so strange because of the January exams – at first everyone was too busy with revision and taking the actual exams, then everyone was getting back to the usual studying regime (which was quite a difficult task as nobody could stop celebrating the end of this horrible period), then we were very busy again because our teachers gave us plenty of tests and homework to enable them to write the reports.

Even though I was too busy to notice that the half-term is coming I was still able to take part in some of the fascinating things that usually go on in Bellerbys Brighton. For example, we found out that one of the College's economics teachers plays guitar in a band called "No Sweat" and we even had a chance to watch and listen to him live (and take pictures of course). 

     

We were taken to one of the Worthing pubs by a coach where we had a very nice dinner (home-made food is delicious - even though it is English) in a great company before coming downstairs to a small concert hall where the band was ready to perform. As soon as they started playing it was no longer possible to imagine that we are on a school trip. The musicians and the singer in particular were full of drive and energy that instantly passed to the audience. Everyone was just having so much fun!

At first I felt a bit strange to see my teachers (there were a lot of them in the audience) in such an informal atmosphere - it was like becoming a part of their private life - but it was definitely a pleasant feeling. But as the evening progressed the difference between the students and their teachers was becoming less and less significant - people were chatting, dancing, singing and shouting and totally enjoying themselves. It was a pity to leave - but we all agreed that it was a fantastic evening.

On Tuesday we went to the Booth Natural History Museum during our Biology double class. We have just started classification and as there wasn't any practical work to do so our teacher decided to show us different species of birds, insects and other animals. Not alive though - the birds were stuffed, the butterflies dead and the monkeys were looking quite evil as we could only see the skeletons (which as you may have guessed resemble the human ones a lot).

We also had an insight in British history of the Victorian period as we learned a bit about the style of living at that time. The rich people didn't have to work so to entertain themselves they were collecting things - that's where the birds and butterflies come from. Quite a strange hobby from the modern point of view but very fashionable at the time (what can be better than a cage of coloured stuffed birds at the middle of your drawing room?)

The next week the Biology class was quite entertaining as well – we went to the Preston Park (the one where the college photo is usually taken) to do some ecology studies. We spent quite a while trying to find anything that wasn’t just grass or flowers planted by men to do our quadrats – technique used to find the distribution of plants in the area.

As we didn’t quite succeeded in our search due to the time of year we decided to do the percentage of the area covered by grass. The rest of it was like a real study – using random number tables to generate the coordinates of the place to put the quadrats, tabulating our results, plotting the graph and even taking the soil samples. Later in the laboratory we did lots of tests including heating, burning and trying to dissolve our samples. It was much fun though I do not think that the results obtained were really reliable - which is not a problem as long as we are not going to publish our study.

This half-term I was particularly lucky because my mum came to see me. We met in Brighton, had a very nice meal in Havana – a very beautiful place which surprisingly has no connection with Cuba except for its name. We went to London on the next day and I was really happy to be there again – usually I go to the UK capital every other week but after the exams were finished there was so much to do in Brighton veryone was getting together every Friday and week-end so I just could not leave. So after a break I realised that I really missed the place – something I would never believe two years ago. It took me time to get to know the city, to try to understand and appreciate it but now I am definitely in love with it and as I have already mentioned (so many times!) hope to spend my university years there.

I was not doing any studying at all this half-term – too many other things to do and to see – like waking in St. James and be pleasantly surprised about the great weather (I did not carry my umbrella at all and it was raining once only – there is something wrong with a climate of this country!) or revising the English history in the National Portrait Gallery, enjoying tiramisu in my favourite Italian restaurant which I consider even better then those I’ve been to in Italy (a paradox I really cannot explain!) or even finding out about the origins of the Russian orthodox church in the Byzantium exhibition in the Royal Academy of Art.

People who know me will be surprised to know that I did almost no shopping at all - I was a bit sick of the shops after the last time so I tried to convince myself that I don’t need anything at all. However we still went outside the central part of London to see The Westfield shopping centre which can be considered as one of the biggest malls in Europe. It was quite an interesting experience for me because I have never been to places like it before even though there are several of them in Moscow. I found it to be quite a convenient place to do your shopping especially if you need lots of things (which most women usually do even though their men think that they are totally crazy)

Well, bye-bye for now because I see my posts getting longer exponentially so I am really scared to bore you now)

The Crazy Days

Posted by Ksenia

So much has happened recently so there was completely no time to write about it)

On the Monday morning (the 2nd of February – I guess many people will remember this date for a long time), I was as usual regretting the end of the weekend and realizing that I haven’t done the majority of the stuff I planned to do (getting enough sleep was the first one on my list and obviously the goal that I haven’t achieved).  It was snowing the previous night but I still was really surprised to see a layer of snow lying on the ground. It wasn’t too big compared to the amount of snow we can get in one night in Russia but I’ve never seen anything like it before in the UK (and I wasn’t alone – it has been 18 years since it snowed as heavily in England – the fact I didn’t know at the moment, of course).

My host mother had already woken up and asked me if I had to go to the college.  At first I even didn’t understood her question.  Even the idea that Bellerbys can be closed because of several centimetres of snow seemed ridiculous and totally impossible.  It’s an international college – it’s always open!

Now I feel that after spending two and a half years of my life in the UK I really should not be surprised about anything.  One phone call suddenly changed the whole picture - a friend of mine was also saying that there is no college that day.  As I still was thinking that those people are simply making fun of me I called one of my friends from the residence – her voice was sleepy and told me to forget about the lessons and go back to bed.  I was still too excited to do that so I switched on the TV and realize that the whole country was paralyzed – no train service, planes cancelled, roads blocked, taxis, buses and even London tube (!!!! How can snow prevent underground from working? In that case I guess the cold was to blame) were not operating so a lot of people just decided to stay at home.

The ones to really enjoy this force major were the children – the lessons were cancelled everywhere so there was plenty of time to play snowballs and built snowmen!  Students around the country celebrated the weather conditions and made the most of their extended weekend.  I was very happy as well, both for seeing the snow which reminded me of my home country and to have a day-off. 

But even though the feeling was a bit strange – Monday without college is definitely abnormal!  So thanks to the weather I finally got time to write this post (a bit long for an introduction isn’t?) So now I will start to write everything in order (as far as it possible for a girl who has a complete disorder in her head).

The 18th of January was my birthday.  The temptation to have a great party with all my friends who I absolutely adore was huge – but I had to resist it.  The problem was that it was Sunday and the next week (even on the next day) we all had lots of exams.  And I knew from the start that even if I will try to organize a quiet evening and have an early night I will sill disrupt everybody (including myself) from the revision (can you imagine me going to bed early on my own birthday if I am surrounded by friends? I certainly not)).  So I stayed at home and tried to concentrate on my studies. 

But there wasn’t a moment for me to feel lonely - everybody was constantly calling me and leaving messages and all those kind wishes and lots and lots of attention from my friends and relatives made this day very special and happy for me. The words cannot really express how much I love and appreciate all those people!  And then, on Thursday, the exams were finally over so I went straight to London where my parents have already arrived to celebrate my birthday (finally!).

We had just a few days together – I had to go back to college on Monday and they had plane tickets back to Russia but we had a fantastic time.  Even though my mum was a bit ill we still had the most of our stay – a bit of shopping of course, but also lots of walking, meeting people and we even had a chance to visit Victoria & Albert Museum (but not to explore it all obviously) which I highly recommend to everyone who has never been there before.  There is something for everyone – from temporary exhibitions to collections of objects from different époques and counties.

So on Monday I went back to Brighton, but not for long – on Tuesday straight after lessons several other girls and I were on the train to the London Victoria.  We were really excited as we had a great evening in front of us – The Pussycat Dolls concert.  The fact that Ne-Yo and Lady Gaga were also taking part in it was making us even happier!  When we go out of the tube it was impossible not to choose the right direction – everybody was heading towards the O2 Arena. 

Personally, I’ve never been in such a huge concert hall before so even the look of it was really impressive. The energy and excitement that everybody felt was absolutely amazing – the audience was singing and dancing – we all felt like a part of a big whole in total euphoria.  It was so great to see the people whose songs you are passionate about and listen to those idols singing in front of you.

When the concert was coming to the end the audience still didn’t want to let the singers go asking for more and more.  Nobody wanted this unbelievable evening to finish!  I was singing and shouting with everybody else and when we went out of the Arena I felt almost deaf and my voice has gone – but I was still absolutely happy.

It took us quite a while to get back to Brighton but the next day even though I was really sleepy I was (almost!) on time for my 9 o’clock lesson –very proud of myself!!  My voice didn’t quite come back to me during the week – I guess I somehow caught a cold as well.  But we decided to go out on Friday well in advance – to celebrate the end of the exams (some poor people still had them that week) and the birthdays that have past – I wasn’t the only one to miss mine.  No excuses were allowed so I went out as well and had a great time but went back home quite early and spent the rest of the weekend trying to recover from my cold.  Not completely successful yet – but feeling much better now!