As we are nearing the end of my second block in London, my 10th week abroad was spent preparing for final assignments while also seeing more of the city. Although the week was relatively uneventful, I did at the end of it leave Central London to visit Brixton, and Erin and I also met up with our friend Michaela from Fairfield who was visiting from Florence, Italy during her program’s spring break!

Tuesday, March 14, 2017

On Tuesday, Erin took me to Bloomsbury Coffee House, a café that she discovered a week or so prior on her day off of classes. The café is the type that you would miss if you were not looking closely for it

— the entrance is down a set of stairs on a side street, so it is essentially below ground level. I was immediately drawn to the hole-in-the-wall nature of the café, and was further impressed by the array of options they offered. From juices and teas to pastries and sandwiches, there is no shortage of variety. I opted for a hot chocolate (surprise, surprise) and a BLT sandwich, which was absolutely delicious. Another appealing quality of the café is the ability to connect to the Wi-Fi, so if you are in need of a quick caffeine fix or mid-afternoon snack, but also have work to do, it is the perfect spot to set up shop and get to work.

Friday, March 17, 2017

Friday was a day of field trips for me, starting at 10 a.m. with a visit to the Charles Dickens Museum with my 19th Century British Literature class. While at the museum, we got to see a representation of Dickens’ home — his actual home located next door — and how he and his family lived in Victorian England. What I found the most interesting was when we discussed how space was occupied both by men and women individually, as well as when they interacted in a family setting together.

After the tour ended, I had some downtime before my next class at 12:30 p.m., where I had to meet in the Global Institute before heading with my Intercultural Communication and Leadership class to Brixton. Once we left, we walked from Russell Square to Euston Station and got on Victoria line for eight stops. When we exited Brixton Station, our senses were immediately overwhelmed by the beat of steel drums and the bright colors. The southern district of London was full of activity despite the weather being on the colder side — spoiler alert: I was not dressed properly for a walking tour — and many people were walking around, going about their business at the different kiosks and shops.

When we first met our tour guide, she started our walking tour by discussing the 1981 Brixton riot, which became known as “Bloody Saturday” after Time Magazine coined it as such. The riot was a confrontation between the Metropolitan police and protestors in Lambeth, South London and primarily occurred on April 11, although it lasted from April 10 to April 12. One of the aspects of Brixton that our tour guide informed us about early on was that the district has a history of social and economic problems, which resulted in bubbling tension and an above average crime rate. Additionally, there was increased tension between the black community and the police following a house fire that killed black youths, and the police were criticized for viewing the fire solely as an accident and not exploring the possibility that the fire may have resulted from a racially motivated arson attack.

After getting a general — and for all intents and purposes, highly simplified — explanation of Brixton’s history, we then proceeded across the street to David Bowie’s shrine, which had flowers and memorabilia on the ground around it, as well as records wedged behind the glass that protects the mural, itself. There were also notes written by fans of Bowie, particularly somber ones remembering the singer who died only over a year ago on Jan. 10, 2016. Our guide also mentioned to us how Australian street artist James Cochran, who created the mural in 2013, had to return to Brixton to re-do the mural after people began writing messages across Bowie’s face, which the district and artist then told the public not to do out of respect for the shrine.

Next we went to Windrush Square, where we saw Tate Central Free Public Library, which our guide said was highly useful for people who do not have access to technology, such as a computer. As we continued on our walking tour, we stood outside of Black Cultural Archives, which was founded in 1981 in an effort to preserve and celebrate the history of those of African descent who live in Britain. Afterward, we were all relatively frozen solid, so we stepped into a small side shop, where we got to try some local delicacies. Since it was a Friday during Lent, I was unable to try the chicken that they had, so I opted for the “better” option of fried dough (I can hear my mother’s disapproving groan and my father’s judgmental laughter from the other side of the Atlantic).

Our last stop on the tour was to Brixton Village, which featured a marketplace full of fishes, meats and sweet treats. One of the treats was strawberries and bananas dipped in chocolate and served in the form of how one would eat kebab on a stick. It looked absolutely delicious — even though me eating bananas would be a disaster — and I could not help but be jealous as I watched some of the girls in my group eating them prior to our departure back to Brixton Station.

Sunday, March 19, 2017

On Sunday, Michaela arrived from Florence and we spent the early evening walking around the South Bank and Westminster area — which would prove fairly frightening given the context of what occurred in the area just days later. We took her to the various spots that we were brought several weeks back, namely Globe Theatre, Elizabeth Tower and Parliament, the London Eye and Westminster Abbey. As we walked, it was great to catch up with her and hear about the time that she has spent thus far studying in Italy for the semester and it was also amusing watching as she stood on the wrong side of the escalator in the tube station before we informed her of the “tube etiquette.”

We spent a fair amount of time walking that day, especially when we originally took a tube to Baker Street Station so that we could bring her to The Golden Hind for fish and chips, only to discover that it was closed for the evening. Deciding to go for the other stereotypical London approach, we opted to return to the King’s Cross-area, where we went to Nando’s and she got to experience their chicken for the first time; an experience that everyone who visits London needs to have at some point.

Although the final weeks of each block are fairly uneventful, it tends to give me an opportunity to explore the deeper depths of the city and find the hide-away places that I would other have overlooked in an attempt to see the “hot-spots.” Stay tuned for the next installment of Ari’s Adventures Abroad, where I will be talking about my trip to the Harry Potter Studio Tour!