Bentonville Vacay Dream List:

 Don't get me wrong, I am LOVING London, and I'm so thankful to be living here. But with all the term papers and the Christmas season fast approaching (I'll be home in 25 days! eeee!), I can't help but think of all the things I want to do when I touch down in NW Arkansas. So, seeing as I have a million things to do and a thousand opportunities to procrastinate, here is a list (in no certain order) of the things I'm counting down the days for...

Snooki: anyone who knows me knows this goes without much explanation.

Barq's rootbeer:in the UK you have two choices.. either Diet coke/diet pepsi or Coke/pepsi. Dr.Pepper is also a close runner up on this list. And free refills and ice practically don't exist.. so I'm really looking forward to paying 1.75 and gorging myself on as much soda as I can possibly drink.

The Edwards Clan: I cannot wait for some quality family time playing dominoes, chowing down on grandma's casseroles and FAMOUS cherry cobbler (Lesa, good luck getting more than a small slice!), and watching the boys open their Christmas!

Sissy Girl: Cutest lab on the block with the sweetest little soul. Can't wait to see her jump up on that window ledge when I walk through the door!

The Mum, Brat, and Bub: I can only imagine the tea, movies, couch snuggles, and large amounts of Christmas cheer and netflix. It will be an amazing break away from the big city with this crew.

My "Queenie" size bed: Terrible picture, but you get the idea. Lots of sleeping in the middle of my pillow top, lots of spooning of things like magazines, books, dvds, etc. #singlegirlprobz BUTTT seriously, watch out Queenie (and squishy pillow).

Cat Christmas Sweater: Unfortunately, this gem got left behind. Don't think for a second if it had made the pack list that I'd be too embarrassed to wear this baby around town. Trust me, I would wear it proudly.

Acambaro: This will be the first stop when I get home. The number 15 (Chicken enchiladas with sour cream sauce and beans and rice) or do I want the number 25 (Carne Asada tacos)???? Decisions, Decisions.

Christmas on the Bentonville Square: Beautiful every year. Cannot wait.

Driving/Honda: I might be a little rusty, and in all honesty the idea of driving scares me right now. But I know once I get in the car and start singing loudly to some Tswizzle that I won't give it a second thought.

Leisurely Reading: Can't wait til I can read something that doesn't use complicated jargon (ie intrinsic, discourse, psychoanalytic, anything having to do with visual theory/methodology)

My Dearest Clo Clo: I will be making the roadie down to Dallas for some time with Chloe. I can only assume trips to Sprinkles, City Tavern, and Whole Foods will ensue... I HOPE!

 Besties from Bville: "Lets do something awesome." Enough said. I am thinking a big group hug will be in order on this one.. and I know Lori will agree (and Alex will have no choice).

Katie and Tay: Looking forward to some home cooking and cocktails with these two. Never a dull moment at the Surlys'!

 Max: He is the cutest puppy friend ever, and the perf companion for movie days. He is spoiled, but who can resist that face?

Pickle Chips: Alex will call me disgusting, but when I walk into that glorious Walmart store I will make a B line for these suckers. And I'll eat the whole can.

Pop-Tarts: Not a huge pop-tart fan, but I've been craving them like crazy! They are nowhere to be found here. Boo.

Press Room: Looking forward to joining the frands and Clem for Tom Collins and cucumber and goat cheese on bread. DEEEElish!

Puppy Chow: Lori- you get to stir, Alex- you melt the butter and chocolate, and I... I'll get the powdered sugar ready in the bags and try not to screw anything up. Any way it goes, we have a crap ton of puppy chow to eat while we watch whatever is on Netflix in the back room at Clems.

Tusk and Trotter: You best believe I'll stop here day #2 for some Purple haze and Fried Chicken and waffles with that delish carrot cream. 

WALMART: enough said.

Apple Glen Elementary: My old stomping grounds! Already have a visit planned to see my peeps (Tina, Wendy, Sara, MC, Carrie, the whole specials crew!)

Clem: Where his house is always home. Can't wait to hear about whats new on the entertainment scene and listen to the jams on Sonos. YES!

Stucky T/Buzz/Bird/T: I will no doubt catch some slack for this, but I really can't wait to see Buzz and roll around on the Lassiter's living room floor with him and Lo (possibly watching an Amanda Bynes movie somewhere in there...)

Dolla bill: My money will go much further.. and I won't be paying out the patootie for a sandwich. This sounds stupid, but really, you have no idea how much crap costs here.

Sushi King: Spicy Fried California roll please!

Outback Steakhouse: with Burgie!

Pandora radio: If you are on a UK internet server (aka, I am in London all the time) you can't listen to Pandora. Its a huge bummer, especially with the holidays coming up! Can't wait for some Backstreet Boys Christmas Stationnnn!

Hog Nation: looking forward to being surrounded by a community of people who (mostly) share my love for the hogs and my State. (Yes, that is Bill Clinton- REPRESENT!)

Kennedy Coffee: Maybe I should have put this up with my Leisurely reading, because I'll most likely be doing it here with a Velvet Elvis or Mint Mud Slide.

Mostly, I'm just looking forward to being back to what I know best... being in a southern state of mind. 

See ya in 25 days, Arkansas!

Two Weeks and a Light at the End of the Tunnel

There are three weeks left of school until I can return to good ole Bentonville, AR. However, in that first two weeks the Art History grad students have quite the helping on their plate. I've been working from morning til dark the last two days trying to get somewhere with all this work. All I can say is I've gotten through two books and this blog.

So here is where I'm at.

If I could do anything right now...

I'd probably be hanging with friends in London,

or at a hogs game,

BUT FOR NOW...

I'm,

Then goin' a little,

and feeling a little,

With so much to do for FOUR GRADUATE CLASSES, and jamming what should be a two year course into a one year course, all of the information and articles and papers seem to be piling up a bit..

If you're wondering, "What could she possibly be writing about?"...

Applying and analyzing different methods in critical/scholarly writings of 3 paintings by Manet for Monday's Art and It's Histories class (TAKES A BIG BREATH) ...

(if only all my sources could be found in one book)

Research presentation on my (current) thesis topic- Art on the Underground and its role in Public Art sphere for Tuesday's Research Methods class,

The role of wall text in museums, and how they portray "the other"- a comparison of The Horniman and The British Museum for Wednesday's World Art class,

And the role of socially engaged art in education for Thursday's Professional Practices class,

Doesn't seem like a whole lot until you have 9,000 words total and 200+ pages of reading for each. Oh well.. at the end of it all in two weeks we have some fun waiting..

THE LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL:

 Florence,

 Mumford,

and a very special ginge's birthday celebration! (Kate!)

                                

If we can only get through the next two weeks...

(special thanks to Lisa 'Wawa' for the idea on this blog!)

Change: Learning to Live in a City

There are lots of things I have learned since I've been here. I think half the things I've learned I'm not even aware of. I am using words like "queue" and "lift" on a normal basis without thinking of them. I am walking around London without much thought of which street to turn onto. My feet have officially learned to autopilot around to my regular spots like the tube, my (sometimes) daily run, or school. 
I'm learning to live away from my family and friends. This has quite possibly been the hardest part. I'm used to having a support team available to me 24/7. I have never in my life been without my family this long, but I think that it is a positive thing to experience. Lots of changes, but most of them for the better. 
I haven't set a foot in the market in probably two weeks (something I'm not proud of, but oh well. Sushi or Wagamama take out is cheaper than cooking- welcome to city life). I don't look up, around, or backwards at all the buildings anymore- even at Picadilly Circus (this is maybe an unfortunate change). I look left and THEN right before I cross the street. This is was especially important to learn early on since cars and cabbies don't stop for pedestrians... ever. I've had a few close CLOSE shaves with being run over (you think I'm being funny.. I'm not.) I become oddly mad when people don't respect the social rules of the "queue". You DON'T cut, you DON'T push. You just don't. Buses take hours, so if you want to spend 2 hours (instead of 20 minutes on the tube) with 20 loud, screaming British children on their way to or from school then by all means... save the pound and a half. 

I've traveled quite a bit since I've been here as well. It hasn't been as easy as I thought, but well worth the hassle. For fall break I visited Bratislava, Slovakia and Vienna, Austria. I know this might've been a little ignorant (or maybe just not thought through beforehand) but I didn't expect the language differences to be such a barrier. Vienna= German, Bratislava= slavic. A bit difficult to communicate (and read menus- didn't think of that did you? Me either.) I will say though, the eastern europeans know how to build their palaces in style! Lots of great sightseeing! 

The fall is also beautiful in both cities in late October. The bright colors reminded me of Bentonville/Bella Vista/Fayetteville Autumn. 

Bratislava was rougher around the edges, but still beautiful. Very peaceful, too. I enjoyed being in the centre of town (No cars allowed!) and having a piece of Sissy cake and tea at the Mayor Cafe. 

One of the coolest things we did was take the local bus to Devin Castle. It was possibly the prettiest place I've seen here. The area had just finished its tourist season, so we were practically the only three people there. We took lots of pictures and (illegally?) climbed the castle wall to get a higher view. It only cost us 7 Euros (13ish US Dollars) for travel and admission. Not bad at all for the most beautiful place ever! It was the perfect time of year for the trees and the weather. Couldn't have asked for a better day. 




The last day in Bratislava, the group of girls decided to get fish pedicures! This sounds and looks pretty weird and a little gross, but it was an experience I'll never forget. As a very ticklish person, I thought I'd lose my marbles a bit. I did at first, but after a while it was soothing.

The Rain Room

This week, I was assigned a paper that required me to see an exhibit and write on how other visitors
responded to the space and art. I decided to go to the Rain Room, in the Curve gallery, at the Barbican Art Centre. After getting lost in London, realizing that I couldn't see the show because of the two hour wait, travelling BACK to the museum the next day at the crack of dawn and waiting an hour and a half I finally was able to see the exhibit. It BLEW MY MIND! Brilliant.

“An awful lot happens without people being aware. They come to certain conclusions and even

perform actions without ever really, consciously considering why. This is what forms both the impetus and the investigation of the studio’s work. We experiment with this world of barely perceptible behavior and its simulation to explore human existence.” 

- Artists Hannes Koch, Florian Ortkrass, and Stuart Wood from the Random International art group

 The exhibit has altered the entire gallery space of the “Curve” gallery to fit the large grids and water system. The distinguishing factor of this show is that it puts the experience and power in its visitor’s hands; not only does it allow the visitor to interact with the elements, but it also gives them a key role in the aesthetics of the space. In the exhibition gallery guide, they explain that the show is about the control that is placed with the visitor, to “put your trust in the work to the test."

Waiting to get on the 'Rain' platform

                                                                 people 'frolicking'

 Standing in the 'rain'

To save me the two hour wait that I had faced before, I arrived at the Barbican half an hour early to its daily opening time and was amazed to see a queue over 50 meters long. The gallery attendant explained that show has been widely popular since it’s open, and the queue wait, on average, is as long as two hours.  Only about fifteen people are allowed into the gallery space at a time, and from that only five are allowed onto the rain platform.  Rounding the corner you see the shadows of rain falling, and the shadows of people in the space. You hear the patter of thousands of drops hitting the ground surface. Most of the group stops to watch the shadows play on the wall; two women pull out cameras to capture this overwhelming suspense, this foretaste of what is to come.

The Rain Room itself is a large rectangular space, lit by only one flood light at the back of the exhibit. The grid hanging toward the ceiling is raining down on five of the visitors encapsulated in the downpour at the moment. 

 What is most curious to see is how the visitors act once they step into the downpour. Most walk straight into the rectangular space; some stick their hand out first, as if not believing they will not get soaked. A few move fast and clearly get wet. Once each person has made it three quarters through the space they stop and turn in one spot, staring at the ceiling. 

BASICALLY SO COOL!

Meeting Jim Halpert

Hey guys! Some of you have facebooked me asking when I'd blog again.. honestly we have been SO busy with school lately! Not a whole lot of leaving the flat except to go to classes and museums.
HOWEVER.

Today- Kate, Lisa and I went to the Tate Modern after class. They had to practically drag me there. I didn't really want to do anything after a long week. We were looking at a performance exhibit in the main hall of the Tate Modern when I look to my right and see a man sharing a striking resemblance to John Krasinksi (Jim Halpert from the Office). I don't take this hunk of a man lightly- this summer I was asked which celebrity I would want to have lunch with and my answer was JOHN KRASINKSI. I walk and look closer and practically melt there on the spot when I get a look at his face. I ran over to tell Kate and Lisa and look back to see him walking down the stairs into the crowd. So of course I shot like a bandit to catch up with him. Luckily, he wasn't too far ahead. Kate and Lisa didn't believe it was him from behind- much taller and thinner in person. We followed him into the ticket line for the Munch special exhibit. Still, Kate and Lisa didn't believe it was him- I almost walked away when he turned to face us and we all realized that THIS WAS DEFINITELY JOHN KRASINKSI. So, we got in line and I snuck up to him (I might have come off a bit like a creeper) and said, "Hi, John-" He turned around and my heart practically stopped, "Sorry, but do you think we could get a picture with you?"
He smiled and said, "Yeah sure!" like it was no big deal. I had already brought my camera out (of course) and quickly handed it to Kate (who mentioned to him that we were 'big fans'). Lisa jumped in- the first picture was blurry and I thought maybe we'd already cut in too much to his "normal life", but he just shook and said, "Okay, lets take another one!"
He was SO NICE. He asked what we were doing in London and Lisa mentioned we were getting our graduate degrees. He asked what we were studying and I told him we were studying art history.
"Well, this is the place for it!" I think my heart, at this point, was not beating, and I know that I DEFINITELY wasn't breathing. Lisa asked him what he was doing in London and he told us that he was just visiting.
All in all, our encounter lasted us a few minutes- but afterwards we could not breathe, and Kate and I had shaky hands for about 20 minutes following. The exhibit was great, but the masterpiece of the Tate was definitely Mr. John Krasinski.

Take one was a little blurry- but he is showing his beautiful teeth so I couldn't NOT post it.

Take two- JIM SMILE!!! OMGGGGGG