After our adventures in Cieszyn and Krakow, my dad, Claire, and I headed off to reunite with my mom and sister Kate in London! Here’s a photograph of Claire and my dad crossing the Czech Republic/Poland border (a 10-minute walk from my apartment) on the way to the train station! (I’ll never tire of the exhilaration of crossing an international border 6-8 times a week. Way better than crossing the Illinois/Wisconsin border.)
I studied in South Kensington my junior year of university, and I’m frequently homesick for London. But I never imagined that I’d re-visit my “ UK hometown” only two years after departing!
Here are my “top 10” favorite memories from London:
1) Watching an ABBA TV special with my sisters: The special was filled with fantastic British humour (spelled with a “u,” of course), including a great line where the narrator equated (lovingly, I should say; she also said she appreciated that they didn’t have a professional singer record Brosnan’s track) Pierce Brosnan’s singing in “Mamma Mia” to the “noises of a hamster giving birth to a grapefruit”. We laughed, participated in the sing-along, and I relished sister time with two of my favorite people in the world.
2) Fringe theatre - Shunt’s production of “Money”: “Are you tired, run down, listless? Do you poop out at parties? Are you unpopular? The answer to all your problems” is to attend a fringe theatre production in London! (Thanks to Lucy’s Vitameatavegemin girl for the quotation!) In 2008, I interned at a fringe theatre in London and fell head over heels in love with fringe theatre productions. I love the surprises, rawness, truth, silliness, and absurdity of experimental theatre. I also love knowing that you could never mount these fringe productions in the United States without having the audience members sign 20 waivers first (due to, in “Money’s” case, water ‘”artistically” dripping onto slippery staircases the audience had to walk up and down throughout the production; the serving of champagne to all audience members during the play; the throwing of ball pit balls at audience members; the tiny performance spaces that weren’t fire code; the terrifying loud noises, fog, and blinding lighting effects; the audience getting locked into rooms without doorknobs – you name it, they did it, and America wouldn’t allow it.) But after a fringe production, you exit the theatre energized, bewildered, ecstatic, confused, and filled with life! Thanks to my family for jumping aboard the fringe train for a night! (I learned this week that Prague holds a fringe festival in May/June, and that 80% of the productions are in English! I’m signed up for all of their mailings/e-mails, and no one can keep me away from that festival this spring.)
3) Christmas Day dinner at an elaborately decorated British restaurant inspired by the Magic Flute: We sat in an “opera box” (a “non-fire-code” opera box my parents would say – they crammed lots of people into a teeny-tiny restaurant), opened crackers, wore paper crowns, and enjoyed people-watching. So-so food, fantastic company. I remember attending a production of “The Magic Flute” with my parents and sister in elementary school (a production where young actors at the conclusion of the opera wore Bulls jerseys because the Bulls were at the height of their glory). We also listened to a wonderful abridged production of “The Magic Flute” on cassette in the car when we were kids. When I meet people my age who 1) listened to kids’ opera tapes in the car when they were little 2) have seen “Meet Me in St. Louis” or 3) watched “Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman,” I feel an instant connection with them (I’ll also say that numerous Lawrentians fit into this category).
4) Hugs and laughter: You know what you miss when you’re abroad and away from family? Giving and receiving hugs to/from people you love. I also never laugh more than when I’m with my family, and all our laughter in London renewed me for a second semester of teaching.
5) Our conversations at our “dinner table” in the Marriott Hotel lounge: I always miss family dinners when I’m away from home. When I’m home, it’s my favorite time of day.
6) Watching the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace with my parents: I was the “only child” on this outing, and highlights of the event included a) watching the police assigned to bark at people who walked in front of the Palace gates during the ceremony to “keep moving!” b) noting the number of American tunes the marching band played and c) fighting off the French mother and daughter who tried to bulldoze me over to get a better view. I’ve loved my Skype dates with my parents this year (typically “driving to work” dates with my dad and “work lunch break” dates with my mom) and spending a week with them was priceless and amazing. They’re the wisest people I know and the best parents I could ask for.
7) Favorite transportation memory: When we leapt onto a Piccadilly train at South Kensington station, excited to have “caught the train,” only to realize (after a quick “family discussion” in the center of the train car) that we had jumped onto a train heading west when we needed to head east. “Please mind the gap between the train and the platform.”
8) Unintentionally dressing identically with my sisters: The three of us arrived to breakfast one morning all wearing teal shirts, black cardigans, and jeans (mind you, we shared a hotel room – I don’t know how we left the room without noticing). Sadly, I forgot to create “photographic evidence” of this day, but it’s a frequent occurrence in our household (our mentality that “we all live apart 75% of the year anyways so it’s okay to buy similar clothing” is sometimes hilarious when we all suddenly end up in the same state/country at the same time).
9) Family jokes: Remember my description of our fringe theatre experience? Well, when the production ended, Claire left the theatre with a brass doorknob in her purse that she didn’t discover until the following morning. How does our family react to this discovery? By photographing the object we affectionately named “Doorknob” on all our London excursions (and, if you’re curious, Doorknob is a “he,” not a “she,” perhaps in an attempt to create a more equal gender balance in our family). Here’s Doorknob (yes, capital “D”) waiting for the bus at Piccadilly Circus. Here’s Doorknob watching a turnstile at the Russell Square Tube stop eat Kate’s ticket. Claire and Kate have a Facebook album entitled “Doorknob’s Day Out in London” in the works.
10) Top highlight of my London holiday: Knowing that I didn’t need to fly across the Atlantic to go “home.” When I’m with my family, wherever we are, I’m home. They’re my people.
No comments:
Post a Comment