There's been a tremendous snowfall in Norway over the weekend, and reported temperatures well below zero have been constantly ticking in. Seeing all posts and photos of the ambient conditions back home has given me quite a longing to put two planks on my feet and whiz around outside. But there are no such joys to be had in this city, the only one coming fairly close was when the sun made an appearance to me after my class on Tuesday:
Monday was a bit of a rush. My class "Writing Poetry" wasn't until 15:00 so I had plenty of time to find my way there, and I arrived with fifteen minutes to spare. Teacher was nice, classmates were nice; all was nice. Until we were dismissed two hours later into the joy that is London peak-hour traffic. I had two hours to get from Oxford Circus to Old Street, have a decent dinner, and get out to Royal Oak for floorball. I thought that would be enough. It wasn't
Because we had to wait for three trains to pass before two of my newly acquired friends/classmates and I could get on the tube from Oxford Circus, and the train that was going to take us all the way to Old Street wasn't running because of a faulty train further down the Northern Line. So we gave up and found a bus instead. At this point I was late, and wondering if it was even worth trying to get to practice. But I had myself a record quick bowl of porridge with extra raisins and rushed back out into the city again. This proved to be a decision I'm simultaneously glad and not so glad I made.
Glad because: There's a chap with a guitar who seems to have made a habit out of taking peak hour trains from Kings Cross St Pancras to Paddington on the Circle line. This is the second Monday in a row I've enjoyed his rendition of songs like "Dakota" by Stereophonics and "Romeo and Juliet" by Dire Straits on my way to practice, packed in together with commuters on their way home. What a guy!
Not so glad because: I was absolutely rubbish at floorball that day. I blame a nice combination of malnutrition due to the fact I didn't have time to have a proper dinner, and the Underground for the unforeseen delay. Look at me, grumbling over TFL; does this make me a true Londoner now?
Feeling a little inspired I immediately headed towards my kitchen to make a proper load of lapskaus, stopping by Sainsbury's to pick up another vegetable (a yellow turnip aka "swede", which is pretty funny, lol). This time I didn't do anything to the sossies before boiling them, and I chopped up the veggies much smaller than last time. That seemed to do the trick, and the end result was something I can easily see becoming part of my staple diet while I'm here. The sausages still disintegrated in that way they seem to do, but good ol' mum was quick to point out that I should try with frankfurters next time. That's sound advice, mum!
Wednesday's class started one hour earlier, at 11:00, and was about Language Learning and Teaching. Once again I have to say that I enjoyed the company of yet another good teacher and friendly classmates, and felt invigorated as I stepped out onto a Regent's Street that was bathed in sunshine. I thought to myself: "Esben. When is the last time you truly enjoyed being outside? And when is the last time you went for a run?" and immediately decided that I needed to eat my packed lunch in a park. So I walked to Regent's Park and did exactly that.
I then found my way to Hyde Park and did a quick sprinting exercise. The name for this particular one in Norway ranges from "idioten" to "doggiser". Now, I know all UK-natives are giggling their heads off, so I'm just going to be totally blunt: Dogging has nothing to do with it, and I do not participate in late night gatherings in car parks. Hope I've nipped that one at the bud, but knowing how every single Briton is a standup comedian, it's most likely I haven't :p
Here's a (totally safe for work) video of me during the 5th out of 8 repetitions. I probably look quite sluggish and that's completely correct, which is the reason why I'm doing it in the first place. Althought I was a little quicker on the first one...
Feeling invigorated by some good activity in a nice environment, I crossed Hyde Park to Knightsbridge (finally made it onto the Piccadilly Line!) and caught a surprisingly relaxing tube back to base just as the evening rush was beginning to happen. I warmed up the remaining bowl of lapskaus from yesterday and polished that off before taking a shower. I'm saving my reading/studying for Friday when I don't have any lectures. For now, I'm feeling content and intend to keep it that way.
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| Sun? Blue skies? Wassat? |
Monday was a bit of a rush. My class "Writing Poetry" wasn't until 15:00 so I had plenty of time to find my way there, and I arrived with fifteen minutes to spare. Teacher was nice, classmates were nice; all was nice. Until we were dismissed two hours later into the joy that is London peak-hour traffic. I had two hours to get from Oxford Circus to Old Street, have a decent dinner, and get out to Royal Oak for floorball. I thought that would be enough. It wasn't
Because we had to wait for three trains to pass before two of my newly acquired friends/classmates and I could get on the tube from Oxford Circus, and the train that was going to take us all the way to Old Street wasn't running because of a faulty train further down the Northern Line. So we gave up and found a bus instead. At this point I was late, and wondering if it was even worth trying to get to practice. But I had myself a record quick bowl of porridge with extra raisins and rushed back out into the city again. This proved to be a decision I'm simultaneously glad and not so glad I made.
Glad because: There's a chap with a guitar who seems to have made a habit out of taking peak hour trains from Kings Cross St Pancras to Paddington on the Circle line. This is the second Monday in a row I've enjoyed his rendition of songs like "Dakota" by Stereophonics and "Romeo and Juliet" by Dire Straits on my way to practice, packed in together with commuters on their way home. What a guy!
Not so glad because: I was absolutely rubbish at floorball that day. I blame a nice combination of malnutrition due to the fact I didn't have time to have a proper dinner, and the Underground for the unforeseen delay. Look at me, grumbling over TFL; does this make me a true Londoner now?
Adam Kay's musical rant about London Underground. Fair warning: He swears a lot.
Tuesday was much better. The lesson on World Varieties of English at 12:00 was fun with an equally fun teacher who led it, and there was no stress at all two hours later when it was time to move around again. I got a little bit lost trying to find my way, without consulting any maps, to the library so I could get a book from the reading list. But that's fine, because I ended up finding the Scandinavian Kitchen which has Scandinavian foodstuffs for sale! I browsed around and was happy as could be, until I saw the prices.
 |
| "...could it be?" |
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| The world's most expensive reindeer balls. Not bollocks. Just balls of meat. Very tasty. But also very pricy! |
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| Brunost! This is something I'll be treating myself to at some point in the future. |
Feeling a little inspired I immediately headed towards my kitchen to make a proper load of lapskaus, stopping by Sainsbury's to pick up another vegetable (a yellow turnip aka "swede", which is pretty funny, lol). This time I didn't do anything to the sossies before boiling them, and I chopped up the veggies much smaller than last time. That seemed to do the trick, and the end result was something I can easily see becoming part of my staple diet while I'm here. The sausages still disintegrated in that way they seem to do, but good ol' mum was quick to point out that I should try with frankfurters next time. That's sound advice, mum!
Wednesday's class started one hour earlier, at 11:00, and was about Language Learning and Teaching. Once again I have to say that I enjoyed the company of yet another good teacher and friendly classmates, and felt invigorated as I stepped out onto a Regent's Street that was bathed in sunshine. I thought to myself: "Esben. When is the last time you truly enjoyed being outside? And when is the last time you went for a run?" and immediately decided that I needed to eat my packed lunch in a park. So I walked to Regent's Park and did exactly that.
I then found my way to Hyde Park and did a quick sprinting exercise. The name for this particular one in Norway ranges from "idioten" to "doggiser". Now, I know all UK-natives are giggling their heads off, so I'm just going to be totally blunt: Dogging has nothing to do with it, and I do not participate in late night gatherings in car parks. Hope I've nipped that one at the bud, but knowing how every single Briton is a standup comedian, it's most likely I haven't :p
Here's a (totally safe for work) video of me during the 5th out of 8 repetitions. I probably look quite sluggish and that's completely correct, which is the reason why I'm doing it in the first place. Althought I was a little quicker on the first one...
Feeling invigorated by some good activity in a nice environment, I crossed Hyde Park to Knightsbridge (finally made it onto the Piccadilly Line!) and caught a surprisingly relaxing tube back to base just as the evening rush was beginning to happen. I warmed up the remaining bowl of lapskaus from yesterday and polished that off before taking a shower. I'm saving my reading/studying for Friday when I don't have any lectures. For now, I'm feeling content and intend to keep it that way.
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