Tag Archives: British Museum

July 27, 2008

Final London Post

By Pam Schwartz

My time in London is officially over. I leave tomorrow morning for Heathrow airport. The experience has been more than I could have ever asked for. Everyday has been such a new and different experience. I didn’t get to do a lot of the things I would have liked over here, shame on me for missing some of those (Tate Galleries, Tower of London, etc.) You just can’t do it all. Some people who live here have never even been on the London Eye. I’ll be back some day. This last week has maybe been one of the most fun for me. Just a lot of wandering about and hanging out with friends here.

Thursday was my last day with the museum. Wow…Just wow, that is about all that I can say. It could not have gone any better. Everybody was very pleased with my research and they are going to keep me updated on how the exhibit does while traveling. Thursday night David and Rebecca took me out and about the town as a fairwell. Went out to the pubs because that is what they do here. It was fun though they took me to what seemed to be every little subculture you could possibly find in London. A gothic pub, a historical pub, a cocktail bar, the player’s lounge, it was a lot of fun and we had DELICIOUS pizza at Rosso Pomodoro. I’m a bit sad I don’t have any pictures from that night but I had fun just enjoying it and not worrying about being a tourist. This will be a smattering of my wonky week of end of London fun. Here are a couple of pictures of me at the British Museum.
Friday afternoon we had our sort of CAPA farewell reception at Doggett’s Coat and Badge. We had a British BBQ and it was quite tasty, minus the stupid pigeons. It is supposed to be one of London’s oldest pubs. Here’s Ben and me standing in front of it on Blackfriar’s Bridge.This will be a very small portion of the pictures taken on Friday. After the BBQ Ben, Casey, Laura, and I went down to Canary Wharf and walked around. It turned in to sort of a photo shoot and it was a very nice afternoon. This is a little something we would like to call our Christian rock band album cover taken on Canary Wharf by the Thames.

Here I am just looking out over the Thames, the waves kept getting me all soggy.Friday was a day of being youthful and rambunctious. Instead of walking around this fence we decided to climb it. I was very successful as I’ve climbed many a fence in my life…city boys not as much. I went fine, Ben got on top but is scared of heights so turned around and walked instead. After climbing the fence on to the ledge you had to jump down about seven feet to get to the sidewalk below. Casey tried hard but ended up sitting on the pointy bars. This was originally a picture Laura took of us but then Ben did some altering to make us silhouettes. He does nice work.Later, we strolled down the waterfront and came upon a little park. Casey and I found some sort of a spikey nut thing on a tree and decided to dissect it to see what was inside. Ben was not interested. The insides were kind of like a purplish colored hard boiled egg, weird.At the park there were all sorts of fun things to run, jump and climb on. Here we are on a bouncy teeter-totter sort of thing. It felt like a rollercoaster because of the spring action.I took this picture on our way home from exploring. The Camberwell Kebab and the Co-operative food store have been my main sources of sustenance since coming to London, they are just a short walk from my flat. The guy at Camberwell Kebab knows my order and makes it when he sees me coming. Yes, I would like extra burger sauce on those chips!
The girls wanted to be hennaed so I designed Laura’s (on the right) tattoo and then put it on her and used a design Alisa found and elaborated on it for hers. Good fun, getting henna done really excites people which seems funny to me as my friend Alice and I have been doing it forever. I’m just glad I can do it for people for almost free instead of having them pay the $20-25 they would have had to pay to have them done at a festival.
Today Laura and I ran around and finished a few last errands then came home to pack. This evening we decided to take out London the same way we came in, so we went down to the local and had a drink and sat around chatting a bit. We’ll miss you BarBarBlacksheep, we’ve seen you a lot.We all sat around on the couches and had a good time, a lot of recalled memories from the trip and saying our favorite quotes from each other.
I would love to come back to London some day, maybe the British Museum will have me back. I can’t wait to see my family tomorrow! They are picking me up from the airport. I’m ready for home and not wearing the same few shirts over and over again. I’ll be spending my first week in the sun trying to get my usual tan for them summer and some much needed sun. Can’t wait to see you all and tell you the stories that couldn’t fit here. Thanks for reading!

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June 19, 2008

Terry Jones!!!!! Like WOAH!!!

By Pam Schwartz

Not too much happens during the week besides work. I go to work, come home, hang out for a bit and then sleep. Work is very intense. We’ve finally decided my title is Interpretation and Visitor Research Intern. David is working on putting together my next project. They want me to do the work of what they usually hire professional consultants for because they had a budget cut. What an opportunity…and a lot off work and a standard to live up to. Things are going to get a little stressful come time for that project I think. I officially present my exhibition analysis to the Interp. Board next Wednesday…lots of practicing for that this weekend. Here is my office, there are eight of us who work in here. I work just to the right over there and that is the lovely Susan who is very sweet.

This is my desk where I sit and the floorplan for the next exhibit that I was creating at the time and my cup of tea! I love London, frequent breaks are taken out of the workday for tea and it tastes so good.This is the view out of the office window. That is the front of the British Museum and the little courtyard where I eat lunch everyday. Isn’t it crazy!? I eat lunch there!Yesterday I went to the London Grad Fair. It was interesting but I didn’t know what half of the companies were that were there so I just got a bunch of cool free stuff. The winner for the oddest thing to hand out at a grad fair was the Kent Grad Program who gave me a can that looked like it was going to have moist cat food in it. It’s a grass growing kit, how bizarre. Other things included a nice planner, pens, and highlighters the norm.

No really big plans for the weekend yet. On to more exciting matters! Tonight I went to a lecture given by Terry Jones!!! I was so excited and nobody else even knew who he was. He co-directed and acted in a lot of Monty Python stuff, MP and the Holy Grail, The Meaning of Life. He’s written many articles, is an author and excellent historian. Needless to say I was SOOO excited. He hugged me and I got my picture taken with him. The lecture was about Richard the II on whether he was mad or not, it was sort of in defense of his honour versus Henry IV. I got his autograph too…that is getting framed when I get home!

The girls and I on the way home from the lecture, me, Laura, Leslie, and Vanessa. Riding on one of the numerous huge escalators in London down to the tube.
That is all the new business. Below are some other pictures from the last week or so that I have gotten from friends or finally put on my computer. Sunbathing in Hyde Park again, I think at the time I was laughing really hard because Casey was so excited to eat his sandwich.
Some more pictures from inside of Salisbury Cathedral. Isn’t is absolutely beautiful and the size was amazing.

Lastly another picture from King Lear of the cast doing a call at the end. It was so good. Ben and I might try to get tickets to go see A Midsummer Night’s Dream there.

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June 5, 2008

First day of work

By Pam Schwartz

We haven’t had water for a day or so now, which didn’t make me very happy considering I couldn’t even shower for my first day of work today. Thank goodness I had a couple of bottles of water in the fridge..it was a cold wash-up this morning. Anyways went to work this morning and I got my official British Museum security card. I am now an official employee and when I flash my card I get into any national UK museum free and free tours and usually discounts at gift shops, sweet. Family, you can all be expecting some nice souvenir from the British Museum.

My office is just an open area with about 7-10 other people working in it though I do get my own desk and computer. Everybody seems very pleasant and I even have my own British Museum e-mail. So for the first part of my internship it looks like I will be engaged in audience observation and surveying for the exhibit “American Scenes: Prints from Pollock to Hopper.” How fitting right? I know who all the artists are. Today I began by creating a blueprint of the exhibit so that on Monday I can begin visitor observation. This includes my lurking about the exhibit and choosing random people who come into the exhibit to observe. I time them as they walk in and observe and draw on my little map where they go and how long they stand in each place. Creepy? A little bit, but it should also be quite interesting. I will also be conducting some other types of research as if the way the exhibit is set-up is the most effective way it could be. This exhibit will be traveling around the UK when it finishes at the BM so my research will actually me influencing other UK museums and the way they install the exhibit!

I’ll be working four days a week for about 6-7 hours a day. They figure this whole process won’t take me the full time I am here so they are going to find me something interesting things to do later on. I tried to pay attention today so I hope I don’t get lost trying to find my office on Monday. The whole set up is kind of like a labyrinth. Fortunately for my weight-loss program the exhibit I am surveying is on the exact opposite side of a HUGE museum and there are lots of stairs. Hopefully I will lose some weight between this and the fact that my meals consist of a couple of pb&j sandwiches a day along with the occasional bowl of rice or spaghetti.

So all is well and exciting. We’re going out to the pub this evening for a celebratory drink for completing our first week and tomorrow Casey and I are going to go wandering about and on Saturday we are going to the horse races. Fun. Love you all and hope you are having an enjoyable summer!

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June 4, 2008

Demon Barber of Fleet Street and the Rosetta Stone

By Pam Schwartz

Yesterday Leslie and I went and found her place of work. She didn’t have the right address so that didn’t really work out for us. However, this allowed us to find Fleet Street (as in Sweeney Todd the Demon Barber of Fleet Street) so of course I had to have my picture taken with a street sign and nice timing with Leslie, I was obviously in the middle of saying something.
As many of you know it was my 21st birthday the day I arrived here. I didn’t get too wild and crazy. We went to a local pub and had a Bloody Mary as well as a couple of shots, compliments of some boys. The bartender who was very cute and very English yelled at me for having a bloody mary and nachos on my birthday…apparently I was supposed to be having champagne and caviar..I guess that shows how classy I am. It was good though, he made drinks I have never heard of, lit them on fire and made me drink them while they were still on fire. Interesting to say the very least. In this picture not only is the Bloody Mary outrageously hot I also have a mouthful of grapes.

This is Leslie and me posing at the Black Sheep Pub…we always pose why would this be any different.

Yesterday afternoon Leslie and I went shopping…not as exciting as I had hoped I didn’t really buy anything except a scarf, a decorative one. Everybody in the UK wears a scarf even the guys so I thought I might try it out.
Today Casey and I went to the British Museum. Uh wow. This is where I’m going to be working THE British Museum. It is so awesome. We spent three hours there, didn’t really read any text panels just kinda wandered through to check out the place and didn’t even make it through the first floor. Gorgeous it is going to be such an awesome place to work.
Also very cool was that I got to see the Rosetta Stone, a 3000 year old mummy, and a head from Easter Island all in one day and as I said I haven’t even seen a good part of the museum yet. I’m hoping as a perk I’ll maybe get a discount at the museum store, wouldn’t that be neat?
I had my PELA (Perspectives in Experiential Learning Abroad) class tonight. For part of it we are required to go to a grad career fair. What do you think mom, should I start looking for grad schools or a career here? Haha..but I am taking a few copies of my resume just in case.
Today Casey and I found a day trip to Stonehenge, Bath, and Salisbury for really cheap so even though I said I wasn’t taking any trips we are going to do this one anyways along with Laura and Leslie.

So I start work tomorrow, I’m really excited!

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June 1, 2008

London!

By Pam Schwartz
Stick with me mates, it has been a few days and I have done a lot. This may be a long one. The flight from D.C. was fairly pleasant. I sat next to a grad student who was on her way to do some fellowship in a country that starts with an A that I can pronounce and she was very nice. We received free socks, eye masks, toothbrush and paste, and we started out with a snack. I had pretzels and a class of Chardonnay, my first legal glass of wine. I felt very cosmopolitan. For dinner we had a feast, salad, a wheat roll, a small block of cheese, chicken breast with a mushroom gravy, rice, sauteed spinach with a pepper medley, a slice of double chocolate swirl cheesecake, and a glass of Merlot. It was quite a meal. I slept most of the way in order to try and prevent jet lag. Night flying has to be one of the most amazing things in the world. Looking out the window was beautiful. Between the stars in the sky and the lights on the ground it was just a big blanket of sparkle. Here we are after our six and a half hour or so flight.Our first views of London, nice crowded little streets.
Here is what the outside of our accommodations at Liberty Fields look like, not too shabby right?
The view from my window, charming isn’t it. Though without screens on the windows I’m a bit scared I’ll have pigeons as pets before long.Here is my flat, a nice little closet in the wall that I share with one other girl.

 

We took a three hour bus tour today. The London Eye and Big Ben.The London Bridge

 


The Tower of London, I can’t wait to actually go here.
Here is a picture Dad might enjoy a little bit more, MI6 their spy headquarters. Recognize it from any of the James Bond flicks?

 


Last but not least, Casey, Ben and I wandered London this evening whilst looking for our internships places. Ben walks out of the tube right up to Big Ben what an unfortunate site to have to see every morning, it is truly amazing. Here you can see the London Eye in the background as well. Even though Casey is afraid of heights I think we’ve talked him into going up in it with us. We also went and saw the British Museum, HUGE! I can’t wait. I find out more about my internship tomorrow. I know I originally wanted to travel the whole island and maybe go to Amsterdam…but there is more than enough to keep me busy here for two months…and might save me some money! We’ll see.

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May 20, 2008

Day 2: Roomies

By Pam Schwartz
Crazy, crazy ladies. I have three roomies, two from Ohio and one from California. We get a long really well, they are hysterical. Today we got up nice and early and headed to the Metro for the 45 minute ride to the Washington Center. Today we did a lot of orientation type stuff…and name games and all that fun stuff you do for orientation. Ate lunch at the Cornerstone Buffet where you buy your food by the pound. I didn’t realize I could just up and eat one and a half pounds of random buffet food. It was tasty. We came back to the hotel which is pretty nice, our room is on the fourteenth floor.

 

Tonight we had a pool party…my roomies and I were the only ones cool enough to show up. Some people came later but they weren’t even wearing their suits so just sat and talked for a while. Everybody is really nice, it will be a fun trip.

View from The Grand's 14th floor

I have my interview with the British Museum. I believe I will be doing survey and observation work, I’m not sure just yet. We have two group sort of projects to get started on all ready and then our own personal list of goals outlined by the pillars of the Washington Center.

 

Miss you all at home, but man am I having a good time.

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