ravi sekerWelcome to my collection of interesting tidbits and reflective blogs of my time here in London! These are all things that caught my attention which were a little bit, and sometimes a lot, different from life back in America. Archives
August 2018
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Excursions8/3/2018 Despite the countless things to do every weekend in the sleepless city of London, I found time to explore and travel as best I could. Unfortunately, not having an American passport meant I couldn’t travel internationally. However, that didn’t stop me from exploring as much of the UK as possible.
My first excursion was to Brighton, the port city located to the south of England. Famous for its beaches, visiting Brighton was a nice change of pace from the busy streets of London. Four of us on the experience program decided to take a Sunday to travel down there, watch the England World Cup game at the Brighton Cinema and walk around the city. Brighton Beach Cinema was a giant outdoor theater screen that happened to be playing the England vs Panama game during our visit. Despite the size of the venue, the place was packed with English fans sporting their colors (and their beer). It was English tradition to toss their drink into the air whenever England scored a goal. England beat Panama 7-1 this game. Needless to say, we were soaked by the end of the game. Following that was a relaxing evening of exploring the city, sunbathing by the beach and feasting on fish and chips. My second trip was to the cliffs of Dover. Dover is a small city also located in the South of England home to the famous white cliffs of Dover. Travelling there with my friend Lizzie, we got to Dover by bus and went on the mild hike around the cliffs. Having my fair share of hiking experiences at the Red River Gorge and the Appalachian Trail had not prepared me for the beauty of the ivory white cliffsides I saw there. The hike was scenic and quiet and I was glad I had such a unique experience under my belt. During one of our last few weekends in London, my friend Lizzie, Kabeer and I decided to attempt to conquer Mount Snowdon, the highest point in Wales. Mount Snowdon, located in Snowdonia National Park in Wales, is one of the three tallest peaks in the UK and attracts hikers and climbers from all over the country to climb it. Getting there involved taking three trains starting from London’s Victoria Station and ending at the train station in a small town in Wales called Betws Y Coed. From there, the hostel Lizzie and I were staying at was a short 30-minute bus ride away. After a good nights sleep, Lizzie and I started our journey to the trail head to Mount Snowdon at Pen y Pass with a 3 mile hike through the farmlands at 5am. Once there, and upon meeting up with Kabeer, we began the ascent up the mountain via the Pyg track until we reached the summit, and then descended via the Miners Path. Climbing Mount Snowdon had to be one of the most breathtaking things I have ever done in my life. The views were unbelievable and the hilly lands of Wales looked like something out of a Lord of the Rings backdrop. It was hard to stay focused on the trail when we awestruck at new panoramas overwhelming us every 15 minutes. Completing the ascent made me feel extremely accomplished but I knew I wasn’t going to finish here. Mount Snowdon was one of the three peaks in the Three Peak Challenge which involved climbing the highest points in England (Scafell Pike), Wales (Snowdon) and Scotland (Ben Nevis). I told myself that there was going to be a day when I would return and finish all three peaks and I intend to hold myself to that challenge.
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Hot London summers7/27/2018 Coming in to London, I had this picture of what to expect of London. Grey skies and lots of rain. Safe to say I was thoroughly shocked when I didn't see rain till the end of my second month here. However, the locals were clearly more surprised by the hot weather than I was. The following months, I noticed little things here and there on how London managed to cope with the heat. Vendors marched on streets offering free samples of pop to promote their brands. Ice cream trucks popped up on every city block. People rushed to bars after work to have a nice cold beer after a long days work in an air-conditioned environment. Public parks were swarmed with people sunbathing and tanning with their bathing suits on, trying to take to full advantage of this sunny surprise. Warning signs for the heat were put up in all train and tube stations, urging commuters to always carry water with them and look out for passengers that seem dehydrated. Even the dogs of London weren't forgotten as stores set out numerous doggie bowls of water for exhausted pups that walk by. It may not have been what I was prepared for, but London had this summer heat covered.
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Getting around town7/6/2018 In a city as big as London, one can never truly “see it all”. That didn’t mean I wasn’t going to give it my best attempt. Starting off, there were the musuems. London is home to some of the most renown musuems in the world which were also, to my surprise, free to enter! I spent many a Sunday afternoon walking through the marble floors of musuems such as the British Musuem, the Natural History Musuem, the Victoria and Albert Musuem, the Tate Modern, the Science Musuem, the Design Musuem, the London Musuem and the National Gallery. And there were still so many left to explore! Providing free entry (with optional donations) catalyzed the history and art interests in me and got me to explore and learn so much in countless fields. I have to give special mentions to the local markets, specifically Camden and Borough market. Why pay for lunch when you can stuff yourself with free samples of food from all over the world at Borough Market and why pay a lot for high end clothing when you can shop for cheap, timeless, vintage clothing at Camden Market? Despite my stomach appreciating my frequent market visits, my suitcase sure doesn’t. It wouldn’t be a semester in London without spending a fair amount of time at local pubs and bars. It didn’t matter if we were ordering exotic drinks at a cocktail bar during happy hour after a long day of work or sipping cold beer at the countless pubs while watching England make its run for the World Cup on a giant screen, each experience was as enjoyable as the last one. In addition, London boasted some of the most incredible night life I had seen in a city. Nightclubs like Ministry of Sound and Fabric playing rhythmic beats courtesy of world class DJs usually till 6 in the morning. Dance clubs with popular and live music like O’Neills. Even comedy clubs like Top Secret Comedy Club serving drink specials and uproars of laughter. There was never any lack of nightlife to explore for a group of college students in a city as sleepless as London. Whether it was gazing down at the skyline of London from the rooftop bar at Sky Garden, enjoying a picnic at Regents Park, stumbling into free concerts at Trafalgar Square or even marching in the Pride Parade down Piccadilly Circus, there was no shortage of awesome experiences this summer in London has shown me.
Despite being an unpopular opinion, when flying into London the thing I was most excited for was the public transport. This was the first time I had ever lived in a city with a public transport system of this magnitude. The TFL (Transport for London) service included the London Underground tube service, the bus, the National Rail and the London Overground. The convenient thing about all of these services were that they functioned with one form of contactless payment, the Oyster Card. Getting an Oyster Card is as simple as pushing a few buttons on a kiosk and the card functions as a debit card for public transport. It gave users the option to add money or durational travel passes to their Oyster card. This made travel extremely convenient as I didn’t have to be worried about carrying spare change to pay for the bus every time I left the house. London’s traffic and parking can be quite atrocious which is why most people, myself included, make their morning commute via public transport. My commute involved riding the Piccadilly Line for 10 stops followed by a 10-minute walk to get to the hospital I worked at. Luckily for me, I lived by Kings Cross Station, one of London’s largest stations, which meant many underground and over-ground lines, including the Piccadilly, were a hop and a skip away. As someone who can’t drive, I was extremely grateful for London’s efficient transport system. Whether it was getting to work at 8am or even getting home after a night out at 2am, I could count on public transport to be there for me. So much so, that for the entirety of my trip here I have yet to get into a single car be it a taxi or a rideshare such as Uber or Lyft. London transport’s efficiency has negated the need for me to rely on cars and I am confident I will not break my no-car streak for the rest of my time here.
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Staying on the grind6/29/2018 I wish I had all the time in the world to explore London and all its secrets. However, the main reason of my immigration was work. I am currently employed by Imperial College’s Department of Surgery and Cancer, working as a research assistant. Based in Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, I work with researchers in the SiMMS group (Simulation and Modelling in Medicine and Surgery). These research projects range from all kinds of medical fields; from the creation of virtual reality surgery experiences for training future medical professionals to motion detection technology that helps patients complete physiotherapy exercises in an interactive game-like atmosphere. The project I do the most work with is the DiRECT project (Digital Rectal Examination Haptics Training System) with my supervisor, Luc Marechal. This project involves simulating the muscle motion in the rectum to differentiate between healthy/unhealthy peristaltic movement. Essentially, this is simulated by creating a cast of the gluteal area with an anus and a rectum and giving the users the ability to feel the squeezing motion of the rectum. Currently, doctors in training practice and learn about how to diagnose this when they have a case presented them as an attendant as opposed to during their learning phase. This will train doctors to better identify diseases such as colorectal cancer.
My work mostly involves designing parts and supports for the mechanism using 3D Design software, printing parts on 3D printers, generating code for the software behind the robotics and doing research on different elastic material to build the body with and their respective tensile strengths. Our office is set up on the research floor of Chelsea and Westminster Hospital and we work with other researchers working on their separate projects. There is a very calm yet vibrant atmosphere surrounding our workplace as we frequently like to update each other on our projects, seek advice for our projects or even talk endlessly about who was going to win the World Cup. There is also a work laboratory with all the tools I need to test ideas, ranging from electrical components to power tools. It also includes state of the art projects currently being worked on and some very unique pieces of technology I had never known existed. I will admit we have spent a few days messing around with all the virtual reality devices available to us. All these elements factor into making this a very productive and enjoyable work environment. This is also a very different work environment from my previous internships. I have worked as a reliability engineer at a chemical plant previously and I fully expected a complete turn in workplace culture. My work at Emery involved more day-to-day tasks, a lot of field work and a busy office space. Work in research in London involves the opposite; long-term projects, more desk work and a lot more peace and quiet. I have enjoyed the various traditions British workplaces offer like making tea for the office, later workdays and grabbing a pint of beer after a long days work.
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Was that English?6/25/2018 Yes, the USA and the UK do primarily speak English. That doesn't mean we speak the same English. Over my time here, the words I hear on a daily basis both confuse and amuse me and a good amount of time of my days is spent googling things like "what does knackered mean" or "what is peri-peri". I'm using this post as a thread of interesting phrases I continue to hear (and hopefully bring back to Ohio)
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Melting pot of culture6/22/2018 Over the past few weeks, I’ve grown extremely familiar to London and how the city lives and breathes. I have never lived in any major metropolitan city, but I would assume it is extremely similar to life in London. This includes busy people surrounded by busy transit living busy lifestyles. London is a living organism and there is always some activity going on whether its 2am or 2pm.
When considering the term “local cuisine”, London’s would be an international melting pot of cultures. From Mediterranean to Mexican, there hasn’t been a single area’s signature food left unrepresented in this city. This makes for a tantalizing experience for your taste buds, giving them the ability to taste authentic food from countries around the world from the comfort of your own city. When concerning specific “English food’, nothing comes quite as close as Fish and Chips. This delicacy, usually enjoyed on Fridays, features a fried haddock served with lime and chips (or as Americans call it fries). Other classic English meals include Bangers and Mash (sausages and potatoes), Shepherd’s Pie (pie baked with minced lamb inside and a mashed potato crust) and Scotch eggs (hard boiled eggs wrapped in meat). There are a couple of unspoken rules I’ve been picking up during my time here though. For example, here in London, if you are to go up an escalator standing you must stand on the right-hand side. This leaves the left side open for people intending to walk up/down an elevator. Pedestrians don’t have the right of way here in London, but that doesn’t mean the streets don’t see their fair share of daredevils ducking and weaving traffic trying to make it to work or happy hour at the bar on time. The British English language is also still growing on me. Across the great pond, elevators are called lifts, trash cans are rubbish bins, cookies are biscuits and there’s a whole subdivision of English slang. Keeping up with it all really has me “knackered”. Unlike many other English cities, London is a haven of people from countries and cities across the world. My daily commute involves listening to at least three conversations in a different language. I witness people of so many different ethnicities all living (or most likely on holiday) here in London. As for things going on, there is this small tournament known as FIFA World Cup that happens every four years going on right now. No big deal. I’ve truly discovered how passionate and extreme English football fans are. Game days are always a treat and watching games at any pub surrounded by a bunch of drunk of English fans is truly a unique experience. That is, until you feel your first beer shower whenever England scores a goal. Learning English football chants, the rich history behind their team and the fact that soccer is one of my favorite sports, I could never have imagined a more perfect time for me to live in London. Unfortunately for the hordes of English fans, we lost in the semi finals against a tough Croatian team. It would have been unbelievable to have been in London for an England World Cup victory, but this just gives me more reason to come back in four more years for the next one. It’s coming home England! From the LGBTQ Pride Parade to Brexit rallies, there was no shortage of exciting things to do in London, no matter the day.
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Free Museums6/20/2018 When my co-worker first told me about this, I almost didn't believe him. Turns out that many museums in London had no entry fee, merely asked for an optional donation. These weren't your plain old museums either; rather big names like the British Museum, the National Gallery and (my personal favorite) the Victoria and Albert Museums. Only a very few select museums charged an entry fee but almost every other museum did not charge visitors. Upon visiting some of them, I discovered that these museums were in fact funded by national lotteries and the income garnered from that. This hit me as an incredible way of immersing society in culture, art and history, fields that we are losing as humans drift toward a science dependent future. I've been spending many a Sunday afternoon abusing this, roaming the marble floors of museums and learning something new during every visit.
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Friday Fish N Chips6/19/2018 The staple of London cuisine. The burgers and fries equivalent. You truly haven't experienced London cuisine until you've dove into that crispy haddock. For all the Americans, chips do NOT mean regular chips. Over the Atlantic, chips are in fact fries. However, I certainly did not know this was a Friday tradition, something I discovered on my first Friday at work in the hospital. Unfortunately, the cheap hospital cafeteria fish and chips did not live up to the hype. Nevertheless, I'm eagerly awaiting my first heavenly fish and chips and I am convinced it's going to wow me.
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Driving on the left side6/19/2018 This was something I should have foresaw before flying 4000 miles to come here yet when I go into my airport taxi and still disoriented for a couple minutes. The United Kingdom is the only country in Europe that has its drivers drive on the left hand side of the road. This makes for some real confusion in the first couple of days. ESPECIALLY when crossing the street. So far, no major road accidents *knocks on wood*.
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Public Transport6/19/2018 Hands down one of my favorite things about living in London has to be the public transport. In a car, my commute would be around 50 minutes. And through the tube? 25 minutes. Never have I lived in a city where the public transport was not only faster but CHEAPER than using cars. This made my commute so much more enjoyable plus I had a lot more downtime to get back into the books and podcasts I'd been procrastinating with.
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