What's a Haberdashery?

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Monday 9/4

After brainstorming our running path through the park the day before we decided to start the week with some exercise. We walked over to Gladstone and took off running…for about 2 minutes before we decided that walking the rest of the way to the outdoor gym would be much more fun. Arriving at the outdoor gym we were greeted by some familiar machines from our lifting days at Conn. Little did we know when we jumped right in as usual that outdoor gym meant that we had to lift our body weight rather than the 30 pounds we were used to.

After trying out all the machines and attempting pull-ups (very big fail), we made our way to the Lidl grocery store to stock up for the week. We picked up ingredients to make fried rice and stopped by the Lidl bakery, which we had heard so much about, for croissants. The croissant did in fact live up to the hype.

We walked back to our flat, dropped off our groceries, got dressed for the day, and headed into the city to visit UCL. Zoe had a short appointment for school, so we decided to make a day of it. We strode to John Lewis to find some yarn in the haberdashery (who knew that was a word?) section for Catja and wandered through Marylebone to marvel at the very fancy houses around Regents Park.

While Zoe had her appointment, Catja waited in the courtyard outside listening to live music by our new British artist obsession, Matt Ginno (highly recommend you take a listen because “Lime in My Corona” is quite the bop). After finishing up in the city we headed back to our flat to cook up some dinner! We rounded out the day with 18,668 steps, which is a success we say so ourselves!

Tuesday 9/5

Today was Catja’s first day of Fulbright orientation! Although the other Fulbrighters stayed at the UCL student accommodation in Camden, she began her commuter lifestyle, waking up at 7 again to catch the Jubilee line to West Hampstead then the Overground to Camden Road. Orientation was hosted at the Royal Veterinary College, a brief 10 minute walk from the station. She listened to her “Hot Girl Walk” Spotify playlist to keep up her city speedwalking long stride habits and made it there 20 minutes early. Luckily, other Fulbrighters soon arrived, and she was comforted by the sound of many American accents and new friends at breakfast.

Orientation was full of introductions, workshops, tea and biscuit breaks, and lots of information. Catja’s social anxiety was no where to be seen as she introduced herself to so many fellow students and even some professors on sabbatical who were all pursuing fascinating research. The day ended with a reception at the British Library, where she and her new besties drank several glasses of white wine, munched on the table snacks, and vented about how hot it was!

The night ended with an Eccles Debate in honor of the new US-UK Fulbright recipients, and the subject of debate was misinformation in regards to AI, journalism, election coverage, and more. It was fascinating and rounded out a long day of intellectual musings.

Zoe’s day was significantly less exciting. She walked to the post office to get a package that wasn’t there and then sat at home waiting for the wifi man to install the wifi. She then headed into the city with our flatmates for her very first pub quiz!

The gang all reunited at the pub (turns out there are many pubs with the same name in the same vicinity, so it took Catja a while to get there, but she arrived just in time to split a bottle of wine with the alcohol-drinkers of the table — the prize for getting second-to-last place in the quiz! Catja mooched off their “win” since she missed the whole quiz. We all headed back home at the end of the night, attempting a crossword in The Metro newspaper in the Tube stations. We all barely made it to the bathroom to wash up and brush our teeth before crashing into bed.

Wednesday 9/6

Catja had an early morning commute yet again to the Royal Veterinary College, this time sitting next to people whose names she almost remembered. She listened to people from the US Embassy talk about their jobs and what Americans abroad should know (also telling us should we fall in love and get married and have a child to get on that sooner than later because passports and visas take a while to process)! She also learned more about how to best vote absentee from abroad, especially with next year being a fun time for elections. She also met a man from the State Department who asked where exactly in Dunn Loring she lives. After being taken aback for a second, they realized they live just a few miles apart and enjoy frequenting the beloved Mosaic Target.

Meanwhile, back at home Zoe and our flatmate ventured out to Neasden Temple, a nearby Hindu Temple. After removing their shoes they were welcomed by an employee who told them all about the history of the beautiful temple. An interesting tidbit was that all of the limestone and wood that the temple was constructed of was carved in India and shipped back to the UK. If you ever have some time to spare around Neasden, the temple is definitely an interesting visit!

After Catja’s slightly shorter day of sessions and workshops, she waltzed over to the British Library to try and get a library card before they closed at 5pm. Catja treats library cards like Pokemon cards - trying to collect them all - just like her mom, and getting one from the British Library with her sweaty face on it was a big win. She rode the cramped rush hour Tube back home, where Zoe surprised her with a really cool library book (Catja also influenced Zoe and her flatmates to get library cards). Zoe’s dad also surprised Zoe with a giant stuffed dog, just like her beloved Gifford from our Conn years.

Signing off after a glorious Spurs game on Tuesday with a Sonny hat trick. Here's to hoping for many more this season! -Zoe and Catja