La vie, la vie

Bonjour tout le monde,
Je suis malaaaade cette fin de semaine donc je n'ai pas fait grand chose. Le travail s'empile et je me sens un peu comme un hamster dans une cage - ouf! Il faut parfois faire le vide, fermer les yeux, et méditer. Oublier les dates de tombée, les présentations, les essais et la recherche d'emploi. Faire du temps pour soi et apprécier la vie.

J'ai quand même passé une semaine très agréable. Ma copine colombiana, La Ñoña, m'a invité à un concert de Prokofiev interprété par la London Philarmonic Orchestra. Les billets étudiants étant seulement 4 pounds, elle a invité un grand group, nous étions une douzaine!! J'ai adoré retourner au Southbank Centre, la salle de spectacle est vraiment chouette et du 4e étage vitré, l'on a une vue spectaculaire de la Thamise.
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I thought the LPO concert would be my only fun outing of the week, given the work I need to catch up on, but the same friend was kind enough to invite me to her Colombian party on Friday. Her friends are so fun, and of course there was salsa dancing! Plus I got to practise my Spanish a bit, which is quite rusty and terribly French-accented, but hopefully understandable. My friend A from Miami is much better than I, and I'm surrounded by Mexicans and Colombians so there's no excuse not to become more fluent.

I'm planning a weekend in Oxford in February (for the Oxford Forum for International Development), and maybe a trip to Istanbul in March! so lots to look forward to. Now back to the mountain of essays and readings...

xox Miss Engagée

Like Alice Down the Rabbit Hole

Photo credit: Camomille

Like Alice's Mad Hatter friend, I often want to look at my clock (or agenda) and exclaim: "No wonder you're late. Why, this watch is exactly two days slow. " or some other delightful nonsense about the funny way time works. Like in Alice's mad world, my world is filled with tea parties and metaphysical discussions. 


London is filled with wondrous little places that make you feel like you stepped into another world. I had a great time this weekend, exploring Camden Town and the East End with a guest from Brighton. We found this amazing teeny-tiny piano repair shop (see picture above) and walked around the old Stables (which were used back when the train station would unload in Camden and the cargo would be sent around the city on horse-drawn carts). 

We visited Brighton last weekend, on a warm-ish Saturday. It feels very "hippy" and peaceful compared to London. I really enjoyed exploring the North Laines (a maze of pedestrian streets with lots of vintage stores, an old weaponry and uniform store, pubs, cafés, record shops, etc.) and climbing up and down the hill overlooking the University of Sussex.

I love living in England. Time is flying by so fast!!

Got to go plan a presentation on the topic of "Economic restructuring and the informal economy".
Much love,
Miss Engagée xoxo

Me encanta Barcelona

Buenos Dias!
I'm back in London after a wonderful few weeks back home and a 5-day escapade in Barcelona.

Here are a few highlights of the trip to the beautiful capital of Catalunia:
-a day at Montjuïc exploring the Olympic Park, the Castle, the Funincular, the Palau Nacional and the Grec Theater...

Castel - à Montjuïc

 -eating tapas every night in the company of my charming brothers

Taller de Tapas, on Carrer Argenteria - yum yum!

 -Exploring surprising and inventive Modernista buildings like Casa Batllo, designed by the famous Gaudi

Casa Batllo

- Checking out the Sagrada Familia, Gaudi's masterpiece, which will be hopefully completed sometime around 2030...Gaudi was inspired by nature. As you can see, the columns look like tree trunks, and all throughout the building there are structures inspired by honeycombs, flowers, lizards and amphibiens, and even skeletons!

Inside La Sagrada Familia - l'intérieur de la Sagrada Familia

-Catching the sunset from the roof top of La Pedrera, another Gaudian beauty!

Rooftop of La Pedrera

I also enjoyed the Museu Picasso as well as our little auberge, Pensio 2000, which was quite central and very charming. Orlando and Manuela gave us tips on neighbourhoods to avoid and to explore and even gave us an impromptu lesson on Catalan, the language which is most spoken in Barcelona. 

De retour à Londres! J'ai passé un séjour formidable à Barcelone, où nous avons mangé des tapas incroyables et vu des édifices magnifiques. Les endroits que j'ai le plus appréciés? Le Musée Picasso, le restaurant Taller de Tapas, la Sagrada Familia et la Pedrera ainsi que le parc Montjuïc qui offre une vue magnifique sur la ville. 

xoxo Miss Engagée 

Nürnberg und Mainz – ist wunderschön

You've probably clued in that I love *good* museums. I love them so much that I visited three Berlin museums in 1 day (they were awesome museums but I have to admit I spent a lot of time indoors in part to avoid the cold!). The Pergamon Museum was by far my fave: like the British museum, it houses magnificent sculptures and friezes from former colonies. And on top of that they have a whole STREET from Babylon. I would also recommend the “Topography of Terrors” and the Stasi museums, which are both free and which contain lots of sobering information about Berlin’s Nazi past and secret police, respectively. 

Pergamon Museum - Entrance to a Babylonian City

My last morning in the Haupstad (Capital City) was spent wandering around Kreuzberg checking out the Turkish market, the canal and the little boutiques.  

Berlin's funky Kreuzberg neighbourhood, boasting a canal....I even saw some swans. 

I’d have to say Berlin was my favourite German city – no contest – but it was quite nice to experience some of the southern Franconian-quasi-Bavarian culture.

Nürnberg was quite fun and relaxing to visit, thanks to my amazing host who I’ll nickname Queen of Hearts. She introduced me to her friends – including one guy who gives guided tours of the city in his leisure time, who generously showed me around town – and basically planned a really pleasant weekend for me. I visited the famous Nûrnberg Christkindmarkt (Xmas market) as well as the Kaiserburg and Stadt Fembohaus. My favourite word of that weekend is “Feuerzangenbowle” which refers to a sweet, hot drink which is made by setting fire to a bowl – or basin – of alcohol and sugar.  

Nürnberg Xmas Market - Marché de Nöel

L'ancienne demeure du bourreau, convertie en apparts étudiants - This is the former home of
the Executioner (back in the Middle Ages), which now serves as a student residence.

I said goodbye to the Queen of Hearts on Sunday and visited the Nazi Party Rallye Ground – a fascinating exhibit uses videos and pictures to explain how the Nazis used Nürnberg as a base for their propaganda rallyes, which attracted several thousand participants each time.

Then I headed to Mainz for the final leg of the journey. Now, I wouldn’t necessarily recommend staying in Mainz on a Monday in December – it’s a very small town and the Gutenberg museum is closed on Mondays. But I did find enough to do for a day, including visiting the Christkindmarkt – naturally – and indulging in some retail therapy.

Les maisons à colombage de la ville de Mayence - Mainz's Timber Frame Houses

I'm back home for the holidays. Hope to see you soon. Merry Christmas to all!!
xoxo's  Miss Engagée

Ich bin ein Berliner.

Guten Tag alles,

"Ich bin ein Berliner" as an American President once said (thus inadvertently covering himself in ridicule - since the word "berliner" outside Berlin can also mean Jelly Doughnut).

Berliner Krapfen *Jelly Doughnut*

I am enjoying Tee und Schokolade (tea and chocolate) whilst sitting in a very cosy and übercool flat in an übercool neighbourhood of Berlin.  This neighbourhood, Kreuzberg, is quite multicultural and filled with Italian pizza joints, Turkish bakeries, Vietnamese pho restos and the like.

Last night we walked down the road (quite literally) to a little club to attend a gig by Flimmer FrühStück, a pop-rock band composed of a pianist, a saxophonist, a percusionist and a bassist. The band members are friends of my hosts' so it was nice to get to know them a bit, plus I really enjoyed the show.

Today I walked around Kreuzberg before visiting the Jewish Museum. The museum is quite informative although I have to admit I looked in vain for mentions of the Maccabees (thanks to our friend David's Hanukah stories I have retained this little bit of Jewish history) before it dawned on me that, of course, the Berlin Jewish Museum would be mostly about the German Jewish experience. It is actually a very child-friendly museum (with play areas interspersed throughout the permanent exhibition) and I almost wished I were 5 again to be able to play with the giant cut-out Hebrew letters.

East Wall Gallery

In the afternoon I joined 40-or so other people for an English-language free tour of Berlin. Our guide Barry was a wisecracking Irishman/former Law student who clearly loves his adopted city. I have to agree that Berlin is a fascinating city indeed - how can one not be amazed by its central role in the history of the 20th century, along with its unique blend of modern, shiny, gritty and grand. We saw the major sites including Checkpoint Charlie, the Berlin Wall, the Reichstag and a number of memorials. It was a great tour but by the end, most of us were cold and wet!

I also stopped by the Alexanderplatzen Christmas Market - which I must say was a lot more enjoyable in rainy weather since there wasn't much of a crowd. I ate some gingerbread and ooh'd and aah'd at all the Germany food like pretzels, WeiBs Wein, Glögg, and Flammkuchen (aka tarte flambée).

XoXo's Miss Engagée

The Radical East End

Bonjour tout le monde,

Petite mise à jour de ma fin de semaine. Dimanche dernier, j'ai fait une visite guidée de l'"East End" avec un dénomé David Rosenberg. La visite, intitulée "The Radical Jewish East End", nous a permis de voir d'un autre oeil le célèbre quartier où Jack the Ripper a fait ses victimes; qui est célèbre pour ses caris (sur la rue Brick Lane); où des milliers d'immigrants se sont installés à leur arrivée sur les quais de Londres; et qui est maintenant un lieu très à la mode. J'ai appris que le quartier abrite plusieurs centres communautaires (comme Toynbee Hall) et plusieurs lieux de rassemblement pour les groupes anarcho-radicaux (par exemple, le bureau de Freedom Press), pour les syndicaux, et pour les communautés religieuses.  

Hello everyone,

Here's a little update on my weekend. Last Sunday, I participated in a guided tour led by a gentleman named David Rosenberg. The tour on "The Radical Jewish East End" showed us another side of the East End, a neighbourhood made famous by Jack the Ripper and curry houses, where thousands of immigrants first settled upon arriving by boat to London, and which is now a very up-and-coming area. I learned about the many organisations which are located in this area, such as Toynbee Hall, the offices of Freedom Press, the former offices of trade unions like the Jewish Bakers' Union, as well as many places of worship like the Mosque on Brick Lane. 

Our Guide telling us about the radical-anarchist movement

Under an overpass, we found this beautiful map of London' s East End.

A plaque commemorating London's Jewish history, including the Soup Kitchen
which fed up to 5,000 people in its heyday. 

These houses sell for 2-3 million pounds. They are kept deliberately shabby on the outside,
so that film crews can use them as sets for Depression-era movies. 

This being my last week of term, my brain is already on vacation! Will post next about my holiday plans. XOXO Miss Engagée

Hyde Park Xmas and Harrod's Department Store

Hello all and happy First Sunday of Advent (yes, I'm counting the days til Xmas!)

Just a quick post today, since I have a mountain of readings to do (this week's theme is: State fragility - tons of material to cover) plus I plan to go to church for once, and make a pasta salad for a potluck with friends tonight.

I had a good week, not too stressful since I didn't have any presentations or essays due. On Friday we heard a really interesting speaker, Gabriel Palma, who teaches in the Cambridge Economics Department but who has a two phDs (one in economics, one in politics). He's from Chile which somehow made him seem even more "sympa", and used his country to illustrate why there are stark inequalities across countries (in other words, income distribution in Chile is quite unequal compared to Korea, for instance).

And yesterday I went to the Hyde Park Christmas Market, which should really be called the Hyde Park Christmas Amusement Park. There were tons of rides, including a Haunted House (with a Thriller soundtrack) and a ferris wheel. We walked around wishing we were little again, then went to Harrods' where we decided that it's quite nice to be in our twenties with some spending money of our own.

Inside Harrods'

Well I've got to go. Only two weeks of left in Michaelmas Term at LSE!
XOXO  Miss Engagée