Remember Remember the Fifth of November

Like most of these entries have started, a lot has been going on. Hence, the reason to write an entry. However, I got to celebrate my first exclusively British holiday over the weekend. Thursday was Guy Fawkes Day. For those who don’t know he tried to blow up Parliament about 500 years ago with explosives. However, his plot was foiled, he was executed, and the Brits celebrate the fact that the government survived the assassination attempt with bonfires and fireworks. However, most of the proper fireworks displays were done on Saturday, but I’ll get to that. For Thursday, I just rounded up a few people to watch V for Vendetta for its references to Guy Fawkes and the fifth of November. Great movie, for those who haven’t seen it, its well worth your time to check it out.

As for Friday, I decided to start the night by crashing a Medicine Trauma Conference reception. One of the kids in my hall told me about this event at the Victoria and Albert Museum with free food and free drinks, so a few kids from my hall joined me in my attempts to get into the event. I expected the event to be decently large, so I could fit in in the background without drawing to much attention to myself. I expected wrong. When we showed up, there were maybe 25 people there, and I was immediately greeted by a 3rd year Medic who was running the reception. Somehow I was able to carry a conversation where I was a first year Medic from the States, including why I want to be a doctor, what part of medicine I’m really interested in, how my classes are, and what my thoughts on the lecturers are. I have to say, I felt like Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson in Wedding Crashers. The reception itself was pretty boring, but I had a blast acting like I completely belonged in the conference, and even got a lunch date with one of the girls there. It will be interesting to see how I can play off the ‘Hey so I have a confession, I’m not a first year medic…’ Hopefully she has a sense of humor.

After a few snacks and a few drinks, Miles, Bryant, and myself decided to head out to Piccadilly Circus to continue the night. If I haven’t said it in an earlier post, Miles and Bryant are two exchange students I met here from California who I’ve been hanging out with for a decent amount of my time here. We went to a sports bar with a few other people, shot some pool, and quickly got bored of the setting. The people we were with wanted to go clubbing, but I wasn’t really up for it. Luckily, neither was Miles or Bryant. We decided to just wander through London, which turned out to be a great night. We walked through numerous squares, climbing all the statues we could find along the way. We passed Big Ben and Parliament. We met some girls from Transylvania who had just arrived in London (still carrying suitcases). We walked past the London Eye, all lit up at night. I climbed numerous Dali knock-off statues near the Dali exhibit in some museum which I will have to go back to and explore later this year. All in all we walked all over London, meeting people, seeing sights, and letting London be our playground for a night. After everything, we got back to the halls, and I couldn’t sleep, like most nights. So I went back out to Hyde Park to watch the sunrise. A great end to a fulfilling night.

On the Lions at Trafalgar Square

London Eye, one of the most touristy shots there is in London

On the Horses in the Fountain at Piccadilly Circus

So Saturday I woke up at 5:30 pm. Just in time to go see the Battersea fireworks display. A group from our hall went together, but once we got there, we got separated in the thousands of people there. Since this was a celebration of Guy Fawkes day, its British custom to have a giant bonfire at the firework display. There was nothing to special about the bonfire, just a bunch of wooden crates piled up on each other. However, the fire left an impression. I was up as close as they would let me go, and I needed to wrap a scarf around my face to insulate it from the heat. It brought me strait back to Burning Man, watching a three story wooden temple burn to the ground and then walking around the fallen temple as it continued to burn. I could close my eyes and smell the smoke and be right back on the playa. The pictures don’t do the fire justice, and maybe the fire wasn’t that impressive. But the memories I now associate with large fires are so good, and bonfire would seem wonderful to me. After watching wood burn for about 25 minutes, the few of us sticking together went to find a good area to see the fireworks. I found the display very entertaining. The fireworks went off while music was playing through a massive sound system. The explosions were synchronized, there were fire towers shooting flames in rhythm, and the display was one of the longest I’ve ever been to. Only complaint was the finale was not quite up to the standards of an American 4th of July celebration. All in all, fireworks are wonderful, and I had a very enjoyable time.

Starting up the bonfire

bonfire

Never look as good on camera as they do live

We made our way back to the halls and had a good night listening to music, cooking food, playing beer pong. I actually lost track of time and next thing I knew it was almost sunrise….again. Two nights in a row seeing the sunrise. Greatness. However, this time was different. Miles, Bryant, and myself had promised ourselves we would go swimming in the Serpentine Sunday morning. The Serpentine is a man made lake in Hyde Park. It will be used for the swimming portion of the triathlon when the Olympics come to London. Honestly, we knew it would be freezing. We went out there in full winter jackets with multiple layers on. And the next thing I know, I’m nearly in shock realizing that the water stings, then very quickly numbs. I’d like to say I was a champion and swam a few miles, but after ten minutes (I’m being generous to myself) I got out only to have my feet, legs, and arms completely numb. I wasn’t even sure I had dried my legs when I put my pants back. We quickly made our way back to the halls and vowed never to do that again in the middle of November. Still, I can say I did it, and it was definitely an experience I won’t soon forget.