Sunday, February 28, 2010

Prin Albion: Stratford-upon-Avon

La inceputul lui februarie ne-am hotarat, rezidenti ai 131 Humber Avenue & fanii nostri, sa calatorim un pic impreuna, iar ziua de nastere a Fionei (una dintre colegele mele de casa din Franta) a fost un alibi perfect pt a ne tine de cuvant.
Ne-am strans o mana (sau 2) de oameni si sambata dimineata, pe 6 ale lunii, am plecat spre oraselul lui Shakespeare, sa bem un ceai la el acasa. Eu am luat si un mic bagaj, pe care l-am lasat la statia centrala de autobuze/autocare din Coventry, caci urma sa ma intorc aici, sa il ridic si sa ma indrept spre gara (in aproximativ o ora). Destinatia mea finala a fost Manchester, unde Ana, prietena mea franceza pe care am cunoscut-o in Berlin face practica, iar Tamara, madrilena, a venit special in Anglia sa ne viziteze :)


Pentru ca nu sunt intamplari de povestit, o sa las (MULTELE!) pozele sa vorbeasca:







Pe acest loc a existat casa pe care Shakespeare a cumparat-o in 1597 si
in care a murit in 1616. Resedinta a fost demolata de catre autoritati in 1759.


















Iata Casa Memoriala a lui Shakespeare (locul de nastere). Am refuzat sa intram, pentru ca biletul costa 11,5 lire! Fara vreo reducere pentru studenti. Jaf la drumul mare, categoric!








Oraselul este foarte bine prezervat si extrem de cochet, dar ceva lipseste cu desavarsire: barurile!






t

Mormantul lui W. Shakespeare





Jos cortina!


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Around The Albion: Stratford-upon-Avon

At the beginning of February we (the 131 Humber Avenue residents & our fans) decided to travel a bit together and Fiona's B-Day (one of my French housemates) was the perfect alibi to keep our promise.
So we gathered almost a dozen of people and on Saturday morning, the 6th, we were of to Shakespeare's town, to have a cup of tea in his place. I took a small luggage and I left it in Pool Meadow Bus Station, because I was supposed to come back here, pick it up and go straight to the Railway Station (in approximately one hour). My final destination that day was Manchester, where Ana, my French friend that I've met in Berlin, is doing an internship, and Tamara, la Madrilenia, came to England to visit us :)

Stratford-upon-Avon is a well-preserved place and extremely coquette, but it definitely lack proper pubs. We haven't actually visited the Shakespeare Centre and his birthplace, because it the entrance fee is 11,5 GBP (and no student discount)! Total rip-off! Instead we decided to visit the Cathedral where he has been buried and the surrounding areas.

There ain't much more to tell, so I'll let the (MANY!) photos do the talking.


Curtains down!

Friday, February 12, 2010

Recapitulare III: Inapoi in Albion

Spuneam ca la intoarcerea in Anglia am avut parte de multa zapada, drumuri blocate (din fericire, asta nu m-a afectat) si lume panicata. Din pacate, colegii mei de casa nu sosisera inca, asa ca nu ne-am batut cu zapada si nici nu am facut vreun omulet. Dar noii nostri vecini au fost suficient de draguti incat au aruncat cu bulgari in fereastra mea si geamul de la baie. A fost amuzant la inceput, apoi era chiar enervant, caci zapada era cam inghetata si ma asteptam chiar la un geam spart. N-a fost sa fie...



Mai ziceam ca am avut multe lucrari de scris in perioada imediat urmatoare revenirii pe insula. Asa ca intr-o luna am scris aproximativ 10 000 de cuvinte, pentru 3 module. Cam tot atatea cuvinte (15 000) voi avea de scris pentru dizertatie, pana in septembrie, asa ca nu mi s-a parut prea echilibrat. Cumva tot am dus-o la capat, iar unele rezultate chiar au inceput sa soseasca si nu sunt deloc rele...

Trebuia sa ajung si la Londra, sa ma intalnesc cu Adriana si prietenul ei, Luci, dar a trebuit sa anulez toata calatoria tocmai din cauza unei lucrari pe care urma sa o predau si pe care nu am reusit sa o termin mai devreme. Dar, asa cum era stabilit, ei au venit si in Coventry:








Din punct de vedere al vizitelor primite, pot spune ca, pana acum, a fost o perioada prielnica. Cu toate astea, nu pot sa inteleg de ce nu m-a vizitat nimeni (familia nu se pune, da?) in Berlin, unde chiar sunt muuulte lucruri de vazut si nu termini turul orasului intr-o zi. O sa pun totul pe seama accesibilitatii limbii (desi, personal, nu as evita sa merg in Islanda doar pt ca nu vorbesc islandeza)...

Deoarece nu sunt un blogger serios (maxim part-time, mi-am dat seama de asta de curand) si nu scriu foarte des aici, realizez ca sunt multe lucruri pe care le-am facut intre timp: am aplicat pentru permisul de munca (l-am si obtinut chiar, in 3 saptamani!!!), m-am inscris la cursurile de germana, la incepatori (nu stiam exact ce inseamna asta) si m-am plictisit enorm pe prima lectie, am inceput un nou semestru, m-am ocupat de viitorul meu de dupa finalizarea masterului (va voi spune despre ce e vorba cand voi avea certitudini), m-am inscris la sala (da, ati citit bine!), am cunoscut lume noua in orasul asta mic, m-am reintalnit cu Ana si Tamara, prietenele mele pe care le stiu inca din Berlin, am vizitat locul in care s-a nascut si a murit Shakespeare (dar despre vizitele astea doua va voi povesti in cate o postare dedicata)...In final, au fost cateva chestii notabile, deci viata mea aici nu e atat de plictisitoare pe cat mi se pare mie. Acum caut un loc de munca, daca tot am suficient timp liber (scazand timpul acordat facultatii).

In rest, totul e in regula aici, scoala nu merge ca nu are picioare, vremea e foarte nasoala (e mai frig acum decat in decembrie si cateodata chiar ninge), casa inca mai e intreaga, desi nu foarte curata (o sa iau atitutdine, caci s-a terminat smecheria!), iar viata mea sociala este pe drumul cel bun...Sunt in schema!

Asadar, toate bune in Albion!
Aveti legatura!


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Recap III: Back in the Albion

I was saying that when I returned to England there was loads of snow and road blocks (lucky I haven't been affected by this) and many panicked persons. Unfortunately, my housemates weren't here yet so we had no snow fight or snowman. But our new neighbours were kind enough to throw snowballs into my window and it was pretty funny at the beginning, but later it has become quite annoying, since the snow was frozen and i was afraid that they might brake the window. It wasn't the case...

I was also stating that I had loads of assignments so within a month I wrote approximately 10 000 words, for 3 modules. I should be writing almost the same amount (15 000 words) fro my dissertation, until September, so I don't find it too fair. However, I managed to pull it through and I even got some results, which aren't bad at all.

Meanwhile, I was supposed to get to London, to meet Adriana and her boyfriend, Luci, but I had to cancel my trip because I had to turn in a paper and I didn't manage to finish it earlier. But, as we decided in advance, they came to Coventry so we had the chance to spend some time together.

Taking into considerations all the visits that I've received by now, I can say that it has been a favourable period. Although I can't understand why nobody (my family doesn't count, OK?) visited me in Berlin, where there are sooooo many things to see and you can't finish the city tour within a day. I shall put this on the accessibility of the language (though I wouldn't hesitate to go to Iceland just because I don't speak Icelandic)...

Since I'm not a serious blogger (maximum part-time, I saw this recently) and I don't write to often, I came to realise that there are many things that I have done in the last period: I applied for the working permit (and I actually got it, within 3 weeks!!), I registered for the German classes, beginners' level (because I didn't quite know what that means) and I got really bored during the first lecture, I started a new semester, I took care of my future after I graduate (I'll tell you all about this after everything will be certain), I enrolled for the gym (yes, that's true!), I've met new people in this small city, I reunited with Ana and Tamara, my friends that I've met in Berlin, I visited the birth and death place of Shakespeare (I'll fill you in with more details about these visits in dedicated posts)...In the end, there have been some interesting things that I've done, so my life here is not as dull as it seems. Now I'm looking for a job (any offers, please? :D), since I have enough spare time (apart from the time grated to the Uni).

Other than that, everything is fine here, although the weather sucks big time (it's colder now than in December and we get snow showers from time to time), the house is still one piece, not that clean (but I'm going to take a stand, no more games!) and my social life is on the right path.

Therefore, all is good in the Albion!
Back to you now!