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The ‘Tache is Back!

Let’s start off with a photo…

Like it? I mean, it’s nothing to write home about, but after a little over two weeks it isn’t half bad. For those of you who have followed this blog (thanks, Mom), I have been growing a mustache, or ‘tache, for charity over the month of September. I did, however, start about a week late, which is why my ‘tache has taken so long to form itself. The cause is the Everyman charity, which raises funds in the UK to support studies of male cancers.

For a few weeks now my facial hair has been a great conversation starter and I feel that it has helped me immerse myself in the culture here even more. Charities are huge in the UK. Some, like the Cancer Research Fund UK, have stores all across the country. Others, like my current employer ORBIS, are part of bigger charities around the world. Either way, there are lots of great people here working for great causes.

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In other news, I just got back from spending about 28 hours in Manchester. The trip was planned last minute on Thursday and we left early Friday morning, but it was still a great way to close out my birthday week. Manchester felt a lot like a mini-London, a statement that I hope Manchester-ians don’t find offensive. They even have a giant ferris wheel that is fairly similar to the London Eye. And when two towns have similar ferris wheels, well then that’s when you know they’re pretty similar.

Kidding.

But seriously, Manchester was a great city and it was a joy to travel there for the first time. One of the malls we went into was next to where an IRA bomb detonated in the mid-90s and there was a special gallery talking about the events and how they shaped the city. I can’t even imagine the fear that people must have had on that day, when police had only an hour’s notice to evacuate the center of the city. In the end, 200 people were wounded, but thankfully no one was killed.

In the States we hear about this IRA group once in a blue moon, so it has been fascinating to be much closer to it, where the people are well-versed in the past and very opinionated about the future. I imagine a British citizen would say just about the same if they were to visit New York or Oklahoma City.

It’s a sad truth that we connect so much to the dismaying and terrifying events of our time, but I am glad there are displays like the one I saw today to help explain the past and help us understand where everyone is coming from.

Rob’s almost done growing his ‘tache for charity! To follow his progress or to donate, check out http://www.tacheback.com/rob-the-yank.

Age

I turned 21 yesterday. [Insert streamers, balloons, cake and a goofy paper hat here.] It was quiet, relaxing, and mostly just a normal day. In fact, turning 21 is one of the biggest differences between the UK and the US because here the drinking age is only 18. Let’s discuss, shall we?

For yeas, there has been debate in the States about lowering the drinking age. “Why can we vote and die for our country but not drink to it?”, a common complaint. Last year, colleges got in on the act, with some presidents declaring that a lowering of the drinking age will curb binge drinking on campuses around the country.

Let’s compare this to the UK, where with a drinking age of 18, there is a rising debate to raise the age. Yes, raise it. Why? Because one of the highest percentages of binge drinkers in the UK is 15 and 16 year old girls. Yikes. Can you imagine a party of girls adorned with braces, complaining about boys at the top of their lungs? Yea, that’s a problem.

So in essence, those 15 and 16 year olds are the 18-20 year olds in the United States. So close to the right age, but so far from having that freedom.

To curb the phenomenon, some pubs have taken to only admitting people who are over 21. Others card at the door if you look under 40. A popular sign around the country says that if you look under 21, you should be prepared to prove your 18 or over.

Neither system is perfect, we all know that. It is so hard to come up with a universal plan that will alleviate all of the problems that arise. But in my mind, 21 is better. It keeps the larger portions of illegal drinking on college campuses, where most schools have gotten very good at training students in moderation, and keeps the binging out of high school sleepovers.

There will always be underage drinking, so it really becomes a matter of who we want doing it. And I’d take the 18-21 year olds over the 15-18 year olds any day.

What do you think?

Rob is growing a mustache for charity. It has also kept him looking over 21, so he has avoided being carded. To check out his progress and to donate, check out http://www.tacheback.com/rob-the-yank.

Diversity

If you walk down a typical street in London, well, wait, there isn’t really a typical street. But if there just happened to be one, it would be an amazing cornucopia of diversity. We’re talking different cultures, languages, foods, smells (both good and bad) and pretty much anything else you could think of.

When you walk down a street in Ithaca, there’s diversity, but, well, not like this.

The one thing I’ve found with London is that it is so rich in sights and sounds that it can actually be a little too much a times; even a little off-putting. Not being used to such a mix-match of the world can be hard to deal with, especially when America still deals with these issues fairly often. (Not that they don’t have racism here or other cultural and diversity issues; it’s just that they aren’t as prevalent as you may see in the States.)

They say that America is like a melting pot, where cultures blend together and form one American identity. Here in London, I’ve discovered it’s more like a jar of marbles, with each culture holding form within the larger structure. Is that a good thing? I don’t want to be the judge of that. Is being a melting pot a good thing? I’ll let you decide.

The important thing is that diversity is crucial to this world. Educating each other on our differences breeds understanding. Yes, it can also breed conflict, but more importantly it brings us hope.

So when a culture as diverse as the United Kingdom thrives like it has, you know something’s going right. And it is a great model to follow, in Ithaca, and in the United States as a whole.

One could argue that the diversity of both the US and UK has happened practically by accident, as a repercussion of other issues. That is true, to a point. But the efforts to make those cultures fit and work, almost like a puzzle, is what I find so fascinating and so key to this issue. Sure, we’ve got a lot of people from a lot of different backgrounds, but that doesn’t mean they have to get along. So the fact that they mostly do is incredibly inspiring.

Go walk down a street. Seek out something that might feel a little uncomfortable. You’ll be better for it.

Rob’s growing a mustache for the entire month of September to support the Everyman charity. Check out his progress, and donate, at http://www.tacheback.com/rob-the-yank.

Bath!

Sorry for the lack of posting this last half-week. I got really busy, which is not to say I don’t love and care about you, dear dear blog, but just that I had no internet access to care about you with.

Traveling though some of the western regions of England (Bath, Glastonbury, etc.) was a lot of fun this weekend. I’ve been here before, and had the chance to see many of the sights we stopped at, but I find it so amazing to watch other people’s reactions when they see things for the first time.

That look of wonder, the amazement, is something that I will never forget. The same wonder was on the face of my girlfriend last summer when she saw the Eiffel Tower for the first time, and it is the same massive smile of wonder I’m sure I had when I first saw these places as well.

And it is that wonder that unifies all of us.

On Thursday, I had the opportunity to climb aboard the ORBIS Flying Eye Hospital for a few hours. As I mentioned previously, I am working for ORBIS a few days a week this fall while in London. ORBIS is commited to fighting blindness and sightloss worldwide, and does so with different initiatives in many different countries. The most visible is their airplane.

The flying eye hospital is a DC-10 cargo plane that has been retrofitted to have a classroom, a screening room for patients, an operating room and a recovery room. It lands in nations like Ethiopia for 2-3 weeks and not only does operations for adults and children, but also trains local doctors and nurses to better prevent and treat eye diseases long after the plane has jetted back off the runway.

It was pointed out to us that for most people who come on the Flying Eye Hospital it is not only their first time having surgery, but their first time ever seeing or being on a plane. Can you imagine how scary that can be?

The thing I love imagining, however, is this image:

The thought of a child who was brought onto the plane for surgery and can now step off it and look back to see, really see the ORBIS plane she was just on and all the colors and movements that come with sight.

Now that is a smile I would never get tired of.

Rob’s growing a ‘tache for charity! Check our his progress (and donate!) at http://www.tacheback.com/Rob-the-Yank.

Identity

I went back to the Fourth Plinth last night after seeing Stomp with my girlfriend. For some reason I feel drawn to watch these ordinary people become extraordinary for an hour of their lives. Some have been boring; others exhilarating. But what I love most is that every person has been different.

As a journalist (or at least an aspiring one), I love telling stories. What I see when I look at the plinth are 24,000 individual stories, each special in their own way, none more important than the other. In essence, it’s a journalist’s dream story, because it is practically never-ending.

One thing that is different about the UK and the US is our cultural identities. I know that seems fairly obvious, but it really is a different place here. Where America is the melting pot, with different cultures molding into one, London is like a giant jar of marbles, with each culture holding its ground amongst a hodgepodge of colors, sizes and types. Walking down a street could put you in what feels like three or four different nations. Turn left out of my flat’s building and you are in the Middle East, turn right into high end shopping districts that feel like Milan or Paris.

That’s the beauty of London, it is whatever you want it to be. And I decided it was time to get involved.

While I was at the plinth last night, the man on top was talking about an event called TACHEBACK that raises money for a charity dedicated to fighting cancers predominant in men, like prostate and testicular.

The idea is that starting September 1st, thousand of men around the UK are growing mustaches (thereby bringing the ‘tache back) and raising money for Everyman, the charity working to stamp out male cancer.

I’m a few days behind, but I haven’t shaved since Saturday so I’ve got a little scruff going so far.

If you do know me, you well know my experience with facial hair. In fact, as a DJ for WICB, my name is DJ McScruff. This summer I even had a Fu-Manchu for about 27 hours:

The concept is clever, the cause is good, and I think you will all agree that I look dead sexy in a ‘tache. If you’d like to check out the website for TACHEBACK, click HERE, and if you’d like to follow my ‘tache progress or donate to Everyman, you can click HERE. The website will be taking donations through October 30th and I’ll be sure to continue informing you of my progress.

It feels like I’m finally settling in here and forming my own marble. It may have a ‘tache on it, but it’s still special in its own way.

And I Give You These Four… Three Plinths!

Mel Brooks reference, get used to it.

Today was visit the markets day, as we hit up a bunch of different places, from clothes markets to food to flowers to things that “fell off the lorry” (COUGH stolen COUGH).

I had the chance to buy a lot of different things, but only one purchase seemed to make sense:

That’s right, I bought a pocket watch. Now all I need is a bowler, throw on my vest and I’m a J.T. look-a-like. Jealous? I know, and I forgive you.

Anyways, one thing that appears to be fairly different here is that, as the King might say in History of the World Part I, “Everything is so… greeeeennnnnn”. (Two references to the same Mel Brooks movie in one blog? Yes, yes I just did that.)

The famous double-deckers are being overhauled to a new “greener” design and style, the parks are well kept, the streets are fairly well cleaned and people reuse the same newspapers on the Tube like it’s their job. While we might see all of that in, say, oh, I don’t know, ITHACA, we don’t necessarily see that in other parts of the country as much, especially in cities. So congrats to London for doing that and keeping up appearances ahead of the Olympics in 2012.

And now to the day in pictures and maybe a video, depending on how long it takes to upload. But! It is prefaced by yesterday in a few photos…

And now for today…

And now to explain the title of the post. In Trafalgar square there’s the big tall statue of Trafalgar, natch, and also four pedestals or plinths as they call them here in the UK. Three of the plinths have famous generals on them, but the fourth has always been empty. Some people think Princess Di should be on it, others say Nelson Mandela since he made one of his most famous speeches from a balcony across the square, but it remains empty. At least, it used to.

Since July 8th, people have manned the plinth for an hour at a time. The project, involving 24,000 Englanders, lasts 100 days, and allows people to do whatever the hell they want for an hour. With limitations, of course… so far seven people have been taken down for stripping on the plinth. But within most boundaries, you can do whatever your heart desires. Here’s what my girlfriend and I saw at the “One & Other” fourth plinth today:

To finish off today, for your viewing pleasure, a panoramic spin of Trafalgar Square, featuring the Guy Putting on the Plinth.

CLICK HERE and enjoy.

Protect The Wick-et!

Spent some time in Hyde Park yesterday with some other ICLCers learning how to play cricket. (That’s Ithaca College London Center-ers to those uninformed). Let’s just say, this is my new favorite sport. Not only does it involve swinging a large wooden bat, and throwing a ball at some wood spokes, but it even involves words like “over” and “wicket”. When I was a bowler, I bowled 2 players out. When I was a batter, I hit a massacre over, which means I crushed the ball multiple times and scored two 4’s and a 6er. Sweet.

And now for something you all will actually understand…

I decided to lay low this morning and take a little break from all of the running and tube-ing and busing and general mayhem it is to get around. As a city, London’s people definitely don’t move at the speed of some cities in the northeast, but as a student here, juggling classes, museums, and yes, pubs and clubs, can be quite tiring.

Part of me says it’s perfectly alright to slow it down for a day and take a little rest. But then the other part of me thinks I’m crazy because I’m only here for so long and can rest when I’m dead.

Hence my dilemma.

For today, taking the morning off to relax has won out. I have plans later this afternoon and tonight which will certainly make up for the slow start to the day. But from here on in, I wanna go hard! I’m only here for a few months, and there’s so much to see and do, so why sleep? Sleep is completely unnecessary if you ask me. I’m in the capital of the world, and it’s time I learned how to go entire weeks without closing my eyes.

I figure this strategy will last about an hour, but it’ll be a wicked busy hour. I’ll hit up six museums, three pubs, read a few chapters of a book and maybe post to the blog about 14 times. So if I can have one over-productive hour a day, maybe that’ll make up for the other 23. Right? Maybe? Bueller? Bueller?

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Some photos from this week, once again taken by my cell phone…

It’s Parliamentary My Dear

Me and the gang (otherwise known as Kool and the Gang, natch) just finished up a tour of Parliament over in Westminster. I must say, if I ever wanted to be a politician, I would totally want to be one here in the UK. All of the traditions are awesome enough to make me wish I was a bit more British.

Of course, being a Scotsman myself (Robertson, my first name, being my actual clan), this is a land that I tend to enjoy much more than the States. The architecture, the history, the literal hole-in-the-wall pubs from street to street… these are the things that make me love cities like London and Edinburgh.

I’ve begun to prepare for my “work placement”, which begins on Thursday. I am working with a group called ORBIS, a charity raising a few million pounds a year to fight blindness in developing countries. They even have their own DC-10 (that’s a plane, not a comic) and I get to go to an event at the airport next week to check it out. If I remember, I will take lots of photos or maybe even my video camera. That is, like I said, if I remember. The odds are not good.

For now, I thought I’d catch you all up on what I’ve been doing. And I thought I’d leave you with one thought: There are a bunch of meetings for Ithaca’s Study Abroad programs in September this year and I think you should go to one of them. In fact, I implore you to. This experience has been incredible and I’ve only been here for a week and a half. So get out there and show the world what America is really about. Because if you don’t, you’re just letting the terrorists win.

Kidding, but it sounded convincing, right? But really, consider getting out of IC for a semester or two. I’m sure they’d love some open beds.

Check out ORBIS here.

A Walk in the Park

I had some free time yesterday afternoon so my friend and I took a little stroll from Westminster Abbey to Westminster Cathedral and then over to Buckingham Palace, Green Park and Hyde Park Corner. I took some photos and I figured I would provide them here with little to no context. Here we go…

I’d like to think that those photos sum up my day here.

As far as getting around, I’ve luckily been to Europe before and spent some time in the UK, so the Tube and bus system here have not been too awful to get used to. I even had someone come up to me and ask for directions the other day, so I guess that means I’ve perfected the “I’m only on this carriage because I have to be” look that Londoners do oh so well.

Enjoy the second week of classes in the US, while we enjoy our first week here.

And mom… send money.

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