Week 7-Halloween planning and first essay due

Hello, lovelies!

I apologize for the blog being one day late. This week our first essay is due, and everyone is extremely stressed about it. The essay is for our class titled the Media Representation of Science. We have to study one topic and how it has been reported in one or more news outlets throughout a time period. My paper is on the reporting of prosthetics, and seeing if there is a change in the reporting due to 3D printing and tissue engineering technology. While my focus was more on a time period, many of my classmates looked at the tone of certain articles, whether it was positive or negative, or which news outlets produced which type of articles, right-wing papers or left-wing? I can officially say that my first essay has been sent off and is over with, but the process of research and the impending grading still looms over me.

I spent most of my week last week in the library or on campus. Over the weekend I shared desks with my friends Cristina and Sunita, as we all struggled through our research together. We shared many memes in order to add humor to our suffering.
On Saturday I did decide to give myself a break from writing by going to Kensington Gardens to read my book. It was a day that felt like something set in an Edgar Allan Poe novel. The wind kicked up moldering leaves onto my ankles. As I settled myself under a tree, I was greeted by the reality of a cold, damp, and slightly squishy ground to sit on. So much for a fun day of reading in the park! It only got worse when it started to rain around lunchtime. By then I had decided that I would rather be in my warm basement flat enjoying the rain out of the window than drenched under a tree.
Classes were normal for this week. Dr. Webster reminded us that besides our upcoming essay, his essay would be due in November, so thoughts of a break between assignments began to dwindle in my mind.
The nice thing is that there was an early Halloween party that happened last weekend for students looking for a break from writing. I, unfortunately, did not attend, but I enjoyed watching pictures of the very creative and unique Halloween costumes. We're having an actual Halloween party on Halloween, and I will hopefully post some pictures of my costume on next week's blog. I'm going as Black Widow, the Marvel Superhero.
As Halloween is tomorrow, I spent most of my day shopping at charity shops with some of my classmates. By now most of us are in denial about the essay, so it was nice to have a break with my friends. It's also amazing what you'll find in charity shops! From fuzzy blue scarves to long lacy dresses, I enjoyed being surprised by what the charity shops of London had to offer.
I did also have a job interview today, for the Illuminating Objects Internship at the Science Museum. The Science Museum pairs with the Courtauld Museum to display an art object from the Courtauld's archives, and has one student describe the science behind the artwork. It's amazing what past objects have been. They will let me know by Friday if I have the position, so fingers crossed. I felt the interview went well, but I don't want to assume I have the job.
Besides the upcoming Halloween Party, I am excited for this Friday, as it is the first episode that Human Angle, my new podcast will be recorded and released! Keep your eyes and ears open for the first episode!
So, happy early Halloween and until next week!
Stay Spooky!
Kenna

Week 6-House guest

Hello, lovelies!

This past week I had the pleasure of hosting my first house-guest, Franny. She is a friend I had back in high school and recently got a scholarship teaching English in Leipzig, Germany. Because she is so close to me, geographically, she decided to come to visit London, and I was more than happy to let her crash on my couch. I wasn't the best hostess, as I have had more homework than usual this past week, what with essays beginning to be due, but we still managed to have fun. Franny and I wandered around the Victoria & Albert Museum as one of her first days here. It was amazing to see some of the floors of the museum that I missed the last time. I literally could get lost in there for days! I recently also registered with their Art Library, so I would have somewhere quiet to study. However, I was told that they have a clear bag policy, and I could only bring pencils into the museum. Isn't that odd?
A couple days I left Franny to wander around the British Museum or the Parliament building on her own. Franny's background is in politics, so she really wanted to visit the Parliament building to see the government in session. While she was exploring, I took to the library, hunkering down to get some of my reading done for a class as well as start developing my new podcast.

This past week my friend Jacqui and I talked about starting a podcast. We hopefully will have the first episode up by next week, after we can figure out all the radio studio scheduling. The podcast is called Human Angle, and it goes into the hidden lives of famous, and not so famous, scientists. Our first subject of study is Hedy Lamarr, 1940's fashion model and inventor of...wifi? Crazy right?

Episodes will only be 20 minutes long, so they're perfect for a commute or a walk around town. Once the podcast is up, you'll be able to find it on iTunes, Spotify, stitcher and wherever you get your podcasts from.  So besides doing some researching on Hedy Lamarr, I've become somewhat proficient in sound-mixing, podcast marketing, and platform learning. Gotta love the internet!

On Friday, Franny and I joined some of my classmates at the White Horse pub down in Peckham Rye, very south London. Some of the students in my program who are from London wanted to show us their part of the city. Franny and I didn't stay very long, as we wanted to be at Parliament the next day for the Brexit vote. It was still fun to see everyone outside of class and to socialize. I'm pretty sure I may go deaf at some point if I keep going to pubs because they're so loud!

Some of my classmates

It may just be that I'm getting old, but I know all of us were yelling at each other just to hear everyone. By about 10:30, Franny and I headed back home, slightly tipsy and having a great time.


The next morning we went to Parliament. Weather-wise, it was a nice day to stand outside and watch protests over the vote. The sun was warm on our backs and the shade was cruel and unforgiving. The line inside was long, and it took us about two hours to get to the front. By the time we did get to the front, we were told that it would take at least another 3 hours to get in, and even then we would miss the vote on Brexit. Franny wanted to stay, and I decided to head home to get some more work done. I kept texting her throughout the day to make sure that she was okay.

She never got into the Parliament building that day but had a fun time watching the protests swell in the streets, as over 1 million people came to demonstrate. The tube lines were closed, so by the time she made it back, she had to do a bit of walking to find an open tube to move into.

The next day was Franny's last day, and so we decided to wander into the British Library and Regent's Park. It was a fairly chilly day to walk around, but it wasn't raining, so at least that was a bonus. The British Library was quiet for a Sunday, and we were able to spend a lot of time in their rare-book room. Since being there last, I could tell that some of the books had had pages turned to show different illuminations, such as in some of the medieval Bibles. I walked into a side room that I missed the first time to see a display of the Magna Carta.

Illuminations from medieval Bible

Amazing experience, and I was glad I found it. After wandering through the rare book room, we decided to walk over to Regent's Park, which was only 20 minutes away. As the clouds clustered together and the wind picked up, we wandered into the park, admiring all the dogs, the football and rugby players out for practice, and the yellowing leaves. Surprisingly, we paralleled the London Zoo and watched some camels enjoying their lunch in peace. I do have to say that Regent's Park has to be one of my favorite places and I'm excited to go back when it's warmer and do some writing. It definitely has a writing atmosphere to it.

As we finished our walk around the park we headed back south to Kensington. We found a cute burger restaurant with gluten-free buns to enjoy. Then back to the flat to watch the rest of this season's The Great British Bakeoff. For those of you who haven't seen the show, it's a huge hit over here and in the States and is a wholesome treat. I didn't think I would get that involved in the show, but I'm loving it. Franny is a huge fan too, so we watched it throughout her time here.
Monday, Franny and I parted ways, as she headed west to Wales and I headed east to school. I looked forward to seeing my classmates again and discussing the dreaded upcoming essays that were looming over us.
Here's hoping I don't die in my pile of readings.
Kenna

Week 5-On air

Hi Everyone! This past week has been mostly just school work. I didn't get much traveling done over the weekend, though I did go to my very first London pub quiz! The quiz was at the Francis Crick Institute over by the British Library. I didn't get most of the answers correct, but I am proud to say that I did know who the first female American astronaut in space was: Sally Ride. Ride was a physicist and astronaut, being the first woman in space in 1983. She is still currently the youngest astronaut to have ever been in space at age 32. I did feel like I did my country proud with my one contribution to our team's points. Granted our team came in last. Maybe next time?

Saturday I mainly ran errands. Because the food here in London is quite fresh, most people go to the market twice or three times a week. I'm slowly following that trend, finding my supply of food in the fridge either goes bad before I eat it or I visit Sainsbury's more often than I thought. So errands, cleaning the flat (vacuuming, or hoovering) but that's merely it. I did do some reading as well, as I've been behind on my fun reading. I'm currently digesting Don't be such a Scientist by Randy Olson. Olson describes his experience as a scientist who goes to acting school. He takes the lessons he learns in acting school and applies them to science communication, making a fun and relevant read for me being a science communication student. Olson is funny, quick and quirky. I would recommend him to any writer or science writer.

Saturday bled into Sunday. I met up with Lucy and Billy, both American students in my program to visit the Tate Museum. We wandered around the exhibit of "In the Studio," showing pieces that exhibit different methods used by different artists. I saw Salvador Dali's "Lobster Telephone" in the section discussing cubism and the absurd. Picasso, Matisse, even Jackson Pollock also were featured. My brain spun with colors and images, trying to make sense of what I was seeing around me. My favorite artist, however, was Gerhard Richter, who used a squeegee to spread paint along a ten-foot-tall canvas. His paintings were based on the works of musical composer John Cage. Cage himself was very radical in his compositions, even having a song that was merely the orchestra sitting in silence for five minutes! I tried to see Cage come through in Richter's work, but I got distracted by his squeegee lines.

Monday classes started up again as we discussed the roles of a method in science. The core practical class was after lunch, as my team took a small video camera into the Victora & Albert museum to film outside the Food exhibit and discuss the ethics of lab-grown meat. The core practical is not a graded class, but instead focuses on getting the students as much exposure to media tech as possible, hence the video cameras. All of us fiddled with the cameras, boom mikes, and directing short clips discussing a topic. In a month we will present our different media segments to our fellow classmates.

Chamomile 

After the class ended, I went with my classmates Jacqui Wakefield, Ryna Lau, and Harry Jenkins to perform the weekly radio show for I, Science magazine. The show is weekly, but Jacqui and Ryna asked me to be on the show as this week's segment was on how humans draw inspiration from nature. Being a botanist, and having a background in medicinal plants, I was more than happy to help. I was so nervous being on air, but once the show started, I calmed down. It was merely a conversation I was having with my friends, except there were microphones in the room. To listen in to the show click the link here.

After my brush with fame, today seemed mundane. Classes mostly and then discussion with a journalist brought in for our weekly seminar. I finished the evening at the H-bar, one of our school bars, having fun with my friends.

In other news, my friend Franny is staying with me for a week. We know each other from high school. She's currently teaching at a school in Germany, after receiving a Fulbright Scholarship. She randomly booked her trip here. I'm looking forward to the company, and I hope she fits on my couch okay.
Until next time,
Kenna

Week 4: School week

Hi Everyone!

The start of induction week began with us writing what we
were looking forward to and what challenges we expected 

In the past week, I haven't really done anything important. The school began with an induction week and on Wednesday we went to the Maths Gallery in the Science Museum, to discuss the design of the exhibit and how to communicate maths to the public. The designer of the Museum came in to talk to us later about how she designed the exhibit to mimic the airwaves that a moving plane would make, using a mathematical model. Later on, we had people from all sorts of organizations come to speak to us about some internship and job opportunities. Because I have classes only two days a week, I know I'm going to get pretty bored without something else to do besides school, so I signed up for almost all the options.
Thursday was the last day of induction week, in which we had a case study on how to communicate evolutionary theory to different groups of people. For example, some students had to pitch an idea of evolutionary theory targeted towards people on a cruise liner. It was a fun and challenging exercise, and through it, I got to know my classmates better. We also discussed interviewing techniques and what makes for good journalism. The day ended with a big party, which included booze and crisps (potato chips for my American audience). After some lively discussion, everyone moved down a couple levels to the h-bar, which the school bar designated for specifically post-graduate students and staff combined. I stayed for a couple drinks, then headed home, as I was hungry for dinner.

Friday was a slow day for me, as I didn't have an induction week or anything scheduled. I decided to wander around the campus, as well as run some errands. I enjoyed just relaxing and preparing myself for my upcoming classes. Saturday and Sunday were much of the same thing, though Sunday I went to the Victoria & Albert Museum with my friend and classmate Sunita.

She hadn't been to the museum before, and it was nice to receive her thoughts on induction week. We wandered around the Victoria & Albert museum for a couple hours, specifically admiring much of the sculpture displayed in the Medieval Renaissance exhibits. After our time gawking, we decided to grab some coffee. Over coffee, we chatted more about the upcoming year. I told her that I was thinking of staying in London for another year or two, depending on what job I received by the end of the course. The program is so flexible it really does allow you to figure out where you want to live after it. Sunita mentioned traveling during the Easter holiday when we get a month off of school. I thought that would be a wonderful idea, and we talked about going together, as it's always nicer if there's someone to travel with.

All the editors of the I, Science Magazine 

Monday was the official first day of classes and not induction week. We began with Dr. Stephen Webster's class on Science and its Social Contexts. It's a philosophical discussion-based class, and Stephen got us started by discussing the rules of science, specifically looking at Sir Francis Bacon. By the time his lecture ended, I already had three new book recommendations and pages of notes. It was a  rousing and lively discussion and I'm looking forward to next week as we continue it. After a lunch break, we returned to the classroom to discuss our core practical with Professor Gareth Mitchell, who hosts several radio shows on BBC channel 4. He told us that for our core practical we would be filming ourselves interviewing each other in different locations and using both radio and TV equipment.  At the end of the next four weeks, we would then showcase our sound-bites and TV clips for the class. Gareth said that most science communicators get little media training before going into a job, and this was a nice way to play around with different media. I was nervous and excited to learn that I would be on film in the coming weeks. I'll keep you posted on how it goes!
After our core practical the class officially ended. We then decided to have a short meeting to discuss the Science Communication magazine, I, Science, which most of us are editors. As the magazine positions change every year, all of us were new to our tasks, and we discussed as a group some of our goals for the coming publications. As I am the web editor of the magazine, I will be in charge of all the online formating. Keep your eyes peeled for updates on our magazine. It is an award-winning publication, so definitely worth your time.
Today, I've just been lying low until classes start this afternoon. I have Dr. Felicity Mellor's class to begin which is titled the Media representation of Science. Sounds intriguing! Afterward, all of us are attending a weekly seminar. The subject and speaker changes every week, so I have no idea what is going on this week, but I'm excited!
Until next time! Stay brainy!
Cheers,
Kenna

Week 3: More exploration and school starting!

Well, it's week 3 of my stay in London. I've only been caught in torrential rain twice, one of those instances being today. I'm content to stay dry with my cup of tea while I'm writing this, as the rain pitters outside my window. Thankfully it's calmed down a bit since earlier. Though I can't promise it'll be the last time I have to change clothes and hang my wet ones up to dry. Hopefully, next time will be better at least!
Last Wednesday, to catch you all up on what I've been doing, I had plans to see Henry V, at the Globe. I decided to make it more of an adventure by going to the Sea Aquarium first. Once I arrived at the bridge to reach the aquarium, via tube, I didn't realize that the aquarium was directly across from both Big Ben and the London Eye Ferris wheel. Thankfully the skies threatened rain but nothing actually occurred. I walked inside the Sea Life London Aquarium and showed the officer my ticket that I had already purchased online. By now I had thought ahead to buy my tickets online to avoid any unnecessary waiting.

An anemone enjoying his glass wall

For the next hour, I wandered through exhibits of black-lighted tanks, and neon looking corals. I followed turtle swimming trajectories and jellyfish sinking and floating as if in a samba designed by nature. While I did enjoy my time at the aquarium, I was constantly dodging the tours of school children. This made me miss out on some of the exhibits, which I really didn't mind because at least I didn't have to elbow my way to a tank full of piranhas.

amazing coral

The London aquarium seems to be designed for children, as the whole theme of diving and getting up close to the fish is prevalent in the design of the exhibits. There was also an exhibit on Amazon rainforests in the middle of the tour, where you could see tarantulas, tree snakes, and leaf cutter ants. I felt nausea as I heard the hissing of a snake being piped through a speaker inside the head of a fake anaconda on the wall, and could only think of my dad tricked me into thinking there was a snake behind me at the zoo. This wasn't the last time I would be frightened today, as I would soon find out.

Pipe-fish and sea horses 

Amazonian turtles

Penguins!!

Beautiful but deadly

As I finished in the aquarium, there was one animal that I had hoped to see, but didn't. The octopus. I love octopuses (and yes that is the correct version of that word. If you don't believe me, please refer to Sy Montgomery's The Soul of an Octopus). They are majestic and complex and extremely fascinating to watch. I asked the cashier in the gift shop why there wasn't an octopus on display, and he mentioned that if there were any octopuses in the aquarium, they were probably being held behind the scenes. That made sense to me. I quickly looked down at my watch and realized that I had another 3 hours before my play at the Globe. I began walking in the direction of the Globe, looking for something to eat, when I was distracted by a sign in my peripheral.
It was an advertisement all in black with bloody red lettering, advertising for the London Dungeon. I had seen ads for this museum before and even had a friend tell me that she did it and enjoyed it. I knew that the museum focused on the horrific and scary parts of London's history, mainly Jack the Ripper. Because I knew the Ripper would be featured somewhere in the museum, I figured I should give it a go. I had the time of course.

Boy was I wrong!!!

I was told the museum was more like a show, where actors would tell us certain pieces of London history. I asked the lady behind the counter if it was scary and she said I would be fine. With shaky confidence, I made my way into a dimly lit cobble-stone corridor to wait behind a line of couples and teens to begin what would be the scariest hour of my life. We were all herded in one large group, which I did enjoy. But as I came by myself, I didn't have any other person to grab onto or hide behind if I got really scared. This made the tour all the more panicking for me, as my anxiety kicked in multiple times. The tour began with a brief showing of Guy Fawkes's head on a spike, which talks to the audience. The floor shakes and things explode to mimic the explosion of Parliament.
We then moved into a medieval torture chamber where a fake guard showed us some of the torture devices and how to use them. From there we moved to the plague, with water sprayed on us to mimic spit or saliva. People jumped out behind corners, and walls thumped to mimic those left for dead after they had been robbed. It only got worse when we were taken into a surgical theater and water was sprayed on us to mimic blood, after we watched an actress take the slimy guts out of a mannequin. Onto the Great Fire of London, and we quickly moved onto Sweeny Todd. The chairs leaned back in one swift motion, in absolute darkness, to mimic the beheading that this diabolical doctor was so famous for. By now I was pretty shaken up, but we still had to get to Jack and Ripper. And we did, which mainly consisted of a mirror maze looking like the streets of Whitechapel, all while screams blared from loudspeakers. I felt like I couldn't breathe. I just tried to follow the friendliest looking tourists I could and hoped to not be grabbed at by some maniac pretending to be Jack the Ripper. The museum tour ended with hanging for piracy. There was a ride at the end you could take that had a 40-foot drop mimicking a hanging. While most people walked inside the hanging room, I bolted for the exit. I was more than relieved to be on my way to the Globe theater.

The play of Henry V was absolutely fabulous and very nationalistic.

The guy playing Henry V did a spectacular performance, and actually, many of the audience members were crying. As I walked back to the tube station, I caught a nice picture of the Thames.

The Thames 

The next day I decided to visit the British Library. I really didn't have anything to do, and it was on my list of things to visit. After traveling in the tube, I wandered into the Library by a side-door. It was smaller than I would've thought, but that was because most of the library was inaccessible without a card. I wandered into the rare book room and was startled to see such a large collection of volumes from all over the world, from Virginia Woolf to different editions of the Bible. After spending several minutes drooling over each ancient volume, I made my way to a table and began to read. I had my two books assigned for school that I needed to refresh myself with, as I had read them earlier in the summer. After spending about 3 hours at the British Library, I headed home.

I think this was a King Arthur story 

Versions of "The Book of Hours"

The printed "Book of Hours" 

An old Herball 

On Friday I visited the National Gallery, which housed a couple Michelangelo's, one Leonardo, many Van Gogh's, as well as Monet, Turner, etc. I wandered around for hours just studying the art in front of me and avoiding the many tourists that had had the same idea as I did. It was a great way to spend a Friday.

Van Gogh's crabs 

Monet's pond 

Lady Jane Grey being led to her execution

The Leonardo of the Madonna and child

The weekend found me relaxing and preparing for my first day of classes. I really didn't do much except watch Netflix and avoid the rain. I'm finding that behavioral pattern common here.
The first day of school was fun and easy. I got to know most of my 35 classmates after the classes by chatting with them in our school bar. Dr. Stephen Webster, the director of our course, introduced everyone and discussed what good science was, and how science was found in different aspects of our lives. The day was mostly spent in discussion, and by the time the class ended, I was excited to talk more about it with my new friends. I spent the next several hours drinking with my classmates as all of us tried to fit on one large table bench. Everyone seemed very friendly and I'm looking forward to working with them all in the upcoming year.

All of us lovelies! 

Today we heard from documentary director Chris Riley, who has worked on several award-winning documentaries such as In the Shadow of the Moon. His speech gave us a glamorous image of documentaries and all sorts of topics to create documentaries on. I was excited to lookup more of his stuff later. We broke for lunch and wandered over to the Kensington Farmer's market. After lunch, we returned to discuss more the interview process for a journalist or a radio interviewer. All in all, a full day but a fun day to say the least!