First We Take Manhattan

We spent the first few days of my brother James' visit in D.C, covering the Memorials, the American History Smithsonian, National Archives, Capitol building and for the first time the Library of Congress. Then from Tuesday to Thursday we braved the discomfort of Megabus to go to New York City. I'd been on a day trip last Semester and James had never been before, so our challenge was to pack as much of Manhattan into our time there as possible.

Welcome to Times Square James!

We stayed in a small room near Columbus Circle, about a 15 minute walk from Times Square, so it was a fantastic location to explore the City from. We had just missed a snowstorm so we were quite lucky weather wise, and Central Park in the snow was a great sight. No less busy though, especially at Strawberry Fields where a memorial to John Lennon is located. Its a nice little area full of tourists, and a lot with a very familiar accent.When you've been in America for a while hearing a Scouse accent is a bit of a surprise. British accents kept popping up throughout our trip- we were covering the tourist sites and ran into a lot of fellow Brits doing the same, so it was nice to hear some reminders of home. After Times Square and Central Park we had a look at Rockefeller Plaza which is great to see lit up at night. It was full of things to spot- the NBC studios, an ice rink, a Lego recreation of the area, and eventually finding the British flag among the many around the square. this was one of my favourite places in the city as despite being surrounded by skycrapers the condensed feeling it reminded me of London.

The rest of our nighttime tour through the City took us to Grand Central, an iconic train station, a view of the Chrysler building, a visit to Midtown Comics to get some geeky souvenirs, as well as a stop in the New York Public Library. To be honest I only wanted to have a look to see where all the things in The Day After Tomorrow happen, but it turned out to be really interesting. For some reason I didn't expect it to be a fully working library that you took books from and studied and so on but that's what it was, and a very impressive one too. There were also some small exhibitions about Children's literature and the history of AIDS in America which were very interesting. This was part of the great things about exploring a city without a plan, you discover great places you weren't necessarily looking for in the first place.

The next day we had our Statue of Liberty visit timed for midday, so we thought we would fit in a trip to the top of the Empire State Building in the morning. Unfortunately this was the one time the weather was not on our side as those few hours brought clouds, fog and rain and our views weren't exactly the best we could have got. Normally I don't mind the British weather but when you're sightseeing, its a bit disappointing. It was still good to have a look in the Empire State and admire the art deco design, and we saw a bit of New York from above, just a shame we couldn't have seen a bit further.

The weather hadn't improved much by the time we got on the ferry to Liberty Island, but that didn't spoil the sight of one of the most iconic American landmarks, the Statue of Liberty. It was surreal to see it up close after seeing it for years in TV shows, films, video games and comics, and was a fantastic image. And although our view from the Pedestal was again limited the museum area inside was fascinating, detailing the Statue's construction in Paris and its place in American culture. Although you can get the free Staten Island ferry to get a good view of it from the water, I'd recommend going to the Statue of Liberty itself because you appreciate the scale of it so much more. The ferry also included a stop at Ellis Island, where in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries immigrants on the East coast came through into the United States. It is an incredible history- the poem on the Statue proclaims "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free", but the record of quotas and restrictions and hardship that these immigrants encountered is staggering. Much of Ellis Island is still closed off following Hurricane Sandy, but being at the site of this story was worth it. Typically, as soon as we got on the ferry to return to Manhattan the beautiful blue skies returned!

In the end we couldn't get any cheap tickets to see a show so we filled the rest of our day with food from the 1 dollar pizza slice place near Time Square (which sounds disgusting but was actually so good), resting our feet in the cinema (The Lego Movie is actually awesome) and a visit to Madame Tussauds. I'd been to the London one before and this was just as good, with obviously more of an emphasis on American figures. It was a fun way to spend a few hours taking embarrassingly posed photos, plus an opportunity to indulge my geeky side and see a mini Marvel 4-D film. You can keep your politicians, athletes and pop stars, the superheroes are always my favourite section. Afterwards we took the subway into Brooklyn so we could walk across the Brooklyn Bridge at night, which was the best part of the 3 days for me. The New York skyline lit up at night is an incredible view, although you'll have to take my word for it as my camera didn't capture how fantastic it looks at night. Still a brilliant experience.

Our last day was a bit more relaxed, as we took time to see the United Nations building, Wall Street and M&M World, all essential New York locations I think. We also stopped in the visitor center (American place, American spelling) in Times Square where you could leave a square of confetti with a wish or message on to be dropped during the New Years Eve celebrations. I had to add a sentimental contribution to it, so on the 31st December a piece of confetti will fall in Times Square, remembering my time at George Mason. I know, I'm getting nostalgic in advance!

The last major landmark we saw on our trip was the 9/11 Memorial. It was perfect weather for it, blue skies and cool, as we arrived  to see where the World Trade Center had stood (and has been rebuilt, the new One World Trade Center is spectacular). It was a very strange atmosphere- it is a place of serenity and peacefulness, yet it recalls such a horrific event. Twin pool mark the footsteps of the Towers with huge waterfalls within, and every name of the nearly 3000 killed are inscribed around the edge. One very touching detail is a white rose placed upon the names of those remembered whose birthday it would have been. Being near D.C I've seen plenty of memorials but this one really resonated with me as I can remember the day itself. 8 years old, coming home from school to see it on 4 out of the five TV channels we had, the newspaper covers being one large image of the Towers fall, our deputy headteacher lighting a candle in school assembly. It is such a significant moment to people our age as it is one of the first world changing events we can remember- for some its the Blitz, others its Neil Armstrong walking on the moon, and many it would be the fall of the Berlin Wall. All of these things came to me on my visit, as I wondered how strange it must be for the children visiting here to whom this is all just history. If so, then this memorial is the perfect way for many to remember, and many more in years to come to learn.

It was a packed few days in New York and a great week overall. Thank you for visiting James, it has been great to see some of the U.S with you and I hope you had a great week.

A

Homecoming

One of the things you learn very quickly about Universities is that they will use every possible opportunity to squeeze money out of you. In your first term as a fresher you're buying the campus food, picking up every textbook they recommend from the campus bookstore, and generally watching that precious student loan shrink fast. Eventually you figure out how to spend your money more wisely, but embarking on a year abroad throws that all off again. Especially here at Mason, where meal plans and health insurance and Starbucks will drain you before classes even start. The cost of student textbooks alone is shocking, I'm lucky enough that mine aren't too much and I can get away with avoiding some but some people have to spend hundreds on books they'll barely use.

So it was great to discover and make use of some of the free activities Mason provides on campus. We'd been to the free cinema before but its worth mentioning how useful it is- a decent sized screen, free popcorn (but avoid the toppings, cheddar or chocolate flavouring?) and great films from only a few months ago. I've caught up with Captain Phillips and Dallas Buyers Club so far this semester so its a good option. The Center for the Arts was a place I hadn't considered visiting until Pauline convinced us to come along to a few shows. Driving Miss Daisy was a sweet little production with just 3 actors that I really enjoyed, although the American habit of inappropriate or over the top laughter came up again. The next day saw the Metropolitan Jazz Orchestra give a fantastic performance of classic music and great Sinatra songs and it was absolutely free! The audience around us had paid up to $44 but as Mason students we got free entry, which is a decent benefit. Maybe the biggest difference is the gym and pool; costs around the £200 mark back in Leicester but free here, and the battleground for some Britain vs France badminton encounters (its 1-1 at the moment). Along with free tickets to the basketball games Mason does do some good stuff for students, although comparing the tuition fees I think us Brits still get a better deal!

As part of this effort to engage students with inclusive free activities one of the annual events is Homecoming, a week long celebration of... I'm not exactly sure what. But there's lots of things to do in the run up to the big basketball game at the end of the week, most of which were cancelled. Just when we thought we were out, the snow pulls us back in. I've seen more of it this winter than the rest of my life, but we still managed to enjoy it with snowmen and an epic snowball fight. Again it broke down to Britain vs France, with a Japanese traitor on their side (I'll remember that Yusuke!).

Do you wanna build a snowman?

The snow was bad enough that 2 days of classes were cancelled, so while the clever ones among us caught up and got ahead with work, the rest just relaxed. Its always good to meet new faces and it never fails to surprise me when I meet Americans who know their football (especially if they don't call it soccer). The work is going to get intense pretty soon and is already for some people, but there always has to be time for fun on a snow day. So when it finally cleared for a while, and the culmination of Homecoming week came with a block party, the big game and fireworks... I missed it all. But for a very good reason, I was at the airport meeting this guy!

My brother James has come to visit the States for a week, and enjoyed exploring frozen D.C. Its great and very surreal to have family here and well worth showing the capital to him, even if we're still in minus temperatures! Hopefully the weather will be kind to us over the next few days, as we head up to New York to see the sights.

A

Game On

So American Sports... I've never been a big fan of them if I'm honest. I didn't really understand American Football at all, other than it being a weak version of Rugby. I've enjoyed a bit of ice hockey before, especially in the last Winter Olympics, and basketball's always been pretty decent. Although that might just be a childhood watching Space Jam. But one of the typical American events every year is the Super Bowl, so we had to get into the American mood for it.

We could watch the halftime show... or watch Yusuke sit in front of the screen and eat Doritos. 

Anyone who saw the game, which stretched over 3 1/2 hours know it was a shocker, with the Seattle Seahawks thrashing the Denver Broncos and coasting for about half the game. We'd put our support behind the Broncos just before the game, which says a lot about our knowledge of this game! The entertainment came from the weird and wonderful commercials (Morpheus singing Nessun Dorma being the best) and the half time show. It's the most watched television moment of the year in the U.S, 115 million people tuning in to watch Bruno Mars and Red Hot Chili Peppers be pretty terrible. It's incredibly overblown, ridiculously commercial, a genuinely bad sport in my opinion, so I'm not the biggest Super Bowl fan in the world, it's fair to say! The stoppages are so often and the adverts (ok, commercials) come in so often it's not worth it. Thankfully it was a good excuse to cook some burgers and chicken wings, have a few drinks and laugh at it all. It's the only way to enjoy it really. And well done Ross, whose burgers were actually better than Five Guys!

I was hoping seeing ice hockey live would be better, and it was a really good sport to see. We went to the Verizon Center in D.C to see the Washington Capitals take on the New York Islanders and it was an entertaining watch. Not knowing much about ice hockey we were promised plenty of fights, and sure enough 2 minutes in one broke out on the ice. You might expect the officials to be outraged and an effort to cut out the violence- instead the crowd cheered and the speakers played the Mortal Kombat music. Instantly hockey was one up on American Football. The rest of the game was engaging, end to end with some fantastic saves and a few more fights- until the Caps conceded in the last part and went on to lose 1-0. Our track record for picking the winning side was consistent, at least.

Sports are closely linked with the military here, and it can often come across as over the top. The Superbowl had a long pre-game video about the Declaration of Independence which is admirable, but to Brits who are generally less vocal about their Patriotism it was too much. But at the hockey they celebrated military night with a lot of pride, proudly singing the anthem and watching a former army officer with prosthetic legs score a goal was great. Americans are huge supporters of their troops and are outspoken about it, and I really appreciated the atmosphere of it all. Well done America!

So after our teams lost in both the Super Bowl and the hockey, maybe Mason could break the cycle and give us something to cheer?

Thanks a lot Mason.

A

Return to the States

A belated Happy New Year people! It's been a while since my last update, even having been back in the States for 2 and a half weeks. The worst of the 'Polar Vortex' had passed when I flew back on the 16th but it was cold enough anyway, temperatures staying below 0 degrees for over a week at one point. The motivation to go out and about isn't that great when there's snow, ice and your hair freezes which happened to a few people. Still, it's great to be back at Mason for the Spring semester and to see everyone again, and meet some new faces as well. One of our welcome back activities was to redistribute the doodles we had accumulated into a mural last semester throughout our floor, so the British have colonized a study room and me and Yusuke's artistic impressions of each other decorate our door.

Class-wise this time round I am doing U.S and World Power, which focuses on the United States' role in global affairs mainly in the Twentieth Century. I've studied this a little back in Leicester but it's interesting to go through it in a class of mainly American students and hear their views on events that we judge quite negatively as foreign onlookers. That perspective is also useful in my Era of the American Revolution class, where we look at the years leading up to 1776 which I've never done before. The lecturer emphasized the importance of understanding the people of the time considered themselves British subjects and how the view of the Brits was essential, which I enjoyed. There's also a module on the Vietnam war which should be good, and I'll be doing an Independent Study on Roy Lichtenstein's reinvention of kitsch art forms like comic strips and advertising as preparation for my dissertation.

I finally embraced the Patriot Pride and went to a basketball game at the on-campus Patriot Center to watch the home team take on local rivals George Washington, who are based in D.C. Varsity matches back in Leicester are pretty serious but this is a big deal every week or so at Mason, with large audiences, bands, cheerleaders, and I was pretty surprised by the scale of it. I watched with a fellow Brit from George Washington, Hannah, which was fun but turned out to be a mistake in the end as Mason were thrashed in the second half. The final score had us losing by 6 points was flattering, and sitting among the GW supporters chanting 'Thanks for Hosting' and 'Beat the Traffic' was a bit rough. Hopefully I'll go into D.C to see Mason get some revenge later in the season!

A