Weekend With the Windsors (March 31-April 1)

Every Friday night Ashlyn and I go to bed with honest ambition for an early Saturday morning start. This day was no different. And every Saturday we wake up, evaluate how little sleep we've had and go back to bed. Again, this day was no different. Typically, once we've decided to get the move on the day doesn't take to long to get started. We should have known this routine would come to and end at some point. On Friday night we both decided to forgo washing our hair as we could do it Saturday morning. Unfortunately, when we woke up Saturday morning we learned, much to our disappointment that we had no hot water. No luke warm water. Nothing but Arctic coldness from the faucet. I know this is a first world problem, but we could not leave the house until we had a shower. It just wouldn't have been fair to the public. We learned the boiler had been turned off at some point during the night and this was why the water wasn't warm. Heating appliances over here cause us nothing but confusion. First, it was the radiator which has given the four of us nothing, but grief. Mine has two settings, off or smoke out. Ashlyn's has six settings that all do the same thing. Michael's causes an unpleasant smell and Stephen's straight up doesn't work. I just sleep in layers and deal with the cold now to avoid my radiator. So the boiler was just another piece of ancient heating equipment enjoying being frustrating. When we were finally able to get our lives together and take luke warm showers we got ready and headed for the British Library.

The British Library  was something Ashlyn and I had been looking forward to as it's basically a mecca of historical documents. It's in a very unassuming building, but we assume that's because they needed an extremely impenetrable facade to hold all its contents. It's the largest library in the world (based on how much is in the collection - 150 million items) and 14 million books (only the Library of Congress in Washington, DC has more). They have an amazing 6 story glass structure that holds the 65,000 books of the "King's Library" assembled by George III and donated by George IV. They have a stamp collection where you can pull out drawers and basically see any stamp ever made (including Confederate stamps from America). Everything else they allow you to see is housed in one room. They have 2 of the remaining Magna Cartas (including the only one to still have it's seal). They even have a display of handwritten Beatles song lyrics. It's really just amazing seeing everything in there. The documents take six month "rest periods" so they can be monitored to make sure they aren't becoming compromised. It's really fascinating. Unfortunately, you are not allowed to take photographs inside, so I have nothing to show for my visit there.

On Sunday Ashlyn and I made the hour train trek north west of London to visit the city of Windsor and Windsor Castle. We were able to grab lunch and eat on the ride as well as getting in a quick nap. Windsor Castle is the main residence of the Queen and she was actually in house that day. Of course, us little people weren't anywhere near her and had no hope of seeing here. We also think Prince Harry was there, thus making that the closest I'll ever be to him, which is very unfortunate. The castle is so huge and opposing and looks more like the fort, which is what it was originally built to be. We were able to take a tour of the beautiful grounds with a guard. After this tour was over we were able to go inside (again, no pictures allowed). Our first stop was this amazing and huge dollhouse with full electricity built for Queen Mary. It was simply fascinating. A new exhibit focusing on mostly candid shots of the Queen was on display and really interesting. From there we were able to visit areas of the castle still used for events and just soak up the royal-ness of it all. But, like all good tourist attractions there is always someone to be obnoxious. Cue the Real Housewives of New Jersey. The world's most obnoxious family was there visiting. They knew nothing about the history of the castle, pretty sure they had never heard of the Queen and I'm not positive they knew they were in England. Thank goodness Ashlyn and I were on the tour or America would have looked like it had nothing going for it. We did meet a nice Windsor local who had came with his wife and kids. He commented that he couldn't believe the Americans hadn't invented a King and Queen, in which I had no problem reminding him that there is no point in us having one while we can enjoy theirs and let them foot the bill.

A small section of Windsor

View from atop Windsor

As we were coming to the end of our day at the castle we noticed a guard. He was the typical guard you think of with the red uniform and tall, fuzzy black hat. He had an obvious routine where he would stand still for a while and then start marching. He was also carrying a bayonet. One of my major pet peeves while traveling are foreigners who are disrespectful. To me, harassing a guard who isn't allowed to speak or smile so you can get 15 pictures is disrespectful to the United Kingdom. These Middle Eastern dudes were doing just that. Trying to get a million pics and just being obnoxious. They apparently were also too dumb to pick up on the fact that he had a marching pattern. So in a great moment, when it was time for the guard to march he turned and basically ran the rude guy over. It.was.excellent.

We grabbed dinner in Windsor and were waived across the street by a couple in a Land Rover wearing William and Kate masks, which gave us a good laugh for our hour train ride back home. Once we got on the train we made the mistake of picking a car with a "gang" on it. And when people here say gang they mean those obnoxious kids who get dropped off at the mall and congregate around the escalator. Well said kids got into a verbal fight that lasted for at least 30 minutes before a man told them to be get it together. You never know what you're gonna see on the train.

By the end of my third week in London I finally feel justified to say things like, "damn tourist" when people get in my way in Tube stations. I've also been very intrigued by the match.com/tube ads where you get three free days to find yourself a single Brit. I considering signing up, but that seemed stressful. I really feel connected to this place and at times it seems like I actually live here. It's a really weird thing to learn to get used to. Another benefit of starting to fit in? Brits and foreigners ask you for directions or to help them read their tube maps and you can do it. It's amazing, even though they often don't speak English so I'm not sure my directions helped, but I can give directions all the same. For those few fleeting, map reading moments I feel like an honorary English citizen.

Everybody's Working for the Weeknight (Nights of March 26-30)

Since my last blog post was focused on my time in the pharmacy this week, this blog is dedicated to the adventurous (okay, I'm stretching this a bit) nights we had this week in London. So here goes nothing.

Monday is was pretty dang intense. We came home from work, ate leftover Pizza Hut and went to bed. Yep, I know. You're envious of my life. Tuesday night was when the fun really started. Ashlyn and I had planned to meet in Central London at Leicester Square to get theatre tickets after work. Of course, Ashlyn already works in Central London, but I had to come all the way from Grove Park, back to our home in Brockley, change, grab jeans for Ashlyn and head on the long and winding Tube trip. I like traveling on the Tube by myself only because it gives me time to think and makes me feel like I fit in. Since I have no one to talk to, my American accent is silenced and I can just be another Londoner. Though I never fail to make things awkward and when a lady accidentally hit me with some random object she was carrying (can't remember what it was) I of course had to respond with, "oh no worries, I mean I'm carrying around a pair of blue jeans!" One day this approach will make me friends. One day. Anyways I was extremely late meeting Ashlyn and my phone didn't work underground so I couldn't let her know. Luckily, we were able to score 4th row tickets for Jersey Boys, unluckily the only place we had time to eat dinner was Burger King. Embarrassing, but you gotta do what you gotta do.

So those of you who haven't seen or heard of Jersey Boys are missing out. It's the true story of the rise and fall of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. They only sing Frankie Valli songs and it's just simply amazing. Probably the best show I've seen on the stage (here in the West End or in America). It also led to endless Frankie Valli songs being played through my computer while getting ready the following mornings. I could go see that show multiple times over.

On Wednesday the boys from the University of Tennessee arrived and I promptly bombarded them in the hallway after the guesthouse owner told me they had arrived. I really should rethink my first impression strategy. After Ashlyn arrived home from work we went to dinner with the boys at the Blackfriars Pub (where we had eaten before). Ashlyn and I love the waiter that we had there the first time and were more than excited to get him again. First he's awesome cause he let me order the closet thing I've seen to a grilled cheese since we've been here (even though it was on the lunch time only menu) and secondly because he has the most amazing accent. When I asked him where his accent is from I was surprised to learn he was originally from South Africa, but has lived in London for about 10 years. Such a good combo of accents. Plus, he looks like he should be in a movie. After leaving dinner we took the boys to see the always breathtaking view of Big Ben, The River Thames and The London Eye at night. The best part about heading there at night is coming above ground from the Tube. If you take the correct exit coming out from the Westminster stop it places you face to face with Big Ben and at night that's just the coolest thing ever. Undeniable. It's the kind of view I will be able to close my eyes and see for years. That memory will probably be my best souvenir of this entire experience.

The London Eye from across the River Thames

Thursday night we had the great fortune of getting to go back to Ted and Peggy's for the boys Welcome dinner. It's so nice to be able to mooch Welcome dinners off other people. It was great as usual. It has now become a running joke at Peggy's that I'm an epic snacker. She always has a ton of appetizers for us when we go over there and I'd rather eat them all day then my real dinner. She even pushed the tray over in front of me (she's says it makes her feel good to know someone is enjoying her food).

Friday was the last day of work in the community pharmacy and Ashlyn and I were pretty tired by the end of the day. We had been used to having a more flexible schedule up to this point and since we can not seem to get a really good night's sleep between the hay fever and whatever else is keeping us up we were probably not the most fun people this night. I had forgotten to mention in my previous post that I recieved what I considered to be the upmost compliment. I was told by a friend at the pharmacy that if she didn't know me and just saw me would think I was British. Yay! Assimilation domination. Ashlyn and I had been craving Mexican food (along with peanut butter, biscuits and iced tea); it's just not something you can get easily here. We went to a Tex-Mex style restaurant and it was good, but it just wasn't Mexican like back home. I'm hoping to make that my first back to America meal.

Overall this week really showed that we were becoming more used to our surroundings and less hyperactive about having to do everything RIGHT now. We are without a doubt becoming much more comfortable with living life in London.

A Week In the Community (March 26-30)

This week of rotation was to give us a chance to see life in a community pharmacy. Before I tell you about it I thought I'd explain the structure of the next few posts. I figure, since I did mostly the same thing everyday I'll go ahead and devote and entry to what life in the pharmacy is like. A following post will contain the touristy things we did during the evenings this week. So, no pictures for this post.


Ashlyn and I were each assigned different pharmacies to attend for the week. They were both independent pharmacies, though there are big chain pharmacies here. The biggest chain pharmacy is Boots, which is similar to a CVS/Walgreens/Rite Aid except more welcoming. They have nice layouts and Ashlyn and I have even spoken with a Boots pharmacist about pharmacy in the States one day when we stopped in for some purchases. But, like I said we were assigned to independent pharmacies which was interesting for us because both Ashlyn and myself have worked in the independent pharmacies in the States. Ashlyn was assigned a pharmacy in Central London and I was assigned a store in the far reaching corner of the London Borough of Lewisham in the neighborhood of Grove Park.


I should start with getting to the pharmacy. Luckily, I could take a bus directly there (the 136 to Grove Park). The only problem is that the 136 is potentially the most unreliable bus route in the history of all bus routes. There were days when I left the house 10 minutes early and arrived to work 10 minutes late and days were I left the house 15 minutes late and arrived to work 10 minutes early. You never know when the bus is coming, which could potentially be why people don't seem to get as irritated when others are late. If you left it up to the 136 bus you'd have to leave at a ridiculous time to insure you arrived in a timely manner. The bus ride is between 20-30 minutes depending on how many people were on and and how long it takes to load and unload at stops. I'm not sure that I've clarified this, but when you ride a bus in London those are the double decker red buses you see when you think of London. I always thought those were tour buses, but that are actually legit transportation. So, there's something to make Atlanta's MARTA buses look even worse. As I may have mentioned before London has the most expensive transportation in the world and a bus fare (whether you're going one stop or ten) costs £2.00 without an Oyster Card and £1.35 with one. We pay for the unlimited pass at £29.99 a week, so I don't have to worry about that. It's hard to decide if you are getting a good deal (besides the 136 inconsistencies London transportation far surpasses that of any other city I have been to in the States or internationally) or if you are getting ripped off. The 136 bus has to pass through some nice and not so nice areas. In runs right through the neighborhood of Lewisham, which I was consistently told was not a good place to be. When I asked why, they said I would get my bag stolen. Interesting perspectives. When I tell someone not to go somewhere in Atlanta, my usual reasoning is, "you might get shot," which makes getting your bag stolen look like a cake walk. Either way, passing through various neighborhoods with their mixtures of socioeconomics makes the bus ride interesting to say the least. It basically ends up looking like the "People of Wal-Mart" website, but with British accents. There are also always teenagers who I think should be in school, but aren't. Including one who I'm 99% sure was wearing an ankle bracelet. That's the 136 for you. 


The pharmacy I am at is in a small strip mall within walking distance of a Tesco Express. Tesco is a grocery chain. They have big Tesco's that are similar to like a Super Wal-Mart and also small stores at gas stations. I also went past a Tesco Extra once, but I'm not sure what made it extra. Anyways, they have good pasta and sandwiches that you can grab and go with. They also have candy, so each day I tried another candy bar. Bad for my health, but you do what you have to do to get cultured. Cadburry is the main candy here (as popular as Hershey's back home). Sorry, for getting derailed, but I figure if you're reading this in the States Tesco means nothing to you, but it's major here so I wanted to explain. Independent pharmacies here are just smaller in general than at home. My store is long and narrow and sits adjacent to a train track so you have to get used to the entire building shaking every 15 or so minutes. The pharmacy floor plan is long and narrow with a small behind the counter area. Even with such little space they managed to fit one pharmacist, six technicians, a pre-reg (equivalent to me) and me. They have really figured out how to work in a small space. They have a computer system that works fairly similar to how ours works in the States with one HUGE difference. For us, when a prescription is filled electronically the information goes directly to the insurance company (private or federal) so all the payment and reimbursement is handled right then. Here EVERY, SINGLE paper prescription must be mailed to the NHS (the National Health Service) to be processed. Meaning it often takes the pharmacy two months to get their payment. This is how things used to be done in the States, before the internet existed. 


At this point I will explain community pharmacy here further in question and answer format to keep me on track and to hopefully not confuse the few people who will actively read this. 


Since they have nationalized healthcare in the UK how are the medications paid for?
Good question! There is an option to get your own private insurance in the UK (but it is expensive, much like getting your own plan in the States is expensive if you are self employed, etc.) Medications are paid for by the NHS, discussed earlier. Every prescription carries a one time fee of £7.65. No matter how much the medication costs (expensive or cheap) or how often you get the medication in the year you pay this one time fee per new prescription. There are certain exemptions. People who are exempt do not pay this fee. They include children under 18, pregnant women (and those 1 year post giving birth), those with diseases such as diabetes, those with severe handicaps and the unemployed. Much like the debate here it seems everyone I talked to does not like the fact that the unemployed don't have to pay. It's funny that they can't believe that in the States our insurance will reject medications the doctor wants us to take. They just looked at me dumbfounded. If you think you will be getting a lot of new prescriptions during the year you can pay a one time fee of about £140 and then you get your medication unlimited. 


Do they have to wait a long time to get their medications since governmental bodies are always slow?
No. It is true that they often have to wait for non emergency procedures, etc but medication is not a wait. They bring their prescription to the pharmacy and get it filled just as you would in the States, but with one exception. They are not given refills on their prescriptions. They either must get in contact with their physician or have the pharmacy send the physician a list of what they want. This theoretically would lead to a wait as physicians offices or "surgery" often take a while to get back in touch. Luckily, they are allowed to give 30 days of a medication (with the exception of narcotics) if they haven't heard back from the physician. 


Speaking of narcotics how are those regulated?
Narcotics are regulated pretty tightly, just as they are at home. Interestingly, they don't use hydrocodone (the main ingredient in Lortab). Each narcotic prescription is written on a special, blue colored prescription pad and then must be organized and sent to the NHS for a review/audit every month. In the States the drug methadone (often used to help treat narcotic addiction) can only be filled in a pharmacy if they physician has clearly stated the medication will be used for pain. If the medication is being used to wean a drug addiction then the patient has to go to a "methadone clinic" and be given their dose there. In the UK pharmacists are in control of this process. The physician writes the prescription and the patient comes to the pharmacy where they are given the dose and watched by the pharmacist to ensure they took the entire dose (some patients do not have to be watched - this decision is made by the physician). My pharmacy used about 2 liters of methadone a day. Which is a TON. Speaking of regulation, in the States you have to sign and show identification for Sudafed or any product containing pseudoephedrine due to the way it abused and used as an ingredient in Meth. Here it is kept behind the counter, but there are no real regulations. I've discussed this with a few different people and apparently Meth use it just not an issue over here. 


What other products are kept behind the counter?
While in the States we have really just began to have prescriptions kept behind the counter that you can buy with the pharmacists approval, over here this process is much more defined. Some things we can't get over the counter such as APAP with codeine (Tylenol #3) and Volteren gel can be purchased if the pharmacist reviews them with you. Ibuprofen is also kept behind the counter. There are other drugs you don't need a prescription or to talk to the pharmacist to get. My two favorite are generic Zovirax (for fever blisters) and generic Flonase (nasal spray for sinuses). They are OTC and very cheap here, which is interesting as they are prescription only and break your bank expensive in the States. 


Is there anything a pharmacist in the UK can do that an American pharmacist can't?
Not really. I've been told pharmacists can immunize (just as we do), but no one seems to do it or show much of a desire to participate. They can run the methadone supervision as mentioned above, but for the most part they can do the same things. They offer MUR (Medication Use Review) to patients yearly and they can get reimbursed by the NHS for up to 400 of these patient counseling sessions. They also participate in smoking cessation and they are required to do weekly follow ups with patients who have started new, higher risk medications for the first four weeks. Pharmacists in the States can do all these things as well, but typically get no reimbursement. The big difference are the techs. Pharmacy techs in the UK get a lot more training then in the States and thus can often legally do the final medication check after the pharmacist has approved the original written prescription. 


Who gets paid more?
We do, by a landslide. 


What do they think about our healthcare system?
Overall, I have gotten the same feed back from everyone I've talked too. No one understands why we let insurance companies bully us. They love that healthcare workers get paid more and that there is very little wait time for most procedures. They do not love how much prescriptions can cost us and they can't even fathom the concept of how much you might have to pay out of pocket to meet your deductible (a concept they've never heard of). In addition, they can't believe how much we pay to go to grad school (thus leaving so many students under mounds of debt). We've often heard people say they don't mind getting healthcare that isn't as speedy as we have because theirs in "free." Ashlyn and I often remind them that their healthcare isn't free, they pay for it in taxes. The NHS is struggling for funding, so slowly more people are moving to a more privatized world. And I'm not saying America is right, because we have healthcare areas that MUST be adjusted, but as of right now I'll keep getting my medical care in the beautiful United States of America, even though I could potentially loose my house and life savings in the process. My favorite people to talk to are those who have lived in both countries. They all have pretty good things to say about America and how we do things. 


This was a very informative week for me. Even though I often just stood around observing and asking questions I was able to help dose pack some medications. I also spent a good time reading the British National Formulary (BNF), their drug reference source and was shocked to find they have antibiotics we don't use and vice versa. I was able to counsel a patient on how to use his new inhaler and as education has always been my favorite thing it felt good to be able to help a little bit. Other highlights of the week included discussing American food and candy (jealousy over how many M&M flavors, free refills and me trying to explain what a biscuit is), the reason everyone should go to Las Vegas, popular television in America and American football. It always amazes me when people find American stuff interesting as I just find it boring. My favorite thing to happen all day was when I told them the morning after pill is branded "Plan B." Over here it has a much more fancy, floral sounding name. Everyone laughed for a quite a while about that one. 


When I left on Friday afternoon I felt I had made some new friends, but I won't miss that 136 bus ride. 

Celluloid Footsteps, London As the Movies Show It (March 24-25)

It's the weekend! Time to site see! Time to do everything we've been wanting to do! Most importantly it's time to sleep in. Ashlyn and I both value our sleep more than food. In fact, I've been waking up to eat breakfast only because I'm stubborn and I've already paid for it. So, this weekend it pretty monopolized by getting copious amounts of beauty rest.

Saturday:

After getting our required rest we were ready to head out into one of the most beautiful days we've seen in London. A day that doesn't require a coat or umbrella. A day that needs sunglasses. It's the kind of day that would have made a skeptic feel the charm London so often hides behind it's gray skies. With this in mind we headed for the famous Portobello Road Market. Located in the heart of the Notting Hill  district it's swanked on all sides by charming pastel town homes and flats. It's the quirky appeal of the place that brought Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant together in the movie by the same name and it's easy to see why. The market runs through the heart of Notting Hill and has around 2,000 booths. It contains everything from antiques to food to clothes. And everything you would never want in between. It only took me a few booths to find a necklace made from a tie that I had to have. It's the perfect way for a girl to wear a tie without looking like I'm in Clueless or going to boarding school. The salesman wanted 8 pounds and as I knew I still had a lot more to take in I felt the need to continue on. Ashlyn then spotted a dessert waffle stand and since I had been harping about how much I wanted one for the last week I got a delicious one covered in dark chocolate. I discovered a few years ago in Brussels that the dessert waffle is far greater than the breakfast waffle. Today's only confirmed this conclusion. After continuing to look around, making it to the very end of the market row and then being so overwhelmed we headed back to the front, Ashlyn was able to haggle the necklace guy down. So I got my tie necklace for 6 pounds and also left with a rainbow colored scarf for about 3 pounds. Not to shabby.

We then hopped on The Tube and headed for King's Cross Station so we could see Platform 9 3/4 from the Harry Potter books and films. Of course, the platform is not real, but they've added a little tourist trap for people like us. When we couldn't find it initially I went to ask an employee and I could tell before I even reached her that she knew exactly what I was looking for. She pointed in the direction with a bit of a laugh. Obviously, this has become a tourist favorite. It was still worth it.

Heading for the Hogwarts Express!

After this it was time to climb out from the underground and look for a bank. As I am a Bank of America customer I can get free cash withdrawals from Barclays banks here in the U.K., so it's nice not getting hit with a $5 fee every time I want to take cash out. After getting my qid (that's what they say instead of bucks), we went to McDonald's for a Coke. McDonald's here is fancy in that they have the most comfortable chairs ever. It's 100 times nicer than the average McDonald's here in the States. It was while sitting at the McDonald's and looking at my map I made the connection that we had been near the British  Library for the past few hours (a place we really wanted to see), but now it was too late in the day to visit. Saved for another day I suppose. At this point we headed towards Blackfriars Pub (recommended by the Rick Steves book). If you are traveling to any European country you shouldn't go with out a Rick Steves item. You won't regret it, as he knows everything. Blackfriars in a Bank pub. There are a lot of Bank pubs in London and they are so named for being housed in old banks. Now that online banking has overtaken the industry it just wasn't cost effective for banks to keep the high rent, old buildings in the heart of the city and so now many of them have been converted to pubs. Great for us, maybe not so great for the people who don't currently online bank. Either way, we had the most precious waiter ever. He even made a group of guys who were just drinking move to a bar table so we could sit and eat in the restaurant area. He'll be added to the list as one of my favorite British men.

On The Tube ride home we meet a group of college aged guys and girls. One of the guys offered us a beer from a shopping bag (we declined), but then I just had to ask him if drinking on the train was legal. He said, no, but no one ever gets stopped for it. Good enough for me. This then lead us into conversation about the best ciders (they agree with me that Aspall takes the cake) and which Tube stops should be avoided for safety. Turns out the girls with them were from Philadelphia or maybe it was Pittsburgh. Either way, I know they were from Pennsylvania. I was really cool to have a train ride home full of conversation and not just awkwardly starting at strangers. For one slightly glimmering moment we had a crew.

Sunday:

Our Sunday goal was to see the Changing of the Guards at Buckingham Palace . The night before I had checked the schedule to make sure we got there at the right time. So we headed towards the palace only to find out there was a charity race going on and the guards would not be changed that day. This kind of disorganization, while I imagine is not was The Sex Pistols were singing about could actually cause Anarchy in the UK when you've lost out on sleep so you can see the dang guards changing.

Buckingham Palace

After watching the runners for a bit (including two people in one of those front and back end of a horse outfits) we walked through St. James's Park to enjoy the nice weather. It's gorgeous with a canal that runs through it. It has a much more natural feel then the average park. It's much more woodlandish. Which is funny since it's flanked on each side by Buckingham Palace and government buildings. 

St. James's Park

From here we headed to the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square. The Gallery is a plethora of paintings from every time period and genre. Of course, they is no way you can see it all and no way you could ever actually know what you are looking at. Luckily, the Rick Steve's book does a tour to help you hit the highlights. For those of you who know me, paintings have never been my favorite art form. I have always preferred artistic expression through the written word and music (and probably because music at some point must be transcribed to paper, in it's own written word form to be remembered). And when you look at enough old paintings you just can't bring yourself to look at another piece commissioned by the Church ages ago. They all start looking the same. Just like how seeing Botticelli's Venus on the Half Shell in Florence opened my mind to art, the room of Monet's just took my breath away. They are so fantastic. Painted with all the colors I would use if art were up to me. But as all good things must come to an end the gallery is not composed solely of Monet. We were also on painting overload. So we went back outside, checked the countdown on the Olympic counter and headed back home. Upon arrival home we learned everything closes early on Sundays, but we have the always faithful Pizza Hut to back us up. 

At the conclusion of my second full week in London I'm starting to really love this city. I know I warmed to the city immediately, but I feel like it has began to warm up to me too. I've never felt unwelcome, even when I was being a hassle because I couldn't count change correctly. There are a few specific things I've already committed to miss as soon as I head home (Pret sandwiches, men's fashion and Aspall cider to name a few) and I know as the time passes I'll only start to grow more fond of this place. I wanted to leave here with a sense of knowing the city and I feel like if I accomplish nothing else while here I will have gained this most important goal. 

How I Became a London Commuter and Other Short Tales (March 22-23)

Thursday:

Today's pharmacy task was a visit to the Royal Pharmaceutical Society in Central London. This is the body that promotes the profession in England, Scotland and Wales. It the equivalent of our American Pharmacists Association. So getting invited to visit is the same as getting invited to the APhA building at the National Mall in Washington D.C. Seems legit. When we told the pre-reg pharmacists we were going there they were shocked, as apparently, they never get the opportunity to go. After hearing this and the fact that "royal" is used in the name we assumed we should dress nice. So we got fancy and headed in that direction. I should add our meeting wasn't scheduled until 2:00 pm, so we were able to have a relaxing day. Upon arriving at the Society we were presented with a locked revolving door. The revolving door is quite possibly the dumbest invention ever known to man. While reading the instructions for which button to press and how to enter and employee came by, went in and then pressed a button on the other side and ushered me in the door. Apparently, this is the equivalent of a major breach in national security as a secretary proceeded to tell him to never let anyone in again. At this same time Ashlyn was trying to come in and she was locked out of the building by said secretary. Finally, upon her release we were able hurry through so we could sit and wait. After a bit the lady we were supposed to meet showed up and lead us to the top level of the building, which basically has the best views ever of Parliament and the Thames. This is what we learned:

• The Royal Pharmaceutical Society is just like APhA, in fact they are basically identical, but with British accents
• We should watch our bags and belongings around Lewisham Hospital (yeah, we'd already figured that out)
• There is a huge increase of Malaria in East London (where we are) due to second and third generations going to visit family in Africa and thinking they don't need to be vaccinated. So, obviously education is a problem here. When they return the NHS (National Healthcare Trust) has to pay for their care. Basically, learning to take care of yourself is a problem everywhere. 

After finishing our meeting we hopped on the Tube and headed for Covent Garden to do a bit of shopping. Our goal was to head into Paperchase (a great stationary store) to get a few cards. This goal was successful. We did a little bit of odds and ends shopping and then headed to the Borough Market in the London Bridge area of town to meet Ashlyn's parents for dinner on their last night in the U.K. Of course, there was confusion about how Ashlyn and I were to find them, but with a little bit of resourcefulness and magic we found Ashlyn's parents and the restaurant. They were also able to provide us with the elusive Southeast London train map, which must be some sort of national secret as Ashlyn and I had looked for one everywhere and never came across one. Upon the bus ride home we didn't hit the "stop" button as it seems like the bus always stops at out stop, so we just thought that was how it worked. WRONG. So now we know. When in doubt, press the stop button. One step closer to being a true Londoner.

Friday:

Oh this day. First, Ashlyn and I had to head back to Kingston-upon-Thames to go to see a lecture given to first year pharmacy students at Kingston University. If you recollect from an earlier blog post, Kingston in out in Zone 6 which is a pleasant way of saying one has to vacate their home at the crack of dawn to get down there. On our last trip to Kingston we arrived significantly earlier than necessary so we made the executive decision to get a little more sleep and leave a little later. BIG mistake. London rush hour has no pattern. It's just works however the hell it wants. So we get to the New Cross Gate station right as the train is about to leave. Ashlyn and I run for it. Ashlyn jumps on. I'm right behind her, except the door closes. So now I'm standing on the platform and she's looking at me through the window of the currently moving Overground line and we're making hand gestures and trying to mouth to each other a meeting spot. It's like a movie. Except not good. So now Ashlyn has to wait for me at the massive Waterloo station and hope she catches me when I get off the later train. This should be easy because we have phones, right? Well it isn't because our phones don't work a billion miles underground. Luckily, we meet and make a train to Kingston, but just in time to make us 30 minutes late to lecture. Thankfully our preceptor was great about the whole situation. It apparently takes a while to become a good London commuter. On that note it's time for a bit of social commentary. It seems that arriving early to things is not the norm. Ashlyn and I originally tried to get everywhere 15 minutes early as that is what we are accustomed too. Whenever we do this here it seems to cause confusion. Showing up 15 minutes late actually seems to be more appreciated as usually no one is ready for you when you arrive. But, back to the pharmacy school lecture. It was very similar to something we would have received our first year. Privacy policies and some basic laws were discussed. After the lecture was over we were able to discuss similarities and differences in the American and U.K. systems with the guest speaker. He was impressed to hear how much smoking has been banned in the U.S., but was quick to point out they are moving in the same direction (currently new legislature is requiring LARGE print warnings be placed on cigarette boxes and all adverts are being eliminated). Adverts in Brit speak for ads. We discussed the push for more clinical education in pharmacy school, non physician prescribing and how the Kaiser medical system here in the United States is something they'd love to copy. Since the University is only two train stops away from a large palace it was suggested that we head that way after class. So off we went.

Hampton Court Palace was built in 1514 for a favorite of King Henry VIII, but as soon as dude become a non favorite Henry took it back for himself. It sits directly on the Thames and the Olympic torch will actually be sent down there river, starting here to Central London for the start of the games. You'd probably like to see some pictures, right? I thought you would, so upon seeing the palace I reached into my bag for my camera and realized my camera was sitting back in my room on my desk. Fabulous. So I'll do my best to describe and then you can fill in the gaps with the Wikipedia link provided above. The front of the palace is in the Tudor style and basically looks like a place where you would expect knights to be walking around. It has a big front courtyard reminiscent of the place Shrek visited when he went to meet Prince Farquad or whatever his name was. It even has a (no longer functioning) wine fountain. King Henry VIII, you might have been onto something. The back of the palace was remodeled in the late 1600s to the Baroque style to look more like Louis XIV's Versailles over in France. So in non historical terms this palace is business in the front, party in the back. Probably the most amazing part about the palace is the gardens. I can only imagine what they must look like in the summer. They are everywhere and in every possible design. Some are well manicured and seem almost as if the ground is serving as a canvas for the flowers of paint. Other areas are made to look more wild and natural. There is even a famous maze. We preceded to go into it, find the center and then get lost trying to get back out. We had to follow/chase an employee to find the exit.

It only seems fitting that this day started with Ashlyn and I separated on the maze of the London transit system and ended with us lost in a medieval maze. We've come full circle.