F E ATU RE S
7
WWW.GUlLFORDIAN.COM
A PIU^R-IMIN
"In London"
Armed with little more than a along the way. Look here each we^
backpack, camera, computer and
bandanna, Maxwell George, former
layout editor for The Guilfordian,
is spending the spring semes
ter traveling by train throughout
Europe. Under the title “A Pilgrim
in Passing," he hopes to find some
sense of the sacred in each stop
for a new anecdote from the road.
To see Max’s intended itinerary and
photos from the trip, and to share
your own feedback on the journey,
check out Guilfordian.com. For more
frequent dispatches and a more
direct connection to Max, hit up his
blog at mbgineurope.tumblr.com.
One of the main reasons I came
to London is to see if all of the
rumors are true. It has been part of
my cynical experience that a place
never really exists until you've
seen it yourself and England, a
place where I'm told they drive
on the left side of the road and
have a period of the day reserved
for drinking tea, just seemed too
ridiculous to be real.
After three days in London I
can tell you in confidence that
everything you've heard is true.
This place is, in one word, British,
in two words, extremely British.
Already I've seen the red dou
ble-decker buses and black taxi
cabs (yes, driving on the left side
of the road), I drank pints of beer
at a pub with a funny name (The
George & Vulture), I looked at an
overly large clock called Big Ben
even though I already knew what
time it was, and I even had tea
‘^time with the Queen (or I should
say, she had tea time with me).
Everyone here has a funny
accent. I didn't think it was true,
really I thought it was too silly to
be true, but it is. Londoners fully
pronounce their t's and add u's
to words like "color." To top it all
off, on my first day here it was
cold and rainy. There is no doubt
that London exists, and man, is it
British.
In seriousness, being here has
been an extraordinary experience
for this American boy. The most
impressionable aspect of my jour
ney so far is the tangible history
here. Old churches are scattered
throughout the brick buildings
that still house 200-year-old uphol
stery shops and pubs that declare
"Brewers since 1666." Everything
here, it seems, is older than my
country.
But London is not an old world
city stuck in its bygone past.
Impressive glass skyscrapers pro
vide the backdrop for the his
toric buildings and postmodern
architecture can be found in even
the most established neighbor
hoods - a building sarcastically
referred to as 'The Gherkin' in the
financial district near Shoreditch
looks more like a seashell than a
cucumber to me. The aged towers
of Parliament are^nly a stone's
throw from the 400-ft-tall London
Eye Ferris wheel.
Shakespeare's Globe Theatre
sits above a graffiti-laden under
pass next to the Thames River.
Having grown up in Charlotte
where much of the history was
paved over as the city gained
banking prominence I am amazed
by the living, breathing awareness
of and appreciation for the past
in London. The only proper com
parison 1 can think of are the old
buildings and churches of Boston,
but even they are hundreds of
years newer than some of the
places here. And there's Camden
Market, a hipster haven of indie
shops and cheap boutiques built
into horse stables that date back
to 1854.
In the midst of all this coexis
tent history and modernism is the
London Underground, one of the
oldest and most used public trans
portation systems in the world.
London is a place where plastic
bags are becoming more scarce
(and many places that do offer
them charge 5 pence per bag) and
paper towels in public restrooms
are all but extinct, as they are in
favor of more sustainable hand
dryers, but recycling still hasn't
caught on in private residences or
public establishments. The juxta
positions are intriguing.
I have much more to explore.
There are ales to be drunk, fish
& chips to be eaten, and lots of
rugby to be watched (1 landed
my visit right in the middle of the
6 Nations tournament, the big
gest stage for rugby in Europe).
Last weekend I was in Manchester
and by the time this reaches your
hands I'll be in Ireland, but I won't
soon forget the extraordinarily
British times I've had in England's
soggy capital.
If you're reading this, I'm miss
ing you. Cheers, mates.
Two alumni teach
healthy college eating
Guilfordian Staff Report
Miriam Biber '02 and Kammaleathahh
Livingstone ^05, are the founders of
Sustainable Health Choices, a new-age
health clinic which combines the powers
of massage, diet counseling, and even
the Japenese art of Reiki to promote "bal
ance and empowerment in life."
"When I was (at Guilford) it was chal
lenging (to eat healthy) because of our
food service," said Biber. "I've heard
good things about Meriwether. It's defi
nitely a step up from Sodexho."
On Feb. 11, they came to the Shore
kitchen to hold a cooking class about eat
ing healthy on-the-go ... without break
ing the bank. -
It All Starts with Breakfast
Everyone knows that eating breakfast
is the most important meal of the day.
This is elementary stuff, like knowing
that turkey makes you tired. But for
students on the go, it's easier said than
done.
"Honestly, I can't remember the last
time I actually had a proper breakfast
during the school week," said first-year
Imir Paz. "
Biber and Livingstone suggest the
following as some examples of quick,
healthy breakfasts:
rYogurt, fruit and nut combo
-Smoothies
-Whole grain waffles
-Whole grain cereal
And It All Ends with Dinner
"My first year at Guilford we lived in
the basement," said Biber, "and we used
to make Ramen in our coffee-maker!"
It's also expensive to cook a healthy
dinner, and even the gurus used to be in
that mind set.
"And I used to drop a lot of cash on
veggie burgers," said Biber.
But it doesn't have to be that way. Take
some tips from the champs:
-Make a huge pot of soup on Sunday
night and freeze in batches for later
weeks.
-Buy whole-wheat pasta over regular,
white pasta. It takes the same time to
cook, costs about the same, and is much
better for you.
-Make your own veggie-burgers! Biber
and Livingstone made some ciuring their
cooking class out of kidney be^ns, rolled
oats, mushrooms, onions,\ carrots, bell
pepper, garlic, tomato paste, and salt.
ANYTHINC THEY DELIVER
Quick Tips from Biber:
-"Things in the green family (kale,
spinach, collards, etc.) provide the most
nutritional bang for your buck." And
steaming them is easy as could be!
-"Millet is a great grain, because it is
easily digestable." Millet is also high in
b-Vitamins.
-"It's good to grind flax seeds before
you use them.
"They're so small it's really hard to
digest them, so they'll come out whole if
you don't grind them up."
iiW! iimmsi.at Jiiaiisvs mtstm