I will see Pete in 12 hours. I am ridiculously excited about this. But I will warn you, I probably won't blog until after he's gone. I might be able to put a few pictures up here and there, but don't assume that I've fallen off the end of the Earth if you don't hear from me until Wednesday. I'm so excited to give him a taste of London. Honestly, London isn't the most romantic city in the world, but I know this is going to be an incredibly romantic weekend sightseeing and hitting up pubs and concerts with him. Rain or no rain, this is going to be an incredible weekend and start to next week.
Of course, we will be staying up late to watch the Superbowl on Sunday, which I believe will be at 11:30 p.m. here. Oh well. I will still get a couple of hours in before work. As an American, it is my obligation to watch this game, and luckily Imperial College will leave their pubs open to cater to its American exchange students. Hooray!
Tomorrow, I'm sending Pete on a scavenger hunt while I'm at work in hopes that this will keep him preoccupied so he doesn't go to sleep. I know, probably a little mean, but I just don't want him to mess up his sleep schedule right when he gets here. I can't give away some of the stuff on the list, but I think it'll keep him busy. Hopefully he doesn't get too pissed off at me for making him more exhausted than he already is.
The past few days have been nice and low key. I had a great night on Tuesday when I celebrated my friend, Mary Elyse's 21st birthday at a pretty cool club in Piccadilly called TigerTiger. It was pretty tame (pun intended) on a Tuesday, but you can tell it's a crazy time on weekends. I had a great time hanging out with some girls I hadn't really spent time with since I've been here.
Yesterday we visited the Tate Britain, a beautiful art museum comprised mostly of British artists' works. You'd think I'd be museum-ed out by now, but honestly, each one is so different that it doesn't bore me at all. Plus, it's winter still here, so there's not a whole lot to do outside during the colder days.
Last night, Pam and I attended a public forum, which was set up to discuss the media coverage of the Madeline McCann case. We went for our International Issues and Reporting class, and I'm really glad I went because I got to witness the British press functioning right before me. Here's the story: Madeline was a 5-year-old kidnapped while vacationing in Portugal with her family last May, and she has yet to be found. Her story has been a year-long media sensation, causing a lot of debate about how the media's covered it, what the PR spin on it is and who is to blame. This was my first quasi-press conference I've attended, and there were parts of it that entirely shocked me. Some people came there to play the blame game only. They adamently accused the girl's parents of killing her and collecting money donated to her fund. The thing is, no one knows who's to blame. There are no hard facts. To go in there to a conference that is focused on the media's coverage and behavior and then turn it around and start pointing fingers without any evidence is ridiculous. These people got a lot of "boos" from the majority of the people attending. Needless to say, it turned into quite a lively experience, which I really got a kick out of. I feel bad saying that, since this girl's disappearance is at the core of the issue, but some of these people were so tactless. I know this rowdiness isn't typical at all of British media or citizens, but it was still interesting to see all the different perspectives and attitutudes people have on the issue.
I was not interested in pointing fingers, but in the media's coverage of the issue. I could go on and on about the lack of journalistic principles in this case--how the incessant coverage has turned this little girl's sad case into almost celeb gossip; how stories and accusations in the press go unchecked; how sensationalism runs rampant--but really it's not worth it. I'm kind of jaded about the whole journalism thing. I guess it's good I'm going into advertising.
All right, I'm out for the night. I need to get some stuff ready for Pete's arrival tomorrow. I'll try to keep you posted throughout the weekend, but if not, you'll hear from me Wednesday or Thursday!
Thursday 31 January 2008
Tuesday 29 January 2008
My Goals
Once again, I am able to access my blog from my computer. Hooray! So, as I'm riding this wave of good luck, I uploaded some pictures of the Albert Memorial and V&A visits on Sunday.
Has spring sprung in London?
Check out the Albert Memorial on a sunny day! (Sorry if it's on it's side right now...I can't get it to rotate.)
Each corner of the Albert Memorial has a statue that represents the corners of the British Empire at its height. This is for Asia.
This was for Africa.
The Americas.
And Europe.
I thought it might be nice to actually show me in a picture on occasion.
The front entrance to the V&A Museum. It is a gorgeous Victorian building.
The V&A was the first museum where we could actually take pictures inside. There was an incredible sculpture gallery in one of the hallways.
Good ol' Albert.
A beautiful glass chandelier in the front foyer of the V&A. You have to love the juxtaposition of new and old.
The past two days have been fairly quiet as we kind of settle into this work-school routine. Mondays and Tuesdays are definitely the longest days. I go straight from work at 5 to class at Imperial College at 6. Monday's class actually starts at 6:30, allowing us a little time to change out of our work clothes and grab a bite to eat. It is difficult however going from a 6-8 hour workday straight to a 2-3 hour class period. Classes aren't too difficult as long as you pay attention and do the work required. The most difficult aspect is actually remaining attentive/awake during them.
I guess I really haven't explained my classes yet. I am only enrolled in two this semester. My internship accounts for the other 6 credit hours, leaving me with 12 hours total. On Mondays, I have International Issues and Reporting with a professor from Mizzou who is over here for the semester. We basically study the differences between British and American media and try to look at things from a global scale. On Tuesday is our British Life and Culture class, in which we have a new speaker come in to discuss a particular historical or cultural subject with us every week. Then the next day, we go on a fieldtrip pertaining to that subject. Tonight we had a guy come in from the Tate Britain and British Museum and discuss the Golden Age of British Art, and tomorrow we will visit the Tate Britain. Next week we're traveling to Stratford-Upon-Avon and Warwick to get a deeper look into Shakespearian literature. It's pretty interesting stuff. We have to write a weekly paper about our experience for that week, but overall, it's not too bad and I enjoy the class...minus the timing.
In last night's class, we had some Mizzou grads who are now living and working in London come and speak with us about their experiences. It was really cool hearing their stories and what it's like being an American-born actually settling here. One of the girls is a photojournalist and I was particularly inspired by some of the things she has accomplished and what she's setting out to accomplish. She and her husband are going to start a global trek to photograph and report on development projects of indigenous tribes all over the world. It's quite an undertaking, but it was cool hearing about all the places they'll go and their goals in the trip. I know it's kind of corny and cliché, but it made me realize that the now and the next few years is the time in my life to have these horizon-expanding experinces and travel. I can't do stuff like this in a decade when I have kids and a demanding job. So, I created a little list of my goals to accomplish while I'm here:
1. When in London, do as the Londoners do. I love the amazing sightseeing opportunities, but I also want to take time out to hang out at the library or on a park bench just reading, catch a football (yes, I mean soccer) game at local pubs and find a church to attend regularly. For the next few months, I want to make this my home and feel what it's like to be a citizen over here. Right now, I'm just an American looking in. And I know that this won't completely change by the time I leave, but I'd like to have a little more insight and perspective on things than when I arrived.
2. Make British friends. This kind of goes along with #1. I feel like I won't get as much as I could out of the experience if all I interact with is Americans. I am lucky that I get to work alongside Brits, but I'd like to make it a social activity soon. I plan on hitting up some good pub nights at the Imperial College Union and see if I can strike up some relationships with people my age. I just need to get over the awkwardness that I have now and do it.
3. Travel. This is a given. But I don't know when I'll be back here, if ever. I get stressed about the money issue, as I should, but I really don't want to limit myself from seeing some of Europe's most incredible sights because I'm worried I won't be able to eat or drink at a pub the rest of my semester. The truth is, I can make pitas and peanut butter go a long way if it means I get a weekend in Prague or Vienna. I'm willing to make the sacrifice.
These sum it up for now, but I'm sure I'll add to the list as time goes on.
It's a bit late here, so I'm signing off for now. Cheers!
Has spring sprung in London?
Check out the Albert Memorial on a sunny day! (Sorry if it's on it's side right now...I can't get it to rotate.)
Each corner of the Albert Memorial has a statue that represents the corners of the British Empire at its height. This is for Asia.
This was for Africa.
The Americas.
And Europe.
I thought it might be nice to actually show me in a picture on occasion.
The front entrance to the V&A Museum. It is a gorgeous Victorian building.
The V&A was the first museum where we could actually take pictures inside. There was an incredible sculpture gallery in one of the hallways.
Good ol' Albert.
A beautiful glass chandelier in the front foyer of the V&A. You have to love the juxtaposition of new and old.
The past two days have been fairly quiet as we kind of settle into this work-school routine. Mondays and Tuesdays are definitely the longest days. I go straight from work at 5 to class at Imperial College at 6. Monday's class actually starts at 6:30, allowing us a little time to change out of our work clothes and grab a bite to eat. It is difficult however going from a 6-8 hour workday straight to a 2-3 hour class period. Classes aren't too difficult as long as you pay attention and do the work required. The most difficult aspect is actually remaining attentive/awake during them.
I guess I really haven't explained my classes yet. I am only enrolled in two this semester. My internship accounts for the other 6 credit hours, leaving me with 12 hours total. On Mondays, I have International Issues and Reporting with a professor from Mizzou who is over here for the semester. We basically study the differences between British and American media and try to look at things from a global scale. On Tuesday is our British Life and Culture class, in which we have a new speaker come in to discuss a particular historical or cultural subject with us every week. Then the next day, we go on a fieldtrip pertaining to that subject. Tonight we had a guy come in from the Tate Britain and British Museum and discuss the Golden Age of British Art, and tomorrow we will visit the Tate Britain. Next week we're traveling to Stratford-Upon-Avon and Warwick to get a deeper look into Shakespearian literature. It's pretty interesting stuff. We have to write a weekly paper about our experience for that week, but overall, it's not too bad and I enjoy the class...minus the timing.
In last night's class, we had some Mizzou grads who are now living and working in London come and speak with us about their experiences. It was really cool hearing their stories and what it's like being an American-born actually settling here. One of the girls is a photojournalist and I was particularly inspired by some of the things she has accomplished and what she's setting out to accomplish. She and her husband are going to start a global trek to photograph and report on development projects of indigenous tribes all over the world. It's quite an undertaking, but it was cool hearing about all the places they'll go and their goals in the trip. I know it's kind of corny and cliché, but it made me realize that the now and the next few years is the time in my life to have these horizon-expanding experinces and travel. I can't do stuff like this in a decade when I have kids and a demanding job. So, I created a little list of my goals to accomplish while I'm here:
1. When in London, do as the Londoners do. I love the amazing sightseeing opportunities, but I also want to take time out to hang out at the library or on a park bench just reading, catch a football (yes, I mean soccer) game at local pubs and find a church to attend regularly. For the next few months, I want to make this my home and feel what it's like to be a citizen over here. Right now, I'm just an American looking in. And I know that this won't completely change by the time I leave, but I'd like to have a little more insight and perspective on things than when I arrived.
2. Make British friends. This kind of goes along with #1. I feel like I won't get as much as I could out of the experience if all I interact with is Americans. I am lucky that I get to work alongside Brits, but I'd like to make it a social activity soon. I plan on hitting up some good pub nights at the Imperial College Union and see if I can strike up some relationships with people my age. I just need to get over the awkwardness that I have now and do it.
3. Travel. This is a given. But I don't know when I'll be back here, if ever. I get stressed about the money issue, as I should, but I really don't want to limit myself from seeing some of Europe's most incredible sights because I'm worried I won't be able to eat or drink at a pub the rest of my semester. The truth is, I can make pitas and peanut butter go a long way if it means I get a weekend in Prague or Vienna. I'm willing to make the sacrifice.
These sum it up for now, but I'm sure I'll add to the list as time goes on.
It's a bit late here, so I'm signing off for now. Cheers!
Sunday 27 January 2008
A run in the park
Hooray! My computer is actually letting me use it to access and update my blog today. It's obviously a little fickle, but I'll roll with it.
Today was yet another sunny day in Londontown. I woke up a little slowly and took a great run up to Kensington Gardens with Sarah. It's nice to have a running buddy that I can run with during the weekends. Plus, she's all about doing toning exercises and ab work, which I absolutely hate but know that I must do. So it's nice to have someone who holds me accountable on such matters. The Gardens were even more gorgeous than yesterday. It draws absolutely everyone and every dog in the city. It seems that even if you are a city person, you still need a little bit of nature in your life. And if you want a pretty slice of nature, London parks do the trick. I have yet to stumble across an unkempt park.
Pam and I joke that we're on a perpetual date. Our museum visits and strolls in the park seem like perfect date activities. I'm developing a good list of things to do when Pete gets here based on Pam and my "romantic" sightseeing thus far. Today, we checked out the Victoria and Albert (V&A) Museum, which is what I call "culture in a box." The museum houses an incredible collection of fashion, art and furniture throughout the last few centuries. As females, we naturally checked out the fashion exhibit and saw a lot of couture gowns from Versace, Dior and even Juicy Couture (gross). There was even a dress that Princess Diana wore on display. I'm not a huge clothing fiend, but it was a very pretty exhibit and cool to see how styles have changed through the ages. I honestly can't believe women's waists used to be so restricted by corsets and all their other ridiculous undergarments! There were a ton of small-waisted dresses on display and thinking about how these women barely even breathe in them made me gasp for air a bit.
Tonight's been pretty chill. I decided that since I'm "studying" abroad, I might actually want to do my schoolwork for my classes this week. They both are very manageable classes, but I can't get too negligent and let the work slide.
After my third week in London, I can say that I'm viewing things in a lot more positive light. My first few weeks were a little rough with the culture shock and a little bit of home/Pete-sickness, but I think I'm getting the hang of this city. I know that I would not want to settle in the big city, but I think small doses of it like this are good for a person. It definitely is a nice change of perspective. I can see why people would like the hustle and bustle and just the vivacity of it all, but I like my yard and a little more space to spread out a bit. But that's just me.
Getting into a routine has really helped me out with the adjustment too. My internship is great, and it takes up so much of my time that the days fly by. I've also been pleasantly surprised that with six girls living in a fairly tight place and only one bathroom, we've been doing all right. We all leave in the morning at slightly different times, so sharing the bathroom/mirrors hasn't been too bad. I say this now, but hopefully it doesn't change. I know at the end I will be happy to get back to my spacious personal bathroom at my apartment complex. Yes, I'm spoiled, but at least I appreciate what I have, right?
Hope everyone had a great weekend and has a great start to the week! Thinking about you...
Today was yet another sunny day in Londontown. I woke up a little slowly and took a great run up to Kensington Gardens with Sarah. It's nice to have a running buddy that I can run with during the weekends. Plus, she's all about doing toning exercises and ab work, which I absolutely hate but know that I must do. So it's nice to have someone who holds me accountable on such matters. The Gardens were even more gorgeous than yesterday. It draws absolutely everyone and every dog in the city. It seems that even if you are a city person, you still need a little bit of nature in your life. And if you want a pretty slice of nature, London parks do the trick. I have yet to stumble across an unkempt park.
Pam and I joke that we're on a perpetual date. Our museum visits and strolls in the park seem like perfect date activities. I'm developing a good list of things to do when Pete gets here based on Pam and my "romantic" sightseeing thus far. Today, we checked out the Victoria and Albert (V&A) Museum, which is what I call "culture in a box." The museum houses an incredible collection of fashion, art and furniture throughout the last few centuries. As females, we naturally checked out the fashion exhibit and saw a lot of couture gowns from Versace, Dior and even Juicy Couture (gross). There was even a dress that Princess Diana wore on display. I'm not a huge clothing fiend, but it was a very pretty exhibit and cool to see how styles have changed through the ages. I honestly can't believe women's waists used to be so restricted by corsets and all their other ridiculous undergarments! There were a ton of small-waisted dresses on display and thinking about how these women barely even breathe in them made me gasp for air a bit.
Tonight's been pretty chill. I decided that since I'm "studying" abroad, I might actually want to do my schoolwork for my classes this week. They both are very manageable classes, but I can't get too negligent and let the work slide.
After my third week in London, I can say that I'm viewing things in a lot more positive light. My first few weeks were a little rough with the culture shock and a little bit of home/Pete-sickness, but I think I'm getting the hang of this city. I know that I would not want to settle in the big city, but I think small doses of it like this are good for a person. It definitely is a nice change of perspective. I can see why people would like the hustle and bustle and just the vivacity of it all, but I like my yard and a little more space to spread out a bit. But that's just me.
Getting into a routine has really helped me out with the adjustment too. My internship is great, and it takes up so much of my time that the days fly by. I've also been pleasantly surprised that with six girls living in a fairly tight place and only one bathroom, we've been doing all right. We all leave in the morning at slightly different times, so sharing the bathroom/mirrors hasn't been too bad. I say this now, but hopefully it doesn't change. I know at the end I will be happy to get back to my spacious personal bathroom at my apartment complex. Yes, I'm spoiled, but at least I appreciate what I have, right?
Hope everyone had a great weekend and has a great start to the week! Thinking about you...
Saturday 26 January 2008
For some unknown but highly predictable reason given my problems with computers, I cannot update my blog from my own laptop. I can however choose any other computer in the world and update it from there. I have no clue how this works. Luckily, I have generous flatmates and a computer in our flat, so this really isn’t a problem. The only problem that does affect you is that I can’t upload pictures. However, I will attach links to my photo albums on Facebook as I go, so feel to always click on those links to see new pictures. Like I’ve said before, even if you are not a Facebook user, you will be able to go straight to the photos. I’m sorry if this causes problems for you all. E-mail me if you still can’t see the photos.
Moving on. Other than the above dilemma, it’s been a great start to the weekend. Yesterday, one of my fellow interns, Sarah, and I were put in charge of purchasing prizes for contest winners. We spent the afternoon in some of the hottest stores in all of London, buying designer brands that we would never be able to afford ourselves. Well, Sarah who’s going in to law, may be able to. But she’s generously offered to buy me something Marc Jacobs or even better, Fendi, when she makes it big. We checked out Selfridges a designer name mecca and shopped up and down Oxford Street. It was a fun afternoon getting to see the shopping that London has to offer. Obviously, my budget doesn’t allow for much of it. But window shopping is always free.
For the second night in the row, I was asked to go to a movie screening. Sarah and I got to view Christina Ricci’s new movie, Penelope. It was incredibly cute. I think it’s out in the states, but I thought it was rent-worthy for the future. The screening was in the middle of Soho, and afterwards, we got a bit lost trying to find the nearest tube. Luckily, Londoners have been more than helpful with directions, especially when they see two confused girls, heads bent over a map.
My roomies and I were all exhausted after our first week at work, so we spent a relaxed evening at the wine bar.
I slept in late today and awoke to yet another sunny day. I think there’s actually been more sun this week than rain. Hopefully this streak lasts a bit longer. Pam and I went down to a local Laundromat and did a load each. It’s a lot more expensive here, so we opted to bring the wet clothes home and drape them over hangers and vents instead of paying for the dryers. I ended up handwashing socks and underwear since I’ll have to wash those pretty frequently. But it feels so good to finally have some clean clothes. After a couple of weeks, you start to feel a little gross. I’m sure you all find infrequent laundry trips kind of gross too. But when you’re a poor student, you have to rely on a lot of Febreeze and handwashing.
Pam and I spent the remainder of our afternoon in Kensington, popping into shops on Kensington High Street and exploring Kensington Gardens. I got some fabulous pictures of Kensington Palace and the Gardens that you can access by clicking here. Once again, the photos hardly do it justice. Pam and I can’t wait to come back when the flowers are in full bloom in a couple of months. Today was still a fabulous day to explore it all though. The sun was shining and it was warm enough that Pam was comfortable even without a coat. We cut across a couple of cute backroads to the Kensington Public Library where we are registered through Imperial College. I’m trying to get in the habit of reading more often so I checked out a book by Philippa Gregory, who’s novel The Other Boleyn Girl is being made into a movie with Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johanson. You get some time to read during your commute on the Tube, so hopefully I’ll get a few books checked off my list while I’m here.
Not really sure what our plans for tonight are. Pam and I might join Sarah and a few others down at a club in Piccadilly for a night of dancing. I’m not a huge club person but I guess while I’m here, I should try to enjoy the nightlife. I’m much more of a laidback pub girl, I’ve decided.
Pete will finally arrive here on Friday morning. He’s staying in a hostel down the road from me for about 5 days before he travels down to Spain for his semester in Pamplona. I’m so excited to give him a tour of what I know of the town. We always have a blast together no matter what we do, so I know we’re going to have an amazing few days. He has demanded that we watch the Superbowl (huge Pats fan), so I know that’s one of the things on our agenda. I can’t wait to see him again.
Moving on. Other than the above dilemma, it’s been a great start to the weekend. Yesterday, one of my fellow interns, Sarah, and I were put in charge of purchasing prizes for contest winners. We spent the afternoon in some of the hottest stores in all of London, buying designer brands that we would never be able to afford ourselves. Well, Sarah who’s going in to law, may be able to. But she’s generously offered to buy me something Marc Jacobs or even better, Fendi, when she makes it big. We checked out Selfridges a designer name mecca and shopped up and down Oxford Street. It was a fun afternoon getting to see the shopping that London has to offer. Obviously, my budget doesn’t allow for much of it. But window shopping is always free.
For the second night in the row, I was asked to go to a movie screening. Sarah and I got to view Christina Ricci’s new movie, Penelope. It was incredibly cute. I think it’s out in the states, but I thought it was rent-worthy for the future. The screening was in the middle of Soho, and afterwards, we got a bit lost trying to find the nearest tube. Luckily, Londoners have been more than helpful with directions, especially when they see two confused girls, heads bent over a map.
My roomies and I were all exhausted after our first week at work, so we spent a relaxed evening at the wine bar.
I slept in late today and awoke to yet another sunny day. I think there’s actually been more sun this week than rain. Hopefully this streak lasts a bit longer. Pam and I went down to a local Laundromat and did a load each. It’s a lot more expensive here, so we opted to bring the wet clothes home and drape them over hangers and vents instead of paying for the dryers. I ended up handwashing socks and underwear since I’ll have to wash those pretty frequently. But it feels so good to finally have some clean clothes. After a couple of weeks, you start to feel a little gross. I’m sure you all find infrequent laundry trips kind of gross too. But when you’re a poor student, you have to rely on a lot of Febreeze and handwashing.
Pam and I spent the remainder of our afternoon in Kensington, popping into shops on Kensington High Street and exploring Kensington Gardens. I got some fabulous pictures of Kensington Palace and the Gardens that you can access by clicking here. Once again, the photos hardly do it justice. Pam and I can’t wait to come back when the flowers are in full bloom in a couple of months. Today was still a fabulous day to explore it all though. The sun was shining and it was warm enough that Pam was comfortable even without a coat. We cut across a couple of cute backroads to the Kensington Public Library where we are registered through Imperial College. I’m trying to get in the habit of reading more often so I checked out a book by Philippa Gregory, who’s novel The Other Boleyn Girl is being made into a movie with Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johanson. You get some time to read during your commute on the Tube, so hopefully I’ll get a few books checked off my list while I’m here.
Not really sure what our plans for tonight are. Pam and I might join Sarah and a few others down at a club in Piccadilly for a night of dancing. I’m not a huge club person but I guess while I’m here, I should try to enjoy the nightlife. I’m much more of a laidback pub girl, I’ve decided.
Pete will finally arrive here on Friday morning. He’s staying in a hostel down the road from me for about 5 days before he travels down to Spain for his semester in Pamplona. I’m so excited to give him a tour of what I know of the town. We always have a blast together no matter what we do, so I know we’re going to have an amazing few days. He has demanded that we watch the Superbowl (huge Pats fan), so I know that’s one of the things on our agenda. I can’t wait to see him again.
Friday 25 January 2008
Of big rocks and the big screen
Hello again from London!
I’ve had a really great week thus far. I think I’m starting to get a hold of this London thing. Even the weather isn’t getting to me as much, which most of you know can be a large determinant of my mood. I think an e-mail from my brother earlier this week helped put things in perspective. From the words of Thom:
“I must say that weather wise, you are not missing much. The past ever since you left the weather has repeated this cycle every three of four days: Day 1: "Arctic" cold front moves through starting mid-day to early afternoon. Lots of freezing rain, sleet, snow (shitty kind, not enough to do anything on). Day 2: Starts out with a wind chill of -12 to -8 with wind blowing from the North and a temp of 4. High might get to 12 or 13 with a wind chill of 2. Day 3: same as Day 2. Day 4: is a nice toasty day with a high around 25...maybe 30, and no wind.”
Suddenly, rain and 50 degrees doesn’t seem so bad. Thanks, Thom!
Wednesday was the eventful day to Bath and Stonehenge. Stonehenge is as it was last time, a formation of rocks. To go in and expect anything extravagant will leave you disappointed. But when you consider the sheer magnitude of the rocks and the mysterious purpose behind them is when it becomes interesting. There are 52 “blue stones” in the formation, which are huge stones only to be found in the Preseli Mountains in Wales. These ancient people would have had to transport them over sea and land over hundreds of miles to get them where they are today. Dad sent me an interesting link before I went to show the ingenuity of humans. Check is out: http://j-walkblog.com/index.php?/weblog/posts/moving_big_rocks. This is not at all how Stonehenge was created, but it was still pretty cool to watch.
You might be wondering what Stonehenge’s purpose was. Honestly, most don’t know exactly. Probably some sort of spiritual altar as well as a calendar to predict the next eclipse. The stones are also arranged so that at the entrance to the configuration was perfectly aligned with the summer solstice sunrise. Summer solstice is the only day where visitors can actually go up and walk within the stones. You just have to deal with all the druids and hippies that are there as well.
I didn’t know that there are so many other henges and ancient burials in the area, but there are literally thousands. You drive through the countryside of Britain and you see these round bumps in the middle of farmer’s fields that are ancient burial plots. It’s absolutely incredible how much history from thousands of years ago lies just a couple of feet beneath the ground.
Bath was an incredible city. I unfortunately passed out on the bus between Stonehenge and Bath so I didn’t hear all that the guide had to say about the city, so I didn’t hear all it’s historical significance. It was built on England’s only natural hot springs, nestled in the middle of some nice green hills. The Romans erected an elaborate bathhouse over the spring thousands of years ago. Since then, it has been an incredible archaeological find in the middle of this cute city. We were able to go into the Roman bath house and walk around, looking at ruins of the house and temple and taking pictures right next to the ancient, steaming bath. It was extremely fun. I even got to drink the Bath water, which was warm and very weird tasting. I don’t recommend it. But you’re only in Bath once I guess. See pictures.
The city itself was actually extremely cute. It is mixture of Victorian and gorgeous Georgian architecture. My favorite part was The Circus. A huge roundabout where three sets of Georgian apartments, all identical in appearance lined the streets. A nice little park was in the middle of it. It was quintessential Europe. So much so that I made Pam take a picture of it (my camera’s batteries died after Stonehenge, of course). Speaking of pictures, Pam has a TON of them from Wednesday, so please check out this link to her Facebook picture site (yes, even non-Facebook users can do this), so see her pictures. Go to http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2230971&l=66618&id=15919578.
Pam and I ate at a cute Mediterranean café and enjoyed some oh-so-terrible-but-so-delicious-you’d-be-an-idiot-not-to-buy-and-eat-it local fudge. We also stumbled across a Jane Austen museum, which was very, very exciting, especially after just watching Pride & Prejudice. We couldn’t go into the museum, but I enjoyed the gift shop. Jane Austen grew up in Bath, although she hated it because during her time, all the cities were black and dusty from coal. It’s no wonder all of her novels take place in more rural settings.
Work Thursday was good. I found out that Lillian will be out for the rest of the week, but I still kept busy with other projects. I also feel so much more comfortable with all my co-workers and it seems like the trust the interns with accomplishing work and projects. The people at Emap are incredibly fun to work with. I lucked out so much.
The best part of my day was being selected to see the screening of Cloverfield with my flatmate and fellow intern, Alex. Her boss is the film director, and gets access to all new movie screenings. Cloverfield is already out back in the States, but it comes out in a couple weeks over here. I was the lucky one to tag along and enjoy a fabulous appetizer and wine hour before the screening. I’d been pumped about the movie for a while now, and it met my expectations. As a 1 ½ hour film, it felt like 20 minutes. That’s how into it you managed to get. It was an absolutely jarring experience, told from the viewpoint of home camera recorder. But it was an incredible take on it. I definitely recommend the movie for those wanting a thriller, but don’t expect a happy ending. Pete ended up seeing it today too, so we have a lot to discuss. He already picked up on a few things that I missed entirely, so I’m excited for our talk.
Speaking of Pete, allow me to brag for a couple of minutes. He applied for a summer internship at ESPN. In his application, he was honest and told them that he’d be in Spain until the end of June, knowing this would probably affect their decision since they generally want a 12-week intern. He got a good letter back from one of the big honchos saying that if it hadn’t been for Spain, he would have had the internship without a doubt. Everyone who read his clips was greatly impressed and selected him as their top choice. They advised him to apply for an internship for fall or spring, which I know he’ll choose to do. I’m so proud and absolutely ecstatic for him. He’s a great sports journalist and it was nice having people from ESPN, the epitome of sports journalism, to commend him on his work. Sure, the internship may pull us apart for a couple of months again, but it’s entirely worth it. We can do the long-distance thing, especially at this stage in our lives.
I need to run to work, and don’t have enough time to upload pictures. I’ll get them up as soon as possible. In the meantime, take a look at Pam’s fantastic album documenting our Bath and Stonehenge adventures.
Cheers!
I’ve had a really great week thus far. I think I’m starting to get a hold of this London thing. Even the weather isn’t getting to me as much, which most of you know can be a large determinant of my mood. I think an e-mail from my brother earlier this week helped put things in perspective. From the words of Thom:
“I must say that weather wise, you are not missing much. The past ever since you left the weather has repeated this cycle every three of four days: Day 1: "Arctic" cold front moves through starting mid-day to early afternoon. Lots of freezing rain, sleet, snow (shitty kind, not enough to do anything on). Day 2: Starts out with a wind chill of -12 to -8 with wind blowing from the North and a temp of 4. High might get to 12 or 13 with a wind chill of 2. Day 3: same as Day 2. Day 4: is a nice toasty day with a high around 25...maybe 30, and no wind.”
Suddenly, rain and 50 degrees doesn’t seem so bad. Thanks, Thom!
Wednesday was the eventful day to Bath and Stonehenge. Stonehenge is as it was last time, a formation of rocks. To go in and expect anything extravagant will leave you disappointed. But when you consider the sheer magnitude of the rocks and the mysterious purpose behind them is when it becomes interesting. There are 52 “blue stones” in the formation, which are huge stones only to be found in the Preseli Mountains in Wales. These ancient people would have had to transport them over sea and land over hundreds of miles to get them where they are today. Dad sent me an interesting link before I went to show the ingenuity of humans. Check is out: http://j-walkblog.com/index.php?/weblog/posts/moving_big_rocks. This is not at all how Stonehenge was created, but it was still pretty cool to watch.
You might be wondering what Stonehenge’s purpose was. Honestly, most don’t know exactly. Probably some sort of spiritual altar as well as a calendar to predict the next eclipse. The stones are also arranged so that at the entrance to the configuration was perfectly aligned with the summer solstice sunrise. Summer solstice is the only day where visitors can actually go up and walk within the stones. You just have to deal with all the druids and hippies that are there as well.
I didn’t know that there are so many other henges and ancient burials in the area, but there are literally thousands. You drive through the countryside of Britain and you see these round bumps in the middle of farmer’s fields that are ancient burial plots. It’s absolutely incredible how much history from thousands of years ago lies just a couple of feet beneath the ground.
Bath was an incredible city. I unfortunately passed out on the bus between Stonehenge and Bath so I didn’t hear all that the guide had to say about the city, so I didn’t hear all it’s historical significance. It was built on England’s only natural hot springs, nestled in the middle of some nice green hills. The Romans erected an elaborate bathhouse over the spring thousands of years ago. Since then, it has been an incredible archaeological find in the middle of this cute city. We were able to go into the Roman bath house and walk around, looking at ruins of the house and temple and taking pictures right next to the ancient, steaming bath. It was extremely fun. I even got to drink the Bath water, which was warm and very weird tasting. I don’t recommend it. But you’re only in Bath once I guess. See pictures.
The city itself was actually extremely cute. It is mixture of Victorian and gorgeous Georgian architecture. My favorite part was The Circus. A huge roundabout where three sets of Georgian apartments, all identical in appearance lined the streets. A nice little park was in the middle of it. It was quintessential Europe. So much so that I made Pam take a picture of it (my camera’s batteries died after Stonehenge, of course). Speaking of pictures, Pam has a TON of them from Wednesday, so please check out this link to her Facebook picture site (yes, even non-Facebook users can do this), so see her pictures. Go to http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2230971&l=66618&id=15919578.
Pam and I ate at a cute Mediterranean café and enjoyed some oh-so-terrible-but-so-delicious-you’d-be-an-idiot-not-to-buy-and-eat-it local fudge. We also stumbled across a Jane Austen museum, which was very, very exciting, especially after just watching Pride & Prejudice. We couldn’t go into the museum, but I enjoyed the gift shop. Jane Austen grew up in Bath, although she hated it because during her time, all the cities were black and dusty from coal. It’s no wonder all of her novels take place in more rural settings.
Work Thursday was good. I found out that Lillian will be out for the rest of the week, but I still kept busy with other projects. I also feel so much more comfortable with all my co-workers and it seems like the trust the interns with accomplishing work and projects. The people at Emap are incredibly fun to work with. I lucked out so much.
The best part of my day was being selected to see the screening of Cloverfield with my flatmate and fellow intern, Alex. Her boss is the film director, and gets access to all new movie screenings. Cloverfield is already out back in the States, but it comes out in a couple weeks over here. I was the lucky one to tag along and enjoy a fabulous appetizer and wine hour before the screening. I’d been pumped about the movie for a while now, and it met my expectations. As a 1 ½ hour film, it felt like 20 minutes. That’s how into it you managed to get. It was an absolutely jarring experience, told from the viewpoint of home camera recorder. But it was an incredible take on it. I definitely recommend the movie for those wanting a thriller, but don’t expect a happy ending. Pete ended up seeing it today too, so we have a lot to discuss. He already picked up on a few things that I missed entirely, so I’m excited for our talk.
Speaking of Pete, allow me to brag for a couple of minutes. He applied for a summer internship at ESPN. In his application, he was honest and told them that he’d be in Spain until the end of June, knowing this would probably affect their decision since they generally want a 12-week intern. He got a good letter back from one of the big honchos saying that if it hadn’t been for Spain, he would have had the internship without a doubt. Everyone who read his clips was greatly impressed and selected him as their top choice. They advised him to apply for an internship for fall or spring, which I know he’ll choose to do. I’m so proud and absolutely ecstatic for him. He’s a great sports journalist and it was nice having people from ESPN, the epitome of sports journalism, to commend him on his work. Sure, the internship may pull us apart for a couple of months again, but it’s entirely worth it. We can do the long-distance thing, especially at this stage in our lives.
I need to run to work, and don’t have enough time to upload pictures. I’ll get them up as soon as possible. In the meantime, take a look at Pam’s fantastic album documenting our Bath and Stonehenge adventures.
Cheers!
Tuesday 22 January 2008
Workin' Woman
I already love my job. My immediate supervisor has been out ill for the past two days, but I've already been given responsibility over some projects and have gotten a lot of exposure to other people and their jobs. I've reformatted some information to be presented as case studies on the company website and today learned a little html magic to put it all online. This sort of thing is generally not my cup of tea, but I like that I'm learning this kind of stuff. It's become pretty essential in our computer-based world. I've also done some work with promotions and got to call some contest winners today, which was way fun. People get so excited.
There is just so much going on inside the company. It will be impossible not to get a good taste of the ad world after this experience. I'm excited for Lillian, my supervisor, to return and take me under her wing for a bit. I get to sit in on client meetings and do a lot of strategic brainstorming for future projects. I'm really excited to get involved with the strategic planning bit. I think that's the stuff that's right up my ally.
With the internship starting, I've already noticed how quickly the days go. The pace of the office makes time fly, which is refreshing since I feel like I've been here two months already when it's only been two weeks. I also get to work with the other two interns who are in the Mizzou program with me. They are incredibly sweet and fun girls, and I know we're all going to do well at Emap. The three of us treated ourselves to a nice lunch at a French braisserie down the road from us yesterday in celebration of our first day. It was absolutely delicious and another fine example of the great variety of restaurants and cafes you find in an international city like London. I definitely can't afford to eat at these places more than once a week, but it's nice to enjoy them when I can.
Speaking of money, I was very proud of myself for buying two weeks worth of groceries for under $22 last night. Don't worry, it wasn't just peanut butter and bread. I definitely have enough for a good breakfast, lunch and dinner every day. Sure it's a lot of pasta and soup (and peanut butter sandwiches), but I've been eating apples and oranges as well. I've also rediscovered my love for a turkey, hummus and pita sandwich. I could eat one every day. It's my quesadilla substitute while I'm gone. And everyone knows how much I love my quesadillas. (I seriously considered bringing my quesadilla maker over with me, but decided I liked clothes more.)
Tomorrow, we're off to Stonehenge and Bath early in the morning. Bath is an ancient Roman bathhouse, hence the appropriate name. I've already seen Stonehenge, but I'm excited to see it again. England has such rich history, and I feel like I'd be cheating myself out of the full experience of studying abroad if I went to all of these museums and sights with an ambivalent attitude.
In full British style, Pam and I are going to watch Pride and Prejudice to cap off our night, if we can drag ourselves away from the breaking news about Heath Ledger's death. Very sad.
I still have some photos to upload and will undoubtedly have some from tomorrow's field trip.
Cheers!
There is just so much going on inside the company. It will be impossible not to get a good taste of the ad world after this experience. I'm excited for Lillian, my supervisor, to return and take me under her wing for a bit. I get to sit in on client meetings and do a lot of strategic brainstorming for future projects. I'm really excited to get involved with the strategic planning bit. I think that's the stuff that's right up my ally.
With the internship starting, I've already noticed how quickly the days go. The pace of the office makes time fly, which is refreshing since I feel like I've been here two months already when it's only been two weeks. I also get to work with the other two interns who are in the Mizzou program with me. They are incredibly sweet and fun girls, and I know we're all going to do well at Emap. The three of us treated ourselves to a nice lunch at a French braisserie down the road from us yesterday in celebration of our first day. It was absolutely delicious and another fine example of the great variety of restaurants and cafes you find in an international city like London. I definitely can't afford to eat at these places more than once a week, but it's nice to enjoy them when I can.
Speaking of money, I was very proud of myself for buying two weeks worth of groceries for under $22 last night. Don't worry, it wasn't just peanut butter and bread. I definitely have enough for a good breakfast, lunch and dinner every day. Sure it's a lot of pasta and soup (and peanut butter sandwiches), but I've been eating apples and oranges as well. I've also rediscovered my love for a turkey, hummus and pita sandwich. I could eat one every day. It's my quesadilla substitute while I'm gone. And everyone knows how much I love my quesadillas. (I seriously considered bringing my quesadilla maker over with me, but decided I liked clothes more.)
Tomorrow, we're off to Stonehenge and Bath early in the morning. Bath is an ancient Roman bathhouse, hence the appropriate name. I've already seen Stonehenge, but I'm excited to see it again. England has such rich history, and I feel like I'd be cheating myself out of the full experience of studying abroad if I went to all of these museums and sights with an ambivalent attitude.
In full British style, Pam and I are going to watch Pride and Prejudice to cap off our night, if we can drag ourselves away from the breaking news about Heath Ledger's death. Very sad.
I still have some photos to upload and will undoubtedly have some from tomorrow's field trip.
Cheers!
Sunday 20 January 2008
Castles and coasts
The gales in Wales have continued. Pete laughed at me yesterday because I was complaining how sick I was of the gloomy, rainy weather I’ve experienced thus far in my trip. “You chose to study abroad in the UK and it’s winter, Sam. What’d you expect?” Needless, to say, it was a reality check. What would I do without him?
Despite the weather, we made the most of our Saturday in Cardiff. We started out with a nice continental breakfast at our amazing hostel, and then traveled up the road to Cardiff Castle. It was an incredible castle on the inside and out. It’s about 2000 years old, established by the Romans when they held the land before the Normans came in around 800 A.D. We took a tour of the main interior, which was redecorated in the 19th century by a wealthy lord who owned it. Each room was absolutely gorgeous—every square inch was covered in intricate paintings, designs, woodwork and tiles. One of the rooms was estimated to cost £10 to 15 million to redesign today. Jewels, gold, you name it—they were somehow incorporated in the decoration. Unfortunately, no pictures were allowed inside. I’ll attach a few from online so you can see what I’m talking about.
This is a gorgeous picture from the clock tower room. Every image in the room is related to the zodiac, the days of the week, the time of day or the seasons. It was my favorite room.
The fireplace in the grand dining hall.
Lord Bute's bedroom. He commissioned the redecoration of the castle to what it is today.
After the tour we were allowed to explore the grounds and the keep, a stone fortress right in the middle that was surrounded by a moat. A real moat! I got kind of excited by this. You always read stories and watch movies with all these medieval castles surrounded by moats, and I think this is the first legitimate moat I have seen thus far.
From inside the keep.
The moat!
From atop of the keep. Beyond you can see the castle towers and Millenium Stadium where Cardiff's national rugby team plays.
I came to Wales with the hope of taking a coastal hike or walk. The rain set my roommates to different destinations, but I was still set on my coastal walk. Charlie, one of the hostel owners, told me that Penarth, a small town across the bay from Cardiff, had a good pebble beach and pier. So I set off on a nice public bus ride to Penarth. I missed my stop, but I befriended the bus driver and he dropped me off right at the entrance to a gorgeous green park which lead me right to the boardwalk and pier on the bay. Weird as it is, I got a little choked up when I heard the sound of the waves. I’ve always loved going to the ocean, so I knew I had to take this opportunity away from London to enjoy it. I spent a good leisurely hour walking up and down the boardwalk. Yeah it was a little gray and the water was a little brown, but the little ghost town of a pier was gorgeous in its own light. There were a few other people, most of them fishermen, and me along the pier, but I enjoyed the seaside solitude. I’ve constantly been around three to six girls the past week and a half, so it was nice to finally get some alone time to think and enjoy the scenery.
The boardwalk.
Kind of gloomy, but still beautiful in its own way.
The pier.
The gorgeous green park en route to the bay.
Afterwards, I took the short walk up to town and bought some Welsh original beer, Double Dragon Ale. I sampled one last night. Not my favorite beer, but I like sampling the wine and beers of the area. Fact: Though a lot of stories and pictures associate dragons to all Britain, it’s actually indigenous to the Welsh. I didn’t know that until today.
Pam spent her afternoon at the National Museum and Gallery of Wales and Steff went to the Dr. Who exhibition. It’s a sci-fi show shot in Cardiff that she is absolutely obsessed with. It was nice when we all returned to share pictures and stories of our adventures. Pam and I ended our night with a nice Italian dinner at a restaurant on the bay. It was quite a walk to get there, so we burned off the pasta on the walk back.
Today we just relaxed a bit before we caught the bus back to London. It's been homework and preparation for our internships since then. I hate how quickly weekends go. I now am officially heading into my school and workweek, so these weekends are going to have more value placed on them in weeks to come. I am excited to get into the groove of things and get more accustomed to everything by spending my days at emap and nights at class. I have a feeling time is going to start speeding up, which I guess is good and bad. Stay tuned for internship updates!
Despite the weather, we made the most of our Saturday in Cardiff. We started out with a nice continental breakfast at our amazing hostel, and then traveled up the road to Cardiff Castle. It was an incredible castle on the inside and out. It’s about 2000 years old, established by the Romans when they held the land before the Normans came in around 800 A.D. We took a tour of the main interior, which was redecorated in the 19th century by a wealthy lord who owned it. Each room was absolutely gorgeous—every square inch was covered in intricate paintings, designs, woodwork and tiles. One of the rooms was estimated to cost £10 to 15 million to redesign today. Jewels, gold, you name it—they were somehow incorporated in the decoration. Unfortunately, no pictures were allowed inside. I’ll attach a few from online so you can see what I’m talking about.
This is a gorgeous picture from the clock tower room. Every image in the room is related to the zodiac, the days of the week, the time of day or the seasons. It was my favorite room.
The fireplace in the grand dining hall.
Lord Bute's bedroom. He commissioned the redecoration of the castle to what it is today.
After the tour we were allowed to explore the grounds and the keep, a stone fortress right in the middle that was surrounded by a moat. A real moat! I got kind of excited by this. You always read stories and watch movies with all these medieval castles surrounded by moats, and I think this is the first legitimate moat I have seen thus far.
From inside the keep.
The moat!
From atop of the keep. Beyond you can see the castle towers and Millenium Stadium where Cardiff's national rugby team plays.
I came to Wales with the hope of taking a coastal hike or walk. The rain set my roommates to different destinations, but I was still set on my coastal walk. Charlie, one of the hostel owners, told me that Penarth, a small town across the bay from Cardiff, had a good pebble beach and pier. So I set off on a nice public bus ride to Penarth. I missed my stop, but I befriended the bus driver and he dropped me off right at the entrance to a gorgeous green park which lead me right to the boardwalk and pier on the bay. Weird as it is, I got a little choked up when I heard the sound of the waves. I’ve always loved going to the ocean, so I knew I had to take this opportunity away from London to enjoy it. I spent a good leisurely hour walking up and down the boardwalk. Yeah it was a little gray and the water was a little brown, but the little ghost town of a pier was gorgeous in its own light. There were a few other people, most of them fishermen, and me along the pier, but I enjoyed the seaside solitude. I’ve constantly been around three to six girls the past week and a half, so it was nice to finally get some alone time to think and enjoy the scenery.
The boardwalk.
Kind of gloomy, but still beautiful in its own way.
The pier.
The gorgeous green park en route to the bay.
Afterwards, I took the short walk up to town and bought some Welsh original beer, Double Dragon Ale. I sampled one last night. Not my favorite beer, but I like sampling the wine and beers of the area. Fact: Though a lot of stories and pictures associate dragons to all Britain, it’s actually indigenous to the Welsh. I didn’t know that until today.
Pam spent her afternoon at the National Museum and Gallery of Wales and Steff went to the Dr. Who exhibition. It’s a sci-fi show shot in Cardiff that she is absolutely obsessed with. It was nice when we all returned to share pictures and stories of our adventures. Pam and I ended our night with a nice Italian dinner at a restaurant on the bay. It was quite a walk to get there, so we burned off the pasta on the walk back.
Today we just relaxed a bit before we caught the bus back to London. It's been homework and preparation for our internships since then. I hate how quickly weekends go. I now am officially heading into my school and workweek, so these weekends are going to have more value placed on them in weeks to come. I am excited to get into the groove of things and get more accustomed to everything by spending my days at emap and nights at class. I have a feeling time is going to start speeding up, which I guess is good and bad. Stay tuned for internship updates!
Friday 18 January 2008
Gales in Wales
Wicked was absolutely amazing. I was a little nervous going in because I knew the voices of Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth so well from the soundtrack that I might not like the vocal change. But Kerry Ellis and Diane Pilkington were an incredible Elphaba and Glinda, respectively. The show was everything I had imagined it could be and more. I had figured out most of the plot through listening to the soundtrack far too many times, but I enjoyed actually seeing the show filled in the blanks and delivered an unexpected ending. Thanks, friends who have seen this before and not ruined the ending for me! Check out my excited pictures before the show. Note how close we are to the stage, too!
Kerry Ellis was incredible as Elphaba!
Glinda making Elphaba "popular."
Wicked at the Victoria Apollo Theatre.
After two years of waiting, I was very excited to see the show.
It's a little blurry, but you can kind of tell how close we were to the stage. The curtain was a map of Oz.
Pam and I pre-show.
Today we traveled to Cardiff, the capital of Wales. We booked a cheap and comfortable bus ride through Megabus and arrived here around 6 p.m. Sadly, gale-force wind and rain greeted us. After a few minor turnarounds, we managed to find our adorable hostel, Riverside Backpackers Hostel. I’ll take some pictures tomorrow and have them posted. It is newly refurbished and is incredibly stylish and comfortable. It’s owned by a really hospitable brother and sister who have been wonderful to us so far, giving us club, pub and activity suggestions for our stay. We had delicious and pretty cheap meal at a local pub called The Bethany. I had the smothered chicken, basically chicken smothered in cheese and bacon (which is actually ham here). I haven’t really had a full meal like that since I’ve been here. Needless to say, I was extremely happy.
Tomorrow, we plan on visiting Cardiff Castle in the heart of downtown Cardiff. We could see it from the window of our bus, but the darkness didn’t allow for the best view. We originally had hoped to attend a theatrical Welsh dinner there tomorrow night, but they need 40 people to attend in order to host the dinner. I guess there weren’t enough for this weeked. It’s not too surprising that January doesn’t bring in too many tourists.
I hope that we can get a good hike in tomorrow along the coast as well. The bay is only about a mile down the road from us, so I’m sure I can at least get a couple of hours down in that region. I’m keeping my fingers crossed for semi-decent weather tomorrow. It rains in the UK every day. If you ever visit, I don’t care what else you bring—just be sure that you at least have an umbrella. Besides Pete and my family, I would say that sunshine is the thing I miss the most from home. Sad but true.
I’m going to take a moment to sum up some of the things I’ve learned in my first ten days of my London/European adventure:
-Fries are called chips; chips are called crisps; cookies are called biscuits. There are so many other words and expression differences, I could spend an hour or two listing them. The most important one is not using the term “bathroom.” It is instead called “the toilet.” If this is a little too weird for you, “loo,” “W/C,” or “restroom” works just as well.
-On the subject of cultural differences, making a peace sign with two fingers is ok, but if you do that and flip your hand around you pretty much just flipped someone off, if not worse. Please keep your deuces back in the states.
-The Underground (Tube) system is one of man’s greatest engineering accomplishments. I absolutely love it. If only Kansas City had something even remotely similar.
-You actually can enjoy London for cheap. Most museums are free, so you should never run out of things to do. It’s the living expenses that really rack up the costs. But lucky for us, we have an amazing supermarket down the road. You can, in fact, survive on peanut butter sandwiches and apples, especially if it means a trip to Spain or Italy down the road.
-On the subject of money, you don’t have to tip here! Hooray!
-Londoners dress exceedingly well, but I’ve found you can kind of mimic their style by having a few essentials, namely boots, skinny jeans and tights.
-Like I said, umbrellas here are clutch. This is my golden rule for London.
I’ve also learned that doing the whole across-the-ocean-relationship thing is in fact very doable. Pete and I have been sending e-mails back and forth every day, and I honestly feel like we’ve become stronger. His e-mails are great—they sound just like he talks, so the distance isn’t as difficult.
Lucky for me, the distance isn’t permanent. I get to see him in 13 days (but who’s counting?) when he visits for a couple of days en route to his semester in Pamplona, Spain. We’re planning small trips to Paris and Ireland this semester and after I’m done with my program, I’ll spend two weeks traveling through Spain with him. I’m so excited for him to finally get to Spain and get the experience he’s been wanting for so long. He’s going to do great there.
I’m going to finish up a few more things, then hit the pillow. Updates from Wales and pictures to come! Cheers!
Here are a few more pictures of the past few days:
This was Trafalgar Square during the Russian Festival last Sunday.
We went to the Tate Modern on Tuesday. Inside the front entrance was a huge, manmade crack. It got everyone's attention right away.
A close-up of the intriguing crack.
From the seventh floor of the Tate Modern, we got a pretty good view across the Thames into downtown City of London. There's St. Paul's!
Here is emap's world headquarters where I will be working the next three months!
Kerry Ellis was incredible as Elphaba!
Glinda making Elphaba "popular."
Wicked at the Victoria Apollo Theatre.
After two years of waiting, I was very excited to see the show.
It's a little blurry, but you can kind of tell how close we were to the stage. The curtain was a map of Oz.
Pam and I pre-show.
Today we traveled to Cardiff, the capital of Wales. We booked a cheap and comfortable bus ride through Megabus and arrived here around 6 p.m. Sadly, gale-force wind and rain greeted us. After a few minor turnarounds, we managed to find our adorable hostel, Riverside Backpackers Hostel. I’ll take some pictures tomorrow and have them posted. It is newly refurbished and is incredibly stylish and comfortable. It’s owned by a really hospitable brother and sister who have been wonderful to us so far, giving us club, pub and activity suggestions for our stay. We had delicious and pretty cheap meal at a local pub called The Bethany. I had the smothered chicken, basically chicken smothered in cheese and bacon (which is actually ham here). I haven’t really had a full meal like that since I’ve been here. Needless to say, I was extremely happy.
Tomorrow, we plan on visiting Cardiff Castle in the heart of downtown Cardiff. We could see it from the window of our bus, but the darkness didn’t allow for the best view. We originally had hoped to attend a theatrical Welsh dinner there tomorrow night, but they need 40 people to attend in order to host the dinner. I guess there weren’t enough for this weeked. It’s not too surprising that January doesn’t bring in too many tourists.
I hope that we can get a good hike in tomorrow along the coast as well. The bay is only about a mile down the road from us, so I’m sure I can at least get a couple of hours down in that region. I’m keeping my fingers crossed for semi-decent weather tomorrow. It rains in the UK every day. If you ever visit, I don’t care what else you bring—just be sure that you at least have an umbrella. Besides Pete and my family, I would say that sunshine is the thing I miss the most from home. Sad but true.
I’m going to take a moment to sum up some of the things I’ve learned in my first ten days of my London/European adventure:
-Fries are called chips; chips are called crisps; cookies are called biscuits. There are so many other words and expression differences, I could spend an hour or two listing them. The most important one is not using the term “bathroom.” It is instead called “the toilet.” If this is a little too weird for you, “loo,” “W/C,” or “restroom” works just as well.
-On the subject of cultural differences, making a peace sign with two fingers is ok, but if you do that and flip your hand around you pretty much just flipped someone off, if not worse. Please keep your deuces back in the states.
-The Underground (Tube) system is one of man’s greatest engineering accomplishments. I absolutely love it. If only Kansas City had something even remotely similar.
-You actually can enjoy London for cheap. Most museums are free, so you should never run out of things to do. It’s the living expenses that really rack up the costs. But lucky for us, we have an amazing supermarket down the road. You can, in fact, survive on peanut butter sandwiches and apples, especially if it means a trip to Spain or Italy down the road.
-On the subject of money, you don’t have to tip here! Hooray!
-Londoners dress exceedingly well, but I’ve found you can kind of mimic their style by having a few essentials, namely boots, skinny jeans and tights.
-Like I said, umbrellas here are clutch. This is my golden rule for London.
I’ve also learned that doing the whole across-the-ocean-relationship thing is in fact very doable. Pete and I have been sending e-mails back and forth every day, and I honestly feel like we’ve become stronger. His e-mails are great—they sound just like he talks, so the distance isn’t as difficult.
Lucky for me, the distance isn’t permanent. I get to see him in 13 days (but who’s counting?) when he visits for a couple of days en route to his semester in Pamplona, Spain. We’re planning small trips to Paris and Ireland this semester and after I’m done with my program, I’ll spend two weeks traveling through Spain with him. I’m so excited for him to finally get to Spain and get the experience he’s been wanting for so long. He’s going to do great there.
I’m going to finish up a few more things, then hit the pillow. Updates from Wales and pictures to come! Cheers!
Here are a few more pictures of the past few days:
This was Trafalgar Square during the Russian Festival last Sunday.
We went to the Tate Modern on Tuesday. Inside the front entrance was a huge, manmade crack. It got everyone's attention right away.
A close-up of the intriguing crack.
From the seventh floor of the Tate Modern, we got a pretty good view across the Thames into downtown City of London. There's St. Paul's!
Here is emap's world headquarters where I will be working the next three months!
Thursday 17 January 2008
Feelin' Wicked
I have known the soundtrack to Broadway's "Wicked" by heart for over two years, and tonight I finally get to see it on stage! In the 10th row, front and center, no less! You can't imagine how excited I am about this. Or maybe those of you who know my obsession can. I've heard the London cast is spectacular. I'll fill you in on the show later tonight or tomorrow morning.
Today has been a great day thus far. I went to the Emap offices in Soho, where I was met by an amazing supervisor and staff. The office itself is so cool--very hip and contemporary set-up and a young and tech-savvy staff. Also I'm pretty excited about our lenient dress code. I can wear office slacks or skirts one day and jeans the next, which is great, since I'm over here with a limited wardrobe anyway. My supervisor, Lillian, is wonderful. She's extremely friendly and is set on giving me a lot of personal responsibility over projects this semester. She says I could easily walk away with at least three or four projects I've managed from conception through execution, and have a ton of work and clips to show for it. I'll be working in account services, but I'll also be doing a lot of trend research and strategy planning with Lillian. She's such a vivacious and intelligent woman. I know I am going to learn so much from her. Also, we get a ton of free magazines, music and access to TV show and movie screenings and premiers, shootings and other exclusive events. Maybe I'll meet a few Brit stars while I'm here! Who knows?! I start Monday at 10 a.m. (Hooray! No 7 a.m. commute!) I'lll keep you updated as the job progresses. I'm already helping to analyze and strategize a campaign for a local non-profit for children. Perfect--right up my alley! I am going to have an incredibly fun time here. I am absolutely thrilled.
I've got to run and eat before Wicked. Stay tuned for more, especially the next few days during my journey to Cardiff, Wales!
Today has been a great day thus far. I went to the Emap offices in Soho, where I was met by an amazing supervisor and staff. The office itself is so cool--very hip and contemporary set-up and a young and tech-savvy staff. Also I'm pretty excited about our lenient dress code. I can wear office slacks or skirts one day and jeans the next, which is great, since I'm over here with a limited wardrobe anyway. My supervisor, Lillian, is wonderful. She's extremely friendly and is set on giving me a lot of personal responsibility over projects this semester. She says I could easily walk away with at least three or four projects I've managed from conception through execution, and have a ton of work and clips to show for it. I'll be working in account services, but I'll also be doing a lot of trend research and strategy planning with Lillian. She's such a vivacious and intelligent woman. I know I am going to learn so much from her. Also, we get a ton of free magazines, music and access to TV show and movie screenings and premiers, shootings and other exclusive events. Maybe I'll meet a few Brit stars while I'm here! Who knows?! I start Monday at 10 a.m. (Hooray! No 7 a.m. commute!) I'lll keep you updated as the job progresses. I'm already helping to analyze and strategize a campaign for a local non-profit for children. Perfect--right up my alley! I am going to have an incredibly fun time here. I am absolutely thrilled.
I've got to run and eat before Wicked. Stay tuned for more, especially the next few days during my journey to Cardiff, Wales!
Tuesday 15 January 2008
Westminster Abbey photos and more
I forgot my camera that day, but luckily my roommates are great photographers and were generous enough to let me post their photos on my blog. Enjoy!
You literally get off the tube stop and bam! Hello Big Ben!
The Millenium Eye across the Thames River from the Westminster area. It's being cleaned now through March, but we're hoping to catch a clear day and go on it to get a great view of London.
Big Ben and myself. Obviously, the I am outshadowed by the tower. Fact: Big Ben is actually the bell inside the tower.
Houses of Parliament. We're taking a class trip there sometime during the semester.
Steff and I in front of Westminster.
Look at how gorgeous the outside of the abbey is! It's absolutely incredible.
Walking in through the Great North Door of Westminster. So beautiful.
The three roomies outside of Westminster. We were so excited to go inside, but not so happy that we couldn't take pictures once we were there. It's just something you have to see for yourself.
This is one of my favorite shots of London so far. I actually stole it from my roomie, Pam, who is the superior photographer.
I love the musicians in the tube. This one was playing an accordian and had a wooden heel and a tamborine attached to her shoe for the rhythm. She was actually really good!
You literally get off the tube stop and bam! Hello Big Ben!
The Millenium Eye across the Thames River from the Westminster area. It's being cleaned now through March, but we're hoping to catch a clear day and go on it to get a great view of London.
Big Ben and myself. Obviously, the I am outshadowed by the tower. Fact: Big Ben is actually the bell inside the tower.
Houses of Parliament. We're taking a class trip there sometime during the semester.
Steff and I in front of Westminster.
Look at how gorgeous the outside of the abbey is! It's absolutely incredible.
Walking in through the Great North Door of Westminster. So beautiful.
The three roomies outside of Westminster. We were so excited to go inside, but not so happy that we couldn't take pictures once we were there. It's just something you have to see for yourself.
This is one of my favorite shots of London so far. I actually stole it from my roomie, Pam, who is the superior photographer.
I love the musicians in the tube. This one was playing an accordian and had a wooden heel and a tamborine attached to her shoe for the rhythm. She was actually really good!
Three great days
I've had some of the most incredible experiences in the past three days. I’m still in sightseeing mode. I’m not quite hooked on the idea that I’ll be here for four whole months, not just two weeks. But I'm sure once I get my internship started and get in the groove of the workforce, I'll be much more like a Londoner (or at least be able to act like one) than a tourist.
Sunday we had a sort of late start but decided to head back to Trafalgar Square to see more of the National Gallery and experience the Russian Festival taking place in the square. Unfortunately, the festival was extremely difficult to get into with long queues (lines, in American speech), and a crowded concert-like atmosphere. There weren't abundant booths of food or vodka, so it didn't seem like it would be my cup of tea. (Just kidding about the vodka, parents!) So instead we walked the Renaissance period of the gallery, which was spectacular. I stood just feet away from Da Vinci's 'Virgin on the Rocks' and gorgeous sketch of 'The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne and John the Baptist.' It was absolutely breathtaking. I'd never been witness to such famous art before, so this experience was extremely moving. I also saw many of Raphael's and Michealangelo's works, amongst many other famous artists. We've only tackled about a fifth of the museum so far. Luckily, it's free, so I have access to the amazing collection any time I want. Just a couple of tube stops away! You've got to love all the free museums in London for that reason.
I thought Sunday night was going to be a night in, but Pam and another friend and I felt up for a pint. We hit up a last call at a pub and then decided to explore a local wine bar, just 30 seconds from our flat. It was tucked away a bit and hard to spot if you hadn't been looking. We entered the basement venue and were greeted by the lovely Russian owner. We spent the next two or so hours there chatting and enjoying her delicious wine selection. I also had my first interaction with "real, live" Brits. Two guys, John and Matt, who are physicists working for CERN (Yes, the place that invented the Internet. You also may recognize the place if you've ever read Dan Brown's Angels and Demons.) sat down and talked with us about everything--from the job of a physicist to the hot ski spots in Europe. It was nice to finally have a good conversation with someone who is not American. It's weird, but it seems like Americans always find eachother or seek eachother out at pubs. The accents give us all away, and I guess it's a good commonplace to start conversation.
Yesterday, our big tourist point was Westminster Abbey. If you ever go to London, this should be your top sight. You’re right in the middle of everything--Houses of Parliament, Big Ben and the Thames River. But the abbey itself is the most incredible thing I’ve ever seen. I knew I had to visit it because my mom would kill me if I spent four months in London and failed to go inside. Last time we were in town, it was Sunday and only open to services. This time we hit it on a Monday, and it was an experience I’ll never forget. It is an absolutely breathtaking structure. The architecture is so old and intricate; you could literally spend hours staring at the walls and ceilings. But what’s even more incredible is the amount of history within the floors and walls. I saw the graves of Queen Elizabeth I, Mary Queen of Scots, Charles Dickens, Chaucer and Charles Darwin, just to name a few. I learned about how the abbey was made and all the incredible artifacts used in coronations. I saw paintings that were over 700 years old. It was definitely worth the £7 admission. I plan on seeing it again at some point. I’ll get some pictures up here as soon as I can.
Another big thing on Monday was that I found where I’d be working this semester. I’ll be placed at EMAP (check out www.emap.com), a big media group that has over 50 magazines, 42 radio stations and seven digital television stations. It’s a big business-to-business conglomeration, and I found out I'll be helping out with account services, serving the liaison between EMAP’s clients and the business. I’ve been told that I will have a lot of personal responsibility overseeing projects through from beginning to end, so I’m really excited to get some good hands-on experience. I think it sounds like a perfect match. I’ve heard from other students who’ve worked with them in the past that it’s a great place for ad majors. I’m really optimistic about it. Even if it isn’t exactly what I expected, it’s a great resume filler. I mean, I get to work in downtown London! Who does that? (OK, a lot of people, but I feel I’m doin’ all right for my age.) I start my internship next Monday, but I have an official interview this Thursday with my supervisor. I’ve heard she’s great, and I’m looking forward to meeting her and getting a tour of the office. I’ll keep you posted on everything.
Today we got our bus tickets for Wales (only £20 to Cardiff and back! So awesome!) and then explored the Tate Modern. It’s an amazing contemporary art museum and absolutely huge. I saw some great work by Matisse and Picasso and Andy Warhol. I was hoping I’d see some Dalí, but there’s actually a museum in London called Dalí Universe that features a lot of his work. It probably has an admission fee, but that’s ok. Totally worth it. Dalí’s pretty trippy, but still amazing art to see. I also think Pete’s taking me to see more Picasso at a museum in Spain. I’m not going to lie, being in warm Spain right now would beat out the rainy, chilly London weather. Hurry up spring!
Coming up this week: I FINALLY get to see Wicked! Hooray! I will have to restrain myself from singing the entire musical along with the cast. Tomorrow we’re going to the Museum of London for class and Friday is the day we travel to Wales. Very exciting. Stay tuned for pictures and more.
Sunday we had a sort of late start but decided to head back to Trafalgar Square to see more of the National Gallery and experience the Russian Festival taking place in the square. Unfortunately, the festival was extremely difficult to get into with long queues (lines, in American speech), and a crowded concert-like atmosphere. There weren't abundant booths of food or vodka, so it didn't seem like it would be my cup of tea. (Just kidding about the vodka, parents!) So instead we walked the Renaissance period of the gallery, which was spectacular. I stood just feet away from Da Vinci's 'Virgin on the Rocks' and gorgeous sketch of 'The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne and John the Baptist.' It was absolutely breathtaking. I'd never been witness to such famous art before, so this experience was extremely moving. I also saw many of Raphael's and Michealangelo's works, amongst many other famous artists. We've only tackled about a fifth of the museum so far. Luckily, it's free, so I have access to the amazing collection any time I want. Just a couple of tube stops away! You've got to love all the free museums in London for that reason.
I thought Sunday night was going to be a night in, but Pam and another friend and I felt up for a pint. We hit up a last call at a pub and then decided to explore a local wine bar, just 30 seconds from our flat. It was tucked away a bit and hard to spot if you hadn't been looking. We entered the basement venue and were greeted by the lovely Russian owner. We spent the next two or so hours there chatting and enjoying her delicious wine selection. I also had my first interaction with "real, live" Brits. Two guys, John and Matt, who are physicists working for CERN (Yes, the place that invented the Internet. You also may recognize the place if you've ever read Dan Brown's Angels and Demons.) sat down and talked with us about everything--from the job of a physicist to the hot ski spots in Europe. It was nice to finally have a good conversation with someone who is not American. It's weird, but it seems like Americans always find eachother or seek eachother out at pubs. The accents give us all away, and I guess it's a good commonplace to start conversation.
Yesterday, our big tourist point was Westminster Abbey. If you ever go to London, this should be your top sight. You’re right in the middle of everything--Houses of Parliament, Big Ben and the Thames River. But the abbey itself is the most incredible thing I’ve ever seen. I knew I had to visit it because my mom would kill me if I spent four months in London and failed to go inside. Last time we were in town, it was Sunday and only open to services. This time we hit it on a Monday, and it was an experience I’ll never forget. It is an absolutely breathtaking structure. The architecture is so old and intricate; you could literally spend hours staring at the walls and ceilings. But what’s even more incredible is the amount of history within the floors and walls. I saw the graves of Queen Elizabeth I, Mary Queen of Scots, Charles Dickens, Chaucer and Charles Darwin, just to name a few. I learned about how the abbey was made and all the incredible artifacts used in coronations. I saw paintings that were over 700 years old. It was definitely worth the £7 admission. I plan on seeing it again at some point. I’ll get some pictures up here as soon as I can.
Another big thing on Monday was that I found where I’d be working this semester. I’ll be placed at EMAP (check out www.emap.com), a big media group that has over 50 magazines, 42 radio stations and seven digital television stations. It’s a big business-to-business conglomeration, and I found out I'll be helping out with account services, serving the liaison between EMAP’s clients and the business. I’ve been told that I will have a lot of personal responsibility overseeing projects through from beginning to end, so I’m really excited to get some good hands-on experience. I think it sounds like a perfect match. I’ve heard from other students who’ve worked with them in the past that it’s a great place for ad majors. I’m really optimistic about it. Even if it isn’t exactly what I expected, it’s a great resume filler. I mean, I get to work in downtown London! Who does that? (OK, a lot of people, but I feel I’m doin’ all right for my age.) I start my internship next Monday, but I have an official interview this Thursday with my supervisor. I’ve heard she’s great, and I’m looking forward to meeting her and getting a tour of the office. I’ll keep you posted on everything.
Today we got our bus tickets for Wales (only £20 to Cardiff and back! So awesome!) and then explored the Tate Modern. It’s an amazing contemporary art museum and absolutely huge. I saw some great work by Matisse and Picasso and Andy Warhol. I was hoping I’d see some Dalí, but there’s actually a museum in London called Dalí Universe that features a lot of his work. It probably has an admission fee, but that’s ok. Totally worth it. Dalí’s pretty trippy, but still amazing art to see. I also think Pete’s taking me to see more Picasso at a museum in Spain. I’m not going to lie, being in warm Spain right now would beat out the rainy, chilly London weather. Hurry up spring!
Coming up this week: I FINALLY get to see Wicked! Hooray! I will have to restrain myself from singing the entire musical along with the cast. Tomorrow we’re going to the Museum of London for class and Friday is the day we travel to Wales. Very exciting. Stay tuned for pictures and more.
Monday 14 January 2008
More pictures!
I have some good updates, but I wanted to get these up here first.
Steff, Pam and I in front of Hogarth Road, our home for the next four months.
The flag is up, so the Queen is home!
Pam and I in the tube station. The tube is AMAZING! I wish we had one in KC.
Little girl feeding pigeons and squirrels in Hyde Park.
Gorgeous in the winter...I can't even imagine what Hyde Park will be like come spring.
Pam and I enjoying lunch in Hyde Park.
A statue atop a gorgeous arch in Green Park.
Victory in the sunlight! (A rarity in London, from what we can tell so far.)
A cool view of Victory in front of Buckingham.
The taxis, the rooftops and chimneys...so London.
Pretty view of Big Ben in the distance.
Steff, Pam and I in front of Hogarth Road, our home for the next four months.
The flag is up, so the Queen is home!
Pam and I in the tube station. The tube is AMAZING! I wish we had one in KC.
Little girl feeding pigeons and squirrels in Hyde Park.
Gorgeous in the winter...I can't even imagine what Hyde Park will be like come spring.
Pam and I enjoying lunch in Hyde Park.
A statue atop a gorgeous arch in Green Park.
Victory in the sunlight! (A rarity in London, from what we can tell so far.)
A cool view of Victory in front of Buckingham.
The taxis, the rooftops and chimneys...so London.
Pretty view of Big Ben in the distance.
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