I guess my last post was from last Monday. Tuesday I traveled out to Feltham, a suburb in southwest London, where I presented my final project for class to the charity that I’d based the project on. As you may recall, my idea for my project was to find a small London charity and create an advertising campaign for it that would help it to meet its needs. A couple weeks back, I went out to my selected charity called Storehouse, out in Feltham. It’s a great little place that offers food, children’s clothing and toys to needy families in the area. I talked with Doris, the wonderful Project Manager at Storehouse, about the needs of the charity and discussed my aims and means of approaching the campaign. Then using the information Doris gave me combined with some of my own research, I spent the last couple of weeks developing a fairly thorough fundraising plan and corresponding advertising campaign that would help Storehouse meet some of its goals. I was a little nervous going back at how it would be received, but Doris was really impressed by some of the insight and said that she could see my plan being implemented in the future. She also offered to drop my name around to other non-profits and businesses she knew and tell them about my skills and service, which was extremely exciting and flattering. Who knows? Maybe there’s a career to be made in this?
After coming back from Feltham, I went into work. Lillian and I had a great last lunch together with just the two of us. We went to an absolutely amazing Thai restaurant in Soho called Patara, where I enjoyed way to much food. But again, it was worth it. I had a great time with Lillian. I feel as if I’ve found a true friend in her, and she has served as an incredible role model and guide since I started work with her in January. I told her about how my Storehouse presentation went, and already having seen the work, she encouraged that I maybe pursue some sort of independent consulting career. Hearing this from Lillian, a woman I respect so much, was so exciting. It’s really opened my eyes to where I want to head in these next couple of years. And it’s great knowing that I have an incredible ally on my side who can offer insight and support like Lillian. Overall, a great lunch and great couple of months working with her. I was truly blessed to have had this internship.
Tuesday night, my flat and the ladies from the flat two floors up all went out to a pizza dinner and then to K-box, a karaoke place that we’d rented for the night. We all sang our hearts out. I shouldn’t have sang since I have laryngitis, but either the alcohol or fun of it all inspired me to sing far too much. Consequently, my throat has gotten much worse since then. Oops! However, it was such a great final night with all the girls. Surprisingly no tears, as we’d all hypothesized, but I don’t think the shock of actually leaving had hit us yet.
Singing our hearts out to "Sweet Caroline"
The audience enjoying the show.
Wednesday was the day that Sarah, Alex and I were treated to our surprise that our supervisors had given us as a good-bye gift. Lillian had put together an amazing day at Top Shop, a HUGE women’s clothing store on Oxford Street. The day was complete with a big gift card for each of us as well as a free manicure and professional hairstyling. We also had a tab built up for us at a nearby bar called Match. We were all floored when we found out about it at work on Tuesday. Again, our bosses’ generosity surpassed all expectations—they are amazing! So Wednesday was a great day of shopping. I ended up with a great dress for Spain, a nice fashionable London-style top, some bracelets and a nice belt. I was extremely nervous about the manicure, since I’d never had one before. I’m a nail-biter and really self-conscious about my hands. I ended up loving it and got over my fear. In fact, it has become my new way I’ve decided to deal with my bad habit, since I haven’t bit the nails since I got the manicure. I can totally budget for it, if that’s the effect it will have.
Match was a ton of fun, and we all heavily cheered our success in London and our amazing bosses. Sarah, Alex and I got so close working together and really had a great dynamic going. I know I’ve made some great friends in them, and am so excited that I get to go back and see them in the fall at MU.
The ladies post-makeovers, ready to go out on the town.
Thursday was the last London day. I was inevitably stressed, trying to pack up all my last things and get motivated to say all my good-byes. Generous as always, our bosses took us out for a great last lunch at our favorite, Century Club. That’s where we all had our first company lunch, so it seemed fitting to be our last. It was such a nice note to finish everything on. I am able to leave work with such experience, and I have tangible and intangible things to show for it. I feel I’ve grown so much this semester on both a professional and personal level, and I have my amazing work colleagues to thank for it. Saying good-bye to Lillian was of course the hardest part. I wrote her a really nice letter, have her a framed picture of us, and made her a really funny t-shirt with a picture of Camilla (Prince Charles’ wife) and the word “Homewrecker” beneath it. It’s an inside joke we had this semester, and I know she’s going to have fun in the future teasing Alex’s boss Denise, who’s a Camilla supporter. Denise is a great sport about it all. The gifts added some levity to what was a potentially sad day. However, I know that I’ll be keeping in touch with everyone, especially Lillian. It’s all just life, I guess.
Thursday night was all just packing up and preparing for my flight to Madrid the following morning. I said my good-byes to everyone Friday morning, which was a little hard. But like I’ve said, Flat 2 reunions are in store in the fall.
I guess that brings us to an end of all my London excursions. I return for a one-night layover on May 8, before I catch my flight home on the 9th. But essentially, I’m just there for a couple of hours to sleep and repack stuff. It’s weird to think that it’s all over—something that I’ve envisioned myself doing since freshman year. I’m sad, but proud. I’ve spent an entire semester relying on public transportation, traveling to the popular and obscure (Bratislava) destinations in Europe and budgeting my money perfectly so that I didn’t get eaten alive by the pound system yet could still go out and enjoy London. I’ve seen so many parks, historical sights, churches, plays/musicals and picturesque pieces of London that I can’t possibly pick my favorites. I’ve balanced classwork, a job, and a social life. I’ve figured out how to co-exist in tight quarters with 6 girls and how to manage without a dishwasher and washer/dryer. I’ve seen Royalty in person and become the “Official Creeper to Lily Allen and Scarlett Johannson.” I’ve run a major immersion project for the UK’s largest advertising spender, and through a smaller personal project, gained some insight into what I want to do in life. I maintained an amazing, healthy relationship with Pete that will continue once we get home, and I’ve established some lasting friendships while I’ve been over here. I would not go back and do one thing differently. Living in London was one of the most fun and influential experiences of my life, and though I’m ready to move on into new things, it’s something that I will always look to and reflect fondly upon.
And per usual, here are some Facebook albums for you to check out the pictures:
About Londontown: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2252393&l=3fd96&id=15921830
London Ladies: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2254366&l=86085&id=15921830
A Few of my Favourite Things: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2246066&l=be0d7&id=15921830
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