Happy almost December, loyal fans. It's hard to believe that November has actually come to an end and I will be back in NY in less than three weeks. As most of you may have read on my facebook wall, I'm excited that it this abroad experience is ending. It's not that I'm not having a great time- I really am- it's just that with the weather, and drama in my house, and everyone running the academic program here being a total dumb asshole, I'm at wits end and need to return to the familiar.
I've had a great past couple of days but the issues with FIE (my program) have been especially trying. I have three papers due over the next two weeks which is normal for this time of year, except that no matter how hard I work my professors have all informed me that it is literally impossible to get an A in their classes. Apparently, since British students hold themselves to MUCH higher standards than Americans, they don't receive A's because that would mean that they are perfect in every single way. If I work my ass off, and do an assignment exceptionally well, I deserve a good grade. I get that things are different here, but at the end of the day these grades are transferring back to an AMERICAN school, where C's are NOT the norm and certainly unacceptable (especially for someone on scholarship). So thanks a heap Britain for all of your ego, but I'm over your bullshit. And, while we're on the subject, forgive me if I don't pity the fact that your universities are soon going to cost 6000 pounds a year. The dollar equivalent of that is about $9500, AKA what I pay for HALF a semester WITH a decent scholarship. So if your students are so smart why don't you tell them to get a job and stop bitching?
In happier news, these past four days have been a lot of fun. Saturday night I went with Miriam and her friend Silvana to Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park, which is basically a giant Christmas carnival with booze, rides, shops and singing reindeer. Sunday, my flat hosted a Thankgiving, complete with a Turkey-based feast and Christmas music to get us in the holiday spirit. There were 17 people, tons of food and fun, and about 100 pies. SOOOO many pies. After we ate ourselves into a coma, Ruth and I took a walk around the town to alleviate our food babies and ended up at a casino where I lost about 15 quid on a slot machine. Sad day- at least I was considerably drunk.
Yesterday was a boring stay at home day- the only thing that ended up making it fun was that Emily and Alyssia's internet broke so they came over to do their gazillion papers. Alyssia slept over because we had plans for today and she didn't want to have to come all the way back, so we had a super awesome sleepover and bonded and got pumped about living together next semester.
This morning, I woke up to one of my flatmates FLIPPING out because it was snowing. I almost committed murder because it was an hour before I actually had to be awake for class and I was up late the night before. At around 9:30am Joe and I met our BLC class down by Brick Lane for a field trip, where we learned about the history of one of the most cultural areas in London. It would have been 100 times more awesome if it wasn't an outdoor walking tour, since it was snowing a lot and probably about 25 degrees.
When I got home from Brick Lane, Alyssia and I ate some lunch and then I took her to part 1 of her birthday date (both parts were surprises!). We went down to the Natural History museum and went ice skating! (Side note about ice skating- going today reminded me how innately spastic human beings are. QUITE entertaining.) I thought I was going to fall on my ass and make a fool of myself for the hour we were on the rink, but I ended up taking to it really quickly. I was surprised at how good I was and how much fun I had! I haven't been ice skating in probably 5 years at least. Alyssia and I had the BEST time, and especially enjoyed watching this one guy fall every five seconds. I would like to note his determination though- it was inspiring. He spent most of the hour on the ground.
After ice skating, we took the bus to Harrods where I introduced Alyssia to the Chocolate Bar. We shared an order of triple chocolate fondue and ate until our veins were flowing with chocolate. I could have poked myself and bled chocolate. Mmmm...chocolate.
And tonight will be an early night, since I have my internship tomorrow and got a mere five hours of sleep last night. Trust me, I will be making the most of my last few days here but when I wake up on the 19th with my bags packed, I will be happy to head home. I love London so much, but it's at the point where it's becoming almost too stressfull to enjoy. The good news is, my friend Alex B is coming to visit this weekend so there will definitely be some alcohol to ease my mind.
Cheers!
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Saturday, November 27, 2010
It's so fluffy I'm gonna die!
In a couple of hours my parents will board a plane at Heathrow headed for New York, and I can't stop thinking how strange it is that in three weeks I'll be doing the exact same thing. I have 21 days left in this country and, given how quickly the other hundred or so went by, I'm only now realizing how much there is that I haven't done. Luckily, I have the advantage of being young- if all goes according to the plans I have for my life, I will be back in Europe eventually.
Also, I had the advantage this week of doing a lot of fun stuff with my parents while they were visiting. Wednesday, I went to work as usual, where there was a small fiasco that involved me stuffing, unstuffing, and then restuffing 80 envelopes. Around 4:30pm, my parents met me at the office so we could have dinner, but my boss insisted that they come up and meet everyone in the office and sit down for a cup of tea. We ended up hanging out with my boss and coworkers for about an hour, and it was a lot of fun because I got to show my family where I worked and what my days are like here. After their visit we went to TGIFriday's for some delicious food and then nextdoor to a comedy show that I bought tickets for weeks ago. It was an improv group like last time, with a bar and open seating with a tiny stage in front. And, also like last time, the comedians were HYSTERICAL- my entire family was falling out of their chairs laughing.
Thursday was, as everyone knows, the beautiful American holiday of Thanksgiving. Unfortunately, I am not in American, and it took my family and I hours to actually find a turkey so my mom could cook a nice meal for us in their hotel. During the day, we all went to an exhibit at the Queen's Gallery in Buckingham Palace called the Victoria and Albert exhibit of antique art and paintings, and then to the royal stables where we saw royal horses and royal things and I got a royal lollipop for free at the gift shop. (No seriously, it was royal- it said Prince on is. They ran out of Princess ones.) We also saw the carriage that Kate Middleton is going to ride in when here and William get married in April of next year. Lucky bitch.
After the museums we went back to cook dinner (or at least my Mom did, while Matt and I watched Friends on TV!!), and then ate around 5:30 with my friend Sam joining us. We watched the Holiday (which came in a box set with Love Actually), and laid around with portruding bellies from a delicious feast. Yum sweet potatoes with marshmellows. On Friday, I had work and then I went to my parents hotel, where Alyssia met up with us so we could all eat dinner together. Because I didn't book Ice Bar tickets soon enough, we couldn't get in, so we had fast food in a super shady BK by the Earl's Court tube and then went to see Despicable Me in Leicester Square. It only JUST came out here, which is weird since I saw it opening night in DC in July. And yes, it STILL made me laugh my ass off. If you haven't already seen it, I suggest you do soon.
And what am I doing right now? Sitting in bed, debating over whether or not I should take a giant nap to catch up on all the sleep I missed this week (and for the past three months, for that matter.). I woke up early to have breakfast with my family before they left, and now I'm home doing schoolwork and fighting to stay awake. Miriam has a friend visiting so I'm going to meet them in Hyde Park later at "Winter Wonderland" and my kitchen looks like a bomb hit it (as usual) so I'll probably also do some cleaning. I miss you all and hope you had a wonderful holiday with your families.
Cheers!
Also, I had the advantage this week of doing a lot of fun stuff with my parents while they were visiting. Wednesday, I went to work as usual, where there was a small fiasco that involved me stuffing, unstuffing, and then restuffing 80 envelopes. Around 4:30pm, my parents met me at the office so we could have dinner, but my boss insisted that they come up and meet everyone in the office and sit down for a cup of tea. We ended up hanging out with my boss and coworkers for about an hour, and it was a lot of fun because I got to show my family where I worked and what my days are like here. After their visit we went to TGIFriday's for some delicious food and then nextdoor to a comedy show that I bought tickets for weeks ago. It was an improv group like last time, with a bar and open seating with a tiny stage in front. And, also like last time, the comedians were HYSTERICAL- my entire family was falling out of their chairs laughing.
Thursday was, as everyone knows, the beautiful American holiday of Thanksgiving. Unfortunately, I am not in American, and it took my family and I hours to actually find a turkey so my mom could cook a nice meal for us in their hotel. During the day, we all went to an exhibit at the Queen's Gallery in Buckingham Palace called the Victoria and Albert exhibit of antique art and paintings, and then to the royal stables where we saw royal horses and royal things and I got a royal lollipop for free at the gift shop. (No seriously, it was royal- it said Prince on is. They ran out of Princess ones.) We also saw the carriage that Kate Middleton is going to ride in when here and William get married in April of next year. Lucky bitch.
After the museums we went back to cook dinner (or at least my Mom did, while Matt and I watched Friends on TV!!), and then ate around 5:30 with my friend Sam joining us. We watched the Holiday (which came in a box set with Love Actually), and laid around with portruding bellies from a delicious feast. Yum sweet potatoes with marshmellows. On Friday, I had work and then I went to my parents hotel, where Alyssia met up with us so we could all eat dinner together. Because I didn't book Ice Bar tickets soon enough, we couldn't get in, so we had fast food in a super shady BK by the Earl's Court tube and then went to see Despicable Me in Leicester Square. It only JUST came out here, which is weird since I saw it opening night in DC in July. And yes, it STILL made me laugh my ass off. If you haven't already seen it, I suggest you do soon.
And what am I doing right now? Sitting in bed, debating over whether or not I should take a giant nap to catch up on all the sleep I missed this week (and for the past three months, for that matter.). I woke up early to have breakfast with my family before they left, and now I'm home doing schoolwork and fighting to stay awake. Miriam has a friend visiting so I'm going to meet them in Hyde Park later at "Winter Wonderland" and my kitchen looks like a bomb hit it (as usual) so I'll probably also do some cleaning. I miss you all and hope you had a wonderful holiday with your families.
Cheers!
Thursday, November 25, 2010
You're not a very good stand up comedian! It's because I'm sitting down.
And here is the promised official update of the past 5 days of my life. I know you were all on the edge of your seats so prepare yourself because it's going to be the best thing you've read since the Bible.
On Saturday, my parents and brother arrived bright and early in the beautiful(ly freezing) city of London. They were cold, tired and cranky, so we got some lunch, toured my flat, met some of my housemates and then headed back to their apartment. I swear the three of them dropped like flies once we stepped in the door. I managed to keep my mom up for a half hour to watch an episode of Modern Family, but even for that she was in and out of conciousness. Eventually, she admitted defeat and went to bed around 7ish, at which point my dad woke up and offered to take me to a casino. We took the tube to Knightsbridge and gambled the night away: we both lost a lot playing poker but then I won 50 quid on the slots! After we got tired of wasting money, he went back to his flat and I went back to mine to sleep.
Sunday, I woke up relatively early to get over to my parent's flat so we could all eat breakfast together. After breakfast, I took them back to Knightsbridge where we spent a couple of minutes admiring the windows of Harvey Nichols and Harrods (pictures on my mom's facebook!), which we really cool and got me in the winter-Christmas mood. Then we went into Harrods to eat lunch (HAHA) at the Chocolate Bar. "Hey Genna! This sounds like a magical place that I want to go to when I die!" It is, unknowing citizen, it is. It is the land where chocolate dreams come true. Just to give you a general idea, for lunch I had triple chocolate fondue and a Reese's milk shake. "Hey Genna! That sounds really fattening! Was it worth it?" Oh, how naive you are, unknowing citizen. Chocolate is always worth it.
After we left the Chocolate Bar, my mom and I went to Camden Market while my dad and my brother went to some WWII museum. We spent about 4 hours at Camden and bought so much stuff we literally needed to buy a small roll-ey suitcase to bring it all home. Once my whole family met back at the flat, we showed off our goodies to my brother and dad (who pretended they did not care about our pretty scarves and bags of real green tea and new purses) and then walked to an Italian restaurant up the block for dinner. "Hey Genna! You're a lightweight when it comes to drinking. Is it genetic?" As a matter of fact, it only took two bottles of wine to get my entire family completely pissed (there's some London slang for you) at dinner in a very quiet (but not for long!) place. We were laughing so hard we were crying and then, one of my childhood dreams came true. My mother, who normally does not condone my eatery-cleptomaniac tendencies, not only encouraged me but ASKED me to steal the salt and pepper shakers from the table where we were sitting. Now, I'll admit, she said nothing about the full set of silverwear and shot glass I also slipped into my purse. After we left, as I was bragging loudly to my dad about everything I took and waving it around in the air, the waiter chased me out onto the street screaming...I didn't realize until I saw him waving my gloves that he was simply returning something that I had left. I thought for sure I was going to prison- but at least my food there would have flavor.
After dinner, we all went to see the Social Network, which was amazing and I recommend it to everyone. We got out pretty late, so I went straight home to bed because I had class early the next day. Monday was super boring for that very reason- class 9am-2:30ish with a short break in between as usual, and then I met my parents at their hotel so we could all go to Jay's flat for dinner. Jay is a friend of my Dad's for about 30 years now or so, and he has houses all over the world. He was in London this week and wanted to have all of us over for a traditional Indian meal (Jay's Indian, you guessed it!). Although I wasn't eager to try everything that was cooked for us, I enjoyed what I did eat and overall it was pretty entertaining. Jay is such a nice man, and it was nice to finally meet him after hearing such amazing things about him from my dad. It also helped that his house was freakin sweet and he has his own personal staff.
Tuesday, thanks to the help of one of my awesome teachers here that I love, (whose preggers and super adorable) I was able to take off of class so I could spend more time with the family. We had breakfast together and then went to the Natural History museum, which is right by my flat. The museum is HUGE so we didn't get to see all of it, but we did get to see pickled animals in pickle water (still don't really get it but, ok...) and some cool life size moving t-rex robot in the dinosaur section that made me nostalgic from that time that I was a dinosaur. Those were the days....
That night, we went food shopping for Thanksgiving dinner that my mom is cooking tomorrow, ate some chinese food and then watched Love Actually as I've been waiting for forever to see it since I got to London. I will not bore you with the adventure Matt and I went on to FIND the movie and a way to play it on our hotel TV, but I will leave you with the following figure: 80 quid. That's about how much we spent during the course of 2 hours during which we searched literally all of London for this fucking movie and got to experience about 6 stores, 3 cab rides, and about 30 minutes of walking on a HIGHWAY. Details upon request.
And now, I'd love to tell you about today since it was super fun but I am super tired from all the super fun so once again, I must leave you hanging with the promise that I will most likely finish tomorrow. Happy Thanksgiving to my American readers, enjoy the day. Tune in tomorrow to see what I'm thankful for.
Cheers!
On Saturday, my parents and brother arrived bright and early in the beautiful(ly freezing) city of London. They were cold, tired and cranky, so we got some lunch, toured my flat, met some of my housemates and then headed back to their apartment. I swear the three of them dropped like flies once we stepped in the door. I managed to keep my mom up for a half hour to watch an episode of Modern Family, but even for that she was in and out of conciousness. Eventually, she admitted defeat and went to bed around 7ish, at which point my dad woke up and offered to take me to a casino. We took the tube to Knightsbridge and gambled the night away: we both lost a lot playing poker but then I won 50 quid on the slots! After we got tired of wasting money, he went back to his flat and I went back to mine to sleep.
Sunday, I woke up relatively early to get over to my parent's flat so we could all eat breakfast together. After breakfast, I took them back to Knightsbridge where we spent a couple of minutes admiring the windows of Harvey Nichols and Harrods (pictures on my mom's facebook!), which we really cool and got me in the winter-Christmas mood. Then we went into Harrods to eat lunch (HAHA) at the Chocolate Bar. "Hey Genna! This sounds like a magical place that I want to go to when I die!" It is, unknowing citizen, it is. It is the land where chocolate dreams come true. Just to give you a general idea, for lunch I had triple chocolate fondue and a Reese's milk shake. "Hey Genna! That sounds really fattening! Was it worth it?" Oh, how naive you are, unknowing citizen. Chocolate is always worth it.
After we left the Chocolate Bar, my mom and I went to Camden Market while my dad and my brother went to some WWII museum. We spent about 4 hours at Camden and bought so much stuff we literally needed to buy a small roll-ey suitcase to bring it all home. Once my whole family met back at the flat, we showed off our goodies to my brother and dad (who pretended they did not care about our pretty scarves and bags of real green tea and new purses) and then walked to an Italian restaurant up the block for dinner. "Hey Genna! You're a lightweight when it comes to drinking. Is it genetic?" As a matter of fact, it only took two bottles of wine to get my entire family completely pissed (there's some London slang for you) at dinner in a very quiet (but not for long!) place. We were laughing so hard we were crying and then, one of my childhood dreams came true. My mother, who normally does not condone my eatery-cleptomaniac tendencies, not only encouraged me but ASKED me to steal the salt and pepper shakers from the table where we were sitting. Now, I'll admit, she said nothing about the full set of silverwear and shot glass I also slipped into my purse. After we left, as I was bragging loudly to my dad about everything I took and waving it around in the air, the waiter chased me out onto the street screaming...I didn't realize until I saw him waving my gloves that he was simply returning something that I had left. I thought for sure I was going to prison- but at least my food there would have flavor.
After dinner, we all went to see the Social Network, which was amazing and I recommend it to everyone. We got out pretty late, so I went straight home to bed because I had class early the next day. Monday was super boring for that very reason- class 9am-2:30ish with a short break in between as usual, and then I met my parents at their hotel so we could all go to Jay's flat for dinner. Jay is a friend of my Dad's for about 30 years now or so, and he has houses all over the world. He was in London this week and wanted to have all of us over for a traditional Indian meal (Jay's Indian, you guessed it!). Although I wasn't eager to try everything that was cooked for us, I enjoyed what I did eat and overall it was pretty entertaining. Jay is such a nice man, and it was nice to finally meet him after hearing such amazing things about him from my dad. It also helped that his house was freakin sweet and he has his own personal staff.
Tuesday, thanks to the help of one of my awesome teachers here that I love, (whose preggers and super adorable) I was able to take off of class so I could spend more time with the family. We had breakfast together and then went to the Natural History museum, which is right by my flat. The museum is HUGE so we didn't get to see all of it, but we did get to see pickled animals in pickle water (still don't really get it but, ok...) and some cool life size moving t-rex robot in the dinosaur section that made me nostalgic from that time that I was a dinosaur. Those were the days....
That night, we went food shopping for Thanksgiving dinner that my mom is cooking tomorrow, ate some chinese food and then watched Love Actually as I've been waiting for forever to see it since I got to London. I will not bore you with the adventure Matt and I went on to FIND the movie and a way to play it on our hotel TV, but I will leave you with the following figure: 80 quid. That's about how much we spent during the course of 2 hours during which we searched literally all of London for this fucking movie and got to experience about 6 stores, 3 cab rides, and about 30 minutes of walking on a HIGHWAY. Details upon request.
And now, I'd love to tell you about today since it was super fun but I am super tired from all the super fun so once again, I must leave you hanging with the promise that I will most likely finish tomorrow. Happy Thanksgiving to my American readers, enjoy the day. Tune in tomorrow to see what I'm thankful for.
Cheers!
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Oh my GOD you guys!
I know I've been lousy at updating lately, and I apologize- it's actually been a really hectic week. I went on two field trips for class last week, one to the new Wembley Football Stadium for international marketing and one to Parliament for my British life & cultures class. I love how most of the sights I'm seeing in the country I live in are mandatory for grades! I know I already wrote about the stadium so I won't double-bore you, but Parliament was fairly interesting although I didn't take any pictures and almost fell asleep during the tour. I cannot believe how much I haven't been sleeping since I got to London...Christmas break is going to be one giant nap for me.
Wednesday I had work all day, which was mostly the same as usual. I kept entertained my distracting my co workers and getting a sufficient amount of emailing done, and then I met my flatmate Ruth at our house so we could get ready to go to the theater. We had bought tickets way back in September to see Legally Blonde, and it was finally time- second show in less than a week! We had a great time on our little date, and the show was pretty good. Not as good as Sami made it out to be- I found it to be a little annoying at parts, but it was still funny and a much needed break from a long start to a short week at work.
Thursday and Friday were boring work days as well, pretty much bonding with my boss and procrastinating a bunch (although I do work, I swear!). I was mostly just excited for my family to arrive in London (they were due early Saturday morning) so I didn't have much to keep me busy besides planning out our week together.
Now that my parents have been here for about 5 days, I have a lot to update in this blog. Unfortunately, it's 1:30am and I just came from the apartment where they're staying (which is SUPER nice) and I have work in the morning so I wanted this to be a simple quick update. Tomorrow, I'll get around to the good and juicy stuff that's been going on in my life.
Cheers!
Wednesday I had work all day, which was mostly the same as usual. I kept entertained my distracting my co workers and getting a sufficient amount of emailing done, and then I met my flatmate Ruth at our house so we could get ready to go to the theater. We had bought tickets way back in September to see Legally Blonde, and it was finally time- second show in less than a week! We had a great time on our little date, and the show was pretty good. Not as good as Sami made it out to be- I found it to be a little annoying at parts, but it was still funny and a much needed break from a long start to a short week at work.
Thursday and Friday were boring work days as well, pretty much bonding with my boss and procrastinating a bunch (although I do work, I swear!). I was mostly just excited for my family to arrive in London (they were due early Saturday morning) so I didn't have much to keep me busy besides planning out our week together.
Now that my parents have been here for about 5 days, I have a lot to update in this blog. Unfortunately, it's 1:30am and I just came from the apartment where they're staying (which is SUPER nice) and I have work in the morning so I wanted this to be a simple quick update. Tomorrow, I'll get around to the good and juicy stuff that's been going on in my life.
Cheers!
Monday, November 15, 2010
The light just snap krackle popped
This continuance is specially written for Kate, who doesn't believe I'll finish posting about my weekend and thinks that all of my facebook advertising is a ploy to encourage readership for stale blog updates. Ha! I have bested you, Face, and will always be one step ahead. <3 <3 <3
Saturday was a long day. After getting only about 5 hours of sleep or so after a fun Friday night, I woke up to an all too chipper Kate and an appropriately chipper Vanessa (chipper meter determined in direct correlation to the hour), who had just arrived at Heathrow airport that morning. They had one full day left in London and so it was my job to show them the best of it, so we got to work. Of course our first stop was Camden Market, my favorite shopping destination in the city, where we spent a couple of hours looking around. I'm amazed at how every time I go there I see a new section of it I never knew existed.
After we left Camden, we noticed that pretty much all the tube lines were down due to construction, but we managed to make our way down to Westminster to see the crucial London sights. We saw the River Thames and took some pictures together in front of the London Eye.
It didn't take long for Vanessa and Katie to convince me that we had to ride the London Eye, even though it was expensive, I was damn near broke, and I was almost positive I was going in a week when my family visits anyway. We got our tickets and stood online for about 20 minutes and could not have possibly timed it better. We got on just as the sun was going down and the whole city was lit up beautifully. Just as our pod hit the highest point on the wheel, fireworks were being set off on the River right in front of us in honor of Rememberance Day. It was so scenic it reminded me how much I have totally fallen in love with this city over the past few months. Katie, on the other hand, didn't need as much time to grow appreciation. She had been declaring since the moment she arrived that London would one day be her permanent home.
After the Eye, we met up with three of Vanessa's friends who were also visiting London so we could all have dinner together (along with Alyssia and Emily), at my favorite Chinese food place Hare&Tortuous. Because the tubes were down we had QUITE an adventure getting to the resturant, but I won't waste time and energy describing the ordeal because it was insanely frustrating and disheartening. On the upside, dinner was delicious, and afterwards, Vanessa, Katie, Alyssia, Emily and I all went back to my flat for a drink. Bedtime was early that night for sure.
Sunday was an overdue lazy day. I hadn't sat in my flat awake for more than an hour since Wednesday, and I was so tired and wiped out I could hardly get out of my bed. I slept 12 hours, during which Katie left for the airport, and then woke up to say goodbye to Vanessa when she got back from seeing more of London that afternoon. I grabbed some groceries, made some lunch, and watched a lot of television. Got to catch up on my shows!
Today, I was back to a hectic routine; I had to wake up extra early and take the tube an hour out into zone four for my international marketing class field trip to Wembley stadium. The tour of the stadium was actually a lot of fun, and I was really excited to see more of London- especially on class time and on someone else's dollar. Now that I'm leaving in just five weeks, I feel like I have to see everything! I already know next week is going to be insane and filled with London adventures, since my parents and Matt (!!!!!!) arrive on Saturday for a week long visit. I miss Matt so much, I haven't seen him since May, so he better be prepared for a lot of squeezy hugs.
Tomorrow, I have another class field trip (British Life & Cultures) to see the houses of Parliament. Should be sufficiently dull- no one knows as little about politics as I do. The good news is, today I found Nutella cereal in the supermarket and will be having a deliciously fattening breakfast in the morning.
Cheers!
Saturday was a long day. After getting only about 5 hours of sleep or so after a fun Friday night, I woke up to an all too chipper Kate and an appropriately chipper Vanessa (chipper meter determined in direct correlation to the hour), who had just arrived at Heathrow airport that morning. They had one full day left in London and so it was my job to show them the best of it, so we got to work. Of course our first stop was Camden Market, my favorite shopping destination in the city, where we spent a couple of hours looking around. I'm amazed at how every time I go there I see a new section of it I never knew existed.
After we left Camden, we noticed that pretty much all the tube lines were down due to construction, but we managed to make our way down to Westminster to see the crucial London sights. We saw the River Thames and took some pictures together in front of the London Eye.
After the Eye, we met up with three of Vanessa's friends who were also visiting London so we could all have dinner together (along with Alyssia and Emily), at my favorite Chinese food place Hare&Tortuous. Because the tubes were down we had QUITE an adventure getting to the resturant, but I won't waste time and energy describing the ordeal because it was insanely frustrating and disheartening. On the upside, dinner was delicious, and afterwards, Vanessa, Katie, Alyssia, Emily and I all went back to my flat for a drink. Bedtime was early that night for sure.
Sunday was an overdue lazy day. I hadn't sat in my flat awake for more than an hour since Wednesday, and I was so tired and wiped out I could hardly get out of my bed. I slept 12 hours, during which Katie left for the airport, and then woke up to say goodbye to Vanessa when she got back from seeing more of London that afternoon. I grabbed some groceries, made some lunch, and watched a lot of television. Got to catch up on my shows!
Today, I was back to a hectic routine; I had to wake up extra early and take the tube an hour out into zone four for my international marketing class field trip to Wembley stadium. The tour of the stadium was actually a lot of fun, and I was really excited to see more of London- especially on class time and on someone else's dollar. Now that I'm leaving in just five weeks, I feel like I have to see everything! I already know next week is going to be insane and filled with London adventures, since my parents and Matt (!!!!!!) arrive on Saturday for a week long visit. I miss Matt so much, I haven't seen him since May, so he better be prepared for a lot of squeezy hugs.
Tomorrow, I have another class field trip (British Life & Cultures) to see the houses of Parliament. Should be sufficiently dull- no one knows as little about politics as I do. The good news is, today I found Nutella cereal in the supermarket and will be having a deliciously fattening breakfast in the morning.
Cheers!
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Katie is moving to London, apparently
I have spent entirely too many hours wearing stockings in the past ten days. I can get passed this though, because I look so damn cute in my little professional outfits I think it's worth the annoyance. My internship is going really well- I love my boss and all the people I work with, and I just found out I'm actually going to receive a small amount of compensation at the end of the seven weeks (paid in GBP, score!) even though its kind of against the rules. The days are long of course, but they don't drag which is good. Twenty-four hours a week is a lot, but I suppose it hardly compares to how much I worked this summer. I also kind of enjoy my twenty minute commute every morning; I take the number 14 bus from South Kensington to Green Park (yes, I sit on top of the double deckers...I don't care how long you live here it's still cool) and on the way get to see great parts of the city. The windows in Harrod's (which are comparable to the holiday windows at Sax Fifth Avenue) look amazing because it's Christmastime and the whole city is getting ready for the season.
Besides working so much at my internship, I had the most hectic, insane, fun week in London. Wednesday, I went straight from my job to meet one of my flatmates, Ruth, in Picadilly for dinner and a comedy show. We had bought tickets for the show through our abroad program for 5 quid, which was an amazing discount. After dinner at TGIF, we sat down at the comedy club for happy hour drinks and the show. It was hysterical, I literally have not laughed that hard in a long time. I didn't think it was going to be that funny because it was improv instead of stand up, but it was really entertaining.
After the show, I got home and Katie was sitting on my couch!! (This wasn't a surprise, I knew she was coming but it was still just like Christmas morning!) She brought my chocolates from France to thank me for hosting her for the weekend, which was adorable and one of the million reasons why I love her. We spent some time chatting and catching up, but then I had to go to sleep because I had work early the next morning. During the day on Friday, Katie met me on my lunch break at this yummy salad place, and then came to see my office. After I got out of work, we had a quick dinner at my flat and then went with Mimi to see Wicked at the Apollo Theater in Victoria. It's already one of my favorite shows, but the singing that night made me fall in LOVE. The cast was incredible, and the woman who played Elphaba (who yes, had an Irish accent!) blew Idina Menzel out of the water.
Friday, I had work again but it was good to know I had an exciting weekend coming up. Friday night, everyone in my flat plus about 18 other people visiting went out to a club. I haven't gone out with everyone in a LONG time since I was travelling so much last month and have just been so tired all the time. We went to a club called Pacha, where there was a random fashion show going on. Katie and I got home super late and then, much to my distaste, woke up super early on Saturday morning for another long day.
I'm going to finish updating a little later, I have to eat some dinner and work on a paper I have due on Tuesday. It would also be nice if I could find an open washer/dryer to get some laundry done.
Cheers!
Besides working so much at my internship, I had the most hectic, insane, fun week in London. Wednesday, I went straight from my job to meet one of my flatmates, Ruth, in Picadilly for dinner and a comedy show. We had bought tickets for the show through our abroad program for 5 quid, which was an amazing discount. After dinner at TGIF, we sat down at the comedy club for happy hour drinks and the show. It was hysterical, I literally have not laughed that hard in a long time. I didn't think it was going to be that funny because it was improv instead of stand up, but it was really entertaining.
After the show, I got home and Katie was sitting on my couch!! (This wasn't a surprise, I knew she was coming but it was still just like Christmas morning!) She brought my chocolates from France to thank me for hosting her for the weekend, which was adorable and one of the million reasons why I love her. We spent some time chatting and catching up, but then I had to go to sleep because I had work early the next morning. During the day on Friday, Katie met me on my lunch break at this yummy salad place, and then came to see my office. After I got out of work, we had a quick dinner at my flat and then went with Mimi to see Wicked at the Apollo Theater in Victoria. It's already one of my favorite shows, but the singing that night made me fall in LOVE. The cast was incredible, and the woman who played Elphaba (who yes, had an Irish accent!) blew Idina Menzel out of the water.
Friday, I had work again but it was good to know I had an exciting weekend coming up. Friday night, everyone in my flat plus about 18 other people visiting went out to a club. I haven't gone out with everyone in a LONG time since I was travelling so much last month and have just been so tired all the time. We went to a club called Pacha, where there was a random fashion show going on. Katie and I got home super late and then, much to my distaste, woke up super early on Saturday morning for another long day.
I'm going to finish updating a little later, I have to eat some dinner and work on a paper I have due on Tuesday. It would also be nice if I could find an open washer/dryer to get some laundry done.
Cheers!
Monday, November 8, 2010
Theories on whether or not I'm actually here
I wonder how many people I can randomly run into in Europe before it becomes strange/apparent that I'm actually living inside a very small cardboard box? To date, these are my awkward "small-world" run-ins:
1. While travelling to Rome with Mimi, we realized we were on a flight with two girls in our marketing class at FIE. Two days later, we ran into them again while eating gelato (what else?) at Campo de Fiori. Also, while at the Vatican on the Monday of that week, we ran into two other people we go to school with in London.
2. About two weeks into living in London I was walking home from the tube when I noticed a girl who looked extremely familiar: turned out to be an old friend from high school that graduated the same year as my brother. She had gotten there that morning- I hadn't seen her in 6 years.
3. Saturday night, Mimi, Cierra and I met up with Emily at a bar by where she lives. She had two friends visiting from American and we wanted to all have a grand old time partying the night away. Five minutes after getting there, I'm walking past the bar when someone reaches out and grabs my arm: I'm about to smack a bitch because that would have been the second time I had been groped since entering. I turn around and it's Ian, a guy who lived on my floor freshman year at AU. He was with three other AU people. ...Wtf?
So, as a result of the above evidence, I have developed a theory. I am in my very own version of the Truman show, and everyone in the world is staged to bump into me randomly when I least expect it. Either that or we're all in a social experiment of students who THINK they're studying abroad but actually are, in fact, living inside a very small cardboard box.
Cheers!
1. While travelling to Rome with Mimi, we realized we were on a flight with two girls in our marketing class at FIE. Two days later, we ran into them again while eating gelato (what else?) at Campo de Fiori. Also, while at the Vatican on the Monday of that week, we ran into two other people we go to school with in London.
2. About two weeks into living in London I was walking home from the tube when I noticed a girl who looked extremely familiar: turned out to be an old friend from high school that graduated the same year as my brother. She had gotten there that morning- I hadn't seen her in 6 years.
3. Saturday night, Mimi, Cierra and I met up with Emily at a bar by where she lives. She had two friends visiting from American and we wanted to all have a grand old time partying the night away. Five minutes after getting there, I'm walking past the bar when someone reaches out and grabs my arm: I'm about to smack a bitch because that would have been the second time I had been groped since entering. I turn around and it's Ian, a guy who lived on my floor freshman year at AU. He was with three other AU people. ...Wtf?
So, as a result of the above evidence, I have developed a theory. I am in my very own version of the Truman show, and everyone in the world is staged to bump into me randomly when I least expect it. Either that or we're all in a social experiment of students who THINK they're studying abroad but actually are, in fact, living inside a very small cardboard box.
Cheers!
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Is there no limit to what Stanley won't notice?
Back to London, which means back to posting once every week or so. A couple of super important points I need to make sure I cover in this edition:
1. I started my internship on Wednesday
2. Alyssia, Emily and I went to the National Gallery on Tuesday and saw lots of paintings of people I didn't know. Some were naked.
3. I got an A in Finance! Fuck yes. I rule the world.
4. I desperately miss my notebooks (packing on the way here only allowed me to bring one instead of all six and I'm suffering from separation anxiety)
5. I have three (yes, three...THREE) grey hairs. Three. And that's only counting the ones I can see with my naked eyes (the ones on the front of my face. If you're walking behind me and notice another one, by all means, fill me in.)
Ok so, lets be real here folks: the only one of those thoughts that actually needs expanding is the first one. As most of you know, part of my program here in London is to do a 6 credit internship for seven weeks during the second half of the semester (that's why my finance class is already over. Did I mention I got an A?). So on Wednesday, I put on a "smart" business outfit (some british slang for you), and took the bus to Green Park where I will be working for the rest of the term. I'm in the corporate office of NinetyTen, a social networking business that has created a private social network for membership organizations. I'm working in the marketing department (which is actually just me, another intern, and an actual marketing guy), but in one big office (and I use the term "big" loosely) with the whole staff. Altogether, including myself and my boss, there's 5 of us. The work is kind of tedious- I'm doing a giant database entry sheet and sending out solicitation emails for our new product- but I love everyone I work with so it's a lot of fun. Today, my boss Tony bought us all KFC and we just sat in the conference room for an hour and hung out. I also convinced all of them that we should go see the Social Network movie together (appropriate), so we're going next week.
So, ever since I've been waking up at 7 30 and doing 9 hour days, I'm super tired all the time, as are the rest of my flatmates. So even though it's only 11 30, I'm going to sleep. I want to give a nice little shout out first, though, to my best friend Alyssa (Joey!) because tomorrow is her 20th birthday and I'm sad I can't be with her for it. I love you so much Alyssa and hope it's the best! More in a few days, this weekend should be tons of fun.
Cheers!
1. I started my internship on Wednesday
2. Alyssia, Emily and I went to the National Gallery on Tuesday and saw lots of paintings of people I didn't know. Some were naked.
3. I got an A in Finance! Fuck yes. I rule the world.
4. I desperately miss my notebooks (packing on the way here only allowed me to bring one instead of all six and I'm suffering from separation anxiety)
5. I have three (yes, three...THREE) grey hairs. Three. And that's only counting the ones I can see with my naked eyes (the ones on the front of my face. If you're walking behind me and notice another one, by all means, fill me in.)
Ok so, lets be real here folks: the only one of those thoughts that actually needs expanding is the first one. As most of you know, part of my program here in London is to do a 6 credit internship for seven weeks during the second half of the semester (that's why my finance class is already over. Did I mention I got an A?). So on Wednesday, I put on a "smart" business outfit (some british slang for you), and took the bus to Green Park where I will be working for the rest of the term. I'm in the corporate office of NinetyTen, a social networking business that has created a private social network for membership organizations. I'm working in the marketing department (which is actually just me, another intern, and an actual marketing guy), but in one big office (and I use the term "big" loosely) with the whole staff. Altogether, including myself and my boss, there's 5 of us. The work is kind of tedious- I'm doing a giant database entry sheet and sending out solicitation emails for our new product- but I love everyone I work with so it's a lot of fun. Today, my boss Tony bought us all KFC and we just sat in the conference room for an hour and hung out. I also convinced all of them that we should go see the Social Network movie together (appropriate), so we're going next week.
So, ever since I've been waking up at 7 30 and doing 9 hour days, I'm super tired all the time, as are the rest of my flatmates. So even though it's only 11 30, I'm going to sleep. I want to give a nice little shout out first, though, to my best friend Alyssa (Joey!) because tomorrow is her 20th birthday and I'm sad I can't be with her for it. I love you so much Alyssa and hope it's the best! More in a few days, this weekend should be tons of fun.
Cheers!
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