I know, I know, I know... It has been too long, but I've been busy! The time here is winding down and while my trip has been packed full everyday, there still seems to be so much that I still want to do.
While I've been busy there's not TOO much to report on. Last week I had to finish up all my school work (final paper, journals, readings, etc) and turn it all in... What a relief. Now I'll fill you in on the fun stuff :)
Last weekend, my friend, Jessie and I took a bus trip to Windsor Castle, Stonehenge, and Bath. It was a pretty fun trip. Windsor Castle reminded me a lot of the castles and palaces we went to in Spain... Pretty, ornate, HUGE, rooms decorated in rich colours: reds, blues, golds. The grounds were really pretty as well. DIDN'T stop The Queen herself, but she was there.... We also saw the changing of the guards which was neat. A lot of marching around and such... didn't really understand what was going on but I'm sure they did.
Stonehenge was sweet. It's actually not as big as I thought it would be. But the rocks are huge, and how they got from Whales down to southern England so long ago boggles my mind.
Last stop was Bath. The town was super cute. It's all made out of the same stone, so the whole town kind of gives off a 'glow.' It's really hilly, and has a little river running through it for some really breathtaking scenes.
The Roman Baths themselves were really cool to see as well, but the water was quite dirty. They advised us not to touch or get too close to it... Walking around and thinking about people using them so many years ago was quite cool. There was also one little bath that was bubbling naturally. It was under a volcanic spring or something so it made the water suuuuuuper hot... I wanted to jump in, but Jessie told me I couldn't.
That week, like I said, I finished up my paper and other school work; had my last day of class! :) and my last day of work :(
I was so sad to leave. If you couldn't tell by my last couple posts: I REALLY loved my coworkers and job. I couldn't have asked for a better company to work for (no, they don't read this, so I'm not trying to suck up or anything.. haha) The last day, I brought in some carrot cake for everyone during tea time, and after work we all headed to a pub 'for a laugh.'
We went to the pub that Michelle Obama took her kids to while she was in London a while ago. Next, we made our way to the company's 'classic' pub: The Goat. It was a bit different scene :) haha, but a lot of fun. We got about 10 bags of crisps and opened them all on the middle of the table to share. It was a good end to a great internship.
As goodbye presents.. which were completely unneccessary.. they framed one of my pictures I had taken, printed and toned while I was there. Antony printed out one of his favorite pictures he's taken (with his pinhole camera - sweet), and they gave me a Holga camera! I've never used one.. not too sure how to (Help, Barry?) But I'll figure it out. Rob also gave me a roll of color and a roll of b&w to start with... I'm excited to start using it.
I miss my coworkers already, but they said they'd give me a call on Friday to maybe meet up for a couple drinks before I leave the UK for good.
This weekend, my friend, Kyle, arrived in London for his last stop of his journey around Europe. On Friday, I took him around 'classic' London: Buckingham Palace, Trafalger Square, Big Ben, Parliament, London Eye, and down the Thames to the Globe, Tate Modern, and St. Paul's. It's a walk I've done three or four times now, but I still love it every time.
Saturday night, we went and saw Avenue Q... Loved it. I love musicals.. Everytime I walk out of one, I'm convinced that not only can I sing really well, but that I should sing really loudly.... I also convince myself that my life would be SO much better if it were a musical, so I try to make myself believe it is.. through doing the aboved mentioned. It works - until people start throwing things at me.
Sunday, I took a bus to Oxford for the day. I got to see a lot of the areas Harry Potter was filmed at, or the sets were inspired by.. It was quite cool (obviously) Oxford was a really pretty town as well.. Definitely a good day trip.
Yesterday, I had my 'viva.' Basically, I had to go talk to my project supervisor and internship coordinator about how much I loved my job, what I did, what it was like, etc.. Then a little bit about my paper.. I also took in the picture they framed for me to show them. They really enjoyed my pictures and my project they said... We'll see how much so when I get my grade back... Haha..
After that, I met up with Kyle again and took him to Camden, one of my very favorite parts of London (I'm pretty sure I've talked about it a couple times before) I don't know what it is about the area that I like so much. It's on a boat lock, so that's really neat. They have tons of stalls set up along the river with shirts, jewellery, cds, etc.. and the buildings are all really neat. If anyway visits London, definitely take time to make a stop at Camden Town.
For today, I'm planning on studying for my final exam. Then going to the National Portrait Gallery and British Museam. Also, going to stop by the TKTS stand and see if there are any cheapish tickets for Billy Elliot since I love musicals so much.
Harry Potter comes out tonight at midnight! Whooooooo! Get pumped... But London doesn't have a midnight premire ANYWHERE... Crazy, right?!? Trust me, I've done research and the earliest showing is 9am tomorrow morning... Obviously, I'm attending. It's at the theatre that it premiered at here... so that's pretty cool.
My time here is quickly coming to an end... too quickly... way too quickly. I'm excited to get home and see everyone, but I know I'll be missing London greatly. I get back on Saturday the 18th afternoonish.. Looking forward to my big "Welcome Home" parties I know you all have been planning since the day I left... I prefer white cake with chocolate icing (or carrot cake) and tea... in case you guys were wondering or anything.
Sorry it was so long without an update, but better late than never, I suppose.
7.14.2009
7.02.2009
Good Week
Alright, before I really get cracking on my paper (planning to finish it tonight so I don't have to worry about it anymore) I wanted to update... It's been a really good week at work and I wanted to share it!
On Tuesday, I was doing some basic editing on Photoshop. Cleaning up the images, doing a little levels/brightness/contrast whatnot when one of my bosses remembered that we really needed to get to work on a couple images. This wasn't any basic editing though, it was something a little more complicated only one of the guys really knew how to do. He had written directions and showed a couple people, but the paper was lost, and no one really remembered how to do it. They asked me if I somehow knew how to do it... I told them I sort of watched James do it once while he was talking to me... I asked for 10 minutes and a computer to try to figure it out on. Somehow, I found a way to make it work (wasn't EXACTLY) the way he did it... but it worked! It was very exciting to be able to really contribute to the production in that way. Sure, I've taken a couple pictures before, done basic editing, but for me to be able to teach them and help them out felt great :)
On Wednesday, I got to develop my roll of film I shot with their camera. It felt good to be working with film again since it's been a couple months since the last time I was able to.
After that, I got to help Antony shoot the Primer League trophy! Compare this to the Super Bowl Trophy then multiply the love America has for that by like three million and that kind of starts putting this trophy into perspective :) Hahaha... It was super big, and pretty... and shiny. Which means reflective... Which means SO much fun to photograph.. haha. We ended up building a huge cylinder out of white paper to wrap it in, and cutting a hole in part of it to stick the camera through. It was quite a process, but it turned out really nice. Here's a picture for you: TROPHY - Pretty sweet, right? One of my British friends (who is a big football fan) couldn't believe I got to touch it! (even though it was only with gloves on) haha...
Today: Was a fantastic day. I got to work in the dark room alllllllllllllllllll dayyyyyyyy. Made a lot of prints of my pictures that I'm excited to show off when I get home :)
Alright, well, I think that's enough procrastination for now. I really better get to work on this paper...
On Tuesday, I was doing some basic editing on Photoshop. Cleaning up the images, doing a little levels/brightness/contrast whatnot when one of my bosses remembered that we really needed to get to work on a couple images. This wasn't any basic editing though, it was something a little more complicated only one of the guys really knew how to do. He had written directions and showed a couple people, but the paper was lost, and no one really remembered how to do it. They asked me if I somehow knew how to do it... I told them I sort of watched James do it once while he was talking to me... I asked for 10 minutes and a computer to try to figure it out on. Somehow, I found a way to make it work (wasn't EXACTLY) the way he did it... but it worked! It was very exciting to be able to really contribute to the production in that way. Sure, I've taken a couple pictures before, done basic editing, but for me to be able to teach them and help them out felt great :)
On Wednesday, I got to develop my roll of film I shot with their camera. It felt good to be working with film again since it's been a couple months since the last time I was able to.
After that, I got to help Antony shoot the Primer League trophy! Compare this to the Super Bowl Trophy then multiply the love America has for that by like three million and that kind of starts putting this trophy into perspective :) Hahaha... It was super big, and pretty... and shiny. Which means reflective... Which means SO much fun to photograph.. haha. We ended up building a huge cylinder out of white paper to wrap it in, and cutting a hole in part of it to stick the camera through. It was quite a process, but it turned out really nice. Here's a picture for you: TROPHY - Pretty sweet, right? One of my British friends (who is a big football fan) couldn't believe I got to touch it! (even though it was only with gloves on) haha...
Today: Was a fantastic day. I got to work in the dark room alllllllllllllllllll dayyyyyyyy. Made a lot of prints of my pictures that I'm excited to show off when I get home :)
Alright, well, I think that's enough procrastination for now. I really better get to work on this paper...
6.30.2009
The REAL Ireland Update.
Pictures (<--LINK) to accompany reading. I suggest opening two windows and flipping through the pictures as you read about them... Like a picture book. Fun.
Ireland was fantastic... I don't really know where to begin... I guess I'll begin with Friday.
Friday:
Get up at... 4am, I think? Not 100% sure. Our plan was scheduled to leave at 6.25, so we wanted to make it there in plenty of time. As soon as we get there, we are informed that our plane is delayed due to technical problems................................. until an estimated time of 9.45... Cool. Off to a good start. So, after sitting in the airport for 5 hours, it's finally time to board. The flight takes less than an hour. We're all in semi high spirits, considering we just had to wait for 5 hours, but really not too pumped about the way our trip is starting out... Until we ask the first local a question. The people in London are very friendly, the locals in France.......................... not so much), but we've heard the Irish like the Americans more than the French (like that's hard) so we prepare for the same friendliness we receive in England. We were not prepared for HOW nice they were though! And not just nice... funny. They smile at us, give us correct instructions on where to go/what to do, etc.... Nice.
So, we get on the correct bus, the bus driver tells us he will call out our stop for us, and with his (and the friendly lady next to me) help, we get off at our stop and find our hostel. After we check in, we ask the (very attractive) Irish desk worker where we should go to eat. He suggests (and gives us directions to) The Stag's Head... We go. I order the Chicken Hot Pot (Sooooooooooooo delicious.) and a Smithwick's... It's Ireland.
After our filling meal, we take our bags back to the hostel as we weren't allowed to go up into our room the first time since it wasn't clean... We then meet our hostel mate... We don't ever get his real name, but we refer to him as Enrique the rest of the trip. He's from Barcelona and is spending who knows how long (he doesn't even know) in Ireland, learning English.
We then go exploring around Dublin... Going to Trinity College, a couple Cathedrals, Grafton St., Temple Bar area, and St. Stephen Green's Park. It's all lovely. You can see pictures in the link I posted at top. That night, we go to another pub for dinner. I'm still full from the Chicken Hot Pot, so I get a little sandwich). Then, we meet up with the other girls in the program for a night at THE Temple Bar. It was fun, but we were all worn out from our journey, so we got to bed pretty early.
Saturday:
Train to Cork to see Blarney. It. Was. Gorgeous. The whole castle grounds are uber pretty. The line to kiss the Blarney Stone was ridiculously long, but we wanted to wait and kiss it... I thought for luck, but was soon informed that it was for eloquence (I still made a wish and swear I've been more lucky ever since I kissed it... Wanted to make sure I covered all the possibilities... Just in case) We hopped in line in the middle of a group from a Princess Cruise (I noticed their stickers with the logo) I then started chatting with the two older ladies behind me. Find out they are, in fact, on a cruise around the British Isles and from Ohio! We keep talking to them... and I later realized it's because they reminded me of you, Mom. It was probably the closest I've come to being homesick since I've been here... and it wasn't that I was homesick, really... They just reminded me of Mom and one of her sisters - the specific one changed, but point is, I could see Louise and any one of my aunts going on this journey with her, and you guys talking to the college girls in front of you in line the whole time.. Good little reminder of home :)
Anyway, I digress... We finally make it in to the castle and begin our ascent up to the Blarney Stone.... It's a very trechorous climb and I honestly don't know how the people on either side of me made it up. I swore I was going to pass out in the middle of one of the tiny, steep, sprial staircases. Finally after a million stairs, there is a light at the end of the turret.
Next thing I know, I'm in front of the stone, being grabbed, shoved down, and told to grab the gaurdrails and kiss the stone.... Uhhhh, okay. I REALLY don't know how the 80 year olds in front of me lived through it... I almost didn't (but I am 28 according to Wii Fit). As I stand up, however, I immediately feel ten times more eloquent, gracefull, lucky, prettier, etc than before... All of this is proven to be true later in the journey.
We take the train back to Dublin then, and go to a pub suggested by our cab driver, the Hairy Lemon. Again, we are quite knackered so we hit the hay semi early (but only after a delicious kebab)
Sunday:
Took the train to Galway. We didn't make it in time to take a bus tour to the Cliffs of Moher so we grabbed lunch at a little pub. I had THE best fish and chips of my life... literally. I think it's probably due to the fact that it was caught 20 minutes before it was fried... I'm guessing.... But I'm guessing that guess is correct.
ANYWAY. After that, we took our own walking tour around Galway... Then it started raining.. but we ventured on. Galway is... quaint. Very pretty... a good break from the 'cities' I suppose, but I've found I'm a city girl.
I took quite a... 'trip' while there. I don't think I can really give it justice through text, but in short, I tried to take on an inanimate object (works very well... reference that time I tried to fight the movie theatre chair and ended with a huge bruise on my head, or that time I managed to hit myself with my golf ball, I could continue) ended with me on the wet ground, my umbrella ten feet in front of me, my shoe caught on a banner stand (tangled may be a better word for it), and a group of 10 thirteen year olds and my two friends laughing for about 10 minutes... Use your imagination. - Clearly, the Blarney Stone really blessed me with grace.
After I bandaged myself (and my ego) from that fall, we went back to the hostel to freshen up before our night out.
Any local we asked for advice on what to do RAVED about the local music scene. So, we went to a famous pub (The King's Head) for dinner and a pint. Little did we know, it was the night of the Brasil/USA football (soccer for all you American's) game. Since the pub was completely silent except for the cheering for everyone's respective teams, we had no choice but to watch the game... which, I am proud to report, I thoroughly enjoyed... Even though we lost. Anyway... After the game, a cover band came out and played some songs... It reminded me of my little brother's band and again made me miss home a bit. A good end to a good trip though.
Monday:
Ventured back to Dublin. We had a couple hours before our plane left, so we decided to do the tour of the Guinness factory. It was pretty cool, not much to say about it though... Just check out the pics :)
For dinner we went to The Brazen Head, Dublin's oldest pub. I had Irish Stew... Delish.
Our plane home was on time and I made it back just before midnight.
Today was a really good day at work, but I'm getting sick of typing and I'm sure you're all sick of reading. So I'll leave you with another friendly reminder to look at the pictures (they're pretty... I promise) and if you ever get a chance to visit Ireland... GO!
Cheers!
Ireland was fantastic... I don't really know where to begin... I guess I'll begin with Friday.
Friday:
Get up at... 4am, I think? Not 100% sure. Our plan was scheduled to leave at 6.25, so we wanted to make it there in plenty of time. As soon as we get there, we are informed that our plane is delayed due to technical problems................................. until an estimated time of 9.45... Cool. Off to a good start. So, after sitting in the airport for 5 hours, it's finally time to board. The flight takes less than an hour. We're all in semi high spirits, considering we just had to wait for 5 hours, but really not too pumped about the way our trip is starting out... Until we ask the first local a question. The people in London are very friendly, the locals in France.......................... not so much), but we've heard the Irish like the Americans more than the French (like that's hard) so we prepare for the same friendliness we receive in England. We were not prepared for HOW nice they were though! And not just nice... funny. They smile at us, give us correct instructions on where to go/what to do, etc.... Nice.
So, we get on the correct bus, the bus driver tells us he will call out our stop for us, and with his (and the friendly lady next to me) help, we get off at our stop and find our hostel. After we check in, we ask the (very attractive) Irish desk worker where we should go to eat. He suggests (and gives us directions to) The Stag's Head... We go. I order the Chicken Hot Pot (Sooooooooooooo delicious.) and a Smithwick's... It's Ireland.
After our filling meal, we take our bags back to the hostel as we weren't allowed to go up into our room the first time since it wasn't clean... We then meet our hostel mate... We don't ever get his real name, but we refer to him as Enrique the rest of the trip. He's from Barcelona and is spending who knows how long (he doesn't even know) in Ireland, learning English.
We then go exploring around Dublin... Going to Trinity College, a couple Cathedrals, Grafton St., Temple Bar area, and St. Stephen Green's Park. It's all lovely. You can see pictures in the link I posted at top. That night, we go to another pub for dinner. I'm still full from the Chicken Hot Pot, so I get a little sandwich). Then, we meet up with the other girls in the program for a night at THE Temple Bar. It was fun, but we were all worn out from our journey, so we got to bed pretty early.
Saturday:
Train to Cork to see Blarney. It. Was. Gorgeous. The whole castle grounds are uber pretty. The line to kiss the Blarney Stone was ridiculously long, but we wanted to wait and kiss it... I thought for luck, but was soon informed that it was for eloquence (I still made a wish and swear I've been more lucky ever since I kissed it... Wanted to make sure I covered all the possibilities... Just in case) We hopped in line in the middle of a group from a Princess Cruise (I noticed their stickers with the logo) I then started chatting with the two older ladies behind me. Find out they are, in fact, on a cruise around the British Isles and from Ohio! We keep talking to them... and I later realized it's because they reminded me of you, Mom. It was probably the closest I've come to being homesick since I've been here... and it wasn't that I was homesick, really... They just reminded me of Mom and one of her sisters - the specific one changed, but point is, I could see Louise and any one of my aunts going on this journey with her, and you guys talking to the college girls in front of you in line the whole time.. Good little reminder of home :)
Anyway, I digress... We finally make it in to the castle and begin our ascent up to the Blarney Stone.... It's a very trechorous climb and I honestly don't know how the people on either side of me made it up. I swore I was going to pass out in the middle of one of the tiny, steep, sprial staircases. Finally after a million stairs, there is a light at the end of the turret.
Next thing I know, I'm in front of the stone, being grabbed, shoved down, and told to grab the gaurdrails and kiss the stone.... Uhhhh, okay. I REALLY don't know how the 80 year olds in front of me lived through it... I almost didn't (but I am 28 according to Wii Fit). As I stand up, however, I immediately feel ten times more eloquent, gracefull, lucky, prettier, etc than before... All of this is proven to be true later in the journey.
We take the train back to Dublin then, and go to a pub suggested by our cab driver, the Hairy Lemon. Again, we are quite knackered so we hit the hay semi early (but only after a delicious kebab)
Sunday:
Took the train to Galway. We didn't make it in time to take a bus tour to the Cliffs of Moher so we grabbed lunch at a little pub. I had THE best fish and chips of my life... literally. I think it's probably due to the fact that it was caught 20 minutes before it was fried... I'm guessing.... But I'm guessing that guess is correct.
ANYWAY. After that, we took our own walking tour around Galway... Then it started raining.. but we ventured on. Galway is... quaint. Very pretty... a good break from the 'cities' I suppose, but I've found I'm a city girl.
I took quite a... 'trip' while there. I don't think I can really give it justice through text, but in short, I tried to take on an inanimate object (works very well... reference that time I tried to fight the movie theatre chair and ended with a huge bruise on my head, or that time I managed to hit myself with my golf ball, I could continue) ended with me on the wet ground, my umbrella ten feet in front of me, my shoe caught on a banner stand (tangled may be a better word for it), and a group of 10 thirteen year olds and my two friends laughing for about 10 minutes... Use your imagination. - Clearly, the Blarney Stone really blessed me with grace.
After I bandaged myself (and my ego) from that fall, we went back to the hostel to freshen up before our night out.
Any local we asked for advice on what to do RAVED about the local music scene. So, we went to a famous pub (The King's Head) for dinner and a pint. Little did we know, it was the night of the Brasil/USA football (soccer for all you American's) game. Since the pub was completely silent except for the cheering for everyone's respective teams, we had no choice but to watch the game... which, I am proud to report, I thoroughly enjoyed... Even though we lost. Anyway... After the game, a cover band came out and played some songs... It reminded me of my little brother's band and again made me miss home a bit. A good end to a good trip though.
Monday:
Ventured back to Dublin. We had a couple hours before our plane left, so we decided to do the tour of the Guinness factory. It was pretty cool, not much to say about it though... Just check out the pics :)
For dinner we went to The Brazen Head, Dublin's oldest pub. I had Irish Stew... Delish.
Our plane home was on time and I made it back just before midnight.
Today was a really good day at work, but I'm getting sick of typing and I'm sure you're all sick of reading. So I'll leave you with another friendly reminder to look at the pictures (they're pretty... I promise) and if you ever get a chance to visit Ireland... GO!
Cheers!
6.28.2009
Ireeeeeeeeeeeland.
Can't really update... Currently in the hostel in Galway... Loving Ireland (much moreso than Paris)
I'll update fully when I return to London :)
Don't miss the updates too much, Mom!
I'll update fully when I return to London :)
Don't miss the updates too much, Mom!
6.21.2009
Lovely.
Today was a great day. Slept in, then went to get a "full English breakfast" with Julianne. Ate... basically the entire thing: scrambled eggs, sausage, toast, tomatoes, cucumbers, annnnnnnnnnd baked beans? It was delicious.
It was such a beautiful day, I decided to grab my camera(s) - mine and the film one from work, and go out around the Buckingham Palace/where I work area. Then, I just kept walking... and walking... and walking. For five hours. It was glorious. After Buckingham Palace, I made my way to Trafalger Square, then down to Big Ben and Parliament, over to London Eye. Walked along the Thames all the way down to Tate Modern and St. Paul's.... I GoogleMapped the route I took at it's roughly............................. five miles. It was great. Here are the pictures I took... Facebook makes the grayscale look really terrible though...... PICTURES.
Yesterday, was also a beautiful day in London. I took the day to catch up... Laundry, cleaning, etc. Then I went over to Hyde Park and worked on some school work, read, and picniced. In the evening, a couple of girls and I went back to Brick Lane for a night out.
Tomorrow, it's supposed to rain, but if it holds off, I'm planning on going to Camden to take some more pictures... My co-workers all reccommended that I take pictures there, so I will!
FAMILY: Why didn't you comment on my last post?!?! Is even my family dying out on their enthusiastic reading??
It was such a beautiful day, I decided to grab my camera(s) - mine and the film one from work, and go out around the Buckingham Palace/where I work area. Then, I just kept walking... and walking... and walking. For five hours. It was glorious. After Buckingham Palace, I made my way to Trafalger Square, then down to Big Ben and Parliament, over to London Eye. Walked along the Thames all the way down to Tate Modern and St. Paul's.... I GoogleMapped the route I took at it's roughly............................. five miles. It was great. Here are the pictures I took... Facebook makes the grayscale look really terrible though...... PICTURES.
Yesterday, was also a beautiful day in London. I took the day to catch up... Laundry, cleaning, etc. Then I went over to Hyde Park and worked on some school work, read, and picniced. In the evening, a couple of girls and I went back to Brick Lane for a night out.
Tomorrow, it's supposed to rain, but if it holds off, I'm planning on going to Camden to take some more pictures... My co-workers all reccommended that I take pictures there, so I will!
FAMILY: Why didn't you comment on my last post?!?! Is even my family dying out on their enthusiastic reading??
6.20.2009
Half Way Done :(
I just realized I never posted the link to the pictures from (Sirap) Paris! Ooops.. Here ya go: Pictures!
In other news...
Wednesday: Work was a lot of fun. They let me go into the dark room and make some prints of old negatives they had laying around. It was pretty sweet getting some private lessons from a guy as knowledgeable as Keith (the dark room professional of the company) Then they dug out an old film 35mm Nikon for me to take with me for the weekend to shoot a roll with. Then, I can make some prints of my own pictures! I'm really excited to do that... I haven't worked in the dark room for quite a while and it's something I really enjoy. That night I had class... Where we learned about "Working in the UK" Not the most thrilling lecture I've ever attended.
Thursday: Work again. Helped take some pictures of furniture, then edited some on Photoshop. That night, we went over to the pub, Prince Albert, for dinner before turning in early.. We were all pretty tired from the week.
Friday: The Royal Ascot! It's a big horse race here... Kind of like the Kentucky Derby, but the Queen attends. Saw the Royal Procession, then then races began. It was pretty fun... Even though I don't know anything about horse races. Didn't win anything... Not surprising, but I only bet £6 so it wasn't a huuuuge loss... and it made it more fun. A couple girls did win though! Anywhere from £12-125! After the race, Julianne, Janelle, Rachael, Jessie and I went to Yo! Sushi, one of those conveyor belt sushi places... It was really tasty.
Today: Nothing too big planned... Just a catching up day, I think. Laundry, cleaning the room, then probably heading over to the park to work on some school work... It's beautiful out now, so hopefully it stays this way..
Check out the pictures from Paris, and sorry my life hasn't been anything too exciting to read about lately... but I still love it!
In other news...
Wednesday: Work was a lot of fun. They let me go into the dark room and make some prints of old negatives they had laying around. It was pretty sweet getting some private lessons from a guy as knowledgeable as Keith (the dark room professional of the company) Then they dug out an old film 35mm Nikon for me to take with me for the weekend to shoot a roll with. Then, I can make some prints of my own pictures! I'm really excited to do that... I haven't worked in the dark room for quite a while and it's something I really enjoy. That night I had class... Where we learned about "Working in the UK" Not the most thrilling lecture I've ever attended.
Thursday: Work again. Helped take some pictures of furniture, then edited some on Photoshop. That night, we went over to the pub, Prince Albert, for dinner before turning in early.. We were all pretty tired from the week.
Friday: The Royal Ascot! It's a big horse race here... Kind of like the Kentucky Derby, but the Queen attends. Saw the Royal Procession, then then races began. It was pretty fun... Even though I don't know anything about horse races. Didn't win anything... Not surprising, but I only bet £6 so it wasn't a huuuuge loss... and it made it more fun. A couple girls did win though! Anywhere from £12-125! After the race, Julianne, Janelle, Rachael, Jessie and I went to Yo! Sushi, one of those conveyor belt sushi places... It was really tasty.
Today: Nothing too big planned... Just a catching up day, I think. Laundry, cleaning the room, then probably heading over to the park to work on some school work... It's beautiful out now, so hopefully it stays this way..
Check out the pictures from Paris, and sorry my life hasn't been anything too exciting to read about lately... but I still love it!
6.16.2009
Sirap
Don't have too much time to update since I'm meeting Lauren in like 20 minutes for Flight of the Conchords! WHOOOOOOOOO
Anyway...
This weekend was PARIS.
It wasn't quite what I expected but I had a very good time. I do loooooooooove London though... so I'm a (little) bias :)
Friday: We got in and made our way to our hotel. We then went to the Arc de Triomphe.. and walked around all over there. Before sunset, we came upon the Eiffel Tower and decided to go up... Allllll the way :) It was absolutely beautiful and saw the sun beginning to set.... The view was amazing. Anyone who comes to Paris MUST go up to the top... Awesome.
By the time we got back down, it had started getting dark and the lights were beginning to come on. We went and grabbed some crepes, and sat down in the lawn in front of it to enjoy the crepes, talk, and watch the Eiffel Tower light up.
Saturday: We decided to go to a little district of Paris my co-worker, Robert, reccommended... Monmarte. Definitely a very cool part of Paris. It was much less touristy and very cute. It also had an epic church... and weird lunch. I took pictures.
That night we were all pretty tired so we went back to the Effiel Tower, ate some baguettes then went back to the hotel for a good night's rest.
Sunday: It was supposed to rain, so we planned for the Lourve. It didn't rain, but we still went. It was pretty sweet as well... Though, I must admit, I found myself marveling the architecture more than the artwork a lot of the times.... Oops? :)
Seeing things like Mona Lisa, and Venus de Milo in real life was pretty spectacular though. Then we wandered around various parts of Paris for a bit until we decided to head back to Monmarte for ice cream and people watching... Great idea.
Monday: Was the day of our departure, but we had enough time for one adventure before we left. We planned to go to the underground cemetary, the Catacombs, and I was very excited for this part... Little did we know, the Catacombs are closed on Mondays... Sooooooooooooo we instead had time to sit in a cute little cafe, drink coffee, and eat crepes before our depature.
I'm definitely glad I went, but I personally much prefer London. :) It's good to be back.
Today... I just had work. My co-workers heard me call it the "trashcan" though, and all began telling me other funny things they thought I said. One remembered be calling the lead a "cord." and they found it very humourous that I said "Sweet" when I found something interesting or cool. They also thought it was very stranged I always wished them to "have a good day!"
Apparently, that's not common here... I'm slowly, but surely becoming more British however, as I completely unconciously referred to my apartment as my "flat" and my friends as my "mates" (my co-workers also pointed this out)
I can't believe my time here is almost halfway over! But enough blogging... time for Flight of the Conchords :)
Mom: Next time I talk to you on the phone remind me to tell you about a delicious idea for lunch for you.
Torie: Can't wait to talk to you about LOST. I was so proud when I read that you started watching it :)
Dad: I refer to it as Sirap all the time now... No one else gets it, but I figure it will catch on.. along with the "spot of tea" and Nose-Knows... Just give it time.
Anyway...
This weekend was PARIS.
It wasn't quite what I expected but I had a very good time. I do loooooooooove London though... so I'm a (little) bias :)
Friday: We got in and made our way to our hotel. We then went to the Arc de Triomphe.. and walked around all over there. Before sunset, we came upon the Eiffel Tower and decided to go up... Allllll the way :) It was absolutely beautiful and saw the sun beginning to set.... The view was amazing. Anyone who comes to Paris MUST go up to the top... Awesome.
By the time we got back down, it had started getting dark and the lights were beginning to come on. We went and grabbed some crepes, and sat down in the lawn in front of it to enjoy the crepes, talk, and watch the Eiffel Tower light up.
Saturday: We decided to go to a little district of Paris my co-worker, Robert, reccommended... Monmarte. Definitely a very cool part of Paris. It was much less touristy and very cute. It also had an epic church... and weird lunch. I took pictures.
That night we were all pretty tired so we went back to the Effiel Tower, ate some baguettes then went back to the hotel for a good night's rest.
Sunday: It was supposed to rain, so we planned for the Lourve. It didn't rain, but we still went. It was pretty sweet as well... Though, I must admit, I found myself marveling the architecture more than the artwork a lot of the times.... Oops? :)
Seeing things like Mona Lisa, and Venus de Milo in real life was pretty spectacular though. Then we wandered around various parts of Paris for a bit until we decided to head back to Monmarte for ice cream and people watching... Great idea.
Monday: Was the day of our departure, but we had enough time for one adventure before we left. We planned to go to the underground cemetary, the Catacombs, and I was very excited for this part... Little did we know, the Catacombs are closed on Mondays... Sooooooooooooo we instead had time to sit in a cute little cafe, drink coffee, and eat crepes before our depature.
I'm definitely glad I went, but I personally much prefer London. :) It's good to be back.
Today... I just had work. My co-workers heard me call it the "trashcan" though, and all began telling me other funny things they thought I said. One remembered be calling the lead a "cord." and they found it very humourous that I said "Sweet" when I found something interesting or cool. They also thought it was very stranged I always wished them to "have a good day!"
Apparently, that's not common here... I'm slowly, but surely becoming more British however, as I completely unconciously referred to my apartment as my "flat" and my friends as my "mates" (my co-workers also pointed this out)
I can't believe my time here is almost halfway over! But enough blogging... time for Flight of the Conchords :)
Mom: Next time I talk to you on the phone remind me to tell you about a delicious idea for lunch for you.
Torie: Can't wait to talk to you about LOST. I was so proud when I read that you started watching it :)
Dad: I refer to it as Sirap all the time now... No one else gets it, but I figure it will catch on.. along with the "spot of tea" and Nose-Knows... Just give it time.
6.11.2009
Cheers, London (be back soon!) Bonjour, Paris.
Here ya go, Torie... This one's for you.
These past couple days haven't really been too overly eventful.
Monday: A lot of my friends worked, so I went to the Tate Modern solo. It was a lot cooler than I thought it would be actually. I really enjoyed the Andy Warhol room and there was even one room over Robert Frank! A photographer I've learned a lot about and really enjoy his work. They even had some of the contact sheets from one of his most famous collections, The Americans. I spent a solid 20 minutes just staring at those. After Tate, my friend Alex recommended that I walk down the Thames to the London Eye because it's a really pretty walk. I loved the area, so I thought I'd give it a try... Somehow, I managed to get lost... So I just jumped on the nearest tube and made my way back.
Tuesday: Went to work. It was a good day. Went back to the Morlborough Gallery to help photograph a painting. Then in the afternoon I actually got to take some pictures myself! It was pretty exciting. I've been watching everyone else take pictures for a week and Tuesday they actually let me do some for myself... and they turned out good! So hopefully I'll get to do some more later.
Wednesday: Basically the best day ever. Literally spent the whole time at work 'working' on Photoshop... Yeah, I could make that be my everyday job. :) The evening... was not so grand. London decided to have a 48 hour long tube strike... Real cool. What is usually a 30 minute tube ride to class took an hour and 45 minutes on bus and a 40 minute walk... Looooooong day.
Today: Tube is still on strike... Walked to work (which isn't too bad. It's about an hour walk 90% through Hyde Park) I went on location with a couple guys to photograph a Damien Hurst 'Pill Cabinet' for a gallery. It was a really long day... followed by a really long walk, but overall very good.
As for tonight: Not too much on the agenda... just PACKING... for PARIS. Probably won't be able to update while I'm in Paris... So next time you'll hear from me will probably be Monday night or Tuesday.
These past couple days haven't really been too overly eventful.
Monday: A lot of my friends worked, so I went to the Tate Modern solo. It was a lot cooler than I thought it would be actually. I really enjoyed the Andy Warhol room and there was even one room over Robert Frank! A photographer I've learned a lot about and really enjoy his work. They even had some of the contact sheets from one of his most famous collections, The Americans. I spent a solid 20 minutes just staring at those. After Tate, my friend Alex recommended that I walk down the Thames to the London Eye because it's a really pretty walk. I loved the area, so I thought I'd give it a try... Somehow, I managed to get lost... So I just jumped on the nearest tube and made my way back.
Tuesday: Went to work. It was a good day. Went back to the Morlborough Gallery to help photograph a painting. Then in the afternoon I actually got to take some pictures myself! It was pretty exciting. I've been watching everyone else take pictures for a week and Tuesday they actually let me do some for myself... and they turned out good! So hopefully I'll get to do some more later.
Wednesday: Basically the best day ever. Literally spent the whole time at work 'working' on Photoshop... Yeah, I could make that be my everyday job. :) The evening... was not so grand. London decided to have a 48 hour long tube strike... Real cool. What is usually a 30 minute tube ride to class took an hour and 45 minutes on bus and a 40 minute walk... Looooooong day.
Today: Tube is still on strike... Walked to work (which isn't too bad. It's about an hour walk 90% through Hyde Park) I went on location with a couple guys to photograph a Damien Hurst 'Pill Cabinet' for a gallery. It was a really long day... followed by a really long walk, but overall very good.
As for tonight: Not too much on the agenda... just PACKING... for PARIS. Probably won't be able to update while I'm in Paris... So next time you'll hear from me will probably be Monday night or Tuesday.
6.08.2009
Birthday Weekend.
I know... It's been a while since my last update... But I've just been busy!
Friday: A lot of my friends had work, so I had to find something to do by myself. A lot of people had gone to (and loved) the Tower of London, so I decided to try that. I read about it a bit in Rick Steve's so that I had a little background knowledge before I went. Rick Steve's still didn't prepare me for it though. It was seriously cool. I joined a tour given by one of the Beefeaters. He was very humourous and gave a lot of history about the place. I would highly recommended anyone visiting London to spend some time at The Tower of London... I spent two hours walking around and taking pictures myself.
After that, I made my way out to Tower Bridge. The bridge you see in every picture of London. It was really sweet too, but I didn't have time to walk over it, so I just looked at it from afar. I am going to go back sometime though and walk across the Thames.
Came back, ate dinner, and got ready for the evening. Didn't want to do anything too crazy since I had Cotswolds in the morning and another girl had to go to work. So, Janelle, Jessie and I just ended up meeting up with our British friends: Alex, Alex (2), Demetri, and Mario :) for a couple pubs before heading home.
Saturday: TRIP TO COTSWOLDS. It was about a 2.5 hour drive, but it was beautiful! Rolling hills alllllll around. Tour guide was..... quite a character, and the weather was anything but nice, but it was still very cool. It's crazy to believe that people actually live in these little villages. I don't think pictures can really do it justice...
After Cotswolds I had a quick little dinner then took some of the girls from the program to meet up with my friend Lauren to go out to Brick Lane.
Sunday: After a busy weekend, my roommate and I decided to take a kind of lazy day. Rachel, Steph and I just went to Westfield (a HUUUUUUGE mall) for a bit. For dinner, Rachel, Steph, Janelle, Julianne, and I went out to the little Italian place down the road, Zizzi, and treated ourselves all to birthday dinners. :)
I posted some new pictures (<----Link) The album includes the Tower of London, Tower Bridge, Cotswolds, and some of the food I've been eating. Since I couldn't take pictures of the Crown Jewels, here's a link to them... Yeah, I got to see those in real life.
For today, I think I'm going to head to Tate Modern for a little exploration around there. I also have some school work I have to do, so I'm hoping it gets nicer out so I can do it in Hyde Park.
Pip, pip... Cheerio.
Torie: Shockingly, they don't use the bathroom very often! I don't know how they do it.
Dad: The Nose-Knows is picking up quickly. I've been forcing people to use it... They're beginning to embrace it. I put a lot of pictures of food I've been eating up... Make sure you look at them!
Mom: I will talk to you soon... I promise! Love you!
Friday: A lot of my friends had work, so I had to find something to do by myself. A lot of people had gone to (and loved) the Tower of London, so I decided to try that. I read about it a bit in Rick Steve's so that I had a little background knowledge before I went. Rick Steve's still didn't prepare me for it though. It was seriously cool. I joined a tour given by one of the Beefeaters. He was very humourous and gave a lot of history about the place. I would highly recommended anyone visiting London to spend some time at The Tower of London... I spent two hours walking around and taking pictures myself.
After that, I made my way out to Tower Bridge. The bridge you see in every picture of London. It was really sweet too, but I didn't have time to walk over it, so I just looked at it from afar. I am going to go back sometime though and walk across the Thames.
Came back, ate dinner, and got ready for the evening. Didn't want to do anything too crazy since I had Cotswolds in the morning and another girl had to go to work. So, Janelle, Jessie and I just ended up meeting up with our British friends: Alex, Alex (2), Demetri, and Mario :) for a couple pubs before heading home.
Saturday: TRIP TO COTSWOLDS. It was about a 2.5 hour drive, but it was beautiful! Rolling hills alllllll around. Tour guide was..... quite a character, and the weather was anything but nice, but it was still very cool. It's crazy to believe that people actually live in these little villages. I don't think pictures can really do it justice...
After Cotswolds I had a quick little dinner then took some of the girls from the program to meet up with my friend Lauren to go out to Brick Lane.
Sunday: After a busy weekend, my roommate and I decided to take a kind of lazy day. Rachel, Steph and I just went to Westfield (a HUUUUUUGE mall) for a bit. For dinner, Rachel, Steph, Janelle, Julianne, and I went out to the little Italian place down the road, Zizzi, and treated ourselves all to birthday dinners. :)
I posted some new pictures (<----Link) The album includes the Tower of London, Tower Bridge, Cotswolds, and some of the food I've been eating. Since I couldn't take pictures of the Crown Jewels, here's a link to them... Yeah, I got to see those in real life.
For today, I think I'm going to head to Tate Modern for a little exploration around there. I also have some school work I have to do, so I'm hoping it gets nicer out so I can do it in Hyde Park.
Pip, pip... Cheerio.
Torie: Shockingly, they don't use the bathroom very often! I don't know how they do it.
Dad: The Nose-Knows is picking up quickly. I've been forcing people to use it... They're beginning to embrace it. I put a lot of pictures of food I've been eating up... Make sure you look at them!
Mom: I will talk to you soon... I promise! Love you!
6.04.2009
So Much Tea... So Little Time.
I don't really have too much to blog about, but I heard I have a pretty persistent following, so I didn't want to disappoint :) Haha... No, but really. Thanks for reading, if you have. Please, leave comments! I like hearing who's reading... Also, ask any questions if you have them... that way I have more to write about and know what you guys want to read about. Anyway...
Today has been pretty uneventful (hence the 'not much to blog about...') Went to work today. Another great day. I'm glad I have an internship somewhere I really enjoy with cool people... Not everyone is as lucky.
Day started out like the other two... with a cup of tea. I heard the British love their tea, but I guess I always figured it was like one, MAYBE two cups a day... right? WRONG. Today, I had THREE cups of tea. Three... Thinking this was an absurd amount, I asked three co-workers (?-but not technically... since I'm not even close to their level... I'm just an intern) on average, how many cups of tea they drink in a day. The responses: Anywhere from 7-12... Ridiculous.
Anyway. After my first 'spot of tea' (<----DAD: They all looked at me like I was crazy when I made reference to a 'spot of tea' today... Apparently that won't catch on... but I have high hopes for the Nose-Knows.. I'll let you know how it goes) I joined Stephen on location to photograph a 8ft by 10ft painting at Molborough Gallery. We finished it earlier than we thought, so while we were waiting to be picked up we walked through the basement of the gallery. There were tons of painting and sculptures right in front of me... it was pretty sweet. Stephen was pointing out some of the things he knew the names of the artists for as we went along. Eventually, we stumbled upon some blown glass and he wasn't sure who it was.. I suggested Dale Chihuly, and later found out that it was, in fact Chihuly! SO COOL. Stephen had never heard of him, but we found a book in their library about him so we sat down and looked through it together.
After we made it back to the studio and shot a couple paintings and photographs... I also mounted a couple transparencies (my newfound skill/something no one else wants to do:)) In that time, I also had two more tea breaks...
At five, things were really slowing down so they sent me home... but before I left, they gave me a birthday card signed by all of them :) So nice!
Well, I made quite a post out of 'not much to blog about' but it was a good day. Cotswold and my bday this weekend... pretty pumped. Hope all is well in America!
Cheerio, tally ho! (<---- Also, FAMILY. 'tally ho' and 'pip pip' are NOT phrases commonly used here (Shocking.)... yet. I'm working on it.)
BARRY: I'm planning on going to the block pub for a night cap of a frosty beer in a bit... I'll try to get a pic.
Today has been pretty uneventful (hence the 'not much to blog about...') Went to work today. Another great day. I'm glad I have an internship somewhere I really enjoy with cool people... Not everyone is as lucky.
Day started out like the other two... with a cup of tea. I heard the British love their tea, but I guess I always figured it was like one, MAYBE two cups a day... right? WRONG. Today, I had THREE cups of tea. Three... Thinking this was an absurd amount, I asked three co-workers (?-but not technically... since I'm not even close to their level... I'm just an intern) on average, how many cups of tea they drink in a day. The responses: Anywhere from 7-12... Ridiculous.
Anyway. After my first 'spot of tea' (<----DAD: They all looked at me like I was crazy when I made reference to a 'spot of tea' today... Apparently that won't catch on... but I have high hopes for the Nose-Knows.. I'll let you know how it goes) I joined Stephen on location to photograph a 8ft by 10ft painting at Molborough Gallery. We finished it earlier than we thought, so while we were waiting to be picked up we walked through the basement of the gallery. There were tons of painting and sculptures right in front of me... it was pretty sweet. Stephen was pointing out some of the things he knew the names of the artists for as we went along. Eventually, we stumbled upon some blown glass and he wasn't sure who it was.. I suggested Dale Chihuly, and later found out that it was, in fact Chihuly! SO COOL. Stephen had never heard of him, but we found a book in their library about him so we sat down and looked through it together.
After we made it back to the studio and shot a couple paintings and photographs... I also mounted a couple transparencies (my newfound skill/something no one else wants to do:)) In that time, I also had two more tea breaks...
At five, things were really slowing down so they sent me home... but before I left, they gave me a birthday card signed by all of them :) So nice!
Well, I made quite a post out of 'not much to blog about' but it was a good day. Cotswold and my bday this weekend... pretty pumped. Hope all is well in America!
Cheerio, tally ho! (<---- Also, FAMILY. 'tally ho' and 'pip pip' are NOT phrases commonly used here (Shocking.)... yet. I'm working on it.)
BARRY: I'm planning on going to the block pub for a night cap of a frosty beer in a bit... I'll try to get a pic.
6.02.2009
First Day of Work, Diane Arbus, and Weekends Schedule.
First day of work done and I'm totally shattered (A phrase I've picked up from one of my British mates meaning 'extremely sleepy')
Work was a lot of fun. I cannot lie, it's just a lot of standing up/running around/information being thrown at me....
The day started out with a cup of tea (not surprisingly... no carrot cake though) Then I met about 10-12 people... Two were named James and two others Keith, so if I ever blanked, I chose one of the two... and I was usually right. Next, I went with one of the James' to do some deliveries around town. He pointed out a lot of the company's other clients along the way, and at our last stop, we were able to look around at the Diane Arbus exhibit... which was awesome. After I got back, I helped one of the guys shoot some paint pallets from the 1800's. One was William Beechey's and I can't remember the others, but it was also very old. The rest of the day I learned about Photoshop and how they use it, how to frame pictures, and just a lot of other things here and there. At 11 and 4 every day we have a tea break where I entertained them all by telling them about where I was from and a little about America/Indiana... They were very intrigued by the concept of Bourbon... the town. For my lunch break, I grabbed a sandwich and went down to the park to enjoy it... It was such a nice day.
When I got back, I booked my trips to Pairs and Ireland! And figured out the rest of my weekends....
1st: Day trip to Cotswold on Saturday... Birthday weekend as well!
2nd: PARIS.
3rd: The Royal Ascot day trip and perhaps Greenwich?
4th: IRELAND.
5th: Bath
6th: Last weekend in London :( - Probably go to a show
7th: Return to the US of A
Rough life, right? I'm getting really comfortable with the city and being here now (There's a lot I haven't discovered, I know... but I feel very comfortable here) but I still catch myself thinking "HOLY CRAP... I'm in London!" on a daily basis...
Well, I best head off to bed. Another full day tomorrow with work and class right after. Cheerio!
Work was a lot of fun. I cannot lie, it's just a lot of standing up/running around/information being thrown at me....
The day started out with a cup of tea (not surprisingly... no carrot cake though) Then I met about 10-12 people... Two were named James and two others Keith, so if I ever blanked, I chose one of the two... and I was usually right. Next, I went with one of the James' to do some deliveries around town. He pointed out a lot of the company's other clients along the way, and at our last stop, we were able to look around at the Diane Arbus exhibit... which was awesome. After I got back, I helped one of the guys shoot some paint pallets from the 1800's. One was William Beechey's and I can't remember the others, but it was also very old. The rest of the day I learned about Photoshop and how they use it, how to frame pictures, and just a lot of other things here and there. At 11 and 4 every day we have a tea break where I entertained them all by telling them about where I was from and a little about America/Indiana... They were very intrigued by the concept of Bourbon... the town. For my lunch break, I grabbed a sandwich and went down to the park to enjoy it... It was such a nice day.
When I got back, I booked my trips to Pairs and Ireland! And figured out the rest of my weekends....
1st: Day trip to Cotswold on Saturday... Birthday weekend as well!
2nd: PARIS.
3rd: The Royal Ascot day trip and perhaps Greenwich?
4th: IRELAND.
5th: Bath
6th: Last weekend in London :( - Probably go to a show
7th: Return to the US of A
Rough life, right? I'm getting really comfortable with the city and being here now (There's a lot I haven't discovered, I know... but I feel very comfortable here) but I still catch myself thinking "HOLY CRAP... I'm in London!" on a daily basis...
Well, I best head off to bed. Another full day tomorrow with work and class right after. Cheerio!
6.01.2009
Brick Lane, Smoked Salmon, and Movie Night
I might have discovered my favorite part of London... I can't claim it for 100% positive yet, but it's safe to say that it is one of the coolest areas I've been to...
One of my best friends from school has a cousin, Lauren, that has lived here since she was three. When my friend heard I was going to be spending the summer in London, she gave her cousin my name and we've been emailing back and forth for a while now. We finally were able to meet today and she took me down the the above mentioned place, Brick Lane. It's a much more artsy/young/indie (NOT ND mom and dad :) hahaha) area. Tons of little shops and restaurants. It was a lot of fun and I'm planning on taking a group of girls from the flat there sometime soon.
While she was showing me around she brought up that there was supposedly a REALLY good bagel shop somewhere around. We somehow stumbled upon it and even though it looked kinda shady, we decided to give it a try.... Good decision. DAD... You will be so pleased to hear I tried something very British... and it was absolutely delicious: A smoked salmon and cream cheese bagel sandwich... Seriously, I wanted it again for dinner, but I resisted. I decided to opt for a healthier meal of chicken sandwich and fruit.
After our delicious lunch, Lauren wanted to show me her part of town. She lives in the east side... Hackney. Her flat is a very small studio type, but the neighborhood is very adorable. She also has a little cat named Ralph! He is also very adorable and has taken a strange liking to me. Lauren claims he never really likes strangers, but he wouldn't leave me alone.. I told her it was because my father's name is Ralph... Must be it, really.
I was glad to finally meet her and have a friend that knows the town. I look forward to hanging out with her some more and meeting her friends.
Tonight, our GR, Phillip, organized a movie night for the flat. We were supposed to watch V for Vendetta, but the disc was scratched so we ended up having to watch Notting Hill :) I was quite alright with this decision. It was really cool, because I actually recognized a lot of the places they brought up! There is even a line where Hugh suggests taking 'Bayswater' which is my road.
Well, I start my internship tomorrow... I'm actually really looking forward to it! But I better get to bed...
Dave: Those were on Saturday night, so the game was over by then... Annnnnnnnnnnnnnd suuuuuuure... I watched it?? Hahah... Sorry! I thought about watching it? Does that count for anything?
Barry: Next time I have a cold beer, I will take a picture of it just for you... Though, they really don't look that much different across the pond...
Torie: I can't turn down William if he asks for my hand in marrige... I'm sorry... I'm sure theres a law or something with like breaking the Prince's heart... Can't have that. If that happens though, the Harry's (Prince and Potter) are alllllllllllllll yours. :)
Dad: I was going to take a picture of my salmon cream cheese bagel sandwich, but Lauren would not allow it... I'll sneak a picture of one sometime soon, as I'm sure I'll have it again.
One of my best friends from school has a cousin, Lauren, that has lived here since she was three. When my friend heard I was going to be spending the summer in London, she gave her cousin my name and we've been emailing back and forth for a while now. We finally were able to meet today and she took me down the the above mentioned place, Brick Lane. It's a much more artsy/young/indie (NOT ND mom and dad :) hahaha) area. Tons of little shops and restaurants. It was a lot of fun and I'm planning on taking a group of girls from the flat there sometime soon.
While she was showing me around she brought up that there was supposedly a REALLY good bagel shop somewhere around. We somehow stumbled upon it and even though it looked kinda shady, we decided to give it a try.... Good decision. DAD... You will be so pleased to hear I tried something very British... and it was absolutely delicious: A smoked salmon and cream cheese bagel sandwich... Seriously, I wanted it again for dinner, but I resisted. I decided to opt for a healthier meal of chicken sandwich and fruit.
After our delicious lunch, Lauren wanted to show me her part of town. She lives in the east side... Hackney. Her flat is a very small studio type, but the neighborhood is very adorable. She also has a little cat named Ralph! He is also very adorable and has taken a strange liking to me. Lauren claims he never really likes strangers, but he wouldn't leave me alone.. I told her it was because my father's name is Ralph... Must be it, really.
I was glad to finally meet her and have a friend that knows the town. I look forward to hanging out with her some more and meeting her friends.
Tonight, our GR, Phillip, organized a movie night for the flat. We were supposed to watch V for Vendetta, but the disc was scratched so we ended up having to watch Notting Hill :) I was quite alright with this decision. It was really cool, because I actually recognized a lot of the places they brought up! There is even a line where Hugh suggests taking 'Bayswater' which is my road.
Well, I start my internship tomorrow... I'm actually really looking forward to it! But I better get to bed...
Dave: Those were on Saturday night, so the game was over by then... Annnnnnnnnnnnnnd suuuuuuure... I watched it?? Hahah... Sorry! I thought about watching it? Does that count for anything?
Barry: Next time I have a cold beer, I will take a picture of it just for you... Though, they really don't look that much different across the pond...
Torie: I can't turn down William if he asks for my hand in marrige... I'm sorry... I'm sure theres a law or something with like breaking the Prince's heart... Can't have that. If that happens though, the Harry's (Prince and Potter) are alllllllllllllll yours. :)
Dad: I was going to take a picture of my salmon cream cheese bagel sandwich, but Lauren would not allow it... I'll sneak a picture of one sometime soon, as I'm sure I'll have it again.
5.31.2009
More Pictures
I put a new album up: New Album <---Click on that.
The pictures in the album includeeeeee
Yesterday's trip to Portabello Market, my walk around London (and getting lost), my road, and the evening festivities... There's also one. yes, one. picture from the Camden Market today.
To Barry: Don't worry, they do not serve warm beer here... I heard they did that too, but it is false. Cold beer is served here... Haven't had a frosty mug yet, but it is cold. You might have to bring your own frosty mug when you visit though.
To Mom: The album has a lot of pictures of my road too :) and some of my friends. They're all "tagged" so you can see who is who by putting your cursor on the unknown girls faces and their name will pop up (LJ can help you if you're still confused...)
To Those Concerned: No sightings of the Princes... yet. I start work on Tuesday though, so I'll let you know if there is any progress... And conversely, probably when the wedding will be.
And to the Harry Potter Fans: I AM going to the premiere... there's a group of proud Potter Geeks in the house and we're fully prepared to stalk.
The pictures in the album includeeeeee
Yesterday's trip to Portabello Market, my walk around London (and getting lost), my road, and the evening festivities... There's also one. yes, one. picture from the Camden Market today.
To Barry: Don't worry, they do not serve warm beer here... I heard they did that too, but it is false. Cold beer is served here... Haven't had a frosty mug yet, but it is cold. You might have to bring your own frosty mug when you visit though.
To Mom: The album has a lot of pictures of my road too :) and some of my friends. They're all "tagged" so you can see who is who by putting your cursor on the unknown girls faces and their name will pop up (LJ can help you if you're still confused...)
To Those Concerned: No sightings of the Princes... yet. I start work on Tuesday though, so I'll let you know if there is any progress... And conversely, probably when the wedding will be.
And to the Harry Potter Fans: I AM going to the premiere... there's a group of proud Potter Geeks in the house and we're fully prepared to stalk.
5.30.2009
Carrot Cake, Portabella Market, Lost in London
Didn't get a chance to update yesterday, so here it is:
I went to my interview that was scheduled to start at 11.30. I'm always afraid of being late, so I left with plenty of time to make it there, meaning... I got there with an hour to spare.. I hadn't eaten yet, so I decided to stop in a little bakery, EAT. and ate a muffin and glass of milk while watching the activities happening on my road. After my breakfast, I made my way down to Prudence Cuming where I had my interview. As soon as I walked in, I was greeted by Antony, who offered me tea, coffee, water, or carrot cake... yes, carrot cake. I declined. After he asked me a couple questions, he showed me around the studio. The tour ended in the break room where we met up with another head guy, Keith. After talking to Keith for a bit, he also offered me carrot cake. When I declined once more, he decided he wanted some for himself. He continued the interview while eating his piece of carrot cake... with a knife.
Everyone at the company seems very friendly. I'm very excited to learn all that I can and use the equipment that costs more than a house probably. The interview concluded with them telling me I start work on Tuesday at 9 :)
After my interview, I made my way back to Palace Court where I saw a group of girls getting ready to go on a tour down by Piccadilly. Even though I had just been there, as that is the area I work, I decided to go with. We wandered around Buckingham Palace, Piccadilly St, and Chinatown where the group split. My friend Julianne and I decided to take a little walk ourselves. We walked down through Trafalgar Square, down Whitehall, and concluded at Big Ben, Parliament, The London Eye, and Thames. Big Ben and Parliament was absolutely breath taking. The detail and architecture is unlike anything I've ever seen. We stood in awe glancing up at Big Ben for quite awhile. After many pictures and gaping looks, we decided to head back to Palace Court.
In the evening a couple girls and I walked down on Queensway, got some coffee and ice cream and talked before heading home and turning in for the night.
It was lovely weather all day... Perfect for sightseeing.
Today:
Another beautiful day... Perfect for exploring.
Phillip, the GR, offered to escort any who would like to come to Portabella Market (in Notting Hill!) He supplied the group with some maps and lead the way. While the Market was very cool, I don't do well in super crowed shopping situations... Never have. After wandering around and developing a headache for an hour I decided I had had my fill. I came back to homebase, grabbed my camera and book and set out for a journey on my own.
I picked up some lunch from the sandwich shop, Pret, and made my way to Hyde Park where I sat and enjoyed my sandwich and grapes and read my book. After laying in the sun for a bit, I decided to walk down to Kensington Palace. It was also breathtaking (like practically everything in London). I then wandered down a little farther and found a neat area with lots of shops. By this time, my legs were starting to get a little sore, so I decided I should start making my way back.... I knew the general direction I had to head, but the streets are anything but straight in London. I started wandering up random streets and happened upon an amazing neighborhood. The houses were all stark white with different colored bright doors. After wandering through the neighborhood (and pulling out my London A-Z) I found my way back to Bayswater, my road... Eventually.
For tonight, the girls are planning a little picnic in Hyde Park for dinner. Even though it's exactly what I did for lunch, I'm really looking forward to going again.
Now, I am going to plan out the rest of my trip so I don't run out of time to do everything I want to before I leave.
Cheerio!
I went to my interview that was scheduled to start at 11.30. I'm always afraid of being late, so I left with plenty of time to make it there, meaning... I got there with an hour to spare.. I hadn't eaten yet, so I decided to stop in a little bakery, EAT. and ate a muffin and glass of milk while watching the activities happening on my road. After my breakfast, I made my way down to Prudence Cuming where I had my interview. As soon as I walked in, I was greeted by Antony, who offered me tea, coffee, water, or carrot cake... yes, carrot cake. I declined. After he asked me a couple questions, he showed me around the studio. The tour ended in the break room where we met up with another head guy, Keith. After talking to Keith for a bit, he also offered me carrot cake. When I declined once more, he decided he wanted some for himself. He continued the interview while eating his piece of carrot cake... with a knife.
Everyone at the company seems very friendly. I'm very excited to learn all that I can and use the equipment that costs more than a house probably. The interview concluded with them telling me I start work on Tuesday at 9 :)
After my interview, I made my way back to Palace Court where I saw a group of girls getting ready to go on a tour down by Piccadilly. Even though I had just been there, as that is the area I work, I decided to go with. We wandered around Buckingham Palace, Piccadilly St, and Chinatown where the group split. My friend Julianne and I decided to take a little walk ourselves. We walked down through Trafalgar Square, down Whitehall, and concluded at Big Ben, Parliament, The London Eye, and Thames. Big Ben and Parliament was absolutely breath taking. The detail and architecture is unlike anything I've ever seen. We stood in awe glancing up at Big Ben for quite awhile. After many pictures and gaping looks, we decided to head back to Palace Court.
In the evening a couple girls and I walked down on Queensway, got some coffee and ice cream and talked before heading home and turning in for the night.
It was lovely weather all day... Perfect for sightseeing.
Today:
Another beautiful day... Perfect for exploring.
Phillip, the GR, offered to escort any who would like to come to Portabella Market (in Notting Hill!) He supplied the group with some maps and lead the way. While the Market was very cool, I don't do well in super crowed shopping situations... Never have. After wandering around and developing a headache for an hour I decided I had had my fill. I came back to homebase, grabbed my camera and book and set out for a journey on my own.
I picked up some lunch from the sandwich shop, Pret, and made my way to Hyde Park where I sat and enjoyed my sandwich and grapes and read my book. After laying in the sun for a bit, I decided to walk down to Kensington Palace. It was also breathtaking (like practically everything in London). I then wandered down a little farther and found a neat area with lots of shops. By this time, my legs were starting to get a little sore, so I decided I should start making my way back.... I knew the general direction I had to head, but the streets are anything but straight in London. I started wandering up random streets and happened upon an amazing neighborhood. The houses were all stark white with different colored bright doors. After wandering through the neighborhood (and pulling out my London A-Z) I found my way back to Bayswater, my road... Eventually.
For tonight, the girls are planning a little picnic in Hyde Park for dinner. Even though it's exactly what I did for lunch, I'm really looking forward to going again.
Now, I am going to plan out the rest of my trip so I don't run out of time to do everything I want to before I leave.
Cheerio!
5.28.2009
Pictures - Take One
I haven't had a chance to take my Rebel out yet, but I'm hoping to tomorrow...
Until I do though, you can look at these and see what I get to wander around in every day :)
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=26792&id=1159860020&l=ec87211a7a
Until I do though, you can look at these and see what I get to wander around in every day :)
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=26792&id=1159860020&l=ec87211a7a
Is this Real Life?
It's only 4 and I'm already worn out...
Left the flat today at 9 to go to class. This class was a vast improvement to class yesterday. Probably partially because I was prepared for an actual lecture and partially because it was over the current events in London, so it was very interesting.
After class I told my roommates that I needed to go find my internship building for my interview tomorrow and Julianne wanted to join. We got suddenly really hungry as we were walking to the tube station and decided to stop in at a little pub for some lunch... Dad, you will be so very pleased to hear that I tried the British favorite: fish and chips (with mashed peas)... Yes, I even ate (some of) the chips. The fish was deeeeeeeeeelicious :) and the mashed peas were shockingly good as well.
After our filling meal of fried food, we took the tube to Green Park. We step out of the tube station and are immediately in awe of the part of the city we are in. The buildings are magnificent, and there are sings for Buckingham Palace all over the place... I was COMPLETELY unaware of the area I was going to be working in and I never would have expected it to be as brilliant as it is. It's much more New York City like than Bayswater... Julianne and I stumbled upon one part of town we dubbed the "Times Square" of London. After finding my possible place of employment, we decided to wander down towards Buckingham Palace. We explored there for quite a while... walking around in some of the gardens and such. We talked about going down towards Trafalger Square, but decided we would come back another day when we were more prepared and not so worn out. It's only about a 15 minute journey by tube.
I'm now back at 11 Palace Court and I'm going to take a quick nap before the night festivities begin. Nothing too big planned. Julianne and I have our hearts set on some Gellato for dinner since our Fish and Chips were so filling earlier, but I'm going to have to turn in pretty early so I can make sure I nail my interview tomorrow... Wish me luck!
Cheerio!
Left the flat today at 9 to go to class. This class was a vast improvement to class yesterday. Probably partially because I was prepared for an actual lecture and partially because it was over the current events in London, so it was very interesting.
After class I told my roommates that I needed to go find my internship building for my interview tomorrow and Julianne wanted to join. We got suddenly really hungry as we were walking to the tube station and decided to stop in at a little pub for some lunch... Dad, you will be so very pleased to hear that I tried the British favorite: fish and chips (with mashed peas)... Yes, I even ate (some of) the chips. The fish was deeeeeeeeeelicious :) and the mashed peas were shockingly good as well.
After our filling meal of fried food, we took the tube to Green Park. We step out of the tube station and are immediately in awe of the part of the city we are in. The buildings are magnificent, and there are sings for Buckingham Palace all over the place... I was COMPLETELY unaware of the area I was going to be working in and I never would have expected it to be as brilliant as it is. It's much more New York City like than Bayswater... Julianne and I stumbled upon one part of town we dubbed the "Times Square" of London. After finding my possible place of employment, we decided to wander down towards Buckingham Palace. We explored there for quite a while... walking around in some of the gardens and such. We talked about going down towards Trafalger Square, but decided we would come back another day when we were more prepared and not so worn out. It's only about a 15 minute journey by tube.
I'm now back at 11 Palace Court and I'm going to take a quick nap before the night festivities begin. Nothing too big planned. Julianne and I have our hearts set on some Gellato for dinner since our Fish and Chips were so filling earlier, but I'm going to have to turn in pretty early so I can make sure I nail my interview tomorrow... Wish me luck!
Cheerio!
5.27.2009
History of EU, Wicked, Cheese & Onion
Big day today! Went to class at 1... We were all expecting it to sort of be another orientation type thing where we learned what to expect for the next six weeks of class... So wrong. Turns out we have a full blown three hour lecture of the (ENTIRE) history of the EU. Very overwhelming. Afterwards, I headed back to Palace Courts, took a quick shower and went to dinner with one of my roommates, Juilanne, and a friend Janelle. We went to a Thai place on Queensway (a main drag very close)... I tried something semi exotic... Duck fried rice.... Pretty tasty. We wanted to try an 'authentic' British place, but apparently Queensway is the 4th Street of London. (For all you (dedicated) non-Bloomington readers/followers, 4th Street is the 'International Restaurant street' in Bloomington... and also my place of residence) I'll have to venture out to find some authentic British food soon... I'm prepping myself for the potatoes... Not even kidding.
After dinner, Julianne, Janelle and I took the tube to the Apollo Victoria Theatre to seeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee WICKED. It was... Wicked (baaaaaaaaaaahahahahaha... I'm so funny) No, but seriously... the sets, the costumes, the talent: all brilliant. I couldn't stop smiling. Arcadia (the program) supplied tickets for all the students... I was somehow in the front of the group and got to sit in row 7! Awesome.
After the show, everyone was pretty worn out from the unexpected three hour lecture, and equally unexpected amazingness that was Wicked, so we decided to go to the nearest grocery, Spar, get some snacks and turn in for the night (I picked up some delicious Walker Cheese & Onion crisps that I am enjoying as I type.)
Tomorrow we have another lecture (though this one is only supposed to be about two hours) then I'm going to go find where my interview is going to be on Friday and explore the area a bit. Hoping to post some pictures tomorrow.
Hope all is well in The States, let me know how things are going over there!
Pip-Pip, Cheerio!
After dinner, Julianne, Janelle and I took the tube to the Apollo Victoria Theatre to seeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee WICKED. It was... Wicked (baaaaaaaaaaahahahahaha... I'm so funny) No, but seriously... the sets, the costumes, the talent: all brilliant. I couldn't stop smiling. Arcadia (the program) supplied tickets for all the students... I was somehow in the front of the group and got to sit in row 7! Awesome.
After the show, everyone was pretty worn out from the unexpected three hour lecture, and equally unexpected amazingness that was Wicked, so we decided to go to the nearest grocery, Spar, get some snacks and turn in for the night (I picked up some delicious Walker Cheese & Onion crisps that I am enjoying as I type.)
Tomorrow we have another lecture (though this one is only supposed to be about two hours) then I'm going to go find where my interview is going to be on Friday and explore the area a bit. Hoping to post some pictures tomorrow.
Hope all is well in The States, let me know how things are going over there!
Pip-Pip, Cheerio!
5.26.2009
Day Two
Started out early today: Had to be ready to leave the flat at 7.40. Not surprisingly, it was rainy and gloomy... but it's London. After the group is assembled, we leave the flat and head out to the tube station. My first tube experience, in one word: terrifying. I stuck as close to Phillip as possible because he warned us that if we get left behind, he's not coming back to find us... it's our duty to make it to our meeting on time... We, as a group, didn't end up making it to the meeting on time, however, as Phillip got us lost as we were trying to find the right building at the university (London streets are terrible)
At the meeting we went over a couple basic things about the class/our interviews/final project. I have my interview on Friday, and it seems to be a pretty easy trip on tube. I'm hoping to go explore the area a little and map out my route, tomorrow or Wednesday. My coordinator said the area I'm working in is a beautiful area. The company is one of the most respected photography studios in England and is used frequently by the royalty! I'm definitely excited to start.
After all the meetings were over, most people just wanted to head back to Palace Court, but my friend, Lacey and I decided that we wanted to explore the university/Islington area a little. London A-Z's in hand we braved Islington, and found our way quite nicely. We even took the tube back... no troubles at all. Islington is a very nice area, though much less populated than Bayswater (my area) There aren't as many shops or people, though we may not have seen the right area.
As for now, we just got back from buying some bread and lunch meat at a local grocery store and I think I'm going to take a nap or rest a bit before our meeting later tonight. Hope all is well back in America!
Oh! I almost forgot one very exciting bit. I signed up for a couple of group excursions today as well. Next weekend, I am going to Cotswolds: characterised by beautiful rolling hills and river valleys, and the small villages in them... or so the pamphlet says. Then the next weekend I'm taking a trip to the Royal Ascot: a horse race the Queen and other royalty attend. Very excited for both.
I think that sums all of the days activities up...
Cheers!
Things I ate: This morning, Phillip packed breakfast bags for the tenants including a chocolate muffin, apple, water, and orange juice. For lunch, Lacey and I split a BLT sandwich, and for my early dinner I had a pepperoni pizza roll... sorry, nothing too exotic... yet.
At the meeting we went over a couple basic things about the class/our interviews/final project. I have my interview on Friday, and it seems to be a pretty easy trip on tube. I'm hoping to go explore the area a little and map out my route, tomorrow or Wednesday. My coordinator said the area I'm working in is a beautiful area. The company is one of the most respected photography studios in England and is used frequently by the royalty! I'm definitely excited to start.
After all the meetings were over, most people just wanted to head back to Palace Court, but my friend, Lacey and I decided that we wanted to explore the university/Islington area a little. London A-Z's in hand we braved Islington, and found our way quite nicely. We even took the tube back... no troubles at all. Islington is a very nice area, though much less populated than Bayswater (my area) There aren't as many shops or people, though we may not have seen the right area.
As for now, we just got back from buying some bread and lunch meat at a local grocery store and I think I'm going to take a nap or rest a bit before our meeting later tonight. Hope all is well back in America!
Oh! I almost forgot one very exciting bit. I signed up for a couple of group excursions today as well. Next weekend, I am going to Cotswolds: characterised by beautiful rolling hills and river valleys, and the small villages in them... or so the pamphlet says. Then the next weekend I'm taking a trip to the Royal Ascot: a horse race the Queen and other royalty attend. Very excited for both.
I think that sums all of the days activities up...
Cheers!
Things I ate: This morning, Phillip packed breakfast bags for the tenants including a chocolate muffin, apple, water, and orange juice. For lunch, Lacey and I split a BLT sandwich, and for my early dinner I had a pepperoni pizza roll... sorry, nothing too exotic... yet.
5.25.2009
Welcome to London - Part Two
Found a converter.... Details.
The flight went pretty well. It ended up being only about 7.5 hours (instead of the predicted 8) and we had to fly around Heathrow for about 30 minutes because they didn't have a landing ready for us.... so it would have been even earlier! I got a solid three-ish hours of sleep, but then I remembered it was an entire day that had gone by... and realized it wasn't that good... obviously, I'm suuuuuuuuuper tired currently.. It's going to be an early night.
After we got to Palace Court, a couple of people who were also on the group flight and I went exploring around town where I picked up my shampoo, sheets, etc. I then came back and met my two roommates (Julianne and Rachel) and took them to get their sheets, etc. Around 4 we had a house meeting and got our schedules for the next week. Phillip (our housing resident - who loves saying 'cheerio') took us on my third walk around the neighborhood. A couple other girls I met at the meeting/dinner and I explored a little more and took a walk through Hyde Park. We're all reallllllllllllllly tired now though, and we have to be up and ready to go for the day at 7.45 am tomorrow! Crazy. Cool news though: They gave us tickets to go see Wicked on Wednesday night! I'm suuuuuuper pumped for that.
Alright, I'm going to organize a little bit more then hit the hay. Lots of love...
Eating update for Dad: On the plane we had pasta and chicken (was surprisingly good... I was really hungry) For breakfast they gave us an egg, ham and cheese muffin. Once I got here, I ate some crisps, and for dinner we had Dominos pizza... needless to say, I dominated that.
The flight went pretty well. It ended up being only about 7.5 hours (instead of the predicted 8) and we had to fly around Heathrow for about 30 minutes because they didn't have a landing ready for us.... so it would have been even earlier! I got a solid three-ish hours of sleep, but then I remembered it was an entire day that had gone by... and realized it wasn't that good... obviously, I'm suuuuuuuuuper tired currently.. It's going to be an early night.
After we got to Palace Court, a couple of people who were also on the group flight and I went exploring around town where I picked up my shampoo, sheets, etc. I then came back and met my two roommates (Julianne and Rachel) and took them to get their sheets, etc. Around 4 we had a house meeting and got our schedules for the next week. Phillip (our housing resident - who loves saying 'cheerio') took us on my third walk around the neighborhood. A couple other girls I met at the meeting/dinner and I explored a little more and took a walk through Hyde Park. We're all reallllllllllllllly tired now though, and we have to be up and ready to go for the day at 7.45 am tomorrow! Crazy. Cool news though: They gave us tickets to go see Wicked on Wednesday night! I'm suuuuuuper pumped for that.
Alright, I'm going to organize a little bit more then hit the hay. Lots of love...
Eating update for Dad: On the plane we had pasta and chicken (was surprisingly good... I was really hungry) For breakfast they gave us an egg, ham and cheese muffin. Once I got here, I ate some crisps, and for dinner we had Dominos pizza... needless to say, I dominated that.
Welcome to London
Can't do a very long update since I've yet to find a power adapter BUT
I made it in! It's awesome so far. Got a phone and some shampoo (and blankets). Palace Court is adorable. My roommates seem sweet and I met some cool people on the flight. I'll update more when I find a converter...
Cheers!
I made it in! It's awesome so far. Got a phone and some shampoo (and blankets). Palace Court is adorable. My roommates seem sweet and I met some cool people on the flight. I'll update more when I find a converter...
Cheers!
5.19.2009
Home Sweet Home
Palace Court is where I'm going to be living for the next eight weeks
Looks AWESOME, right? After I received that, it finally started feeling official. I finally realized that I'm going to spend eight weeks in LONDON. A place I've wanted to go to ever since I started reading the Harry Potter books in fifth grade (and watching BBC obsessively) - yes, I will admit those are the two things that sparked one of my biggest goals I've had for myself :)
People keep asking me what I'm most excited for and I always feel kind of lame because... simply put, I'm most excited to LIVE there. I want to have a favorite restaurant, favorite place to go read a book, favorite pub, etc. I want to make British friends (I want to make American friends in the program too) but I really want to have friends... in London. I want to feel a part of the city... really live there.
I'm also reallllllly excited about my internship at Prudence Cuming
I get to work in a photography studio! When I took that as my minor I did it more because it's something I enjoy, I was going to be taking the classes anyway, might as well get some credit... I didn't expect to get any sort of JOB with it... and now I have one (sort of) in London! Sweet.
Well, I suppose I should stop procrastinating and work on packing some more... wish me luck. I'll need it.
Cheers!
Note to the Rents: "Palace Court" and "Prudence Cuming" are links... You can click on them and see the streets :)
Looks AWESOME, right? After I received that, it finally started feeling official. I finally realized that I'm going to spend eight weeks in LONDON. A place I've wanted to go to ever since I started reading the Harry Potter books in fifth grade (and watching BBC obsessively) - yes, I will admit those are the two things that sparked one of my biggest goals I've had for myself :)
People keep asking me what I'm most excited for and I always feel kind of lame because... simply put, I'm most excited to LIVE there. I want to have a favorite restaurant, favorite place to go read a book, favorite pub, etc. I want to make British friends (I want to make American friends in the program too) but I really want to have friends... in London. I want to feel a part of the city... really live there.
I'm also reallllllly excited about my internship at Prudence Cuming
I get to work in a photography studio! When I took that as my minor I did it more because it's something I enjoy, I was going to be taking the classes anyway, might as well get some credit... I didn't expect to get any sort of JOB with it... and now I have one (sort of) in London! Sweet.
Well, I suppose I should stop procrastinating and work on packing some more... wish me luck. I'll need it.
Cheers!
Note to the Rents: "Palace Court" and "Prudence Cuming" are links... You can click on them and see the streets :)
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