My London

....and down.

2007-08-15T01:30:00.000+01:00

So now that I'm back home, over my jet lag and starting to settle back in to the 100-degree Texas heat, I guess it's time for me to write my last post and call this experience officially over. As much as I'd rather not, here's a wrap-up of my last days overseas, proof positive that yes, it is done...and so real life returns.

After taking my IB final on Friday morning, I spent part of a beautiful afternoon at St. Paul's Cathedral, climbing all 252 steps to the top of the dome! What a view....gave a really great perspective of how big London really is. Despite just reminding me of that song from Mary Poppins ("feed the birds...tuppins a bag"--anyone??), St. Paul's is a gorgeous church in a really pretty part of the city, right across the Millennium Bridge from the Tate Modern.

Zara and I spent Thursday afternoon at the Tate's "Global Cities" exhibit--something else that gave an amazing perspective of this city (and several others: Cairo, Mexico City, Mumbai, Istanbul...) in terms of population distribution, growth rate, ethnicity, layout, etc. Very illustrative and incredibly interesting.

After returning from St. Paul's, Shu and I spent about an hour saying goodbye to Kensington Gardens in an oh-so-fitting way....wine and pastries, of course! The "pastries" were really cupcakes--a thoughtful gift from a friend--but they still count and in fact were pretty amazing. The weather was perfect (definitely got lucky for our last couple of weeks in this respect!) and it was the best way to spend the best part of the afternoon...lazing in the sun on towels in the grass, sipping on white French wine and licking icing off our fingers, no objective but people watching while enjoying the scenery and each other's company.

Then it was off to the EUSA-hosted goodbye party at a bar a few tube stops to the west. As nobody else had other plans, this was quite a way to spend the evening: with our entire houseful of new friends, food, drink, dancing and general merriment. Though the place stayed open till 2 a.m. (an incredible rarity...most close at 11!), some friends and I caught the tube home before it closed to start packing, hang out, and embark on our last adventure: staying up to watch the sunrise before catching our flights out.

When we first arrived in London, the sun was rising at about 3:30 a.m. and setting after 11 p.m. Strangely enough--and very illustrative of the length of time we spent there--on the day we left it rose at 5:45 and was beginning to set around 8:30. crazy!! So it actually was a bit of a feat to stay up, but definitely worth it to see those colors wrapping around the tops of old buildings, as the city started to come to life below our fifth-floor "balcony" viewing point.

After this, it wasn't long until I had to leave the flat at 6:30 to make my 10:20 flight out of Gatwick. I thought I'd have plenty of time, but only arrived about 20 minutes prior to boarding. Given many options for heading to the airport, I decided to play big girl and take the tube to Victoria Station and a train from there by myself...meaning I'd have to lug all my luggage on my own. Luckily, good friends and nice people we usually available to offer their assistance--definitely wouldn't have made it otherwise!

Fourteen hours and two plane rides later, I was in the back of my parent's car drinking a big Bill Miller's sweet tea and eating chicken strips and fries (NOT CHIPS!!). oooh man I never thought fried grease could taste so good--or so much like home. As much as I'll miss being in London, it was definitely time to come home. And after all is said and done, it's not so much the place that I'll miss--the tube brake dust in my nose at night, the countless foreign accents, the dogs and children running free in the beautiful parks, even the incomparable pastries I can do without. It's just the experience of being in a completely new place surrounded by completely new and unfamiliar things, being forced to acclimate or not survive. OK, so maybe "survival" is too strong a term, but it's true: if you never let yourself really live in and try to understand your new surroundings, you're not getting the full experience. That's something I learned--foreign cultures (even one as close to our own as Britain!) are "strange" by definition, but also provide an incredible opportunity for learning. Every little thing is new and exciting, so the whole experience has this sense of enchantment....as in, what am I going to see/hear/find/eat/learn today?? There's really no telling.....

A new goal of mine is to keep this attitude and "sense of enchantment" even returning home--as corny as it sounds, I know. If you think about it, every single experience at home is literally just as new as the things I saw this summer in London--I mean nothing can be an exact repetition, right? London was exciting because it was new, but there's no reason I can't be equally as excited about everyday life!! Believe me, I'm planning on it.....

Almost the end?

2007-08-09T08:13:00.000+01:00

No, this isn't my "the end" post.....but its pretty close, which for me is pretty strange. It truly seems just like yesterday when all the people I've become such good friends with were strangers, when there was no work to do and we were all naive tourists. I don't think I'll realize how long ago that really was until I get home and the amount of time I've been gone starts to set in. In the grand scheme of things two months isn't all that long, but when you pick up your whole life and move it to another continent across the ocean, the normal grind of "daily life" at home can start to seem very foreign. The really important things that will start to happen at home next week (band, moving in to my apartment, etc.)....right now it still hasn't set in that they actually will be happening next week. I expect what I'm doing right now to just keep going, and I'm afraid I won't realize that it can't until I land at DFW.

whew.....enough of that! Today is my last day of work at Ethical Corporation--or here in London at least. My bosses have said they hope I can continue working remotely once I leave, so I feel like this is a definite possibility that I'm incredibly excited about! If you've read my earlier posts, there's nothing bad I can say about this company or my time here....I'm really going to miss this.

I'm really going to miss lots of things about this whole experience, but despite this feeling I'm completely ready to come home. I don't know why, but I came to the realization a while ago that I wasn't ready to leave then--too much left to see and do--but that I would be when the time came. Well, I've seen and done all those things (and more!), the time has come and now I'm ready.

As for the "seen and done" part: since I turned in some major class projects last week, there's just been too much going on! I can't actually write about it all, so a list will have to do....

Thursday: a late opening at the Museum of London. This was medieval-themed with a hog roast, period musicians, a table of authentic objects that you could pick up and talk with the curators about, and a private tour of the museum
Friday: after class we visited the Natural History museum (great dinosaur exhibit!), went to eat Indian food on Brick Lane (this is very near where I work--same tube stop), played around "downtown" (near the Tate Modern, Globe, Millennium Bridge & St. Paul's), ate Chinese food in Soho and went on a historic Ale Trail that we almost finished...to be continued. :)
Saturday: got up very early to go queue to buy last-minute tickets to Wicked at the Apollo Victoria, visited the British Library's "Sacred" exhibit of books and artifacts plus lots of history about Christianity, Islam and Judaism; spent the afternoon at Regent Park for the innocent (smoothie company--like Naked) village fete (reminded me of the Folklife Festival, county-fair style with more free stuff), and went to see Wicked! Absolutely amazing musical--best I've seen here, and that's saying something---and afterward we met all the stars as they were leaving the theatre! Then I immediately downloaded the soundtrack, which has been in my head ever since and is not leaving any time soon. :)
Sunday: I went to church in the morning, visited the Tate Modern for about 45 minutes before I realized that I don't get modern art (though I did enjoy a few Pollocks, a Matisse and a Monet), then headed out on a train to the countryside to "Go Ape!" I can safely say this was one of the most enjoyable experiences of the trip...it was basically a ropes course in the treetops with ziplines, ladders, and all kinds of obstacles to get you from platform to platform. The coolest part was that after a little educational session, you sign your life away and are basically unsupervised--a lot of responsibility to make sure you know what you're doing!! An amazing excursion.
Monday: finished the Ale Trail by visiting the last pub after work, eating dinner and earning my T-shirt, which I really wanted to wear to work this week but have refrained from doing.
Tuesday: apparently was boring, as I have nothing to write about here
Wednesday: the 30th annual Great British Beer Festival was happening at Earl's Court--this is a two-week long event where tons of breweries set up inside this gigantic venue and serve beer you'd never be able to get in one place. I thought this was hilarious, as it reminded me of a convention--like TMEA or some home and garden expo--but for beer. Of course it was. :) Really fun evening!

And now today! Last day of work, class at around 6, and then we're celebrating a few birthdays in the house this weekend so I expect some major festivities......which should be very conducive to everyone taking a final tomorrow morning at 10 a.m. :) After Friday, I'm basically out---as my flight leaves Gatwick for home at 10 a.m. Crazy!!!

Nothing bad to say.....

2007-07-26T21:20:00.000+01:00

In a few hours I have my midterm review with EUSA (forget the fact that its not really the middle of the term...) for my internship placement. They want to know "how things are progressing" and help me "troubleshoot any issues" I'm having on the job. This makes me laugh, because my job is so beyond perfect for me that I don't think the reality will set in until I get home and think back on what I did. I almost don't want to write this post because it feels like I'm just bragging about my great experience.....which I guess I am, partly.....but hopefully it will convince at least one other person to take that terrifying chance, see what you've been given, and run with it all the way. I have nothing bad to say.

For starters, my coworkers are the best group of people I could have asked to spend the summer learning from. Especially Zara, whom I spend the most time with--I'm so glad she's willing to take the time to teach me things; I was really starting from the ground up with this!! I recently realized I'm going to miss spending the days listening to their hilarious conversations while I sit at my computer.

I also think its great that my workplace is so informal...very different from the companies many of my friends are working for. I kind of expected to spend the summer doing "intern work" in the corner by myself......completely wrong!! The closest I've come to that so far is Zara laughing it up while delegating me to write a press release she didn't really want to do herself....you're right, not very close at all :) Plus, everything is new and exciting to me so there's no way I won't think its fun!

I've also picked up on a couple journalistic differences between here (at least my office) and the States, in addition to the whole British v. American spelling thing:

They always use the present tense for news. Instead of differentiating between certain circumstances of quotes, they use "says" instead of "said."
Punctuation can go outside of quotes!! This is not just where I work, I've read it in all kinds of publications! As in, "blah blah blah", he said. Unless the comma is part of the quote, it goes outside. The same when referring to a word, like "word", because obviously the comma isn't part of that "thing" that you're quoting. weird!!

I guess generally, it feels great to be doing real work--as scared as I was to come here and as much as I figured I'd be doing nothing important and counting "learning from my surroundings" as the most valuable experience. Where I am, that' s just icing on the cake to the real hands-on stuff. Check the website for more stories, if you're interested--I've got several up on the front page right now:

www.climatechangecorp.com

In conclusion, I guess, I'm extremely blessed to be where I am. I can't wait to see where this experience will lead me once I get home!

Week Back in LDN

2007-07-25T23:08:00.000+01:00

On one hand the weeks seem so long here, probably because we pack them full of all kinds of random fun activities. Sometimes I literally have to sit and think about what exactly I did two days ago--it seems like forever since I've been back from Dublin (only a little over a week), but that week was full of crazy-amazing stuff.

On the other hand, though, the time is really starting to fly by.....as cliche as it is, I guess that old saying is true! I can't believe I can now count in days how much time is left--less than 20. mindboggling!!

Anyways, on a more positive note.....the (relatively) short time I have left is going to be just as full--if not more so--with things to do. I'm getting to the point where there are certain things I need to do before leaving, so its more like checking things off a list than aimlessly wondering what to do next....I kind of enjoy it. :) It gives my fun an objective!

Since Dublin, though, (sorry, its just the easiest way to measure time!!) there's been a lot going on. Last Wednesday EUSA was selling some discounted tickets to Mary Poppins (the musical), and I had been toying with the idea of trying to go so I just hit it up after work. Tickets were cheap enough but the seats were not--I guess not terrible but not what I've been used to buying last-minute, dirt-cheap, third-row orchestra. Great musical though, with some pretty impressive special effects. Kind of sucks to try and do Mary Poppins....nobody is Julie Andrews and Dick van Dyke. :)

Thursday a small group went to try Yo! Sushi, the "conveyor-belt" sushi restaurant with color/price coded plates. Turned out to be really great....I would say expensive, but that's everything here, so meh. :) I definitely could have grabbed several more of those plates just zooming on past--I guess that's the point--but you just have to watch out for the colors!! I ended up with a stack of like 5 dishes, but it was awesome watching the (I assume) well-off businessmen next to us put away tower after tower of the "platinum" plates.....man, I wish. :)

Friday after class I went to the first day of a three-day conference on investigative journalism that I was lucky enough to be able to attend through work--really really compelling stuff!! Makes my work look wishy-washy though, having someone literally stand up there and tell you what to do with your hidden camera when your cover's blown, what's the best way to hide the wires, etc. For real!! Crazy stuff, what have I gotten myself into?!? A couple of really memorable topics, my favorite from an Iraqi reporter making documentaries--for some reason his stories really brought home to me the situation over there, like nothing's ever done before. It was eerie, especially being an American listening to him recount his personal experiences. Quite a bit of, say, hostility toward us in that room, but not overtly from the author....he was just telling a story and letting the facts speak for themselves--very admirable, but at the same time very strange, for me I guess.

Later in the evening some friends and I went to a wine-tasting at a really nice place near the Thames--I was very impressed!! We got quite a bit for our money, and I kind of feel like a pro now....ok, not a pro but I at least know more about wine than I did. not saying much..... :)

Saturday and Sunday were spent at the conference too--sitting all day just made me that much more antsy to go out and have fun in the evenings, so each day wrapped up with some time spent at a nice pub or club. Sunday I went to go see Hairspray (the movie) at a great theatre near Piccadilly Circus--awesome movie, go see it!! Maybe I'm lame, but stuff like that just makes me want to dance around.....which I definitely did on my way out of the theatre. :)

So that's recent fun....tomorrow a post about work, I promise!! It really is happening in the midst of all this..... :)

Dublin Adventures!

2007-07-16T19:21:00.000+01:00

So Dublin! This post is a little late in coming, but it's been quite a busy week.

Last Friday a group of a dozen EUSA kids ran from class to the airport via fast train to catch our .01 pence Ryanair flight to Dublin. Our airline turned out to be better than I expected for the price paid--security and check in was a mess, but we were also a bit hurried so that contributed to the fluster.

Upon arrival it was....(drumroll)....raining. No surprise there, but the rest of the weekend turned out to be a massive treat. Having such a large group wasn't as unwieldy as I expected, as everyone kind of split up to do their own thing with friends. The hostel was still a "hostel," but nicer than any I'd been to before. Jacob's Inn, right in the city centre: huge property, courteous check-in staff....the normal crowd of sketchy hostel-stayers, but it was cheap and we didn't require all that much in terms of creature comforts. :) I also found that a bottle of Johnson's baby shampoo is all one requires in the way of toiletries for an entire weekend. Plus toothpaste.

So Friday was marked by the opening round of visits to "traditional" Irish pubs (which cater to tourists--most of them) for food and drink...including some good Dublin Guinness--an acquired taste for me, but nice stuff once you realize you can't have it this good anywhere else. I ordered a beef stew that came served in a hollowed-out loaf of sourdough bread--gigantic. A group of Irishmen sitting next to us even asked me how I was going to eat it and I responded, expectedly, that I didn't really know. :) Dig in, I guess!

Saturday for me was spent on an amazing tour of the Irish countryside--up into an area called Wicklow, where there are some quaint villages, great scenery, rivers and lakes of Guinness (not really but you wouldn't know the difference just by looking!), ruins of old monasteries, and sheep. Lots of sheep. The sheer size and openness of the country (it just doesn't quit!) made me want to, like, frolic around in the moorlands or something. It was really great. Plus our tour group was small with a knowledgeable and entertaining guide, who loved his job and took special care to take us to some off-the-beaten-track sites.

In the evening we went to an Irish dinner/song/dance show, traditional all the way. I had lamb stew and some Irish coffee before the live music started, broken up by stints of Riverdance-esque performances from a small troupe. It was great, and then we went to explore the city nightlife a little more before heading back to the hostel.

Sunday started with an Irish breakfast before a tour of the city in the hop-on, hop-off the big bus fashion. Surprisingly informative and good transportation between tourist spots--I'm glad I spent a few euro on it. And then....the last tour stop was at the Guinness Factory. In addition to being, well, the Guinness Factory, it was really educational if you're interested in how beer is made...I didn't think I would be, but it's actually quite interesting. After an informative self-guided tour, your admission includes a free pint at the top in what they call the Gravity Bar, where you're in a glass-walled room with a 360-degree view of the city! Also glad I decided to invest in this tour--very, very worth it. :)

Then it was a whirlwind of bussing to the airport, waiting for delays, flying into whichever small London airport offers cheapest flight (Stansted--flew out of Luton), and getting home VERY late after not wanting to wait for the bus, walking for a bit and giving in to a cab.

Exhausting, fun-filled weekend that was worth every penny! (pence? euro?) :)

Press Conferences & Plane Trips

2007-07-13T09:00:00.000+01:00

So yesterday's conference went as expected: about a dozen reporters in a formal/informal setting (you know, where it's a round table "chat" but you still have to make awkward conversation with company big-wigs), handed a report and a few press releases, expected to juggle reading those with the aforementioned awkward conversation with drinking tea and eating pastries. Maybe some have mastered it, but certainly not me, not quite yet. Overall, it was interesting information presented in a (for me) new format. I made a couple contacts for another story I'm working on, and spoke with several people at the company who seemed interested in our special report coming out in October--I feel pretty good about it. Also got a free corporate pen, highlight of the day :)

I spent the afternoon working at home--no sense wasting 1.5 hours on a commute when I can work just as effectively from my laptop in my bed :). Sent off some newsbriefs for edits, and then was asked to freelance-edit a coworker's friend's friend's masters thesis for Cambridge....?!? Sure, I say. So from 3:30 to 9 p.m. I read 110 pages on the Russian Internet used as a medium for non-standard communication about US-Russian relations during the Iraq war---I make edits, and get paid. This whole freelance thing is really starting to look good!

So in about three hours and post-midterm I get on a plane for Dublin with 11 other EUSA kids...exciting! Weekend will be spent there, and it'll be nice to get away from the city for awhile, I hope! yay!

I love my job. For serious.

2007-07-11T19:09:00.000+01:00

I just want to assert that I have the coolest job/coworkers ever, and I could really get used to a working lifestyle....like work, home, dinner, maybe go out, weekends free, etc. It's great.

Really, I understand how blessed I am to be in this position right now, and I'm definitely not taking any of it for granted--I'm also taking advantage of TONS of opportunities I never dreamed I'd get to experience in my job over here. I really appreciate that I'm being given so much freedom and responsibility (an interesting mix!) at work, and this is totally and completely the work experience I imagined....I just never thought I'd actually get it!!

Yesterday I:

wrote the weekly news round-up for the Climate Change newsletter = $100. nice.
wrote a new conclusion for my second story = $100. nice.
edited a huge piece that was sent in by another reporter...this was done on my commute in the Tube, making me feel special because a) I had something relevant to do on the Tube and b) it was something important.
decided what I was going to do today, which is: attend a press conference with big-shots from a large bank on a report they're releasing. This is more like a "round-table discussion" with special reporters.

In any case, I'm pretty intimidated, which is why I'm up early researching what intelligent questions to ask. Apparently direct quotes from these people are hard to come by, so this really is a unique opportunity. When I get back to the office this afternoon I'll write a story about it, and there you go. We'll see!!

OMG my first story :)

2007-07-05T12:31:00.000+01:00

Here's my first story, a sample of the uber-cool stuff I get to write about:

http://www.climatechangecorp.com/content.asp?ContentID=4863

At press time, I had been working for exactly three days. I feel like I'm learning so much!!

Weekends are amazing!

2007-07-03T22:35:00.000+01:00

9 July 2007
---I just realized the dates are messing up in my posts...up here will be the real one----

So I can safely say this past weekend was one of the best yet since I've been here.

Saturday: completely AMAZING....one of the best days yet. For starters, the weather was really, really great--a very welcome change--so I'm very glad we got to spend they day outside. On a bit of a whim a small-ish group decided to take the train to Canterbury, which turned out to be a great idea. The town itself was very quaint; the cathedral there is very impressive, and we took a tour so learning all the history was quite interesting. It's the oldest functioning church in the country. No big names buried there like Westminster, but still a good time and some great history. Down in the crypt they had uncovered some of the original wall paintings (13th century) depicting scenes from the Bible--very, very impressive. Apparently the monks sealed some treasure in a little alcove to protect it, and when the wall was knocked down in modern times they found all this priceless artwork--I love it.

After the cathedral we took advantage of the GREAT weather and bought a picnic to eat in a nearby park...the city was having a festival in honor of the Tour de France or something, and it was really nice to just enjoy the outdoors for a while. Baguettes, gourmet cheeses, and festival food can make a very substantial meal :)

Canterbury also had the ruins of a random Norman castle built in 1080...just sitting in the middle of town! There was no admission and no staff really--just walk in and explore at your own pace. Most interesting: the structure itself was made of flint...like, arrowheads!! It was crazy, then I noticed lots of things in the coastal area were made of flint, too--weird. Pretty neat to get that up-close-and-personal with things that old!!

Finished with Canterbury, on an even bigger whim, we then decided to take the train one more stop over to Dover on the coastline--white cliffs and all. It turned out to be a GREAT whim; it definitely made the day trip. After walking around the town, stumbling on a random county fair (?) parade (haha queen's court of Sandwich!), finding the pebbly coast and playing in the water for a bit, we climbed up to the top of the cliffs, up a rocky trail in the shadow of a castle. It was a very long hike, but very worth it in terms of view. :) Everybody got some great pictures before heading back down the cliffs to spend a little time at a local pub before heading back on the train. All in all, an exhausting, fun-filled day--a great trip with a great group!

Sunday we were blessed yet again with amazing weather, so naturally it must be spent at the park. :) We walked down after lunch and hung out for awhile until we got antsy and decided to take a spin on the Serpentine--Hyde Park's pond--in a paddleboat. That turned out to be a great way to see the sights, also a great leg workout. :) Lots of wildlife, I still can't believe there are such beautiful, huge open spaces in such a compact city. We left the park when the clouds began to role back in (you knew it was going to happen...) and had some great Chinese food to close out a weekend that will be tough to top.

Friday was nice too--some shopping in Oxford Circus, which I justify by the facts that everything's on crazy sale right now (seriously, prices are the same if not cheaper than $USD!) and I needed a few more versatile casual pieces to wear to work...also work pays me. Oh yeah, did I mention work pays me?!? More about work later.... :) Friday night a small-ish group visited a couple of pubs (one of which was the Goat, the oldest in Kensington!) and generally had a grand old time. Nice.

So....topping this past weekend will be tought, but oh, will we try. The Dublin trip is upon us this coming weekend, and aside from figuring out how to get from class to the airport in under an hour, we're all set to go. Flights are ridiculously cheap if you travel on the right days, and traveling in groups sometimes offers discount rates. Groups that are too big groups can sometimes be cumbersome...I've found that 4-6 is just perfect. We're taking 12 this weekend....haha, yeah, we'll see how it works out. :) Student discounts with my ISIC card are also proving to be valuable---everywhere from movie theaters to tourist attractions and even clothing stores often takes a percentage off or offers a discounted rate. Nice!!

Also nice that the weekend passed uneventfully in the, um, terrorism department--what with the anniversary of 7/7 and all. Kind of (really) glad we spend that day out of town, but I guess we had nothing to worry about after all. The previous failed car bombs affected me only a little--this whole city is where I live, work and play, so I guess there's no way they couldn't have--but not too terribly much. It was all just a little unsettling not knowing what was going to happen where or when, but I guess there never is any telling, events like that just bring it to the forefront of your mind. But my friends and I were all fine, just being more cautious.

Read on if you're interested in last weekend, which I neglected to post about until now......
I just realized that even though this whole experience is going by really fast, the events of last weekend seem like forever ago....guess we pack a lot into each week! :)

So--last weekend was marked by the visit of a good friend, Laura, from home! Actually she was on her way home from her own study abroad program in Cambridge and stopped by for the weekend. It was great and strange at the same time to hang out--weird to see someone I knew from home in this totally unfamiliar environment, especially knowing she was going back to the familiar home the next day to be with all the people I can't see while I'm here. I don't know, just a strange sensation.

Anyways, we spent Saturday together with some of her friends, braving the weather to check out some tennis Wimbledon---or some almost tennis, rather. I had heard that the wait to get in would be long--like 2.5 hours long--so I knew something was fishy when we walked right into the grounds. It seemed too good to be true when we heard that play hadn't started for the day yet, but was just about to....rain had delayed all the games 4 hours, and at 3 p.m. they were just going to resume. All exciting, because Venus Williams was scheduled to play on Court 2 at 11....but of course, hadn't played yet and was just about to start. Court 2 is the best court you can get on without buying anything other than grounds passes.....tickets for Court 1 and Centre Court (if you can get them) cost upwards of 50 quid a piece (over $100)....IF you can get them. There's no way once the final rounds start.

Point is: we were in line to see VENUS WILLIAMS play tennis LIVE at WIMBLEDON. That's right. So play starts as we wait in line to stand in her court, and we move slowly forward. A men's doubles match is happening next to the line, and it was fairly entertaining just being there. About an hour or so later, we are next in line to go up into the court....it starts drizzling and we look over to the men's doubles match in time to catch those speedy kids pulling that infamous cover over the court. No problem, we think--we'll get into Venus' court as everyone's leaving, brave the rain for a while, and have prime seating position when she comes back on. A valid plan, except for one thing.....the rain never stops. It is after 7 p.m. before they come on the loudspeakers to tell the crowds that there will be no play for the rest of the day--the weather won't clear up--and that they're sorry we've been waiting for so long. :( :( :( Yes, it was the most disappointing thing...but I got a T-shirt and some great pictures of the scoreboard. Plus, it's all about the story--that time I almost saw Venus Williams play at Wimbledon.

Sunday was yet another day of great weather--we went to Spitalfields Market, which is near where I work close to Brick Lane. A nice outing, I got a gift or to for some people at home, and it was nice to explore the area. We ended the day with a house picinc/chill time at Kensington Gardens, .8 mile up the road from where we live, and the place where all the fun happens. This time we packed a frisbee and bubble wand in addition to some wine and cheese.....and ended up playing duck-duck-goose with a five-year-old! So a little girl, Bambi, was attracted to our bubble wand and then became attached to us....mostly because we paid her lots of attention and befriended her mother. :) An ornery child, she made up the rules to the games as we went along--as five-year-olds will, I guess--and picked certain people to play with. It was so random, but sooo much fun....another great end to another nice weekend.

It's Like Real Life or Something...

2007-07-01T01:16:00.000+01:00

After three days of work, I can safely say I'm totally psyched with my internship placement. There's so much to say about it, but generally: its amazing. I work specifically for www.ClimateChangeCorp.com, a "climate change news for business" website affiliated with my overall employer, Ethical Corporation. Ethical Corporation publishes the monthly magazine of the same name focused on business ethics and corporate responsibility...I like them for lots of reasons, but my first impression that they were cool cam when viewing their tagline: Ethical Corporation--Not an Oxymoron. It made me laugh and I knew I was on the right track.

So that's Ethical. ClimateChange focuses on, well, climate change--which I currently know almost nothing about, but I'm starting to get very excited about learning. I say almost because I do know about at least one thing...I turned my first story in today on a Texas-based energy company claiming to have made great strides in emissions reduction technology. I work for ClimateChange's editor Zara; she's basically my boss and mentor this summer, which is fine by me because she's awesome. We've gone out for lunch a couple times and she's great about showing me the area, introducing me to people and generally getting me to fit in around the office. Yes, I am a reporter...no, it's not exactly what I planned to be doing this summer, but now that I'm here I am very happy with my job, for several reasons:

First, Personal Revelation No. 8: I have a literally paralyzing fear of picking up the phone to call people I don't know, no matter who it is. Before I touch the handset, I need to have run through everything I plan to say in my mind, especially my opening spiel ("Hi, I'm Jeanette calling from _____. I was wondering if _____," etc.) For some reason this really, really scares me. So the fact I have to do it for work is, I feel, a very healthy, growing outside my comfort zone experience, which is basically what I wanted out of this summer anyway. It's an initiation-by-fire type of thing, and I like it.
My coworkers are amazing. I don't think there's hardly anyone in the office over 40, and they're all young, energetic, absolutely hilarious people, which is completely fine by me. Preparing for this we were told our coworkers would probably "take the mickey out" (make fun) of us, and I really see that they do that with one another. Not so much me yet, but I respect that they're being cautious not to offend the American intern...I need to spend some time getting used to my new surroundings anyways.
On that note, the office culture is really fun. Everyone works very efficiently without ever appearing stressed--everything gets done, and honestly I'm not quite sure who does it! I feel like I'm the only one really worried about getting my stuff done on a deadline, but I think being around such easy-going people is helping me grow out of that state of constant apprehension. The company is actually taking everyone on a "summer jolly" next Tuesday, basically a giant company picnic with dodgeball, a boat on the Thames to Greenwich Park, catered meals and free drinks (this is Britain, after all...). We're taking the entire day off...and I think I may be the only person who's worried about how I'm going to get my work done when I had budgeted that day into my schedule when considering deadlines. :) Lots of people from work are also going to see one of our coworkers in a play on Monday evening and its Zara's birthday this weekend so we may go out for that.
I am respected and treated as another co-worker, not just the intern. I have real story assignments--not busy work--that would have to be written by freelance journalists were I not taking them on. This makes me feel really valuable, in addition to gaining me great experience while I'm here. At no other job will I have to schedule my day around when I can call the Belgian PR folks and the Texas energy plant because of a time difference. I think that's cool, and it makes me feel special, I'm not going to lie :)

Anyways, I finished my Texas energy story today, and Zara actually liked it!! I was really apprehensive and I spent a lot of time perfecting it, but I guess it paid off because she seemed impressed. She edited it and sent it off immediately to be posted on the website (should be up tomorrow!), and it will also go out in the weekly newsletter. My next stories will be published in a Climate Change Special Report for Ethical that's printing in October--I'll have at least three bylines in there and am really excited for it.

Along with those, Zara thinks it may be interesting for me to do a "Texas feature" of some sort--Texas has this reputation as a big oil-guzzling state, but really its one of the "cleanest" in the nation and other green power sources are gaining footing, i.e. the giant wind farms out west. I also may sprinkle my stint here with some book reviews, which would be great 1) because they involve no reporting and 2) because they'll help me learn about the field. yay!

So as of now I have coworkers, an office, a work schedule, deadlines, a commute to work and back, a set time to leave the flat every morning, fun events on the weekends, laundry to do, and a grocery list to top it all off. It's like real life or something. :)

P.S.

2007-06-26T00:02:00.000+01:00

I realize now that this whole experience is much shorter than it first seemed. We're two weeks in, and only six more to go! I discovered this when booking a weekend trip to Dublin for the second week in July, then marking it on my calendar--to find that the second week in July is only a little more than two weeks away! Crazy...its really, really flying by. I still haven't settled into a real "routine" yet, probably because I haven't started working yet, but I hope that will come. Personal revelation No. 7: I thrive on stability.

I got my "cultural stipend" from EUSA today by taking all my receipts to the office. "Oooh wow you've been busy!" they said, and I guess I have. It just seems like a normal vacation so far, but we really were squeezing the most out of every day, taking care of our touristy sightseeing before work starts. By the way, going out to get my cultural stipend was the only really productive thing I did all day. Aside from running early in the morning and going to class at night, I spent the day working on school stuff and generally bumming around--it felt wonderful, I'm not going to lie. :) Tomorrow will be much more productive--I need to research some things for work, which will FINALLY start on Thursday! I'm a little apprehensive after hearing the stories my fellow UT housemates have from their first couple of days....one of my friends met Jude Law at her job today (!!!), while another spent the day taking out trash and doing dishes. :( No telling....

A little more about Westminster; I don't feel like I did it justice just by saying it was beautiful and old, though it's pretty much the epitome of both. Tons of "famous" people are buried there: from Chaucer and Tennyson to Haydn to Newton and Darwin (oh the irony...), and of course royalty dating back to 1066. woah. There are also ornate memorials to soooo many more people, huge names like Shakespeare and lots that I can't remember right now because its bedtime. Goodnight!

Too much fun

2007-06-23T02:01:00.000+01:00

Rainy and cold, yet beautiful and exciting.

That's yesterday spent at Stonehenge and Bath, both exceedingly old with lots of stories to tell. Shu found a nice cheap day trip, so several of us EUSA kids piled onto an Anderson Tours bus early in the morning for a two-hour ride to Stonehenge, followed by 1 more hour to Bath and 2 back home. Stonehenge was....Stonehenge. Impressive, but I kind of wish it had been less crowded and freezing. In general, though, an interesting place to visit at least once, to learn its history and the legend surrounding it.

Bath, I loved. The weather had cleared up a bit--still cold but not raining--and the Roman Baths were fascinating. The town itself was somewhat touristy--to be expected I guess--full of shops, big-name and small. I spent most of my time in the Baths listening to an informative if patronizing audio tour, then waiting around just to catch a guided tour of the baths themselves. The site consisted of three remarkably well preserved bath houses: the main bath and two sets of changing and steam rooms flanking it. What really amazed me was that you can just walk around on this original Roman pavement looking at baths full of steaming mineral water just as it appeared over 2000 years ago. Their stone and lead plumbing still works just as it did then, and the new museum building is actually supported by Roman columns that originally held up a roof that has since collapsed. I even had a drink of the spring water, famous for its 23 minerals. It tasted like Yellowstone smelled--full of sulfur, etc. An acquired taste for sure, but altogether not terrible. I'd definitely have drunk it if I were Roman. :)

On Saturday we spent the day touring the Tower of London, also full of history and other old things. I really recommend the "beefeater" tour--guided by a yeoman warder, a "tour guide" who is also a part of the royal military. I don't know the specifics, but I know these guys have seen action. Same with the ones in the big fluffy hats....they're way more intimidating up close, by the way. :)

Starting today, I have three days off from work....or rather, I don't officially start work until Thursday when my supervisors/coworkers in the publications department return from holiday. So, this afternoon I took a guided tour of Westminster like I've been meaning too, which was VERY worth the 15 pounds. Benjamin the Verger tour guide was very spunky and incredibly knowledgeable--definitely one of the best tours I've been on all trip. The steep entrance fee goes to a church anyway, so how can you complain, really. :)

That tour took much longer than I expected (again, totally worth it!), so I barely had time to eat dinner (and no time for school work...whoops) before leaving for the Savoy Theatre to see Fiddler on the Roof. Yet another gem of London theatre--the Tevye was amazing, and I'd forgotten what a great story this was. Another great evening out.

So tomorrow....school work. No other plans, I promise! :)

Theatre Week, cont.

2007-06-21T11:15:00.000+01:00

Oh my gosh its been waaay too long since I saw some live drama. I had never read or seen Othello, but tonight's performance of it in the Globe was absolutely enchanting. I do consider myself a bit of a theatre buff, but I just can't describe the feeling of standing front row--literally shoulder level with the actors' feet, when they weren't running around the audience near the stage--watching some of the best talent I've ever seen perform authentic Shakespeare in the bard's own venue. It started at 7:30 and didn't end until 10:50, and I was a "groundling" (read: I paid 5 quid for a ticket and queued early to get front row!) so that means standing the entire time. Honestly, though, I didn't care that it was cold, barely minded the rain and couldn't tell my feet hurt until the end. I loved being that close to all the action--supposedly in comedies they interact with the audience....we're going back!!--it was so easy to observe the emotion on stage, and it was all genuine. Simply enchanting.

Yesterday was full of the arts as well. A couple of the girls and I stopped by one of the stages of the Music Day festival that was happening all around the area. We caught some blues at the Natural History Museum before getting on the Tube to Leicester Square to see Ocean's 13 at the famous (and gigantic) Empire Theatre. Seriously, I didn't know they showed movies in venues this big. The Empire only has 3 screens, and our movie was showing in Empire 1....with 1330 seats!! Considering there were only about 50 people inside, it was quite an experience--plus a great movie. :)

Class is keeping me busy, but not near as much as it could be. So far I've found International Business to be really interesting; our midterm is only two weeks away which is very, very strange considering we've only been here one. But our prof is great and says it'll be nothing to worry about and we'll be completely prepared. Today's lecture topic was ethics in international business, great for me because I know about the philosophical ethical theories from my Plan II classes, some business principles from my business foundations classes, and I'm working for the business ethics corp so it was basically perfect! With an interesting topic plus a mocha latte, I was good to go for the whole block of time :) Personal revelation No. 6: caffeine is good. always.

I've been running in the park a couple times, its so beautiful. About a mile walk there and back plus a good jog in between is a great motivation to get up early in the morning. This morning it rained on me and I didn't even mind--just refreshing. My roommate Shu and I seem very similar when it comes to a lot of our habits--eating, working out, cleanliness, sense of humor--so we're getting along really great; seeing the way some other people are living I feel like its really a blessing :) I got a card from Ali today and it really made me smile, hearing about familiar things at home is comforting in a strange kind of way, like there's no stress in trying to understand things that are happening like there is inherent with being here. If you're reading this bear I'm sending something back you just wait! ;)

Some friends and I spent the afternoon at Kensington Gardens "playing" some Frisbee before going to the Globe to see Othello tonight. A couple things that amaze me about the parks:

They're huge!! Even in a city this size and this crowded, there's still room for plenty of royal gardens, etc. The green spaces are kept very clean and seem to be a haven for all types, from business-folk after work to homeless bums (only a few) :)
The dogs are very well-behaved. Maybe I've only grown up around farm dogs, but where I come from dogs live in a yard or on a carefully controlled leash....otherwise they'll take a bite out of something that shouldn't be eaten, or you'll never see them again. But here, there are all types of dogs just running across the park--you can't even identify owners, they're just frolicking around. So strange.
Children are doing the same thing. Today while we were playing Frisbee a little toddler "ran" up to us, made a few noises, and ran away....presumably back to his parents, I couldn't even tell! Like I said, maybe I'm not used to it, but that sort of thing just scares me.
It's impossible to plan what to wear when you're going outside. The weather here just switches from cold to hot to raining to sunny to cloudy--even more extreme than in TX!--so you just have to suck it up, wear layers, take an umbrella, and go outside :)

Tomorrow we're going to visit the Tower of London, take a few tours and get the history of the area. Also more grocery shopping in store--we're really becoming pros at cooking out of our room!--and maybe another musical in the evening. Then Sunday a group of us is going to visit Stonehenge and Bath, complete with entrance to the Roman Baths and a tour of the city, plus bus both ways. It wasn't that pricy, plus we have a 100 quid cultural stipend to spend anyway. Considering how much of our tourist activities have been on the fly lately, it'll be a refreshing switch to just get on a bus and have someone lead me around, I think. :)

What, no class??

2007-06-20T10:20:00.001+01:00

Ahhhhh class was canceled yesterday! I shouldn't have been this excited....but it means much more free time. Plans for the afternoon included yet another shopping trip during which I scoured the sale racks only to pick up some very trendy yet very cheap items of clothing, visiting the National Gallery and Trafalgar Square. Then we headed over to Shakespeare's Globe to try for tickets to the night's performance of Othello (700 standing tickets--in the front--are released for every performance), but it was sold out so we bought some for Friday and ate gelato instead. On a whim we decided to ride the London Eye, which was worth the money because we got on right before sunset so the massive London skyline was beautiful from all angles.

Personal revelation No. 5: I am usually a compulsive planner, but for some reason the fact that all my plans for visiting things, etc. on this trip are pretty much constantly dynamic is strangely OK with me. I don't know why this is, but I like it. :)

Heard from a rubbish truck (lorrie?) backing up down the street this morning on my way to run in Kensington Gardens. In addition to the normal obnoxious beeping, this thing had a loudspeaker blaring:

"Please stand clear, this vehicle is reversing. Please stand clear, this vehicle is reversing."

I was like, wow....that's intense. That's one thing--they really make sure you know what's going on around you here, especially where transportation is involved. I guess they expect everyone to be completely befuddled, especially on the tube.

"Mind the gap. This train is now departing. Mind the doors, ladies and gentlemen. There is another train just three minutes behind this one. There has been a passenger alarm set off at the next station, so we'll just sit here for a bit, should be moving right along in a few minutes. Please move to the center of the cars, using all available space. The next stop is ______. Change here for the District and Circle Lines. Alight here for (insert any remotely touristy spot). There has been a delay on the northbound Piccadilly Line, due to a train being taken out of service. Mind the very large gap between the train and the platform. Thank you."

Plus, the street literally tells you which way to look for passing vehicles, which I think is either helpful or sad depending on whether its meant for tourists or residents, respectively. Something else that's rather telling: if there's any type of delay--even as insignificant as 3 minutes or so--they feel the need to apologize profusely, coming over the loudspeakers to explain exactly what happened where and when, as if you can understand what's being said over the loudspeakers anyway. This could be due to the fact that everyone's in such a hurry here, and they know those crazy businesspeople will be ticked if they have to wait one more millisecond without an explanation.

Today should be relaxing....I just woke up (it's 10:30--the Cultures class hates us Business kids for not having to be anywhere till 2!) and have no plans for the morning or evening, assuming our prof actually decides to come to class on yet another sunny day. Supposedly the British can't stand to stay inside working when the weather's actually nice (about half the time since we've been here but usually less often), so they "throw a sickie" and everyone's OK with it. They do get an inordinate amount of vacation time--starting with at least 4 weeks a year, not including sick days--so I guess you might as well use your days when its worth it! Anyway, my plan to have no plans will undoubtedly change; there's always something unexpectedly exciting to do or see here.

Sunshine Returns

2007-06-18T13:31:00.000+01:00

I spent yesterday afternoon at the British Museum, which featured the Rosetta Stone and all kinds of objects that should make this museum way more famous than it is. Maybe it really is and I'd just never heard of it, but it was amazing nontheless. The oldest thing I saw was some Chinese Jade from 5000 BC (!!!!), and all the ancient exhibits--from Rome to Greece to Assyria to the Americas and everything in between--were utterly enthralling, especially to a history buff like myself.

Later that night I saw Chicago (the musical) at the Cambridge Theater near Leicester Square. A friend and I bought third row tickets an hour before the show for only 20 quid (pounds)!! It's a lot at home, but here that's a really good price--musical tickets can go for up to 60. Hint: always tell the box office you want student tickets. That's how we got such a good deal; some of my friends paid in the 40s for tickets to different shows the same night. I can't believe how good our seats were...the actors were, like, sweating on me we were so close, but the theatre wasn't that huge so we weren't really craning our necks for a good view. It was a really nice evening--add in the pastry I had beforehand, and we've got near perfection. :) I'd been missing those guys (European pastries, that is) since France in 2004!

After class and a great lunch of leftover pasta and salad, a group went to the Victoria and Albert Museum near where we live in South Kensington. It was an absolutely beautiful day out until it started raining, but we were in class then so it didn't really matter.

Work starts for me next Thursday because my supervisors are out of town for awhile--for everybody else its on Monday so I feel privileged. Now I've had all my classes so I can evaluate....the International Business class is interesting enough but hard to sit through at 9 a.m.--OK though because it changes to 2 p.m. starting tomorrow. It includes lots of good info though, and I don't think it should be too hard. The British Workplace course is going to be great--some people think its boring but I love it so far, its with a different lecturer so it should keep my attention well. It looks like it'll really shed some light on all the cultural differences between Britain and the US--what they are and what they mean in the bigger picture. I'm excited, except for the fact that it meets every Tuesday from 6-9....right after work, leaving me no time to do anything. We'll see how that works out. :)

I had planned on trying to go hear Tony Blair at his last PMQ tomorrow morning, but a friend just told me we can watch the feed live online....meaning we don't have to get up at 5 a.m. to catch the 5:15 first train to Westminster to sit outside Parliament for 4 hours (probably in the rain) until they open the doors and wait 3 more hours inside to see him speak. Yeah, you're right....that was a crazy idea anyway :)

That means tonight is made for a good night's sleep....finally, and maybe a nice run in the morning followed by another museum? We'll see. :)

The Life

2007-06-16T12:38:00.000+01:00

On Saturday our group's Blue Badge tour of London ended at Trafalgar Square, conveniently next door to the Texas Embassy, a cantina with surprisingly good Tex-Mex considering our latitude. It was good to play tourist for awhile and see the sights; our guide Liz had lots of interesting information to offer, especially about several pieces of architecture which were particularly interesting: even the "normal-looking" tall brick buildings (I call them rowhouses, its the easiest thing to compare them to) are sometimes hundreds of years old with much of their original parts still intact. The famous buildings--like Westminster Abbey--are reeeeally old and took so long to build you can see the changes in architectural era from one piece of the building to the next. Personal revelation No. 4: I love exploring old things, especially when they have a great story to tell. History buff. :)

I went back to Westminster Abbey on Sunday morning for church, where the archbishop of Cape Town served me communion. I felt a bit special, not going to lie...the atmosphere was amazing and ethereal and romantic and huge all at the same time. I was surprised that the service wasn't very crowded at all, but they say we're not into the peak tourist season yet.

The oldest part of the church is from the 12th century: the middle part of the cross-shaped cathedral, where the two arms come together. This is where the altar and choir were situated, with the congregation out on the two short side parts and waaay down the long part. There were lots of separate sections, strange to me who's used to sitting in a smallish church with one aisle down the middle and no other way to get anywhere. The choir was basically in a box in the upper part of the long aisle (toward the middle but not as central as the altar), so when they sang we couldn't see them, only hear this music floating up over stone walls and around the stained glass, like seriously from heaven or something. To top that off, the organ is in the ceiling between some columns and behind stone decoration stuff so it just plays....neither choir nor organ are huge, just the right size and so beautiful in that setting. It was really an experience, I definitely recommend it.

Later in the afternoon a group visited a Cuban Festival in south London, mostly because it was free and sounded interesting. It reminded me a lot of the Folklife Festival or even the County Fair, with lots of food and knick-knack booths plus several stages with music. The dancers were AMAZING--they made me really jealous. :) The reggaeton and some other Latin music reminded me even more of home, and some friends and I might hit up a Latin club for free lessons while we're here.

Classes started today...I have to admit I was almost too tired to make it through the four-hour block of international business. I definitely need to start getting more sleep, but it seems like there's always something fun to do somewhere and I don't want to miss out. Our professor seems interesting enough, he's funny and only kept us three hours today....plus one him. :) Should be a great class.

Just FYI, one of the best ideas ever is buying & sharing food among roommates/floormates, etc. Everything is sooo expensive here (mostly the dollar's fault), but several of us can eat rather well spending about 10-12 quid a week at a grocery store and cooking our own food. Facilities limit what we can actually prepare, but we're still doing rather well for ourselves. Food hints:

Tuna is one of the most amazing/easy to prepare foods ever
Bread goes bad faster than you think
Eggs are cheap
Cheese is not
When you have no idea what any of the brands are--or what quality they stand for--it doesn't matter which one you buy. i.e., store brand rocks here. And everywhere.

I think the rest of the week involves a cheap student ticket to a theater show in the West End, some museums, and Tony Blair's last PMQ (public questioning as prime minister....should be veeery interesting) at Parliament. I don't start work until next Thursday (we're supposed to start on Monday), so that means I'll have some awesome free time to spend in the park, etc. on my own....haven't had that much alone time recently so it should be great. The office may send me a couple stories to work on by email in the meantime, which is OK too.

Interview day

2007-06-15T13:39:00.000+01:00

So yesterday morning about about 6 a.m. there was a car accident right outside my window and the horn of the car that got hit wouldn't quit--from my bed I could hear the car being towed away! That isn't what woke me up, though...the sun rises here at a little before 4:45 and doesn't set till almost 9:30, making the days reeeeally long--a good thing, since there's lots to do. :)

My confirmation interview yesterday morning was interesting and exciting. I showed up in a suit because I didn't know any better, and my new co-workers had a good laugh at my expense when the man that met me said, "...and as you can see, we don't really wear suits here." Thanks for telling me. :) But luckily they're all very personable people--young and easy to laugh right along with. The company itself looks like a good time. It's smaller and more low-key than I expected, but I'll be able to get lots of good experience and it looks like they'll let me take initiative on writing projects, plus they're really looking for my input as far as editorial decisions and design, which is exciting! I'll probably focus on the website, which is great, plus they've got an issue coming out in September that I'll probably get to write for.

So far we've had lots of free time, so I've been shopping a bit. Personal revelation No. 3: I love pointless shopping, but don't have the money to do it. Other than that guilty pleasure, there's been time for exploring, learning my way around, finding close/cheap grocery stores and restaurants, going out with friends, etc. Most things are within walking distance and those that aren't are just an easy tube ride away.

Something else I enjoy is trying to blend in with the British crowd, rather than stand out as a tourist or lost American, especially when going out to eat or to work. Obviously I'm an American tourist when taking 496034 pictures of Big Ben and Parliament. :) I've found that as long as I look like I know where I'm going and don't talk, I'm usually not too conspicuous.

HEB-ish

2007-06-14T14:36:00.000+01:00

So today I found Sainsbury's, the grocery store that will save my life, for many reasons:

It's a little more than a 10-minute walk away, which is nice and easy (as long as its not raining), yet enough to keep me from looking like a beluga whale when I get home.
I have to cross two streets, which is good practice for not getting hit by a car/bus/truck coming from the *wrong* way. Wrong, left, right, I don't know....but I need the practice. :)
It has everything I need--first in line was dish soap and paper towels, but it will serve me well in the months to come at reasonable prices (as far as pounds are concerned...). So yay!
It's less crowded and not full of organic food I can't pronounce and affluent people on their way home from work. This keeps me from being run over by the rich barrelling down the aisles while I meander just looking for gherkins (read: pickles...and the reason I couldn't find them at the first grocery store I tried) to put in my tuna. Also I blend in better amongst the crowd. :)

Not to complain, but my arms and shoulders are a bit sore from lugging over 100 pounds of luggage around....especially up 3 flights of stairs to my flat. No lifts....just stairs. At least I'm not on the 5th floor. :)

So tomorrow's Friday, and thus begins the weekend. My interview is at 11:00 a.m., so I plan to get up early to eat a good (Wheetabix!) breakfast, prepare, and give myself plenty of time to ride the tube efficiently. On Saturday I think a group is going to try to score some half-price tickets to a musical at TKTS, a discount kiosk that sells cheap day-of tickets in Leicester Square. We'll see what show we can pick up, take a scheduled guided tour with our EUSA group, do something cool in the afternoon and catch the show in the evening, dressed to the nines. What a life. :)

The Basics

2007-06-13T19:44:00.001+01:00

Wow....I'm here! It's been a long day(s?), but well worth the trip. I also realized that I left out some key details from my first post, so I'll start with those and work up to now.

First of all, if anyone reading this is a student thinking of studying abroad and you have random questions you just want answered, don't hesitate to shoot me an email (click on my profile). I would love to offer any advice that I can, and right now with my own experience fresh on my mind is the best time to do that.

Second of all, to the same audience and others who may not know just what this "experience" is, I am working in London at an unpaid internship to gain experience in my chosen field: journalism. The program I applied with, EUSA, took my interests and abilities into account through interviews and essays and matched me with a position at a company overseas. I could have chosen to do anything--from music to fashion to finance to social work--they work with all majors and fields. Once accepted into the program I was guaranteed an internship placement, and once I accepted a placement I felt comfortable with the next step was actually making it happen, which is where we start today. The rest of this week will be filled with orientation, a final interview with my company and settling into the "flat" that will be my home for the next two months. After that, classes start (I'm taking International Business, but others are offered) and then its off to the races.

As for travel, I left San Antonio at 1:00 p.m. yesterday afternoon, and arrived in London at shortly after 9:00 a.m. this morning. I am too tired to figure out exactly what that means in terms of time change, but ya'll are smart people--its a long trip. Now, I pride myself on my ability to sleep anywhere (years of practice on a band bus good for something!), but I don't think I slept more than an hour on that flight...and that's pushing it. 1) the man behind me kept kicking on my seat purposefully, which was awful; and 2) I was too nervous about getting through customs, having all my bags and paperwork when I landed, etc. Turns out everything went fine, all the people I ran into were helpful: knowledgeable cab drivers offered help loading and unloading tons of luggage, polite counter clerks offered discounts on train tickets, and to top it all off airplane seatmates offered a rousing game of Go-Fish. :) So the trip itself was long, but very good.

Now, I type from my bed, because my flat has no desk. Not that I expected it to, and not that I can complain. I'm living in one of the poshest parts of London, the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea--next to a Ferrari dealership and home to the biggest crowd of well-dressed people I've ever seen. It's a little unsettling, knowing that eventually I'll have to at least try to not look like a tourist anymore.....ahhh.

My friends and I just came from the grocery store, where I bought yogurt, orange juice, tuna, Ritz crackers, and......(drumroll) Wheetabix!!! Alison is excited for me, I can tell. :) Also, honey to put on them in my cereal every morning...it's a pantry's start, at least! If you have not heard of this British breakfast phenomenon, you need to go get yourself a box of these wafer-like things and try them out. Pretty dang good, if I do say so myself. :)

So that's all for tonight, as the girls are getting together to make pasta for our first meal here in London--I expect it to be great, as all things on this trip have been so far and many more will be.

Tomorrow....

2007-06-11T20:39:00.000+01:00

So I leave tomorrow--I figure now's as good a time as any to start this whole writing about stuff thing. :)

I'm all packed (whew-an adventure in itself!), and now am just working on getting lots of documents into the correct carry-on so they're ready when and where I need them. Passport, Pounds Sterling, immigration letters, copies of important cards, etc......and I still don't know which bag to put under the seat and which to put on top. :)

Other than that, my two suitcases (one massive and one small) are ready to be checked and sent through the system with a wish and a prayer that they'll actually show up on the other side. Last time I flew overseas the airline was very courteous (and generous!) about missing/damaged luggage....but I'd rather just not deal with that at all, eh? Just in case, I've got normal and work clothes spread between the two checked bags and my carry-on, so no matter what I'll still have a couple of outfits. Personal revelation No. 1: I'm a compulsive planner, especially about those "What if?" scenarios. :)

As far as this blog and what you can expect:

At the very least, a diary of daily happenings. No telling how interesting this will be, but I'll work on it. Comments are always appreciated. :)
Hopefully, several subsequent personal revelations (as per the above) to help you and I both learn a bit more about the girl who's actually embarking on this live/study/work abroad adventure. This may or may not take the place of my personal journal for awhile, so it should be intriguing in at least some respects. :) Personal revelation No. 2: I insert too many smiley faces into all my e-text. Sorry--my bad for attempting to convey the emotion of the moment (which this ":)" usually does!)
Not much, um, "academic" writing. I do plenty of that anyway, and as long as this is fun for you to read (perhaps?) it'll be fun for me to write. Also, eliminating substantial "editing" means you get more substantial material than I would normally write after thinking about it too much. :)
Sarcasm. If you know me, read these entries as I would say them and it'll make more sense. This blog is a story--my story--and as such clever(-ish) remarks are part of the package. Thanks.
Quotes. Often, I find that other people say things much more eloquently than my words can express, so I'll include those in here. I think this will be especially useful since people will be speaking a "different" language and I'll probably find their remarks entertaining. For example, I still remember a McDonald's trash can sign from the last time I was in London telling customers to
"Please put your rubbish in a bin."
How polite.

To end, I'll invoke the last bullet point and quote a line from one of my favorite books that pretty much sums up how I feel right now, leaving tomorrow to finally start something that's been just a dream and a plan for so long. It's real now, and honestly a little scary. But words are my sanctuary when things get scary; their tangibility on the page is comforting and I don't really know why...in any case, my Bible + my journal is where I go to work things out. Independent of those essentials, this is one of the most comforting quotes I know and I find it especially relevant right now, when the adventure isn't always rational and my overly-rational analysis of it would only yeild irrational fear. Here it is, emphasis my own:

"...It wasn't rational to think of driving cattle over eighty waterless miles, but he had learned in his years of tracking Indians that things which seemed impossible often weren't. They only became so if one thought about them too much so that fear took over. The thing to do was go."
~ Captain W.F. Call, Lonesome Dove (Larry McMurtry)

Happy reading. JW, signing off from the USA.