Hey everyone! I hope everyone is enjoying the beginning of their summers, the end of their finals, and all the other good times that come around at this point of the year.
Needless to say (as proven by the lack of updates) I have been surprisingly busy since I have come home from London, which is not what I expected at all. My first few days home consisted of lots of sleep, unpacking, and spending time with family and friends that I had not seen in over 4 months! After a week of self-control, I convinced my mom that I was OK to run off to spend some time at Lehigh before all my friends started in with their finals. I had sooo much fun catching up with the girls and all my other friends, and in a sense it felt as though I had never really left Lehigh, but through all the stories (both my friends and mine) I realized that it was great to get out there and try something new.
After I stopped distracting my friends from their studies, I got busy looking for a place to live in Philly for the upcoming summer months as I prepared to begin my internship with KPMG. Ever since I arrived back home, I have felt like this start date was so far away, but now there's only 8 days left and I am more than ready to hit the ground running! I am excited to try living in another new city, trying new tasks in an accouning setting, and getting to know my fellow interns. Updates will follow after I start!
Other than that, I have been planning some fun trips for the summer season. After only 2 weeks at home, my mom, sister, aunt, cousin and I travelled down to Disneyworld for our first "girl's" vacation. I'll control the little kid in me by saying simply...IT WAS AWESOME! Although I have been to Disneyworld when I was much younger, I did not remember hardly any of the rides/attractions/scenery, so it was almost as if this was my first trip. We rode all the rides (Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, Aerosmith's Rocking Roller Coaster, and the Buzz Light Year Adventure rides were just a few of my favorites), managed to snag a picture with both Alice in Wonderland and Snow White, and dine at a few of the "countries" in Epcot's World Showcase. Needless to say, it's taking a lot of self-control to not already be planning an immediate return trip. Also on tap for the summer: dave matthews band concerts, trips to the shore, Iron Pigs and Phillies baseball games, and more! I'm open to suggestions, so any ideas for fun trips and travels, send them my way!
Have a great start to summer 2010 everyone! I'll post again soon!
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Saturday, April 17, 2010
It's the end of the world as we know it..
So many developments over the last week and few days!
This past week was the last few days of my internship, but it unfortunately got off to a bit of a rocky start. Spent Sunday-Tuesday in bed with "hayfever" and pink eye..only I would catch infamous American dorm-diseases while in London!Fortunately, I was able to get back to work for Wednesday and Thursday and spent the last 2 days at a new engagement site. I was able to complete my given tasks in the short time frame, and after a quick stop into the main office, I dropped off my laptop and said my farewells! A part of me is glad that I am work-free, but now I have a lottt of spare time to fill in my day. For as much as the days wore me out, I am glad I had the work experience while here.
I've also completed by architecture class and I must say that I'm a little sad about that one. Last week, we went to Greenwich, which is where the prime meridian is located- our class got a picture with half of us in one time zone, and the other half in the other! We also took a riverboat cruise down the Thames, which was awesome due to gorgeous weather. This week, we had our last class tour and did another beautiful walk along the Thames..I wish there was a more scenic river like it near Lehigh!
Speaking of weather, it has been glorious around here- about 65 degrees (which sounds cold, but when it's been 30ish for the majority of the semester, this feels like a heat wave!) The only bad thing, and for those who follow the news, you know what's coming..there has been an ancient volcano exploding in Iceland that is covering sooo much of Europe in ash, and it's shutdown air flight like no other. I was supposed to fly to Prague for a lovely 4-day weekend with some friends Friday night, but no flights in or out of the UK since about Thursday morning. Also scary- there seems to be no end in sight for the volcano to stop! It's totally premature, but my friends and I are nervous about making our flights home/throughout Europe for our after-program travels next week. Definitely will be sending updates about that!
Lastly, I believe I have some overdue pictures to share- most are from Paris, but the last 2 are from sights around London!
This past week was the last few days of my internship, but it unfortunately got off to a bit of a rocky start. Spent Sunday-Tuesday in bed with "hayfever" and pink eye..only I would catch infamous American dorm-diseases while in London!Fortunately, I was able to get back to work for Wednesday and Thursday and spent the last 2 days at a new engagement site. I was able to complete my given tasks in the short time frame, and after a quick stop into the main office, I dropped off my laptop and said my farewells! A part of me is glad that I am work-free, but now I have a lottt of spare time to fill in my day. For as much as the days wore me out, I am glad I had the work experience while here.
I've also completed by architecture class and I must say that I'm a little sad about that one. Last week, we went to Greenwich, which is where the prime meridian is located- our class got a picture with half of us in one time zone, and the other half in the other! We also took a riverboat cruise down the Thames, which was awesome due to gorgeous weather. This week, we had our last class tour and did another beautiful walk along the Thames..I wish there was a more scenic river like it near Lehigh!
Speaking of weather, it has been glorious around here- about 65 degrees (which sounds cold, but when it's been 30ish for the majority of the semester, this feels like a heat wave!) The only bad thing, and for those who follow the news, you know what's coming..there has been an ancient volcano exploding in Iceland that is covering sooo much of Europe in ash, and it's shutdown air flight like no other. I was supposed to fly to Prague for a lovely 4-day weekend with some friends Friday night, but no flights in or out of the UK since about Thursday morning. Also scary- there seems to be no end in sight for the volcano to stop! It's totally premature, but my friends and I are nervous about making our flights home/throughout Europe for our after-program travels next week. Definitely will be sending updates about that!
Lastly, I believe I have some overdue pictures to share- most are from Paris, but the last 2 are from sights around London!
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Only 3 more weeks left?!
Ahhh, panic has set in! After a busy busy busy but AWESOME past 2 weeks, I have realized that I have less than 3 weeks left in Londontown! So much to do, so little time- it scares me! But to fill you in on what's kept me on the move (And away from this blog!) for the past few days..
Internship: I have been more than busy with my accounting internship. I have been working consistently at a client in Richmond, which is about a 25 minute Tube (underground/subway) ride away, and the commute is enjoyable as I either listen to my iPod, take a little nap, or read a book. The work has been varied- but I'm doing legitimate auditing- examining the company's (and more often, one of its subsidiary's) cash, fixed assets, debtors, creditors..the whole 9 yards. I am getting a solid grip on how everything works, but there are often some items that just go way over my head. Regardless of my occasional complaints and tiredness after a long days work and commute, I am glad I am having this work experience during this point in my academic career.
Fun-wise: With the time crunch on, my friends and I have stepped up our game in regards to taking London by storm. We meet up most days after work for at places all throughout the city, and are taking as many weekend day trips as possible to see the sights..I got the most sight-seeing in this past 10 days when I had company in town!
Visits: Andrew came to London for a 10-day visit, and it was by far one of the best weeks I've had here! It was pretty cool to play host to him, and show him how comfortable I have become navigating a whole new town. We did a day tour to see the Roman Baths, Stonehenge, and Windsor Castle which were AMAZING! and we also saw some sights in London, such as climbing the 517 steps to the top of St. Paul's Cathedral for an amazing view all around London! We also took a 3 day trip in Paris, and I have confirmed my love for the Eiffel Tower. I don't have one of the 1 million pics I took on hand,but I will post so you can see it's beauty (But definitely go at one point in your life and see it firsthand!) We hit every major sight that we could cram into 3 days, and I'll let you know that that amount of time is certainly not enough to take in the whole city. All in all, it was a great visit with Andrew, and it'll only be 3 more short weeks until I get to hang out with him, my friends and my family again back at home!
In the meantime, I am back to work, finishing up my class, and making the most of what's left! Updates will be soon!
Internship: I have been more than busy with my accounting internship. I have been working consistently at a client in Richmond, which is about a 25 minute Tube (underground/subway) ride away, and the commute is enjoyable as I either listen to my iPod, take a little nap, or read a book. The work has been varied- but I'm doing legitimate auditing- examining the company's (and more often, one of its subsidiary's) cash, fixed assets, debtors, creditors..the whole 9 yards. I am getting a solid grip on how everything works, but there are often some items that just go way over my head. Regardless of my occasional complaints and tiredness after a long days work and commute, I am glad I am having this work experience during this point in my academic career.
Fun-wise: With the time crunch on, my friends and I have stepped up our game in regards to taking London by storm. We meet up most days after work for at places all throughout the city, and are taking as many weekend day trips as possible to see the sights..I got the most sight-seeing in this past 10 days when I had company in town!
Visits: Andrew came to London for a 10-day visit, and it was by far one of the best weeks I've had here! It was pretty cool to play host to him, and show him how comfortable I have become navigating a whole new town. We did a day tour to see the Roman Baths, Stonehenge, and Windsor Castle which were AMAZING! and we also saw some sights in London, such as climbing the 517 steps to the top of St. Paul's Cathedral for an amazing view all around London! We also took a 3 day trip in Paris, and I have confirmed my love for the Eiffel Tower. I don't have one of the 1 million pics I took on hand,but I will post so you can see it's beauty (But definitely go at one point in your life and see it firsthand!) We hit every major sight that we could cram into 3 days, and I'll let you know that that amount of time is certainly not enough to take in the whole city. All in all, it was a great visit with Andrew, and it'll only be 3 more short weeks until I get to hang out with him, my friends and my family again back at home!
In the meantime, I am back to work, finishing up my class, and making the most of what's left! Updates will be soon!
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Catching up..
I apologize, I typed up a nice long report of my week at the end of this past weekend but apparently my post did not go through! Naturally, I really can't remember everything I have been up to lately, so bear with me..
Work-wise: Last week, I was finishing up my time at my other client. By the end of the week, the pressure was growing to get everything in on time, and fortunately I believe we finished very close to our targets. This week I have been doing a variety of things. I reported to the main office where I worked on several small tasks for various clients, and today I am on location at the original site I first visited. I like the variety of the job- I'm in different places, with different people, working on a multitude of tasks. Despite all the constant changes, there is a bit of familiarity and routine to the week, and it's a great combination.
Last weekend entertainment: As my friends and I have begun to panic that we only have about 6 more weeks in London, we have made an agreement to jam pack every day, night and weekend with everything we want to see before we go home. Despite being tired from work, having class/homework, and household chores to take care of, we have been working steadily to our goals. The highlight of last weekend was when my friend and I stumbled upon this glorious market. It was a brilliant mix of food vendors, retro boutiques, handmade crafts, cheesey souveniors, and everything in between. We had to show some self-control to not spend our entire life-savings, and it's safe to say I will be making a return trip to the Stables Markets in the future.
This week entertainment: I celebrated St. Patty's day as best I could in London, but I must say, I was greatly missing my friends and holiday routine back at Lehigh. Regardless, I had a good time and am looking forward to another busy weekend with my friends. Unfortunately, one of my closest mates here (we also agreed to incorporate British slang into our vocabulary..don't judge!) is going out of town for the weekend, and another has family coming to visit, so I might be fending for myself for a bit. It's OK, I do have plenty of shops and mueseums that are sometimes easier to visit by yourself, plus 2 papers to work that are due at the end of next week. Other good news..9 days countdown until my boyfriend comes to visit! With so much going on, I'm sure those days will pass right on by!
Work-wise: Last week, I was finishing up my time at my other client. By the end of the week, the pressure was growing to get everything in on time, and fortunately I believe we finished very close to our targets. This week I have been doing a variety of things. I reported to the main office where I worked on several small tasks for various clients, and today I am on location at the original site I first visited. I like the variety of the job- I'm in different places, with different people, working on a multitude of tasks. Despite all the constant changes, there is a bit of familiarity and routine to the week, and it's a great combination.
Last weekend entertainment: As my friends and I have begun to panic that we only have about 6 more weeks in London, we have made an agreement to jam pack every day, night and weekend with everything we want to see before we go home. Despite being tired from work, having class/homework, and household chores to take care of, we have been working steadily to our goals. The highlight of last weekend was when my friend and I stumbled upon this glorious market. It was a brilliant mix of food vendors, retro boutiques, handmade crafts, cheesey souveniors, and everything in between. We had to show some self-control to not spend our entire life-savings, and it's safe to say I will be making a return trip to the Stables Markets in the future.
This week entertainment: I celebrated St. Patty's day as best I could in London, but I must say, I was greatly missing my friends and holiday routine back at Lehigh. Regardless, I had a good time and am looking forward to another busy weekend with my friends. Unfortunately, one of my closest mates here (we also agreed to incorporate British slang into our vocabulary..don't judge!) is going out of town for the weekend, and another has family coming to visit, so I might be fending for myself for a bit. It's OK, I do have plenty of shops and mueseums that are sometimes easier to visit by yourself, plus 2 papers to work that are due at the end of next week. Other good news..9 days countdown until my boyfriend comes to visit! With so much going on, I'm sure those days will pass right on by!
Friday, March 5, 2010
Friday's are my favorite..
Sooo I was on a roll for a bit there...but now I'll get us back on track!
To pick it up from last time, fashion week was sooo cool! I haven't uploaded my pics yet, but I'll just tell you that its definitely something you should experience once in your life! I relaxed the rest of the weekend as I had a busy week of work ahead of me..
This past week, my internship has allowed me to visit two of our client sites with an engagment team. Monday and Tuesday I took an overground train out to Surrey, and Wednesday and Thursday I was on site near Gatwick airport. I was nervous about finding my way with taking the trains for the first time, but luckily they were easy to figure out..I'm exhausted from the commutes though! I wake up at 6:15 to shower and eat breakfast, then I'm out the door by 7:15 to take the undergound to the train station and catch the 8:02 train. I work from 9-5:45/6, and am home by 7:15..it's definitely a long day (much longer than I anticipated this internship set up to be) but I am doing legitimate work for the team and am glad I am getting this experience.
This weekend has already started off on a good note. Last night my friends and I went to a club where the princes (yes, prince william and prince harry) have been known to hang out. Although they weren't there, we managed to have a great time without them. During my architecture class today we took a walk around Covent Garden, and although I've visited there before, my professor shed a whole new light on the area- I definitely want to go back again before I leave! I also did some shopping this afternoon, and I'm cleaning up my messy messy room so I have some clean space for this weekend. On the agenda for the next few days: EVERYTHING LONDON! I'll let you know!
To pick it up from last time, fashion week was sooo cool! I haven't uploaded my pics yet, but I'll just tell you that its definitely something you should experience once in your life! I relaxed the rest of the weekend as I had a busy week of work ahead of me..
This past week, my internship has allowed me to visit two of our client sites with an engagment team. Monday and Tuesday I took an overground train out to Surrey, and Wednesday and Thursday I was on site near Gatwick airport. I was nervous about finding my way with taking the trains for the first time, but luckily they were easy to figure out..I'm exhausted from the commutes though! I wake up at 6:15 to shower and eat breakfast, then I'm out the door by 7:15 to take the undergound to the train station and catch the 8:02 train. I work from 9-5:45/6, and am home by 7:15..it's definitely a long day (much longer than I anticipated this internship set up to be) but I am doing legitimate work for the team and am glad I am getting this experience.
This weekend has already started off on a good note. Last night my friends and I went to a club where the princes (yes, prince william and prince harry) have been known to hang out. Although they weren't there, we managed to have a great time without them. During my architecture class today we took a walk around Covent Garden, and although I've visited there before, my professor shed a whole new light on the area- I definitely want to go back again before I leave! I also did some shopping this afternoon, and I'm cleaning up my messy messy room so I have some clean space for this weekend. On the agenda for the next few days: EVERYTHING LONDON! I'll let you know!
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Fashion weekend!!!
Hey everybody! Happy weekend!
To recap from my last post..Wednesday I was working at my internship for the last day this week. Normally I will be working Monday-Thursday at E&Y, but as my class also started this week, I had a double class session on Thursday. I can't go into too many details about the exact projects I have at work due to confidentiality, but I can say that I am becoming more and more familiar with how to do some of the basics each day, which is always a good thing!
Thursday I had my first session of my class- London Architecture and Urbanism, and it's awesome! My professor, Caroline, is a ball of energy, and the way she delivers what could potentially be considered "boring" information makes the history of the London Underground seem purely fascinating. We also get to go on a fieldtrip every single class session which is awesome. Between Thursday and Friday's sessions, I've been to 2 different London neighborhood's that I probably never would have wandered into on my own, and she has pointed out some must-see-sights that I haven't found in my London guidebooks. I'm liking this!
As for social activities, Wednesday night some of my friends and I met up at the nearby college's student union to catch up. Now that we are working and taking classes, none of us have the same schedule, so it's a little more difficult to stay up on the gossip, but we're working on it. Thursday after class I was a bit of a bum, and after a lengthy nap, met up with another group of friends again. Unforunately, yesterday I was not feeling too well, and spent all day Friday in bed, hoping my fever and stomach ache disappear because today is...FASHION SHOW DAY!
I'm so excited to go to the London Fashion Week show this afternoon..my friends and I found some amazing tickets that get us backstage for a few hours, seats at a cat walk show, and also the designer's gift bag giveway..yesss! Now the only issue...I don't know what to wear..I guess I should go get on that, I'll let you know how it goes!
To recap from my last post..Wednesday I was working at my internship for the last day this week. Normally I will be working Monday-Thursday at E&Y, but as my class also started this week, I had a double class session on Thursday. I can't go into too many details about the exact projects I have at work due to confidentiality, but I can say that I am becoming more and more familiar with how to do some of the basics each day, which is always a good thing!
Thursday I had my first session of my class- London Architecture and Urbanism, and it's awesome! My professor, Caroline, is a ball of energy, and the way she delivers what could potentially be considered "boring" information makes the history of the London Underground seem purely fascinating. We also get to go on a fieldtrip every single class session which is awesome. Between Thursday and Friday's sessions, I've been to 2 different London neighborhood's that I probably never would have wandered into on my own, and she has pointed out some must-see-sights that I haven't found in my London guidebooks. I'm liking this!
As for social activities, Wednesday night some of my friends and I met up at the nearby college's student union to catch up. Now that we are working and taking classes, none of us have the same schedule, so it's a little more difficult to stay up on the gossip, but we're working on it. Thursday after class I was a bit of a bum, and after a lengthy nap, met up with another group of friends again. Unforunately, yesterday I was not feeling too well, and spent all day Friday in bed, hoping my fever and stomach ache disappear because today is...FASHION SHOW DAY!
I'm so excited to go to the London Fashion Week show this afternoon..my friends and I found some amazing tickets that get us backstage for a few hours, seats at a cat walk show, and also the designer's gift bag giveway..yesss! Now the only issue...I don't know what to wear..I guess I should go get on that, I'll let you know how it goes!
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Barcelona, bring me backkk!
Ahhh..that's the sound of relaxation, which is exactly what my spring break trip to Barcelona was. OK, scratch that. It was actually a jam-packed, busy, fun and amazing 5-day break from the reality of classes and internships, but either way you look at it- it was a GREAT time
We flew out from London Luton airport straight into Barcelona on Wednesday morning..it was a close call for 2 of the 4 of us travellers because some people didn't check in online (not to name names...but they know who they are! ;) As soon as we landed in Barca, we hit the ground running. We must have walked at least 4 or 5 miles the first day, just exploring all the gorgeous neighborhoods, architecture, parks and plazas around our area. It's sooo gorgeous, words can't even describe how unique every single building was!
The second day we bought tickets for one of those "cheesey" tourist busses, but let me tell you- it was worth every cent. It took us to so many places we wouldn't have known about otherwise, let alone been able to find and get to by ourselves. We explored Park Guell, la Sagrada Familia, and saw some more of Antio Gaudi's famous works. If you don't know what they are, look them up on Wiki- by far some of the coolest structures you will see! Below is a picture of the view from the top one of the peaks in Park Guell- 360s of the entire city!
The third day was day-2 of the bus tour experience, and we saw some more waterfront areas, parks, and the like. On the last full day, we did some shop shop shoppinggg! Our group was 3 girls and 1 guy, so he was definitely outnumbered when we hit the flea markets, fruit markets, regular stores, and souvenir shops (but he was a great friend and stuck it out with us, as he was our translator). Everything was such a good deal (thank you, Euros!) and the fruit markets were by far my favorite. I got 10 fresh kiwis for 1 Euro! (And I'm still eating them, 4 days later!)
Now that I'm sadly back in London, I have already re-lived the trip through my pictures, and am getting my nose to the grind at my internship. I've already been given a few small assignments, and I'm taking them seriously to prove my worth to the firm. It's so different doing legitimate accounting work in an international environment, so hopefully they can see my efforts and it will come more easily over time! More updates to follow, because on tap for the next few days is my new architecture class, my visit to London Fashion Week, and other weekend festivities!
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