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!

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!

Happy Valentines Day!

Happy Valentines Day everyone! I hope everyone enjoyed their weekends too!

I had a great weekend around London. On Friday, I had my last theatre class and have been spending a few hours here and there this weekend writing my final paper for the class. Friday night my program organized an event called "Clubbing with the Brits" at this place called "fabric." It was definitely an interesting experience- never been to a club that big, but my friends and I had a great time.

After a few hours sleep, I met up with 2 friends from class and we spent Saturday in Oxford! One thing I didn't know is that Oxford University isn't actually one university with one campus- all of the colleges within the town are collectively called Oxford University, and there were MANY beautiful campuses to check out! Naturally, we headed directly for all the spots where parts of Harry Potter were filmed. Here's the staircase that's seen in the first movie when all the students are lining up for their grand entrance into Hogwarts! We saw several other churches, towers, the Oxford Castle, and naturally ate lots of delicious foods and did some souvenir shopping as well :-) Those last two parts are some of my activities that I do best over here!

Today (Sunday) I spent some more time studying for my management final in the morning, and for an afternoon study break, my roommate and I saw our first football (American soccer) game! I was fortunate to be given two AMAZING seats at the Fulham Football Club, and although I admit I'm not a huge soccer fan (I actually know absolutely nothing about the game) it was a really cool event to watch- such emotion from the fans! Below is a pic of the view from our seats- couldn't have asked for anything better! Now it's just some more studying, and I keep reminding myself that once I take this final and hand in my paper, I'm done with the majority of my classes, and I'll be off to BARCELONA! for spring break on Wednesday...can't wait!

TGI..Thursday

Ah, yes..another week of classes has passed by deceptively fast..I love it! Now for the weekend finally! But first off, a bit about my week..



As I was still nursing my lovely busted ankle, I was taking it easy as much as possible this week. On Monday, my theatre class visited the Tate Modern and saw 2-3 of their exhibitions which were all unique and intriguing. I would have preferred to explore the gallery without the instructions of a looming assignment in mind, so I definitely plan on going back at a later point in the semester to explore on my own terms. During the theatre class on Tuesday, we presented our group projects called "Theatre Capital: Performance in the City." This was an assignment that encouraged us to go capture images all throughout the city, and present them to the class with a creative spin. My group focused our project on "Mixed Messages and Contradicitions" throughout the city, and sued pictures such as a tanning salon promoting healthy skin treatments, a man-made park, and other fun sites throughtout London.



I had a bit of a hectic day on Wednesday- I ran some errands in the morning, had class in the afternoon, dashed across town to pick up some football (aka American soccer) tickets from my cousin, and had a brief meeting about preparing for my internship phase of the program. The best part of the day (and probably the whole week!): CIRQUE DE SOLEIL! This was, by far, the best purchase I have made since being in London- the physical stunts, flexibility, and endurance of the performers is UNREAL- I can't even begin to imagine how you learn and practice the routines. Simply amazing- if it is ever performing in an area near you- GO SEE IT!



Today I had my interview for my internship, and am pleased to be spending the next 9-10 weeks in the audit apartment of Ernst & Young. I will be working on a team concentrated in their retail products division, and am super excited to meet the fellow E&Y staff and the clients! It's strange to think that this will be my first full taste of the types jobs I will be likely working on after I graduate! I also just got home from seeing a play called "Off the Endz" which made its debut tonight- it was impressive! It was not what I was expecting, but I enjoyed the outcome and the entire performance a lot- it definitely had my classs, and the rest of audience, on the edge of our seats.



What's in store for the weekend..tomorrow I have my last class for my theatre course, and then I've got a full line-up for the weekend. After class, I'm hitting up the Victoria & Albert Museum, which is accross the street from my flat- a beautiful view from the window! At night, we're heading to a well known club called "Fabric" and then waking up early Saturday morning to go to the famous Portobello Market. There are hundreds of independent retailers selling everything from clothes and accessories, to fresh veg and fuits, to vintage records, and everything in between. At some point I'll need to settle down and write my final paper and prep for my one final exam..but come on...it's London-town...there's just too much to do!

Boredom at it's finest..

Just to clarify: rolling your ankle on the first night of a weekend you had planned to explore the city, hang out with friends, and run some errands is NOT a fun thing to put yourself too, so watch out for those curbs..they can be lethal.

You would think that since I've been in bed for pretty much the past 48 straight hours that I would be well-rested, all caught up on readings and homework, and have compulsively tagged and captioned every picture on my facebook...but surprisingly, I'm not. Being in bed for this long can really take it out of you. I at least finished my one theatre project, and have a fierce outline going for my international management paper, but I haven't conquered my photo plans and I am (somehow) still tired. I guess Rome wasn't built in a day..

On the agenda for the upcoming week: I have a visit to the Tate Modern and a nighttime theatre show for my one class, my initial placement interview with Ernst & Young (where I will be interning for 9 weeks as part of the internship component of my program), and tickets to see Cirque de Soleil! I'm really excited to go to the Tate and the Cirque de Soleil show- I've looked up both online and they seem pretty awesome. My only issue is I will be rocking an ever so attractive ankle brace and cane...seriously, watch out for those curbs, people..you don't want to spend any of your abroad experience doing what I'm doing! I'll let you know how I handle my first Tube (underground) outing under the new condition soon!

Greetings from LONDON!

OK, I won't even say that this post is long, long overdue, but hey- better late than never, so here goes! This is the first message coming live from LONDON! I've been settled into my program for about 3 weeks now, so I'll give a little summary of some of the things I've experienced so far.

WEEK 1:

After 1 cancelled flight/bonus night in a random hotel at the Newark Airport, I arrived 1/2 day late to my program, but got caught right up into the swing of things. After depositing my bags and getting a feel for my apartment/flat (see right) I went on an "academic boat tour" which was a nice 3-hour ferry boat ride up and down the River Thames, led by one of our professors. We learned a lot about the history of the city, its geography, and were several of the major landmarks are. The rest of Week 1 was pretty similar- lots of lectures about what is expected of the students, different academic topics, how to survive and prosper in our new hometown, and how to make the most out of our time in this amazing city.

Throughout the first week, I also started to meet some of the other people on the program who lived in my building (which is called Sorbonne House!). At first I was nervous, because I am on a Boston University-led program, and the majority of students ARE from BU. Many of them came with entire sets of friends, and at first I was scared that I would be the odd-man out, but I was definitely wrong. I've found a group of really nice, friendly students, some of who go to BU and some of who go elsewhere. We're getting along great, and enjoying our new lives together!

Week 2:

After the week of orientation finished, we were launched right into the swing of things. Our classes officially started, and my two courses are in International Management and Theatre. The Theatre class is AWESOME- we watch all sorts of film/video clips, and have seen 3 live theatre performances so far, with more to come as the semester progresses! The Int'l Management class is interesting as well, and we've taken a recent field trip to Shell to learn about the difficulties in leading a Multinational Corporation.

Also, week 2 featured an amazing weekend trip to Dublin, Ireland with two of my friends, Deidre and Matt. We had an incredible time- we took tours of the city, some tours of the breathtaking countryside (see below), and did many things in between. The nightlife was also fun- lots of live musical performances at all the restaurants and clubs, and the locals were incredibly friendly. I survived my first official stay in a "hostel", which are semi-hotels designed for those student travellers on tight budgets. All in all, it was an amazing trip, which set us up for Week 3...

Week 3:

Another week of classes, and I have really been starting to get into the swing of things. I admit, I was definitely a little homesick at the start of this program, and I was missing the conveniences of home. However, it was during Week 3 that I really started to stand on my own two feet and get into the routine. While in London, we are in charge of all of our needs- from food, to laundry, to cleaning, to everything. Although I started off a little slow in the cooking department, I have progressed from frozen dinner meals to now making my own chicken, pasta, meatballs, rice, potatoes, sauteed veggies, and more. I'm actually excited that I am slowly learning to cook, especially since next year (my senior year) at Lehigh, I will be living off-campus and will again be providing my own food. As for laundry, I have mastered the art of hand washing the majority of my clothes, and will occasionally be hitting the laundromat when I need to wash my bigger items. I've also started to master the Tube, which is London's underground transportation network. My primary form of transportation is walking, but the Tube is great for getting around to some further away locations. Every time I get off at a new Tube station, it's like stepping out into a whole new town- there's just so much to see here!

For my 3rd weekend abroad, my friends and I took another adventure to a new city/country...Edinburgh, Scotland! Again, it was stunning! The first morning, we hiked Arthur's Seat, which is the dormant volcano that engulfs the town, and then we also did a walking tour through the main section of the city. Since we were super sore the next day, we did a bus tour of the Highlands, which is Scotland's scenic countryside..unbelievably beautiful! I've pretty much officially decided that I must live somewhere as beautiful as these places at some point in my life- I'd be missing out if I didn't give it a try! All of these weekend trips have gotten me beyond excited for more travelling, and I currently have a 5-day spring break trip to Barcelona booked, as well as a 3-day visit to Paris in early April! We're looking to book Berlin, Prague, Amsterdam and more!

Present:

I have survived another week of classes, lectures, field trips, outing to the grocery store and of course, a little shopping for fun (come on...everyone needs some souvenirs!) Unfortunately, I had the luck of mis-stepping off the curb onto the street last night, and have a swollen, rolled ankle to show for it. (I was going out to get some late-night Chinese food with some friends..not even a good story behind it!) So sadly, I am bed-bound for the weekend with lots of Rest Ice Compression and Elevation as I'm hoping I'll be back in working order for Monday, since walking IS my main form of transportation around town. More updates will follow, as well as more pictures of my time abroad in London! I hope all is well back in the States- to any East Coast readers, enjoy that snow!