Seafaring Is Daring

This week many of my friends from my program decided to buy tickets for the Thames River Cruise offered through the City University Student Union. The night was to be themed "Casino Royal" (James Bond), so I went shopping yesterday to buy a black dress, gold heels, and a black/gold/pearl headband. (Very Theta, I know!) All of us looked great! Every girl was wearing a black dress and every guy was wearing a suit and tie.


We took the tube to Temple station right along the river at 7pm and arrived at Temple around 7:45. We walked across the street to the dock, and met up with everyone else from the program who was going on the boat as well. The thing to note at this point is that I randomly saw Paul Mancini - who I went to elementary school with - and he was visiting some friends in London for the weekend while he studied in Barcelona. So random and such a small world.


So we get on the boat and it was very fun. There were two levels, the first level was well lit with tables and a bar. The second level was darker with dancing and a bar but also a place to go out side. Here's a picture of the view of Parliament from the deck of the ship as well as me and some of my friends standing outside on the deck (it was really cold).




So we were all having a perfectly fun time aboard ship up until around midnight. At that point, two sketchy British guys came up next to me, Christine, and Haley and started talking to us. I immediately got up to go to the bathroom as an excuse. However, Christine stayed with Haley because Haley was feeling sick and laying on the bench that we were sitting on. The two guys were very drunk and perhaps even on drugs. They started harassing Christine and then even took a campaign bottle and purposefully sprayed it all over her. The bartender came over to stand up for her, and that is when tensions started to escalate. The sketchy guys were banished upstairs but came downstairs very soon after and started trying to hit on another girl named Vanessa on the other side of the room who also happened to be in our program. Some of the American guys in our program were around to witness all of what happened, and they started rallying together to help defend the girls against the sketchy British guys. The sketchy British guys started to get really aggravated, and after the boys in our program asked them to leave us alone and go somewhere else they refused. One thing led to another and a fight broke out involving a few guys. The bartenders clearly had no idea what to do, so immediately the boat was told to dock as soon as possible. The sketchy guys were carried off the boat as well as some of the American guys I hear (not ones that I know well...but since there were about 100 Americans there from our program and visiting, I'm sure I will find out who they were). Overall, it was a very upsetting ending to what started out as a fun night, and I made sure Christine got home safely and tried to take care of her when she felt responsible and hurt by what they said to her.



Now everyone is home and doing fine. I just wanted to write about this because it really helped my friends learn that some men in Britain do not act the same as American men when it comes to leaving women alone.

A Tisket A Tate-sket

So I went to Tate Modern last weekend with Haley, Erin, and Christine. The art was incredible, and I thoroughly enjoyed my experience. I also really love how most of the museums in London are free, so we didn't have to spend a single pence to see these amazing paintings. I wrote down all of my favorite paintings, and I'm going to list them off:











"Los Moscos" by Mark Bradford (this was made out of advertisements he found around his house for bands and events)













"Loa" by Albert Oehlen


















"Water Lillies" by Claude Monet (you've probably already seen this but it's cool in person because the painting is enormous!



"Figure" (Woman) by Magda Cordell



"The Busy Life" by Jean Dubuffet (this one looked like it was made out of colored margarine...it was really cool in person)



"Black Virtue" by Matta (the shading in the sections with red were so amazing that I honestly couldn't stop talking about this painting for the rest of the day after the surrealism exhibit)



"Inflammatory Essays" by Jenny Holzer (these color blocks of essays literally took up a giant wall of one room)



"0 through 9" by Jasper Johns

There were also two artistic films that I really enjoyed watching. The first was called "Meet Joy" and it was both disturbing and fun at the same time. There were a group of people in the film that were constantly finding new things to do (such as pour paint over themselves and the rest, eat raw chicken, roll in a room of feathers, etc.). Although most of the activities looked disgusting, it was also very optically stimulating (and had really fun background music).

I forgot to write down the name of the second artistic film that I enjoyed. It was very strange to watch, and it included dogs, small children, and men in kilts. I found it confusing but intriguing. I hope that if you ever make it to London you will go to the Tate Modern.

Good Morning, London!

I just woke up at 10:15, and I am the only one awake in my house. Several people went to the club Tiger Tiger last night and came back between 2:30 and 3. They said it was really big and really packed. I didn't go because I was not in the mood to spend 10 pounds to get in as a cover charge and I didn't have enough energy to dance. Instead, I decided to stay in for my first night since I arrived in London. Because Christine was feeling sick, we both stayed in and watched Bridget Jones' Diary 2. It was cute, and Colin Firth was brilliant as always.

Right now I am sitting in my house's common room staring at two beautiful houses across the street. Each of the houses are gated off, which probably makes them even more expensive than our measly 3.5 million pound residence. This neighborhood is fantastic, and feels incredibly safe - espeically in comparison to Thorsby house, which is in the same neighborhood as City University.

As many of you know who are reading this blog entry, my skin is very pale. Over the past few weeks, I've noticed that I fit in well with most other Londoners, because the Brits are not as obsessed with tan skin as Americans. However, many other girls in my program have already been to a tanning salon here to maintain their tans. Therefore, when I'm out with them, I still feel slightly like a ghost. It's a very interesting thing that I now know there are certain cultural things from America that people do not want to adjust to when arriving in London.

Last night there were whispers from my friends Haley, Erin, and Christine that we would go to Tate Modern this morning around 11am. I have yet to confirm if we will, but I will definitely write about it if the outing happens.

I suppose I should write about what I've done the last two days to keep you, dear reader, up to date with my goings-on. On Thursday, the London Internship program was required to attend two lectures at City University - the first starting at 10am. Therefore, I woke up at 8am in order to get out of the door by 9. Getting to City University early in the morning is a struggle because of the commute - we get on at Queensway tube station, take it across town to Bank, switch lines to the Northern Line and take the Northern Line up to Angel in Islington, and walk seven to ten minutes to City University from Angel. Thus far, I have yet to do anything productive during the commute, including reading the free paper that is offered at the tube stations. (Speaking of the free paper, it's not like free papers are in America at all. The paper actually is regarded very highly for what it is worth, and the people that give it out to you are employed to do so in order to continue to promote the paper and distribute it widely.) However, I tend to just get lost in my thoughts while on the tube, as if I'm continuously spacing out. I believe a goal for my trip will be to figure out how to be productive.

The lectures I attended on Thursday would not have been so boring if they weren't so long, the rooms were not so hot, and I had gotten 8 hours of sleep. Since none of those are the case, sitting through two lectures that were both over two hours long and discussing the current structure of the UK and then the entire history of the European Union was probably the most difficult thing I have had to do since passing through customs. I'm excited to read over my notes for those lectures, since I feel it will take me five minutes to review the material that took over two hours.

Bare with me as I describe Thursday night. It was not good news. I went to McDonalds for dinner down the street with my friends/flatmates Bita, Audrey, and Kaitlin. We were all really craving it as well as wanting to see how it was different from the McDonalds in America. I found it so strange that a.) The menu was probably only 25% on the menu offered in the States and b.) I ordered my food and then they told me to find a seat and brought it to me when my food was ready. After McDonalds, Christine and I made our way down to Redcliffe Gardens, where we were going to meet our friends before going out to a pub. However, because the group of people were so big, there was a misunderstanding where half of the group took the tube to Picadilly and went to On Anon and the other half (my group) took the tube to High Street Kensington and went to a local pub called the Student Union. By went to a pub, I mean, we arrived at the Student Union after walking quite far in drizzle only to find that the pub closed at 11 and we arrived at 11:05. After that, I was split up even more from the group, and some of the people in that group decided to just go back to Redcliffe, where I then followed knowing that I at least would not be further lost if I went back to Redcliffe. I spent several hours there with my friend Sharday hanging out and watching American TV shows online.

At around 1:30 in the morning, before everyone else got back, I decided to check my email on my friend Evan's computer. Upon checking it, I found an email from Bank of America informing me that they had recognized potential fraudulent charges on my credit card. Sure enough, when I logged in, my credit card number had been stolen and was being used to order crappy stuff like Abercrombie online. So I was awake until 3:30 in the morning on the phone with Bank of America trying to cancel my credit card, adding my father to my account so he can fill out my forms when the arrive at our house, and figuring out how I can get a new credit card. Everything seems sorted out now. However, the thing to remember is that the reason why my credit card number was stolen is because, in England, retail stores print out the entire card number on receipts that you have to sign. This move enables employees of the stores to have access to your card number if they feel like being unethical.

Friday I did not have to be at City University until 2pm, which was nice that I could sleep in. However, I did not enjoy the process of registering for my classes in the slightest. They sent everyone into a big room to find the professors of the classes that we wanted to take and have them sign off that we could enter the classes. There was no guidance behind what I should take, and I felt the professors representing business classes did not know exactly what they were talking about. Plus, there were so many of us business students from IU trying to take an equivalent to Z302, they had no idea how to answer our questions. Even though I felt like I was being a jerk, I finally think I found the exact information I needed to be able to sign up for the classes that I must take. I will now have two classes on Wednesday and one Monday morning at 9am (ouch).

I think that pretty much covers my update. I tend to not be home long enough to do time-consuming things, such as grocery shop, laundry, and update my blog. However, I'm definitely working on creating more time for those this weekend, so wish me luck!

What I Have Done In England Thus Far

Hello! I just finished dinner and I decided to come upstairs to chill a little bit while everyone in my house watches a TV show before we decide our plans for the night. I am going to outline what I've done so far this trip as much as possible, so that way you at least know what my activities have been even though I will not go into detail. Also, feel free to comment if you want more information.

Monday:

• arrived at Palace Court
• met my roommate Audrey as well as the other people that live with me in the London Internship and City University programs. the freshmen and the students in the London Now program did not arrive until the following Monday.
• went grocery shopping at Tesco
• went to the cell phone store and figured out what plan everyone else seemed to think was a good idea. they all bought the same plan and same 5-pound cell phone at The Carphone Warehouse. I later went back to purchase the same plan as a sim card to use in my unlocked T-Mobile phone.
• Went for a walk that was lead by our Graduate Resident, Phillip. He showed us a store called Marks & Spencers where you can buy organic groceries, towels, and sheets.
• Went to a local restaurant called Cafe Diana, where the walls were covered in pictures of Princess Diana. The restaurant was not worth it, because the portions were way too small and overpriced.
• After a dinner of Domino's Pizza courtesy of Arcadia University during our house meeting, all nine of us went to a local joint called Tequilla TexMex where we got chips&salsa and some drinks. Technically, it was my first legal drink.

Tuesday:

• Went to our first day of orientation starting at 9am. Luckily, I wasn't jetlagged (thanks to my dad for helping with that!)
• Met everyone in the program at orientation, which was held at the Thisle Hotel by the Euston Square tube stop.
• Got lunch at an Italian restaurant by the hotel, which was tasty.
• During the afternoon part of orientation, we had three members of Parliament come talk to us about the British government and they answered any questions that we had. After a heated topic about Palestine, I decided to ask each whether they supported Obama or McCain in the election. They didn't really answer the question, but said that they all felt Obama has a lot of hype to live up to.
• At night, we ventured down to Redcliffe Gardens for the first time, where me and a few friends from Palace met the people who lived there. When there, we walked around there business center to find food and a pub that was open.

Wednesday:

• We had the 2nd day of our orientation, where we learned about UK culture and safety. We also were able to sign up for Arcadia sponsored trips (I was only able to sign up for the Scotland trip, so I'll need to figure out how to go to Paris some other way).
• I went to the convenience store called Boots (like Walgreens) where I bought all of my essentials.
• At night, Arcadia paid for us to attend the musical We Will Rock You featuring the music of Queen. It was really fun music, even though the story line was kinda lame. Very cool lighting effects too!
• After the musical, all 40 kids in the program went to a club in Leischester Square called Zoo Bar and had a really fun time.

Thursday:

• We had our first class at City University, where we learned about what family life is like in Britain. I have a paper due next week that needs to include info I learned during that class.
• At night my friends and I went to a pub called Walkabout, where my friend Erin met a British guy that she really liked. He later asked her out on a date for last night, and she had a really great time and is going out on another date with him this Saturday. However, I found Walkabout really boring, especially since it was an Australian bar instead of British.

Friday:

• I picked up Christine from Redcliffe Gardens Friday morning, and we had an incident where we got on the wrong tube train so I jumped off really fast but she couldn't get off in time. Luckily, the tube is so easy that I just stayed where I was and she was able to get off at the next stop and take a train back within 10 minutes. No harm no foul, it was just funny cuz we were split up so fast.
• Friday night I left for my homestay around 6pm and took a coach out to Woking, Surrey. My homestay family was so nice! I lived with another girl from IU named Kristin, and we had a great time. The dinner they fed us Friday night was extremely delicious and really filling. Plus they were really nice people all around.

Saturday:

• The students in the internship program all had our homestays in Surrey, so during the day the program took us to the towns of Windsor and Eton. I was able to see Windsor Castle, which is Queen Elizabeth's official residence. Also, we ate lunch in the town of Windsor. Then, in the afternoon, we walked down to Eton and toured the town and visited Eton College (where the Princes went to school). It was all very cool and very old.
• For dinner Saturday night Kristin and I had a traditional English roast, roasted potatoes, apple crumble, and something I don't remember the name of. It was absolutely delicious. I honestly don't know where people get the idea that England has bad food. They should just go eat dinner at the Grimshaw house and they will know otherwise.
• Saturday night the Grimshaw family, Kristin, and I all watched the 2nd Harry Potter movie together because Kristin had never seen it. It had been a few years since I had seen it too, so I really enjoyed that.

Sunday:

• We took the coach back to London around noon from Surrey. I don't really remember what we did that afternoon because it was really low key. Probably grocery shopping. I'm still really bad at cooking, but at least I'm eating three meals a day.
• Sunday night we celebrated Christine's 21st birthday by taking her to Redcliffe Gardens, then out to a club called On Anon where we met up with people from Thorsby house as well. I think she liked it a lot, especially because there was another girl from Thorsby in our program whose birthday it was as well.

Monday:

• Everyone in my program had a 10am class at City University, so we took the tube there. We found out when our internship interview would be the next day.
• Christine and I walked to Kensington Church Street area to go shopping in the afternoon, and we both bought the same pair of black skinny jeans. Those are pretty trendy here in London, and they fit better in my boots than my flare jeans do.
• I met my new roommate Kaitlin as well as other students in the London Now program, since they arrived on Monday. She's really nice!
• Monday night we went back to Tequilla TexMex as a fun thing to do with the new residents. Also, we wanted to stay close to home because we all had interviews on Tuesday.

Tuesday:

• Christine and I had our internship interviews at Stella McCartney. It was really cool to see the building. The interview was held in the VIP room. Also, it was extremely informal, and the PR Assistant just told us what our responsibilities would be. The only bad part was that I wore my high heels for the first time in a really long time and I got a major blister on my pinky toe that still hurts a lot.
• At night many people in the program met at a club called Roxie, but we were completely unimpressed. All they played there was non-stop techno music. Five of us left early and walked to Zoo Bar, but I didn't have that much fun there either. The weird thing was that Matt, who was one of my friends from IU, had his wallet fall out of his pocket and apparently it was turned in to the bouncer at the door. As we were walking out and after he had already cancelled his credit card, the bouncer overheard us talking about it and told him that he had his wallet. Not even the cash was stolen out of it! He was extremely lucky and it was a really good lesson for all of us to make sure we have our wallet on us at all times.

Wednesday:

• I had class this morning at 10am again, which taught us everything I'd ever need to know and way too much more about the British educational system. It was fairly boring.
• After class, my friends Christine, Chad, Haley, and I went to go find a pound store (like a British dollar store) and ran into a random market in Islington. We shopped for a little bit in the market, but I didn't buy anything because I didn't know what I needed. After we were done shopping, we took the tube back to Palace Court - which is an hour commute from City University by the way.
• Once home, the four of us went to a local pub for lunch called The Champion I think. I ate a really good sandwhich and fries (chips). I love how you can go to a pub here and not have to order alcohol.
• Once I got home I ran some local errands with my roommate Kaitlin and the new boy that lives above me named Spencer. After getting back from those errands, I went with my roommate Audrey and another girl at Palace Court named Bita to a giant retail store called Primmart that is two tube stops away from our house. The store is huge, always busy, and sells clothes/shoes/accessories for SOOOOO cheap. I didn't buy anything because I felt really overwhelmed.
• After shopping, I came home to take a nap, went on Skype, and then ate dinner. Now I'm about to have a chill night with people from my program, and I think they're waiting for me right now actually.

I hope this has been a decent update on what I've been doing. I can expand more on things if you want...just let me know. My fingers are tired right now, though, so until next time....cheers!

We Had Our Stella Interview Today!

It went really well. Both Christine and I got the internship! She already wrote about it, so I'll let you just read what she wrote instead of me writing the same thing. Here's what she says about it:

http://christine-mindthegap.blogspot.com/2009/01/stelllaaa.html

My Journey Across The Pond

First I am going to write about my plane trip. Sunday morning at 10am (a few hours before I was supposed to leave) I got a text from my friend Haley who said our flight was cancelled. So I immediately looked it up on VA's website and sure enough...the plane had been cancelled and had to emergency land in Dublin. So we called both Student Universe and VA to get me on a new flight, and Student Universe was able to put me on a United flight that left slightly earlier that day. It was all very stressful, but it was sorted out relatively quickly. However, only one of the three of my friends that were going to be on my VA flight with me was able to transfer onto my new flight.

The flight over was fine in most respects. However, half way through the Atlantic Ocean we hit a really turbulent spot that scared me and my friend a bit. The pilot came on the intercom and said "flight attendants get to your seats immediately!" However, the turbulence stopped after a few minutes, but it still was kinda freaky. Also, my friend and I sat next to a student from Jordan who had just finished his undergraduate degree in America. He was laughing at us when we were scared of the turbulence.

Since we flew United, we were able to leave from the domestic United terminal at O'Hare and arrive in the non-international terminal at Heathrow. This made travelling, security, and customs much easier, but we had to go from Terminal 1 to Terminal 3 at Heathrow when we arrived in order to meet our group. So with my super heavy suitcases, we grabbed a free luggage cart and made the half hour journey that includes many hallways, inclines, and declines. It was challenging...but we made it.

Once we arrived at Terminal 3, I introduced myself to the other Arcadia students who had arrived as well. Then, the first bus (of three that were sent to pick us up) arrived and took us to our residences. The lame thing was that I was the only one on that bus who lived in my residence and they decided to drop me off last! So I was literally on that bus for three hours before getting to my dorm. Five minutes after I arrived, the second bus dropped off the second round of people (which means they got to be one of the first stops instead of the last). It was somewhat frustrating, but it gave me a tour of London when there's traffic and I was able to see where everyone lives.

My dorm is pretty cool. The Arcadia University offices are on the first floor (or the ground floor as they call it in Britain). There's flats in the basement where freshmen live and where the laundry is. The freshman just arrived today, though, because their program didn't require the two week long orientation. Then there three are half floors that include the bathrooms, and then three floors of rooms that are triples. I live in the smallest triple in the building, which is fine since I don't have a lot of stuff. For the first week I just had one of my roommates here, Audrey, who is from Bucknell University and doing a program that does not include and internship. My second roommate, Kaitlin, came today and is doing the same program that the new freshman are doing. Everyone's programs are through Arcadia. There's a graduate resident who lives in the house and is a lot like an American RA. The final thing I should mention is that there are a lot of steep stairs to climb, and lugging my heavy luggage up them to my room on the third floor was a challenge.

I live in a building that is literally next to Hide Park and between to Queensway and Notting Hill Gate tube stations. The neighborhood is really nice, and there's a ton of shops and restaurants just around the corner. Everything is within walking distance that I would need. I really like my place.

I need to go now and get some things done, but another update about what I have been up to will come soon. Thanks for being patient while I spent time adjusting, exploring London, and having fun!

update coming soon

An update is coming within the next few days. I just haven't had enough time to sit down and write EVERYTHING I want to write about my first week. But I have a list of the topics, so stay tuned.

My Last Night Stateside

I am leaving for London tomorrow night, and it will not stop snowing in Chicago! I am already expecting a delay based on the weather forecast. It's supposed to snow in Chicago off-and-on throughout the weekend, and we already have several inches of snow accumulated from previous snow showers this week. There is also a chance that my plane will need to be "de-iced." Wish me luck! I am supposed to arrive at Heathrow airport at 8:50am Monday, January 12.

There is a six-hour time difference between Chicago and London. Because of this, my father has been making me get up earlier and earlier every day this week to prevent jet lag (which can be brutal during the first few days based on my own experience and the opinions of my friends who have already studied abroad). This morning I woke up at 7:30 Chicago time, which would be 1:30pm London time. I definitely will still have some jet lag to conquer!

With the London Internship program through Arcadia University, a student is assigned to live in one of three residences based on proximity to his or her internship placement. The three residences are Thoresby, Redcliffe Gardens, and Palace Court. I will be living in Palace Court with four other female London Internship Program participants. I have heard I will live in a triple room, with wifi access, and a communal kitchen and bathroom. The Palace Court building also houses the London offices of Arcadia University. Palace Court is located on the actual street called Palace Court, which is on the northwest side of Hyde Park.

Right now I am working on packing up the last few items I am taking to London. I have two 29" Delsey suitcases that are part of the company's "lightweight" line. In addition, I am bringing a backpack and a small duffel bag as my two carry-on bags. As a tiny 5'1" female, I'm quite nervous about the bulk of my belongings (especially since I've been told there is no elevator to my flat).

The weather in London is much more temperate than it is in Chicago. Next week the expected highs in London are in the upper 40's and low 50's. Here is a graph of the average monthly temperatures, which I got from visitlondon.com. As you can see, the temperatures vary much less than they do in Chicago and Indiana. Right now in Chicago I am suffering through 20-degree (F) weather with a lot of snow, and in the summer the temperature in Chicago can get up to 100 degrees. Very big difference. When I went to Brighton, England last June there were people lounging on the beach on a 65-degree day!

I also feel I should briefly write about the latest royal news in London. First, Prince William is NOT engaged yet, although many Brits feel it will happen this year. Secondly, Prince Harry has been caught on a video from three years ago saying derogatory things about Pakistani people. He has issued a formal apology.

Finally, I received an email from the mother in my homestay family this week introducing herself and her family. As part of my program orientation, I will be travelling to Woking, Surrey (just southwest of London) next weekend to stay with a family. I will be rooming with another female student on my program while at the family's house. During the day, I will be visiting Windsor with the program and touring around the shire (which is like a British county). The family sounds very nice, and they have experience housing students who are studying abroad! I am sure I will blog more about my experience in Woking when the time comes.

Well, wish my luck on my last night in the states! Tomorrow at this time (6pm) I will be sitting at O'Hare airport. I still haven't figured out why the times I write posts is recorded wrong next to the comments. Well, until next time, cheers!

A Quick Thanks

Before I begin blogging about my London adventures, study abroad experience, etc, I would like to say a quick thank you to a few people. First, thank you to Richard Seaman for allowing me to use such a cool photo of the Parliament building, the Thames, and Big Ben as the background of my blog. Second, thank you to Shawn Conner from IU's Kelley School of Business for setting up my blog and creating such a cool title photo with me superimposed into Trafalgar Square. Third, thank you to my dad for helping me with the html code problems I came across when trying to make my blog look awesome. Finally, thank you to See's Candy for providing me such a delicious chocolate snack as I write this. I couldn't have written this post without the help from the aforementioned.