PACKERS!!!!

Forgot to mention that Sunday night, after "the church," we all went to The Sports Cafe to watch the Bears v. Packers game! The Sports Cafe has over 120 flat screen tvs, practically like wallpaper, along with 50+ beer on tap, and it was packed.
It was such a great game and knowing that I'm one of the only people in this program from the South I went with 17 students from Chicago. Needless to say they were pretty upset in a very yankee-like way so I made some friends who were from Wisconsin and cheered with them. It was such a great game and I am so so so excited the Packers have made it this far! Super Bowl XLV here we come!!!!!

uncle tim!!!!

Who ever thought I would strolling through London with my Uncle Tim? Well in it happened! It was unbelievably wonderful to have little bit of home/family in my life! Now that I've been here exactly 3 weeks (how crazy is that?) I'm definitely starting to miss home. Believe me, London is amazing and my European extravaganzas haven't even begun commencing, but everytime I experience a new culture, city, or whatever it may it forces me to further be aware of who I am, where I come from, my values, etc and every single time I become more and more fond of home! There truly is nothing like home, especially mine!, and the absolutely incredible family and friends that I have. They are my life and are the only reason I am anything close to what I've become today.
Speaking of my incredible and one of a kind family, I met my Uncle Tim tonight for dinner. He's a pilot and frequently flies through London, and it was a bit difficult getting in touch because of international phone issues and so forth, but we talked through his hotel phone and met around 6pm last night. As big as London is, it was amazing how close our two locations were - it was only a 20 or so minute walk to his hotel. When I got to the hotel, phone his room, and finally saw him walking in the lobby it was a tad surreal! We actually ended up having dinner in the hotel itself and it was wonderful! We both ordered salmon and a salad and the hotel restaurant is one of those with fancy presentation, etc so the food was excellent. Neither of us stopped talking the entire time and I thoroughly enjoyed our conversation! Because he and his family now live in Virginia, I unfortunately don't get to see them very often or much less have one on one opportunities with them such as this one. Therefore, other than family gatherings, this was really the first time in a while I've had Uncle Tim all to myself and it was wonderful!!! It fully reassured how amazing and wonderful my family is and how thankful I am and should be.
After a very talkative and delicious dinner we walked me all the way to my front door! We walked the streets of Chelsea, through neighborhoods, and even by Hugh Grants house on the way to my building. Once we got close we ran across a tiny and very local pub called "The Crown" and stopped in as Uncle Tim said, "to get a beer for the road." We both ordered a traditional London Pride beer and once again had endless conversation - it was wonderful! We caught up on all family members, current and future plans, Europe, and most importantly London. By the time we got to my building it was about 9:30 - time flies when with family. I can safely say that that was by far the best night I have had in London yet...I was with family.

the church

When they say "the church" in London, they don't mean a church but "the church." Throughout the semester the program's student assistants offer various socials for us foreign students to attend to and get a true taste of London student life. Well, this past Sunday they offered an opportunity to attend "the church" with them.
I was originally going to head back to the markets (which are so much fun!) but ran into a group of people who said they have continuously heard that you can't leave London without going to "the church." So, with the mindset of 'when in London...' I went!
It was somewhat on the outskirts of the city, but when we finally got there, there was a long line of crazily and oddly dressed people about my age standing outside of a tall, nameless brick building. Come to find out "the church" is only open on Sundays from 12-5 and as far as how it got the name, etc you can read about it here, very interesting actually: http://thechurch.co.uk/
Once we got through the long line we paid about $15 (of course another cover charge) to get in and as soon as we walked in we were all absolutely mesmerized! The place was 3 floors high, packed top to bottom with students, and had a huge stage in the front. On this stage was a short, stubby, bald man in a metallic onesie singing cover songs of the Doobie Brothers and Tom Petty. Along with taking all of this in there was also a full length bar on every of the three floors and I'm pretty sure we were the only people there in regular clothing. Apparently there are weekly costume contests for no reason - I saw people dressed as where's waldo, in togas, pajamas, bathing suits, as jail birds, an alligator suit, batman, ...basically anything and everything. As far as the bar goes you have to get a ticket and once you get up to the bar you have a few options of beers and whichever you pick you exchange your ticket for a bag of that kind of beer. So you pay $10 for a ticket, pick Fosters for example, and then they give you a grocery bag of 3 or 4 of them tocarry around - the entire experience was absolutely crazy and hilarious.
To further describe it, I think the reason I enjoyed it so much was that it was more like a concert and hang out place rather than the usual techno, hard on the ear clubs we had been exposed to. Everyone was able to hear each other and converse along with sipping a beer while listening to a concert by a guy dressed in an onesie. They also did tons of camera shots throughout the venue making fun of people left and right - I don't think I stopped laughing. It was also Aussie Day this past
Sunday, so people were throwing around inflatable kangaroos and wearing the Aussie flag...craziness once again.
Anyways, it was an experience in a half and the craziest thing I've ever been exposed to on a Sunday! I can officially say that in London, I definitely don't think I can handle going to church every Sunday! hahaha I can only handle that kind of weekly church attendance back home!

not so smart

We left around 12ish to head to St. Paul's Cathedral. Well when we finally arrived it said it was closed for a private function until 2, so we ended up hanging out in a local cafe til about 1:45 and then headed back up to the cathedral. There was not only a line out of the cathedral and all the way down the steps but also half way down the road. Come to find out our common sense factor kicked in and we realized it probably wasn't a good idea to try to see St. Paul's Cathedral on a Saturday at lunch time. We decided to reschedule our viewing and climbing to the top of St. Paul's to Thursday morning; however, we did get some beautiful views of the outside of the cathedral!
My late afternoon was filled with some reading for classes and then me and a couple other girls are going to see "The Dilemma" (Vince Vaughn) at a local theater. So excited!

the amazing abbey

Today started out with an early shopping trip. I'm guilty as charged for transferring a little bit of money from my savings and heading to a store called Top Shop bright and early this morning. So far it is my favorite store in London, granted I've only been here for 2 weeks. I know Mom and Dad aren't funding my purchasing of unnecessary attire, so I got a little money of my own and got some personal shopping out of my system. I was in the store my almost 2 hours absolutely memorized by the vast quantity and quality of the 2 story store - heaven! I ended up with a couple dresses and got my shopping fix (for the semester!) out of the way. As pricey as this abroad life is feeding myself, transportation, and traveling definitely come first. I must admit that adding those 2 beautiful dresses to my not so existant wardrobe I brought was a wonderful feeling! :)
With that out of the way I got back to our "flat" around noon and sat on my bed with intentions to do some homework and was asleep before I knew it - whoops! I took a 2.5 hour nap!!!! I woke up shocked, because I'm not a napper. Anyways, apparently left over jet lag caught up with me but I woke up feeling like a million bucks, showered, and then met with a group of girls and a guy to head to Westminster Abbey. check it out: http://www.westminster-abbey.org/
They are well known for not only having some of the famous services in the world such as Princess Diana's funeral and the sort or for having Charles Darwin and Isaac Newton buried there (ironic?) but for the services they hold. Almost daily they hold FREE (free in London?!) services at 5:30 called "evensong." Evensong is a service where the world renowned abbey choir is the bulk of the service. It's comprised of a group young boys and men who go through school all through their adolescents and are individually selected and practice for hours upon hours - translation: they are unbelievable and arguably one of the best choirs in the world! So after taking the tube to the westminster we walked up the steps from the underground and there was Parliament right up close and in front of us. Between practically being able to touch the iconic building and the sun setting it couldn't have been more gorgeous! Took pictures and headed to the abbey.
We walked to the main/west entrance and the man (priest actually) immediately said, "We are currently closed to the public." Madeline, one of my good friends here from Chicago, is a very prepared and research-oriented person thankfully and read that this is common. The priests, in order to keep out just anyone from entering the abbey, always deny any trying to get in past the regular hours where you pay so much to walk in. She responded, "evensong," and he stepped aside. For any service such as evensong they want to make sure that only the people coming strictly for the service and who know about it go in to appreciate such an event. Anywho in we went and it was THE MOST BEAUTIFUL interior of a church and building that I have ever seen!
As you walk up the steps the interior of the historical and iconic church is slowly revealed and it is by far the most incredible church I've ever seen. Antique and different styled chandeliers/lighting hang god knows how many feet (even miles) from the ceiling. I have no sense of measurement or direction, so I'm sorry if all of my adjectives are huge, massive, or beautiful but that is how everything is! There are gigantic (new adj!) stone columns that it would take at least 3 people to wrap their arms around, candles lit everyone, AMAZING stained glass windows, life size stone statues everywhere you look, and ceiling so high they could easily touch the moon. We were all in awe from the moment we walked in. Not long after we did I soon looked down and realized I was stepping over Charles Darwin's grave...totally normal right? I seriously couldn't describe the infamous abbey and give it enough justice even if I tried. The only flaw of that incredible church is that you can't take picture in it!!!!! I could have easily taken a memory cards worth!
We were led to the back of the abbey and the service began. It was incredible! The abbey chorus was the most beautiful I've ever heard and even the service only lasted about 20 minutes it couldn't have been more enjoyable. After the abbey we all got Japanese food at a place called 'Japanese restaurant

' and then headed home to do some homework (on a friday night!) watched a movie and went to bed. I love Lodnon :)

HARRODS

I woke up bright and early on a sun-filled and chilly Thursday morning. Cold weather compression pants on and I was out the door for a run. After looking at google maps for a fun route to take while running I realized I was literally 2 blocks (if that) from the River Thames!!! So I crossed two streets and then over a bridge over the River Thames I went. I ran along the river and it was absolutely beautiful with flowers and bright green grass parks filling its sides along with countless runners, walkers, chatters, newspaper readers, and plenty of dog walkers. It was the most scenic run I've ever taken - I enjoyed it much much more than central park in NY.
Shower and then a group of girls and myself headed to Harrods...need I say more? Having never heard of the store before coming to the UK, it was quite the buzz around these parts. Well now I know why! It was incredible and nothing like it in the US exist. I knew it was a luxury store, so I immediately thought of Bergdorf Goodman, Saks, Bloomingdales, etc. Well no comparison - it is the 5 floors of the utmost luxury. When you walk in there's a highly priced and exquisite fresh market (butcher, dairy, bakery, fruits, veggies) but not only is the quality and utmost care of notice but the employees are traditionally and professionally dressed and doing everything by hand. There is a gourmet, traditional pub, pizzeria, sushi bar, and other amenities randomly and luxuriously located throughout all of this. If you head to the next few floors there are clothes, shoes, baby dept, mens dept, handbags, furniture, and everything of the sort you can imagine - the nicest in the world.
During the month of January their annual month-long sale takes place, so before we got there we were pretty excited about hopefully making a purchase from such an exclusive British institution. Well, sale racks began in the accessories dept and I picked up a scarf that was 50% off - $189...half off and $189 hhahahah heck no! And that was the best of the prices we found. When we got to the clothing department the sales racks didn't have anything under $400 - it was insane! For me, I really really appreciate the beauty and art of the fashion industry and the many beautiful products and pieces it produces, BUT that was absolutely ridiculous...for a piece of cloth! Needless to say the group and I walked around in awe and made sure not to touch anything.
Afterwards we decided to walk around and find a place for lunch. We went to the Tottenham pub of the Nicholson Pubs in an alley off the main roa

d and it was beautiful! check it out: http://www.nicholsonspubs.co.uk/thetottenhamoxfordstreetlondon/
They are known for their famous British sausages and beers, so that is exactly what I ordered. It was delicious and the beer was really good but not carbonated, which I'm beginning to notice. Out of the 3 locally brewed or on-site brewed beers I've had, none of the 3 have been carbonated. They've been delicious, but as far as texture it's completely a different feel. It's supposed to enhance the flavor even further and help you digest the contents easier - basically in British terms, a better quality beer. After some bubble-free local beer and a homemade sausage and gravy we went in and out of a couple more shops and then headed home.
Hung out for a bit with the wonderful girls here (who are all yankees and i love!), chatted with friends and mom, and now it's time for Breakfast at Tiffany's in bed and then another fabulous day of exploring London lies ahead!!!

English is not American

In most of my classes and in day to day life in London, I have learned that English is not American. One of my professors, British Youth Culture, went all the way back to the Beatles and fashion of the 60s. The Beatles wrapped themselves in the British flag, sang in British accents...it was the first time ever that a band/musical group fully distinguished themselves in their music without American influence. Because for centuries GB was heavily influenced by all aspects American, not that it still isn't, but it has fully distinguished itself. Most Brits, when asked about America, say 'just because we speak the same language doesn't mean we are the same country,' but then they'll continue by saying they love America and are the  most American-loving country in Europe - both statements holding true.
I personally was raised with a huge appreciation for Classic Rock and artists such as The Cars, Dire Straits, Lynard Skynard, The Eagles, etc so I'm somewhat unfamiliar with the Beatles, but I've definitely been learning a lot lately. They completely transformed GB and brought the English people's patriotism out of the roof. At one point John Lennon was quoted saying, "Now we're more popular than Jesus." In GB that was true. GB is a very secular nation, but in an contrasting way. We've learned and seen that 80% are Christian and only 20% atheist. However, they hardly ever attend church, because they feel that religion should be a private matter - it's their culture. For example, Tony Blair was Catholic and prayed with George Bush countless times, but he didn't publicly admit it until his 10 years of being Prime Minister was up. I just think it's unbelievably interesting how our nations differ in so many aspects, yet we fully influence each other and speak the same language.
Back to the whole secular religious idea, gay marriage sailed through Parliament in the 90s, but their government/state and religion are interwined - the Queen is the head of state and of the church...how does that work out? They are also a completely hierarchical society.First off, I don't think legal gay marriage will be sailing through our Senate anytime soon. Secondly, we don't have a hierarchal society we have more of a racial one. Example: interracial couples in the US (particularly the south) is the equivalent of a couple from different social classes in Britain. However, both of these aspects are more relaxed in our day and age with the ideas becoming more liberal.
I hope I haven't bored you with rambling facts and ideas, but as every day goes by that I'm here I'm more and more aware of how different yet similar GB and the US are. As you can tell, I am thoroughly enjoying my classes and learning unbelievable amounts - that was literally only a taste!
For the last 72, no joke, I've been working on booking trips throughout the end of the semester. It has been a task to say the least!!! To figure out where to go, when to go, the cheapest way to get there (50+ options), who to go with (I've known ppl here for 2 weeks), where to stay, the costs, etc, etc....it's incredible what goes into it! Soooo I pretty much got it nailed down last night and just have to finish booking everything...then there will be a HUGE sigh of relief and nothing left to do but get excited!!!
This morning I went for a run along the River Thames and it was gorgeous - probably one of the best Thursday mornings I've ever had! It took me less than 3 minutes to get to the Thames banks...gorgeous :)

so beautiful, so colorful

After Brick Lane we headed to the also famous flower market in London. Two entire streets daily are dedicated to the flower market. There was everything from palm trees and pansies to tulips and gerber daises - literally every plant and flower out there. It was absolutely beautiful and a sight to see! I thought I'd seen most of the flowers in London with the flower vendors on most corners of the London streets but I was definitely wrong.
What made our walk through the flower market even more entertaining was that it being our last stop of the day the vendors cut their prices by that time in hopes of not having to take home everything they brought. That being said, they were all yelling prices and thrusting beautiful bouquets at us. It was funny at first but by the end of the first street I was about to throw the flowers at them haha Definitely an experience and very small part of an incredible city...i love london.

china deja vu

We spent Sunday touring the markets on the east end of London. The first market we went to is called Spitalfield and the building where the market is located has been the market's location since the 1600s! It was my favorite market of the day! There were all sorts of handmade clothes, jewelry, leather goods, and tons of others. I came across an oil painter where the man has been hand painting works of London and other European cities for over 30 years and they were beautiful! I ended up picking out one of the oil paintings which was of big ben, parliament, and a sunset all over looking the River Thames. It was absolutely beautiful and I cannot wait to bring it home and put it in my one day permanent residence and say, "I lived there and got the painting from the east end markets of London." That was actually my one purchase of the day. The next market we headed to was that of the famous and world renowned Brick Lane. As soon as you walk in there are food vendors from all different parts of the world and rows and rows of racks of goods from all different merchants. We were only allotted a certain amount of time and it was overwhelming to say the least so I just looked around. There were purses, coats, dolls, trinkets, baked goods, shoes, tshirts, and literally anything and everything you could imagine. We were encouraged to try the food and it being lunch I ended up eating curry. Because of the large Indian population in the UK they are now called English Indians which they say is completely different than actual Indian people. They speak like they are from the UK but still have their Indian customs - an interesting mix. Anywho, they are also known for their English Indian food in the UK, so I gave pumpkin curry a shot being adventurous and my goodness was it delicious!

I finally gave in...to hitting downtown London nightlife! Probably 98% of the other students in this program are juniors in college even though a few stragglers are already 21 - I feel like such an oldie! Because the drinking age is 18, well actually as long as you don't look like you're 12, you'll be served so the majority of everyone here wants to go out and grab a beer or glass of wine as often as possible. Sad to say but I'm way past that and did not come here to drink - I would much rather have my expenses geared towards exploring the rest of Europe and all of the amazing things that comes along with that as well as London.
Anywho, everyone has been going out just about every night and on Friday one of the student assistants, Kemal, had this great deal lined up at a pub and one of the clubs; therefore, I gave in. It was an absolute BLAST!! An expensive blast, but a blast! I'm so happy I went. Restaurants were packed so we ended up grabbing dinner at a Dutch pancake house which was so so good. Then we went a very English pub called Cadogen Arms - mahogany walls and floors, flickering lanterns, tons of beers on tap, awesome. Then we headed to Leicster Square which is somewhat like times square in NYC. There we found the infamous club, Ruby Blue. I have never seen so many people in my life, heard so many languages, or ever been exposed to that kind of nightlife. Londoners officially  bring a new meaning to the word "party." Thankfully there was a big group of us, and even though we weren't there too long, we definitely had a great time and made the best of the situation we were in. It was really a very very fun night mostly because of the people I was with; however, I can now check off 'do the typical London student night out' off my list!

walk, walk, walk

The library closest to our academic center is that of the University of London's and it is amazing! This is specifically because it is the building that Batman lived in (really tall sky scraper with lots of lights) and where Hitler was going to be based if he succeeded. So it has hundreds and hundreds of years of history as does everything in London. I've also never been too excited about studying for hours in libraries, but this one is the epitome of a stereotypical flawless and gorgeous vintage library setting. There are floors and floors of tall mahogany bookcases filled with all sorts of different sized and color-bound books...it's incredible to look at! After somewhat learning our way around there, we got our official "uni" library cards and for the FIRST time in the week we've been here were freed for the afternoon/night! translation: time to explore! We got done around 12:45 and walked until almost 6 o'clock!
We started out on Sloane Street where Chanel, Dior, and every other famous designer you can imagine has a store - it was a window shoppers dream!!! All of the Londoners say that if you have to ask how much something cost then you don't go in the store...and even from the sidewalks you could easily tell that statement is a true one. Once we got closer to Oxford Street (filled with stores but affordable ones) we started actually shopping.
I found this traditional English store that makes leather goods and all things British from feather pins you dip in ink to leather book covers - so neat! I picked up a couple things for my grandfathers and Dad (I'd tell you but sometimes they read this), stayed in the Longchamp store way too long, and about every other step got a wiff of the food from vendors on the streets. From hot dogs, sweets, and roasted chestnuts to smaller versions of Belgium waffles you can only imagine how good it smelled! We walked around forever and ever and then walked around some more. Girls we live with kept talking about Primark, so we ended up going there as well. They said it was like our version of Forever 21. We walked in and I have never in my life seen so many people, so many racks of beautiful clothes, and prices so well. After being around all of the Chanels and $9 a beer pubs it was a relief to see something affordable in bulk! The place was a few floors high and had everything from beauty and clothes to mens and suitcases - all cheap and good looking!...a student's retail heaven. I ended up getting 4 shirts for about 20 pounds so $32 - the best 20 pounds I've spent since I've been in London!
After that I went with one of the girls, Kristen, to pick up her laptop (didn't want her going solo in London when almost dark out) because she had the wrong converter and the power fried her motherboard after being here 4 days...scary stuff! Luckily they had fixed everything and then we headed home!
After a day on foot and much exploring the sweats and a t-shirt are on! A salad, some reading for school, and then a bit of a screw top bottle of pinot...best end to a day this new Londoner could ask for :)

class: day 3

Set my alarm super early to get a head start and be an overachiever....didn't happen. Got up 6 minutes before I had to leave to make it to class and ran out the door! First class was British Youth Culture 10-12:30, which I was skeptical about, but no longer am. The professor, who prefers to be called Richard, is going to discuss the difference between American and British youth culture bringing everything into account from the Beatles (mostly) to Vivenne Westwood and Mic Jagger - it was such an awesome class and Richard is a very cool and as well as the others entertaining. There's a lot of analysis and critical thinking and discussion that goes on in the class, but it is going to be a blast to analyze and compare the different cultures in the many different forms it has. After that Madeline, myself, and a few other girls went to find the street with all of the bookstores, again no luck, and I headed back for my last class 1:30-4 which was Management in a Multi-Cultural Environment. The first half of the class she did lots of ice breakers, discussed the course and herself - she's from Bulgaria, has lived in over 9 countries and speaks God knows how many languages. She will actually be co-teaching the course with an American lady who has lived in London over 15 years. They both own a business in which they deal with large corporations entering or expanding in the international, global spectrum and they help them make that transition; therefore, they are probably well qualified to be teaching this class. The second part of us, she divided us up into 2 groups and sent one out into the hall telling them that they were supposed to act as IES Abroad ambassadors who are coming over to Morania (made up country) in hopes of building an academic center for students. People left in the room (I was one of them) were going to be the Moranians. We were given rules that our culture has to play our role. We think firm hand shakes are a sign of aggression so we shake very softly, if someone is wearing black or has glasses they are considered to be the boss/head of things so you can't look them in the eye, we believe in processing thoughts before speaking so we count to 5 before we speak, we also believe in building a relationship before talking business so we answer no business questions (respond I'm sorry) until they get to know you personally, we also believe in personal space so if someone gets to close you back away, etc. You get the point. So the other half of the class came in, individually split up among the rest of us, and started asking questions about our economy, student life, how we feel about them opening a center, etc. If you can imagine, I waited 5 seconds before speaking, said 'I'm sorry,' backed up constantly, etc. The exercise was actually really fun and pretty eye opening. Turns out the 'Americans/IES people' thought things went great and that building the center would be a go; whereas, we felt disrespected, pushed, didn't trust them, and every other negative adjective so that was interesting and clearly showed how careful a business has to be when entering other cultures.
On to the fun stuff! The IES student assistants set up a social at 8pm that night for us to go to a pub situated on the River Thames. A long tube ride and plenty of walking later we walked over one of the main bridges over the Thames (which was beautiful!) and got into the very swank, British filled pub with every beer on tap known to man. It was a very fancy, fancy restaurant and definitely not what I would call a pub, but it was beautiful and it's views even more so, so I wasn't complaining. Each beer was about 4.44 pounds roughly which is $7.00. We were there about 2 hours or so, I had 3 beers (spent $20) and a group of us took the bus home. Side note: do you have any idea how much and how many beers you can buy with $20 in the states???? A. LOT.
Anywho, I got back to find out that a girl I've gotten pretty close to is leaving tomorrow. :(!!! Her name is Carly, she goes to Indiana University, and is also the girl who almost got left behind at Windsor Castle with me. She's amazing to say the least and I hate she's leaving. Her Mom has a serious case of cancer right now and is at the peak of treatments, etc and I personally as well couldn't imagine going through that or being able to have any sort of fun here with that going on so I don't blame her a bit. It's only been about 7 days here, but I will miss her so so so so so so much! Carly I'll be thinking about you and your family. <3

class: day 2

Only 1 class today from 1:30-4 and it was the History of London. I had Julian Putkowski again, the oh so British man who refers to us as mates and lads and where suspenders and his round rimmed glasses daily.
I am definitely not a history person at all - I do enjoy it and appreciate it, but it unfortunately doesn't interest me near as much as other subjects. Well, Dr. Julian Putkowski is changing that view of mine. Throughout the class he will be telling the entire story of London from start to finish. He's like a ball of energy! He was all over the room discussing the formation of the landmass, William the Conqueror, the Romans, etc whistling and physically acting out every portion of his person to the full extreme. Another very successful and exciting class with Sir Julian :)
Most of the my professors have provided hefty size packets of reading material, but for this class we are required to get a textbook or fight over the few copies in the library. Therefore, after class, a new friend of mine, Madeline (from Chicago, huge hockey fan, hilarious) went on the search for this old street that involved lots of turns (according to Julian) but that apparently wasn't hard to find. Well, after 37 minutes of looking for this very close and easy to find street we decided to try another day. We then got on the #19 bus (red, double decker) not having a clue how far we were from the tube station. The #19 bus is the one that has a stop directly on our residence hall's street. So we started talking away and about 15 minutes in began not familiarizing with a single stop, street, or anything in the area. We very quickly realized we were going north, NOT south - shit! Kindly asked the bus driver our best bet, and he said we could get off and wait for a train on the other side of the road, but who knows how long we'd have to wait. Or we could ride this til the end and simply hop on a bus continuing the route at the bus station when we arrived which he claimed would be quicker so we did exactly...took the scenic route. We saw all sorts of areas of London - in fact, everyone located on the #19 bus's route of travel. We saw good and bad areas and everything from pretty scary local quick shops and alley ways to private schools and flats lined with luxury cars. We soon realized we were in Arsenal - a city/burrough/not real sure that is completely outside of London and famous for it's football (soccer) team. So yeah, we saw that, got off at the large and not so welcoming bus station and within seconds the #19 going SOUTH and back towards the city was there. We laughed about our directionally challenged attributes and the very funny sight seeing tour that had just commenced. Rather than the usually 40-45 minutes it takes us to get home, it literally took us right over 2 hours! But hey, who can say they road the top deck of a famous red, double decker bus in London? And not only that, who also road the entire #19 route?
After such an adventure we decided to celebrate. TimeOut London is people's, as they call it, bible, over here - in other words, "the magazine" to read. Having that time on our hands on the bus we went through one and the up and coming restaurant was actually a Thai restaurant not far from our dorm, so we went. A few streets and a good walk away was a quite fancy and beautiful restaurant situated off a cobblestone alleyway. The food was amazing! I got chicken pad thai which could without a doubt compete with Spartanburg's Monsoon pad thai and a very very delicious glass of wine. I can't pronounce what Madeline ordered. After that we saw the movie, "The King's Speech." It came out Friday and has been sold out every day! Between Colin Firth and it being a true, royal English story it's no wonder the movie has been making such a fuss all over London. We surprisingly were able to get tickets before dinner and headed to the show. As you know, history isn't my strong suit, but when in London, you can't not see a highly regarded and well talked about British film. It was so so so good, a million times better than I thought! There were only about 10 people when the previews started, and apparently all films in theaters have 20 minutes of advertisements and then it begins. Well, once those 20 minutes were close to an end every single seat in the theater was filled and for good reason. It was such a great story and almost more of a comedy than a historical film - it was great! The story of George VI gave me a much better standing of the royal history timeline and of the country, plus, it was hilarious which was an added bonus.
Finally back to my shithole (excuse the French) of a room and after some skyping off to bed! What. A. Day.

class: day 1

I didn't have classes until 1:30, so of course, I was out of the building by 10 and walked up and down the streets for about an hour and half going in and out of shops and then picked up some stuff from the grocery store. Everything in the grocery store is very familiar but somewhat different. For example, unlike our chicken filets, etc that are laid flat theirs are rolled up - hummus, cadberry eggs, tea, and wine is everywhere, but their selection of meats do look a little weird. Also, they don't really have crackers or chips like we're used to.
Headed to my first class, which is actually about an hour commute - 15 minute walk to the tube station, 20ish minute tube ride, and another 10 or so minute walk to the academic building which is located in Bloomsbury. The great thing about this area is that there are about 3 London universities/colleges within the area, so it is student central.
My professor for Media and UK Politics walked in and he couldn't have been more British! He had round rimmed glassed, colorful suspenders holding up his pants, and said, "Hallo Mates!" Best first impression I've ever had! Turns out he works for BBC at the headquarters and teaches such classes as this one on the side. In those 2.5 hours together I have never been more intrigued in a lecture! He discussed how in the class we were going to discuss anything and everything about print media (newspapers, magazine, etc) and every aspect about them - no teli (tv) because everything on there minus the sports and news is just rubbish. He also then laid out the basics of UK politics which basically was a summed up version for dummies. He compared their political system to the U.S.'s and it was so interesting!
I also learned that British teaching methods are very different than those in the U.S. Most of my classes are straight lecture and that's it. He said we would eventually be going to the BBC headquarters and watching their production and analytical process, that sometimes we would meet on sight rather than in the classroom, watch films, hold discussions, etc - it's very interactive and always something different.
My second class was International Marketing Management. My professor speaks over 5 languages, is originally from Russia, and is on the board of directors for the European Bank and is over the investments in that for about 4 countries; therefore, you can only imagine his accent. He was hilarious, but I had a hard time understanding him. Sometimes I got every word he said and then I would lose him for about 15 minutes - it was an interesting 2.5 hours to say the least. The class, like my first, will be very interactive with projects, trips to the European Bank to meet his colleagues, the financial center, etc. You could tell right away that this man was exceedingly intelligent, had a very dry sense of humor, and meant business. Lots of people are talking about dropping the class, but how in the world could you turn down the opportunity by being taught by someone of the status in the EU? I have the feeling I'll learn soooo much, especially after looking at our daily reading - scary!!!
Got home at 9pm, skyped for a couple hours, dinner and brewskis with friends, and bed....i love this place :)

auntie bettie aka HRH

Today was yet another early morning, but as always, totally worth it. We met bright and early and headed for Windsor...specifically Windsor Castle. On the way there we saw small town England and it was absolutely beautiful! The city is great, but to see the actual England outside of the city was definitely a treat. The flats weren't near as tall and had a much more English and homey feel to them considering they were located in actual neighborhoods rather than busy roads. One of those little towns we went through was called Datchet which is where Elton John was born and lived.
Furthermore, once we were outside of Windsor we saw the famous walking road that leads all the way up to the castle - for a few seconds there I felt like a princess looking over the long walkway heading up to the monstrous castle ahead. Once off the bus we then walked along the River Thames up to the town of Eton. There were ducks, geese, and swans in huge bulk within the river and surprisingly but not so surprisingly the queen owns all of the swans. They are few and far in between, ruthless, take no crap, and because of this the queen wanted to full ownership to protect them so she decided to buy all of the swans and make them royal swans. As soon as we started walking along the River Thames bank all of the different types of birds lined up as close as they could get to us in hopes of getting some food. We then crossed a bridge into the tiny and very English town of Eton.
The city truly is wonderful, but it was great to actually see a true English city still in its roots. Every single street, path, and alley was cobblestone with old, different colored, wooden buildings filled with all sorts of little shops and local restaurants with locals out and about - it was probably my favorite scene thus far. We then walked to the famous Eton college which is public. When the Brits say the public they actually mean private and highly expensive. It cost a whopping $46,641.79 to send your sweet little boy annually to this prestigious school. It's a boys only school, ages 13-18, they wear tails, a pointed collar, and bowtie to class along with a straw hat in the summer or a top hat in the winter. Prime ministers, kings, and very educationally successful and driven boys as well as crack/cocaine addicts are among the many Etonians.
We then walked a little ways further and in no time were in Windsor. Another beautiful English town that happens to have a huge, royal palace in the middle of it - who wouldn't want the Queen as their neighbor?
Once we arrived to the castle area it took forever to walk around its side which consists of huge, guarded walls and ended up at a huge statue of Queen Victoria. We then saw the chapel where Elton John was married and once we reached the entrance to the castle we learned that every monarch has added something to Windsor Castle to make it what it is today. For example, Henry VIII built an arch which we would eventually exit the palace through. Before we went through the castle we had free time and walked through the local English city. First stop was a little sweet shop where I asked what the most traditional item was and it was actually a rhubarb and custard, round, hard candy. A little nervous at first, but it turned out to be delicious! After some more walking around we grabbed lunch at the oldest restaurant and building in the entire town - The Drury House. It's 50 yards from the castle and the building was establed circa 1645. There is an underground tunnel that leads from The Drury House to the castle, specifically the royal bed chamber, because Henry VIII kept his favorite mistress there and visited frequently. The restaurant was incredible - a real fire was going, old paintings and moldings and all decor still intact. I felt like it was 1645. Even the menu was old fashioned and I once again asked for the most traditional option which was 'chicken pie.' It was basically the inside of a chicken pot pie served with steamed carrots and peas and it was soooooo good!
Now to the castle we go! After plenty of airport-like security we went in, but of course only in the 'state apartments' which is where guests would stay and where the queen occasionally hosts dinners for a small 150 people. We weren't allowed to take pictures once inside, but I snuck one picture of the Queen's dollhouse from when she was growing up. It had to have been 8 feet tall and was modeled off of a castle - hell I was excited about my Barbie jeep and American Girl dolls. There was also a drawing room filled with old photos of the entire royal family from all generations, sketches by Leonardo De Vinci and other famous artists - it was incredible. Also, there are over 250 rooms for the guests on this side of the castle and then there is a lush field of green grass and then the opposite side of the castle is the queen's personal quarters which also consists of over 250 rooms just for her. Such rooms we got to see on the state apartments (public) side of the castle included bed chambers, changing rooms, dining rooms, guest rooms, armory rooms, parlors, etc. I seriously would need a map for at least a year to figure it all out. It was absolutely monstrous and elaborate! We walked on an oversized red carpet the entire way through and every room had huge, glamorous chandeliers and the decor could not have been more 'posh.' Every piece of furniture, gold molding, ceiling painting, etc could have more top of the line. It was extravagant to say the least.
We also got a peak at the English gardens behind the palace which were immaculate and of the hundreds of very serious and very humorously dressed guards. On our way out of the castle we passed the Chapel of Saint George which is within the castle walls. The Queen worships here when she is in town and many, many famous monarchs are buried within it. I was with another girl at the time and we went to the spot where we were supposed to meet our group and no one was there and we had no idea whatsoever of how to get back to the buses - in other words, shit! I texted the few peoples numbers I had and we fearfully attempted to find the lot where we were supposed to be, but finally, one of the IES staffers called my phone and helped us get there. Thankfully everyone only waited about 2 minutes on us. We were supposed to meet at 3:15 and we got there at 3:17...when the Brits say they are all about punctuality they mean it!
Speaking of that we got a quick lesson on British academics and their culture. Being late is seen as highly disrespectful and basically a slap in the face. They specifically told us not to be on time, but to be early. Also, for every class we miss our grade drops by half of a letter grade. Therefore, if I miss 1 class I automatically start with an A- no questions asked. Soooooo I will be much more punctual within the classroom unlike those 2 minutes at Windsor. I mean I could've knocked on the Queen's door and asked to stay the night, right?

attempt to sum it up

Today consisted of a full, traditional bus tour of the incredible city of London. Our tour guide was absolutely hilarious as most Brits are. She introduced herself and then began by asking who was a London virgin and after 98% of the bus attendants raised their hands she next asked who was ready to have their London cherries popped? The sexual jokes and dry humor coming from this middle aged, prim, and proper in appearance kind of lady continued throughout the entire afternoon trip.
With all of the orientation academic and non-academic it was so exciting to FINALLY being able to see the city! 48 hours of a wait was almost too long!
Here's what we learned and saw:
London has 7 million people accounted for but if you add in illegal immigrants, people who missed the census, etc you get roughly 10 million people aka tons! It is an incredibly diverse city, more than any other in the UK. London originally began as villages, dozens of them actually, coming together to form Londinium (under the Romans) which is now London. We also particularly learned about the road and area in which we live - Kings Road. It is located within the royal burrough of Kensington and on Kings Road in the 1960s it was fashion central. It is the exact and very street in which fashion icon, Twiggy, made the first ever mini skirt famous and I walk this street daily! Just a couple streets over you find Sloan Street which is exceedingly exclusive and a European Rodeo Drive with every designer from Jimmy Choo and Chanel to Versace. Around such streets are flats (apartments) which are anywhere and everywhere you turn; however, in such exclusive areas costs a fortune. But if you live in such areas as where we do you will find gardens and square, beautiful parks filled with lush green grass, benches, fountains, etc, but with the parks in these areas in particular you have to have a key to get in which only the residents have - hence 'key gardens.' We also quickly learned that everything's name in London has some sort of meaning behind it. After a few more streets we passed the famous Harvey Nichols department store and were highly recommended to go to the bar/restaurant on the top floor on a Saturday night to mingle Britain's utmost and elite crowd. Of course it is outrageous and unhealthily overpriced, but if we're looking for a very rich man and/or ladies who's body and skin have been pulled in all sorts of directions then we should go check it out. The 'poshness' continued by passing The Lansborough Hotel which does not have rooms, only suites, and there is a 6 months waiting list to get into the top floor suite. Michael Jackson is just one of the many many wealthy who have stayed there. Even though your stay will set you back thousands and thousands of pounds/dollars you do get a butler, full staff, continental breakfast, and a personal Bentley driver...not too shabby huh?
We then saw the famous Hyde Park of London (it's largest), the Marble arch, Wellington arch, and Speakers Corner where anyone and everyone can speak their minds. We then road through Mayfair which is an area of central London in which the Duke of Westminster owns all of - the architecture on the flat buildings is incredible. The area also includes the US embassy and many other government buildings and private parks aka it's phenomenal! ...Riding around I noticed there are no speed limit signs in sight. I've only seen one and it was not very noticeable and on a main highway. Also, there aren't any street signs on the roads, but instead there are plaque signs on the buildings on the corners which I've found to be quite confusing.
We continued our journey passing the famous Hamley's Toys (5 floors of fun), Piccadilly Circus where there are countless theaters and shows, Regent Street, Leicester Square, and mainly Trafalgar Square which is the 0 point and center of London. It is absolutely  beautiful surrounded by huge cream stone and columned buildings with various statues and memorandums throughout it. On land everything may lead to Trafalgar, but on water it's the River Thames. The newest addition to this brilliant river is the London Eye which looks somewhat like a very modern day Ferris wheel. It's comprised of 32 pods which each hold 25 people and it travels at 1 mph making the full circular trip 30 minutes. The London Eye is also the new place for proposing to people and apparently on Valentine's Day it's almost impossible to get a ride. Next came BIG BEN! It's bigger and more amazing than I imagined. Big Ben is actually the name for the bell that is inside of the tower, which rings every hour on the hour, not the tour's name. Right beside it of course are the Houses of Parliament which actually have tours on Saturday which I'm hoping I can make it to soon! The building, architecture, and structure are so immaculate and decorative it's hard not to be affixed just taking in its presence. Westminster Abbey is almost directly parallel to the Houses of Parliament and my goodness it is HUGE! Considering that it is a royal church that has royal weddings (William and Kate), royal funerals (Diana), and even has the bodies of Geoffrey Chaucer, Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin,and many more it is truly an extravagant and beautiful church. After some picture taking we were then shown the Scotland Yard's main headquarters as well as the hospital where Florence Nightingale actually worked and the nurses there today are still called nightingales and it is a huge honor to be one as well. They not only have the privilege of being nightingales but with that comes a key to the private key garden across the street from the hospital which they share with the arch bishop. By this time it was 3 and we were starving and stopped at a local cafe on the corner. There was a wide variety to pick from, but apparently, the most local 'snack' you could get was a sausage roll. It's simply homemade sausage wrapped in a very thin, flaky croissant and served very warm. My god was it good! After that very delicious snack and a much needed coffee, local of course, we headed towards Downing Street. This is where the prime minister lives and is guarded 24/7 of the guards in large hats and red coats. They really are even funnier in person. We also learned that laws and bills are passed in Parliament, but that they are actually put into effect in the government buildings and establishments surrounding it. Furthermore, most of the elected and non-elected Parliament bodies offices are not in Parliament, most are in the buildings around it. However, most of these buildings have underground walkways, etc from their offices to Parliament. We were again advised to hit up the pubs in the late afternoons on weekdays in hopes of seeing some/many of the Parliament members. Speaking of government, there is a monument of Abraham Lincoln right by Westminster Abbey and Parliament and one of George Washington in Trafalgar Square - both in the center of London. Washington, however, said he would never step foot on London soil. That being said, there is actual a slab of soil from Boston between his statue and the London soil, so he actually kept his word and has never stepped foot on British soil.
We continued the trip by seeing the BBC headquarters which was huge and it's many stations are translated into 100s of different languages. We then saw the 'royal courts' building where not criminal cases, but celebrity and royal cases such as divorce, etc are held. It was also pointed out that dragons are present at the entry and exit of the part of the city where the old Roman gates would have been. We were also told the story of Sweeney Todd and the pie shop of Miss Lovett which is actually true. Sweeney Todd took a fancy to Miss Lovett and anyone who seemed to do the same he killed, chopped them up, and sent them to her in paper bags. What's even more interesting/funny is that McDonald's is now in the spot where her pie shop was, so the mystery meat mystery still continues.
We then saw Saint Paul's Cathedral - yet another magnificent work! It is the only building in London with an Italian style and influence and is the 2nd largest dome in Europe. We also saw the Mansion House where the Lord Mayor of London lives (each does for their 1 year in office) and it even comes equipped with it's own private jail in the basement. We also saw the Bank of England where all of the paper money is made, gold reserves kept, and where the government's money is. We also saw Christopher Wren's monument (famous architect) which is 222 feet high, road over the London Bridge which did fall down but is obviously now back up, the Ship Belfast which is London's famous battleship, and the new modern architecturally inspired buildings such as the 'glass egg' which is city hall and where the mayor works, Boris Johnson. We then saw the Tower of London built by William the Conquerer which is home of the crown jewels and of the WORLD'S largest cut diamond - the star of Africa which is a 530 carat diamond. It only sees daylight for coronation ceremonies the last of which was 1953. At the Tower of London 7 royals were executed, 3 of which were queens, and this execution was a holiday! Everyone was off work and basically had a picnic and cocktails and cheers ferociously while the beheading occured. Now, knowing that no member of the EU can have the dealth penalty, it's nice to know the Brits have steered away from public exectutions.
This lovely adventure finished up with the passing of the National Theater (on one of Pink Floyd's album covers), the famous Saint Stephens pub where Churchill was regularly a customer, and the MI5 secret service headquarters.
As you can tell it was an extremely educational, fascinating, and wonderful afternoon! The thing I learned most about London was that even though it's not known for its scenic views like say Scotland or the coast of Portugal, but everything within the city has great, deep meaning and much historical value all with a great purpose that helped the city develop into what it is today. It was so so wonderful to finally get to see the city, even though it was an extremely summed up version. Our hilarious and very British guide and the beautiful, sunny if I may add, day couldn't have made the experience more enjoyable!
We came back and I skyped for a couple of hours with Mom, Dad, Bobby, and my absolutely AMAZING roommates back at Wofford! :) After that I met up with some girls who attend Indiana Univeristy and some guys from Penn State and we walked down Kings Road and went to a couple local pubs which is always a blast! They are so relaxed with dark wood, lanterns, music, and great friends. :) After that bed! miss and love you Kathleen, Liz, and Marie!!!!!!

austin powers was wrong

I am yet to see anyone with bad teeth! Austin Powers solidified my idea of British people and their lack of dental hygiene, but in the many orientation sessions we've had I've actually learned that back in the day there really was no fluoride in their water; however, that has definitely changed, but on the other hand, dental health is not covered by insurance even now. Therefore, almost everyone has very clean pretty teeth, but orthodontic work and dentist treatments are normally not participated in, so everyone has clean teeth just not perfectly straight teeth. So Austin Powers was wrong with the whole teeth thing - people do brush their teeth here and the water is perfectly fine to drink.
Speaking of people, I LOVE the people here! They are so classy and proper as well as the city itself, but then they have this dry sense of humor and are all about some brews. Enjoying a beer is a very social thing to do and an exceedingly common one. There is also a huge difference between pubs and clubs/bars. When they say they'd like to meet to have a drink they literally mean one drink. Pubs are meant to be very social, relaxed, and casual atmospheres where you meet with some for a couple hours or more and have a couple/few drinks in that time. It's a very quiet relaxed place and one is located on every street most of the time in multiples.
Today started early again with a trip to Birkbeck College which is aka the University of London. As soon as we arrived there was a huge cafe filled with mounds of students and we headed to a conference room where we got yet arrive be smart and safe talk, alcohol/say no to drugs video, and then an actual police office spoke with us. He was a hoot! He told us how, as big as London is, that it is such a safe place that the local officers do not carry firearms. They only do when of course guarding the royal family. He taught us about crossing the streets (they drive on the opposite side of the road) and talked to us about street smarts. The #1 crime in London is actually theft - it happens daily and 24/7. He basically said keep belongings with you and in sight and you'll be fine - common sense. That's basically what he told us and then he handed out key chain alarm/taser things for answering questions. Come to find out England is about the size of Wisconsin and 31 Englands, size wise, can fit into the US. We then got introduced to academic advisers, learned more about IES, and then were given finger sandwhiches, crisps (chips) and drinks. The sandwhiches were very light and labeled fish, veg, or meat and the crisps of choice were either cheese and onion or prawn cocktail. Being adventurous I tried the prawn (shrimp) cocktail flavored crisps and they were surprisingly good  but very very interesting. The food really has been great here. After the END of orientation (yeah!) we headed back to our building in Chelsea. Everyone in the program ended up going different ways once we got back - grocery store, bed, etc. So I ended up walking around ritzy and 'posh' Kings Road in Chelsea which is where we live.
I had the best time! I walked for hours in and out of boutiques, markets, and local cafes which featured everything to customized cupcake shops and bakeries to local coffee joints - it was a blast! However, everything in our area, specifically called the royal burrough of London, is so expensive! Most stores have after Christmas sales and so forth going on and the first sweater I checked out the price tag on was 50% off at 136 pounds which is equivalent to $211.97...so yeah I didn't do much shopping even though I'm sure I will in the future. For the first time for me, I will actually be putting shopping on the back burner, because my #1 goal without a doubt is traveling! Anywho, I did purchase gloves for 24 pounds which is $37.41 and they were 75% off haha Scotland cashmere signs were every and apparently the utmost necessity for a London-er so that was my one purchase and a very practical one if I may add. :) I then got my very very not so great looking nails done and who knew that in the center of such a 'posh' area there would be a gorgeous vietnamese nail spa haha at least something familiar was around!
Night came and after those shrimp cocktail chips I was in serious need of some sustinance so I ran down to the local market and got a small frozen pizza - I needed something American in my life at that point. Kathrine and I met up with some girls for dinner at a local hang out called the Stock Pot where you get large, cheap portions and good beer - I just went for company and to drink while they ate. They had the best Italian beer and it was freezing!!! The rumors of the Brits drinking hot beer is totally false - freezing and absolutely delicious is a more appropriate description. :)
Afterward, one of the student assistants who works for the program I'm in, Kamel who is 20, attends Queen Mary and gave all of us his contact info earlier in the week and he ended taking a huge group of us out to a pub in Leister Square called Montagu Pyke - it was awesome! It was all wooden, 2 floors, with high ceilings and flickering lanterns on the walls with relatively loud but relaxed music. When we walked in the song playing was one of Dire Straits and I immediately thought of my Dad's love of classic rock. :) Most of the music played in public areas like that is American and most of the time not near up to date, but still good! After the pub closed at midnight, all do, we headed to a bar. It was insane!!! They played Lady Gaga, Beyonce, Usher, and other popular American music and people were grinding, jumping around, swaying their hips, snuggling/kissing on couches scattered throughout, taking shots, etc. I have never in my life seen such a sight - I am officially convinced that Brits take 'a night out' to a whole different level. Ladies were given a ticket for a free beer upon entry so of course I took advantage of that. When I finally made it up to the bar amongst the pushing and shoving I was absolutely shocked at how relaxed and amiable the bartender was. His name was Pepe (like the skunk) and even though the place was so packed and nuts that there were about 5 different peoples butts touching me, he asked me how I was doing, what he could get me, made jokes and was laughing up a storm - as personable and friendly as he could possibly be...when a bar in the US is packed to where you can't move most bartenders are running around madly and just want to get you taken care of and out of the way - well not Pepe and the other British bartenders here. He took his time throwing up the bottles and twisting and turning and dancing...it was definitely the most entertaining creation of a drink I've ever experienced! We made it to the dance floor and I think the entire time I was in bar/club/whatever you want to call it I probably willingly took 3 steps - all the other movement was because someone pushed or shoved me in that direction. Everyone was very nice, it was just that packed! You would think being that packed it would miserable but it was humorous and an absolute blast! From dinner at 7 til this time I only had 4 beers...the amount of time it took to get to the bar was unbearable, but considering that the tube (subway) shuts down at 12:30 we had to use the double decker bus service to get us home. Trying to find #19 was an adventure to say the least and on that adventure the guys in our group peaked into every McDonald's on the route home hoping they would be able to woof down double cheeseburgers - no luck. We safely made it back to our dorm and luckily for them a local convenience shop was open across the street.
Bed time! Another successful and Bristish-filled day. :)

so who likes harry potter?

The weather yesterday was amazing - jeans, a sweater, boots, and sunshine! Today it rained all day and was miserably cold! My first full day and I got a full taste of how the not so fabulous Janruary weather is in London.
We met early this morning and went on walking tour with one of the staff members of the Chelsea area, purchased British phones (got the cheapest, little guy they had $7 baby!), got tube (subway) passes, and then walked 15 minutes, took the tube from South Kensington station to Holborn (~30 mins), and then walked 10 minutes where we finally got to the beautiful IES academic center located in the heart of Bloomsbury. It's a gorgeous, huge white/cream building with decorative architecture on a corner of one of the main streets in the burrough.
We were greeted by British and American staffers who are over the entire program and began with a welcome and lots of background about London and it's culture. We learned everything from how to cross streets and when (they drive on opposite sides and certain places you have right-aways where others you don't) to standing only on the right side on the escalator while people walk on the left - if you stand on the left side you will probably get bloody cussed out. We learned about the layout of the city and basic cultural aspects. Then we took a shitty as hell and miserable walk around the Bloomsbury area. A local student from Queen Mary college showed us around which was great, but it was so miserable everyone was silent and the forever long walk was just no good. On a happier note our student-guide pointed out tons of spots where tons of Harry Potter scenes were filmed, showed us many of the local hang outs, and even the building Batman lived in in one of the movies which was awesome. We then grabbed lunch at a local restaurant and headed back for guess what? more orienting! They talked about safety and all the crap no one wanted to hear followed by getting our class schedules and more academic info. I have class Monday - Wednesday....4 days weekends all semester??? YES YES YES PLEASE!!!
I'm taking Media and UK Politics, International Marketing Management, History of London, British Youth Culture, and Management in a Multicultural Environment. My favorite part of the entire shitty day of bad weather, orientation, and exhaustion was the professor social at the end of the day. All of the professors set up in different rooms throughout the building and we could just walk around and meet and greet with them. My Intl Marketing Management professor is on the board of directors for the European Bank - specifically the investment advisor for Bulgaria, Poland, and Albania....totally normal right?! He has that full-time job and then teaches this class on Monday nights. The rest of my professors are professors for other universities or also have full-time jobs...they're all British and so so awesome! After that we all left and headed back to our dorms in Chelsea and the other students in this program are awesome! Probably at least 85% of them are from Penn State, Indiana University, or the Chicago area and then there's 3 of us from the South out of the 80 IES students here. What's even more interesting is that the building has 300 students with only 80 being IES students; therefore, I've been able to meet students from all over rather than just the U.S.
After getting back we headed to the grocery store and ended up having a lovely dinner composed of hummus, chicken salad, and a very large bottle of wine. :) YUM!
I even bought some true British tea to have in the morning....so pumped! After only being here for about 24 hours I am still pretty exhausted, so that cot of a bed is going to feel amamamazing! Kathrine actually just walked out the door to meet some of our new friends to go out and I turned it down...me not going out? I feel like one more night of good sleep and then I'll be 100% and then every pub's bartender will know this southern girl's name in no time! goodnight! :)

that's pure rubbish!

I never thought the day would come when I would finally be leaving my family and friends for an entire semester across the big pond, also known as the Atlantic Ocean. It took me, literally, a day and a half to decide what to pack and to get it all in my suitcase and under 50 lbs - 46 actually...yeah!!! My parents, brother and I had a very American meal at Waffle House and then they dropped me off at a shuttle which took me directly to my terminal at the Atlanta airport.
My trip then officially began at check-in when I argued with the British Airways lady who kept telling me she couldn't let me in the country without a visa. Apparently they just changed the law from needing one after 90 days to 6 months and she was unaware. After 15 minutes of phone calls and triple checking, she finally let me through. I then had a wonderful flight which was only about 7.5 hours, then had no trouble finding the train and then finally a cab. I left my house in Aiken at noon the day before and arrived at my new London flat at noon the very next day. The cab driver definitely made my entire trip though! As soon as I had my first conversation with a true Brit I had officially fallen in love with this city! The driver was unbelievably amiable, gave me a tour of the city on the way to my building, and had the funniest and driest humor I've ever experienced. His answer for practically every question I asked began with a perfect and informative answer and was then followed by a joke and then him saying, "ah that's just pure rubbish!" The best welcome to London anyone could get!

Check-in a the IES Residence Hall was a breeze and the entire staff was so friendly! After being handed mounds of schedules, paperwork, etc I headed up to my flat and opened the door to see a very excited and already settled in Kathrine Moore. She'd welcomed me with some extra hangers and an oversized South Carolina flag which we immediately hung on the wall. We got settled in, had some group general meetings, and then hit the town to discover the surroundings and after walking literally all night (~20 miles I swear) to grab necessities at local stores we were in desperate need of a London cocktail.We headed to a local restaurant and Kathrine ordered a margarita (in London haha) and I ordered a flute of some sort of champagne/vodka concoction and my goodness was it gooooood! It was wonderful to be in an actual local cafe/restaurant and chat and enjoy an adult beverage :) Then we got the bill and my I flute was about 9 pounds which is equivalent to $14 - a damn expensive flute concoction haha But that's how the burrough we're located in is - Chelsea. Chelsea is literally the Rodeo Drive of London. It affordable to live in the area our building is located in only to the utmost upper class and you can definitely tell by the shopping and types of people walking around. It's an absolutely beautiful area, but definitely not the norm. The tax driver I first had was telling me about the people in Chelsea by calling them posers. I asked if he meant people who mock others and he said, "No silly, people who love themselves." He then said they call Saturdays in Chelsea, "Poser Saturday," because all of the 'posers' come out shopping. haha
Every single Brit I've met has been unbelievably friendly, helping, and welcoming even in our very upscale burrough of London. Speaking of which I cannot wait for tomorrow for the first day or orientation to learn anything and everything about this city, program, and my very very very very exciting semester ahead!