I guess this is gonna be a weekly thing...

So, blogging more often than weekly obviously isn't working out very well.  There is simply too much to do to fit it into my schedule!  Let's try and get everyone caught up to speed....

Last week I had my first classes (I don't remember anyone mentioning them when I signed up for this program...) which were: Art in London, Contemporary Britain, Seminar, and something else I don't remember. Oops. We went to the student union Tuesday night (ULU) to celebrate our first week of internships finishing.  And let me tell YOU, it sure is nice to have Tuesday feel like Friday.  I'm loving two-day work weeks :)

Wednesday we went to Camden Market (I'll explain more in another blog I have to do for an assignment on London markets) but it was shocking to say the least... I literally can't explain in words what it was like.  Kind of punky, ridiculous buildings, a giant store that sells nothing but clothes/accessories for raves.. it's something you have to experience yourself to understand.  We learned the importance of bargaining there, though!  Mal was going to buy a tiny bracelet from this little shop, but it was 2 pounds... definitely not worth it.  We suggested 1.50 and he told us his boss wouldn't let him sell for less than 2 (good one).  So, like you do when you want to leave but don't want to make the person mad, she said she would come back later.  He would not let her walk away!  She was counting out her change in her wallet, so he snatched her wallet from her to see how much she had - not okay!  She took it back, and ended up having less than a pound, but he held out both his hands like a beggar and insisted that whatever she had was fine.  I felt like we just fed his family for a week....

Alyssa Claire - you would love this place. Sorry I chose the creepiest picture to show that.  Baha

Later that night, we went to see Les Miserables with the whole program, and it was FANTASTIC.  Apparently, all the Brits get tiny cups of ice cream at intermission, and we all want to fit in...  So of course we got some too :)  Probably less than half a pint for 3 pounds, but hey, it's all part of the experience, right? (Thanks Mom and Dad!)

At the show!

 Thursday night, we had our first club experience.  We got ambushed downtown by guys working for different clubs pulling us every which way trying to talk up deals to get us to go into their club versus another... that was creepy.  Sure, give me a good deal, but do NOT pull me away from my group of friends to try and convince me that yours is best.  That's crossing the line.

Later that night our friends studying in Wales came to visit!!  It was nice just to get to see other Central people.. a nice reminder of home.  We took them to a different club called TigerTiger on Friday night after we did some sight-seeing, and that was quite the experience.  We were all dressed up of course, and even made reservations.  We were on THE list.  What a nice change ;)  So the dancing in London is one thing, but guys here are definitely NOT afraid to test the waters with anyone.  The standard is to kiss your hand, tell you you're beautiful, and from there it's past the point of turning back!  What girl wouldn't be flattered if that happened?  It did help that both of my roommates are platinum blonde (one giant American flag) and all the guys here think our "accents" are intriguing.

The topper was when I was making conversation with a guy and he asked if he could guess where I was from.  I told him to go for it, because everyone always easily guesses the states without hesitation.  First guess: Japan. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!  I realize I have small eyes, but I definitely am not tan, nor do I speak broken English.  <- Strike one.  Second guess: West Indies.  Okay, you can stop joking around now.. you're just digging yourself a hole. <- Strike two.  Third guess: Canada.  Alright, we're done.  Buy me my drink and leave me alone.  <- YOU'RE OUTTA THERE.

After that night, I was ready for a break from the club scene.  Some more sight-seeing and picture taking and the weekend was complete.  Hopefully, we'll be off to Wales and Liverpool this weekend for our first trip of the semester!!

Internship Journal (23 January) : Paid in Chocolate

Soooo.... day one of my internship was a bit intimidating.  I started the day off visiting four competitors of ours and comparing their prices to ours... under cover!!  I made up the name of an "accounting firm" and gave them fake info when they asked for it.  Gotta do what we gotta do!  But I spent the majority of time setting up for a bloggers' event that we held later on in the evening.  We partnered up with a porridge company (yes, you read that correctly) and they were demonstrating how to make it for some people who blog/write articles about food.  Apparently it's a great way of marketing, because we hope that the people who attend the events will blog about it, and then their followers will come into the shop upon their recommendations.

So, to make the porridge a bit less boring, they spooned it into chocolate tea cups, then topped it with freshly made salted caramel and you eat it all together as the tea cup melts. It. Was. AMAZING.  I missed dinner for the event, but that helped make up for it a little ;)  Day two starts tomorrow, and I'm exhausted.  Can't wait to see what the rest of the job has in store!!

Shout out to Chris Lehmann

Love you. Miss this.

Let the "Studying" Abroad begin...

Well... it's been a busy few days to say the least.  Sorry it's taken me a while to get time for blogging - let's be honest, it's kind of the least of my worries at the moment ;)  Let's see... it's been almost a week, and it has been packed full of activities!  Tuesday night we went out as a group to go bowling at a local place where a lot of students our age hang out.  Bowling?  Seriously?  I thought we were trying to adapt to ENGLISH culture, not American.  Oh well, we ended up having a great time.  We ordered like 10 pizzas that were about 2 feet wide, and we finished all of them.. it was the first time we had the opportunity to eat a lot since we'd gotten there, so we took advantage of it!

After that we went to the Dukes of York, the pub that our friend Joanna said we had to try.  We met a homeless guy, bought rounds, and socialized with the whole program group - it was a great time :)  Wednesday, I had my interview for my internship at DeMarquette Chocolates (www.demarquette.com) and found out that I will be planning an event for Easter - the shop's busiest time of the year.  I absolutely can't wait to start.  I'm so excited to be doing something that I can call my own there, and have an impact on the company.  Busy work is the worst, so it's nice that I'll have some actual responsibility!  They have a blogger's event tomorrow night which will be my first day.  They'll have taste-testing, demonstrations, and some food bloggers attending.  It's a great way to get the word out about their company.  Though, before I head to the shop, I'll be doing some competitive research... I have to go into four other shops and compare their corporate gift offerings to ours, without letting them know I work for DeMarquette.  I'm supposed to pretend to be an intern for a law firm or something and say that I was sent out to buy gifts for my department... SCARY!!  What a way to start...

We went to a comedy club Wednesday night.. sat front and center.  Were we asking to get picked on or what?  We ended up getting crap from every act that performed.  Ryan made the mistake of telling the comedian he was a "cop" from Texas (keep in mind people here aren't the biggest fans of President Bush) and a literal hush went over the crowd. Soooo awkward.  So from then on, we had giant American stamps on our foreheads, but it made for some good laughs out of everyone!

We've been shopping, gone to see most of the sights around the city, and done our fair share of exploring.  We went on our first run this morning around St. James Park - it's absolutely gorgeous.  I can't believe that it's just a few minutes away from where we're living, and I have it at my disposal whenever I want!  It's a great place to get away and think, read, or exercise.  A nice change from the business of everything.  

No one there knew what "Captain" was... besides us!

We toured the University of London where we'll be having one of our classes.  We went to the student union there later that night, which is equipped with a bar open all day... still adapting to the thought that their universities have alcohol at everyone's disposal.  They have 1.50 pound drinks there every Friday night, so we went there and discovered just how "different" British dancing is... that's going to take some getting used to!  But it was a great night with the group, and a good way to meet other students our age.  It'll be interesting to see how we view all of this by the end of the semester..... :)

Lost in the shuffle

Today was quite informative... we started off at 9:30 with an orientation all morning, and capped that off with a (very light) lunch provided by Vandon House.  I'm having trouble getting used to small portions and no snacking.. it seems like my stomach spends the majority of time growling, and a small time with any food in it at all!  I think this is what anorexia feels like.... HA! Also, NO restaurants are open past midnight, let alone serve food past about 8:00.  The times of late night McDonald's runs are over for a while. :(  Though, they do have a 99 pence menu with McChickens and McDoubles, but we have yet to try it!

After our orientation, we went on a three hour walking tour of the City of London - along with our very first tube ride!  The city however, is not to be confused with the rest of London.  It processes ridiculous amounts of money every day and is very historical - specifically where you can find the Tower of London, the Tower of London Bridge, and the site of the Great Fire.  We were in certain parts of the city where hundreds of people had been publicly executed, and other parts where Shakespeare had been during his time, which was extremely interesting to think we were standing in the very places that these things had taken place.  We got a few good pictures, but not very many with people in them (sorry Mom and Dad!).  But we are definitely planning on visiting them again once we have more time to spend there.

When we finished the tour, we went out for a cider and fish and chips with a few other students in our program.  The cultural differences are still hard to get used to... people are supposed to buy rounds of drinks here for a group, and then each person in the group eventually buys a round to make up for the drinks they've received.  It's extremely rude to ask for separate checks or just go and buy yourself a drink without offering it to others.  As you can imagine, it's easy to get both very expensive, and very drunk...  We stuck to individual meals (and drinks) tonight, but it's something we'll have to get used to I guess!

We went out later in the night and "got lost" as everyone advises us to do... after actually taking that upon ourselves, I started to think maybe we should have taken that advice a few weeks into the program.  I was completely turned around, but we ended up stumbling upon Big Ben, as well as the Duke of York pub which friends had told us about.  It was memorable, but I definitely want to allow a bit more time to get used to the bus and tube system before doing it again!!

We made it!

Just arrived in London!  We’ve been here for about an hour, but we’re in the waiting area for Holly to arrive and join the Wolfpack!  It’s been an eventful day to say the least.  I was loading my things into Shayna’s car this morning and took a wrong step and bit it down the driveway.  I was wearing a massive hiking backpack that was packed full, and I couldn’t get up off of the grass because it was so heavy!  Shay and I lost it laughing, but as a result I ripped my favorite jeans that were a staple in my London wardrobe and had to run back inside to change into different ones.  What a way to start the day…

When our goodbyes were over at the DSM airport, I did a nice job of holding us up going through security.  First of all, I just happened to be the randomly selected person to swab for explosive residue… good thing I’d washed my hands after I was done handling them earlier ;) Then, I apparently had too many liquids in my carry-on, so they went through every nook and cranny of my backpack, purse, etc.  Luckily, we got a pretty nice security guy who just shoved all of them into a quart-sized bag.  He told us that the rule is the liquids have to fit into the bag “comfortably.”  The top didn’t even close because there was so much stuff in it, and he handed it to me and says, “That looks comfortable to me!”  I ended up being able to keep everything. PHEW!

Our flight to Chicago went smoothly and the flight to London didn’t seem like it was nearly eight hours long which was a nice surprise!  I took some Tylenol PM and got a good four hours of sleep J  The food was pretty terrible so I’m looking forward to a nicer meal at the pub tonight with all the other students.  I bought a coffee after we got our luggage and was pretty nervous to use the money… didn’t even think about that being an issue, but it was fine.  We’ve got quite a long day ahead of us, so I have a feeling one cup of coffee isn’t going to do the job.  BUT we’re here and ready for the adventure ahead of us.  No turning back now!!! J