A Bittersweet Ending to a Brighter Beginning

Learn. Love. Live.

Nothing changes you more than seeing the world.

Experiencing new cultures, opening your eyes to new scenery, people watching-- can do nothing but broaden your mind and your heart.


This experience has taught me to be confident in who I am and that nothing is better than a girl with self assurance. I have learned that it is easy to enjoy life. It is so interesting and everyday there is something new to learn.

Never settle for less.

To dream of person you wish to be is to waste the person you are.

I will miss you London. You have given me some of the greatest days of my life. You have taught me to love myself and be happy with who I am. You have made me realize that I am capable of meeting new people, challenging myself, and taking on new and exciting adventures. You are an amazing place with so much to experience every single day. I can't wait for the day I get to come back and see what new experiences you have for me.

I have no idea what is in store for me in the future but I am ready to take on the challenge with a new attitude, self assurance, and my loving family and friends who have helped me get this far on this incredible journey.

London Summer 2009- Think big, love unconditionally, and never settle for less.

Cheers!

-Kt

A touristy weekend

Most weeks I get out of work around 6pm so that doesn't leave much time to be a tourist here in London. On the weekends is when I get to go explore. This weekend Kelsi and I went to Kensington Palace and looked around Kensington gardens and Hyde park. It was a beautiful day out and we enjoyed walking all around the park enjoying the scenery. We both wished we had roller blades so we could skate along with all the other bladers! On Friday night we were so tired so we stayed in our flat, drank tea, and of course watched the Tudors. :)

Saturday was a blast as well. We took a boat tour down the Thames river to Greenwich. It was a great way to spend the day because the weather was amazing and we haven't had that nice of weather in a long time! I loved spending it all outside. We got to see some great homes on the river as well. A lot of Greenwich was built by Henry VIII which is the main character in the Tudors so thats fun to watch the show and then see it in real life! We also went to the prime meridian. It was really neat to be in the West and East at the same time. Saturday night we went over to the UK Beerfest but we missed it so we went on a pub crawl with some new friends we met so that was fun.

Of course we all had to go to the market on Sunday. Camden market has to be the best market in the entire world. It also has to be the largest...its HUGE...many many miles. Its a great way to spend a Sunday and I am going to miss it sooooooo much! Anyone who comes to London must go to the Camden Market! just a little FYI

My roomies are leaving tomorrow! Its going to be really really sad! :( Im going to miss them a whole bunch. They have really taught me some great things and helped me grow even more as a person. They have showed me a different way to look at life and my surroundings- that you don't always need a plan and sometimes you just have to go with the flow. I have realized that some of the best moments aren't the days that are planned out to the 't' or the days where you expect too much but they are the days that are simple, enjoyed with good company, a good book, great scenery and a large cup of cream tea. :)

Some of my best memories of London are sitting late into the night with Kate... on our small, hard, magenta couches, looking out at the sunset from our flat, enjoying a nice cup of cream tea, and chatting about lifes greatest mysteries. Its those little things I have learned to love.


Cheers!
Kt

Me: "Good Job!" Co-workers: "Did you seriously just say 'good job?"

Its been a fun couple of weeks here in London. My roomates birthday was last weekend so we had a fun time celebrating that on the weekend. It also was really nice weather on Sunday so we went to the park and had a nice afternoon. This summer hasn't been very cold at all and now I know why most people here are white..there is barely any sun! I found out that the last week I will be here i'll be alone so I am trying to plan things to do that are fun and maybe sunny and warm! Im thinking about going to the Cotwolds, Cornwall, or Scotland. Those sound really fun to me.

This week I got to participate in a sample sale at Myla. They had all their samples out on a huge table...just piles and piles of lingerie and all the bras (which are usually about £80-£200) were £5! All in my size and knickers(panties) were £2. Only for the head office! I was really excited but I only got 10 minutes to look so I got a few tokens to remember my internship at Myla.

This weekend was fun. Kelsi and I went out to the Tower of London which isn't just a tower. We found out it was a huge castle right in London on the Thames that I hadn't ever seen before! It was awesome because thats where Henry VIII lived and where Anne Boleyn got her head chopped off. It was really exciting to see it all and a highlight was defintely seeing the biggest diamond in the world! The next day we spent shopping on Oxford but only to Primark (cheapest and best store ever). Everything is soo cheap its unbelievable! i wish we had one in the U.S.

Anyway, Im at work now and have a big presentation due tomorrow which Im not looking forward to. I need to start finishing that up and then enjoy the last few weeks I have here! I can't believe its almost over! It makes me sooooo sad! Im going to miss so many things!

I have never in my life been surrounded by this many cultures at once. I have met people from Germany, South Africa, Japan, China, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, France, India, Scotland, Ireland, Italy, Russia, Bosnia, Belgium, Canada, Brazil and people from all over the U.S. The other day something super freaky happened to me! I was walking home from the bus stop down the street to my house and I was reading my book while I was walking because it was too hard to put down. When I looked up I saw an Afgani woman in her Burka with sunglasses on! So it was allll black..I jumped I was so caught off guard. It was kind of funny though.. There are so many Afgani people here and London has shown me my first experience of the burka..its kind of hard to get used to but I have.

My roomies are hopefully coming to visit me at U of I and if dad runs the Boston marathon (which i hope he does!!!) then I can visit them in Boston!!! :)

Some things I will miss about London:

My wonderful flat mates! Kate, Mari and Shelley!!!

Quiche from Sainsburys, nutella, the fruit stands!

The beautiful parks especially Regents

Day trips

Primark, Accessorize, TopShop

Camden Market

Wonderful fashion!!!

Getting off the tube and finding something totally new

West End theatre!

Myla

Walking around everywhere

Chats with Kaitlin

British accents

Being made fun of for my accent especially when I say 'good job' at work...they all repeat me and say Gooo0000dd JOB! (they don't say that here)

Diversity--soo many cultures.

Reading my book on the bus--just like a local

Watching the Tudors late at night with the roomies

Being loved because I am American :)

Using public transportation

The Worlds End Pub

Getting on the VIP at clubs

Location of my work

EAT. , Pret a Manger, SeaBass, BHarat, La Paisse (sp)

Taking pictures

Meeting sooo many fun people

Some things I won't miss as much:

BADDDD B.O. on the tube/double decker

ice cream that tastes like cool whip

the smell of Plender street! haha

bad service at the restaurants/fast food

the radio station at work talking about Swine Flu all day and playing Lady Gaga 50 times in 8 hours.

Dorm internet connection and laundry situation

Living next to a Vet (with cows and horses)



My roomies and I have become obsessed with the BBC series 'The Tudors' We make our cream tea and watch it after work..Its fun because everything that happened back then happened mostly right in London which is cool.

Im sooo sad to leave! Im anxious to get home but Im also going to miss England soooo much. It has been a fabulous experience. I have learned soooo much and met people from all over the place. I have noticed myself become more mature and more aware of who I am. This experience has taught me that life should be an adventure. There is so much to experience and do everywhere. There is a quote that says "if you are tired of London you are tired of life." but I also think that goes along with everywhee. Be happy where you are and explore it to its fullest. I have learned to talk to the taxi drivers, meet random ppl on the street, make friends with ppl at work....its all helped me realize that life is so much better with relationships but also so much better when you know who are and can be confident in that. Im definitely going to be leaving a piece of my heart here and will remember this trip forever...

Myla

Im at work right now sitting at the reception desk...so I thought i'd do a little writing. Right now I can hear the head of the marketing and fashion departments discussing the next models for the upcoming collection at Myla. Its really cool to hear. I have asked a couple of the girls how they started to work here and what they studied in school. Its been pretty interesting and it has made me realize what I want to do (which is exciting!) I have decided that I no longer want to be a buyer--thank god UI didn't have that as a major-- I also am thankful I didn't major in just plain fashion... but Im super excited that my major is marketing because I love sitting in the room with the PR and Marketing head. She tells me how she loves her job and it sounds soooo much fun to me. They get to talk to magazines and they plan runway shows and even get to pick out each little detail down to the models. She also told me basically to get a lot of work experience aka internships and really get inside the company. This has already taught me a lot about how a company works. As of now I am working with the Myla Web team and working on things to upload and photoshop/crop to the website. Its not particularly something I would want to do all day...but its really interesting to know that side of the business as well. So I am pretty much learning A LOT about business and its become really exciting even though the days are uber long. However, one of the great things I get to do all day is just soak up their culture. Everyone around me is British or from a surrounding country and its awesome to hear how they say things and what music they listen to and what they do when they have days off.

The girls in my office say air con instead of AC or air conditioning. They swear and say the f-word all the time. To flip someone off over here you use two fingers the pointer and index faced like we do like a peace sign. My friend, John, from U of I is here for 4 weeks and he said that when he runs over here he pops the peace sign to other runners. Yesterday I told him that he was really flipping them off.... we had a good laugh.

Oh and the other night I found Emily's new husband. He's Italian and I met him at the bar...he was 18. haha it was weird but he was soooooo cute! I told him he was too young for me but I have a 17 year old sister...haha

I still have so much I want to do in London alone and Im running out of weekends! I think Kelsi and I might make one last trip the last weekend we are here but it will be nice to hang out in London to get all the stuff we still want to do done.

I really miss everyone and I am getting excited to go home and go to school. But for now I am having so much fun that it will be really hard to leave!! I will definitely miss it!




Cheers! kt

a true londoner

Wowza! How to sum up a couple of weeks?!

First of all.... I still continue to be fascinated by London everyday. I am learning and experiencing fantastic things constantly and they are already beginning to shape me in new and exciting ways. It has definitely been an experience so far and one that I will always look back on and smile big.

School is officially over. I have finished my 5 week courses already and I feel like it flew by like a breeze. I can't even comprehend that I have been here for 6 weeks already! Time flies. I actually learned a lot within the courses I took. My fashion styling teacher was great and even though he was a nut he taught us in a very different way than I am used to. My portfolio turned out really nice and I am excited to have something to show to employers if I decide to go for a fashion oriented job. I am really sad to be finished with my theatre class as I was getting quite used to going to a new play every Wednesday night! The worst part about the first 5 weeks being over is all my friends left. :( I made a whole bunch of great friends but unfortunately most of them left after 5 weeks. The new group is coming tomorrow... so, I guess its time to make new friends!

Last week Kelsi and I decided to do a little more London site seeing. We went on the London Eye and into Westminster Abbey. I have seen so many churches since I have been in Europe but this was by far the largest one I have seen. Soo cool!

Now on to Paris. LOVED IT! It was incredible. My tour guide was awesome and he new just about everything you could know about Paris so it was super helpful. I didn't feel as safe in Paris as I do in London because of the gypsies but i got used to it. There were so many beautiful sites and the culture was amazing. It was easy to get around too because most of the Parisians can speak English...(even though they glared as they replied yes to parlez-vous anglais?) It was an overall great trip and so exciting to actually see everything I have always dreamed of seeing in real life!

I have officially started my internship at Myla and today was my 3rd day. It made me realize that I don't ever want to grow up and have a real job. This is sad but happy at the same time. The internship has made me realize what I want to do and what I don't want to do with a future job. It has also helped me realize that I need to live up the rest of my years of college because college is soooooooo much more fun! I definitely find it exciting to work with a fashion company. I get to hear about fashion shows and really popular magazines. I am working with the e-marketing team right now and I don't think its something I really want to do as a career but I am learning so much about marketing in general that its been helpful. I work 10-6 every day and I get an hour for lunch. I just don't know how I can handle doing that in the future and not being able to have time for a nap!!! haha

Anyway, I am looking forward to this weekend to get some down time and I am hoping for another heat wave so I can possibly not be the most pale person when I go back to school! hehe
I miss everyone so much and hope everything is going great back in the good 'ole U.S.

Cheers!
kt

Singing cockles and mussels alive alive-o!

Ireland was awesome! It was great to see dad and I loved Dublin! I didn't realize how much smaller the population in Dublin (1 million) is than London (15 million) but there was still so much to do.

My plane ride there was interesting. I met some Brazilian boys who became very interested in me once I spoke in my American accent. They asked if they could sit by me on the plane and were fascinated in learning how we say things in the US and were complimenting me the whole trip saying that I was the American dream because of my blonde hair and blue eyes. It was rather flattering but also very interesting.

I landed in Dublin at about 10:30 pm. Dad came to get me and we jetted off to the hotel. It was so good to see him because it had been a long time since i had seen or talked to him. We got up early in the morning and had an Irish breakfast and then set out on the Dublin tour bus. We went to Dublin Castle, Trinity College, Kilmainham Goal (jail) and we saw many churches and other sites, like Molly Malone. We took a walk down O'Connell street and Grafton St. which were awesome! The street entertainment was fabulous and someone was playing music every couple yards. We saw some beautiful churches and got to hear some amazing Irish accents. We ate lunch on the top of a pub and I got the best fish chowder i think i have ever had! We ended the day with a few pubs in Temple Bar. The pub scene in Dublin is so fun. They have live music in most of them as well as beer gardens. I thought that was soo cool! We went to the Temple Bar and then the Arlington Hotel and watched some Irish dancing.

After getting woken up a few times in the night from drunk people leaving the clubs we started out site seeing again. We figured we could use our tickets for the bus tour for 24 hours we ended up using it all day the next day..haha they never checked our tickets. We went to the Christ Church Cathedral and the Guinness Factory (sooo cool!) We got to go to the Gravity Bar which is at the top of the Guinness that looks out over the entire city and we had our complimentary Guinness. Guinness is everywhere in Dublin. They advertise it like crazy! Its about as common to see a Guinness ad as it is to see a colored door (which i loved by the way). Later on we decided to go to the the ocean so we headed out to Bray on the train. It was beautiful and so much fun. I loved getting to see the ocean after being in the city so much.

Dad bought me a Claddagh ring..and the man who sold it to us said if you where this out of Ireland it means you will come back some day. So guess what I did? :) Someday I'll be back! I love it!

these are the moments, these are the times, lets make the most out of our lives...

Wow so much has happened since I last wrote. London is still amazing me every single day. I love getting to experience something new all the time. I have been on a few great trips too where I have met some really fun girls. The sad thing is that most of them leave after 5 weeks. I couldn't even imagine only being here for 5 weeks. It seems so short! Time is flying by because it is so much fun!!!! But, I have been to Windsor, Oxford and York. Windsor was so cool. The castle was really cool to go into. I had to get an Oxford sweatshirt in Oxford and definitely saw where Harry Potter was filmed...the great hall, grand staircase, courtyard, where they play quidditch..etc. It was awesome! In York it rained the whole day really hard so it was hard to tour the city comfortably but we managed and found a cream tea shop where we sat and chatted for quite a while. We have gotten cream tea in every city now. Its so fun because each place has different china and each place serves different types of scones and buns with their tea. I've fallen in love with the tea houses here.

I have been to the National Gallery, National Portrait Gallery and a few photography galleries. We usually go for class. I am going to Jersey Boys tonight with my theatre class and this weekend I saw Romeo and Juliet in the Shakespeares Globe Theatre.

Im really excited for tomorrow because I am going to Dublin to see dad! I already know its going to be so much fun! :) I can't wait!!!!!!!

London Lovin'

Wow, I love London. I wouldn't mind living here for a few years! The city is so full of life and different cultures. It is definitely one giant melting pot. I love listening to the British accent and all the different words they say than us.

Here are some words that are said quite a bit here and I have added the way we say it back in the US.

Britian U.S.
rubbish trash

bin trashcan

thats rubbish thats shit

queing standing in a line

lift elevator (in the elevator underground they say 'the lift on the left will be the next lift.' it sounds so funny!

tube subway

hob stovetop

wanker worst word to call someone

naughty they just say it often & its funny

cheers thank you and goodbye

give way yield

take away getting food to go

toilets bathrooms/restrooms

crisps potato chips

fit good looking

-They think that drinking out of a water bottle without pouring it into a glass is 'low class'

-Everytime you are about to cross the street it is best to look down because it always says which way to look in big bold letters and an arrow. "LOOK LEFT <--------"

-I have heard the phrase "That's brilliant" quite a bit. I love it.

-More often than not boys on the street will whistle, purr, say "ooo bella", "sexy", or "damn you are so fit." Most of the time its really gross. Once a group of guys yelled out 'kittykitty.' Us girls were like what the heck? did they just say kitty kitty? haha

-The main fashion here is long leggings down to the ankle with flats and a baggy shirt on top. Gladiators are really in as well as the flip flop sandles. Headbands of all types are popular. Especially the ones with a flower or bow on the side and the hippy looking kind. Empire waists are popular with flower printed skirts, a tank top and a clasped belt that latches in the front. Many girls wear purses with the long straps and can cross over your chest. I can't even believe how many different kinds of places to shop there is. There are about a million markets that sell vintage clothing and then there is Oxford St. which is beyond amazing

Kels and I went to Madame Tussauds the other day and loved it. Its probably something I won't do again but something im glad I got to experience at least once. The next day I got to see Shakespeare's Globe Theatre during class. It was awesome to see in real life because I have studied a lot about it! Its located on the South Bank so we got to cross the River Thames. We also got tickets to Romeo and Juliet for this Sunday. They are standing tickets so we will doing what the Elizabethans had to do when they had to be groundlings in Shakespeares play. That same night I got a student stand-by ticket to Phantom of the Opera! Oh my it was AMAZING! We saw it in Her Majestys theatre which was spectacular! I got my ticket for cheaper because they had some extras. There are so many plays I want to see I hope I don't run out of money all on West End theatre! I made a list of shows I want to go to and its long but in my theatre class we are going to The Lion King, Jersey Boys, Romeo and Juliet, and We Will Rock You. I also want to see Jude Law in Hamlet but we'll see about that..haha

Obama for yo mama The Phantom of the Opera Shakespeares Globe Theatre

I also made my first stop into the Tate Modern. It was gigantic with amazing modern art. I love how the museums here are free. I even went to the British Museum again today for another class of mine.

This weekend I am headed to Windsor and Oxford on Friday and then York on Saturday. I can't wait!

I got a call about an interview for a company today. The lady in charge got me an interview with a company called MYLA. Its like a high end Victoria's Secret of Europe. She said they are in all the top department stores like Harrods, Selfridges, etc. She said i would be doing e-marketing for them which I think will be really neat. Soooo once its said in stone I will notify everyone! I am excited though

Well its time for bed!

Cheers!

The Queen of Englands Birthday! Trooping the Colour

I saw the Queen of England!!!! What more is there to say?? Oh yeah! I also saw Prince William and Harry! It was definitely a highlight of my trip so far! We knew that there was a parade for the Queens birthday called Trouping the Colour but we didn't think we would see her or anyone else. All of the sudden there I was watching the parade and down comes the buggys with the royal family and there she comes down the street! It was absolutely amazing. The parade was mostly guards and horses and then the family came down. After the parade we left and walked around Westminster. We then found out that the parade was going by again so we headed back to Buckingham so we got to see them all again! That was amazing! But there is more! We followed the huge crowd walking toward Buckingham Palace and had no idea why everyone was gathering. We almost decided to leave because we didn't know what we were waiting for. Then we found out that they were all going to come up to the balcony of Buckingham Palace. We were really really close! I couldn't believe it! It was definitely one of my favorite days. I have many more pictures on my picassa website posted on the right too!

The rest of the day we toured around Westminster and saw Big Ben, Parliament, Westminster Abbey, the London Eye, River Thames and the London Bridge. We are going back to Buckingham Palace in July because it is actually open to the public for only two months out of the year which is July and August. So, we are hoping to get a glimpse of the inside. We are also going to tour inside Westminster Abbey on another day. I loved everything about the day!

At night we met up with a club promoter who got us VIP into 2 celebrity clubs. One was Funky Buddha and the other was OPAL. Everything was really fancy and I could tell everyone there was extremely wealthy. It was awesome! There was a long line outside of Funky Buddha but we got the rope moved and didn't have to wait in line!

Today was our trip to the Stonehenge and Bath. Both were great. Bath is so beautiful! The cobblestone on the roads and bath stone on every building made the city incredibley gorgeous. I got a ton of pretty pictures. We had tea and a bun at Sally Lunn's Bun shop which is really famous and the oldest house in Bath that dates back to the 1600's. We then walked down the cobblestone streets to Jane Austen's museum and took a road up to the Royal Crescent. We also got a tour of the Roman Baths..so cool! It was a great day and super sunny. It was nice to see such green countryside, thatched rooves, and cobblestone. It took my breath away....Sally Lunn's Buns and Cream TeaThe Royal Crescent

Two nights at the theatre and a day of fashion

The other night was my first time going to an "off-broadway" show also known here as the "fringe theatre." My class and I or should I say classmate and I met our teacher at Hamstead Heath. It is a borrough of London with an awesome homey feel, quant shops, and friendly people. We got off the bus really lost but luckily found an older lady to help us find our way. She told us we could take the bus or walk with her. We decided to walk with her and on the way she took us on a detour to see the John Keats house (the romantic poet). We then met with our professor and headed to the theatre. It was really cute inside and the building was from the early 1800's. The room the theatre was in used to be a billiard room where guests could hang out. We watched Heartbreak House an old British play that was pretty interesting.Last night a bunch of us AIU girls went to WICKED. I reallly really liked it! It was fun to dress up and go. Afterward we went out to get something to eat and once again we were offered free drinks from the owner of the restaurant-- probably because of our American accents. I cannot believe how much there is to do here! Today we woke up early to go to the Portabello market with awesome vintage things. They have so many markets here in London! Its so crazy! I have already been to 4. After that we went to the Wallace Collection (a museum) and saw some of Henry the VIII's army along with many other warriers armor. It was a gorgeous house!

Leather jackets, cancelled class, and a tube ride adventure

I've found myself loving the transport system and all the different people I get to watch get on and off the buses and tubes. My roomates and I just recently figured out how the tubes work and luckily they are easy to navigate. Yesterday, Kate and I didn't have class until 2:00pm and the ATM ate her bank card so we decided to go on an adventure to find the Bank of America in London. We took the tube to a new place we hadn't been. We ended up in the business district filled with modern glass skyscrapers. I LOVED IT! The inside of her bank was incredible. I will definitely be working around there someday! ;) It was called Canary Wharf and was right next to the water. We definitely looked of place because of our leather jackets and jeans but it was so much fun! My only class yesterday was my theatre class and we took a tour of the British Museum. I got to see the Elgin Marbles, Rosetta Stone, Greek goddess Athena & more. It was nice to have my teacher there to tell us all about everything. He told us how the Greeks invented working out and the marathon and how the word 'gymnasium' or 'gym' means 'working out naked.' My teacher is a crazy, head in the clouds, awkward teacher but I like him and he seems excited to teach us (even tho there is only 2 of us).

There is a tube strike going on right now and should last until Friday. We had class cancelled today! YIPPEE! But, and the streets are congested with people so it is really hard to get around and each bus that passed by us was overly full. I went to Camden Market again and found that the other day we didn't even cover half of it. It is massive with about a million awesome things. I wish I could buy everything! Tonight I have my first play for my class. It is a British fring-theatre play called Heartbreak House and we get to meet the actors afterward. Im excited for it!

There definitely hasn't been a day here where my feet didn't hurt. I have been walking around so much but thats a good thing!

Camden Market

It was another glorious day in London yesterday. My roomies and I decided to get up early and head down the "Camden Market" which is very famous in London. We live in Camden Town which is an awesome place and have spent a nice chunk of time exploring it. However, we had only explored one end of the street so this was a new adventure for us. As we started walking the crowd of people started getting bigger and bigger. We were not expecting this at all. Soon we came upon crowds and crowds of people lining the streets coming in and out of shops while the music was blaring. It was so exciting and lively.

We then came to a huge sign that said Camden Market-it is a large area of old horse stables filled with vendors who sell AMAZING vintage clothing. Things you wish you could find in the states but will never find...ever. It was all very cheap...well london cheap. I ended up buying a black leather jacket from a guy who said "35 pounds for you." I said ummm how about "20 pounds...just for me" haha and he said ok! yay thats about $32 dollars! :) We kept walking and came upon a bridge, river, mini resturants (had our first fish and chips--the fish was GIANT), and tiny little 'playhouse' size boutiques with aspiring fashion designers clothing. This are is known as Camden Lock. It was one of my most exciting Sundays! Later on we decided to go on an adventure to find Mari's internship building and place she was going to interview in the morning. We definitely got lost over and over about 10 times but we finally found it after walking through "sketchyville" as Mari likes to call the street we walked on filled with Arab shops and boys yelling out "SEXY" to us as we pass by. Talk about creepy! haha but we got back safe and sound.

Today was the first day of school! It was so long! My fashion styling teacher is amazing. He has worked for Vogue and with many famous people and magazines. He has also interviewed Andy Warhol and many others! Here in London they "use London as a classroom" so we took the tube to Covent Gardens to a marketplace which was like a bunch of mini garage sales of wonderful jewelry. I then went to my next class after i grabbed an amazing baguette turkey sandwich. My second class is History of British Theatre. There is 1 other girl in the class. So there is a total of 2 students and the teacher. It was weird but it will be fun because we get to do some fun stuff! Tomorrow we are going to the British Museum to see the Elgin Marbles, Rosetta Stone and much more! As of now I am exhausted from the long day but am looking forward to some eventful classes!
Cheers!

Exploring

Wow it has been an amazing past couple of days! I can barely explain how much fun I have had already. Kelsi and I were extremely excited to meet our new roomates. Kate and Mary from Boston and New York. We clicked automatically and have already have made plans to visit one another back in the states!

Yesterday we went to Marylebone High St. where our AIU campus is located. There we had orientation, ate lunch, and toured our campus. The classrooms are amazing and we found out that the winner of Project Runway (Christian) went to school there! That was very exciting to hear. We got familiar with the bus system and it is so easy to navigate (thank god). It was fun to meet different people from all over.

The nightlife in London is incredible! It is so lively at night and what is great is that this city feels so safe. Last night we went to a pub called World's End which was exciting. The London boys really do LOVE American girls and they offered to buy us drinks left and right. We then went to a night club called KOKO which was crazy! They dance and listen to much different things than we do in the US. It reminded me of my trip to Canada. It was so fun though!
KOKO

Today was a much more low key day but just as exciting. We went to Oxford St. where all the main shopping is. Wow, they have everything! We also found an amazing side street full of every kind of food you could ever want in a ton of little resteraunts. We passed by them and landed on one called SeaBass. The owner came out to us and said in an Italian accent "free bottle of wine for you beautiful girls on the house." We ended up eating there and I had the most amazing meal. The owner and the servers loved us but the owner especially loved Mary (he loved her red hair) so he gave us dessert for free as well. What a wonderful day! Here we are with the owner of SeaBass

I am definitely where I am supposed to be! :)

Finally here in London!

I am finally here in London after a long day of traveling. It is so exciting to be here after all of this planning and preparation! I have come to school to take two classes in Fashion Styling and History of British Theatre along with an internship. I will be here for 10 weeks! I am so excited for the adventures that await me!

Here are some things I have noticed already since I have been here....

The Underground. fish and chips. black checker cabs. pounds. small cars. hybrid cars.skinny jeans. brick buildings. row houses. driving on the right. leggings. Camden Town. double decker buses. British accents. parks. children school uniforms. flats. trousers. rubbish bin. new confused skittles. rape alley. small shower. small elevators. flats (apartments). flats (shoes). a horse pasture in the city. Royal Vet College. roundabouts. Boots drugstore.


On the airplane ride to the London--Heathrow airport the plane was only half full so Kelsi and I both got a full row of 3 seats to sleep on. We scored! The flight was long but well worth it.My first actual London experience was at the airport when I decide to get a coffee. Behind me was a British lady speaking really fast. I couldn't understand a single word she was saying. The only thing I could understand was when she said "carport" but even then I don't know what that is. (a garage?) I then went up to get my coffee. The lady asked me if I would like whipcream. I said "nope" and she laughed really hard and smiled huge. She said "I love how you say nope." I said, haha thanks?

We took a taxi cab to our flat and people greeted us once we got here. It turns out that Kelsi and I are living together in a flat and are still awaiting 3 other roomates. The rooms are nice and spacious but its going to take some getting used to. We signed up for a walking tour at 1:30 and decided to take a nap at 12:30. We ended up sleeping until 4:30 so we missed the walking tour. I was so sad! But, we will figure it out in no time. As for now...

Cheers! :)