Heading out and moving on

This week has been slightly bittersweet. My room is completely packed up and two English girls have already taken up occupancy in what once was my little home for 6 months. My last day of work was Wednesday and although I complain a lot about the job, I really did come to like all of the people and what they taught me on a daily basis. I'm not necessarily saying goodbye to London yet, I'll be back for a little over week after the tour is over before I actually head back to the States. But, it feels kind of weird as it all is coming to an end and a new journey is about to start. Although I always knew that London and my little blue doored Micklethwaite Road home was temporary, I still grew attached to the place, as well as the ups and downs that came along with it. Coming to London and moving into a house of 7 Aussies was probably the most uncomfortable, scary, and culture shocking situation I have ever and probably will ever put myself into. But, now that this part of the experience is about over, I've come to realize that it all was exactly what I needed. Yes I was nervous at first, wondering if I had actually made the right decision by coming here, because things were definitely hard at first. But, after I had settled, got lost a couple times in the city, and found a job full of some crazy Europeans, I found that I had become comfortable with it all and began to take it all in a lot easier. I think that as uncomfortable as I was with the whole situation at first, it was actually a good thing because it really made me realize how tough I am. Everyone's lives are full of scary situations which we can either run away from or plow right through...although the latter is always harder. But running away is easy..I mean there were plenty of times when I was first here that I just wanted to pack up and go home, everything got especially hard when I couldn't find a job for so long. If I had done that though, I would have missed out on so many experiences and people that have made such an immense impact on my thinking and life. So maybe to anyone who is reading this that is thinking of doing something that seems scary or not worth the stress of doing, go ahead and do it anyway, it could change your life.
I'll miss a lot about London, my home, and the people at work. I'll miss the Latvian cook/my co-workers who used me as an American urban dictionary, my Aussie roommates who became more like family (or a Real World: London house), Stuart our one crazy English friend who showed us how to have fun in the city, taking walks through the parks by myself, Jamie and Ellen for being my American confidants/did everything together people, hearing 20 different languages a day, riding the top of a double decker bus, the million times a day I get asked where I'm from in the States with no one ever knowing where Ohio is, the markets, the snow day/random snowball fight in the street, people watching on my days off, the million things I learned in a day about anything, the life I never thought I could have, and the feeling of not knowing what could happen everyday and loving it. But, as much as I have come to love this place it is also time for me to explore a little more by going on this trip. I'll meet even more new people and get a chance to see more of Europe that I haven't been able to touch yet. I am really excited about all of that and I'll try to update this as much as possible. I don't have my laptop anymore so I'm not sure how I'll post pictures but I'll do my best. Hope all is well at home and I miss you all! I'll be home soon...updates on Europe coming soon..I leave tomorrow and will be in Paris by night time!

I got a tan in London?

"Onomatopoeia"..when you think of the word do you really know what it means? Well this was the word of the day at work from my Hungarian co-worker and Spanish manager who were arguing on how to pronounce it and its meaning. I honestly could not remember its exact meaning for the life of me when they asked...or how to spell it, which they asked me to do. Thank God for the two Americans that I know that always come in to the restaurant who happened to be sitting at one of the tables with a laptop. We all looked it up on dictionary.com together to find..."The formation of words in imitation of sounds; a figure of speech in which the sound of a word is imitative of the sound of the thing which the word represents". Of all words..but that's a typical day at work (that and getting asked by the Latvian cook about American "slang" words).

The past week and a half has just been mostly about enjoying London some more. Last week on one of my days off I went to the Tower of London right next to Tower Bridge. I read that you should do these "Beefeater" tours which are free when you buy a ticket to the Tower. Beefeaters are old Royal guards who had to serve in the Queen's army or air force for at least 22 years and then they have the option to live in the Tower of London and give these crazy tours. Our guide was really animated and told of all the famous execution stories of the Tower and Tower Hill, which is across the way from the Tower and the site of most of the executions, including Henry VIII wives. I recorded one of his stories about James Scott, a royal who was accused of treason, who was executed by a drunk executioner and then afterwards his head had to be sewn back on to his body so that the royal artist could paint a picture of him. Supposedly all royals have to have a portrait done of themselves before they die and James didn't have the chance before then soo this was the only way to get his done. Besides that he told of Anne Boleyn and a couple other of Henry VIII's wives who were executed there, which all of the stories were really interesting. Supposedly during Anne's execution she wanted to read out of a bible before she died and she was taking too long for the executioner, so he had a little boy slap her on the cheek. The minute she turned her head he sliced her and it was supposedly so smooth and quick that her lips were still moving afterwards. Our guide/beefeater also took us into the chapel of the Tower where a couple of Henry VII's wives are buried. It is also the site of a mass grave of over 1000 bodies that were discovered there in the early 1900's. I heard someone ask our guide as the tour finished if he ever saw any ghosts there...and he just sternly said, "I don't believe in ghosts". For sure ghosts there...has to be. From there I stood in a long line to see the crown jewels which includes crowns and trinkets from 100's of years. It also includes the largest diamond in the world on top of one of the baton things. The collection was beautiful, I've never seen jewels like it in my life. From there I had a chance to see the changing of the guard and witness someone trying to make a guard laugh...it actually is hard. Then I just wandered around the tower to the multiple dungeons and an exhibit on Henry VIII's armor (I guess he was a really good sportsman in his youth and did a lot of jousting). After exploring a little more, I sat by the river for a bit observing London's most famous bridge, Tower Bridge, and then went home.
The next couple of days I went and enjoyed Hyde Park (the largest park in London) observing all of the pick up rugby/soccer games, strolled down the massive Oxford Street which has famous stores such as Selfridges and TopShop, and laid around in a small park near my house. Hyde Park also holds the Princess Diana memorial, which most Brits think is crap, so i had to go see it myself. Its a small oval fountain, which when I saw it no water was actually running...and I think I'm going to have to agree with the Brits on this one, it definitely doesn't do her justice. Its too bad. Also, Last Saturday before I went to work, Jamie and I went to the Portobello Road Market in Notting Hill which is the most famous market in London with mostly antiques and other trinkets. It was a beautiful day and had plenty of time to look at everything (except to the one vendor that told us to "move on" from her booth...we definitely got a kick out of that, I guess we didn't realize we looked like people with no money? lol), as well as grab some awesome food from the markets there. Also, the Wednesday before, Brendan, Jamie, Ellen, and I went to the science museum at night where they held an "adult only" night. So, pretty much you get to act like little kids without having little kids around. It was a really cool event, equipped with a couple bars, a pub quiz, a DJ, silent disco, and all the experiments open for you to play with. On top of all of that...it was FREE, best part for my little budget.

Besides all that lately...and sorry for my lack of updating...I am leaving London on May 11th to discover the rest of Europe!! I have decided to take a tour through Contiki for 18-30 year olds all throughout Europe. It departs from London and heads to Paris, Burgundy region in France, French Riviera, Pisa, Rome, Florence, Greece (for 3 days), Venice, Verona, Vienna, Swiss Alps/Lucerne, Munich, Rhine Valley of Germany, Amsterdam, Brugge, then back to London on June 8th. So, pretty excited about that. I'm going to post a calendar up on my website so you can see where I am everyday during it.

Anyways I have some new pics up..pretty random of London and a couple from where I work! Keep me updated on all of your lives..I'll be home soon!

Spring in London

Spring has finally hit London...I thought the day would never come. The sun is shining and what seemed like a gloomy city is actually quite beautiful when the weather is nice, the people are even better too. The parks and gardens are in full bloom and booming with people everyday. Its almost like living in a whole different city than the one I've been in for the past three months. Everyone is outside, enjoying the sun, and in as good as spirits as ever. This is the London I've been waiting for and I can't get enough of it. Two weekends ago when the weather just started to get nice, Brendan, Matt, and I all headed to Hyde Park/Kensington Gardens to drink and lay around in the park. It was so nice and relaxing and afterwards I made a little trip to TopShop (similar to Forever 21 in the States).
Lately, I've actually been walking home from work, which is about a 40-45 min walk, but its not so bad since the weather has been so good. The first couple times I walked home I kept noticing this gate for the "Royal Brompton Cemetery" on the street I take towards home. I was always curious about it, so one day I just decided to walk in and take a look around. In all honesty, I have never seen such an amazing cemetery in my life. First off, it was HUGE...there had to be thousands of gravestones there. But, the best part about it was how old the stones were, some dated back hundreds of years. To me, it was what I envisioned an old European cemetery would look like. Half of the stones were so old the writing had eroded away to the point where you couldn't make out what had originally been written there and some gravestones were completely taken over in ivy. Some stand as tall as 10 feet whereas others are small simple statues with one name and date carved in them. There are even above ground crypts like you would see inside of an old church. The artistry put into some of the graves were unbelievable, with amazingly detailed statues of angels or people. The first time I was there I walked among the rows of the graves reading some of the peoples names and inscriptions. I found in the midst of some of them there was a bench that I sat on and just took a look around. I realized how quiet it was and quiet in London is hard to find. I mean you just felt so calm there...it wasn't creepy or eery, just calming. I found myself just thinking about everything. I guess when you think about it, a graveyard can be a good place to reflect or pray or whatever you decide to do spiritually. In a place like this, where thousands have been put to rest, you seem to be able to have a clearer mind on things in your life because your staring the reality of what will happen to all of us in the face. You tend to realize how much meaning your life really has, since we only have one of them. I couldn't help but think about the people's lives around me...what their lives were like, did they do all the things they wanted, were they really that different from us. Ever since that first time I actually went into the cemetery, I've gone back several times just to relax or clear my mind. Its nice to find places like that in a city like London, one that just pushes people to move quicker and never slow down. My own little reflection spot..
On a lighter note, one of my co-workers/cooks is from Latvia and loves rap music, so he always asks me about American rappers, music, etc. His name is Dimi (its really something like Dimichicka...totally wrong spelling, but I really have no idea what is full name is), and he is so intrigued by American culture, especially college life which he always loves to hear stories about. Anyways, the other day as he was leaving work he called me over because he wanted to ask me about some English words that he couldn't find in his Latvian/English translation book. He told me he would just write them down and asked that I could explain what they meant. Knowing Dimi and his love for rap music, I was curious to what words he didn't know. The first word was "Swagga" :) How do you explain "swagga" to a Latvian with about 5 other Eastern European looking on as well? The only thing I could think of (besides how hilarious this was) to explain it was the way a person walks, and I proceeded to "swagga" throughout the restaurant like a ghetto rap star. Oh but it didn't stop there, the next word(s) was "groove on". He said he heard it from the title of a song lol. I told him it was like dance movies and he laughed. So glad I have now turned into the new American urban dictionary for my European co-workers. :)
Lately on my days off work I have been exploring the city on my own, going to places I haven't been yet in London. One day I went to the Covent Garden markets near Soho where they were having an antique market that day. There were all kinds of antiques from old books, to silver, to jewelry. I actually bought a 100 year old ring from some British woman that is in the shape of a heart with a crown on the top. I thought it would be a nice little trinket to have so I could always be reminded of my time here. The Covent Garden market is actually a really cool place bustling with people and street entertainers. I actually went back to it today on my day off (it was a clothing/crafts market today, it changes everyday) and as I was watching one of the entertainers whose trick was to escape from a straight jacket, he asked me on stage. Ughh..the thing was he was looking for volunteers and I was the only one NOT raising my hand but he picked me anyways. He was some French guy and when he asked me my name he repeated it back to me as "Herin" with an 'H' on the front. So, he kept saying it over and over on stage that way. My job was to put him in the straight jacket along with some other random guy who helped me. Oh and he made me do a funny dance on stage. Yep. In front of a crowd of about 70 or so. It had no relevance to what he was doing, but he made me do it anyways. lol Thank god no one I know actually saw me. Also, when I was watching another performer today who was a unicyclist, his English bulldog who was entertaining the crowd by chasing a ball beforehand decided to take a nice little poo in front of a group of about 10 or so little kids. The performer was so embarrassed and proceeded to pick up the poop right in front of everyone...hilarious, I was laughing so hard I was crying. Good day at Covent Garden. On a side note, I also found Benjamin Franklin's house right around the corner from there, that he stayed in for around 16 years in London. It's actually one of the oldest houses with the original flooring and walls in London. Kinda cool little discovery.
On another day I went to the British Museum which is actually a really great museum. They have artifacts from all over the world, but some of their more famous stuff is the Rosetta Stone and parts of the Parthenon in Greece. I shouldn't even say parts of the Parthenon, they practically have the whole thing...I guess they have like 60% of it in the British museum that they refuse to give back to the Greeks. Besides that all of their exhibits were amazing from Egyptian artifacts to old Europe. One of my favorite exhibits was titled "Living and Dying" that displayed ways cultures from all over the world envision medicine and sickness. They had one long display in the middle showing the amount of medicines described to one person from the moment they were born to the moment they died. It was really cool to see other culture's approach to sickness, whether it be with old herbal medicine or dressing up in masks to scare the evil sickness demons away. I also liked the exhibit that explained Britain from its beginnings all the way through now, as well as the portrait gallery that showed old English art and cartoons..some were actually pretty funny. All in all, the museum was pretty nice and I'd recommend it for anyone coming to London.
Yesterday on my walk back from work, as I got closer to my house I started noticing that there were a lot of people on the street. At least a lot more than normal. Than I started noticing that a lot of them were wearing Chelsea Football Club shirts and then shortly realized a soccer match was about to go on and I was heading straight into the mass of it. For those of you who don't know, I live about 5 min from the Chelsea Football club stadium and when there's a game its craziness. Well yesterday was Chelsea vs Liverpool to see who would continue on in the Champions League...a HUGE deal for London/Europe people. I soon realized as I was walking in the sea of Chelsea people and that Liverpool's colors are red..and I was wearing an Ohio State t-shirt proudly displayed from under my zip up hoody. Once that realization sunk in, I immediately zipped up my jacket and tried to cover all the remaining exposed parts. This is Europe and people are nuts about soccer and I'm not about to get messed with over nothing. As I walked closer and closer to the stadium the mass just grew and grew. The street was completely blocked off and the pub across from the stadium was booming with fans screaming the cheers of Chelsea. Cops were all on horses moving people along and camera crews were everywhere. When I got home and the game started, I actually could hear the stadium and the cheering from my room. When Chelsea won the cheers from the stadium was so clear and loud that I couldn't believe it. It was cool though to hear it...even if there were Chelsea drunks outside my window at 2 in the morning.
Hope all is well at home! I'll keep updating this on all of my mini adventures! Keep the e-mails coming.

The Craziest two Weeks in Europe so far - Part 3 (final) Ben's last week in London...Stonehenge, dinosaurs, boat races, and more

After an amazing trip to Barcelona, it was time to head back to London for Ben and I. Having a full week in London for Ben meant we could actually get to do a lot of sightseeing of the city and beyond. The next day after getting back from Barcelona we decided to take it easy and see some not so touristy sights. Being one of the biggest soccer teams in England, Ben really wanted to see the Chelsea Football Club stadium which is right near my house in Fulham. So, we walked over to the stadium (which is literally a 10 min walk from where I live) and took pictures with the "team" as well as visit the club's store..which has about everything Chelsea that you could ever imagine, from shirts to dog bowls. From there we headed over to Regent's Park, one of the largest parks in London containing the Queen's gardens and the London Zoo. It was an absolutely beautiful park, like most here in London, with its beautiful floral gardens. Ben and I ended up just hanging out on one of the park benches just people watching which is always fun. After a little bit we took a stroll around the park and headed home for some serious sightseeing the next day.
Unfortunately I had to work the next morning but afterwards Ben and I headed to Westminster Abbey where rumor had it that Ben's great great grandfather was buried somewhere in there. Upon arrival though, we quickly found out many people were buried in the amazingly huge Gothic cathedral...about 3,000 actually. It was unbelievable the amount of crypts and tombs that laid everywhere around the Abbey. From the various tombs of Kings, Queens, writers, etc crypts we saw Queen Mary of Scots, Jane Austeen, T.S. Elliot, etc. as well as the coronation chair in which every royal has been crowned on since 1066 of William the Conquerer and the Poet's corner where many literary dignitaries are buried. We snapped a couple of pictures of the beautiful interior (although it was completely illegal and had to hide it from a man in a red cape going around yelling at people) and headed to an area of the Abbey called the cloister where a courtyard is that brings light into some of the Abbey's corridors. As we were walking, to my disbelief I pointed down at the ground to Ben where the words "Here Rest the Remains of James Lupton", Ben's great great grandfather. I think we had about given up at this point that we would ever find his name, but there it was with the sunlight coming in on it in the middle of the Abbey. It's an overwhelming feeling of emotion to see something like that and to know that Ben is the first in his family to actually see it in person. Later on in the day, we obviously googled James Lupton of Westminster Abbey and he was actually a choralier for the Church and a respected Reverend who did a lot for the Abbey. After giving Ben some time there, we left the Abbey after hearing the choir for a little bit and walked past St. Jame's park to Buckingham Palace. From there we ate at the pub I went to on my first day in London right in the middle of Westminster where we observed all the old men in suits and briefcases who were coming directly from work for drinks....only in London.
In the next couple of days we ventured to the Natural History Museum (which I was obviously excited about), Kensington, and Notting Hill. The Natural History Museum was nice with a lot of stuff dedicated to Darwin and tons of dinosaur stuff which I loved. The human body part had some very explicit pictures which we couldn't help but laugh at. But in all honesty, no where near as good as the Natural History Museum in New York City. Just the quality of the exhibits and stuff just didn't have the importance like most exhibits in New York. It was still fun and we definitely still enjoyed ourselves though.
One day during the week we decided to take a tour of Stonehenge and Bath, which is about two hours outside the city. I was really excited to see the Roman Baths and Stonehenge and felt like it was one of those things that you have to do while your in England. Our first stop was Stonehenge, which is literally in the middle of no where in the midst of the English countryside. The weather was windy and cold, which for some reason seemed like that's how it should of been when you see Stonehenge. We got an audio tour that explained how the project started about 5000 years ago and how the first stones were bluestones brought on rollers and sticks from Whales a little over 200 miles from the site. The thing about Stonehenge is although they seem to know a lot about how it was made, it still remains a mystery as to what its actual purpose was. Some believe it was a mix of science and religious use, due to how the sun hits the stones and the many burial sites around it. When you see it though, you can't help but wonder if its even something more than all of that...I mean it took heck of a lot work back then to just build a sun dial or gift to the gods when it seems like their were other ways of doing it. I also loved the fact that it was so prehistoric and that at home you can't find anything as old as that. After a half hour of circling Stonehenge in the wind and rain we headed back on the bus to go to Bath, the city of Britain's only hot springs and the Roman baths. On the way there we passed through the English countryside which is actually quite beautiful and makes you want to escape to a cottage out there for a week or two. Coming into Bath I was pleasantly surprised at how nice of a town it is with its old architecture and simplicity. Our bus took us around the city pointing out various sites without failing to mention that both Johnny Depp and Nicholas Cage have flats there. From there, we were brought to Bath Abbey and the entrance to the Roman Baths that were once used by the Romans for healing purposes...they even drank the stuff. Supposedly the hot springs healed the Duke of Canterbury's dogs skin disease and his leprosy, and therefore established it as some healing wonder. The museum to the baths was actually really cool with remnants from the original baths, Roman artifacts, and much of the original flooring. The actual bath still had to steam coming off of the water and if you got close enough to it you could feel the heat from it. After exploring the Roman baths we had free time to see the rest of the city so Ben and I just walked around and had lunch by the river. We both agreed how beautiful and quiet the city was, so different from the bustle of London. It was a nice getaway from it all and we were both glad decided to do it.
On Ben's last day in London it just so happen to be the 155th Oxford vs Cambridge boat race on the Thames River, which is considered one of the top 5 sporting events in the world (yes, even greater than OSU Michigan game, sorry guys). We headed down to the river with my housemates and soon realized the popularity of it. The streets surrounding the river were packed with people drinking and "tailgating" for the event. We got lucky enough to catch the boats as they were passing, in which Oxford ended up winning in the end. Afterwards we walked along the river to a pub where a huge outdoor party was taking place. The place was crazy with people from everywhere drinking and having a good time....except for the one drunk idiot who decided to climb a tree and almost fall to his death before hitting a branch. We had a great time and we ended up watching the sun go down on the river as the Oxford team rode by with their trophy in hand. It was a perfect end to Ben's stay, although there was no part of me that wanted him to leave the next day. I had my tearful goodbye at Heathrow the next morning as Ben headed home. Although I was sad, it was a nice breather to have Ben here in the middle of my stay here, it really refreshed me and made me realize again how great of an experience this all is. To share it with someone else was even better.

Anyways thanks to everyone who has wrote me e-mails and notes! I really appreciate it all. More updates coming soon...because its spring in London and everything is so beautiful!

The Craziest two Weeks in Europe so far - Part 2: Barcelona where the bartenders names' are Pepe

I headed back to London VERY early Wednesday morning, only to be there for a short while. An hour after I got home I had to get back on the tube to pick up Benjamin from Heathrow. Getting to the airport late of course, (because the tube ALWAYS lets you down) I was in a fluster as I hurried into the arrival gate. But, it all magically went away the moment I saw him standing there (probably nervous as hell thinking he might be lost in London when I didn't show up). A little/big piece of home was there and an overwhelming sense of happiness came over me. I guess I came into this whole thing thinking I could never be homesick, I was too tough for that. But as much as I hate to admit it, I've never been so homesick in my life being here, although I still unbelievably love every minute of my life in London. Seeing Ben though, was like bringing home to me and I never let that feeling go the whole time he was here. Besides that, I was also soo glad to have him around again.
We boarded the tube back to Fulham which ended up being pretty funny watching some one who had never experienced it before. I've gotten so used to all the people and public transport that I don't notice the little things that Ben did. For example, the tube can sometimes be like a library, where no matter how many people present it remains quiet and every one's reading something (at least in the morning and during the day). Anyways, after that, Ben was super anxious to get out and see things, so although I was exhausted I knew how important it was to go see some of the major sites for him. We headed to Westminster where the first thing he saw getting out of the station was Big Ben, Parliament, and the London eye. It was a beautiful cloudless day and we soaked it in as we stood on the bridge over looking it all. After that we took a walk along the river, similar to what I did on my first day in London. The whole day was just perfect, and after some obvious fish and chips at a pub, we went home to get ready to head off to Barcelona in the morning.
Arriving in Barcelona was just as I imagined, beautiful, sunny, without a cloud in the sky. We gave the taxi driver (who spoke zero English) the address to where we were staying, the Catalina Port, and having no idea as to what kind of place it was we kind of expected the worse. It wasn't too long after getting into the main city that the driver pulled into a small alley close to the ocean and main street. He tried to explain to us what he was doing, but I obviously don't speak Spanish so that was quite interesting. Anyways, he pulled over and pointed toward the door to the Catalina Port. At first, we were a little skeptical because it was right near this beautiful plaza and in the middle of everything but we went inside to find that we were at the right place. Everything was really modern and new looking, and over all just a really cool place. The most shocking part was opening the door to our room finding this HUGE room with none other than a outdoor terrace attached to it. It had a beautiful view and we honestly couldn't have gotten much better. After unpacking (and checking out the mini bar) we decided to wander along Las Ramblas, the biggest and busiest street in Barcelona. It was filled with street entertainers in various gear (our favorite was the guy on the toilet!), art and flower vendors, and multiple restaurants with outdoor terrances. As we were walking we ran into this enormous market called "Mercat de La Boqueria" with the most amazing fresh foods. The colors are the first thing that hit you as you walk in, the fresh fruits are stacked high in piles and are just everywhere. They also have these stands with these fresh fruit smoothies called fruities that Ben and I instantly became addicted to the moment we had one (which were only 1 Euro). The market was also filled with fresh fish, cheeses, candy, ice cream, breads, everything. It was definitely a nice little discovery. Afterwords we decided to sit down at one of the outdoor restaurants for a couple of sangria's (which were huge and delicious). We had a front row view of the toilet man, a weird princess, a man statue, and a devil like man who would say "boo" at people when they walked by on Las Ramblas. All very interesting and great for people watching. But, after a nice little sunset, we walked along the alleys, which I loved, and found a cute plaza right near our place which we instantly fell in love with that we later spent a lot of time in. We went back to the room and got ready to go out for dinner, watching our all Spanish television (they even had Boy Meets World on...in Spanish). We decided to go back to Las Ramblas to another outdoor restaurant, where we got the most amazing paella ever and of course sangria's. Afterwards though, we decided to get some rest before our bike tour the next morning.
We woke up early the next morning so that we wouldn't get lost before the bike tour. After talking to a couple of my Aussie housemates and some of my sorority sisters who had studied abroad, I was told to go on this "Fat Tire Bike Tour" through Barcelona which I guess was really fun for them and got you to all the major sites around the city. I know picturing Ben and I on bikes sounds a little comical...which we laughed at ourselves...we both thought it would be a great way to see the city. Finding the bike tour was a lot easier and quicker than we thought, so we ended up having a little breakfast at a coffee shop near it before hand. We met the group at Ciutat Vella, or the middle of the city, where we grabbed our bikes and met our tour guide, who was this really funny South African guy. There was a group of about 20 of us, mostly people our age, and after a few laughs from trying to get used to the bikes (I struggled at first lol) we headed through the alley's of Barcelona, ringing our bells the whole way though ;). But in all seriousness, although trying to swerve in and out of people through those alley's was funny, it was amazing to see all of it. I loved going through those streets off of the main roads because I felt like I got more of a feel for what the city actually is, the authentic Barcelona. Our first stop was at the site where Christopher Columbus stood in front of the King and Queen (who actually thought he had no chance of returning) after discovering the new world. We then headed off to the main Cathedral (Catedral La Seu) which was unfortunately under construction like most of the city, and supposedly contains several saint relics inside, maybe the most in the world. In the same square as the cathedral, also known as the Gothic quarter, was a piece of the old Catalonia wall that surrounded the city hundreds of years ago. From there we stopped at the Palau de la Música Catalana, which is one of the most famous pieces of modern architecture in the city with brilliant sets of colors and designs on it. Then it was off to the Arc de Triomf similar to the one in Paris, built in 1888 for the World's Exhibition. We then road our bikes through this beautiful row of palm trees, the whole time Ben actually taking pictures of me mid ride, which I was too clumsy/dangerous to attempt due to my fear that I might actually hurt someone if I tried. From there we went to the Parc de la Ciutadella or the central park of Barcelona. It was very pretty, with palm trees and different Spanish architecture, including a cascade fountain with hints of Gaudi all around it. We got a little free time to explore the park then headed to possibly the most famous site in Barcelona, the Sagrada Familia temple, passing a bull fighting arena along the way (although it is outlawed to bull fight...they continue to do it). The temple started with Gaudi in 1866, but it was too big of a project for him to finish, it actually isn't predicted to be completed until 2030, but the builders are trying to make it as close to Gaudi's masterpiece as possible. Our tour guide told us that Gaudi was actually hit by a tram right in front of the temple and people just thought he was beggar on the street so no one helped him for days. Then finally some one took him to the community hospital where he was barely treated. Days later, a doctor finally recognized the great architect, but when asked if he wanted to go to the nicer private hospital he just replied "if this is how the poor is treated, then I will also be treated like that and die here with them." So he did and is now buried in Sagrada Familia. The temple itself consists of 18 towers, one for Jesus, Mary, the 4 evangelists, and the 12 apostles and a nativity facade that depicts the life of Jesus. Gaudi incorporated all kinds of shapes and designs so that the project could continue in the future. The temple is amazing because its nothing like I've ever seen before, the architecture is so unique. The gothic nature of it all gives it a different type of feel than a normal church would and the detail in the architecture is actually quite genius. After being able to walk around it for a little while, we rode over to the beach where we saw the Olympic Port where the athletes stayed in 1992 and the new 6 star hotel being built that is similar to the 7 star hotel in Dubai. We had a break on the beach where we just ate sandwiches from the local market and drank a box of sangria that only cost 2 Euro. Ben and I hung out with our tour guide that told us about his life in Barcelona and different things about the city that we probably wouldn't find out from anyone other than someone like him. I also started to talk to another guy on the trip who was working in Barcelona but did the same BUNAC program in London that I'm doing, so that was a strange coincidence. As we were about to leave, I realized I hadn't finished the huge box of sangria we bought and not knowing what to do, my tour guide insisted I just put it on the back of the bike saying "people do it all the time" while at the same time he proceeded to put a beer on his own bike. We then headed off to our last stop, the eternal flame of the city and then had to give up our bikes. Although I was sad that it was over, it definitely was a worthwhile experience and an amazing way to see the city. I mean we had a great tour guide who was really funny and cool, we saw all the major sites, the weather was beautiful, and we had a fun time getting around the streets of Barcelona on a bike with a push bell :). Doesn't get much better than that.
After the bike tour, Ben and I just strolled around the streets of Barcelona going through the major shopping area and back to our favorite plaza for some drinks. It was funny because inside the plaza there were these chairs scattered around all by themselves. We contemplated the type of people who might sit in these individual chairs, just to see a little old man sitting in one, of course by himself. From there we went back, got ready, then went back to the plaza for dinner and afterwards found the most authentic Spanish bar we could find. The place had an old school vibe to it, although there was plenty of young people in there, with old artifacts on the walls and animal skins everywhere. An old man came up to us, whom we later found out his name was Pepe, trying to get our drink order. He spoke no English, which for some reason when you tell an older person from Barcelona that you do not speak Spanish they continue to talk to you in Spanish anyways. But somehow it turned out to be a lot of fun because he would get our drinks, then give us shots of some unknown substance, and then continue to talk to us while putting his arm around Ben and grabbing my face. Pepe put on a quite a show, after taking many shots himself with customers, and ended up making it quite the memorable night.
The next day we had some time on our hands before having to get to the airport, so we headed back to Las Ramblas where a market of craft and art vendors were set up for the day (I bought a really pretty piece of artwork from a local artist). We/I checked that out for a little while before heading back to the market we went to on the first day to get some more of those smoothies we loved. Unfortunately after getting a bite to eat and looking around a little more we had to head back to London. When Ben and I talked about everything over again at the end of it, we both agreed how easy the life felt like when we were there, so completely different from London. Everything is so much slower and laid back and it just seems like the people were all so happy. The way of life is so easy to fall in love with while your there and it was gut wrenching to have to leave it behind. To me, that's the way I want to live my life...with someone special by my side, feeling like all of your worries are some where else, in a place where time seems to go slower. Barcelona was definitely beautiful and a must see experience to anyone traveling over here. But, make sure if you go to take it slow, walk through the amazing alleys, and soak it all in, including the sun which will most definitely show.

Part 3..coming soon...the rest of Ben's London visit, where we visited the Natural History Museum, Stonehenge, Bath, Oxford vs Cambridge boat races, and other stuff around the city!!

The Craziest two weeks in Europe so far - Part 1: Ireland for St. Patty's Day "Everyone is Irish on March 17th"

The last two weeks here have been the craziest, most memorable, and draining weeks of my life. No, I have not fallen off the London bridge into the Thames or disappeared into the European oblivion, I've just been so unbelievably busy that I haven't been able to update this thing. So, instead of boring you all with one long blog about all my adventures, I'm going to do this in parts, so that my ADD friends out there will actually pay attention long enough to keep interested in all of my stories. So, here it goes...

Part 1: Dublin, Ireland for St. Patrick's Day "Everyone is Irish on March 17th"

The last time I wrote on this I was filled with anxiety and excitement on the ideas of seeing green for three days straight. I packed light, thinking I was probably going to wear my green beer day shirt the whole time I was there. Brendan and I headed off to London Gatwick airport at around 730am Monday morning and had amazing sights of Dublin on the way in. We met up with Jamie and Ellen at the Dublin airport and proceeded to Brendan's friend Matt's apartment where we graciously stayed for free the whole time we were there. We didn't hang around long, because it was really our only day of sight seeing while we were there. So, we headed off around Dublin with our first stop being the one and only Guinness Storehouse. To my surprise the lines to the Storehouse were relatively small considering it was the day before St. Patrick's day. The overwhelming voices of Americans there didn't surprise me, considering most of my European co-workers had never even heard of St. Patrick's day before. The Guinness Storehouse is actually a really fascinating site. First off, 2009 is Guinness' 250th birthday so visiting there is just that more interesting. Second, you come to realize as you climb the layers that the actual Storehouse is shaped like a Guinness pint. Your first level teaches you about how Guinness is made and has actual barrels dating back to the beginning of the factory there. The History of the factory and beer are told through the eyes of Arthur Guinness, the man who started it all. Then you get to what really counts, the tasting lab, where they just put a third of a pint of Guinness out on the table to try. You tend to notice the people who are awkwardly hanging around that room to get more of their fair share of a "taste" of the Guinness. From there you move along the levels to see how they store the Guinness, where it is sold around the world (we obviously took a picture in front of Ohio), how to drink responsibly (ha), and maybe one of my favorite stops, their advertising. The advertising section ranged from all of the old pints used to hold Guinness, to the old Toucan mascot, to the actual prints they used (which could be a lil racist at times..considering there was one with a Native American holding up a canoe saying "Guinness-Him Strong" which I couldn't help but laugh at). My favorite advertising scheme though was the "Guinness is good for you" ad. It was supposedly one of their first ad ideas for Guinness because when advertising agents went around to Dublin pubs to ask why people drink Guinness one guy replied, "Because Guinness is good for me." I guess at the time some doctors would actually prescribe Guinness to patients because it increased appetite and made them "think cheerfully". Too bad they don't think like that anymore...
Another story we came across was that of the Guinness book of records which inevitably began in a Dublin pub. Supposedly one of the directors of the Guinness factory was a big bird hunter and one night out at a pub him and his friends were arguing about which bird was the fastest. The argument was never settled that night and the next time he was at a pub (which was probably 2 hours later considering it he was Irish) he heard a similar argument amongst a couple of locals. So, he decided there should be some kind of book that states all of the best of things...and there began the Guinness book of Records...in a Dublin pub over a drunk argument. :)
After that, we took a look at the Perfect Pint Pour part, where people test out their talents in bartending to see if they can pour a perfect pint, which as some of you may know is somewhat of an art. Saving the best for last, we ventured up to the top of the Storehouse known as the Gravity bar where we received our free pint of Guinness and amazing panoramic views of Dublin. The bartender even made little four leaf clovers on the foam of the pint..which I of course was amazed by. We were lucky enough after that to get a seat right in front of one of the windows as we looked out over the beautiful city. It seemed a little sureal to be looking over Dublin, Ireland the day before St. Patrick's Day, holding a Guinness in one hand, and watching the sea of people in green pass by. After taking all of that in for a little while we decided to head out into the city and see the rest of the sites. Honestly, for anyone who decides to see Dublin, its easy to do it one day. The city isn't exactly known for its tourist sites. On our walk we were able to see the monuments you most likely can associate with the city such as Christ Cathedral and Trinity College. We also walked down Temple Street which is similar to Bourban Street in New Orleans for its famous night life. Temple Bar is its main area for clubs and bars where we ended up later in the night. But, the most interesting things to me on the walk was all of the Irish pride and decorations everywhere in preparation for the next day. I loved seeing the excitement of the city over it and was pretty much how I expected it to be. After the long day, we went back to Matt's where we got ready to go out to Temple Bar...but although we had an amazing time that night, secretly all I could think about was the next day...
The next morning the sun shone in proudly and being one of the first people up, I went out onto the balcony that over looked Dublin and soaked up the idea that I was in Ireland on St. Patrick's day. The weather was great, a little chilly but the sun was out and it made it warmer. From Matt's apartment you can see the countryside which is not far from the actual city and the "mountains" that surround it. In about an hour everyone started waking up and after a big breakfast and getting decked out in green we were ready for the day. To my surprise, the pubs didn't open til 4pm that day, so we had a little St. Patrick's day party at Matt's during the day. Brendan's friend from high school Walter goes to graduate school in Dublin, and he came over with a couple of his classmates, an American Jose, an Austrian Flo, and two Irish guys Dave and Liam. He also brought his other Irish friends...Guinness, Jameson, and Bailey's. :) We blasted Irish drinking songs all day as we celebrated and watched the sun go down on Dublin and then headed out to a pub Dave suggested. The pub was just as I imagined it would be in Dublin on St. Patty's day....crowded with people, mostly Irish, singing Irish songs at the top of their lungs. Being with a couple of Irish guys made the whole thing even more authentic. Talking to Dave about Ireland and its festivities on this day made the whole experience that much better. The best part was when the song "Ireland" came on and the overwhelming reaction to the song (which I have a video of, so make sure you check it out). The hundreds of Irish voices belting the song out was unreal and you could just feel the pride about it. We definitly had fun there, watching the Irish drink and realizing we have no chance against their abilities. At the end of the night though, I realized that St. Patty's day in Dublin was everything I thought it would be. Just like American's pride on the 4th of July, the Irish have an even more magnified sense of pride on this day and they definitly know how to celebrate that. Being there definitly made you feel apart of that and you couldn't help but catch that Irish bug everyone gets on March 17th. St. Patrick's day in Dublin, Ireland is a definite check off my list, and I feel fortunate to have experienced it all....but the week definitly didn't end there...The next morning I boarded a flight back to London, noting the fact that Dublin's airport was filled with people my age in full green looking a little hungover to say the least...then to Barcelona. Blog on that coming VERY soon..so check back.

Traveling starts NOW

The past week has been the same at work. Every day gets better and better, and I'm really starting to enjoy my co-workers. I think they are starting to warm up to me too, even one of my managers who is from Hungary is telling me about her boy problems now. She was upset today because her boyfriend from Hungary didn't call her...go figure, its the same throughout the world! Besides that, not too many encounters at work. Everyday I run into at least 4 or 5 people from the States, but not like the other day with the woman from Columbus. Today I met a guy who's family is in Cleveland and a couple of Aussie's who "traveled through Ohio" and told me about some jazz club in Detroit they liked when they visited the U.S. One English guy, after I told him I was from Ohio in the States, asked "is that near Texas"? Umm no. Maybe I should have said yes to humor myself.
Anyways, in further news, one of my housemates Mickey told us he's moving out by the end of the month and that we will be getting a new roommate soon. He just can't find work here and decided to go and travel for a bit with his money for a while. I really don't blame him, it so difficult for everyone to find a job in this mess of an economy, might as well go do something worthwhile. So, it'll be interesting who the new addition to the house will be...
So, my first BIG trip is Monday to Dublin, Ireland for St. Patrick's day!!! I'm so excited about it. Jamie, Ellen, Brendan, and I will all be staying at his friend Walter's place and meeting up with his friend Matt who stayed with us a couple of weekends ago. As of now, we plan to go to the Guinness factory on Monday when we get there and explore the sights for the rest of the day. Then Tuesday is obviously St. Patrick's day and Dublin has a huge parade that we will definitely be attending. Then of course the festivities throughout the day... That's the tentative plan as for now, I'm getting really excited! I mean I should fit right in, having the name Erin right? It is an Irish derivative for the word "Ireland"..(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erin) Yes, I did a wikipedia search on it to make sure I wasn't just making that up in my head. Erin go bragh!

It's a Small World

Hello everyone. So, work is work. I'm already sick of it, haha, but I just know its a means to end and only temporary. Standing up for 7 hours is a change as well, especially physically.I feel like I'm 80 years old with all my kinks in my back after work. The people I work with are getting better and starting to warm up to me. They are still as interested as ever, with one of the cooks from Slovakia the other day asking me to tell him stories of "college life". Him and another French girl got quite a kick out of some of my frat party stories that they were bending over laughing...which made me laugh just at the sight of it. Who knew my stories were so funny? They also all still comment on how smooth my accent is and how much more they can understand me than the English. A lot of them tell me its because I talk slower and don't use as much slang or expressions they are not used to. A couple of the Hungarian girls told me they have never been able to understand a native English speaking person as well as me! I even had an English man who I was waiting on tell me I had a very "song like" American accent...whatever that means.
Today especially was quite an interesting day for me...at least more than usual. I had a table with an American couple who asked me where I was from and etc.. and after talking to them, I was flagged down by another American woman who I had been waiting who had overheard me talking to them. She asked me whereabouts in Ohio I was from and I obviously stated Columbus, and with a little smile she simply said, "me too". I'm sure my mouth hit the floor when I heard that...I mean of all places, London/Chelsea England in a small cafe, another person from Columbus, Ohio. She explained to me that she had grown up in Upper Arlington (which was even more ironic because of Ben) and went to Columbus School for Girls. Her husband, her, and their children moved to London 10 years ago when his job transferred him here. They were only supposed to stay for 2 years, but it obviously was extended. She actually has a son who is looking at going to school at Miami! So, after chatting a little while she gave me her phone number so that I could call her and possibly have Brendan and I over to her house, which I thought was very kind of her. I just couldn't believe the coincidence....But, then the day even got weirder. Later on I was serving two guys, one Scottish, one American, who again asked me where I was from in the States. I told them and the American said he was from Chicago and lived in Cleveland for a little while, but is now in London with his wife. I told him I knew quite a lot of people from Chicago because I went to Miami University....he then proceeded to tell me he had also went to Miami and graduated in 1994. :) I honestly was shocked and I told him about the lady from Columbus who had just been in. We started on about Miami, telling his Scottish friend all about the school and how much we loved it. I feel like I'm turning into my Dad, who no matter where in the world we go, finds or runs into someone from his small hometown of Bellaire. I guess its true how small of a world we really live in.

Besides all of that, the weekend went well. Brendan had one of his fraternity brothers who is living in Dublin right now stay with us for a couple of days. We also met up with a couple of girls in my sorority who are studying in Luxembourg and came to visit. We went to a couple of clubs...which if you have ever been to a Euro club packed with actual Europeans, you know that the smell isn't too lovely (for some reason deodorant isn't a main priority to some people over here), but we forged through and overcame it. I even got into a dance off with an Irish guy and I obviously won.....although my mother would be shocked if she knew that because she thinks I have two left feet. I had to put the moves on when a circle started forming around us haha. Anyways, it was a good weekend and week...in 2 weeks I'll be in Dublin, Ireland for St. Patrick's day! I'm so excited! Updates coming soon...

My first week working in a foreign country

Like I said in the last post, I got a job. I'm a server in a cafe called Le Pain Quotidien. So, I had two days of classroom training last week then I actually started working on the floor. The classroom was quite interesting to say the least. The girl who was running the training was English, but besides her and I, no one else was a native English speaking person. I guess in the restaurant business you can somewhat get used to the idea of being around people who don't speak English well. But, from the restaurants I worked in back home, you only see that in the kitchen where its mostly Mexicans. A whole other story here though. Everyone I work with is from a different country around the world, whether it be France, Italy, Slovakia, Poland, Brazil, you name it and I probably work with someone from there. None of the servers are English which was shocking, only upper management. So, at first it was all a little overwhelming. The training began by the lady, Petra, telling everyone we must speak English and making a joke at the fact that it would hurt my feelings since I don't know another language but that. All I could think in my head is,"here we go, jab at the American." But, what was funny is that anytime one of them didn't understand a word they would look to me to somehow translate it to them or put it in other words, which took me back at first. The Italian girl next to me was probably the worst though. I almost felt bad for her for how little English she knew. She looked completely lost the whole time and I did whatever I could, with the Italian I could remember, to help her understand. The thing is, most of these people have come to London to learn English better or help their families out in other parts of the world, which obviously are completely different reasons than for me being there. Some of them were honestly confused by my reason for being there, they couldn't understand why I would ever want to leave America, which I thought was a little funny. I mean they see it as this big beautiful country where everyone is rich and happy and they have no way of getting in due to our wonderful immigration policies. So, its like a place they can't touch, almost somewhat magical to them. And there is no use in explaining in detail to most of them that its not all like that because I've tried and failed. Everyone has their own image of the U.S. and there is no changing that, at least not now. Besides that, they did tell me they all really like my American accent, something about it being slow lol.

Anyways, I had the two days of classroom training which went well and I met some interesting people. Then I went to the actual shop I'd be working in, which is in Chelsea by the way, about a 10 min bus ride from where I live. All of the cafe's have the same feel to them, very earthy with all wooden tables and floors, and an open bakery when you walk in. I was little nervous on my first actual day at work, which I think anyone would, especially when I think about the fact that I'm on a foreign continent with people who don't speak English that great. The first day they just had me hosting and helping the servers, which was an experience in its self. Number one, the service in this country is down right awful. The servers have no idea about customer service.They wait until someone calls them over, there are constantly customers looking impatient, and there is no sense of talking to your customers or having any sort of conversation with them. It about the opposite of everything you see in the States. Especially being a server in the U.S. where customer service is obviously put before everything else, because that's what you're making your money on, its so crazy to see a restaurant run like that. All I could think is, "wow, I'm going to just look like a superstar here." So, the next day I actually got to work as a server and although the computer system took a little getting used to, I got the hang of everything fairly quick. I actually made 20 pounds in extra tips which is pretty good! I think at first I was dreading the whole thing, because it wasn't really my ideal job in London. But, its actually turning out to be quite nice and pretty flexible. So far so good then. Updates coming soon! Miss everyone!

Scrap that last post about the job + Going to Church

My past week has probably never been busier since I have been in London. From the last time I wrote in this, I thought I was set with a job at an advertising agency doing customer service. Well, after that interview, I got about seven different calls in a matter of two days for interviews other places. On Thursday, I was asked to come into an interview at a cafe/restaurant called Le Pain Quotidien (www.lepainquotidien.co.uk). I honestly was dreading the interview, having the idea in my head that I wasn't going to get a waitress job here, due mainly to the thought that I didn't want to work weekends so I can do more travelling. But, when I first walked into the place though, it had a kind of earthly feel to it with all wooden furniture and warm atmosphere. A counter full of pastries and fresh bread greeted me at the door, as well as their delicious smell. I guess its what I envisioned a European cafe to look like, with people everywhere sipping on their espressos, eating scones, and looking at their laptops. My preconceived notion that I would hate working in a restaurant in Europe, with the whole people don't tip thing, but this I might just like. A french girl named Sophie interviewed me and I immediately liked everything about what she was saying. She was quick to tell me that it was OK that I would only be there a short amount of time and that I could take off days to travel. I would get paid the minimum wage at first (which is 5.75 pounds per hour) and then a 12.5% service charge is added to every bill, which she said averaged my wage to about 7 pounds an hour at least, then any other cash tips are mine to keep. The interview went good over all and she asked me to come in for a trial the next day, which at first I hesitated a little thinking about the advertising agency job that I also got a trial for, but took it anyway. The trial lasted 3 hours and like any waiting job, was pretty easy. They called me the next day saying I got the job and that training would start Monday, so I just accepted. It seems easy enough, the highest paying job I have had an offer for, flexible, and I really don't have the resources anyway to hold out any longer on a job, so why not? So, I had my first day of training Monday...which was quite interesting...but I think I'll save all those details for tomorrow. That's going to need a blog of its own. :)

My weekend was unpredictable as usual. Thursday the house all just hung out together, played pong, and had a good time. Friday, Brendan, Jamie, and Ellen went to one of our local pubs/clubs Belushi's and ended up having a good time. They were giving out Mardi Gras type masks which we ended up having a good time with lol. Saturday, as you all know, was Valentine's day which is always depressing if you don't have a date (skype doesn't really count) or at least not one where you live. But, Jamie, Ellen, Brendan, and I decided to be each other's date at a Mexican restaurant at Westfields Mall, which is the biggest mall in London and one of the biggest in Europe. It has a really cool decor about it, even when your outside of it walking alongside, you still feel like your inside with a semi roof covering your as you make your way to the front door. Sunday though was quite a day. A couple people in the house decided to go to a place called the Church, which is only open on Sundays, go figure. Its basically a party held only on Sundays from 12-4 where if you dress up for it, in any kind of theme with your friends, you get in free. After hearing so much about it, we all decided to go last weekend, picking an 80's theme. So, I dressed up in my neon blue tights, side ponytail, and ankle warmers along with my housemates Blake and Jill, their friend Emily, Brendan, Jamie and myself and hopped on the tube to a party I wasn't really expecting. When we got there, the line wrapped around the place with people dressed up like pirates, police, construction workers, or just draped in flags of their countries. A guy behind us in line just so happened to have an Ohio State hat on, go figure, and of course we started talking to him and found out he was from New Albany which is so ironic. You had to buy a ticket for alcohol before you got in, that when you presented it to the bartender they gave you 3 drinks of your choice in a plastic bag which was slightly funny to carry around. It took place in an old theater venue, where they had taken out the seats in front of the stage to make a dance floor, so it made for a massive area. There were two large screens around the stage where people's faces from the crowd would get put up there sporadically, sometimes with little captions underneath..:) The place started getting pretty crowded within the first half hour we were there, then a comedian came on stage making fun of the Aussies and Kiwis that made up most of the crowd. He proceeded to shout out countries for people to cheer when theirs was called, Australia was the loudest, New Zealand and England got booed (which I thought was funny) and of course the Americans got booed. I mean I kind of expected that. Then the rest of night did not turn out as expected, which I really can't go into to detail on here, but lets just say girls gone wild London should be taped at the Church (which I did NOT participate in, don't worry). Anyways, it was a blast, and if you want to know more just ask me. From there we went and grabbed a couple Aussie burgers (burger with egg, cheese, beetroot, lettuce, and mayo....its actually pretty good) and went home! Like I said I started my training Monday, but I'm feeling under the weather today so I'll put up another blog tomorrow and tell you all about it! Miss everyone like always!

Sorry everyone..weekend + job update

Hey everybody, sorry I haven't written a blog lately, there really hasn't been too much going on so I didn't want to just be writing anything boring. There is one new really good development here in London. I had an interview last Thursday for a customer service position for an advertising agency called Ogilvy (http://www.ogilvy.co.uk/) and it went really well. Pretty much the job entails helping with all of the catering/hospitality events for the company and its clients. The interviewer called me the next day to say I made it to the "trial period", which is pretty big over here. Pretty much it means you are a definite candidate for the position but they want to bring you in to make sure you can actually do the job for the day. So, if you do good then you get the job. He is supposed to call me this week sometime to set up a time for the trial, so wish me luck!
The past weekend was eventful as usual. Friday, Brendan, Blake, and I went to a local bar called Belushi's and hung out there all night. It had a good DJ and it ended up getting pretty crowded. At one point in the night when I was waiting in the line for the ladies room (which can be very eventful on its own sometimes), a couple of Aussie girls behind me were talking and one asked where everyone was from. One girl behind me said she was from Sydney and the other, in an obvious Australian accent, said she was from California. For most of you that know me, know that I couldn't let that one go, so I turned around to nicely correct her,
"There's no way your from California", I stated, "I'm from the States." She immediately shhed me, which I wasn't sure why. And then she said, "Well I was going to go to the University of San Fransisco." (Yes, I emphasized the going for a reason) "Ummm not exactly the same as being from California," I said, and for some reason they thought that was funny although I wasn't exactly intending it to come out that way. I just thought it was funny, because for years on this continent you were half embarrassed to ever admit you were from the US, but here's a girl who is obviously Australian to pretend she is from the States. Of course, I immediately gave Blake crap for that. I guess things are changing..
Saturday, Blake, Brendan, Ellen, Jamie, and I all went down to Twickenham, where England's Rugby stadium is, and watched England vs Italy at a local pub there. It was actually really cool to be right in the center of it all and although I don't know a whole lot about rugby I caught on fairly quickly with Blake's help (he played rugby in Australian). After the game, we stayed to watch Ireland vs France and the pub we were at immediately became swamped with English fans from the stadium. It came to a point where you could barely move in the place...and then when we headed home the crowds of people were endless as everyone was trying to get on a train. It was funny when we finally got up to the train to get on because we literally were being pushed inside the train, something like you seen on one of those subways in Japan or something. I think I laughed a little too much over the whole thing, but you kind of have to be pretty easygoing with it all, especially when there are drunk English rugby fans all piling up to get on a crowded train.
When we came home most of our housemates were still out because it was Waitangi day, or New Zealand's national holiday, similar to Australia day. The Kiwis pretty much shut the city down, usually on this day the whole circle line (which is the part of the tube that makes a circle around the city, kind of like our outer belt but much smaller) is practically packed with them because they get off at each stop and go to a pub until they've gone to every single one. But, London officials actually closed it on that day due to past events....I guess it gets a little crazy. But, they were still out and I think they made due, at least it seemed that way when everyone got home later.
Anyways, I'm still waiting to hear back for the trial and I have another interview tomorrow for an office assistant job. Miss everyone back home!

O and for an FYI my housemates kindly told me that I keep referring to our backyard cow as "Bessie". Correction: NOT "Bessie", it's "Daisy". Sorry for the confusion. :)

Rickshaw Races, Superbowl. and SNOW!

Life across the pond seems to get a little better every day I'm here fortunately. This weekend ultimately proved that, probably being the most eclectic weekend so far. So, Thursday night we went back to the Portabello Acoustic Sessions that I mentioned last week that we fell in love with. We seem to secure a front row spot every time we go so the host of the show is starting to know us as the "regular Americans". Supposedly we have a table reserved for us next week...I guess there is huge tradition in becoming a "regular" at a pub in London, and we may have actually succeeded in that, which in my mind thought it would never happen. Its nice to find a niche though, even if its thousands of miles from home.
Again it proved to be a wonderful little escape from the bustle of the city and had four separate artists all different in their own ways, but each very soulful in the distinct sound of their music. Maybe the best part about that type of music is that it's raw, and you seem to get lost in it. With the stress of looking for a job in hard economic times in a city that's far from home, this music helps me to forget that and remember the reasons I came here in the first place.

Friday actually turned out to be one of most adventurous/fun nights since I've been here. Brendan and I decided to contact Stuart, Chris' English friend he introduced us to that we hung out with most of the time Chris was still in London. Stuart proved to be a lot of fun when we hung out with him before and he obviously knows the city better than us, so we thought it would be nice to meet up with him again. We started off at the TGI Fridays in Piccadily Circus (aka the Times Square of London) and met up with not only Stuart, but Chris' dad and sister, Claire. Stuart loves playing the pick a page, pick a number game, in which you pick two numbers (first is the page, second is the order of the drink on the page) and where ever they land on the drink menu, thats what you get. Its actually kind of funny what you end up with, I landed on some monstrous vanilla milkshake looking thing. haha After a while there, Chris' dad decided to head home so the four of us ventured elsewhere. Claire decided that we should go somewhere I hadn't been to yet, so we headed towards the Covent Garden/Soho area of West London. Well Stuart had the brilliant plan of taking rickshaws there, which are those bikes with a buggy attached to the back seating two people. I thought the idea was fun to begin with, but Stuart decided to take it up a notch when he offered the two rickshaw drivers ten pounds to the person who got there first. So, the race began through London with Claire and I in one and Stuart and Brendan in another. I guess I'll make the public apology now to anyone we almost toppled on the way there, because there were many of you. I think when we finally arrived in Covent Garden, my stomach hurt so bad from laughing so hard as we twisted and turned through the packed streets of London. All in all though, the rickshaws were actually a good way to see the city and quite memorable. And if your wondering, my rickshaw obviously won. :)
From there we went to a two story pub that looked over a street in Covent Garden that I guess is normally packed with enertainers in the summer. After that we found ourselves wondering the streets of Soho, which is to say the least, a very expressive part of town crowded with people on a friday night. We ended up finding a really trendy Indian bar that had authentic looking Indian decor with couches and drapery lining the whole lounge area. The night ended there late with the four of us talking, but I have to say this was one of the BEST nights I've had here and possibly one of the most memorable.

Saturday became more of a chill day after the craziness of Friday. In London, I have found it doesn't really matter what night of the week you go out, unlike in the States where most partying or what not is a thing of the weekend. Here, pubs is just a way of life, and people go to them every night of the week. Sunday, was an eventful day though. London got one of its worst snowfalls in nearly a decade and everyone was excited about it. My Aussie housemates were like kids in a candy store and couldn't wait to play in it, which ultimately resulted in a house snowball fight on our street. The snow here is a little different than back home, its more wet which can either be a good or bad thing in a snowball fight. Good in the sense that it makes for amazingly compact snowballs, bad in that if you get nailed with one in the side of the head (which I did more than once) it doesnt just automatically break apart. haha. As you all know though, it was Superbowl Sunday which started at 11:30 our time. Stuart had reserved a table at a pub called Bond's in Oxford Circus, so Ellen, Jamie, Brendan, Blake, and I tredged through the snow to get there...sliding along the way. When we got there, we found that we had a little VIP section to ourselves with our own flat screen for the game. Stuart brought his friend Matt who are both Englishman American football fans (Stuart actually plays in an American football league here). I had to root for the Steelers for my dad..so sorry all you Cardinals fans out there. I actually didn't see the half time show because the whole pub decided to go outside during it to have a massive snowball fight in the street. Most of the people in London haven't seen this much so snow in years so they get really excited about it. So after the exchange of snowballs with Londoners, we resumed watching the game til about 3:00 am and returned home..which took awhile since the buses were down due to the snow. But, honestly I didn't mind it much because I got to see the city with that first layer of snow on it, which we all know is the best snow.
The next day most of London was shut down due to the large amounts of snow and there were tons of people in the streets making snowmen and playing. Some of my housemates even made Shelia the Snow woman outside of our house, complete with a blonde wig, bikini top, and an Australian flag around her waist. We even noticed some people stopping to take a picture of it which was funny. Overall though, although we were snowed in for a couple days, it proved to be more eventful than most snowdays at home. When you see people so excited about things like snow, you tend to forget about how fun it really can be when you're so used to it. It kind of reminds you about how you felt about it when you were a kid and couldn't wait to go outside in it...although most of us came back in after five minutes after it probably took us 20 minutes to get out there because it was too cold. Once again though, these are the things I love most about being over here, just all the little reminders about good life really is.

My new found London gem and Australia day

Since the inauguration, a couple new things have happened in my life here in London. First off, no I don't have a job yet. The agency that is trying to find me work is having a hard time, because the economy here is no different than that in the US, everyone is falling on hard times. A lot of businesses have gone down here in London causing for a lot of unemployed people. So, I'm still trying. I might take a waitress job/catering job until I find something different. But, anything at this point is good because I have to pay rent in two weeks!

Last Thursday my friend Jamie asked Brendan and I to come to this pub called The Metropolitan where they were having live music. She found it on TimeOut London which is a website that reviews bars and restaurants and any other events going on in London. The pub has their "Portabello Acoustic Sessions" every Thursday where only local London acoustic artists that are hand picked by the promoters of the event play. So, every artist is a TRUE artist and not just some person playing on an open mic night. The setting made it though. The live music was playing on the top level of the pub, where it was kind of secluded from the bustle of the actual bar area. It was in a separate room with small round tables, a dim light with candles everywhere, chandeliers on the ceiling, with a modern flair that made you feel like you were sitting in a classy lounge area in some swanky coffee shop or something (except for the bar at the back of the room). The room made for more of an intimate setting so people were actually listening to the artists without all the noise of chattering bar people. There were four artists all together, a folkish type singer named Saul, a girl vocalist named Nathalie Miranda, two guys who were quite comical called the Fancy Toys, and my favorite David Liddell. All had their own unique talents that made up a really good show. I think what got me the most was the fact that we found something unique and different in the midst of all the regular pubs or club scene. In a sense, the setting was very therapeutic, a chance for anyone to come and listen to real artists (for free by the way) and sort of forget about everything else. It wasn't crowded or in a huge room full of bustle, but in a behind the scenes type of place full of people just trying to find something different or calmer outside the craziness of the city. So, we've declared these Thursday nights our new haven...our hidden jewel in London. It feels like we have a little secret that no one else knows about (except for all of you that reads this blog). I recorded a video of David Liddell..it'll be in the "my videos" section of my website, so definitely check it out so you can see what I'm talking about.

Besides Thursday, the weekend went as usual. Nothing too eventful until Sunday, which was Australia Day aka the Aussies version of the 4th of July. All of our housemates wanted to have a party for it, so we did, and the requirements were to wear green and gold, the Australian colors. It was a fun party, where for the first time we were labeled as Americans for everything we did. We did teach the Aussies some of our drinking games from back home like flip cup and beer pong, which they had never played and absolutely loved. Flip cup was hard for them to get used to, at first we played the Americans vs Aussies and just dominated so we had to mix up the teams. But, pong they got pretty quickly and they really just loved both. We all had a good time (even our fake cow in the backyard Bessie was ridden a couple of times) and I really got to know some of my housemates better which was probably best part of the whole thing. I think Australia day will have to be a new tradition I bring back to the States...

Thanks again for the emails and wall posts! Miss everyone...and my parents birthdays were this past week and half so Happy Birthday Mom and Dad!

Obama Day in London!

Yesterday, as you all know, was a very important day in America's history with inauguration of Barack Obama. Although we all know how important it is for our country to have this man as our new president, people around the world also feel the same way. British citizens absolutely love Obama, which to me seems crazy because what would the U.S. president have anything to do with them. But, in a sense, it has a lot to do with them. People in the U.K. sees him not only as a symbol of hope for America, but for the entire world since essentially he is the world leader. They also look at it like if we can have a man of color as our head of state then anywhere can. And besides that, they hated Bush and couldn't wait for him to get out of office. The papers not only have talked about how important Barack is to the world, but to Americans around the world like me. Alot of Americans who live over here have expressed their constant worry about telling others where they are from for fear it might lead to humiliation, since we are all like Bush right? But, now more and more people are talking about how they can be proud to say they are from since Obama is loved everywhere. To me, it seems silly and ignorant that other countries viewed us negatively just because our previous President couldn't do his job right, but if Obama turns that all around for Americans such as myself living on foreign soil then so be it. It'll my life a heck of a lot easier over here..Also, yesterday the pound to dollar ratio went down to an all time low of a little under $1.40 to their 1 pound which is the lowest its been since 2001. Hopefully it stays that way..

Anyways, to celebrate the inauguration Madame Tussauds let any American in for free yesterday. So, of course I jumped on that. I mean why not? They unveiled their Obama figure with a huge oval office set up right in the middle of the museum. It was actually fun just running around in there looking at all the wax figures, I'm sure as some of you may have experienced in the U.S. museums. Then afterwards, Jamie, Ellen, and I headed to the Hard Rock Cafe where they were holding a large inauguration party. For some reason, I thought there would be a lot of Americans there, but actually that wasn't the case. It was probably about 80% British people, with one lady who actually dyed her hair red, wore a blue cap, and was decked out in stars and stripes, which was a little comical I have to say. There was also an Obama lookalike that I guess has made appearances on the MTV here, which was funny, especially when he talked and had a British accent. Also, for some reason we were at the hotspot where news stations (including CBS) and newspaper people were sent to take pictures and video, so it seemed like there was always a camera in my face. So, I'm probably in some London newspaper somewhere waving an American flag. When the inauguration actually began, I was surprised at how quiet the room got. When he was sworn in, the cheering was almost a little crazy and some people even had tears in their eyes. His speech made the same impression on the crowd and it was kind of touching to see how people around the world had come together for this American occasion. I made a video of Obamas speech and how people reacted. It was definitly an experience I'm glad I was a part of, even it was far from home.

O I forgot...

I forgot to mention...when I was at Dover castle, I happened to see a man with a red jacket on. When he turned the corner in front of me, the red jacket had the block O on the front! I immediately said Go Bucks, and he turned around at me and said it back. I told him I grew up in Columbus and he said he was from Cleveland....go figure buckeye fans everywhere in the world. :)

Crazy weekend in the U.K.

Hello all! A lot has happened since the last time I wrote on this. Well, I had two interviews on Friday, one with an agency who picks people who they think they can place in temp jobs, and one for a receptionist job at a gym. Both went well, the woman at the agency who called me for the interview told me she thinks she can get me a job by this week sometime, which is fantastic. The other interview went good, but the hours and pay are not as good as what the agency can offer me, so I'll probably go with whatever the agency gets me. So, everything is starting to look up and hopefully I'll have some cash flow coming in so I can plan some trips!

After all the running around on Friday with the two interviews, it was nice to hear that my friend Jamie got us half priced tickets to the show Wicked. I've been wanting to see it for years now at home, so when I got the chance to see it here I was ecstatic. It was even better than I thought and Kerry Ellis played the wicked witch, who is also the voice on the Wicked CD (which my mom has and I recognized immediately) and played the role on Broadway. The story and music were beautiful...and I have to admit, I liked it better than the Wizard of Oz.

On Saturday I woke up early to take a day trip with BUNAC to Dover and Canterbury. Our first stop was to Dover, which is about an hour and half away from London, where I saw Dover Castle and the White Cliffs. Dover Castle sits at the top of a large cliff in the middle of Dover, where on a clear day you can supposedly see France. It actually turned out to be a really nice day...but although I tried, I couldn't see France. :( We got a chance when we got there to explore the castle, which is like any other castle with a moat and stone walls, except for the fact that you could look out onto the English Channel which was nice. We also got a tour underneath the castle of secret WWII tunnels used by the British forces. The tour actually became quite amusing after we found out how much our tour guide Colin loved dramatic pauses between every sentence... "And here we are at the switch board rooms where women worked...(pause)...and it was cold...(pause)....and damp...(dramatic pause)...and the mold would sometimes make conditions unbearable...(even more dramatic pause as he looked around the room)...and the women would sometimes faint at the lack of ventilation" And imagine it all in a British accent. Sometimes I couldn't help but giggle a little. But, the tunnels were actually pretty interesting. They consisted of command rooms, barracks, a whole hospital, cinema, and anything else needed for all three forces to plan attacks. We even were shown the tunnel Churchill would come in and out of when he was there. I guess the main battle planned there was the excavation of Dunkirk. After Hitler had taken over parts of France the Allied forces were split, part were in Britain and the other in Dunkirk, France. So, British Admiral Ramsay ordered the excavation of Dunkirk to hopefully save 50,000 British troops and it ended up saving 350,000 troops which was a huge success. After the tour, we climbed a little higher to see the white cliffs that they are so famous for, and since it was such a beautiful day my pictures turned out great. (And I made a little video for you to enjoy!)
From there we made our way to Canterbury. Its a really nice town with a mix of medieval times and modern architecture. When we got there, we had lunch at a nice cafe (where I had fish and chips) and then explored the town. We saw the Canterbury Cathedral where Archbishop Thomas Becket was beheaded by the king's guards and now stands a statue of him where its said that some who have stood next to it have had miracles happen to them. I'm not sure why though..The town also has a lot of nice little shops that we went in and out of, one coffee and tea shop we went in was going out of business and I got about four tall things of English tea for a pound. We also found ourselves in a fudge shop, for those of you who know me know it wasn't me pushing to go in there, but my friend Ellen persisted. They actually make the fudge in front of you and let us try some, and for someone like me who doesn't like fudge this was probably the best I've ever tasted. We actually hung around and talked to the workers there who had an uncanny fascination with the fact that we were Americans. The one girl kept telling us how much she wanted to go to America and asked if we had Lucky Charms there because supposedly they took them off the shelves in the U.K. a long time ago and they were her favorite. Another one of them asked us what a Twinkie was, which was funny to describe. But, then it was time to head back and by then we were exhausted.

Today, Jamie and I headed to the Camden markets. Pretty much they are just a line of stands with anything from clothes, shoes, bags, sport gear, etc. along the length of a street in Camden in London. I ended up getting a purse and hat for cheap...since I couldn't fit a purse in my suitcase on the way here and desperately needed. But, once I get a job I might go back and buy myself a pair of cheap shoes or clothes...but not until I get a job.

Anyways, tomorrow hopefully I'll hear from the agency or other jobs. Tuesday, as you know is inauguration day for Obama and London is actually having a lot of parties for it. Madame Tussauds, the wax museum, is unveiling their Barak Obama figure and any American who can prove it gets in free..so we might do it for the heck of it. Besides that, no plans for the rest of the week. I'll keep you updated! Keep the emails coming!

Learning, Traveling, and Job prospects

This has been quite an interesting week and it isn't even over yet. Many things have happened and are going to happen in the coming and last couple of days. I guess everything began on Tuesday when I went to the BUNAC offices to print off my resume and look for more job postings. I met my friend Ellen there and we began talking about traveling, our semi crazy lives, and the courage to move to a whole other country on our own at the age of 22. With both of us, we are the only people out of any of our friends to ever do anything like this, which I thought was interesting. But, the next night I ended up sitting down with my housemate Blake who is from Australian and talked for a couple of hours, comparing our different lives in each country. He also told me of all of his travels all over the world and showed me pictures of the places he's been. It's amazing how at the age of 26 how much of the world he's actually seen and still plans on seeing. Its funny though, we went into topics like college and home and each other's cultures expectations, and everything is just so different from each other. I guess when I found out that I was living with Aussies I really didn't think their lives were much different than ours. But, they are actually much different in alot of ways. For example, college in Australia is nothing like it is in the U.S. First off, you don't live on campus unless you're from "the country" (more like the desert) as he puts it or a foreigner. So, every college is a commute school and you just live at home or on your own somewhere..there is no campus life, no frat parties (he didn't even know anything about fraternities/sororities except for what he's seen in movies...that took awhile to explain), no going away for four years. Its just school, not really the experience like most of had when we went away to college, which for me I appreciate a little more now. He showed me pictures of his friends from home (I did the same for him, so he saw some of you) and where he lives in Sydney which is right next to the beach. Its actually quite beautiful. He told me of a trip he took once to go to a friend's wedding at a beach near the great barrier reef where he sailed a couple days before it on the ocean. I guess you just sleep on top of the boat every night under the stars where the only thing you hear is the sound of the ocean, which sounds like heaven. I think I've mentioned this in a previous blog, but the main difference I think between us is the normalness of leaving home after college and just traveling for a couple of years in Australia. For me, leaving home to move here, was an emotional decision due to it nonacceptance in the States. I mean how many of you actually know someone who did what I'm doing right now..just picking up after college and moving to a whole other country to work and essentially play. Honestly, I was terrified of it all because it was as if I was doing something so absurd and that putting my life on hold may have consequences to my future. Its just not normal. But, in Australia and many other places in the world, its highly accepted and encouraged, which in my mind should be changed in the states. In just living here with these Australians and talking with them, I have learned so much about the world already and its something I think everyone should experience. I'm excited to meet more people and take all of this in everyday, and frankly I'm glad I decided to go against the norm.

Besides, my little life lessons I'm learning, today was Chris' last day in London before he heads back to Chicago so Brendan, Ellen, Jamie, and I all had lunch with him before he left. It was kind of bittersweet because he's been such a huge part of me getting acquainted with this city, so its sad to see him go. But, today was also an exciting day because I got calls for two interviews tomorrow! One is for a receptionist position at a gym and the other is for an agency that places selected people for temporary office work. So, hopefully I'll get one or both and have some options.

Tomorrow I am going to go see Wicked with Ellen and Jamie which I can't wait for. At home I was dying to see it so I am excited to see it here. I plan on going to a couple different shows here, especially We Will Rock You and Sister Act the Musical which only play in London. Saturday I am taking a day trip with BUNAC to see Dover and Canterbury. We get a tour of Dover Castle and the medieval town of Canterbury where the setting of Canterbury Tales takes place. I guess on a clear day you can see France from the Dover cliffs, so that'll be nice. Besides that I am not sure! I'll keep you all updated....