Oxford!

Yesterday, a bus of about 20 people from the program traveled the hour and a half trip to Oxford. Diane, our tour guide, led us through the history of Oxford and all its buildings. It was a beautiful day, perfect for being outside. We arrived in Oxford around 11 am and Diana took us on a walking tour. We passed all of the famous colleges and Diana gave us a famous person who attended each one. We also saw the Martyrs statue which was built for Archbishop Thomas Cranmer and the two bishops Latimer and Ridley. Thomas Cranmer issued Henry VIII's divorce to Catherine of Aragon and all of the bishops were part of the reformation. So when Mary Tudor became queen (Catherine's daughter) she tried to restore Catholicism and had the bishops burned at the stake. We got to see the cobblestone with an X on it on the street where they were burned. 

After touring the town, we had some free time to do whatever we please. The flat mates and I went and ate at Eagle and Child pub. This was a popular hang out for C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. When we finished eating, we roamed around tow

n looking at historical buildings. Then we met with Diana and some of the other group members to take a tour through Christ Church.

Christ Church was originally supposed to be a college sponsored by Cardinal Woolsey, but when the Cardinal fell from King Henry's good graces, the King made it into Christ Church. Christ Church is also the filming area for some of Harry Potter! The main dinning hall is where Hogwarts dinning hall is filmed and the stairs leading up to the dinning hall are also featured in the films. Remember when Neville Longbottom loses his toad on the stairs... those are the stairs :). We toured the cathedral and the chapel where there are many memorials and burials of famous people. It was a very historically interesting day, and Oxford is absolutely beautiful!

We got home from Oxford around 5:00. The flat was a stir because at 6:45 the season finale of Britain's Got Talent was on! We had to see if Susan Boyle would win... unfortunately she did not. Dang.. we were all rootin for you Susan! After the Finale, the girls and I made an alcohol run and then came back to the flat for some flat mate bonding! 

Today we have been doing our very fun and educational project (not) that is due tomorrow. Nothing like waiting till the last minute...

Give em a little Razzle Dazzle!

So today started off a bit slow and ended with a bang! Or two bangs from Roxy Hart! The flat was stirring around 9 am this morning as we all buzzed around in preparation for class. BLC. British Life and Culture or what I like to call it, Boring Lame Class!!!!! I do admit, I love listening to the speaker with his British accent and sometimes the content is a little interesting, its just that three hours sitting in a classroom while I am in LONDON is not ok with me. It was alright though, I completed two people puzzlers during the period :). 

After class was over, we came back to the flat and ate lunch. We then headed over to STA travel to book our trip for Paris next w

eekend. We leave on Friday and then spend two whole days in France... ahh I am so excited. A wee bit pricey, but what can you do... its PARIS! When our itinerary had been finalized, we all went 

to the laundry mat across the street. Then Linder (thats what we call Linden since everything in British ends with r) and I sat at the laundry place while Shandir (thats what we 

call Sh

andi for the afore mentioned reason) and Kristen went to TKTS to find us some cheap theater tickets! We scored with great 

seats at the Cambridge Theater for a West End (like Broadway) production of Chicago. 

So we finished the laundry, ate dinner, got ready and headed over to Covent Garden for the show. It was marvelous. A very well put on show. The dancers bodies make me never want to eat again... I say as I take another bite of ice cream...  and I am sure I will be humming all the songs for weeks to come... and all that jazz...  :) 

Day 1 in the Real Working World - exhausting!

I don't know how you old people do it... Working from 9:30-5:30 is exhausting. But it was fun and exciting all at the same time! Shandi and I got up this morning and put on our previously selected outfits. We took the long tube ride to the intimidating office building and slowly approached the stairs. We received our temp/free lance passes to let us in to the building - these cards are also used to swipe open the doors! It is very high tech... 

When we got upstairs, we met with Jenni Middleton, the editor, and she told us a little bit of what we would be doing. Then we promptly got to work. Our first task was to complete this months Reader Panel. We had to take questions that had been answered by salon owners (by the way salon is pronounced SALon - emphasis on the first syllable) and put them into an InDesign layout.. it was very official and quite fun actually. Then we had a one hour break for lunch.

After we returned from lunch, we got to work on our next task. We emailed and phoned like 50 people about the 50 Most Desirable Salons for 2009. It was not fun... then Laura McCreddie edited our Reader Panel and said she was very impressed!!! :) Finally, the clock rolled around to 5:30 and Shandi and I bolted out of there like the place was burning down. "Head for the Hills" we said. We then got on the tube during rush hour which was also NOT FUN. 

We got home around 6:15. Now we are lazily attempting to do our homework and of course we are having a feeding frenzy of our new fetish... ice cream :). Late night run to Sainsburys  anyone? 

Henry the VIII 6 wives he wedded...

Henry the VII 6 wives he wedded. One survived, one died, two divorced, two beheaded!

It is official. Today I went to the Tower of London. It was ev

erything I had hoped and more! It was awesome to see the actual walkways that Anne Boleyn walked on. We stood in the very spot were her head was cut from her body! The coolest part was probably the Traitors Gate. It is the moat you see in movies where people are being taken by a small boat to the Tower to be imprisoned. The actually steps that Anne Boleyn walked up to m

eet her untimely demise are still there! It was awesome... We also go

t to see the bell tower where Sir Thomas Moore was housed before his execution and where Queen Elizabeth I was imprisoned before she was queen because she was suspected of trying to overthrow her sister Queen Mary. AHHH! I may sound like a huge nerd for saying this, but it gave me goose bumps. The fact that it was freezing rain and windy as all get out just made the experience that much more exciting. It was as if God was setting the stage for this historical tour ha ha. 

I could go on and on about the tour, but I suppose I will stop... we got back to the flat and ate a quick lunch before heading off to our first internship class. The class consisted of us typing for an hour and a half. Questions were put on the board, and we had to

 type our answers. I typed four pages (single spaced!). It was not fun. Then we went around the room and talked about everyones job placement and interviews. Lots of people got some really cool internships and it was fun to hear about them. 

After class, we came back to the flat for some flat mate bonding and now we are all nervously pondering tomorrow's activities... our first day of work - DUM DUM DUUUUUHHHMM! I work until 5:30 and then I have to work on a group project at 6. I will report back after my long day tomorrow. 

Hello, My name is Claire. I am an intern at Professional Beauty Magazine!

Today was the big day - our internship interviews. The whole flat was a stir this morning with wardrobe options and hair preparations. Shandi and I left for our interviews at 9:50 and arrived in Mornington Crescent, where The Greater London House building is (i.e. EMap where Professional Beauty is housed) at around 10:30. We grabbed a quick coffee to kill some time at a place around the corner called Costa Coffee (a place I feel like we will be frequenting). Then we nervously made our anxious walk up the stairs to this amazing infrastructure. We found our way to the front desk of Emap and received our visitor passes (only temporary passes mind you :) ). Then we waited.... and down the stairs came Laura McCreddie, assistant editor of Professional Beauty. She is a very trendy, very small young woman. As she approached we stood up and her first reaction to me was "Oh my God you are tall" (read with British accent so it sounds cooler).  

After meeting Laura, she told us a little bit about Professional Beauty, had one-on-one convos with Shandi and me and then showed us around the office. We were introduced to the other staff members Agatha (a fellow intern) and Sarah. The editor Jenni Middleton was out of town. After all of our questions were answered (what to wear, when to be there, what we would be doing) we were escorted downstairs where our new badges were made. No more visitor passes for us! Oh and P.S. - Professional Beauty works in close proximity to a fashion magazine that is said to be TWO YEARS ahead of the fashion curve.. Vogue even relies on them for ideas (GASP). 

After we all returned from our interviews, we decided to take a tour of St. Paul's Cathedral. By the time we got there, the last tour had already left so we scratched that idea and headed to the British Museum. It was very cool - we spent most of the time stalking the Greek statues area. Our feet were starting to hurt so we decided to head home. 

It is now 5:38 and the flat mates are all blogging. Plans for this evening - a trip to King's Head pub for some Lager and Ale... yummmmmm. Then perhaps a stop at Sainsburys for our new obsession - Ben and Jerry's Ice cream... how American of us ;)

TOMORROW, the fateful trip to the TOWER shall commence!!!!! yayay

Interview Preparations!

This morning, one of my flat mates, Shandi, and I got up to "practice" the tube stops going to our interview. It takes 40 minutes to get to where we will be working! We got to see the building where Professional Beauty magazine is located and it is HUGE! Very intimidating... and exciting. When we got back from the practice journey, the other flat mates joined us and we bravely ventured to Oxford Street. Oxford Street houses some of the best shopping in London and since it was a Bank Holiday today, it was crowded to say the least. After popping in to H&M and grabbing a quick bite, we headed towards Primark, which is basically "Forever 21 on Crack" (thank you Linden for that quote). It is super cheap and super stylish and SUPER PACKED~!!! It was hot, steamy and I felt very claustrophobic. Needless to say, we didn't last long in Primark before deciding to come back and try later. 

We arrived home around 4:00 pm  and then went up to CAPA to print off clips and CVs (more commonly known as resumes in the States) to take with us to our interviews. Then we stopped off at Sainsburys to do a bit of grocery shopping. Now we are chillin out in the flat and preparing for our interviews tomorrow!

Will report back with interview results...

Went Lounging in Hyde Park Today

Beautiful day in London today at a whopping 77 degrees. The girls and I went to Covent Garden this morning and strolled along the street shops. Much to our disappointment, we could not find the actual garden and also doubted that there was even a garden there to begin with. Then we decided to try and find Abbey Road where the Beatles took that famous crosswalk picture and where the record label is located. Well, we couldn't find that either. We went to Camden Town instead of Camden borough. 

After two strikes, we packed up our things and headed off to Hyde park for a day of productivity in the sun. It was gorgeous and a perfect day to lounge in the park. The park was buzzing with babies, puppies, and young couples in love.... and  6 college students from America. We spent a good three hours in the sun and then headed back to the flat. We fixed dinner, got some ice cream, and plopped ourselves down in front of our infinitesimal television to watch Britains Got Talent! Its on to studying, homework, and prepping for our interviews for the rest of the evening!

I am going to HOGWARTS!!!!

Last night, the flat mates and I went to platform 9 3/4 at King Cross station. If you don't read Harry Potter, this is the portal that the kids take to get to Hogwarts. As the gracious home to the portal, the real life King's Cross station kindly put a travel cart halfway through the wall for nerdy tourists to take pictures. It was brilliant! Then afterwards, we hiked up to Primrose Hill in Primrose park to check out the amazing view. It was a lot of fun and beautiful. Then we came home and hung out before heading off to bed.

Today has been a pretty slow day. We got up early and traveled to Portobello Market in Notting Hill... Mom, you will love it. We shopped around and then grabbed lunch. The jet lag must still be plaguing us because we all came back to the flat and passed out for a good three hour nap. We just ate dinner and are planning some travel excursions for the upcoming months... Paris? Spain? hmmm where to go where to go... 

We are also attempting to plan a trip to Pemberly, the famous home of Mr. Darcy. So far it is going to take us a 20 minute tube ride, to get on a 3 hour train ride, to then walk 6 miles to the house... we aren't sure if this is going to pan out. 

Until next time...

Dinos and Dancing!

Yesterday I found out where I will be interviewing for my internship. I have an interview on Tuesday with Professional Beauty Magazine. Its a magazine that caters to the needs of salons and spas.  Bouyana, the girl who set up the internship, said that it is 80% writing and editing and that there is no other program with interns for me to compete against. So I would really have to screw it up to not get the position. Also, one of my flat mates, Shandi, will be interviewing there too to work with me! I am glad I got an oyster card because the building I will be working in is about a 45 minute tube ride away! Yikes! So I am really excited and I will let everyone know how it goes.

Later that afternoon, my flat mates and I journeyed down Cromwell to visit the Natural History Museum! It was awesome and exhausting. That places is huge! I took plenty of pictures with the dinos and usually revealed my knowledge of dinosaurs to everyone by referencing the characters in land before time... "Hey, there is Sarah! The triceratops!" etc. We grabbed lunch at a little cafe and then took the tube home. 

After lounging for a while, we all decided to go to the Zoo Bar in Leicester Square. We made reservations so we could get on the guest list (impressive I know!) and wouldn't have to pay cover or stand in line. We took the tube there and it was so much fun! We danced all night and met tons of cute foreign boys, also tons of not so cute and very creepy foreign boys. By 2:00 am, our feet were killing us and we decided to head home. Well, trouble is that the tube closes at midnight, none of us had any money for a cab and we had no idea where a bus stop was! Needless to say, we figured it out and got home safely. Then we had to get up early this morning for our first 3 hour class... yuck.... it was not fun!

Now our flat is resting until our next big adventure this evening. Expected plans: we are thinking of going to Primrose Hill to see a spectacular view of the city... sigh... I love London.  

THEY ARE HERE!!!

At 8:15 on the evening of May 20, 2009 my luggage arrived at 40 Hogarth Flat 2!!!!!

4 days... still no luggage... so I went shopping :)

Well the countdown is on. It has been four days that I have been without ANY of my things except for what I have on my body and my laptop... But I was given full permission from my parents to start a new wardrobe :) and I took full advantage! Ok Ok I only bought a few things but it was still fun shopping in London. The delivery company says my things are "scheduled" to be delivered today (it is not 7:34 pm). They were also "scheduled" to be delivered yesterday so we will see what happens. 

Today we had our academic orientations which basically told us our class schedule for the rest of the summer. A few classes I actually have to do stuff for, yuck. They actually want me to learn while I am in London! I am learning! I am learning that there is an H&M and Top Shop on Kensington High Street which is within walking distance of me :) and that HoneyDew lager is delicious! Also, learning that Amsterdam is NOT in Germany... who knew... (long story involving cute British boy and stupid American geography lessons). 

Today we also had student travel agencies come and let us know some great deals for weekend trips! This put me in a very happy mood. Three days in Ireland, two night stay in Amsterdam and then Paris, sounds like a deal to me! 

Tomorrow we will find out where we will be interviewing for our internships. The interview is next week which gives me plenty of time to map out and practice the tube route that I will have to take. Providing that I DO get the job, I will start work next Thursday. Classes start this Friday and we don't have class on Monday because of the Bank Holiday. YAY FOR NO CLASS! 

I am now going to make a list of where I want to go in London, when my weekend trips will be, wait patiently for my luggage (fingers crossed!!!!!!) and then head to the pub! Thank goodness for that! Don't worry mom, I am not an alcoholic! 

Long Day in Central London!!!

The day started early at 8:45. My flat mates and I went and got coffee at a little coffee shop on the corner. Then we boarded a coach with the other International Enrichment students and had a guided tour of panoramic London. We drove by the Tower of London and it was amazing... people actually LIVE in the tower now! We learned little bits of history along the tour like there are Ravens that live in the Tower of London because it is said that if there is ever a time where there are no Ravens at the tower then the British Monarchy will crumble, so the yoemans that live in the tower feed 6 ravens (and two stand-by ravens in case something should happen) and tend to them with love and joy. The tour also took us past the palace where Prince Charles lives and Buckingham Palace where the Queen Mother lives some of the time and they were both there! You can tell if their flag with their crest on it is flying above the house. We got to see the changing of the guards and much much more. It was a great tour.

The tour bus dropped us off in Piccadilly's Circus and we were set free in the center of London. My flat mates and I (Claire and Kristin are my flat mates) decided to walk up to Oxford Road and do a bit of shopping. We stopped at H&M and Top Shop. The fashion here is overwhelming! I had more fun just admiring the risky and very fashionable outfits worn by the shoppers at the store than I did looking at the clothes! After we shopped we headed down to the underground to test our tube-traveling skills. We purchased our Oyster cards (the cards that save money while using the tube) and they cost a fortune! But it gets us a whole months worth of travel, so it will come in handy. So we took the Piccadilly Line to Gloucauster Road and got off there to walk to Imperial to see if my luggage was there. No dice. And I would have called the airport with my new phone I bought but it wasn't working. So then we walked back from the school and I went to the phone shop, got my phone fixed, called the airport, and found out that my luggage left the airport at 10 am but hasn't gotten to its destination yet. 

So now I am resting my feet and waiting to hear from the delivery company about my luggage. Hopefully, we are going out tonight but I will not be if I have to wear this stinkin (literally) outfit again! 

Thats all for now! P.S. Morgan! I found some "slim" Havianas (thats what they are called with the skinny straps) at Top Shop so we will go there when you come! 

I arrived in London, however my luggage did not!!!

I arrived in London at 8:00 am London time (2:00 am Missouri time) and slept a grand total of 30 minutes on the flight. The first day in London has been fabulous, but there have been some minor set backs.

First of all, my flight from Kansas City was supposed to leave at 1:30 and get there at 3 which gave me plenty of time to get to my gate in Chicago by 5. After saying good-bye to my family, I ended up sitting in the airport for two more hours because the plane had some mechanical difficulties! They had to get a mechanic to fix the plane and then test run the engines. Everything checked out ok, but I didn't get to Chicago until 4:35 and I had to take a train to get to the international terminal! When I got there, a lady who works for International Enrichment asked if I was Claire and told me I had about ten minutes to get my ticket, get through security and make it to the gate on time. I made it at exactly 5:00 when boarding began. 

So I made my flight, and that was marvelous, however my two 60 lb bags full of clothing, SHOES, and toiletries did not make the flight to London. HOPEFULLY, they will be delivered to Imperial College tomorrow around lunch time. 

Main point is, I made it to London, I have awesome flat mates, the flats aren't as terrible as they made them out to seem, I might lose some weight this summer because so far I don't like the food, or I might stay equal because so far I DO love the beer. I AM LEGAL IN LONDON BABY! So even though I haven't slept in about 36 hours, I am wearing, and will be wearing, the same clothes I left my house in at 9:00 am yesterday morning, and I have absolutely none of my things except my laptop.... LONDON IS AMAZING AND I LOVE IT!

Its time for bed here in London. It is 9:30 and I am pooped (3:30 in Missouri) Will report back soon...

Twas the night before departure...

Twas the night before departure, and emotions were stirring.

It is the eve of my departure to Merry Ol' London Town and I couldn't be more excited. Although, at this point my nerves are overriding my enthusiasm, I still can't wait for my summer of adventure to begin. After packing for three days, and then repacking everything after weighing the luggage, I am now less worried that I might be taking too much. 

After consulting Frommer and Fodor, I feel sufficient in my travel skills and what I have to look forward to in the months to come. One of the places I can't wait to visit: the Tower of London, where some of England's most famous and infamous historical figures literally lost their heads. This eagerness could be because of my love for history and the B.A. rule of Queen Elizabeth I or because of my new found obsession with the Showtime series "The Tudors". Of course Westminster Abbey and Buckingham Palace are on my to do list as well. And who could forget one of the most exciting things about London.... the shopping! My dad asked me today if there was one thing that I was really excited about bringing home from London, my response: a pair of Jimmy Choos, duh. Look out retail, here I come. 

Some other things on my to-do list:

1. Go to a Cricket Match

2. Live like a local and all that entails: 

a. finding cute coffee shops

b. perusing about market places

c. Finding hole-in-the-wall pubs 

d. Etc.

3. Meet my future husband with a lovely british accent (ha ha just kidding)

4. Have unforgettable moments with unforgettable people

Some people might think that this list is a bit ambitious for a Summer in London, but I say its all in a days work of being a world traveler (thats what my family likes to call me). Plus, I have a little encouragement from the fates! The other night at my fair-well dinner at PF Changs with the fam I was given a boost of excitement. Our bellies were full, and our waiter casual tossed fortune cookies around the table. Everyone read their fortunes aloud and I found mine to be quite fitting. Mine read: Many pleasurable and memorable adventures are in store for you!

Now how perfect is that...

I will report back soon, and this time it will be from across the Atlantic!!!