May 2012
12 posts
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Chocolate Covered Waffles
Belgium
Sage and I had discussed going to Belgium several times, but it was always very expensive. Finally, she found a deal online and we were able to go over our long Easter weekend. What better place to celebrate a chocolate holiday than the land where it was perfected? We took the longest overnight bus ever; in fact it ran into the next day. Note: make sure your driver knows where he is going,...
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Elle, this is a tragedy. And every tragedy...
Legally Blonde the Musical
Sage and I went to see Legally Blonde. Like Matilda, we lined up in the morning and got tickets. Unlike Matilda, people properly queued, and we got 3rd row seats with an amazing view! And yes, we wore pink on purpose.
I was already really familiar with the movie, like Sage, but also I knew the music because they are doing the same show on Broadway. They sang it very...
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Steamy Water in a Strange Town
Bath
Bath is a weird town. I can’t really describe it too much, it is this complete mish mash of new and old, from the buildings to the culture, to the people themselves. Amy and I really wanted to see the Roman Baths, who wouldn’t when it is just a few hours on a bus away? It also made a lot of connections for us, the roman history of England to the England history of England, from religion to...
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Thames of Tea and a Tiny Town
Greenwich
Again, I was not feeling my best on this day, but I was determined not to miss out on the class trip to Greenwich. We went with our politics class, I’m still not sure how it relates to the class besides the fact if parliament was in jeopardy they would move to the university, but it was fun to see nonetheless. We took a tour boat on the Thames to get there, rather the tube or the...
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Sunny Day
It was one of the first nice days we had, no rain and we actually saw the sun! In addition, I was on the mend after being up and down for weeks. I figured the sunshine would be good for me. We took the tube out, and after a bit of a hike uphill (I had been sick! It felt like a hike!) We sat on top of the heath overlooking central London. We were really in the suburbs of London, school children...
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Girl Scout Cookies, Goldfish, Panera
My best friend’s mom, my second mom, sent me a care package with Girl Scout Cookies.
Colliding at this same point in time was when I started really missing American food. We spent a whole interval during the play Bingo discussing what foods we were going to eat when we were back in the states. From Panera to Goldfish to Nutterbutters, there were quite a few things on our collective list....
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Wait... that part doesn't match that part?
Hampton Court Palace
Hampton court palace, just a short train ride from central London is a beautiful place, inside and out. It was originally built in the Tudor period under King Henry VIII, and the architecture reflects. It was then added to in the Baroque period, so one can see the stark contrast of design plans. It makes the palace unique and special. The gardens were based on...
The English Medical System
No one wants to get sick, especially on a study abroad. Lucky for me, I managed to stay healthy while everyone else experience mild colds and coughs. Unlucky for me, I managed to catch the plague, or least what I imagine the plague to feel like. The week after excursion week, I began to feel run down, and was slightly feverish… then my lymph nodes in my neck swoll to 18 times their...
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Sometimes You Have to be a Little Bit Naughty
Matilda the Musical
I saw the poster for Matilda the Musical in the tube and knew I had to find a way to go see it.
It was one of my favorite books, and I absolutely adored the movie. A musical?? It was the perfect trifecta. I explored a bit, and found out that 10 £5 student tickets were sold at 10 am every day of the performance. Sage and I naively woke up one morning, around 8 am...
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St Patrick's Day... Week?
Dublin
What can I say about Dublin; to be perfectly honest, I thought it was a crowded more expensive version of London. The crowded part may have been due to the fact it was St Patrick’s week, I’m not sure. Also, coming from falling in love with Scotland, it was hard to hold a candle to that. On top of that, we thought that there would be more to do in Dublin, so we gave it too many days. Two...
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The Land of Liquid Sunshine
Edinburgh
The program here allows us to have 2 weeks off. The second is a free-for-all spring break, but the first is “excursion week,” where we are given £100 to travel anywhere we want in the British Isles. Originally, Amy and I were going to travel around the English coastline. We sort of tossed that idea away when we realized it would be the perfect time to see Scotland and...
April 2012
7 posts
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Artwork of the Ages
National Art Gallery
National Portrait Gallery
Amy and I were feeling very artistic one day and decided to conquer both the National Art Gallery and the National Portrait Gallery. You could spend days in both, if you were to stare at every piece and read about each piece. Amy and I are not those kind of people, we know what we like; so we stare at things we like and gloss over the...
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Ummmm…. Hogwarts? Jude Law? Doctor Who?
Court pub quiz
We took Nikita to The Court, our favorite pub, for dinner on Sunday. Sunday night is quiz night at the Court. It’s great for the pub, because it attracts a lot of people on a day that would otherwise be empty. Everything in London closes at 6 on Sundays. Ok, not everything, but the city really does rest on this “holy” day. Anyways, we were not going to embarrass...
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There’s a Bridge, a Tower, a Clock, and a Palace
Nikita visiting
I have known Nikita for almost 10 years now, we started out doing Girl Scouts together, went to the same high school, and have become very good friends.
She is currently studying abroad in Denmark, and it was really exciting to have her come in and visit London for the weekend. Roma (my best friend from home, also studying abroad in London) and I took her...
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National Express 007 to Dover
Dover
The White Cliffs of Dover are iconic to the English seaside, and it’s clear to see why. Not only are they a military stronghold, they are just beautiful. No wonder it was on our list to see.
We woke up at the crack of dawn to race to Victoria Station to catch a National Express to Dover. We joked that our bus was “double oh-seven,” and that one of us wasn’t coming...
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Will the Speaker Give Way?
Interactions with English Government
Our wonderful politics professor, former Sergeant at Arms Muir Morton, got us into Parliament for a tour. It seemed that our professor knew more than the tour guide. I think that Muir would have preferred to take us around, but you know, the rules. I thought the inside of parliament was beautiful. Part of it was burned down, but then it was rebuilt...
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March 2012
2 posts
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My British Sex Education
Natural History Museum
I have lived outside DC my whole life, and therefore have gone to the Smithsonian Natural History museum say, 1000 times with school. In addition, I was an intern for the museum’s conservation department for a winter term. To state that I am intimate with the goings-on of a natural history museum is not an exaggeration. Consequently, I was really excited to see...
February 2012
12 posts
12 tags
When I feel like knocking people’s hats, I take to...
Jane’s
A few weekends ago, I went to my friend Jane’s with Saige and Katie (two other girls in the program). I met Jane the summer before last at jew camp (sleep-away summer camp for Jewish kids).
I hadn’t seen her in a year and a half!! I was SUPER excited to go see her; we still kept in touch over facebook, etc. I remembered her talking about her uni at camp, and I really wanted to see it. She...
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OFF WITH HER HEAD
The Tower and Tower Hill
We walked by Tower Hill one of the first few days we were here, just as one of those things that we hadtoseerightawaybecausewe’reinlondon!!! To say that it is a historical landmark is an understatement. It is a historical masterpiece and a testament to the monarchy, and humanity on the whole. Not only is it HUGE it has survived so much, seen so much blood, it is almost...
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Hell hath no fury...
Boudica
We heard a lot about Boudica in the first few weeks at London. We spoke about her in Brit Sem, watched a video about her, and even got to visit her statue. She was a force to be reckoned with, a woman so strong-minded she took on a military force that was so powerful, it is still know to this day, the Roman Empire. When her husband died, the Romans took away her kingdom, and what she was...
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Bit of Brit Humour
After we were doing some walking around from Tower Hill to London Bridge, we happened upon a card store, Shelly wanted to go in and look at some Valentine’s day cards. We ended up staying a bit longer than expected, just because the cards were so ridiculously funny, and not at all what you would find in America. Some were just plain cute and nerdy
And some we really didnt get:
And...
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Not just a pile of old stones...
All Hallows Barking by the Tower
Unlike many other “places to see” in London, All Hallows felt different to me immediately. Instead of paying £13 to get in, I was met with a church bulletin board filled with special services, concerts, and children’s activities. Even though it is famed as the oldest church in London, it was not “Disney-itized,” there was not a significant touristy atmosphere, one...
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GOING TO MY FIRST FOREVER 21 IN LONDON. AND POSSIBLY TOP SHOP. I may be more excited for this than seeing the oldest church in london. dont judge.
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Frolic in the Snow
After braving the snow and the tube, we had our first Pizza Express! Pretty cheap, especially if you’re sharing between people. We just got cheese pizza, dough balls, and salad (just SO adventurous you know) but it was really very good, better than Dominos…
As night further fell, the snow only came down harder. It was quite beautiful so Amy and I adventured outside, and took a walk...
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First Adventure to the British Museum
Thursday morning was our first British Seminar class, and my only morning class. Yes, after taking all morning chemistry and biology classes, I have arranged this semester to have to get up before 9am only once a week.
Perusing through the syllabus showed that Brit Sem (what the cool kids call British Seminar) is going to be pretty free form, which is great, that the students can focus on what is...
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Cheers mate!
I had my first legal drink!
We went to this pub called The Court, and as it happens they do amazing student deals, so I was able to drink a pint of ale for just 1.50£!
We got a bit daring, and plucked up the courage to talk to a few locals. We found out they were students from University College London, just across the street from where we live. Sarah made friends with a ginger, who she...
January 2012
10 posts
12 tags
Is English Breakfast tea in the morning just...
Today was my first full day in London. We had a short orientation this morning. The only the surprise rule was that we are not allowed to wear pajamas to breakfast.
Breakfast in the basement of our own house.
Breakfast early in the morning.
However, we managed to find out sweatpants were acceptable. Look whos wearing sweatpants to bed now. Then we did a short walk around the block, which included...
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“Today, I ate a tomato for the first time, maybe ever. It was pressed on a...”
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Toronto Pearson International Airport
So apparently, when you tell STA that you want to fly to London from Florida, albeit a little over one month before departure, the most logical way to take a girl is via Toronto, Canada. I departed my sunny Floridian beachside home for the frigid north earlier this afternoon. My jaw dropped as we were landing; that it was -4 degrees out in Canada. And no kids, that is not Celsius but in...
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“I’m leaving today!! First to Toronto, then on to London! Good bye Eckerd,...”
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10 days till I leave for London!! I can count that on my fingers! I don’t even have to use toes!!
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“You find no man, at all intellectual, who is willing to leave London. No, Sir,...”
– Samuel Johnson 