Let's go to Brussels for a field trip!

So this whole studying abroad thing is pretty cool. We are learning about the European Union in my political science class, so instead of just reading and talking about it, they decide to go to the actual EU headquarters in Brussels, Belgium. We left Sunday afternoon and took the Eurostar train to Brussels. The train goes through a tunnel under the English Channel and takes about 2 hours. We got to Brussels in the evening and checked into our hostel. We then decided that we needed to do some research about the local culture, so we went to find some Belgian beer. We found a restaurant in the city center and told the waiter to give us some good Belgian beer because we had no clue what any of the beers were on the menu. The beer was kind of light, and didn't taste much different than any other beer I've had. After dinner, we went to a bar and proceeded to walk through thick clouds of smoke to get to the counter and order. This time, the beer I got was darker and actually tasted good. Anyway, enough about beer, the night was fun as we explored the city, and I even got to speak a little french to a local, asking him "où est les toilettes?" (meaning "where is the toilet?", of course).

The next day, we got dressed in our business casual and walked over to the European Council building. The European Council consists of the heads of state or government of the 27 member states. They have the ability to influence policy in the EU, but I'm still trying to figure out their exact purpose. We listened to a portuguese man speak about the Council. He talked for an hour and basically told us the same things we had already heard in class. Next, we had a break for lunch and then went to the European Parliament. Again, we heard a guy speak about the same things we already knew from class, but we got to see the actual parliament chamber, which looks a lot like the Congress chambers. That night, after Lena and I got our Belgian chocolate waffles, we were feeling European and decided to sit outside at a restaurant and order wine and sit for a while and drink. Two of our friends joined us later and we went to another cute restaurant and ordered more wine. French wine is absolutely delicious, nothing compared to the cheap stuff I'm used to from home, and we had a very relaxing last night in Brussels.

The next day, we went to the Boston University in Brussels facility to listen to an American from NATO speak. His talk was very interesting and I really enjoyed it, especially because I don't really know much about NATO. After that, we had some free pizza (from Pizza Hut, of course) and had a couple of hours to explore before we went back to the Eurostar for our train ride back to London. The city itself is very dark, and the buildings are pretty much all the same dull grey color, but we did find a beautiful square called "The Grand Place" and the area we were in most of the time has a lot of small, cobbled-stoned streets. Overall, it was a good trip, but it was also super exhausting and we slept for a full 12 hours once we got back to our dorms.

It's time for a Bath, and other adventures

We went to Bath (the place in England, not to wash ourselves) on Saturday to see the Roman Baths and walk around the town. I had been to Bath once before, but I don't remember it the same way as I saw it this time around. I guess when I was an eighth grader I had even less patience than I have now, because I don't remember the baths being so big. There was way more to see than I thought and it took way longer to get through them than I remember. The Roman Baths are basically old Roman spas from the time when the Romans inhabited England. You can tell that they were once beautiful and grand, but now they are simply crumbling, moldy remains of old stone. My favorite part about the baths is the bath with the hot spring feeding into it because you can see the green water boiling, which I thought was pretty neat. After touring that whole thing, we went to get a quick bite to eat. Kelly and I found a cafe and got cornish pasties, which were absolutely delicious (mine was filled with roasted veggies) and walked around the town. Turns out Jane Austen used to live in Bath during her time, which isn't surprising because the town is small, but very cute, with a small river running through it. We also saw Bath Abbey, but didn't go in because we had to rush back to the bus to go to our second destination.


Next we went to Avebury, which is basically a field full of big rocks positioned in some mysterious way. It's like Stonehenge, but you can actually climb these rocks instead of just looking at them from afar. I had been to Avebury before as well, but it was worth going back because we got to climb some rocks, be one with nature, make friends with some roaming goats, and commune with the aliens (which is one theory for how the rocks got to where they are). Anyways, it was a good time.

you should probably be jealous of my life right now, just saying.

Today me and Lena decided to go to STA Travel and ask for advice on booking our week-long trip to Prague, Budapest, and Istanbul for after the program is over. We have been looking up flights and trains and hostels online and were nervous that we weren't going to get the best deals and good hostels so we went in for some help. We officially changed our flights back to the States for a week later (December 19th) and so with that done it was time to book travel to our exciting destinations. We went in there thinking we would get some tips on airlines and websites and some guidance on hostels, but we came out with the entire trip booked. It's one of the most spontaneous things we have done, but so amazing. The guy found us great deals, which STA gets discounts for on top of them being great deals, and decided that we were not going to find anything cheaper, especially since we had been looking for a week and found nothing for as cheap and as trustworthy as the things he found for us.  So when he gave us the total and asked if we wanted to book then, we had to say yes! We are spending two nights in each place and we couldn't be more excited for our eastern european adventure to begin! Now we just need to figure out things to do once we get there! Woohooooo! Can you tell I'm super pumped for this??
So where should I go when I'm in Prague, Budapest, and Istanbul?? And what does Budapest even look like...? Haha I guess I've got a lot of researching to do!

Journeys in England

So I havent posted anything in a while, London has been distracting me. Me and Lena have been exploring this fine city. Last week we went to the Natural History Museum, which was full of dinosaurs and taxidermied animals. I have a fear of birds, and in order to get to the room with all the pretty jewels and gems you have to walk through the room full of stuffed birds. I say walk, but I ran through that room, eyes to the floor. When I did eventually look up, to my surprise I saw a stuffed Baltimore Oriole among the mounted beasts. Naturally, I took a picture of it and finished my dash to the end of the room. After the museum, we decided to go look at Buckingham Palace. I felt like the paparazzi taking pictures of a celebrity, and proceeded to take way too many pictures of the building (which isn't as pretty as the beautiful golden gate that surrounds it) and of the Princess Diana Memorial Fountain directly in front of the palace.


On Saturday we went to the amazing Portobello Market, which is essentially a giant flea market spanning the length of Portobello Road. There were hundred of stands and shops, most being antique shops or cheap clothing stands. There is also a section where there is a framer's market type thing where they sell all sorts of food, both unprepared and prepared. I bought a few things and, needless to say, we are definitely going back and exploring what we didn't discover during this trip.


Sunday was our day trip to Brighton, on the southern coast of England, on the English Channel. First we went to the Royal Pavilion, built by King George IV and decorated on the inside in Chinese style and Indian style on the outside. The Pavilion was home to George IV, his brother William IV, and their niece Queen Victoria. Victoria sold the house to the community of Brighton and it is now re-decorated to look as it did when George IV lived there. We went on a tour of the building, which is beautiful, but a little tackily overdone. We then went to look at the water by the pier (which resembles the Santa Monica Pier with its rides and crowds). The water is a clear, beautiful blue-green and instead of sand, stones fill the beach. The town is very artsy and there are a lot of students who go to university in Brighton. Our group of girls got split up at the end of the trip, as Kelly and I wanted to continue looking around the little Brighton Museum and the other girls wanted to go get tea in a cafe. Kelly and I made it back to the bus and took our seats, but the other four girls weren't there yet. All of a sudden, the bus starts to move and we panic. I call Lena (who was with the other girls) as Kelly yells to the RA's at the front that four girls still aren't on the bus. One of the RA's comes back and says that there is a "no stragglers" policy and that they waited "five whole minutes" for the girls so its their fault they aren't on the bus. As she is saying this Lena picks up and tells me that she is at the bus stop and is literally watching the bus leaving. The RA goes back to the front and then comes to inform us that they are not going to turn around. As she says this Kelly and I start arguing to the RA, who says that they can get on a train back to London and returns to the front. She then comes back to us and says that they decided to turn around, so I call Lena and they wait at the bus stop and then get back on the bus. I cannot believe that they almost left them behind for being 5 minutes late and that they didn't explain this "no stragglers" policy to us before, as we were told that morning to "come back to the bus so that we can TRY and make a 4pm departure." Whatever. All is well and they didn't end up leaving the girls and now we know to be back a little early for our next day trip.


Saturday night we went to a pub we have gone to before and danced the night away. It wasn't a crowded place, so the dance floor downstairs had plenty of room for us to act ridiculous and dance as dorky and flailingly as we wished. Obviously we had an amazing time and were even twirled around by some local Brits, fancy dancing-like.


Monday I had, or was supposed to have, an interview with my potential internship placement. I showed up, but my interviewer had to run out to a meeting and couldn't meet with me. The woman I talked to for a second was really nice though and she told me a little of what I would be doing. I re-scheduled the interview and went back on Thursday. The guy who interviewed me was also very friendly and the environment in the office seemed very open and a great place to work. He told me that I would basically be helping out wherever needed, with anything from picking up coffee to helping out on set. Hopefully there will be some shoots while I am there and that I will be able to visit the sets and experience the production side of filmmaking. The company primarily represents directors who do commercials and shorts, but they have a feature film department as well. It seems like something I will enjoy doing, so keep your fingers crossed that they will be shooting something while I'm there!

Oh, you know, just another day in London

Life after Scotland has been pretty relaxing. I started another one of my classes, called "Britain and Europe: A New Beginning" where we are learning about Britain's relationship to the rest of Europe, specifically with the European Union. The class is super interesting, and despite the fact that it starts at 9am and goes for 4 hours, I never feel the need to drift into a lecture-induced coma (like I do with many other less interesting classes). The professor is a precious old man with the best English accent.

One thing that I really enjoyed was running through the park Tuesday afternoon. Hyde Park is beautiful, and running through it is easy, following crisscrossing paths and winding my way through other park goers. We also booked our October break trip to Rome on Tuesday! Italy is the one country I have always wanted to visit, and I couldn't be more excited to spend five days there.

Wednesday night was Fashion's Night Out in London, put on by Vogue, and I met up with a few friends down on Oxford Street (which is where there are a lot of great stores) to see what the event was all about. When I got there I was surprised, but no less delighted, to find that many of the stores were giving away free booze! Not just free booze, but delicious mixed drinks and champagne. I never thought this would be possible, but I got to look at pretty clothes while drinking alcohol. The stores had sales too, but getting free drinks was like heaven to a poor world traveler. We Americans do love our free stuff!

Adventures in the Land of Kilts and Haggis

This is the tale of a group of American girls who opt to not get a hostel to save money, aka Europe on a budget. So a group of seven of us decided it would be a good idea to travel 8 hours north to Edinburgh, Scotland and not get a hostel, but instead take a night bus and an early morning bus. The first half of the trip was amazing, but by the end of the night, we would have given anything for a warm bed. Here's how it went:


Friday we ran some errands and chilled in the dorm as we got ready for our 40 hour trip to Edinburgh. We decided to take showers that night and to wear the same outfit the whole time we were there as we had to carry our belongings with us the entire day. After stuffing our bags with things like toothbrushes, make up, deodorant, and snacks, we headed out for our 11pm bus from London which would bring us to Edinburgh at around 8:30am. We finally found the right station and terminal and boarded the bus. I guess Europeans are smaller than the average American, or can at least deal with much less space, because there was definitely less leg room than with an average American bus. Anyway, we were off to Scotland and that was all that mattered. I fell asleep for about 45 minute intervals and tried to rest for as long as I could. Once the sun started rising, it was hard to resist watching as the beautiful British countryside went by in a haze of early morning fog and mesmerizing colors on the horizon.


We arrived an hour early and went to clean our sleepy selves up in the bus station bathroom. I guess free public bathrooms is a no-no in the U.K. so we had to pay 30 pence to get in. When we deemed ourselves presentable, we set off into the city. The buildings seemed much older than that of London and there were no skyscrapers tainting the skyline, so as we made our way into the city we couldn't help but stare at everything around us. Our bus arrived an hour early, so we went to get coffee to start our day and wait for our tour of the city at 11am. The tour was a free three hour tour put on by locals who simply love to share the history of the city, and it was great. Our wonderful tour guide, Michael, was an informative and fun Scot who showed us the beauty and history of many parts of Edinburgh. After the tour, we rested in a park under Edinburgh Castle and then went and bought some souvenirs.


Next, we went to the Salisbury Crags, which are cliffs rising out of Holyrood Park that overlook Edinburgh. We climbed to the top of the peninsula-looking cliffs where we got to see an amazing view of the entire city, which was well worth the steep climb to the top.


After our nature adventure, it was time to freshen up and go to the pub crawl put on by the same people who run the free tours. We were to visit five pubs, getting a series of drinks along the way, and end in a huge club. At the pub crawl we got to talk to a group of Irish guys who were very friendly and another couple of Australian guys. It was fun for a while, but our tiredness started kicking in, the drinks weren't doing their jobs, and we all needed to leave the crowded club and sit down. Since our bus wasn't leaving until 5am, we had three hours to kill. We got some fries at Burger King (thanks for that one globalization), and when that closed, decided to hang out at the bus station until our bus came. To stay awake, one of the girls taught us a guessing game, that we now refer to as "Scot," and which entertained us until we boarded.


I never thought a bus seat would bring me such joy, and we each got our own seat on the ridiculously early bus and set off back to London. I thought this would be the end of our adventure, but my stomach disagreed. About an hour into the trip, I woke up to the horrible feeling of motion sickness. After hours (I have no idea how many, it all happened in a haze of early morning darkness and delirium) and several trips to the bathroom, the roads finally smoothed out, my head started to clear a little and I finally got some sleep. Needless to say, when we got back to the dorm around 4 or 5 pm (at this point I lost track of any sense of time) I took the most needed shower of my life, ate some much appreciated food, and passed out at around 9pm. All in all, the trip to Edinburgh was a good one, but with a troubled ending. The city is beautiful and well worth the struggle, but next time I'm thinking we are going to opt for staying in a hostel, even if it costs a little extra.

First Taste of London Night Life

On Wednesday we got to go on a boat tour of the Thames River and see the sights along the way to our destination, Greenwich. We took the tube to Westminster, where we waited for about an hour to get on the boat that would take us up the Thames. On the boat, we positioned ourselves outside in the front of the boat to get the best view. We were complete giddy tourists as we took picture after picture of Westminter Palace (aka Parliament), the Big Ben, the London Eye, St. Paul's Cathedral, Tower Bridge, the Tower of London, and whatever else we deemed picture-worthy. Once we got to Greenwich, we found a tiny cafe to eat in and walked around Greenwich Palace, which is where many of the Tudors were born, including my favorite, Elizabeth I. We also saw the Maritime Museum and the Queen's House. The Queen's House is really the Queen of Denmark's house, built by a former Queen of England who was also the Queen of Denmark (complicated, I know). Greenwich is where the Prime Meridian runs through, so it was neat to be where the eastern and western hemispheres join.


We decided to be adventurous and take a bus (double decker, of course) back to Westminster. We took more pictures of the beautiful Parliament, Big Ben, and Westminster Abbey (only the outside because it cost money to go inside). We then took the Tube back to our dorm, ate dinner, got ready, and went out to a bar in Piccadilly Circus. Piccadilly Circus reminded me of London's version of Times Square, NY and was very pretty. We went nuts on the dance floor and showed the Brits what real dancing is like, well we had fun at least.


Thursday came and it was time for the first day of classes! My first class was "British Cinema and Television Since 1960." It was comedy day and we literally watched clips from various comedic British films and television shows, oh the joys of being a film major. Apparently, the British think men dressed as women is super hilarious.


That night was the BU in London welcome party at a club near Piccadilly Circus. It was fun to mingle with the BUers, and when that was over, we went to another club. I guess the club promoters in London roam the streets looking for people to invite to the clubs and give discounted cover charges, so at this club the girls got in free and the guys had to pay 5 pounds, which I guess is a bargain. After that we got delicious pizza from a vendor and we walked (barefoot because the gods of fashion hate women's feet and like to torture us by inventing gorgeous but painful heels) to find the night bus back to The Crofton.

Settling In

Once I woke up from my jet-lagged coma, I could actually appreciate the beauty that is Kensington. My flat (that's apartment to you American folk) is situated south of Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park and is one of the most rich and swanky, or posh as one of our program directors says, neighborhoods in London. The BU in London program has three dorm buildings in Kensington and I live in the largest one, called The Crofton, with my two lovely roommates. The room is cozy and we have a great view of the beautiful buildings in our hood. Each room has its own bathroom, which is great, if only the shower was big enough to move around in without hitting my elbows.


The first day was spent in a lecture hall listening to safety talks and the like. Apparently the British don't think Americans can hold their alcohol or that girls under 21 drink. Clearly they haven't experienced true American culture. My roommates, a few friends, and I went out to two pubs that night, but were disappointed by the lack of turnout on the part of our fellow Londoners. Granted it was a Monday night, but I thought the British were known for their drinking abilities, especially having come from a lecture telling us how much stronger their cider is than the beer we normally drink and that American students often come to London and go overboard thinking they have to keep up with British drinkers.


Day two came with more orientation talks, where our row in the very back of the auditorium was filled with sleeping students (I think I even drooled a bit during that last lecture). We then went to the BU in London headquarters and were treated to fish and chips (that's fries, not chips as we Americans think of them). After all that excitement, the roomies and I went for a walk in Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park (which are essentially the same thing, but there's a border where one park turns into the other). Kensington Gardens has a royal pond in front of a royal looking building (although I guess since I'm in London it's called a palace). The Princess Diana Memorial Fountain is in the park as well, as is the Royal Albert Memorial. It was all very pretty and exciting. The best part though may have been all the mini english accents we heard the little children talking in- so cute!


That night was our flat event which, of course, was at a pub. Kelly and I tried cider for the first time, which tastes deliciously like bubbly apple juice! We then proceeded to go home, buying wine and doritos on the way. We decided to stay in and enjoy our new room and found out that Netflix does not stream outside the U.S. As Netflix streaming is kind of how I survive and the t.v. in our kitchen only gets five channels, we had to challenge our internet surfing capabilities to find shows online. I eventually found Jersey Shore and got my American trashy reality t.v. fix before bed.