Day 7-The Foreign Press Association and Meeting with Theos

This morning I was able to get up a little later and be outside of the apartment at 8:30am. It was chilly again but I dressed with a few more layers thankfully. We got on the tube at south kensington and took it to another station near Buckingham Palace. We walked kind of far and ended up in the wrong place because the address we had was the old address for the FPA! We got directions and had to walk all the way back to where the tube station. The FPA ended up being only a 5ish minute walk away!
We arrived and walked into a nice and neat meeting room with two heads of the FPA. They talked about what the focus and goals were of the press and their backgrounds in the business. It was interesting to hear where they began and where they ended up in the work force. So far everyone we've had meetings with have said the same things--it's not about what it says on your diploma, it matters who you know and the connections you make.
After about an hour and a half in the FPA, we were free to do what we wanted for about three hours so myself and two other girls took the tube to St. Pancras station and were headed to the Harry Potter Platform 9 3/4! (where people could take pictures as if they were going to Hogwarts.) The line was way too long for us to take a picture so we just headed to the gift shop. It was Harry Potter palooza and I loved every minute of it!
We ended up grabbing some food at burger king and it was time to meet back up with our group. We were about a half hour early so I got a drink from starbucks and waited for everyone to show up. Once everyone in our group made it, we took a short walk to Theos, the religious think tank. It was a quaint little office meeting room. We listened to a woman who headed the 6-person team that was Theos and told us their background and purpose. We were able to ask a few questions and learn more about what they really were trying to do as a company.
Once our meeting with them was over, we were free to do whatever and I ended up just going back to the apartment with a few others. I immediately went to bed and dozed off for a little while watching a movie. I woke up and everyone in our common room was working on assignments so that's what I did for the next couple of hours. A few of us went down to the Tesco to get a few things and headed back up to the apartment. We all finished some things and now I'm off to bed! Can't wait for the BBC and The Guardian tomorrow!!!

Day 6-Trip to Oxford

Here's a look at my very long day trip to Oxford on Monday!

This trip was going to be a long day considering we had to be outside of our apartments by 6:30am and wouldn't return until about 8pm or so. I got up around 5:30am to shower and get ready then stepped outside into the cold. I didn't realize it was going to be so cold and windy so my outfit of choice wasn't the best, but I didn't have time to change. We left in groups to take the tube to our bus stop which didn't take long to get to. At the bus stop I had to use the restroom and I encountered my second place that I had to pay to use it! 

I got back upstairs to where everyone met and we got on the bus--a double decker bus! Finally I was able to cross this off of my bucket list and I got front row seating on the top level. It was such a cool experience (plus more leg room!) The bus ride was about an hour and a half to Oxford from our apartments and after a long nap, we arrived at a square with little cafe's and shops. We went into a cafe that had traditional English breakfast, but I really wanted something I was familiar with so I went with the eggs benedict and got a 10% discount for being a student, a plus when in a college town!

I got my plate about a half hour later (they told us the kitchen was running behind) and it looked like a work of art. I knew it was going to be delicious, and it was!!! I let one of my friends have a bite because she had never had one before and she loved it! I think it was actually the best eggs benedict I have ever had! We met up with more of our friends from our study abroad program and walked the streets of Oxford to find our tour guide for our tour at 12pm. Our guide was a well-dressed middle aged man who had a thick English accent but was very smart. I learned that Oxford is not just one University, but made up of 38 (if I remember correctly) different colleges that focus in one thing that one plans to study. We toured Balliol College which focused in economics and was so pretty! However, the whole time we were there it was windy and cold just like before--and we weren't prepared. 

We then toured around the streets of Oxford, went into their chapel, walked inside where students were taught hundreds of years ago as well as where parts of Harry Potter were filmed! I found out that professors at Oxford are called "fellows" and not professors...weird, right? Our tour lasted about an hour and a half and we were then free to do what we wanted until our bus left--in about 6 hours!

Right when we finished, a few of us went to the oldest pub/restaurant in Oxford called the Bear Inn to get some lunch and it was really historical, which you don't really expect from a pub. It had historical info all over the restaurant so it was cool to read. 

After that, I went and toured Christ Church where some of Harry Potter was also filmed and inspired and completely fell in love, it was beautiful! After that, a few of us went to a pub where we met with one the study abroad girl's guy friends who went to Oxford and studied at Wadham College. They were so nice and told us a lot about the life there, the town, the hidden spots for food and drinks, etc. 

After this place we went to a local "shopping center" and looked around for about an hour. I wanted to find something red, white, and blue, and luckily they had a sports store and even more surprisingly an American flag! I got that as well as a few other things and we headed back to meet with our new friends from Oxford.

We left there and had only a few hours left so we visited another pub/bar that had been converted recently from a church! It was a ways away, but close to our bus stop so we walked--and then the worst possible thing happened to me. My shoe broke on my way there. I was upset because I had had these shoes for about a year, but more upset because I had planned to wear these on my day trip to Paris! They were the only dressy shoes I had and now I couldn't even walk! Thankfully, one of the girls had tape in her bag and I was good to go. 

The church/pub was beautiful. Stained glass everywhere and so open! Everyone in it was more college kids so it was nice to talk to people my own age. Also, it was around the time that Oxford students were taking exams and during exams they had to be dressed in traditional robes and caps--very interesting!

It was time to head back to the bus so we all left and boarded the double decker for the last time. Right when I got on I fell asleep and woke up back at our stop. We took the packed tube to the apartment and made ourselves stay up for the USA vs. Ghana game. We arrived back at our apartments at around 9pm and the game wasn't until 10 or 11 so we got pizza for dinner. 

We watched the game and right away I fell asleep in our common room, but woke up with about 15 minutes left in the game. It was right before Ghana scored to tie the game, but USA came back and won! That was a good thing to see right before heading off to bed along with everything I had seen that day. I had a great time in Oxford and I wish I could go back one day! 

  

Day 5-Rest Day

Today I woke up at about 9:30am and was so exhausted from these past 4 days that I walked out to the common room and fell asleep again watching tv. I woke up at 11am, took a shower, and started to work on some of my assignments that are due later this week. I went out to the Tesco to get some lunch and worked some more on one of my assignments with some of the other girls in our apartment.
They all were planning on going shopping at a vintage market at one of the tube stops but my feet hurt so badly from standing and walking so much that I stayed at the apartment and iced the bottom of them. My blisters are getting better, but I don't want them to get worse or be in pain during the rest of this week--especially tomorrow. I really just sat around today, planned a few visits for the rest of this week after our tours and meetings, and worked on my work.
Today really was a rest day for me and I'm really glad I stayed in because I didn't want to spent a whole lot of money on shopping (which I completely would have) and today was the first day that it was cold! I walked to the Tesco in a tshirt and shorts and I was freezing!! The girls came back a few hours later and we all worked on our assignments a little bit more then headed back to the Tesco to get some dinner.
We all got back to the apartment in time to watch Charlie St. Cloud on tv and it was a great girls night! Some of the girls have gone to bed but I'm up still watching The Big Bang Theory with another one of the girls. I've never seen this show before but it's really funny!
Last night we went to a pub called the Three Kings and watched England take on Italy which was awesome to experience with all of the locals and fans there. It was sad to see the England lost, but we met some awesome people! I had a great time last night and a great time today relaxing and getting ready for a long week. Taking on Oxford tomorrow and I can't wait! Cheers to leaving at 6:30am tomorrow!!

Day 4 in London-The Queen's Birthday Celebration!

I woke up this morning kinda late but hurried to shower and get my things together for our trip to Buckingham Palace. One of my roommates and I joined three other of our study abroad friends and we took the tube to the underground right next to the Wellington Arch, which is spectacular!! We walked from the underground to Buckingham Palace, maybe a 10 minute walk, and oddly enough, there were almost no people around us. It was pretty early, about 7:25am, but we wanted to get there early! (Events in America have taught us well.) We picked a spot to the right of the palace with gates in front of us and surrounding the area as well. We stood next to a few people who were in chairs and looked to be pretty prepared.

Another group of people were next to us and were all decked out in red, white, and blue! They were from about an hour and a half away from London and were probably the nicest group of people I've met since I've been here. There was also an older couple with their granddaughter from San Diego as well!

It was about 8:30 and I needed to use the restroom so my friend Kent and I walked about half an hour to a cafe to use the restroom and get some food, which was such a good idea in the end. We came back and had the other three girls in our group use the bathroom while we held their spots. Less than 5 minutes after they left, a man and woman asked why we were holding spots and we had to explain to them that they had just left to use the bathroom--which they didn't understand. After they left, another man came and gave us both such a hard time at the fact that there was no one standing in the spots that we were saving and he was probably the most rude man I've ever met in London so far. The nice people next to us even tried to tell him off! Luckily our friends had just stopped to talk to a guard by the Palace gates so we yelled for them to come back before anyone else gave us trouble. 

The police that stood in front of us should have had another title--comedians. They were so engaging and able to speak to the public. They knew we were going to be out there for awhile so getting to know the people they were going to be around was a great way to pass the time. It was just really interesting because police in America are not very social or want to talk to the public, but the police here were awesome. We talked so much that we found out one of them was going to get married in August--congrats in advance Officer Tom Queen!!

We waited for what actually were hours, and eventually there were hundreds of horses, men in uniform, musicians on horses, just so many people. There were fancy cars--jaguars, range rovers, etc. It was incredible the time and effort put in just for the Queen's Birthday, even though her Birthday was in April! We finally got to see the Queen, Kate, William, Harry, Charles, and Camilla all go by in their carriages and it was breathtaking. I wish everyone could have the opportunity to see this event once in their lives because it was so worth the wait. 

They then toured the rest of London for about two hours and came back in their carriages. It was beautiful. The Queen then got out of her carriage and stood on a platform for about 5 minutes waving to the crowd. She then went into the Palace and walked up to the balcony with the rest of the Royals. I never thought I'd ever have to climb over a gate, but today I did. The nice people standing next to us held my hand and I jumped over the gate. I forgot to mention that I had my umbrella in my hand because it had started to rain so when I jumped over, every one shouted "Look! It's Mary Poppins!" That was pretty funny. 

I ran towards the Palace because they let people go and stand where the gates were. Thankfully, everyone in our group had planned out that if we got lost or separated, to go back and meet at the Arch, so after seeing the family on the balcony and all of the planes and colors go over the Palace, I saw two other of my friends and we walked back to the Arch. 

We met with the two others and found out that the Royals had actually driven under the Arch and police had stopped traffic. Our two friends were down there at the time and they got some amazing pictures!!! All of our feet were hurting so we took the tube back to our apartment, stopped at a pizza place for a late lunch, and headed back to our apartments. I took a long nap and rested my feet and now I'm watching The Food Network with some of the other students. Tonight is England vs. Italy in the World Cup at 11 so we're all going to go to a pub and watch the game. I can't wait and hopefully England wins! I'll write tomorrow even though I'm not too sure what we're doing, but I'm sure it'll be great. Cheers!

Check this link out for a quick view of what I saw!  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-27846798

London Day 3-Meeting with Ari Shapiro and Amnesty International

This post is about yesterday but these past few days have been pretty hectic!
Yesterday we got up early, around 7:30am and got ready to head to a park--i'm not too sure which one but it wasn't too far away, and there was a Chipotle next to it! We arrived and there in the middle of the park stood Ari Shapiro, reporter for NPR. I had watched a few videos of him on youtube and was a little bit in shock that it was actually him! We walked across the park with everyone from our study abroad group as well as our professors and sat down surrounding Ari.
We all just sat and listened to his story and life as a reporter which was something I wish I had on video. He spoke to eloquently about interviewing leaders of foreign countries, touring the country with the President, and some of his most dangerous visits to countries. One of our professors had us turn in an assignment of questions we would ask each person and place we met with so we were able to all go around the group and ask him questions. It was just so interesting how cool, calm, and collected he was and so humble--and handsome!
After finishing our meeting up--hari krishna's music in the background, we headed back to the tube and were off to find Amnesty International. Before we caught the tube, some of us stopped by a McDonald's to use the restroom and get a little something to eat. The McDonald's in London is pretty much just like the ones in America just FYI! We left, caught the tube, and began our "long" journey to what we thought was Amnesty International. We ended up walking very very far and were basically lost. It wasn't too bad, just the weather was making things worse and people in our group seemed to be dehydrated and tired.
We finally found the right place and it felt like a million bucks to be able to sit somewhere with air conditioning. Once we were greeted in the meeting room, our guide, Eulette Ewart, who let us know the background and goals of Amnesty International. We learned that Amnesty was a paper and business devoted to human rights and recognizing stories that may not have celebrity status, but can make a difference and spark interest if posted about. We were also able to ask a lot of questions and find out a lot about this company. Even though we were all tired, this was probably my favorite place to visit because of their focus and the fact that their office was a lot more downscale and quaint than Bloomberg News. It was interesting to compare and contrast how the two ran themselves.
After we finished our meeting, a few of us went across the street to visit this market in which stores were held in old cargo boxes. It was so cool to see and I even got a necklace from the 80s in one of the stores! We took the tube to Harrods and went inside this palace of a "shopping center" as they call it in London instead of a mall. It was amazing seeing everything as well as the high prices for almost all of the items there. We also went across the street to H&M and Topshop and decided it was time to eat. We went into a cafe/pub for fish and chips again and then headed back to our apartment.
Once we were back to our apartment, one of the guys wanted to walk to the Tesco (supermarket) to get a fan for his room so we made the what felt like 2 mile trek to find that the Tesco had no fan, but ended up at a hardware store buying one. I got back to the apartment and found two large blisters on the bottom of my feet which was not fun to deal with. I stayed in and wrote some postcards and rested my feet as well. I was able to facetime with one of my sorority sisters, my sister, and my Mom and told them about my trip so far--meanwhile the sun was still up at around 9:30pm! The rest of the girls came back to our apartment and we all hung out for the rest of the night until we went to bed around 1:30am. I knew I wasn't going to be able to sleep for long because tomorrow I was supposed to be up and ready by 7am for the Queen's Birthday Celebration and Buckingham Palace!