Good bye.

So, it’s basically our last week here in London, and it seems that most people are ready to get back to their lives as they knew them prior to this excursion. That is, most of the people. Personally, I love it over here. I guess it would be a little more difficult if you hadn’t traveled before leaving the country for 3 months, which is something I completely understand. However, like I said, I love it here. I am ready to head home to all my family and friends, but it’s sombre return on my part I think. It is difficult to explain, but there is so much excitement on either end of the trip. On the one hand, I’m in Europe and everything is going great. Sure, there were a couple minor things that went wrong along the way, but that happens, and life moves on. Then there’s the other side of this trip. As soon as I get back to the States, life becomes the same as it always was, but school is out until summer, ugh!

Graduation is just around the corner for some of us here, and others are preparing for yet another year of school and possible internships, or jobs which is probably where all the excitement is coming from. But there is one thing I do want to know, how often are we all going to see each other? When you’re around 7 other people all the time for just over 3 months, you become attached to them and your comfort level adjusts. Personally, I think I’ll miss the group, there’s already a reunion in the planning stage, and being the only one from California (where the sun is always shinning), where do you think people want to head?

There’s merely 11 days until we head back to Washington D.C. and there still may be a little bit more time for things to change, who knows. There are plans for one last trip to see Stonehenge, but there are also other people we’ve met along the way that need a proper goodbye. Let’s be realistic though…goodbyes or hello Stonehenge? You be the judge on that one.

I’m trying to make this last of my blogs the least formal of any that you will probably read. It goes back to that comfort level and having everything come to a close; if there was a huge event going on here in London, then it may have been worth while to be formal and opinionated, but where’s the fun in that?

I guess it would be appropriate to level with you; there are still concerns while we are finishing up our internships and classes here. We still have work that needs to be completed, we have to finish up our papers, presentation, and other work that may have been thrown our way, but it’s all been worth it. This experience is a close rival to my other study abroad experience just last year. It has been that much fun, both in the class and outside of it as well. The professors they set us up with were great, and we still have a good meeting to take place next Wednesday that should be more informal and mostly about personal chit chat than anything else.

I know my blog came a little late, but it seemed odd writing a blog after every single time when I was in another country the week before. Call me crazy, but I felt it would be a little better to just wait another week and have some other things to reflect on, even though I was in another country this past week, ha! But that is the beauty of a study/ internship abroad, you have the opportunity to build your resume, personal experience, and travel as much as humanly possible.

Honestly, I can’t think of too much else to talk about, maybe you want to know that my boss is on the verge of greatness at his company, and could be worth millions within the next year. Perhaps you were looking for insight as to the work load of the entire semester abroad; it varies from person to person and the class work is not that difficult. The portfolios are straightforward enough, and everything is basically put out there for you on a platter. Maybe you want to read about the anti-China Olympic Protests, sadly, I was in another country when all that occurred, so I can’t shed too much light on that, but it’s all over the news, just as it would be back home. So, what else is there to say about another semester coming to a close? You tell me. I’m sure there will be more opportunities for advice on what to do and where to go; but honestly, it will be fun no matter what.

There are a couple very important things though before you decide whether or not you want to come on an adventure such as this one…if you have yet to come abroad, make sure you can handle being away from home for a long amount of time, and try to keep in touch with your family. It will help you make a better choice. And the other one, if and when you do come abroad for an internship program, please, please, please make sure you have your funds in line. We all know it is expensive over here, so keep that in mind.

Other than that, I hope you all had a good semester as well, hope you made new friends like I did (hopefully we’ll keep them for a long time), and wish me luck, I’m about to graduate and have to enter the real world. I think I’m more worried for you people; I could be making important decisions that affect you, haha. Good luck.

-Ian

A Day in the Life (of Me)

Thursday, March 27^th was what I would consider a typical work day for me. I started the day off by waking, showering and eating a bagel. I took the bus to my tube stop, Angel, instead of walking as I normally do. I was running just a little late. I caught the tube and headed for Heathrow, where a small protest was being staged against the expansion of the airport. The political party I work for is always eager to attend these events since the media is always looking to interview mayoral candidates and it is free media time.

Along the way I ran into Guy, our mayoral candidate’s campaign manager. We discussed the weekend; how he had car trouble on the way to his friend’s cottage in Devon, how I had been caught in a hail storm in Paris and how despite these events, it was all pretty fun. I got there, I mingled. I helped pass out leaflets, as I normally do at these events. I met some interesting characters who had many different reasons for protesting airport expansion. One woman I met was there for environmental reasons. Another was there because they were going to bulldoze her house to build a third runway. And still others were there because they were simply sick of hearing airplanes every five seconds. I wrapped it up by getting into a discussion with a conservative South African about whether or not the event was apolitical.

On the way back from the event, I sat with several people from my office, including our mayoral candidate, and discussed what was going to happen for the next few weeks. I got back into the office, and was part of a meeting to discuss the next step with our campaign website. I worked on some changes with my site supervisor, Jen, and then realized it was time to go home.

As I walked home from Angel to my flat at Ability Towers, I could not help but be overwhelmed with two distinctly opposite emotions. The first was great happiness. In a few short months I had built a life here. I had a routine. I had friends and colleagues at my internship that trusted my work and my judgment. I attended classes which I enjoyed, and hung out with friends I had made in Washington D.C. and in London. Ian, Dave and I have become good friends and work well as roommates. I could not ask for any more of a better comfort level.

The second was the nagging feeling that soon it was all going to come to end. I have less than a month left here. I will go home to Pennsylvania and resume life there. Leaving behind what I now call my “London Life” is going to be difficult to say the least. The experiences I have had here I will remember forever, and I can not help but think I may one day return. I have been changed by my life here, and I wonder how I will merge that with my experiences and life back in the United States. It is a lot to think about. Anyway, I have much to do today, so I better get started.

As always,
cheers from myself, Dave and Ian.

Normal Looking

If it was not obvious before, now more than ever do I realize that we are past the half way mark in our London journey. It occurred to me as I tightly tied my scarf around my neck as defense of the seeming gale force winds that attack me as I struggle to work. Delirious from rolling out of bed and trying not to fall over, I smile at the fact that April fast approaches and this means spring. But with thoughts of April comes an ominous tone; that’s the month we leave!

My first reaction, I felt, was normal to anyone who realizes for once that they do not control time; I panicked. I shuffled through my planner looking for free days, putting mental halos around them like they were some divine gift. It made me realize how much I still wanted to see and compare. It made me realize that there is way too much to still see and compare. It made me realize that the only reason I was so far behind was because long ago I had stopped comparing and started accepting that I was just part of that weird culture that at some point replaced the word dinner with supper.

Becoming part of London requires no complicated instruction manual. There is only a step one: live in London. London acts like a universal remote. As long as you are attuned to different channels, it will work magic on you. But with this universal appeal comes a difficulty in really trying to grow through comparing your own experience to London; because your experience becomes part of London.

Nowhere is this more apparent than in the internships. I see this through the trust that has built since I have first started working there. Beginning work anywhere can be an awkward experience. Beginning work in London can be especially awkward. I work in a converted house down the street from where Charles Dickens lived. I’m in a basement that faces a wall that gives the correct impression that it is always cloudy. I work next to one person who constantly travels around Europe and another who just got back from Antarctica. I am convinced that they secretly want me to dehydrate or become a diabetic because I am offered sugar or caffeine more than I am offered work. How can this not be awkward?

It hit me this week. I was working on an assignment when two coworkers came in, worrying over how to find sponsors for an upcoming event. Both would be away on vacation making it difficult to contact companies. Yet they needed to expand their outreach and find additional people to support their cause. Without skipping a beat (or looking at me) they concurred that I, the awkward American who trips while walking up stairs, would be wonderful to take on this task. I was amazed. Not at the fact that they trusted me in doing work (I mean, who wouldn’t?). It was just that it all sounded so, normal.

But normal cannot stay with us forever, and indeed my abnormal self was getting sick of it. So I did what all normally abnormal individuals would do, I went somewhere else. Last week I took a trip up to northern Scotland to St. Andrews. Let me preface this by stating the emphasis my classes have placed on the percentage of the UK’s population that has not, in fact, been born in the UK. This percentage is very high. London’s percentage is probably higher.

You would never know that from going to St. Andrews.And from this, I felt like a complete stranger. The slight tan I retained from my trip to Portugal just screamed foreigner. I spent my time exploring the coast of the North Sea, getting stuck in mud and surprising the occasional cow that would cross my path. The historic small town of St. Andrews really reminded me of where I go to school in Williamsburg, yet, I did not feel like I was at home. Should this have felt normal? I don’t know. But when I made it back to London, it did feel good to be sort of home.

I think I need to conclude this entry with homage to our group’s original two weeks in D.C. A few days ago I had the opportunity to visit the Palace of Westminster and actually see the House of Commons in session. In D.C. we had the pleasure of visiting the Congress. We had the pleasure of the security guards forcing everyone to throw out their sandwiches before entering (security threat?). We had the pleasure of confining ourselves in the narrow passages and lifeless rooms. We even had the pleasure of seeing the old room where the Congress used to meet.

Westminster greeted me with the open arms of failing a metal detector and getting frisked. My biggest fear of losing my lunch to the garbage was unfounded. I entered the historic building awestruck by its high arched ceilings. Within five minutes, I, a lowly American tourist, was allowed upstairs to view the House in action. The only thing between me and the almost violent debate below was a pane of glass placed to prevent onlookers from throwing flour at the M.Ps. But I didn’t want to throw anything. I just remembered the lack of glass I saw at Congress.

-David

Continuing the journey...

So, it has been a few weeks since the last time I personally wrote to you wonderful people who love to read this blog more than anything else in life. It does make a lot of sense due to the fact that we as a group are just so entertaining. I don’t know what I would do if I couldn’t read these myself, or write them; being able to relive all the events can be interesting, but sometimes they are amusing for more random reasons than one might expect.

The last time I put words to this blog, I had just gotten back from a weekend trip to Scotland (which I would still recommend), and oddly enough, this week is no change. That is the main reason this is a few days later than it would normally have been, but I felt it was my duty as a fellow student and intern to take some time and give you more substance than just the travels of Dave and myself to Portugal. I will of course throw you a bone here, and I will be including some of those events, however, I should probably fit in the academics and intern work prior to that, just a thought.

Anyway, this week seems to be business as usual on the academic front, but every time we go to our classes, I think we enjoy it more and more. It is not for the reason that we learn so much about the topics we’ve all wanted to know about for years (the curriculum is good), but it is in large part to the professors we have. Martin and Roland are amazing at what they do, clearly, like any other class you will take, the information coming out can be dry, but they both make the best of it, and they are hilarious. It’s not just one thing that makes it better; it’s the fact that they understand where we’re coming from as American students. They get the job done, and they allow us to enjoy ourselves while we’re in the class, and they also allow us to interject with our personal opinions, which is always a bonus. They are helping us build on our experiences, and attempt to have us take away more than a normal student might have given these opportunities. Clearly, that’s the goal of everyone when they study abroad, but the people that have been put around us are a great plus to the overall experience.

I really don’t know what else there is to say about the academic aspect of the program other than we have just about one month to go, and it’s almost that time where we will begin to write a paper or two, and complete (or at least attempt to) our portfolios. Other than those minor details, there really isn’t much else that can be said. I think we are going to have a couple meetings with a group from James Madison University, but really, we’ve only met them one time, so why we’re doing this, I couldn’t begin to explain to you (I do however have my own ideas).

As for the internship prospectus, things seem to be heading in the right direction for my company. The others have been having good things to say about theirs as well, but I think Danielle has the funniest stories out of the entire group. It makes sense that working in a cosmetic company like the Body Shop would create better stories. Oh well, I am on great terms with my boss. Overall I think it’s pretty cool. It was fairly exciting this week at my placement. After roughly five years of hard work from the company in regards to them testing and refining their product in intrusion detection, it seems they have received the final approval to market the product and one water company is already going to be buying and fitting all their systems with it. It was something that is potentially worth millions and millions of pounds. On another internship note, and somewhat of a personal level, Ted’s place (The Respect Coalition) was heavily involved with informing the public this weekend. If any of you watch world news, I am not too sure how much coverage there was of the anti-war march in London this weekend, but there was a huge march on Saturday, which Ted was working and I attended to check out all that was going on. It was more interesting than I thought it would be. I am not going to include pages of details or anything, perhaps a couple pictures though, but it was estimated that there were roughly 45,000 people in attendance. It was a site to see, and a new experience that I will take with me for a while.

Alright, I don’t know how much people enjoy reading about the experiences of other people traveling, but I do get a lot of people that tell me they want all the stories and details; personally, I think they just want the pictures so they can live vicariously through them, haha. Anyway, this most recent trip to Portugal included 4 cities and 6 days and nights of good times. We started in Porto, took in the sites for a day, and got some great pictures, but we really didn’t have that much time to do a lot of exploring. The funniest thing for me was when we tried to get our train tickets to Lisbon. If you heard any other language (not including Spanish), you would hear English while you’re there; SO…having figured that much out, we got our tickets relatively easily, but when we tried to get our train, we found out that our train left from another station. Not the one we were at and bought the tickets from- WHAT??? I didn’t find this out the traditional way, try to hop on a train and get kicked off, I asked a girl that worked there if she spoke English, and she said “no.” Of course she didn’t, that would be far too easy. Anyway, she spoke French (jackpot! Met too).

Moving along… once to Lisbon, we found our hostel, which was great. I personally have yet to have a bad experience at a hostel, but this one was exceptional. The owner and his son run the place, and it was close to pretty much anything you wanted to do. We went to the castle in town, hopped on a little trolley, San Francisco style, and went on down to the river side. It was simply beautiful. Next was Lagos, which I would recommend to any American that ever goes to Portugal- go to Lagos!!!! The hostel was the most fun I’ve had at a hostel (except for another study abroad experience), but it was owned by an American, and we met Americans, English, Canadians, people from Latvia, and so on. All the people were great, and the beaches were amazing. Anyway, I don’t want to bore anyone with these stories, but the travel is a huge aspect of the journey over here. If you do take this opportunity, you have to make sure you set aside funds for extra travel and adventure. I can’t think if I forgot anything funny or not, but if I did, I’ll have Ted fill you in next week.

For now…later from across the pond

-Ian

This Bird Has Flown

Here we are. Another week gone and it hardly feels like any time has passed at all. Still, it is remarkable how much we have done in such a short span of time. In fact, just this past weekend I finally went on the London Eye, strolled through Portobello Market and sat down for some drinks and lively discussions with a Member of Parliament in Westminster. And even with all that, there is still so much to do and see within London itself.

That said, everyone needs a change in scenery every once and awhile. Europe is a big and diverse place, with plenty to offer in every corner. So, it is natural our group has begun its exploration outside of London in a big way. As I write this, Dave and Ian are off to travel around Portugal, everywhere from Porto to Lisbon. Sandy and Lauren are off to Denmark and Emily has already been to Florence.

As for myself, I am not traveling this weekend or the next, but I am planning a mad traveling rush as my time here in London comes to an end. I will be going to Paris over Easter weekend and Krakow, Poland the first weekend in April. I still believe I can squeeze some additional travel destinations in there, but it all depends on time and money. To that effect, I come to the main section of my blog piece for the week, which is mainly for the prospective students who may follow in our footsteps. What follows is my mini-guide to planning travel in Europe.

1. Balancing Time and Money: This is a big one, and it covers the essential component in any travel experience: the travel itself. The exchange rate being what it is (brings a tear to my eye every time I make a cash withdrawal), it is really important to budget travel well so that one has more money to spend when they actually get to a destination. However, be careful about trying to go too cheap. I took a bus from London to Amsterdam which was reasonable, but the time it took to get there was much more than I would have ever wanted. I would advise sticking to cheap flights or trains whenever possible. You may pay a little more, but the time you save will be as equally valuable as the money.
2. Accommodations: Also a big one. Hostels and cheap hotels are always popular among the traveling youth in Europe (myself included), but I offer some small words of warning. There is such a thing as ‘too cheap.’ Use the many websites out there that rate and discuss hostels and cheap hotels. Pay close attention to all the ratings and comments, to make sure that the hotel is not a disaster area. Once again, I cite my own experiences in Amsterdam. The hotel was cheap and not altogether bad, but it could and should have been a lot better. It would have been had I simply did a little research.
3. Sight-Seeing: Finally, it is important to figure out what exactly you will be doing when you get to your destination. Now, I am not suggesting you be the old grandmother who prints laminated itineraries for everyone and freaks out if someone suggests deviating from the ‘plan.’ But my final lesson from Amsterdam is this: My group and I really did not know what to do once we got there. We had vague ideas, but I think we would have been better served by having a more set list of things we might have wanted to see. That said, my second piece of advice here is to not squeeze too much into the time you have. Take your time and enjoy what you do get to see, rather than worrying about whether you can fit it all in.

Well, I hope that is a little helpful to anyone studying abroad in the future. I still have a lot to learn about planning travel, but I am making progress. Speaking of which, I have a hotel to book in Poland.

Cheers!

-Ted Kopec

Week 5: “Sorry, We’re Closed to the Public”

London is full of surprises. One of those surprises is sunshine which we have been graciously surprised with for more days that I could have expected. The chance to wear dry clothes has unlocked a desire to adventure throughout the area and (if we are lucky) get incredibly lost. Exploring a different part of London on our days off has become something of a routine: wake up, down coffee, get lost. Though keeping that new car smell (or burnt diesel) that excited us when we first arrived has not been difficult. Travel by train to one end of the city from the other and you can easily forget you only were underground for 10 minutes.

Adventures arrive easier as we have become completely comfortable in our modernly dysfunctional flats, wonderfully cranky commutes and weekly night classes. Our room has finally surrendered to our dryer which affectionately heats our wet clothes for us and spins them around a few times just for good measure. We have become experts on finding deals at Sansbury’s supermarket. Though, our mathematical prowess highlighting the financial bounty of 2 for 1 deals on bags of oranges has yet to reveal the impracticality of us all separately cashing in on this deal and subsequently rushing to eat a fridge full of them.

If I can sift through the oranges and find the coffee I leave in the fridge my mornings are happy. Though I do not drink coffee daily back home, I have picked up on the habit while in London. Perhaps out of legitimately being tired, perhaps in protest of the prevalence of Earl Grey tea, I worship the mini French press I have procured. And maybe it is because of my morning caffeine binge that my internship has felt much more open than when I first started.

Though, my coffee drinking has almost brought trouble to my peaceful working environment. My frequent declines of offers for tea (I am already bouncing with caffeine) has raised questions on my willingness to fully immerse myself in British work life. So in my attempt to avoid a miniature Boston Tea Party I have succumbed to the wishes of the tea drinkers. But my work doesn’t have a treadmill, and that much caffeine just begs for physical activity. I was only saved once I discovered that the British also keep green tea, just in case.

I leave work early every Tuesday to make it to our weekly history class on time and avoid rush hour. My rush hour commute is a lovely obstacle course of avoiding Vespas and pigeon poop and I have yet to gain a desire to experience the tube during peak times. The history class has become justification for my explorations throughout London. If I could take a theme from all the classes we have had so far, it would be that Britian has few qualms about accepting something new, good or bad. And who am I to disagree with an entire country?

At Portobello Market I was able to see just how mundane unique antique items could be. My antique prowess proved extensively nonexistent as everything I valued as “so cool!” turned out to be offered everywhere, and be terribly normal. But one instinct that day did not fail me. This was my amazing ability to get lost, even if Portobello Market is located on only one street; even if that street is perfectly straight as well. I decided to take a side street because it looked interesting. I found myself in what tourists would call a “local” area and what “locals” would call “an area where we live and where tourists occasionally gawk like they never saw a grocery store before”. But, to be fair, it was an extremely cool grocery store.

As I walked down the street I passed a bakery with a huge line in front of it. No one in the line spoke English and they all seemed very confident in where they were standing. So I decided to join. Once inside the bakery, I asked a few “what is that?” until I decided on freshly a baked Portuguese custard pastry. It was a happy find.

Luckily not all of our adventures have been confined to London. We could spend every weekend in London and still not cover everything we should. But last weekend seemed especially nice to go to Oxford. Ten pounds and a speedy train ride later I found myself surrounded by old buildings and PhDs.

Oxford was beautiful, but, while I strolled down Cornmarket, I could not help but constantly contrast the place with London. The buildings had illustrious facades covering what appeared to be stately interiors only matched by the wonderful closed gates in front of them all. Something about London feels incredibly more practical, more real than Oxford. The fact that you are not allowed in most places around the city (or have to pay) just highlights the problem. London’s buildings accept their surroundings and evolve to something that resembles an orphaned mutt. Oxford is the purebred. You cannot get Oxford for free at a shelter.

I found myself strolling around the meadow and canal that circles the main buildings of the University. The day was cloudy but the site was gorgeous; and the meadow was free. As night fell and I found myself in a small pub, I could listen to the residents of Oxford and it seemed to open up a bit. Perhaps it was the cheap organic Ale, but this was the part of Oxford I wish I could have seen more.

Later that night when I went through my pictures, I could laugh at the “no public access” signs prevalent around all the architecture. If you are not careful when walking around Oxford, you will almost stumble past the imaginary gate that mere visitors cannot pass (unless they pay tribute that is). The same old porter rests in every booth. Think about walking past that imaginary line and he will not stop you. Rather, you will get the cold look that screams “kids these days” and a wag of the finger. I’m comforted in being back in London. I always liked mutts.

-David

Week 4: London is still calling...

London is Still Calling…

While we remain ever so busy on our excursion to the UK, everyone knows that a great part about going to another country, whether it be for work, play, or study will always include the extra trips. You know those trips that you take to other countries that just enhance the experience that much more? Well, for most of the TWC group (maybe not most, just 4 of us really), this weekend was going to be the first of many extra excursions outside of London, and we were looking forward to it. WHERE? Now why would I want to tell you where we were going? Isn’t that part of the fun; you can pick any place you want to go, but we chose Edinburgh, Scotland. Now, when I say we chose Edinburgh, what I really mean is that it was one of the trips that was offered through our helpful people at the CAPA offices.

I had an excellent time and I was fortunate enough to meet a lot of the other American students that were doing internships abroad through the CAPA offices. Scotland is a beautiful place that I would highly recommend to anyone who has ever thought about going. Edinburgh was fun, very laid back from my personal perspective, and while it does have its fair share of nightlife, it’s a great place to just walk around and meet new people. Then there was the Highlands day trip. Some of you may be wondering what exactly the highlands consists of, and so was I when I first signed up for it, but I am glad to be able to say I have been to one of the more rural areas with natural beauty still easily accessible to the common person. During our time there, we were given the opportunity to try to get a picture of the dreaded Loch Ness Monster **no, I didn’t manage to get one, if I did, I would have already sold it, and it would be world news**

We also have trips planned to Paris as a group, and Amsterdam will be in April, and everyone is doing extra travel at random times. Still looking for football tickets and rugby tickets while I’m here, so if you can help…you can find me pretty easily. I’m the really tall guy with brown hair, a black jacket, and jeans on in the middle of London. We can play where’s Ian, after all, Where’s Waldo was way too easy.

Obviously, we spend a lot of time in and around the various offices we are interning at, and while some are considerably better than others, in my realm of London (roughly and hour by tube from where we live) things are beginning to look great. There is a French company that supplies most of the power to London, and they happen to be the ones that will be responsible for the Olympic Games’ power supply come 2012. This is clearly a huge moment for any corporation, company, person, whatever entity you wish to place in there; the reason this is so exciting is that they recently called the company I am working at about our security products and piloting these products in testing for the added security measures of the 2012 Olympic Games. Just to be considered in this aspect is electrifying (pun was intended… power company… electrifying). Anyway, that alone is making my experience all the most memorable here. Others are moving forward with their sites, and it still seems to be productive and worthy overall.

Our classes keep getting better too; the professor we have for our “London and Britain, 1886-2008” is great. He’s fun and he’s “a walking encyclopaedia” as Ted called him. As for the other class, our main focus is working to put our portfolios together; it is going to be nice to have a body of work to look back on when people ask me what I was doing while in London for 3 months. CAPA is still providing us with positive outings, but at the same time, the events are generally things anyone could do on a day off or the weekend to just go out and enjoy the day.

Until next time…keep reading and the Tall Guy in the middle of the picture will talk to you soon enough.

-Ian