Departure & Arrival

Saying goodbye at the airport was really sad, but thank goodness for the technology of today! Skype is going to be my new best friend, I can tell. The flight was rather uneventful despite the news of snow flurries in London. I was able to get a little bit of sleep, and Krista and I were even graced with the presence of Alan Rickman on our flight. Unfortunately, I realized that Bottle Shock was one of the in-flight movies too late. I woke up just in time to watch the last scene. Regardless, it was a great way to start of the trip! After a long 7-hour flight, we’re finally in London. It still doesn’t feel like I’m here.

Once we got to London, maneuvering around Heathrow airport was pretty easy. We picked up carts, got our luggage, asked where the Krispy Kreme was, and waited for Kaitlin, our EUSA contact, to come pick us up. We were the first flight to arrive and had some waiting to do, but airport WIFI made the time fly by. Soon, we were on a bus headed to our flats at Manson Place.

The street we live on is beautiful, as are most of the streets here in South Kensington. Since this is a residential borough of London, most of the buildings look the same. Hopefully that won’t be too much of a problem when we try to find our way around!

Krista, Libby, Hannah and I headed down to Flat 1 to unpack before our short walking tour later on in the afternoon. Our flat is quaint, with one large bedroom, a common room, a kitchen, and, of course, a bathroom.

After our refreshing two hour nap, we headed out to meet Kaitlin in front of our building. She showed us all sorts of useful things, like the local tube station and grocery stores. Most importantly, she took us past the EUSA building, which is basically like our own Global Citizens embassy. We can get all the information we could ever need about London there, and will also be taking our classes there as well. After the tour we picked up some things at the grocery store before heading back to our new home. Finally, somewhat jetlagged and well fed, I talked to my parents before turning in early for a much needed night of sleep. Welcome to London!

A Quick Update and BIG News

This is going to be just a quick update, but I received my Visa in the mail the other day and I couldn't be happier. The intensity of the process and the complexity of the forms had me worried that something might go wrong, but when that UPS envelope arrived I was elated. Its basically a giant sticker which resembles the front page of a US passport but with UK stuff all over it. They stick it in one of the available pages of your passport....so we finally discovered the reason why we had to send the New York office my passport and not a copy. Anyway, it feels really good to know that we've done things well and I'm really all set to go to England now!

Now for the really BIG news ...... my London intership ... I've been tentatively placed with the Hampstead Theater!!!!!! I'll be working with their Children's Theater Program. Words cannot express my happiness at this news.

Meetings of the Most Exciting Variety

This week has certainly been filled with news of London!

Monday was my first internship placement meeting, where I discussed my specific interests and goals with Kaitlin, our London contact. We talked about my goal of finding a way to combine my eventual career in business with my passion for the arts, and how that could apply to my internship sites. We came up with several exciting options, including theater, film/television, galleries/museums, and journalism, with theater being my first choice.

If I get an internship with a theater, I could be working with theater management or PR operations, which would be soooo exciting. And while West End internships are super selective and probably out of the question, I'm still keeping my fingers crossed. It doesn't matter to me where my internship is; anywhere they could place me sounds fascinating and I can't wait to find out where I'll be working! YAY! :)

Tuesday was our pre-departure orientation meeting. Katlin reviewed a lot of what we had heard before, but we got exciting news that if we apply online for an International Student Identification Card, we can get tons of discounts in London (movie tickets, museum admission etc.). We were also given information about how to order our international cell phones, which will surely come in handy while we're there! Incoming calls are free and that's about it. So if you want to call me, the best thing to do would be to get one of those 10 cents a minute international calling cards. Of course, I'm a great advocate of Skype, especially if you have a webcam. That way I can talk to you AND see you for free! WOHOO!

So now, we wait until December 4th: our next meeting. It seems like so far away, but I have the feeling that November is going to fly by! Hopefully I'll have an internship update to post before then, but we'll see what happens!

Of Schedules, Syllabi, and Teachers

I just got home from the first Global Citizens Program meeting that I've been able to attend! It was a good thing I could make it considering the details that were covered.

First, a schedule of events, of sorts. There's an orientation scavenger hunt when we first get to London which sounds interesting. Hopefully it will involve running around London taking pictures with random things! It's probably not, but hey, a girl can dream right? We have classes Monday through Thursday (AKA FRIDAYS OFF!), one class per day. We're all hoping that it will provide for lots of free time, especially considering that the format is lots of participation, one paper / presentation and a final exam!

We got various syllabi, which were exciting if you're a dork like me! The Business Dynamics syllabus is pretty basic, as is the Macroeconomics syllabus. The syllabus for Britons at Work looks a lot like the Britain section of my Comparative Government class at NDA, which will be magnificent! And last but certainly not least, British Culture and Ideas. The selected readings look awesome, especially Satanic Verses and The Marriage of Heaven and Hell. Fun stuff!

The resumes of our professors are HEAVY DUTY. Do they have resumes. I was excited to see that one of my professors is from Nottingham, which immediately made me think of Alan and his brilliant work in Robin Hood. (Anyone have a spoon handy?) I'm most impressed, however, by my Business Dynamics teacher, Nigel Vincent Knight (how British does that sound?). He's been an economic adviser to Parliament, the Royal Family, and the HSBC. Very impressive.

So overall, it was a great meeting. I'm sooooo excited for London and can't wait for the pre-departure orientation meeting with the London contact person, who arrives next week! Hooray!

Homeland Security!

So today was my appointment to get my "biometric data" (aka fingerprints) taken to go along with my Visa Application. It was not easy! You need a special ticket to get into the building. With some difficulty, my Mom and I did locate the Office of Homeland Security. Thank goodness for GPS systems (or Jane, as I affectionately call mine). The very non-threatening looking guard let us in, and I had to leave my mom in the waiting room. I went to the receptionist desk, and was scrutinized along with my passport picture. Good thing I got new ones taken, my hair was much much shorter and I didn't have glasses then (regardless I still look rather creepy in my passport pictures). Before I knew it, I was shut in a tiny cubicle getting my electronic fingerprints taken. Now I can finally have my fingerprints manipulated like on CSI ... oh wait ... I guess that may not be a good thing. Anyway, it took all of 10 minutes; a lot of driving for such a short appointment! So now all I have left is to put everything together and send it to the UK Visa office in New York. I suppose that I should keep my fingers crossed that I won't be denied by the Brits!