C and C Overseas

To sum up

2009-10-08T15:36:00.024+01:00

Okay. I realize this is a little belated, but I just felt I couldn't leave this unfinished, so here goes.

The Jeffs let us stay with them in Berlin, and to show our appreciation we cooked them schnitzel and they, in turn, made popcorn and cookies whose salt-content was perfect, despite what their creator had to say. Elise, Ed, Catrina and I visited the Berlin Wall. It was amazing to see the planned artwork as well as the graffiti. Elise, Ed, and I then played hide-and-seek in the Memorial for the Holocaust Jews. Highly inappropriate but great fun. Ed also got some great pictures of the sun setting on the slabs of rock before we were yelled at for standing on them.

The next day, Elise and I parted company with Catrina, who was headed to Rosenheim to meet up with the family. While trying to leave Berlin, Elise and I learned that German efficiency is all a lie. The city train we were supposed to take to the station was closed. The next one was late, and then delayed to let another train pass. We were ten minutes late when we sprinted from the top of the Hauptbahnhof to the bottom where our platform was. Luckily that train was 40 minutes late. We couldn't get to our seats since the train was so packed, so we ended up sitting in the aisle. When we had to switch trains, we just grabbed the first seats we could see. We hadn't eaten anything all day, but the nice people next to us took pity and fed us three of their delicious cookies. Thank you strangers.

In Prague we had great difficulty in getting a map and finding our Hostel since we had forgotten to write down what street it was on. The nice rail ticket guy helped us find our Apple Hostel, which ended up being in a great location. At dinner we tried Czech beer, not its biggest fans. On our adventure to see the dancing house, we passed by this great fountain and lo and behold, out comes a perfect rainbow. We also found a great hollow tree to play in.

The next day we traveled to Prague Castle, which is always surrounded by ominous looked clouds, fyi. While the hike there had us panting for breath, the view was spectacular. Elise made friends with a suit of armor and took pictures pretending I was in a cage. In response, I dragged her to the Jewish Quarter to look for the Golem that guards it. We didn’t find him, but I did get a tiny little clay statue of him. That night, since we’re failures, instead of going out, we ate gelato and went to bed. The next day we hung out in the square where we of course heard “Pokerface.” That Lady Gaga just wouldn’t leave us alone. After great difficulty checking the internet (we had to beg some internet café man to let us use the internet for real cheap), we headed to the station to wait for our train to Rosenheim. While napping in the grass, we made friends with a little Czech girl, about two. Her mother gave us each an apricot to say thank you.

Rosenheim was sweet. We hung out with Catrina’s family, especially Carina. We bought dirndls, ate delicious German food, drank some sort of local Wheat beer that was amazing, and even climbed the Alps. Okay, so we drove up most of it but still. AND I almost touched a mountain cow. Almost.

We also went to Munich, where oddly enough, we bumped back into Kevin. After visiting the English Gardens and seeing a really complicated coo coo clock, we had dinner and giant steins full of radler (half lemonade, half wheat beer) at the original Hofbrauhaus. Trina’s family was great; when it was time to leave, Uncle Tom and Carina met us at the train station with our luggage and a bag full of goodies (cookies, apples, beer). Saying goodbye to Catrina, Elise and I got on the night train to Florence. We shared some of our snacks with the two British boys who we shared our cabin. One was a Leonard Cohen boy.

We woke up in Italy, and were immediately told there were no trains leaving for Paris for the next four days. Not good since, out plane flew out in three. After my previous trouble with Italian trains, you’d think I would have been prepared. In desperation, we booked a train to Nice the next morning, figuring it was best to just try and get into France. However, this ruined our plans to go to Pisa.

When we got to our hostel we found out it didn’t open for another four hours. We ate our breakfast of cookies and apples in the Piazza (thank goodness for Tom) and spent out time wandering around with our heavy bags looking for a green space to lie down. Little known fact: there is no green space in Florence.

When we returned to the hostel no one was there and when the girl finally showed up, she didn’t have our reservation. After much confusion (she only spoke Italian and Spanish to go with our French and English), we got it settled and headed out to find the Duomo. It was so hot that as soon as we got inside the cool Duomo, we collapsed on a bench. Nice architecture, Italy, no air conditioning, but cool as could be. Chilling in the Duomo, we came to the pathetic conclusion that since we didn’t know where the David was and that it was 20 Euro to get in, our time would be better spent napping and our money towards wine and limoncello at dinner. Sad, I know, but we were so tired of museums and we’d never tried limoncello before.

After we visited a great open air market, we took a nap and then had a delicious dinner. The house wine was great, the bread sadly quite bland. Perhaps that is why they invented bruschetta. For my dinner I had this pizza with ham, pesto, porcini mushrooms and truffle sauce evenly spaced on it. To die for. Elise enjoyed her gnocchi and then it was time for our limoncello. Not at ALL what we thought it was going to be. Maybe the quantity of three shots, it was the most bitter, sharp and yet sweet thing I’ve ever tasted. The faces we made while drinking it were pathetic.

The next morning we somehow ended up at the wrong train station. Waiting in line at the help desk, there was some sort of Italian verbal brawl concerning the slowness of the woman in front of me. As it was all in Italian, the curse words were a bit above me, but I think I got the gist of the fight. Luckily, we made it to the correct station just in time to jump on the slowest moving train ever to get to Nice.

After bonding with the nice people from New Zealand, we hopped off the train in Nice and promptly bought night train tickets to Paris. Thank god. However, we then had several hours to kill, not enough time to venture out (sad), so we spent a significant amount of the time having a leisurely lunch at this café showing weird music videos on the TV. The trip to Paris was fine. We shared a room with a Parisian girl and her tiny, surprisingly well-behaved dog. We were delayed for a little while because some kids had apparently been on the train sans tickets and were quickly being arrested.

In Paris, after realizing we had acquired more bug bites in a sealed cabin, we quickly deduced that we had picked up fleas from the hostel in Florence. Damn that hostel. At our hotel, I had the concierge throw out my blanket right away. He asked if it was stolen. Really dude? I know I looked a bit of a wreck by then, but jeez.

Elise and I loved out hotel room. There were clean sheets and towels, a big bed, a beautiful bathroom, and a TV showing CNN. It was love at first sight. After throwing out my jeans and pillow and quarantining everything that had been exposed in Italy, I jumped in the shower and then headed to Versailles. My god. It was the most ornate, gaudy piece of architecture I’ve ever seen. In one room I spotted a bust of Jean Racine. Go me and my ancestors. I strolled around the gardens and watched the fountains, before filling up my bottle of water and heading back to meet up with Elise by Notre Dame. We then got ice cream and free back massages before going to pick up our suitcases.

Once in the suburbs, we stopped to eat dinner and buy wine. When we showed up at Elise’s friend’s house, they were just getting back from Provence. They drove us back to our hotel and we joined them for one last glass of wine before bed.

At the airport the next morning, there was a bomb scare. Just our luck. They had also overbooked our flight, but no way in hell was I delaying my flight back home. Reaching Chicago was awesome. We understood everything that was going on around us. Home sweet America.

We parted company then, Elise to Columbus and me to Cincinnati. My family was late to pick me up, and I was fiddling with the pay phone when they finally arrived. Oh the way home, I calmly informed my mother I might have fleas in my luggage and that maybe we should deal with that when we got home. I stayed up until 10 o’clock, pretty good as that is 4 am in Paris, and when I passed out in my comfortable, flea-less, clean bed in my solitary room, I was glad to finally be back home.

there's no place like home

2009-08-05T13:22:00.003+01:00

so here i am, finally sitting at a desk that i know, using a keyboard that makes sense. my travels through europe were not about achieving any list of must-see or must-do things. for me, travelling was a chance to eat, drink and basque in a different kind of life for a short while. i hope i let the few cities i visited open themselves up to me, and i am certain that for a short while, i opened myself up to a different kind of life.

when i first was applying for this trip i was seeking an adventure. i wanted time away from so many things that were making me tired and anxious. i wanted something for me. i have come back a little more stable and hungry for time with my family and friends who have been residing in two cities very close to my heart for the last few months.

attempting to sum up my last two weeks in europe would only fall short of the extreme emotions i felt while i was there. there are not words to accurately describe a misty paris morning, eating a crepe on the steps of the pantheon and looking down a street that leads to the eiffel tower. and, i can't possibly express how emotional it was for my rosenheim family to meet my cleveland family for the first time. even through an icam, you can see family resemblances and language barriers are nothing when there is love involved. watching my oma see her sister for the first time in 20 years is a memory i will have forever.

so, like dorthy, i have escaped the dulldrums of the midwest for a little while and visited a fantasy world, only to come back. lots of people thought i would stay there forever, transfer to some london university and set up a whole new life. but, as much as i loved my time there, each little adventure only served to remind me of the people at home that i wish i was sharing it with. and believe me, i have a situation where i wished everyone of you were there.

so my last entry is a bit of a cop out. instead of telling you all about everything i did, i am choosing not to. at least not here. instead, i am going to post pictures from the last few weeks on my flickr. and i promise, if you ever want to know what it's like to be stuck in berlin sans hostel at 2 am, i'll tell you all about it, complete with catrina hand motions and everything. come up to the braumeister and over a beer you can tell me all about your last 2 months of adventure i will tell you about mine, and then we will knobel. and i will win.

so i promise i'll have pictures up in the next few days, and i'll keep putting up pictures of my adventures here at home with the people i missed for so long. but for now, my real life is calling me and i have to go feed the cat, and take out atti and spend some time with a few of you in real life instead of through typed words and rapid skype phone calls.

goodbye england, hello europe

2009-07-24T12:35:00.004+01:00

So, we're currently in Berlin. We've hit Paris, Brussels, and Amsterdam so far, and tomorrow Elise and I are heading to Prague while Catrina heads to Rosenheim.

I was actually kind of sad to say goodbye to London. Andrew and company got me a keychain, pair of earrings, and a purse/shoulder bag as going away gifts. It was stressful writing my feature piece at the end (I actually went in to work although the internship was officially over) but I think I left it in pretty decent shape. Saying goodbye to the flatmates was especially sad. Caitlyn, Amanda and we had a pretty good run together. We're already planning to roadtrip out to Penn State to visit them. Hopefully Julie can pop down from NJ to visit at the same time.

Leaving London was of course a hassle, with me on a different train from Catrina and her friend Kevin. I also just barely made my train as I hadn't really taken into account the long walk to the tube avec my stupid suitcase, having to buy a tube ticket since my card had run out, delays on the Picadilly and just basic slowness in general. However I made it to Paris and finally got to see Elise again. YAY.

Paris was nice, but the London weather seemed to follow us, but the sun appeared while we were in Montmartre and I even managed to burn my nose again. A quick tour of the Louvre, climb up Notre Dame, journey up la Tour Eiffel (which I abstained from, once was enough), some bread and cheese, and we were saying goodbye to Kevin and heading to Brussels.

Due to some train issues, we had to nix Bruges from the plans, but Brussels turned out to be beautiful. Catrina and I were amazed by the wide selection and cheapness of the beers at the supermarket and might have bought six while Elise's back was turned. After consuming several, we ventured out to find delicious chocolate-covered waffles and the Delirium Bar. Once again we were overwhelmed with choices. There might also have been a glass theft involved, but I'm not saying anything. The next morning we woke up wondering what all the excitement was about. Turns out by freak chance, we managed to end up in the capital of Belgium for their national holiday. Go us. After hanging out in the park full of little booths, we bought some chocolates and headed to Amsterdam.

Once there we decided we should get our tickets to Germany sorted out. We attempted to queue but were told we had to take a number to wait instead (and we had gotten so good at queueing too). I was standing under the tv showing the list of numbers up next. My balloon from Brussels attached to my backpack happened to float in front of the screen and just as Elise was about to move it, some trainstationman came over and told me "maybe you should go away now." I, of course, had no idea what was going on but finally figured out the balloon problem. Due to the time it took waiting, the tourist info closed and we had no idea how to get to our hostel. With the help of three different guys and a map the actual size of Amsterdam, we managed to make it there. Late as it was, all we managed to do was find food and fall into bed. The next morning we headed to the Anne Frank house, where we of course had to queue. After that, Elise and Catrina went on a wandering around trip that resulted in bagels and coffee and parks and happiness. I jumped on a waterbus and got a tour of the canals on my way to the Van Gogh museum. It was fascinating seeing how his work changed as he moved from Antwerp to Paris to the south of France. After a little more canal busing, I met up with C and E and we jumped on the train to Berlin.

We got in pretty late, so we were thrilled that our friend Ed met us at the station and took us to our hostel. There was some confusion with the room and with the bedding, but we eventually got it worked out. The next morning we walked to the train station to get out tickets worked out and then lay in the Tiergarten before heading to the Brandenburg Gate to meet up with Ed. However, there was some timing issues and we missed each other, so we got bizarre Mexican lunch and then lay in the Lustgarten. We're big fans of napping in parks. We met up with Ed later and ate some delicious Turkish food. After stopping by the apartment Ed is staying at, we headed back to the hostel. Again confusion with the room and the beds, but we thought it was all figured out and sent Ed on his way. FALSE. It was not worked out; they tried to put us in a room that was already occupied. We got our money back and headed out to try and make our way back to Ed's. We thought we might be able to make it, but by thankful freak chance, we ended up on the same tram as Ed. We crashed on his floor and got to meet the actual flatmates the next morning. Both Jeffs were really nice. We're not quite sure where we're staying tonight, maybe here again.

Anyway, tomorrow it's Praha and then Elise and I are joining back up with Catrina in Rosenheim. Yay the south of Germany!

another travelin' song

2009-07-16T10:50:00.002+01:00

today i am mailing my things to germany. this means, that after a quick skype to my mother, i won't have access to the internet on a daily basis. my macbook is making the journey to germany buried deep within my suitcase, cushioned by towels and a combination of clean and dirty clothes....hopefully it will be safe.

we are leaving for paris on friday to be reunited with our dear miss elise. kevin has decided to tag along.

once we are in paris, we are going to make reservations at hostels in brussels, bruges, amsterdam and berlin. we will leave for belgium on sunday. on the 25, i'll head to rosenheim and claire and elise are going to prague for a few days, then they'll come to bavaria too. i know this is just a rough outline, but we will be on a pretty tight schedule and moving around pretty rapidly. we'll post a clearer outline when we get some internet access in france.

there is a crack in everything...

2009-07-12T11:24:00.004+01:00

that's how the light gets in

of shoes and ships and ceiling wax, of cabbages and kings

2009-07-10T15:25:00.003+01:00

so it is my last day at iwpr, and i am sitting at my desk doing nothing, which is par for the course really. i can't believe that time has gone by so quickly. it seems like only last week, i was interviewing with Caroline and being assigned my projects. now, i am getting a going away party of my own and i have made headway on the afghanistan elections pages. i am going to finish my articles from the states and continue freelancing for iwpr from home. i'm lucky to be able to continue working on my projects from the states. i have really become invested in the elections and it will be a nice portfolio boost to continue working with this organization.

it's also our last weekend here in london. last night, julie, amanda, cait and i went out to this fabulous irish pub in picadilly circus. it was one of the most amazing pubs i have ever been in. it was mammoth, although from the outside you would never guess the maze of stairs, floors and woodwork awaiting you. there was a giant tree carved into a pillar that appeared to be holding up the entire pub. (waxyoconnors.co.uk)

today, while eating my lunch of vegetarian quiche and blueberry tea at what has become my favorite lunchtime haunt near work, i realized just how short of a time i have here. it is going to be a week full of 'lasts'. as excited as i am to continue my journey through europe, to bavaria and finally home, it's sad to thing that i wont see amanda, caitlyn and julie for a while. we've all grown so close and thinking that i can't just go grab dinner or a cider with them will be so strange. luckily, we don't live that far from each other and are already planning visits for the fall.

really, the only thing that has been a damper on this entire trip is Arcadia University (who orchestrated the program). the class was completely useless, the paper was rushed and unorganized and they haven't been helpful in the least. my intership placement was perfect and their random roommate assignment worked out amazingly, but i feel as though the latter part of that equation was a complete accident and not at all based on research of any kind. i love my intership. i hate that i gave Arcadia an exhorbent amount of money to complete it.

our trip to italy was hectic and wonderful. it's something i am really unable to describe in words, a first for me, i know. but as ansel adams once said : "When words become unclear, I shall focus with photographs. When images become inadequate, I shall be content with silence". i hope that you check out the photos i have posted on the flickr site. they are just a small sampling of the 300+ pictures i took on our trip, but i feel as though they represent it well and they are the ones i like the most. i threw them up kind of hastily, so they are unedited and are exactly as i took them, no photoshopping present. (i ask that if you are going to use the photos in any way to please let me know via email: otonoga.1@gmail.com)

this weekend, claire and i are headed to surrey to see leonard cohen. amanda, cait, julie, kevin and i are going to high tea at thelanesborough (thelanesborough.com). and we are going to try to hit up harrods and portobello road again for some last minute gift shopping. i'm excited to see what london holds for my last few days here.

a picture is worth 1000 words

2009-07-10T09:54:00.002+01:00

pictures of maida are now on the flickr site

www.flickr.com/photos/edelweissandforgetmenots

enjoy!

Mostru Maida

2009-07-08T22:46:00.010+01:00

If Catrina ever feels the need to explain in greater detail (or even if I do at some point) then, dear readers, you might get a more accurate description of our Italian adventures. As it is, I feel it is better to just get down as much as I can.

To start, we raced from work to class to flat to shower to pack and out the door. After a lost Underground card and ticket problems, we made it to Stansted Airport around 10 pm, Wed. We attempted to work on our 5000 word papers, but apparently in Europe, outlets are nowhere to be found. After staying up all night long, we went to go through security when I realized I did not have my passport because it was sitting on my desk. The others went to get on the plane as I, of course, cried in the airport. There was another plane at 1040, leaving me not enough time to take the train again. One 150 pound taxi ride and graffiti artist Banksy spotting later, I returned to the airport to find that my plane actually didn't leave until 1230 and I definitely could have taken the train. I chose to spend my extra time sleeping on the airport floor. When getting on the plane, turns out we were not allowed to have one bag plus purse and I consequently had to shove everything into my already stuffed backpack. When I finally made it to Naples, I only had about 15 min to make it to the train station. The bus moved as slow as molasses and I then got to sprint across the piazza with all my baggage. Somehow my hat fell out of my bag and since the nice Italian man pointed it out to me, the rapidly sprinting American, I was forced to briefly retreat to retrieve the 2 dollar hat. I don't know how but I made it onto the train.

Of course, turns out we were on the wrong train, but we didn't find that out for another hour. In the meantime, I rapidly consumed most of a bottle of wine that a random Italian man opened using a screwdriver. Once our incorrect train returned us to Naples, we then jumped on a different train that we were pretty sure was going south. Four and a half hours later, hungry, tired, confused and somewhat lost, all six of us could be seen, faces pressed to the windows, staring out into the dark Italian countryside. With a little luck and a lot of phone shouting between Amanda and her mother, we finally made it to Lamezia. Waiting for us were a group of Italians, including Amanda's Nonna. Quickly placed in little cars, we were zipped over to Maida where we were soon stuffed with pasta, what was soon to become a common occurrence. After a brief breakdown and comforting by Nonna, I was finally able to close my eyes and go to sleep. It was around 1 am Friday morning.

The rest of the trip consisted of tiny espressos, fetching water from springs, gelato, pasta and delicious crystal light lemonade, showing the italian guys how to do shots, late night pastries, language barriers, trips to the beach with sandwiches made for us by the italian boys (we of course got sun burnt), more pasta, driving very quickly through the italian countryside with italian boys (you notice they crop up a lot), Nonna's cousins, mamma mia! (yes, they actually say that), more gelato, more beach and sunburns and old men in speedos, more pasta, more driving with italian boys, more pastries, pasta, lemonade, gelato, hilarious music from the 90s, olive groves, eating in the dark, Nonna doing our laundry, fingers smashed in car doors, fingers stung by bees, pasta, beautiful settings and wonderful people. It might seem like the bad things outweigh the good, but I'd still do it all over again if I had the choice (maybe that time I'd remember my passport).

Luckily, our trip back was reasonably successful, lacking the catastrophes of the first journey.

My first trip to Italy is one I don't think I will ever forget.

Annie et Lisa

2009-07-08T22:44:00.002+01:00

Annie and Lisa's guest blog is supposed to go here only they are incommunicado at the moment and on a tiny farm in France. If they ever choose to post their London adventures here, so be it. If not, well, they came, they saw, they left. The end.

bueller....bueller....

2009-06-29T20:46:00.003+01:00

so upon waking this morning, i was confronted with a choice.

1. go to the sweltering office where i would sit and endlessly google afghanistan issues. work on my article on security issues and play around of facebook all day, missing the most beautiful day we've had in london since we've been here.

2. don't

i chose 2. i spent the morning with claire, annie and lisa finding our way across london bridge and looking at the (expensive) tower of london from afar. after our endeavors on the other side of the river, the racine ladies had a lunch date with claire's boss, and i decided i should probably go home to get some pre-italy work done. after all, it was only 12:30, and i could still get a lot accomplished.

i got on the tube with every intention of going home to get my work done. but then, that little voice came over the loudspeaker "this is mansion house, alight here for tate modern and millennium bridge" so i alighted.

i walked down a winding path that took me to the banks of the thames and crossed millennium bridge toward tate modern. i had lunch in the tate cafe and spent a few hours getting too close to art that makes me think about perceptions of the world. literally, i got too close, i almost got kicked out for being so close to the art. i sprawled out in a circle of birch trees on the lawn outside the museum and basked in the sun. sitting on the steps at bankside, eating my raspberry sorbet, i remembered why i came here and just how wonderful and amazing it is that i am actually in london. my days have been dictated by work and visitors and it was nice to take a day and remember just why i worked so hard to come here. it was a day for myself on a trip i've taken so i can figure out where i fit in this great big world and how it feels to get along without my safety net.

after my adventure, i met kevin at the princess louise for drinks. we easily fell back into our rhythm of joking and teasing balanced with the more serious sides of life, politics, religion and our more genuine thoughts. it was good company in a beautiful samuel smith owned pub, the one place in london i've found with freshly brewed beer on draft that is served in the right glass. we went on a hunt for dinner and finished up with cookies in covent garden. all kevin's treat i might add, i knew i kept him around for more than his rugged good looks.

it was a lovely day. the kind of day that made my whole trip worthwhile. it was simple and full of beautiful things and time for me to reflect on them and enjoy it.

Who doesn't want to party at a megalithic, ancient ruin?

2009-06-25T21:51:00.006+01:00

Alright. So Saturday night, I went to Stonehenge with the guys from the flat below us, J, JT, and Steve. Now, I really hadn’t hung out with them before but I figured hey I’m in England, it’s the summer solstice, really how many chances like that does one person get?

Now the last train leaving for Stonehenge left at 10:28. We showed up at the train station, sans tickets, at 10:15. After attempting to buy said tickets, we remembered the stupid machines don’t take US credit cards and none of us had enough cash. Since there was literally only one minute left before the train headed out, we sprinted towards the platform. Ticketless, we jumped aboard seconds before the train pulled out. We got split up in our scramble to get seats and JT and I were quietly freaking out about the situation, while J calmly went and found the guy collecting tickets, bought our tickets and crisis averted.

After we got off the train, we had to take a bus, which of course required more tickets. While J was once again being responsible, JT and I made friends with Caty, the girl with a cat nose and whiskers drawn on in sparkly paint. I soon was sporting a sparkly star and JT, a butterfly. Steve joined us at this point and was rewarded with a giant S for Stonehenge.

Once we got off the bus we saw.. Stonehenge! Actually, not yet, it was really dark so we couldn’t see much of anything and then we had to hike about a mile to get to the actual stones. All totally worth it though, because once we made it to the rocks, we were so close we could touch them. In fact, we did more than tough them; we stood on one of the fallen ones. T’was sweet!

After we made it up on that rock, Steve and I refused to leave for anything. As a bonus, I also got to make friends with Mark the Wizard. He had a long gray beard, a cloak, and a giant magic stick. Pretty sure he was a druid. He was there with the woman he is hand fasted to. He grew up close to Stonehenge and had been to these festivals like 42 times (it was in the 40s, but don’t quite remember what number). After explaining which way the sun came up and at the winter solstice, where it set, he let me try his home brewed honey mead since it was my first time to Stonehenge. Wizards are so cool. Also, he only lives 5 tube stops away from me.

As the night went on, we made other random friends. Close to 36,000 people showed up. The only thing not to show up was the sun the next morning. Stupid British weather. Oh well.

On the way back to get the bus, Steve and I got separated from the other two. This was mainly because we really, really, really had to pee. Unfortunately, after that we ended up walking the wrong direction through a giant field of cars. For some reason we walked all the way through before admitting it was wrong, backtracking, and then still having to walk all the way to the bus. Miserable, especially since we had definitely gone from drunk straight to hung over. Then we had to buy more bus tickets since J had ours and of course we just missed the train, so we had to wait 50 min for the next one (we napped in the evil metal chairs on the platform). Sleep deprived, we climbed on the train, where we realized I no longer had my ticket. Turns out that wasn’t even our problem. Instead we got yelled at by the ticket man because there was only two people in our party of four and apparently you’re not allowed to split up. However, he gave up and let us nap. After the train, another bus ride, and we were finally home, 12 hours after our initial venture out of the house.

live update from baldwin's gardens

2009-06-23T15:23:00.002+01:00

i have just submitted my outline of events in afghanistan from 2000-present for the third time. if my editor asks for more edits, i am going to personally go to kabul and punch her in the nose. i have acquired un-acquire-able details, i have scavanged the furthest reaches of the internet, i have toiled, i have sweated. all over this stupid timeline that i have to get done so i can write my features.

i have rewarded myself for my efforts with a cranberry brownie. be jealous.

vanessa, who is the cutest girl in the world, runs the staff meetings at IWPR and is tony's (head leader/inventor/troublemaker of IWPR) assistant. today is our weekly staff meeting and she is very excited because we can now Skype our foreign offices. woo hoo for foreign election coverage in crazy falling apart countries. the phone call is quite static ridden and really, we can only understand about 70% of what is happening in kurdistan. IWPR is big on small victories therefore, i fit right in. they are also big on training journalists in crisis areas so they can produce their own journalism and hold their governments accountable. it's exciting to be (a small) part of.

everyone is currently debating the amount of entries for the contest for heroic journalism that IWPR puts up every year. having never produced a piece of heroic journalism in my life, i am not eligible. it's like guessing for knobel, but without the luftwaffe (bummer). i guessed 77. i feel as though this may be too high, but we have a facebook fan page, so maybe our reach has grown.

it is finally getting warm here in london. i'm not wearing tights (woohoo rebel!) and i think it is supposed to be in the upper 70's this weekend. i am going to call it 80 in my head so i feel better about it. i am going to sunbathe in hyde park and drink lots of wine. it's no ComFest, but it'll have to do.

and now, for round 2 of googling madness: security issues in afghanistan....

apparently, according to one miss ana bennett "all of der brau knows you are going to italy," so here, official announcement: i am going to italy. details will follow soon.

the world breaks everyone

2009-06-21T17:07:00.002+01:00

today is father's day in the u.s and even here in g.b i can't escape it. my roommates have spent the past few days buying cards and this afternoon chatting to their fathers back home. this day is always a rough one for me, and the weeks leading up to it don't make it any easier. the tube is plastered with ads reminding me to buy my dad a tie or a set of golf clubs, two things he never would have used anyway. harrod's is full of deals on father-esque things, such as button down shirts and cuff links.

my father wasn't a cuff link kind of guy. he dressed simply on a daily basis, levi 501s and t-shirts, leather jackets and motorcycle boots. for causal events, it was dockers and italian button down shirts and boat shoes. dressing up meant a simple, classic italian suit. ties were reserved for only the most formal occasions. and no matter what was happening, he always smelled of ralph lauren and molboro cigarettes and a little bit like salami.

i miss him a lot today. perhaps it's because it's father's day, and in my father-less state i am feeling sorry for myself. maybe it's just the home-sickness getting to me. but there is something about being in the land of soccer and bread and red wine that makes me feel so close to him that it aches. i want so badly to buy him a chelsea football club hat and to watch him wear it until it wears out, and then fix it and wear it some more. i want to call him and ask him how to take the train from naples to lamezia. i want to ask him where i should go in vienna. i want him to go to vienna with me.

i ate a salami sandwich with havarti on good bread for him today. i figured it was a worthwhile tribute, although i will never master the art of making a sandwich like my dad did.

i have a lot of unanswered questions for my dad; questions about his childhood and my childhood and what is going on in iran how to change a flat tire and how to make stew. i am afraid that returning to his homeland cannot answer these questions for me. but, perhaps it can bring me a little closer to a man i didn't have for quite long enough.

ready for your close up?

2009-06-19T09:31:00.001+01:00

http://www.flickr.com/photos/edelweissandforgetmenots/

this is where i'll be posting photos as we traverse throughout england and europa

Guest post by one Ryan Book

2009-06-18T20:52:00.002+01:00

E-------------------------------------------------------------------------
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G--12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12----10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10---
D--10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-----8--8--8--8--8--8--8--8---
A--10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-----8--8--8--8--8--8--8--8---
E-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Much to my disappointment, the UK is not at all like the aforementioned Sex Pistols song. It is still pretty solid. Here is a summary of the last few days:

JUNE 15, 2009

I arrived latish at the airport and was grilled by an angry Iranian immigration officer at the gate. "YOU ARE ONLY COMING FOR THREE DAYS?!?" and "HOW CAN YOU AFFORD THIS IF YOU ARE JUST A STUDENT?!?" were among her inquiries. My standard answer of "That's what she said" did not help my cause.

We arrived back at the flat where Claire was greeted by a surprise birthday celebration, consisting of champagne spilled on floor and a torte bought by Catrina. Happy irrelevant 21st Claire!!!

JUNE 16, 2009

A list of British things that will never cease amusing me: "Way Out", "Mind the Gap", and "Picadilly Line". Honestly though, the underground is the greatest thing ever. It's like COTA, except completely different.

CCR (Claire, Catrina, and Ryan) visited the British Museum, which was both fun and free. The British Empire, after looting every nation on Earth, realized it could justify it by putting it on display for free. Estimates suggest that nearly half of ancient Egypt is contained within the museum.

Catrina took Claire and I to a swanky pub during the night (it's still Claire's b-day recall) and we tried various Sam Smith (the Sam Adams of the UK) beers. Catrina set up a date with a decent bloke working the bar, but at this moment she is skipping it. LAME. We then continued to a night club which was overpriced and Brits dancing to a cover band playing 'Sweet Home Alabama' much like our grandparents danced at sock hops. We went home, fairly intoxicated.

JUNE 17, 2009

We woke up at lunch and made our way to the original Hard Rock Cafe. Food was delicious and expensive.

NOTE TO ELISE: As I hear you are the only person who reads this, you'll be jealous to hear we sat by Jimi Hendrix's guitar. HA.
NOTE TO CHRISSIE: As you are the other person who reads this, it was a ES-135. I believe you own one of these. Me = jealous.

CCR continued to Parliament/ Westminister Abbey in the afternoon. Buildings big. I was hoping to take awkward photos at Abbey but fare was absurd. I can go to church for free in America, I just choose not to. There is a statue of MLK at WM Abbey. AMERICA....heck yeah.

Interesting note: Claire doesn't know the difference between Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela.

JUNE 18, 2009: BONUS DAY!!!

Due to a bizarre error with check-in at the airport, I was not included on my flight, much to C+C's chagrin. As they had schoolwork to do (aka no patience for my shenanigans) I set out alone into the city.

I headed over to the National Gallery. Trafalgar Square is real sweet. The Museum had a fair amount of recognizable names and it was free!

I then walked around Buckingham Palace, which is home to the world's most inefficient family. I was politely asked to leave the gift shop after asking where the Princess Di postcards were.

Finally, over to Hyde Park where I took some awkward self-portraits and headed back to the flat where the hungry girls awaited. Claire reminded me to get some sleep as I WAS leaving the next day. She pointed a knife at me while she said this.

Thanks for letting me handle the guest post, and as they say in the UK: au revoir!

-Ryan Book

turn your camera on

2009-06-16T20:48:00.000+01:00

lots of pictures coming shortly....promise.

lions and strikes and queens, oh my

2009-06-15T16:32:00.004+01:00

Alright. To quickly sum up before we get too far behind to even try and catch up. Last week, the tube workers went on strike. This was fabulous news since nobody knew how to work the bus system. Consequently, some people in the program took 3 hours to get to work and then of course cried.

Luckily, Catrina and I had work off on the first day. Instead we went on an exciting and surprisingly sightseeingesque bus ride to find the British Library. Since we were famished, we stopped into a pub to grab a bite to eat. I ordered a tuna melt. Now, similar to most of our British experiences, you think you know what you are getting but no, you are wrong. My tuna melt was tuna and melted cheese on a baguette. No relish or onions or mayonnaise or anything in the tuna. The British put mayo on everything but the one time I actually wanted a little it was no where to be seen.

After the library, we somehow made it to class since part of the tube was working. Upon arriving to stupid class, which we had been informed no tube strike would cancel, we were told to tell out friends who didn’t come that it was okay. Gah, we could have skipped and no one would have even known. Damn Catrina for being right. Afterwards we made it home, again on the tube in a somewhat roundabout manner.

Also, since Catrina and I were terrified of trying to get to work the following day via the bus, we were considering just skipping. Catrina was just planning on going in on Fri, but I had only worked one day. Luckily, I got an email from my boss asking if I wanted “to give tomorrow a miss” because of the strike. I love my boss. I’m just going to work four days next week. Problem solved.

Since Catrina, Amanda, Caitlyn and I all were not working, we decided to try and go to the National Galleries since it only took one bus to get there.

However, once there, we quickly got sidetracked by men in uniform. They informed us that there was going to be a celebration for the Prince of Edinburgh, the queen’s husband (who we knew practically nothing about) and that the queen would be there. Discounted tickets were only £10 and we figured why not. Since we wouldn’t have time to go to the museum, we decided to wisely use our time to climb some giant bronze lions in front of the Nat’l Galleries. How people easily scramble up those, we’ll never know. After much awkward pushing and sliding, we managed to get atop it just long enough for a picture. Catrina had a blast laughing at us while documenting the entire experience. After a group picture on the side of the lion, we headed off looking for food.

By picking a random direction, we discovered the Sherlock Holmes Pub. Of course we went in. Out of all the pubs, in all of London, we walked into one and sat next to a group of students from our program. What are the odds. After a lot of problems with my credit card, I happily devoured my first british fish 'n' chips and a sticky toffee pudding, as well as a Sherlock Holmes Ale. Catrina’s sausage sandwich, on the other hand, was rather pathetic. It was a sausage sliced in half on normal sliced bread, no more, no less. Not even mustard.

Now since everything happens when I am not present, of course Catrina, Amanda and Caitlyn were accosted by a prison-tattooed, tooth-missing, crazy old man while I was in the bathroom. He walked straight up to Catrina, leaned right into her face and said, “'Ello sexy!” He then proceeded to ask if they were married, because he wanted to marry all of them. Of course I missed this.

After that, we headed over to watch the parade, marching band thingy. After waiting forever, in the shade and consequently cold, with Amanda having to pee and me being attacked by allergies, the queen finally showed up. I stood on my chair to see the tiny women in her little green hat and dress. She came, she got out of the car, she shook a couple hands, and she left. Poor hubby was forced to sit under a tiny tent all by himself while drummers and such marched around for his viewing pleasure. I think he would have been happier with a pint.

With very tired feet, we finally headed home.

Obviously I haven’t covered Elise’s visit, but I figure this was a good start. Ryan Book is coming tonight, and we’re going out somewhere for my birthday. My boss took me to the pub for a drink to celebrate. Since it’s a Monday, everyone else was busy so it was just us. I got a glass of wine and we chatted for a while.

When we got back, the music selection started out with tina turner, but quickly switched to a short inspirational playlist (since European Pensions was going to print today) consisting of the final countdown, I did it my way by Frank Sinatra, whitesnake's here I go again, and chuck barry’s no particular place to go. Eye of the Tiger was originally turned off because it was “much too early for that. don't want to chance fate.” However, after Sinatra had repeated a couple times, apparently enough had been accomplished that it was then time to play it. I've just realized that this really wasn't a quick sum-up, but oh well. Just a little bit longer here, and then I can go home for my nap. I am very excited.

ELISE IS COMING

2009-06-12T16:50:00.003+01:00

what claire consumed at work today:
1 frappachino
1 banana-nut muffin
2 cups of tea
1 pint summer ale
1 brie, tomato, basil baguette
1 ginger ale

what claire listened to at work today:
elvis
lionel richie
la bamba
the rolling stones

ps. will post later about the tube strike, the giant lion statues, and the queen

The soundtrack for work today: mamma mia, in its entirety.

2009-06-08T23:57:00.003+01:00

I think people consume so much tea in this country because they like to procrastinate. You get to take a break to make the tea and then again when you go to the bathroom after finishing the tea. And when you have four cups of tea while at work, well you do the math.

Speaking of tea. Today I was supposed to attend The Good Socie-Tea with my boss. The discription for the event read: The All Party Parliamentary Group on the Community and Voluntary Sector and the National Council for Voluntary Organisations are pleased to invite you to afternoon tea on Monday 8 June 2009 from 4pm-6pm in the Attlee Suite at Portcullis House, House of Commons. Blah, what an invite. Sadly the new Charity Minister was appointed an hour before we were supposed to leave and my boss had to stick around to write up a piece on it. Stupid ministers are dropping like flies. My boss says he'll try to take me to some cool luncheon to make up for it.

So I had to sign another card at work for someone who is leaving. I always feel remarkably awkward in such situations because I do not know the person and obviously they do not know me either. Also I switched to work Friday (so I could write my evil nat'l security paper tomorrow) and said person is leaving on Friday. Therefore apparently another trip to the pub is in order. Oh dear.

calloh callay!

2009-06-08T15:58:00.005+01:00

so work time is now blog time. let's face it, i can only google 'afghanistan' for so long before i start running out of things to read and my interest dwindles to about 0%.

so on friday, caitlyn, amanda and i went to portobello road market. claire, continuing her pattern of missing everything, missed it by being at work and getting drunk with her boss.

the market was a giant mess of shops and stalls selling everything from vintage clothes to fish. it was incredible. amanda bought a cameo ring and i walked away with a pretty flawless hat. i am well aware that i will recieve epic amounts of grief for said hat upon my return. but, i love it. it's tweed and has a feather in it and really, that's all it takes to make me love it. lady brett ashley would approve. i finally had a proper english veg breakfast at charlie's cafe (http://charliesportobelloroadcafe.co.uk/). i was also introduced to a teapot/teacup combo invention which i now must have and will probably end up bringing back at least one as a gift. i believe we were waited on by mr. charlie himself at the cafe. he was quite the character and made sure we enjoyed our jaunt into english cuisine. finally, this country has redeemed itself in regards to food.

after breakfast, we were on mtv. this sounds more exciting than it actually was. we were walking down the street and got asked questions about kings of leon and greenday and we had to sign a release form. i'll never see myself on mtvuk, but i was on it.

the drizzling rain finally became too much to handle, so we went home.

that night, flat 1 ventured out to calloh callay, an alice and wonderland themed bar in shorditch. the club was very cool and sleek and packed with people. we had no idea you had to make a reservation at a bar. so, we were table-less, shoved in a corner, sipping on our expensive, tiny drinks. although they do serve a giant punch drink in a gramaphone, really the only perk for going back, we probably won't go again since they gave people a hard time about getting in. i was the only one over 21, had no id, and didnt have an issue. they gave caitlyn a hard time at the door, so we probably won't be back there. london is full of other experiences and really, you only need to go to an alice and wonderland themed bar once. we also went to another bar in the area. amanda promptly fell down a flight of steps, twisted her ankle and got pretty brused up. but we had a nice time and it was far less packed. we'll probably visit it after class on wednesday, since it's within walking distance of city university, and who doesn't like a post-lecture drink?

so this week is looking promising, despite crappy london weather. it never seems to get warm here. an amazingly summery day means 65 degress and it only rains once. however, miss greene is coming friday and i can't wait to see her. it's been too long since i've had a skinny blonde in my life....

hallelujah

2009-06-07T01:10:00.004+01:00

.

leonard fuckin cohen.

.

famous blue raincoat

2009-06-07T00:24:00.002+01:00

um, so, guess who just bought tickets to see leonard cohen in surrey?

we did.

july 11th at brooklands museum

this summer kicks every other summer's ass ever.

tipsy, or honestly maybe a bit more

2009-06-05T14:40:00.005+01:00

Okay, so I am currently drunk. at work. That#s right its not even 3 o'clock and I am drunk. I also still have to write an article about something in africa and a bank. i think.

So my boss invited me down to the pub for a drink during lunch. So me and 6 guys went out, the youngest might have been 27. So my boss bought me a pint, Londen's Best. and then somehow when I still had a couple sips left, someone else bought me another one. So I spent an hour and a half standing in a pub talking about movies during working hours. My excuse is that it is friday. They all seemed to think this was a brillant reasoned and consumed a third pint. i, smartily, did not. given how much trouble i'm having focusing, i think only one next time is prolly the best idea.

I am now eating an avacado wrap with stupid mayonaise on it. All i had for breakfast was abanana. i figured this was a good idea to get a sandwich before i tried to figure out this piece on something or other and finances. Okay, here i go. actually, maybe another cup of tea is a good idea. i had two my first day, three yesterday, so aparently i'm supposed to work up to 4 today. hmmm.

hahahaha

2009-06-05T10:52:00.002+01:00

Quickly, I just had to mention this. An organisation I wrote a short piece about was originally started in the welsh town of Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch. The UK is hilarious.

we have the power to make the world we seek

2009-06-04T21:49:00.003+01:00

today, i ventured to the american embassy to watch barack obama's speech in cairo. once i got through security, i entered a bustling lobby filled with people drinking tea out of white cups and saucers emblazoned with the white house logo. although the speech itself was only the bbc being streamed on on a large video screen, something about being in the embassy, being allowed to be in the embassy to watch the speech made it seem noteworthy and real.

i can honestly say, i've never been particularly proud to be an american, and usually don't define myself as such, but today was different. watching president obama deliver his eloquent speech to the islamic world made me infinitely proud. he quoted the quran, talmud and bible with ease, bringing centuries of disparate belief together to seek the common goal of peace.

his policy on legitimizing sovereign states for both israel and the palestinian people is noble. its time has most certainly come.

his choice of venue only demonstrates his commitment to opening the doors to dialogue across the globe, regardless of policy. in order to create change, there needs to be dialogue. nothing was ever solved creating walls of silence and neglect.

The genocides in both bosnia and darfur were mentioned, important at a time when icty is finishing its trials of the milosevic administration and darfur needs assistance more than ever. perhaps a change in policy there is evident as well? perhaps he is calling on muslim nations to protect people of islamic faith at home and abroad from humanitarian atrocities.

for me, it took going abroad to look at barack obama and realize that he was my president, and that i was proud of my country for electing a half-black man with a muslim name and past, a history of atheism, from a diverse, mixed family to the presidency. his concise, educated policy is apparent, and he is beginning to enact it. i am not one of those people who 'go abroad to realize how great it is back home'. i am a firm believer that dissent is patriotic, to question your government furthers what it is capable of. today, for the first time in my life, i was a witness to the great highs american government is capable of.

it's fun to stay at the..

2009-06-04T16:37:00.005+01:00

Today at work, I read the news online. And I don't mean that a half hour before I left I read a nytimes piece about Obama. No, I mean from noon until now the most I accomplished was drinking a cup of tea that I didn't even make. I did write a short piece and copyedit several articles but that was all done in two hours. Since I had so much freetime, I went and sat in the nearby park for lunch. (I must mention that while I was paying for my sandwich at the bagel place, who let the dogs out was playing... I know.) Anyway, in the park, after spilling my fanta, I saw a woman carrying a plastic Harry Potter broomstick. I thought she was going to try taking off right in front of me.

I then returned to the office where the YMCA was playing. It was just a day of excellent music. I did manage to figure out that the blue recycling bins filled with paper actually are the trash cans. Success! Now I can stop carrying my trash around with me everywhere. I should also mention that the person whose desk I'm sitting at has these post-its attached that read "u the best!" and "u rule...". On the upside, I feel great about myself every time I sit down.

Okay, I'm going to sit here patiently for a little while longer. Maybe I'll get to leave soon since there isn't anything more for me to do today.

at last!

2009-06-03T23:03:00.007+01:00

Finally, I can stop being that girl who didn't really accomplish anything all day but a 7-slide powerpoint presentation (of which I'm still rather proud). Today, I went.. to work. I managed to write three pieces and edit twice as many. My boss is really nice and he even brought me a tea today.

Now, I have to brag and say that I managed to find the bathroom by myself and I went to lunch, all on my first day. Of course, I did not manage to find a trash can so I just hid my trash in my purse until I left. Perhaps that shall be my goal for tomorrow.

celery, celery

2009-06-03T11:17:00.004+01:00

The key to attending any football match in the UK is knowing the songs and chants. This would have been great to know prior to our journey into SOBar where fans were waving high Chelsea flags, throwing celery as far as they could chuck it witout concern or care for individuals who may be hit in the eyeball with it and yelling songs and chants while spilling their beer left and right. After retreiving our beer from the bar, we headed outside where our evident shock and incessant giggling attracted the attention of some of the natives, who proceeded to mock our accents and show us their gluttony of Chelsea/ England themed tattoos. One guy had a 'Made in England' tramp stamp. I saw more of the British that day then I would ever care to. Then, rapidly and without any kind of warning, 200+ people crammed into the tiny bar to watch the game on a giant screen. There was chanting and singing and even a song where you had to kneel down and then pop back up and we just played along like we knew what was happening even though we clearly didn't.

I would just like to say, I've never been so glad to see a team win a match. I really think things would have been on fire if they would have lost. Chelsea fans would slaughter OSU fans. Slaugh-ter them.

That evening, Claire and I found one of the most adorable pubs I've ever seen. The Pembroke is just down the street from us, and is really just perfect in every way. Their menu is on giant chalkboards hanging on the walls, which are filled with mis-matched old photographs in yellowing frames. Giants chandelliers hang from the ceiling and the lamps have funky pink and green and yellow shades that look as if they were pulled out of some old proper British lady's trash. They also played an amazing mix of The Rolling Stones, Justin Timberlake and The Beatles. It was perfect.

Also, I have started work this week. This is the primary reason for my blogger-slacking. But, now that I've realized that I can do whatever I like at work, I am writing this at my desk. I've only been here 3 days and already, I am doing profiles on the 44 candidates in the Afghan elections and watching the War Crimes Tribunal at the Hague.

Yesterday, a girl got fired. It was my second day. Yikes.

I am too afraid to get up from my desk to go to lunch. I'm really not sure when lunch is, or what other people do, or who I actually report to. I also have no idea where the bathroom is. So, everyday I come home from work starving and having to pee really, really badly. I'm just going to go along with it until it gets too awkward to handle.

slacker

2009-06-02T13:01:00.002+01:00

it's my turn to blog, and i am slacking....well, really i started work this week so i am overwhelmed. typical catrina behavior. new things, new place, new projects = overwhelmed. i promise, i will update you on the chelsea game and my job and the weirdo date man at the restaurant last night when i get home from work.

carefree, wherever we may be..

2009-05-31T21:26:00.004+01:00

Yesterday was so intense that it needs to be told in chronological order. and in multiple parts.

We got up kind of late with no reals plans in mind besides wanting to go to a pub to watch the Chelsea football match. After dressing in the appropriate blue, we set out on our mission. I randomly decided which way we should go and off we went. Luckily for us, we quickly happened upon two guys wearing blue Chelsea jerseys. Instead of asking them where to go to watch the game, I instead decided it would be a good idea to just follow them. Catrina quickly agreed with the stalker plan. After trailing them for a couple streets, we hit gold. There in front of us was the Chelsea Football Club. We wandered in and found the megastore (and that's actually what it was called). Our finds included a shirt that was on sale, a striped scarf, and four pins. Armed with our team merchandise, we headed back outside where we discovered we could pretend to pose with a giant mural of the team.

Directly across from the CFC was the SO Bar and it was PACKED. People covered in blue had spilled out into the street. Beers in hand, they were singing, waving flags, and pretty much just going crazy. We had found the perfect place to watch the game. We forced our way through the crowd and inside to buy two beers. Given the madhouse inside we decided it would be in our best interest to head back out in order to drink our beers without having to worry about getting hit in the head with celery (more on that later). In fact, at this point I'm going to pass the story on to Catrina.

hate myself.

2009-05-30T00:13:00.004+01:00

So I bought a dress. And no, I'm not going to tell you how much I spent on it. Let it just be said that we were at a designer sample sale and that it is a Diane von Furstenburg. So in essence, it's not my fault. I came to the conclusion I would hate myself if I didn't buy it and that I would hate myself if I did by it but at least I'd have the dress.

After buying said dress, Catrina, our flatmate Caitlyn, and I found a whole bunch of other really sweet shops on Bond Street where I, like a good girl, did not buy anything. Then we went and laid down in the middle of Hyde Park. It's like the Oval times twenty.

Oh, I forgot to mention I had my interview this morning (technically yesterday, I suppose). I kind of overslept, forgot about the evil shower, couldn't find my hairbrush, sprinted to the Tube, got lost, and overall, think it went pretty well. One problem though. Apparently my magazine is a lot more business and financially oriented than I thought. Throughout the interview, which was more like me and my Kelsey Grammer-like boss chatting, I pretended that the business part did not worry me at all. After I left, I promptly went and bought the Financial Times Newspaper. I'm thinking that's going to have to be a regular occurrence. Looks like I've got some studying to do.

shop until you drop

2009-05-29T21:37:00.003+01:00

things to be proud of myself for:

1. i have only had 3 cups of coffee since landing in the uk. ok, well technically 4. but one of them sucked so badly i took one sip and threw it away, whittling it down to 3.

2. i didn't buy a luella bag at a sample sale today, thanks to ana.

3. i have been eating 3 healthy meals a day.

4. i bought practical shoes. when faced with the decision between light pink heels with a bow on the heel and flats, i chose flats. flats that were not ridiculously expensive and that i can wear anywhere.

5. i finished our multimedia project and submitted it to mike mcleod.

6. i am being semi-successful at making friends, not panicking in groups and not trying too hard while talking to people.

to london! to london!

2009-05-28T17:01:00.001+01:00

it's official. i'm in london.

pickpocketing adventure

2009-05-28T14:35:00.004+01:00

I am a certified idiot. But before we get into that, let's zoom back to yesterday. Now I don't want to shock anyone, but (brace yourselves) it rained. again. Despite that and the lecture on the European Union that we had to go to, it still ended nicely with a trip to the theatre to see Wicked. At first I was upset because we couldn't watch the Manchester United game against Barcelona. Of course since ManU ended up losing, I'm not so upset about missing it anymore. Back to Wicked. It was crazy hearing it with British accents. I saw it when it was in Cincinnati and for some reason the song "dancing through life" sounds ridiculous when it's pronounced "daaancing".

We had class this morning about the UK and politics, but I wisely chose to spend my time writing a 2 1/2 page paper about the thwarted terrorist attack in NY. Oh national security class, so much fun. I can't wait until all my papers are finished and I'm actually done with OSU for the summer. Since I had to email my paper, we all went looking for someplace with free WiFi. We tried Starbucks and the guy there told me you had to pay for it but it was free next door at Pret. After successfully sending off my paper, we headed out to buy a cell phone for my flatmate Caitlyn. Unfortunately the first store was sold out of the cheap phone so we had to hike to another one. It was there, when Caitlyn asked to borrow 5 pounds, that I reached into my purse and found myself walletless.

Needless to say, I freaked. I quickly abandoned my friends and practically ran back to Pret praying that I had left it there and that I hadn't been pickpocketed. Total distance from school to phone store and then backtracking to Pret was about 7 1/2 km or close to 5 miles and damn did I speedwalk. Thankfully I can tell everyone that I was not in fact pickpocketed, I'm just an idiot who left her wallet sitting on the table. Crisis averted. After all that fun I decided a tube ride home was in order so I could come home and take a nap and that is exactly what I plan to do.

still raining, still pouring

2009-05-27T10:38:00.002+01:00

Due to the constant rain, everything is much chillier than we were expecting. Apparently it was quite warm last weekend. Many people we see are sporting sunburns which look bizarre in the dreary weather. We're hoping the weather, and therefore temperature, take a turn for the better tomorrow.

In between the rain yesterday we did manage to go shopping. In addition to our very european assortment of foods and Catrina's much-beloved hair products, we also tracked down a SIM card for my ancient cell phone. I'm assuming it's my sister Annie's based off of all the really cool pictures on it. And by cool I mean ones of Annie wearing a princess hat. If you're calling from the states, it's 0044 7503 744645. Fun, I know.

After our meal of the most delicious little apples ever, down to the old pub we went. Admittedly, there was an awkward tipping moment, where I really just didn't know what to do so therefore chose to do nothing. Good strategy. Also, when we were cornered by the very British men, I thought I had got the better end of the deal. I was talking books, my forte, with Dave, maybe?, while Catrina had the British/Indian man who kept speaking about how respect was the most important thing. However, then things took a turn for the worst and the conversation somehow switched to politics. This somehow switched to conspiracy theory and how the economic collapse is all planned out by the Illuminati, very Dan Brown and Nicholas Cage, and how they are the ones really running the world. The Illuminati, apparently, are also to blame for the assassinations of Lincoln and Kennedy, and the collapse of the World Trade Center. Right.

We're hoping to go back to the bar as it was very laid back and cozy, minus the self-proclaimed artists. Maybe we'll have better luck next time. If not, Catrina found some really sweet looking places to go, including a speakeasy. However, we'll have to wait until this weekend to try and track it down since tonight we're going to see Wicked. We're real excited. Only problem: we're going to have to shower again. Normally that wouldn't be an issue, but our shower is cramped, the water hurts, and it sprays all over our bathroom when you turn it on. Oh what fun.

it's raining, it's pouring

2009-05-27T10:16:00.000+01:00

hi, my name is catrina and my hair is huge. so, the constant on and off rain + lack of hair product has led to my already poofy hair taking on a new level of epic poofy-ness. it's pretty cute. and by cute, i mean huge. but, claire and i had a successful outing yesterday which resulted in bread, cheese, wine, apples, and hair-product. after arriving back to our flat, we enjoyed all of these items on the floor of our tiny bedroom.

yesterday was also our first shot at going to a pub.

we found, perhaps, the most typical london pub in all of london. it's set back from the street, behind a gate and everything inside is old. like, antique shop old. people sit in arm-chairs and you have to walk down steps to get to a tiny toilet area. only pictures can do this place justice, but i feel like we may be drawn and quartered if we took pictures there.

after an awkward tipping situation, which claire watched and giggled at as i blindly and very awkwardly tried to tip the bartender using extensive hand motions and an awkward stare, we ventured toward an open bench to enjoy our beer. we were then accosted for approximately an hour by two very drunk 'artists'. one had an indian/drunk/english accent. he kept telling me how much he respected me as a person, but really, my lack of artistic-ness meant he didn't respect my ideas. how did he know i wasn't an artist? his tiny eyes magnified by giant glasses could just see it coming. he repeated himself several times and kept stating that the important thing was "that we were all here, at this place". his slurring and accent combination caused me to block out most of the conversation. claire talked to a seemingly normal conspiracy theory enthusiast, but i'll leave that to her.

we ended the night at a kebob shop, which is basically a gyro shop. the british do not understand the importance of having food directly next to bars since the gyro shop was a hike up our street and into the main part of town. i've learned you have to ask for any sauce that isn't mayo, as mayo will ALWAYS be standard.

Hello.

2009-05-26T16:14:00.003+01:00

Hello, my name is Claire Racine and my feet hurt.

My roommate Catrina and I are interning in London this summer and have decided to chronicle our experiences and adventures here.

So far, I have had my hands tested for bomb explosives, switched airlines because my plane to Chicago was delayed and I would have missed my connection, attempted to eat tiny prawns covered in mayonnaise, successfully ridden the tube, been rained on (it is England), and eaten a traditional cornish pastry. And it's only my first full day here in London.