Porridge=stomach glue and other discoveries

Well, it has been awhile.  In summary since I last posted the following things have happened;
-I went through a very tired and homesick stage for about 3 days
-Dear John finally worked on my computer but made the said sadness much worse.  (Gets me every time)
-ummmm I've probably eaten some interesting things
-I've experienced with a couple of beers but it hasnt turned out so great (mainly bc I dont know what the hell im doing)
-I feel like i've finally gotten into kind of a routine at work and with commuting and everything
-My evenings are sooo free, the homework here is kind of a joke....so i need to do something about that!

Wednesday night a bunch of us when out for drinks after work; the usual suspects.  It was Gemma's 'going away', because shes moving from an intern to a paid job at parliament!  A few people who used to intern or research at Parliament came which was nice.  I was also informed (to my surprise) that alot of my work friends have been reading my blog.  I'm not sure how I feel about that, but heres a shout out to any Parliament peeps that may be reading this.  Thursday my Modern Art class went to the National Gallery, which was really awesome.  I got to indulge in my guilty art pleasure for about 3 hours.  Its awesome how intelligent our professor is.  Afterward, Rick, Danielle and I got lunch at a pub.  It was really good/cheap, but as i alluded to above, my beer experimenting did not turn out so great.  (Good thing I only got a half pint)  Here when you order beer, you get a pint or a half pint.  Apparently it goes against some law of man to get a halfpint; therefore guys never get them.  Screw that!  Im not really tryna down like 400 calories of beer in one go.

Anyway, after lunch, Rick went home and Danny, dani, dannie? and I did some shopping!  We struck out pretty much everywhere we went, but I scored at H&M.  3 shirts and a pair of leggings for 45 pounds.  Not baddd lady.  We found these two stores that we LOVED, however our financial status is not yet high enough to shop there at this stage of life.  I forget the name of the first store, but I am in lovvve with it.  The second was kind of a Britain-ed out Abercrombie called Jack Wills.  The inside of the store was sooooo cool, way better than Abercrombie's "you feel like you're in a dark apartment beach side, but you're actually in a mall" thing.  It was super expensive though, and they didnt even have a sale section :0  We went home and I stopped at the bank.  I am now a real, debit card carrying, UK account holding person.  I kinda just chilled last night; had leftovers--oh yeah we went out for a little to a pub close by.  I had a pint of some beer that I didnt know, but it was tolerable.  My dad told me while im here I have to try tuborg, its the best beer hes ever tasted.  Then I hung out with the boys upstairs, watched a jdepp movie and did some more damage on my nutella.  Damn you John.

Today I decided to get some porridge on the way to work.  I figured it would be a nice thing to have on a rather chilly day.  I figured it would be similar to oatmeal which leaves you motivated and energized for your day.  After missing my tube stop, having to backtrack then switch trains, I finally got to work.  Monica is at the constituency for the weekend so I was on my own.  The porridge came with some berry compote (which was bomb).  After finishing what was probably a 12 oz container of porridge I felt as if id be full for a week; and exhausted.  Porridge did not feel unlike my stomach being full of glue.  Probably wont do that for breakfast again.....I got some reading and stuff done at work and met Tom Glyn and Kerry for lunch.  Charlie joined us as well, which was real nice.  I was still miserable from my porridge morning, so i had a yogurt half of a pb and j and some french onion soup.  The french onion soup was so weird though, because they use vegetable stock (instead of beef or chicken broth, or a combo of the two.  Def different)  I headed back to Tom's office to finish out my day.  I had lunch plans with Katerina today but I fell asleep again after work.  So I think we need to make plans on days other than fridays.

I slept for about 3 hours then woke up and made dinner.  I was supposed to have stir fry at Alex's house (Caitlyn's friend from home), but I slept through it....I also slept through time when I should have been grocery shopping, so I didnt have a ton of choice.  So im not a complete carb monster today, I sauteed some sugar snap peas, spinach and onions to throw into my pasta.  For good measure I put an egg in there too; not bad...  I buy the sauce in the jar, the bertolli one (its kind of expensive)  But i add a ton of stuff to it anyway, so i think i could buy the cheaper one and make it just as good.  Tonight i put in some olive oil, basil, garlic, balsamic vinegar and lemon juice. Yummmy. Im realllll fullll

Vid chatting with Kookie. deciding what to do tonight.  Everyones big question is pub or club?  We're gonna be clubbing hard tomorrow night so maybe pub is the right way to go.  I have a bunch of stuff id like to do this weekend, so hopefully I will!  Its supposed to be minimally rainy which will be good.  Everyone is starting to plan travel for our long weekends (the first of which is coming up at the end of feb)  A bunch of girls are going to Prague, but idk if im really feeling that.  Instead John, Charlie, probs rick and whoever else are going to go to the Netherlands to visit Baran (and go to Amsterdam, of course)    Yayyy!!

I think im gonna run to the store quickly, caitlyn should be home soon.  The general lack of good ice cream here (unless you wanna spend like 5 pounds on a pint of ben and jerrys) is driving me a little crazy.  Im even getting cravings for specific flavors; at present I would really like some rocky road.  Im still not sick of people watching on the tube; its pretty awesome.  Though I miss everyone at home, im pretty glad to be in London where the temperature is about three times (or more) warmer than both Pittsburgh AND worcester; and noooo snow. :D

I had a dream that I got kidnapped last night!  I was in the woods in the summer doing some out doorsey shit with nessy and jon, we got split up and some guy stole me.  He was really weird and trying to knock me out with a blunt object of some sort, but I found a bigger blunt object and I was gonna knock HIM out.  I called nessy and jon and told them where I was (because I evidently knew the address where I was being held hostage; I guess my kidnapper was a real idiot)  and they came to get me.  I figured there had to be some sort of meaning for this kind of dream, so naturally, I googled it.  At first search I got the following:
To be kidnapped in a dream reflects feelings that someone in waking life is forcing you to do something against your will.
I didnt think that was right or significant, so I searched again.  And check THIS OUT:

Kidnapping

The main theme in abduction dreams is fear. The dreamer may be afraid of losing a very important part of himself or of losing his safest and most familiar surroundings. Also, the dreamer may be afraid of leaving his home, childhood, familiar support group, or long standing ideas. These type of dreams may be most prevalent during times of psychological or physical transition and during stressful times of life when the future is somewhat uncertain. Consider the details of your dream and try to isolate or identify the fear that created the dream.  Superstition based dream interpretation books say that dreaming about being kidnapped is really an omen and that you will receive unexpected news and be successful against your opposition.

And it allll makes sense.  My struggle with missing people at home, and maybe being afraid of losing support systems there and stuff.  ::Sigh:: well at least im coping with these things in my sleep!!  I am feeling much better though now.

Bacardi and coke zero time.  I might even buy some ice cream.  Have a nice lil weekend everyone (even if your trudging around the snow at home)

<3

Weekend number dos: much better

Friday morning was pretty much the morning from hell.  The silicone strip in my flat iron had magically fallen out, so I did nothing to my hair, I was stressed about bank stuff from the previous day, I got egg yolk on my shirt on the way out the door.  UGH.  Other thatn that, work on Friday was good.   I got my parliament pass, for which they totally ambushed me for a photo.

  I started out doing a Devon(our constituency) news briefing and sending Monica the articles that were relevant to our issues.  I answered a couple of letters from constituents as well.  We had lunch on the terrace with tom, becky, pippa and that other girl whose name I can never remember.  It was a nice long lunch.  I left at 2:30 and went to HSBC bank where I had to make an appointment for saturday (thank god they are open saturdays).  I've never seen banks as busy as they are here.

After that, I passed out; which is seeming to become a daily ritual.  Had a nice nap, cooked some dinner; I cant remember for the life of me what it was though; I think potatoes and sauteed onions and peppers.  Then, the search/battle to find a good place to go out was on.  our group split up about 3 fold within an hour or so.  We went to one rather expensive, and also rather lame place and left after one drink.  Then, we decided we would go to Fabric, a very popular club. We prob didnt get there till 11ish, and the line ('queue') was 1.5 hours long.  So we went to this place next door instead; which no one can remember the name of.

It ended up being very fun, with a ton of international people there as well.  We met some french peeps,  and I helped some guys from italy figure out the tube map (after we bonded about being italian, of course).  I think that eventually some of us left and actually got into Fabric, for free, but not all of us.  Those clubs didnt close until 8 am, so it was a pretty late night; putting me to bed around 6 30 or so!

However, I had to be up for my bank appt at 2, so I got up had some bfast and went.  It all turned out great; I have my bank account, my check will be available for me to use thursday and I should have my debit card late this week or early next.  Fabulous.  I also made my first whitening toothpaste purchase on saturday, which is noteable.  I did a lil grocery shopping to stock up on my basics which are: bread, eggs, cheese, and chicken, and also picked up some pasta sauce and lemon juice and spinach for salad making purposes.  I think after that I went home and passed out till like 7.  Woke up, and everyone was getting ready to go out, but I felt tired still and a lil under the weather so I opted out of that.  I did however go to meet my dear lost Katerina!  Made some dinner(which I think was sauteed onions and red peppers over rice with balsamic vinigar and lemon juice plus a lil spinach salad.  Got a bit lost on the tube bc Katerina was leading me to this shady middle eastern district where she and her friends were smoking hookah.  (well they didnt know it was as shady as it was either)  Anyway, it was great meeting her roommate and her friend as well; fun times and catching up on Clark gossip!!  We took the bus back, which was good because I have had yet to take the bus till then!  It was about 12 30, I cleaned my room did some laundry, then went to bed.

Today was our cambridge trip; I took a ton of gorgeous pictures which are up on facebook for your viewing pleasure.  We had lunch in historical caius college dining room (which was basically a replica of Hogwarts)  We had a traditional lunch which included pork fillets, carrots broccolli and roasted potatos with a little gravy and apple sauce.  It was very good.  Dessert was some sort of raspberry apple compote with cream on top, it was awesommee.  Then it was time to go punting on the River Cam (think gondola that fits 12 people per boat).  It was pretty cold, but our guide was funny and I got some awesome pics.  then we had some free time.  I made sure to stop by this famous bakery that I was told not to miss, its called Fitz....somethings and I got a chocolate cherry almond think that was very good.  We shopped around a bit and ended at a lil pub where we got a 9 pound bottle of wine and some nachos.  It was nap time on the bus ride home of course!

Tonight everyone went to watch the Patsv. Jets game at a sports bar, and I had planned to go as well (because who wins this games plays the steelers next week!)  But then I realized some hw I had to do for my media class, so I stayed home and just kinda chilled.  Soon I will be off to bed.  Tomorrow I have work followed by class, and some hw tomorrow night.  Tuesday is apparently American night at this bar called rocket and they have a ton of beer pong going on and stuff, so I think we're going to try to hit that up.  Thursday I will get my gym membership after class, finally.  Sunday is Rick's 21st birthday so I think we're going to buy tickets to go to fabric and celebrate, so we dont have to wait in line and stuff, on Sat night.  Should be funn!!!!

Im sure that i'm leaving a bunch of stuff out, and im starting to miss some peeps from home, so lets do some skypinggg

<3

The Liberal Democrat Manifesto and other light reading...

Yesterday was my first full day at Parliament and the night before that was my first full nights sleep! The day went by fairly quickly.   Monica had some things to do out of the office throughout the day, so I worked on some reading to get myself into the swing of things.  It was really good interesting stuff.  I begin with the Lib Dem Manifesto.  Here, before each election, every party puts out a manifesto that comprehensively outlines their views and of prominent issues and visions for the future.  I was surprised at the level of inclusiveness in the document, but Monica told me that the conservatives say that the lib dem manifesto isnt comprehensive enough.  Following that I read the executive summary of a study for possible ways to improve or replace the Trident nuclear deterrent program.  It was a little dense, but brought alot of things into prespective for me(as I am working for the minister of armed forces)  Monica asked me if I wanted to take a break, but I was on a roll, so Ikept at it.

Monica had a lunch engagement, so I went over to her friend Tim's office.  He has so many interns.  He doesnt know which days they work 'there are just loads of them around all of the time'  One of them, Becky, is 19 and I really like her!  We watched Prime Ministers Questions (which are on wednesday afternoons, for an hour I think?)  and they were super entertaining.  Alot of booing and screaming happens that you dont get to see if you're watching that sort of thing in the U.S.  We went down to lunch and met with another Tim, who i've met before, a girl who is job shadowing him, and Kerry, a fellow American who I've also met earlier in the week.  It was actually a very fun time.  I told them about that new alcohol infused whipped cream that we have backhome and they loved the idea of it.    Tim (who we refer to as miserable Tim, though hes not) liked the idea of only being able to buy liquor at liquor stores, as we do back home.  Other debates that took place were ones such as, if grapes and cucumbers are real foods, and the plot of Mean Girls (as we threatened to call miserable Tom Regina George instead [he gets Christmas cards, but doesnt send them]). Very fun times.  Becky is a fellow Tswift fan as well, which we bonded over.

Becky explained the UK high school and exam system to me, and I was very surprised at the way in which it works.  Senior year is spent preparing for huge exams at the end of the year; no other grades count except for what you recieve on these exams.  Jeeze, we thought SATs were bad in the states; but this is nuts!!!  Becky is in her gap year now, she is going to India in march I believe to work with children.  On her last day we've resolved to watch Mean Girls.

at 5 we had a meeting with Nick and 2 men from a Trident committee.  At that point I was very glad to have done so much reading on Trident so that I knew what they were talking about.  Most interesting were the relationship between France and UK and France and US concerning this.  But I suppose I wont bore everyone with that here.  I got out of work about 10 after 6 and took the tube home, grabbed some soup and bread+ margerine, then it was time to head to tha theatah.

 We took forever to find it and just made it for the beginning.  We went to see War Horse at the New London Theater.  It was different from any other play that i've seen, and had a bit of a musical component as well.  The setting was just before and during WWI in Devon (which is incidentally where the MP for whom I work's constituency is).  The mechanical horse puppets were really amazing, as were the people operating them.  Thank goodness it was a happy ending!

I had Modern Art in London class this morning.  I expected to be least enthusiastic about this class, however I think it just might be my fav.  The professor is younger, id suspect early 30s, and incredibly intelligent and passionate about the subject.  I think I forget that the arts are kind of a guilty pleasure of mine that I rarely oblige.  He compared art to a number of different other things and spoke about anthropology as well.  The professor seems to have so much to say about the subject that its impossible not to be engaged in the lectures.  We began with the Betrayal of Christ and moved along with some analyses of paintings, it was good stuff.  In the class we take field trips every other week to museums and exhibits around london, which are free.  The professor told us we will probably end up going somewhere every class period, so as not to sit in a lecture room for 3 straight hours.  When we went around the class to say our experience with art and stuff, I talked about how I used to paint a bit, but how most of my practical knowledge with the arts is with music.  I said that I had played cello blah blah, and he was outraged at why I would quit, and I said tht I had sold it last summer. It made me a bit sad, he told me to buy another one asap, its a shame to quit an instrument.  ::sigh::

After class I had a frustrating ass time at the Barclay's, a bank down the road (You cant even try to say that without a british accent)  I have decided not to get a bank account there and am going to try HSBC tomorrow.  It just sucks that all of this is taking so long, I have a 456 pound cheque to deposit that I havent been able to touch to cover my oystercard and weeks groceries and stuff, all of which up to this point i've paid for myself.  After i set up the account it will prob be 4 to 5 business days until I can deposit the thing, and another 4 or 5 to clear.  UGH- on the other hand i need to buy my gym membership ASAP (its 75 pounds for 3 months)  After that frustrating time, I decided to take a REAL QUICK nap, and make it to the other bank before it closed at 430.  Well, 2 hours later my roommate found me in the position pictured above.  lights on, scarf on, boots on, laptop backpack and parliament background book in my bed with me.

Caitlyn Danielle and I went on a fun adventure this evening!  We decided to do a lil shopping and explore.  We took the tube to Picadilly Circus and started to walk around; I saw a japenese store and ran in to check for mochi, and I FOUND IT .  It made me infinitely happy.  We did alot of walking and went into quite a few stores.  The most time we spend was in Zara, of course, we all left there with something.  I got a nice tan work skirt for 7.88.  We went into a huge toy store and into Anthropologie which I love and wish I could afford (here and in the states).  Maybe one day.....
We spent awhile looking for a reasonable place to eat and ran into a bunch of gelato and crepe places that looked delicious.  We settled on a little thai place, where we ate a bunch of food and I had my first sake!  On our way back we stumbled through the red light district, and many interesting photos were taken there (see facebook).  All and all, us ladies had a real fun little time!!!

Work tomorrow, 930 to 230.  Ill get my official security pass which is awesomeeee, it only took 2.5 business days and its supposed to take 10!  I need to figure out what im going to wear.....After work I was supposed to have lunch with my dear Katerina, but have to run home to HSBC and do the banking thing.  Maybe we will meet up after.  Tomorrow night, im sure will be fun, but i'm really pinching my pennies (or pence, i suppose) until that cheque comes through ; /

Goooodnight!

Sleepless in the United Kingdom

So yesterday was my first official day of work; from 930 to 1.  I took the tube to work and didnt take into account the loonggg line I would have to wait in bc I havent gotten my student oyster card yet.  [cards for the underground are called oystercards, bc once you have them the city is your oyster...gag]  I was super nervous that I would be late.  I get on at the Russell Square station and take it one stop to Green Park on the Picadilly line. I then take the Jubilee line about 5 stops, I think, to Westminster and use the Houses of Parliament exit.  Fortunately, I was not late.

When I got in Monica and I went through some mail; she showed me what kind of things to get rid of right off the bat, and where to put things that should go to Nick, the constituency office, or to her.  She showed me some background documents to give me a little bit of context for the Liberal Democrat party and its positions.  She showed me the agenda for the parliament session which began yesterday as well.  I really like Monica alot.  She knows whats up, but is also pretty funny.  I feel like she's gonna work me to the full amount that i'm capable, but thats cool with me.  I've only been there two days and i've already learned a ton.  Theres something about being immersed in policy issues within a body like the parliament that lets you get to know the different faucets of it better than any semester-long class.

Around 11 we headed over to Nick's office, which is in the Ministry of Defense (as he is the minister of armed forces).  That was awesome, his office was super nice, and he was even nicer.  Monica, Hannah(who runs Nicks office in the MOD), the MOD speech writer Nick's advisor and I were all there to help him prepare for a speech that he was giving at 2.  We read over the speech, changed some wording, took some things out and made sure everything was in line with the LibDem viewpoint.  We were there for about 45 mins or so, but I already really like Nick and look foreword to working for him.

I ended my half day with lunch with some other interns and Monica's friend who is a reasearcher for Adrianne, the MP for South Devon (Nick Harvey is the MP for North Devon).  Monica actually used to be one of Tim's interns, so its a small lil parli world over there.  I had a tuna sub with cucumbers and a thing of grapes and it only cost me about 3 pounds.  yay for subsidized food at Parliament!!  I took the tube home and ran to pick up my ID and bank letter from some office, and got to class.  I went into the wrong class at first, but eventually everything worked out.  I looked like kind of a fool in my best pencil skirt and uggs.  But lets see you (or anybody else) do that commute in a half hour with 4 inch heels on.

It was the first day of my Media forms in Britian class.  The classes are very small, there are 16 of us in that one.  I think it will be fine, and informative.  I was falling asleep a bit due to my nonsleep.  We had to pick groups on the first day which we will have for the whole term, which I thought was kind of dumb, so of course ill be working with 2 clarkies and another guy from our program who I believe is from Stonehill.  I went home and changed quickly for our social from 5 to 7.  We were all a bit surprised the limitless amount of wine that was there; so naturally we took advantage of it....and so did our professors.  My dinner consisted of beans and 3 slices of whole grain bread, two of which had margerine on them.  Theres this margarine here called Flora and I reallllllyyy like it.  I then proceeded to eat nutella out of the jar for dessert and soon after passed out in my bed.  Yessss, sleep finally, right??   Wrong.  I was up again in 2 hours and didnt fall back asleep till four.

At 10am today I had Modern British Politics class.  I was super tired and cranky, but I think it will be interesting, and the professor is pretty lively.  The ambiguity of the assignments is a bit confusing, she literally told us to 'read something' for each week out of the huge list of readings....Before class pb and j on one peice of bread and on my way to the tube to go to work I had a piece of bread and cheese....I need to go grocery shopping again.

Monica texted me to come to work a lil early so I could meet her former intern and have lunch with them, but I didnt make it due to the longggg line I had to stand in to put 3 months credit on my oyster card.  Once there I checked mail, read up on Trident (UKs nuclear deterrent program) and the lib dem stance on occupation in afghanistan.  Both helped put things into perspective for me.  I also read a defense magazine that was mostly propaganda, but sometimes you need to know what kind of propaganda you're dealing with.  We took my passport and address letter to the Sergent at Arms to try to move along my security pass, and on the way visited a couple of offices of people with which monica is friends.  I finished out the day looking at North Devon publication websites to read up on issues that are present in the constituency.  North Devon is largely rural, with alot of farming, many of the issues were pretty entertaining as well.

Monica and I were talking about the school system in UK (there have been riots of students because their school fees are going from 3000 to 9000 pounds in the next 2 years.  And this is what she told me: in the UK all schools cost the same; so you could get an oxford education or a crappy education and youd comeout of there owing less than 15000 pounds for ALL FOUR YEARS.  Secondly, no one pays school fees when they're attending school, they pay them after.  And you dont start repyaing your loans which have barely any interest until you have a job and are making over 17000 pounds a year.  If you get layed off, you dont have to pay your loans until you are re employed.  Sounds like the life, right?  For this reason, i dont have sympathy for the people rioting and breaking the windows of the treasury.  They dont pay anything before they graduate anyway!!!!!

Monica invited me to meet some people for a drink after work.  yes, there are bars in the parliament and they are rather cheep.  The first one we went to was the general social club; where I had some sort of appely fruity beer.  We watched the screens to see which MPs were speaking on the European bill that was being debated today(if it passes and it prob will, it will prompt a referendum for any large power shifts to occur between the UK and EU)  We then went to meet the MP which Tom is a researcher, Adrianne.  I really liked him.  THere is something genuine and all around non slimy about politicians here.  I got a bacardi and diet, naturally, and they had these cute little single serving glass coke bottles.  We did alot of talking, bought a few bags of 'crisps' to share and had an all around good time.  Monica showed me how to get back to the tube station (houses of parliament are an absolute maze.)  I was super happy on my commute back home; perhaps partially because I was a lil tipsy, but also bc I think this semester is going to be awesome.

I made a chicken breast and some onions for dinner, followed by a little bit of corn and chicken chowder, which does not compare to that of New England at all.  Caitlyn shared some of her yummy strawberry ice cream with me too!  I decided that I will not sleep until like 12 or 12 30, because I cant take any more of this waking up at 1am crap; i need to sleep through a night.

Tomorrow is my full dat at Parliament; 930 to 6.  We all have tix to the New London theater to see War Horse at 730 so ill probs grab something to eat and head straight there.  Thurs is more of a low key day for me; I just have modern art class at 10, and an appt at the bank at 2 to finally get my stipend check cashed TG!  I think ill get my gym membership thursday as well, Its been like 8 days since i've had a proper work out, but I feel like all of my walking and not really eating makes up for it a bit.  Friday ill be at parliament 930 to 230, then im meeting Katerina!!!!  Im sure well all go out somewhere friday/ saturday and Sunday there is a daytrip to cambridge planned for us!

p.s. still no cat sightings

<3

ahahahhaha

http://www.londonslang.com/db/b/

First weekend comes to a close

Saturday I really just sat around all day.  I finished unpacking and skyped with kookie for at least 2 hours.  I also tried to wash my clothes; more on that later.  There was a walking tour scheduled for the group, but I opted out because my bad hip was pretty sore from walking around so much in the previous days in my non existent arch support uggs.  Went to the drug store with Charlie who is feeling a bit sick, and John guilted me in to going out to get food with him.  I had a glass of wine and a salad with buffalo mozzarella and tomatoes and things in it.

We all decided to go out for another attempt at having a crazy night in london.  This time a small group of us took the tube to go meet everyone else at a large bar called Oneils, which is a chain of pubs owned by Guiness I think or something?  This place was 3 floors, basic pub on the first floor, same on the second with a little more music and dancing and on the 3rd floor was a live band, preforming all American covers, of course.  On the second floor it seemed to be american 80s night which featured many hits we all know and love/hate (like bon Jovi) alike.  The cover band played old weezer, blink and even travie's billionaire (as if i cant go a day without being reminded of boating season!)  And everyone really KNEW all of the songs!  I ordered my usual rum and diet and had a little surprise.  In bars here, they dont have coke, they have PEPSI, and they dont even HAVE diet.  So you can order bacardi and diet all you want Angelica, you're getting a bacardi and non diet pepsi.  Another word on the drinks though, is that they're kind of cheap, I paid 3 something pounds for my drink.  We've all decided also that the beers are a bit more potent here...There was an 8 pound cover for the place we went, but comparatively thats not sooo bad.

Then, came the coat fiasco.  All of us put our coats in the 'safety pile', where, at orientation they told us not to do.....I thought it would be fine, though I left my YSL lipgloss in one of the pockets.  I went to check on it and it was gone.  There went my mood. I was incredibly mad about it, but after awhile, it magically appeared, at the top of the pile.  Soaked in beer, but nevertheless, mine, with lipgloss intact.

Upon leaving the pub, I saw a guy wearing a pittsburgh pirates hat.  I had to talk to him, obviously.  He explained that he wasnt from pittsburgh (duh) and then we talked about how much the pirates were um....subpar.  He explained that he needed a black and yellow cap, however, (as his friend chimed in with a wiz khalifa esque 'black and yellow...')  A few mins later we bumped into some 'blokes' trying to convince the group to go to an after hours club (there are quite a few of those here, and regular bars are open until 3 anyway)  We got on to talking about where we were from, and one of the guys ended up being from Upper St. Claire (which i made him prove by telling me places and things that only a pittsburgher would know) Its a little weird how small of a world that it is.

Caitlyn and I soon found that the group left with out us; which is great realization when you're wearing michael kors 4 inch stilettos at after 3 in the morning........but nevertheless, we carried on.  We hobbled along past gay bars and sketchy 'cab drivers' until we finally made our way home (consulting bus maps, and even a bus driver along the way...)  No one from our group even CALLED in concern; we're girls!!!
we ended

we've come to a rather surprising realization; some people really love american accents.  Unfortunately they will then equate it to jersey shore; or go on to tell you about their family in Canada, because obviously you know, we might KNOW them or something...

I woke up today in attempt to try to dry my laundry for the 5th time.  The machines here are combination washers and dryers.  They do it all in ONE machine, but as far as I can tell, they dont dry at all; so I hung my jeggings over a radiator to dry.  Im afraid my clothes arent going to like this very much; it makes them very stiff :/

Today we left at 1pm for a panorama bus tour around London.  It was really good- we really got to see everything! Our tourguide was quite animated as well.  She told us that 'us brits are going to flog the hell out of that wedding to get all of the tourists in!'  I've posted all of the photos on facebook, but will replicate a few of them here. Other than passing all of the beautiful historical buildings, seeing things like the Aston Martin showroom was pretty awesome.  Caitlyn and I had been wondering if eating on the street is something that is not custom here.  Our tour guide told us that its 'disgusting and very rude, but people do it anyway, with sauerkraut running down their faces...'  So theres our answer.

After we got back caitlyn and I headed to buy some school supplies since classes start this week! Then I took a nice long napppy and got up and made dinner.  I had a chicken breast with some onions and rice plus balsamic vinegar.  I've found myself soaking everything in it, including chicken fingers at 4 in the morning last night.  I think ill make a proper balsamic reduction, which will prob be a bit better....

My ticket to bologna is booked for Feb 4th!!  The public transpo to the Stansted airport should be interesting, its going to be about a 1.5 hours commute, which I can take from Parliament that friday, or from here.  I'm a little nervous about as using Ryan Air as well.....but super excited to see daniela and dad.  Zia Rosa said she couldnt come, but I think that we will be staying at Zio frankos house; I cant wait to see how old my little cousins have gotten (its been 5 years!)

I'm meeting my actual MP at Parliament tomorrow, I really need to figure out my outfit.  I also need to pick up my student oyster card (for the tube) from Acorn and my Birkbeck ID between work and class.  There is a social for birkbeck students from 5 to 7 tomorrow night that ill have to hit up as well.  I need to get my gym membership sometime this week; probably thurs or saturday. We've all lost a few pounds since we've been here, but this high level of endorphins attributed to being in a new place isnt going to last for ever.  The gym has some classes that I def wanna try.

I feel like this has been a crazy amalgamation of thoughts and things that i've been typing; but I guess it accurately reflects whats going on over here!

pics are taking a little long to upload, and my patience is lowww tonight; but soon!

<3

"would you like me to show you our office in the palace?"

The night before our interviews, john rick charlie and I decided to watch some quality British television.  The first show we turned on had a bunch of naked people and weird weird things.  The next one had the world dart championships.....At this point I decided that I needed some ice cream, which was incredibly hard to find.  This is gonna be a problem, due to the love affair that ice cream and I are currently having.  Once we did find it; it was super expensive anyway.  I decided to settle for nutella, in the GLASS JAR.  Its way better, but I cant find pretzels anywhere.  (or whitening gum, for that matter ; / )

The next morning i took the tube with john to parliament.  It wasnt too difficult and we only had to change lines once. We went through security and got visiter badges, then we waited for Elizabeth.  John's supervisor, who is a very cute young lady, escorted us to an open area of tables and people having coffee etc. as we waited for Elizabeth to be finished with some other peeps.  Since I was there early I got to listen in on John talk to his supervisor and stuff.  I think he should have fun, and hopefully meet some peeps, as he has 3 other interns in his office.  Eventually my supervisor, Monica, met with us.  She is American as well, and seems very detail oriented and intelligent.  She seems to have a sense of humor as well, which I think will be good.  We figured out my official schedule which is as follows:

Monday- 9:30-1 at parliament  2-5 modern british politics class
Tuesday- 9:30-1 at parliament 2-5 British Media class
Wednesday-9:30-6 at parliament
Thursday- 10-1 Aspects of Modern British Art class; afternoon off
Friday- 9:30-1 or something like that at parliament (which my supervisor wont need me for every single week)

So thats a pretty jam packed schedule.  After we went over everything that we need to go over, Monica asked me if I wanted to see Nick Harvey's office in the palace, because she felt like procrastinating.  She took me to see the chambers of the House of Lourdes, and told me about the jobs and functions of different things.  It was pretty awesome.  Everything in parliament looks (and SMELLS) soooo old!  Its cool.  She also showed me the office that I would be sharing with her, it has a pretty nice view!  Im excited about this whole thing!

After that adventure, I just kind of wondered around westminster, took some pics, tried to decide what to do.  I was so HAPPY just wondering around not knowing where I was going, because I didnt feel lost or nervous, I felt kind of at home.  Eventually I took the tube to picadilly circus bc I heard there were alot of shops and things there.  I went in to a couple of them ; but i was real tired from walking around, so i decided to go grab something in Starbucks and sit down.  I got a hazelnut hot choc, which was real good (and expensive; almost 3 pounds!)  Some guys inquired as to whether I was Canadian or not, and I think he was kind of disappointed when I said that I was not.  He told me to make sure I get to a christian church before I leave London, to which I am sure I responded with some sort of facial expression.  I told him that I wasnt religious, and he replied 'me either, but i'm spiritual' with a smile.  I said, 'okay, it was nice meeting you....'

I took the tube back home and exchanged some us dollars; I got like 67 for my 104 ugh.  I needed to exchange some hair products that I bought and didnt like, so I did that, and also bought some more groceries.  I stopped in a shoe store because Im in need of some brown boots, when I realized I had no idea what shoe size I wear here.  One of the salesman helped me out; but it was def another n00b moment...I've been putting off buying an umbrella even though its been raining literally every single day, but last night the time had come.  I stopped into a shoe repair shop bc they looked like they had some real nice ones, but when I saw that they were 15 pounds, I put them down.  The shop owners told me in broken english that 'you use it how you pay for it'  Meaning you get what you pay for, I believe.They told me that those are made in the UK, not in China.  This was a bit ironic, because as far as I could tell, those men WERE made in China.

Last night was supposed to be our first big going out night, and it ended up being kind of a bust.  For dinner I had an egg with a piece of cheese and bread and some boiled potatoes with garlic salt olive oil and balsamic vinegar.  Interesting.   I need to get my dad's sauce recipe ASAP.  I got Caitlyn and I some mojito mix to help us finish up our bottle of bacardi (WHICH FROZE IN THE FREEZER, wtf?) Then we got ready and headed over to the boys flat where everyone was meeting up before we went out.  The plan was, I think, to stick together.  About half of us wanted to take the tube bc we already had passes from earlier in the day,and half wanted to walk, so we all ended up walking, but got split up anyway.  In the end it was emily, john, charlie, conor and I wandering around not knowing what we were doing, and I was in the WORST mood.  My dad called me and told me that me going to a bar in london was 'real nice Angelica, lets see where that gets you later in like" and I was like 'dad, its 11 o clock on a friday.....'

Eventually rick met up with us, somehow, and we actually went into a bar.  People have a real good time after they hear us speak one sentence and in unison shout 'They're American!!!"  Different people have different sentiments about it, and different things that they'd like to talk about.  One guy asked me last night how close Pittsburgh is to San Diego.  And I said prob about as close as London is to Sibera....dummy.....We left there to try to find a club or osmething, but at that point couldnt find one that had less than a 20 pound cover (some of them were even 40 pounds!!!)  Thats like paying 70 bucks to get ina  club in the US.  So we WALKED HOME, and it took like 45 mins.  We literally walked like 5 miles last night,and my hip is killlllinggg me like a little old lady.  Everyone just left for these walking tours we were supposed to go on, but there is no way that I would have made it.

It was 52 degrreees last night; much better than the temps in the 20s and teens in worcester and pittsburgh!  But then there IS the rain......

I think ill do some laundry and actually finish unpacking today while everyones gone.  I have to go buy a new top up card as well, i need to be a little more careful with this whole prepaid thing.......

Who wants to make some skype dates?!?!?!?!

I miss everyone alot.  Tonight is attempt to go out in London part two, and tomorrow we have a panorama coach tour of london, which should be pretty cool.  Maybe i'll buy new boots as well.

<3

Jet lag to the max

Jet lag has gotten the worst of me in the past 24 hours.  I didnt fall asleep last night till after 530 and had to be up 3 hours later for orientation at Birkbeck.  We checked out the fitness center and it ends up being pretty legit and a better deal than the one I found the other day.  I hurried back to nap before the trip to the London Eye (Which Charlie and John were supposed to make sure I came with them to) and woke up at around 6.  Totally missed it!! They said that it wasnt so great since it was rainy, but I was a little disappointed.  The boys let me have some of their yummy pasta dinner which was so nice!  I shared my Cadbury fingers with them-but now im out of chocolate (and want to buy some ice cream!)   I have a SUPER CRAVING for strawberry mochi! Curse you Melissa Au for creating this addiction.  But actually, I love you.

To help me out with my banking drama, I've found out that citizens bank is owned by the Royal Bank of Scotland owns citizens bank, so I should be able to do all of my banking there and deposit these godforesaken stipend cheques no prob.  I just have to find a branch, I think ill be better off going with the one closer to Parliament since i'll be there 4-5 days a week.

My first interview is tomorrow and I need to figure out my outfit.  I think John and I are going to take the bus together since its cheaper than the tube,and his interview is right before mine.  Might meet up with Jess and Caitlyn after and do some sightseeing/shopping/eating!

I think my flatmates and I are going to figure out some logistical things like whos buying toilet paper and things like that now; and them im tryna buy some ice cream.  Hopefully I can get a regular nights sleep tonight.  I REALLY need to get some new boots.  My poor old uggs cant handle the rain.  And an umbrella.

::SIGH:: 

So after posting so many pics of the flat; I totally forgot to post one of the room I am sharing with Caitlyn; so here it is!

 My phone while im the UK; It was only 15 pounds and that included 60 international mins and 300 local texts and mins.  Welcome to the free world, indeed. (plus its cute)

                          I never knew what was inside of these seemingly innocent telephone booths.

                                              Stereotypical; but I had to, right?

                                                          Mailbox!

                                                              OUR HOME!

Next stop: Parliament

<3

Look Left, Look right, and add a knob of butter.

I had a super productive day today.  Set out at around 10 30 or 11 to find A) a phone B) a adaptor for my comp and flat iron C) a gym and D) a long list of crap previously which i previous referred to.  And before one or two, I had all of them done.  Other than minor distractions such as the gym salesman telling me 'he could listen to my accent all day', and making me pronounce Massachusetts about four times.  Alot of walking by myself and getting a little lost happened.  The whole crossing streets things makes me a little nervous, but thankfully there are 'look left' and 'look right' reminders at every crosswalk.  I got a pretty cute lil white vodafone for about 20 pounds with my 10 pound top of included.  Its a real good deal; we asked the salesman why we dont have deals like this in the states, and he said "it's alright, you're in the free world now"

So here we are in the free world.....we had a housing meeting at 6, and Caitlyn and I ran to the grocery store to get some food to cook, and some bacardi and coke zero to drink!!  Cooking directions aren't the most precise here, with instructions on tortellini such as, 'add a knob of butter'.  What's a knob?  We looked it up, and its pretty much as big as you want it to be.  Awesome.

I like it here I think.  Tomorrow we have orientation at Birkbeck 9-11 and then The London Eye at 3.30 I think.  Friday I have my interview at parliament at noon, my supervisor told me I didnt have to dress too fancy, as the MPs are out on holiday until monday.  So I dont have to stress about my first legit Parliament outfit until sunday night......

The bank situation here (so that we can deposit and use our stipend checks/cheques [hehe]) is getting a bit messy; but I dont feel like writing about it really.

<3

pics of the flat!

 first beer!

 HP sauce?! and Heinz ketchup!

 living room

kitchen

fridge

bathroom

Let the blogging commence.

Well, im here.  About 5 hours late or so, but I made it!  After my plane TURNING around and touching back down in new york after flying half way to London because the bathrooms were broken; we departed for the second time a few hours later.  I landed around 4pm london time (instead of 930 am like i was supposed to).  What an exhausting day-that was probably the kind of flight I should not have taken a sleeping pill on.  The man that drove me to my flat was awesome, and took me the scenic route and it got me super excited; London is pretty awesome!  He's from Hungary 'a small country in a big world', he said. He asked me what I thought of what I saw, but really I couldn't get over the whole driving on the opposite side of the road thing.  He also asked me how Obama was doing, and I said that not everyone was too happy with him, but he's trying his best.  He recommended a good radio station for UK political talk, sounds like pretty good stuff.  I picked up my key and he took me to my flat (where i proceeded to tip him--in US dollars, because I am a HUGE n00b).

Our place is very cute; pictures to follow (assuming that I packed my camera cord).  My roommate caitlyn is very cool and nice, and so are the others in the program that I have met.  A bunch of us are at starbucks right now because our wireless internet doesnt start until tomorrow.  Had to pay 5 pounds to use internet at starbucks, but it goes on a giftcard that you can just buy coffee with anyway.  I dont have anything tomorrow, but I have an hugggge list of things I need to go buy; most importantly being a phone AND a converter.  But also like face wash shampoo conditioner stuff bc I only brought lil travel size ones.  Thursday we have orientation with other Birkbeck students and like a reception and stuff, which im sure will be fun, and then friday I go to Parliament to meet my supervisor and stuff.  I wonder what I'll wear!

Its about 7:30 here now; I've eaten a banana and a muffin today....but I'm not too hungry.....  I think that I certainly do merit a drink after this day...or two.....a bunch of us are gonna head to a pub and eat and have a few dranks.  Thats what the three best friends would do!  (but they def dont sell IC light in London)

I miss everyone and love everyone---facebook/skype dates soon everyone
Ill post my phone number ASAP!

<3