Living long and prospering in London

Dear Flatmates, 

You will be the only ones who understand the context of this newest blog headline. Basically my formula for Saturday night was as follows...

Maggie + locals + a late appearance by April and Rachel = a barrel of laughs

I'm hoping this will be a reoccurring theme throughout my summer. I predict Wednesday Karaoke nights at Imperial's student union will ensure this is probable. 

Anywho...

I finally slept in Sunday (OK, I would've if the psycho pigeons cooing outside my window beginning at 5 a.m. would flutter off into oblivion)! But, aside from that, I had a very relaxing day. The Fab 5 (6 girls + Ben + our newest addition to the group, Adrienne...(I'm a journalism student; I don't do math)) decided the 70+ degree weather prompted another walking tour. Sooo we hoped on the tube to the Richmond stop, only to realize we forgot our ever necessar

y guide book. But the lovely day could not be spoiled. We hopped back on the tube and went back to Kew Gardens. We didn't actually go into Kew Gardens because it cost 13 pounds, but instead went to a nearby park, watched a game of Cricket, then took a scenic walk along the Thames river.

           

I must say, we have been absolutely blessed with this weather. Before coming here, everyone told me they rarely saw sunshine. But we have hardly seen a cloud lately! 

Our night concluded with another night in the flat. I lovvvveeee to cook, and Carla and Maggie let me cook for them. No matter the size and quality of a kitchen, a great meal can be produced - or so they say. I think they were pretty satisfied with my chicken parmesan(ish) creation. Mmmmm. Mom was also happy that we finally ate something substantial. 

  

I woke up this morning to the sound of our intercom ringing. Jack and Margo arrived!! I wasn't expecting them until 10, but was so excited for them to be here! They will be spending the entire week here with me in London. We have a busy week planned, and it will probably be my most expensive week here, but it will be totally worth it. 

Pluses to Margo coming:  

1. She brought me two containers of real american peanut butter.
2. She and Jack have both been here before so they can show me around the city.
3. There are now 3 MU Kappas settled in at 40 Hogarth. 

Watch out London!! Stay posted for all of our excellent adventures this week. 

I swore I wouldn't fall in love while in London...

...but I've already proved myself wrong. 

On Friday after our first British Life and Culture Class (BLC) all of my roommates, along with our newly adopted friend Ben, went to Hyde Park. It is absolutely beautiful! We walked around the park for hours. There is one part of the park where there is a small lake and there are swans and ducks that you can literally walk right up to. I have heard many stories of vicious swans, and later, after a local pointed out one in particular called "Psycho II" I tried made sure to keep my distance. But it was amazing to find yet another peaceful place in this boisterous city. 

We walked along different trails, coming across beautiful fountains and even the Peter Pan sculpture (Emily was sooo excited!) We also went along the Princess Diana memorial walk which took us to the fountain designed to reflect her life. Maggie and I took a long stop here to sit and dangle out hands in the water. It was so peaceful, and a much needed break from our hectic week.

I am absolutely in love with Hyde park and all that is has to offer. We have made plans to revist the park each friday after our lecture is over. I cannot wait to spend more time in this lovely

 place while surrounded my my new "love babies." (Yet another Trudy reference, God love her)

All of us in Flat 5 decided to take it easy Friday night. We spent the evening gathered around our computers, looking through pictures and catching up on emails with friends and families. 

On Saturday we took a 3.2 mile walk to Notting Hill to visit Portobello Market. I had so much fun walking around with my flat mates and browsing tons of fabulous jewelry, 

posters and produce.

We went pretty early, which was a good idea

 because as we were leaving it was so packed we could hardly walk out. Some of my roommates made bigger purchases, but I kept it low-key with avocados, coriander, and cherry tomatoes. When we got back I made homemade guacamole for all of my roommates. Apparently I am Flat 5's new personal chef, which I love!

Like Hyde park, we plan to revisit Portobello on a regular basis. I mean, what's better than a 7 mile walk with friends each Saturday while buying cheap food? Nothing in my book. 

Love, love, love. The three L's of London. 

Wizards and Wanderings

One of my roommates, Carla, has a phenomenal book called 24 Great Walks in London. The book gives routes for 24 different trips in and around the city. Yesterday we decided to take one of these walks. Five of the six of us from flat five took off from the Earl's Court tube and set over to begin out tour near London Tower. We walked through Trinity Square and also walked by the Mercantile Marine Memorial which pays homage to the 24,000 men of the Merchant Navy and Fishing fleet who died during WWII. 

Nearby is also the site of the ancient scaffold were more than 125 people were beheaded. According to a story told by our beloved Trudy, a ton of spectators died when the stand they were all standing on collapsed just moments before someone was executed. Apparently the man who these people were there to see killed started laughing at the irony of the situation moments before he was beheaded. Thus comes the phrase, "laughing your head off."

Then we walked past some other small places of 

interest including the All Hollows-by-the-Tower Church, and St. Olave's Church. Olave's has an entry gate guarded by skulls and barbed wire, which leads to a garden of sorts. While we were out taking pictures of each other under the skulls, a group of british business men were walking by and jumped in the frame with us. As they were walking off the said, "I hope that doesn't end up on YouTube or something." We always seem to find ourselves having humorous encounters with the locals. 

After passing by some other small places like the Crutched 

Friars pub, and wandering through a mix of directions that led us through some parking garages and cute alleyways, we were finally at our most anticipated stop, the Leadenhall Market. This was used as the location of Diagon Alley in the first Harry Potter Movie! On a regular day though, it is just  a marketplace.

We also went down Bull's Head Passage to place that was used as the entrance to the Leaky Cauldron in the film. I was a little disappointed because now it is just some random glasses shop and it used to be a pub. 

Our first Thursday in London concluded with a trip with practically the entire Missouri group to a club near Pickadilly called Zoo Bar. It actually reminds me of clubs we would have back home, and there were a lot of Americans there. I'm thinking I will just stick to the pubs. They are a lot more laid back and cheaper!

Oh, I cannot forget to mention that I booked a trip to Greece! I will be traveling with three of my roommates to Athens and Mykonos Island the last weekend in June. It's going to be BRILL!

Ohmygosh

I just thought I would write a quick post about some excellent news I just heard. I went in for my interview placement meeting and learned I will be working for CBS News this summer! If this isn't exciting enough, I also learned I don't even have to interview, I have a secured spot!

Going into this, it was one of my biggest fears that I would be offered an interview with a company, and then not get the job. So, now I have one less thing to worry about. Everyone else participating in the MLP will be doing their interviews next Tuesday and Wednesday...good luck to all of them! From what I've been hearing, everyone seems to be quite pleased with their placements thus far. So, not only is London becoming a fabulous place to live and play, it will now become a brilliant place to work as well! 

I start working next Thursday. I will be doing a variety of work from what they told me - from web stories, packages to some kind of studio work or production. I'm soooo excited! YAY

Lesson Learned: Use the Buddy System

It only takes one screw up to realize you should have listened to your mother.

Today was a b-e-a-u-tiful day in London. The locals say we are so lucky because it is extremely rare to experience a summer day with out "brellies." After spending most of the day in orientations and meetings, and a quick clean-up of the flat, I decided to go outside and enjoy it. It was just me and my camera off for an excellent adventure. 

I walked to Westminster Cemetery, which is just past Earl's Court. It's absolutely gorgeous, very peaceful and the lighting provided some opportune moments for some photos. I used my "old school cannon" which uses film (I know, it's ancient, but I love it. Will post some once I get them developed). I had a great time, and after spending an hour or so walking around I decided to head back home. I decided to take an alternate route to see some new scenery. 

BAD IDEA. 

After walking past Earl's courts one and two, and speed walking through some sketchy territory I realized I had no idea where I was. Me, being much to confident in my navigation abilities, continued to walk about, trying to get my bearings and find my way home. About 10 miles later I decided to phone one of my roommates who then guided me home via Google maps. Whew...it was a relief to find W. Cromwell road once again. 

Needless to say my legs are rather tired this evening. And, I learned the hard way that I should not venture off on my own, at least without a map in hand, until I've become more established in this city. I definitely should have listened to my mother's advice! You live and learn, I suppose. 

Sidenotes:  

Tomorrow I find out where I will be interviewing for my summer internship! I'm feeling slightly anxious...I'm just hoping I will be placed somewhere that will provide me with good experience. We were also all excited to find out that this coming Monday is a "bank holliday" which in turn gives us a day off! We have been in the process of making some weekend travel plans. It's looking like we're doing a day trip to Oxford on Saturday, and perhaps seeing the "Cheese Rolling Festival" in Gloucestershire on Monday. 

Just Touched Down in London-Town

I'm studying in abroad over the summer in London, England. I arrived early Monday morning, and it has been a whirlwind since then! The first day was spent moving two 50lb suitcases up six flights of stairs to my flat, finding my way around SW Kensington to Imperial College and "mingling with the locals and canoodling with the natives" at nearby pubs.

A quick word about our flat. It's very drab, but at the same time I

 love it. We did not have hot water for an entire day, our smoke alarm goes off regularly, the floors are dirty and creak, the train rolls by at all hours. But it's "FAB." And, I feel like I'm going to get along with my roommates which will definitely make for a great summer. 

My first meal was fish and chips, of course. This was at the Imperial College student union. I haven't quite decided how I feel about the food here. I went with two of my roommates to an Italian restaurant, De Mario, where we shared bruschetta and a margarita pizza. Delecioso! 

Today we went on a guided bus tour of the city. We saw all of the touristy places, and had wonderful narration by our guide, Trudy. What a doll. Driving around our neighborhood she said, "Can't you just smell how posh this is." She also used many phrases throughout the trip including, but not limited to "That's brill," "Here love babies," and "Thanks a Mill." I am looking forward to her presence on our trip to Oxford this weekend!

We were able to step out for a bit and I snapped this picture of Westminster Abbey. I will definitely be returning soon, because we were only able to stay for abo

ut 5 mins. 

After the bus tour we were dropped off and I wandered around with some friends. We went to the National Gallery where I saw "Sunflowers" by Vincent VanGough! I got goosebumps, it was absolutely amazing to see the painting in person that I've spent so much time studying! After our quick visit there we went to Pickadilly Circus. This is where I felt like I was in the "big city" for the first time. I also took my first trip on the tube. 

Our night concluded with meeting two French men who offered to give us a tour of Paris this summer (pish posh) and some other American students studying here from Ohio. 

I will be posting some of my early pictures later...but at the mo. I'm off to bed. We have another early morning tomorrow, and I want to get plenty of rest!

MO Legislature's final week

This is perhaps the craziest week of my semester!! It has been spent running around Columbia...packing, moving, studying, reporting and saying goodbye to all of my friends.

My number one priority has been reporting for KOMU covering the Missouri Legislature's final week in session. Their top priorities as of Monday were health care, education and tax credits for small businesses. On Monday I did a preview of the upcoming week. I spoke with House Minority Floor Leader Paul Levota (D) Independence, as well as Senate President Pro-Tem Charlie Shields (R) Kansas City. I was not able to get a lot of visuals for the story, so as you will see I did an on-set in the new studio! I was an awesome experience and I cannot wait to do more!

My reporting shift Wednesday was also spent at the State Capitol, this time focusing specifically on what was going on in the afternoon and evening sessions. The health care bill was still on the top of the agenda, and the education bill was shut down by the house the night before. However, there were rumors that the abortion bill was to come up in the Senate that night, so I ended up doing a small preview of that bill as well. The senate did end up passing the abortion bill around 12:00 a.m. Thursday morning. However, it was passed without the coercion component, which made the bill unique in the first place. My story ended up being another onset, covering various measures that were addressed on Wednesday. I will admit I was slightly disappointed at the low-key environment at the capitol that day. 

I off to finish studying for my final exams, wish me luck! I will try to do a preview of my trip to London. Visit often to get updates during my summer abroad!

Growing Mid-Missouri Businesses

I've just finished my first reporting shift at KOMU. I must admit, I was rather nervous upon getting to the station, pitching story ideas amongst the veterans. Randy Reeves ended up putting me on a story about the grand opening of the MU Business Incubator. I had to do some research to actually learn more about the project and it's goals within the Mid-Missouri area. 

I did have some difficulties with the story. The overall event wasn't difficult to cover. But I was hoping to get some kind of CCC, which proved to be difficult, and in the end I proved to be unsuccessful. You can read my web story and see the video but clicking here.

I will basically be living at KOMU next week in order to finish up my shifts. I will be working on Sunday and Monday, and I'm really hoping that I will be able to cover the legislature at the State Capitol. This coming week is their last week in session and I would love to cover it!

Student Composers

Happy May Day!

This week I completed my final VO patrol shift at KOMU. My assignment:  the MU student composer's recital. The event is part of a music composition class taught each year at MU. The program started nearly forty years ago when Dr. W. Thomas McKenney started teaching these composition classes.  The different pieces were arranged by students in undergraduate and graduate degree programs, and preformed by friends and collegues of those who composed it. 

Overall the story went well. However, it never did run on air. My broadcast professor says this sometimes happens with these kinds of stories, if the newscast is running heavy with hard news. But on the bright side, I will now only be doing reporting shifts that result in packages, which I am very anxious and excited to start doing!