Adventures In Europe

MY TIME ABROAD

Monday, January 30, 2006

So it's decided and book: I'm going to Morocco for Spring Break '06! Me and Samia finalized everything last night and we'll be jetting off to Casablanca on February 18 and then taking the Marrakesh Express on Feb 20, leaving us 4 full days in Marrakesh. We're going to ride camels and go to markets, and most importantly spend some time by the pool in the sun. It's all so exciting. It was a pretty good deal for the week; it was within my budget so I figured what the hell when am I even going to have the chance to go to Africa again...

I had an interview today with West Park Pictures. The gentleman was really nice and told me that the internship was mine if I wanted it, but it just doesn't seem like my thing. I would be working on a project for the Discovery Channel on the great walks of the world. It seems interesting and all, but it's not really the type of thing I want. I like more historical documentaries on like biographical figures or military events. And it wouldn't be fair for me to take this when there might be someone who would really enjoy doing it. Also the company is 10 people and I was hoping to work in a bigger size setting, to figure out if I like bigger or smaller better. So I am going to go to the BU Internship people tomorrow and let them know that I would really like them to look for something else for me. I'm going to have to be at this internship for 4 days a week for 6 weeks so it should be something I am going to enjoy and get a lot out of.

My coughing is getting worse instead of better. Last night I slept on the couch in the living room because I felt so bad for my flat mates. My coughing was so loud and heavy; I thought something was going to come up. But tonight it's going to be Nyquil so I can get a good night's sleep.

Cheers!

posted @ 7:15 PM Sunday, January 29, 2006

So I'm still sick. I'm feeling alright, I just don't sound too pretty. I'm really surprised that I haven't coughed anything up yet, like a lung or something else that's buried in my body. When I cough my whole body shakes, not a good thing.

But the sun was out in full force today, and you can't take that for granted in this city, so I put on my walking boots and headed out. Since it was such a beautiful day, not a cloud in sight really, I decided to head to St. Paul's to climb the steps of the dome and get some of the panoramic views of London. It really was worth the hike up the 500 odd steps to get there. I've posted the pictures on my site so have a look. You can also take your own virtual tour of the Cathedral here: ( http://www.stpauls.co.uk/ )

Tomorrow I am thinking about heading over to the Tate Modern with Samia to see some modern art. Also we need to write an essay on a cultural place of interest for one of our classes so we'll kill two birds with one stone. So I am trying to nurse myself back to health while still culturing myself in the process.

Cheers!

posted @ 1:25 AM Thursday, January 26, 2006

Nothing really too new to report. Last night's Coronation Street was really good. We're all kind of getting into it. It's weird how the soap operas run over here. They are only a half hour long and only run like 3 or 4 times a week. It seems like so much happens within the shows though, unlike back home where one day lasts for 6 weeks. But the production value of the soaps is definitely a downgrade from back home. Which again is odd because they are some of the most popular shows on television.

I finished reading Shopaholic and Sister this morning and I am happy to know that the main character is going to have a baby. I love the Shopaholic series and I can't wait until the new one (Shopaholic and Baby) comes out. In the meantime I have the author's newest book The Undomestic Goddess to tide me over. I was thinking about buying some more books on Amazon, but I need to figure out what the shipping costs are going to be. I know they have a warehouse in the UK, but things are so damn expensive over here I might just be better off getting to the bookstore. The only problem with that is that they don't have all the books that are available in the states out over here yet. I want to get the other Dan Brown books that I haven't read and probably some history books of some sort.

I'm pretty sure that I am going to be staying in this weekend, seeing as though I spent a bit of money last weekend in Dublin. I've got some things to keep me occupied. I'll probably head out to some museums and see some other sights.

Cheers!

posted @ 10:42 AM Tuesday, January 24, 2006

Me and the monkey are hanging in there.

Today was a very cultural day for me. It started off with a trip to the BBC. I was very excited this morning about getting to go to the headquarters of the one and only BBC. Well sadly, I was very disappointed. The BBC 'behind the scenes' tour wasn't really behind the scenes at all. They basically showed up their three studios (from an observation room) and a conference room in their news hub. That was it. I wanted to see everything, people running around, guests coming to be interviewed, lights and cameras going up. I mean I'll give it to them that January is a slow month for television, but still I should have been able to see more. Also I guess that it didn't help that I already knew a lot of the stuff that they were saying on the tour. They were discussing the lighting grids in the studios and things like that. I did learn something interesting though. The BBC Television Centre is built in the shape of a giant question mark. I'm going to try and find out if we can so to the BBC Broadcasting House in Oxford Circus so we can get a picture with the bust of John Reith so we can send it to an old professor back in Boston. The internet is such a great thing, you can find almost anything on there.

Back on track now. After the disappointing BBC tour I went to Oxford Circus with Samia and Anais so they could buy some clothes at TOPSHOP. Then we had lunch at Garfunkel's. I had a nice American Cheeseburger and tasty fries. The burger was alright, nothing like you would get back home though. Next it was off to the Victoria and Albert Museum,( http://www.vam.ac.uk/ ) which is really right down the street from where I am living. It was beautiful. We spent about 3 hours there and didn't get to see everything. They have some great stuff there. There is an entire gallery dedicated to textiles and fashion and it's just great. They have categories like, the male suit, the evening gown, the undergarments etc. and they have pieces spanning across hundreds of years showing the progression. It was amazing to see the things women would wear, and all the devices they would use to push themselves up and prop themselves out. I will be heading back to the museum at some point so I can see the rest of everything.

Cheers!

posted @ 10:27 PM Monday, January 23, 2006

Today I learned a few things in class:
- if we didn't have fun then we wouldn't reproduce
- reproducing in fun
- reading the news on the internet is the cool thing to do
- kids from BU are really smart

My professor is really cool, he goes off on all these tangents about life and love and having babies. It makes the 4 hours go by so much faster. I need to buy something to attach my USB stick too because I lost it again today, but luckily it was waiting for me at Starbucks. Yummy Skinny Vanilla Chai.

After class today me and Samia walked all the way to Trafalgar Square from our flat. We needed to go the Waterstones Bookstore to buy a book for class. It was a nice walk, we are really getting a hang of this city. We must look like locals because on our walk three people asked us for directions and one guy asked us if we wanted to be models. It was a good day.

Samia was a good little internet researcher today and found some info for flights and hotels for Morocco. It looks like it's really going to happen. A week in Africa that would be very cool. Then I could sing CSN&Y's Marrakesh Express and be like yeah, I've been there. I think that we are going to head to STA Travel to check out their deals and then hopefully book something by the end of the week.

Coronation Street was on tonight, but sadly there were no vignettes with Richard in it. But Wednesday and Friday are going to be filled with him :) I tried watching Celebrity Big Brother tonight, but it was really boring. At least the channels over here are smart enough to pick up quality American TV shows like CSI:, House and ER or else I would be lost at night. The British soaps are pretty good and there are a few good dramas, but most of the day time television is filled with TLC like shows and game shows.

Tomorrow I am heading to the BBC for our class. I am really excited. Hopefully we'll be able to take pictures. I should be hearing from the internship office soon about when my interviews will be for internship placements. I am really wishing that I can do something with the documentary department of the BBC because that would be like a dream. But there is also a division of the History Channel over here so that would be good too.

Cheers!

posted @ 10:16 PM Sunday, January 22, 2006

I learned a lot of things while I was over in Ireland this weekend, most importantly:

1) I don't really like Guinness unless it has a shot of Bailey's and Whiskey
2) I'm not the hostel/backpacking type of person

Ok I'll elaborate a little on the rest of the experience. The trip was really a last minute, let's get out of London for the weekend booking. There wasn't a lot of thought or research into the hostel we were booking, just something that was cheap and had room for the four of us, enter Isaac's Hostel, in the ghetto. That's right even our cab driver from the airport commented on the ghetto-iness of the area, but that the place was clean and safe. Right, thanks buddy. Not like I wasn't already freaking out that I was basically paying to stay in a room full of bunk beds, now I'd have to deal with the ghetto. Side note: I was extremely proud of myself for packing for an entire weekend in one small Jansport backpack, granted it could have easily knocked over a small child had I turned too fast the wrong way, but come on me packing so light is really an accomplishment. Ok back to the hostel, we pull up and there are these hooligans, who clearly haven't showered in days, smoking outside the door. I was almost in full freak mode as I walked through the smoked infested entrance, but I held it together, it wasn't until I got a good whiff of the room where I would be spending the weekend that I flipped.

Now to the better parts. People in Dublin are really friendly. Damien, the guy who drove our double-decker city tour bus was the best. We did the whole touristy bus tour, because it seemed like the best way to see everything all at once. So we get on this bus, clueless to what the type of commentary given would be. This guy was awesome; he was telling ridiculous jokes and singing all the traditional Irish songs, along with giving us really interesting facts about all the sights around Dublin. A few highlights were: Trinity College, St. Stephen's Green, Temple Bar, St. Patrick's Cathedral, The Phoenix Park, The Papal Cross and of course Ireland's biggest claim to fame (well besides U2), the Guinness Storehouse.

The Guinness Storehouse was really interesting. It's a self-guided tour going though 7 floors of the old Brewery at St. James Place. Arthur Guinness was so sure of himself and the place for his business that he signed a 9000 year lease for the land. He also defended the brewery's large use of water against a city councilor with a pick ax and some feisty words. He seemed like an alright guy to me, and well his wife must have liked him too because they had 21 kids. I guess Guinness is good for more than just strength.

There were some things in Dublin that I would have liked to do that we couldn't get to, but all in all it was a good trip. I hope it's just a sign that future trips will be just as fun and actually even better. I've still got a bunch of countries on my list that I want to visit and plenty more weekends to fill up.

Cheers!

posted @ 10:24 PM Wednesday, January 18, 2006

Tomorrow we are jetting off to Dublin for the weekend. It's finally really sunk in that we're heading to another country. Tonight we packed our weekend bags and checked the weather. We are planning on doing some cheap things while we are over there. The weather doesn't look that promising for the weekend, but the thing I've noticed is that the weather people over here are even worse than the people in the states. So hopefully we'll get some rain free days while we're over there. I've got the maps and travel books so I think we'll be all set.

Today we watched this great show in my class it was called Dr. Who. It was really great we all got so into it. It was actually a two-parter that we watched. We were only going to watch the first part but we all needed to know what happened. So the story is like a sci-fi Quantum Leap show. There's this guy and his assistant and they travel through time and help people out, basically saving the human race from aliens and things like that. I think it was actually better than some of the crap that's on American TV these days.

Tonight me and the girls had a nice chat with Jon. It was very entertaining. The girls say that I keep them laughing with all my weirdness and interesting ways. Tonight we all cuddled on the couch after our family dinner. We're so cute. I'm really missing Joanna, I wish she was here right now. I talked to her today and apparently I got a summons for jury duty, so I need to straighten that shit out right away. It's weird that they sent it to the address in Boston because that's not my permanent address or the one listed on my license. I need to let them know that I'm out of the country and won't be able to partake in my civic duties until after I re-enter in the summer. I hope it's not going to be a huge ordeal. You are supposed to reply to those things within like 10 days of getting them, but I haven't lived in Boston for over a month, so how was I supposed to know that I got it. Grrrrr.

So that's what's going on over here across the pond. I'll make sure to write a nice long entry about the weekend in Dublin when I get back.

HERE WE COME!

Cheers!

posted @ 10:52 PM Tuesday, January 17, 2006

Nothing really exciting to report on today. I had class all day, it was very long and semi-interesting. I watched two old episodes of CSI: (from season 3) and that made me happy. The only other thing I did today was that I bought a hair straightner because my is on the fritz in this country. I'm going to do a little reading on Dublin and then I am going to hit the sheets.

Cheers!

posted @ 10:58 PM Monday, January 16, 2006

Good news, the new pictures from our walk around London are now posted on the regular site. You can click the link on the left side of the page or you can bookmark http://ndamstetter.shutterfly.com

Here is a picture for you to sample:

Today I had a long ass class with this crazy British guy. It's my British Television Studies Class and I mean it the guy is crazy, but in a good way. He used the word shit at least 12 times in one sentence and then went on to use the word fuck and he actually said, 'smack my bitch up, yo homie, bling bling'. It was a classic moment. Tonight over dinner while me, Anais and Samia were acting out it Jen didn't believe us. She was laughing hysterically though. I have that effect on people, no matter what Jon says.

This afternoon me and Anais headed over to Harrods to check out all the overpriced designer goods. There were these cute teddy bears and super soft puppy dogs with Harrods sweaters on. I really wanted to buy one, but they were expensive. Anais really wanted to get this mechanical dog called Westie that moves around and barks. I was all for it, but she decided not to get it. It would be so cool if we had a puppy here, we'd have something to play with when we get bored. Instead when we're bored here we turn on the British TV and watch the corny soaps. Tonight we watched an hour of Coronation Street (Corrie as they call it here) and I saw my Richard. Yes he's 16, but dammit he's so damn cute. See for yourself:

I'm trying to plan out what to bring to Ireland with me for the trip. I don't really have a lot of green shirts, but that might be overkill. I am really excited about going. We took out some travel books from the Student Life Office. We are on a major budget so we've decided that we are going to just look at the outside of all of the castles instead of paying to go inside. We will pay to visit the Guinness Factory though, I mean that's a given. And at the end of the tour you get a free glass of beer, how cool is that? Well I've got class early in the morning again so I need to get some beauty sleep.

Cheers!

posted @ 10:19 PM Sunday, January 15, 2006

Although it was only for a brief time today, the sun shinned down on our little walking tour of London today. While many of the other BU students here went on a panoramic bus trip of the city, we decided to take the cheaper way and walk around. I mean what the hell it was a rather nice day, and a little walking never hurt anyone. We (me, Jen, Samia and Anais) left the flat at around 9:30 AM and started towards Buckingham Palace. We saw the guards, but they were wearing grey uniforms not red. Also the flag was down so that means that the Queen wasn't there. But that doesn't mean that my Princes weren't. Unfortunately, we didn't get to see the boys, but our time here is just beginning.

I got some great shots that I am uploading right now. I have been having some difficulty with shutterfly. It doesn't seem to want to upload all of my pictures, there always seems to be a few that just won't go and its really annoying. I might have to switch over to Snapfish or Webshots, but Shutterfly was nice because I didn't have to email anyone the link I had my own site that everyone could go to. I really hope that this problem sorts itself out. I am still in the process of learning how to upload my video from the camera and onto the internet. I am pretty sure that I can do it through Google, but it's getting late here and I have class in the early morning. All the walking around the city really wore me out today.

Thursday after class me and the girls are headed off to Dublin for the long weekend. We're trying to take advantage of all of the free Fridays that we have until the internships start. So that should be fun, I am looking forward to that. Like I said I am really tired so I am going to do a little reading and then head off to bed. At the moment my pictures are still trying to upload into my Shutterfly account, but they are already in Snapfish (un-captioned though, sorry) so head over to ( http://www.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=35582520/a=6850759/t_=6850759 ) and check them out if you want to. You may have to hit refresh to get the page to load properly.

Cheers!

posted @ 9:40 PM Saturday, January 14, 2006

Today was such a good day in London. We went on a boat trip down the Thames River today, where we took in all the sights of London and the surrounding area. They even served us tea and biscuits (what we know as cookies) on the way back. I am rather a fan of the English Breakfast Tea with milk and two lumps of sugar. Actually I am a big fan of tea in general. They have Starbucks here, but things are so expensive I would rather buy my own tea at the grocery store and make it at home. I've got some great pictures from the trip. I wish the sun was out a little more because the fog and dreariness make the pictures seem almost a bit hazy.

After the trip we I went on a little retail therapy trip. I thought it was just going to be a window shopping adventure on Kensington High Street, but I found this shirt at TopShop (kinda like our H&M) and it was so soft I couldn't stop touching it. I just wanted to hug it and wear it all the time. So I caved in and bought the shirt and a wicked cute pair of silver dangly earrings. The girls bought a few things too. I guess we just can't stick to window shopping.

Tonight we headed over to Leicester Square and well I think we found a hot spot. There were tons of young people from all over the world there, shops, restaurants, clubs and pubs. We went to a bar that was recommended to me through a friend. It's this Australian bar called Walkabouts and I was told that it was like a bar with a dance floor, but really it's more like a dance floor with a bar. It was totally my kind of place to hang out. You don't have to dance if you don't want to, but they play great music so it was hard to stay put. They played all the great American classics like Bon Jovi 'Livin' On A Prayer', AC/DC 'You Shook Me All Night Long', Madonna 'Like A Prayer', Nirvana 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' and a bunch of others. They even played Green Day which made Jenny a little more than happy. I'm pretty sure that all the other girls loved the place and I bet that we will be heading back there. We didn't even really drink, but the music was good and the people were cool. The only down side was trying to find a cab at 2 in the morning that would take us back to the Royal Borough.

Tomorrow it's supposed to rain like cats and dogs so I plan to sleep in, do a little reading and then the girls and I are most likely going to hit a museum or possibly Harrods for strictly window shopping!

Cheers!

P.S. Make sure to check out my picture link on the side for new pictures from my boat tour.

posted @ 3:07 AM Friday, January 13, 2006

Today I had my first Television and Film in Britain since 1945 class. It was great the teacher was almost 25 minutes late. And then when he gets in he's this cute British man with think rimmed black square glasses and he's carrying this bike that is folded up to be the size of one of the tires. Today I learned a few things in class today:

1)Catherine Zeta-Jones is from Wales, which makes her Welsh.
2)English people think that people in the American south are gun toating Republicans
3)The British are more into sex in their movies
4)Four hours of class at one time is too much for one girl too handle
5)British people are fascinated with blondes (which is good for me)

Tonight was a stay in night. Me, Jen and Samia watched some fascinating British television. Our soap opera addiction to Holly Oaks and EastEnders and we're going to get into Coronation Street because there is this wicked hot kid on there who is also on our new favorite show Soap Star Superstar. It's the best. It's American Idol with soap stars and if they win they get money for charity. They are all so into it, it's great.

Tomorrow we are heading on a mandatory boat trip down the Thames for 4 hours so we can take in the sights of London and the surrounding areas while getting a lecture on British culture. It should be interesting. I am sure that all the kids who went out tonight and had too much to drink we'll be sitting over the side of the boat for some of the trip. The good thing is that the trip is later in the day so everyone can sleep in. I think that I am finally over my jet lag, which is a good thing. It totally kicks you in the ass and you can't control when you fall asleep.

I need to get a real pillow somewhere in this city. The piece of fabric that these people call a pillow just isn't cutting it for me. I need a little fluff. My neck and head are paying the price for sleeping on this lump of something.

Tonight we cooked pepper steaks for supper and almost set off the fire alarm. That would not have been good. But at least we know how to take care of it ourselves if something happens.

Cheers!

posted @ 12:33 AM Thursday, January 12, 2006

Today we finished the academic lectures for our orientation period. Two of them were actually interesting, the others were more like a snooze fest. The first Professor spoke about the Historic Economics of London. I got my reading done for my class tomrorow and wrote a nice leaflet for Anais and Jen. The interesting Professor spoke about the Government and Constitution of Britain. The Dean of the program spoke about the Grand Tours of Europe that took place in the 17th and 18th century. The last lecture should have been interesting because it was about the creativity of the British in the modern era, but the lecturer was rather dry.

Tonight we went out on the town and places were actually open. We went to this cute Irish pub that I liked, and the drinks weren't that expensive, more my scene than the clubs. Tomorrow night we are planning to head to a younger scene away from South Kensington.

My parents are looking into finalizing their plans to come out and see me in March. Hopefully they will get that done soon and we can plan some things out for that. Also the girls and I are working on getting out act together for Spring Break along with the other short weekend trips that we want to make. I am also planning on learning about some of the football culture so I don't feel so awkward at the pubs.

I have my first British Television since 1945 class tomorrow. I hope that the class is more interesting than the reading that we had to do for it.

Cheers!

posted @ 1:18 AM Tuesday, January 10, 2006

Yesterday I had my placement meeting with my internship coordinator. We basically talked about what I wanted to do for an internship. I told the guy that I really wanted to do some production for documentaries, like something on the History Channel. My second and third choices were fiction sitcoms, and non-fiction programs. I felt really good about the initial meeting though. He told me that I had an impressive resume and that I should be able to get my first choice with an internship.

Today we had the usual lectures that you get during an orientation. Be careful when you go out, don't drink too much and drink too little. We actually had a British Bobbie (that's a police officer) come in to talk to us. His name was Spike and he was hilarious. He begins, "First off it's you that has the accent not us, Second I am not cute." Everyone was laughing because their accent is so funny and when you see a cute man speaking it just makes you smile. Some of us are still getting over the jet lag:

Tomorrow we have cultural lectures on Britain all day. It's not going to be pretty. There will be a lot of coffee drinking before and during the lectures so I can stay awake. Also I might bring my B 12 pills with me.

I signed up for some of the social programs that BU offers. I signed up for the daytrips to Stonehenge and Salisbury and then the other one to Bath and Avebury. Also I am going to see History Boys and The Producers in the theatre district. Those things should be a good time. Now we are working on figuring out our other weekend trips around Europe and our week long escapade for Spring Break '06.

In the middle of writing this update the fire alarm went off. We figured that it was just another drill because it took us so long to get out during the drill the other day. Well it turns out that the boys upstairs tried to cook: BIG MISTAKE. After trying to get a hold of an RA or anyone from BU someone decided to call the emergency number 999, (the equivalent to our 911) and they sent over two fire trucks. The best part was that the fire trucks were Mercedes. The English really know how to do it. After a long process they couldn't shut off the alarm so we all went back inside and found the keys for the fire box and shut it off ourselves. Lexham Gardens is going wild and its all because we don't have an RA.

Cheers!

posted @ 7:58 PM Sunday, January 08, 2006

Everyone's worst fear when they fly is that their flight is going to be delayed for whatever reason. Well my flight to London was no exception. For my flight that was supposed to leave at 7:25 PM boarded at 8:30PM and sat at the terminal for another hour because they were experiencing excessive weight in the luggage cargo. Well when you tell college kids that they can take 2 suitcases each 70 lbs each, almost everyone of them is going to almost max out the limit. Anyways my flight eventually got up in the air and it seemed like smooth sailing we hit turbulence and air pockets like you wouldn't believe. The seat belt lights were on for almost the entire flight. I got about 1 - 1 and a half of sleep, but the bets part was watching March of the Penguins. It was a super cute movie. The little girl across the aisle from me puked while we were landing and it took all I had not to puke up my own airline food at the smell of it.

We get to Heathrow and they are out of luggage carts so us girls strapped on our laptops and wheeled our overstuffed suitcases through the airport to the taxi stand. 25 pounds later we were at our Flat at 60 Lexham Gardens. Now the four of us (me, Samia, Anais and Jen) all knew that we would all be living in the same room, but we had no idea how small that room would be. Well let me show you just a little, and I mean a little bit:

For more pictures check out my collection on Shutterfly: ( http://ndamstetter.shutterfly.com )

Well now its late and I'm more than jet lagged so I am heading off to bed.

Cheers!

posted @ 9:30 PM Tuesday, January 03, 2006

Today I found out where I will be living in London. I will be in Flat #1 at 60 Lexham Gardens. It's a quad and as of right now I know that I am living with is the lovely Jen Grant and Samia. I am hoping that the other person Anais, but I haven't heard from her yet.

I've also received my mobile phone number: 07971996704. Until I figure out the rates and everything I will most likely only be using it to stay in touch with my friends who are also in London.

The 3 classes that I will be taking are:
British Film and Television Since 1945
British Cinema and Society
British Television Studies
And an Internship

I am flying out on Saturday night on Virgin Atlantic Flight #12. You can check on the status on my flight ( http://www.virgin-atlantic.com/en/us/flighttimes/flightstatus/index.jsp ) at Vigin Atlantic.

Cheers!

posted @ 7:51 PM

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