mind the gap.

See, I told you I’d try to keep this as updated as possible.

A few weeks ago, one of the girls who is on the trip with me, Michelle got our class free tickets to Polo in the Park because the company she is interning for was basically running the show. It was amazing. We got dressed up, drank Pimm’s and watched a polo match. I didn’t know the rules or really anything about the game, but that didn’t make it any less fun to watch. During halftime, everyone goes onto the playing field and stomps in the divots that the horses make during the game. It was interesting to say the least.


right before the match started. (Becky, me and Meg)


Something I’ve come to learn during my time in London is that football (soccer) is life and when England is winning, we are breathing. When England is losing, we are having a heart attack. The entire city basically shut down for the starting games of the World Cup. They put up huge screens in the city square and many people take their holiday from work during this time so they never have to miss a game. I’ve learned that many a girlfriend can be lost during the World Cup. This year was quite interesting because the first game was USA v. England. Who to root for??? (I chose the USA, of course!) We dressed up in our red, white and blue and marched down to the local pub, The Duke of York (a now frequent hangout) to watch the game. The owner made hotdogs to the Americans! It was one of the greatest moments of all my life (you have no idea how hard it is to find a hotdog in the country). We watched the game with some Brits, got some dirty looks when the US scored, but nothing too bothersome. The score was a 1-1 draw and we were just happy we didn’t lose. Happy enough to dance on bars and drink out of the boot? No, never. Not us. That draw doesn’t much matter now. Both the US and England are out of the World Cup and I’m currently rooting for the Netherlands. (Hi Angelique! ☺)


celebrating the draw (Chelsey, me, Jess and Lauren)



Here in London, I’m taking class as well as interning for 20 hours a week. I work for Sequel UK, a Public Relations firm that holds all the licensing to GUESS watches and jewellery as well as Gc watches and jewellery. It is amaaaazing! I really enjoy what I do, even the grunt/ intern work. My bosses and co-workers are great and we get to do a lot of hands-on things. We recently had a big pres event at a spa called the COWSHED. My bosses gave me free reign on designing parts of the event. We collected the pieces of jewellery and watches into stories and set them up the way we wanted. I was expecting to be told exactly where the pieces should go but instead, I had creative freedom. It was nice knowing my bosses trust my judgement (though there were a few tweaks here and there…). I work with two other girls in my program. Molly and one of my flat mates, Juliana. I’m pretty sure we’re all enjoying the experience and like the work. My boss is actually a Mizzou grad who participated in the same program when she was an undergrad. After she graduated she moved back to London and has been living here for the past two years. Maybe I’ll follow in her footsteps…..sorry mom. **pictures from the cowshed to come later


part of my office

i'm in with the in-crowd.

I go where the in-crowd goes.

'Ello from Londontown! I decided to join the bandwagon and start up a little bloggy-blog. I suppose I don't have much to write about but I will do my best to keep this from being a bitch-fest about the blunders of life. I can’t tell you how irritated I become when reading about other people’s pretend problems, when there are people out there who have nothing—I just sound like my mother. I’ll try to refrain from doing that as well.

Just about 7 weeks since I have landed on the majestic island that is the UK. My experiences here have since been unmatched to any other in my entire life. I live in a place surrounded by beauty I never knew existed.

Let’s see here… where to start? My first few weeks have been filled with millions of mini adventures. I began my first adventure right after arriving to my flat. Landward Apartments on Edgeware Road; a sight to be seen. Smack dab in the middle of London, a few minutes walk from the tube station in one direction and the ever-famous Hyde Park in the other. Not all the appliances work, but we’ve got a great view. Four flat mates and I share a 3 bedroom, 2 bathrooms (more like 1.5, because we only really have one working toilet) flat on the 10th floor.

I'm so lucky to have the flat mates that I do because they're excellent planners! (not my forte) Becky, one my the girls I live with ordered tickets to Les Misérables, London's West End's longest-running musical. I'd never seen it before and it just so happened that Nick Jonas was playing one of the main characters, Marius Potmercy. We ended up seeing Nicky outside after the show and Becky got some great paparazzi photos.

Flat (frat) 37 out for a drink before Les Misérables. (from left to right: Becky, Juliana, Meg, me and Jess)


Our first week, we went on a guided tour of Stonehenge and Bath. At first, I was more excited to see Stonehenge, but Bath turned out to be the cutest little city. It has unbelievable history and the building’s striking architecture set it apart from anywhere else I had ever seen. It was there, in Bath, where I had my first round of authentic British tea, entered my first abbey and saw the Roman Baths-weird.


Typical tourist at Stonehenge



Bath Abbey




The Roman Baths


My flat mates and I got a lucky break when we found some Vampire Weekend tickets for sale on Timeout- a sort of guide on the best of what London has to offer on any given week. We bought them and went to what I would consider an almost private concert. It was a very small venue at Kings College and was very intimate.

2nd row baby!


One of the best things about London is the free things a tourist (or a real-life Londoner) can do. Almost all the museums and art galleries are free to the public, which makes them ideal for a broke college student like me, who want to be cultured in a foreign country. I’ve made a couple of trips to the Tate Modern, the V&A (Victoria and Albert) and the Natural History Museum. The Tate has to be my favorite. I’ve been there twice and after both visits, I had still not seen everything there is to see. I can’t begin to understand everything that hangs on the walls of the building, but I feel that just being there, trying to comprehend what the artists were thinking, opens up my mind to new ideas and interpretations of the art. Trippy, I know.


My favorite piece (so far) at the Tate. It is called "The Bigger Picture"

When I think of England, Buckingham Palace is one of the first things that comes to mind. One Saturday morning, my flat mate Becky and I got up to witness the longstanding tradition of the Changing of the Guards. Basically, the guards walk from one end of the street to the other. Not very interesting, but got some good photos of the guards up close.


This is a very long post and has only covered about a millisecond of my time here. I suppose this will have to be an on-going thing if I want to keep it up to date. No one is going to read this, except maybe my mom and possibly a few sissies, but nevertheless, I’ll try to stay as updated as possible.

Cheers! (where everybody knows your name)