My internship I had with Forward PR was the most amazing experience I have had that has been remotely close to what I want to do after I graduate. I learned so much in the past three weeks but it was not all about what everyone thinks PR is about. Yes I learned about how the firm handles the media and clients but I also learned how to really talk and network with people and handle myself in a professional manor. The first day was great, I was given the opportunity to meet some of our clients. I was given the task of visiting our clients, picking up their pieces and delivering them to magazines that would in turn feature our clients on their pages. I was also asked to do what my boss called press checking in which I would go to Selfridges and look at magazines and news papers to see if any of our clients are featured. If I did find our clients I was to buy the paper or magazine bring them back to the office rip out the pages and scan them. Once the pictures were scanned I was to send the scans to our clients so they could have them on virtual file, I would then put the pictures in "The Black Book" which holds pictures of every client we have represented. I was also given the task of making inquiry calls to magazine and stylists about our clients pieces that have yet to be returned. It is our job as the PR firm of our clients to keep track of pieces that are sent out and pieces that are returned. We make sure that there is no damage or anything missing. I was also in charge of emailing magazines any questions we had about features and what the process was in getting our clients out in the fashion world. The most exciting part of the internship and possibly the most important part I had to perform was attending fashion shows and events. It was so important to go to these events because I learned how to network and get my name as a business woman out there. I talked with many people about what I was trying to accomplish with my internship and what I aspired to to when I graduated. I also got the chance to see how my co workers networked and dove into conversation with people. I learned that in order to figure out how other firms work and how other people work within those firms I need to talk and pitch myself and my company to others. The office was not all running around and work, the boss was really keen on making a point of not making the work place a negative environment. She wanted us to know that she is open and relaxed and ready to hear any suggestions we had about clients or events. I thought that was really important because I know that I can not work in an atmosphere that is negative and strict because I would be too afraid to ask questions or to make mistakes and without mistakes I would never learn. Even though it was a laid back environment I knew that there was a fine line between casual work and being lazy and slow; I always made sure that I was constantly given tasks and got my work done within a reasonable amount of time. It will be very interesting to see the differences between the ways firms are run in the U.S vs. firms in London. I feel as though firms in London specifically Forward PR work hard but take time to rejuvenate energy as well, I think that firms in the U.S are more strict and more keen to get the job done and be successful and don't take the time to make sure that the employees are relaxed and get the job done successfully and thoroughly.

Friday was our last day meeting with the London crew as a whole and we had an appointment to be given the grand tour of Parliament. We got to actually go in and see where the Lords and Commons met to make big decisions. We also got to tour around and see where the queen gets dressed before attending these important gatherings. It was really interesting to be at Parliament with all the political turmoil going on at the time and England having members of Parliament stepping down. Before coming to London I thought that people were not really interested in U.S politics let alone any countries politics but after being here its different to see everyone so interested in the way their own country is run. SO many people pay attention to what is going on in London; mostly through news papers. The tour was very cool because I never got a chance to tour the capital building in D.C so this was really my first time seeing where a government makes history changing decisions.

Thursday was really hard to wake up for because the day before was so jam packed we were all really tired but we had a morning lecture at ULU about British media and the effect is has on British society. We talked about how in London specifically there are really only two major classes; upper and lower class. We talked about how British society was like an English sandwich, two pieces of bread with a little meat in the middle. The upper and lower classes were the two pieces of bread and the meat was the middle class; there is not a very huge middle class and it has never dominated British society. We then compared this English sandwich to the American super colossal sandwich in which the upper and lower class were the top and bottom bun and that the meat was the biggest part and the middle class America. It is the main goal of the media to hit the middle class straight on and really give them what they want to know.

Our lecturer went on the talk about how England has a lot of people that read the daily paper and that because of its size it is easy to distribute papers. With the States, there are different time zones and it is such a vast and wide country it is harder to get news from one side of the U.S to the other side. It was a good lecture but it was a topic that it mostly self explanatory. People need the news and the news needs its audience.

After the lecture we had the rest of the day to visit the Queens Royal home Windsor Castle. It was a gorgeous place and would have no complaints if I lived there. We were able to walk all over the grounds and we saw the queens view of her land and her gardens but we were able to go inside certain parts and see her majesty's doll house and doll collection as well as the different parlors with the royal armor and portraits of all the royalty that has lived at Windsor of the years. It was hard to not touch anything because it was all so shiny and beautiful inside; the detailing of the walls and ceilings were immaculate. For a little bit I felt a little royal and would move in in a heart beat if asked : )

The next day, Wednesday (June 3rd) was probably the busiest day we had since we have been in London. The group had a morning visit to the Tate Modern Museum but I unfortunately was unable to go because I had my interview for my internship. After my interview I had the chance to meet up with everyone at the Tate Modern for a little bit but we soon left for lunch and headed back to ULU (University of London) for a lecture with Bob Craig on WWII and the Blitz.

It was the most interesting and by far my most favorite lecture we had. In the states we learned about WWII almost every year in history class but hearing it from a British perspective brought whole new meaning of the effects of the war universally. Bob talked about people taking shelter in the Tube stations and building shelters in the gardens of homes and even shelters under tables if you lived in apartments. He also told us about children being evacuated out of the city and being sent to the country. It was successful but executed too early. Moms missed their children and often sent for them to return home. Many children became casualties of the German bombings. The most interesting fact about London and the war was them experiencing bombing for 56 consecutive nights and loosing 40,000 homes a week.

After our lecture Bob took us to the Imperial War Museum and showed us around the exhibits for WWI and WWII. It was very cool seeing the different air crafts and bomb shells the British used during the wars. There were also my recent exhibits we got to check out including one on the victims of the Holocaust.

We left the Imperial War Museum a few hours later and rushed off to catch the world famous show WICKED!!!!!!! It was by far the most spectacular most amazing show I have ever seen. My attention was focused on the stage the entire time and I would highly encourage everyone and anyone to go see it. The singing, the songs, the acting were all wonderful and I hate to admit but I did get a little teary eyed during some scenes.

This night was by far the best night of my life. I learned a lot, I got to experience a lot and i definitely got to see a lot as well. I think this was the point in my trip where it really hit my that I was actually in a different country and that I am getting to do what a lot of other people will probably never get the opportunity to do. Everyone should have to privilege to do what I'm doing and I think it is so important to want to take on the responsibility of being in another country and embrace the similarities and differences of cultures and customs.

After we finished up our tour in Westminster Abby we broke for lunch and all met at the BBC Studios main headquarters where "all the magic happens". The BBC is made up of seven floors of news room employees. There are over 2,000 people set up in a circular room where they work with news through T.V, media and online. It is the biggest broadcasting station in the world. The first broadcast was in 1922 and about 80% of the news is planned news; journalists write about 80% of their own scripts as well.

We learned that the building is in the shape of a big question mark and I think my favorite part of the tour was when we got to see the dressing rooms for celebrities and all the dirty stories about celebrities being difficult and demanding; it was nice being able to hear that most celebrities are fun and easy to get along with. It was definitely a tour geared to the Media Studies majors but I learned a lot of PR stuff as well. To wrap up the tour we were able to put on a game show to see what it was like to be in front of the camera as well as behind it helping with the scenes and such.

This was a good day that ended on a high note. I learned a lot about so many versatile things but it all plays into the history of London which I'm still desperately all trying to remember and retain considering before I came here I didn't know very much about this country besides the basics.

Tuesday (June 2, 2009) wasn't too busy either we all met up to tour Westminster Abby with our guide Marc Belben. A little background on Westminster...

It is the greatest known church in the world, there are over 3,000 people buried there today and the Abby used to be Catholic until the 1500's when King Henry the 8th separated the church and crown. What I thought was pretty cool was that there is a tomb for an unknown British warrior like they have in Paris as well as the U.S. It is a tomb that represents all the lives lost during WWI and it is lined with red poppies which symbolize blood shed and war.

Probably one of the greatest tombs was not a tomb at all but a commemoration to Winston Churchill who said when he became Prime Minister during WWII was "I have nothing to offer but blood, sweat, toil and tears".

Another crazy fact I learned was that out of everyone buried in the Abby there is only one who is buried vertical, everyone else is horizontal. That person was a man by the name of Ben Johnson who was a student of Westminster and a partisan of Shakespeare. When he dies he could only afford so much space within the Abby so he was buried vertical as opposed to everyone else buried there.

I liked this trip because I got to see graves of so many famous historical people that have made such a big difference in our lives and to not realize what they did for generations to come until then was a big awakening and made me want to go home and research all of the people further just to know what went on in their lives. It was cool seeing a church with so much history within the walls too because we have nothing even remotely close to this in the States.

Hey Everyone!

So this week has been a little crazy and I know I haven't written about last week so here it goes. Get ready....

The Monday we got back from Paris wasn't too busy we all met under the Big Ben and had a lecture in the House of Parliament with an actual member of Parliament named Graham Brady. He told us how things are ran within the British government and we were given the opportunity to ask questions about the problems within their government, his thoughts on them and his ideas of how they are going to be fixed. He also gave us a little background on the Prime Minister. The current PM is Gordon Brown, there are 646 members of Parliament and 97% of Parliament are white. What I found interesting that I didn't know before was that the Prime Minister can declare war and ask the queen to dissolve Parliament and be open for national elections.

After are lecture in the House of Parliament we broke for lunch and met back at ULU for another lecture on the European Union with Dr. Gavin Dodsworth. I actually enjoyed this lecture because I felt that he related what we were talking about to our generation. He had a way of speaking passionately about the EU but was able to convey the message to us in a clear way. We learned that there are 27 countries in the EU and that it is not automatic to be a member. If a country doesn't want to be in it they don't have to; by choice Norway and Switzerland are not in it. To be part of EU you have to feel as though if you give you will get something out of it and the only country to leave was Greenland. One of the main reasons to have started EU was to bring countries together and prevent WWIII. It has done a good job so far and by coming together in the EU, there will be more influence on the rest of the world.

We learned how the Euro came about and it was to create a United States of Europe through currency, goods, service, free movement of people and capital. There is one federal reserve and it determines the Euro's worth.

Monday was like a said an interesting day but it wasn't too chaotic which was good because we were all still trying to recover from Paris. It was cool learning about where the Euro came about and why it is so important for more countries to join and come together along with the majority of Europe.

The day after our tour of Kew Gardens we all got ready and met at the Eurostar train station to travel to PARIS!!!!!!! It was a 2 1/2 hour train ride from London to the heart of Paris so we left around 11:30 and got to Paris around 2:30. Yeah I know that's three hours but Paris is ahead by an hour so technically according to them it was 2:30. The ride was pretty fast but the best part was the fact that we had to go UNDER the English Channel instead of over or through it.

After we got off the train we were rounded up and told to board a charter bus. We then took a two hour bus tour of the area and got to see everything Paris had to offer including but no limited to the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, the Parthenon, and Napoleon's Tomb. After the bus tour was over we were taken to our hotel which overlooked the Trocadero and the Eiffel Tower. When were all settled in we decided to all go out to dinner as a big group to a fancy French restaurant. Everyone got to order French cuisine and I got to try foods I would never dare try in the U.S. I got to eat snail and duck and creme brule. After dinner we all wanted to explore so we went to a local store bought wine and sat under the Eiffel Tower and watched to light show. We got back to the hotel pretty late so we all hit the hay as soon as we got to our rooms.

The next day we got a reasonable start and probably the most decent breakfast since we left the states. Some of us wanted to go shopping and see the stores but others like me wanted to see the sites. The first stop my group went to was the Louvre to see the Mona Lisa by Leonardo De Vinci. It was breathtaking being able to be this close to a painting that is so famous and recognized everywhere as a masterpiece. The Louvre was HUGE so it took us a couple of hours to see all was wanted to see but it was well worth it because not only were the paintings and sculptures amazing the walls and ceilings themselves were incredible as well. It seemed as if every room had a different motif.

After the Louvre we went to catch a quick bite at a local Chinese restaurant. We then wanted to check out a modern art museum called to Centre Pompidou. It had exhibitions of modern art that I can not begin to describe but it was very enlightening, very French and very nude. After the museum it was getting late so we headed back to meet everyone for dinner and for a second night in a row we got some wine and hung out under the Eiffel Tower.

The last day we had to see Paris we got us early and went to first see Jim Morrison's (the lead singer of The Doors) Grave then to the local market where some of us bought gifts for our families and then to the Church of the Sacred Heart. It is a place where is you stand at the top of the steps in the front you can see all of Paris and was a fabulous view but way too many steps. After taking some pictures of and with the church we moved to another land mark the Arc De Triumph. From the top you could see in a complete circle the different streets leading out of Paris. It took forever to walk up but the view at the top was well worth it.

After we climbed down the Arc we all gathered up and got ready to head back to London. The train ride back seemed a lot faster then before but that must have been because we were so tired and the moment we dozed off we had to wake up.

Paris was up until now the most interesting place we've visited. I never realized the differences until now. When ordering water, you can;t ask for tap it has to be in a bottle and either still or sparkling. Their subway system is a lot more dirty then in London and in some parts Washington D.C. The french were a lot more easy going about the language barrier then I thought they would be. I sometimes heard horror stories of people not being friendly and not willing to help you when you needed it. Another difference is the pace of life in Paris. It isn't as fast as London but it isn't as slow as Amsterdam it is in the happy middle. The biggest difference I saw though in Paris was the amount of people that were homeless and the amount of gypsies. It kind of scared me at first but I came to find that most of them aren't that dangerous you just have to be aware and cautious. All in all it was a great weekend and I learned a lot about a city I've studied for years in high school and college and hopefully someday I'll be able to go back!

On Thursday, May 28th the group had to meet up in the morning to discuss with the professors about the intentions of our final projects. After we all had our individual time to talk about or plans of action we had a planned day at Kew Gardens.

Kew Gardens is roughly 300 acres of land today but when it was first resurrected it was only 9 acres. It was first thought up by Princess Augusta, King George III in the 1750's and about 80% of the plants do not come from Britain they are mostly from the America's.

It was a nice and relaxing afternoon getting a chance to see all the different types of plants but the best part was getting the chance to go on the Treetop Walkway and see all the gardens from high up. It was a bit rocky but so worth it to see above the trees. When we got down there was even a peacock walking around just hanging out.

The gardens were interesting because the majority of the plant life came from other places other then Britain. It gave me the sense that no matter what a Londoner says they do not have everything in their city they have to go pretty far out of the country to find a good sturdy oak.

After we left Stonehenge we traveled a little further to a place called Bath which was discovered by a Roman Prince who had been caste away from his kingdom because of his disfigured face. He discovered a hat spring in Bath and washed his face with its water, his face was miraculously healed and was able to go back to Rome and tell his amazing story. It is believed today that he was not really disfigured but just had a bad case of acne and the water helped his breakouts.

The town of Bath was a spa and recreation town not a military one. There was a religious temple to the Goddess of Wisdom Minerva and the Celtic God of the river. In 410 AD the Romans left the town of Bath and it fell into disrepair; the baths were used as rubbish bins. During the time of the religious era, Bath was known for its Christian Churches and bubbling hot water. Ralph Allen was the man who came across a stone quarry in Bath and decided to build and expand the town in the 18h century.

After learning all this history on the bus from our wonderful guide Bob we were actually allowed to explore the Roman baths. It was a self guided tour so we were able to walk around at our own pace. After the tour of the baths some of us were still interested in the history of the rest of the town so we were able to get a personal tour from Bob. We got the chance to see where Nicholas Cage and Johnny Depp live but we also learned where the term powder room comes from. During the era of powder and white wigs, one would go to the restroom after getting out of the carriage when visiting a friend. They would have to check to make sure their wigs were on properly and that they had enough powder on their faces hence it being dubbed the powder room.

I really enjoyed getting to see the area of Bath because before I came to this country I never really knew how parts of England were discovered, I figured they just appeared and thrived automatically. It was also cool to look around the town and get the chance to explore a different place other then the busy streets of London. People seemed to move a little slower and be a little bit more personable.

Hey blog followers!

OK so I left off talking about the play I saw at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre. The next day, Tuesday May 27th, we had a day trip to Stonehenge and Bath. It was an amazing sight but the only down and messy side was that it was pouring and extremely windy and cold. On more then one occasion people were either loosing their umbrellas or having to turn them right side in when the wind picked up and blew them out.

A little history about the are of Stonehenge....
In 12,00 BC there was a change in culture from large family groups to smaller, more individualistic family groups and in this specific area archaeologists called them the beaker people because in their culture they were buried in the fetal position and their graves contained beakers or pots that stored food or valuables like money and jewelry.

A henge is a circular earthwork ditch with stones or wood. It was a slow process that took 1500 years to build. The people dug a ditch 6ft down and 300 ft in diameter. The first stones were brought in from the furthest places known as blue stone which were 8-12 feet high all the way from Whales. There were around 40 of them brought and placed in a ring. The second stones that were brought were known as marble downs across the ares; they were moved on rollers 20-25 miles, they were cut at the site and two were placed standing while one was placed on top. In 1500 BC Stonehenge was complete but there is no clue as to what happened to the beaker people because their burial rituals died out.

The Stonehenge as we know it today is in its collapsed form, over the centuries there was a road that went through it during the medieval times then a farmer owned the land that it rested on and would let people as they walked by break a chunk off and take it with them on their journey.

The beaker people were discovered by archaeologists to have over 7,000 burial mounds in the area surrounding Stonehenge. They were believed to be a spiritual people. The reasoning behind Stonehenge in not exact but it is believed to be astrological but have healing properties as well. People came from all over to be healed from curses or ailments.

I really enjoyed when we went to Stonehenge because I had heard of the extreme controversy of its origins. It made me think just how far back this area went and that I could have been standing where someone else walked or was healed at thousands of years before. It was quite a sight even though it was raining but it seemed to make the experience more memorable and appreciate the fact that I had to see this controversial wonder first hand.

Hey All!

I know it's been a while since I've last posted but I just got back from grand Paris yesterday evening and haven't had a moment to spare but I left off talking about my trip to Amsterdam. This past week we had a few really good and interesting days before the small excursion to Paris.

The first day we got back from Amsterdam, we had to rush on the train and head to class. If I'm not mistaken it was Tuesday May 26th. Our guest Lecturer Bob Craig was the one who talked to the class about the History of London. He went back to almost 2,000 years ago and explained how London came about. It was no major settlement but was founded by Cesar when he and his men crossed the what is now known as the English Chanel. The area known today as London was recorded by 60 AD by the Queen Boudica. She was unhappy with the taxes the Roman put on her people and when her kingdom was unable to fully pay the Romans off, they beat her and assaulted her two daughters. She then in turn raised an army and attacked London; her army killed 30,000 people.

Bob then went on to talk about many other very interesting things but there isn't enough time or energy to type everything into this blog ; ) but her talked about King Charles I and his war waged against his people and the Parliament. He wanted to arrest 4 Parliament men, London sided with Parliament and the King lost the war. He was put on trial and convicted of treason and sentenced to death.

Bob talked about a lot of things in the history of London lecture and it made me realize how young America is and how much further back English history goes more so then the U.S's. Compared to England and specifically London, the history is not as interesting but I think it is because I grew up hearing about the same things that happened to our country over and over and hearing about another country's' background really intrigued me.

After Bob's lecture we took a trip to the Victoria and Albert Museum. It wasn't my favorite museum but it as or the most part interesting. There are seven corridors that make up the building and if one were to read every single plaque in the museum it could take up to six months. Our guide showed us many things in the exhibit including art and historical pieces from the Greek/Roman period, the Chinese and Arabian cultures and the most interesting the Egyptian time period. We got to see the mummy of Cleopatra and some Roman statues of Greek Gods and Goddesses.

Later on that night we all went to Shakespeare's Globe Theatre and saw the play " The Comedy of Errors" and it was fabulous! It was funny, it made you think and I didn't find myself board at all during the performance. I had no idea what the play was about going into this but i left feeling as if I had heard to story line before. It is about two brothers being separated as young boys and finding themselves in the same city when they are older. The dilemma come in when everyone including their wives and love interests keep confusing them for each other. They discover each other in the end and all returns to normal. i really liked the way the theatre was set up because it is an exact replica of how the theatre looked back in the time of Shakespeare. Some of the crowd stood while the rest of us got to sit in backless chairs which doesn't sound better but made all the difference.

All in all it was a jam packed day and a great learning experience. Cheers! More to come later!

Hey Everyone!!!

I know it's been a couple of days things have just been very busy with getting back from Amsterdam on Tuesday and having day trips to various parts of England. But I'll catch everyone up on my times thus far.

Friday was probably my favorite tour we have gone on in London. We took a walking guided tour of the Tower of London and it was FABULOUS!!!!!!! We were guided by what they call Beefeater. They are now retired military men who actually live within the wall of the Tower. They got the name beefeater because during the times of peasants and royal class the peasants would have a hard time obtaining meat but the guards were to be strong in ordered to protect the tower so the king ordered they be served meat. That is how they became known as the beefeater because these guards were no different from the peasants and were envied because they were fed so well.

We also learned that the Tower of London is not just one tower, there are in fact 20 towers that make up the Tower of London. There are 13 within the walls, 6 on the outer and 1 in the center. The bloodiest execution in the history of the London Tower was one of Jame Scott, the Duke of Mullman, who was the oldest of King Charles II 18 illegitimate children. He was charged with treason when he lead a rebellion against the King at the time who was in fact Charles II. Before I go on to say what happened there is background you need to know. When someone was charged with a crime and were sentenced to death by beheading, they were to pay the executioner money to assure a clean and fast death. On the day of his execution, Scott refused to pay the executioner and told him to "make it clean and get on with it". BIG MISTAKE! The first blow came down right between his shoulder blade. He was said to have looked up and told the executioner that if he missed again he wouldn't promise to keep his head in one place. When the second blow came down it went right into his head. The third cut off his ear, the fourth went into his shoulder, but on the fifth time the blade came down into his neck but only went in 2 inches. The executioner thought enough was enough and pulled out a butchers knife and ended it all by cutting Scott's neck.

After we toured the outside of the Tower, we were able to go into their chapel. We learned about Ann Boleyn and how and why she was executed. She was charged with incest and treason to the King. She was a native French woman and asked for a proper french execution. Her death was said to be so quick and clean that she didn't realize she had died. It is said that when the executioner lifted her head up, she looked around the room and moved her lips as if she were still alive and breathing.

This was the tour that made me realize how far back English history really goes and how by hearing these amazing and interesting stories American history seems minuscule compared to what the British went and have gone throughout the past hundreds of years.

After we finished to tour of Tower of London, we rushed to catch out plane to AMSTERDAM! Our flight left around 6:30 and it was only a 45 minute flight so we arrived roughly around 7:30 but Amsterdam and an hour ahead so it was already 8:30. We were all exhausted to we just went straight to our hostel, checked in, went to dinner and straight to bed. The next day we got up early and decided to explore the area around our hostel. We walked up and down the streets at the little shops and came across the Red Light District. It was defiantly nothing I had imagined. It was sort of a culture shock because in Amsterdam, there are more ideas that are accepted and not as many rules about drinking, smoking and prostitution, all of which are legal with some guidelines and exceptions. We walked for quite some time looking at different stores and crossing amazing canals with flowers and boats everywhere. We started to get hungry and tired so we headed back to the hostel for lunch. We also met a guy who was staying at the same place we were named Stewart who was from Birmingham, England, He was very nice and told us where some good places to explore would be. As we were getting to know Stewart our other friends from the program arrived and we ended up staying up all night a hanging out.

The next day, Sunday, we all go up early and went to the park because it was such a beautiful day. We relaxed by a quaint little pond for a few hours when some of us decided to visit some museums. We wandered a bit and came across Anne Frank's House, I didn't get to go inside because the line was too long but it was amazing to just be on the same street let alone the same country. It really made me appreciate and embrace my heritage and give me insight how hard it was for Anne Frank during the Nazi occupation while hiding in Amsterdam. After we took a couple of photos we headed back to meet everyone for dinner. After dinner we all decided to be bold and go see what the Red Light District at night. It was completely different then what we experienced during the day, I didn't feel threatened or scared but it was just an uncommon situation that not everyone can or will ever experience. The last day we were in Amsterdam, Monday, we checked-out and walked to the souvenirs shops and picked up a couple of things. After we separated and the group i was in went to see the Van Gogh museum and the I Amsterdam statue. We took a whole bunch of pictures in front of the I Amsterdam which I promise will be up by the beginning of next week. When we met with the rest of the group we ate dinner and split off to go catch our flight back to London. The worst experience was having to sleep in the airport and wait for 8 hours for my flight. It was something I would never EVER wish on anyone else. But lesson learned book an earlier flight or get a hotel.

Some things I noticed while in Amsterdam that were different in London was that customer service isn't as friendly and willing to help you with a problem. You don't really tip you waiter or waitresses and you have to go up to the counter and order food, they do not come up to you.

Interesting facts about Amsterdam is that it is below sea level and the only things keeping it afloat are the canals. The meaning behind the three X's is not exact but there are theories. The first theory is that during times of war all the soldiers looked the same and were hard to tell apart so when in battle many times men would kill other men on their side so they would put one, two or three X's depending on where a soldier was from. The second theory was that Amsterdam was a port for pirates and the X's were to warn people to not dock at that port, it was too dangerous. We also learned about the Red Light District and what the different lights mean. A basic red light means that they are a female, a blue and rad light means that they were a male but are now female, and a blue light means they are male.

What made me the most mad about Amsterdam was that we had to pay 2 Euros for a tiny bottle of water when in the U.S it is free. You even have to pay to use the toilets, the fast food places like McDonald's were really nice and the food seems to be a lot better then the fast food in America. Men dress more metro and women are more conservative. Announcements in the terminals and stores were in the native language of Dutch first then in English. When we were in Amsterdam the pace of life was soooooo much slower then in London. People still bumped into you and didn't say excuse me but it was nice to not feel as if i need to run everywhere i go. I think what was the most interesting thing about people in Amsterdam that when people asked where i was from i would say Washington D.C and it took people a little time to figure out where i was talking about some didn't even know where D.C was.

More will come later and the pictures will be up soon!!! Always on the move Cheers!!!!

Today was a really fun day. We had a walking tour of the Tower of London and got to learn some crazy facts about what it has been used for over hundreds of years. We were lead by a beefeater which are the men that are dressed in the funny blue and red dress looking uniforms. I think the most interesting facts were who were executed and how they were executed. But I'll have to blog later because I'm off to Amsterdam!!!!

CHEERS!

Yesterday was a really interesting day. Some of the group had their internship interviews while others in the group went to the National Art Gallery to see the Piccaso exhibition. My interview went well but it was hard to see myself working for this company. The company works a lot with finance and business technology clients. After the interview everyone met up to see the British Museum. It was very exciting having the oppertunity to see the athenian and egyptian parts of the exhibits. We got the see the controversial exhibition of pieces from the Greek Parthenon. It was cool seeing real live mummys and learn how they were mummified. After the Britsh Museum we headed to the British Library. After the museum we found a really good pizza place. It was so good but in London the crust is thin and there is less sauce but more cheese as opposed to in the U.S where the crust is big and there is more sauce and less cheese; maybe thats why we have such a problem with obesity. After dinner we split up and went our own seperate ways. We were all too tired to do anything else for most people there was way too much walking.

CHEERIO FROM LONDON!

GREETINGS FROM LONDON!!!!

I finally made it here, I thought this day would never arrive but we landed safely in Heathrow Airport around 7:00am Tuesday Morning (still Monday in the U.S). We took a bus to the AIFS office where we checked in with Sinead who gave us the rundown of the happenings of London such as where we can eat, do our work, important numbers we need in case of emergency and all there things that we needs to know. We then got our packets of information and maps so we don't get too lost our first couple f days in a new city. Sinead then called us taxi's to take us to our home stays. While groups were waiting to be picked up, we all took a stroll around to block to explore and get a feel for the area; most of us had lunch, went to the bank or bought phones so we could talk to each other while in London, others just slept to catch up on Jet lag.

When the taxi finally came for me and my roomies, we took the craziest ride of our lives, ducking and weaving around buses and people to make it to our temporary home in Tufnell Park. The area is very nice with little shops for eating and grocery and even a pub at the corner. The family is so nice and showed us to our rooms right away. We unpacked and took a nap for a couple of hours. When we woke up we have tea with the family and got to know the parents a little better. The mom is a freelance editor and the father is as he puts it " a Jack of all trades with no special talent". The mom told us that they would make us dinner the fist night so while supper was being prepared we took a walk around the neighborhood. An hour or two later we had supper and really got to know the family better.

We then wanted to catch up with everyone else to see how their home stay families were. We all met at a pub maybe 10-15 min away from Tufnell called O'Neil's. We then made our way to another bar called Cafe Loco. It was a lot of fun trying to navigate the bus system and getting to know other people in our groups but the most fun was being able to talk to locals and get a better sense of what this place is really about.


On Wednesday we all met up at the ULU which is the building where we will be conducting class. It is directly across the street from the AIFS office and is only maybe a half an hour tube ride. That was an adventure in itself because we definitely got ourselves turned around of the tube a couple of times. We had orientation in which we talked about safety and the norms of London. We talked about etiquette while staying with our home stay families and our internship assignments. After the meetings were over we met for lunch and met up to board of coach tour of London. But first what's interesting about the area where we have our classes is that down the road there is the Senate House building in which Orson Wells once worked and was his inspiration for his famous novel 1984. the building in which he worked was his muse for the idea that "big brother is always watching".

While on the tour we were able to see London city life. We got to stop at Buckingham Palace and see where the queen lives. her royal flag was flying high so she was home that day. We got to see Piccadilly Circus, the Tower Bridge and Tower of London. We then got out and walked from South London to North London on the Millennial Bridge which was built in the obvious year of 2000. After crossing the bridge we got to see where they filmed the song "Feed the Birds" from the movies everyone knows and loves Merry Poppins. We then took a tour of St. Paul's Cathedral which is not a royal church but the "Church of the people". We got to look at all the amazing carvings and sculptures and tombs of famous citizens of London. An interesting fact is that is withstood being attacked by 38 arsenal bombs in WWII and that there was a superstition that if St. Paul's fell London would fall too. After the tour we all went our separate ways to wash up for dinner we then made our way to Wood Green and all met for dinner at a Pub near one of the other groups home stays. It was an early night for everyone because we were all still trying to get used to the time change.