June 2010
3 posts
Fin
I can’t believe I’m back in NYC and this experience is over.
I spent my last week trying to catch up on the sights that I didn’t get to see. Sunday was full of walking and museum touring; I hit up Tate Modern and checked out their awesome collections of Miro, Picasso, and Dali. As I’ve said before, I’ve hated modern art for the longest time but after being in Europe...
May 2010
6 posts
Summer is fabulous
I’ve been loving summertime in London. The weather has been beautiful, warm and sunny but not scorching hot. I’ve been spending lazy days out in the sun, whether it be in my dorm’s courtyard or Leicester square. The tube is absolutely awful though…it just reeks of body odor. I guess that’s a good thing because it’ll encourage me to walk everywhere. I have my...
Why, Americans, why? →
If I had a nickel every time I felt second-hand embarrassment when encountering Americans in London (especially on the tube or bus), I would probably have $5 right now. Please heed the advice of this wise columnist.
Updates
I haven’t posted in awhile but that’s because I’m busy with my final essays. I’ll be done with those by next Wednesday (hopefully) and then I can relax until my only exam on June 1st. I just booked my return ticket home for June 18th, which means I only have a little over a month left. It’s bittersweet, but I’m going to make the best of it by creating a London...
April 2010
7 posts
And I'm Finally Back
I’m so happy to have gotten into London yesterday evening, especially since I managed to get the last bus ticket from Madrid to London by complete chance. When my flight was cancelled on Monday, I spent the day trying to figure out different ways of getting back online. I tried to rebook my cancelled flight, but all the airlines were only giving me flights out for Wednesday the 28th. I...
Eyjafjallajokull
I honestly hate volcanos and Iceland at this point—yes, I’m going to be an ignorant, complaining American for once and make statements like that. And oh, Europe and it’s “awesome” transportation system that America should learn from? Puh-lease, give me a break! I get that it’s difficult to come up with a contingency plan for a volcano that last exploded in...
Madrid!
I’ve decided to update my blog on Madrid even though I’m still here…If I’m stuck here any longer I figured I’ll officially hate this city even though it’s a victim of circumstance. I’m going to rant in my next post so here’s my update on Madrid.
Elizabeth and I got here Thursday evening, to find out that both of us are having issues with our cards....
Barcelona!
Another beautiful city…I’m not sure how I’m going to adjust to the US when I get back. I’m currently in Madrid, exhausted but enjoying the city and really looking forward to London on Monday. I’m missing that city like crazy, specifically my awesome flat. Let’s hope that the volcanic ash doesn’t mess it up; as of now Ryanair has cancelled all flights until...
Roma!
I’m pretty mad at myself for not updating this sooner, but internet has been a nightmare for the past two days. Anyway, here it goes, better late than never.
Rome…the eternal city definitely lives up to its name. Like I’ve said with Paris, witnessing the stuff that you learned about all your life is mindboggling. I was so speechless half the time and then out of breath...
Amsterdam!
Wow, what an amazingly beautiful city! I love this place and find myself thinking why didn’t I study abroad here. I’ve been here since Saturday and Elizabeth and I are leaving for Rome tomorrow afternoon. Just to give a recap of all the great stuff: Staurday, we didn’t really do much because I was sooo tired from my exhausting trip here. I missed my first flight to Amsterdam and...
Updates
I haven’t updated in awhile so here it goes. It’s been a pretty hectic two weeks filled with essays to write and being sick. I got pretty sick at the beginning of last week, the sickest I’ve been in years and actually went to the doctor (literally the first time since freshman year of college). I was diagnosed with a respiratory tract infection and thankfully I started using...
March 2010
3 posts
Dublin!
This past Wednesday was St. Patrick’s Day and Iffat, Dimilsa, Angela, and I decided to go to Dublin for the day. Yes for the day. We were exhausted by the end of it but it was so worth it. After catching our early flight in, we decided to head to the parade. Along the way, I got an awesome leprachaun hat and green, white, and orange boa. I got a great spot right by the River Liffey and we...
The Tower of London
On Friday, a huge group of Barnard girls ascended upon London for Spring Break, including Iffat, Dimilsa, and Angela who are staying with me for the week. On Saturday we decided to do some sightseeing but the tube is horrible on the weekend so that ruined our plans for a guided boat tour at 2pm. Instead, we went inside the Tower of London (there are actually 20 towers in the fortress). We hopped...
February 2010
16 posts
HEENA
is in LONDRES (aka London in French). It’s so surreal to see her in London, when I just saw her two weeks ago in Paris, and before that I saw her in New York. Honestly, technology is amazing and I don’t think I really appreciated the ease of getting from one place to another and seeing/communicating with people. I mean, it used to take two months by boat to get to Europe from the...
And I have arrived in...London, not Brussels
So after realizing that the crash in Belgium has essentially cancelled all trains for the day and potentially tomorrow, I figured it’s best (and safest) for me to just go back to London from Paris. I didn’t want to risk my life since the international trains use that same railway where the crash that killed 20+ occurred. Thankfully I was able to get a full refund on my Paris-Brussels...
OH MY GOODNESS
I am probably the unluckiest person on earth. I get to the Gare du Nord in order to take my train to Brussels and I end up waiting online for an hour, eventually missing my train. When I finally speak to the ticket booth operator about getting another ticket, she tells me that all trains to Belgium have been CANCELLED! Great, at least I technically didn’t miss my train but there are no...
Paris Day 4: 704 + 340 + (284 x 2) = legs of steel
My last full day in Paris was a total blast, just like the past three, except today I think I got an even more intense workout than on Friday. We were blessed with actual sun today and while it was cold, it was bearable and even warm at times when standing directly in front of the sun. After sleeping in for the first time today (until 11am!), Heena and I met up to climb the Eiffel Tower. We got...
Paris Day 3: Versailles
Another great day today. It was absolutely freezing but Heena and I braved the cold and went out to Versailles, about 40 minutes by train from Paris. We had the same New Paris tourguide as I did from yesterday’s free tour (Alex) and it cost 28 euro (including transportation!). It was a great deal and I highly encourage anyone who goes to Europe to look into the New Europe tours since they...
Paris Day 2: Walk baby, walk
Long post, so I thank you all in advance for even caring enough to read!
Wow, I am so exhausted right now but I refuse to just collapse without writing about my extraordinary day. As for pictures, I think I’m just going to post them all in one lump because I’m just too tired to have to fiddle with my camera and computer. Day 2 was an extreme walking day. I woke up at 8:30am and ate...
Paris Day 1: Making up for lost time
About to go to sleep now since I’m exhausted (on maybe 4 hours of sleep) but I wanted to write a blog post while everything is still fresh in my mind. Paris is amazing…truly the City of Love and excessive PDA. It was cute at times and a little too much at others and PDA was everywhere, from McDonalds to the Metro. Anyway, after getting to my hostel, Heena and I met up at the McDonalds...
Paris Day 1: Delays and then some
I’m finally here…but only after the most grueling travel experience. The trip from London to Paris usually takes about 3 hours tops; however, Eurostar is a complete joke and it ended up taking me 7.5 hours! Yes, that’s the same amount of time it takes to get from NEW YORK to London. I got up at 4am so I can get to St. Pancras International (which is literally a 5 minute walk from...
No such thing as "Political Correctness" in the UK
Today we were sent an email from our Student Union advertising election nominations for the next year’s Union board. When I read the list of officer positions, I honestly had to read it twice because I couldn’t believe that this was genuine. I’m listing them here for your own enjoyment and please try to think what would happen if all of the student government positions at Barnard...
Primark is Heaven on Earth
Today my friend Ava and I decided to go to the holy grail of UK stores, Primark. We’ve heard so much about how great it is so we decided why not…I also needed to buy a couple of basics like tshirts and tights. We get there and I almost fainted from being so overjoyed. £1 leggings, £2 t shirts, £5 cardigans, and £8 dresses. This was both my dream and my nightmare in that I quickly had...
“Today I saw a FOX sprint in front of me…in CENTRAL LONDON…as I...”
National Gallery...The Inside
This weekend was very productive and I have to pat myself on the back for that :) On Saturday, my friend Britania and I met up at the Charing Cross Tube station to be greeted by a bagpiper-street-performer. Hearing the bagpipes as I walked out of the tube station gave me this great touristy feel, kind of like a “this-is-what-England-should-feel-like” feeling (I know, stereotypical)....
January 2010
8 posts
Sightseeing Success
After a week of just going to classes and coming straight back to my room, I finally decided to wake up early this morning (9:30am!) to explore. My reclusion this week partly has to due with a sudden case of homesickness, which really confused me since it hit me three weeks after getting here. I don’t know what brought it on (watching the State of the Union definitely added to it) but I...
First Week Comes to a Close
My first week in London has been awesome! Great flatmates, interesting classes, and an amazing city that I have yet to fully explore. I’ve finalized my classes and decided not to take Society and Culture in 20th Century Africa (too many conflicts). The four classes I’m officially taking are: Globalisation and Global Governance, Politics of Development, The Making of the Modern Middle...
First Week of Classes
Yesterday I started my first day of classes. SOAS is split up between two campuses, Vernon Square and Russell Square; the former being about 2 minutes away from my residence hall and the latter being about 20 minutes away. My first class, Society and Culture in 20th Century Africa, was scheduled to be at 11:00am at the Vernon Square campus which was exciting since I got to wake up pretty late....
I’m loving London but I can’t help but...
I'm here!
After boarding my flight last night with no problems, I landed in Heathrow Airport at about 11am GMT. My friend and fellow Barnardian Amy and I were lucky enough to fly together making things a lot easier for the both of us i.e: having someone to watch your stuff when using the bathroom. After taking a cab, we finally got to our residence hall, Dinwiddy House, at around 2pm. My flat is on the...
Tonight's the night!
As I’m finishing up this dreadful packing I realized two things 1) packing is a pain in the neck and 2) the airline industry is plain cruel to allow coach passengers only one piece of luggage regardless of how much time he/she intends to stay at his/her destination. I’m already going to have to pay for my second piece of luggage regardless but I really think they should make luggage...
December 2009
1 post
Last Day at Barnard
After doing some research, I’ve decided to choose tumblr as my primary method of blogging for the next six months or so. Hooray for blogging! I’ve never been the journal-keeping type, but I’ve vowed to blog at least once a week from now on…so please hold me accountable to this promise!
I’m currently working my last desk shift at the Admissions Office and attempting...