On Being Back...

I have been back in the United States for two weeks. The feeling is indescribable, but not so much in a good way. As I prepared for my trip, I came across a graph showing the emotions one goes through when planning, experiencing, and returning from a study abroad experience. It began with intense excitement and happiness as one decides to go, then drops a bit during the preparation due to the forms and fees one experiences, then goes up as departure approaches and the program begins, then drops as the frustration of a new place sets in, then up when one gets comfortable and begins to experience the culture, then down when the reality hits that you must leave. After returning your mood elevates as you get to see your family and everyone is happy you are home.

But after that, it drops. It dips down quite quickly as the people around you lose interest in your stories, you have to go back to work, and then come to the reality that you are flat broke in a place that lacks the same interest as your host city did.

That is exactly where I'm at. Suddenly I'm completely alone in my apartment in a city that doesn't really fascinate me anymore. I feel as if I'm here for my last semester of school and for no other reason. I feel anxious and uneasy with the lack of excitement I had gotten so used to while abroad.

To try and combat these feelings, I plan on purchasing a guide book for the Twin Cities to ease back into the culture here. Although, I need to wait about a month before I get paid for that to happen. I'm trying to stay busy and creative but it's proving to be quite difficult. It also doesn't help that I've caught another weird and unexplained sickness that won't seem to go away.

I'm hoping this is all part of the roller-coaster of emotions I'm supposed to experience as part of a study abroad trip and everything will get back to normal. (what's truly normal at this point, I don't know.)

The Last Day

It's my last day in London. The feeling is entirely bittersweet. I love this city and there is an immense amount of things to do and see (some of which I didn't get to). However, I do miss driving, my family, cable, and living on my own.

Tonight the CAPA program is hosting a Cream Tea event at a hotel near the V&A. I think it's a great way to round out the last six weeks. Tomorrow I will get onto a plane for about 9 hours back to Minneapolis, then drive another 4 hours back to Sioux Falls for what's left of the 4th of July.

These past 6 weeks have been incredible and highly life changing and eye opening. I will have to come back in the future, if not just for London, but most definitely Paris.

5 Days Left In London

Only 5 days left... it's all gone by so quickly and it has been an incredible experience. I've seen and learned so much about British history, design, and the culture itself. I still have quite a few places I want to see and could use another week or two but I only have 5 days left!

I love this city and its people (not the tourists so much), I truly love the culture, and the art is amazing! However, I'm ready to come home, I'm ready to drive my truck, no more of this underground sweaty-ness. No more roommates! And a real bed! No more bunk beds!! (yes, that deserves two exclamation points) Just sitting here listening to my roommates talk about getting absolutely "sloppy" wasted drunk on Wednesday night makes me sick, there are so many more important things to do in London than get pissed drunk. What's worse is when they ask me what I did today, I am usually met with "Oh, I haven't done that yet," or,"I still need to do that," (we only have 5 days left) but yet all they want to do is go out to the same clubs... seems like a waste to me. Going out in London, is just like going out in America.

Anyway, enough about that. I'm working on my thank you card for my internship site. They have been great. I haven't really learned much in the technical field of design, but have learned an immense amount international design and British culture. I really don't want to leave this experience. I feel like I'm just getting into it. The projects they are working on are amazing. Huge clients—Harrods! It's just great and the atmosphere in the design space is positive and you can really feel they love what they are doing. They are all really intelligent too. Really intellectual conversations about foreign affairs and the British economy and government happen daily. I usually listen quietly and nod along, pretty much just absorbing what they are saying.

I hope I have helped out with the work I've been doing and have added to their productivity a bit. I also really appreciate them taking a chance on me. I was the first CAPA intern they have taken on and I hope I have lived up to their expectations.

Way Too Much Work

As I thought about my internship class I began to add up the amount of hours this class is taking out of my trip. I spend 21 hours at my internship (which are great! I'm totally for that) but I spend two hours in class each week and easily 8–10 hours on papers analyzing the company. I would much, much, much rather spend those additional hours working at my internship. The worst part is, I'm so tired from working on homework until 1 or 2am I fall asleep at work and don't work as efficiently as I'd like!

T-Minus 2 Weeks and Counting

A weekend in Paris and two more weeks in London. As the end draws near, I find myself evaluating my time spent in Europe. I feel as if being an American in Europe is the best way to be, not a tourist or a immigrant trying to be European, but a girl proud of her home culture while feeling at home in Europe.

Throughout the day, I found myself daydreaming about Paris. While I waited for my friend to grab a souvenir, I decided to walk onto a bridge and sketch the Eiffel Tower and the scenery around it. This was by far the highlight of my trip to Paris—the Mona Lisa and Notre Dame were amazing too, but they did not compare to the feeling I got while sitting on the bridge. It was completely inspirational and I could see why so many artists have spent time there in the past. That feeling is still with me and all I can think about is moving to Paris and feeling that way ALL the time. I would have to get used to the smell, the smoking, the attitudes, and the language (which is quite beautiful in itself); but I think I could do that. The beauty in Paris truly outweighs the negative and gross parts.

There is still so much to see and do in London and I have it all planned out, I just hope I can get it all done.

Another Week in London and Paris Tomorrow

As a means of blatant procrastination from my homework, I felt the need to write a blog entry. The last week was a blur, as were the previous weeks. On Monday I worked at my internship and spent the day finishing up and presenting my ideas for the company's identity, then set to work on a website. It's a ton of work, and I'm almost positive everyone else's internships are much more low-key. That is completely fine with me however, I absolutely love the position I'm in.

The other day I had a conversation with one of my supervisors about international design. It was such an eye-opening experience! I had always thought good design, is good design, well that's only partially true. Different cultures value design elements and principles very differently than the West and this is evident in their design preferences. I was so excited from the conversation I went to tell my roommates about it and was met with blank stares and boredom, I guess this subject is only interesting if you're a designer, anyway I loved it!

Tuesday, Anna and I went out for a lovely English evening. We met up on Fleet Street for a dinner consisting of meat pies (beef, not human like Sweeny Todd the Demon Barber of Fleet Street) and mash with vegetables. Then we crossed the river Thames to the Globe Theatre to see As You Like It. It was hilarious and so, so, so, so, good! As with Romeo and Juliet, we stood on the floor as groundlings, almost got stepped on by the actors a few times. After the show we went for drinks at a small pub literally on the river across from St. Paul's Cathedral and watched the sun set. It was an amazing day, I was exhausted by the end but that's somewhat of a theme for me here.

I am headed to Paris tomorrow! It is such an opportunity to be in Europe, let alone getting the chance to travel a bit. I'll be there for the weekend and am going to try and see as much as possible. I've made a list and it seems feasible, however I don't speak any French, so we'll see. Anna speaks a little so we aren't totally lost (well, she won't be totally lost).

I should really get to this homework, I have about 5 papers to write for my internship class that are due next week. I just don't understand the point of the class. I'm already learning so much from my work in my internship. All we talk about in the class are business practices that one should already know if he or she has EVER worked in a job before. I think it's designed for students with internships where they don't really do anything, like imputing data or making tea. I, however, am constantly busy and these assignments are mind-numbingly frustrating. I just have to suck-it-up and do it because ultimately my grades transfer and therefore affect my GPA.

Wow, my posts just keep getting longer and longer, just so much to say!

Two Countries, Liverpool & Canterbury

It's been so long since I have blogged, it's terrible! I've just been so busy with my internship (which is awesome!), classes (which are not, well except for the field trips), and traveling.

Over the last, wow I guess three weeks, I've been to Dublin, Ireland, Liverpool, and Canterbury! I'm absolutely exhausted, but I don't care, it's all so exciting and, most of the time, surreal. (all my pictures are uploaded on flick'r so feel free to take a look)

Dublin was beautiful, well not the weather... rain, wind, and about 40 degrees, but everything else was! St. Patrick's Cathedral, the Book of Kells, St. Stephen's Green, so pretty, and... very green. I know, I know it's Ireland, but you never really expect it to be that green! Seeing the Book of Kells was pretty much a religious experience. The letterforms alone were worth the 6 Euro to get in.

The Guinness Storehouse was actually a lot more interesting than I thought it would be. Seeing the process was fascinating, but the section on the advertising—great! They had everything from posters, to ads, to commercials, to the packaging. I'm pretty sure most of Guinness pictures came from there. Getting a free pint of Guinness in the Gravity Bar wasn't so bad either. How many people can say their first taste of Guinness was at the highest point in Dublin? (the Millennium Spire might be the tallest point, but no one is going up there with a pint of Guinness!)

That next weekend I traveled to Liverpool by myself and had the entire day completely packed with things I wanted to do. I left my flat at 4am and got on my train around 5:30am, then at 9:30am I went a tour of John and Paul's homes, I even got to go inside! (I started to cry a few times in John's house, that's how crazy it was being there!) Then, I went to the Tate Liverpool to see the Colour Chart exhibit. It was really really neat. There were Andy Warhol pieces and even the real color studies I studies from a book freshman year.

After that, I went on the Magical Mystery Tour (yes, that's actually what it's called). We toured the city of Liverpool, stopping at all the Beatles landmarks like Strawberry Field, Penny Lane, Sgt. Pepper's Bistro, and the "barber showing photographs" while listening to Beatles songs.

Later I went to the Cavern Club and The Grapes and pretended to be a Beatle. I jumped on stage at the Cavern Club because I just had to do it. I also found the statue of Eleanor Rigby and hung out with her awhile, she was so lonely.

Saturday, I went to Canterbury with one of my roommates and we toured the Canterbury Cathedral, which was incredible! Every time you would make a turn you would enter a whole different section even more grand than the first! We spent an hour or two just sitting by a lake enjoying the day. The sun was out, the sky was blue, and there was a castle in our view, couldn't get much better than that.

And so goes another week in Europe

Currently, I at my internship waiting for a rather large file to save. So, in my "free" time I thought I should catch up on some much needed blogging!

Since my last post—a week ago—much has happened. Wednesday was filled with homework and class. However, for Pop-Culture, our assignment was literally go to the British Museum and wander around, it was great! One of my roommates and I stopped in a really neat little cafe for lunch before our self-guided tour. Then, we headed to our internship class... what a waste of three hours in London. I found myself beginning to doodle on my notebook just to stay awake. After class I was surprised to learn that three of my classmates sitting near me were watching me draw instead of listening to the teacher talk (what seemed like hours) about the British healthcare system, I'm still a little unsure as to how we got on that subject.

After class, we all headed back to our flat to do homework. I had to finish a paper and ended up staying awake until around 2am. Why must I do homework in London?

Class, to work, to play... with no breaks!

Thursday was a totally whirlwind! It started out with a tour of Southwest London with my Pop-Culture class where we began in Covent Garden and walked and walked and walked all over learning about little shops with unique histories. It was really interesting to hear about the hippie and punk subcultures. I had no idea the hippies were so prevalent in London. Our teacher was walking really really quickly but I managed to keep up. I don't know how I did that with my huge bag with my computer and everything. I had to switch arms a few times and set it down whenever I got a chance.

Immediately after class, I hopped on the tube to my internship. My class had gotten dismissed a bit early so I ended up getting to Connaught about an hour early. This was perfect considering the project one of my supervisors had planned for me.

I had not even set down my heavy bag when I heard, "I've got a project for you," which of course got me immediately excited. He hands me five vials of face cream and gives me the task of creating packaging with a magnetic closure that suggests high-end quality while still appropriate if one, two, or all five vials are packaged. He also gave me a box of their current packaging as a starting point.

I began brainstorming solutions to the problem and sketching out ideas. After coming up with about six I called my supervisor over to get his opinion. He selected two options, one holding the vials with ribbon, the other a sort of Roman arch/toe separator design.

We then drove to a small design shop to pick up supplies for the mock-ups. I went to get into the car and completely went to the other side of the vehicle. He simply said with a laugh, "That's my side," which queued me to get in on the other. It was a bit unnerving essentially being in the driver's seat with no steering wheel on the wrong side of the road. Then he said, "Just don't scream when you see cars coming at you." I appreciated the heads up as I was pretty freaked out.

Once we got back with the supplies I set to work. I had two hours to mock-up both options. I was so worried I wouldn't get done. After creating the boxes I had to create the holders. I managed to get everything done just in time to head to the tube for the play we had planned to go to.

On my way to the tube station—with the huge bag and computer—I tried to contact one of my roommates to see how to get to the theater. My phone froze and I was left to just wing it and hope I got there in the 45min I had planned. Once I got off the tube at Covent Garden, I wandered around until finally asking directions. The directions I got were terrible; however she did tell me I was going in the complete opposite direction. By some incredible chance, or miracle, I happened to turn to my left to see the theater two blocks down the street. Even more interesting my phone decided to unfreeze! I was able to contact my roommate and get in on time.

The show was great! We saw Spring Awakening, which looked at the relationships and boundaries between parents and children and its influence on sex and love. It was incredible and fascinating to see the juxtaposition of rock 'n' roll music set to Victorian prose. If you ever get a chance to go see it—GO, you will not be disappointed. I laughed and cried even though that is so cliché to say. :)

Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday

Sunday was beautiful so we decided to go out to Hyde Park and wander around. Unfortunately, we missed Speaker's corner, but we have plans to go this weekend. It was a gorgeous day and the park was the perfect idea. We then walked around Kensington High Street and peeked into Harvey Nichols with its elaborate shop windows, and Harrod's, two world famous department stores.

Monday was a bank holiday which meant virtually everything is closed (even the banks!). We made a run to our sponsor school to drop off some paper work then went through our internship commutes again just to be sure we knew what we were doing for our internship interviews the next day. Once we got home we all just spent the evening relaxing and prepping for questions we could be asked. I reworked my resume and internship samples just in case he wanted to see them.

Tuesday was my internship "interview" and by interview I mean first day of work. I walked in all ready to sell my work and my work ethic when I was surprised to see my work station all ready prepared for me. My site instructor introduced himself and immediately set me to work. It was so exciting to see how things work in the UK from a designer's standpoint. I also had my first cup of English tea—which was amazing! 

Wednesday consisted of more work within my internship (which I did not want to leave) and classes. My first class is called Post-War British Pop Culture and is really interesting with almost every class consisting of a field trip to somewhere significant in London. The instructor is pretty eclectic too which is entertaining.

Being a Tourist...

Saturday we got the chance to be complete tourists and take a guided bus tour of London's most famous attractions. Our guide was Scottish, which was a bit odd but still was great and made us laugh throughout the trip. We didn't get a chance to get out much—except for Buckingham Palace, Canary Warf, and St. Paul's Cathedral—but I still managed to take about 250 photos of the sites from the bus. (they are all uploaded on my flick'r page as of today) It was nice to get a gentle overview of the city. While we drove I was making a list of all the places I wanted to see in more detail.

That night we went to Covent Garden and signed up for a Pub Crawl. I had never been on one but my roommates assured me it would be worth it. For ₤12 we got into 5 pubs and got access to drink specials and even free drinks in a few pubs. It was a good way to get introduced to various pubs in the area. We went to two traditional English pubs and one American pub called the Roadhouse. It was great! It had Route 66 and 7Eleven signs, Coca-Cola memorabilia, Jimi Hendrix posters and big trucks and things all over the walls. The end of the crawl lead us to the Zoo bar and club. The cover itself was ₤15 but we got in for free! We spent the rest of the night dancing and having a good time and got to experience the night bus antics on the way home.

Just a Note

I'm running out of internet minutes for the week so I will post soon. Until then, check out my flick'r London photos!

Flick'r London Photos

First Friday in London

Orientations filled most of the day Friday. These orientations; however were a waste of time. Most of the information they gave us we had already discovered the day before on the tube. Then, for our internship orientation, the information was so generic it was not much help.

In between orientations we wandered around looking for some place to eat. We came up on this quaint little French restaurant where I had the most amazing French grilled cheese. (I have yet to each any English food however)

After our second orientation, we headed home to get ready for the CAPA sponsored arrival party. Most of the food was gone by the time we finally got there but decided to hang around anyway. After that we headed Leicester Square and got to experience a bit of London's club scene. The Zoo Bar was insane, strobe lights were flashing over a completely packed dance floor. We managed to get into the bar for 2.50 pounds instead of 10 pounds. It was really exciting and was opened really late. Once we left the Zoo bar we wandered into a few more pubs before heading home. We found our way to the bus stop and had no luck trying to figure our how to get home by bus, so we ended up catching a cab for 20 pounds... I video taped the ride home from the Piccadilly Circus all the way back to Kilburn.

First Thursday Night in London

The last few days have absolutely flown by. The first Thursday and Friday in London were a bit crazy but really created interesting opportunities to experience the city.

It began with a mini-tour of London in search of our internship sites. Riding the tube is an experience within itself. It's a bustling fast-paced environment and requires you to go with the flow  and not to stand on the wrong side. Keeping to the left of the walkways was quite difficult and felt extremely awkward. Throughout the day we were able to navigate the tube system and find all of our internships. The last stop brought us to Oxford Street, a hugs shopping street in London. It was so crowed it was a struggle to stay together.

Once we got home from grocery shopping that night we decided to explore the local pubs in our neighborhood. Thursday nights in Kilburn, not too wild. Our first pub had only four men in their 60s hanging out, the second, called the Black Lion, was interesting on the inside but still only had a few people in their late 30s. Finally, in the last pub there were several late 20 somethings listening to mostly American music. It even stayed open until 2am!

CAPA Walking Tour, and then some

The CAPA Walking Tour was pretty brief, it only showed the nearest tube station and the popular Kilburn High Road. It was helpful to get an overview of how to use the tube and bus systems, however.

After waiting for a housing orientation that never occurred, we decided to go to dinner at this cute little restaurant with pretty cheap food. I had an amazing italian sausage pasta with red sauce, it was great! The a few of us decided to take a walk down the street to see what else resides in our neighborhood. We found tons of little pubs and restaurants, from The Cock Tavern to Power's to Ellie's Cafe, we made a pretty long list of places we need to go. 

these pictures show a views of Kilburn High Road including Kilburn Park, and The Black Lion restaurant.

From MSP to London Heathrow

The flight from Minneapolis to London was incredible! I have never had a better "in flight" experience. It began with a friendly stranger making interesting conversation about art, design, music, and photography which put my mind at ease when thinking of the long trip ahead. As the plane took off, I was surprised to see screens positioned in the headrests turn on and display the safety information. The flight attendant in the video had a eerie sense of excitement while referring to the devastation of an unlikely water evacuation and loss in cabin pressure. After the video,  I discovered that the screen doubled as an individual entertainment center with free movies (new ones!), music, and interactive games. As I watched the video, I was served a pasta dinner, which was amazing! I was actually full!

Once dinner was done, I managed to sleep until we were an hour from landing. I was woken up by a flight attendant handing me breakfast! I know, breakfast and dinner, what a deal! It wasn't some b.s. cereal either, it was a full-on hot breakfast egg sandwich! Great!

Day 01 Move-in?

A town house with eight people in one single, two doubles, and one triple... It's an interesting situation, and of course I'm in the triple. Even more, I got here last and was stuck with the top bunk and a dresser that blocks my closet with no hangers. I'm just going to have to do some re-arranging.

There is no one here right now, I'm supposed to go on tour in a bit, but things are quite disorganized so far. I'll let you know how that goes when I get back, I'm bringing my camera!

Packing, Packing, and Freaking Out a Bit

For the last two days I have been trying to figure out how to pack for a month and a half into two suitcases. I managed to completely destroy my apartment in the process, but I'm done now and am just biding my time until 6:15pm when Jenna comes to pick me up to drive me to the airport.

Somehow, I managed to pack everything into my largest and smallest suitcases and my backpack. I've never traveled alone, or traveled abroad, so how can I possibly decide what I need and what I don't? Furthermore, I've never been to Europe, so I feel I need to pack for every possible situation... from fish and chips in a pub to my internship with Richard P. Chapman Design Associates. (which I am beyond excited for!)

Not really a big fan of flying, so we'll see how that goes... I packed three books, my colored pencils and sketchbook, my computer, and snacks—I should be okay, I hope. Eight hours on a plane seems like so long and I still haven't quite figured out the whole time situation yet. I don't care though, I'm so excited to get on the plane to get there and finally be in LONDON!