Prêt à voyager! (Day 1)

HOLY COW I’M GOING TO EUROPE! With a suitcase packed, a fedora ready to wear, and cold weather clothes on, I left Henderson with Mom, Dad, Meme, and Pawpaw at around 1:30. I even brought along the black Urban Outfitters backpack I asked my grandparents to get me a year and a half ago STRICTLY with the intensions of taking it to Europe (for whatever reason I were to go). I literally have never used it until today…The day I’m going to Europe. We took our time (because I was early for once) driving to Houston and was one of the first to arrive! Kelly, my roommate in College Station and on the trip, finally arrived, and we greeted each other with a big hug and a squeal. We had a small orientation meeting and had lots of time to visit and take final pictures of us waving goodbye! I gave my family one last hug, and my mom didn’t even cry like I thought she was going to… good sign that I really am growing up. We went through security and it took an hour. They were really strict! We grabbed a bite to eat before boarding the plane, met a good chunk of people as we waited and some of who ate with us! A really nice boy named Drew (who LOVES photography…hello new personal photographer?) and another named Brady, who turns out to be one of our T.A.’s (Teacher’s assistants). I was so excited that me and a couple of other AWESOME people began talking to each other in British accents; ah, it was wonderful. The called flight 196, and that’s when reality set in: The pilots greeted us with the most brilliant British accent I have ever heard. You’ve got to be kidding me. I’m stinkin’ going to London.

I found my seat, 28E, and sat next to two new girls: Katie and Ashley (yes, there are multiple Ashley’s on this trip; who knew). I asked the incredibly nice flight attendant man if he could please kindly help me stow away my carry on luggage. I had a feeling if I had tried, it would have fallen on the lady under its head. His name was Mr. Harrison. I could tell we were going to be fast friends, especially after he chuckled at me whenever I put both of my hands up like I was on a roller coaster whenever we took off. I made sure I met everyone sitting around me first, then, Sydney (a girl in my group) kindly gave me a Tylenol PM, and it KNOCKED ME OUT IMMEDIATELY, thank goodness. The flight was nine hours, and I slept pretty solid, except for the occasional waking up because the girl behind me literally did not stop kicking my seat the entire plane ride, the baby sporadically crying in the back, or the fact that my mouth was WIDE open and I woke up because my tongue was so dry it felt like sandpaper. When I woke up for good, they served us this awesome breakfast: muffins, a “sweet biscuit with oats,” drinkable yogurt, and of course, I had to have Ginger ale. It’s my favorite drink on plane rides…and it’s tradition. I asked my sweet Mr. Harrison man with the awesome British accent if he liked his job. He told me he LOVED his job and had been doing it for 18 years. His favorite part is meeting new people, and his favorite people are ones from Texas, because “They are so much nicer than ones from New York.” I hear ya dude. Then, faster than blink of an eye, we were off the plane and about to cross the UK BORDER... 

Le Jour Deux (Day 2)

I spotted my bag immediately, and picked it right up! All the girls hurded like cows to the bathroom to “freshen up,” which included everyone brushing their teeth! The British Airport is SO nice, clean, and sophisticated. My aunt told me to take a picture of the toilets in each country, and I definitely did later that day after seeing the London toilets: so little and cute. On our way to meet the Peterson twins (who were already in London), a group of SUPER CUTE European looking boys who were going backpacking were behind us. One of them practically busted it on my rolly carry on bag, and was very embarrassed. I tried to make him feel better by saying, “Hey! If you break it, you buy it J” We all laughed. Helloooo London.

We met the twins, and I ran up and gave Dane the biggest hug ever! He is one of my really great guy friends (And on Big Event this year with me), and I am so looking forward to traveling Europe with him too. He promised he would be my “dad” of the trip and make sure I was taken care of… sounds good to me! I probably need one of those. We immediately loaded a huge coach and Dane, Kelly, and I sat in the three-seater in the back. Parfait! All the way there Kelly and I kept saying, “Oh my gosh…we’re in LONDON!” And we took pictures out the windows of so many yellow wild-flower fields. We arrived at Oxford about an hour later, ate at a Pub that C.S. Lewis used to eat at, and toured the University (and most of Oxford). It was incredible. Our tour guide’s name was Marie, and I just liked hearing her talk, not so much of what she had to say (which was still interesting too by the way, I just still couldn’t get over the fact that I’M IN LONDON; it was quite captivating). Looking around me, the streets are different, there are double decker red buses everywhere, the boys are dressed in skinny jeans, coats, and most of them riding a bike or smoking a cigarette or drinking coffee. The girls are dressed in tights, loose blouses, and trendy coats and scarves. THEY ARE SO COOL, and I seriously felt like I was in a Harry Potter movie all day long. Honestly, it was a lot to take in today because I felt so out of it, jet lagged, I met a million new people who I can’t remember all the names, and like I just needed someone to pinch me. We came back to the room, freshened up, then took the tube for the first time to Leicester square. And I LOVED the tube. I loved the fast-paced feeling, the chill atmosphere from the people, and just looking at the people of London. I noticed they kept making eyes at each other whenever we talked; I know, we sound weird. They turned us loose and we all branched off into little groups. I separated from all the people I previously knew, and tried to branch and meet new people, so I went with a different, random group to a place called The Porcupine. I had Grilled Sea Bass, potatoes, spinach, and tomato sauce and shared a yummy brownie. It was so good! The company was great, and I love meeting new people, but Kelly and I decided to stick together from now on…we simply like the company of each other. On the transit on the way back to the hotel, a couple of us girls were standing up right in the middle of a bunch of boys all seated around us. They were speaking German, and I know they were talking about our group because they kept staring and laughing, knowing we can’t understand them. They all had backpacks, so I kindly asked one of them, “Do ya’ll go to school here?” Mistake. Europeans DO NOT understand the word “ya’ll.” He said, “HUH?” And I slowly repeated, “Do YOU go to school here?” All his buddies started snickering and he laughed and said, “No, we are from Germany.” Boy, they got a kick out of that one. Oh well. As we got off at our stop, they altogether said, “BYE!!!!” Glad we were some form of entertainment to someone. Afterward, Kelly and I were absolutely exhausted that we hardly spoke as we got ready for bed, except for final words: “Kelly, we’re IN EUROPE! EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!!”

Le Jour Tois (Day 3)

I don’t know if it was because our room was hot, because my brain wouldn’t stop thinking, or because I was plain excited, but I woke up at 4:30 a.m. this morning and couldn’t really go back to sleep after that. I had a dream about how I count the currency here; random. We had to be up at 6:30, so at 5:45 I just decided to go ahead and get up and prepare for the day. It was actually really nice to have a long morning. Kelly and I got ready and then made a Day 3 Video; enjoy:

We went down and had a lovely buffet breakfast. Kelly and I got a table to ourselves, and the place was buzzing with people even at 7! Everyone was up and ready to go, and the atmosphere was splendid. I jotted down my goals for that day: Have a meaningful conversation with 2 locals, go to Harrods, meet 10 new people on our trip, and stay awake. Our waiter was such a precious European man: ginger hair, tall, glasses; he thought our accents were extremely fascinating so him and I held a conversation for a really long time as he persisted to ask questions about why we were there. He told me he was from Spain and that he came to London to learn  English better, and we continued exchanging questions back and forth until a waitress friend came up and tapped him on the back; in other words, “KEEP WORKING, DUDE!” That was his cue, I apologized for keeping him and we departed for the changing of the guards. Oh, and we ride the tube EVERYWHERE! I must say, I LOVE the tube…like, really love it for some reason. I love the fast-paced feel to it, the wind in my hair as it passes me, and the super interesting people one gets to observe while aboard: old, young, students, foreigners, and people of all languages. We arrived at Buckingham Palace and gathered around the gates along with thousands of other people to watch, well, at least the first 30 minutes of it. It lasts a whole hour usually and includes horsemen, cabs, and a band! It also happens every 24 hours. You would think it would get monotonous for the guards; such a fascinating culture. When we got slightly board and had taken all the pictures/videos we wanted, we left and took a walk through a beautiful garden/park on the way back with a group of about 20 of us (at this point, we had been turned loose to find our way back to the hotel). There were so many school children in their cute British accents, their teachers, and their uniforms. There were beautiful gardens, willow trees, and swans everywhere. All morning, I was slowly realizing how badly we as Americans stick out: we’re loud, slow, take too many pictures, and take up WAY too much space when we walk. I noticed more snickers and more exchanging glances today; they must think Americans are so obnoxious, I’m certain. At this point is when I realized I LOVE being in this huge group of study abroad students and couldn’t have imagined coming to Europe for the first time just by myself without the itinerary, protection, and peers that I have on this experience, but if I were given about a month of training on the transit systems, the things to do/see, and ALL the mannerisms that are appropriate in this culture, I would absolutely KILL to come back here by myself or with like two other girls and completely immerse myself in this culture, it’s beautiful. It’s seriously so incredible. I decided it’s like a classy, cleaner, less-busy version of New York City. I’ve enjoyed observing everything around me and taking note of things that are so different in America.

Everything is SO small here; I don’t think people have much of their own personal space. The restaurants are small, the portions are small, the cups are small, the little drug stores are TINY, the bathroom stalls are so small you can hardly turn around in them, and the streets are small. Everyone here is super trendy and fashion-forward, I don’t think I have seen one even SLIGHTLY overweight person. They are all tall, thin, and they walk literally everywhere. In the presentations we had this morning, a lady named Megan came and spoke, who went to A&M, participated on the same study abroad trip, and now works in London because she couldn’t stand being away from it. She furthered my observation by saying that everyone here packs everything they need for the entire day in however many bags it takes, and carries them EVERYWHERE. No wonder everyone is so thin. It makes us Americans look so lazy. And I still get giddy listening to everyone’s British accent, and love common phrases such as, “Please mind the step and the gap,” “Brilliant,” and “Put your best foot forward!”

Today we visited Bloomberg and dressed in business formal. OH. MY. GOSH. We rode the tube dressed like this and walked the streets, and I felt like we were SO important, it was fabulous. I never dreamed the company visits were going to be as cool as they are, but MAN did this one for sure exceed my expectations! I hardly even knew what Bloomberg was before today, and I am definitely out of the loop: It’s basically the largest provider of financial news. Our host was Jenna Follett, and she was from Australia. We got special passes, and got to tour almost the entire company, and it was incredible. The main aspect that sets Bloomberg apart from competitors is their transparency. Even every wall within the building is glass, and no office is separated from the other; every employee is an equal, and there is no hierarchy. They are very transparent with the customers as well, and pride themselves on their customer contact through their Analyst Department, called A-Desk, where they answer every question ever given online or by phone 24/7/365. Because there are main headquarters all across the world (Asia, Europe, and the United States..ect), they are able to provide this service, and they are very transparent with where they got their information and how they came up with it. The architecture was also breathtaking: there were different colored glass walls for every level/department (ex: the “nerds” who invent new technology for the company had an orange room because it stimulates the brain), and they had large, glass aquariums everywhere, representing responsibility. The London office is the second largest up against New York, where Mr. Michael Bloomberg himself, who is also the mayor of New York, founded it. They service 300,000 customers, all of whom are wealthy people, banks, brokers, and large corporations. They have around 15,000 employees globally, and they usually hire people that can speak at least two languages, no matter what your major was. They look for people who are adaptive to changing environments and who are innovative and fast-paced. A lady named Nanae also spoke; she’s from Japan, and she works for the A-Desk department and explained how to do that, one has to take an 8-week training course, take 8 exams, and it requires SO MUCH knowledge to do this job. There was so much more they talked about, and they kindly invited us to snack in their cool, 2^nd floor open pantry area. This was an awesome experience. I met so many important people, and learned a lot about the stock market; Dad, you would be proud.

Afterward, a group of five girls and I went to Harrods, the Biggest department store in the WORLD! Allison and I skimmed through it briefly by ourselves, and even had time to visit the stores Top Shop and Zara: I could have bought everything, mom…everything. But I didn’t J We went to the ground floor to grab a bite to eat, and we met up with the rest of the girls and went through a make-your-own-salad line. It was probably one of the best salads I’ve ever had in my entire life. We sat outside on a bench (yes, still in our suits), and enjoyed people watching and our yummy European salads and samples of chocolate. Then, we came back on the tube EASILY and ALL BY OURSELVES (as in, without a boy). We were such big girls, and made it look like cake. Ah, I could SO live here, for at least a year anyway. I already know I’m going to cry whenever I have to come home at the end of the trip… sorry family. I HAVE to come back. Somehow.