Hey Everyone!

This week sure has been a crazy one. First off: if you’ve been paying attention, you may have noticed my internship placement has changed. I was originally assigned to Waltham Forest Community Credit Union. WFCCU was wonderful; I was hired to help do the PR and marketing surrounding their June move. Unfortunately, due to politics, WFCCU is not going to be able to move until January. So my job has become (as they say) redundant. I was able to give them a plan to follow and 3 excellent choices for a graphic designer. I wish them all well!

Now I’m working in an entirely different environment. I work for Glu Mobile Ltd… and I totally love it! Glu is a mobile gaming company based in San Mateo, Cali, but they have offices worldwide. I’m working with their marketing department in London! Since it’s just been announced, I can tell you that we’re working on mobile games like Guitar Hero V, Blur, Ghostbusters, and a whole bunch more that utterly rock! I’ve been getting flashbacks to Marketing 311 – writing SWOTs and doing competitive analyses and perceptual maps, but my first 3 days have been awesome.

Glu Mobile is the third largest mobile game developer in the world!

But even before my first day at Glu…I went to Stonehenge for the Solstice Celebration. Now THAT was an experience. Thousands of people (most of them current and ex-hippies) showed up to the giant stones. It was lively and exciting before sunset. People were chatting and eating and taking pictures. There were tiny bands playing acoustic guitars and bongo drums. There was even a man playing bagpipes. There were Druids (who look an awful lot like wizards to me), musicians, jugglers, a whole lot of hippies, and a slew of out-of-place travelers (like me) all gathered together in a giant field. It was madness.

A long walk through giant rolling fields begins our adventure

The sun us setting behind Stonehenge

This Druid man was attending an annual ritual of his religion

The warm Stonehenge center... looks kinda smokey...

After sunset was when it started going downhill. When the sun left, so did all the heat. We were left with 2 measly space heaters combat the biting wind… and of course they were too crowded to even get close to. There were three options left to those shivering in the cold. One: brave the crowd inside the stones… if you don’t mind being stepped on, pushed over, and yelled at in a giant swarm of people above which hangs a mysterious cloud of smoke. Two: eat as much vegan food as humanly possible while jogging in place. Three: huddle together with a group of people. Many of us chose option #3. At least 7 of us were lying in spoon formation on the damp ground trying to keep warm. We were so cold we didn’t even care when a few passersby snapped pictures of us.

Miraculously, the Earth kept spinning and we made it to morning… but we high-tailed it out of there at first light. The sun was completely obscured by thick sodden clouds and the intended effect was lost.

The sun is rising but the clouds refuse to let it shine.

Upon arriving in Salisbury, the only place open was McDonalds. People who had been freezing all night flocked to its warm cushy chairs and hot coffee. Unfortunately, those warm cushy chairs were a bit too comfortable and half of the McDonalds patrons were passed out in the dining room.

There are 7 people sleeping in this picture... can you find them all?

This was definitely a week I’m not easily going to forget.Until next time… cheers!!

How Bizarre

When living in London, one sees all sorts of crazy things. I’ve been exploring the city for almost 3 weeks now, and I keep on finding the strangest sights. So, this week I give you…

Eight Crazy Things I’ve Seen In London (and have pictures of)!

So, we begin at number 8.

8) Crazy Names: One thing I’ve found to be particularly interesting was the changing of American product names. Some are pronounced differently: Pantene is pronounced pan-ten, and they annunciate the “H” in Herbal Essences. Other names are spelled differently. TJ Maxx is TK Maxx, and Claritin is Clarityn. Why this change? No one knows…

The English equivalent of TJ Maxx

I’m Clarityn Clear!

7) Fellow Tube Riders: Underground is the main mode of transportation here in London. So, naturally, one is bound to see strange folk.

Exhibit #1

This lovely looking fellow decided that it would be a good use of his time to nap on the tube. I find the ride a little bit rough, but he seemed quite comfortable in his seat. So comfortable in fact that he started to snore. Almost exactly like a cartoon, when he exhaled, his lips would trill. This made an extremely entertaining Bbbhrbhrbrbrbhhbrbbhbb sound.

Exhibit #2

I’m not sure a caption is really needed here

6) Toy Police Cars: I think it may just be a conditioned response, but when I see an American cop car, I tense up a bit. But I think that no matter how I stayed in London, I’d never have the same response to their cop cars. When they drive down the street, they remind me of hotwheels. When they stop in front of me, I half expect 12 clowns to pop out. Maybe the cats at Scotland Yard and their auto detailers should have another chat.

Hotwheels leading the way…

Can you see any clowns?

5) Strange Signage: Due to the large population of visitors and foreigners (including myself) here in London, there signs painted on the roads to tell you which way to look. Also, their exit signs look peculiar.

Looking left could be hazardous to your health

As my friend Nathan said… It looks like ‘run into a wall’ rather than ‘exit.’

4) Peeping Wendy: The next three strange items were all found during my journey through Kensington Gardens. This one I thought was a wee bit weird. Whilst on our walk in the garden, my friends and I stumbled upon the statue of Peter Pan. Now we all know the story of the boy who never grew up. But in that story, I never heard about Wendy being a peeping tom. In this statue, Wendy is clearly looking up Pan’s smock. Maybe she’d admiring his well-fitting tights?

Lovely view, isn’t it?

3) Sweet-toothed squirrel: This lucky rodent happened upon an entire un-eaten cookie and was enjoying it in the park. Maybe this shouldn’t be number 3, but there were at least 7 people taking a picture of this furry animal.

A most fortunate squirrel

2) Bird Lady: Before happening upon the gluttonous squirrel, I witnessed a very abnormal occurrence. An older lady was throwing crumbs to the birds to make them come then shooing them off by brandishing her cane. I guess she couldn’t make up her mind.

That cane looks dangerous.

And now for the #1 strangest thing I’ve seen here…

1) Buff Bicyclists: One day while riding the bus, my friend heard this strange ringing noise. We all turned to see where it was coming from. There, across the street, was a huge group of cyclists. Upon closer inspection, we discovered that they were all completely naked. What a lovely sight for a Saturday afternoon.

These bare-bummed bicyclists are strutting their stuff around London. I wonder how comfortable that could possibly be…

There you have it: 8 Crazy Sights in London. I’m sure I’ll find more the second I post this!

Ta!

Steph

London Beckons

Not more than an hour into being in the country, we were thrown into the deep end (so to speak). My mission for the week was to soak up as much information as possible, and to completely immerse myself into British culture.

The British flag waving over England

Part one: Get lost.

Want to find out about unique places and non-tourist locations? Find a way to get yourself lost. After a very long day of traveling, my roommates and I went to see some of the sites. We walked by Parliament, the London Eye, and Trafalgar Square. But on our way back, we took a wrong turn and eventually had no idea where we were. In fact, I still have no idea where we were! Somewhere between the London Eye and Goodge Street I suppose. We ambled through a cobblestone courtyard filled with Londoners. There was live music, a slew of outdoor cafés, and a street magician (I think). The sun was setting on the warm brick buildings and the air was filled with song, laughter, and the smell of good food. It was one of the most charming places I’ve been. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a camera, a map, or a working gps. So the mystery courtyard remains a mystery.

The London Eye

Trafalgar Square in London… somewhere near the Mystery Courtyard

Part two: Make friends with the locals – they know what’s up.

The best information is not in the Tourist Guide to London, it’s from the people that live here. They can lead you to the best pub for lunch, the stores with the best deals, and the events only Londoners know about. By talking to one of our staff members, we found out about a great pub to have duck quesadillas, blackened chicken, and pitchers of Pimms. Since my friend and I shared a meal, our total bill was under £6. We got to eat outside on the deck along with other customers and the sweetest three-legged pub dog, Mika.

Kristal, Dani, and Sarah at the Devonshire: a* lovely* pub just down the street from CAPA

A type of gin and a delicious summer drink

Mika, the pub dog

Part three: Pay attention.

There is information everywhere here. I’ve counted at least 5 free newspapers you can pick up riding the tube every day. Just reading the headlines keeps me informed about political matters as well as social matters. I’ve found out details about everything from spending scandals to Susan Boyle. Now pub conversations make more sense, English comedians are funnier, and starting up discussions with coworkers is easier.

So from everything I’ve learned I’ve created a blog readers culture crash course… AND a video.

A Crash Course in London Culture:

1. The best way to tell people you’re a tourist is to talk on the tube (underground).

2. The Queen has TWO birthdays!

3. Sprite here is lemonade. I still haven’t figured out what lemonade is…

4. The guards outside of Buckingham Palace are only there at certain times (Not 3 in the afternoon).

5. Many Europeans think American football is rugby. Um, no.

6. Skippy, JIF, Peter Pan, and pretty much all other types of peanut butter are not here!! I finally found some random store-brand PB today, but it’s just not the same.

7. European adaptors are not the same as United Kingdom adapters... RadioShack people DO NOT know this.

8. Speaking of electrical differences, don’t bother bringing an American blow-dryer. It’s not worth the $60 wasted blowing up electrical converters. (I’ve blown up 2 already.)

9. You don't have to tip at pubs, and they have really good food.

10. The letter Z is pronounced zed.

11. Quite good = not that great, and rather good = exceptional.

12. Red telephone booths are cute on the outside… not so great on the inside.

13. Britons seem to love Simon Baker. You’re never more than an hour away from an episode of the Guardian or the Mentalist.

The tube in motion

Australian actor Simon Baker – apparent British television star

10 Days of DC

Welcome everyone to my Intern Abroad blog! My name is Stephanie, and many months ago I applied for The Washington Center’s internship program and wondered if anything would come of it. I still can’t believe I’m really here. I arrived in Washington on May 18 and was thrust into a whole new incredible experience.

But it didn’t start off so incredible…

On my way to Washington, Murphy’s Law kicked in full force. Almost everything that could go wrong went wrong.

1. Bags were overweight. - Packing an entire 10 weeks of your life into two 50-pound bags is a lot harder than it looks. Luckily, my parents were there to take some things home.

2. Almost late for my flight. - The little snafu with my bags set me back 20 minutes.

3. Delayed in Detroit. - An “irregularity” kept us in Detroit for a good extra 2 hours. I entertained myself by walking up and down the moving walkways and visiting the indoor fountain.

Airport fountain in Detroit

4. GPS lied. - Before I left, I looked to see just how far my apartment was from the Dulles Airport. Unfortunately for me, my iPhone thought the address for Dulles was really the address for Reagan Airport. Needless to say, my cab ride was a whole lot more expensive!

5. Didn’t pay? – Due to a small paperwork mix-up, it looked as though I had not paid for the program.

Happily, these events were not predictors of how the following weeks would go.

I met my three wonderful roommates, Crystal, Kendra, and Marilei. Our apartment in Virginia was extremely nice and located right next to the Metro station. Blue skies and puffy white clouds welcomed us along with the friendly TWC staff. The great weather even made our homework enjoyable. One of our assignments was to really get out there and explore the city… so that’s what we did.

We visited the tourist-y sites at Capitol Hill as well as other lesser-known areas like Eastern Market and U Street Corridor.

Me in front of the Capitol Building.

A lively Eastern Market

The African-American Civil War Memorial at U Street Corridor. The flower wreath attacked me shortly after this picture was taken.

We tasted truly authentic AmeriChinese food in Chinatown and listened to jazz in the sculpture garden near the National Gallery of Art.

Chinatown in DC – known for not being all that Chinese. In fact, many Chinese people have never even heard of a fortune cookie!

A crowd of people gathered around the pond for Jazz in the Park

We’ve been running around like crazy, our cameras are dead, our feet are blistered, and our necks are burnt, but it has all been worth it. It looks like this is shaping up to be one incredible adventure! Now… it’s off to London!