Finale

So on Tuesday, July 14, 2009, I woke up at 5:20 am to get ready for my taxi that was going to pick me up at 6:00 am. I forgot my clock at my flat, but it wasn't that bad. I got to the airport and since the flight on Monday night was cancelled, I was not able to be upgraded to Business Class just because it was packed full - however, I was upgraded to a seat that had more legroom and 5 extra inches. I then headed toward Washington DC and from DC to Buffalo.

It was an exhausting trip and I am a bit tired now.

Thanks for reading!

PG

Last Day in London

Today, I woke up at around 9:o0 am and checked my email from this past weekend. I then headed over to Gloucester Road to check out of my room, returned my keys, received my deposit, had a quick bit to eat at Burger King and then mailed my mobile phone back to my professor.

I returned home just in time to catch my suit mate leaving so I could get into my room. I then started packing and finished. I am right near the 50 pound limit - hopefully I'll make it. I am also going to do one last paper for my program and then head to bed.

It has been a great experience in London and Europe - I am catching a cab at 6:00 am to Heathrow and then to Washington DC and finally to Buffalo. Hopefully I can upgrade my flight from London to DC because my tv did not work on the way to London. Fingers crossed!

For the last time - Cheers!

Roma, Italy

On Friday, July 10, 2009, I woke up and had my last Professional Development Seminar. After the seminar, some EUSA friends went to Paul's Bakery for lunch - I had a baguette and a strawberry tart - delicious! I then headed back to my flat to do some work for school and then packed for Rome.

I met Chris at Barons Court stop and we headed to Heathrow for our flight to Rome. We arrived at Heathrow, grabbed a quick bit to eat, and then had to wait about an hour for our flight since it was delayed. We finally arrived to Rome and because it was so late, we had to take a taxi to our hotel - Hotel Portafortuna. It was a nice ride and the taxi driver was great. The hotel itself was very nice and we went to bed instantly.

We woke up on Saturday, July 11, 2009 at 6:30 / 7:00 am to get an early start. We had a quick breakfast at the hotel - croissants, juice and cappuccino. Delicious. We then headed toward the Vatican. We got to the Vatican via the Metro (aka the tube) at around 8:00 am and we were allowed in since we had pre-booked tickets before anyone else. The Vatican was completely empty and it was nice to look around and see everything without the crowds. We entered the Sistine Chapel and took many pictures because no one was in there. We finally made to Saint Peter's Basilica and saw a Cardinal who processed in for mass. It was a magnificent cathedral and in the basement, we saw the tomb of Pope John Paul II and St. Peter. For lunch, I just had a bowl of fruit and ice cream since it was so hot and humid in Rome.

We then headed toward the Trevi Fountain, the Roman Forum, Colosseum, Pantheon, and so many "plazas," and other Roman ruins. It was great and we saw alot in one day.

We then had a nice dinner (gnocchi, and lamb chops) and then got gellato for dessert. We headed over to the Trevi Fountain for some night pictures and made our wish with a coin - we then headed toward the Spanish Steps and then home for the night.

On Sunday, July 12, 2009, we woke up early and had a nice breakfast and headed toward the train station to buy our ticket for our train back to the airport. We then headed to see the Catacombs, which was really cool. We then made it to the Vatican again to see the Pope give his Sunday address. He spoke so many languages and we got some great pictures. We then headed over to the Spanish steps again as well as many churches and cathedrals around Rome. For lunch, we had a nice pasta and then pizza too

We then headed over to the airport via a train. Our flight was on time, however we taxied for quite a while. We finally made it to Heathrow, and customs were pretty good. However, we were not quick enough for the tube, so we had to take a bus back home. We finally got home at around 12:30 am. It was a great but exhausting trip.

Ciao!

Last Day at GovNet

Today, I woke up early for an event at the Victoria Park Plaza Hotel – “National Curriculum Reform: Creating a Curriculum Fit for the 21st Century.” My tasks were helping with registration and also was “assistant program manager/event manager” for the day. I helped with the question and answer session, helped organize the catering and exhibitors, and made sure the conference ran smoothly. Actually, one of the speakers almost fainted on stage, and my responsibility was to provide the necessary foods/beverages to help her get some potassium back into her body. I then returned back to the office and converted the PowerPoint slides from this week’s conferences into PDF Format so that they would be ready to send to the delegates who attended, and also created surveys for events next week via surveymethod.com. I also trained a new intern how to do the PowerPoints and surveys for Inside Government.

The lunch was quite delicious at the hotel and the desserts were even more incredible. I took the leftover desserts back to the office.

Before I left, I received a huge card and a box of chocolate from my co-workers - I took many pictures and was told that I would be able to come back next summer to work and get paid. When I asked what I could improve, I was told nothing and that I did a great job. It was so sad to leave!

I then walked around Trafalgar Square and saw the center of London. I also went into the National Gallery and took a few pictures of famous paintings - Monet etc. I then went to TGI Fridays to have a quick burger and off to Her Majesty's Theatre for Phantom of the Opera. We both wore purple so we matched. We had a glass of champagne to celebrate a great internship and the show itself was amazing.

We then went to Leicester Square for a quick bit at Pizza Hut and then went home.

Cheers

A Day As Program Director

Today was a very busy day. I woke up early and went to Holborn for an event. There were two events for Inside Government: “Financial Exclusion and Financial Capability: The Next Steps?” and “The Single Equality Bill: Developing a Fairer Britain For All.” They were both in the same venue, and I was basically Program Manager for the “Financial Exclusion and Financial Capability: The Next Steps?” event. I arrived and helped set up the badges for registration. I then set up the rooms for both events (set up the computer/PowerPoints, microphone check etc.) For the “Financial Exclusion” event, I had to format the PowerPoint so that videos would be able to play. I then met with the speakers and chair of the “Financial Exclusion,” and made sure that their presentations were up to date and then oversaw the entire day for that event. However, the venue overbooked the conference rooms so the rooms were very tight and not enough space for all of the delegates. I had to make many executive decisions to accommodate all guests and worked with the event coordinator at the venue to deal with the issues. I then made sure that the breaks (coffee/tea etc) and working lunch was organized and ready to go, and I also was in charge of the question and answer session in my event. We also had another problem – that being the room next to our conference room was quite loud and therefore, I had to work with the event manager of the venue to make it a suitable environment for all. After the event was finished, I received many complements about my work and organizational abilities.
I then cleaned up my room and worked the registration table until the other event was
completed.

I then returned back to the office, uploaded the PowerPoint presentations from my event onto a USB and then updated a survey from yesterday to take into consideration a speaker that did not attend the event due to sicknesses. I also worked with the Events Manager to help file a report of complements from today – the room size was too small, a cordless microphone that we requested was not present and took a few hours to get, the noise next to our conference room was disturbing etc. I also received some contact information of guests for the Green ICT Pre-Conference Dinner and thus I updated the appropriate spreadsheet.

On the way back to the office, our taxi driver was very informational. He told us the process of becoming a "cabby" and said that they have to go through a program called Knowledge which can take 4 years. Basically they ride on electronic bikes around London and memorize the roads. The roads are very different during the day and at night and they must know every place - especially when someone asks for a club on a second floor of a building. He also said that periodically, they have to do an "appearance" to make sure that they are presentable and they also test their temper and knowledge of the road - to the extent of what color the street is on a specific road. He was also saying that the taxis are custom made and very expensive because of their turning radius - the new taxis have 4 wheel turning capabilities - all four wheels turn. It was very interesting and he also said that the center of London is actually in Trafalgar Square.

I then headed toward Hammersmith to meet my program director. We took a nice walk beside the Thames River to a great pub and had a nice chat. We then headed back and I was going to get a haircut at Supercuts, but they closed already. When I looked to find my tube pass, it was not in my pocket - so either I left it back at the pub or someone took it. But I feel like no one took it because it was in the same pocket as my wallet and my wallet is still here with me. So I had to buy a new pass - but it was not that bad since I am almost finished with my time in London.

I returned home and doing some laundry. Tomorrow I have another event, and it is my last day as an intern with GovNet.

Cheers!

Visit With Chris Kopp

So today, I had a busy day at my internship. It was one of my co-workers in Inside Government birthday - Ruth - so we all sang happy birthday to her and we had a cake. Today I compiled all email headers for Inside Government events until December 2009. From the email headers that I completed, I put them all into one document and wrote four more for events that were just released. I then created a database/spreadsheet for invitees to the Green ICT Pre-Conference Dinner, was tasked to find organization, email address, job title and telephone number for each delegate, converted the PowerPoint slides from this week’s conferences into PDF Format so that they would be ready to send to the delegates who attended and created surveys for events next week via surveymethod.com.

Today was also the premier for the new Happy Potter Movie at Leicester Square - all of the big stars were there and I tried to avoid it as much as possible because of the crowds.

I ate lunch at TGI Fridays because I was craving chicken fingers. It rained all day today and as I left work, it poured. I quickly went to the National Art Museum and saw some great painting of Monet, Di Vinci etc. They were beautiful and I will go back to take some more pictures. I met Chris Kopp, who is studying at LSC, and we had a nice dinner at an Italian restaurant - I had breaded veal - delicious! We then walked around Covent Garden and into Westminster and then headed down to Tower Hill as I showed him the big sights in London. We then ended up in Piccadilly Circus and we parted ways and I returned home exhausted. We talked about our trip to Rome this coming up weekend too!

Some random thoughts: 1. Live Nation does big events for the music industry - maybe intern with them in the future. 2. Many people do not drive in the UK - one person just started driving when he was 29 and many people at my work are just starting to learn to drive - and they are 25 years old - a totally different culture. 3. They call 7-up/Sprite, Lemonade in London. 4. Instead of taking your credit card in restaurants, the waiter will bring a portable credit card machine to the table. 5. The credit cards in London have a magnetic chip that you can inside the entire card into the machine instead of swiping it.

Tomorrow, I have another event, so early to bed for me.

Cheers!

One More Musical Bought

Today, I woke up for my internship - my last Monday at work. I was quite busy. I updated events board for Inside Government and GovNet Events. I deleted many events that took place last week and rearranged the events board to take into consideration new events that were added. I also updated the total number of paid delegates, the event manager/program manager, number of exhibitors/sponsor, total number of delegates etc. I then wrote emails and marketing campaigns for five events that were about to be launched, proofread delegate packets for events this week, updated contact mailing list by adding contacts who opened emails from past events, wrote two email headers relating the event to current news that would be used for marketing purposes for emails to potential delegates and organized spreadsheet and collaborated all information from various spreadsheets into one spreadsheet for events from other organizations for procurement that were held or are going to be held so that GovNet does not program a similar event.

I ate lunch at Nando's for the last time (because I had a free half chicken coming my way) and it was delicious.

I then headed home quickly to relax, and then off to Leicester Square to meet up with a friend to have a quick bit to eat. I also bought a ticket to Phantom of the Opera on Thursday - I got a really great deal.

Tomorrow, I am going to meet Chris, a friend from high school, for dinner and talk about our Rome/Vatican plans. On Wednesday, I am meeting with my program director and then Thursday is the musical.

Cheers!

The Cathedrals And The Boat

Today, I headed over to Westminster for their services at 11:00 am. However, there was a miscommunication and my EUSA friends went to St. Paul's instead. So I headed toward St. Paul's and we went to "Communion" (as they call it) there. It is the Queen's church and it was just beautiful. Then we went to Westminster, however it was closed, so we just went in the gift shop instead. We then traveled toward the East side of London and went to a few markets, Spitalfield and Petticoat markets. I bought a few ties that were dirt cheap. We ate lunch at a local pub and I ordered Sweet & Sour Chicken - it was delicious! We then headed toward Oxford Circus and went to Primark (an upscale Walmart but much cheaper) and I bought a few items too - more ties because they were really cheap again.

We then headed toward Regent's Park and walked around for a bit and went paddle boating. It was fun. I then headed back to Barons Court and am going to bed early. My last weekend in London was great and relaxing.

Cheers!

Way Out of My Price Range

Today, I woke up and meet some new EUSA friends at Notting Hill to go shopping at the Portobello Market. We first ate a traditional English Breakfast (I had a traditional American Breakfast - pancakes, waffles & bacon - but more like Canadian bacon) and then went shopping. Afterwards, we headed toward Knightsbridge to visit Harrods. It was very expensive and it was huge inside! I didn't buy anything though.

We then went to Piccadilly Circus and we're wondering why so many people were there - it was because today was Gay Pride so there was tons of people for the parade. We made it through and took pictures at the Ritz Hotel - we were going to have some tea, but we were not dressed properly - instead we went to Prat and had a muffin and apple juice. I then came home and found out that the fireworks today were cancelled - however the 4th of July celebration was still occurring. I found it very interesting that the English celebrated the 4th when it was the day that they lost and the Americans won. Anyways, we were all exhausted by that time and I just decided to stay inside and relax - ordered a pizza from Dominos and talked to some London friends from home.

Tomorrow, we are off to St. Pauls and Westminster Abby and then maybe a boat ride at Regent's Park.

Cheers!

Saying Goodbyes

So today, I woke up (not enough time to go to pick up tokens for the dryer) and headed toward South Kensington for the Professional Development. Since it was so hot, we were let out 30 minutes early. We had lunch briefly at Pret and then headed toward Camden Market to shop. Everything was so cheap there and we were able to bargin/barter to get good deals. There is this section where it is totally dedicated to food and the vendors would shout out to try their food and hand out free samples. I ordered some Chinese. We then stopped at a McDonalds to cool off and then I headed back to Baron's Court to cool off.

I then headed back to South Kensington to meet some EUSA people for dinner: Yanique, Shea, Meghan, Carolyn, Carissa & Katrina (Carolyn's roommate from Florida) for a nice dinner at a pub (I ordered a steak) and then headed back to say goodbye since they will be leaving for the States tomorrow.

I am exhausted and am going to sleep in tomorrow.

Cheers!

An End To A Long Week

Today, I woke up at the normal time for work - 7:20 am. I finished the post-attendance sheets for the Second Annual Parliamentary Awards. This time, I compiled a spreadsheet of those who confirmed/registered at the event, compiled a spreadsheet of those who were invited, minus those who attended/registered at the event, and compiled a spreadsheet of those who confirmed but did not attend. I then wrote emails and marketing campaigns for five events that were about to be launched. I wrote emails for the opening email, and also the second email campaigns. I also proofread events / agendas that are held in September/October 2009 that will launch on Friday. I then updated contact mailing list by adding contacts that opened emails from past events. Finally, I converted the PowerPoint slides from this week’s conferences into PDF Format so that they would be ready to send to the delegates who attended.

I then stopped by at the National Portrait Gallery to sign in for EUSA and then returned home and did my weekly journal for Brockport, completed the survey for the Professional Development Seminar last week and am heading to bed.

Tomorrow, I will attempt to buy more tokens for the dryer and then head to the Professional Development Seminar once again. I hope to do something, maybe a picnic or something, since it has been such a beautiful week!

Cheers!

The Last Day for Kayla

§ Managed registration for “The National Obesity Conference: Reversing the Tide of Obesity - Working Together to Create an Active, Healthier Nation.” I organized & produced name badges, greeted people, registered people/changed information for substitutes, packed delegate folders etc. The Grange Hotel was beautiful and they provided us with a hot breakfast and fresh fruit. It was great.

Then, I returned back to the office and completed a portion of a proposal for programs – Safety in the Workplace and Data/Cyber Security. I looked at organizations/events to find programs that were similar to the ones in the proposal to help identify appropriate dates, and if the program will attract a large enough crowd. I then began to update attendance list for the Second Annual Parliamentary Awards/Champagne Reception. I added delegates who did not confirm or were not on the list, compiled a list of those who did confirm and those who registered at the event, compiled a list of all those who were invited, attended, rejected, and confirmed, and compiled a list of those who confirmed but did not attend. These will be used for invitation purposes next year and for a post-email that will be sent out in a few days.

Today was the last day for my fellow intern, Kayla. So we all signed a card and bought her flowers!

I then returned home and finished my laundry and just relaxed after a busy week.

The House of Lords

Today, I woke up at 6:30 am and went to Westminster for a conference and managed registration for “The National Information Security in the Public Sector Annual Conference." I organized & produced name badges, greeted people, registered people/changed information for substitutes, packed delegate folders etc. I then headed back to the office and updated master attendance list for the Second Annual Parliamentary Awards/Champagne Reception. I was originally given the wrong spreadsheet to update so I had to redo my changes from last Thursday. I then completed changes/updates from today, packed the necessary materials for the Annual Parliamentary Awards for set up etc, complied the name badges and put them in their holders for 366 delegates. At the Second Annual Parliamentary Awards at the House of Lords, I was in charge of registration and had a staff under me that I oversaw. I was also able to mingle with various delegates and meet some important Lords, Baronesses and MPs. I also helped to break down the event and clean up. I took the Inside Government banner home because I am responsible for bringing it to the event tomorrow.

For lunch I went to Pizza Hut and met a few Americans who were traveling there too.

I then returned home after a 15 hour day and steamed a few pants for tomorrow and headed off to bed.

Another Busy Day

Today, I had a very busy day at my internship. I updated events board for Inside Government. I deleted many events that took place last week and rearranged the events board to take into consideration new events that were added. I also updated the total number of paid delegates, the event manager/program manager, number of exhibitors, total number of delegates etc.
Then, I converted all of the presenters’ PowerPoint presentations from the events last week into PDF files so that they would be ready to be sent out to all of the delegates that attended the event. Next, I created surveys for events last week via surveymethod.com for feedback on speakers, presenters and overall event. I also created signage for GovNet events that are coming up this week – signs for registration by surname etc. I then created badges/nametags for GovNet events this week. Finally, I updated spreadsheet for the Parliamentary Awards and proofread the badges and created badges for people who confirmed today.

During lunch, I mailed all of my postcards to the States / Canada!

After work, I headed to get some tokens for the dryer, however, they only had 2 left, and I had one at home, so when I came back to do laundry, most of my clothes were still wet after the 3 tokens - therefore, I have many clothes around my room drying.

This evening, I just uploaded my pictures on my computer from Ireland and am getting ready to go to bed early since I do have an event tomorrow along with the Parliamentary Awards in the evening.

Cheers!

Heading to Dublin, Ireland

This weekend, I traveled to Dublin with some EUSA friends. It was beautiful and just an enjoyable evening.

On Friday, June 26, 2009, we had our Professional Development Seminar and I also paid my last housing payment. During the seminar, we had a fire drill too! After the seminar, we took the tube to King's Cross and from there took a train to Luton Airport. The flight was very smooth and we got to Dublin around 5:00 pm. We then checked into our hostel - Browns Hostel. It was quite a nice place - however, we did notice many older people there too. We then walked around Dublin and into the Temple Bar area. We then went to a great restaurant. I had a steak and then we all shared two desserts - it was delicious. We then went back to our hostel, and went back out to the night life. We got back to our hostel and we were lucky that we were the only people staying in our room.

On Saturday, June 27, 2009, we ate breakfast next door at the Browns Hotel - just toast and coffee/tea - but very cheap. We then headed toward the Guinness Factory, ate chicken fingers at a local pub, went to Trinity College, St. Patrick's Cathedral, and saw the Dublin Castle. It was a fun day and we ran into some other students from EUSA and traveled around that evening with them.

On Sunday, June 28, 2009, we took a bus tour to the south of Dublin/Ireland and into the mountains. It was beautiful and saw many sights where various movies were filmed.

We then headed back to Luton for our plane - although it was delayed - I was able to get back to my flat by 2:00 am.

It was a great time!

A Night of Cartoons... Well At Least The Music To The Cartoons

Today, I woke up and headed to my internship. I updated attendance sheet for the Alternative Parliamentary Awards. I finally reached the goal of at least 300 guests who confirmed. I called all of the unconfirmed members once more, and sent many emails to delegates to provide them with more information regarding the event.

The office was very empty today since there was a GovNet Event today and most of the staff had to attend.

For lunch, I got a lunch on the go and just walked around since it was such a beautiful day.

I then went to South Kensington to pick up a package and then headed toward London Bridge to see the Unexpected Opera - The Barber of Seville (the songs from many cartoons) located at The Scoop, an outdoor theatre - similar to the Shakespeare's Globe but on a much smaller scale. The opera was great and very funny too. I enjoyed it alot, especially since it was free too! It was located right on the Thames river and across the way was the Tower Bridge, Tower of London, and Gherkin. Right next to the theatre was the London City Hall (a big spherical building). It was a beautiful, warm night and just very enjoyable.

I ate a hamburger at the theatre, which was actually grilled (or BBQ'ed) over an open flame!! It was delicious!

I then returned home and wrote my weekly journal for school and am getting ready for Dublin, Ireland this weekend (hopefully looking up some McFeely's). Tomorrow, I am going to pay my rent, tell them my departure date, buy some more laundry coins and then off to Professional Development.

Today, I also got my flight confirmation that it is fine to swith until a departure on Tuesday, instead of on Saturday back to the States. I am going to Rome/Vatican City for sure!!

Cheers!

Another Event

Today, I woke up at 6:30 am to get ready for my internship because I had to attend an event. After taking the tube to Westminster, I arrived at One Birdcage Walk for the Meeting the Manufacturing Challenge Through Investment in Innovation, Skills and Green Technologies. I was in charge of registration, logistics: working with the caterer to make sure the coffee/tea breaks and working lunch was set up in a timely manner and to make sure that there were enough utensils etc., the question/answer session (passed the microphone around the room to delegates who had questions), and also for set up and clean up for the event (ensured there were enough chairs, set up the room with pads of paper and pens, set up the computer and made sure all of the microphones and technological aspects were functional). I had to make some executive decisions in terms of catering and therefore, GovNet/Inside Government was very trusting of my abilities.

For lunch, I was able to have a few sandwiches from the working lunch - mainly roasted chicken with a lemon mayonnaise and fruit kabobs. They were delicious. We then took a tour of the conference building, which was beautiful too. The room we had was a bit small, but it was a great atmosphere for the conference. I realize that I am quickly being assigned big projects and programs to work on or be in charge of. It is a great experience.

I then returned back to the office and updated the attendance sheet for the Alternative Parliamentary Awards and send the final copy to be printed for the name badges.

I returned home and ordered Papa Johns to dinner (Potato Wedges and Chicken Dippers) and in the process of completing my mid-term paper.

Cheers!

Heading Toward Parliament

Today was a great day - very busy, but it flew by. I got a great nights sleep and headed toward my internship. I updated the master attendance list for the Second Annual Parliamentary Awards/Champagne Reception. After finding parliamentary (MPs’ and Lords’/Baronesses’) contacts, I began to telephone each parliamentary to confirm their attendance. After the list was completed, I went back and re-called people that I could not get through to, or who I left messages for last week to see if they plan to attend. I also converted all of the presenters’ PowerPoint presentations from the events last week into PDF files so that they would be ready to be sent out to all of the delegates that attended the event.

For lunch, I went to Nando's again - delicious!!

I was also told today that on top of being able to go for the reception at the House of Lords, I am going to be able to take a tour of Parliament during my workday - so I am quite excited about that.

I then went back home and wrote the addresses on my postcards - slowly I am getting them done.

I am going to go to bed early tonight, hopefully write the two papers for school tomorrow. Also, I need to wake up early tomorrow for an event - Meeting the Manufacturing Challenge Through Investment in Innovation, Skills and Green Technologies at One Birdcage Walk - right near Parliament again. On Thursday, I am going to see an Opera about the Barber of Seville. On Friday, I will pay my last rent, give them my date of departure (hopefully I will have Rome/Vatican figured out by then), attend the Professional Development Seminar, then off to Ireland!

Cheers!

Week 5 Beginning

Today, surprisingly I was not tired for work. At Inside Government, I updated the events board for Inside Government. I deleted many events that took place last week and rearranged the events board to take into consideration new events that were added. I also updated the total number of paid delegates, the event manager/program manager, number of exhibitors, total number of delegates etc. I then updated master attendance list for the Second Annual Parliamentary Awards/Champagne Reception that is held at the House of Lords. I received emails from various GovNet staff and other delegates confirming the attendance of specific people to the event. I also telephoned other delegates to confirm their attendance to this event.

For lunch, we walked around Embankment and I bought a few postcards to send back to the States & Canada.

After work, I returned home and uploaded my pictures from Venice on my computer and relaxed.

Cheers!

Ciao! - Adventures to Venice, Italy

Venice, Italy, or as they call it Venizia, was absolutely beautiful and amazing. (There I go again with the Londoner expressions - "absolutely"). I had the time of my life, and was able to see Venice before it sank.

On Friday, June 19, 2009, I headed over to South Kensington at 11:30 pm on Thursday and was able to get a few hours of sleep before waking up at 3:00 am to take a cab to the Victoria bus station. We arrived super early to the bus station and had to wait an hour. Finally though, our bus arrived and we were able to take another hour nap to Stansted airport. At the airport, we went through customs and got on our flight to Venice. The flight was a Ryanair flight - very cheap, but nothing is free - you have to purchase your drinks, your snacks etc. They are constantly selling foods, drinks, accessories, perfumes etc throughout the flight with all of the lights on. Although it was sometimes difficult to sleep because there were constant ads playing over the loudspeaker, I was able to get two hours of sleep. Venice is an hour ahead of London (so 6 hours ahead of Buffalo, NY) and we did loose an hour of sleep. Once we arrived to Venice, we got a bus and after waiting for our transfer bus, made it to our Hotel - Hotel Palladio. At first our room was not ready, but in a matter of a half an hour, we were able to go into our room. We all took an hour nap and then were ready to go. Our room was quite nice (with a badé and everything) however, the key was very heavy and we needed it plugged into the wall in order to have the air conditioning and electricity to work. We put most of our valuables in a safe and then headed toward Venice.

In Venice, we walked around for a bit. It was very hot - however the forecast said it would rain all weekend (but it only rained on Friday night when we were heading home). We had a delicious lunch - I had gnocchi. We then decided to head to Lido and the beach. We originally bought passes for the water taxi and buses, however, no one checked our tickets, so we did not pay for the rest of our time in Venice. The bus system and taxi system however were very poor - not giving exact times when each departs and arrives, does not say when the last bus departs etc. However, we made it to Lido and were able to do some shopping. The taxi ride toward Lido was beautiful and I took many pictures. In Lido, I bought some Murano (Venetian glass) glass - the best glass in the world. I got some great deals and the lady selling us the glass was a typical Italian. We then headed toward the beach (I had to buy a bathing suit). The beach was quite nice, however there were some people naked. We went swimming for a bit in the ocean and then headed toward the showers (which we had to pay for) and got the salt water off. We then headed back to Venice.

In Venice, we had some gelato and then attempted to get back to our hotel - however, we did get on the wrong bus, and took us a few hours to get back to our hotel, when it would have originally took us 30 minutes.

We all hit the beds right when we got to the hotel.

The next day, Saturday, June 20, 2009, we woke up and had breakfast at the hotel. The breakfast was not the best, but it was food. We then headed toward Venice again. The weather was a little cooler, so we walked around Venice and went shopping to various stores and stands. Venice is known for their masks, so we looked at many masks too. The language barrier was not that difficult - most times, everyone spoke English, but I was also able to understand much of the Italian and read most of it. However, speaking it for me was quite difficult. As we walked, we picked up some pizza and some Italian desserts. We finally made it to the Guggenheim Art Museum and were able to see some great art and gardens. We then headed toward St. Mark's Square, the largest square in Venice. We then headed toward Rialto Bridge - the famous bridge in Venice. On the way back to the bus station via the Water Taxi, we passed a station called Giglio. I took a few pictures of it. We then walked around Venice some more, had some gelato and headed home and got some pizza. We were going to go for a gondola ride, but it was quite expensive.

The last day, Sunday, June 21, 2009, we headed toward Venice again and just took a nice easy day. We had a great meal, two courses, spaghetti and chicken, and just walked around and headed back to St. Mark's Square. We saw many people feeding pigeons too. We then took a bus back to Treviso airport. Our flight was delayed for a half hour, and then it took an hour and a half to go through the immigration line. We missed our first bus, but was able to take a second bus back to London. At the Victoria station, I took a cab back to my flat and went to bed.

Venice was great! I took many pictures (1,036 pictures to be exact) so I have some great memories.

Ciao!

Week 4 Finished!!

Today, I attended the Inside Government Event: ICT in Education: Shaping a New Generation in Learning. I arrived at One Great George Street at 7:45 am to help with set up. For set up, we had to insert nametags into the plastic holders that enable the delegate to wear them on their clothing, stuff pamphlets and agendas in folders and organize the nametags in alphabetical order. One of my tasks was to help with registration. When a delegate arrived, I handed them their delegate pack, told them where coffee and tea were held and where the conference was held. If a delegate was not registered or switched with another delegate who was suppose to attend, I had the responsibility to register the delegate or fill out a delegate switch form, and then print out a new nametag. I was also a point person for delegates to approach regarding information about the conference. During the conference, I listened to the insightful discussions and during question and answer sessions, I handed out the microphone to the delegates who asked questions. I also took notes of some presentations for Mr. Chaudhry who was unable to attend, but wanted to have some information about recent news of ICT in Education since this is a yearly event. During the breaks, I was able to mingle with delegates and also was one of the people that invited the guests to return to the conference room. I also helped various exhibitions set up, helped speakers and presenters organize their presentations and answered many questions regarding GovNet and the event itself. Afterwards, I helped clean/pack up. I returned back to GovNet with the supplies from the event and emailed Mr. Chaudhry my notes from the conference.

At the conference itself, I also met Berry Sheerman MP and Chairman, House of Commons Select Committee for Children, Schools and Families. This is equivalent to a chairman of one of the big committees in the House of Representatives or Senate. It was a great opportunity to actually attend an event and was a great learning experience. I was able to mingle with many delegates and see the logistics behind the event, from the catering, to the layout, to the floor plan, to registration etc. It was a great experience and I am excited to attend more events in the future.

For lunch, we had chicken in a leak cream sauce, vegetables and salad. It was actually pretty tasty.

After my internship, I headed toward the National Portrait Gallery just to sign in for the EUSA Cultural Activity. I then headed home to pack and take a nap before Venice.

Tonight, I am going to take a quick nap, and head over to South Kensington where we will leave at 3:00 am to catch our plane at 6:30 pm. We will be staying at the Hotel Palladio - http://www.hotelpalladio.it/en/index.htm. Anyways, I hope my Italian is quite good - I only know like ten words!

Have a great weekend!

Ciao!

The Fastest Day At My Internship

The So today was a great day. I woke up and headed toward my internship. Today, I was charged with the responsibility to keep track of attendance for the Awards Summer Reception. Invitees confirmed that they would attend two months ago, and my task is to re-confirm that they will still be attending. On Monday, I will call those who have not emailed me back to see if they are still planning to attend. This is a two week project, and at the end, I am able to attend the Reception too. I then finished work on data requisition forms for the events in July 2009 to obtain records of individuals to invite them to specific events. I aloso organized event box and took inventory of materials that travel to each event/conference that GovNet or Inside Government hosts. Next, I created PowerPoint presentations for GovNet Events that outline the speakers, title of the session, and agenda for the day. I also met with the event manager to discuss my tasks and duties at the Inside Government event tomorrow.

For lunch, I went to Nando's again - delicious!

I came back home and put some pictures on facebook and got ready for Venice this weekend.

I am going to bed early tonight since I have to be at the event location at 7:45 am to help set up.

Cheers!

All You Need Is Love

Today, as normal, I woke up and went to Embankment for my internship. I started the day by calling various prisons in the UK for Green ICT to find out contacts so that GovNet can send information to them regarding a Green ICT Conference in September for all of those in the technology field with the focus on going green. Instead of asking for the person responsible for Green ICT, we were told to re-call the prisons and ask for an IT Manager, Head of IT, Procurement Manager or Head of Estates.

My supervisor was very understanding with my frustrations with the calls (since we were asked to call everyone again) and only assigned this task in the beginning of the day. I then worked on data requisition forms for the events in July 2009 to obtain records of individuals to invite them to various events. However, since the server and internet was down for a few hours, I was unable to complete this task. During the time the internet/server was down, I looked at various magazines that GovNet publishes and talked to the director of GovNet Events about GovNet and their mission etc.

For lunch I went to McDonald's quickly and ate a quick bite since it was such a beautiful day outside. Then I walked around Trafalgar Square and around town too.

After work, I went to Nottinghill Gate to go shopping for a bit with some co-workers / fellow interns. We then went to Baker Street up to St. John's Wood to Abbey Road. It was quite and experience. Then we returned to Baker Street and went and ate at Pizza Hut.

Tonight, I am just uploading more photos and doing laundry.

Cheers!

Billy Elliot

So today, I went to work again (on the tube this time) and just had a nice easy going day. I updated events board for Inside Government events to take into consideration new delegates and the total number of paid delegates. I also wrote opening and second emails for events in September and October 2009. I then added updated information to emails that were already written but not sent to potential delegates. I completed data requisition forms for events in July 2009 to obtain records of individuals to invite them to various events. I was tasked with finding job titles, organizations and writing descriptions in order to help concentrate the search of delegates. Tomorrow, I am assigned to work on the Green ICT database and complete more telephone calls.

I had lunch at Nando's again - delicious!!

Next, I went to Victoria Station to see Billy Elliot. It was the show of the year and it definitely held its title. The dancing, songs and choreography were terrific. The music is all written by Elton John and it is just amazing. They all had English accents because it is a musical based in the UK. My favorite song was The Letter and The Letter (Reprise). I loved it - even better than Wicked!!

Cheers!

Weekend Trip to Paris, France

So I know that I haven't been on this blog for a while. So this post will include all of my adventures this weekend.

----

On Friday, I went to pay my rent, top up my cell phone, and then went to the EUSA Professional Development Seminar. The topic for the seminar was Inter-Cultural Skills.

After the seminar, I headed toward St. Pancras International (King's Cross Station) to head on the Eurostar to Paris. We got there a bit early and headed to a crepe restaurant and I had a delicious strawberry and Nutella crepe. Then we went shopping and I bought some delicious corn chips for the train.

The train was quite nice, and it went really fast. My ears popped many times, since we went up and down many hills and through tunnels. On the train, there was a lady who was a little intoxicated and was quite funny. She was sitting next to this guy and kept on asking people if they thought he was attractive and then asked them to guess her age. We had a few laughs from this lady - but most of the ride there, we looked at the lands of France and slept.

We got to Paris Nord Train Station and took a cab to our hostel - Aloha. The hostel was quite nice and we had roommates from Portugal, India, and Ireland - however the people from Ireland were from other countries - Italy and Germany). After we checked into our hostel, we headed toward the Eiffel Tower. At first we got lost, however, we made it and it was beautiful. It is actually much bigger in person that we thought it would be and we took many many pictures and saw it sparkle two times. We then walked around Paris, took a few pictures of other monuments and headed the long way back to Aloha. To our surprise, many people were actually outside at night and were all socializing - having a small picnic. On the way home, one French person decided to jump out at us and scare us - however we just kept on walking. During that night, we ate some ice cream, and some mini doughnuts. We noticed that Paris is much dirtier than London is and that the people can be rude and mean at times. All of them speak English, but are very hesitant to speak it and just are rude.

Anyways, on Saturday, we woke up, took a quick shower, and headed to the Eiffel Tower with the people from India and Portugal. We started by eating a chocolate croissant, which was very delicious. We first saw the Statue of Liberty and then after that, headed toward the Eiffel Tower to climb it. It was a long line, but we finally made it and started our climb. It was very scary and since I am afraid of heights, took us a while to climb. We made it to the first floor and saw Paris from a bird's eye view. We then headed up the stairs to the second floor and then took the lift up to the top. At each level, there was a place to shop, and a small cafe too. After we got back down, we had some ice cream and then took a taxi to the Louvre Museum. We had a bit to eat before we went inside - I had a grilled chicken (although it was roasted). My French to my surprise was quite good and I was able to understand and be understood. We then headed to the Louvre and went inside. We saw many great artifacts, but had to cut our visit short because we did not have much time - we did see the Mona Lisa, and I yelled at someone for taking a picture of the Mona Lisa with a flash (when we were not suppose to) because she was ruining the portrait. She just talked back and that was it.

We then walked down through the park as we past the entire Louvre Museum. In the park, we had some ice cream and listened to some music - while we were listening, a bird decided to use me as a toilet - although it was not that messy, it was still disgusting.

We headed toward the Champs-Elysées and saw the Arch du Triomphe. We did alot of shopping and then had a great meal at this nice restaurant - I had pork with a honey glaze and a creme burlé. It was delicious. We then walked along the Seine River and watched the sunset and then shopped a little more at some small corner shops. We found some great deals for scarfs and I bought alot to give as gifts. We then took a cab back to the Louvre to get some night pictures of the Louvre and the Champs-Elysées - we then took a cab back home.

On Sunday, we woke up and headed toward the Cathedral of Notre Dame. We stopped and got some croissants, which were again delicious. We took a cab to the Cathedral and saw its beauty. After walking around for a bit, we had mass and although it was in French, it was just beautiful. We then took a walk down to a few shops and saw this great shopping district with small shops. We got a crepe and sat in a park and just enjoyed the nice weather. This entire weekend was beautiful - although it was humid. We then listened to some great music and took a cab back to the train station. In the train station, we had to wait a while because the X-Ray Machines were broken for a bit. However, we made our train and although it was delayed 30 minutes we were back in time and even gained an hour since Paris is an hour ahead of London.

Tomorrow, I am going to relax and head to see Billy Elliott at night. I will put up pictures as soon as I can from France - I even maxed out my memory card. It was a great time - but I am glad to be back in London.

Ciao!

Jack The Ripper

Today, I went into work early because of the tube strike and had a great time at work. I made a spreadsheet for contacts from business cards from an exposition for ModernGov (a division of GovNet Communications). I then wrote new email copies for events in June 2009 for the final email that would be sent to all delegates. Next, I created surveys for events next week via surveymethod.com. These surveys will be sent out to the participants of the events afterwards for their feedback and comments. I then amended times on website that did not match to the event agenda. Before I left, I received a list of events that I will be attending (at least one per week):
- Thursday, June 18, 2009 - ICT in Education: Shaping a New Generation in Learning
- Wednesday, June 24, 2009 - Preventing Violent Extremism and Building Cohesive Societies
- Tuesday, June 30, 2009 - The National Information Security in the Public Sector Annual Conference
- Wednesday, July 1, 2009 - The National Obesity Conference: Reversing the Tide of Obesity - Working Together to Create an Active, Healthy Nation
- Thursday, July 9, 2009 - National Curriculum Reform: Creating a Curriculum Fit for the 21st Century

I ate a light lunch at McDonalds where I learned that there are bussers that will take your garbage from your table - you do not have to clear your own garbage at the McDonald's in London.

I also realized that many people say "You Alright?" for "How Are You?" and I realized that quid is another word for the pound (like the buck for the dollar).

I then went toward Tower Hill for our walking tour of Jack the Ripper. Before the tour, I went to this awesome BBQ restaurant and had ribs and BBQ Chicken. It was absolutely delicious (the Britons also say "absolutely" alot). We then headed to our tour.

We saw part of the wall that use to encompass central London. We also saw 3 of the 5 sites where Jack the Ripper killed and removed the organs of his victims. We also saw various places where they knew he was there too as well as some olden bathrooms where you have to go in underground to use. We also saw some great views of the Gherkin (which I found out is called that because it looks like a gherkin - like a cucumber/pickle or zucchini). Jack the Ripper killed 5 people within 10 weeks (2 in one night) and still is unknown who he really is - there are some stipulations and assumptions - even one linking toward the Royal Family, but he is not known.

I am off to France tomorrow (after attending the Professional Development Seminar and paying my rent).

Cheers & Bonsoir!

Finally A Londoner - I Experienced A Tube Strike

So today, I had to wake up at 6:45 am and leave my flat by 7:30 am to catch the bus from Hammersmith Road (the road off of Auriol where I live) to Trafalgar Square. The traffic was terrible. It took me an hour and a half each way when it would normally take 20 minutes on the Tube. Even though some lines on the tube were open, they were delayed with many stations closed, and it was really pointless to travel on it. I never saw traffic like this - they ran 100 extra buses, had routes marked for bikers and had more taxi cabs. All you could see was bus after bus and car and car and bike after bike touching each other for miles. It took a few minutes just to move an inch. Many people had to wait hours in order to just get on a bus because they were so packed.

However, I got to work and things were good. We talked about the strike a little bit. One thing that I noticed is that alot of people like in their 20s do not know how to drive and do not have their license. It is because they have no need to drive at all. There is actually a congestion charge for certain parts of London where you are charged a fee for driving in that part of London. There is no toll but rather many cameras who scan various license plates to make sure that they paid.

Anyways, today I proofread and amended three events and descriptions/agendas that were going to be live on the website the next day. I used Adobe Contribute to update the website with my appropriate changes. I then wrote opening emails to prospective delegates for the events that I completed the marketing piece for (September and October 2009). I also wrote second emails to prospective delegates for events that outline the agenda and encourage delegates to attend. These emails will be sent out next week.

I had lunch at a place called Nando's. It was absolutely amazing - it is like a Swiss Chalet but better. The chicken is amazing and they have various sauces you can choose from - lemon & herb, mango & lime, hot, medium etc. I choose the lemon & herb and got chips (french fries) and garlic bread with it. It was absolutely delicious!

I returned home, after a long bus ride, and went shopping quickly at Tesco's (grocery store) and then headed home to relax and watch some TV for the first time. I was asked by another person for directions - so I feel like I am truly a Londoner (even more now because I experienced a tube strike and was able to find my way around London).

Tomorrow, off to work again and then for a Jack the Ripper Tour!

Cheers!

Finally Some Work!

So today, my internship was great. I was doing work that actually pertained to my interests too. Today, I updated and reformatted the event (dry erase) board for all of the Inside Government events. My task was to include events that were not listed on the board, to update the attendance/delegates paid, and to put the events in chronological order. I then completed work on a marketing piece for more events that were scheduled in September and October 2009. The task was to research recent articles and latest news and then write a paragraph describing the event while tying the news to the specific conference. This will be used as the opening text for email readers sent to all potential delegates. This time, I was asked specifically to tie the event in with recent news articles. I then spoke to Mr. Chaudhry about the tube strike and he said that it would be fine if I showed up late. I also organized Purchase Orders for GovNet Events for 2008 by specific event. Finally, I wrote emails to prospective delegates for the events that I completed the marketing piece for (September and October 2009).

For lunch today, I went to Pizza Hut for their lunch buffet. It was good, but not the exact same as in the States. However, I must say that they are very timely with the pizzas on the buffet - once one is gone, they replace it immediately.

I then returned home and watched a movie.

I also booked the hostel for France and hopefully will book the hostel for Venice soon. I am going to bed early because the tube stations did go on strike and I need to take a bus to work tomorrow.

Cheers!

Finally... Weekends Planned (For The Most Part)

So today, I woke up and headed to my internship. We made calls all day, with the promise that we will be doing work with events the rest of the week. I finished my calls for the Policing system and then helped a fellow intern with her calls with the Court System. Then I revised all database spreadsheets by contacting each organization/office again to gain the contact information for the Head of IT, Director/Manager of IT, Estates Director/Manger, Head of Procurement. This was done because some of the organizations were unaware of the appropriate contact who was responsible for Green ICT, and therefore had no contact for that organization. It was suggested that we start from the beginning and approach each call by asking the contact for the Head of IT etc. and therefore, we have a contact at each organization.

After my internship, I headed back to Baron's Court and just relaxed for an hour or so. Then, I went to South Kensington and met up with some EUSA friends and went over to Metro Gate (the computer center) and book flights for Paris (June 12 - 14), Venice (June 19-21) and Dublin (June 26-28). We also booked a hostel for Dublin too. We plan on booking hostels for Venice and Paris tomorrow. Hopefully, I will still be able to go to Rome/Vatican City too.

I then went home and tried to extent my credit limit on my credit card. However, I have to do it again tomorrow in the morning - hopefully everything works out! I am getting a little worried about finances, but I am optimistic for the future.

Tomorrow, I am heading off to work again. The tube station (the entire tube system) will be going on strike starting Tuesday (tomorrow) at 7:00 pm until Thursday at 6:59 pm. I know that many people (including me) will have to find alternative ways to work - I am hoping buses. I know though that they plan to have excess buses working on the days of the strike as well.

Well.... Cheers!

Meeting The Famous Stars...

So today, I slept in because I had an exhausting two weeks. I woke up and traveled to South Kensington where I was meeting Meghan, Carissa, Yanique and Shea to go to Madame Tussand's and the London Eye. Of course we got off to a late start, but we made it to Madame Tussand's at Baker Street and went inside. We saw people from Johnny Depp, to Drew Barrymore to David Beckham, to President Obama, to the Queen, to various princes, to Ghandi etc. Most of them were great, some of them were really bad impressions of them, and some of them you could tell that they were made out of wax. Overall though, it was super super fun. There was also a mini haunted house and scary section of wax figures. This was not my favorite, but it was fun for the others (I chickened out on the Haunted House). There was also a mini ride inside of the History of London (very much like Disney). We also took some group pictures too including some group shots of pictures of us by Andy Worhol.

Then we had a bit to eat and headed to the London Eye.

At the London Eye, we got our tickets and headed in the que, which did not take much time. There was only about 10 people total in the capsule and we were able to see a bird eye's view of London. It was great and we got some great shots!

Afterwards, we got a waffle with whip cream and headed back to South Kensington.

We finally decided that we are going to Paris this weekend too! We will book tomorrow!

Cheers!

Visit to Oxford (aka Hogworts)

So today, I woke up and my wrist hurt - I must have slept on it in a wrong position. Anyways, I headed toward the Victoria tube station so I can catch the bus with some EUSA students to Oxford. I grabbed a fast croissant and then headed toward the bus and had a nice hour and a half nap. Once we arrived at Oxford, we first walked around town - grabbing a bit to eat at KFC. We walked around the main college of Oxford, Christ Church College. Oxford is broken up into many colleges, rather than one main campus. It is beautiful and that is where most of the Harry Potter Movies were filmed.


We then shopped a little around town at the Oxford store, we saw the Oxford University Press and just strolled around this great college town. We then decided to go inside of Christ Church College and see the Great Hall, where the Hogwarts' Dining Hall was filmed. Although it was closed due to a prior function, we did manage to get some postcards etc.

We also saw the steps where Professor McGonigal first welcomed the students, the steps that led into the dining hall. We also saw some great areas where the movie was filmed too. We learned that the directors had to cover the windows with black cloth to make it look like it was night in the movie.

We then headed toward the Christ Church Cathedral too and then headed to the Bodleian Library - one of the oldest libraries on earth. However, we got there too late and all of the tours were full - we couldn't wander the library ourselves. Instead, we decided to head to the river and take a boat ride and punt (even though it was drizzling the entire day).


We went to the river and went punting - similar to what they do in Venice with the gondolas. It was an experience and fun too.

Afterwards, we went out to a great restaurant, Quod, and then headed home to London.

It was a great day to see Oxford and I just might be back there in the future for a longer period of time - who knows!

Tomorrow, I am off to the London Eye and Wax Museum too. Should be a fun day with planning for our trips in the evening.

Cheers!

Going Down....

So today I had my professional development seminar for EUSA - the topic was communication. For our break, we went down to the cafe and I had a delicious croissant. Mmmmm...

Then, we went to Manson Place and just looked up some info for flights to Paris and Italy. We have a change a plans: I am going to Oxford tomorrow, hopefully Paris the weekend after, then we got some great deals for the weekend after Paris to Venice or Florence, and then Dublin - and finally I am going to Rome. I know it is busy, but I am excited. This Sunday, we are going to the wax museum and the London Eye too.

Anyways, after Manson Place, we went to Waterloo to get tickets for the girls to go to Straford - Shakespeare's house. Instead, I am going to Oxford tomorrow with some other EUSA people. We then walked to Westminster where we saw a great market - had some free samples of some chocolate. We then walked toward the Aquarium and saw some great views of Parliament from the other side of the Thames River, a close up of the London Eye and some great street performers. Some of them looked exactly like statues. Today, was a normal London day (for once) and it rained a bit - so we hurried into the aquarium.

The London Aquarium was great. We saw some great sea creatures. However, the elevators in London are quite odd - instead of having positive floor numbers, they have negative numbers for the number below the main floor.

We saw sharks, Chinese Blow Fish (most deadly fish in the ocean), fish from Finding Nemo etc.

We then headed toward Southwark and had a delicious meal at an awesome pub. We then went back to Manson Place at South Kensington and hung out and booked the wax museum and London Eye for Sunday. We plan to finish the booking for Ireland tomorrow, and book for our first time to Italy tomorrow too! So excited for Oxford tomorrow too!

Cheers!

National Portrait Gallery

So today was a great day. I headed off to my internship and of course made some phone calls again for Green ICT and gaining contact information for the person responsible for implementing Green ICT in their particular office. This is because we are having an event in September for the technology sector, with the focus on going green, and we just need to make sure that all rel event people receive information about this event. I called both police stations (from yesterday) and then I called prisons too. Also, my boss ensured me that next week, we will not be making calls. It was just a pressing issue and it needed to be completed quickly. However, my boss said that next week, we will be working more with events - maybe a day or two of phone calls, but that is it.

Then, I went to South Kensington and then from there, headed to Manson Place to meet some people to go to our Thursday cultural activity. We went to the National Portrait Gallery and walked around for a bit. We saw some great paintings - both comtemporary and paintings of various royal families etc. I got a meringue cookie - which was good, but too sweet. I had a funny moment here - I went in the elevator to go down to the first floor with some EUSA students. So we were on the second floor and tried to press the button for the first floor and it wouldn't press in. The doors closed (and this elevator was so small - they said it could fit 10 people, but the three of us took up all of the space.) The doors opened and we thought we were on the first floor, but we were actually on the second floor still because the first floor was closed.

We then headed back to Manson Place in South Kensington and watched the season premier of Big Brother for London. We then headed to the computer center and we booked a trip to Ireland - Dublin for July 26-28!

We have professional development seminars tomorrow and then off to maybe the zoo or aquarium (depending on the weather).

Cheers!

Finally ... PLANNED! (almost)

Today, again normal day in the office. I made more calls for Green ICT to both local governments and finally now police departments. The police departments are a little more demanding and sometimes mean on the phone - however, I get over it.

After I got home from work, I just relaxed and then went to South Kensington to try to plan some trips. The way it looks, we will be traveling to Ireland the last weekend of June (June 26-28) and hopefully France (if I can find people to go with) on June 20-21. I will also be going to Italy with a friend from high school on July 3-5. Very excited.

Tomorrow, we have our cultural experience and then booking Ireland!

Cheers!

530 Calls Later

So today, I woke up as any other day (thinking that I am late because of the early sunrise) and then went to work. Instead of eating a croissant, I had toast with strawberry jam! Delicious.

At my internship, I finished up my work and my calls to central government offices. After 530 calls, I finally finished and got all of the necessary contact information. I also finished up the opening headers for September and October 2009 events.

I then ate lunch with the other intern at Pizza Express and ordered garlic bread (since I am not too fond of their pizza). I then got some strawberry ice cream and walked around Trafalgar Square.

After work, I made a few calls to various travel agencies about France - hopefully I get some good deals.

I then went to South Kensington to eat dinner at Gourmet Burger Kitchen and then dessert at Dino's! I had crumble apple pie and ice cream - the ice cream was so much better.

We decided to meet tomorrow to do some planning for weekend trips. We might go to the wax museum, zoo, aquarium and eye this weekend. I also want to take a trip to Abby Lane too!

We might not do Scotland, but we hope to do Ireland for sure, and I hope to do France with some people and Italy.

Cheers!

Week 2 of Inside Government

Today, after an exhausting weekend, I headed to my internship. Today, another intern, Kayla, from EUSA, started. After finishing up a few calls from last week regarding obtaining contact information for those who were responsible for Green ICT for a particular company, I then was asked to revise the list and researching telephone numbers for companies with invalid numbers, contacts that were retired or no longer worked for the company, or people that were unavailable. Then I was asked to limit one contact per company. After I finished that task, I was asked to write a few more opening headers for emails for events in September and October.

It was finally time for lunch and I went to this Italian restaurant and ordered gnocchi.

After lunch, I was again on the phone, updating the database for Green ICT, but this time I was calling central government offices. Since the event is so specific, we must have the correct and appropriate delegates to receive information about this event. However, unlike before, I was not provided with a contact person, but instead had the office and phone number to start my calls.

One of my co-workers also suggested a website to get some great deals for trips.

I then headed home and took a brief nap and then headed to the store to buy a few things. I then emailed various companies (from the website that was provided) to see if any dates are available for various trips - hopefully I am lucky.

I noticed that since the UK is more north than the New York, the daylight hours are longer. Sometimes I wake up in the morning thinking that I am late to work when it is only 5:00 or 6:00 am. It gets dark around 10:30 / 11:00 pm.

I also feel that I am starting to fit into London society. People are asking me directions to various places, making sure that they are at the right tube station etc.

Cheers!

Visit to Greenwich

Today, I woke up at 8:30 am and got ready for my trip to Greenwich with my program director and his wife. We all met at Piccadilly Circus and traveled around that area, and into Westminster, looking at various buildings by the architect Andrea Palladio. We saw the Burlington House, the Spencer House, the Queen's Chapel, the castle of Prince William, as well as the Horse Guard and Downing Street. I also passed by the Ritz Hotel too!

We then took a boat on the Thames River to Greenwich. The Thames River looks really dirty because of the tide that flows, however, because of the tide (massive tides and dramatic), it turns up the dirt from bottom - however, it is actually fairly clean. On the way, we passed by many great houses and sights in London, including the Tate Modern, the Tower of London, the new building for the London Government, and the Gerkin. We passed by a few houses that were millions of pounds, one being owned by Michael Crawford. I took some great pictures of the sights too. We also passed by the church where the captain of the Mayflower was buried.

Once we arrived to Greenwich, we walked through the University of Greenwich where they are currently shooting a movie of Gulliver's Travels. The campus was full of tents and props and green screens. We stopped for a bit to eat at a local pub too.

Next, we walked into the Painted Hall and the Chapel at the University of Greenwich, which were both magnificent.

We then went to the Queen's House and saw the tulip staircase, which was a staircase that had no support bar and was supported by the wall. It was very beautiful, however, we could not take pictures. We also saw some great paintings in the Queen's House too!

Then, we went up the hill toward the the Royal Observatory via Greenwich Park. Many people were outside enjoying this beautiful weather. Once we got to the topic of the hill, we had a great view. We also saw a giant red time ball that was attached to a weather vane. At 1:00 (both in the morning and the afternoon), it reaches the top and then falls down to alert those on the Thames River what time it was. This is where the official time of the world is kept and where the Prime Meridian line is, that divides the East from the West - so I was in two hemispheres at once! We then went into the museum and saw some great historical tools to keep track of time and to observe the sky. We also saw London's only public camera obscura. It was a dark room where there was a live "video" of the outside toward London - it was very interesting because it was mirrors that caused the view in live time - we saw people moving and buses driving.

We then went down the hill and had a snack in the National Maritime Museum. We then walked around the museum a while and headed toward the tube station. The DLR line on the tube is driven by a computer and there is no conductor - it is very interesting.

I returned home, received my compensation for the International Student House from Dr. Halsey, and took a nap. I woke up and completed some assignments for my internship program and then I am off to bed.

It was a long day, but very fun - a long weekend too with beautiful weather (I was told London is never like this)! Hopefully we can start to plan some trips soon so I can see other parts of Europe.

Cheers!

Windsor Castle, Stonehenge, Bath - Oh It Was A Long, But Awesome Day - 5.30.09

So today, I woke up at 6:45 and took a quick shower. I then headed over to the tube station (with my camera, food, an extra battery for my camera, and my ticket) to Victoria Station where I had to walk a few blocks to get to the Victoria Bus Depot. On the way, to the bus station, I stopped to get a croissant and a doughnut. They were delicious - the best croissant I had since I got here.

I then went to the bus station and finally our bus - Evans Evan Tour 21 - was called. My bus (full with 52 people) was the first to leave - I had a window seat so I got lucky! It was a nice coach bus and our guide was very knowledgeable and funny. We headed toward Windsor Castle and on the way, we saw a huge beer brewery, and saw some great museums and houses. He pointed out the chimneys on the houses etc. He also described why cars drive on the left side - it is because when there were horses and carriages, the horses are left handed.

We finally arrived at Windsor Castle - one of the first tours there. We went through, what was once a train station, but now it is full of great shops. We then headed over to Windsor Castle and got our tickets and got our audio tour. We noticed that the Queen's flag was also flying - meaning that she was present in the Castle. The Queen of Windsor loves Windsor Castle and comes here quite often. We saw her bedroom, but we didn't see her. That is why the family is the Windsor Family - because her family loved it so much. Also, the Windsor Castle is right near the Airport - so you see and hear many planes. Anyways - we went into Windsor Castle and saw a great doll house of the Buckingham Palace - they even have toilets that flush. We couldn't take pictures inside the Castle and security was very tight, so I couldn't even take them "illegally." We also saw the state rooms and some other grand rooms. Next, we were going to see the changing of the guards, but it was cancelled for some reason. Instead, I went inside the St. George's Chapel (inside Windsor Castle) where many queens and kings are buried. Then, I went to the royal guards to take some pictures with them. I think one of them got mad at me because he stomped his feet right before I got there. After that, it was time to head back to the bus - I grabbed a hamburger on the way back. Some people were late though...but we got off to a good start.

Next, on the way to Stonehenge, we saw mistletoe trees, and some farms, pigs, sheep etc. We also saw canola and other farms too. Most of the eggs (actually not refrigerated in the stores), chicken, lamb and pigs are all free range. We actually saw where the movie Babe took place too!
Also, on the way to Stonehenge we saw many burial mounds where they buried an individual person (one mound per person). We also passed a "thing" that was not in earth - it is the only one on earth and no one knows what it is - it does not look like anything from earth - we were moving too fast to get a picture, but it looks like a helicopter but without any of the blades. We also learned that there are many crop circles around that area too.

At Stonehenge, there were two stones that we could touch - one bluestone and one sarsen stone - one of them was much hotter than the other. The Stonehenge was very impressive, and although there are many theories: for alien purposes, a calendar, for the moon phases etc, it was just impressive, although a little smaller than I thought it would be. I guess on the winter solstice and winter solstice, it is very popular because the sun rises in a same position or something happens.

As we left Stonehenge, we almost left two people behind (the same people that were late at Windsor Castle). We saw some awesome sights on the way to Bath. It was an hour and a half drive so I slept a little, but when I woke up, it was just beautiful - almost like Italy. I took some pictures, but we were moving, so it was kind of hard. On the way, we saw some mounds in the mountains that are used as bases for the military. We also saw a huge horse that was carved into the mountains. We also saw the smallest prison in London (mostly used for transporting people). Finally, we saw a military base used to train soldiers. We also saw various cities where Harry Potter was filmed.

We entered Bath and saw Jane Austin's house. Most of the houses are very old - and the half moon window above each doorway is different to be able to distinguish your house in the dark before house numbers. Instead of street signs too - the name of the street is carved into the building.

We got to the Roman Baths and went through Roman ruins too. It was quite impressive and the water is very warm (maybe it will heal me of whatever I have - even though I do not know if I have anything), and steamy. I then walked around Bath and it is very historic. The Bath Cathedral is also very impressive too. We saw also some street performers, one in particular played this drum pan, which sounded beautiful. I bought his CD! Instead of asking for a five dollar bill, Londoners just ask for a fiver.

On the way back, we went through Bath Circus where the rich people live. We saw Nicholas Cage's house (he sends his children to the most expensive schools). Also, Johnny Depp lives in Bath too. We also saw a post office and we learned that the English stamp is the only stamp that does not have the country name on it - instead the reining monarch. We also saw where Pride & Prestigious was filmed. On the way back, we saw some more beautiful sights and we also went through Pennsylvania , England (which took 10 seconds because it is so small). We made some great time too back to London (2 1/2 hours). I took tons of pictures too!

Tomorrow I am heading to Greenwich and and then going to do so of my work for school.

Cheers!