Wednesday, July 15, 2009

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

Monday, July 13, 2009

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!

Thursday, July 9, 2009

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

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

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!

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

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!

Monday, July 6, 2009

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!

Sunday, July 5, 2009

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!

Saturday, July 4, 2009

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!

Friday, July 3, 2009

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!

Thursday, July 2, 2009

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!

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

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.