Smile like you mean it.

I could not have asked for a more perfect day, weather wise, here in London town.  It was a nice, sunny 65, so I decided to play tourist.

Had to get some academics out of the way first, though.  I went to a class from 9-11 (yuck, still too early) that I will be auditing instead of taking for credit because I don't have enough space left and for some strange reason, our department, or perhaps the School of Public Policy and Social Science just thinks it's best, but my particular program is only allowed to take 180-190 credits.  Oh well... this means I don't have to write two papers!  WOO!!  It should be an interesting class and I'm really looking forward to it.  It's called Environmental Actors and Politics.  So I attended that class, then walked to the library to do a little reading.  And I do mean a little.  I found the perfect, hidden away space way up in the clock tower rooms that was completely empty, and started reading.  Then the LOUDEST person I have ever heard in my entire life ends up sitting on the sub floor directly beneath me.  They weren't talking.. oh no.  But the sound!  I felt like the Grinch during that sequence in the cartoon when he's talking about all that "noise, noise, noise!  If there's one thing I can't stand, it's the noise, noise, noise."  And the drums start beating around his head.  Yep.  This person was crinkling food wrappers, which we're not allowed to have, clicking their note book open and closed every nanosecond, coughing, sniffling, tapping their pen.  I was going insane, clearly.  To top it all off, I had my iPod on and I could hear them over it, no matter how loud I turned it up.  SO I decided to move to the other side of the clock tower, through 2 sets of double doors, into a different set of study cubicles.  Sweet bliss.  No one was around and all was quiet.  Again I set all my stuff up, got my highlighters, note tabs, and articles out to read.  Not even 5 minutes later, someone else came in and did the SAME thing the other person was.  I can only assume these are freshers, because I can GUARANTEE if they have even just one year of study under their belt, you know to shut the hell up when you're in the library unless you are in a group room.

So I left the library disgruntled.  But the sun was shining and it was a wonderful day, so I decided to play tourist.  I walked over the foot/rail bridge to South Bank and grabbed take away from Wagamama.  I walked up to an outdoor seating area that overlooked the river and ate my delicious noodle soup.  To my left was the London Eye, to my right, the Queen Elizabeth Hall and behind me, the Royal Festival Hall.  People watching is definitely fun to do, so I did that for about 30 minutes.  I then got up and headed up the bank towards the Eye.  Walked passed that, then over the Westminster Bridge to the Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey.  Something was going on because there were more police and sirens than normal, but I still can't find it on the web, so maybe someone important was visiting?  A Chinook did fly over head.  After that I walked back up the Victoria side of the river (my side of the river) up to Trafalgar Square, then home.

I was home for about 30 minutes, then decided it was time to go buy a printer, because now I'm having to print things out, and it'll be cheaper for me to do it here at the flat than it will be to do it at the library.  This time, I took the tube.  I went to Oxford circus, which foot traffic wise, was the worst I have ever seen it.  Worse than New York and Chicago, I think.  I went to a couple of different stores and just couldn't bring myself to spend between 60 and 100 quid for a printer.  So I started walking back towards the tube when I came across Liberty, a department store that I own a dress from.  They are famous for their floral patterns.  So I started walking towards that when I happen to glance to my left and spot and Apple store.  SUCCESS!!  You think it's bad at the Fairfax or Tyson's Apple when a new product comes out?  Good Lord, you've seen nothing!  This place was a mad house.  I finally tracked down a specialist to find out the prices for printers.  Again, too pricey for me, as I still don't have my loan money.  The guy was very nice about it though, and definitely understood.  He pointed me in two directions, one of which I had already gone to.  So it was off to Currys, a mix between Radio Shack and Best Buy.  I think it's rather ironic that the store is called Currys and there were all South Central Asians working there.  Anyways, I found a printer exactly like the one I have at home, but unfortunately it was sold out.  So I went for the next best one.  It was 49 quid. which is roughly 74 bucks.  WOOOO!!!

Triumphant, I walked towards to direction of the tube station to go home, or so I thought.  Something had happened on the Victoria line (the line I needed to get on), so the station had been shut down until further notice.  Wonderful.  So I walked from Oxford Circus to Tottenham Court Road and got on the tube there.  Luckily, at this particular station, I would not have to change lines to get home.  After many strange stares from people on the tube, I got off at Angel, the stop just north of me.  Walking home wasn't so bad, and I think it's a shorter distance than Farringdon is.  When I got to my flat I literally could not feel or bend my fingers.  A bit of a problem when you have to swipe to get in the building, and the card is at the bottom of your purse in your wallet.  My feet were screaming at me, too.  I am 100% certain that I walked at least 20 miles today.

Now everything is set up and I found an email that asked for me to set up my account to get my loan money once my uni is done with it.  YEA!!!!!  I have class all day tomorrow, which is a bit of a bummer, but I think after the last one we're all heading to the pub again for drinks.  I need to be careful with that though, because it can get expensive and it may counter act with all my walking.  Oh well, you only live once, right?

I hope all of you are doing well.  I miss you!  I'll try to work on some crazy, or not so crazy stories to share for when I come home for Christmas.  I'll be going to Ireland at some point this term, and maybe else where, who knows.

Love you all!!!

I say I don't know, you say you don't know, I say, take me out.

Ah, what a glorious first day.  I am in such a good mood right now.  Partially from the pint and a half of Strongbow and Kronenbourg I had after lecture with our class and professor.   I'm currently enjoying grilled cheese, tomato soup and green beans.  Mmmmmm, tipsy food.

But enough about that.  I met some lovely people that I simply cannot wait to have class, discussion, and study with.  Richard, our programme coordinator and basically head in charge of our major gave a basic over view of the course today, which we covered for about 2 hours with questions and everything.  I won't be taking this one for credit; just popping in every so often on the lectures I'm interested in.  Still don't know my complete schedule yet.  I've got 40-60 credits to account for still, but those are either coming from other majors in my department, or from the War Studies (aka IR) department.  Not too bad.  I'm just excited to be back in school, with my head in the books, or rather, academic journals.  Tay and Mel, your highlighter/pen/sticky combo pens have really come in handy! :-)

So after class today, we all first went to the student bar in the student union, which was pretty packed.  Only stayed for a half pint and then we all moved on to a pub down the way near our library called The Knight's Templar.  It looked a little posh, but Russell, one of the guys in my programme, informed us that it's actually a well known chain in the UK, so I didn't feel too out of place.  I think it was because there were a lot of suits in there because they had just gotten off work.  So I talked with a handful of people about a number of things, ranging from what our undergrad degrees were in, to what we want to do with our lives, to where we've worked, and a whole bunch of other stuff in between.  This looks to be a really great group of people.  And Richard is extremely laid back, which is excellent.  The only thing that is in anyway bad about this structure, is that there are SO many classes I want to take, but I can only take a set number.  Perhaps I'll get another Masters, or a Ph.D?  We shall see.

Now then, when are you all coming to visit?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!??!?!?!?!?!?!?  Being independent and in a big city is fun, but I want you guys to come enjoy it with me!!!!  I found a really great deal on a blow up mattress too, so there's really no excuse, because you won't have to pay for a place to live, and we can cook at my place if it comes down to it too!  And when are we going to skype/gchat people?! I need to see your beautiful faces!!!

Ah man, I'm seriously in such a good mood... grinning like a little girl.  So excited about this.  It is going to be a good year, on both sides of the Atlantic.  Can't wait for this to get underway and can't wait to see you all in December.  I haven't been this happy in a long time, and I haven't smiled like this since, probably my last day at Rio.  :-)

Love you all!!! Write me!!!!!!! We can be pen pals!

I am known to do the Wop, also known for the Flintstone Flop.

Induction week finally came to a close today with a 2 hours course on basic computer programs (i.e. Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint), projects and coursework, basic grammar do's and don't's, correct ways of referencing, and a plagiarism tutorial.  Something that could have been covered in 2 seconds really.  I think this should have been optional for students who speak English as their first language, and mandatory for those who speak English as a second, third, etc.  This packet could have simply been posted online as well.  Oh well.  Yesterday I had enrolment (this isn't misspelled, that's how it is in the UK.  Weird right?) and officially became a KCL student with an ID card and everything.  Thank goodness!  Now I can get student discounts!!!!

I'm learning my way around the streets gradually, which is very helpful, as I walk everywhere.  I think it's pointless to take a 30 minute tube or bus ride to campus when the walk is only 20 minutes and I walk past the stops I would get on and off at anyway.

Most of you, well, actually I think all of you know what a big nerd I am, so you probably won't be surprised to find out that I've got my year already mapped out with regard to what courses I'm taking, when term dates start and finish, and when things are due.  That being said, if I subscribe to everything that is recommended/mandatory to take for my particular programme, I'll have 2 classes on Friday afternoon, with a biweekly seminar/tutorial in the morning, one class on Tuesday afternoon, and then my dissertation officially starting in June or whenever my last exam is in the spring.  Honestly though, I'm going to start working on that puppy this term, so that I can get a great chunk of drafts and research out of the way, because let's be honest, 12,000 words is A LOT and I'm trying to enjoy my time here without having to cram everything in at the last minute.  This is a paper heavy master's programme, which I could not be MORE thrilled about.  Give me a presentation or a paper over a test any day!  We do have a 3 hour exam for each course in the spring time though, which sort of sucks.  But the good news on that is, everyone else in our department has exams to come back to after Christmas Break and I don't!!!!

Speaking of, as I mentioned before, I figured out my term dates.  Official uni policy says that the fall term ends December 17, but my term ends on December 10.  It also states that you have to be back for exams to start 10 January, but since I don't have them, my term will start back up on January 17, but in all actuality, it might be later than that, if we keep the classes on the days we had them in the fall.  So what does this all mean?  Well, it means that I can come home later and leave home later, equating to a longer time spent in VA with all of you fine people!  I have already booked my plane ticket back for break, as it was a round-trip deal with the one to get out here... but maybe I can change it, because I know a lot of you are leaving for various places for Christmas and New Years.  This is also good, because I don't know if I'll make it back state-side again before I turn my dissertation in during late August/early September 2011.  When I graduate is still up in the air too, so a thousand and one apologies to anyone I told that I was graduating in June.  That's just when I'm done with course work and start to focus 1,000,000,000,000,000% on the big one.

With all of that said, I'm not too keen on the course taught on Tuesdays, so I'm taking another one on a different day, but the whole point is that I have 2 days of classes.  Everything else is reserved to reading and getting my ish in order for my big finale.  So please feel free to visit whenever.  Believe you me, I would love it!  I currently only have my twin bed, but the plan is to get a blow up mattress for when people decide to visit so you don't have to pay for a place to stay.  Unless you want to cuddle, and that's fine by me, too. ;-)

Now that I'm done, and I still don't know anyone here and have a bunch of things I still need to get for my flat, I'm heading off to Oxford/Brackley for the weekend to visit with Angela, collect some packages from home, and shop at the Euro version of Walmart, ASDA.  Yes, I HATE Walmart... but as there is no Target so to speak of here, it will have to do.... well, I take that back.  Tesco and M&S are like that if you get out far enough so that they carry more than just food.  Anyway, the point is that I won't have any sort of adventuring about here until next week.  I've been meaning to take a picture of the KCL library for you all to see because not only is it massive, but it's beautiful!  I'll play asian tourist for the day and take pictures for you all around my neighbourhood and possibly along the water front, since the back side of campus faces the Thames, next week.

I love you all!!!!  I hope you have a fabulous Friday and weekend!

Perfectly Lonely

Well, it's 2:29 am and people are, I suppose because I cannot see them, standing on the street just screaming for no apparent reason other than to be annoying.  Yes, I understand, term hasn't started yet, but please, please, PLEASE stop being an obvious fresher.  I don't like being lumped into that group, but for at least this week and next, I am.  Bleck.  Why am I up at this hour, you might be saying to yourself?  Well, my body clock is still off, and it amazes me that I've been able to get up around 8am every day this week and stay up until 3 or 4 am and not feel anything.  Actually, that's a lie, I did fall asleep on Monday during the introductions.  I felt absolutely horrible for doing so, but if it counts for anything, I stayed awake for everything that was relevant to me.  Yeah, I didn't think I would get any points for that either.  Worth a try.

Side note, I think, unless I come up with something rather cleaver, that I will title my posts with song titles or lyrics.  "It's getting better all the time," bit by bit.

Today we had a meeting with the program coordinator, who is the equivalent of an academic advisor and got a basic overview of my particular program, along with a syllabus for the 3 mandatory courses, which is actually very helpful.  You can only glean so much from a paragraph or two on a website.  Also received a handful of readings that I'll probably have done by the weekend, just because I'm lame and a) still don't know a lot of people and b) need to be ever so careful with money until my loan check gets here and I get a part-time job.  Our program is pretty small as far as the number of people doing it is concerned, which I'm not that surprised about.  I would have to say there are probably 25 people total, with myself being the only American, one girl from Mexico, and everyone else, save one who is from Lebanon, is from Europe.  Tons of Dutch, which is interesting.  And they are the cute ones, too, who speak English so well that you can barely detect an accent.  Please take courses with me :-)  We went around the room today and said a bit about ourselves.  As soon as I mentioned I was from the States, it seemed that my coordinator could be less than interested.  I hope it's not the case, because I'm one of those nerds that meets with advisors a million times with a billion questions through the course on any number of things, ranging from how my papers and course work is going, to advice about what to take or which direction I should go in.  So here's to hoping he's not an anti-American.

If any of you have been to Europe, or even just outside the US, you'll know what I'm talking about when I say the food is completely different.  I understand that I grew accustom to American food during my 24 years around it, either in the States or on base overseas, but sometimes you just want something and you can't get it, like comfort food.  But, this shouldn't necessarily be a bad thing.  I've always been pretty skeptical of meat here in the UK, because of Mad Cow and Bird Flu, so I've decided to go vegetarian again.  It's actually cheaper that way too, so my pocket book will be thanking me later.  It's actually funny though, because they have KFC and Pizza Hut galore here, along with Burger King and McDonald's.

Alright, well, I've got nothing else to really report right now.  I'm applying to a position with the student union that's sort of like an sga position, which is paid, so I hope I get that.  It would definitely help out with the money situation.  Off to finish up the application and submit it, then off to bed.  Love you all and know that I'm jealous of all the wonderful programming that I'm currently missing.

A blog in three part

Part One:
Traveling from Oxford to London right now.  Nothing quite fits the country side scenery out my window better than Coldplay.  "Shiver" is playing right now, but by complete shuffling randomness on my iPod.  I wish you all were here with me; I've left the comfort of Angela, Gary, and Aiden, and though I have a handful of friends scattered throughout the London area, I think tonight will be the first time I'm going to really feel like I'm not in Kansas anymore, Toto.  I'll just remind myself time and again that this is an incredible opportunity and that I will see you all again, very soon.  So I can have the best of both worlds.

Part Two:
The place is quite small.... but I don't really need a lot of room, it's not like I'll be in here all day, every day anyway.  I've got everything pretty much set.  I still need some things to hang my calendar and other things with, but I can get those this weekend.  The only thing I really hate is that the bathroom is so so so so tiny.  I'll have to take pictures tomorrow and post them.  It's a little absurd, actually.  The toilet is basically in the shower.  Like I said, I'll have to take pictures.  Good news, however, as I will be getting my phone tonight when I meet up with Maria!!  WOO!  Also, there was a pretty sweet welcome box in my room filled with all sorts of coupons and goodies like a box of cereal, Haribo Starmix, instant coffee, toothpaste, gum, and chocolate.  MMmmmmmm!

Part Three:
After getting extremely lost, I finally found Maria and we walked from Farringdon Station all the way to Bethnal Green.  Now, you must be saying, "Cool.  Don't know what that means."  Well, I'll tell you.  It's about 3 miles straight shot, but we walked around different ways, so it was probably longer.  Stopped by her local pub for a quick pint.  I think I've found my new favorite cider, Bulmer's and they serve it with just a bit of ice in the glass, so it tasted EXACTLY like apple juice.  Yum.  Must be careful, though, as it has about 300 calories in a glass.  After that we went back to her place where I met one of her flatmates, his girlfriend, and I got the phone.  Stayed there a little bit then got on a bus back to my side of town.  On the way to the stop, we got cat called continuously by what turned out to be not so attractive British lads in very baggy sports gear.  They gave us the look up and down when we started, which was horrid.  Maria yelled "Piss off" which was hysterical.   Got on the bus only to go about 2 stops and told that we had to get off because there was an accident.  I walked passed it and it really was a horrid accident.  I hope everyone involved is okay.  While the entire bus was walking, I met a very nice French guy who does freelance photography.  We talked about a number of things and then parted ways when he took one bus and I took another, about a mile down from where we had started.  Finally got off at my stop and hopped of to walk what I thought was going to be an easy 5 minute trip.  Well, I got turned around at a huge market that's near my place and ended up on the wrong side of it.  While correcting this mistake, I got yet another cat call from these drunk guys outside a pub, but this time it was in Spanish.  Nothing like bringing back creepy bus boy and cooks from Rio like getting called at in... London?  Yeah, my thoughts exactly.  Oh well.  I've been here 3 days and I've already gotten more attention than I have in a long time in the States.  So I guess I'll take it?  Probably not.  Haha, oh well.

Anywhoodle, I better get to bed.  I've got my first set of info and welcome session tomorrow at uni.  I promise I will post pictures sometime this week.  Love you all!

So long sweet summer, hello winter?

Well gang, I’ve arrive in joy old England to a brisk 7* C which is about 47*F.  Yikes.  Here’s to hoping it’ll warm up, otherwise I’ve been robbed of my favorite season.

Speaking of weather, did anyone see that there was a tornado warning in Brooklyn yesterday!? BROOKLYN of all places!  Insane.  Also why my flight took off an hour later than it was supposed to.  At least it was only a 6 hour and some change flight.  We arrived at Heathrow an hour late also and I thought I was going to have to wait in the mother of all horrid queues, but thankfully someone had the good idea of opening up the fast lane for everyone else.  Phew.  Flying over an Irish and Welsh sunrise this morning was one of the most spectacularly green landscapes I’ve ever laid eyes on.   I cannot WAIT to explore them in person.  Sadly I didn’t take any pictures because I had an isle seat, so maybe next time around I can. 

Virgin Airways has plentiful options for en-flight entertainment and I have to give some recommendations based upon it.  Feeder’s new album, Renegades, is amazing.  If you don’t know anything about them, they are a British rock band.  I know, surprise on my part, but honestly, I think the majority of you would like them if you listen to rock.  Also, The Foals sophomore album, Total Life Forever, is fantastic and they are one of my favorite up and coming bands (at least state side), so I strongly urge you to check them out too.  Last but not least, if you’ve been living under a rock, then I will excuse you.  However, if you do not reside under a boulder, you are NUTS if you haven’t heard or checked into Janelle Monae.  She is stellar.  The album is called The ArchAndroid. 

Adding to the en-flight entertainment were the two notes written on the cocktail napkins from Alesha, and I will assume Jessica & Lauren.  Thanks ladies, those definitely boosted my spirits. :-)

Hope you all are doing well.  I miss you terribly, and I’m sure it will get just a little worse once I see group pictures.  Just promise that you’ll be awkward enough to pose with an outstretched arm so that I can be included! Love you all!

The Day Before...

I never thought this week would come, for better or worse. It seemed like such a far-fetched concept when people would ask, "When are you leaving?" and I would reply, "September." But it's finally here, and if last night was a testament of how I will deal with this move on an emotional level, I may be in for a bumpy ride, at least for the first few days and weeks.

John Denver's "Leaving on a Jet Plane" has been playing in my head for about a month now, and at first it was an up tempo version, but now it's a bittersweet, slow song. Because though my bags may be packed, I'm not ready to go. I should have sung that last night rather than "Breakaway" by Kelly Clarkson. Alas, hindsight is 20/20. This isn't to say that I'm upset by any means about this amazing opportunity that has been given to me. I thank my lucky stars and God quite often for it. It's that I don't have a rolling stone mentality anymore. It took me about 5 years before I really felt comfortable with this habitat. I finally have made friendships and settled in. Now, instead of being uprooted by my family when we moved from Texas to England back in high school, I'm uprooting myself, and it feels the exact same way. The only difference this time, is that I'm not upset about going to England, which may have transfered my feelings on this matter only to magnify the fact that I don't want to leave everyone here. I know I'm being a silly little girl when I write this, but I don't want to be forgotten or swept under the rug along with the pasts of others. I'm confident, at least I hope, that this will not happen, but I can't help but have the thought creep into my head.

But enough with my sappy little soap box. I'm so so so very excited to share all of my adventures with you guys. I'm thrilled for us to share these things together and I simply cannot WAIT to hear all about your's while I'm away! We can have story time when I come back for the holidays and it's something that I eagerly await. Please know that I am only a Skype or facebook message away, so if ANY of you need ANYTHING, I'm here for you! Love you all!

My Skype name is: emily.caligiuri