Broadcast: The Most Amazing Weekend of the Year Live from the BJC

"MORALE CAPTAINS, TO THE STAGE!" I learned (or at least attempted) the line dance lyrics, cried during family hour, and got sooo pumped up during the last few seconds before the THON 2010 total was revealed--all from just watching the live broadcast on my laptop. I was so upset when I knew studying abroad would also mean missing THON, but surprisingly watching it online evoked just as many chills as standing in the crowd--it proved how powerful THON really is. And $7.83 million--so amazing!! I was glued to my computer for the last four hours and had it playing everytime I was at home. I absolutely loved seeing people post pictures all weekend long and could not get over this Little Rockstar :) So adorable!! Brit and Alex, I was looking for both of you all weekend, but all the colors started to mix together--so proud of you two!! 46 hours FTK! I'm already excited for THON 2011 :)

But How Did They Get There?

In the spirit of soaking up the culture of England, a few of my friends and I decided it was necessary to make a trip to Stonehenge. When my bosses asked me what my plans were for the weekend, and I told them where I was going, they said they couldn't wait for me to come back to work on Monday to report to them that it was just a pile of rocks. Apparently that's the review they've gotten from every American intern they've had so far, and it's not hard to see why.

Really, that's what it is--a formation of rocks placed in a circle. But the burning question, and I guess what's supposed to be amazing about it, is "how did they get there?" According to my audiotour, it could have been aliens...go figure. I'm making it sound like we had a really bad time, but it was definitely worth it for the experience--we had a lot of fun (mostly we made our own)! We took a lot of fun pictures jumping and posing in front of the rocks and after completing our walk around the circular path, we got back on the bus and headed to Bath.

Bath was unlike anything I've ever seen. It's required that every building there be made out of bath stone, so everything is really uniform looking, but it has this quaint little feel that was so amazing. We went to see the Roman Baths, which was really cool and ate at Sally Lunn's Buns, the oldest restaurant in the town.

I love sightseeing, and I love looking back at pictures even more. Jess tagged me on Facebook in some really awesome pics from our Stonhenge trip, so you can check them out if you want!

Jeter and A-Rod: London Idols?

Maybe not...but the amount of people I see here with Yankees hats is unbelievable. It's something I hadn't originally noticed when I got here, but as I've been traveling and walking around London, I see at least a handful of people a day sporting their Bronx Bomber gear. It's definitely cool, as I'm a fan of the World Series champs myself :). But it's surprising because they don't even play baseball here. Oddly enough, I have yet to see a Phillies hat, or for that matter any other team's--these Londoners have some good taste! Who knows, maybe it's customary for any Brit who visits the US to come back with a baseball cap--sort of like a generic souvenir. It would be like roaming around New York and seeing people walk around with cricket team hats on--you just don't expect it! I'm not complaining though. Every time I look up and see that N-Y on someone's hat, it brings a little bit of the kind of warm, comforting feeling that only comes from home :)

Google vs. Doritos vs. Letterman

Since I usually have no idea what's going on during the actual Superbowl games, I always look so forward to watching the commercials and the halftime show (but ever since Justin and Janet ruined it with their "wardrobe malfunction", not so much the halftime show). Anyway, none of the ads aired here, so I went on You Tube because I just had to see them! These are my favorites...I can't choose which one I like best!

1. So Adorable!
2. Love the ending!
3. Short & Sweet, but Funny!

Just thought I'd share :)

Mind the Gap

After venturing around London and Paris for my first two weeks in Europe, it was time to snap (somewhat) back into reality. My classes and internship started two weeks ago and sans the lengthy trip I have to take back and forth to work (a.k.a. I have to wake up at 6 a.m.), everything is great!

The two classes I'm taking are called World Media Industry & Society and Gender. They both seem pretty interesting, and I'm loving the fact that there seems to be no such thing as homework here, only week-to-week reading assignments.

My internship is working with the media team at the headquarters of an organization, which is sort of like Boy Scouts of America at home, except the members can be boys and girls. I really like it so far, and I was pleasantly surprised to to find out on my first day that Bear Grylls (the really intense host of "Man vs. Wild" on the Discovery channel who eats bugs/crawls around ridiculous places all over the world) has an office in the building because he's the "Chief Scout"! This, of course, would be much cooler if he ever showed up. My main job is doing public relations-ish stuff, and last week, I went to an event where we had to media train members to talk to journalists as Scouts spokespeople. It was a lot of fun, and if you've ever heard a kid with a British accent, you know that it's probably the cutest thing ever.

Since it takes me so long to get to work, I've been spending a lot of time on the tube. If I had a dollar for every time I heard the automated Underground voice say "mind the gap" (that is, the one between the train and the platform), I'm pretty sure I would be well on my way to becoming a millionaire. The tube and all of London's transportation really is awesome though, and it's great on the weekends too.

Last night, we went to a club called Ministry of Sound, which is the #6 rated club in the world. Ministry Website : There's a link on the left if you want to check out some pics :) If I had to sum it up in one word, I think I might go with "intense"--maybe not the same type of intense as Bear Grylls, but still. There were so many different rooms and floors, and Fedde Le Grand was one of the DJs on board last night, so it was really exciting. We somehow managed to not have to wait in the insanely long line to get in and stayed until about 3 a.m. It was very Euro-club style, and totally worth it for dancing and the whole experience. Here's some Fedde Le Grand stuff if you're interested!: Fedde Music Vids

Also, I mentioned in a previous post that I was walking a lot around London and, therefore, would be okay with not joining a gym. As it turns out, all the walking wasn't balancing out my diet consisting of Nutella and Uncle Ben's microwaveable rice, so I caved in and bought a membership to City University's gym. Now it's just a matter of finding time to go!