'ello, poppet

things i miss (and are probably repeats)

mikachu:

• walking back from downtown, drunk as fuck, trying to avoid breaking your neck on the icy uphill walk past albright, and seeing the hungry ghost with the lights and music still on, and then desperately craving bread 
• FUCK YOU FOR NOT ACTUALLY BEING OPEN AT 2AM, HUNGRY GHOST
• woodstar cafe vanillas 
• that stupid noise the fourway intersection on main street makes when pedestrians can cross
• sampling flavors at herrell’s in the dead of winter
• getting coffee-cockblocked because no one takes credit cards goddammit
• trying not to pee all over yourself while walking back to the quad schwasted 
• tunnel bar martinis 
• packard’s dragon fries
• ALL THE FOOD IN DOWNTOWN NORTHAMPTON. ALL OF IT. 

WARNING: the following is a yawn-tastical post about grades

Strangely enough, my performance was best in what I considered to be my hardest class. Well, more like the class that was SALTY BALLS to study for. Somehow I feel like this year validated my intelligence and ability to succeed on my own. For the first time in my life, the prospect of failure could not be ruled out. There would be no cushion of a caring professor or previous exam grades to keep me from epically phailing, which is why the months of May and June were horrid and miserable for everyone at LSE.

The British system (as much as I disagree with it) helped me grow up and mature a way very different from that of a US liberal arts college. Everyone needs to be placed in a situation in which they must face the music and grow the eff up, and being abroad (ironically enough) did that for me. It also taught me how to balance getting schwasty on weeknights while getting work done, lolz.

one minor annoyance: I can’t for the LIFE of me pull top marks in easy classes. is there something wrong with me? it’s like I need that extra push of fear of failure to succeed. maybe that’s why finance is the only industry I can really see myself in. but forreal, I managed to pull firsts in my class grades for technical classes, but then my relatively easier qualitative class grades were slightly lower.

Anyway… I came out of it ALIVE! that’s all that matters. The last two months at LSE and this summer (so far) have kicked my gluteus maximus into gear. BRING IT ON, SENIOR YEAR. jk dont bring it on. because I’m not ready to graduate.

this isn’t goodbye… it’s see ya later

14 June 2010. I had my last final today, went for Thai, froyo-ed, drank, and said some painful goodbyes. After dinner I spent about 3 hours packing up my life and showering. This is my last night sleeping in this room. The walls are empty and all my calming Asian decorations have been taken down.

Being in New York will be great and I’m excited, but this has just been an incredibly emotional day (week? month?) for me. With the stresses of finals, sad goodbyes, and the awkward moments that keep life interesting, this has been one hell of an end to my abroad experience. 

Having to get into that cab tomorrow morning is going to be really tough. This year has been incredible, definitely one of (if not THE) best years. It’s time to move on, but for the first time I don’t feel ready to give up my current experience in exchange for the real world. It’ll blow over soon enough, but that doesn’t stop me from being sad. 

farewell, London :’(

past the two week mark…

meh :( 13 days. I’m starting to get really sad. luckily there will be enough people working in New York so that saying goodbye won’t be the worst thing in the world, but it’s the LSE/GC/London experience we’ll never have again that depresses me. I’ve loved London from the minute I set foot in it, and I’m loving it even more just as I’m getting ready to leave. Being able to see past its flaws straight from the start kept me happy and sane all year. Going back to Smith will be great, but leaving this place knowing I’ll never return to the same people and experiences is what makes me so sad. It feels like I’m going through a bad break-up in which I’m the one who’s still attached.

London was fantastic socially (far superior to Smith, obviously, lolz socially retarded liberal arts colleges) but in the past few days I realized the breadth of my academic knowledge has also expanded significantly. I’ve always depended on good teachers/professors to help me learn and perform well. I NEVER do my readings back at Smith (especially not in econ classes) because lectures/discussions cover all the relevant material. After studying here, I can finally open up a textbook and teach myself everything I need to know for an exam. For a lot of people this is nbd since they skip class and teach themselves things all the time in the states, but that isn’t in my nature. The fact that I can study a model from lecture notes and learn how to apply it on my own is a huge step. It makes me feel much more secure in my abilities to succeed in grad school and the workplace. This is something LSE has forced me to do, and I am grateful. Smith has given me a lot of confidence, but LSE has given me more in terms of independence and a sense of security in my future successes. At this point, I’m exactly where I want to be, which is also why I’m finding it so hard to say goodbye…

loving life in the L-D-N but I really miss…

• SUNSHINE
• PINKBERRY AND RED MANGO
• makeup shopping
• my NYC/Smith friends
• not having to pay for every meal
• Max Brenner
• DD iced coffee
• not having a 2 month finals period
• cellphone contracts (counting down the days till I have the beautiful BB9700 in my hands with unlimited EVERYTHING)
• my excellent hair straightener

not ready to leave London at all, because I’ll miss…

• walking 30 min to class (as crazy as it sounds, I LOVE the walk to school)
• studying in a large city
• partying LDN style
• my awesome dorm
• the fabulous people I’m surrounded by
• Covent Garden/Camden/South Bank/Soho/EVERYTHING
• making fun of Brindians and LSE students in general, they are quite an interesting bunch

now… off to the library to study on a Saturday night. I will NOT miss this. 

Italia & Greece

In a nutshell, our spring break trip to Italy and Greece was incredible. We beasted through Venice, Florence, (made a pit stop in gorgeous Tuscany) Rome, Athens, and… not Santorini. I’ll explain that later. 

I won’t go in depth about all the sites/art we saw (lets be honest, no one cares) so an overview should suffice. Venice was beautiful with its intricate streets and tiny canals. No time for a gondola ride, unfortunately. Getting around was pretty difficult, given that it’s an easy city to get lost in. Florence was easily my favorite city. It was incredibly charming, beautiful, and had a great deal to offer. We visited the Uffizi museum (absolutely NOT worth the three hour wait), Galleria d’Accademia (no line because we arrived early, David statue was pretty epic), and took a day trip to beautiful Fiesole. Rome was nice, but probably my least favorite city. The ruins, monuments, and art were great, but that’s about it. The Vatican museum and St. Peter’s were the highlights. St. Peter’s is probably one of the most gorgeous places I’ve been. Everything in Italy ran surprisingly smoothly.

As for Greece, ferry strikes prevented us from going to Santorini. Ah, life. Almas and I promised ourselves we’d make it back there just to spite the world. Instead of Santorini, we spent extra time in Athens and took a daytrip to the nearby island Aegina. Anyway, Aegina was beautiful and I’m thrilled we went. 

Unfortunately, the only real downfall of the trip was the group dynamics. This may sound harsh, but half the group was essentially useless and took absolutely no initiative to help with basic things like making decisions or helping with directions. This made it extremely difficult for those of us who were actually trying to get things done. When you don’t have any support coming from all your teammates, traveling can be extremely frustrating and irritating. Hopefully the next time I take a large trip like this, I go with people who are more willing to take initiative and control when necessary. This particular aspect of the trip was very disappointing, but everything else was fantastic. 

I can’t believe this epic chapter of my life is essentially over…

MIA - Dublin/Copenhagen

I haven’t blogged since Barcelona?! wow…

After BCN, I took a trip to Dublin (for St. Patty’s!) and then Copenhagen to visit my favorite redhead. Both trips were wonderful. Dublin was pure insanity and I had the opportunity to meet some interesting people. The Irish are generally super friendly, especially when plastered. I honestly would’ve never taken the trip if it hadn’t been for the holiday. Dublin is pretty boring, aside from the pub scene. Other highlights I’m too exhausted to write about - Guinness Factory, Dublin Castle, finding out I was offered my dream internship, etc…

Seeing Lydia in Copenhagen was also incredible. I’ve missed her (and Smith) an incredible amount, and being in CPH filled the void a bit. The city is small but beautiful, and the pastries are incredible. Danish children are INCREDIBLY well-dressed - they all look supah fly. Is it weird to say I was slightly jealous?

Now I’m plowing through the last 6+ weeks of studying/finals/hell, aka what we’ve been dreading all year. waaaah. How did the 5 week “break” go by so quickly? It’s disgusting. 

Next post - Italy/Greece extravaganza!

Barcelona, Spain

Where do I even begin? I don’t play favorites, but Barcelona was hands down the most memorable trip I have taken thus far. Spending the weekend there made me even more excited about my upcoming spring break trip to Italy and Greece. Since it was one of the top places on my list to visit in Europe, I am thrilled I had the opportunity to spend time there. Practicing my Spanish also turned out to be pretty fun.

We left London relatively early on Friday morning to catch our flight. After a long day of flying and bus-ing, we finally arrived in BCN around 7 in the evening. Right in time for Spanish dinner! It was great seeing Elena again. Twice in one semester, who would’ve thought I’d be so lucky? ;D The hostel we stayed at was right in the centre of Barcelona on Passeig De Gracia, literally a block away from the Gaudi apartments.

That night, the Cordoba ladies made us a delicious dinner with some homemade sangria (!) which could give Salvador and Amanda a run for their money. We explored a bit of the area and got ready for bed in anticipation of our busy Saturday.

On Saturday morning, we went straight to La Sagrada Familia, one of the most famous architectural sites BCN. After taking some touristy pictures, we headed to Parc Guell. Parc Guell was probably my favorite part of BCN, as the views were amazing, the plaza was beautiful, and it was free. Free is always good. We went to Museo de Casa de Gaudi (I think that’s what it’s called) and saw some more interesting architecture. The weather was definitely on our side that day - warm and sunny. Win win!

Later that day we went for a yummy Spanish lunch (early dinner according to the rest of us) at a restaurant near the hostel. Afterwards, we picked up ingredients for dinner from an outdoor market. Fruit in Spain is delicious and surprisingly cheap. A few of us headed to Las Ramblas post-shopping to check out the market and street performers, and walk towards the shore. I bought a cute bracelet for 3 euro, great bargain! By the time we reached the shore it was dusk and the sky was a gorgeous shade of periwinkle blue - great for pictures. After all that walking and sightseeing, we were exhausted and ready for a siesta.

That night after a quick dinner and some botellon-ing (pregaming en espanol) we headed to 2 clubs. One was on the beachside (!) and the other was closer to our hostel. The clubs were fun, but fairly standard. It was nice to meet some of the Spaniards from Cordoba, though. They certainly know how to party, given we didn’t return to our hostel until 6:30 that morning, whoops.

Phew. Sunday morning after less than 2 hours of sleep, we headed to Museo de Chocolat and explored a bit more of Barcelona. After spending some time near the fountains (can’t remember what they were called) and sitting on the beach, we wrapped up and made the long treck to Londontown. It feels good to be back, but Barcelona was absolutely incredible. If I can figure things out moneywise and timewise, I will definitely be paying Elena a visit in Cordoba.