REFRESH

It has been quite the whirlwind since my last post. I’m sorry to have taken such a lapse in posting. I’m afraid momentum increases and sometimes it’s easier to maintain the status quo and continue to not post. But that is changing!

For one thing the large hurdle of exams is nearly over. I have taken 3 of my 4 exams and my last one is Friday. Secondly, I want to catch everyone up before I embark on a huge stretch of trips!

Yes, my time in Europe is coming to a close. Actually I’m down to 21 days until I am back in Chicago. That is hard to believe.

In this post I want to do a marathon update and share with you what I’ve been up to since my sister left me in London, almost 2 months ago! I have a lot of pictures so those should be fun to view. I also have some stories I want to squeeze in, but I’ll do my best to be to the point. I don’t want to make this a novelette!

Enough with the intro, and on to stories!

In April, after Hope left I was in a bit of a funk. I was beginning to revise for my exams, and addressing significant personal trauma. My parents fortunately flew me home to spend the remaining 2 weeks of break recovering and making a good study plan on finance. It was exactly what I needed, and I was able to return to London for a great last term.

The first weekend of summer term was when we celebrated Aleeza’s 21^st birthday! It was a great night and we attempted the circle line pub-crawl once again- this time moving counterclockwise. We made a valiant effort and ended up at Embankment as our last stop. It was great seeing friends and exploring new pubs in London! Enjoy the pictures!

Sofia, Rei, Aleeza, Bernie and Cody. In Notting Hill. 

The Pub at Victoria. 

The next Monday my parents arrived in London for their original trip! It was so great to see them and show them where I’ve been living this past year. We had an amazing week. I’ll share the photo highlights. The following weekend we went to Eastbourne and stayed in a cute bed and breakfast and explored the Beachy Head Cliffs. Basically, it was the best visit I could have asked for. Mom and Dad I love you so much!

Our first dinner, at Yalla Yalla. My favorite restaurant in London!

Our second night, at my second favorite restaurant. Ciao Bella! Also with Jim and Judy Contino, the owners of Bittersweet Bakery in Chicago. It's amazing!

On the Wednesday we ventured to the Royal Botanic Kew Gardens. We took a boat along the Thames to get there which was beautiful, and the Tube home. To all in London, it is definitely worth visiting!

Dad and I at Kew Gardens.

The Palm House.

Mom in the Palm House at Kew. 

Lily House

There were peacocks on the grounds!

After the Gardens we found the one location of Boden clothing. It's my mom's favorite, so we were really happy to visit. 

That night we met up with some of my LSE friends and had dinner at Brick Lane. It was the typical experience- fun meal, but may have not been the best for my dad haha. 

So glad we made it to Borough! 

Thursday night we saw the Sunshine Boys at the Savoy Theatre. Very fun show!

On Friday night we hopped the train for Eastbourne. We had a fun dinner on the train!

Our bed and breakfast!

My bed

My window bay

Mom and Dad's room.

Our table, where I did lots of studying. 

We looked right out into the English Channel!

The Eastbourne Pier and Beach. From our B&B. 

Beers from our Belgium dinner. 

On Monday we hiked the gorgeous Beachy Head Cliffs and then hiked to East Dean before having dinner at Terre a Terre in Brighton. This is one of my favorite days of all time.

The Beachy Head lighthouse. 

We were literally IN the sheep and cow fields! This picture is not zoomed!

Sherlock Holme's House!

Excellent beer. 

Tiger Inn in East Dean. I am in love

Walking paths.

I read about this restaurant in my day trip book and it was fabulous. It's England's best vegetarian restaurant. The menu is incredibly complex but delicious. If in Brighton you need to eat here. Terre a Terre. 

Mom and Dad flew out on May 8. The rest of the week I kicked it into high gear studying for finance.

My exam was on the 17^th so I had a lot of work to do. But I did get a study break; when my dear friend Jenny arrived! Jenny and I went to high school together and she spent her spring semester studying in Verona, Italy. Her program had ended and very appropriately ended her time in Europe over 3 days in London! It was fun for me to show her some of my favorite spots, including going somewhere new- Primrose Hill and Abbey Road! Very fun. I didn’t get too many pictures, but a few.

Primrose Hill

Out in Shoreditch. 

Jenny left on the morning of the 14, and between then and 10:00 AM on the 17^th I lived, breathed and slept finance. My exam was the hardest thing I’ve ever taken. Section A was fair, I did okay I think, but did make one crucial error with forgetting to use real rates of interest (forgetting to account for inflation). Section B is where things took a turn for the worst. Despite my month and weeks of reading the textbook, lecture notes, attempting problem sets and past exams, attending office hours and making over 200 flashcards- I was not able to comprehend what the questions were asking and thus unable to give good answers. I need a 40% to pass and I am honestly unsure if I got that. Partial credit will be my saving grace. We will see how I did in July!

After my exam I took the next few days off coming down off the stress and trying to look ahead to my social psychology exam the following Monday, the 21. On Friday night we went out to celebrate Rei’s 21^st birthday. It was a great night! She had it at the Loop Bar in Soho. I had never been and really enjoyed the scene. 

Rei, Aleeza and I.

Jake, Rei, Razia and I. 

After my exam on Monday I did my usual and relaxed for a bit before kicking it into high gear and studying for the next. Luckily the weather was SPECTACULAR and I spent as much time as possible outdoors. I had been swimming most mornings in the outdoor heated pool at my gym, but this week I also laid out and got great sun after my dip. So nice! I picnicked on Primrose Hill, had delicious ice cream with Brianne, walked around, shopped, visited Exmouth Market, lay in the park with Marissa, had great meals, wine and fun. My first 2 exams were my hardest so I felt like a huge weight was lifted off my chest.

Union Jack Flags in Covent Garden. For the Queen's Diamond Jubilee!

Another reason I was so refreshed was because of the LSE public lecture I went to that Tuesday the 22. I heard Erik Olin Wright from the University of Wisconsin-Madison speak about his new book, Envisioning Real Utopias. He is a self-proclaimed analytical Marxist and in the New Leftist school of thought. I have read some of his stuff when I took my Alternatives to Consumerism class last year at Knox. I was so excited to see him at LSE. The talk was very inspiring. Afterwards I purchased a copy of his book and had him sign it. I had some follow up questions for him, and was fortunately one of 3 students that met him the next morning for breakfast and further discussion! I appreciated the time he took for us, and I felt I was realigned with values that I came to London with, but sometimes were muted because of the material wealth and somewhat conservative crowd around me. Basically, it was encouraging to hear and be reminded that the way I often think is no, not crazy or ignorant, just not how the majority think and live. His book, Envisioning Real Utopias, provides real suggestions for alternatives within and beyond capitalism. Erik highlighted some key sections for me, and I will start from page one on my train trip.

So anyway, I was thoroughly refreshed after the talk and breakfast discussion. I also was inspired on Thursday night when I went to the Birthday celebration for the London Chapter of the Acumen Fund. Acumen is a non-profit venture capital fund that seeks to eradicate poverty by investing in social enterprises. I attended some pitch events earlier in the year and liked what they were doing. The celebration was at Holborn House and highlighted all of the great things they did in year one. I met some fascinating people and added another book to my train reading list- The Blue Sweater. It was written by Jacqueline Novogratz, the founder of Acumen fund. Here’s a picture!

Life was good after those 2 events. 

Katie and I escaped the tourists and had a great dinner in Exmouth Market. 

Katie at Sade.

Myself at Sade. 

Katie and I went to a bartending class at Detroit Bar. It was very fun!

Straining my side car.

Beauty.

Haha Dan the bartender was hilarious.

Katie's whiskey sour. And a little extra :)

Last Wednesday I met Sofia's Mom for drinks at Gordon's Wine Bar. Very fun!

I met Sofia's Mom! She's fabulous. 

Cheese plate at Gordon's wine bar. 

This view will never get old. 

Last Thursday I woke up and decided to visit South Kensington. I wanted to go to the Victoria and Albert Museum and get into a part of London I don't explore enough.

V&A

The Michelin House. 

Inside the V&A

On Friday I met up with Marissa and other General Course friends for a celebration to the end of finals (for some people). LSE gave us loyalty money on our ID's for paying tuition on time and you can use it at the student bar so we did some damage to George IV Friday afternoon.

Hahahahah

It was a big day

James and Kevin at the White Hart.

Kevin and Meredith

LSE General Course 2012. I think this needs to go in the admission prospectus.

12 hour drinking fest, complete. 

And wow, that brings me right up to Saturday when I left for Edinburgh! I just got home tonight and will get the pictures up soon.

To give you a quick preview of the next post, I will do Edinburgh, and then I will do my train trip that is beginning!

I am going to Milan, Cinque Terre, Budapest, Vienne, Prague, Dresden, Berlin and Poznan before coming back to London on the 24th. After that I have one last night in London to pack, and Monday I leave for Paris in the evening, to catch my flight to Chicago early on Tuesday. 

Time is flying!

But I'm sorry to have taken forever to post, but here it is!

On to studying for Marketing.