JULY 11, 2007

Scottish invasion
Where do I even begin!! London itself never ceases to amaze me… but Scotland is another whole story!!

Last Thursday morning we took an early train to Edinburgh, Scotland where we spent the day and night roaming the castles, restaurants and local pubs — and meeting some of the most unusual and unique Scottish people. We even found “The Elephant House,” the small coffee house tucked away on a side street where J.K. Rowling began her first Harry Potter book on the napkins.

On that rainy and cold Friday morning, 25 college students (only two of them being guys) boarded a tour bus with one tour guide - Dougie (but it’s Scottish so you say it Dooogie … dooo like mooo.) So Dougie had NO idea what he had gotten himself into, but needless to say, it was an amazing weekend!

By 9 am that Friday morning we were all laughing so hard our stomachs hurt - and that is basically how the entire weekend went. Something about those Scottish -  their way with words is so fabulously entertaining!!

In our three-day tour we made our way north up the coast of Scotland, to the Isle of Skye and around to Loch Ness and back down the heart of Scotland. We went through town after town where Dougie acted out battles, delivered famous speeches and made up stories.

One the first day we stopped in Stirling, where the William Wallace memorial is, and as we walked up to the statue of Wallace we were all rather surprised - instead of Wallace being carved into stone, it was Mel Gibson! They took his acting pretty seriously evidently … After the memorial, we made our way up to see many more castles, many towns, many hairy cows (pronounced koos) and wooly sheep, mountains with magical stories, rivers with fairy tales, rolling hills with giants footprints and fabulous overlooks and sites.

By Friday evening, we made our way to the northwest coast of Scotland to the Isle of Skye, where we stayed in a little coastal town that had two restaurants, two pubs and a few hostels. We happened to stay in the restaurant, that was a pub, which housed us upstairs in the hostel — what an experience. Saucy Mary’s will never forget us!

Saturday we spent the entire day going along the coast of Skye, seeing beautiful coastal towns, the cliffs that fall into the Atlantic Ocean, beautiful cemeteries that sit peacefully in the mountains and abandoned castles scattered all over the land.

Sunday we managed to drag our tired bodies back onto the bus for yet another day of touring — this time to the most famous body of water, Loch Ness. Dougie was pretty amazing at his job - he knew when to play certain inspirational songs, movie clips, tell stories and get us awake right as the most important parts of the trips would come around the corner. Loch Ness was more than funny with Dougie.

We saw many battlefields, many beautiful old bridges, heard more than our fair share of stories that were amazing and had some of the funniest times messing with Dougie as he drove this tour bus of 23 college girls as we pestered him with questions.

The trip was amazing and I have more pictures than I know what to do with. I hear that the kickoff to the Tour de France was amazing and Wimbledon just finished up — quite the weekend for sports in London. Back in the city never felt better after living in hostels and being on a bus all day — even though we had a blast!!

I hope you all are wonderful and I would love to hear how things are!!

Cheers from London.

July 4, 2007

Tours, shopping and important work
London continues to amaze me with its uniqueness and ability to provide so much to partake in and experience. There is never a dull moment in the city, and most of the time you spend effort just trying to not get overwhelmed with all the amazing opportunities that surround you.

This week I have stood on the grounds of Parliament and learned about the incredible history and traditions of the government in Great Britain. The stories, generations and history that have passed through the building are amazing.

We experienced Shakespeare’s Globe Theater as commoners the other night, standing in the center — as you may know, the Globe isn’t completely covered, and so, because of the typical London rain, we were drenched by the second act. Even through the wetness, it was a beautiful theater and incredible experience.

The parks in London are simply incredible; I could talk about them all day. They go on and on, with parts that people rarely ever go to. After work yesterday, I jogged through the park where I am living -  Regent’s Park. It looks like something out of a movie. The lakes throughout the park have weeping willows touching the glassy water, swans swimming through it and ducks diving in and out. There are paddle boats in the water, children running along the bank chasing birds and people lying under trees napping in the rare sun. It’s just incredible to run through such an incredible place and have it basically be your back yard —however we are in London, which means strange weather. During my run it started to hail -- hail... in London ... in July — absurd!

The shopping in London is amazing, and if you are looking for amazing sales, this is the place to be. London goes crazy in July and puts everything on sale, everything that you can imagine. Even Harrods brings in celebrities to cut the ribbon to kick off the annual sale … sales in July and vacation in August - that’s how they do it.

Many know that I am working as an intern for the Greenbelt Movement International (GBMI). It is a non-profit that provides income and sustenance to millions of people in Kenya through the planting of trees. It also conducts educational campaigns to raise awareness about women's rights, civic empowerment, and the environment throughout Kenya and Africa. Their main headquarters are in Kenya; however they have offices in Virginia and London. My job is to research organizations in the city that would be interested in sponsoring and funding the UK office. I compile the information and talk to organizations that would be potential partners and help the GBMI move on from there.

It’s truly a rare and unique opportunity that gives me incredible hands-on experience and confidence. I am learning to research, write donor letters, fundraise and much more - all in an international setting.

London never ceases to amaze us ... The kickoff of the Tour de France is this weekend, and we are off to Scotland tomorrow!!

July 2, 2007

Getting to know London
Wow, already in London - sightseeing, meeting new people, experiencing amazing events and working at another nonprofit, this one based out of Africa. I am researching and fundraising for the Greenbelt Movement this time, whose mission is to provide income and sustenance to millions of people in Kenya through the planting of trees. Their goal is to conduct educational campaigns to raise awareness about women’s rights, civic empowerment, and the environment throughout Kenya and Africa.

I arrived in London last Friday, and since then I have seen the city from both double-decker bus and water tour on the Thames. Major events such at the Aerosmith concert in Hyde Park, the Concert for Diana thrown by her sons, the bombings in Piccadilly Circus, the Wimbledon Championships, church at St. Peter's Cathedral, and the turn over of Prime Minister have naturally made for an exciting first week in central London.

Going to the markets on the weekends in Notting Hill are always lively, the restaurants are amazing and you never have to eat anything twice, the theater is incredible - the Sound of Music was incredible and we are to see Wicked next week! The tube is just about second nature, and learning to look the other way before crossing the street is still tricky! It’s hard not to stand out as an American - rather impossible, but at least we are picking up on common words and phrases - one step at a time!

We go to Parliament tomorrow morning to have a special tour and meeting with Julian Brazier, a member of Parliament, and then heading off to Scotland for a long weekend. The biggest challenge is to have enough energy to get you through the days. There are constantly amazing opportunities to see and do things. It's a challenge just to not be overwhelmed by all the new experiences.

You have everything that you could imagine in London, and you turn around and there are parks and gardens that go on forever! It’s an amazing place to learn and grow, to people watch and to try new things or to just sit in a park and watch the old men feed the birds or see a baby take its first steps. It’s about learning about where you are and noticing the smallest things ... that is what makes anywhere amazing! And London is no different. It is a city that never stops to breathe, and it’s beautiful!

Introduction

I hate to waste life! I have a hunger for travel, a passion for people and a love for life. I adore new experiences and thrive by learning in new environments!! So, right now I am living in Taos, NM at the SMU campus as I am an intern at the Millicent Rogers Museum where I am doing writing and helping them with PR. It is an incredible museum with an amazing history and story. After 5 weeks here I am flying to London, where I will be interning with another non-profit organization for another 5 weeks. And then after that, the Komen Foundation is sending about 20 SMU students to Greece for a week to complete research there. In all, it will be an incredible summer – and already I have learned so much and enjoyed it tremendously!! I look forward to meeting new people, experiencing new things and learning more than I can imagine!!