London Semester – Page 2

Work Experience – London Edition

One of the easiest and the best way for me to interact with REAL British people while abroad was through my internship, or as they call it over there, “work experience.”

During the second phase of BU’s Study Abroad Program, I had the opportunity to work at etv media group where I met some awesome people and learned a lot about the life of a small digital agency.

(www.etv.tv)

Just to clarify – since there really isn’t one simple word to describe the company, as a digital agency, etv takes on numerous projects involving new media, which can range anywhere from websites to TV shows to iPhone apps.

And as a work experience, I worked in various departments, thereby learning about different stages of a project.

My first big duty in February involved a lot of office work – sitting in front of a computer (unfortunately PC), researching, making calls, etc. to find the perfect news cutting agency to replace the current one.

I honestly don’t know much about the behind-the-scenes details of American PR agencies, but many marketing & PR firms in England employ news cutting services to track any articles or clips that mention the company name or its production/projects.

Obviously, what a useful service! Every morning, an e-mail with a list of all the stories or packages mentioning “etv” waited for me in my inbox. Then I got to read all about what people thought about our production. Neat!

To supplement my major, broadcast journalism, I also found myself in the middle of a studio where etv produced Thomas Cook TV. Unfortunately, I joined the company as Thomas Cook traveling agency decided to cancel its television shows, but I still found more than enough time to play with AVID equipments, autocue (prompter) and studio sets.

(How cute! Right?)

Once in a while, I would also visit the bigger studio in Battersea to watch the production of Gala Bingo – a live, late-night bingo show.

Yes, apparently people all over the UK can participate via web, and players do win quite a bit of money. I suppose it’s equivalent to Wheel of Fortune over on this side of the Atlantic?

Well, more importantly, Battersea is where I encountered the stress of a live production for the first time. Now I of course know and understand the significance of accuracy and punctuality, thanks to my current internship. Back then, however, I had no clue.

Moreover, the advanced technology of green-screen also amazed me endlessly. No need to design backdrops or mess with heavy sets. Simply program everything on your computer and drop the picture behind the presenter.

Toward the end of my work-experience period, I began to get more involved on web & iPhone projects, such as “Visit Britain” iPhone app, Harvey Nichols iPhone app and the come back of “Footballers’ Wives” in social gaming form.

Some technical details of constructing an app and building a website went completely over my head. Nonetheless, I’m happy I had an exposure to many different kinds of new (social) media.

I’m glad my role as an intern went above and beyond simply making copies, scanning documents or bringing coffee (actually, tea in this situation). Certainly I was sad to leave since I made great friends and had a fantastic time.

The Beauty of East London – Brick Lane

From some of my observations, I discovered most British people resent East London. Or at least love to poke fun at it.

In fact, some question why the city is trying so hard to bring the center of 2012 Olympics to East London. After all, some consider it a mere wasteland, far far away from the CITY of London where everyone lives and all the important businesses take place.

What I learned during my semester abroad about East London is that it never quite recovered fully from the bombings of World War II. With East End’s docklands and ports completely destroyed but never quite rebuilt, East London is slowly on the rise again with Canary Wharf and Brick Lane.

True, I will probably never venture out to East London at night by myself. During the day with a good group of friends, however, I fell in love with the vintage markets, East Asian eatery and delicious mulled wine stands on the streets.

Brick Lane boasts quality Indian, Thai, Bangladeshi or Indonesian dishes and the bagels that really beat New York bagels. I just loved walking down the street to look at the exotic dishes and fruits & vegetables.

Then there is Spittalfields Market and Vintage Market that sell handmade headbands and jewelry for cheap. Right in front of each market stand many vendors with pad thai or sushi. And just to add to the excitement of eating all the yummy food, they make it right in front of you!

Nearby is Liverpool Street Tube, and further toward the river is Canary Wharf.

In my opinion, East London simply adds character to London and glorifies the fun features of the city originating from its diverse population, and that’s just another reason why I miss studying abroad!

Frohe Ostern von Berlin!

How did I let this happen? Seriously? HOW COME I STILL HAVEN’T WRITTEN ABOUT MY FAVORITE WEEKEND TRIP? I blame it on the madness that was April – moving out, packing for Italy and studying for final exams – and May – pigging out on home-cooked meals, shopping with mom and enjoying the Texas sun.

Well, anywho… I did go to Berlin, Deutschland for the long weekend in April, the Easter weekend, and to this day, I love love love telling the story of how we almost ended up in Dresden, instead. Lesson learned: Always double check train’s destination before you hop on it, especially in a foreign country after you’ve been up since 2 a.m. to catch the 6 a.m. flight.

Leaving whatever happened at the Berlin Shoenefield Airport train station behind, Jack and I eventually made it to our hostel, located right next to Berlin Haupbahnhof station. Meininger was the biggest and the most modern hostel we stayed at the entire semester. While small hostels, such as the ones we found in Dublin and Sicily, have their own perks of cozyness, comfort and personal attention, big hostels are well-maintained and offer more big-group activities.

After we dropped off our backpacks, we began our German adventures with…THE FREE TOUR! The same deal as the ones in Dublin and Paris. I quickly found Berlin was full of interesting ironies. Brandenburg Gate, at least 300-year-old historic monument, stood right next to the all-glass, extremely modern Parliament building. The Holocaust Memorial, with no clear sign of what it’s supposed to represent, simply sat in the middle of the city. All in all, we saw numerous historic sights, ate almost too many sausages and fell in love with the German culture.

(Brandenburg Gate)

(Holocaust Memorial)

Since close to two months have already flown by since my trip to Berlin, I will actually make categories and lists of places I visited, food I ate, things I loved, etc. – with lots of pictures, of course!

First things first, FOOD & DRINKS. (I mean, are you surprised?)

1. Bratwurst: Yes, sausages. Why else would you ever visit Germany? Grilled perfectly – burnt a little outside but still tender and juicy inside. Moreover, I discovered something absolutely amazing called CURRYWURST. Jack was daring enough to try it first, but basically, it is perfectly grilled bratwurst cut into small pieces with curry sauce and curry powder on top. I know, sounds a bit weird. The taste, however, is superb. By far my favorite food discovery in Europe.

2. Berliner Pilsner: Great German beer. Regardless of what size beer you ask for, you will most likely end up with a huge stein.

3. Cheap Thai/Vietnamese Food: For only 3 euro, I had a big bowls of Vietnamese noodle for lunch. Then for only about 10 euro, I had a huge plate of Thai noodle for dinner. Yum!

(Sightseeing) ACTIVITIES:

1. Climbing to the top of the Parliament building for a gorgeous city view: One downside is you have to start lining up at around 7:45 a.m. for its 8 a.m. opening time. Multiple upside factors are amazing view and no need to pay to enjoy the view.

2. Pub Crawls: Truth – Berlin S-Bahn and U-Bahn operate 24 hours a day on weekends. Need I say more? Great night life – we went to all sorts of pubs/bars during our pub crawl. We started off at Zapata, an outdoor hangout place, went to Die Fisch (Yes, The Fish!), a hip dance-y bar, then moved on to a bro-ish club and finally, sorta Euro-trash club. So. Much. Fun. We also made friends from NY and Norway. Sweet deal.

3. Picnic at Museuminsel: By Museuminsel, I mean The Museum Island where all the major museums in Berlin surround a gorgeous green. By picnic, I actually mean Currywursts. On a warm afternoon, just try it. Couple of Currywursts and a couple cans of Berliner Pilsner!

[Sidenote: At the Museum Island, you can also visit Pergammon Museum, which houses ancient Greek statues and Babylonian architecture. You can also get student discounts!]

4. Oranianburg Daytrip: About an hour away on the U-Bahn, this site of former concentration camp is definitely worth a visit. We ended up spending an entire afternoon there. Not sure how to describe it in words, but you just learn so much and realize how wonderful it is to have your freedom, happiness and simply, joyful life.

Oh Berlin! What a fun city! Throughout the weekend, I also noticed Berlin was full of tourists – almost more than London! I was a bit thrown off by how many people spoke French and complicated Eastern European languages around me, but nevertheless, blended in just fine and had a great time.

If I ever get a chance, I definitely want to visit Frankfurt, Dresden (not accidentally this time) and Hamburg. And also, practice my German skills!

Little Perks of Being HOME

Until I became a proud college student at Boston University, I always called Plano, Texas my beloved home. In the past few years, however, sadly my definition of “home” changed a little bit. Now I call Boston, Massachusetts my home while secretly missing my life back in London, England. Confused much???

Fact: In the past three years, I’ve packed and unpacked my entire life SEVEN times. Fact: I may or may not love Boston just a little more than Plano. Fact: Still, home sweet home, I do enjoy coming home for many reasons.

1. Home-cooked meal: Duh, my mom’s cooking is the best. Some wonderful dishes on my “Welcome Home” menu include Jambalaya Pasta, Kimchi Fried Rice, Chicken Wings, Chicken Fried Steak, Japanese Noodle and Sushi. DELICIOUS. In fact, I shall post some of the recipes I learned from my mom later. Her jambalaya is seriously the best.

2. High school friends: While it is extremely difficult to coordinate our schedules – especially because we all go to different colleges, my friends and I do try to have a semi-annual get-together every major holiday, and so far, we’ve been extremely successful. We gossip about our high school acquaintances, past boyfriends, current boyfriends, newest trends and much more. We are usually the loudest group in a restaurant, but who cares? We love catching up and reminiscing about our “younger” and “less mature” days and just cherishing our friendship.

3. TEX-MEX: I’m not sure if I need to say anything about this… Basically, FANTASTIC Tex-Mex, Need I say more? Texas boasts some amazing restaurants that serve possibly the best burrito, fajitas and quesadillas. Qdoba and Chipotle, YOU ARE NOTHING. How about Papasitos in Dallas or Mi Cocina in Frisco or Luna de Noche in Plano? YUM.

4. The weather: Sure Texas has unpredictable thunderstorms and tornadoes once in a while, but with every building equipped with high-quality air-conditioning, 90 degree dry heat is surprisingly welcoming. Texas heat > humidity in Boston.

5. Driving and everything that comes with it – Nemo, no traffic, nice wide roads: My car Nemo, a 2006 Toyota Matrix, has spent so much time with me since my senior year in high school. Now my little brother who recently acquired a driver’s license thinks he can drive Nemo around… Yikes! But Nemo is ALWAYS mine. 🙂

Ah lovely home. In less than 10 hours, I’m hopping on a plane back to my second home, Boston. I am very excited to see all my friends, but I will of course miss Texas!