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Graham Norton with Guests (BBC)
Erika in Amsterdam - just chillin. Word ("d")
So our fantastic study abroad student, Erika, arrived back from London on 22nd May. Want to know what she’d been up to in the past 2 months? Get ready for a bit fat roller-coaster of information:
So her parents came to London and they went to Amsterdam for three days, sightseeing in London and then Belfast. Her parents left and Erika & a pal hopped over the Channel to Paris where she met a ton of travelers from around the world, loads of Australians and confirmed Paris was just about her favorite place to visit. It’s a very spontaneous city and crazy ‘Paris minutes’ happen, a lot less orderly than London and she enjoyed the mayhem.
Then she had 1 week before her 1st finals on 11th May i.e. a week solid of revising before the exams. Apart from… she got tickets to go see Graham Norton! She’s slightly infatuated with Graham and to add to this, the tickets were free. Even though the day included 3 hours waiting outside the BBC Waterloo studios, the show was amazing! Kristin Stewart, Chris Rock and Stephen Mangan were guests. Now you may not know Stephen but he’s an absolutely hysterical British Comedian! Also, Engelbert Humperdink was on the show. Think of him as a beloved rat-pack singer. He was representing England in the Eurovision Song Contest, a national institute of the best & worst European singing competition on the planet. Gotta see it to believe it! Erika had so much fun she didn’t take her BBC wrist band off for days!
Then a friend came to visit Erika on the 18th May, just before she left for the USA so the whole trip ended on a really great note.
How did her finals go? Well, in England, they have a different system so she won’t know for another month. Fingers crossed Erika!
She’s very sad to leave the UK so is now checking into the UK’s equivalent of ‘Teach for America’ where she can train to be a teacher in England under the ‘Teach First’ program. She’s applying for this shortly and if accepted, may know by next February so she can then complete her finals, graduate and move to London September 2013. We actually believe Erika was born in the wrong country – she’s SO European!
From her last blog update, Erika really wanted to go to Spain for Christmas but her budget is tight. Yet, with the potential of teaching in England next year, she’s now saving like wildfire for this opportunity and really has something to look forward to.
Three things she loved about study abroad:
1: The freedom of movement since public transport (tubes/subways) are only a few stops from airplanes and trains.
2: Meeting people from around the world including France, Spain, Germany, Australia, Russia – the whole shebang
3: Amazing memories created including being wiser about travel, opportunities that come from study abroad to broaden your creative & business views.
Her biggest advice is don’t get an international phone before you go. It’s awful and expensive. Just buy a cheap one when you arrive at study abroad. Also get a Capital One Venture Card – it’s great for students and has no withdrawal fees.
What will she miss about London? Ultimate freedom and Primark (if you don’t know – Primark is 70% less cheaper than Target and just as addictive). Erika, it’s been an absolutely pleasure documenting your study abroad before, during & after. You are such a brilliant inspiration to students who need to just get up and globetrot!
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