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Tag: GW England

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By maxikaplan

One 45-minute drive to the Heathrow airport, two cups of coffee, and 8 hours flying gone by, I arrive in Newark, New Jersey on Wednesday morning for an interview I have on Friday.  I could be wrong, but this isn’t what I had in mind when I pictured studying “abroad.”  Two days later, on Friday night, I forget about the schoolwork I should be doing as I receive an offer for the internship I had interviewed for.  With that, my stress level plummets, and I am now free to enjoy the next 6 months of my study abroad experience to the fullest.

This is all well and good, except it is now December 9th, and I can’t seem to remember where the last 2 and a half months have gone.  With the amount of time I spent preparing for this interview and stressing about it as well, I was really taking away from the time I should have been spending enjoying London.  But I cannot change the past—at least not yet—and I have only one goal for the rest of my time abroad now: enjoy it as much as possible.  Luckily, I’ll have the chance to do this when I travel in two weeks time to Paris, Belgium, Berlin, and Dublin, where I will be sure to make up for lost fun over the past couple months.   I suppose the main takeaway from this whole experience is that hard work does payoff, but that you cannot forget to enjoy the journey along the way.  If that sounds cliché, it’s because my jetlag has me awake for the past 30 hours, but I digress.

If I have my timing right, I believe I have only another two blog posts left, which means that my next two posts will be extra interesting.  The general theme throughout my blogs has been more of a take-it-as-it-comes approach as opposed to an overview of my travel experiences, or lack thereof, so I am shooting to make my next two posts more holistic in nature.  It will be interesting to compile all of the things that I have learnt thus far into two concise posts.  And, in addition, I will be able to write about what life in London is like without the added weight that my interview stress had put on me.  I am truly looking forward to that.  For now, this abbreviated post is all that my tired brain can write, but I hope it captured for you how study abroad can take random twists and turns that you do not ever expect before traveling—which in my case meant less  “abroad” and more home than I expected.

Published on

By maxikaplan

This week is hitting like a ton of bricks.  Unfortunately, there is no thanksgiving break in London (surprise), which means that on top of my family coming to visit I have a regular week of reading and schoolwork.  As an added bonus, I will also be traveling to the good ol’ US of A in a week and a half for an interview that I have in New York.  If there were ever a question of how well I can prioritize my time, this week will certainly answer that for me.  Nonetheless, I am very excited for the coming weeks.

My brother, who is studying for his PhD in Vienna, Austria, will be coming to stay with me this week, and my aunt and uncle are arriving a day afterwards to spend the weekend with us.  Although my parents weren’t able to make it for thanksgiving this year, I really could not have asked for a better group of people to spend my time with.  And since they all are arriving the day after thanksgiving, a friend of mine from GW is taking me to thanksgiving dinner with her family—definitely something to be thankful for.  Ten years from now, when I think about all my thanksgiving dinners that I’ve been to over the years, I suspect this year will rank quite highly on my list.

In light of all of this, my stress level is not down, but up, mostly due to me wondering how my time with my family and friends will be balanced between my schoolwork and interview preparation.  I’ve come to realize that the more I stress myself out about these things, the less I get done and the more things I get done incorrectly.  I know that it may sound counterintuitive, but taking the time off to look at your work and your daily routine objectively, is, for me at least, one of the best ways to actually get work done, especially while studying abroad.  The more time I spend with my friends talking about things other than school, the better I focus.  And the more time I spend thinking about things other than my interview, the harder I study for it after I finish relaxing.  Since I’ve come to London I’ve learned that not letting stress overwhelm you is critical to succeeding in anything.  I wrote a previous post titled ‘Stepping Up to the Plate’, and that one reinforces this theme quite well.

With all of that being said, it’s not a question of whether or not I will make it through the next few weeks; it is really only a question of how.  Everything else is, as they say, rubbish.  I would expect an interesting post for next week, and I look forward to writing that one.  Happy Turkey Day ya’ll.

Published on

By rlubitz

So I’m off. I’ve got about four days left of London. The time is split by a trip to continental Europe where I’ll be able to compare the awesomeness of this city to a lot of others. But I know nothing can compare to this place. Nothing can compare to walking to the coffee shop and seeing Big Ben in the distance. Nothing can compare to being called ‘dear’ on a daily basis. Nothing can compare to constant dog sweaters.

I’ve spent roughly three months in this city and I could spend the rest of my life here too. Never once was I homesick for the regularity of Washington, DC or the charm of Florida, my home state. It was like this city absorbed me, body and soul and then I just existed. I was always excited to get out of my room, just walk around, maybe go to a market and look at pretty things all day. And I didn’t even have to go to a market to see pretty things all day, I could just take a stroll through Hyde Park or by the Thames.

Beauty was so regularly available that it became the norm but I can see myself waking up to the sounds of emergency vehicles again in DC and whimpering for the beauty back.

When I first arrived I was so anxiety-ridden that the time seemed to zoom by. It was only when I realized my days were numbered that I began to savor. And I’m so glad I did. It started to become a game in my head where I would not let a day go by without doing something new, without being pleased with my day and those were the days I’ll remember for a long time. It could be a simple thing like a walk or a museum outing for under an hour. I just had the self-motivation to do pretty much everything and I’m so glad I did.

Travel is stressful and you can have an absolutely crippling breakdown thinking of all the things that could go wrong. Your bag could get stolen, you could break your iPhone, your hair straightener could erupt in flame, you could be forced to have the most awkward breakfast of your life at your Berlin hostel. All of those things could happen and you could be left in a state of absolute misery but what you have to remember, totally and absolutely, is that you are in a foreign country. I know people who have never been on a plane before, who have never seen snow and if you remember how lucky you are to have traveled to be living in London then everything becomes fine.

I could not have asked for a better stay here. It felt like I could finally breathe without stalling after I got over the initial hump. It was like taking a shot of happy every morning.

I’ll be riding on those memories when I go home. I’ll be nostalgic to the point of annoyance. I could be having a wretched day but then I’ll think of the red buses and almost getting run over and the dog sweaters and the stress will pour off. I have these memories to ride on and I’m so thankful.

I’m going to miss a lot of things. I’m going miss the smell of croissants and expensive coffee. I’m going to miss escaping into the city by myself with my own motives, on my own terms. I’m going to miss the red buses and the tube. I’m going to miss Parisian weekends and bus rides through the countryside.  I’m going to miss the trees and the roses. I’m going to miss the sound of my neighbor’s voice. I’m going to miss the bottles clinking at three in the morning. I’m going to miss how the air felt after a day of rain. I’m going to miss how my hair has looked for three months. I’m going to miss my hairdresser who cut my bangs and spoke zero English. I’m going to miss boys who wear oxfords and argyle. I’m going to miss the horrible Chinese food in Camden. I’m going to miss walking down Drury Lane and Fleet Street. I’m going to miss the scooters and I’m going to miss the city. I’m going to miss this city but I know I’ll be back. I have to be.

Published on

By rlubitz

To prepare for my impending departure I’m having a very slight, slow breakdown both physically and mentally. It’s going to be a while before I leave Europe, I’ll be going on a 2-week mega adventure with my mom between now and then. Think The Amazing Race except it’s me and my little mama trying to not get mugged the entire time. I see hilarity ensuing and hopefully I can update you here on that.

But I’m in the middle of final paper time and my body is completely shutting down. I set my alarm every day for 9am and I can’t seem to wake up before noon. It’s not that I’m all that tired but it’s that there’s an entire season of Freaks and Geeks online and it trumps sleep every single night. I’m making pretty much 0 progress on papers now, instead choosing to wake up late and think of all the things I’m not going to see when I’m really gone. (grim, right?) ...continue reading "How to Have a Breakdown Without Really Trying"

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By rlubitz

I’ve been here for about two and a half months now and I’ve got one month to go. I’ve got just under two weeks left to go of class and I’ve been sleeping until 1pm and staying up until 5am writing papers/watching The Hour. I feel worthless, constantly pinching myself over the fact that I can go outside and look at Big Ben for three hours if I wanted to but I don’t. ...continue reading "The End is Near and It’s Horrible"

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By rlubitz

Remember a few weeks ago when I had this sort of plan where I was going to gradually do every assignment so I wouldn’t be crushed under five essays due in two weeks?

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

ABOUT THAT

So that didn’t happen. Nor did I ever really think it would. It was a horrible idea not to but life is life and the internet exists along with entire seasons of Louie. I’ve gone days without sleeping not because of essays but because of life and the internet.

I’ve procrastinated everything and I want to die.

My remedy is to just TRY to manage my time so I don’t want to die COMPLETELY. ...continue reading "I Am A Horrible Academic"

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By rlubitz

So, uhm, newsflash: London has a pretty fine street treat here that I would like to see directly exported to the United States.

Back in American cities there’s the hotdog and the pretzel and that’s pretty much it. There’s a huge level of shame that comes from standing out in the sun and staring at a cart for ten minutes and then going up and saying “Hot dog, please….and these chips…..how much is a soda? Okay. Yeah. Thanks.” It really shouldn’t be shameful at all, we all know it’s unhealthy but sometimes a honey needs some chips and a soda.

Here, however, there’s NO SHAME in street eating. There’s a bit of fun in it, really. ...continue reading "Reasons to Live: Sausage Rolls"

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By rlubitz

This past week was Reading Week here in the UK and while British students read, I decided to see six different European cities in a week.

For those wondering, taking night buses is a very, very bad idea. Buses rock about and can stop abruptly and drivers can keep the lights on and blast the air conditioning on a six hour night bus to Paris and drop you off an hour early at 5:30 am. After this said journey, you look like a very unhappy newborn kitten. Your eyes can’t open and it is so, SO cold and you have no idea where you are and maybe you start crying. Night buses are a very, very bad idea. ...continue reading "People Are Amazing and I Want to Marry an Italian Flight Attendant"

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By rlubitz

In London, this election isn’t really a debate but a consensus of the whole entire country that Barack Obama should be elected yet again and the opponent is a *string of offensive names.*

This country fears the alternative. This country fears the alternative would be a step back in time. This country fears that things are too close and really, what are we thinking with that Romney character?

They fear what will happen to the EU, what will happen to US human rights and what will happen internationally. ...continue reading "London Loves Michelle Obama’s Arms Just As Much As We Do"

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By rlubitz

For the past few weeks I’ve been abroad. That’s what I’ve been thinking and doing and talking about this whole time but since I’ve been here a while it’s finally struck me that I’m actually STUDYING abroad. Like I have to do work. Meaning papers. And maybe take an entire day in a library to get through life. Maybe there will be a week straight where I’ll exist on Tesco Only Ham sandwiches and the sacred 30 pence chocolate bar. ...continue reading "An Explanation Of My Impending Breakdown"

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