Summer Obsession: Coursera

I discovered Coursera in my last few months at Syracuse. The idea of massive open online courses or MOOCs as they have started to be referred to is a trend that has really taken off. The number of courses that are now available from leading institutions such as Stanford or University of Pennsylvania on the website is insane.  The other day I was browsing courses, and within a week, there were new ones posted.

So, being the person that I am, this summer I decided to take a few of the courses. The courses are free as they are MOOCs, and if you do well enough, you receive a certificate of accomplishment. 

Yes, the underlying theme of this post is that I am in fact a huge nerd. 

My friend, Brett, and I are taking Maps and the Geospatial Revolution together. It's only been a week into the course, but it actually overlaps with some of the interests I have in the world of social media. It has given me a few laughs, and reminds me of the West Wing episode dealing with maps.

As for the other courses that I am considering taking this summer?

-Disaster Preparedness

-Big Data in Education 

-Securing Digital Democracy

I'm sure I will dabble into a few other courses and check them out as well. 

Have you ever taken a MOOC? How was your experience? 

Three Exams Down, One to Go!

This week has been crazy so far.  I took three exams on back to back days. Economics on Monday, government and game theory on Tuesday, and management yesterday. To say that I was tired would be an understatement. They were some of the hardest tests that I ever taken in my entire life. But, they are over! Today, I start studying for my last exam which is next Wednesday. It's hard to believe that next Wednesday at 6pm, I will be done with my first year of grad school.  As I return to the textbooks, I'll leave you with some photos on how a lot of us celebrated yesterday!

It's June!

My exams finally start today. And by finally, I do mean that by the time most of you are reading this, I will be wrapping up my economics final exam. It's worth 100% of my grade. 

May the odds be ever in my favor. 

Tomorrow and Wednesday, I have my government and management exams. And, then one week later, I will take my last one- econometrics.

Thus, studying is what has caused a lack of blog posts. I've been doing a lot of fun things to try to balance out the studying. (See my post yesterday about the Sound of Change Concert)!

Once my exams are over, I'll officially be on break till October. Hell of a vacation, huh? My internship that is based in London will wrap up mid-July. I'm escaping to the US then! Get prepared, America!

For now, I'll leave you with some photos for what I have been up to besides studying! 

Celebrated a 'Bon Voyage' evening with my friend John- he's headed to Burma! 

Hung out at Portobello Road and ate this delicious sandwich!

And, yes...continued my way to eat every macaroon ever. 

The Sound of Change: Live!

Yesterday, I went to the Sound of Change Live concert sponsored by the Chime for Change organization. Nicole and I bought tickets when we first saw the concert advertised, and we are so happy we got to be there to experience the amazing concert that is designed to help every girl, every woman, everywhere.  

The concert took place at Twickenham Stadium- normally a rugby stadium. But, it was perfect to have 50,000 people present for the movement.  The concert started at 6pm and was/is being broadcasted to 155 countries. The US is getting encore performances on channels today. 

The concert started with a zumba performance and a surprise appearance by Jessie J! From there, the concert never stopped. Numerous guest appearances by actors and actresses, activists, videos highlighting projects, and performances happened in addition to the ones that had been announced for weeks!  Take a look at the photos below! 

Nicole and me!

Mr. James Franco and Jessica Chastain

Madonna honoring women making a difference in Pakistan 

Ryan Reynolds and Zoe Saldana 

The one and only...Gloria Steinem 

JLO on stage!

Mary J. Blidge and JLO performing Come Together by the Beatles

Timbaland 

Queen Beyonce performing WHO RUNS THE WORLD? GIRLS. 

Jay Z and Beyonce

Beyonce

Academic Purgatory

Exams are two weeks away from today. (eeek!) LSE has a six week summer term period for exams, and mine all fall within a week of each other. Three of them are back to back, actually.

I've labeled this post academic purgatory because I wake up studying, fall asleep studying, and I do believe I've been having dreams with economic theories.  I knew this summer term would be rough, but I've never experience anything like this before. Having no exams, quizzes, and hardly any graded assignments during the first 20 weeks of this year has placed a direct impact on my studying this term.
Truthfully, I stayed consistent with the materials that we were learning each week. I reviewed during the Christmas break. I completed my weekly STATA assignments due to the random grading of one of them. And, yet, I'm still nervous for what is coming.

Essentially, I feel that I am cramming as much material in my head as I can before these exams. We are given access to past exams, and I've detected the patterns of exam questions and topics. But, at the same time, I've reread so many textbook and articles that sometimes I feel my brain has turned into mush. Yes, at Syracuse, I did sometimes cram the night before a test, and I was fine. This is entirely different.

But, it's a learning experience. It's the UK higher education system. And, I signed on for it.

Just two more weeks...

Concept: Sleep

So, I've never been one to sleep that much. Trust me, you can ask my parents on this one. 

Recently though, or throughout this whole first year of grad school, I've realized that sometimes getting those seven hours that are recommend is a good idea.   I do feel more refreshed when my feet hit the floor in the morning rather than dragging. Don't get me wrong, I'm still struggling till I get to Starbucks and taste that first sip. 

Jawbone Up Band

I recently bough a Jawbone Up band. I've read reviews about them for months on end, and I finally decided it was time to commit. For my fellow expats, you can only get them at the Apple store in the UK (as far as I know).  Today was my first full day of using the band to track the number of steps/exercise I get daily, how well I'm sleeping at night, etc. I wore it to bed last night, and even though it was the first day of data, it started to tell me that I do not get a lot of deep sleep....

I'm interested to see what lifestyle changes that the Up band and app can provide over the next few weeks and months!  

Have you used the Jawbone Up band? How has it helped you? 

If you need me...

I'm currently trying to cut down on this workload:

Week Recap

In between studying, writing papers, and not drinking numerous amounts of coffee, I've been trying to take advantage of London spring weather. 

(Okay, okay...that does include drinking a lot of coffee no matter what I'm doing.)

On Friday evening, we had a MPA happy hour/welcome back drinks at a local pub near campus. It was great getting to see a lot of my friends after a month away. 

Brett and me

Natalia and me

On my quest to continue to find the best cupcakes in London, my friend Karen and I tried out Peggy Porschen Cakes in Sloane Square on Saturday. I met Karen at Local Levo London Launch Event! It's been a great resource for networking, but also finding new friends! We indulged ourselves on cupcakes and shared plenty of laughs! 

Champagne and Strawberry Cupcake!

On Sunday,  a few of us got together to celebrate Cinco de Mayo! My friend, Manny, lives near Hoxton, and there is a large park that we spent the day in.  

London Fields Park 

It's been great being able to add "fun" to my hectic study schedule! 

Exam Motivation

In my sophomore year of college, my spring semester was one of the most stressful periods ever. It was the semester I quit mock trial. It was the semester that I got my heart ripped out and shattered. It was also the semester where I took some of the hardest courses ever. 

(I always was the overachiever taking 400 level courses when a sophomore.)

But, one day when I was studying for the finals, I discovered a song that had been out for awhile.  It's actually a speech set to background music...

"Everybody wear Sunscreen"

Yes, I know the song had been out for awhile. It's still an amazing song that resonates today. So, if you need a break or motivation to continue studying for exams, take a listen. And, pass it on!

Returning to Londontown...

Well, break is over at home at least. 

I enjoyed my time home with my family. 

I caught up on a lot of sleep, made plenty of study guides, caught up on some television, and even got to read for pleasure. If you know me, I don't already watch a lot of television, so it was a big deal for those episodes that I did miss...

I'm off to London today. Typical journey begins. Flying out of Syracuse, a layover in NYC, and then landing in London early GMT. 

Stay tuned for my news once I return to my favorite city.

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