2013 Recap

With another year drawing to a close in the next few days, it's time for my yearly recap of what I've been up to, what I've learned, where I went, etc. It's hard to believe that another year has come and gone so quickly. I literally feel as if I was just sitting in my econometrics lecture post Christmas 2012. 

Albeit, time does fly, and 2013 was a year of growth and struggle. This year pushed me to new heights, changed me personally, academically, and professionally, and allowed me to see more of the world. I gained close friends along the way and said goodbye to those who were not meant to be part of my life. I traveled to numerous new cities and countries in search of a better understanding of the world, the view of the United States, and to get to know myself better.  

In January, after a month home in the States for a break, I started my second term at the London School of Economics. In January, I attended the Democrats Abroad Inaugural Ball with my friend, Zaina.  In the midst of schoolwork and travel plans, I also lent a hand during the SU London Center's orientation where I was reunited with friends from over the years. 

February was a busy month as I traveled to Princeton for the reading weekend of the Journal of Public and International Affairs. Within a few days of getting back from a weekend in the States, I headed to Dublin for a friend's birthday/girls' weekend.  In line with my goals of doing more tourist activities in London, I took a day trip to Oxford, a walking tour of St. Paul's/The City, and saw several musicals. 

March is my favorite month of the year, and this year was no different. At the start of March, I traveled to Amsterdam and Prague. March is also my birthday month. Turning 23 in London was an absolute blast! Following the completion of the Lent Term, the MPA held its annual ball before we headed off for a five-week break.  At the end of March, my Dad and I started our Father-Daughter Eurotrip that we had already dreamed about taking!

March quickly turned into April when my Dad and I were on our Eurotrip. We traveled to Ireland, Germany, and France in the first week or so. I took a solo trip to Scotland before venturing to Italy with my friend, Nicole. The last week of April was spent back in London preparing for one of the hardest periods of my life: exams. 

May was a rough month in my life this year. If you read through past posts, it's because of the way the UK higher education system is set up. Studying for six weeks straight was horrible. I did take a few breaks during this month.

June was exam month. Three exams in three days. One was a 100% of my grade. The other exam took place a week after.  The first two weeks of June combined with May were very long and stressful. Thankfully, I was rewarded with being able to spend the summer at home. The day I traveled home, my brother and his family also arrived home.  Oh, and I also went to the Sound for Change Concert and saw some of my favorite musicians perform including Queen Bey and Jay-Z!

July was a month of celebrations as I got word that I was officially advancing to the second year of the MPA. I was also reunited with one of my best friends from college for a weekend. We toured Seneca Falls, took a trip to CUSE, and laughed for hours. 

August was a slow month in terms of blog activity. But, I was busy celebrating my parents' birthdays, reading, reuniting with friends, and preparing to return to London. 

September was my last month of summer vacation. I started the month off in CT/NYC visiting some of my closest friends  and sightseeing. I was also able to run into one of my closest mentors and friends in the first week. The rest of the month was spent visiting Syracuse to see friends that are still undergrads or grad students, running errands to get ready to go back to London, and enjoying my last few days of freedom. 

October was my first month back in London after my summer in the States. It was also the month I started interning with the US Embassy as well as the month I started my second year at LSE. I was selected to be a part of the G4S Capstone group and elected to write a policy paper for the year instead of a dissertation.  As it could be my final year in London for a period of my life, I also elected to be a tourist as much as possible.  The MPA program kicked off the year with several parties including the annual boat party and retreat!

November  was the month I got wanderlust. I traveled to Romania, Luxembourg, and Germany throughout the month. Luxembourg was my second solo trip of the year.  I also attended the J.Crew London Store Opening, celebrated a few birthdays, explored more of the city, and did attempt to do schoolwork. 

And, the last month of the year…December.  I finished another term at LSE minus some homework over the winter break. I also finished my internship with the US Embassy. As the holiday season was in full bloom, I attended a few holiday parties, a couple of concerts, and took a trip to Bristol to see the city and the Christmas market.  Back stateside for a few weeks, I'm planning on seeing a few friends before the new year surfaced and getting my fair share of snow. 

Thanks for reading my 2013 recap. I'm happy and sad to see another year draw to a close. Yet, I'm also looking forward to a new year!! 

What were your favorite memories of 2013?

Final Summer Reading List

It's about that time of the year where my "fun" reading takes place either right before bed or on the tube. Grad school resumes this week, and while I still have a few books to try to finish before school takes off again...I wanted to share what I finished in the past few weeks. 

Have you read any of these books? What have you finished recently?

Summer is Over?

Summer vacation is technically over today. I know, I know...I don't resume grad school until this week with classes starting the week after. Yet, tomorrow, I leave to head back to London and start my new internship on Tuesday!

Can you believe how the time has flow? I feel as if I was literally just complaining about taking exams and studying for six weeks followed by complaining about waiting for exam results. How could that have been several months ago, already? 

Spending the summer essentially relaxing and being mentally and physically prepared for another year was the best medicine.  Of course, I worked remotely, but being able to sit down and watch television (something, I rarely do) was a great way to just not do the norm.  And, getting to spend time with my parents and the  animals was key to my relaxation as well. 

Until the next time which will be from the other side of the pond, enjoy your weekend!

End of Summer Recap

Summer is drawing to a close, literally and figuratively. The fall solstice is around the corner, and I'm going to be starting school again within the next two weeks.   This post is a bit photo heavy, but it's a great way to share what I've been up to minus my getaway to NYC/CT! 

This summer, I wrapped up my second year in the Virtual Student Foreign Service Program! I'll be continuing my same post for another year!

The twin girl calves

Wally!

Fannie & Libbie!

The three calves!

What exciting things have you done this summer? 

Time Flies

The other day, I read over my blog post entries from last August. 

Crazy to think that is has almost been a year since I started grad school, huh?

The entries from last summer clearly focused on my preparations about London and grad school. Those pages still get tons of page views weekly, so I do hope they are helping others! If you can't tell, this summer, I don't have the same preparations as I did before.  

My visa is still active until after I graduate next June, my phone plan is still ongoing with direct payments from my UK bank account, and my housing is all set.  It's nice to have everything set up ahead of time while I was gone this summer. Although, I still have qualms about packing to go back in a few weeks. 

Not worrying about finding a new landlord or putting my belongings in storage was the best thing that I could have done. I'm staying in my same flat with the same company. After all, you can't beat Notting Hill/Ladbroke Grove! 

As for the preparations that I have made this summer, the majority of them focus on what is next. Of course,  I made a list of courses I'm interested in taking. I filed the paperwork to change streams from public and economic policy to public management. And, I even have my internships set for the fall! 

What remains on my to-do list before I depart at the end of September is preparing different versions of my resume and other career documents to prepare for the upcoming job applications. Luckily, though, I can do that in the comfort of my home with my dog at my feet. 

I've got about a month left before I hop the pond again. Stay tuned!

Summer Reading: Part 2

Since my last post, this bookworm hasn't stopped trying to get through a massive booklist before school resumes in less than two months! Here is what I've had my nose in lately. 

HUGE JFK FAN!

I saw Jared Cohen and Eric Schmidt speak at LSE back in May. I knew I needed to check it out! 

Weekend Recap

Hello lovelies! 

This past weekend, one of my best friends and sorority sisters from Syracuse came to visit! We haven't seen each other in person since last summer in August. 

Let's just say that What's App and iMessage just aren't the same as laughing in person. 

Katie (yes, we are both named the same name!) arrived Friday afternoon. We spent Friday evening catching up, showing her around my small town, some drinks, and watching enough wedding shows to last for several weeks! 

Maude & Mabel

Saturday, we took off towards our alma mater to visit. We grabbed lunch at Destiny USA at Toby Keith's restaurant. I just have to rant that I am sad that there are so many more restaurant options now instead of during my four years. That rant aside, we strolled around the mall window-shopping and drinking Starbucks.

Hall of Languages

From there, we headed off to campus.  It was sentimental as I hadn't been back on campus since Labor Day last year. We strolled around from building to building on main campus, saw the reconstructed Remembrance Wall, and headed down to Marshall Street. 

Student Entrance for the Dome 

Reconstructed Remembrance Wall 

One of my favorite places on the SU campus 

Unfortunately, Chucks was closed, so we were unable to pop in to see our names on the walls. 

On Sunday, it was down-pouring, so our plans to go to the Jets camp and kayak at the lake were canceled. Instead, we went to Seneca Falls to see the Women's Right Museum and Memorial. 

The weekend was full of laughs, drinks, and plenty of new memories.

How was your weekend? 

Summer Reading: Part 1

During the academic year, I have to literally schedule time to read for fun. 

When I was an undergrad at Syracuse, I usually read for fun on the weekends. Now, during grad school, I find myself reading on the bus or the tube. Finding a time to read a book for fun is something that has kept me sane for the past five years. And, I know it will help keep me sane for my final year! 

Being home for the summer has allowed me to read a lot more for fun. I still have about two months left in my summer vacation, so I do expect to get through a lot more books. But, I thought I would give you  a photo summary of what I've read so far! 

Kelly Coutrone is a fellow SU alumna!

What books are on your summer reading list? 

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? 

Greetings from America!

It's been about a week and a few days since I've been home! 

Where does the time go?

On the day of my last exam, there was the end-of-the-year MPA party! It was the last hurrah for the second years. Sometimes, it is weird to think that there will be new first years in September/October!

The night before I left London for the summer, I went out to grab drinks with Zaina and Elena. I quickly ran into my friend Lexi before we went off to get Mexican food at Wahaca in Covent Garden. It was a great way to start my summer vacation!

My flights home were not too bad. The layover in Newark thankfully resulted in me spending time in the terminal with the huge Starbucks and a Crumbs bakeshop (yum!). 

This past week, my brother, sister-in-law, and their two children visited upstate NY which was great! It was so lovely to see them, let my childish side of my personality show, and just begin to relax for the summer. 

Stay tuned for posts this summer! 

Victory is Mine!

Well, it is official! 

I have completed my first year of grad school at the LSE. It was the hardest academic year of my life. I lost track of the number of hours that I cried over assignments, the number of pages I read, the nights that I stayed up doing work, and the gray hairs that I found. I grew a lot this year.   I have no official word on how I did this year. I'm missing a bunch of grades as well as my exam grades. Those will come.

This coming Tuesday, I'm going home for the summer. It's a big change in the summer plans. I'm in desperate need of a break. I'm going to be working remotely for my two internships with the one wrapping up in July. I'll be starting a brand new internship this fall in London when I return. For the most part, I plan on trying to take it easy this summer. I'm emotionally and physically drained. I have some plans to visit friends and for them to visit me as well.

See you Tuesday, America! 

Back to School: Summer Edition

School started again today. That was weird.

It is almost May, and I'm still not used to the United Kingdom higher education system. There are so many days that I wish I was already taking finals and ready for summer to start next week. Yet, here I am sitting in an EAT near campus figuring out my to-do list for the week.

Summer term consists of numerous review classes, group project presentations, end-of-term papers, and of course, exams.  It is consistent with how the end of the semesters were at Syracuse, but having an entire term devoted to it is different.  I have a paper due this Thursday on the mass media's agenda-setting role in presidential elections and how social media could disaggregate that stronghold. Next week, I have a group presentation on the decriminalization of drugs and the profits of pharmaceutical companies.  And, for fun, the week after I have a management paper due.

Exams take place in June, as I mentioned. I have three in a row with a week before the last one. I'll be done by the second week of June which leaves time for a hopeful weekend getaway before my current internship wraps up as well.

For now, though, the rain is starting to fall, and I'm in desperate need of a cup of coffee. Adios friends!