‘ello love

I’m in London.
Arrived in London yesterday morning! This week is full of orientation stuff so haven’t had time to make a proper blog post. Hope to within the week!
Ps. I probably should have put on a picture with me in it. Making a note of that...

Two Suitcases and a Backpack

This marks my last post written in the States before I fly to England on Sunday. As the day gets closer, I’m getting really nervous but really really excited. I’m ready for a change which I know London will give me.
Today I finally accomplished what I’d been putting off for over a week: I am completely packed. My life for the next three months is stuffed into two suitcases and a backpack.
In those two suitcases and a backpack are two jackets, six pairs of jeans, 4 scarves, 4 pairs of shoes, and countless shirts, socks, underwear, etc.
However, these are not the most important items.

These are:

1. Favy fav purse
Self explanatory. It’s my favy fav.

2. 3 Boxes of Kraft Mac & Cheese
I live on this stuff. I want to come prepared.

3. Granola Bars
Om nom nom. Easy b-fast.

4. Twilight & Pride and Prejudice DVD’s
In my book, probably the worst and the best movie ever made, although both equally awesome. I admit that Twilight sucks. But there’s no way I’m leaving it home when New Moon comes out in November!
And I’m definitely taking Pride and Prejudice (Keira Knightly version) because a.) Fav movie and

Show & Tell: New Stuff for London

It is now 5 days until I make the big jump over the Atlantic! I’ve been busy these past few weeks shopping for new outfits, shoes, purses, etc, because I’m tired of the clothes I’ve been wearing since junior year of high school.
This is by no means the end of my fashion make-over; I plan on spending a considerable sum in London on new purses, shoes, shirts, etc. However, I need some pieces to start with, so I bought some stuff while still home.
As my mom or boyfriend or past roommates can attest to, one of my favorite things about going shopping is getting to Show & Tell with them afterward!! So I hereby present to you:
My London Purchases Show & Tell!
1. Scarves

Scarves are definitely getting bigger as a fashion accessory in the US, but not quite as big as in Europe. So I bought 3 new scarves. The blue and beige ones are from Old Navy (fav store) and the pink one my mom found in Christopher and Banks. And yes I will most definitely wear all of them at once.
2.  Long Sweater

This is one thing I never saw myself wearing. The girls who came back from London said that wearing leggings and a long sweater was pretty in, but I wasn’t planning on buying that outfit while here.
However, while shopping at Old Navy, I saw it on the rack and wanted to give it a try. And I.love.it. It looks rockin with skinny jeans. Now I just need a big belt to wear around it.

[side note: bought the big belt]

Follow the jump for more of my new London purchases.

London and Newburg: A Comparison

I’m am now just under the 2 week mark until a board my plane to London to study abroad for the semester.  This trip will be a lot of firsts for me, for example:

First time traveling to Europe.
First time living in Europe.
First time living in a town with more than 5000 people.

Population of…

Newburg	372
Annville	4,518
London	7,556,900

I’d like to take this time to illustrate the differences between the town I grew up in, Newburg, PA, and the city I will be living in in less than 2 weeks, London.

Guess which one’s which!

1. Area
According to Wikipedia, London has an area of 659 square miles.
According to the latest census, the borough of Newburg has a whopping total area of .3 square miles.

2. Ethnicity
In London, 69.4% of the population is White, 13.1% is South Asian, 10.7% is Black, and 3.5% is of mixed race.
In Newburg, 97.04% of the population is White, 2.69% is Native American (Uhhh, who are you?!?? We haven’t met), and .27% are from 2 or more races.  (Newburg isn’t known for its diversity)

3. Leisure and Entertainment
In London, there are many ways to entertain oneself.  There is the West End (London’s theater district), Chinatown, Piccadilly Circus, endless shopping opportunities, as well as visiting famous historical sites like Buckingham Palace or the Tower of London.
In Newburg, natives enjoying hunting (during the season or in their back yards any time of year), going to tractor pulls (if you have escaped this phenomena, please see here), and going to tractor twang. Another popular attraction—the annual Memorial Day Parade.

4. Transportation 
London has one of the longest and most expansive metro systems in the world.  The city also has a bus transportation system as well as taxis.
Newburg has a wide variety of vehicles one can encounter on the road, including but not limited to tractors, horse & buggies, and Amish men on scooters.

5. Dining
London has about 12,000 restaurants, with everything from McDonalds to Mediterranean to Indian food.
Newburg has 2 restaurants: Johnnies (right off the turnpike, owned by my cousin) and the Newburg Pizza Shop (formerly Newburg Country Store, serves slightly under par pizza).

More awesome facts about Newburg:
The closest gas station is 12 minutes away.
The closest grocery store is 15 minutes away.
The town basically consists of 3 big families, one of which is Bender (ie. my family).
Home of the “Bent & Dent Grocery”, our very own Amish bulk store.

More awesome facts about London:
It’s not Newburg.

Twelve days until I board the plane to England!  Still have mucho packing and preparations to do. I plan on having at least one more post before I leave.

My Goals and Aspirations for London

It is now less than a month away until I study abroad in London for the semester and I’ve started to think about what I want to accomplish in my stay over there. Some study abroad students may say their goals are to learn more about themselves while making new friends…and yeah, I would like to experience that, but I have some different goals I’d like to achieve in my stay in the UK. If I successfully complete these, I will be a very happy person.

1. Buy the complete works of Jane Austen

I’m not the biggest fan of Jane Austen, but I do enjoy her novels. I think it’d be awesome to 1. Own the complete anthology of Jane Austen’s novels in one book, and 2. Buy the book in the UK, where the novels were written.

And ok I’ll be honest, I’ve been jealous of Bella’s copy ever since reading Eclipse.

2. Go on a pub crawl

Hopefully I’ll fare better than this.

London’s known for it’s pubs, and it seems like a waste to live in London and not experience an infamous pub crawl. Maybe I’ll get a free t-shirt out of it.

3. Be able to pull off a convincing British accent by the time I come back

You never know when the skill will come in handy.

Follow the jump for the rest of my goals for London.