I love Paris - Rachel

Paris was amazing!!!!!!!!!!! I went to Paris this past Saturday and Sunday and I must say, it was everything that I have been dreaming of. I went with Piper and we took the train under the English Channel from London. We had absolutely gorgeous weather too!

Saturday we arrived in Paris around 11 A.M. and we checked into our hostel and then set out to find some lunch. We ended up eating Panini’s and crepes right by Notre Dame. At 1 P.M. we took a free walking tour around Paris. We learned about various landmarks and about some unknown history. We went to Notre Dame, the love lock bridge, the Louvre, the Arc de Triomphe, the Eiffel tower, and more. The love lock bridge was pack pull of locks that people had attached to the bridge and thrown the key into the river.

The Louvre was huge! I learned that it was originally a fortress but now houses over 35,000 works of art, including the Mona Lisa. We did not want to wait in the intimidating line though so I will have to visit the Louvre on my next visit to Paris. There are beautiful gardens that fill in the area surrounding the Louvre. At the end of the gardens is an Obelisk that France stole from Egypt. Pretty cool!

Piper and I walked over to the Eiffel Tower and we were not disappointed. Once you are close to it you notice its massive size and the intricate details in the metal. There are swirls of metal as well as a list of 72 French scientists listed on the Tower. We sat in the fields of grass that face the tower for a while and enjoyed the 70 degree weather and beautiful sunshine (I even got a little sunburnt). After this we headed to our hostel to get ready for dinner. We got moved around a few rooms in our hostel but settled in a room with Canadians and an Australian guy that were very nice.

We went out to dinner at Chartier which is known for being great food for a cheap price in Paris. We were awkwardly sat next to a couple though in order to take advantage of all of the seats in the restaurant. I got steak, fries, and a dessert! We headed back to the Eiffel Tower to see it lit up at night. It even sparkles and glitters every hour for 5 minutes. It was so beautiful! After taking a million pictures we painstakingly walked in our heels back to our hostel. I stayed up late talking to the people in our room and hearing about their travel advice.

The next day we got up and headed to Laduree to eat macaroons! They were very pretty and fairly delicious. We tried to get into the Louvre next but decided against waiting in the long lines since we had not previously purchased tickets. We walked around and visited the Arc de Triomphe and the famous shopping street, Champs-Élysées. We walked all the way back to the love lock bridge and I bought a painting so that I will always remember how beautiful Paris is.

 

Next we headed up to Montmartre. It is a huge hill that allows you to overlook Paris. The view was stunning! We were starving at this point so we sat down for some food. I had a go at escargot. Not bad actually but quite difficult to get out of the shell. I felt pretty dumb trying to use the utensils that the staff gave me to get the snails out. Then it was time to collect our bags and head back to the train station and back to London. I slept the whole way home!

 

I am in love with Paris and I am so glad that I went in April so that I will always remember it as warm, sunny, and full of blooming flowers. I am already dreaming of heading back!

Cheers to Londontown

So if you don't already know this I pretty much suck for never posting in this blog besides my introduction at the very beginning, but hey, at least I'm posting in it now, right? Basically, this semester has probably been the best semester of my life and as my London experience is coming to an end, it's very bittersweet looking back on my time here and I feel extremely lucky. I've learned a few things and experienced things I probably never would've been able to throughout this trip and they're things that I'll always remember. Some of these include:

1) Wearing the same outfit at least a million times throughout the semester
2) Getting to see my all-time favorite artist (Ed Sheeran) in the city where he became famous
3) Learned that if you're ever in a foreign country and need to find a place to pee, Starbucks and McDonald's are your best options because it seems like every country has one.
4) I've become somewhat of a fish and chip snob because every pub I go to, I judge them heavily on it.
5) I don't actually like tea, but hey, I can definitely make a "proper tea" and I have a British guy that can back me up on that.

As well as all of the random things that I've learned, I've also learned a lot about my fellow GLSers. They've all made me want to try to be better in different ways. For instance, I wish I had Wayne's ability to cook from scratch and just his natural instinct to know what a sauce is missing and his infectious laugh that can make anyone laugh, Sarah Hudson's dance moves, Kenan's ability to make friends with any stranger, Patrick's incredible memory, Mariah and Rachel's planning abilities, Matt's story-telling ability, Daniel's invincibility to the cold, and Lexie and Lindsey's easy going attitudes. Basically not only do they all motivate me to be better academically, they make me want to be better in all aspects of life. Being in Global Leadership Scholars has been one of the most beneficial things I've ever done, not only because I got to come to London, but because I got to experience it with the 25 others in the program with me. I'm sorry that I turned this into a sappy blog post but that's what endings do to me. Writing this has reminded me why I didn't write a blog the whole semester mostly because I tend to think I'm clever and funny, when in reality I'm really not. Anyways, my main message to anyone thinking about going abroad is just do it. It really opens your eyes to so many incredible things that you'll never be the same. I'm going to end this post with one of my favorite quotes, "The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page".

Cheers,

Sarah Aronson

                                 Kenan and I at the Royal Albert Hall for the Ed Sheeran concert

Internship and Places to Go-Wayne Taylor

Interning at Citibank has kept me busy these past weeks. As I mentioned before, I am in the Supply Chain Finance and I am enjoying my team and learning more about the company.

I have been helping my team with numerous projects throughout the months.From collecting and analyzing data to creating illustrative flow charts, I have seen many sides of what it means to be in a global business environment. My colleagues make phone calls to Spain, Sweden, and even Switzerland just to make sure everything is running smoothly. There are  even conference calls or meetings with different teams in different countries.

 I have also learned to take more of an initiative to make sure that I am learning things. If I do not understand the work I am doing, I have learned that it is better to ask many questions and do it right, than to make the same mistake and have to correct the whole task. Also, I really do have a higher appreciation of people that work 9-5 Monday through Friday. The work and life balance is important to maintain, and that balance can be difficult at times.

On an other note, I only have two weeks left in London. I am trying to everything I can to explore London more. I have biked around the city ( I may have been struggling/ holding my bike for the most part), went to the Cambridge vs. Oxford row race,  finally visited the British Museum, and went to Abbey Road. Also, the London Eye at night is beautiful. .However, one of the greatest experiences was going to a pillow fight in Trafalgar Square. And yes, I brought a pillow and things went down and feathers were everywhere.

Cheers for now,

Wayne Taylor