An Adventure Called London…

**NEW blog post alert** After a few months of downtime we are aiming to get Elsie back to her former blogging self. January 2014 not only brings a new year and a new semester but we also welcome a new addition to our administrative team, Jess. Another one. We just like to keep you on your toes! Jess #2 is a true Londoner and here she introduces herself to you and gives you a flavour of what this great city is all about...

Day One: Customs by Sara McCloskey

We're fast approaching the middle of Week 5 here at the Ithaca College London Center and finally I present to you our FIRST student blogger of the Fall 2013 Semester!!
Sara McCloskey is a Junior who majors in Journalism with a Politics minor and she is also currently interning in London, carrying out marketing projects for a charity. In this blog post she speaks of her experience arriving in the UK and how getting through the UK Border Control isn't quite as scary as she had anticipated...

"A Barcelona Game at the Legendary Camp Nou" by Hannah Berg

Hannah Berg, a Cinema and Photography major has been to Barcelona over Spring Break. Here she reports back about her experience watching a football match at Nou Camp Stadium...

"An Average London Day" by Ryan Mutton

Ryan Mutton, a Theatrical Production Arts major has sent in a post that details exactly what your typical day as an ICLC student would entail...

"Barcelona" by Paige Erlich

Paige Erlich, who majors in Intergrated Marketing Communications talks us through her weekend trip away to Barcelona. 

"The Life of an ICLC Work Study-er" by Amanda Frey & Janey Sherlock

So this is what happens when Jess goes home for the evening...

The wisdom of Pangloss – an ICLC first

Bill finds a silver lining in the freezing February temperatures...

Ladies who Brunch

A restaurant recommendation from your Programme Coordinator

"Flavour Down to the Crisp" by Monica Lum

You say "chips", we say "crisps" but are there other differences that distinguish this popular snack found in both English-speaking countries? Monica Lum investigates...

"Welcome to London!" by Kristen Mansfield

Kristen Mansfield, a Journalism major has written a post for us about how she felt on arriving to the ICLC in London. From moving in with strangers to exploring the city, Kristen assures us that being an international student is an experience worth embracing...

"Hayward Gallery" by Meg Ciminera

Meg sheds some light (pun intended) on our visiting sabbatical's course: London's Light...

"Abbey Road: British Youth Culture Trip" by Sarah Grant

Another entry from another Student blogger. This one is from Sarah Grant who talks about a trip to Abbey Road as part of the British Youth Culture course...

"EUROSTOMPING BEGINS... NOW" by Mia O'Brien

I introduce a post by Mia O'Brien, a journalism major who has utilised one of her weekends to venture over to the continent...

100 partners, and we’re only in week 5 …beat that you young blokes

I think it was Kazantzakis’s Zorba the Greek with its emphasis on dance, song, [and other things, not always politically correct in our age] that informed me of the centrality of the dance in many cultures. I’m no expert on dancing [but I understand that Jess might be.] I was brought up in a culture where it was deemed inappropriate to get too close to your dance partner unless you had been married to them for 20 years. Even then, there was a risk of getting carried away and burning in hell if your hands strayed either above or below the 49^th parallel [hence Irish dancing where the hands are tightly bound to the side,  a bit like footballers trying to avoid the infringement of a ‘hand ball’ at a free kick near the penalty area.]

Oh my god! does ‘Squiggly Chops’ really love ‘Giggly Bottom’?

I always feel a bit scrooge-like when the middle of February rolls round each year.   We have just about gotten over the excesses of the winter holiday season, paid off our credit card bills, forgotten most of our New Year’s resolutions, settled back into everyday routines, when, out of the blue, a blizzard of red hearts and guilt-making reminders start appearing in every shop window. It is all terribly distracting: what about our triple dip recession? The plight of QPR? Bayern’s visit to the Emirates next week? The pope’s shock resignation? Obama’s call for tighter gun control? The period of mourning following Sarah’s departure [sob]? The febrile state of our coalition government? The race for the Oscars?  Or the horsemeat in hob nobs controversy [just kidding, you coffee talkers!].  We momentarily put everything on hold to think of sickly sweet rhymes for Josephine” [morphine maybe], “Mathilda” [I’m not touching this one], Geoffrey” [close to leprosy] and “Norman” [don’t go ‘stormin’ my heart, now]. Tagging along with the hearts is the considerable social pressure to participate in the February spending spree and its associated nonsense. Hands up anyone who has a boyfriend or girlfriend, a steady partner, a wife or a husband, a dog or a cat who doesn’t feel pressured to jump on the red heart bandwagon. I thought so, “no one”.  How many beautiful bouquets of flowers will arrive on February 13^th and 14^th at the London Center? I know someone who is flying all the way to the USA on February 14^th to be with her valentine! As the French would say it’s all a bit ‘de trop’!

"Hiya" Spring 2013

I think it's safe to say that I have managed to break my new year's resolutions already. My biscuit addiction is still going strong, I'm still drinking a lot (A LOT) of tea and I have not completed - nor started - one blog post. MASSIVE FAIL.

HOWEVER...

I have decided that this semester instead of boring you all with the ins and outs of my life I would take a step back and allow the Ithaca students here in London to tell you about their journey here. From orientation through to departure I am hoping you will get an insight into life as an international student in London and those of you who have left us behind can reminisce on the past and potential future students can be assured that life over the other side of that huge pond is not quite so scary after all...

On that note I would like to introduce our first blogger of Spring 2013: Marisa Andrews, a junior Drama  major. Marisa has chosen to enlighten you all on the cultural differences between London and the USA as although we may think we speak the same language there are many times when we find ourselves lost in translation.