After two incredible months abroad, we finally returned home.  Sadly, the summer of a lifetime drew to a close after nine of the best weeks of our lives.  Being abroad for such a long period of time allowed us to experience not just the tourist attractions, but the true British way of life.  This program gave us the opportunity to work and study with Londoners while still having free time to travel and get to know European life.

By far, the most influential aspect of this trip was the work experience.  My internship gave me the opportunity to thrive in all aspects of digital and print media advertising.  I was given assignments in copywriting, competitive analyses, and everything in between.  Other Creative truly opened a world of possibility for my career as I met numerous influential advertisers while gaining invaluable experience.

Prior to our trip beginning, taking courses was not a part of an ideal internship program.  After studying with our two incredible professors for the duration of our trip, that changed entirely.  The British Writers and British Life and Culture classes changed the way that I view the UK and opened my eyes to an entirely new way of thinking.  International classroom experience was an integral part of this program, and proved to be one of the most beneficial components.

One of the most exciting aspects of this trip was the opportunity for international travel.  While I may not have traveled as much as some other students in our trip did, my weekend in Paris made that all ok.  After meeting up with a few friends from high school, we traveled the city and saw virtually everything in Paris over a three day period.  We were able to see the Louvre, climb the Eiffel Tower, and eat all the french food we wanted.  While it was sad to spend the last weekend of the summer outside of London, this weekend ended up being the perfect end of the trip.

I wouldn’t change a thing about this experience abroad.  Working, studying, and traveling abroad gave us the opportunity to truly become Londoners.  We ate at pubs and rode the Tube.  During the Olympic Games, we cheered on Team GB as much as Team USA.  We didn’t just work and study in London, we lived there.

My last few weeks in London can be summarized by one word, Olympics.  The London 2012 Olympics took over the city of London.  The Olympic rings showcased on the London Bridge were the initial display of National and Sporting pride dawned by the City.  Concurrently with the rings, masses of different races began to mob to the City all for the same important reason.  This reason is to support your country, and let the world know that other countries besides the USA can win Gold Medals.  The population of people is an image that will be established in my memory for decades to come.  My first Olympics are an event that I will never forget.

The highlight of the Olympics for me was attending the Women’s Gold Soccer match.  Chris Romney’s dad, Bob, purchased two tickets for Chris to the event.  He invited me to the game, and this is when the night started.  Growing up in Los Angeles, which has a rich Olympic history most notably the 1984 games, laid the foundation for my dream to support the red, white, and blue in the highest fashion.  After gearing up in my finest USA clothing, we were on our way to Wembley Stadium.

After an hour tube ride to the stadium, we crossed the platform with the other tens of thousands of fans hoping to cheer on their team.  For everyone that wasn’t rooting for USA, the Japanese fans, well lets just say I did not associate with them much.  We showed up to the game about ten minutes late, and hoping that we didn’t miss any of the action.  Not only did we see the first glorious goal, USA netted the first one as we were walking down the stairs to our prime seats.  The stadium turned into uproar as all the American fans chanted U.S.A., while the Japan fans could not believe the changing tide.  The women’s US team never looked back, and secured the victory for the motherland.  This game reminded me of the Nationalistic pride that is so strong within the US, and the feeling I had at this championship moment is going to remain with me forever.

The last few weeks of the London experience were something, to say the least. For the majority of them I was running between Olympic events. That sentence has still yet to really hit me. I had the olympic ticket site up constantly for two weeks before the games started, checking it continuously, until I figured out that with some research you could determine when other countries were returning their unsold tickets and thus when tickets would be coming on sale. Two ticket returns later, i was going to nine events. Now my London experience has already been a huge learning experience as well as once in a lifetime, but being able to have an active part in the Olympic games was a whole other love. Firstly, professionally speaking, i work throughout the year in sports marketing for the university, so having the opportunity to see what sports marketing was like on the highest level was an invaluable experience. Secondly, on a personal level, going to the Olympics was always one of the top things on my bucket list and I would’ve been thrilled if I got to go to a single event, going to nine wasn’t even the realm of possibility for me coming into this summer, so looking back on it, it’s still pretty hard to believe. Now there were some downsides, running between venues over an hour on the tube away from each other could be a taxing experience and at certain events, the best spectator experience was actually watching it on television (as evidenced by the entire crowd watching the screen instead of the live sport) but overall it was definitely something i’m incredibly lucky to have been able to do.

On the other side of things, in between the events I got to escape to Dublin with a few of the flatmates, which was overall a really great trip and good closing to our time in London. Dublin is exactly like people say, very nice to look out with very festive people. It’s somewhere i’d definitely stay for a while if given the opportunity. The Cliffs of Moher were probably the highlight of the trip, capped by a great tour to the cliffs themselves, it was pretty insane being able to stand on the edge of a 700 foot trip ( and run along it, scaring the crap out of Anita) and look out on the atlantic ocean. Tom and I agreed that it was somewhere we could definitely just sit for a while and reflect, and it definitely wont be the last time i visit the cliffs.

Work also wrapped up a bit early since my bosses were eager to avoid the rush of the olympics and decided to take their summer holidays as the games started. Looking back on work, it was a varied experience and definitely not what i expected but one that I think I gained a lot from. Having the breadth of responsibilities that i did at London Sports Trust, provided me with some experience in a lot of different facets of a business. And i can honestly say my goal of getting a more global business perspective was achieved.

Last but not least, the best part of this experience was far and away the people that were part of it with me. We meshed as a group better than I could ever have imagined and i’m happy to say these are people i consider close friends now and without them the whole trip wouldn’t have been nearly as fun.

And now back to Arthur.

I can’t believe the trip has already come to an end.  It was one of the most amazing experiences I have ever had and I made friends with will be with me forever.  The last few weeks in London were some of my favorite because we all took full advantage of the time we had left there.

I was able to get tickets to the Men’s Springboard Diving Final of the Olympics.  It was so incredible being in the aquatics center with everyone who was there to watch the event.  The whole stadium was completely filled will people from across the world and it made it that much more exciting.  I had been trying for so long to get tickets to get into the Olympic Park and I wasn’t having any luck getting the tickets.  I would stay on the website to get tickets for hours at a time and still was not able to get any tickets.  One of my family friends who is a ticket broker happened to be in London at the same time and was able to help me to get tickets.  He called me on my last Tuesday and told me that he had tickets for me.  Naturally, I was so excited immediately told him that I would love to that the tickets.  I was thrilled when I knew I was going to be able to see the Olympic Park and everything inside of it.  I went with one of my friends on the trip and we wandered throughout the whole park.  We even got to see the largest McDonald’s in the world, which was really cool to see.

It is so weird being back in the United States after spending so much time in London.  The first night I was time, I was watching TV with my family and we were watching the Olympics in London.  It was crazy seeing the city on TV knowing that I was no longer there anymore.  It was such a weird feeling knowing that I had just been in the exact spot two days before they were showing it, and then I was watching it from across the world.  Even though I had the most amazing summer of my life, it was definitely one of the best summers as well.  I made so many memories and friends that I will have for the rest of my life and I am so thankful that I was able to be a part of this amazing journey.

The final week inLondonwas bitter sweet. I was exhausted from the entire summer and was ready to go home. However, there were still plenty of activities that I had planned once classes ended. I was able to go to a couple Olympic events, and before that I went toBarcelonafor a couple of days with mostly everyone in my flat.

Like most places I went during the summer there was a heat wave rolling through and it was extremely hot. It was miserable to try and sleep because the room was so hot and sticky and all the old buildings don’t have air conditioning. Other than that the beach and sun was a great break from the rain, clouds, and colder weather that was really consistent inLondon.

The Olympics were also a once in a Life time opportunity. I was able to see the semi- final soccer game withMexicoplayingJapanand then I went to a quarterfinal hand ball match. The soccer game was amazing and one of my favorite memories of the summer. However, I was disappointed with the hand ball match. I was hyped up about it when Drew bought the tickets, because I thought it would be a fast paced game with lots of goals. I was disappointed to find out that the game stopped almost every two minutes to wipe sweat off the floor.

Wow I can’t believe our time in London is over. We made sure to live life to the fullest those nine weeks and I honestly have zero regrets. It was the greatest summer of my life! We sure went out with a bang! We got to do a lot our last week in London. We made sure to spend some time in Hyde Park, which was probably my favorite place to go in London. It is such a beautiful park with so much to see, so you never get bored! We went to BT live which was really fun, getting to watch the Olympics in an environment filled with fans. It is really nice that London sponsored that for free, it was an awesome way to experience the Olympics without having to pay anything! Another day we went to Hyde Park, we got breakfast at The Serpentine, which is a restaurant right on the Serpentine lake in the park. It was even more special because the women’s marathon swim was happening that same morning so we got to experience that while having our great breakfast, not to mention the weather was remarkable!
To really end the trip in true British spirit, a group of us girls had formal high tea. We made reservations at the Landmark hotel, which was a gorgeous five star hotel in the Mayfair area. The tea was served in an area of the hotel called the “Winter Garden”. It is a huge 7 story atrium in the middle of the hotel that with it’s natural sunlight and indoor plants makes it a really enjoyable place to relax and have tea. The tea was worth every penny, and super filling! They give you so much food; we were really confused how British people are so thin! There were four types of sandwich’s on the first tray, then two trays of desserts, then scones for after the meal, combined with unlimited it tea! It was all so yummy though, we did not mind stuffing a little. I really want afternoon tea to be bigger in the United States because I know my mom and I are always hungry around 3 o’clock after a day of shopping, so high tea to relax and chat would be ideal.
We made sure to go to our favorite pubs and clubs before we left as well! We took pictures outside our flat before leaving, as well as inside of our flat, so we can always remember it! The drive to the airport was super depressing, the only part that made me happy was seeing my friends and family again. I have to say, we were able to navigate traveling internationally much better leaving than when we came, we have had some practice. Our flight was delayed three hours which was not fun, but luckily we traveled one way so once we were on the plane it went by fairly fast. Now here I am back at Arizona, just finishing up recruitment, and getting ready to start classes. It is really crazy to think I just spent the summer essentially on the other side of the world. I really threw myself back into Arizona life head first, but I guess that is the only way to do it. One thing is for sure, I will never forget the memories I made in London or the people I met. I can not wait to return!

It saddens me to say that I am back home right now. Interning and studying in London was one of the best experience of my life, and I will truly miss everyone I met there, and everything I saw there. During my last week in London I focused on getting the most possible out of my internship, and seeing everything I wanted to see before I went home.

I spent my last day in london playing football and having a picnic in Hyde Park. I am really going to miss Hyde park. It is truly a magnificent place, and there is no where else like it in the park. I also went to Barcelona the week before. In Barcelona I took a bus tour of the city, and spent alot of time at the beach. I also eat at all my favorite places in London before I left.

I said my goodbyes to everyone at work, and brought them cupcakes. I got their email addresses, and I plan on staying in touch. I am taking away from london a great internship experiene, many priceless memories with friends, and a lot of other treasurable memories.

The final few weeks of my time in London were about fitting as much fun into as little time as possible. Once we hit August, panic set in among all the Eller London students that we didn’t have very much time left in the country. We were finished with classes by the end of July, which gave us a four-and-a-half day weekend at the beginning of August. Five friends and I seized the moment and took off for Dublin, excited to see a place that none of us had been to.

Some of our friends had visited Dublin earlier in the trip, but they didn’t have enough time to get out into the countryside, which we have all heard is the best part of Ireland. We were determined to see as much of Ireland as we could, so we booked a coach tour to the Cliffs of Moher for our first full day in the country. This was probably one of the best decisions I have ever been a part of. Our tour guide/bus driver was as close to a real life leprechaun as exists in the world. The little man was either telling grand stories about Ireland’s colorful history or singing traditional tunes of his heritage.

We passed through all sorts of hills and castles on the way there and back. I dreamed of having months on end to explore the countryside on foot, or to go from golf course to golf course with my clubs in tow. But the best part was absolutely the Cliffs themselves. The Cliffs towered above the brutal waves below, at a height of 700 feet above the water. A trail ran along the top edge of the Cliffs that led from a castle at one end to another at the other end. I would have liked to have had more than 90 minutes to explore, but I spend about an hour of my allotted time sitting on the edge of one of the more remote cliffs and dreaming of the forces that created the incredible setting over the course of millions of years. Scenes from Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and The Princess Bride were filmed there, and I could look upon the cliffs and see exactly where these scenes were set.

We spent the next day in the city of Dublin, which included another highlight of the summer: the Guinness Store House. The Guinness Factory, which has been in central Dublin for hundreds of years, has recently turned a large part of their facility into a massive museum dedicated to everything Guinness. The seven-story Disneyland of beer included entire floors dedicated to the ingredients, the brewing process, the marketing strategy, and my personal favorite, the Perfect Pour. This was a station in which all customers are taught to pour the perfect pint of Guinness, which includes six precise steps and takes exactly 119.5 seconds to complete. I proudly left with a certificate that proved my excellence in the art of pouring a Guinness.

We returned to London and finished up the final week of our internships. On my last day, my boss informed me that he had arranged for me to play golf with the owner of our company. Despite the fact that I had no suitable golf shoes, club, or even swing (I hadn’t touched a club all summer), I happily accepted. I was treated to a great round by Ian Mitchell, co-founder of Bartlett Mitchell Contract Catering. I used clubs he let me borrow and shoes I had bought the previous day, and we had a wonderful time. I feel as if I made a great networking connection, and I assured Ian that if he ever found himself in Arizona, I would treat him to a game here in Tucson next time.

Alexander Raskin

Blog #4

I did not expect, or even consider, that upon my return to the United States I would notice differences in culture, lifestyle, and other small instances. From driving on the “correct” side of the road to differences in diet, moving back to America has been surprisingly difficult. There are some things that I cannot even place or comprehend. It could just be the atmosphere of London that I grew to love so much, or living with a great group of people in such a nice area, or just simply that it was a nearly independent lifestyle in a foreign country. The responsibility associated with having a job, and needing to get work done, was special for me. I have worked in various other jobs, but never in one as professional and highly regarded. Wearing a suit three days a week to work, commuting at 8 am, and other things made me feel like a part of the London financial sector. As everything above has said or hinted towards, my life in London was always so busy and occupied with activities that now I find myself with nothing to do quite often. Moving from a big, urban epicenter to a large, but spread out city has me realizing how lucky I was to live in London, even if it is only for two and a half months.

What also made this trip, and London, so awesome is the ability to travel all over Europe very cheaply and quickly. Getting from London to Ireland or Spain, places I would never just decide to go to on a weekend (obviously), became easily accessible. Travelling with friends to foreign countries… life does not get any better than that. What I am trying to get across in this blog is that London is a city with everything; it has great food and it is always busy, no matter what time of day it is. Every day in America I think about jumping on the tube to go to a different part of the city, or taking the bus to greater London and the countryside. But, I can’t do any of that anymore; there is no public transportation here. And, although I do enjoy driving, it is simply not as convenient as a subway.

Towards the end of the trip, I was ready to come home and get started with school. But, a week or so after leaving London, my internship, and my new life, it is becoming evident that I never wanted to leave London at all. I now realize that I could, potentially, live in London if the opportunity ever arose. This trip was once in a lifetime, and I will be regretting leaving London for the rest of my life.