London Promotional Video for CAPA

https://vimeo.com/77233359

As most of you know, I studied abroad in London during the spring semester of 2013. Now, I’m working for CAPA International Education as an ambassador at the Missouri School of Journalism. They’ve asked me to put together a short video … so here it is!

This is not necessarily the final video edit I will be sending to CAPA to use as promotional material, but I wanted to post it now and possibly get some feedback. Keep in mind, all of the video shot in this film was not taken with the original intention of showing it to other people as a promotion for my study abroad program. I used random videos from my camera and iphone that I took with hopes of simply sharing it with my friends and family, and as a precious reminder from my time abroad.

As you watch the video, here are a few things you should know …

1. Camden was our home. We lived right around the corner from the Camden Town tube stop, and we were often “greeted” by street musicians performing like this band. The music scene was awesome … did you know punk rock originated in Camden and Amy Winehouse was a regular in this part of town?

2. Regent’s Park was one of the prettiest city parks I’ve ever seen. There were always dog walkers and old lovers holding hands and rugby boys and people eating ice cream cones … it was the perfect escape from a busy day.

3. The cafe you see during “Tea Time” is called Allan’s Patisserie. It’s a quaint little place with delicious pastries right off of Oxford Street. I stumbled in here on my first day of work at yoga.com, looking for a warm place to sit for breakfast.

4. The first musician you see during “Field Trips” was from our tour of Bath. He was performing right outside the Roman Baths.

5. The next scene in “Field Trips” with the golden statue is the Albert Memorial. We visited here for our British History and Traditions class.

6. The last scene in “Field Trips” is of the Parliament building.

7. Rockaoke, was one of my favorite night scenes in London. It takes place at the bar/club Roadhouse in the heart of Covent Garden.

8. The Missouri School of Journalism works with CAPA International Education for the London study abroad trip. We took classes at the CAPA building with students from other American universities. Go to http://www.capa.org/london for more info!

From Camden to Platform 9 3/4

It has almost been five months since I left England, and I still think about it almost every day. The night life of Columbia, Missouri hardly compares to the pubs and clubs of Camden. When Saturday morning rolls around, I can’t help but crave some fresh bread and cheese from Borough Market.

On the tube

Since moving to London, I spend a significant amount of time on the tube. Most of the time it’s too busy for me to find a place to sit and read. So, I like to pass the time by people watching. Then comes the real challenge- trying to sneak their photo with my phone camera. I know, it sounds creepy. But I look at this as a form of art or journalism, documenting the interesting things I see. I’ve always been fascinated with faces – ever since I was old enough to draw, I’ve been sketching people in my notebooks. I used to take drawing classes and loved learning how to draw faces! Now, with just a tap on my screen, I can capture a person and spend the rest of my journey time editing the heck out of these photos 🙂 Here’s a few from yesterday:

Bath & Family

Here’s a post I should’ve published a week ago! Last weekend was so much fun —

The Roman Baths

Went to Bath. What a beautiful place! It was my first time experiencing England outside the city, and I didn’t want to leave.

 

We toured the Roman baths which was really cool. They say if you drink the water, it has healing powers. I suppose all the minerals in the water are good for you, but it tasted disgusting. I had to try it though.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We also had a chance to see Stonehenge! Unfortunately, they said because of the snow we weren’t allowed to get close to the national wonder. I’m not sure how a little snow could make these rocks so vulnerable… but it was still cool to see, even if we did have to stand behind the fence. This photo symbolizes our experience.

 

My bedroom

My Aunt Diana and cousin Samantha also came to visit me in London last weekend!  We actually had a chance to grab dinner Friday night at the Porcupine Pub. Great food, great conversation, great memories of funny drunk British men. My mom insisted that my aunt take photos of me in my flat, so we did a little photo shoot Saturday morning before exploring the city.

 

 

 

 

Then, we walked through Reagents Park and snuck our way into the college, where my aunt and uncle studied abroad. A few nice students keyed us into the building so we could look around! Unfortunately, we didn’t realize that we needed a key to leave the premises as well. So naturally, we climbed our way out.

 

 

 

 

Afterwards, we met up with their good old friends from England. We did the London Dungeon tour, which was actually pretty frightening (especially when one of the actors in a dark cloak pick you out from a crowd and whisper in your ear from behind!), but I found the dramatic history lessons about torture really fascinating.

For lunch, we went to Borough Market. Everything smelled SO delicious!! The bread was fresh and the hot chocolate was one of the best I’ve ever tasted. After sampling as much as I could, I decided on a rich hot cheesy potato meal. Just quality food, I can’t even describe the sensations in words.

And of course, we had to make our way over to Big Ben for some photos. It was so cold at this point, I remember nearly losing the feeling in my toes, we didn’t stay very long.

All in all – great weekend! I’m so glad they came to visit 🙂