Trolleyed.

Trolleyed (adj.) - Drunk.  I was told that adding "ed" to any noun means drunk.  I never tested out that information.  "Oh,  I drank too much... I was so trolleyed last night!"

KIPLIN HALL TRIP 2013

There is an eerily similar feeling tingling down my spine, a feeling once experienced about nine months ago on the eve of my departure from the US of A.  This trip is a bit different, but no less exciting by any means.  I've been wanting to go on this trip since I heard about it in the Fall of 2010, a wide-eyed wee bambino fresher in Dr. Gillin's English 101 class.  Since then, I've taken his History of English Literature I class and his Romanticism class (my favorite!).  I will take his 19th Century Novel class next fall, and he also will be my thesis advisor next year.  So, to say it simply, I am a fan.  I have heard nothing but great things from this program (words that quickly come to mind are challenging, life-changing, fun, incredible, etc.).  

I never planned on going to Kiplin, which is a pretty strange thing to say.  I wanted to study abroad in England, so last summer, I was working to earn spending money for the duration of my stay.  Only Lord knows how many hours I spent hostessing at dear ol' Harry's Oyster Bar in Atlantic City.  I couldn't afford (literally) to lose three weeks out of the summer, plus I figured I would be going to England anyway in the fall.  But as the residual post study abroad feelings increased, the itch to travel increased simultaneously.

One day, probably in late February, my friend Claire was talking about getting her "Kiplin Hall info in," or something like that.  I'm fairly certain my response was an abrupt, "EEEEEK!" or an incomprehensible yell, coupled with a punch in the arm.  I had no idea that she was going.  "WHAT?!"  THEN Claire said (quite calmly, I might add), "Yeah, there are still spots available if you want to go."

I immediately emailed Dr. Gillin, and took one of the remaining spots available.  Yes, I drained my bank account, and yes, I have no regrets (even before the trip).  This might be indulgent to go twice in one year, but I figured if I were to go, I would want to go before I graduated so the credits would still count towards my major.  Also, a little indulgence every now and then never hurt anyone... right?  Mine just happens to be in the form of an academic course via trip to England.  

I just finished packing... it looks a bit different from when I had to pack for three months.  I'm now a fan of packing light (cue flashback to the nightmare of navigating through the London Underground with suitcases on suitcases on suitcases), so it wasn't too difficult.  

My next three weeks!

I read a quote the other day by Jack Kerouac that resonated with me.  I would type it out, but I just found this pretty picture instead:

...going to do just that.

Plaster.

Plaster (n.) - Bandaid.  I don't know why, but I found that one funny.

This day feels particularly English (rain coming down in sheets, reading Wuthering Heights for the thousandth time and STILL horribly irritated by its contents, listening to "Flaws" by Bastille on repeat), so I figured I would write about my upcoming English-y endeavors.
It's hard to believe - I mean it, difficult to grasp - that in a week, I'll be on a plane returning to the motherland.  Motherland to my country, not necessarily to me.

Reflecting on my time abroad, and as cliche as this sounds, it has truly become a part of me.  There isn't a day that goes by that something doesn't remind me of England - after all, I have a 3' x 5' Union Jack flag occupying my wall to behold daily.

I have a particular love for story-telling, a trait from both parents.  At the dinner table, it is almost impossible to finish a story before dinner is done, and whoever's telling the story (Yelling, "I'M TELLING THE STORY!" probably more than once, impersonating the disgruntled pirate from the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie), indubitably, has a cold meal.  Us Rosenbergs take FOREVER to tell a story, but if there's time, there's usually a good punchline or a laugh to be had in its conclusion.  I suppose I didn't notice it before, but lately, I've been consciously aware of the fact that most of my stories are connected to my abroad experience.  For example, it happened while I was working the other day.  I was fulfilling a stereotypically "intern" duty, stuffing the Summer Advising Day binders full of important information for the incoming freshmen -- yes, it was as exciting as it sounds.  Whilst working (and avoiding paper cuts), I put on the Disney Pandora station, singing along to "Under the Sea," "Zero to Hero," and other Disney classics.  Admittedly, there were embarrassing dance moves to accompany my off-key singing.  Somehow, listening to the Disney Pandora station sparked a DCOM (Disney Channel Original Movies) reminiscence between my fellow intern Kelly and I.  It reminded me of a time in England where Obella, Macauley, and I had particularly lazy days and watched a few DCOM movies in one sitting (it was probably the weather that brought on such lethargy).  Simple examples like this arise all the time -- I sometimes want to stop myself for fear of sounding too snobby or condescending , saying, "That time I studied abroad..." etc., etc.  Condescending about what, I'm not too sure.  I just never want to be "that guy."

Feeling such a way, that my study abroad experience is inherent in every day life, makes me want more.  I'm itching to travel, dream, and discover.  Because I am so blessed and fortunate, I'll be going on the Kiplin Hall trip soon, the great-return-to-England trip I mentioned earlier in this post.  I've heard nothing but amazing things about this trip from students who previously went to Kiplin Hall with Dr. Gillin, my favorite professor.  I cannot imagine a better academic setting.  I'll be following the footsteps of the great Romantics, hiking in the Lake District and other areas of Northern England.  I regretted returning to America without traveling up North (Royal Holloway was southwest of London), but this is my golden opportunity to do so -- I'll get four credits, it counts towards my major, it will help with my thesis, it's outdoors-y, heck, all of the above.

Life is good.


In the meantime, listen to the soundtrack of my study abroad experience, the fantastically beautiful Abbey Roads Studios production of "Flaws" by Bastille.  Not to sound like "that guy," but I actually went to Abbey Road Studios... ha ha ha.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzRBoZb3GKw

Fit.

Fit (adj.): Attractive; slang for "hot."  "She's so fit!"

I have no idea why I started to do this... but I did.  It happened.  I think it started as an accident, my hypersensitive camera clicking while I was walking.  I thought it looked pretty cool, so I continued taking pictures of my pink converses along with the different sites or cities I was visiting at the time.  It's funny to see the progression from perfectly clean to disgustingly dirty... those shoes have seen some days.

There were some days I had to wear different shoes due to inclement weather.  

"Oh, the places you'll go!"  ...or rather, my pink converses.  Have gone.

This was in the Dublin Castle, waiting in line.

The Windsor Castle + my shoe.

The Cliffs of Moher + my shoe.

The Dover Castle + the sub.

The entire city of Rome + my shoe.

The Spanish steps + my shoe.

The Trevi Fountain + my shoe.

Night Rome (The Vatican) + my shoe.

The Arch de Triomphe + my shoe.

The Pantheon + my shoe.

The Versailles Palace + my shoe.

I have no idea, in Rome, looks important + my shoe.

The Sacre Coeur + my shoe.

This was my first adventure in London.  I took this by accident. 

The Lift.

The lift (n.): elevator (That wasn't difficult).

Tips for traveling, most of which I have learned the hard way:

1.  Be in shape before you go seriously traveling.  Luckily I worked out during the summer before I studied abroad, so I didn't mind the extended periods of walking.  However, towards the end of the semester, it definitely took a toll when I went to Rome as my "last hoorah" trip.  You want to be able to see as much as you can, and being tired and grumpy takes away from your experience.

The grumpiest person alive.

2.  If you have previously arranged lodging before you travel to a city, KNOW THE ADDRESS TO THE HOTEL.  Believe it or not, when Macauley and I (and our friend Kevin) went to Rome, we flat out WINGED it.  We only knew we were staying at the Rome Cavalieri (luckily for us, it is well known).  However, it was a huge pain getting there, not knowing if we were getting screwed or not regarding the cost of transportation.  We also got into an unmarked taxi (oops?), but that's not the point I'm trying to make...

We found it eventually... LOOK AT THAT VIEW!

Strugglin' in the rain: "...WHAT DOES THAT SAY?"

3.  Understand what transportation you wish to take before you arrive in the city.  For example, when Macauley, Obella, and I went to Amsterdam, they have a weird tram/train system, that in my opinion, is a bit faulty.  Not to mention, it was hard to distinguish the names of stations from each other, all written in Dutch (...does that sound ignorant?).  As aforementioned, know the address of the hotel, and know the corresponding or nearby station/tram stop/etc.  

Peek-a-boo... it's my shoe!

3... a. Walk as much as you can.  In Rome, it was incredibly easy to walk all over the city, and the best part was, we stumbled upon so many interesting things en route to a big interesting thing.  For example (I'm full of examples!),  in Rome, when Kevin, Macauley, and I were strolling along to visit the Colosseum, we ran into the Pantheon!  It was incredibly breathtaking and awkwardly wedged between modern(er) Rome buildings.

...to be continued!  I just thought of a cool post idea.

HELLoooOOOOO!

HELLoooOOOOO! : I tried to create inflections of the English accent on how people say, "hello."  It's fantastic.

Currently, I am sitting comfortably (finally, happily, ecstatically) in America, in New Jersey, IN MY HOME.  There is no better feeling than bursting into a fully-decorated-for-Christmas Rosenberg house, the smells of mac and cheese oozing out of the kitchen (Mom mom's recipe... it's simply the BEST).  Yes, I realize I neglected this blog while abroad, but nay, I have not.  I've planned out many entries, but in order to post them with the perfectly accompanying pictures, I needed to download Macauley's pictures and my parents' pictures (Spoiler alert!  My parents visited me!)... a task that had to wait upon my return to the dear states.  

HOWEVER! 

Now that I have an ample amount of time, I've decided to treat this blog as a great winter break project.  Therefore, it will be done right, and it will be done well!

Stay tuned. :)

Hoover. Flu jab. Vest. Trousers.

Hoover (n.)- Vacuum.
Flu jab (n.)- Flu shot.
Vest (n.)- A "vest" is not a sleeveless sweater-y article of clothing/fancy waistcoat here... a "vest" is an undershirt.  Or a bro tank, if you will.  Or a tank top. It gets confusing, especially when talking about...
Trousers (n.)- Trousers are pants.  Pants are underwear.  Everything is topsy-turvy.

I can't believe I just said topsy-turvy.  

I'm avoiding writing my 1,000 word essay for my Shakespeare class.  I'm being absurd.  I've been avoiding it, having comfort in the fact that I can write a 1,000 word essay in my sleep, especially on anything that has to do with my man, Bill Shakey.  Yes, we are on nickname basis.  Anywho, I suppose I should start... I have a simply marvelous heading and title.  I'm acutely distracted by the high-ceilinged (Is that a word? It looks so strange) slightly gothic-styled library, overwhelmingly surrounded by shelves of books, books, and more books.  Mission:  Explore the restricted section and discover a book focusing on Nicholas Flamel.  Heeh.

Okay, I need to get out of here (here, meaning cyberspace).  

Au revoir!

Wellies.

Wellies (n.)- Short for Wellington(s).  Wellies are rain boots, and apparently, calling rain boots "rain boots" is an absurd notion to anyone British.

Here are some pictures.  Just because.

Captain Hilary, navigating on a lion (that I am definitely not supposed to be on).

Some truly lovely people, WAC4life.

The Eye.

Close up of Big Ben.