Student Bloggers

By Lynsey L., London Internship Program Summer, England

Apparently London life is much more up pace than I was expecting, because I am just now finding time to sit down and write again. The past month has been so amazing, from working at my fantastic internship to going to such an interesting class. And on top of all that, we’ve tried squeezing in as much as possible. We’ve discovered some places that we go to on a regular basis. Camden Market has proved to be one of my favorites to grab lunch on a Sunday afternoon. I’ve even found a place to get Dutch pancakes covered in warm Nutella and powdered sugar. There’s a nice park right near our building where I like to go while running so I can have some peace and quiet (which is hard to come by in such a large city). I found the Krispy Kreme right by the tube stop for our school center, and they gave us loyalty cards that get us coffees for a quid fifty. Near our flat is a great burger joint called Byron that also has the best Oreo milkshake I’ve ever tasted in my life.

My internship at Chelsea Community Hospital School is extremely rewarding and I absolutely love it there. My coworkers are fantastic and don’t treat me like a ‘typical’ intern. Instead, they trust me to fulfill their lesson plans with individual children or small groups. In addition, they’re super friendly people and try their best to include the interns in everything, from lunch in the cafeteria to drinks at a rooftop garden. I will be sad to leave in a few weeks.

One of the coolest things I’ve gotten to do was attend a Paper Towns Q&A, that John Green, Nat Wolff, and Cara Delevingne answered so many questions about the book and movie. John Green is, by far, my favorite writer and I was so excited when I was able to grab (free!) tickets to the Q&A. When we got there, we were given copies of The Fault in Our Stars and a chance to write some of our questions down to give to the hosts. The entire event was just perfect and I was so glad to finally see my favorite author in person!

The Q&A was the beginning of a superb weekend where we also went to see the Phantom of the Opera, had a delicious brunch, and went for drinks at a flat. This was my first time to see the musical, and I sure hope it isn’t my last because it was extraordinary. Our brunch was at a seemingly hole-in-the-wall venue that ended up being absolutely fantastic. I treated myself to pancakes with blueberries and bacon with a side of heirloom tomatoes and basil. I felt right at home with the great flavors of my meal! Then we went to a rooftop terrace right around the corner from our flat and that was a great time for us to talk about our weeks.

The next week was when I truly felt like a Londoner, because our bathroom flooded and we had to continue on with our lives of school and work. The whole situation became a great story to tell to my professor and coworkers. This is when they all branded me a Londoner because this is one of the typical occurrences that comes with living in such a historical city.

The big trip that weekend was to the Harry Potter Studio and of course I couldn’t miss out on that. Through a three hour tour, we saw tons of the magic that went into making the film series. It was such a fanatical experience to see the portrait of the fat lady, Dumbledore’s office, the Weasley’s burrow, hop on the Knight Bus, and drink the deliciousness of butterbeer.

Lastly, the hospital I intern at made me feel right at home on Friday when they celebrated our Independence Day, which alone was a shocker. They decked out the entire cafeteria in the American Flag and even cooked dishes like ribs, pancakes, American-fried cod, and chicken jambalaya. I was in heaven, anyone could see that. Each table even had an American Flag as the centerpiece. I enjoyed a large helping of chicken jambalaya and then my coworker treated me to a slice of homemade apple pie!

Next week we will hopefully go to Wimbledon (and actually get in this time), hang out at Hyde Park for a picnic dinner, and talk about our trip to Ireland.

Lynsey Leopord is a student at the University of Montevallo and is blogging from her summer abroad with the London Internship Program Summer in London, England.