For the past few weeks I've been in anguish as I told people about my trip to London, because so much stress surrounded the process of getting my student visa.  But it was approved this morning, I have my internship in place, and I have been assigned housing!

Now that my trip feels like a reality and not some far-off impossible goal, I feel excited to share the details of my travel plans.  

I'm going through Arcadia University's London Summer Internship program, and I will be interning at an internet marketing company, in their art critic department.  There I will be writing reviews of cultural arts (from the interview, it sounds as though I will be covering Opera & Dance and Theater).  I'll be living about 4 miles away from my workplace in the Kensington neighborhood of London.  In other words, I will live and breathe just across the Thames River from Buckingham Palace, about a 13 minute bus ride away.  (This is quite convenient, as Queen Elizabeth will be celebrating her Diamond Jubilee the week I arrive, and my housing will be enviable, if it's not already!)

To supplement the internship, I will be taking two courses: Work in Thought and Action, and Diversity in the British Workplace (one I am curious about!).

I leave on June 3rd and arrive on the 4th, and will be there for eight weeks, departing on July 27th and arriving back in Philly on the 28th (the day the Olympics start in London-- a good day to come home!).  

Going to London has been a dream of mine since I was 10 years old and read Harry Potter.   I've especially been itching to return to Europe since I visited Vienna (also through Arcadia) in 2011.  Now, I get to celebrate my 21st birthday in London, and I am eager to experience the British culture firsthand through arts, interactions, and the workplace.  

Keep in touch, and I'll do my best to keep everyone updated on here!  Cheers!