I'll Be Home For Christmas

Well, today is the day! I leave for the airport in 10 minutes. Hopefully the snow won't impede my trip home! Let's cross our fingers. It hasn't really quite hit me yet that I won't be back here.

Today is the nicest day you could have imagined. The temperature is 55 degrees and sunny. And I get to go home to below zero temperatures with several feet of snow. Yay! But what a way to go out, huh?

See you all very soon!! :)

Cheers (For the last time in London),
Justin

How I'll Miss Thee

I will return to the States in a few short days, 4 in fact. This whole experience has gone by as quick as a blink of the eye. Do I have to leave???

I have prepared a list of things that I love about London that I will miss when I get back to the States.

- Not driving everywhere and being able to use Public Transport
- Realizing that the Tube is anything but perfect; there always seems to be a signal failure!
- Fighting my way on to the Tube to get to work
- Hearing "Mind the Gap" and "Cockfosters" everyday
- Standing next to smelly people when they get on the tube in Brixton lol
- Reading an actual newspaper everyday for free
- Saying/Hearing "Cheers!" in a British accent
- Also the use of the words "Mate" (ie. Cheers mate!)
- Being able to get to anywhere in Europe for a reasonable cost
- The sheer size of this global city
- Getting a curry, Chinese, pub grub, and African food all in one place
- Being able to go to a pub and enjoy good beer
- The rain
- The parks (my favorite spot)
- Living in the nicest area of London, and possibly the world
- Great tv shows like "Never Mind the Buzzcocks" and "8 Out of 10 Cats" and "Unbreakable"
- My internship at PRI
- My lunch stipend!!
- The diversity of this great city
- Sandwich Shop!
- Great festivals and markets
- The hustle and bustle on a busy weekday
- Standing on the right, and walking on the left on an escalator
- Paying for things with coins that actually have a real value
- Looking right and then left when crossing a street
- Nearly getting killed by the crazy drivers
- Waiting a half hour in the freezing cold waiting for a bus after a late night out
- Going grocery shopping and buying the cheapest kind of anything
- Saying pounds and pence instead of dollars and cents
- Enjoying the great aesthetics of the Pound, realizing the dollar is boring and all the same
- Having great and valuable friendships with my flatmates
- Seeing James unknowingly make a complete and utter fool of himself haha
- Having a complete life changing experience that I am so grateful for
Addendum to the List (From Mike Kaplan):
1.) fullers london pride
2.) chicken G's
3.) not tipping
4.) landmines
5.) being within a trains ride of heaven (scotland)
6.) fullers london pride
7.) british humo(u)r
8.) neighbor john
9.) why dont you come on over valllllerie
10.) the rocket

That is a crazy long list of things I'll miss in London. It really will be a difficult transition back to America. I am definitely worried about "reverse culture shock" and doing poorly second semester because studying abroad really makes you an awful student. I am worried I'll mistakenly say, "Oh, that cost 23 pounds" and "Back at my flat..." or "Let's take the lift." I can only imagine the looks I will get when I say things like that.

But studying abroad has taught me some valuable life lessons. None of these lessons are concrete ones like learning a new language. They just simply happened and are hard to pinpoint exactly. There is just something about this experience that allows you to learn so much. A major one includes my personal development. I feel that after this experience, I am coming away a stronger and more confident individual. I really feel that I know exactly who I am now and am more confident about my purpose in life. Another lesson is how valuable my family is to me. I honestly cannot thank them enough for letting me have this once-in-a-lifetime experience. Thanksgiving was not the same, but I cannot wait for Christmas. I get to see all my family again altogether. Beware, though, I don't know how thrilled I will be if I have to recount all of my trip! Just read the blog! :) Also my friends are so valuable to me. You guys are my second family and I value every single one of you so very much. I cannot wait until we are all back together second semester. What a great homecoming to look forward to!

I have just under 4 days left, and I hope to enjoy them to the fullest extent. I miss you all and will see you very shortly!

And for your "enjoyment", a few pictures of James :) **(For those of you who do not know of James, you soon will. You just wait!!)

Cheers,
Justin

It's Almost Here & My Trip to Germany

Hey again!

Well, in one week I will be sitting back at my home in Wisconsin, leaving my home for good in London. It's so very weird to think I will most likely never be back here. London is so amazing and it truly feels like home (minus the whole family and friends thing). I am looking forward to being home for Christmas, but leaving here is going to be tough.

Anyways, this past weekend I went to Germany! I just got back today. Let me just say that Germany is amazing in so many ways! Not only are the houses really cool, the architecture unlike any I've seen so far. There was a part of the town that had houses all with the colored stripes on them. They were sooooo awesome. I told my friend Dave that I wanted to buy a house in a subdivision where all the houses looked exactly the same and then paint those stripes on my house! It would be so cool! But most likely will never happen. Haha.

I ate some great authentic German food. It seems like every trip is marked by what you eat. Well, of course I had a bratwurst (well, I had 3 while I was there). I also ate Spatzle (which is a pasta-type dish, which we had in a mushroom sauce) and Flammkuchen (which is a type of pizza, with Gouda and spinach on it). It was soooo good. I also had a fantastic doner kebab (which isn't really authentic German, but it is slowly becoming part of the German diet). But I must say that the German kebabs are amazing, and nearly as good as the one's in Turkey! Also, it seems a lot of places in Europe like mayo plastered all over their French Fries...weird!

I also had some great German beer and Gluwhien. I don't really remember the names of the beer, or anything else for that matter. German is, well...not my forte. I had to have my friend Dave or one of his friends from the school order anything for me, because they don't speak English (or at least not a lot of people). I stayed in Marburg and we took a day trip to Heidelburg. On the day trip, we met up with one of Dave's friends who he went to high school with. She was a foreign exchange student from Germany at his school. Anyways, we went to this really cool German Christmas Market. There really isn't anything special about them, but it just puts one in a great Christmas mood. Everyone seems so joyful and happy. What a great time. After that, we went up on top of the hill and walked around the Castle. Such a great view. I guess every German town or city has a castle. Very cool! We also saw the oldest University in Germany. This is unique because it has its very own prison for its students who are disruptive. This means ones are too drunk or are putting out lampposts or chasing sheep down the streets. Hmmmm?

Here is a link to the pictures: Germany Album

Hope all is well with all of you. See you all very very soon!

Cheers! :)
Justin

December-Fest?

Hey everyone,

Just a little note that I am leaving for a 3.5 day excursion to Germany! I am staying with my friend Dave who is studying in Marburg (about an hour north of Frankfurt). I am really excited!

I'll fill you all in on my weekend when I return.

See you all very soon! I'm home in 8 or so days...

Justin

PS. Enjoy these 3 pictures. This is what I missed out on in Barcelona. And no, the monkey is not James... :)

It's Christmas Time in the City

Hope everyone had a fantastic Thanksgiving! Short post this week! As promised, I will tell you about my first Thanksgiving away from family and wonderful home-cooked meals. I went in to work at my internship on Thursday, and my supervisor wished me a Happy T-Day, and then promptly kicked me out of the office after 2 hours of my being there. I was to enjoy the holiday and not be at work. So I went home, lounged around a bit as no one else was home, and then began to prepare the meal. We bought a 7 pound turkey and I prepared it, threw it in the oven and started making mashed potatoes (no, not the store bought ones...the actual thing!), corn, stuffing, green beans, gravy, rolls, and chocolate cake. My first turkey was a success and it was very delicious (it wasn't the same as our normal turkey on Thanksgiving, but it was very good nonetheless). I ate way too much food, and my roommates really enjoyed it too. I tried talking to my grandparents on Skype as they were at my house, but for some reason, Skype was not cooperating and there was no sound. It's alright though, as I will be home in less than 3 weeks.

Overall, Thanksgiving away from home was very weird, and definitely not the same; however, it really was better than I thought it was going to be. All of us were in the same situation on the holiday so we wanted to make it the best we possibly could. I couldn't have asked for a better time.

Nothing really that exciting happened during the rest of the weekend, until Sunday night when we went to the Winter Wonderland celebration in Hyde Park. This Christmas-themed festival was full of rides, bright lights, and an ice skating rink. It also is a major German Christmas festival as well, so there were BRATS!!, along with German beer and Mulled Wine. People were all dressed up in traditional-looking German clothes. There were chalets selling many Christmas trinkets that have been handmade. Overall, it was so exciting! And let's just say I had my fair share of brats. I am definitely going back next weekend for some more.


And finally, today, there were 2 interesting opportunities that I had the privilege of attending. First, today is an International Human Rights Day, commemorating the 60th year since the UN passed the Universal Declaration on Human Rights. So on behalf of PRI (my internship), I attended this commemoration along with a colleague and together we manned a booth for our organization. Among the visitors to our booth included students, other Foreign Office workers, and even the Foreign Secretary (the equivalent of the US' Secretary of State which Clinton was just nominated for). It was a very interesting and fascinating experience, and I learned a lot about human rights organizations throughout Britain.

Secondly, tonight there was a talk from the Crown Prince of Jordan, where he discussed international conflicts, whether it be between religions or countries. He opened his talk with the statement, "Thank you, I am embarrasingly short, sorry." He was a very funny and witty man, with a lot of interesting things to say.

Here is a link to a new photo album from the Christmas festival. Enjoy:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2037132&l=40b8e&id=59002864

Have a good week!
Cheers!
Justin

A Time for Thanks...

Hello again! Hope everything is going great for all of you, wherever you may be. This past week was one of the most unusual for me, definitely had its highs and lows.

It started with back to work at PRI, an internship that I love a lot. I am meeting a lot of great people and doing some very interesting work. The other day, I was typing up notes that a manager took at a conference in Paris. The speaker was discussing prisons in America, and as I was typing, I came across her reference of the Supermax prison in Boscobel, WI. For those of you who don't know my little neck of the woods in WI, Boscobel is literally a town of about 1,000 people about 20 minutes away from my house. It was soooo weird that a speaker in Paris spoke of that prison, and to one of my supervisors from London, and then I read about it! So weird! Anyway, it discussed the positives of that prison, such as removing all mentally ill prisoners from there and putting them in hospitals where they can be helped, instead of adding to their mental illness. However, this speaker warned of the mental health of the prison guards, which I could name several people who work there. So family and friends at home, talk to these guards that we know and warn them of mental health issues! :) It proved for a very interesting conversation with my supervisor for most of the afternoon, needless to say.

This past weekend, I was visited by more of my friends. Dave came to visit from Germany, while Jenn and Autumn came to visit from Spain. It was such a great weekend, as I definitely missed all three of them! I had a blast, and I think they all had a great time. As most of you know, I have played tour guide countless times this semester, but this time we got out of the normal routine and went and saw Wimbledon as Dave is, um, obsessed?, with tennis. It was really cool to see though. We didn't get to see Centre Court as it was under renovation, but the museum was really fascinating. All too soon, however, they departed back to Germany and Spain respectively.

Before they came to visit, however, I had booked a trip to Barcelona with my roommates. I held out for awhile, as I would have rather gone to see Germany, as I am predominately German. But I finally gave in and booked a trip to Barcelona, sacrificing my chance to see Germany. I felt neutral about Barcelona, figuring it would be a cool place to see. Well after Dave came to visit, and talking about Germany, I decided that this experience abroad should be about what I want to do and it may be my only chance to see Germany. So I booked a trip to Germany, even though it was quite pricey, and decided to cancel my trip to Barcelona, basically eating over $100 for a plane ticket. But I think it is going to be totally worth it. Already, I am more excited about Germany than I ever was about Barcelona. It kinda stinks though that I can't have one last travel experience with my roommates here, but it will still be worth it!

I had a real rough time this Sunday. After my friends had left, I got extremely homesick (and physically sick as well). It hit me like a bus that I wanted to be home and back at school to have all of us back together again. I felt that my 3 months here was enough and I was ready to go home. That didn't mean that I am not happy here in London at all, I just felt it was time to get back to "normal" life in WI I suppose. But, I soon realized that this once in a lifetime experience that I am so fortunate to have must be lived out to the fullest. I mustn't go around being saddened about something that will happen soon enough. It's literally less than one month that I will be home. How weird. But through that little homesick period, it made me value the importance of my family and my great group of friends. I miss all of you and think of you all often! I am very thankful for all of you!

Finally, Thanksgiving is this Thursday. While it is obviously not celebrated outside of the US, my roommates and I are having our own Thanksgiving dinner that I am preparing after work on Thursday. I am really excited about it, and I can officially kick off Christmas celebrations. I'll let you know how it goes, cooking my first Thanksgiving dinner. Cross your fingers! :)

Have a great holiday! Eat lots of turkey for me!
Cheers!

Justin

Ya Gotta Load the Hump When You Can Load The Hump!

Greetings again from London!! Hope everyone is doing well back home and abroad. It's been quite an interesting past week or so. Starting with family and ending with an excursion to Oxford.

Friday, November 7, my Mom and Aunt Chris came to visit me in London for a week! I was very excited to see them. It is always nice to see familiar faces, but also, I got spoiled, too!! (Hence this blog title: meaning take a free meal any chance you can get, ask for extra groceries, and anything else when your family is in town visiting lol.) Thanks for that!! It was really appreciated, albeit unnecessary.

Anywho, after picking them up at the airport, we took a stroll (read: speedwalk) through Kensington Gardens. (Londoners walk fast, something that caught my mom and Chris off guard, so we had to "saunter" the rest of the week. We then went and saw Big Ben and Westminster, and rode the London Eye (the giant ferris wheel, observation thing). It was a bust. Definitely not worth it, but it was one of those things you can say you did. We went out for some delicious Indian food that night too. This trip was all about trying new things, and I don't think they were disappointed. The Indian food was well-received.


Saturday, we went to two famous markets: Portabello Road Antiques Market and Camden Market. Two great markets where you can get virtually anything. Also one of my favorite places about the city. For lunch, we had some delicious West African food -- Goat Curry!!! Yum!! Then a relaxing nap mid-way through the day, and we go out for some Pub food. Fish and Chips, Shephard's Pie, and Burgers and Chips! Also a few pints.

It's sad to say, but the rest of the days are kind of a blur. Meaning that we did sooo many things in town, that its hard to remember exactly what happened each day. But I know that on Monday, Mom and Chris sampled some delicious Haggis! Yes, that fine cuisine I had in Scotland (aka: Sheep intestines). Chris enjoyed it, didn't love it, but would eat it again. Mom, well, she wasn't that fond of it, but decided it was better than what she thought it was going to be.

On Tuesday night, we went to the London Ice Bar. My roommates also came with. The Ice Bar is exactly that -- a bar made out of ice! Everything from the bar, the walls, the chairs, and your glass are made out of ice. It is kept at -5 degrees year round. You pay 12 pounds to get in, which includes a designer (ya right) parka, mittens, and your first drink. You get to stay for 40 minutes, and by then, you're fairly cold and need to leave. It was the biggest hit of the week. Everyone had a great time there! It was just one of those things that you just have to experience and laugh about, and have a good time.


Wednesday evening, we went and saw Les Miserables on stage. It was such a great show. Plus we were sitting in the 6th row from the front on the stage level. Great seats!!!! I think Mom and Chris really enjoyed it too.

Thursday, we went to another pub and had our last meal together. My roommates came along too. After a few pints, and some delicious fish and chips, we said goodbye. The next day, they departed back to the States, arriving safely in Chicago. All in all, it was a great time!! I am so glad that they got to come and had a good time too. They got to see first hand how great of a time I am having here and see the city I love so much and call home. I am very thankful as well for all of their generosity and, yes, even their winning attitudes!! :)

Mom and I in Harrods Dept. Store: Our very own "Kessler Christmas Card" attempt

Now onto this previous weekend. My roommates and I decided to go to Oxford for one night. It was just a short 2 hour bus ride, and we found our hostel. The hostel and round trip bus ticket was only 26 pounds, so very cheap!! The city was very small and quiet. But the architecture and atmosphere was really cool. We saw Oxford University which consists of about 30 different colleges focusing on different areas. The most famous is Christ Church which has a very famous church and dining hall (the one used in the Harry Potter movies). The lines were very long and it was closed for most of the day, so we didn't go in. We did however sneak into New College and climbed the mound and enjoyed their student common areas. I guess it pays off being a college student to somewhere. We also visited a very historic pub, one that is noted for its importance to literature, called The Eagle and Child. In this pub, the works of Lewis Carrol's "Alice in Wonderland," J.R.R. Tolkein's "The Lord of the Rings" trilogies, and C.S. Lewis' "The Chronicles of Narnia" were all written. It was a very neat place. Overrall, Oxford has a great atmosphere for a college student, but I don't see myself ever needing to visit there. We actually ran out of things to do and snuck on to an earlier bus home.

Well, sorry for this ridiculously long blog post. But one more thing: Chris, we think we found one more pound coin that was different. I know, I know, you hate the Queen!

Until next time,
Cheers!

Justin