Recess: Parliament's out

Parliament has gone into recess. What does that mean for the staff? Casual dress. Did I know this? No. I came in dressed as spiffy as I always do but now it really stands out. But I am not entirely sure if the “standing out” in this case is good or bad? Either way I am going to continue to keep it business casual. You never know when an opportunity might arise and a more refined look is necessary. 

While I know what the Parliamentary term for recess means, I have to admit from time to time I think of this when I hear the word.

Literally demolished a stack of casework today, all of which were response letters to the constituents. It felt good looking at a constituents surname and recognizing it (after only a week or so of working in the office). Again, the subjects of the cases were wide ranging. Some cases a short history of correspondence. Others have a massive record of letters from and between David, the constituent, and various departments and institutions. When I start reading a response letter, I always think, “Is the constituent going to satisfied with this?” The indications that they will or will not are obvious when you read a letter. For obvious reasons, I cannot tell you specifics, but some cases are rather difficult. Some constituents are dealing with large loopholes and just trying to get answers. Regarding a different form of communication, one of my office managers was on the phone with a handful of constituents today that rang about their pressing issue. You could tell that these issues were pressing because he then rang the associated third parties in order to get clarity on what was happening and how to move forward.

Working with this database/software, CMITS that I mentioned before has taught me some new MP office terms. If the review date for the department, employer, police, council, etc. is overdue and we are still waiting for a reply, we do a chase up letter or call. This means that we write to them again or call their office asking them if they have received the letter and if so why they have not responded yet.

What is useful for our office to receive is a holding letter from the corresponding centers. This type of letter is an acknowledgement that the letter has been received, investigation has commenced and they will respond with x amount of days. Usually it is 14 days. This helps in the evaluation of how to handle the chase up. Good case management is vital to an effective MP’s office. I know part of this post has seemed a bit humdrum but I thought I would give some more details to what I am working on with casework.  

As always in London the weather was in and out, at least for part of the day today. In the morning on the way to Parliament: beautiful. At noon: pouring; in fact hailing at one point. After 13:00: gorgeous! At 17:00 Justine and I both got out of the office. We took the tube to Covent Garden to stroll around for bit before she went off to LSE for a lecture. Both of us made great purchases at Tea Palace where it was 25% off everything! I am excited to bring my tea to work. Laura told me I need to get into English Breakfast, but I'm still getting used to drinking more tea. When Justine left for LSE I, of course, looked at shoes in the cute little shops. I plan on going back these shoes shops and buying, I mean trying on, a few pairs (wink wink). Also took a little peek inside the internationally loved Laduree before returning home. The baked goods look heavenly and the decor is sublime. Covent Garden was certainly bustling today. So many people were out and about when we got there. I am excited for when the weather warms up a tad more and we will be sitting outside the pubs and restaurants in the late afternoon and night after work.

Cheers!

Sarah

Marbles, Mummies, and the Mausoleum

A Bank Holiday weekend here in London, meaning today many people had off from work and a handful of places were closed. Regardless of the day off, Justine, Beriah and myself demonstrated the CUA motto: “Not a day off, but a day on."

The three of us explored Covent Garden, and Holbourn. Covent Garden will always be one of my favorite boroughs of London. It’s just so darn cute. There are many fantastic restaurants, shops, and a wide variety of pubs as well. There is a little open market underneath the Apple Market of people selling vintage jewelry, paintings, dolls, and other antique items. 

Piazza of Covent Square

Apple Market

Stumbled upon this ad :)

Holbourn was another interesting area of Central London. From time to time you will recognize a more dated building wedged in between more modern day buildings. Stumbling upon the Maughan Library was fascinating. I would have never guessed that this incredible building was smack in the middle of Holbourn. Very intriguing.

Maughan Library

Chicago playing at the Cambridge Theatre

After exploring these parts of London for a while, we ventured to an important (instructive) attraction of London, the British Museum. The British Museum houses a world collection of art and relics from ancient and living cultures, spanning two million years of history. The artifacts in the museum represent every history period with examples of pottery, jewelry, paintings, sculptures, tableware, military gear, and many more.

As we all know, museums, and huge ones like these especially, can be quite overwhelming. If you wanted to thoroughly explore the BM, I think it would take months. Looking at the schedule of London Walks offered today I spotted that there was a British Museum walk offered that serves as a great guide for the highlights of the museum. Entry into the BM is free so it was a great use of our notes.

Approaching the British Museum is in itself a fascinating site. From there, the architecture of the galleries and portals inside is captivating. The first are we walked into is called the Great Court. From seeing all the people walking around this interior space of the museum, it is evident that the Great Court transformed the inner courtyard into one of Europe’s largest covered public squares. It is a two-acre space enclosed by a spectacular glass roof. The center of the Great Court is used for special exhibitions, providing more space for permanent displays throughout the museum. I was in complete amazement walking into the Great Court; I felt like I was in a little city inside a glass ball.

From the start of our tour we learned about the foundation of the BM. A notable Ulster-Scot physician collector, Sir Hans Sloane, bequeathed his entire collection to King George II for the British nation, of course in return for payment of £20,000 to his heirs. Parliament accepted the gift and on 7 June 1753 an Act of Parliament establishing the British Museum received the royal asset. Therefore, Sloane’s collection became the foundation of the British Museum.

Some of the highlights that we covered on our British Museum venture: Rosetta Stone, Enlightenment Gallery, Parthenon Sculptures ('Elgin Marbles'), Ancient Greece: Athens, Egyptian Mummies, Mausoleum of Hallkarnassos, Sutton Hoo and Mildenhall treasures.

The gems one can find at this museum are astounding. I enjoyed having a tour led by a London Walks guide. It was useful having someone narrow down the vast amount of collections to specific ones, teach us about their significance and have us focus in on them. I never used to be a big museum buff. However since I have come to London, on what is such a unique experience, I have become increasingly willing to spend more at the museums here. Other ones I want to check out are the Natural History Museum, Imperial War Museum, and the Museum of London. 

Back to interning tomorrow. I'm really excited to see what this week brings!

Cheers!

Oh you fancy and modern huh?

It’s hard to believe that I have already been here for 2 weeks now. Time certainly does fly!

Thursday I got to have a nice one-on-one teatime with my David during work. When Elliot said that “David wants to have a chat with you”, I didn’t believe it since we had just been joking around with one another in the staff office. His office is connected to the staff’s so it’s easy for him to stop in and such. We had a great conversation! He stressed again that once I get my Member's Pass he has plans for having people take me around Parliament, have me sit in on committee hearings, etc. We're also working out my trip to his constituency too which I am really eager to do. He represents Southend-West, which is an area of constituency for Essex.

If there is anything you can certainly count in London, its rain. The rain here on Thursday was bad! A total down pour. I had to go to the Security Verification Office in the Abbey Gardens. Fortunately I was focused on how beautiful the little pathways were down there that I wasn’t wallowing in how wet I was. To work in Parliament there are so many checks you need to have done, its understandable but so annoying. It was a little bit of a challenge to completely understand what the man I had my SV appointment with was saying. I had to ask for clarification a few times. But the bonus: really cute guy. The walk there was about 7 minutes from 1 Parliament Street. I was there for maybe 15 minutes and then walked back. My poor little Harrods umbrella and me had a rough walk back. I was drenched from my calves down. Luckily I had black pants on. I also wore my sneakers for my traveling during the day since my black heels would be killer to be in all day, especially for the commute. The puddles around the streets of Parliament Square were little puddle tsunamis.

Before work was over, my two office managers invited me to join them for drinks at the Sports and Social Bar in Parliament. Their other younger friends, who were working as interns or permanent staff, joined us and we met up with a few others when we were there. I bought my first drink, which was a cider: my favorite type of drink here. They had this specialty "Lilley's Apple and Pears Cider" on tap, delicious! A good thing about eating and drinking in Parliament is that the food and drinks are cheaper! Once I began to reach the end of my drink, one of the guys that we had all gone with insisted upon buying me all of my other drinks. It was really generous of him and made me feel really special. 

When I got to the office Friday morning it felt really cool knowing that I am in as "one of the team" now. It was such a nice simple thing they did and they told me they are all excited to do it again. I loved meeting the people we went with and those we met there. I came into the building reading my London Metro newspaper and was greeted by Hamed (one of the guys originally went there with) with a big smile and a "Hey Sarah!" Hamed is such a cool guy; he plays for the House of Commons-House of Lords cricket team in Parliament. I told him I want to go to games! He stopped by our office later in the day and we all recollected about the night. It was really nice all chatting and laughing with one another.

Today was Saturday and that means, time for some touristy stuff. Justine, Beriah and myself went to Tate Britain, the national gallery of British art. The gallery shows work from the last five centuries, including contemporary British art, in a series of free changing displays. Tate’s collection includes masterpieces by British artists such as Hogarth, Gainsborough, Constable, Millais, Burne-Jones, Whistler, Sargent, Sickert, Hepworth and Bacon. The Clore Gallery is where we admired the extraordinary work of JMW Turner. Tate Britain has an entire wing dedicated to the Turner Collection, which includes countless pencil drawings and watercolors.

One of my favorite paintings in the JMW Turner collection is Regulus. It’s a landscape painting, dealing with a subject from history. Regulus, a Roman general, was reportedly tortured by being forced to stare at the sun after having his eyelids cut off. The painting invests nature (the sun in this case) with awe-inspiring mystic qualities. Turner’s intense portrayal of the sunlight is really dazzling and the colors of the sun are really bright. A critic from “The Spectator” wrote in 1837 “instead of the repose of beauty – the soft serenity and mellow light of an Italian scene – here all is glare, turbulence and uneasiness”.

After admiring the work at Tate Britain, we went over to Tate Modern. Beriah left to go to a baseball gathering. Justine and I took the Tate-to-Tate boat. It costed $4 and was nice ride along the River Thames. Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre is right next to Tate Modern so we caught a glimpse of it when we were walking there. Dying to go on a tour of the Globe Theatre! Tate Modern is the national gallery of international modern art and also houses a collection of British art from the 1500s. The Gallery was created in 2000 from a disused power station in the heart of London. The vast size of the building becomes so real once you see the dramatic turbine hall. The collection of modern and contemporary represents all the major movement from Fauvism. Included are some important masterpieces by both Picasso and Matisse. Tate has significant collections of Pop Art, Minimal Art, and Conceptual Art as well.

My three favorite works from Tate Modern were Do Hu Suh’s Staircase-III, Arshille Gorky’s Waterfall, and Robet Delauney Study for ‘The City’.

Staircase III, located on Tate’s 5^th floor’s Energy and Process, was absolutely incredible to look at. As I took each step upon entering the room, my gaze was focused on stairs. I recognized little aspects that I wouldn’t have if I had just walked by. It is reasonable that the entire room of the display is white with a tall ceiling and there are no other works in the room. Doing some research on the artist, Suh commented, “The space I’m interested in is not only a physical one, but an intangible, metaphorical and psychological one.”

Arshille Gorky’s Waterfall I simply just found interesting. Gorky was one of the most powerful American painters of the twentieth century. The Tate Modern highlights him as a figure in the formation of Abstract Expressionism. Waterfall is a work that is evocative, layered, and translucent with a liquid glowing quality.

Study for “The City” by Robert Delauney was a part of an early series of works by Delaunay on the subject of the city. The inspiration was a postcard photograph of the rooftops of Paris taken from the top of the Arc de Triomphe and looking towards the Eiffel Tower. I bet the reason why I liked this was because it involves a city and that city is Paris. I love cities that captivate you and make you never want to leave. Those that immerse you in its own individual culture as well as present you to its combination of all its others are invigorating. Paris is incredibly inspiring to me and I fell in love with it the moment I arrived on our family trip nine years ago.  

The bellies were grumbling, so we needed a good nosh up. We have been wanting to go to Gourmet Burger Kitchen for a while after reading it in multiple “London Eats” related articles. Justine knew there was one near St. Paul’s so we ventured over there. We walked across the Millienium Bridge that links the Bankside to the City, crossing the River Thames. Fun fact: in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Lord (dare I say his name) Voldemort’s Death Eaters destroy the bridge, causing its collapse. 

Approaching St. Paul’s Cathedral is an amazing site and the many little squares of shops and alleys around it are alluring. (One con: there are literally four Starbucks within a few blocks, #gobacktotheUSA).

Gourmet Burger Kitchen is an all about the burger chain restaurant here in London. Fresh ingredients, classic and innovative taste combinations are what make their burgers delectable. You can choose from the already ‘designed’ burger, dally with rarefied delights (chorizo, pineapple, blue cheese, beetroot), or if you’re really mental you can order a custom burger made from any of their ingredients. The burgers themselves are spectacular, towering magnificently over the plates and held together with like 7 inch toothpicks. Dining at GBK is definitely not exercise that you can carry out with a high degree of dignity. Eating such a contrivance is rapidly reduced to lifting the thing up and trying to topple it into your mouth before something falls out.

I ordered the Falafel Burger: handmade falafels with hummus (houmous here), cucumber raita, sweet chili sauce, salad and relish. Justine ordered the Cheese Burger: aged Cheddar, salad, mayo and relish. For £7-£8, you definitely get your money’s worth in terms of fullness: I am still full and its midnight.  GBK is an admirable attempt to restore a little pomp to the humble burger. It’s leagues apart from the usual burger suspects and definitely worth your custom.

It’s a stay-in night for Justine and I. The combination of the long (but great!) first week of interning, the museums today and the food coma that resulted after GBK resulted in tiredness. As I am finishing the blog, she is doing a wonderful montage for Caleb. Had a wonderful phone conversation with Mom, Dad and the rest of the family that’s at the shore this weekend. It was so good hearing all of their voices and telling them about my stay here in London. Also, it is really heart-warming to know that they are all thinking about me and miss me lots.

Till later mates! Cheers!

Wizards of Westminster

Today was a bustling and beautiful day in London. Security was on extra-high alert when I got to 1 Parliament Street. There were UK Police in their bright reflective jackets all around Westminster. President Obama addressed both houses of Parliament today on his state visit. He stressed the shared values of the US and the UK; the rule of law and the rights of the individual, regardless of their race. He added that leadership had to “change with the times”. The days were gone where the American president and UK prime minister could simply sit in a room and solve the world’s problems over a glass of brandy. The central trust of the speech to Parliament was showing that the US still remains committed to the transatlantic relationship. (By the way, today I would like to change NATO to NABO; North Atlantic Bromance Operation.)

As I was watching the President’s address, I could not help but sit there in amazement. Here I am as an American, interning for an MP in London, sitting in his office, watching my chief of state address Parliament. It was an incredible thought.

I believe it serves as a testament to what the President highlighted on regarding the relationship between our two governments and also our universities. He stated that both nations “educate our citizens and train our workers in the best colleges and universities on Earth”, adding that in order to maintain this advantage, “we will have to renew our national commitments to educating our workforces.” There is truly no denying that we now live in the global economy. The quote that stood out to me the most was “And even as more nations take on the responsibilities of global leadership, our alliance will remain indispensable to the goal of a century that is more peaceful, more prosperous and more just.”

If you read some reports on his time in Westminster Hall this afternoon, there may be mentioning that it took him almost about 10 minutes to leave the hall. He stopped to shake hands with many politicians and other important figures that had lined the building to hear his speech. I can tell you first hand that it took that longer amount of time.  We turned our heads back and forth to watch the BBC live news feed of him leaving and to watch the front door to the hall. I mean it when I say David has an astonishing view of the Parliamentary Square. I took another picture of Westminster Palace as we were standing on the balcony. Do you believe me even more now that he has one of the best views?

That was surely not the end of an already exciting day! Justine and I met at 5 (or 17:00) after interning and jumped on the Central line to Embankment. Walked down one of the streets where there was a lot of dining options and decided on a Mexican restaurant called Lupita. It was satisfactory, saying that mainly because I don’t know when “I’ll just have a glass of water” became being charged 1.85 for still water on my bill. I might ring them tomorrow in fact to complain since we were rather mothered by it. It was still a nice dinner out in a different part of London before we continued our night. Next we hopped on the tube and got off at Temple.

Our excursion tonight was participating in one of the famous London Walks. As I was doing research the week before I left, London Walks popped up in my findings. Reading about all the different ones offered, I knew it was worth checking out. Also so many places around London itself have pamphlets for the walks. Sign that we should participate, isn’t it? Yes. And how about that it offers a student discount? Make that a double yes.

Death Hallows was the journey that we chose; a Harry Potter themed walk since so much of London has history that was used in conjunction with J.K. Rowling’s brilliant imagination.  Richard, our walking guide, was such a great one! We learned a lot of London history and interesting facts. Both relevant and not entirely relevant to Harry Potter. It was totally fine by us! The guided walk made strolling through these parts of London more interesting because we were learning things about them. Walking along these parts is so much more significant with the history behind them (and definitely their connection to modern day) being made know. 

Here are a few pictures of the places we ventured to today and a little bit of background:

The Temple Church. It is located between Fleet Street and the River Thames. Built by the Knights Templer, it was constructed in order to serve as their English headquarters. It is famous for its round shape and its effigy tombs. Two Inns of the Court, Inner Temple and Middle Temple, use the church today.

A Courtyard of the Inns. In England and Wales there are two divisions of what the US would call attorneys. There are solicitors and barristers. In order to become a barrister, one must be a member of one of the Inns of Court. These educate and regulate barristers. The Honorable Society of Gray’s Inn, The Honorable Society of Lincoln’s Inn, The Honorable Society of the Middle Temple and The Honorable Society of the Inner Temple are the four Inns of Court. When these barristers first moved into these courts, they were often viewed as wizards, persuading people, changing their lives, and writing in their large books. 

The Royal Courts of Justice. The building houses the Court of Appeal and the High Court of Justice of England and Wales. J.K. Rowling is scheduled to appear in the Royal Courts in London in February 2012. Ridiculous case because there is no case in my opinion. The construction is utterly remarkable. When we were walking through the alleyway and under the archway, after being in the Inner Temple’s courtyard, I wasn’t expecting to see this magnificent grey stone edifice on the other side. The man who designed it, George Edmund Street, was a solicitor turned architect.

The Somerset House. Not relevant to HP but Richard felt that walking past this magnificent arena on the way to the next location would be stupid. Agreed. Just east of the Waterloo Bridge, it overlooks the River Thames. Today it’s East Wing forms part of King’s College of London. 

The Lyceum Theatre. Almost certain this is where we came to see The Lion King when my family visited London nine years ago. 

Now it is time for bed; I am absolutely beat. Really chuffed that I toured a different part of London today. I am loving this exploration after work thing we've got going on. Tomorrow may be a little more of a lay low evening after interning, especially since its supposed to rain tomorrow. Best news is tomorrow is Thursday; another step closer to the weekend!

Cheerio!

Obama and Magna Carta

Shortly after I went to grab lunch today David came into the office. He said that as soon as I get my Member Pass, Paul will take me all around Parliament. Now, if only that were a quicker process. So many documents have been involved in this internship, so I guess I am not that surprised that this isn’t a streamlined process either.

David participated in Minister questioning today. Luckily there was a live feed that we were able to watch him. I overhead some people around the building saying that they felt today’s questioning was like the old days: meaning a bit of a shouting match. Didn't seem too crazy to me, but who knows?

Obama arrived in the UK today (or even late last night I believe from what I read in this morning’s Metro newspaper on the way to the office). We all watched the motorcade pass by our Parliament building twice. The view of down below and the area in general from David’s terrace are really spectacular. The security is getting pretty tight as expected. Whenever we heard the helicopters we knew he was coming around soon.

After interning today, Justine and I met in the lobby of our building and went to dinner in Parliament. There are lots of great places to dine and drink in the buildings. While we were waiting for the dinner dishes to be put out, Justine took me around where she has to go usually for posting and delivery. Since her MP’s office is not connected to the staff office, she has a lot of errands to run during the day. Stopped by the Parliament Post Office because she needed some stamps. We were hoping they would offer William & Kate stamps. No luck. Surprising because almost every souvenir shop has something commemorating the Royal Wedding.

The dining area that we ate in is called “Debate”. Diagonal from it there is a Members only dining are called “Adjournment”. How Parliamentary. I had a pretty sophisticated meal for 5. Took a picture, of course, so I could show you what I mean. I definitely plan on going back to try some other dishes and specials.

On our way to the tube station, I snapped a picture of Big Ben and the Palace. It was just so beautiful today that I could not help but gaze at it in amazement.

Our exploration destination (I like the way that sounds) for today was the British Library in St. Pancras-King’s Cross. Getting there was confusing at first because finding the stop on the map is half the battle and then planning out the route is the other. People who think the DC metro map is complex are in for a surprise.  Here is a map if you’re interested. The borough of St. Pancras does have some typical city like neighborhood parts but there are a few buildings that are actually stunning.

The general public does not have access to the stacks at the British Library unless you have a Reader Pass. No worries, because the exhibition galleries are open to everyone and the “Sir John Ritblat Gallery” is what we came to see. It is home to some of the library, as well as the world’s greatest treasures. The items, sacred texts from many faiths, maps, literary, historical and musical works, are beautiful and fascinating. I learned that for preservation reasons the lighting and temperature levels of the gallery need to be kept low and items may be changed from time to time. Some highlights were: Magna Carta, the Revelation of St. John, Manuscripts of the Beatles’ Ticket to Ride, Help, the third volume of Jane Austen’s notebook, Charlotte Bronte’s “Jane Eyre”, and Virginia Woolf’s “Mrs. Dalloway”. It was surely a good day to do some exploring of London. Amazing sights all around in this city.

May your joys be as bright as the morning, your years of happiness as numerous as the stars in the heavens, and your troubles but shadows that fade in the sunlight of love. 

- Old English Blessing

Cheerio!

Came down with a case of case work

Adjournment discussion went on for a little bit today but only when David was in the office. One of his friends, Ann Widdecombe, who was a previous MP came in today. She had the office David had before he moved in there. Get this: she was on the UK's version of Dancing with the Stars which is called Strictly Come Dancing last season.  She was so sweet and funny.

Organized a lot of the constituency files today. The files aren't necessarily all over the gaff; there's just so many files. And paperclips!


The main thing that all of us did was case work. Lots. of. it.

It amazes me how many of David's constituents take the time to write to him. Of the maybe 200 issues that I read about and wrote response letters to constituents today, there were 2-3 issues that had multiple people writing a complaint to. It shows how these people really make to a  point. In their letters, they try to make a single coherent point. While the number of people writing in is in a vast amount, its evident how these constituents want to give an example of how a certain legislation or borough application will personally effect them. Its the truth that if no one complains about something, then councils are going to think that everything is alright. Therefore it is important the constituents feel comfortable writing to their MPs. This is a trademark of David's MP role. Now, I will say the constituency concerns came in a great variety. From wiping out badgers to prevent TD spread to the UK's membership in the EU. 

Security is beginning to tighten up around Parliament. Barricades were going up today all around the palace. We spotted a Black Hawk helicopter form the office window. Can only imagine what Tuesday and Wednesday's security implementations are going to be. What I know for sure is that my office has the best view of it all.


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Just got back from O'Neills; one of our favorite places in Piccadilly Circus. The bouncer at the front door loves me apparently. Insists upon giving me a hug when I enter and leave. The band that plays on Monday nights is fantastic! Played the same set as last Monday but regardless they are a great band. Really get things to liven up. I was surprised I even made it out of the house, I was feeling incredibly knackered from such a long day of interning. 

Keeping on the sunny side, walking through Royal Gardens

I believe that there is a reason why God puts you in the circumstances that you are in. Those points in time can be joyful, challenging, or just indifferent. My hope is that I learn to recognize that God wants me to learn from these moments. Challenging moments have taught me my strength and perseverance. Joyful moments have showed me to not take myself too seriously and to savor the beauties of life. Life is full of countless blessings that God gives us. It’s definitely hard to appreciate, or even notice them when the craziness of schedules, deadlines, and countless emotions encircle us. Being busy is good for me because it helps me not focus on silly stuff or insecurities. So I have found that I recognize the blessings more in retrospect.

Right now however as I am in London for this expanded period of time, I am recognizing the absolute beauty of this city and the experiences that are available to each individual. My wish is that this increases more and more. I am so anxious for the Parliamentary occasions that are in store and the many adventures my flat mates and I take. Not many people get to study abroad, or even travel abroad, outside of their country. I am so grateful for this experience that my parents have given me and God has made possible to happen.   

Yesterday afternoon, we decided to go to Hyde Park. It was a nice start to our touristy adventures especially because it was the warmest day since we first got here a week ago. (Commercial: been here for a week already, oh Queen Mum!) The entrance of the park started with the Italian Gardens, to a walk alongside the Long Water. Seeing the Peter Pan statue made me think of my Mom. She and I came to Hyde Park together one afternoon when my family visited London nine years ago. If you know me, you know that my family is most important element of my life. So of course little things like this get me all sentimental. 

We continued to walk through Hyde Park and watched the countless kids and parents playing by the Diana Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain. Diana would probably smile over the playing and laughing that happens at this fountain. It’s exactly what she would have wanted. Kensington Gardens is right next to Hyde Park so we walked over there. We made our way through the gardens, around the Round Pond to the front of Kensington Palace. The grounds surrounding the Palace are gorgeous and pictures were a must underneath the beautiful vine archways. I do need to mention there was a man that was sitting on a stone bench in the garden right in front of the palace who was feeding a squirrel. I have dubbed him "The Squirrel Whisperer."

  

As we were making our way out of the gardens, it became even more clear that they are particular popular for sunbathing and picnics in the fine weather. There were also lots of joggers and runners along the gravel paths. Exiting the gardens we walked through the borough of Kensington. I could see myself living in a little flat here, which I will probably say again about another area of London in the future. Lots of shops, florists, Italian restaurants and cafes. We had a nice dinner at Carluccios and then did a little more strolling around the high road before returning back to Kilburn.

Sunday morning we all slept in which was much needed. Still working on adjusting to our new UK clocks. It’ll kick in soon, maybe. Talked a lot about trips and adventures we want to take. There are so many places and happenings and so little time. Justine and myself went to Our Lady Queen of Heaven in Queensway for the 4:30 mass. The people could not really hold a tune very well and we had a difficult time understanding the woman reading. Yet, the priest really surprised us with his heartfelt and insightful homily. One thing he said that really stuck out was “We do not have the Truth, the Truth has us.” Pretty powerful. In the Gospel Jesus tells his Apostles to put their faith in him, for He is “the way, the truth, and the life.” The celebrant distinguished each one of these in his homily. It made me reflect upon them myself. He is the way because He is the path that leads us to the Father. He is the Truth because He gives us meaning to our human existence. And He is the Life because He is the source of eternal joy and strength. We must renew our faith in Him and put all our hope in his promises. After mass, Justine and I strolled around Queensway’s Queensway Road. Found an awesome deal of 15 postcards for 1, #winning. So many souvenirs commemorating the Royal Wedding. Yeah, its still going strong over here. It’s going to be our Sunday ritual that we attend a different churches service each Sunday and then explore the neighborhood and places around it after. Love Justine as my London roommate by the way! 

After about an hour we returned to Kilburn. Each of us cooked or re-heated in tonight. It was a good night to do some researching, writing and just chilling out. We planned things to do during the week after all of us are done at Parliament. Looking forward to all of them!

Tomorrow I start my first full week of interning. I am so excited! Wednesday President Obama is addressing the two houses. Anxious to hear what the commentary is about the President over here from the British perspective. Talked with Elliot and Laura about what Brits think of American politics a lot on Friday. I imagine we are going to have loads more to discuss this week! David has preparation for adjournments tomorrow I believe, which will be interesting to learn about for sure!  Justine and I have been typing away and now its bedtime!

Ta!

Seizing My New Experiences

Wednesday, my last full day before starting my internship, Matt and I did some great London sight-seeing. We went to Harrods, one of the world's most famous department stores. I had gone there when I was here nine years ago; it was definitely even better the second time. If I lived here, I would do some real damage to my bank account because of Harrods. You could spend at least a whole day walking around and not get bored. It occupies a vast site of London's fashionable Knightsbridge and has a phenomenal range of products in hair, beauty, handbags, apparel, scarves, jewelry, cooking, pianos, furniture, and so on! The food hall is flashy to the core and mouth-wateringly exotic.  Fact: Harrods is spread over seven floors and encompasses an estimated 5 acres of floor space. Again, damage can be done here. 

We all were meeting Dad at Bourne and Hollingsworth for cocktails and then to Bam-Bou for next door for dinner. Matt and I, on our way there, ventured to Buckingham Palace and took a walk through Green Park to get to the tube. It started to mist and then really pour as we were on our way. Before we went to the pub we went to Dad's London office in Mayfair, which is diagonal from the Burberry store and close to Tory Burch. Mayfair is at the very heart of the London borough of Westminster. It is one of the finest residential areas and one of London's most attractive villages.  I was so happy to meet people working in Dad's London office. Glad to see he is surrounded by such wonderful people when he is over here. Then it was off to B&H and getting there felt like another one of Dad's "short cuts but really long-cuts" moments. Maybe it was because it was still a little misty and wet. But we eventually made it there in good timing and we met up with Molly and Justine!  I was relieved that they found it fine! Our "family" is good at finding its way/directions, so I knew everyone would be okay! :) B&H is really unique in its location because it is pretty much a basement cocktail bar that has quite a little pep to it. Imagine a one single room with a small window bar. The atmosphere is casual and unpretentious to an otherwise long-established after-work bar scene. We had these cute cocktails called "The Gatsby" which was an incredible concoction of raspberryness and fizziness. The final product looked simple but watching them make it proves otherwise. 

Bam-Bou, right next to B&H, was our spot for dinner. It has a prime location (just like B&H) at the bottom of Charlotte Street. I forgot to mention, to enter the little quarter that all of this is in; we had to go through this little alleyway. Precious. Bam-Bou has such charming decor; think oriental screens, carved shutters and of course…Buddhas. The restaurant proved to be a patriarch of London's pan-Asian scene. The matching of the colorful food and the warm exotic tones of the place is stellar. Service is generally sharp as well. Yay moment: KKP showed up right after our appetizers. Being the foodie I am I need to tell you what we ordered. For appetizers: Steamed buns with shiitake and cashew, Steamed Edamame, Cha Gio Chay (crispy vegetable spring rolls), Ba Lo Lot (ground beef in wild pepper leaves) and my favorite of them: Crispy Soft Shell Crab with spicy mayonnaise. For entrees: Crispy Fried Sea Bass with green papaya and ginger dressing, Braised Lamb Shank with massaman curry, Wok-fried Sea Prawns with tomato, chili, lemongrass and ginger, Bun Cha: sticky sesame pork skewers and two orders of Green Curried Chicken with eggplant and bamboo shoots. The portions were spot on & plentiful. Delicious and flavorful which was just what all of us needed. We paired it with a couple of nice bottles of white that went perfectly with the food. Finished the meal with some nice coffee. The whole crew (minus Beriah, sad face) then took Dad to our new favorite place, O'Neill's. It was such a fun time! Having my dad share in some of my great London experience made me smile and thank God for this wonderful experience!

Thursday morning, I set my alarm to get up for a very exciting first day of working as a Parliament Intern. I was certainly nervous and naive because I have never interned before. Thankfully, with the reassurance of Stephanie, I was told that David's office was a bunch of friendly and funny individuals. And yep, she was right. It was definitely a great first day! The office is made up of about 5-6 of us and all fairly young. David's office has an incredible view of the castle. In the middle of working on my first office assignment, David came in and introduced himself. So lovely. He called me a little sparrow. He is such an open talker and comes into our office from the main office just for updates and discussions about scheduling. Note: a planner is called a diary. At one point there was a procession of horses and David called us all out to the balcony to see it. Definitely a great view of below. I first worked on sending out birthday cards to those who are turning eighteen in David's constituency. It’s a great way of getting those who are of the voting age involved and enthusiastic about British politics. Unlike a House Representative or a Senator, a Member of Parliament does not represent as vast of a number of people. The database that I was using today currently has 4,500 registered. While that’s not all of them, it’s almost the entirety. After one day in the office, it is evident how much David and the staff, now including myself =) is aware of constituency concerns and open to listening to them. They want to work to support South-end constituents to the greatest level and go above and beyond in keeping in contact with them. David has been a member of parliament since 1983 and from what it looks like, he is a very active MP. He has a great interest in Animal Welfare, health related issues, and ensuring that the voices of constituents are acknowledged and policies are fairly carried out. 

I am really excited to work in this office. I wasn't afraid to ask questions about British government, current issues, office procedures, etc. An internship, and this one especially working in a different country's government, is truly a learning experience. Whenever the staff was mentioning a certain topic or recent occurrence with a constituent or an event happening, I sought advice and raised questions. Keeping an open mind about the new ideas and procedures is definitely vital. I also talked with Elliot and Laura a lot about their "university" (not college) years. The two of them have great personalities and I really enjoyed talking to them about them. I've learned so much already in one day about British schooling, government, etc. I felt comfortable showing my energetic and enthusiastic personality today. David knows a lot of people in Parliament and the Westminster world so I am excited to make some connections with people in the field. I want to meet as many people as possible during my parliamentary internship. After completing my first day and walking out of the office to the Westminster tube, I felt really good and accomplished. Having never done this before, it was certainly an awesome first experience.

It was an absolutely beautiful day in London town Friday. The initial nervousness I had the previous day had done pretty much away. I felt more and more comfortable being in the office. Had lots of good conversations with everyone. Having both attended quite different universities; we did a Google Map and Wikipedia show and tell of one another’s schools. Its always nice when people ask you about parts of your life, especially those that are so significant to who you are as a person. We both value the education we’ve been blessed with. Even more so, we are both curious and open to seeing what paths life takes us on when we apply the qualities of education. We both have a passion for pursuing something greater within ourselves, even if we don’t know exactly what that is right now.

Now concerning what I actually did today in the office; lots of casework related tasks. Like I mentioned before, David has a great passion for “staying in the know” with his constituents. A way of doing that is recording every initial letter, holding letters and responses on file through a database. In doing so, we are able to track the progress of a case, conversation, issue, etc. Through the database we also keep record of the surgeries they have attended. Again, a “surgery” here is like a town-hall meeting that has individual appointments in 15-minute intervals. Did lots of this today. Photocopied letters and stuffed envelopes that are going to be mailed to constituents, departments, etc.

Last night started out pretty mellow and got really crazy. We had planned on going to The Roadhouse, and the cover was £10 that wasn't happening, at least not that night. So we turned around and walked back to where we had gotten a little lost earlier. We went to a cute little Italian place for dinner and then went across the street to The "Round" House for a little. It was a peculiar scene, lots of different congregations of people. The guys stayed at The Round House and ventured all over. Us girls left and found our way to Zoo which other had mentioned before as a good place. The upstairs was an oldie playing, not as spacious area. After a little while up there we went downstairs, and I was shocked! It just opened up and there were so many people! The music was definitely more to my liking given the occasion, I wanted to dance it up (as always). We stayed there for a long time! Made our way home at around 4 am. Regardless of having to make some creepy people get away some time, it was a really fun night! I had a great time! It was one of the best Friday nights I've had a really really long time! Today we are doing some sight seeing of London. Sorry for the extensive update, it has been a busy first week! (Got here exactly a week ago!)

Cheerio!