Julia Miller

This summer I became addicted to Pintrest. And by addicted, I mean I remembered my addiction, as living in London and actually having a life (shocking!) caused me to forget. I know I’m not the only one with this addiction and it’s resulting problem – I see all these cute ideas, repin them with grand plans for them and then promptly do nothing with them.

I decided to change that, despite the fact that I neither cook nor do artsy things by nature.

It’s actually been going fairly well, surprisingly. I’ve made several recipes and have created some fun decorations for my apartment down in Elon, including a scrapbook for my semester in Europe, something I never quite got around to doing last time I traveled there.

By actually getting my life together and doing these things, I’ve (gasp!) grown up a little. I now have confidence in my ability to cook actual food while at school, and this is coming from someone who has perfected the art of cooking stove ramen in a microwave (because boiling the water on a stove was too much effort). The other day, I defrosted a chicken, cut up zucchini and made Thai noodles – and then I made zucchini bread. By myself, with no one around to ask if I was doing it right. I’m still not sure if my parents were more impressed by my knowing how to defrost a chicken or the fact that I actually ate a vegetable willingly, but whichever it was, it was almost embarrassing how amazed they were.

The greatest thing about studying abroad in Europe is how easy and (relatively) cheap it is for students to travel around the EU. By the time I leave London, I will have been to Spain, France, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Ireland and Scotland and will also be spending two weeks in Italy after the semester ends.
 
All in just over three months (don’t ask about my bank account. It’s not a pretty sight).
 
But, while England is pretty similar to the U.S. culturally, with our common roots and all that, the same can’t be said for all the other places I’ve been. And while I’ve enjoyed every moment, there have been some serious eye-opening moments.  
 
Let’s take Amsterdam, which was an amazing place, but a very strange one at the same time.

 
First off, while pretty much everyone speaks English, that’s not the main language. Immediate cultural difference, but one that was easily overcome.
 
The real shock was the city itself, which seems to have multiple personality disorder. Part of the city is gorgeous canals, flowers, windmills and buildings. Maybe 20 minutes outside Amsterdam is a village called Zaanse Schans, which is pretty much tourist paradise, with cheese and wooden shoe shops, multiple windmills on a lake and adorable little historical buildings. Keukenhof Gardens are also fairly close and they’re a florist’s paradise.
 
Within the city itself, you have multiple markets, including a floating flower market, cute little side streets with designer clothing stores and the Anne Frank House and other cultural landmarks.
 
And then you have the other side of the city – coffeeshops selling marijuana, the Red Light District and even stores selling harder drugs placed throughout the city.
 

#Icallitamazing
 
#whatshouldwecallme: Besides the most hilarious website ever?

 Collegiettes™, I have a not-so-secret secret for you: I’m somewhat obsessed with the Brits. Ask anyone who knows me. So at least since high school, I’ve wanted to study abroad in the UK, in London, preferably.
 
Guess where I am now? That’s right: London. About 30 other Elon students and I arrived here last Wednesday and have officially spent a week here – I’m not counting the first day, as I had about three hours of sleep and really wasn’t a functional human being for the first day.
 
Going into this, I knew things would be different – the food, the culture, even the language to some extent. I was prepared for some culture shock and was actually really anticipating some of the differences, like being able to take the Tube (that’s the subway, for those of you who aren’t up on your British slang) and getting to hear the beautiful British accent every day. Not to mention being able to legally buy alcohol and drink whenever I so desired.

 
So the big things didn’t faze me. But the small ones?
 
Oh, yeah. It’s walking on the wrong side because not only do they drive opposite, but they walk on the opposite sides too. So make sure you keep to the left, not the right. It’s trying to hit the “shift” button on the keyboard but hitting the little button that’s supposed to be up by the one, the button with the squiggle. It’s the peanut butter that tastes, and even feels, completely different. And it’s even going into McDonald’s and seeing seating for over 200 – most of which is full.
 
And the McDonald’s are actually nice inside. Much nicer than the ones in the U.S., even though they’ve been renovating them.