Hello again!

ATTENTION- Sorry I reedited this post... before I had a typo where I said that I was not a ambassador.... I AM an ambassador, you can check out my profile on the ACM website. Thanks!


Ciao!
 Sorry I disappeared, I hope to make more posts here over the next few months reflecting upon my last few months in Italy. I am now a Student Ambassador for ACM programs for Ripon College- so let me know if you have any questions I can help with!

Also check out my Youtube Channel- www.youtube.com/walesnotwelsh


~Meg
megaynr@gmail.com

Pisa and Girls Weekend!

This weekend has been fantastic!
Shopping, American Diner, Nail Polish, Movies and Pisa!!!

Venice

From our trip a few weeks ago!


Ciao!

Update: Florence Week 1- Sienna

Here is from our trip to Sienna!



Ciao,
 Megayn

Florence: Video from Week 1

Ciao,
 Well I have been in Florence for 24 days now, and I don't have much of an excuse as to why you haven't heard from you. I'm fine, healthy, I have internet at my host family house. I guess I've just been too busy soaking it all up to type it all up!

Here is video clips from my spring break and first week in florence,

Soon to come: Video from Sienna
                       Video from Venice
                       Pictures!


Grazei! Ciao!!!

<3 Megayn

Getting Caught Up- Post 3- Week 5

Week 5-

Monday 2/25- Class with Mark and Andrew, Lunch, then we went to Trafalgar Square to the National Gallery, one of my favorite places in London. We went and looked at paintings by Hogarth and Turner that dealt with London identity.

Turner

I think I love the National Gallery so much because it is so unique to London. To be able to walk into a building, free of charge and just go sit and look at Monet and Van Gogh is amazing to me. I've done it several times since being here and I'd say it's probably one of my favorite moments of living here.

Tale of Genji Chapter 19

Tuesday 2/26- With Andrew we went to the Foundling Hospital, an orphanage school of sorts. Then we went to the British Museum to see the Elgin Marbles again. After that Kristyn and I went up and looked at the Asian Art we hadn't gotten to last time we were there and I saw a portion of the Tale of Genji, a story that I had studied to great extent in my art history course last semester. It was amazing to see it after studying it for so long.

In the Beginning was the End

That night we went and saw a strange "sight specific" promenade show called In the Beginning was the End.  It was bizarre but very intriguing,
I can't really describe it in a blog post.





Wednesday 2/27- We had a visit from the Program director in Chicago and a dinner buffet with her in the back classroom which was nice.

Mmm yummy!

Thursday- Before class I had extra time to spare and I went to Chipotle which was delicious, walked over my bridge and went to the National Gallery. That night we went and saw a production of Hamlet at the ruins of the historic Rose theatre. It was pretty weird to be in the foundations of a bank building freezing to death watching Hamlet- but it was awesome!  

Hamlet at The Rose

Friday- I went to see Port at the National Theatre- it was for my independent play- I really enjoyed it! 

Port at The National Theatre

 SO... that's it for week five, because on Saturday I went to Windsor, Stonehenge and Bath! If you missed the video check it out here: 

Cheers!

  Meg

 

Hello from Florence

Ciao!
 Sorry I haven't written even though I have been in Florence for the past 12 days.

Today is my birthday! I went and had gelato at Grom with my friends and hiked up to my favorite spot above the city. I wrote in my journal and sketched it was a really lovely day!

Write more soon!

London Video Footage

Here is the last of my footage from London...

I am safe in Florence having a wonderful time!

Ciao!

Hello from the airport- Goodbye to London!

Hello again,
 Writing to you from yet another airport. I know you will be shocked and amazed to hear that I got here VERY early. Like, 5:45am.... they didn't let me check in until 7:25 so I had some yummy hot porridge and watched Meet the Robinsons on my iPad.  I am now through security (which was a breeze even though I was reasonably scattered) and sitting watching planes take off on the runway. My plane doesn't start boarding for another 45 minutes but then I will be well on my way to beautiful Florence.


Things you should be looking forward to-
-Catch up posts still to come for my last weeks in London.
- I'm also making another video using the last bits of my footage.
- POSTS FROM FLORENCE!


Well, Cheers London- it's been grand!

Getting Caught Up- Post 2- Week 4

St. Pauls Cathedral

Dome of St. Pauls

Monday 2/18- Had class with Mark and Andrew, gave a presentation on the British Museum. Then we went to St. Paul's Cathedral. It was amazing, we even went up into the Whispering Gallery in the dome itself. The choir was rehearsing, it was beautiful.







Tuesday 2/19- We went to Greenwich ( said like Gren- itch) and it was seriously THE most beautiful day. Sunny, warm, just wonderful.

Greenwich

We saw the Queens house (Queen Anne) several paintings by Joshua Reynolds, the painted gallery, and lots of other paintings. We also went into the chapel there which was beautiful.

When we got back we saw a play called Old Times starring Rufus Sewell (The Knights Tale, The Illusionist, Jasper from The Holiday). It was really confusing and short but interesting overall.

Old Times

The Stepmother

 Wednesday 2/20- We went on a day trip to Richmond, which is just West of London. It was a nice day and a cute town, LOTS of shops to buy things. I ended up treating myself to a bottle of perfume but eventually went home to have dinner because I didn't feel like shopping anymore. Then I came back to Richmond, forgot my wallet at home..., to see The Stepmother at The Orange Tree Theatre. It was a fantastic play written in 1924 about a woman who has to support her family with her husbands failed business ventures and try to arrange the wedding of her stepdaughter. It was very powerful and the theatre was in a round (the audience was on all sides) which was really fun. Probably the second favorite of the plays we saw as a class ( My first favorite being Di and Viv and Rose back in Week 1).

The Thames in Richmond

Thursday 2/21- We had class during the day and discussed several plays with Mark- then that night we went and saw Quartermaine's Terms starring Rowan Atkinson who you might know as:
The play was good, sad at the end but I loved his performance. It's amazing the opportunities I've had since being here. I grew up watching Mr. Bean and to see him on stage, be in the same room as him (granted it was a huge room) was pretty incredible!





Friday 2/22- Uh I don't remember what I did, other than watch the Downton Abbey Season Finale... but that's british so it's ok right?

Saturday 2/23- Kristyn and I went to the Camden Lock market and it was SO COLD! I had some delicious Chinese food as we huddled to stay warm. As far as markets go this was busy but more spaced out. I think I liked the Portobello better. We had a lovely dinner at Mark (my professor) and his wife Carol's flat, then Addie Grace Katie and I went and saw a musical at a pub theatre called The Route to Happiness. It was entertaining but the music was all the same chords and the characters were kind of shallow. Interesting venue though, the Landor Pub.


Sunday 2/24- While people back home were watching the Oscars I probably took the day to do homework, laundry and relax.

And so ends the recap of week four!
Cheers!

Getting Caught Up- Post 1- Week 3

Hello there,
 I really am sorry it has been so long. Obviously I have been busy and haven't been able to update this nearly as much as I would like to/planned to.I tried to make a video a week ago talking about all of the things I've done but YouTube said it was too long to post (if that tells you anything about how busy I've been.
So, without further or do, let's catch up!

When last we saw Megayn....
 The last post I made was right after I met Ian McDiarmad in Stratford-upon-Avon way back on Feb. 13th (a month ago today!) After we saw Bertolt Brecht's Galileo we wandered around Stratford, I ate dinner at a Chinese Buffet (strange but delicious) and we took the long train ride back to Earls Court. Stratford was a wonderful getaway, despite the weather being cold and rainy the majority of the time.

Feb. 14th <3
   Valentines Day in London was a beautiful day, the sun was shinning and the streets were lined with flower stands selling roses. Our class went to the National Portrait Gallery with Andrew (my Architecture professor). We then rushed back to Russell Square and had a long discussion about plays with Mark (my theatre professor).





Feb. 15th- A day of rest, the start of our first free weekend. I'm pretty sure I just relaxed all day.

Feb. 16th- Kristyn and I went to the British Museum. It was so wonderful. I got to see first hand so many things that I studied in my survey of Art History course last semester. All of my images from that visit can be found if you click here- http://imgur.com/a/JMTou#0
My favorite part of the museum was seeing the "Elgin Marbles" or the marble sculptures from the pediment of the Parthenon in Athens Greece. Since then I have already been back, there is so much to see! I wish I would still be here when they open their new exhibit.

Feb 17th- Productive day of homework and grocery shopping.
END OF WEEK THREE!

Cheers!

Weekend 5- Windsor, Stonehenge, Bath Trip Video!

Here is video from my trip to Windsor Castle, Stonehenge and Bath today!

See the video on Youtube by clicking here


(I pinky swear I will update you more about these past two weeks soon!)

Cheers,
 Megayn

Week 1-4 Video

Here's a video to hold you over until I write my next post.
It's some video clips compiled together that I've taken so far.

:)
Cheers!
~ Meg

Week 3 in review- Hampton, Stratford, Palpatine!

Hello Blog,
 Sorry it has been a while, too long. I've been VERY busy, mostly doing homework but also some other pretty incredible things.

So last week, I got to see my cousin Matt who took me to some of his favorite places in London, bought me a pint and taught me the rules of Rugby, and took me to a very nice dinner. It was comforting to see family, especially when I haven't seen him in so long.

On Sunday (10th) was my brothers birthday!!!

On Monday (11th) we went with Andrew (my history prof.) to Hampton Court, the palace where the tudors lived- i.e. Henry VIII, and other monarchs. It was SO cold that day, but the gardens were beautiful.

Shakespeare's Birth Home

The church where he was baptized and is buried

On Tuesday (12th) we made our way by train to Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire. Most famously known because that is where shakespeare was born, married, and buried.  Although the weather wasn't very nice while we were there we had a great time.

On Tuesday night we saw The Winter's Tale at the RST which was fantastic. On wednesday after visiting Anne Hathaway's cottage (No not the actress, Shakespeare's wife) we saw A Life of Galileo at The Swan Theatre starring Ian McDiarmid. It was really a fantastic show, plus Joey and I waited by the stage door in the freezing rain for twenty minutes but then I got to meet him! 

Well I'll be adding more soon... I'm trying to set up an account on flickr.com so that I can link you to all the pictures that I take without having to scroll through them all the time.

Cheers!

~ Megayn

Week 2

Hey! Here's what I've been up to-- Pictures soon to come!

Conversation with John Green and Hank Green

Me: Hello!
John: Hey!
M: We came all the way from Wisconsin to see you!
J: Wait, really?
M: Well we are studying abroad here too.
J: Oh haha I was going to say. Wisconsin is beautiful, I go there a lot.
M: My parents both went to school in Indiana, that's a nice place too.
J: Well, you gotta live somewhere haha! Thanks for coming!
M: Thank you for everything!

Hank: Hey thanks for coming!
M: Thank you, it was a really fun show!
H: Yeah the energy was crazy! **starts to draw little "Hanklerfish"**
M: You've gotten really good at those.
H: Yeah, I guess we all have our calling :)



AHHHHHH SUCH A GOOD NIGHT

Hello, it's Sunday! My first week in review :)

Good morning everyone,
 Sorry I haven't posted as much as I would like to but to sum up my first week I'll just give a few of the highlights.

Sunday-
 It was sad/hard to say goodbye to Mom but it was fun to meet my new house mates. We went on an adventure to the grocery store, and later had a reception with our landlord and professors.

(Not pictured- Sam, Jerry, Leah and Rebecca)

My first night there was hard to adjust to, as all first nights are. Sleeping in a new bed, and hearing the sounds of the city in a new place.... speaking of, here are some pictures of my new place! 

Monday-

 We ventured out to our Classroom, which sadly isn't here in Earls Court. Got to take the tube there with my roommates Sam and Kristyn...

Once we were at the classroom we sat through some long intro talks from our professors Mark and Andrew who are both very nice. Then we took a long walk from London Bridge to Waterloo Bridge (2 miles) in the rain and cold but it was pretty beautiful! from London Bridge to Waterloo Bridge (2 miles) in the rain and cold but it was pretty beautiful! 

On London Bridge, behind me is Tower Bridge

 I had subway for dinner that night, (I know I know, how American can I be) but it was delicious so.... yeah!

Tuesday-

Tower of London

On tuesday morning I'm pretty sure I just relaxed, which was nice. I took the tube BY MYSELF!!! to where we were meeting Andrew (my Architecture professor) at Tower Hill. Because I had gotten there so early I explored the area, Trinity Square and the view of the Tower of London. 

Trinity Square

My ACM Group looking at the ancient wall built by the Romans.

After that we walked to the Museum of London where we learned more about the Roman occupation (and founding) of "Londonium". We also learned about London during the Middle Ages, the Great Fire (which had a pretty funny exhibit) and the Black Death. It was interesting.
That night I ate at this restaurant in Earls Court called Byron- Proper Burgers. I loved my Proper Burger.






Wednesday-
On Wednesday I went to Piccadilly Circus and walked around and explored before seeing Shakespeare's Twelfth Night with the group. 

The play was fantastic, even though our seats were not very great. We were in the highest row, almost looking straight down on the actors. Stephan Fry played the part of Malvolio- he is a very famous british actor but I know him best as the narrator of the Harry Potter Audio Books, that I listened to over and over again as a kid (who am I kidding, I still listen to them all the time) It was great! Also, it was a true shakespearian performance because all of the female parts were played by men.

That night Kristyn and I went to Wagamama and had some weird Asian food, mine was actually pretty good. Chicken Rice bowl thingy ------->

  Thursday- (Are you still with me?)
Thursday we spent most of the day in class with Mark talking about Twelfth Night and Theater in general. Then we walked over to his apartment, and to the British Library where we glanced at Jane Austen's writing desk, Da Vinci's journal pages, the first ever manuscript of Beowulf... stuff like that ;) , and had wine and cheese with his wife Carol. It was pretty delightful. On our way back some of us girls stopped at Kings Cross Station to live out a childhood dream or two.

Friday-

 Friday I spent the day in Hampstead (north of Earls Court by about 4 miles). You may know the Hampstead Heath from movies like Notting Hill (when Julia is filming that victorian movie in the field).  Anyway that day I spent on my own, wondering in and out of shops, drinking tea and eating delicious French food.... 

That night we saw an amazing new show called Di and Viv and Rose at the Hampstead Theatre- 

it was the story of three girls the met at University, all of them being very different and finding themselves and growing together. It was powerful.

Saturday-

Went to Portobello Market which was crazy and fun! Here are some pictures:

Sunday-

Well so far today I woke up, had a piece of Nutella toast and wrote this very long blog post. I hope I won't let them pile up on me like this again but I hope you've enjoyed a taste of my week. Tonight I am going to see my FAVORITE author in the whole world, John Green, at Cadogan Hall. He is promoting his latest book, The Fault In Our Stars. I can't wait!

Cheers,

 Meg