In London, Dashing to Scotland, Socially Conversing About My Studies

SO not a posed photo!

I just wanted to share with you that I am writing this blog post on a train bound to Edinburgh – I feel so extremely European! Or, at the very least, tourist supreme.  I want to stress to every American that this Scotland city is pronounced Ed-in-burrow … you do not say Burg at the end. If you want Brits & Scots to take the piss (look, Leener <aka my curse vigilant sister>!), then go ahead and pronounce it as Burg.

St. Pancras Station
NOT PANCREAS!

However, I digress and this blog continues. When last we left our intrepid adventurer (me), she had departed the safe haven of dear friends in Oxford and had continued her journey via train to London. Blah blah train stations blah blah picturesque countryside blah blah arrival at St. Pancras Station (yes, the beautiful train station where Harry Potter movies were filmed along with King’s Cross because St. Pancras is much prettier on the outside). So I know you’re saying to yourself, “Where is the social media aspect she is supposed to introduce? That is, of course, the ONLY reason I am reading her damned (<Leener>!) blog anyway!” Fear not, gentle readers, here it comes.

Hey! Let's go to Europe & visit really
old castles so we can look at
our phones constantly!

Who cares about history? Let's check FB!

So, everywhere I look, I see … cell phones, tablets, and laptops, oh my! Are these people actually talking on these pricy little phones? Not so much. I see a lot of Facebooking (yes, America, little Mark Zuckerberg may be one of ours but FB definitely belongs to the world), tweeting all round, and, in a clear sign of the impending end of civilization, lots of cat videos being watched and shared. All in all, it seems that social media is becoming the great world equalizer. (Oh, that was actually a good thought – must remember that in my culminating paper!) One last observation about social media and its worldwide explosion. From the time I left Clementsville, KY (population possibly 50), through my journey to Lexington, KY airport, onto Chicago’s O’Hare, over the big pond known as the Atlantic, to Oxford, to London, etc… 

So historical but. I. Must. Finish. This. Tweet!

There has not been one single time that I have not been in contact with any other human beings, that observation of social media in one form another has been missing for over twenty-two minutes. (Yes, I counted and yes, some of those times have included me). Social media revolution indeed!

Okay, I’m getting quite excited on this train. I’ve seen about a zillion sheep in gorgeous countryside but now I’ve seen an actual LOCH! It wasn’t Loch Lomand nor Loch Ness – and just now the very nice man I pestered asking what it was informed me it was actually the North Sea. So it was not even a Loch … but it will always be a Scottish Loch in my heart. The names of the towns are wonderful - Berwick-Upon-Tweed, Northumberland, Galashief. And the accents! Even better than Mike Myers with his Scottish burr.

 

But back to my blog. So I’m not really going to go into detail about arrival in London (also known as the land of a billion stairs – anyone who has been to Europe and gone on the trains and who has been told their flat is on the 3rd floor but then soon realize that the 2nd floor for us is the 1st floor for the sneaky bastards (<Leener!>). Suffice it to say I met up with my fellow classmates & teacher Jane Barrager IN PERSON (quite nice to see and hear them live instead of through computer screens), found that my four other flatmates were all quite nice and, to a person, much neater than me (this will so shock anyone who knows what a stickler for neatness I am!), and began my series of classes/interviews and continued my role as social media manager for the FSUlibIT Facebook and Twitter accounts where I find and post items daily for the Florida State University School of Information (aka iSchool) for my Directed Individual Study (DIS) course for my MSLIS that I'm pursuing over here. Incidentally, that would be called "reading Library Sciences" over here. Nice, eh?

Heidi, Jill, Kiersten & Danielle - Flatmates Extraordinaire!

I've gotten a few interviews (working on more), taken thousands of photos (and, no that is NOT an exaggeration, sad to say), and am working on a paper. I am stressing a bit but it will all be worth it - plus I am in LONDON so what am I doing complaining??? In between the class work, we've visited the Tower of London, seen the West End musical Wicked, gone to the British Library, visited some of London's amazing parks & markets, and still have a ton of other things to do. Gotta say thanks to FSU for this opportunity. Once again, if you want to, click here to visit my Facebook page for many more photos - they are totally worth 1,000 words from this blog!

Tower of London - one of my absolute favorite places on the planet

Class in front of the Tower Bridge

Me & flatmate Jill from Michigan at Wicked

View of Amazing King's Library Collection at British Library

Hunched-over statue of Isaac Newton outside the British Library

World's Largest Library - British Library