I have been so incredibly busy with everything going on here in London. From work to the world cup to class assignments, I never realized how much I was cramming in to one day! I started my second week today at work. My boss mentioned that he thinks I am doing a great job and my MP noticed as well. That is feedback I never received in DC, so I was so overjoyed. I have really adjusted well to the office routine. I write a lot of letters and do quite a lot with scheduling. It is so neat, especially because I contact people like David Miliband, who will most likely be the next Labour leader and leader of the opposition. I hope he does win because that will make Prime Minister's Questions so much more entertaining with heated responses and jabs at Cameron. If you haven't seen PMQs, you should try to watch one week on BBC and CSPAN or youtube the old PMQS. The best are when Tony Blair took on former Prime Minister John Major. Sometimes I wish the US had these!

Now to be less political, I have my first paper due this Friday (yuck), but I have found myself enjoying foreign policy much more than I used to. My DC professor Sunil would be so proud of what I've picked up regarding the EU and British foreign policy on a more broad scale. My paper topic is going to have something to do with the EU by comparing the advantages and disadvantages of Britain's Atlantic alliance with the US on its EU membership. I know, it seems like a bore, but it is shocking how much this question affects every aspect of British domestic policy.

I almost forgot, on Friday I went on a Shakespeare walk around London. We walked across the London Bridge and saw the original location of Shakespeare's Globe theatre and where the current one stands. We also saw Catherine of Aragon's home prior to her marriage to Henry VIII. I am not a huge Shakespeare buff, but the walk around London and on the River Thames was such a pleasant way to spend my Friday afternoon. On Friday night everyone went to dinner at a Mediterranean restaurant called Sofra. It wasn't my favorite, but I did order a really neat sampler meal with a bite of each of their 12 most popular dishes. "It was an experience," as my mom likes to say.

Now onto Saturday...
The world cup games here have been so exciting! Watching the US v England game on Saturday night was a once in a lifetime experience. We all decided to head to one of our favorite local pubs called The Court. We were surprisingly not the only Americans! The pub was packed, along with nearly every other pub in London. I have never seen so many businesses close early nor have I seen a metropolitan hub shut down like London did. Everyone was in a pub and not a single person was on the street. Football is so big here and you would be shocked how many guys are so surprised when American girls love it. I was slightly offended haha. A group of englishmen even quizzed me on the English and US rosters and they bet me dinner that I couldn't answer their questions. Of course I had studied up so I could name the defensive players for both teams and I got a free subway sandwich out of it. You all should be so proud! I also placed my first sports bet on the game. Given it was only 10 quid, but the odds on a US victory were nearly 10:1 and a draw at 2-2 would have given me nearly 450 quid, so I could have made quite a bit of money. One of my roommates told me he would go shopping at Burberry with me if I won. That of course made me laugh. Sadly, the score was 1-1 so I didn't get to go to Burberry, but I did have the most amazing day watching sports which I wouldn't trade for anything.