I’ve studied abroad.  But not really.  If you are currently studying abroad, or plan to in the future, I can assure you that my overseas experience was a bit different.  I began my college experience in London, rather than waiting until Junior year to try the whole passport-and-a-long-ass-flight routine.  Whenever I say, “I spent a year in London,” (I transferred during sophomore year), people assume I studied abroad.  I did not.

At my school, Americans who were enrolled in degree programs were labelled “Degree Students,” while Americans who were specifically there for a semester or two were labelled “Study Abroads.”  So, while I was an American sewing my wild oats just like you might be, there were some major differences.  I moved to the UK when I was 18, fresh out of high school.  I’d never had a keg party experience, I’d never lived in a dry dorm, and I’d never been to a major college sporting event.  Though I wasn’t always on my best behavior, my best friends were from all over the world, and I could see through their eyes how Americans earned bad raps as being obnoxious, immature, and annoying.  Make the most of your experience. Don’t make these mistakes.

1.  Do Know That Your Accent Says It All.

Have you ever heard an English person swear? I don’t care how “sodding” pissed off they are, it sounds so much nicer than an American politely asking, “Whaat tye-am is etttt?”  Most natives of whatever country you’re in won’t be instantly appalled by your accent, but they will know approximately where you hail from.

2. Don’t Get Wasted and Yell Things That Would Be Funny at Home.

As I just stated, your accent gives you away.  Which can work to your advantage… or not.  Screaming your school’s sports chant– P-I-T-T Let’s Go Pitt!– is not only loud and obnoxious, but do you really think the residents of Queensland, Australia give a f*** about the University of Pittsburgh?  Singing bar songs (American or otherwise) will also make everyone, including fellow Americans, want to punch you in the face.

Read More »

(We’re back with another weekly installment of G.W.W.E. [Guys We Wanna Eff]. Award season is upon us, and while the whole world is buzzing about his film, Slumdog Millionaire star Dev Patel should be winning an Oscar for Best Effability in a Leading Role!)

Every year, there seems to be one film that captures the hearts and imaginations of the public, and this year everyone is talking about Slumdog Millionaire. Based on the true story of a young man from the poorest neighborhoods of Mumbai who wins the top prize in the Indian version of “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?” Slumdog has already won the Golden Globe for Best Picture and is up for the Academy Award in just over two weeks.  And crucial to the movie’s success is the romantic main character, Jamal Malik, played by newcomer Dev Patel.

Just who is this new Hollywood hunk, and is it okay that I wanted to eff him silly when I saw him shirtless in the movie’s first scenes?

Don’t worry, ladies, I’ve got the scoop. Dev was born in England in 1990 (he’s legal!) and had his first big break on the British comedy, Skins. On his Skins cast member blog, Dev thrills us with this titillating update, “Since we last spoke, I have become a sex machine who will bring to you a sensory experience that will blow your feminine mind and titillate your crazy hot body. I am now a sexual master who has complete knowledge of the three positions of love making.” If that’s not an invitation to eff, then you can take down all my Slumdog posters and burn them (actually, just in case, please don’t. I can’t fall asleep at night without a glance at Dev on my ceiling). Read More »

Well, ladies, if you have ever wondered what Prince Willy’s willy looks like…today is your lucky day.Pictures have surfaced of the future King of England with his junk out and about for the world to see. This is the peepee that will lead the future of England… the royal scepter, the monarch manhood, the regal wanker in Cockingham Palace!

But, seriously, WTF is he doing? and why is he holding his bangers and mash like a fag? (English word of the day: Fag is a cigarette, and he is seriously holding it like one.)

Maybe that’s how they do it in the UK…you know, like how they drive on the other side of the road?

I don’t know…but I never would have thought that I would see the future ruler of England takin’ a leak on a fence.

That is definitely not proper, Willy, your Grandmama would have a fit! Find a loo!!!

Recently, the Department of Health in England conducted a study of heavy drinkers to find out why they drink. Through a series of focus groups (which is probably the last place a hungover person wants to be) the health professionals concluded that heavy drinkers fall into 9 basic categories.

They outlined their conclusion here.

A lot of the categories overlap, and many categories aren’t included (“It tastes so good,” for example. Or, “I love that cotton mouth feeling in the morning!”). However, I found the study to be interesting and somewhat applicable to the average college lady. Personally, I have fallen into every one of these categories…in a single weekend, but maybe this thing has some merit.

Any maybe my mom was right: “Lauren, no one puts beer in their cereal. You have a problem.”

The report was written for a British man, so I took it upon myself to bring you the facts in words you, a college coed, would understand. Which group do you fall into? Which group do you want to fall into? And why is everyone all “you have a problem” all the time?! Read More »

I never studied abroad as an undergrad–the programs my school offered always seemed pointless to me. Instead of sending us to a foreign school to meet new people or learn a new language, my college had set up satellite campuses around the globe. I’d have the same teachers, the same peers, even the same dorm life, just transplanted to a new city. And since I was an English major, that new city had to be London, because that’s where they offered the classes I needed.

I thought it would be fun to have a change of scenery for a semester, but I had heard many a tale of study-abroad-gone-useless: “I never went to class, I just got drunk all the time”. “I only hung out with other Americans”. “We lived with other English speakers, so we never even bothered to work on our French”.

So I decided to skip the whole semester abroad experience and go all out–after graduation, I’d go to grad school in another country.

I applied to a few universities, one in Dublin, Ireland, two in London, and one south of London in the seaside town of Brighton. Because of rolling admissions, I heard back from the three UK schools almost immediately–accepted! Yes! Having never been to England, however, I wondered how I could possibly choose. So…I flew to London. For the weekend. In a jet lag-induced haze, I wandered the city, taking photos, visiting campuses. I took a train to Brighton and tried to imagine myself at school there. I made my choice. I bought a London guidebook.

On graduation day, I got another letter in the mail. It was from Ireland, and informed me that I had been accepted to the school in Dublin. My well-laid plans were suddenly de-railed–the masters program in Dublin was exactly what I wanted, and the school had a bit more prestige. At the advice of friends, professors, parents, strangers, whoever…I changed my mind.

I moved to Ireland in the Fall.

When I arrived at Dublin airport on a sunny day in late September, my entire life packed in two suitcases, it was the first time I had ever set foot in Ireland. I knew no one, and my program wasn’t supposed to begin for another few weeks. I was entirely alone…

[I'll be chronicling some of the best and worst experiences here, so stay tuned!]

For most of my life, I’ve somehow escaped getting pulled into prime-time dramas. It’s probably because I’m ususally too busy doing other things during prime time to care about Joey + Dawson, those crazy kids in the OC, Buffy, or even (on a slightly less teeny-boppery note) anything that happens on Law+Order--that goes for SVU too.

But all that changed for me the summer of 2006. I was spending the summer abroad in England, and countless phone calls to my then boyfriend back in the states would go like this:

Me :”I miss you honey!”

Him: “Me too, Babe!”

Me: “So how are you!?”

“I’m gr–Oh babe, gotta go–the guys are about to watch LOST,”

“But-”

“I love you! I miss you! Bye!” Read More »

What’s better than a southern punk rock sounding band comprised of tattooed boys who have some serious chips on their shoulders? A southern punk rock sounding band comprised of tattooed boys with serious chips on their shoulders who are FROM ENGLAND.

Most people call them Gallows, but after spending a couple months on Warped Tour alongside them this past summer; I call them The UK’s Answer To The Shitty American Hottopic-esque Bands Polluting The Minds Of Today’s Teens, instead.

They’re angry. But they’re honest. They don’t prepackage themselves with the sorta fashion you’d expect out of a festival like Warped Tour these days. In fact, Gallows pretty much don’t give a f*$k about anything. Read More »

• CNN is getting into sex advice…for some reason. Today? Kissing techniques! Kind of like getting sex tips from my mom…

• England is telling Nigella Lawson she’s fat. And she’s believing them!

• Now the guys in our lives can be comfortable while peeing…as if they don’t enjoy using the bathroom enough…

• The 10-year-old version of me just lost it over this game! We all need it!

• In: Having a cell phone to check in with family. Out: Payphones; Superman

• Not to scare all of you…but sushi can be high in calories so just make sure you aren’t ordering the double battered tempura roll dipped in more fried tempura and you’ll be ok.

• Cutest Story of the Day: Photojournalist saves a puppy from a hole! Awwww.

Hold on your barf bags, girls. This is gonna get disgusting.

A 5-foot tall, 42-year-old mother of five from Sussex, England was recently arrested and charged with sexually assaulting a 6-foot tall acquaintance.

Tanya Hutchinson claims that when she and her friend (who can’t be named for legal reasons…and the possibility that women all over the world might want to kill him) climbed into bed at 11 AM on a Thursday afternoon last June, the sex was completely consensual. The man she slept with claimed that Hutchinson dropped date-rape drugs into his wine and molested him.

After cops barged into her house and arrested her in front of her 7-year-old son, they took her back to the station and interrogated her for hours, asking mortifying questions about her sexual escapades with the man in question.

Hutchinson claimed that she had grown close to the man, an old business acquaintance of her husband’s, after her divorce, and a few dates into their relationship came to believe that even though the man was still married, he was separated from his wife.

“He told me that he thought ours would be a special, long-lasting relationship and he spoke of taking me on a trip to Portugal.” Hutchinson said, “I began to believe we had a future together.”

Which was why, when he appeared at her door at 11 AM on that June afternoon with two bottles of wine, she thought it was okay that it was “very clear he was there for sex.” Read More »

Though we’ve been led to believe otherwise by movies and dramatic episodes of Dawson’s Creek, let’s face it—sex can be awkward.

Instead of perfect lighting that makes you look hotter than Heidi Klum, you have your date’s lava lamp casting a faint glow on your cellulite. You don’t always fall effortlessly into bed, your bodies completely in sync. Sometimes you have to move your cat, half-eaten can of Pringles, and dog-eared copy of “He’s Just Not That Into You” out of the way first.

Passionate tearing off of clothing? Sure, sometimes.

But then there are those times where he’s fumbling with your bra clasp for so long that you don’t even help him because you’re curious to see how long it’ll take. Read More »