First we rocked the halls of Willingboro High School . . . then she came to D.C. . . . then she came to Chicago . . . then we hit up Philly . . . . AND NOW SAMMIE IS COMING TO LONDON! (And possibly Florence!)

Life. Is. Good

Do the hustle. Doot doot doot doot doo doo doo doo [Read More!]

Went to Greenwich today!



Click “read more” to see more photos!! [Read More!]

I felt really homesick on Thanksgiving. But luckily, the day ended on a yummy note. Check it out by clicking “read more,” to see pictures. [Read More!]

See you soon!

After a failed attempt to get the entire office to eat turkey sandwiches for lunch (only my boss went for it,) I went over to the sandwich shop to pick up two hot turkey sandwiches.

The store manager gave me free muffins!

He said he could tell by my accent that I'm American, and he felt bad for me having to work on Thanksgiving.

"Isn't it Thanksgiving? Oh no, and you're working! These are from me darling," he said as he gave me the muffins. "To go with your tea."

Yes of course. My afternoon tea. On Thanksgiving.

I love London.

. . . I'm homesick. It just hit me that I WILL be working on Thanksgiving. ='(

Every year newspaper articles like this one make the front page. Even though the news is always the same.

Weather, Traffic Snarl Thanksgiving Pilgrimage

By Fred Barbash
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, November 24, 2004; 8:31 AM

Miles of road spray, clouds of mist, warnings from the weather service, record gasoline prices and longer-than-usual airport lines greeted the first wave of travelers in the Washington area this morning as they joined their countrymen in what is expected to be the busiest Thanksgiving pilgrimage in years.

All local airports advised passengers to allow themselves at least 90 minutes for boarding from the time they arrive and to call ahead to find out about parking conditions and flight delays.

Some weather-related delays were likely at all major airports east of the Mississippi, aviation authorities said this morning, because of what the weather service called "unsettled conditions" in all directions.

Those ranged from rain and fog on the highways on the East Coast to snowstorms in the Midwest.

Those same conditions were already slowing highway traffic hours before the big rush, which the AAA said generally begins about noon and goes into the night with another wave setting out early Thursday morning.

Amtrak, meanwhile, said it was anticipating the busiest week of its year, with ridership about 80 percent higher today than on a typical Wednesday. Amtrak said about 125,000 people would ride its rails today alone.

Amtrak advised travelers to arrive at stations 45 minutes early if they hold tickets and 85 minutes early if they don't.

Reservations are required on the majority of trains operating in the Northeast, despite the fact that Amtrak will add nearly 60 trains to its national schedule.

The American Automobile Association estimated that some 37 million Americans would leave home today and tomorrow, largely to visit relatives. Among them, it said, will be about 676,000 Washington area residents.

The vast majority -- about 590,000 -- will be on the highways.

The organization said the increase would be the largest since the pre-9/11 era.

. . . I ever realized how many friends I have in the U.S.

Everyone's writing and awaiting my return in December! I love you family and friends!!!!!!

And how exciting that most of my Chicago friends will be in D.C. in January!

I have to do a bazillion "lunches" with people in D.C. and NJ. I almost want to throw a big return party!!

Sometimes it takes a foreigner to help you appreciate your own country.

Click "read more" to er . . . read more. [Read More!]

Click “read more” to see photos, including one taken from the roof of Parliament. [Read More!]

Oh my gosh, so the first Apple store opened in London today, and last night people were queuing up in hopes of getting free goodies, and cheap Mac products!

Kris very awesomely wrote a story about it. Her, Mark and I went to dinner, and then she got a call before the food came that she had to get that story out NOW.

So she ran back to the Apple line, while Mark and I drank her Chianti!

I was so excited for her - she'll go far if she's willing to sacrifice dinner for a good story! I love journalism, and I love having friends that understand the "journalism high." Kris was definitely high on journalism last night!

Click "read more" to see the story she wrote that appeared in The Daily Herald, Illinois' third-largest newspaper. [Read More!]

Click “read more” to see photos of Evalinde, Me and Sinterklaas!
[Read More!]

Click read more to see photos from my trip to Amsterdam! [Read More!]

No updates this weekend. I'll be in the Netherlands. Love AJ

Nobody's ever heard of them. An American must've left a bag of each on the central table, where we all take food from. Here, they all think the term "blow pop" is dirty. I told them, "It's a brand name! For the bubble gum in the middle!"

Not one person in the room had ever heard of such a thing. Nor Tootsie Roll pops.

I just sang a couple of verses of Redneck Woman for my colleagues. They'd never heard of it! Can you believe it? They were cracking up at the lyrics, and even more so when I told them that me and my friends shout this song with pride. I guess I shouldn't hit them with Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy yet huh? [Read More!]

"You have to trust me," he said, as he led me up a dark staircase.

I was in Parliament, the monstrous building beside Big Ben that houses England's government.

The Reverend at Wesley's Chapel in London is also a peer in the House of Lords, a lifetime position.

Monday, I went to visit Rev. Griffiths at Parliament for a tour. The building is one of the grandest places I have ever visited. I only wish I could have snapped a thousand pictures for you. We tread the same paths as Queen Victoria and all royalty after her.

After watching the Lords debate and touring the halls, Rev. Griffiths took me to the House of Commons side. It was 8:30 p.m. and most of the leaders had gone home. He began trying door knobs all down the hallway - but to no avail. They were all locked.

Finally, we found a knob unstuck. Behind it, the lights were out, but I could see the dim outline of a spiral staircase. I held closely to the railing. Up and up we went until we came some forgotten corner near a sooty, pentagon-shaped window.

"You'll have to trust me here too," he said. He stepped over some scrap wood, unlatched the window and stepped out. I ducked my head and followed.

And then I looked up.

There was Big Ben, the Thames and the London Eye before me. Surrounded by piping, plywood and concrete, the London skyline fell before us.

We were on the roof!

When my surprise wore off, I instinctively grabbed for my camera in my purse. My hair flower tumbled out of my purse and the wind carried across the roof! Lexi had given it to me, which made it special, so I hopped on a ledge and chased it.

"Don't go over there! The guards will see you!" Rev. Griffiths said.

Oops. Hadn't thought of that.

I ran back, clutching my torn flower, and said, "Oh! I wouldn't want to get shot!"

To which he laughed and replied, "We're not the Americans, you know."

Click "read more" to see the photo. [Read More!]

I met some Poles this weekend, and you might know that Poland was one of two countries, I think, that supported Bush.

I asked a Polish guy at church why Poland felt so differently, and this is what he said. (BTW: He loves Chicago, surprise.)

"We know what has happened during World War II and we know what Communism did. So we will always vote for or support people who erase from history Hitler or Stalin or Saddam Hussein."

Oh my!

Check it out, my partner, Bahar, and I worked on these stories SO HARD during my last week in Chicago!

It's what I call real reporting! Talking to beggars on the street, traipsing up and down the street talking to store managers, riding around in Help The Homeless vans, and getting city officials to comment!

Panhandlers On the Rise -- Police, social service agencies and retailers weigh in on the business of begging.

And the accompanying sidebar:
This is my job - A military veteran makes a living begging for change

In 1605, a man named Guido Fawkes tried to blow up Parliament with 36 barrels of gun powder. He was hired by the Catholics who hoped to start a revolution and bring Catholicism back to England. Before Fawkes could finish the deed, he was caught, tortured, hung, drawn and quartered.

The Brits have been celebrating this event ever since. Around the anniversary date, Nov. 5, all of England sets off fireworks and burns the “poor bloke” in effigy in great festivals.

Click “read more” to see photos of my Saturday night. [Read More!]

Click “read more” to see some more pictures of London, including St. Paul’s, Shakespeare’s Globe Theater and the Millennium Bridge. [Read More!]

The Brits leave out mince pies and sherry for Santa on Christmas eve!! Can you imagine? Liquor and a meat pie for Santa?

Me: "No way! Americans leave out milk and cookies!"
Work colleagues: laughter
Me: "What kind of image of Santa do you have?"
Work colleague: "A fun one!"
Me: "I have to e-mail this to my family."
Work colleague: "We are quite strange, aren't we?"

"So what park did you live in?"

-- That's the question one of my Bloomberg colleagues asked me at the American Embassy in London on election night.

Five time zones away, in Europe's largest city, surrounded by television screens and t.v. cameras, we chatted about my home town of Willingboro. My colleague got his start in journalism at the Burlington County Times, my home town paper.

We explained to a girl from Germany and another from Wales about 'Boro's park system, which names all streets in the same park by the same letter.

It really is a small world.

A couple of people have asked me about Europe's reaction to the election results.

Click "read more" to see the covers of two popular UK newspapers. [Read More!]

Last night, went home, showered, went to bed for one hour. Then got up for the Election Party at the U.S. Embassy with journalists from every major U.S. publication and news station, as well as a host of diplomats and government leaders. Was amazing, and so strange, I felt like I was back on American soil.

Then went home for about three hours sleep. Back at work now, wearing the same clothes I wore to the party.

Classy me.

Check out the beginning of this Belfast Telegraph Article, which also appeared in The Independent.

Party time for expats and election junkies
By Matthew Beard and Rob Shaw

The climax to the elections will be watched by tens of thousands of expatriates at parties across the UK until dawn tomorrow.

The hottest ticket will be an invitation to the Quadrennial Presidential Election Celebration at the US embassy in Grosvenor Square. The carefully vetted guest list of at least 1,000 names drawn up by the charge d'affaires, David Johnson, includes scores of diplomats and, in the event's non-partisan tradition, about 100 invites each for Democratic and Republican Party members. To calm the nerves, live music will be provided by a bluegrass group and two barbershop quartets.

More

My fellow Americans, you have more power than you may realize.

With anxiety and hope, the world waits to see which leader you will choose for Earth's only remaining superpower.

I am in awe at how much interest non-Americans show in this election.

Local news channels are spewing out campaign details, explaining the electoral college and our state-based voting system.

The faithful bow their heads in church and ask God to watch over the Americans as they vote.

Ordinary folks in Post Offices across Europe offer to pay postage for last-minute absentee ballots.

Business people in offices study U.S. maps on computer screens. Blue states on the coasts, red in the middle, and a sprinkling of undecided grey.

Gamblers place their bets online, the stakes are high.

The decisions America makes affect far more than the 300 million living within the nation's borders.

People all over the world feel as if they have stake in the election, yet they are powerless to affect the outcome. They wait in anticipation to see what the Americans will do.

I imagine the millions in the country I love, dutifully going to the polls. Sadly, no matter who wins, half of them will not be happy.

My gosh, so much power has been bestowed upon the United States, and only those priveleged enough to be citizens can choose the nation's leaders! You choose who commands the world's largest military and leads a nation of wealth.

I'm not saying this so we let our hearts swell with foolish pride, but so you can see a different perspective.

I had to leave the country to realize this.

America, the world is watching.