China: Law School Adventures

The most interesting thing I’ve done with my life recently is venture to China with a few of my law school classmates for a two week study tour of Xi’an and Beijing.

Last summer I had the once in a life-time experience of studying law at Cambridge and I had gone back to a meeting to talk about my experiences to new students who were considering going to Cambridge this summer. I discussed my time with them but I also learned about this incredible opportunity to go to China and earn up to 3 credits of law school credit while doing so.

My first thoughts were “no way, I could never afford that…but wouldn’t that be the coolest experience, like ever?”. I still (of course) put my name on the information sheet anyway, but the more I learned about it the more I realized that I could totally make this work (all we paid for was airfare and credit hours to the university) so it really wasn’t that expensive, and plus I got 2 credit hours out of the way for the next year and memories to last a lifetime.

Here I am in front of the university in Xi’an, this was the law school building and where we had our lectures from Chinese law professors. We learned about Chinese Company Law, Chinese Civil Law, Chinese Constitutional and Administrative Law, Chinese Civil Procedure Law, and Chinese contemporary economy. We also had a session where former Chancellor and current law professor Harvey Pearlman had a comparative session on US and Chinese law. Overall, the classes were crazy interesting and really a great opportunity to learn about another country’s legal landscape.

The coolest part of this trip was the opportunity to see the Chinese court. We toured Xi’an Intermediate People’s Court and got the chance to converse with judges in the court (pictured here in the light blue shirts). This was by far a highlight of the trip and of my law school career. It was an amazing opportunity for cultural exchange and conversation, even though there was a language barrier the conversations we had are something I will remember forever.

One of the highlights of this trip was the food and the cultural experiences. My top favorites being the fish spa, the delicious yogurt from the street market, dumplings and the hot pot dinner we did.

There is always something fun about a challenge, we had a VERY short amount of time to climb to the top of the Wild Goose Pagoda in Xi’an, and we accepted the challenge and ran up to the top. Worth it.

Seeing the terra cotta warriors was also a highlight of the trip. For sure a must see if you get to Xi’an, downright amazing are the only words to describe this. Something you’ve gotta see for yourself to completely understand how amazing it is. Definitely a must see world heritage site.

5 Things you Must Do in the Highlands of Scotland

One of my top favorite places to go in the world has to be Scotland, more specifically the highlands. I’ve compiled a list of my top favorite things to do, but there is so much more. These are just some of the interesting things I did when I visited.

1. Hairy Coos

When visiting the highlands you must find these beauties. Our bus tour got so pumped every time we saw one. At one point our driver graciously stopped for a photo op. I love these fuzzy cows! You must find one and take a picture of or with one- which if you drive around the highlands you are hopefully bound to see some!

2. IrnBru

This crazy looking beverage is a must try in Scotland and although crazy sweet, it is strangely addicting and I often find myself wishing we had it in the US.

3. Castles

See all the castles. They are awesome and never get old. Our tour guide called our tour the ABC tour, or another bloody castle tour. Which was true, but it didn’t make it any less interesting. I would do our exact same tour again anytime but would love to see more castles that I haven’t gotten to explore yet.

4. Play with weapons

Do something crazy, like pose for a photo with an ancient sword outside an awesome old castle in the middle of nowhere in the highlands. These kind of awesome crazy things happen, and it is fantastic.

5. Climb a big hill

Go hiking, see the beautiful views, break in those wellies. Every blister is worth the amazing view from the top. We accomplished mountain goat status by hiking up some awesome hills and seeing some ancient homes with fabulous views. Don’t forget to venture through some streams and take some pictures. Also, try to spread your arms in victory better than I did, I suck at it.

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Other things I enjoyed.

• Lochs
• Haggis
• Rain
• Loch Ness
• Edinburgh
• Everything

Here’s a link to the tour company we used through school!

My Guide to a visit to London

I’ve had a few requests from friends to make a list of things to do in London, places to stay and places to eat- so I decided to make a blog about if I only had a few days in London, what my top places would be to visit and where I would go.

I’ve decided to do two different things in this post; first being that I’ll list points of interest, places to eat, places to shop, and places to stay that I found to be among my favorites while I was in London. (Keep in mind that I lived in dorms there so I didn’t actually stay in any hotels, except for when I first visited there in 2010). The second part of this post will be an itinerary that I would recommend for anyone wanting to see the best of London in 4 days (which is hard, but you can still see a lot!).  I’ll be sure to include links where necessary and if you have any questions feel free to leave them in the comments!

Places and things of Interest

• Tower of London & Tower Bridge
• Houses of Parliament
• Churchill War Rooms
• Horse Guard (Household Calvary Museum)
• Hyde Park
• Changing of the Guard and Buckingham Palace
• Piccadilly Circus
• The British Museum
• The National Gallery
• The National Portrait Gallery
• Victoria and Albert Museum
• Museum of Natural History
• The Science Museum
• The London Eye
• The London Dungeon
• Kensington Palace and Gardens
• Harry Potter Studios (day trip by train)
• Kew Gardens
• Wimbledon
• Abbey Road
• Borough Market
• Camden Market
• Globe Theater
• Tate Britain
• Tate Modern
• St. James’ Park
• St. Paul’s Cathedral
• Covent Garden
• Kings Cross Station
• Westminster Abbey
• The British Library

 Things to do

• A London Walk- only 9 pounds for a guided walking tour of a specific part of the city or on certain theme: http://www.walks.com/London_Walks_Home/LW_TIMETABLE/default.aspx
• A Thames River Cruise: http://www.citycruises.com/
• Hop-on-Hop-off Bus: http://www.hoponhopoffplus.com/?utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc
• Ride the Tube: http://www.tfl.gov.uk/maps/track/tube
• Ride in a London Black Cab
• Do a pub crawl: http://londonpartypubcrawl.com/
• Ride a horse in Hyde Park (not in late July or August): http://rossnyestables.co.uk/opening.htm
• Shop in Harrods: http://www.harrods.com/
• See a musical at one of London’s famous Theaters
• Ball Pit Bar in Shoreditch: click here for information and tickets

Places to Eat

• The Breakfast Club: http://www.thebreakfastclubcafes.com/brunch/
• Wagamama: http://www.wagamama.com/
• Brick Lane: http://www.visitbricklane.org/#/bars-restaurants/4537687686
• Pret A Manger: http://www.pret.co.uk/en-gb/?country=uk
• China Town: http://www.visitlondon.com/things-to-do/place/427231-chinatown-london
• Kensington Creperie: http://kensingtoncreperie.com/
• Byron: https://www.byronhamburgers.com/
• Costa Coffee: http://www.costa.co.uk/
• Gloucester Arms: http://www.taylor-walker.co.uk/pub/gloucester-arms-south-kensington/c0626/
• The Builder’s Arms: http://www.thebuildersarmskensington.co.uk/

Places to Stay

• London YHA St Pancras (hostel): http://www.visitlondon.com/where-to-stay/place/286892-london-yha-st-pancras
  

• Double Tree by Hilton Kensington: click here for hotel website
• The Royal Bayswater Hotel (hostel):  http://www.visitlondon.com/where-to-stay/place/4657662-royal-bayswater-hostel
• Park Grand London Kensington Hotel: http://www.visitlondon.com/where-to-stay/place/148199-park-grand-london-kensington-hotel
• Hotel Russell: http://www.visitlondon.com/where-to-stay/place/259689-hotel-russell

^All of these are central locations and easily accessible by Tube! Also, be sure to check out Air B&B for flats or rooms if you want a unique stay!

A Four Day Trip to London

Day 1

• Do a Hop-on Hop-Off bus and ride it around for the morning just taking in the city from the bus, feel free to get off but riding the bus around is a great way to see the beautiful city for the first time
• Go to the houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey (try to sneak in the Abbey when there is a church service, that way you don’t have to pay!)
• Eat Lunch at the Pub directly across from the houses of Parliament (it’s where the MPs and such frequent themselves!)
• Ride the London Eye
• Do the London Dungeon
• Take a cruise on the Thames (night cruises are beautiful if you run out of daylight!)
• Go to a local pub (whatever is near your hotel/hostel will be fun regardless) and have a pint with the locals

Day 2

• The British Museum (free entry)
• Covent Gardens (Shopping and places to eat)
• The National Gallery (free entry)
• The National Portrait Gallery (free entry)
• Leicester Square and Piccadilly Circus
• Get tickets to a performance or musical

Day 3

• Do a London Walk (they have themed walks like Harry Potter walks or Jack The Ripper walks, or just guided tours of a part of the city you may be interested in and are 9 pounds and children are free)
• Tower of London and Tower Bridge
• Camden Market
• Abbey Road
• London Pub Crawl

Day 4

• Go to Harrods (eat there if you can- they have EXCELLENT food)
• Changing of the Guard and Buckingham Palace
• Have High Tea somewhere (your hotel or hostel should lead you to a good choice)
• Hyde Park and St. James Park
• Kensington Palace and Gardens (Gardens are free, Palace is paid entry)
• Natural History Museum (free entry)
• Victoria and Albert Museum (free entry)
• Science Museum (free entry)
• One last pub night!

If you have an extra day be sure to check out Stonehenge and Bath or go visit the Harry Potter Studios, which is just a short train ride away! Day trips are easily accessible from London and should be readily available! I used Anderson Tours for my day trips when I was there. (http://www.andersontours.co.uk/)

I hope you enjoyed my personal selections of what to see and do in London and my little guide for a four day trip- there is so much to do and something for everyone! Food is expensive and service at restaurants and pubs is much slower than in America so be prepared to wait for meals, also portions will be much smaller than in America so expect less food than you may be used to. Tesco markets have great snack foods and Whole Foods markets have great food courts! Keep to a budget and you’ll be fine! The tube has a visitors pass that can be purchased at most Tube stations for a select amount of days of unlimited riding in certain zones. You are also able to get the Tube from London Heathrow Airport into the city for much less than a cab- but beware it takes a bit longer.

Cheers!

 

School’s out Forever.

 

Summer is drawing to a close and everyone is going back to school, except me. For the present I am done with school and it is the strangest feeling I have ever had. Although the job hunting process is way more stressful than classes ever were it still seems so weird that I never have to go back and sit in a classroom EVER again if I don’t want to. My family and I just returned from dropping my sister off for her first semester at Kansas State University and while I sat staring out the window at endless fields of corn and beans on the drive home I realized that up to this point my entire life has revolved around classes. Now that I don’t have this commitment to spending hours of my life studying and learning I feel like I’m doing something wrong, like I’ve woken up in a bad dream and I forgot to register for classes or something. This isn’t a dream though and I am officially a grown up now, which is something that school definitely did NOT prepare me for. So as I do when I come to any obstacle in my life I make a list about it, here is my list about the stages you go through after graduating and realizing it is time to grow up and make a name for yourself.

Stage 1: Excitement: Graduation day has come and gone, you haven’t gotten into graduate school and still have one last summer to get it together before the ‘real world’ reality check hits you in the face. Nothing can stand in your way, days are filled with lunches with old friends and lazy afternoons. You don’t have a care in the world, everything is awesome and you feel like you have this huge burden lifted off of you because you may NEVER have to study for another final EVER again! You begin to fill out job applications to your dream jobs where a corner office is already included and the office is painted with rainbows and unicorns, can’t wait to get your foot in the door  and get started with this awesome life ahead of you.

Stage 2: Crap, I can’t find a job: That post-graduation glow has faded and the cold hard world has come into focus. You’ve filled out HUNDREDS of job applications for jobs you don’t really even want to do and only one has even contacted you back for an interview. Panic begins to set in when you realize that you may have to settle for an office job that might not be all you’ve ever dreamed of. You spend hours filling out job application after job application and scouring the internet and the newspaper for job listings that you might be almost qualified for. You discover that so many employers want you to have years of experience that you are years away from having.  Days are spent at part time temporary jobs and nights are spent endlessly applying for jobs and stressing about how you are never going to find a company you’ll fit into.

Stage 3: Regrets: What if I had just done one more year of undergrad and gotten that second major? What if I had joined more organizations in college? Should I have gone greek? What if I had gone to a different university? What if I had taken a gap year? (maybe I should take a gap year now?) What if I had worked more in college? What if I had taken that part time job instead of this one? So many questions left unanswered and so many opportunities you feel like you passed up. Unfortunately there’s no going back and there’s really no use living in the past, only way to keep going is to keep moving forward and focusing on the positives.

Stage 4: Everything is gonna be alright: You get it together and start making a plan. Life will go on and everything WILL be okay. Keep your head up and keep applying to jobs, eventually one will come around that is a good fit for both you and the company hiring you. All the puzzle pieces will fall into place but it will take time and will not happen over night. Don’t live in the past, always look to the future and never forget your dreams. Most importantly don’t forget to be open to change, this is a transition period in your life and change is bound to happen- embrace it.

My Bucket List.

Everyone should have a bucket list- some sort of list of things that you would LOVE to do someday. This is my ‘someday’ list.

1. Travel without a destination in mind.

I’ve always wanted to just drive up to the airport (ideally an international airport) and just take the next available flight to somewhere. Once I got to that somewhere I would find a place to stay, discover the local flavor and scene, and talk to the locals. Many travel blogs recommend that you ask a bar tender or a taxi driver about what to do/see in where ever you happen to be at. I’d love to have this experience. There is nothing better than the feeling of conquering a new city that you’ve never been to before and because discovering something new is the best way to grow as a person that is why this is at the top of my bucket list.

2. Live in London Permanently (or as a second home)

London is by far my all time favorite place I’ve ever been. I felt more at home in this city than I do in Omaha. The fact that I could stumble across a quaint little cafe or a movie set around every corner was pretty sweet. There was never a lack of things to do and when I felt the need to discover something different, I was always only a train ride away from a new country or a new town with something unique to offer. I know this is one of the priciest places in the world to live but if I ever make my millions on something the first thing I would do would be to buy a home in my favorite city. I even have my favorite part of the city (and even ideal location for my flat) picked out.

right about here would be nice 🙂

3. An around the world cruise.

Cruising is my favorite way to travel. It is an awesome way to sample a lot of different places all while returning to the same home base and never having to unpack bags more than once (ideally). I wanted to do a Semester at Sea for my study abroad experience – but I ended up in London instead. I still feel the need to go see as much of the world as I can before it all becomes one big tourist trap. China, India, Africa and South America are all places I want to explore hopefully on this dream cruise I want to take. I guess I could just take a bunch of shorter ones as well instead of just one big around the world voyage (when I find my imaginary money tree). Traveling really helps me put things into perspective and grow as a person, so the more cultures I can experience the better!

4. See the Northern Lights.

As a photographer this is another dream vacation. I’ve always wanted to go and hunt for the Northern Lights and try to capture beautiful photos to remember them by. I’ve known a few people that went to go see them in places like Iceland and I would absolutely love to experience this miracle of nature. I’m not usually one that wants to camp, but I think I could deal with staying a few nights in a cabin in the woods so I could snap a few awesome pictures of the lights!

5. Go to the Olympics

I’m not sure why I’ve always wanted to go to the Olympics, but every two years when it appears on our TV screens on NBC I always have this desire to be there right in the thick of the action. I think it is something about the fact that the whole world gets together to compete against each other and to celebrate the best of the best in the athletic world. I think that being right there and experiencing people from every different kind of culture would be such an amazing experience as well as getting to see athletes who are at the peak of their career. I’d love to go see the equestrian events as well as some of the other sports. Overall, I just think going to the Olympics would be a great experience.

This is the end of my list that I will share here, there are many more things I’d like to do and places I’d like to see, but I won’t bore you with everything else (at least not in this post). Happy traveling and remember to live your dreams!

How LinkedIn can help you find a job

LinkedIn is becoming one of the top ways to find a job today. LinkedIn is a way for companies to find employees through the referral of current employees. When employers use LinkedIn it allows possible candidates to network to find the best job fit for them. LinkedIn is a way for employers to find candidates instead of the usual reversed way of doing things. Users can search LinkedIn jobs to see what would be a good fit, and then after selecting a few jobs to apply to can connect with people who already work for the companies. These connections help both parties find the best fit for the job.

Employers can search LinkedIn looking for a specific skill set or experience level and find related candidates. After finding a possible employee the employer can discover through the LinkedIn profile what the candidate’s work history is, what other skills they might have, education history, and other information. LinkedIn also allows employers to easily download information from the profile in a PDF document that can be easily shared amongst upper level management that does hiring in a company. It is in this way that LinkedIn helps out immensely with recruiting for companies.

What are some ways to help possible employers find you? I’ve compiled a check list that every LinkedIn profile should check off:

1. Fill out the summary. This helps possible employers find you easier when they know exactly what you would like to be doing and what you are qualified to do.
2. Add a photo. Help put a face with the name!
3. Add education. Then network to find classmates and other graduates from your schools that can possibly help you land your new job!
4. Become an ‘All Star’ for profile strength. This allows you to share your profile on other social media sites.
5. Network with everyone you know. Many people who you would not expect can help you find jobs, make sure to connect with them!
6. Add skills. This helps possible employers figure out if you would be able to be a good fit for their position.
7. Join Groups. Don’t forget to participate in discussion in groups, that helps your profile gain more views than the usual LinkedIn user. It also could be a way potential employers could see your name.
8. Add organizations/activities/causes. This helps employers find out what you care about and what else you can add to their organization. Everyone likes a well rounded individual- make sure you share everything that you spend time on and are passionate about.

Here are some other helpful links to help you get started with LinkedIn: this helpful article helps you get started with LinkedIn and building a profile, this article gives you tips to choose the right photograph for LinkedIn, this article helps you decide if you should purchase a premium account or not, and finally this last article has tips on how to use LinkedIn to find a job.

 

 

 

 

10 things to remember when you head off to college

When I first began to get ready to head to college about four years ago, I wish that I would have been told a lot of things to help me get through that rough first few months as a college student. This blog post serves as a list of helpful hints for graduating High School seniors to keep in mind when choosing a college and heading off to school in the fall.

1. Be true to yourself.  

   No matter where you end up at school, college is a transitioning step in our lives. These four years are a chance to discover who you truly are and find direction in your own life. Be sure to stick to your values and find friends who support your goals and help you grow.

2. Don’t be afraid to try new things.  College is a time to figure out what your passions are. Make time to join clubs with people who try new things. Go skydiving, play lacrosse, try out for that walk on spot on the football team.
3. Travel. Study abroad if you can. It will change your life I can vouch for that. Check out my blog I wrote about why everyone should study abroad for more information on that topic.
4. Take core classes first. Lots of people come in thinking they know what they are passionate about learning, but most people change their major at least once in their college career. Who knows, your intro to anthropology class might inspire you to do something other than becoming a doctor!
5. Get a job. This keeps you busy and from spending too much time on pinterest and tumblr. It also is proven that college students who work at least part-time during college are more likely to be hired when they start looking for a career.
6. Go to class. As nice as it might sound sleeping in, the fact of the matter is that you (or your parents) pay a LOT of money for you to attend college. Make sure you get your money’s worth.
7. Stay up late. These are your last four years of “freedom” before real life comes and knocks on your door. Make the most of your time and remember to have fun!
8. Eat healthy. Don’t let your eating habits go down the drain, be sure to keep eating well. (It’s possible on a budget, I promise you.) Frozen dinners can be healthy too (I may blog about those later, I’ve tested pretty much every kind).
9. Make connections. Connections are key when it comes to finding a job. Many of your professors will be more than willing to help you come graduation be sure you leave them with an impression you’ll want your future employers to have of you.
10. Don’t text in class. Remember you’ve paid a pretty penny and worked hard to get into college, now make the most of it! Pay attention! It will help your grades in the long run and respect your professor who came up with content to teach you that day. (Also, if you use a laptop to take notes turn off the internet or do what you must to keep your screen on word processing. If you are sitting on Facebook the whole class you’ve gotten nothing out of going.)

Be sure to come back for my next blog post on things you’ll want to be sure to pack when headed off to college in the fall!