I am terribly regretful, and apologetic for my lack of blogging. I know all of you are simply at the edge of your sit, refreshing your computers by the second to see if I have run into more terrorists or set off more fire alarms.

While this post will be more picture oriented, I would like to update everyone on some exciting things I have done in just four weeks. 

First and foremost, I honestly cannot believe the opportunity that I have with my internship. For those who do not know, I am writing in the sports section of The Independent, which has a circulation close to 183,000 (for reference, that’s about as large as the Atlanta-Journal Constitution and a little bit less than the St. Louis Post-Dispatch). I am the first American intern they have ever had.

While interns here are mostly used for statistical research and other ‘intern’ duties, I have made the initiative to pitch stories that are not only of my interest but also towards the UK’s interest. I admit that I was very apprehensive coming into this internship, as my knowledge of football (soccer for you damn yanks), cricket (weird baseball), and rugby (insane football) is not that strong. I found though that my expertise in American sports has really given me a huge advantage.

I have already gotten four stories publish, two of which were featured on their own spreads in the newspaper. For those interested in reading my stories, I have my own profile. Here is the link: http://www.independent.co.uk/search/simple.do?destinationSectionUniqueName=search&publicationName=ind&pageLength=5&startDay=1&startMonth=1&startYear=2010&useSectionFilter=true&useHideArticle=true&searchString=byline_text:(%22Brendan%20Meyer%22)&displaySearchString=Brendan%20Meyer

But I am not only writing stories. I have already gone to an Arsenal press conference (a MAJOR premier league football club in London which has a cult following equivalent to the Cubs or Cardinals) to interview head coach Arsene Wenger. Wenger is renowned as one of the greatest coaches in football history. I traveled far in the outskirts of London with a reporter on staff to Arsenal’s training facility, and sat through the interview that consisted of 25 reporters in a very small room.

Photo of Arsene Wenger

Cool story note: There were at least 20 fans outside of the gates of the practice facility with jerseys, footballs, and other objects, hoping to receive autographs from Arsenal players. When our taxi drove through the gate, fans were peering into the window to see if I was a player. To their disappointment, I was not, but it was fun for about three seconds.

During the first month I have been here, I have traveled to Stonehenge, Bath, and Copenhagen.

Stonehenge was gorgeous, literally planted in the middle of a grassy plain. Bath was the biggest surprise, as not only were the Roman baths extremely interesting, but the city was so vast and had it’s own unique atmosphere. Copenhagen was cold as hell (ranged from -5 to 0 degrees), but the women and city surrounding were both gorgeous.

Stonehenge

Bath

Copenhgen

Cool story note: In the Copenhagen airport, while waiting for our flight back to London, I saw the article I wrote about the Manning brothers on a newspaper stand. This picture is not meant for conceded purposes, but it was a very surreal and proud experience to see my own hard work being spread over Europe.

For those wondering how I am holding up being the only guy, let’s just say it is a day-by-day ordeal. I have learned a lot through being surrounded by women. Here are just a few:

-      - Women are always on time

-       -Very decisive

-       -Never talk about girly stuff when I’m around

-      - Are always on time

-       -Very decisive

-       -And never talk about girly stuff when I’m around

Hope you enjoyed the photos. 

Cheers,

Brendan 

P.s.- I successfully made chicken the other night and evened out the score.

Fire Alarm- 1

Chicken and Me- 1