The Traveling Scholar

Amidst waiting for my visa paperwork to come in so I can officially apply, and looking into various cell phone plans to use whilst living abroad, I have decided to get one thing handled: my bank account. I have officially applied for the HSBC Passport Account in the UK (although I am still perusing other options). They had an easy online application that I was able to fill out, and pending approval, I will be able to open my account when I land in London! Although opening a bank account over there typically takes a great deal of paperwork and time to get started, the online step eliminated some work and the Passport account, being created for people new to the UK (typically there on a visa to either study or to work), simplified the process. All of the banks that offer accounts for foreigners that I have looked into charge monthly maintenance fees (lame, I know) of around 6 – 8 GBP, but some also require certain monthly deposits, various background information, a letter from your current bank, etc. It’s quite an intensive process.

If you’re looking into opening an overseas account, here are some banks to check out. These banks happen to have branches near LSE, which is great, although some are easier than others when it comes to actually opening an account. The process is quite cumbersome for international students as we don’t have credit in the UK or any legitimate history of which they are aware.

* Nat West (National Westminster Bank) : 7 GBP per month with a branch on the LSE campus, plus a free rail pass, etc. This one’s rather tempting as well…

* Barclay’s : Barclay’s is actually affiliated with B of A, my current bank, so it was a tempting option for me. Their website pisses me off though, because it doesn’t work half the time. Also about 7 GBP per month.

* Lloyd’s: I’m sure this is an amazing bank, but their website makes everything seem way too complicated for me. Too many different accounts and none of them seem relevant to my situation.

* HSBC: I picked this one because they make the process so easy! 6 GBP per month. I am still minorly interested in NatWest, but being able to apply online was such a helpful feature! And the fact that they have an account dedicated to international students is great <3.

* Abbey National: You get a Visa card and all the normal goodies, but you can only apply in a branch, which screams inconvenience to me. I don’t get why more banks aren’t leveraging the power of the Internet! No word on any monthly fees but I highly doubt it’s free.

* Halifax: They have a student account with no monthly funding requirement, but again, not enough information to help out a good old international kid. A little lame.

Anyone else have experience opening accounts overseas?
I would love any insight or recommendations!

Picture courtesy of TIME and Joel Stein

I love the power of the internet. I can send an email to London with a question and hear back from them within 24 hours. I can apply to a University overseas and open a British bank account just by filling out an online application and sending in some supporting information (that I, of course, have scanned in for future reference.) It is 2009 afterall, and I am a millennial, a mosaic, a prime example of Generation Y. I just had a conversation earlier about how our society has become such an information-driven society: we want information and we want it now. Five minutes isn’t soon enough. Get on your Blackberry, bring up the internet and Google what you’re looking for; if you’re fairly text adept, you can probably acquire any bit of information in 2 minutes flat. If that. After all, after Michael Jackson’s passing, anyone with the internet and a facebook or Twitter account found out within 30 minutes. It’s news and we all want to know — no waiting for the morning newspaper (how 1980’s), no waiting for the nightly news or a special report on television (how 1990’s); send us a text, shoot us an email, post a microblog on your twitter account or change your facebook status. We’re all watching you, after all; waiting for your juicy newsfeed.

Technology has given us the benefit of being supreme multi-taskers; we are a new generation of people. We can drive to a business appointment, while coordinating another appointment over the phone (using our handy bluetooth), while simultaneously updating our facebook status through our iPhone or Blackberry apps. If you’re not doing at least three things at once, you’re likely wasting precious time that will be take away from social networking later in the day. Being a product of society, I quite enjoy being able to multitask; I’m a firm believer in productivity: work smarter, not harder. If I can get five hours of work crammed into one hour, why not? That leaves me extra valuable time to hit the gym, make dinner, go grocery shopping, and so on. On the flip side, I think that this transformation has made us an incredibly impatient people; we expect everyone else to be multi-tasking to the same degree that we are, and if they’re not, we get frustrated. I think it’s natural. I find myself doing it, too, when I see people paying bills by check versus paying over the internet or handling what should be super quick matters in old-fashioned (more time-consuming) ways. Additionally, I think we have lost a huge human element in our world. Instead of calling someone to talk, we shoot them an email or a message over facebook or MySpace; who has time to talk anymore? Instead of normal, face-to-face interactions, we rely on the efficiency of conference calling, Skype or internet conversation. It is undoubtedly the faster way to do things, but we don’t seem to have the same regard for people as we used to; definitely the downside to being a millenial. Our generation (Generation Y) has been described as the mosaic generation. Why? Well, because we don’t really have one attribute that defines us as a cohort; we are a complex generation that proves to be a mishmash of many different ideologies. We don’t all believe in the same things because we don’t have to. We’re ‘post-modern’ and don’t think linearly. Of course that helps add to the brilliance, I’m sure, but how can we think linearly? We haven’t been taught that way. We are the ultimate multi-taskers. We have been taught that productivity is key, and if we have paid attention to society at all, we recognize that our society has made being productive so much easier. I run into 8-year-olds who can download music while talking on their Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle cell phones… I mean, really? What 8-year-old needs a cell phone? Apparently kids in our society, because let’s be honest, we have to get them started early. They’ll learn the ways of the world soon enough after all. Plus, let’s face it, they need to call their parents to make sure they can coordinate their calendars for back-to-school night. Even 8-year-olds have to notify their Outlook.

Please note: As I am writing this, I’m drinking a cup of freshly brewed coffee, warming up dinner and putting my laundry away. Case in point.

So, I have been trying to come up with new ways to make delightfully delicious vegetarian dishes; something that not only I will like, but something that my carnivorous boyfriend would also enjoy. Well, I just finished whipping up the most delicious manicotti dish ever! We’re not huge pasta fans, but I like the fact that with manicotti, the pasta is just being used as a shell to house the real stuff! Vegetarians and non-vegetarians alike will love this!

Shannon’s Veggie & Tofu Manicotti

10 – 12 manicotti shells
10 oz. package frozen spinach
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 medium onion, diced (I limit onion because I’m not a huge fan!)
8 oz. package of mushrooms, sliced
14 oz. box extra firm tofu (I use Azumaya)
2 eggs
3 Tbsp. lemon juice
1/4 c. chopped basil
2 Tbsp. chopped garlic
2 c. alfredo sauce
2 – 3 c. prepared spaghetti sauce
Parmesan
salt and pepper, to taste
pine nuts, to garnish

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook pasta shells according to the package directions (9 or so minutes.) Meanwhile, put frozen spinach in a microwave-safe bowl, cover and microwave on high about 5 minutes (rotating once); let it cool (be careful, some parts will be super hot!) In a non-stick skillet with a lid, heat olive oil on medium heat. Saute onion for 3-5 minutes, until brown on edges. Reduce heat to low and stir in garlic and mushrooms. Cover and let simmer for 10 minutes. While the mushroom-onion mix is simmering, place tofu in a mixing bowl and sprinkle lemon juice over tofu and mash with a fork (or your hands!), crumbling tofu into small curds so that they resemble ricotta cheese. In a separate bowl, mix up eggs; mix them into the tofu mixture. While the tofu settles, squeeze all the excess water out of the spinach, if you haven’t done so already. Once mushrooms have finished sauteing for 10 minutes, add in the tofu, spinach, olives, chopped basil, salt and pepper. Add in 1/2 c. to 1 c. of Alfredo sauce to taste. Simmer over low heat another 10 minutes. (Note: Snag a taste of the filling at this point and add salt or sauce to taste — if the flavor is lacking, the dish won’t be nearly as good!) Preheat oven to 375. Spread thin layer of spaghetti sauce in the bottom of a 12×8″ baking dish. Spoon vegetable-tofu filling into the shells VERY GENTLY — the shells have a tendency to break, so be careful (if they do break, don’t fret; you can easily camouflage them and your guests won’t know the difference). Arrange in tight rows on top of the sauce and cover with spaghetti sauce and thin layer of Alfredo. Sprinkle with Parmesan, to your liking. Cover and bake for 15 minutes on the middle rack. Remove cover and bake for an additional 5 minutes. Sprinkle shells with pine nuts and broil for 3 – 5 minutes. Serve warm.

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The filling makes a load! I had a lot left over, but it is so good, I could eat it on it’s own! My boyfriend couldn’t even tell it was tofu and not ricotta. Like I mentioned, I’m not a huge pasta fan, but this gets me really pumped for the Italian leg of my journey in the coming year! If you’re digging the vegetarian Italian dishes, check out this website for other delicious veg recipes from other folks around the world!

Enjoy!

Hey everyone!

I’m sitting at my kitchen table, ravenously reading Khaled Hosseini’s novel, The Kite Runner (which I will have to follow up with A Thousand Splendid Suns). I managed to snag my copy at a thrift store in Pacific Grove for $1.50 which makes the experience of reading it that much better. I am so ridiculously enthralled with this novel, it’s almost haunting. As I sat down to begin reading it today, I remembered that there was a movie adaptation that was done recently (in the last couple of years perhaps). I Googled it, and the website for the movie looks pretty good, but I don’t want to watch the movie if it doesn’t manage to do the book justice. I’ve seen too many an adaptation that didn’t really stay true to the soul of the novel and sort of ruined the whole experience for me.

Has anyone seenThe Kite Runner movie?  Skip it or see it?

So, I have semi-0fficially set a date for my visit to Malta (aka the homeland). After talking to some family living in Qormi, I have decided to take a trip over to the teensy country in December. I have tentatively planned on the 13th – 18th, since school will be out for our winter break and I will have time to check out a few countries I have been dying to see! Although December is not the ideal time to soak up the Mediterranean sunshine, it should be okay for seeing some major sights and checking out the cities where my mom and grandpa were born (Qormi and Mosta, respectively). I am also planning on going back in the summer to get a real taste of the Maltese culture.

I checked out Ryan Air to see what kind of deals I could snag and fortunately, there are many to be had! Since I already have a place to stay for the trip (thanks to the fam!), the round trip airfare will only cost me around 70 GBP; not bad (less than the cost of a roundtrip ticket from Sacramento to San Diego)! This trip in December will be focused on visiting Qormi, where my family lives and where my mom was born; Mosta, the city where my grandpa was born and raised (and a place that is home to one of the world’s largest domes), and some of the super historical museums and catacombs that the country houses.

The Dome!

Inside the Dome

Growing up, my grandpa always told me the stories of the Mosta Dome — in 1942 during WWII, a bomb was dropped into the cathedral before a mass while 300 or so parishioners were present. Miraculously (a fitting term), the bomb never exploded. The dome now houses a replica of the bomb in memory of the event. Pretty amazing!

 If I can’t make it to Valletta, the capital, during this trip, it will definitely be on the agenda for trip number two next summer, along with a rendezvous on the neighboring island of Gozo. One of the cool things about Malta is that you can really see the whole country in a small amount of time — it’s only 122 square miles! More than seeing the gorgeous beaches, the amazing history, or the fantastic festivals, I am beyond excited to walk on the same roads that my mom walked on as a child and to see the same sights that she saw every day growing up. It’s going to be such an awesome experience!

Here are some old school pictures of my grandpa in Malta c. 1940 or so. Enjoy!

If you’re planning a trip to Malta, check out this great site for information on the Islands of Malta, events in Malta, and information on the island’s attractions!

If anyone has visited Malta, I would love feedback on where to go and what to see!

Lots of love,

The majority of my planning for my impending move currently revolves around travel and sight seeing! London is home to so many amazing places and events and my new home alone will be an amazing new play place. I found a number of websites that have all sorts of wonderful information for anyone planning a trip to London and the surrounding areas, along with awesome deals to check out if you’re in the area. Here’s a rundown of my most favorite sites:

1. London West End 
This cool site houses information on the West End with information on Covent Garden and the theatres! Get information on where to stay, where to eat, where to shop (!) as well upcoming events and entertainment. Check out a map of the West End before packing!

2. LondonTown
This site has some seriously valuable information on everything in London. You can grab info on ‘dinner and theatre’  with discounted packages, sightseeing, and maps of major sites!

3. London is Free
This site is great for sticking to your budget. It has a list of various exhibitions, festivals and sightseeing that are totally free (who doesn’t love that?!) One of the great things about London is that although the cost of living is (extraordinarily) high, there is so much to do for free within the city!

4. Time Out London
Super cool site for all things London. This site lists upcoming musical events and festivals,  information on best restaurants, bars and pubs, goings on in the city and even information on sports and fitness, including best gyms and upcoming sporting events!

5. Londonist
With sister sites like the SFist, the Bostonist and the Seattleist, this group of websites exudes coolness. Check out news, arts and events, food and drink and weather forecasts. Just a cool site for staying in the know!

6. Visit London
This is a pretty standard tourist site, but it’s still helpful! You can search for hotels, see what’s coming up for the weekend and get a better grasp on the London areas. It’s super great for tourists because it showcase London’s villages, London’s major attractions, the city’s parks and open spaces as well as the tube stations!

7. A Night Less Ordinary
How I miraculously stumbled upon this site, I can’t remember, but I am so grateful that I did! If you’re under 26 and looking to check out some world-famous theatre while you’re in London, check out this site! They have a program that offers free tickets to students and youth under 26 as well as discounted tickets (5-8 GBP) for other theatre events. It’s an awesome way to soak up the culture on a budget!

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There is a wealth of information available on the internet for travel and it’s so incredibly useful! Before my trip in February, I was able to map out where we were going to go, what tube stations were nearby, the distances between major attractions and find out what events were taking place that fit into my time line!

Any other awesome sites worth mentioning that have helped you in your travels?

I had to seriously double-take on this one, guys! I am even more stoked than usual because my mom has a minor obsession with Asia and has always wanted to visit. If you, too, are looking for an inexpensive way to visit China, this is it!

Beijing & Shanghai 8-Night Package WITH AIR for $799 from San Francisco! 

Typically, the airfare alone costs this much, so this is a serious steal. You can spend 10 days and 8 nights exploring two of China’s premier cities. Here’s what you get:

* R/T nonstop air from SF to Beijing
*Intra-China flights and ground transportation
* Airline fuel surcharges
* Eight nights first-class accommodation in centrally located hotels (5 nights at the Marriott Courtyard Hotel in Beijing; 3 nights at the Holiday Inn Vista in Shanghai)
* Full buffet American breakfast daily
* Services of an English-speaking tour guide

This package is available November through April with the $799 departure dates on December 4th and January 8th. Even if you can’t go on those dates, you can book other dates for $100 – $200 more. Such a great deal. Click here for more details! 
Book by July 21st.

Happy Travels!

Fellow students and others on a budget, listen up!

I found the most amazing place to check out if you don’t want to discontinue your hair and skin care, but don’t have the budget to allow for fancy extras. For my sister’s birthday, I took her in for a celebratory brow wax and facial. I found a local Salon & Spa Academy where students perform the services under a professional’s supervision. I have looked into these places before, but had never actually taken the plunge and visited. However, after looking at the disparity in pricing between the academy and a normal salon, there was a major savings! Depending on the service, you can easily save 40-50% (or more if you get packages) on your services! Tiffany and I visited Hoss Lee Academy in the greater Sacramento area and she snagged a brow wax for $10 (not a huge deal, but still) and a clay facial for $45! The basic facials run at $25 per session, the upscale European facials are $35 (total steal!) and the specialty facials (clay, anti-aging, etc.) are $45. She was pampered for a good hour and a half by a knowledgeable student and raved about her experience afterwards. In addition to the skin care, they have hair care services (cuts, color, highlights, styling, etc.), make-up services and body services (body scrubs, wraps, sunless tanning, and hot stone therapies).  On top of that, the salon is absolutely gorgeous (the picture above is an actual snapshot from our visit) and the staff is great, which added to my confidence in having services done at a school.

On top of that, after perusing their list of services, I found that they have a peel package — 6 glycolic peels + a complimentary Euro facial for $250! To put that into perspective, I paid $85 for ONE glycolic peel and it’s not unreasonable to pay up to $150 per. Getting six of them plus a facial for $250… beyond a steal! With having to save like a mad woman for the upcoming year abroad, I had written off professional skin care until 2010, but now I can afford to indulge once in a while. Check out Hoss Lee (also, click here to get a $50 gift certificate for $25!) or find another reputable academy in your area to save on fun stuff. Just because we would rather spend money on travel doesn’t mean we don’t appreciate an inexpensive facial once in a while, right?

Check out Hoss Lee’s Salon & Spa Menu if you’re local – they can save you a bundle if you’re looking for occasional pampering <3.

Day Two of Tiff’s Birthday Weekend.

So, after our kidnapping Tiff for her birthday and having a blast all day Saturday, Sunday morning we woke up and enjoyed the ‘breakfast’ part of the B&B at The Gosby House! Breakfast was served between 8A and 10A and was delish — definitely the benefit of staying at a B&B over a standard hotel. We had our morning coffee and juice to get us ready for a fun-filled day in Carmel, plus they had oatmeal, a vegetarian egg dish, bagels, muffins, fruit, English muffins and cereal!

After an early breakfast, we headed to Carmel-by-the-Sea to spend the day. Tiff had never been, so it was super fun for everyone! We arrived around 10A, so we were just in time to hit up a few of our favorite stores (Anthropologie and J.Crew) and spent a good hour in Sur La Table shopping for kitchen gadgets! If you’ve never been to Sur La Table — it’s like a Williams-Sonoma, but a little cooler <3.

We also hit up a number of art galleries to check out some really awesome art work: paintings, glass work, sculptures… amazing stuff. Plus, who can forget the amazing apothecaries, perfumeries and jewelers! We ended our shopping with a stop at Lush to check out the always-great handmade cosmetics. Tiff grabbed a lip balm and I got a  citrus-scented massage bar (basically a solid, portable lotion). All around great shopping day. We finished off our afternoon in Carmel by stopping in at The Grill on Ocean Avenue for a quick bite to eat (click here for the menu). In honor of Father’s Day, we made a mini toast to the best dad ever. We weren’t super hungry so Tiff and I opted to split the vegetarian sandwich (which was absolutely delicious!) and accompanying salad and the portions were huge! Mom and dad also split their turkey sandwich and added a bowl of chicken soup. We would have had major to-go food if we hadn’t split the entrees — half a sandwich and salad easily filled us up! Again, awesome service and a cute stop with a  little fireplace inside.

After our jaunt in Carmel, we decided to begin our journey back home. My mom, however, has an obsession with artichokes and had been begging to stop in Castroville (aka Artichokeland) for some artichokes on the way back! She had also been dying for a DQ soft serve, so we grabbed a few cones while passing through Capitola.

Tiff and I were dying when we saw this sign… all she could say was, “Yeah… they don’t use illegal immigrants… Hah!” I have never seen so many artichokes in my life! The whole town is dedicated to artichokes — growing them, selling them and eating them!

Mom wanted to stop at DQ, so we made it our last stop on the way back and grabbed a few cones from the DQ on Bay Avenue. Mom asked to make her large as large as possible and it ended up being as big as her head. Surprisingly (or not) she inhaled it and finished about the same time that my grandma and I finished our small cones!

Aside from the somewhat chilly weekend (60s in Carmel), the weekend was great. We all had an amazing time and it was super fun bonding. We’re planning our next trip now — deciding between Disneyland (maybe too packed for summer?), San Diego (wanna hit up the beach and the zoo!), or Las Vegas!

What do you guys think? What’s a good spot for a semi-inexpensive weekend family getaway?

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Facebookers: To see the entire album from Tiff’s birthday on Facebook, click here!

Saturday’s Adventure.

Saturday was a total blast! After kidnapping Tiffany on Saturday morning, we landed in Capitola at around 10A after a pretty short drive! Capitola Beachwas absolutely darling! I visited another neighboring beach last year when I went with Hilary, but Capitola Beach is much livelier and there are loads of nearby restaurants, coffee shops and stores! We parked right on the town streets and took a two minute stroll down to the beach!

Hanging out on the beach (pre-sun!)

Tiff & Dad waiting for the sunshine <3.

By 11A, the sun had come out and we were able to spend a few hours hanging out on the beach, soaking up the sun!
Afterwards, we strolled around Capitola for about an hour before deciding to move on to Pacific Grove to check in to our B&B. It was a short 40 minute drive from Capitola to Pacific Grove and we we were able to check it at around 2:30P at the Gosby House Inn. Our rooms were darling; large enough, cozy and a great value for the otherwise pricey area.

The Gosby House Inn

Our Room, Room #9!

We loved our stay at the Inn (sans the treacherous staircase that scared my grandmother)! The service was great and we even had wine and hors d’oeuvres, which were complimentary for guests between 430P and 630P. It gave us some time to relax before heading down to Carmel for dinner.

My sister chose to check out The Forge in the Forest for dinner (check out the menu here) after perusing four restaurants that we had picked out. The atmosphere was awesome and the food was delish! Outside seating (if it’s not too chilly) is absolutely gorgeous. My sister and I each had a bowl of portabello mushroom soup and split a salad. Mmm! Plus, the atmosphere was such that we were able to get all prettied up and not feel out of place while there were other patrons totally dressed down dropping in for a bite to eat.

Tiff at the Forge!

You can see how cute the outside area is in the background :)

Tiff & I at dinner!

After dinner, we went back to the hotel to enjoy the Baby Cakes that I had ordered from a little bakery in Monterey called Layers; we got two red velvet, two lemon love, and two strawberry cream. They even wrote “Happy Birthday” on one of the baby cakes:

Our Baby Cakes -- Mmm!

We had such a blast all around on Saturday — after playing a few rounds of blackjack, we ended up passing out around 930P (such partyers, I know) to get ready for our fun-filled day in Carmel on Sunday. More about that tomorrow — stay tuned!

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Facebookers: Check out the entire album from Tiff’s birthday weekend here!