Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Katie Rubak's Adventures in London



With so many of our lovely WIB girls abroad, we would like to keep you all updated on their exciting adventures! Every Tuesday we will be highlighting a new girl in our blog and other social media outlets.  Stay tuned for more!
 
Cheers from London! I'm here taking on London with classes, participating in a internship with Astrid and Miyu (www.astridandmiyu.com), and traveling to as many places as my calendar allows. Many good friends are also spending this semester abroad, so I hope to spend time exploring with them across Europe. It's been about three weeks and I've settled in very nicely. I absolutely love this place.

This is still a bit surreal, but the more familiar I get, the more happy I become. I love this place. I’ve finished unpacking, figured out how to get the shower temp down from scalding-skin-off-hot (!!!), and already have an Oyster card with my picture on it. The city is so busy, the cars drive so fast and so close to each other, I thought I was going to die in the cab on the way to my building. Not to mention, the number one caution our advisors have for us is to be careful crossing the street. Forget pick-pocketers and muggers and dippers and draggers, the real danger is the lightning-speed traffic.

My room is really not as small as everyone warned; it is cozy, but the beds are comfy and there’s just enough space for everything I have.

The people! Strangers here are more friendly than some acquaintances I have back home. Our group of 100 students does draw attention, so its no wonder why locals ask where we’re from or strike up a conversation. Everyone wants to share the name of their favorite pub, or help give directions. I haven’t met a person with ulterior motives, the Brits are just indescribably kind.

My roommate Claire and I have made it our goal to take walking tours of different areas anytime we have a break, and thanks to her “50 Walking Tours of London” card set, we have a lot to get through. Today’s tour was the Knightsbridge area of London, and after spending lunch and the afternoon browsing through Harrod’s, we made our way through the Embassy square and Harvey Nichol’s. (The evening was not finished until we stopped for red velvet cupcakes and cappuccinos. If only every day was this glamorous)

This past weekend I had the opportunity to visit Rome with fellow Wibber Abbey Ostmeyer and a few other friends, and it was not only the most tiring weekend I've had yet, but also the most beautiful. Every alley isn't really an alley, its a cobblestone side street filled with restaurants, cafes, and boutiques. I can imagine one spending months here just walking around. We woke up at dawn (not kidding) every day in order to see everything Rome had to offer, and we even made it to the Vatican for the Sistine Chapel and the crowd for Sunday Mass. Unfortunately, my three semesters of Italian at IU failed me, as I only remembered a few phrases and random, unhelpful words (I knew what cow was the entire time, why cow?) I'm very happy to be back in London, though, and as we were getting ready to head to the airport on Sunday evening, I found myself calling London 'home.'
Again, I promise I am taking classes (which are each two and a half hours once a week, yikes), and I've begun my internship with Astrid and Miyu as well! This company is very, very cool. I've been put in charge of some of the marketing efforts such as twitter, pinterest, and contacting local bloggers who can promote us. I'm very happy to be falling into a routine; I feel more like a resident and less like a tourist (although I foolishly keep thinking I won't need my umbrella some days only to find that it will rain, again).

It's so hard to put three and a half weeks into just one blog post, as I feel like I've been here for months already. I'll continue to post as the semester goes on, and if you want to read some more about trips I've done or other places I've been, head over to rubesabroad.wordpress.com!

Cheers! xx
Rubes

Smith Family BReaK Thru Fund

For many members, being a part of Women in Business becomes much more than a professional organization to future our individual careers.  It amounts to a full support system for facing obstacles in and outside of Kelley together. This past year we came together to support Chandlar Smith, an active leader for the organization, and her family by promoting the Smith family BReaK Thru fund. Chandlar’s siblings were born with Niemann-Pick type C disease, a fatal disease with no current treatment, and the BReaK Thru fund supports research for a cure.

Our members actively participate in the Infiniti’s Coaches’ Charity Challenge to support the fund. This challenge consists of the NCAA College Basketball head coaches choosing a charity of their choice and the coaches with the most votes continue on through the competition. Matt Painter, Purdue Basketball head coach, chose the Smith Family BReaK Thru fund and is currently still in the race for grand prize of $100,000 for research.  We put our dedicated Hoosier pride aside and supporting Chandlar’s family took precedent over any rivalry.

We aim to continue spreading support and awareness for this fund outside of our active members. By clicking this link to vote for Matt Painter: Support the Smith Family BReaK Thru Fund, we are one step closer to changing lives! 

WIB dances at IUDM 2013






From left to right:
Bottom row: Ashley Holmes, Rachael Pearson, Katharine Finn, Taylor Exline
Top Row: Ellie Boyer, Jamie Rothbart, Courtney Holcomb, Elizabeth Settle
Since 1991 the Indiana University Dance Marathon has worked hard to raise money for the Riley Hospital for Children in honor of Ryan White and Ashley Crouse. On November 15 over 2,500 dancers came together to dance for the second largest philanthropic organization in the country. This year eight members of Women in Business formed our very own WIB team and raised nearly $4,000. Throughout the night other members of WIB dropped off goody bags and an assortment of treats to help the girls get through the countless hours of dancing and standing. In the end IUDM raised over $2.6 million for the kids! This was almost $500,000 more than last year, making the dance marathon an incredible success once again. FTK!