Synchronized Skating Summer Update: Kristi King
7/2/2009 12:00:00 AM | Synchronized Skating
Kristi King -- July 2, 2009
June 26, 2009
 Kelly Smith and Kristi King at ParK Guell  | |
I think if there is one piece of advice I would give to anyone thinking of visiting England it would be to prepare for ANY type of weather. I think this is the only place I have ever needed my winter jacket, umbrella and then sunglass/sunscreen in the same week ââ'¬Â¦ and in some cases, the same day.
When it came to work, I had a few tasks. One task was helping the company become acclimated with a new Customer Relationship Management (CRM) program called Sales Force that they were trying to implement throughout the company. It was interesting to have an opportunity to work with this particular program because last semester in MGT 302 we did a presentation that referenced the Sales Force program. On top of that, I helped design and develop an advertisement that is set to release in a magazine in the near future. It was a unique experience to work for a British company and see how they run things slightly different than American companies. Since I worked for a smaller company, the environment was much more relaxed than in a corporate environment, which allowed me to get to know almost everyone in the company, from the co-founder to the employees that built the machines. However, all good things must come to an end, as did my time in England and working for Rondol Technology.
 Sagrada Familia Winding Stair Case | |
Adios Englandââ'¬Â¦..Barcelona, aqui yo tengo!
July 1, 2009
One thing to remember, transportation is never reliable. After my train from Stafford to London, I was supposed to take the tube straight to Heathrow. Simple enough, right? Well, coincidentally, the one weekend that I needed to use the Piccadilly line, they had it shut down for construction. However, after asking the metro information stand for help, I finally figured out the new route for that weekend. A plane ride and a few more trains later I was finally able to go to my hotel. Next problem ââ'¬Â¦ finding it. It was surprising how quickly my high school Spanish came back to me. After searching and being turned around for 20 minutes, I finally asked "Puede ayudarme?" to someone.
 Inside Sagrada Familia | |
On Sunday, I woke up to a beautiful day, however, I could definitely feel all the travel from the day before, so I was a bit slow to start. Once I got going, I basically hit up all the main sites in one day, and all by foot nonetheless. I decided to save "journeys" for my T-10. (A metro travel card allowing me use the metro up to 10 times.) I went by Parc de la Citutadella, Santa Maria del Mar, Port Vell and some other various places. I was feeling a bit tired from basically walking all across the city so I went to the beach in Barlceloneta to soak up a few rays.
Monday started out a bit rough. After I grabbed a quick breakfast, I realized that my phone was missing-a.k.a. most likely stolen. So, I was stranded in Barcelona with no way of contacting anyone. Luckily, I wrote down my one friend's number on a piece of paper that I still had and was able to get a few necessary numbers off of him. I was also able to buy a phone. Since there was an internet cafe near by, I contacted my parents as well. After that whole ordeal I went with my friend, who was studying in Barcelona, to Sagrada Familia, which was gorgeous. We went up the elevator to the top, which cost us about 2.5 Euro, but the site at the top was well worth the money. You could see the entire city from up there. After walking around some more and having lunch, we were both ready for a siesta and shower.
 Stained Glass from Sagrada Familia | |
Tuesday, I met up with my teammate Kelly Smith and one of her friends in her study abroad program, Brandon. We headed to Park Guell, which had some of the most amazing Gaudi designs I had ever seen. It was definitely a challenge to get to the park; we had to walk up one of the steepest hills I have ever gone up in my life. Part of the trek up was so steep they actually had outdoor escalators to help us get up to the top.
I think everything that could have possibly gone wrong did, however, with every bad situation a positive outcome followed, which ended up leaving me with a trip I definitely will NOT forget.
Next stop of the summer, Italy, to meet Mary Halling.
This is a continuation in a series of updates from the Miami University synchronized skaters throughout the summer.
Players Mentioned
