So I'm trying to get some laundry done before I head to Coventry (I'm not sure I will actually finish before I have to leave), and while I wait, I figured I'd update my blog. :)
So while I get to do free laundry here, because the house I live in has it's own washer/dryer in the kitchen. Here's the thing. My building is one of the two that actually have free laundry, and there are students in 5 or 6 houses. So everyone comes here to do laundry. I have a feeling that in the future I'll either be doing my laundry in the middle of the night or during class. Either way, it could be interesting. And of course, both washer and dryer are small (which is what I was expecting) so you have to do laundry like every 3-4 days. And the dryer... well let's just say it sucks. Lol. Oh well. I'm leaving for the weekend, if all else fails I'll just hang clothes around my room.
So I'm finally getting into the swing of things around here (just in time for the weekend, lol). I think the jet lag I had this time around was by far the worse I've ever experienced. I have since learned that when I come over, I need to get on a schedule asap, so my body can adjust quicker. Classes are definitely becoming more interesting, so that's good, and the teachers aren't half bad either. :) The guy from UTK is awesome. I really wish he taught at Ole Miss! And of course my British professor, John Hopkins is a character for sure. One of his favorite things to say is "what's the point in having prejudices if you don't air them?" Check his Wiki page out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Hopkins_(lawyer)
Last night I grabbed my friend Jesse and took her to a less touristy English pub. It still wasn't as traditional as I'm used to, but I think since Cambridge is so touristy I'll be hard pressed to find what I'm used to. However, the place we went last night wasn't too bad. It was called The Free Press. While there we met several locals, and we'll definitely be back. It's only about a 10 min walk.
This weekend I'm heading to Coventry to visit Uncle Stephen and Lynne. I'm looking forward to seeing them. First though, I'm heading to Harlaxton. I'll be there tonight and tomorrow before heading to Coventry. I am soooooooooooo excited!!! :-D
Anyways, that's all from here. I've been snapping lots of pics, and I'll upload them as soon as I get a chance. Have a good weekend (I know I will)! :)
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Monday, June 27, 2011
Strangeness...
So, today was the first day of class. I'm taking 3 classes: International/Comparative Family Law - not gonna lie, the professor is pretty dry, and I most definitely almost fell asleep listening to him this morning (not a good thing since there's only 14 of us in there), but maybe it's just b/c it was the first day; International Law - we have a 75 year old professor who is very British and says some very random things ("Paris is great, but there's one drawback - the Parisians"); and Comparative Law - my professor for this class is from UTK and he seems pretty cool, and the class seems fairly interesting as well.
The meals are really good here. Typical English breakfast (complete w/ fry bread, which I didn't realize until about half way through eating a piece while trying to figure out why it tasted so weird). We also get and English dinner (not lunch) and it is like dinner. Today was stuffed Guinea or some sort of fish, mashed potatoes, peas and carrots, and some other sides as well. They also have a fruit/salad bar, but apparently we're only supposed to get hot or cold, not both, and then we get dessert.
After lunch, we had a meeting where the important people at the college gave us the low down, and we got our internet passwords (which I actually don't need where I am). After that, Jesse, Kevin and I headed into town. We went to a dept. store first. I got a pillow and a fan (yay air). Then we went to the Sainsbury local (mini grocery store). I got some bottled water and some orange juice. Next stop (after dropping off what we had bought already) was to the book store to get our British texts, but they didn't have them, and so they're on order. After that we headed back to the college. Along the way we stopped at Starbuck's and then at a phone store. I got an English phone. I wasn't going to get one, but apparently, it's not like Harlaxton where only like one guy had a phone, pretty much everyone here has a phone, and so we're all communicating that way. So I used some of my birthday money that I got from Uncle David to get that. I can only call British Mobile phones, but I think that's all I'll need (unless I need to call the Porter's office). Anybody can call me though, and I'm almost positive it doesn't count towards my balance, so if you want the number, email/msg me.
This evening a bunch of us went to this Asian place to eat, but I wasn't all that hungry, so I just got something small. And now, at 9:30 pm, I'm finally getting around to doing my reading for tomorrow. This type of schedule is not going to fly for very much longer, that's for sure.
All is going well here, but at the same time, I feel like something's wrong. I'm not sure what, not even a little bit. But you know those feelings you get when you know something is not right? It's one of those. Usually, I come over here and I feel right at home, and when I was in Barrow I was, but something's different here. I dunno, maybe I'm imagining things, I just wish this feeling would go away.
Anyways, that's all from here, I really need to get some work done. I'll post some pics soon.
The meals are really good here. Typical English breakfast (complete w/ fry bread, which I didn't realize until about half way through eating a piece while trying to figure out why it tasted so weird). We also get and English dinner (not lunch) and it is like dinner. Today was stuffed Guinea or some sort of fish, mashed potatoes, peas and carrots, and some other sides as well. They also have a fruit/salad bar, but apparently we're only supposed to get hot or cold, not both, and then we get dessert.
After lunch, we had a meeting where the important people at the college gave us the low down, and we got our internet passwords (which I actually don't need where I am). After that, Jesse, Kevin and I headed into town. We went to a dept. store first. I got a pillow and a fan (yay air). Then we went to the Sainsbury local (mini grocery store). I got some bottled water and some orange juice. Next stop (after dropping off what we had bought already) was to the book store to get our British texts, but they didn't have them, and so they're on order. After that we headed back to the college. Along the way we stopped at Starbuck's and then at a phone store. I got an English phone. I wasn't going to get one, but apparently, it's not like Harlaxton where only like one guy had a phone, pretty much everyone here has a phone, and so we're all communicating that way. So I used some of my birthday money that I got from Uncle David to get that. I can only call British Mobile phones, but I think that's all I'll need (unless I need to call the Porter's office). Anybody can call me though, and I'm almost positive it doesn't count towards my balance, so if you want the number, email/msg me.
This evening a bunch of us went to this Asian place to eat, but I wasn't all that hungry, so I just got something small. And now, at 9:30 pm, I'm finally getting around to doing my reading for tomorrow. This type of schedule is not going to fly for very much longer, that's for sure.
All is going well here, but at the same time, I feel like something's wrong. I'm not sure what, not even a little bit. But you know those feelings you get when you know something is not right? It's one of those. Usually, I come over here and I feel right at home, and when I was in Barrow I was, but something's different here. I dunno, maybe I'm imagining things, I just wish this feeling would go away.
Anyways, that's all from here, I really need to get some work done. I'll post some pics soon.
Sunday, June 26, 2011
What a crazy day...
Wow. What a whirlwind day (to say the least). I am exhausted!
So this morning, I got up and Uncle David came and got me and offered to take me all the way to Preston instead of Lancaster, so I didn't have to change as much. When I got to Preston, I got my ticket, and it said I would get into Cambridge at 14:54, and would make two stops. One at London Euston, and one at Finsbury Park. So I got on the train and headed to London. All was going well, when all of sudden we got stopped. Apparently, someone had stolen 5 miles of signaling cable/equipment, and they were debating on whether to terminate our ride in Rugby, UK or go ahead and make our way through. After about 20 min of being stopped, they decided to go on through, BUT there was 2 trains in front of us that needed to go through as well. So when we got into Euston (finally) we were about an hour late.
I decided on the train that I would forgo the Finsbury stop (which only gave me 20 min to get there) and get the Kings Cross so I had about 45 minutes (plus Kings Cross was only one stop away). It's a good thing I decided to do Kings Cross, b/c as I found out later, Finsbury Park was closed, and the Victoria line was closed as well. Luckily, Kings Cross was on the Northern line, but it still took me a good 5 minutes to figure out what platform to go to. Once I got to Kings Cross underground, I then had to find the actual train station, which also proved difficult. Luckily, I found it in time to catch the Cambridge train. So I got to Cambridge, and as I was getting off the train, I saw a friend who was doing this program as well, and we grabbed a taxi together to the college.
When I got here, we had trouble finding the porter's lodge, and ended up needlessly dragging our luggage through gravel for about a block. Once we got here, they gave us our keys and showed us where to go. However, my door was broken, and I couldn't get in. So they put me in a different building, and let me choose the room, but the room I chose first was waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too hot, and the ethernet connection was messed up, so I went to the Porter's and asked to change rooms.
Now this house/building I'm in now has a laundry room (yay free laundry), a kitchen, and my bedroom has my own personal bathroom (shower and all). Unfortunately/ Fortunately, we are right next to a pub. Literally. I can hear the conversations happening on the patio outside the pub. However, there are a bunch of us over here. They said once they get my room fixed I can take a look at it, and then decide where I want to stay. Right now my options are amenities vs. quiet. I'm not sure which is better. It's not like I'm going to be here on weekends (when I assume it's rowdiest), but I'm curious how late they chill outside, b/c if it's too late, I might bail on this room (and the amenities:-/).
Anyways, I made it and all is well. After an adventurous day I'm exhausted. I plan to grab a shower and hit the hay. G'night all!!!
So this morning, I got up and Uncle David came and got me and offered to take me all the way to Preston instead of Lancaster, so I didn't have to change as much. When I got to Preston, I got my ticket, and it said I would get into Cambridge at 14:54, and would make two stops. One at London Euston, and one at Finsbury Park. So I got on the train and headed to London. All was going well, when all of sudden we got stopped. Apparently, someone had stolen 5 miles of signaling cable/equipment, and they were debating on whether to terminate our ride in Rugby, UK or go ahead and make our way through. After about 20 min of being stopped, they decided to go on through, BUT there was 2 trains in front of us that needed to go through as well. So when we got into Euston (finally) we were about an hour late.
I decided on the train that I would forgo the Finsbury stop (which only gave me 20 min to get there) and get the Kings Cross so I had about 45 minutes (plus Kings Cross was only one stop away). It's a good thing I decided to do Kings Cross, b/c as I found out later, Finsbury Park was closed, and the Victoria line was closed as well. Luckily, Kings Cross was on the Northern line, but it still took me a good 5 minutes to figure out what platform to go to. Once I got to Kings Cross underground, I then had to find the actual train station, which also proved difficult. Luckily, I found it in time to catch the Cambridge train. So I got to Cambridge, and as I was getting off the train, I saw a friend who was doing this program as well, and we grabbed a taxi together to the college.
When I got here, we had trouble finding the porter's lodge, and ended up needlessly dragging our luggage through gravel for about a block. Once we got here, they gave us our keys and showed us where to go. However, my door was broken, and I couldn't get in. So they put me in a different building, and let me choose the room, but the room I chose first was waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too hot, and the ethernet connection was messed up, so I went to the Porter's and asked to change rooms.
Now this house/building I'm in now has a laundry room (yay free laundry), a kitchen, and my bedroom has my own personal bathroom (shower and all). Unfortunately/ Fortunately, we are right next to a pub. Literally. I can hear the conversations happening on the patio outside the pub. However, there are a bunch of us over here. They said once they get my room fixed I can take a look at it, and then decide where I want to stay. Right now my options are amenities vs. quiet. I'm not sure which is better. It's not like I'm going to be here on weekends (when I assume it's rowdiest), but I'm curious how late they chill outside, b/c if it's too late, I might bail on this room (and the amenities:-/).
Anyways, I made it and all is well. After an adventurous day I'm exhausted. I plan to grab a shower and hit the hay. G'night all!!!
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Time to leave Barrow :(
Well, it's been a quick trip, unfortunately. :( I love coming here. It's so relaxing. So Friday I headed out with my Uncle David to the beach and we walked around the dunes for a while and then we went for ice cream (note: ice cream when it's 58 degrees, possibly not the best idea, but still tastes really good). Then last night I headed out with an old friend, Lauren. I walked down to her house and saw her family, and then we met up with a few of her friends and went to dinner and then to one of the local pubs for a few drinks. It was great catching up. I can't believe we're both old enough where we can "go for drinks". It blows my mind! :)
Today my aunt and uncle came and got me and we went to some caves up north. That was fun. It was raining a little bit and silly me thought I would dryer in the cave. After we were done we went for a late lunch, and then headed to a pub for a drink before we headed back to Barrow. When I got back tonight I skyped with my parents, did laundry, and repacked all my bags. Of course I spent all my time here just chilling in the conservatory, hanging out with family, and trying to make dad exceedingly jealous. :-D
There's never enough time when I'm here. I suppose that's a good thing, but I'm never sure when I'm going to get back, so it kind of stinks. :-/ Like I said before, it's just so relaxing and peaceful. What can I say... it's home.
Today my aunt and uncle came and got me and we went to some caves up north. That was fun. It was raining a little bit and silly me thought I would dryer in the cave. After we were done we went for a late lunch, and then headed to a pub for a drink before we headed back to Barrow. When I got back tonight I skyped with my parents, did laundry, and repacked all my bags. Of course I spent all my time here just chilling in the conservatory, hanging out with family, and trying to make dad exceedingly jealous. :-D
There's never enough time when I'm here. I suppose that's a good thing, but I'm never sure when I'm going to get back, so it kind of stinks. :-/ Like I said before, it's just so relaxing and peaceful. What can I say... it's home.
Thursday, June 23, 2011
I have arrived
So I've made it to Barrow and to my grandparents house.
For those of you who don't know. I am going to be studying abroad this summer. I'll be in Cambridge. I left on Tuesday and will be back on August 9. I'm spending the first few days in Barrow visiting my grandparents and Uncle. I left at 12:15 on Tuesday afternoon. Flew to NJ, and had a four hour lay over there. Then boarded a plane for 7 hours and headed to England. The plane was actually pretty nice. I flew into Manchester and the past couple times I (or my family) have done that we end up on the older planes that haven't been updated, and it seems very long because you don't have the individual tvs. So that's what I planned for. I had my Kindle, a book, my ipod, and my laptop w/ extra battery and DVDs. I was set. However, when I got on the plane, I realized it had been updated, and we not only had individual tvs, but also outlets. :) It was still a long flight, and I definitely didn't get any sleep (I can never sleep on planes), but I was entertained the whole way. :)
When I got to Manchester it was 7:40 in the morning, and I went through customs and got asked many questions about how long I would be there, why I was there, and why I had been there so many times before (apparently the UK doesn't like people visiting often, lol). After I got my luggage I headed to the train station where I got the 9:30am train to Barrow. It was a 3 hr train ride, and I arrived in Barrow at 12:30 completely exhausted, hungry, and feeling very dirty.
My main goal for yesterday was to beat the jet lag. I ended up taking a 2 hour nap, but was still exhausted afterwards. So when I went to bed at 10pm I expected to pass out. However, as soon as I laid down, my body had different plans, and it took me two hours to fall asleep.
This morning, I woke up very refreshed, and ready for the day. It's been quite nice here today. It was a little cloudy this morning, but this afternoon it was 60 and sunny. :-D Grandma and Granddad took me out to lunch, then Asda's so I could get a few things, and then they dropped me off by the market so I could walk around a little bit. When I was ready to head back, it took me a while to find Abbey Rd. so I could get back home, but I wasn't in any hurry, so it wasn't a big deal, and I eventually found my way (if only my little sister and her great sense of direction were here). :)
Anyways, that's about it from here, tomorrow I'm hoping to meet up w/ my friend Lauren here, so we'll see.
For those of you who don't know. I am going to be studying abroad this summer. I'll be in Cambridge. I left on Tuesday and will be back on August 9. I'm spending the first few days in Barrow visiting my grandparents and Uncle. I left at 12:15 on Tuesday afternoon. Flew to NJ, and had a four hour lay over there. Then boarded a plane for 7 hours and headed to England. The plane was actually pretty nice. I flew into Manchester and the past couple times I (or my family) have done that we end up on the older planes that haven't been updated, and it seems very long because you don't have the individual tvs. So that's what I planned for. I had my Kindle, a book, my ipod, and my laptop w/ extra battery and DVDs. I was set. However, when I got on the plane, I realized it had been updated, and we not only had individual tvs, but also outlets. :) It was still a long flight, and I definitely didn't get any sleep (I can never sleep on planes), but I was entertained the whole way. :)
When I got to Manchester it was 7:40 in the morning, and I went through customs and got asked many questions about how long I would be there, why I was there, and why I had been there so many times before (apparently the UK doesn't like people visiting often, lol). After I got my luggage I headed to the train station where I got the 9:30am train to Barrow. It was a 3 hr train ride, and I arrived in Barrow at 12:30 completely exhausted, hungry, and feeling very dirty.
My main goal for yesterday was to beat the jet lag. I ended up taking a 2 hour nap, but was still exhausted afterwards. So when I went to bed at 10pm I expected to pass out. However, as soon as I laid down, my body had different plans, and it took me two hours to fall asleep.
This morning, I woke up very refreshed, and ready for the day. It's been quite nice here today. It was a little cloudy this morning, but this afternoon it was 60 and sunny. :-D Grandma and Granddad took me out to lunch, then Asda's so I could get a few things, and then they dropped me off by the market so I could walk around a little bit. When I was ready to head back, it took me a while to find Abbey Rd. so I could get back home, but I wasn't in any hurry, so it wasn't a big deal, and I eventually found my way (if only my little sister and her great sense of direction were here). :)
Anyways, that's about it from here, tomorrow I'm hoping to meet up w/ my friend Lauren here, so we'll see.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)