Ahhh...time to relax. Finally! I feel like the past week and few days has been nonstop. I guess the bright side to being so busy is that I haven't had time to feel alone or sad about leaving people...well...mostly. But it is nice to finally get to sit and relax.
Monday night our social tutors...the folks making sure we had fun while at orientation threw a party at one of the clubs in the union. The club is called cognito...which sounds like a funny club name to me. It was a dance club, not my type of thing, but I had a blast. Cali girl, Oregon girl, and Nigeria girl and I all danced most of the night. The music selections were...well...how do I put this...odd. Mostly the standard dance music, remixes of songs, and the occasional Bon Jovi and Billy Joel!? Yeah...Billy Joel. Apparently that's big over here. It was amazing how different dancing is here than back home. The guys aren't all over you. There were large groups of guys dancing together. It was amazing! I also had a blast getting to know a few new people.
We spent most of the next day recovering from our late night. Then I left my small little space on campus to stay with 2 of the only English people I knew before coming here for a few days. That's where I am now. Hanging at their house. Don't worry mom...they're feeding me well. :-) Plus I got a trip to Ikea to buy some stuff to allow me to cook when I do get into my own place.
Like I said, it's been a lot of fun. It still doesn't feel like I live here and I miss my family, friends, and my dog a whole lot. I really miss Phantom...even his constant licking. Hopefully when I get settled and stop living in a suitcase things will become more normal. Regardless, I do know this was the right decision and I'm so happy I'm here. I can't wait for classes to start on Monday.
Cheers!
Friday, September 26, 2008
Monday, September 22, 2008
Gonna rock around the clock tonight
Saturday a double decker coach full of us went down to London for the day. I've been to London before so I didn't want to do the same things I had done last time. I already had the pictures of all the sites so I narrowed my options down to 2: go to Greenwich or see Wicked on the West End. Greenwich won out.
When we arrived in London, we started out at Hyde Park and walked towards Buckingham Palace. We caught the tail end of the changing of the guard, but my pictures aren't worth much there. I walked a little while with the girl from China, 2 from Germany, 1 from Austria, and one of our orientation people from England. Since they decided to see Parliament and all the other political buildings, I made my way down to the pier to take a river boat out to Greenwich.
It's about an hour journey, depending on the tide down the River Thames to Greenwich. Along the way, our commentator pointed out important things.
One that caught my attention was an old church, of which you could barely see the steeple. It's near that site that the Mayflower was constructed and where it was later dismantled. The wood from the Mayflower now serves as the pews of the church. The little pub nearby changed it's name to help people remember that famous ship. You can barely see the steeple in that picture as well.
Once I got to Greenwich my only real mission was to see the Prime Meridian. Yes, that one. The one we all learned about in geography in middle school that is '0' longitude. OK, maybe only science geeks remember that kind of stuff.
Anyway, I made the long, steep...no really really steep climb up to the Royal Observatory and stood in both the eastern and western hemispheres at the same time. It was pretty neat. I saw lots of really really big telescopes and learned more about how time (GMT) was established. Then I journeyed back down the steep hill to the boat to catch the coach back to school. Here's a view from the observatory, just to give you an idea of how steep it was.
You see the buildings way off in the distance? That's the water front.
On our way back to uni we stopped at a "welcome break". I'm assuming that's our equivalent of a rest area. It was late and way past dinner so we grabbed some food. Unfortunately that meant eating KFC. Ugh! But I got my first experience with thinking these people are completely crazy and speaking a foreign language. I ordered a chicken filet sandwich...you know...like 'fill a'. The guy looked at me strange and after I said 'fill a' at least 5 times he finally asked, "do you mean a chicken 'fill it'?" Sure. So, that's my first taste at KFC in England...still yuck...and being looked at like I'm speaking a completely different language. Oh well. It was amusing.
I pretty much laid low on Sunday to recover from all the walking I had done earlier in the week. I'm just glad my knee seems to be adjusting. For a few days I was really in pain and worried about all the walking I'm going to be doing. It's a lot more hilly than I remembered.
When we arrived in London, we started out at Hyde Park and walked towards Buckingham Palace. We caught the tail end of the changing of the guard, but my pictures aren't worth much there. I walked a little while with the girl from China, 2 from Germany, 1 from Austria, and one of our orientation people from England. Since they decided to see Parliament and all the other political buildings, I made my way down to the pier to take a river boat out to Greenwich.
It's about an hour journey, depending on the tide down the River Thames to Greenwich. Along the way, our commentator pointed out important things.
One that caught my attention was an old church, of which you could barely see the steeple. It's near that site that the Mayflower was constructed and where it was later dismantled. The wood from the Mayflower now serves as the pews of the church. The little pub nearby changed it's name to help people remember that famous ship. You can barely see the steeple in that picture as well.Once I got to Greenwich my only real mission was to see the Prime Meridian. Yes, that one. The one we all learned about in geography in middle school that is '0' longitude. OK, maybe only science geeks remember that kind of stuff.
Anyway, I made the long, steep...no really really steep climb up to the Royal Observatory and stood in both the eastern and western hemispheres at the same time. It was pretty neat. I saw lots of really really big telescopes and learned more about how time (GMT) was established. Then I journeyed back down the steep hill to the boat to catch the coach back to school. Here's a view from the observatory, just to give you an idea of how steep it was.
You see the buildings way off in the distance? That's the water front.On our way back to uni we stopped at a "welcome break". I'm assuming that's our equivalent of a rest area. It was late and way past dinner so we grabbed some food. Unfortunately that meant eating KFC. Ugh! But I got my first experience with thinking these people are completely crazy and speaking a foreign language. I ordered a chicken filet sandwich...you know...like 'fill a'. The guy looked at me strange and after I said 'fill a' at least 5 times he finally asked, "do you mean a chicken 'fill it'?" Sure. So, that's my first taste at KFC in England...still yuck...and being looked at like I'm speaking a completely different language. Oh well. It was amusing.
I pretty much laid low on Sunday to recover from all the walking I had done earlier in the week. I'm just glad my knee seems to be adjusting. For a few days I was really in pain and worried about all the walking I'm going to be doing. It's a lot more hilly than I remembered.
No rest for the weary
My first few days in England were rather tiring. I still wonder if I've caught up with the time. I think I'm close. They keep us pretty busy around here. Here's a quick recap of the first couple of days.
My flight was long...it somehow seemed so much longer than last time. Maybe it's because the plane was pretty full...and the guy in front of me kept wanting to talk so I didn't sleep...but either way, it was long. We arrived in London at 6:30AM GMT. I made it through customs really quickly. They didn't even ask for my paperwork. Then I retrieved my bags and waited, and waited, and waited some more. I waited until 10AM when I saw someone with a sign for my uni come by. Then I moved over to check in for the coach and waited some more. We left London on the coach around 11:45, I think. It was a good 2 hour drive so I took the opportunity to take a nap.
Once we arrived at the uni, we checked in for orientation, got our room keys for the week, and headed in to relax before dinner at 5. I met another American while getting my key and she just happened to be in the same department I'm in. That made me feel a little more at ease right away.
Since last Wednesday I've made several friends from several different backgrounds. My friends consist of 2 other Americans (yay!), a few Germans, a girl from Nigeria, a guy from Austria, a girl from Finland, a girl from the Netherlands, a girl from China, and a girl from England. The girl from England is one of our orientation counselors though.
Our second day here we went to our first set of sessions. They were mainly for us to get to know each other. I walked into town to find out about moving into my flat but found out I still have to wait since the current resident hasn't moved out. I scheduled my interview for my job at the apartment building too. Hopefully that goes well and is a no brainer type job. Then I attended more sessions. It was much of the same on Friday.
Saturday was a whole different story, but I'll save that for the next post, since I actually have pictures to share with that.
Till then...
Cheers!
My flight was long...it somehow seemed so much longer than last time. Maybe it's because the plane was pretty full...and the guy in front of me kept wanting to talk so I didn't sleep...but either way, it was long. We arrived in London at 6:30AM GMT. I made it through customs really quickly. They didn't even ask for my paperwork. Then I retrieved my bags and waited, and waited, and waited some more. I waited until 10AM when I saw someone with a sign for my uni come by. Then I moved over to check in for the coach and waited some more. We left London on the coach around 11:45, I think. It was a good 2 hour drive so I took the opportunity to take a nap.
Once we arrived at the uni, we checked in for orientation, got our room keys for the week, and headed in to relax before dinner at 5. I met another American while getting my key and she just happened to be in the same department I'm in. That made me feel a little more at ease right away.
Since last Wednesday I've made several friends from several different backgrounds. My friends consist of 2 other Americans (yay!), a few Germans, a girl from Nigeria, a guy from Austria, a girl from Finland, a girl from the Netherlands, a girl from China, and a girl from England. The girl from England is one of our orientation counselors though.
Our second day here we went to our first set of sessions. They were mainly for us to get to know each other. I walked into town to find out about moving into my flat but found out I still have to wait since the current resident hasn't moved out. I scheduled my interview for my job at the apartment building too. Hopefully that goes well and is a no brainer type job. Then I attended more sessions. It was much of the same on Friday.
Saturday was a whole different story, but I'll save that for the next post, since I actually have pictures to share with that.
Till then...
Cheers!
Friday, September 19, 2008
Fall asleep with the tv darling, I'll be back again
~Augustana
Prior to leaving for England, my mom decided to make sure I didn't miss out on what happens between now and my Christmas break. Several weeks ago she asked me what kind of cake I wanted for my birthday. I generally don't know, even when it's just days before my birthday, let alone months. So I told her I wanted an apple pie.
Saturday night I cooked dinner for my parents. I cooked my favorite type of salad (yes, I said cooked a salad). Well, I cooked the chicken, and prepared the salad. Anyway, after dinner she disappeared into the kitchen and after waiting with my dad and wondering what she was doing, she came out with this. My very own apple pie for my birthday. And she even brought out some Moravian pumpkin spice (mmmmmm) cookies for my Thanksgiving.
The next night my mom surprised me by continuing with her theme of making sure I didn't miss out on things by cooking a modified Thanksgiving dinner for the whole family. I say modified because we had chicken instead of turkey. But it was just as good and really made the night a lot of fun.
And what was dessert? My very own pink lemonade birthday cake. Well, one to share with the family. I have the best family ever!
After all the celebrations I repacked my suitcases, twice. I'm now starting to think I could have left even more stuff back home, but I'm sure I'll appreciate having it soon enough. I spent most of Monday with my family, trying to get all the last minute things together. Tuesday greeted me with very English weather, 70 degrees and rain, just the kind of weather you want to drive 2 hours in to get to the airport. I made it to the airport in plenty of time, said my goodbyes and I love yous and got on the plane. The whole time I was sitting in the terminal and on the plane all I could think about was how surreal this all felt. It's like I was living someone else's life. Maybe once the jet lag wears off it'll feel more real. Less than 3 months before I'm back in the States.
Prior to leaving for England, my mom decided to make sure I didn't miss out on what happens between now and my Christmas break. Several weeks ago she asked me what kind of cake I wanted for my birthday. I generally don't know, even when it's just days before my birthday, let alone months. So I told her I wanted an apple pie.
Saturday night I cooked dinner for my parents. I cooked my favorite type of salad (yes, I said cooked a salad). Well, I cooked the chicken, and prepared the salad. Anyway, after dinner she disappeared into the kitchen and after waiting with my dad and wondering what she was doing, she came out with this. My very own apple pie for my birthday. And she even brought out some Moravian pumpkin spice (mmmmmm) cookies for my Thanksgiving.
The next night my mom surprised me by continuing with her theme of making sure I didn't miss out on things by cooking a modified Thanksgiving dinner for the whole family. I say modified because we had chicken instead of turkey. But it was just as good and really made the night a lot of fun.
And what was dessert? My very own pink lemonade birthday cake. Well, one to share with the family. I have the best family ever!After all the celebrations I repacked my suitcases, twice. I'm now starting to think I could have left even more stuff back home, but I'm sure I'll appreciate having it soon enough. I spent most of Monday with my family, trying to get all the last minute things together. Tuesday greeted me with very English weather, 70 degrees and rain, just the kind of weather you want to drive 2 hours in to get to the airport. I made it to the airport in plenty of time, said my goodbyes and I love yous and got on the plane. The whole time I was sitting in the terminal and on the plane all I could think about was how surreal this all felt. It's like I was living someone else's life. Maybe once the jet lag wears off it'll feel more real. Less than 3 months before I'm back in the States.
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Time for a milestone, time to begin again
~Sanctus Real
Welcome to the new blog!
I'm not yet sure what format I'm going to follow with this blog. It will be different from the other one, just not sure how. I may even try to maintain both, but we'll have to see how much time I have for updates. At any rate, this blog will be maintained because too many people want to know what's going on and how things are going.
So...welcome!
I am officially 1 week away from the big plane ride across the pond. Wow! Seven days! It's a very surreal place to be. I never knew what things would feel like when it got this close and now that it's here, I still don't know what I'm feeling or how to describe it. I just know that I'm about to do the most significant life-altering thing I've ever done in my life. And I'm excited, nervous, anxious, and a little scared. But it's all in a good way.
The packing process is slow, as evidence shows. But in all fairness, I have completed 7 loads on laundry, folded, and stored all of those clothes. Now I just have to pack them all in the 2 suitcases and 1 carry on that I'm taking. How exactly does someone fit a year's worth of WINTER (cooler) weather clothes in 2 suitcases? I also have all of my tourism books, my computer, camera, various chargers, journal, hats, and whatever other personal items I plan to take. It's going to be a week full of packing, and repacking, then packing again before I get this right. At least that's the only thing I have to do these days.
In the meantime, I heard this new song the other day and it just spoke to me in an incredibly profound way. It's almost freaky how timing works out like that.
Whatever You're Doing (Something Heavenly)
Sanctus Real
Time for a milestone
Time to begin again
Reevaluate who I really am
Am I doing everything to follow Your will
Or just climbing aimlessly over these hills
So show me what it is You want from me
I give everything I surrender...
To...
Whatever You're doing inside of me
It feels like chaos but somehow there's peace
It's hard to surrender to what I can't see
but I'm giving in to something Heavenly
Welcome to the new blog!
I'm not yet sure what format I'm going to follow with this blog. It will be different from the other one, just not sure how. I may even try to maintain both, but we'll have to see how much time I have for updates. At any rate, this blog will be maintained because too many people want to know what's going on and how things are going.
So...welcome!
I am officially 1 week away from the big plane ride across the pond. Wow! Seven days! It's a very surreal place to be. I never knew what things would feel like when it got this close and now that it's here, I still don't know what I'm feeling or how to describe it. I just know that I'm about to do the most significant life-altering thing I've ever done in my life. And I'm excited, nervous, anxious, and a little scared. But it's all in a good way.
The packing process is slow, as evidence shows. But in all fairness, I have completed 7 loads on laundry, folded, and stored all of those clothes. Now I just have to pack them all in the 2 suitcases and 1 carry on that I'm taking. How exactly does someone fit a year's worth of WINTER (cooler) weather clothes in 2 suitcases? I also have all of my tourism books, my computer, camera, various chargers, journal, hats, and whatever other personal items I plan to take. It's going to be a week full of packing, and repacking, then packing again before I get this right. At least that's the only thing I have to do these days.In the meantime, I heard this new song the other day and it just spoke to me in an incredibly profound way. It's almost freaky how timing works out like that.
Whatever You're Doing (Something Heavenly)
Sanctus Real
Time for a milestone
Time to begin again
Reevaluate who I really am
Am I doing everything to follow Your will
Or just climbing aimlessly over these hills
So show me what it is You want from me
I give everything I surrender...
To...
Whatever You're doing inside of me
It feels like chaos but somehow there's peace
It's hard to surrender to what I can't see
but I'm giving in to something Heavenly
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