Brighton Beach

So Friday I discovered that I am actually quite good at finding my way around London and Kingston and that I am a whiz at reading Tube maps and finding train stations.  Kate and I went into London to meet her cousin for a day of exploring and pub hopping.  Upon getting to London we went to the Millennium bridge (where the Harry Potter scene with the death eaters and the snapping bridge was filmed) and took tons of pictures of the bridges and could see the Tower Bridge and the London Bridge because they were all in the same area.  We then went to the Tate Modern Museum and saw a bunch of art, most of it which was over my head but I did recognize some artists, like Andy Warhol and Dali.  It was interesting to see a museum like that that is free to the public at all times, not like in the states where we have to pay for everything.... Afterwards we went to the Kings Head Pub which was hopping because it was their grand reopening, so after standing there for quite some time and not getting any closer to the bar we went to a place called O'Neills instead which is somewhat like an Applebees at home.  There Kate's cousin ordered strawberry beer for everyone, which sounds totally disgusting but it turns out that this is really good stuff! I might be addicted.

Saturday was the day to go down to the tip of England and see the little coastal town of Brighton.  It was freezing cold, but enjoyable because of all the things that I got to see and experience.  Brighton has the cutest little shops that are down narrow streets called the Alleys.  There were all kinds of local fare and it was good just to see what people are like on a day to day basis in England. Then we went to the Royal Pavilion where I saw the palace that Queen Victoria sold in spite of her uncle.  It was a Oriental inspired palace, as seen by the pictures that I hope to be able to get on here and it is just beautiful.  Everything about it was so gorgeous but it seemed really out of place in the small town of Brighton.  Then we went to Brighton Pier and got to see what real Fish and Chips and the coast of England looks like.  It was very cold, but very beautiful. I also got to see the hotel that was bombed by the IRA when Margaret Thatcher was PM and the burnt out pier in Brighton that is the center of a lot of controversy right now because while some people want it restored, others want it to remain a historical monument.

Today, classes start for the Uni, but I don't have my first class until tomorrow at 3pm (so 9 am ya'lls time).  It should be an interesting class, its American Literature and I can't wait to see what the books we are going to be reading are..... Then on Wednesday I am off to Shakespeare and my American Lit Seminar followed by my British Life and Culture class. Thursday is Abnormal Psych which I am very excited about and then begins my long weekend once again....

Cheers!

First Full Week Impressions

So, my first full week in England has come to a close and I have to say it is an interesting little place.  I am amazed by the way that everything is broken up into little villages and every village has a High Street or a central shopping street and then there are houses surrounding it.

The roads are funny too and the rules of the road are much, much different than back home.  I have had a couple people ask me if I were going to drive anywhere in England and I keep telling them that I can't imagine driving anywhere.  They have roundabouts and random one way roads, there are places where you have to yield to the other people on the other side of the road and just very strange things.  Not to mention everything about the way that they drive is backwards....I keep trying to get on our passenger side and end up in their drivers side....

Classes and "uni" is different too! Although I haven't yet started classes, I got my schedule and although I am taking about the same hours of class that I would at home, all of my classes only meet once a week, which means that I only have class three times a week.  Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.  It is crazy to think that I am going to have a four day weekend every weekend, but since I have a lot of traveling and things I want to do I think that will work out for the best.  Especially for when Nanny is here to visit, we can get a lot of exploring done in the four days that I have over the weekends.

The Pub scene is great too, as well as the Clubs.  People are a lot of fun here and love American accents as much as we love their British accents. It is just a good time to hang out with people and enjoy each others company.  Often times they show a lot of sporting events while the TV's are on and after a certain time at night it is mostly music and just hanging out.  The big going out nights here for students are weird though, they are often going out on Wednesday and Monday nights.  We tried going out last night (Thursday) but we couldn't because none of the clubs were open.  It is odd, but something that we have to get used to if we want to go out ever......My feet also have to get used to walking long ways in heels through pot holed sidewalks, which is a lot harder than you would think at night....

Anyway, I am off to London for the day to explore and have a good time!

Cheers!!!

First Weekend

So the first weekend in London was really interesting and a roller coaster of emotions...

When I arrived I found that my suitcase had ripped open, but luckily not enough to cause any real damage...My main concern there was what would I have to put my stuff in when I come back into the States but I guess we will just have to deal with that when it comes.... Heathrow was a really nice airport and the guy that we had to go with us to the shuttle was really wonderful.  When we got into the shuttle it smelled really weird, and we all joked around that it smelled like London, but apparently that really is what London smells like because that is what all the pubs and such smelled like as well.

So the first full day in London I went with the EuroLearn group and we all got a drink at the bar, and to set the record straight English beer is 100X better than American beer but it still tastes like horse piss.  I still don't like it so I will not be drinking it much here....

The second day we went to Westminster Abbey and Big Ben.  Westminster is absolutely BEAUTIFUL and I was so mad that I could not take pictures of it but whatever, it is the nicest most beautiful place to look at the what was inside was all history stuff but it was just fanstastic.  Anyway. there was this girl there who when we got to the tomb of the unknown soldier kept saying that she didn't understand why they had one and I tried to explain that we have one as well and she got all pissy and like told me that we don't.  I think she's really dense but their tomb of the unknown soldier for the first world war is just beautiful.  Its a plain black stone in the ground with red poppies surrounding it.  On a lighter note, I also saw poet's corner, which is where all the famous authors are buried or remembered, like Shakespeare and Chaucer and Dickens and Austen and Darwin and all these really cool influential people and I was just in heaven.

After we went to see a play called Billy Elliot because it is a story of the London mines and why they were all closed and Margaret Thatcher and a kid that wants to dance ballet and i was pretty good, really funny, but I was really shocked at how much the little kids curse here.  I found out a lot of pretty neat slang from the show though and I have been sharing it with people here and there because it is quite vulgar.

The second day in England was the Tower of London and Tower Bridge as well as going on a Jack the Ripper tour and we also walked by St. Pauls which I am going to have to go and see again.  Then we went to a Medieval Banquet dinner which was quite the experience.  All of these things are just really filled with history and author's stories and I am so glad that I am here to see it first hand.  Although, I realize more and more how sheltered and stupid we are about the world around us living in America.... It's really sad.

I have noticed from being here that we really are spoiled in every aspect of life and I have grown to appreciate so much more everything it is that America has to offer.  They want to buy our jeans off of our backs most of hte time because we have better jeans..... They also want to steal our things because they are the newest things.  They don't have WiFi like we do at home in most places and they also have different showers and toilers that are much more finicky then our stuff at home.  They have really not modernized at all because all of their money and efforts have gone towards rebuliding after the wars and that has but them really far behind the US in a lot of things.  They get music and movies after we do and its really funny to see that the Black Swan is just coming out here or that Willow Smith has just recently been heard on the radio.  I am learning a lot about history though and a lot more about appreciating what we have in America because everyone in England is quite envious of our way of life over there and that is why many of them think that we are spoiled brats....

It has been a rough adjustment for me but I am finally home where I will be for the next couple months and I finally feel settled.  I am glad of this because I have not been sleeping like I do at home and everyone who knows me knows that I LOVE my sleep.  I cannot wait to just be able to sleep in and get myself all really situated.  I register for classes bright and early in the morning so I am going to wrap this up quick.

I miss everyone at home and I hate not being able to text people random things, its hard not having a phone when you are so used to having it attached at your hip.....

Cheers!!

Preparation

The countdown to England is 8 days, 23 hours and 11 minutes as of the time I have started writing my first blog! It has been a long and frustrating process to get to this point and I don't really feel prepared at all.  There is only so much that Clemson and EuroLearn can help me with and I have fun into a few significant snags in the whole moving across the world for an extended period of time process.

To start STA Travel is THE WORST, WORST, worst, worst, travel company I have ever had the displeasure of dealing with.  They are rude, untimely, incredibly horrendous to their customers and to top it all off, they don't seem to want to help.  I booked a flight with them back in November and now that my flight is less than a week away, I began to wonder when I was going to get a confirmation of my tickets being purchased.  Upon calling, I found that they had moved my flight from Newark to JFK without ever informing me, and if I were to ask about why I was not informed I was hung up on, told that it was no big deal and then told that it was my fault that I had not received a confirmation.  I will NEVER book again with this company and I highly recommend that all else do the same.  You are better off paying another hundred dollars for better service, nicer people and confirmations of tickets! Especially when those tickets are inclusive of airport changes, time changes and even the risk of putting me of jeopardy of missing my pickup at Heathrow.  In summary, DO NOT go with STA Travel for any of your travel needs, EVER.

On a more positive note, I am actually really excited about England.  Right now I am struggling to deal with the fact that all of my friends are back in the place that my heart truly belongs to, Clemson.  I miss everyone and just the wonderful town so much that I am struggling to be happy about my situation, however, I know that when I get there all of this will be worth it.  I am excited to really do something for myself and to explore a place I have only ever been able to dream about.  I cannot wait to get there and immerse myself into a different culture, find out what is important to me, travel whenever and wherever I can and really get a feel for what it is like to be a student in England.  This is a perfect opportunity for me to really find out who I am and where my place in the world is, and I am so excited to start that journey.  I am a little anxious about what I will find, but, then again I am very excited for what such a huge change can bring to light for me.  I know I should be afraid, but I feel comfort in knowing that I am going to be alone and abroad.  It is a really strange feeling and a strange experience, but I finally feel comfortable enough in myself to know that I can handle this and I will have the time of my life.