Try speaking in all consonants...that's what the Welsh do...

So I started writing Sunday night, but I got distracted and when I came back to it I just wanted to go to bed. So I'm going to pretend it's still Sunday night so I can finish it.
Definitely a good weekend...
I've been in Wales for the weekend with a group of nine other students. At first I was a little hesitant about it because a group of nine is pretty big, but actually turned to be loads of fun. We left for the train station at about six forty-five on Saturday morning. Our train didn't actually come until seven forty-five, but we wanted to make sure we were there on time. The train ride was in total about an hour and a half, but we had to switch trains in the middle which made the ride go faster. We got to Cardiff probably around nine thirty. The first thing we had to do was get bus tickets for Saturday and Sunday so we wouldn't have to walk everywhere. Then it was time to start seeing Wales. We couldn't check into our hostel until after two in the afternoon, so we just had to carry out backpacks around for a while. The first thing we decided to go see was the Llandaff Cathedral. It was absolutely gorgeous!! For one thing, the landscape is very hilly so the Cathedral was in this little valley and there were these hills all around it. Then of course the Cathedral itself was really pretty with stained glass and high arches. We walked around the front of the Cathedral taking pictures, and then we wandered around the other side. There were lots of gravestones all around the Cathedral which gave it this extra feeling of sacredness about it. Then finally we went inside, and it was gorgeous inside as well. I wandered around taking so many pictures...the stained glass was really pretty...and there was this one room that had a giant stained glass window and the sun was shining into the room and it was breathtaking. I absolutely loved it. When I finally wandered back to the entrance of the Cathedral I found out that I was the last one and everyone else was already done and waiting for me outside. Oh well...who knows if I'll ever make it back there, so I wanted to take my time, and didn't mind making them wait. After getting done with the Cathedral it was nearly noon and we were all pretty hungry. So we went across the street to a cafe for lunch. I had a BLT which was pretty yummy. After we ate, we got on a bus and headed back to Central Station. Then we decided to go to the Cardiff Bay. So we switched buses and were at the Bay within minutes. We were very fortunate because it was a really nice day...sunny and blue skies...so the bay was beautiful. There were even some sailboats out on the water. We walked around the Bay for a while taking lots of pictures. The water was glistening...it was really beautiful. We stopped and sat on some sculptures of animals and things...there was a wolf, a flower type thing, a naked lady, and a serpent...the serpent had an inscription on his tail that said "the lured fish under the foam witnessed with a kiss" I was really curious as to what that meant...so I eventually looked it up and found that it is from The Ballad of the Long-Legged Bait by Dylan Thomas. But anyways...after we finished wandering around and taking pictures we were all in agreement that it was time to find the hostel and check in and drop off our backpacks, which were getting heavier by the hour. So we took a bus part of the way back, and then walked to our hostel, which was called Nomad. We checked in and headed to our rooms. We all couldn't fit into the same room so we had to split into two groups. There was one group of six and another group of four. I was in the group of four, so it was Me, Danielle, Michaela, and Jess. By this time it was about four in the afternoon and we were all pretty tired. We ended up just chilling in our rooms for a little while before deciding to head out again. This time we were just going to the main street where all the different shops were, which turned out to only be a ten minutes walk away from the hostel. So we all broke into little groups and browsed the streets, looking at different stores. Everything closed at about six so that was when we decided to look for a place to get some dinner. After discussing it, a few people went to Burger King, but the rest of us went to this restaurant that was more like a buffet style. I ended up having lasagna, which was really good but interesting...I'm pretty sure there was only one layer of noodle on it, but there was a whole bunch of other stuff on it and I couldn't figure out what...oh well, it filled me up which was all I really cared about at that point. After we finished, we all headed back to the hostel. We ended up playing some card games since it was still early in the evening, but after a while card games can get somewhat boring. So the majority of us ended up going out to a pub at around nine thirty. However as we walked down the street where all the pubs were, we discovered that going to a pub in jeans and a plain shirt was not acceptable, because everyone...and I mean everyone...was dressed up really fancy. Needless to say, we all felt very out of place. So we picked the pub that seemed the least dressy and hung out there until about eleven. Then on the way back to the hostel, we stopped at McDonald's. I got a McFlurry with Smarties...which was delicious...I had been craving dessert for a while. When we got back, it was definitely time for bed. The beds in the hostel were very springy...as in you could feel every spring in the mattress, so I didn't sleep all that great...and they were also very loud, and you couldn't move with out the whole bed shaking and squeaking which was rather annoying. But we all managed and got a relatively decent night's sleep. I got up early the next morning because I wanted to shower. So I got ready and then headed to breakfast at eight-thirty...the hostel provided breakfast which was toast and cereal, oh and tea. I made the discovery that blackcurrant jam is actually pretty good. After breakfast we finished getting ready and packing our things together, and checked out at ten. Then we headed to Central Station to try to catch the bus to the Welsh Life Museum. Unfortunately the bus only leaves once every hour and we ended up missing it by five minutes. Then we tried to go to Caerphilly Castle, but found out that we had nearly forty minutes before that bus left. So to kill some time, I went to a cafe with a Michaela and Stephanie to get some hot chocolate, and then we stopped at Mark's and Spencer's on the way back to the bus station to get a chocolate filled croissant...which was delicious. When we all got back to the bus station, we found out that we had gotten the buses mixed up, and that now our best bet to get to the Caerphilly Castle was to just take the train. So we rushed over to the train station and found a train that was going to leave in the next ten minutes and bought tickets. The we practically ran to our platform and got on the train. The ride out to Caerphilly wasn't long...maybe fifteen minutes. Then we walked to the Castle. This was probably the highlight of the trip for me...I absolutely love castles and this one was really cool. It was an old stone castle, complete with a moat. I went a little nuts, and wandered the castle in a dreamy daze and constantly taking pictures. There were vines growing all over the walls and there were spiral staircases...yeah I was basically in heaven. The only thing that could have made it better would to have been able to see it when it was actually in use...but that's impossible. I loved it. We probably stayed there until about twoish. Most people were done looking at the castle before me, but that was ok...I was definitely taking my time. By the time we were done we were all hungry so we stopped for lunch at a pub...The King's Arms. They told us that it would probably be about a half hour wait until we got our food and we said that was ok...however it ended up being about a fifty minute wait...and we were starving! By the time I got my chicken and bacon sandwich I was so hungry that I inhaled it. Unfortunately by the time we finished eating it was too late to go to the Welsh Life Museum because it closed at five and by the time we got there it would probably be about five. So we just decided to head back to Cheltenham. So we took the four o'clock train back to Cardiff and from there we caught our train back to Chentenham. An hour and a half later we were walking back to Regency...however we did get slightly detoured on the way because we walked by Weatherspoons...the pub that had the amazing chocolate cake...so Jess, Suzie, Deanne, Stephanie, Michaela, and I all stopped there for cake, and it was totally worth it. Then we went home. I was super tired and it was an early night for me. But it was definitely a great weekend.

Barefootin' through Town...

I've decided that dancing is definitely a great break in the week...
I've been considering going out for a while, but I finally went out last night and loved it. Besides...life isn't interesting unless you take some risks and live a little...and sometimes you find that it is the most fun. I guess you could say that the fun began when Deanne and I actually decided to go out...which naturally meant we needed outfits...in other words, shopping! We went to Primark to look around and get some ideas, which is where I got a pair of shiny hot pink heels, mainly because they were on sale and looked really fun. But then I had a problem...the dress I was planning on wearing out did not match those shoes...so I just had to improvise. After shopping I went to my room and practically tore apart my closet trying to find an outfit that would go with those awesome heels. It did take a little while, but I finally decided on dark skinny jeans and my turquoise zip-up shirt. The club we were going to didn't open until ten thirty, so Me, Deanne, Susie, and some other girls decided to go out for dessert first and then head over to the club...which was called The Boogie Lounge. Unfortunately things didn't go exactly as we had hoped. We left a bit late, so we ended up missing dessert because most places stop serving food at around ten. We wandered the streets for a while, however we didn't want to be the first ones at the Boogie Lounge, so we decided to stop at a pub for a while to kill some time. We hung out there for a good forty five minutes before heading out again. I honestly was not sure what to expect at the club...but when we got there it turned out to be so much fun. Deanne, Susie, Bethany, and I all headed straight for the dance floor...they were playing awesome music...and that was where we stayed for the next hour and a half. By the time twelve thirty rolled around, my feet were killing me...I hadn't realized there was going to be so much dancing involved so the heels weren't the best thing to have worn...and I had a nine fifteen class in the morning. So me and Susie said goodnight to the group and headed back to Regency. The second I got outside, I took off my shoes because there was absolutely no way that I was going to walk back in them. So we walked barefoot back home...we did feel pretty safe though because we figured if anyone tried to attack us...well we had shoes with heels in our hands...enough said. When I got back, I crawled into bed...after washing my feet...and fell asleep.
Today, I had my Islam class...which is pretty interesting. After class I went to Tesco because I was majorly craving a baguette. I pretty much made my day by buying a baguette and some apples for lunch. It was definitely the best lunch ever. That in combination with a nice nap and some Harry Potter definitely made for a lovely afternoon...and I even got my laundry done. Deanne and I went out for dinner at Ben and Jerry's...a New York Itialian style restaurant. And the rest of the evening I just relaxed. Not a bad way to close the week....

A Ten Mile Day...

Today's adventure was London...
I had to wake up this morning at about six thirty to get ready, and of course I hadn't been able to fall asleep until after two last night so I had only gotten about four good hours of sleep...not the best way to start a day in London, but it couldn't be helped. I met up with Deanne, Tyler, and Michelle at about seven twenty and we all headed off to the coach station where we loaded onto our coach and settled down for the two hour ride to London. I dozed off and on, but finally we were there. We got off the bus, got outside, and immediately looked like tourists not knowing exactly where to go...a nice taxi driver asked us if we were looking for the Coach station, but we said no we had just arrived...and we headed off down the street. The first place to go on our list was Buckingham Palace, which we found without difficulty. We peered at the palace through the gates, wondering what it was like in there...what the Queen was doing, where the Princes where. After thinking about it for a while though, I wondered how awful it would be to live there...not being able to go outside your house without having dozens and dozens of people swarm you...even though it is a Palace, it almost seemed to me like a cage. But anyways...It was nearly eleven so we were anticipating the changing of the guard...until we saw a sign that informed us that the changing of the guard only happened every other day during the winter and of course today was not one of those days. That was rather disappointing...that along with the fact that we didn't even see any of the guards...the ones with the bright red coats and big black fluffy caps. Well we were taking pictures, when we noticed that there were a bunch of guards...not the ones we were looking for...on horses riding very stately down the street. Of course then there was the question of if they were escorting someone...perhaps royalty...but no, they were just riding down the street. We didn't stay there much longer.
Next on our list to see was Westminster Abbey, so we started heading in that direction. We got sidetracked on the way because we saw a bunch of people gathered on front of a building. After investigating we found that this was where the guards on horses had been going, but now we wanted to know what they were doing because they were just sitting there like they were waiting for something...or someone. But it just turned out to be a drill and they turned their horses around and rode away. Oh well...we left and made our way to Westminster. Having been to London before, I had been to the Abbey, but my memory was a bit foggy and I forgot how totally majestic it is. The stained glass, the high ceilings, the inlaid gold...and I just discovered thanks to Google that it is in the shape of a cross, which I think is pretty cool. I was annoyed that I couldn't take any pictures while inside the cathedral, because it was just so gorgeous and amazing. We wandered around the Abbey, looking at all the tombs and memorials to kings, queens, and other important people. It was really neat. Then we stepped out of the Abbey and there was the great icon of London...Big Ben along with the Houses of Parliament. Naturally we had to stop and take about a hundred pictures of this great grandfather of all clocks...it really does get a lot of attention for just telling the time properly. Then we crossed the Thames...pronounced Tems just in case you were wondering...and headed to the London Eye, which was next on our list. We had some time to kill though because our ride on the Eye wasn't for a while still, so we stopped at a Subway to grab some lunch. After lunch we still had some time, so we decided to walk over to Shakespeare's Globe Theatre. Well, we walked for about fifteen minutes and realized we were not going to make it there and back before we had to be at the Eye for our ride, so we turned around. We got to the Eye on time and saw the 3D video that came with our tickets which was kinda interesting...it was just a bird's eye view of London and the Eye. The we went outside and waited in line. We didn't really have a very long wait...maybe about fifteen minutes, but it really wasn't bad. Then we got into our pod, and the next half hour mainly consisted of taking pictures and enjoying the scenery. When we got to the top, we could see all over London...Big Ben and Westminster Abbey in one direction, and St. Paul's Cathedral in the other direction...it was an awesome view. After our ride was over, we walked along the Thames in the direction of The Globe, and along the river we saw mimes, dancers, and actors doing different things. The sun was starting to go down so things were starting to light up. But by the time we finally got to the Globe, we were really starting to fade. We decided to head back to Victoria Station, which is where we had to pick up our coach to get back home, and to just get some dinner on the way. Well, lets just say it was a very long walk...and of course we had to stop to take pictures of Big Ben again because he was all lit up. We walked nearly all the way back to Victoria Station before we stopped to get dinner, and we were all dead. My entire body was aching and sore and I just wanted to sit and eat and sleep. But we finally got some dinner. We left the restaurant at about seven thirty-five and our bus was leaving at eight, so we rushed over to the station and got there just in the nick of time. We pulled out of the station at eight, and I was asleep within five minutes and I slept the entire ride back. I finally got back to my room around eleven, and as much as I wanted to collapse into bed, I knew I had to write everything down, otherwise it would not be as fresh in my memory. So it was a long day, but definitely a good one. And after walking about ten miles today...yes its true, I looked it up...its definitely time to sleep.

All in a Nutshell...

Finally something fun and interesting...
Oh I know, I haven't written for a while, but this week wasn't especially interesting. Monday I was sick in bed with something...I think it was something I ate Sunday, but I'm not positive...so I only got out of bed on Monday unless it was completely necessary. Tuesday I felt well enough to go to class...it was my prose class and we got to critique each other's creative writing pieces we had turned in which was very fun. Wednesday was pretty normal...except when me and some of the girls from my flat went to the movies and saw Up In the Air...it was a cute movie, but a rather disappointing ending. Oh well, it was still fun. Thursday was pretty normal...went to class, took a nap, relaxed. But I did get to talk with my mom until four in the morning which I really enjoyed because I hadn't talked to her in over a week. And that brings me up to today. I woke up really late...at two thirty actually. I had set an alarm for just after noon, but I never heard it. Oh well, sleeping in is great. I got ready and at four Deanne and I went shopping with Bethany...another BCA student studying here. She showed us this store that sold things for pretty decent prices and they were having a pretty big sale. We all tried on crazy sequined outfits for fun...mine was a silver skirt and a black sequined sweater, and they both looked hideous. But I ended up buying a black cotton dress...its really cute and has gold edging and a little gold belt..., a turquoise shirt that zips up the front, a pink and black plaid purse, and a ring in the shape of a little bow. I was pretty excited about everything I bought. On the way back to Regency, Deanne and I made a quick stop to Tesco to get some snacks because we're going to London tomorrow and wanted to bring some snacks with us. We got back just as dinner was ready, so we ate and cleaned the dishes. The we just relaxed for about an hour and a half. At eight thirty Deanne, Susie, Jess, and I went out for dessert. I had a delicious piece of chocolate cake with two scoops of vanilla ice cream. It was heavenly. We hung out for a little while and just chatted before heading back to Regency. Now its just time to chill, and its gonna be an early night for me because we're leaving for the bus station just after seven tomorrow morning and I want to be energetic for tomorrow's adventures.

Books, Games, and Embarrassing Moment...

Well it's the weekend again...
I left off on Wednesday night with my last class at nine fifteen the next morning. So I got up early Thursday and went to my Islam class...I'm pretty excited about it, even though my tutor is an atheist. The rest of the afternoon was pretty low key and nothing really happened. But after dinner, Deanne and I got dressed up and were going to go out to get dessert...unfortunately we could not find the place we were trying to get to, so we just ended up going to Tesco and buying ice cream. Then we came back and watched What A Girl Wants. It was a very nice girl date. Friday I didn't have class so I slept in until about noon. After I got ready I quickly wrote up a page long story about a mouse for my prose class...I had to submit it by four that afternoon, but since I knew Deanne and I were going to be doing some errands I had to get it done right away. So I sent that to my tutor and then finished getting ready. Deanne and I left for FCH probably just after one...she wanted to go to the learning center...library...to look up some things for her classes. After that we went over to the bookstore...there's only one in town...because I needed to get some books for class on Monday. But I really loved the bookstore...its three stories with a little coffee shop...its pretty big, but really cute all at the same time. I'll probably be going back there in the future. After dinner I tried to plan our trip to London that we were planning to do Saturday...Kendall had a layover there and we were really wanted to get over to see her...unfortunately it just did not work out...so we were left plannless...until Deanne asked our friend Tyler if he was still planning on going to Borton on the water with Michelle on Saturday...he had invited us to come with him and Michelle a few days ago, but we had turned him down thinking we were going to London. But anyways he said that they were still planning on going and were probably going to leave for the bus station at eleven. So this morning Deanne, Tyler, Michelle, and I all met up and headed off to the bus station. There was some slight confusion once we got to the station because Tyler and Michelle hadn't actually found out if we needed to buy tickets, or when exactly the bus left...so we were basically winging it. But we eventually figured it out and got on the bus at about noon. The bus left shortly thereafter and within a half an hour we were at Borton on the water. It is a very small, but very picturesque English town. We walked along the water, saw a lovely old church and took lots of pictures. Unfortunately it was a rather dreary day today...the typical rainy cloudy day...so we didn't stay very long. We left on the one forty-five bus. I ended up having an extremely embarrassing moment seconds after getting off the bus. I'm still not sure exactly what happened, but I somehow completely lost my footing...I was walking on a flat surface...and started falling forward...but there the glass bus stop thing directly in front of me...so I ended up completely crashing against it...and of course there was some girl waiting for her bus on the other side of the glass...oh man I was super embarrassed, and had gotten my pants and hands all muddy...yeah it was bad. But anyways...after that lovely incident we went to Spencer's Cafe because we were all hungry...it was supposed to be cheap and very good...and it was. I had a baguette with chicken, bacon, mayonnaise, and lettuce...I've recently been obsessed with baguette sandwiches...but it was really good. Then we headed back to Regency. Not much later, Jess and Susie knocked on my door and we all ended up going to the kitchen and playing Dutch Blitz...best card game ever!!!! We played that for a while...but Susie got fed up with it...mainly because she was losing...so we stopped to have dinner. After dinner, I actually ended up taking a nap...I was suddenly really tired...and at nine Jess knocked on my door and said that they were going to play poker in a few minutes, so I shook myself awake and went to play poker. It was Jess, Susie, Deanne, Jamie and Hannah and three guy friends of theirs, and myself. We ended up playing with partners...oh and we were just playing for candy, not money...I've never really played poker before but I sort of knew the basics. I only won one round, but I was very excited to win because I didn't think I would at all. After a while we got tired of that, and then we switched to playing spoons!!! Another awesome game. Some of the Brits hadn't played before, but they ended up loving it. Finally the games and fun ended around midnight and we all said goodnight and headed off to our rooms. So its nearly bedtime for me...I think I will just finish my Merlin episode first and then call it a day.

Time goes on...

And the week continues...
So now it is Wednesday and I only have one more class this week...which is tomorrow at nine fifteen. But I'm getting ahead of myself...On Tuesday I had my prose creative writing class. I was somewhat surprised to find that my tutor does not have a British accent at all...he's American. I also learned that the class has a one hour lecture and then a two hour workshop. The class is split into two different groups...I'm in the group expressive pineapples...and the groups rotate workshops each week, so every other week I'll only have that class for an hour. Because it was only the first week back from break no one had the workshop, so we just discussed first person narratives for an hour and then were dismissed. The rest of the day was rather uneventful...except that Deanne and I went out to the store to get some breakfast food and snacks for ourselves which was good. Then I went to bed and got up the next morning...Wednesday, which is today...and headed off to my history class at eleven. I discovered that there are a few other students from BCA that are also taking that class, which was exciting since in my Monday and Tuesday classes I'm the only BCA student. So we waited outside the classroom for about twenty minutes or so...and then the British students who had been waiting as well started to just leave. So we asked them how long we were supposed to wait for a tutor, and they said that they didn't really know...but the tutor for this class, who was often late, was never this late and that we could just leave. We figured that the British students knew best and headed back to Regency. It wasn't even noon yet and I was not sure what to do with myself...so I took a nap until about two thirty. I was kind of hungry when I woke up so I made myself a sandwich and then went to Deanne's room for a visit. We chatted for a while before I went back to my room to just chill for a while. It was during this time that I made an amazing discovery. Over the summer my little brother and I had gotten addicted to a TV show called Merlin. Well, I found out that it is actually a British show...and that they are already done with the second season over here. I was insanely excited and freaked out for a good ten minutes, and then proceeded to begin watching the second season online and facebook my brother to tell him the exciting news. It pretty much completely made my day. I had just finished the first episode when Jess knocked on my door and told me that dinner was ready. We had crepes with fruit....and it was delicious. After dinner, we decided that we were going to go see a movie. So we left Regency around eight thirty and headed over to the Brewery which is where the cinema is located. Two of the British girls on our flat came with us. We saw Its Complicated...which turned out to be a rather funny, cute movie, and it was really nice to hang out with some of the British girls. We walked back to Regency, said goodnight, and headed off to our rooms. And thus the day has ended...

Buckle up for reality..time for classes

Today the semester began...
This morning I woke up about nine and got ready for classes...I had to make sure I looked extra good...just in case. My class started at ten fifteen, but I wanted to get there early so I left Regency at around nine forty-five. I got to FCH at about ten and it probably only took me about two minutes after that to find my classroom, so I had about fifteen minutes to wait. I waited out in the corridor...hallway...with other British students...apparently here you don't go into the classroom unless you tutor...professor...goes in first and lets you in. At just about ten fifteen my tutor showed up and we all filed into our classroom. There were only about eight other students in my module...class..., and because the module ran for a full year I started getting questions as to weather or not I was in the correct room. But as soon I said I was with BCA they all instantly understood and started asking where I was from...and when I told them New York they got all excited...until I said I was actually from the other side of New York and about seven hours from the actual city. That part always seems to surprise people because they don't know how large New York is. But anyways...the first half of the two hours was spent with the tutor lecturing on Jack Kerouac and The Beats from the 1950's in America...with I found rather interesting. Then we had a few minute break and when we met back up again we were supposed to discuss the book that we were supposed to have read for class that day...but almost no one had read the book yet so we ended up watching a documentary about Jack Kerouac. Then class was done, and I was free for the rest of the day...and it was only twelve fifteen. I was very relieved that my first day had gone well because I had been very nervous about this class...its a three hundred level class which means it's like a senior level class and I wasn't sure if I was going to be in over my head by taking it...but I talked with the tutor and she said that I shouldn't have too much of a hard time with it, which was a major relief. So after class I went back to Regency, got some lunch and just chilled for a few hours. I started getting slightly drowsy about mid-afternoon and laid down and the next thing I knew it was five o'clock and Deanne was knocking on my door to let me know that Denise (our director) was downstairs giving out our food money for the week. So I quickly woke myself up and went down to get my money. Then it was time to start making dinner, which was a nacho thing...we made the unfortunate discovery that the salsa here tastes more like Ketchup than actual salsa...that will take some getting used to. After dinner I chilled for a while...then Nate and I skyped...for like two hours which was quite fun. Then I went over to Jess's room and me, her, and Deanne all chatted for a few minutes. It was nearly midnight by this time, but I figured it would be a good time to call home and try using my cell phone that I got here. It did take me a few tries to get the number right, but I got to talk to my parents for a good half hour and we were able to do some catching up which was great. And now it's past one so I should probably head off to bed...day two of classes tomorrow...

Sunday-the day of rest

Today was a much needed day off...
Today was the first day since getting here in England that I didn't necessarily need to set an alarm. However I did set one...for twelve-thirty, just so I wouldn't sleep too much later than noon. I slept until my alarm went off, then laid in bed for a few minutes before getting up and starting to get ready for the day. I took a quick shower, then met up with Deanne. We ate breakfast...or lunch or whatever it was...and discussed our plans for the day. We decided to go to FCH (Francis Hall Close campus) and try to find our classes, so we changed and headed out. When we got there, we found that the buildings were locked so there was no way to figure out where our classes were going to be...which was very unfortunate because we were anxious about our classes the next day and did not want to be late to them or get lost or look like an idiot. But there was nothing we could do, so we walked back to Regency...and then turned around again so I could show Deanne how to get to the bus station from Regency. After finding the bus station we went to Tesco (the local grocery store) because I was low on toilet paper. We both bought a few things and headed back to Regency once again. The remainder of the day was pretty relaxed...we had pasta for dinner, watched Wedding Crashers and ate chocolate ice cream that contained brownie and cookie dough. Now it's time to face classes...

Set back the clock...a few thousand years...

Today took place in another century...another time...another place...
This morning was an early morning, I woke up just after seven thirty. I had to get ready and get really bundled up because today we were taking a trip...we were going to Bath. I was pretty excited about this trip and had heard a lot about how awesome Bath is, so I was hoping I would like it. I met up with the whole group of BCA students at about eight thirty and shortly thereafter, we loaded onto the coach (its a bus for you Americans, but I'm trying to get the lingo down and this helps me practice...and you get to learn as well...so its a win win situation). This time the drive was short, only about an hour...I ended up falling asleep for a little while on the way...I'm not really a morning person. We arrived in Bath and the sun was coming up over the hills and shining down on the town and it was stunning. The coach dropped us off in front of the Bath Abbey...which was a beautiful Abbey. From there we went to a place called Sally Lunns. It's the oldest tea shop in Bath...and where the Lunn bun is from. So we had tea...which was delicious...and Lunn buns with clotted cream and strawberry jam...I felt this was my first authentic British meal yet on this trip...and it was probably nearly the best meal I've had on this trip so far. I was so full after eating about 3/4 of the bun, but I felt it was a crime to leave any of the bun uneaten because it was just that amazing...so I ate the last fouth and felt very satisfied. After this scrumptious meal we went over to the Roman Bath Houses. This was definitely the highlight of the trip. We walked through the ruins of the bath house and it was awesome. I kept picturing Romans walking along the baths and people lounging in the alcoves and everyone enjoying the naturally heated water of the hot springs underground...which they believed came from a goddess, so bathing was some what of a ritual as well as a leisure and enjoyment. As I took pictures, I longed to see this great bath house back in its prime...when the pools were eneclosed...the tiles were covered in mosaics...when the water was unpolluted and clear...when it was majestic. Unfortunately, sometimes time is a curse and it's impossible to go back. But anyways...we walked through the different rooms and chambers and it was very cool. After the bath houses, Deanne and I wandered the streets of Bath, looking at the shops, looking at the old buildings, taking pictures, and enjoying the sights and sounds of the city. We saw a cafe called the Boston Tea Party...we were tempted to go inside and demand a free cup of tea since we were from America and Deanne lives relatively close to Boston...but decided against it. One thing that I found rather fascinating was the sight of a man, walking a tightrope and playing a violin...I was very impressed. Well, time passed again and we headed back to where the coach dropped us off a little before three. We met back with the rest of our group, got back on the bus and headed home. After we got back it was nearly dinner time, so my flatmates and I had baguette pizza for dinner...which turned out to be rather good and it was easy to make. After we cleaned up, the four of us plus Chrystal who lives on a different floor, all watched She's the Man which was fun. Now I'm just relaxing in my room...slightly concerned that I might be getting sick because my throat has started to hurt and my head feels rather heavy...but other than that minor setback it was a fabulous day.

Welcome to...Hogwarts?!

Now day three here in England is coming to a close...
It wasn't quite as crazy as the past few days have been, but today was a lot more information oriented. I got up a little after nine and got ready. I met up with everyone else at ten for breakfast...which consisted of cornflakes for me. After breakfast we all broke up into groups and made a list of all our hopes and fears while being here in Cheltenham. For me, I'm mainly scared of the classes...the system is different here and everything seems kind of intense and I really want to do decently in all my classes. On the other hand, my main hope is to blend in...to learn the culture...to act, speak, and appear as a local. But back to the day...we all reconvened after about half and hour to share what we had written. This ended up taking quite a while, but eventually we finished. Then we were set free to feed ourselves lunch. My flatmates (Deanne, Jess, and Susie) and I met up in my room to figure out what we were going to do relative to food. We made a list of things to buy, but by that time we had run out of time to actually go grocery shopping, so we all just ran out and got outselves a quick lunch. Then we met the group back at Regency Hall and ended up leaving again..this time for the University. We were going to the Francis Close Hall Campus...there are four different campuses for the University of Gloucestershire in this general area with the farthest one being ten miles away. The FCH campus is a ten block walk away from Regency, which actually was not all that bad. When we walked into campus...I was completely breathless...not because of the walk but because the campus was like straight from my dreams. Nearly all the buildings were made of stone and they all looked out to a main courtyard. It reminded me of Hogwarts. I have always dreamed of going to school at a place like that...and it actually came true!!! I was in awe for quite a while. It's beautiful. But I couldn't stay in the clouds for long because I had to pay attention. We went inside and got a tour of the Learning Centre...the Library, but they don't call it that. From there we had a meeting about academics...it was a long meeting with a lot of information. We didn't get done with that meeting until after four, but after that we were free for the night. On the way back from FCH my flatmates and I went grocery shopping, which was interesting. The grocery store was very very small compared to the stores back at home and everything is in smaller quantities. But we managed to find everything we needed and made our way back to Regency. When we got back we were hungry, so Susie made dinner which was a kind of curry dish...it was delicious, she's an amazing cook. We cleaned up, put everything away, and ended up all hanging out and watching Robin Hood Men in Tights. Everything has been pretty low key since then...I'm actually sitting in my room eating the baguette that I ordered for lunch today but didn't finish, and it's quite yummy.

Day Two...

And so the story continues...
Well this morning my alarm went off a little before nine o'clock...I had forgotten to turn up the volume so it took me a little while to actually hear my alarm, but I heard it eventually. We were all supposed to meet up and be ready by ten so we could go out to breakfast. So I eventually climbed out of bed, took a hot shower...with really good water pressure...and got ready. Me and Deanne met up just before ten and went downstairs, only to find that the plans had changed. It had snowed another few inches during the night so the University was closed, which was where we were going to go for breakfast. So the ladies in charge of us had gone out and bought some cereal, milk, bread, and fruit so we could eat breakfast...which was greatly appreciated. So instead of going out into the freezing cold, we got to eat a lovely breakfast inside. After breakfast had been cleaned up, orientation began. We received lots of instructions and information...like people here consider it very rude if you're not on time and if you don't say please or thank-you...but it was all very helpful. Orientation probably lasted an hour or two, then we got sent back to our rooms to get our coats and things because it was time for a tour of the town. It was rather cold and windy...which made the cold all that much colder...so the tour didn't last terribly long. Our guide, Sandy, showed us the main stuff like the bus station, the place to find a taxi, High Street...which is where a lot of shops and restaurants are..., the post office, a grocery store,...and a few other place which of course I can't remember at the moment. At the end of our little tour she let us do as we pleased, and just told us to be back at Regency Hall at four-thirty to leave for dinner. So Deanne, Michelle, Tyler, and I went first to the grocery store, mainly to look around. Everyone got something to drink except me, and we went off to the next store which was Primark. Its sort of like a small department store, so we went in to look for blankets and a blow dryer for Deanne. I ended up getting a really cute black over-the-shoulder purse for 3 Pounds...which I thought was a pretty decent price...I didn't like carrying my wallet in my pocket and I didn't really want to put it in my shoulder purse, so it was a good buy for me. From there we went to the phone shop where I got a cell phone. Its rather small and light but I like it...and it was really cheap. After getting my phone we all headed back to Regency Hall...we were all rather cold and it was time to warm up. I had about half an hour to myself before I had to bundle back up and go back outside to walk to the restaurant we were going to for dinner. On the way to dinner we ended up taking a double-decker bus. The restaurant we went to was very cool...it was inside an old church that had been build in the early 1800's. The kitchen was right up in the front of the church, and actually the giant oven was right where the alter would have been. It was very interesting...and of course I didn't bring my camera because I was expecting to eat in just a typical restaurant, not a refurbished church. Oh well,...the food was absolutely delicious. I had a fettucine dish and a chocolate melt for dessert...which is like a little chocolate cake with warm melted chocolate fudge in the center with a scoop of vanilla ice cream to go with it. It was absolutely mouthwatering. We were probably at the restaurant for about two hours...I know, that's a crazy long time, but that's totally okay to do here in Europe. Well we eventually left and were free for the night, but everything here is closed pretty much after six, so I just went back to my room. It was too cold to wander around outside anyways. So I've just been relaxing in my room...setting up skype and catching up with all you back at home. But now the day is done and I should probably head to bed...we'll be doing more walking tomorrow...most likely to the actual university which is ten blocks away.

Day One!

And so the story begins...
I would start with once upon a time, but this story of mine begins differently. Initially it began with a decision, followed by weeks of paperwork, meetings, and preparation. But the real beginning was Monday...
I zipped up my suitcases...with some difficulty..., checked my paperwork for the millionth time, and said farewell to the world I was familiar with. I said goodbye to my mom and got in the passenger seat of my dad's red truck. The world was coated in white silence as my dad pulled out of the driveway and away from the big blue house I called home. We drove from Rochester, NY down to Dulles International Airport in Washington, DC. It was a long drive, but I filled the time with conversation, music, and books. Pulling up to the airport I could feel my nerves start to churn in my stomach. The airport was so much bigger than I had anticipated, but I couldn't pay attention to for much longer. Dad and I emptied the truck of my luggage and I made my way to the British Airlines check-in counter as dad went to park the truck. Dad caught up with me after a few minutes and we checked my bags and said our goodbyes. Then I went down an escalator and made my way to security. By this point my nerves had peaked because the one thing I hate about airports is security. They always make me nervous...I still don't know why...but anyways after a short wait I got through security with out any mishaps...which for me meant that the worst was over. I met up with Tyler and Michelle and together we made our way to our gate...B44. We found our gate...thankfully we didn't have to travel between terminals...just went up and down some escalators. After checking in with our chaperon we sat down and began our wait. It was probably about 7:30 and our flight wasn't until just after ten. Sometime between 8 and 9 Deanne showed up...so we all just sat, relaxed, made our last phone calls, and waited for our flight to board. Close to ten o'clock they told us that our flight had been delayed...which we had been suspecting but hadn't been completely positive about. It wasn't a long delay. Just a few extra minutes. Finally they started boarding, so I gathered my stuff and got in line when they called my row. I took my last few step in the US going down the covered ramp thing and into the plane. Of course when I was told where my seat was by the man standing at the door, I didn't understand that there were two rows and that I had to go to the far row. So I was stuck in one row and had to somehow get to the other while trying to not be a pest and climb over a bunch of people already seated. But I managed and found my seat. After a few minutes everyone was seated and there was the customary show of safety instructions, and shortly thereafter we took off. I was so incredibly tired that i fell asleep instantly. The smell of food however brought me back to earth...so I woke up to have some dinner...pasta actually...and then promptly fell asleep again. I didn't wake up until after they had served breakfast and were cleaning up in preparation to land. Unfortunately I was still really tired because getting decent sleep on a plane is practically impossible and I had not slept all that well. But it was enough to get me though the next few hours. After getting off the plane, I made it through customs, and went down to get my two giant suitcases from the conveyor belt thing. Then we left the airport and loaded onto a bus that would take us to Cheltenham. We drove through lovely English countryside with lovely rolling green hills. It was very pretty. Then suddenly there was a change...starting with some snow covered sheep that were dotted along the green hills. Within the span of just a few minutes there was a blanket of snow on the ground. And it wasn't much longer that the bus came to a stop. Clearly the British don't deal with snow all that well, because there were only a few inches on the ground but people were getting out of their cars and walking...our bus was sliding everywhere...and I'm pretty sure we never went above ten miles an hour. Needless to say our two hour bus ride turned into a five hour bus ride. I did manage to sleep a little but I was getting rather ansy to get off the bus. After what seemed like forever, we finally got to Regency Hall, which is where most of the BCA students were being housed. We got our luggage and were showed to our rooms. My room...or flat as they call it here...is on the second floor. It's small but nice, complete with a bed, desk, dresser, closet, and a bathroom. But I didn't have much time to relax yet because we were all supposed to meet in the kitchen to eat dinner...pizza. After we ate, we got our itineraries for the next few days and were then released to do as we pleased, which for me meant going back to my room and relaxing/unpacking. I ignored my suitcases for a while and got on the internet to email home to let them know that I had make it safely and to go on facebook. But I couldn't ignore my stuff for long...I hate leaving things unorganized...so I unpacked and organized my room. By that time it was nealy midnight and I was completely wiped out. So I made my bed, put on my flannel pajamas...it was still rather cold in my room because the heat hadn't been turned on until I got to my room...and promptly fell asleep, thus ending my first day in England.